Jason's Quarantine

Chapter 1

Jason was just about done packing. He was headed back home to take care of his mom. There was a new virus that everyone was worried about so him and his roommate decided to leave their apartment to be with their parents and help them get through it. Jason wasn't sure what was to come but he had always felt dedicated to his family, especially his mom and figured he'd do whatever he could to protect her and help her get by.

He packed up his bags, said goodbye, and left. On the bus ride home, he had to wear a mask. He thought it was all so crazy and truthfully, he was a bit scared. His sister had moved away and couldn't get home with all the flights getting cancelled. Luckily Jason was closer to home. He really just wanted to be with his mom... to help her, of course.

Jason was thinking about the state of things and worried about everything going on in the world. An older woman walking past asked him "Are you ok darling?"

Jason jumped, not expecting to be spoken to. "Oh, um...yeah I'm fine, thanks" he said.

"Are you by yourself or are mom or dad nearby?" the kind lady questioned.

"I'm going to my mom's house now, actually" Jason responded.

"Oh, that's good, best not to be on your own too long. It can get scary for a young one like yourself." She smiled at him and took her seat. Jason rolled his eyes and felt his cheeks turn red from embarrassment. Luckily his mask hid them.

This wasn't the first time Jason had been mistaken for being younger. He had a sandy blonde hair cut short on the sides and longer hair on top that came to rest just above his eyebrows. He knew it was more fitting of a younger boy, but he always liked how it looked and it did not require a lot of maintenance. The thing he didn't like about himself was how small he was. He always had been a bit shorter and skinnier than his classmates. Try as he might, he just couldn't put on weight. His landlord had to check his ID three times before he would believe Jason was as old as he said he was.

******

Jason arrived at the station, grabbed his bag, and began searching for his mom's car. She was picking him up. Finally, he spotted her.

"Mom!" Jason shouted as he ran to her.

"Oh, honey come here!" she said lovingly as she wrapped her arms around him in a big hug. Onlookers saw what looked to be a young adolescent embracing his mom, who stood a good deal taller than him. She grabbed one of his bags and led him to the car.

"Take off that mask and let me see that adorable little face!" she said to her son.

"Ugh mom it's been like one minute and you're already telling me what to do?" Jason groaned as he took off the mask.

"Well excuse me for wanting to see my handsome little man," she retorted. The drive home did not take very long and soon Jason was unpacking the car.

"Now I want you to take your clothes and bring them right to the washer machine. Who knows what kind of germs are going around right now! I want to clean everything you bring into the house. Also, I need you to take a shower before you start getting settled in," his mom instructed Jason.

Jason thought this was reasonable enough and brought his luggage to the laundry room and set it down. He meandered upstairs and passed his old bedroom on his way to the bathroom. He had to do a double take when he saw what his room looked like.

Inside his old bedroom was a room fit for a toddler boy. The floor had a big rug with streets and different buildings drawn on it. The bed had a cute comforter of cartoon dogs on it in various colors. The red and white wardrobe had different figures and trucks on top of it. The wallpaper was baby blue and white clouds were spread throughout. There was a small brown chest at the foot of the bed and some sort of table or desk in the corner, Jason wasn't sure what it was.

"Mom, what did you do to my room?!" Jason exclaimed.

"Oh, remember I had it redone for Teddy?" she replied.

Jason remembered now. His mom had indeed told him she was redoing the room for his younger cousin so she could help take care of him when his aunt needed help. Teddy was developmentally delayed and even though he was 13 (and practically the same size as Jason), he still acted much younger and had lots of needs that normal 13-year-olds didn't. If Jason had remembered this, maybe he would not have been as eager as he was to rush home. But what did it matter, it was just some decorations right? Jason thought.

Jason got into the shower as his mother requested and tried to get every nook and cranny to not accidentally infect his mom with anything. He was using a great smelling pink body wash that was in the shower already, probably leftover from his sister.

"Honey, I'm here just grabbing your clothes! You know I don't mind as it is not something I haven't seen before but I know how fussy you get when I accidentally see you naked," his mom explained.

"Ugh mom! Just let me know when you leave!" Jason responded. She had only seen him naked a handful of times since he was very young and usually that was when he was changing, and she barged into his room. She had a habit of not knocking.

"Ok sweety I'm leaving now, I left a towel in here for you. Feel free to grab some clothes from your closet since I need to wash all your other ones." She said as she closed the door.

Jason finished showering and dried off. With the towel wrapped around his waist, he wandered back to his room. He was not sure what his mom was referring to as he did not think he left any clothes behind when he moved out last year, but he figured he must've left some in the closet. When he peered in, he was shocked.

There were rows and rows of shorts, t-shirts, pajamas, overalls, socks, briefs, and all sorts of clothes befitting a young toddler, or Teddy. All of the clothes had some sort of pattern or cartoon characters on them and looked pretty babyish to Jason. He didn't see any old clothes of his and that's when he began to panic. All of his clothes were in the laundry room and his mom took his clothes he was wearing before. Did his mom actually expect him to wear these clothes?