If this is the end

Chapter 2: The beginning

I end the chat to call my parents in Buffalo, Wisconsin. At 22 years old, this seems like a big enough problem to let my mommy decide what to do. Besides, I still need to have the dreaded rent conversation. She answers on the 2nd ring, having also seen the news this morning and how it's changed so completely from the semi-sensible stories from the day before. Buffalo was not one of the ones marked with a big red X. We talk about the variant and what to do if Minneapolis gets quarantined the way some of the cities in Canada are right now. She puts me on speakerphone while dad tells me to grab enough groceries to last the 2-week lockdown just in case. They assure me that everything is fine, and that this is what the media does – overhypes things.

"There's one more problem," I add, once they talked me out of fleeing back home. "They cut my hours at work because of the lockdown. I won't be able to make the rent."

"Oh, that's not a problem baby. I'll call and pay it tomorrow," my mom assures me. "Pay for your groceries on the credit card, too, okay? And be safe."

"Ok, I will. Love you," I respond with a nod and a smile, relieved for having at least solved one problem for now.

"Love you, too," they sing in unison before hanging up the call.

Leaving Minneapolis is prohibited unless on a designated transport into what they are calling a "clear zone." Anyone who wants to leave the city must go to the clear zone first, where they will be tested for the disease and then given instructions on what to do next. The information is repeated on the ticker while the news anchors go on about unrelated subjects. I quickly follow the provided links to sign myself up, just in case it ends up being necessary, but it's booked until next week. I click on the first available day: Monday, May 12th, then skim over the rules and what I am allowed to bring. It's not long or complex, but is specific and strict.

-No passenger will be allowed to board who exhibits any symptom of Variant TRIM71. Please cancel your reservation and allow a 36-hour self-quarantine if you are experiencing fever, bloody stool, bloody nose or eyes, or a persistent cough. Nobody will be allowed to board who appears sick, regardless of cause of illness. Please be patient as we are working to get everyone to safety as quickly as possible.

-Families are encouraged to book same-day departure, as not all trains or busses will be arriving at the same Clear Zone.

-No pets. No exceptions.

-Anyone who wants to board must submit themselves for a volunteer strip search. You may choose an officer of your preferred gender.

-One carryon bag will be allowed per person. Please bring only necessities.

I vow to sneak Stuart on if I have to. Where I go, he goes. It's how it's been for the half a decade he has been alive, and I don't plan to change that now. I copy/paste the sign-up link into the group chat, since I know that nobody else will have searched it on their own. We all have a role in the group, much like a family. Mine is the researcher and homework assistant. Becca is the mom. She is consistently caring and nurturing in a way that's rare for people in their early twenties, but I have never seen Becca think of herself before someone else. It's just who she is.

April and Kat share the right to choose where we go during any group outing. They are bossy and confident, and have all the best stories after a night out on the town. Isaac is Becca's puppy - not literally, but honestly, he may as well be. It's not that he doesn't have a personality of his own, it's just that we almost never get to see it because his head is so far up his girlfriend's butt. It's usually cute, but sometimes a little much.

Brody is the one with the answers. Always... except for now. I am studious and hardworking in a way that he isn't and doesn't have to be. Brody just has a natural intelligence combined with good looks that might make people hate him if he wasn't also a kind, honest person to boot. April likes to remind me when I complain about their laziness, or lack of willingness to take care of themselves, that we all have different strengths, and that's what makes us such good friends. My strength is not decision making. Her strength isn't homework, or taking anything in life seriously, and I am the exact opposite. That must be why we are the best of friends.