away; b.e.[rewritting]

Chapter 72

March 27th, 2020

"Dude have you heard about this coronavirus shit going on?" I ask as I sit down at the kitchen island with my breakfast.

"Yeah it's crazy. And it's only the third month into the new year," Riley says.

I nod. I continue eating breakfast as Riley just scrolls through her socials.

Riley gets a call and as the call continued, Riley's eyes became wider and wider.

"Dude, turn on the tv!" Riley says, still on the phone. I get up from the island and go to the living room and turn on the tv.

It was just the daily airing of Friends.

I raise an eyebrow and look at Riley.

I open my mouth to say something but I'm interrupted by the tv.

"We interrupt your your daily broadcasting with breaking news. The president has announced the country is in a national state of emergency. He has closed borders to numerous countries. The director of the CDC and the World Health Organization has labeled the coronavirus outbreak a global pandemic. They are advising people to keep their hands sanitized at all times, to wear a mask, and to stay 5 feet apart. The country is on a lockdown, i repeat, the United States of America is on lockdown. Go to the stores, buy what you need, come home and do not come close to anyone. Please everyone stay calm," the news anchor says.

what the fuck.

I look at Riley.

"Shit," she whispers.

~

I go into the store and see the shelves bare.

Riley and I continue to walk around the store, looking for paper towels, toilet paper, hand sanitizer, shampoo, conditioner, and body wash.

"What the fuck dude," I say.

As Riley and I walk out the store, I see packs of disposable blue masks being sold.

Riley and I both grab 2 packs and pay for it.

We get into my car and drive back home.

"Dude this is insane," Riley says.

"Literally. I was planning on going to the studio to start working on some new songs too," I say.

"The studio closed?" Riley asks.

"Everything that's nonessential is closing. Tours were canceled. Lauren is coming back from Atlanta today. They're making her quarantine or whatever," I say.

Riley gets another call and answers.

"Uh ok, we're on our way right now," she says.

She hangs up and I raise an eyebrow at her as I continue to drive.

"School is shutting down. For the next 2 weeks, we're having online classes. They said we can come in to get our books," she says.