I look at the stretchers in front of me. I watch Joey help Flora get into one. He zips her in, and she looks like a scared animal in a cage. It’s her fault, I know, and she got herself into this mess, but I should put a stop to it. I could put a stop to this. I just need to open my mouth and tell Joey what I saw Flora do. But I keep thinking about Kelsey’s texts—thinking how I’m the only guy in school who is in quarantine. I feel like there is an edge to my otherwise boring life for the first time ever.

As I climb into my stretcher, I snap a quick picture. The light filters through the plastic in a cool way and there is a little rainbow in one of the corners. I think about putting it on Instagram, but how would I even caption it? No pot of gold at the end of this rainbow? Quarantine over the rainbow?

Joey zips me in, and I look at Flora in her stretcher. I think about her kiss. How Joey called me her boyfriend. Then a little thought starts somewhere in the back of my brain and gets bigger and bigger, like a speeding train coming down a tunnel. What if she really was sick and just got me sick? What if I have tropical mono? The CDC worker on the plane said it could be fatal in the elderly and very young. I’m not elderly, but am I very young? How young is very young?

Since the disease is passed through saliva, maybe I can just spit out the germs. But I’m sure I’ve swallowed since Flora has kissed me. Though I guess it’s never too late to try. Flora is being wheeled into an ambulance by Joey and two EMTs in hazmat gear, so I turn my head to the side and spit a little bit. But my mouth and throat are dry so nothing comes out. I take a few big deep swishes, and finally spit out a little trickle. But it sticks to my lips. I wipe it away just as Joey hops back out of the ambulance.

“You okay, dude? You didn’t puke, did you?” He has the clipboard again, and he looks alarmed.

My mouth and throat are so dry I can’t speak. I clear my throat, try again. “No, I’m fine,” I finally croak.

“You sure?”

I swallow desperately, nod again.

I can tell he doesn’t believe me. He scribbles something furiously on his clipboard.

Two EMTs pop out of the second ambulance. Joey whispers something to them, and they all look at me. It’s weird, but I suddenly feel like I miss Flora.

The workers and Joey all load me into the ambulance, none of them saying anything to me. I don’t dare try to get any more of the spit out of my mouth.

Joey hops out of the ambulance again. “I’ll go with Flora. Since she’s the only sick one … for now.” He gives me a pointed look, and I try to smile, but it feels more like a grimace.

I’ve never been in an ambulance before. And I’ve certainly never been in an ambulance in a stretcher covered in plastic on my way to quarantine with EMTs in hazmat suits. I want to take another picture, but it’s hard with the EMTs staring at me. Instead I send the one I took when I first got in the stretcher to Kelsey.

She sends back It’s like a movie! with the gasping emoji. I wonder if that means she thinks I’m a movie star?

Then I wonder what Kelsey has heard, if she knows I’m going to quarantine because Flora kissed me, and that makes my stomach churn in so many directions at once that I really do feel like I need to throw up.

My mom calls again, but I don’t know what else to tell her, so I ignore her call.

I find a news site on my phone, and at the bottom is a tiny story: First suspected case of tropical mono reported in an American airline passenger. A teenage girl is being transported to a Miami hospital to be quarantined, along with her seatmate, another teenager. Both are high school students from Brooklyn. It’s unclear whether the second teen has exhibited symptoms or is being transported out of an abundance of caution.

My mom keeps calling and I keep not answering.

There are palm trees outside, and I see trickles of sweat on the EMTs’ faces as they pull me out of the ambulance. Flora is getting pulled out of her ambulance at the same time. I’m relieved to see her, but I don’t know why. Then I see the way she and Joey are looking at each other and I feel like an idiot for protecting her secret. I just need to tell someone what I saw Flora do—even if they don’t believe me, even if it doesn’t change anything. But first I can’t wait to rinse my mouth out.