This is so weird, everything is so quiet.

It's already 10am and I'm here outside our house, staring at the empty street. There are no vehicles and people around the area. This place used to be so busy and noisy, and now, it suddenly became a ghost town.

My heart beats faster and sweat runs down my spine. I'm worrying about the bad things that could happen soon. Not just here in America, but in the entire world.

The President announced a state of emergency last night because of the Covid-19 virus. The virus spreads faster in the country, especially in big cities. People started pointing fingers at each other, blaming, arguing, contradicting, and some didn't care at all.

The government is in a desperate race to stop the virus by putting the country under lockdown. They advised residents in all states and cities to stay at home. We may not go to work, go to school, or anywhere. No one may leave the house.

It is very frustrating for everyone, and I really hope this will get over soon.

My best friend, Julia, and I just graduated from college. She has a nursing degree while I have criminology. Why criminology? Because I want to be an FBI agent.

We were very excited to find a proper job until the pandemic happened. It makes us so broke. Yesterday, we cancelled our gym memberships and used up our last Starbuck free coupons.

"Roxanne!"

I turn to mom, Fran, who comes out of the house using the garage door. She's wearing an original Louis Vuitton mask. Obviously, another discarded item from her celebrity employer.

"Hurry. We need to leave before your grandma wakes up." She enters her car without looking at me.

We don't want to bring my granny, Mary, to the supermarket. It is not safe for her age to go out. She is 69 and has comorbidities - hypertensive and diabetes. She is more susceptible to getting the virus easily.

"Put on your mask." Mom says when I settled in her car, a 2008 black Honda Civic.

It used to be dad's car. He bought it a month before he died.

I sighed. The sudden image of dad caught in a fire made my chest feel so heavy. That's a terrible way to die, to suffer slowly in burns, like being thrown in hell. He doesn't deserve such suffering, because he's a very nice sweet man.

The incident happened ten years ago, when I was thirteen. I had a vivid memory of dad's friend/co-firefighter, Elliot, telling us that dad was dead. It was my saddest moment, and mom's too. Her anguish cry was too much to bear, I thought I would lose her too.

"Don't remove it until we arrive home." Mom interrupts my thoughts. She maneuvered the car to the road, then turned on the radio.

"Of course." I pull the blue surgical face mask from my mouth higher to cover my nose.

I'm thankful that my best friend, Julia King, gave me a box of face masks last night. She's a registered nurse and I'm so proud of her for passing her NCLEX exam recently with less effort.

Though her profession is on demand right now that it's pandemic, she's not eager to work in the hospital. She fears getting infected by the virus.

"I'm not ready, okay? I will when I get vaccinated." This is one of her alibis, and the other, "I realized that being a nurse is not my calling. I want to work in a corporate world. There's more money in there."

I know this is going to happen. She was so undecided when she enrolled in nursing. Her reasons were to meet hot doctors and wear cute scrub uniforms every day.

Julia is born smart, just like her siblings, Grayson and Brooke. It's in their genes.

But sometimes, she pretends to be a dumb bombshell. She thinks it's cool, because it attracts hot guys. Yeah, the hot guys in college who have nothing else to do in life but bulk their body in the gym, inject steroids, drink caffeine and date hot girls.

I'm not as smart as Julia, I'm just average in school. But in life experiences, I know a lot from talking to older people, working different jobs, being alone and independent at an early age.

We're somewhat opposites in looks and personality. She's blond, I'm a brunette. She's very girly and loves pink colored clothing, with hearts and flowers, while I'm not very feminine. I prefer oversized clothes in plain neutral colors.

"Did you bring the grocery list?" Mom asks, interrupting my thoughts again.

"Yeah, I got it." I check the paper at the side of my oversized sweater's pocket.

We're going to the supermarket to stock food and buy basic essentials that would last for months, because we don't know when this pandemic ends.

___

The scenario at the supermarket looks like a zombie apocalypse is coming. People crowded in the main entrance. It takes longer to get inside because everyone needs to follow their strict protocol. Temperature taking, hand disinfection and QR code scanning.

"Sorry ma'am, you can't enter without a face mask." The guard, whose body resembles 'The Hulk,' stops the woman in front of us.

"That's why I'm here. I don't have a face mask at home, and I'm buying one now." The woman reasons out with hostility in her voice. I recognize her. She's Shannon Adolf, one socialite in the area, and mother of Trevor.

"No face mask, no entry." The guard points his finger at the big sign in the front door. "I'm following the management's order, ma'am."

I walk past her, and her eyes shift on me.

Mom and I got inside the supermarket. There is no social distancing anymore as people rush to fill their carts with groceries.

"This is insane. Aren't these people scared of getting the virus?" Mom looks shocked at the sight of people bumping into each other.

"Exactly. It's good that we did not bring granny with us."

The supermarket is granny Mary's favorite place on earth. Everything here fascinates her. She's like a child in a toy store. The free taste of cheese, biscuits, ham and ice cream is heaven to her.

"Go get some toilet rolls." Mom pushes the cart towards me. "I'll see you in the produce section."

"How many packs?"

"Get as many as you can."

People crowded at the toiletries area. Two women are arguing over a pack of 36-tissue rolls.

"You have two packs! Be considerate to the other buyers!" A curvy woman points her forefinger to a tall brunette woman that I recognized. It's Megan, Julia's mom. Very stunning at fifty. Her kids got their good looks from her.

"There's no sign here that you can't get over one. I saw the others got three!" Meg defends herself. "For your information, I'm a very considerate person. I could have given you the other one if you asked me nicely. But you stole it!"

"I did not!" The woman denies the allegation.

"You did! Everyone here saw you." Meg looks at the crowd, and they agree with her.

People embarrassed the woman by staring at her accusingly, while Meg looks victorious for winning the argument.

Everything is perfect for Meg until someone arrives.

"Hey mom, you're having tantrums again?" A familiar voice said behind me, followed by a hard chuckle.

"Come on, Gray..." Meg's eyes roll, her shoulders slump. "Stop humiliating me in public."

It's Grayson, Julia's older brother. He enjoys teasing and annoying his mom. It's his weird way of expressing his love and affection for her.

"Hey, Roxanne."

I turn to him, and instantly, his silvery gray eyes meet mine. He was wearing a black face mask that matches his shirt. He looks devilishly handsome standing there with captivating, smiling eyes.

"Hi, Gray. Nice to see you back in town."

"Yeah, it's been a while. By the way, congrats. I heard you graduated criminology. Are you going to pursue your dream of becoming an FBI agent?"

"I will, as soon as they're hiring. But it might take ages now that it's pandemic."

"That sucks." He shrugs his shoulders, then asks, "are you here to get some tissue rolls?"

"Yeah, but there's nothing left anymore."

"Let's see if I can find you one." He walks away and suddenly stops mid-way. He faces me again and says, "You're looking great, by the way."

"Thanks. You too."

He left, and I felt my cheeks burning. He never complimented me before.

Undeniably, he looks so hot now. I'm sure every single woman inside this supermarket won't miss having a second glance at his striking good looks - dark brown hair, very tall with a lean proportionate body.

He's wearing a short-sleeved black shirt that shows off his muscled arms and shoulders. Gone was the lanky Grayson, bullied all throughout high school for being the skinniest guy. He could not even get into sports for being so light.

"You're right, there's nothing left on the shelves." He says when he comes back, standing so close to me. I have to tilt my head up to look at his eyes. He's a six footer while I'm only 5 feet and 3 inches tall.

I nod and touch my long black hair, putting a strand behind my ear. What the hell is wrong with me? Why I'm suddenly acting so conscious of my messy hair?

Meg came back, pushing her cart with loads of groceries.

"You can have our other one." He turns to Meg. "Let's give the other toilet rolls to Roxanne. Her granny, Mary, needs it more than us. She always has diarrhea."

Meg stares at him, about to protest. She heaves a sigh, then says. "Okay, fine. You can have this Rox."

"Sorry, Meg. I'll make it up to you." I apologize while glancing at Gray, who transfers a pack of tissue rolls in my cart.

"It's okay, don't worry about it." Meg says in her usual motherly tone, "Send my love to Mary."

"I will. Thanks, Meg." I give her a brief hug.

I like Meg; we get along so well. She's like my second mother. In fact, many people mistook us as mother and daughter when we're together, because I'm like a younger version of her. In looks and personality. We both have long black hair, enormous eyes, a small nose and high cheekbones. We are also vocal with our opinions, honest about everything, and can be loud and crazy sometimes.

"Hey, I should be the one to get a hug." Gray says, and that makes me turn to him.

No problem. A brotherly hug never bothers me. But when I move closer, he steps back and raises his hand.

"I'm only kidding, Rox."

There he goes again. That's what he's good at. Evading me.