I’m fine. Preoccupied. Things have been busy.”
“You must be getting ready for your trip tomorrow.”
“Yes.”
“And following the spread of the flu?” I handed him sugar for his coffee.
“Yes, that too. It’s hard when something hits this close to home.”
“Close to home?”
He swallowed, hesitating. “There were fatalities in Maryland, hospitalizations in Delaware, and now eight people in New Jersey have been reported sick.”
My heart raced, but I made an effort to remain perfectly still. If I panicked, Dad would clam up. “New Jersey?” I asked with only the slightest tremor in my voice. “I didn’t know that. Near here?”
He stirred his coffee for what seemed like forever.
“Dad?”
“I suppose it’s better if you hear it from me. It struck Morris County. Five people from Portico are ill, plus a young couple from Madison and a man from Florham Park. It will be in today’s paper.”
“What is it exactly?”
“The CDC is working on a definitive diagnosis. They’re trying to determine if the people knew each other, or if these are isolated incidents. The victims had similar symptoms.”
Fear crept up my back on light spidery legs. “What are the symptoms?”
“Typical flu stuff, like fever, cough, fatigue, but they come on fast and fluid builds in the lungs.” He paused.
“Tell me, Dad.”
He sighed. “They’re starting to call it the Blue Flu.”
“Like when the police call in sick instead of striking?” Megs’s mom had explained that to us years ago.
“No. It’s called the Blue Flu because sometimes the lack of oxygen . . . well, in advanced cases, it causes the victims’ skin to change color.”
“Maybe I should stay home from school today.”
He tried to give his reassuring Dad smile. “It’s nothing to worry about, yet,” he said.
Yeah right. Dad just didn’t want me to become an emotional wreck with Mom away. I skipped breakfast and forced myself to get ready for school.
“Don’t forget,” Principal Fryman reminded us during the Friday morning announcements. “Tomorrow is the annual Portico Career Fair. April showers bring May flowers, so get your feet wet this weekend and help support Portico’s ‘Doorway to Learning.’ Remember, it’s our biggest fundraiser of the year. Also, the food drive is still going on. Collection boxes are located in the main lobby. It’s better to give than receive! And, we’re pleased to announce a poster contest sponsored by the Morris County Health Department promoting proper illness etiquette. Sneeze into your sleeve, wash your hands, that kind of thing. Rules and requirements are available at the office. Remember, you have to be in it to win it!”
He ended his announcement with a noisy cough that made me shudder.
I dropped off a box of pasta and three cans of peas for the food drive while on alert for other sounds of illness. I went through the whole morning hyper-aware of any possible germs around me. Each sneeze and every sniffle registered in the paranoid part of my brain. By lunchtime, I drooped with exhaustion. Megs and I ate across from each other at our usual table. The cafeteria noises washed over me and I stopped trying to distinguish the individual sounds.
“Are you all right?” Megs asked.
“Tired, I guess. Feeling anxious, too. What’s up with the illness poster contest?”
“I don’t know. It sounds dumb.”
“Don’t you find it worrisome? Why are they running it now, unless they’re concerned about this flu spreading?”
“You’re spiraling again. Downward descent.”
She was right, of course. But before I could respond, Jay walked by, saying hi to me as he passed on the way to Derek and Ethan’s table. Megs almost knocked over her iced tea. “What was that all about?” she asked. “I didn’t know you guys were buddies.”
“He lives on my street, remember? And we’ve talked at the smoking corner.”
“Hmm. I can see you with someone like him.”
“He’s nice, but