Memory

8 - Here We Go Again

Memory and Derrick walked down the hall together holding hands after Mr. Dunbar's class. It had been a month and a quarter since Ian's New Year's party and things were going pretty well. Including them, everyone seemed happy. Devin and Ian had finally told the group that they were dating and were still together. Ashlynn started doing better after her dad's death. Everything was okay.

Zac caught up to them as they were walking outside. Next to him was another one of his friends whom Memory did not know. Derrick and Zac had begun discussing their fishing trip the coming weekend, but Memory tuned them out. She did not care for fishing or much of anything the boys talked about.

Once outside, Memory left Derrick and Zac and went to find Devin. She was sitting with Maya and Ashlynn on a bench in deep conversation. Ian was nowhere to be found.

"I wonder what Ian is going to do for me on Valentine's Day," Devin was saying as Memory walked up. "He keeps hinting at what we are going to do or what he is going to give me."

Memory looked away from her friends and glared sadly at Derrick, who was still talking to Zac. Not once had he mentioned anything about Valentine's Day or doing anything with her. All he had talked about was his fishing weekend with Zac and his family.

The ride home on the bus was long and drawn out. It felt like she had been sitting in her seat for hours before she finally got to her bus stop and walked home. When she strolled through the door, everything was silent. The air felt still. The only thing she could hear was the heater kicking on. Mom and Daddy were probably at work.

Memory walked to her room and threw herself on the bed. She felt tired. It had not felt like a long day, but rather it had left her feeling exhausted. It felt like she put all her effort into school and her friends.

Rest was not an option. With her parents at work, they would expect her to do chores before they got home. Besides, she had to make herself dinner and work on homework. It was about to be an even more exhausting day.

First, she began cleaning. The silence in the house began to kill her sanity so she decided to turn on her music. She started to relax; music and cleaning did that for her. It did not last. Once she was done, she began cooking herself some supper. After rummaging through the freezer, she determined that popcorn shrimp sounded good.

As if her family was there, she turned on the TV to their local news station. Good thing she did or else she would have missed an important speech from the governor. It made her stomach drop to the floor.

When she turned on the news, everything was still getting prepared. It took a few minutes before the governor came on screen. The crowd around him became silent as he began to speak.

"Thank you everyone for joining me today. I would like to make an announcement. The Covid-19 pandemic has impacted the entire world and changed life as we know it. Some of us have suffered worse due to the pandemic because of the loss of a loved one, job termination, and school closures. I know that millions of people across the continents are hoping that this pandemic will not last forever. Life has not been easy for anyone.

"With all that said, I have some disturbing news to share. As many of you may know, there have been reports of a new strand of Covid present in the state. Other states have also reported this. I am afraid that the vaccine will not prevent or stop this new strand from infection. I regret to inform everyone that I am putting the state on lockdown. Schools will go back to virtual schools. Try not to leave your house as much as possible. This will only last until we know how to fight it. For now, this is scheduled to end on March 13th, exactly one month from tomorrow."

Tears filled Memory's eyes. She had no idea how to feel or what to do. Everything should be better this time around because they have all been through this before. That was not the case. Nothing was ever going to be the same just because they went through it once. Quarantine was not easy on any of them.

The second wave took everything out of her family. Memory struggled to keep everyone afloat. It was not her job but it helped her to help everyone else. Plus, she had Derrick. He was always there for her if she needed a shoulder to cry on. It was nice to have someone there for her for once.

Here we go again.