Chapter 5: An unknown virus

The human brain is such a beautiful thing, it is the command center of our bodies. Did you know that an average human brain can store approximately 34 Gigabytes of information a day? That's like, more than 1 terabyte a week! Cool, right? I bet smartphones can't beat that.

Despite how magnificent the human brain is, it still has flaws. No matter how large the memory capacity of our brains, we don't actually remember everything we do in a day. Based on the forgetting curve of the brain; within one hour, people will have forgotten an average of 50 percent of new information, 70 percent within 24 hours, and an average or 90 percent in a week.

But here's the thing, memories can be forgotten, but it cannot be entirely gone. It could potentially be retrieved. According to the research from the University of California; forgotten memories aren't erased, they're just inaccessible. And honestly, I still can't decide if it's a good thing or a bad thing.

Speaking of memories, I have a lot to forget about the things that happened yesterday. I begged my brain a gazillion times to make me forget about the things I did and said to Dylan at Jannah's party. But she's like, "No bitch u did that and u will remember it for the rest of your life." Didn't she know I was drunk last night? The girl Dylan talked to wasn't me! I don't even know her at all!

I woke up at my bedroom with a headache, not remembering most of what happened last night. I am definitely not planning to skip school today despite my whole body and soul aching. Education before mental and physical health, right?

Anyways, I got out of bed after staring at the abyss of nothingness for a couple of minutes--almost an hour. I always set my alarm an hour earlier than it should be, because I always space out every morning when I wake up.

Taking a bath is the hardest task of the day. I usually stare at the water and think if I should take a bath today or not. What if I just wet my hair, put some perfume, and go on with my day, no one would be able to tell the difference, right?

After taking a bath, I dressed up and I am ready to go to school. I went downstairs, and surprisingly, both my parents were there, shouldn't they be both at work by now?

"Hi" I said as I sat down the dining table. My mom is currently making some pancakes and my Dad is on his phone. Personally, I prefer crepes more than pancakes. I hate how it's too thick which makes it hard to swallow. That's what she said.

"Goodmorning Quelly. School and work is cancelled today, didn't you get the text message?" Mom said as she put the plates of pancakes on the table. I immediately ate because I am starving like hell. I seldom eat real breakfast during weekdays, I usually just drink coffee and eat air before I go to school. Wait--

School? Cancelled? Again? The fact that I woke up early and now fully dressed for school got me really upset. Why didn't I think of checking my messages before getting up? Maybe because I don't want to see Jay's messages so I wouldn't be tempted to answer them.

"Actually, the rest of the school year is cancelled." Dad said, still on his phone as he take a sip on his coffee. What? But there's only two months left before the school year ends! What's wrong with these people? Why is everything getting cancelled? Why can't people just focus on cancelling youtubers instead?

"What? Why?" I can't hide the disappointment on my face as I continue to eat my pancakes.

"I think the principal said that they're sanitizing the whole campus." Mom said because dad obviously doesn't have any intention to answer my question whatsoever.

"You don't have to worry about your education. We've enrolled you to an online class so you can still continue studying." Well, thanks dad. I assume you already signed me up for a summer class too?

"And also a summer session, so you can prepare for your upcoming college entrance exams." I knew he would say that.

"You have to take these classes seriously Quelly. You're not a kid anymore. We will always contact your professor and check your progress. We want your grades to remain at the top despite the current situation." Said mom, as she continues to eat her breakfast.

I know it doesn't seem like it, but I am that perfect daughter stereotype, atleast at the eyes of my beloved parents. I don't really consider myself as "smart," I am just an average student who study more often than a normal human being does.

One downfall is that, the more you study, the higher the expectation. So trust me, you don't want that.

After eating those delicious pancakes with a side of pressure and a sprinkle of high expectations from my parents, I immediately went upstairs to my room and do some research. Because I'm pretty sure my parents didn't tell me the reason why school and work was cancelled.

°°°

As I got to my room, I immediately took my phone and started doing my research. I went to the local news' website first to look for answers.

Unknown Airborne Virus, Now in Maryland

As of April 11, 2020:

An unknown airborne virus, that is rumored to come from Italy is now on the small state or Maryland. There is currently a hundred deaths as of today. The government called for an immediate lockdown to prevent the spreading of the virus. All commercial buildings, universities, and other public places are currently closed and being filtered. Scientists are still studying the virus and finding cure. According to-- click here to see more

Despite my shaking hands, I managed tap on the tab beside the article I've been reading. I don't know if I tapped the wrong tab, but it took me to a random website that made my phone hang for some reason. So I started tapping random places, hoping it'll fix my problem. My phone is still hanged, so I started tapping more aggressively, because being aggressive fixes everything, right?

And finally, my phone started working again. It just showed a screen saying: "You are now registered! Welcome to anonymous numbers!" Which I don't really care about. I went back to the site I was before and tapped on the correct tab this time.

According to research, symptoms of the virus are: severe headache, difficulty in moving, and frequent nosebleeds. A person is said to show these symptoms 24 hours after acquiring the virus. "As of now, the chance of survival is completely dependent on the patient's immune system." - Dr. Martha Young

After reading, I clicked on another website to gain more information about this virus.

Masks On: Unknown Airborne Virus That's Killing People All Over The World

An unknown virus is currently taking over the world. This is an invisible war between human kind and the environment we live in. A person that acquired the virus is said to have four to five days before his body give up. Make sure to wear your masks on, sanitize, keep social distancing, and stay inside your house as much as possible. Stay safe people!

What I just read is overwhelming. My brain refuses to digest these information. I was just a party yesterday! And now we're not allowed to go outside? How long would this take? Are we all gonna die before they find a cure? What is happening to the world--

My panicking was interrupted by a phone call. Weird, I never get phone calls. It's from an unregistered number, did the books I ordered online arrived?

"Hello?" I said, expecting to hear the delivery man's voice telling me my parcel has arrived.

"Hey, nice to meet you! I'm from anonymous numbers. I'm really excited to get to know you. I mean, I haven't really--" It sounded like a guy about my age. I'm pretty sure this is a wrong number.

"I'm sorry, I don't know you. You must've called a wrong number." I said, with the most calm voice I can manage. I have no time for this, I should be panicking right now.

"I don't think I properly introduced myself. You can call me Z by the way. I'm from anonymous numbers, dummy."

Sorry, who?