January 2, 1939

Today, I had to go to school. School for the children of the tented ghetto was a large rug for them all to sit on while they were lectured by a blackboard hammered to the wall. On a good day, the teacher would have some chalk. All the kids were told to sit in a circle. According to Ms. Moore, my boss had gotten infected. She boasted to the other teachers that Jack and I were the lucky ones. As I listened to my teacher gossip to the other students, I realized that she did not know what I was doing at the boss's house. As far as she could tell, Jack and I were just playing in the dirt.

"It was the Focker boy. He is an idiot just like his dad. I'm surprised that the virus hadn't got to him. Did you see what he was wearing today? They were the same clothes I saw him wear on Friday. That's just dirty." There was a shrill of high-pitched laughter.

I had heard this type of talk before. After a while, you learn to cut out all the bad words and think about the future. Sadly, my future did not look that bright. My grades in school were terrible. I couldn't do what the school demanded of me. It was too much, but I was not the only one going through a tough time. Adam Beckett, otherwise known as Adobe (because he was considered "adorable") was an orphan. He lived with his grandma, but there were rumors going around saying that she was going to be infected any day now. If that were the case, I would be burying her by Thursday.

Ms. Moore's lesson today was mesmerizing. Jack taught me that word. She told us about the virus and how it all began.

"Everything started off in a concentrated lab. There were lab coats, scientist, glass, protection everywhere. The government officials thought that they could use the virus against other countries because there was a war brewing behind the scenes." A kid sitting behind me had raised her hand. Ms. Moore pointed to her. "What does brewing mean?"

"In this context, it means a war was going to begin sooner or later," she said, waiting for other students to raise their hands. None of them did, so she continued with her story. "Something had gone terribly wrong. An individual by the name of Colton Sutton was the first one to be infected. He had managed to spread the virus from one city to another. By 1929, the virus has spread throughout the country. Why do you think it spread so fast?" The kid raised her hand again. She seemed to be the only one interested in listening to the story.

"My Pa told me that it was spread through the air. It had mutated into an airborne disease. We can't do anything about it. It's going to kill Adobe's grandma." Everybody in the class started laughing, even Adobe.

Ms. Moore's face had gone bitter. Her eyebrows were wrinkled as she spoke. "Don't say that! If you interrupt my class with such nonsense, everyone will be going home for the day." Whines filled the room. If we went home now, we would not be able to eat lunch. Most of the students would go home hungry until tomorrow. Ms. Moore raised her hand and it got quiet again. She continued to talk about the virus until the class time was over.

"They still don't know how the virus works, but they are looking for an antidote. I'd advise all of you to walk straight home from here. Don't talk to any strangers. I expect to see every single student here tomorrow morning. Okay, class dismissed."

The cafeteria was run by an ex-army cook who loved food from outside the country. The cafeteria was outside of the school. Everyone sat in the grass except for the grownups. our tables were small blankets placed delicately on the ground. If you were mean to the lunch lady, you would get the nasty food. The vegetables were mush, the meat was chewy and the puddings were dry. Since it was the day after a holiday, we were all served ham with macaroni & cheese. Everyone was sitting outside, sitting in the grass. There weren't any tables or anything like that. We ate with plastic utensils, but it did not change the way the food tasted. Everything was a big no-no compared to my mother's cooking. 

"I'll trade you the mushy vegetables for some of that macaroni & cheese," Adobe said, already shoving some off the food off of his plate. He must have been very hungry because his fork started poking through my plate. 

"No," I countered. I pushed the nasty food back on his plate, but it ended up falling on the ground. We both stared at eat other for a while, looking at the smushed food on the ground. Adobe started crying. As a person that is about the same age as me, he should not be crying. There were worse things to cry about in the world.

"Fine, I'll give you my food, you big crybaby." I shoved him my portion. I sprung to my feet and walked off in the opposite direction of Adobe. He wanted to go sit with his friends. He had the happiest smile on his face. As I walked away from Adobe, I admired the sky. That morning, it was beginning to get colder outside. Snow was falling steadily, but it would melt before it hit the ground. Some of my classmates didn't even have words to describe temperature and weather in their vocabulary. They had never experienced either. Real weather, real cold weather. Most people around here have moved from home because the virus had gotten so bad. Our city one of the fewest deaths when it came to the virus, but it didn't mean that the virus was not here. Murderers were also going rampant. There was freedom attached to a mass amount of people dying. 

I went back to the school and stood in the hallway. Again, I could hear the teachers gossip away. "They said they were going to send more children here just in case. We barely have enough food as it is and winter is coming. Who do they think we are, caregivers?" Someone had made an irritated sound, smacking their lips unnecessarily loud.

"You're a teacher. You should be ashamed of yourself. If you want to go back North, go ahead. After you leave, there will be plenty of room for the children to live." Their tone was thick and it sounded too deep to be a female teacher.

"According to them, all the children are orphans. Out of the five of them, three of them have been in the presence of the virus. What should we do with those students?"

"That's a lie. Where are you getting this information from?" There was no answer. I know I was not an orphan. 

"Treat them like normal people. The virus going to be coming back here someday." Before they had processed what made it the virus so eerie, the bell had sounded. School was over.