The Pandemic

There is some sort of bug going around the school this week, as happens at most schools, most years, around this time. The odd thing, however, is that it seems to have only affected the junior class. Almost every class I've been in this week has been missing a shocking percentage of the students, but not quite enough to stop teachers from holding class. As verification of the just-juniors theory, my Ab Initio (freshperson) German class was pretty much all there, no more absences than normal. We Ab Initio students, surprised, asked why no one was sick- none of the freshpeople had any idea what we were talking about. It has become known simultaneously as, "The Plague," "The Epidemic," and "The Pandemic." As evidenced by the title, I prefer the latter.
Anyway, in history today, a(n estimated) quarter of the class was gone. (By today, I mean the day I'm writing this, Friday, 6 February 2009. You're probably not reading it until later than that, as I plan to stick to the five-contest-entries thing.) I have history second hour, and we have ten minutes between first and second hours, so there's always a lot of milling around in the room waiting for class to start. During this period, Gabe burst importantly into the room with a roll of duct tape and a Sharpie, looked at me, (in my usual spot in Mr. Majask's rollisilla, which I try to avoid being kicked out of for as long as possible every class. He actually let me keep it the entire hour and a half today; he's got another one) and asked, "Josh! Are you sick?" I'm not, so I told him that. He asked the same of Kyle, who said that he was just getting over something. "Carrier!" said Gabe, writing something on the tape with the Sharpie, ripping the piece off, and sticking it to Kyle's sleeve. He explained to those around, "He may no longer feel the effects, but he can still pass the virus on!"


Looking relieved, he started to walk around the room until Will came in. "Will! Are you sick?" Will looked at him and answered innocently, "Well, I have a slight case of the sniffles; I've been trying to fight it off for about a week now, and my immune system's kept up!" Gabe scribbled something on the tape once again, ripped it, and stuck it to Will's shirt saying, "Well, we'll call you a level One-Prime."


He did the same when Mr. Majask came in, who said he was only slightly sick. The ritual was repeated, albeit with a level One, not One-Prime, and we have:


Gabe seemed to be enjoying his job, so I asked him a few things, including where he got the tape and the idea/desire to do this. First, he told me that it was Mr. Giromini's tape. I asked if he knew what it was being used for, and he answered that Mr. Giromini hadn't cared enough to ask, so it was ok. Ah, Gabe-logic. He then said that it was Cat's idea, and she had taken on the job yesterday. However, due to how close the job had required her to be to the sick, she had received the Plague, and wasn't in school today. He had decided to be brave enough to take over. He then pointed out the piece of tape Anthony was wearing, which said "Infected: 'Source'" (Sorry, I couldn't get a picture of that one. Trust me, it was hard enough convincing Mr. Majask to agree- he made me wait till after class.) Gabe said that Anthony and Zoë were the first two to get sick, and blamed them for starting the Pandemic. Therefore, they were labeled the "Sources."
My next class, after history, is physics with Mr. Giromini. And Gabe. Actually, Gabe sits right in front of me. By this time, Mr. Giromini had noticed to what purpose Gabe was putting his tape, (or at least figured it out from how he was asking everyone if they were sick,) and demanded he return it, claiming it was a waste of tape. Gabe argued that he was protecting the entire immune-system-less junior class, but inevitably, Mr. Giromini triumphed. He had to return the tape, then Mr. Giromini began class. Partway through the class, when he was concluding one of his tangents, (I think it was about Evan's request to go to the ocean to study waves, instead of using examples like radio waves and Slinkies) I said, "Mr. Giromini, I motion to give Gabe back the tape." He insisted it was a waste, to which I responded, "But it's a funny waste, so it's not a waste at all." This made him think it over momentarily, but it was for naught. So this was the end of Gabe's mission from Harvey; now we just have to hope that the weekend can purge the junior class of the Plague.