Lock Step - Love Under Lockdown

“How will you get there?” I asked him. “Didn't you hitch a ride back with those football players after our last break?”

“Yeah, but that was a fluke,” he said. “They were only close to my hometown because of some special practice they had right before break ended. I guess I’m going to have to rent a car or something. I don’t want my mom driving all the way up here while a dangerous virus is spreading.”

“It’s surreal,” I said, grabbing a tray and moving with the line. “Tomorrow, we’ll be home. It’s like they shut the college faucet off.”

“Tch, yeah,” agreed Zoe. “And we were going to see that movie Saturday in the campus screening room.”

“Oh, fuck, I forgot,” I frowned. “Great, now how am I going to see A Clockwork Orange on the big screen?”

“Just download it or whatever,” offered John.

“It’s not the same,” I lamented. “You Philistine.”

“So, what’s your new stepsister look like?” asked Mickey, changing the subject back to that out of nowhere, just when I had been glad to move on from it, and to forget my problems for twenty-four more sacred hours.

“Why do you care?” I snapped at him.

“I don’t know. You said she was hot. You got a picture?”

“No, I don’t have a picture! Why would I take a picture of her when I hate her dad and don’t think very fondly of her, either?”

“You sound awfully defensive when all I wanted was to see a picture of her. Are you into her, dude?” asked Mickey, laughing a little.

“What? No. Don’t be insane,” I growled.

“Well, you’re the one saying she’s hot,” joked John.

An image of Tracianne’s hourglass figure, curvy hips and nice, plump ass popped into my mind, but I shook my head emphatically, to chase it away and to let everyone know how serious I was about not liking her.

“Yeah, well, there are plenty of hot girls who aren’t stuck up,” I pointed out. “Plus, she seemed more upset about the wedding than I was. I highly doubt she’s happy to have a new stepsibling.”

“So, you’re saying you two have something in common,” joked Zoe.

I realized that I had inadvertently made myself the punch line of the joke. Now, in a way, I was glad I’d be getting a break from my friends. Sure, they’d been there for me and were nice to talk to. But living on campus could get a little intense in such close quarters. I just wished I had somewhere else to go that wasn’t to my mom and her new husband’s house.

“You two could do step sibling porn!” joked Mickey. “That’s the hot thing on Pornhub now.”

“All right, all right,” I smiled. “I’m not engaging in this discussion anymore.”

“Well, you can’t get engaged,” John teased, laughing so hard he was choking. “You’re in love with your stepsister! Your children would be mutants.”

“They’re not actually related, John,” Zoe protested. “I mean, not by blood.”

“Oh, my God! I’m gonna pass out,” he laughed. “Phil’s kids are gonna be idiots!”

“Is that how your parents made you?” I asked, staging my comeback.

That finally shut them up a bit.

We sat down at a booth with our food.

The lunch seemed a little weird and awkward now.

If they were closing the school, the virus had to be serious.

Would they ever open it again?

Some of the reports I had read said that the virus could change the world.

What if three percent of our college class died?

It could be any of us.

“Look, guys,” I said seriously. “Take care of yourselves over break, okay? I’ve got some masks back at my room if anyone needs one. I used to help my dad do renovation work and I saved them in case they’d come in handy. I had no idea how glad I’d be to have done that.”

“I’ll take one,” Mickey said.

“I don’t want a mask,” dismissed John.

“John!” whined Zoe. “We should all be wearing masks.”

“You just social distance or whatever and you’ll be fine,” John said, convincing himself. “I mean, a mask? What next? We all have to wear hazmat suits? It’s not the damned plague.”

“It’s scary, John. It’s very contagious,” I urged. “And they have to wipe down surfaces way better now with disinfectant.”

“This is clean,” said John, touching the table and then licking his hand. “I'm totally confident I won’t get sick.”

“Jeez, dude,” Mickey protested. “You didn’t have to do that. I believed you.”

“Ah, don’t worry. This’ll all blow over in a couple of months and we’ll be back here before you know it,” John said confidently. “Either way, I’m not going to let the virus make me stop living my life. That’s how it wins.”

“I’m pretty sure it wins by killing you,” I suggested.

“Whatever,” shrugged John.

I was almost jealous of his blasé attitude. I wished I could feel the same way. I was scared of the virus, and not at all looking forward to having to go live with my mom and my new stepdad and stepsister.