Rhonda's Room

Rhonda’s Room

It was Rhonda’s room and it was a direct reflection of her personality and intelligence.  

On one wall, there were pictures of the cosmos and atoms and Albert Einstein.  The planets were painted into the blue universal sky and appeared very real.

On a different wall, there was a forest deep, mysterious and serene. If one looked very closely a unicorn was hiding behind one of the giant redwoods.

Another wall featured classic cars including a red Ferrari S.p.A., a silver Alfa Romeo Guiletta Spider, a yellow Ford Mustang Convertible, a blue Shelby Cobra 289, a white Sunbeam Tiger Mark I, and a gold Lamborghini.

The last wall was devoted to pictures of the past, days at the beach, at the amusement park, in high school with her friends, and lots of other photos of a time that seemed so distant.  The pandemic had totally destroyed her social and family life.

There had been one wave after another until the authorities had no other choice but to sequester everyone to their houses. There were police officers that patrolled the streets during the curfew that was an all-day restraint.  A person had to have a superior and very urgent reason to leave their abode.

The only link to the outside world was technology and that had been cut off to one single newscast that came on three times a day.  Nobody worked or went to school or visited. Even if a relative died, there was no authorization to be able to go to the funeral.

The quarantine was to last one complete year.  It was the first day of January and she was dressed like the baby new year holding a torch of hope.

Rhonda was a fun-loving redhead teenage girl who didn’t want to stay in the room for one year.  She was young and hadn’t seen her boyfriend in about three months. She hoped that he was still alive.

The authorities had cut out the use of computers and cell phones in order to block riots and uprisings.

“This life sucks,” announced Rhonda.

She couldn’t even walk around her own house because her father had been tested positive with Covid-19 and even though he had recovered nobody was allowed to gather.  So her mother, her father, her brother and sister all had their own separate rooms and were not allowed to visit.

She could hear them move around and sometimes her younger sister shouted through the walls.  There were cameras installed all over the house and they were being watched. Any breach of protocol meant that they would be removed. There was also a full-time ‘monitor’ in the house that made the meals and brought them to each individual.

The small TV in Rhonda’s room was on her twenty-four/seven. There was absolutely no privacy to be had whatsoever.   

“I am ready to go out of my mind and the major lockdown started like an hour ago.  How am I going to last a whole year?”

“You need to find things to do,” said the voice on the other side of the TV.

“Easy for you to say.”

“Why don’t you read a book?  Or draw a picture?  You could always exercise or have a nap?”

“Thanks for the suggestions.”

She sat in her chair and looked outside. Her view was that of the neighbour where her arch rival Doug Howard lived. He was always pestering her and at night when she did exercises in her panties, the young girl had to keep the blinds down. He was a peeping Tom.

Suddenly, his face appeared and he grinned at her.  Rhonda gave him the International salute and closed the blinds.

The days moved on.

It was January 17 and her dad’s birthday.  She made him a card and put hearts all over it. Then she buzzed the monitor and explained everything.

The monitor, a woman named Sharon, smiled and then shook her head.

“I’m sorry, there is to be no communication between family members of any kind.”

She ripped the card in half.

“Hey, I worked really hard on that.”

“I am sure you did.”

A few weeks went by.

It was Valentine’s Day and she had a broken heart.  Usually on that day, the family gathered as everyone had bought a little something for a secret name that had been drawn out of a hat.  But, there was none of that. So she made herself a card and gave it to herself.

“This really sucks.”

For the first time ever, she had a boyfriend and he had promised to take her out to a nice restaurant, some flowers and candy, and a romantic stroll by the seashore. None of that was going to happen.

It was about a week later.

It was Mardi Gras and every year her father brought home at least a dozen paczkis.  They were the most delicious donuts in the world and guaranteed to destroy anyone’s diet.  This year, there were no yummy donuts or big feast.

It was thirty-eight days later.

It was Good Friday and usually the family went out for a fish dinner at the local wharf restaurant.  Of course, this was cancelled.  She could still hear them but couldn’t speak to any of her own family members.  The night before her sister had started to scream and the monitor came in and gave her a tranquilizer.  Sharon had the authority to do that.

At least, she had figured out how to mute the TV.

Two days later, it was Easter and there was no chocolate bunny. Now, Rhonda was past the age of receiving such trifle gifts, but every year or mother bought all three of them a treat for the day.  There was a special meal and relatives came over. Her cousin Mindy who was the same age always knew how to have fun. They had a great time together 

“I wonder how Mindy is doing?”

A couple of weeks later it was her sister’s birthday.  She pounded on the wall in her own morse code trying to wish the girl a happy day.  The monitor showed up and seemed angry.

“Quit that pounding on the wall or I will report you.”

“Hey, this is my house and you can’t tell me what to do.”

“Yes, I can.”

She left in a huff.

The days slipped away.  She did the online school stuff, but that was so boring. No communication was allowed.

It was Mother’s Day.  That was one of the special days of the year. They always went on a picnic and it was one of six days that the three kids never fought.  She cried that day not being able to hang out with her mom.

It was Memorial Day and usually that meant a day off school.  She and Mindy might get together and go do something fun, maybe even wild and crazy.  They were known to really let their hair down.

It was a couple of days later and it was Rhonda’s prom year. She probably would have gone with her boyfriend, but if that hadn’t worked out the rumour was that Jake LeForge was going to ask her out, She would have died on the spot if that hunky basketball player actually delivered.

Things got worse as the month rolled on. It was Father’s Day and oh how she missed her dad. It wasn’t fair. They all went fishing just to humour him and one year Rhonda was the only one to catch any fish. 

Father’s Day gave way to Independence Day. It was July the Fourth, the Nation’s birthday.  That usually meant a day at the beach, a barbecue and fireworks at night.  But, of course that wasn’t going to happen.  That creep Doug threw a couple of fire crackers out the window, It was so lame.

The summer was long, agonizing and so boring.  There wasn’t even homework to do.  They showed movies every night but they were rated PG for little kids and families, which didn’t make sense because nobody could be together.

August was one of the hottest months on record.  It clicked off one slow, burning day after another.  

It was Labour Day and usually that meant another year of school. This was going to be Rhonda’s senior year and there had been a lot of plans. It was going to be a banner year.

Two weeks later, it was her brother’s birthday and although they had their fair share of differences, the two still loved one another. He could be really cool sometimes.

The days started to get shorter and the harvest moon hung out in the sky one night. It was spectacular.  Although they were not farmers the cultivating season was one of her favourite times of the year.

It was almost Halloween. But, a few days before the witchy holiday, it was her birthday.  

“This is the crappiest birthday ever!”

On Halloween night, she got dressed up like a murderer and opened the blinds and threatened Doug. It was the most fun she had all year long.  She actually scared the guy.

A month later, it was Thanksgiving and the Black Friday event wasn’t going to happen. She loved to stand outside a store at some ungodly hour with Mindy and her sister and mother and aunt waiting for the place to open. It was such a rush.

The days came rushing past building a climax.  

It was Christmas Eve and the family usually gathered around the fireplace in the den with the stocking hung up and the tree tall and full all decorated in total seasonal splendour.  

But, there was no big meal or presents or mistletoe or anything fun.

The restraining order was about to be lifted. She couldn’t wait.

It was New Year’s Eve. The monitor came by.

“It was a pleasure to be your monitor.  I had a great time.”

“I am sure you did,” answered Rhonda.

She left.

On the first day of January, the entire family ran out of their rooms at the first minute of the new year and danced around, hugged and cried.

“I love all of you,” screamed Rhonda.