Positive

3

A phone call wakes me up this morning. Without opening my eyes, I reject it. It doesn't take long until my phone rings again, this time the vibration is even more annoying. I take a look at the caller ID and reject it, and then look at the time. 10 a.m. No wonder Mr. Boss is calling to remind me about my latest assignment.

My head is pounding terribly. I couldn't sleep last night. The thought of not being able to take part in the important things next week, and the butterfly effects that might come has been haunting me. Plus, I drank freaking iced coffee latte, not a smart move for a good night sleep.

I open my laptop, send the document to Chester, and then head back to bed. Just before I close my eyes, there is a loud bang on my door. Kiara's raspy voice is heard, calling my name. She cried last night, loudly. Another reason why I couldn't sleep.

I put on my mask and open the door.

"Your superior wants to have a word." Kiara points her phone screen at me.

I roll my eyes. "He's your superior too."

"Alana, do you mind to pick up your phone?" asks Chester through the speaker, in a quite formal way.

"Why? I've sent it by the way, if you're asking about that." Oops, that came out too harsh. I didn't mean to be that sarcastic.

"I need to talk to you privately."

"See, he's more your superior than mine," says Kiara who is now leaning on my door jamb.

"Hey, I'm your superior too," says Chester in a protesting tone.

"Alright, you're Alana's organizational husband. I'm just your kid," says Kiara, giving up.

Chester snorts from the speaker as I roll my eyes and shake my head. Well don't be so surprised, I always work with him. Sometimes there are three of us, with the head treasurer, but people spot the two of us more often.

Kiara leaves after I agree to pick up Chester's call. I huff and hop back to my bed. Not long after that, my phone rings and I pick it up.

"Thank you for sending the list." Chester begins the conversation with some sarcasm. Wow, the formality from two-three minutes ago has gone to trash. I know why, he has seen the document therewith my real result. The truth.

I close my eyes and sigh. "I'm sorry I lied."

"Spare the shit, Al. I knew you were lying." Chester sounds pissed now.

"How?" I raise an eyebrow.

Chester chuckles sarcastically. "Simple. That wasn't the reaction you make when you get negative result."

Oops, busted. I'm not a good actress, am I?

"And Alana, I thought by now you should've known that I know you more than enough. You can't work without deadline."

I nod. "But I did it anyway."

"Exactly. The normal Alana would force me to give a certain deadline."

Woah, he's right. I didn't even realize it. A part of me is feeling guilty but there's another part that isn't. "Yeah. I'm sorry."

"No need to apologize, lady," he sighs rather loudly. "What I don't understand is, why? Why did you lie?"

There's a glimpse of disappointment hanging in his voice. I never lie to Chester, usually I just don't say anything. To my surprise, the realization that I lied to him is bothering me.

Chester Henderson is one of few people I trust the most, even more than my parents. Not that I don't trust them, I just don't feel comfortable in sharing secrets, personal stuffs with them. I know this guy is a dick most of the times but he is actually kind at heart. My trust in Chester is mutual, there is a reason why he chose me as the head secretary. I can imagine how disappointed he is. It feels like I broke my own trust.

"I think I was jealous of you... and scared," I shrug, my voice trembles. "I'm sorry, Chester."

Chester lets out a long sigh in the other end of line. "Listen, Al. Everything's gonna be alright, okay? I'm gonna –"

I squeeze my eyes shut and shake my head. "No, you don't know that! For you everything is alright! You're not stuck for two weeks with a death sentence. You're out there. You're not the one who's powerless!"

Some teardrops have escaped my eyes while rage has taken over me. What I said isn't wrong, is it? Chester doesn't know how it feels to look at a positive test result. Just like I don't know how I should react if my result were negative.

"You're right, but diagnosed with Covid-19 is not a death sentence, Alana," Chester's tone softens. There is a weird effect that comes with it, I calm down a bit. "You're also right. I'm out here and not powerless, so I'm gonna do whatever I can to sort things out. You understand?"

While my breath returns to its normal pace, I wipe my tears and say yes.

"Now open your camera."

I furrow my eyebrows. This is unexpected. What is the relation between sorting things out and switching the audio call to video?

"Why?"

"I'm out here. Outside."

I jump into sitting position. "What?"

"Accept to switch and take a look."

I do as he says and there he is. His camera is shooting at my apartment door.

"What are you doing?" I ask, letting loose a slight smirk.

"Recognize this?" he says, teasing.

I nod while the curve on my lips expands.

"Alright, I'm dropping this here for the two of you." Chester is bending down to put a paper bag and takes out a smaller bag from the one he puts before my door. "I'm heading to Kyle's after this," he says as he flips the camera to his face.

"Two? How do you know there are two patients here? I just sent the list a few minutes ago."

"Kiara texted me this morning. By the time I got out today, I only knew that Kyle spread the virus to two people. And just when I was downstairs, the number grows to eight."

"Oh."

"You better get this soon before someone else steal it," Chester says as he walks back toward the stair.

"Aw, you can be sweet. I don't get why Tori left you," I tease him as I put on my mask and open my bedroom door to get the package.

Chester rolls his eyes. "Lori."

"Yeah, whatever." Actually, Chester's girls aren't that many, but it is not my obligation to remember their names. Oh I didn't make it sound like he's a fuck boy, did I? Well, he's not. All those girls, he only date one at a time. He just happened to move on easily. Unfortunately it doesn't apply with this Tori/Lori. She really broke him.

"Enjoy your breakfast. I'm off to Kyle's."

Chester waves then walks down the staircase as he sees me open my door. There is approximately 5 meters of distance between my apartment door and the stairs. I wave him back, close the door and put the package on the dining table.

"Oh you sweet dictator. Send my best gratitude to Kyle."

Chester shakes his head but a smirk still forms in his face. Not that I can see beneath his mask, it's his eyes that's telling me so. "You're the queen of sarcasm."

"Thank you." I curtsy, even though the camera only shows my face.

"Listen, you're allowed to feel angry at him, or feel anything. Maybe I'd feel the same if I were you. But I need you to know that he's already blaming himself. So, like, don't spit it to his face. Just support each other, okay?"

I nod and thank him genuinely before he hangs up. I open the paper bag from Chester and take out two boxes, one for me and one for Kiara. He even labeled the boxes. I call Kiara and tell her about the package, and then I open my box. There are three bottle of vitamins, a pack of teabags, and a takeout wrap from the café near his place.

There is also a small note, saying 'I have one more job for you: RECOVER SOON'.