Valhalla High (A Magnus Chase Fanfic)

I Don't Get Anyone Sick

November 15

    I was exhausted by the time 5th block rolled over. It was Wednesday, but I felt like it was a Friday. My teachers had loaded me with more homework yesterday and we'd had to take the pacer in PE. I'd gotten a low score due to an asthma attack and was sent to the nurse who lectured more than helped me.
Then today, we'd started our discussion on Old Man and the Sea. When Magni had pointed out the book was as dull as unpolished wood (what was with ohim making good points this week ?), Odin told us we'd understand the true genius of the book when we're older. I was tired of being told stuff would make sense when I was older. It felt like such a copt-out; I wanted things to make sense now.

    At least my banana boat was going well. It was starting to look like a banana, even though it still a brown hunk of clay. I also started with the piece intended for my mother. I had eyed the glazes near the end of Ceramics class and decided which ones to use on both of my pieces (spoiler alert: the banana boat was going to be bright yellow).

I had chosen to go during the first day of presentations and I was kind of regretting it. At least I wasn't the first or last person going today. Halfborn went first. He talked about the many smallpox epidemics and how the virus had been use for the purpose of biological warfare many times, including against the indigenous peoples of America. "The thing about smallpox is that is both highly contagious and has a high mortality rate," he said. "This deadly combo meant that it was practically a miracle when smallpox was eradicated in 1980."

He went on to talk about inoculations and vaccines and how there had been a movement against inoculations much like the anti-vaxxer movement today. It was a very good presentation, but some of the photos he used on the slides were a bit too gruesome in my opinion.

     Alex went next, presenting about tuberculous. "Now some of might think, oh this is a fashionable disease," she said. "Maybe you want to ensure you die in a spectacular way like this. Okay, you probably wouldn't, but the Victorians did. Tuberculous was and still is a deadly disease that ravaged the body. Its victims become paler as they wasted away, unwittingly confirming to the beauty ideals of the time."

Alex when on to talk about treatments and tests for tuberculous. Alex had a very engaging way of presenting because she didn't try to be formal. This made her presentation very informal and full of little jokes and witticisms. I could almost see her giving a great TED Talk one day.

Alex finished her presentation and sat down. It was my turn now. I steadied my breath and went to the front of the room. I pulled up my Google Slides and began speaking. "HIV," I said, "perhaps the only time you don't want to be positive."

There were a few chuckles at my half-hearted attempt at a joke and I tried to steady my nerves. I'd read somewhere online that if you're nervous about public speaking, you should imagine everyone in your audience forgot to put on clothes. Personally, I think TJ's suggestion to pretend everyone is Toussaint is much better advice.

"In the 1980s, a mysterious disease began affecting mostly gay men in America," I continued. "We now call this disease HIV, which stands for human immunodeficiency virus, but our story doesn't start here. No, our story starts with another disease: SIV."

I went on to speak about how SIV is a similar virus that likely was able to jump the species boundary due to bushmeat hunting. Then, I went on to talk about the HIV pandemic, the symptoms it causes, and finally the treatments for it. I concluded my presentation by saying, "Recent medical developments mean there are now once-a-day oral medications that can be taken to reduce the risk of contracting HIV," I said, "but the vaccine still remains elusive and a cure even more so. Only two people have ever been fully cured of HIV after they received bone marrow transplants from people with a genetic mutation that helps fight off the disease. One day, perhaps HIV will be no longer, but for now it still continues to devastate communities across the globe."

     After I sat down, a couple other people went. I kinda zoned out at this point. It was only after class that I really remember anything. This is mostly because I saw Alex. Now I know what you're thinking: don't you see Alex a minimum of five days a week? Yes, but you should have seen Alex then. She had this look in her eyes — a certain kind of softness. Her expression was fluid as she saw me and I understood only that I could not discern it. Alex was like a cuttlefish — hard to define because she was so changeable. "Magnus, I'll see you over the weekend," Alex said.

"You will?" I asked, astonished.

I had stopped walking and Alex smirked as if she knew the effect she had on me. "Oh yes. Come over to my grandpa's place if you'd like on Sunday. I know you visit your dad on Saturdays."

Then, she turned and flounced away, leaving me as stunned as if I'd been told I was now an einherjar.