Grounded in Quarantine

Sitting at his desk on what seems like the 96th day of quarantine, Seth opens up his iPad, getting ready to sign in for virtual class yet again. He stares at the screen, thinking of his password. Does he really have to do this again? Seth secretly loves his school work, but it just isn’t the same without his friends, without the chance to walk the halls, even without the chance to indulge in bad, greasy cafeteria pizza. Max, the black lab by his side, puts his head in Seth’s lap and looks at him with longing eyes. 

“Hey, buddy, I’ll take you out as soon as I finish this lesson, okay?” 

Max lets out a soft whimper and lays down at Seth’s feet.

Okay—focus, focus, focus. Seth enters his passcode and signs into the classroom portal. Seth sees today’s writing assignment: 

In 500-1000 words, describe what animal you would be if

you could be any animal and why? 

Just the prompt he needs as he grabs Max’s leash for a little hands-on research.

As he approaches the front door, his mom hollers, “Seth, no, not until you complete at least one assignment; you know what we agreed to.”

“Mom, this is part of the assignment.” 

“Nice try, mister. I will take Max out. You get back to work.” 

Seth stomps back to his bedroom. What animal would I be? Really? 

Seth turns to the math tab instead. Maybe some problem-solving will help him focus. Math could be boring, but for him it is an easy subject. There is always a right answer even if you have to search for it. He actually loves the really tough problems, the ones where you have to think so hard your forehead scrunches and your eyes crinkle. Seth breezes through the day’s assignment, only having to struggle over one algebra equation. He hits send and heads once again for the front door, grabbing Max on his way.

The air is crisp, but the sun is shining, the perfect day to hit the trail with Max. 

“Seth?”

“Mom, I just sent in my math homework. I get to take a break now. It’s what we agreed to.” 

“Okay. Remember the rules though—not too far and no contact with anyone else.”

“Mom. I know.” 

He heads out the front door with Max, now on a leash. Across the front porch, he spots his best friend Lucy and heads in her direction. 

“Seth,” his dad yells from the front door. “Six feet apart!”

“Dad. I know.” 

“Hi Lucy. Say hi to your moms for me.”

“I will Mr. Russo.” 

It was getting so ridiculous having his parents always under foot. He knows the rules. They’d gone over them a million times. And he understands the consequences. But no matter how many times he tells them, they just won’t let up. 

“Hey Seth,” Lucy calls from her front steps.

“Hey Lucy. Are you parents being as insane as mine?”

“Oh yeah. If Mom tells me to wash my hands or Mama takes my temperature one more time, you’ll be able to hear my screams at your house.”

“I hear you. I never thought I’d say this, but I really miss school. I even miss Mr. Fritz.”

Lucy laughs. “Now you’ve gone too far, Seth. No one misses Mr. Fritz. Ever.” 

“Lucia, who are you talking to? You know you can’t be with your friends right now,” shouts Lucy’s mom as she comes out the front door. “Oh, hi Seth. How is your family?”

“We’re all going bonkers, Mrs. Rivera. But at least we’re eating a lot of pasta and chocolate chip cookies!”

Mrs. Rivera laughs. “No one’s counting carbs now. Stay safe. And stay on your porch, Seth. I don’t want to see you any closer to Lucia or anyone else outside your family right now.”

“Mom, really?,” Lucy says. “Seth, I’ll see you later. I’m going to go work on our writing assignment.” 

Seth waves goodbye, puts on his mandatory face mask, and grabs Max’s leash. “Come on boy. Let’s hit the trail.” 

Seth needs time to clear his head and to be by himself for just a bit. It is all weird. He is so lonely, but so desperate for some alone time.

He misses seeing his friends face-to-face. He misses crashing Lucy’s house at dinner time, especially when Mrs. Rivera makes her famous chicken chilaquiles. He misses track practice even though he struggles to keep up with his teammates. And, yes, he even misses Mr. Fritz, their nutty English teacher. 

But, he never seems to be able to get enough time alone either. His mom and dad are always there, reminding him of “what they agreed to.” Always looking over his shoulder any time he tries to talk to Lucy. And always asking how many assignments he has submitted that day. He feels trapped, with no escape hatch. 

At least he has his walks with Max. And he can still talk to Lucy, even if it has to be yelling at each other across their yards. 

Back at his desk that afternoon, Seth tries his writing assignment one more time, Max still under foot. Would he be a dog? He feels a tinge of guilt, knowing that the answer is no. Max pushes his tennis ball towards Seth’s feet, cajoling for another round of fetch. No, Seth would be an eagle. Flying free above it all, able to soar across the world with everything in his sight and nothing holding him back. He tries to put the words down on the page, but Max is relentless. 

“Ok, Max, but only for a few minutes.”

Seth grabs the ball and quietly sneaks out the back door with Max. He only gets in two throws before his dad heads out.

“Hey, Seth. How are today’s assignments going?”

“Great, Dad. I just need a little break.” 

“How many have you submitted?”

Seth takes a deep breath. As much as he wants to, he just can’t be untruthful with his father. 

“Just one. I finished my math, but I’m stuck on today’s writing assignment. I know what I want to say, but I’m just not getting the words out. And Max wants to play.”

“I’m having a hard time focusing now too, buddy. Guess that’s why I’m out here, pestering you instead of sitting at my laptop getting my own work done. What do you say we play with Max together for a few more minutes and then we both get back to work?” 

Dinner tonight is one of Seth’s favorites, spaghetti with red meat sauce. Seth joins hands with his parents, and, together, they say grace before digging in. The dinner table is different tonight. Family dinners used to have lots of chatter about everyone’s day and activities. But now, the table is quiet. Having spent every minute of the day together, there isn’t much new to share. And, after weeks of endless talk of the pandemic, there is a new part of the agreement. No talk of the virus or sickness or politics at the dinner table any more. So tonight there is only the sound of fork against plate against pasta spoon. The pasta is delicious but Seth is relieved when his mom declares dinner over.

“Seth, you’ve got dish duty tonight. Dad and I are going to go for a walk. We’ll take Max.” 

Seth is happy to do the dishes if the reward is a few minutes alone in the house. He turns on his music and turns it up. His phone dings, a text message from Lucy. 

Porch talk time? I’m bored

Five minutes. Just finishing up dishes

When Seth gets outside, Lucy is already in her lawn chair on her front porch. Seth settles into his. This is their new nightly ritual. And tomorrow will be the same. All over again.