America: 50☆Stars (Vol. 2)

Episode 37: Better Days (Part 1)

"Good. You've popped my ears," New York grumbles, lowering the speakers slightly.

"Uh, can you hear me?" Delaware becomes the second person to show up to the party, still getting used to the setup. "Can you see me okay?"

"You're good, Delaware," America assures him.

"Yo!" Pennsylvania appears on the screen in a cheerful mood. "Happy birthday, America. I would hug you weren't for this screen and social distancing."

"I mean, we could try."

After America and Pennsylvania hug their computers in a humorous yet caring way, more states within the Eastern Time Zone and Central Time Zone show up to the party, greeting each other and wishing America a happy birthday.

"How you dudes doing?" America asks everyone who has shown up so far.

"I'm doing well," says New Hampshire. "I live in a rural area, so I'm used to seeing not many people around."

"Me, too," Vermont agrees. "Despite all the bad things that have been happening these days, life has been relatively calm for me."

"Honestly, I'm living pretty comfortably right now despite being sick from the economic downturn." Oklahoma sniffles. "I think that's because isolation has allowed me to take my mind off things like work and responsibilities."

"Exactly!" West Virginia exclaims. "I argue quarantine is the best thing to happen to us."

Arkansas gapes at the states who've calmly spoken about their so-called pleasant experiences in quarantine. "Are y'all crazy? How are y'all not dyin' from boredom?"

Vermont cocks his head. "Well, I do get bored from time to time. But thankfully, my cats keep me company, so I don't feel so lonely." One of his cats leaps onto his lap, purring as he scratches behind their soft pointy ears. "You know, it's thanks to them and isolation I've started making cat vlogs and uploading them onto YouTube. People have messaged me how my ten-minute long cat vlogs have helped them get through quarantine. And that makes me feel good and motivated." He cuddles his cat with lots of love and gratitude.

"Hm... That's nice and all, but I don't own any cats, nor do I care to make pet vlogs like a yuppie," he murmurs.

"If it helps expand your horizons, I've been learning new techniques to improve my painting skills." Oklahoma leaves his computer for a moment, coming back to show off a vivid portrait of a Native American wearing a face mask. "I've been thinking of turning this art into a mural. Although, I'm not familiar with street art. I may ask a street artist to do it for me."

"Hm... That's neat and all, but I'm not an artistic person, nor am I fond of making paintings about a virus that kills people."

"How about getting into video games?" New Hampshire suggests. "Rhode Island and I have been using our free time to play all sorts of games. You can play with us. Or, you can play on your own. They're a lot of fun either way."

"Hm... That's cool and all, but I'm not a gaming person." He looks at West Virginia. "What about you?"

"Me?" He scratches the back of his head. "I'm used to isolation since I live all alone in the mountains. So, life is as usual for me. Hunting, hiking, looking for the Mothman, those kinds of things have kept me occupied. Which by the way, don't you like hunting?"

"I do, but I've reached my limit for some game animals. After hunting for many days in a row, I've sadly grown bored of it." He looks at the rest of the states on his screen. "Does anyone have any good ideas on how to solve boredom?"

"How about reading a book?" Delaware suggests.

He laughs mockingly. "Seriously, does anyone have any good ideas?" He stares at various faces on his screen. "What about you, Alabama? What have you been doing during isolation?"