katherine wasn't paying much attention to her surroundings as she walked through the courtyard. her attention was consumed mostly by her thoughts which were reflecting on the seminar and the information she had gained from it.

it wasn't until she heard a voice behind her when she was pulled out of her thoughts. "hey!"

she looked over her shoulder, finding an unfamiliar boy around her age approaching her. she wasn't sure what he wanted, but she stopped and turned anyways as he grew closer.

"you're katherine, right?" he asked, to which she nodded, unsure how he knew her. "my pal davey knows ya." he paused, slipping his hands into the pockets of his sweatshirt. "the name's jack."

"nice to meet you, jack," katherine said, giving him a soft smile. she was still unsure what he wanted and why he stopped her, but she stayed quiet, waiting for him to continue.

"so—uh—i just wanted to say," he began, averting his eyes from her, "you made some interestin' points back there. i was curious... what makes ya think that way?"

katherine chuckled beneath her breath, looking down at the ground before bringing her eyes to his. "i don't know. it's like a little voice in the back of my head, i guess?"

jack nodded. "i get that."

there was a brief period of awkward silence before katherine cleared her throat and asked, "so are you a student here?"

"nah," jack answered. "i ain't a big school person. never was." he paused, sensing the tension in the atmosphere. "so you big on the fervoria thing?"

katherine hummed thoughtfully in response. "kind of? i've just always found it an interesting topic. like... why do we prohibit an emotion that we're all innately born with, you know?" she sighed. "not that i don't agree with the researchers. they obviously know a lot more than i do. but... it's such an intriguing thing to think about."

"yeah," jack replied, shifting the weight on his feet. "it is interestin'. you seem to know a lot 'bout it, too."

katherine chuckled softly, "i guess. like i said, i've just always been intrigued by it."

once again, silence fell between them. it was longer than the previous period of silence, but it wasn't as tense. a few moments passed before jack spoke up one last time, "anyways—uh—i just wanted to meet ya and ask you 'bout that. i'll get goin' now."

"okay," katherine said, smiling once more at him. "it was nice talking to you, jack."

"yeah, you too."

"see you around."

and with that, katherine turned back around, continuing on her path back home.

jack watched her as she walked off, thinking back on her words before turning around himself.

he focused on a specific part of what she said: that little voice in the back of her head. could it be that she felt the same way as him? did she also not understand it, but was only acting that way because the vaccination was in her system?

he had no way of knowing, but he wished he did know.

~•~•~•~

"a 25 year-old female and 26 year-old male were under investigation this past week due to suspicions that they have been meeting secretly. investigators suspect that their fervoria vaccinations proved to be ineffective."

katherine was casually listening in to the tv as her brother ralph watched it. she was working on an essay for one of her classes, but as she heard the news story, she looked up, her attention caught by the subject.

"the individuals have both admitted that they felt an attraction to one another, but were too fearful to report it to their physicians. as a result, the symptoms only became more severe."

"such a shame," ralph said with an exhale. "it's upsetting that there's the stigma surrounding it where people are afraid to report symptoms."

"because they don't want to be judged for it?" katherine questioned.

ralph nodded. "think about it. if word got out that someone we knew was experiencing fervoria symptoms and that they were attracted to another person, wouldn't you be worried they'd come down with fervoria again?"

"that makes sense," katherine replied thoughtfully. "i guess it would be a tainted reputation."

"there's no escaping it once you're showing symptoms," ralph sighed. "either your reputation is tainted by a diagnosis or it's tainted by an investigation."

katherine thought over that. if she were to show symptoms of fervoria, what would she do?

her first instinct would be to tell someone, but what if that person told others? what terrified her the most was how her father would potentially react if the news reached him. katherine knew he insisted all the pulitzer children receive the lmd, but the thought of receiving the device unnerved her. receiving the lmd would mean her mind was being tampered with.

that was when katherine realized that if she were coming down with symptoms, she would most likely keep it a secret. after all, if she ever felt uneasy about her emotions, she could simply receive the vaccination again. no one would have to know except her.

she only hoped she would never show symptoms.

"i'm more concerned about lucille," ralph said. "father's mentioned several times that her mind is the most vulnerable."

"lucy knows better," katherine told him. "she knows how to control her emotions if they grow out of control."

"but fervoria is unpredictable," ralph replied. "it's different for everyone. no one knows what symptoms they'll show if they have it, or even just how to prevent it if the vaccination fails."

"then i guess that's where you just have to hope your mind doesn't fail you."

~•~•~•~

when fervoria was first recognized as a serious disease, several protesters rose up to express their disapproval.

one group of protesters who called themselves the "looking glasses" became especially significant when they launched spontaneous riots across the nation once the vaccination was introduced.

this group promoted what they called "the beauty of love and the joys that come with it." the protesters were quickly shut down and their beliefs were squashed and deemed as inappropriate.

however, rumor says this group still exists as an underground organization, working to return society back to what it once was.