Lockdown Flatmates

3. The Speech

Casey's POV
22nd March

My weekend had gone incredibly fast. I spent yesterday in the city centre which was completely different to a weekday. There were people all over and the shops were extremely busy but I got so many things for my room, I got some hangers, plants and treated myself to some new clothes, as much as Jacob had said the place was my home I didn't want to intrude and put my things into his space as well.

I had spent today walking around the area, getting to know my surroundings, strangely I hadn't seen many people along the way which was completely contradictory to my day yesterday. I was currently in my room when there was a knock on my bedroom door then Jacob peaked his head around the door

'Apparently your company are right. Boris is about to make some statement about this domesday prep, do you want to watch it?' I didn't have a TV in my bedroom and decided to see what this was all about. I popped my slippers on and walked out my room to find Jacob was already seated on the couch with the TV on, I sat down on the big chair and heard Jacob  burst out laughing.

'What on earth is on your feet' He managed to say in between fits of laughter, I looked down at my feet

'They're my Super Mario slippers' I answered. I have had these slippers as long as I can remember, they are quite large and chunky but they keep my feet extremely warm. Before Jacob had the chance to make another sly comment Boris made his way on screen and both our attention turned towards the TV.

"Good evening, as you all will be aware the UK has been infected with Coronavirus and we don't want it to spread even more, so for that reason as of midnight tonight the whole country will be going into a national lockdown. That means you must stay at home and only leave for food, medical assistance and one hour of exercise a day. Hairdressers, retail, gyms, restaurants and pubs will be closing tonight' I heard Jacob stuck in a breath of air but I couldn't take my eyes off the TV 'There will be no mixing with others apart from your own household, we hope this will not last long but we will keep you up to date along the way' With that Boris walked off the stage, leaving, I guess, the whole nation stunned. This was worst than I thought, it was bad enough working from home but now Jacob would be here constantly and I wasn't allowed to go and see my parents. I felt like crying but when I turned around to look at Jacob, some of that worry went away, his face had gone pale as he was staring at the coffee table in a world of his own, does this mean he no longer has a job?

'Jacob?' We had only known each other a matter of days and even then we had only spent a handful of times together but now we were going to be spending 24 hours a day together. He looked up at me but still looked spaced out. He grabbed his phone from his pocket and began typing. I didn't know if I should stay put or go to my room but I felt like Jacob could need moral support

'What's going on?' I heard him ask as he paced the sitting room back and forth

'So what do I do?' He must be on the phone to his boss, he must have a million questions running through his mind

'Okay bye'

'You okay?' It was one of them stupid questions but I also didn't know what else to say

'Yeah, I'm going into work tonight as usual and he will explain more. Look I'm going to get dressed and go now, if that's okay?' I don't know why he was asking my permission. It took him about 4 minutes to get dressed, say bye and leave, I still hadn't moved from the couch, the TV was still on in the background but I wasn't listening to it.