Teaching gave me purpose in life, and I did it well. 

Every year my students gave me stellar evaluations, and I prided myself on a high retention rate and attendance quotient. Bearing that in mind, one might imagine my shock as my class size drifted over the next week from a healthy fifteen to a handful of students on Wednesday. 

Today? Two. 

Two whole students. Even though we sat in a medium-sized conference room, they sat on opposite ends with apologetic glances. Sasha greeted Mei, who gave a friendly smile in return.

So much for the group work I'd designed. Discussion wasn't tenable either. Though Sasha was one of the most outspoken students of the class who always raised their hand, Mei preferred to listen and take notes diligently.

This is getting ridiculous. I can't teach under these conditions. 

"Do both of you mind if I open windows?" Sasha asked me. "I know it's cold, but the experts say it might help with the COVID."

Cold? It was six degrees and rainy with it. Honestly, I wasn't sure if opening the windows would even help. Or was I condemning them to get pneumonia simply to avoid COVID?

I cast a wary look at my other student, Mei, and asked her if she agreed. She nodded. But I wasn't sure if she was simply trying to be polite. She put her jacket back on and zipped it.

If it helped them to feel safer...

"Of course," I said. 

After Sasha opened all the windows, they used hand sanitiser. Pretty sure they'd already found some before the pandemic. 

Now one couldn't get any for love or money. If people didn't calm the eff down, the same could soon be said for toilet paper. Jeez! You'd think it was a Norovirus pandemic.

Can we even run this class with two people? Is it fair to the others who will have to pay? Or to these students? Is this even safe?

"Would you give me one second, please?" I asked the two brave students. "I need to take care of something before we begin. It'll only take two minutes."

They nodded. 

Rushing to my superior's office, I knocked on Chris' door. His messy broom closet of an office had piles of ungraded tests, much-loved textbooks, and haphazard binders. 

Our courses required eighty percent attendance rate to pass, so this was unprecedented. At this rate, barely anyone would pass at all.

"Come in." The balding middle-aged coordinator took one look at me and shuffled his papers with a heavy sigh. "You too, huh?"

"Two students, sitting on opposite ends of the room," I replied. "I know we should teach those who show up, but..."

He shook his head. "Cancel it."

"Just for today?"

"For now, yes. Perhaps longer if things don't improve."

That. Right there. 

That hammered home how bad the virus was getting. Other than the one time I'd been sick with Norovirus and the two times I'd suffered with laryngitis so bad I couldn't croak, I'd never canceled classes. This school hadn't canceled any classes in eight whole years.

Changed tutors? Certainly. Cut classes without demand? Absolutely. 

But never outright canceled ongoing sessions.

"Yes, Chris. Thank you." I pursed my lips. "Sorry about this."

"It isn't your fault, Toria." He sighed. "Let's hope this all blows over soon."

"Yeah..."

Leaving his office with a sickening feeling in my stomach, I went back to the classroom and informed Sasha and Mei. Their expressions revealed both disappointment and relief. This was an intensive class...one that would take place for four hours Monday to Friday for two weeks. 

It was also expensive...about two thousand pounds. Jeez, that was like twenty-five hundred dollars. 

Would tomorrow be any better?

Nope.

On Friday no one showed except Sasha, the last soldier standing. They gave me an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, Toria. I chatted with the others. We love your class. It's just the COVID..."

I gave them a sad smile. "Don't worry, Sasha. You're all doing the right thing. Staying safe and healthy. That's what matters. Please take care going home."

"Don't worry. I walk to avoid the bus."

My heart sank into my stomach when Chris canceled my classes. It was the right thing to do, of course. The students shouldn't have to pay for my time when they couldn't attend. 

"I'm afraid I can only pay you for time taught," said Chris. "For all your classes. We're shutting up shop temporarily until this all blows over."

"I understand."

So much for shoveling myself out of debt. 

Some schools insisted that I stayed even if one student were present. Others asked if I'd be comfortable with distance learning. Some students had migrated, but many had simply canceled, not seeing the value of online language courses. 

With a heavy sigh, I picked up my phone. A notification from Neil!

Normally my heart would rejoice at our little good morning ritual. Followed by a flurry of lunch texts. And then evening texts. But I knew what this email would say before I even opened it. 

The subject line gave it all away.

___

From: Neil Frost
<[email protected]>
To: Victoria Bergwald <[email protected]>
Date: March 6, 2020, 9:15
Subject: Game Night/Hiking Trip

Dear Toria,

Hope you're having a good morning and staying as safe as you can. 

Knowing you, you've probably been keeping up with the news. We had the highest day-on-day rise in cases, and the situation seems to be pretty grim on the continent. 

The guys have decided to migrate to Skype for our weekly game. It's pretty easy to play remotely. If you're up for it, we'd love to welcome you aboard. 😊 Would you like to join?

I'm afraid we should probably postpone the hiking trip until we know more about this virus and how it's transmitted. There seems to be a lot of conflicting information. 

But one thing is for certain. It's no flu.

You and I both interact with a lot of clients. Most of my clients are elderly. Though I've dispensed with handshakes (to the surprise of my colleagues) I don't want to put them at additional risk by meeting with people outside of work. 

Not to mention it would be unfair to expose you or your clients to whatever may be going around here as well. And, of course, I want to protect myself as well.

That being said, I'd like to meet you remotely. Skype perhaps? If you agree of course. 

Let me know what you think. 🐿️🐧

Xx Neil

___

Aww, at least a little ray of sunshine! My heart swelled despite my disappointment. It made sense for us to cancel any meetings in person, but at least we could make it work remotely.

___

From: Victoria Bergwald <[email protected]>
To: Neil Frost
<[email protected]>
Date: March 6, 2020, 9:32
Subject: Game Night/Hiking Trip

Dear Neil,

Thanks for your email. I think you've all made a very sensible decision. It's important for us all to protect ourselves, our families, and our clients. 

Although at this rate, my classes are jumping off a cliff. 😱 It isn't easy for us right now, trying to balance doing our jobs and keeping people safe.

I'd love to join the group online. What a great idea! It's all audio anyway, so there's no real reason why everyone needs to be in the same room. And it'll be great to join the fun. 🎊

Also LOVE your idea about a Skype date. 💃 I don't know what kinds of things you'd like to do because I've never dated remotely before. But we can think outside the box. 

Ya know we could make dinner and eat it together while chatting? Or watch a movie at the same time and chat about it afterward? Or maybe play an online board game together?

Do you have Steam? Or the Switch? 🎮 I have both and Nintendo Online as well. There are also gaming websites that allow you to play Scrabble or other board/card games. 

I know, I know, nerd alert! 🤓

Just not Monopoly or Risk, I beg you! They make me wanna tear my hair out! 😂

There are lots of cool things we can do together. Let me know if anything jumps out at ya, or tell me what you'd like to do.

Hugs,
Toria

___

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Total word count: 15,286/20,000