Is there life after Covid-19?

James yawned wearily this morning. He glanced at his alarm clock. There were two minutes to eight, it’s time to enter the online class. He opened his laptop; the buttons clicked softly under his numb hands. Password... E‑mail... Access... Enter... he muttered to himself. Boom! He was in the class. On the screen appeared the tired face of the teacher; many people's skin has been affected by the excessive use of the internet.

- Good morning, eighth grade! Are you here? 

Can you hear me?... Eighth grade?- the teacher's voice was quieter and quieter, for James, creating his own happiness, quickly muted her down, and slipped out from behind the turned-off microphone and camera to have breakfast. 

He looked back for the last time from the stairs to hear the clamor that proved that he had an online class right now. 

At the breakfast table sat Christopher, his younger brother, who tucked into delicious scrambled eggs in front of the screen, of course with his camera turned off. He also had an online school. His earbuds were deeply drilled in his ears, which were already accustomed to the disadvantages of online education. 

He took his muesli bowl off the shelf and poured the ice-cold milk over the mouth-watering sweets. 

- What class do you have now, James? – asked a disheveled woman who had come in. 

- English… I mean Math… I don’t know. She smiled. 

- How diligent boys I have… I’m wondering what were they doing in the face-to-face school?

The boys looked at each other and started giggling.

- What? Have we ever been disobedient children…? No, mommy, we were like two angels.

James ate slowly, why would he have been in a hurry? He looked at his watch and saw that his English or Math class has been going for 30 minutes. It's time to go up, he thought. So he ran up the stairs and turned the teacher back on. 

- Okay, that's it for today. I'll put your homework in the group, please send me the solutions this afternoon. Have a nice day.

- Have a nice day!- he shouted back. In fact, these little words symbolized his entire presence and activity throughout the classes. He was always first to say good-bye; before everyone else did. He acted as if he was actually there, even though behind the turned-off microphone and camera he was busy with his own important things. 

His second class was Biology. He had to wait for the names to be read out because of the presence. But after shouting the famous "I’m here!" he disappeared without a trace into a corner of the room. 

This is how James’ days passed, until a Saturday when he had entered the house and heard the followings. The news said, "The virus is over! The Covid-19 is gone, it's gone forever! Everything will go back to the way it was." He quickly turned on another channel; He couldn't hear this bad news. But, everywhere the same news was blared. "The Covid-19 is over! The coronavirus is no more! Schools, shops, salons, restaurants, everything’s going to open again! The normal world is back! It's going to be like it used to be. You can visit your relatives and loved ones. You can walk without masks and meet your friends!"

James felt like he was in a nightmare. His hands trembled, his stomach cramped when he thought he had to return to school, the real, face-to-face school.

-No, it can't happen. It can't be over, not yet! The virus is still here, we can't go out!- he shouted!!! They're lying, they're all lying!

But with or without a nervous child, the school has begun. Shops, hotels, salons have opened. Indeed, everything was back to normal. It was terrible; he had to get up at 7:00 a.m., wander to school, and worst of all, the classes demanded full attention or at least physical presence. There was no escape... There was no excuse...

It was true that the Covid-19 was gone, but the world never came back to normal. Students often used to say their microphones didn't work when the teacher asked them. Some children, when they were questioned, they said that the internet was too bad, and they didn't hear the lesson... in the classroom... in face-to-face school.

The students like James when the first class began, were so used not to be there that they simply stood up and went out for “breakfast”. It became common for teachers to recall students, but after a while, it became very unpleasant.

Other students waited mutely at the school gates for their fever to be measured. 

The porter has been saying all morning, "keep going, we are not measuring your fever anymore." Students and adults alike, poked their ears and faces as if they were bothered by the mask; some have already wanted to complain.

A lot of people were very happy about the change. Finally, the world they knew, in which they were raised, was back. They were happy to walk the streets again. Their eyes were filled with satisfaction, their hearts with gratitude. Some gathered and, after a celebration dinner, set fire to all their masks. It was a symbol of how hard it was to get through the virus, but they survived and even defeated it. 

They didn't buy 80 pounds of flour and sugar on Fridays, just before the holidays as they used to in the past. They started ironing, and even planting flowers in the garden. The Hawaiian vacation pictures were taken again at the real scene, not against a notched background. Everyone's house was glowing with cleanliness, so when guests will arrive, won’t gossip them out. Yes, everything's exactly the way it used to be...

They couldn't appreciate the freedom and nature, even though they knew exactly how it was when they were deprived of it... Maybe that's how it's always going to be. Today's people will be empty forever...

James walked tired on the road. There was a flood of busy people rushing down the street. Yes, he thought to himself, the old world is back. 

He was, personally, getting used to the new order or rather the old one. But knowing that t a pandemic was over felt so strange. He knew what it was like to be scared of rumors all day. He was afraid to go out because he could infect his loved ones. He was especially worried about his grandmother. What if she gets sick? Will she be cured or die like the other 10,000 people?! It was awful; He wouldn't have wished for that state for anyone, not even his greatest enemy...

He looked at Christopher; He was only in fourth grade, but he's been through so much.

But he felt even much sorry for Marc, the little brother in kindergarten. The poor child did not understand the world. He didn't know anything else before the Covid-19. For him, it was normal to wear a mask, not to go outside, and not to kiss his grandmother’s face. He started crying when mom took the mask off his face when they went shopping. "Mom, we're going to get sick, and grandma's going to die!" He kept saying this. He didn't know the old world that came back.

He was as terrified of the mask being taken off as the whole world had been a few years ago when they had to put it on and wear it all the time. 

Poor young generation... How confused they have been. Yesterday, it was strictly forbidden to take the mask off, get your feet out of the house, and today everyone sends you to school and no one covers their faces.

James was sadly staring out of his class window. He was as deaf as a rock and didn’t hear the teacher’s screaming voice. Everything was blurry in front of his eyes, he only saw a few workers passing by, while he was holding a disintegrating mask under his bench…