We stood at the door, giving each other goodbye hugs. There was a lot of drama going on, but I wasn’t totally sure why. It was just three weeks, not forever. While I was hugging people, I couldn’t help but think about the circles I’d drawn on the whiteboard. If somebody did have the virus already, then a whole bunch of other people were going to be infected now. But I didn’t want to be rude. These were my friends.
Reese and I headed across the schoolyard, our backpacks filled with books. We had grabbed as many as we could.
Up ahead Isaac was playing a game of three-on-three with the guys. The game looked like a hybrid of basketball, football and wrestling. Between the shoving and the name calling, you’d have thought they really didn’t like each other if you didn’t know they were friends. As we got closer, the ball went flying and Noah chased after it.
“Are you walking home with us?” Reese asked Isaac. He usually did, since we all lived so close to each other.
“We’re almost finished.”
“Two minutes and we’re gone,” I said.
He turned to his friends. “Is anybody keeping score?”
“I thought you were,” Darius replied.
“Okay, in that case, how about whoever gets to six points first wins.”
Mrs. Reynolds came around the corner of the school. She was always outside for our arrival, lunch and dismissal. She came toward us. I gave Reese a little nudge so she’d notice her.
The boys kept playing. The wrestling component seemed to be the biggest part of their game.
Mrs. Reynolds came up and stood beside us. “What kind of game are they playing?” she asked.
“It’s an Isaac original,” I replied.
“Excuse me!” she called out. They all stopped. “I’m afraid you gentlemen will have to stop playing now. The directive I received from the district is that students are to leave the school property immediately.”
“Couldn’t we just—”
She silenced Isaac with a glance. “Immediately.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“I wish you all a safe extended break,” Mrs. Reynolds said. She turned directly to me. “Quinn, please pass along my thanks to your father for the work he’s doing.”
“Sure. Of course.” It felt weird to be singled out. But I knew my dad would appreciate hearing those kind words.
Mrs. Reynolds left, and Reese and I started to walk home, not waiting for the boys to say their goodbyes. We were only partway across the schoolyard when Isaac caught up to us.
“Whoa. What a day!” he said.
“Yeah, I can’t believe what just happened,” Reese said. “My parents didn’t mention any of this to me.” Reese’s mother taught at the local high school, and her father was an elementary-school teacher.
“I can,” Isaac replied.
“And what makes you so smart?”
“Not smart, but I do listen. I heard my mother on the phone last night with the mayor. She was talking about school closures.”
“And you didn’t say anything to us?” Reese asked.
“My mother has a gun. I try not to get on her bad side,” said Isaac with a wink. “Seriously, though, last night it sounded like just talk. Nothing had been decided.”
“Did you know anything, Quinn?” Reese asked.
“Not about the schools closing, but like I said in class, my dad has talked a bit about the virus. It’s worse than some people think.”
“But not that bad,” Reese said.
“My dad says that nobody knows how bad it could get.”
“If it means an extra-long holiday, that’s not so bad,” Isaac said.
“What are you going to do with all that extra time?” I asked.
“Oh, you know. Sleep in, play video games, hang with friends. Maybe create a funny video that goes viral and makes me famous. Mom will be working most of the time, so me alone in the house, unsupervised, is a dream come true.”
Isaac’s parents had separated a few years back. He joked about loving all the freedom, but I knew it had been hard on him. It still was. His father now lived halfway across the country, and Isaac really missed him. I knew they talked on the phone almost daily, but that was different than living under the same roof.
“What about you two. Any plans?” Isaac asked.
“Some of the same stuff and, of course, reading,” I said. I didn’t mention the canceled trip to Mexico. Even if we weren’t going now, there was no point in rubbing it in.
“We borrowed a lot of books,” Reese said, twisting so Isaac could see her bulging backpack.
“That many books would get me through the next three years,” he said.
“Really?”
“Okay, the next three decades.”
We were still laughing when we got to the corner where Reese would keep going straight but Isaac and I would turn. She lived two streets over from us. She gave me a big hug.
“No hug for me?” Isaac asked.
“No way. I heard you were infected,” she said with a smile.
“See what you started?” he asked me. “Let me set the record straight. First off, I am, in fact, infected, but it’s with joy and happiness. I spread those around in an exponential way. And second, your loss.”
“Whatever. Goodbye, Quinn. See ya, Isaac,” said Reese.
We walked for a bit in silence and then Isaac asked, “This is why you canceled your trip, isn’t it?”
“Yeah. Hospital staff were asked to postpone any trips.”
“Thought so. Same for the police department. My mother canceled time off for all officers for the next few weeks. And she told me she wasn’t going to be home a lot right now.”
“Oh. I didn’t know that.”
“I think they’re being a little paranoid,” Isaac said.
“Better safe than sorry.”
“Yeah, yeah, and look before you leap, and safety first is safety always, and the grass is always greener on the other side.”
I didn’t want to get into this discussion. My dad had plenty to say about people who weren’t taking this seriously. “I don’t think that last saying of yours works.”
“It depends on how high the fence is. You could get hurt if you fell.”
“Okay, whatever you say. See you later.” I started up my driveway.
“See you tomorrow, Quinny,” he said. “Three weeks off!” he added, pumping his fist in the air. “Woo-hoo!”