Lockdown Summer

III. Apocalyptic

"Dude, there's going to be a lockdown starting Sunday," Pablo said to me when I went downstairs to grab something to bite before I work.

"Yeah, I know," I said. "We're on mandatory work-from-home since Tuesday."

Just then, Andrei popped out from the bathroom next to Pablo's room and the back door. "I'm going home early this Saturday," he said.

He looked like he just got home from his work. He's still in his formal polo shirt and office pants.

"When will you be back?" I asked.

"I don't know, man," he said with a shake of his head. "Maybe when this is all over."

Rica was in one of the dining chairs. "Dennis is still on fieldwork," she said to us with a troubled face. "It doesn't sound like he'll make it back here by then."

Pablo dropped his back on the couch and commanded Mindy to turn off the news. Three seconds later, the TV shut down. I was just about to mock him again about his AI, but I quickly realized the timing was awful.

"You'll need to stock up on supplies if you're going to stay here," Andrei said.

I sat next to Rica and suddenly lost my appetite. "What?" I asked Pablo when I caught him staring at me.

"I have work in the day," he said with a shrug. "You don't. I'll just give you my list and my share of the bill."

"Fine."

"I'll go with you," Rica offered.

"Uh...it's okay...I can..."

Then she showed me the screen of her phone and told me I'd need her help to secure a spot in the line. There's a tweet of a picture of a long line in a supermarket somewhere in this city. The post was five minutes old that second.

"Besides, I won't have anything to do tomorrow," she added.

Andrei disappeared upstairs. Pablo went to the back of the house and made a phone call, probably to his mom.

I stirred my coffee while Rica sat next to me with her right foot up; her knee touched the edge of the dining table as she scrolled down on her feed.

"I also want to go back home, but I can't afford the flight," she whispered.

She had her eyes on her phone, so I guessed she's thinking aloud.

"Yeah. I do too."

Then she dropped it on the table and sighed. "It's just Pablito, you, and I in here starting Saturday," she said to the wall.

"And Mindy," I said.

"And Mindy," she echoed under her breath.

***

It seemed and felt like we entered a production set for an apocalyptic movie. The supermarket was filled up to every corner. People walked along the aisles, almost bumping into another, and more were lined up on every check-out counter. The lines have snaked around and reached the back.

The shelves for necessary supplies were either stripped off or half-empty like they got ransacked before we got there. The canned foods section was almost bare except for a row of hot and spicy tuna. And that worked for me because I only like tuna in hot and spicy. We're also unlucky with the fresh meat cuts, so we just settled for whatever we could buy. It's either be picky or starve.

We found the end of the cash lane, and Rica stayed there with our cart while I did what I could with the remaining half of the list Pablo gave me.

When I came back to the line, we're about ten people from the cashier.

Rica hurried her way back to the aisles and returned with a large pack of girl hygiene products. "I almost forgot," she said as she dropped it on top of the filled cart.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"How do you find living with us so far?"

She shrugged. "It's not what I expected, but I'm liking it." She folded her arms and rested her hands on her waist.

She wore a white t-shirt under a denim jumper. Her hair was tied again but on a lower part of her head.

Every day, I had to constantly remind myself that she's Dennis' cousin.

"You guys are very different from each other," she added. "Andrei is serious and matter-of-fact type. Pablo is equal parts annoying and reliable. Dennis has always been bossy."

Then it's our turn at the cashier, so we stopped talking.

She snatched the receipt from my hand and told me she'd pay me back her share of the grocery bill.

I asked for it back. "Don't worry about it," I said.

"No, really. I'll pay you back."

"No, really. Don't worry about it."

Getting a ride was also challenging. The taxi line looked like it'd take forever to get home, and I needed to sleep already. I ordered a premium car from an app instead. It took us only five minutes of waiting time.

"You forgot to mention me," I said once we're in the backseat.

Rica faced me with a puzzled expression.

"Earlier, I mean. When you said that the guys are different. You didn't mention what you think of me."

"Oh, right." She looked away again. "You're the sporty one. But you're reserved."

I was about to ask her to elaborate, but my phone buzzed with a text from Pablo, asking where on hellish earth we were already.