Covid Tales
Maddux Story
As I slid down the slide for what seemed like the thousandth time, I saw two strangers in the distance, and I hear a slight disturbance in the tranquility of the Seward Slides. I look to my friend, confused, then we hear one sentence that makes us come closer: “I just need more reasons and proof on why I should get the vaccine.”
We inch closer to the arguing strangers and one looks to us and says, “What do you think kids… about the COVID vaccine?”
My friend speaks up and says, “I took it, it did nothing to me, and it has protected me so far.”
I chip in, “Better safe than sorry, you know.”
“Damn” the other one says, “those kids are smarter than I am.”
THREE MONTHS LATER
I close my eyes; I feel my soft bed; I hear the clock ticking, wishing I never had gotten COVID… SIKE, you thought it would be like that but it totally wasn’t for me, thank whoever! Well except maybe the wishing I never had covid part. But I’m back boys, ready for what seems like my hundredth video game session of the week. I’ve hit 50 home runs, and twice as many 3 pointers, with every day people texting me or talking to me, feeling bad for me, while I’m just chilling and vibing. My mom asks me three times a day if anything weird is happening, and if I say yes, she reports it to the doctor’s office..
I get calls from my friends, cousins, and even other people that live with me. People carry “me” on a computer around campus and into classes, while I lay in my bed. People ask me why I’m at home, and I answer truthfully, getting tired of pitiful and worried looks. I really can’t participate in hardly anything, except for a couple activities like… , but even then, it’s not really the same. This may be a large downside to staying isolated, not being able to participate in teambuilding activities.
I’ve finished the entirety of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and what seems like the entirety of Netflix as well. People pass food through the door, air purifier is on full blast, windows are open, and my mask is on all waking hours. School during the day is pretty boring, especially while I’m not able to participate very well. Lucca, is texting about how he would be so mad if it was a false positive; Mateo is just chilling and calling me. I’m grinding on my clash royale account, occasionally with friends, and Madden Ultimate Team is getting easy. Each one of the 14 days is longer than a regular month, and surprisingly, that felt good for me. It is, however, a bit of a problem finding new shows to watch, but thankfully, I’m not getting tired of playing the same video games and rewatching Avatar: The Last Airbender over and over and over. Keeping myself busy is getting harder and harder, so I do ~100 pushups a day and a lot of situps and lunges, too.
The days pass by, and it is the first time since kindergarten that I’m using a calendar. One day when I’m asleep, my chest starts to hurt, and wakes me up. I start to panic, my heart racing. I pick up my inhaler and take a few puffs. I can’t remember falling back to sleep, but I wake up the next morning feeling perfectly normal. When she asks, I report it to my mom, and she almost immediately texts her friend, who is a COVID nurse. It’s all good and well at the end though, and nothing happens for the rest of the days in my quarantine.
All in all, getting COVID was certainly an experience, and though it did give me a lot of fun time on my PS4 and other devices, it did put me and a lot of my friends and family in a state of worry and slight danger. As I’m writing this, it really puts in perspective how addicted I am to video games and electronic devices in general, but if I’m being completely honest, I kinda already knew that.
