The Beginning of the End by Lorana Hoopes (readict txt) 📕

was the teacher on that duty today. Just her luck. Pasting her best smile on, she sucked in a deep breath and approached him.

He held up his hand to signal her to stop when she was a good six feet from him. “Where’s your mask?”

“I forgot it at home, but the nurse said the school has extras. Can I just grab one of those?”

His eyes raked over her as if he was trying to assess if she was lying or not. Weird since she couldn’t imagine lying about something so silly. Masks were bad enough when they were your own, but why would anyone want to borrow one from the school?

“You do know that a face covering is a requirement every day?”

It took every ounce of self-control not to roll her eyes at him. “Yes, I do. I washed it last night because it was making my face itch, and I forgot to grab it from the dryer this morning. I can’t guarantee it will never happen again, but I’ll certainly do my best.”

“Fine. Wait there.” He disappeared into the building and returned a moment later with a plain surgical mask. As if afraid he would catch something from her, he held it out delicately, the ear loop dangling between two fingers.

Grabbing it, she slipped it on before continuing forward to get her temperature checked.

“Do you have any of these symptoms?” he asked, turning the clipboard toward her.

Lily shook her head. She wouldn’t have answered yes even if she did because some of the symptoms were stupid. Headache? She got one often if she didn’t eat soon enough or if she stayed up too late. Cough? Yep, if she ran in cold weather, she had one that stuck around for a few hours after.

“Have you been exposed to anyone who has NCAV?”

“Not that I know of,” Lily said, unable to keep the condescension out of her voice.

Mr. Dagon glared at her a moment but finally stepped away from the door, allowing her to enter.

As she stepped into the building, a wave of dizziness rolled over her. Lily placed her hand against the wall to steady herself and blinked a few times as the hall in front of her swam. She took a few deep breaths, but each one amplified the fuzzy sensation in her head. She stumbled down the hall to the nearest doorway and leaned into it, hoping Mr. Dagon wouldn’t see her. Then she lowered her mask and took a few more deep breaths. It wasn’t immediate, but after a few minutes, the strange sensation strangling her softened its hold.

“What was that?” she whispered under her breath. She glanced around, and after confirming she was alone, she slipped off the surgical mask and examined it. Nothing appeared off. It looked just like every other disposable mask. Maybe it was a reaction to the fabric? Her normal ones were cloth and softer. Could she have an allergy to something in the disposable mask? If so, would she have to go home or would it be something that would go away after time?

She replaced the mask and took a tentative breath. It smelled different from her cloth masks, a sort of plastic scent, but nothing out of the ordinary. Shaking her head, she continued down the hall to her locker.

Katie appeared a moment later. “What’s with the surgical mask?” she asked, holding out a coffee.

“I forgot mine at home. This is what they loan you, remember?”

Her brows furrowed for a moment. “Huh, I thought the ones Ms. Dickens showed us were light blue. That one looks darker.”

Lily shrugged. “Maybe it was from a different batch. Darker dye?”

“Yeah, maybe, well anyway, stylish,” she said as she leaned her back against the locker next to Lily’s.

“Yeah, not really, but it saved me from having to drive home. I think it might let more air in too. My breath doesn’t feel quite as hot on my face. I might have to see if I can get some more of these.”

Katie’s brow lifted on her forehead. “More of them? Why? You hate masks. Why on earth would you want more of them?”

“I don’t know. This one doesn’t seem as bad. Maybe I wouldn’t mind them so much if I had one like this.”

Tiny wrinkles erupted on Katie’s forehead as her brows knitted together. “Are you feeling okay? He did take your temperature at the door, didn’t he?”

“Yes, he did, and I feel fine.” Lily grabbed the last book she needed and shut the locker door, only to find Katie staring at her with concerned eyes. “What? I’m fine. Let’s get to class.”

“You know what? I have an extra mask in my bag. Why don’t you use it instead?” She dropped her backpack from her shoulders and rummaged around in it.

“Katie, I’m fine. The smell is a little weird, but other than that, it’s not that bad.”

“Smell? What smell? In the mask?”

“Yeah, I think so, unless you smell it too.”

Katie shook her head. “I don’t smell anything unusual.”

“Ooh, maybe it’s because this one seems to let in more air. Maybe the school is trying a new sanitizing agent, and you can’t smell it because the cloth on your mask is so thick. I mean it did make me feel a little dizzy at first, but I feel fine now.”

“You were dizzy?” Katie asked.

“Yeah, had to hold on to the wall for a few minutes. Felt like I was in a fun house with the hallway tilting, but it’s gone now. Hey, maybe the new antiseptic will work so well that we’ll be able to stop wearing masks. I was watching this article on the news the other day that said airplane filters were so good that even if someone next to you wasn’t wearing their mask, you wouldn’t get sick. Maybe they found something like that for schools.”

“I doubt it.” Katie looked around and then lowered her mask.

“What are you doing?” Lily glanced back toward the front entrance where Mr. Dagon was still taking temperatures.