Karma

Aquilino crosses a street in Stormport's University district. The air there feels different and serene, imbued with the academic atmosphere that tends to arise in the mornings. After several minutes of such hurried walking that his heart nearly bursts, Aquilino finally reaches his destination. He races up the main steps and, at the top, passes through a threshold framed by tall columns. He enters a vast hall filled with students of all ages and their holographic tablets. His loafer heels echo at every step as he crosses it. Farther on, he reaches a modern elevator that carries him swiftly and silently to the tenth floor. Once there, he enters the classroom and finally takes his seat behind the desk.

Relieved, he breathes more easily. Now he need only wait for his students to arrive. He sets his briefcase on the table. Class begins in a matter of minutes; he has made it just in time. He would like some coffee, but there is no longer time to fetch one. He enjoys seeing the classroom empty just before his energetic students fill it with jokes and good-natured antics. They often make him laugh. He sighs. The occasional colleague passes the doorway and greets him, and he returns each greeting with equal warmth. He relaxes, smiles, grows calm; his racing heart settles. Then, all at once, his eyes widen. He has just realized that he left neither water nor food for Kika.

He snorts in frustration, thinks of his poor little dog, thirsty and hungry, and laments the mistake, cursing under his breath. He does not want to dwell on it now, since he will be leaving early today. His shift ends this afternoon, not long from now, and that reassures him. Kika will not have to wait too many hours before eating again. He may even be able to eat alongside her, as he has done before.

"Is something wrong, Professor?" asks a very blonde student named Karma. Aquilino reacts to her words.

"Oh! Karma, sorry. Don’t worry. I just remembered that I left nothing out for Kika," he answers.

"Ah, your little dog," Karma confirms.

"Yeah. Hey, are you feeling okay? I notice you're a little pale."

"I feel very good, Professor, thank you."

With that, the young woman turns and walks away from the teacher's desk, heading towards her seat. The students are already located in their respective desks.

A little while later, in the afternoon, the class progresses as usual for Aquilino and his students. He teaches his class normally. The interior of the room has snow-white doors and walls. Comfortable individual desks, they are equipped with a holographic projector, storage for study tools and a small 3D printer. The students project the holographic image in front of them, clear, at face level, translucent enough not to lose sight of the educator. At the same time, on the table, holographic keyboards are projected on polished wooden surfaces, ready to be used. The teacher has a desktop that is also a horizontal screen, whose image can be dragged in a simple movement to the main blackboard.

Aquilino prepares to teach the last class of the day before returning to Kika. There is interactive content on the whiteboard that does not match what Aquilino sees on his desktop in real time. He hears someone discussing something in whispers; They are two girls. He doesn't identify them, the whispers end as if by magic when he pays attention to identify them. He observes his pupils, perceives in them the energetic and powerful freshness of youth. That renews his spirit, makes him forget the pain of his old bones and joints that creak even in the wind. But what often feels like such an incredible connection to them, doesn't feel the same this afternoon. Apparently, problems that are reported in the news bring sadness or concern to them.

Even so, he cannot waste time: he must teach the class according to the protocols imposed upon him. Those have not changed. He draws a breath and prepares to begin the afternoon lesson.

"Students, we have already seen new topics, let's now talk about the task that I asked of you yesterday. Have you studied the lesson we scheduled for today?" asks the professor with a sincere smile on his face. Join your hands in front of your belly and wait for answers.

He looks at them all in the eyes, thirty young people who listen to his words. In response, Aquilino receives murmurs, snorts, complaints camouflaged between whispers. The normal thing in their class is usually laughter, jokes, individual anecdotes of things that happen to them. The virus situation seems to have abruptly extinguished everyone's joy, the teacher notices it.

"Teacher, my sister and I are doubting whether or not to come to class" says Darma, an extroverted girl. He scratches his head with violet-dyed hair.

"Darma, the task was simple. Do you remember which one it was?" the young woman shakes her head. "And your sister, Karma? Does she remember him? "the very blonde young woman who is next to Darma, barely shakes her head down. "Who reminds sisters Darma and Karma of the task I gave them yesterday?" the silence that Aquilino receives after his question is almost absolute. The entire class generally avoids looking him in the eyes. This forces him to insist. Nobody can? Nobody was in my class yesterday? Hello? Planet Earth calling the students in history class? "the professor jokes with a less emphatic smile on his thin lips."

He knows no one has studied; it would hardly be the first time, nor will it be the last. More than anything, however, he wants the young people to recover their customary energy and the class to become as dynamic as ever. He would hate for current events to reduce it to a monotonous recitation of dates, places and historical facts that provokes nothing but yawns. He has never liked teaching that way.

"Professor, we had to write at least two pages, that is, one page, explaining differences between the War…" the diligent student named Jessica begins to respond.

"Will you ever stop being a nerd?" another student, Rolando, interrupts and accuses him. Next to the latter, his friend Romualdo celebrates those words with laughter.

"Leave me alone! Don't you notice that no one can stand your presence?" Jessica says very confused.

"Guys, guys! What happens to them? Calm down" the teacher manages to tell them.

Some students in the room do not seem to be paying attention to what is happening. Few look at Aquilino; their tense, silent eyes remain fixed upon whatever they are reading on their holographic screens. The professor can clearly see the translucent images they project. He watches them and tries to straighten his hunched back as much as he can, then adjusts the thick glasses on his face. Despite their complaints, he sees the students close the news reports and videos.

"Very good, guys. As you know, your parents fight incessantly every day to give you the best. You should only come here and study, nothing more. In today's class, we are going to learn the reasons why the War…" now it is the teacher who is interrupted.

"My sister has a headache, Professor," Darma announces with concern.

Aquilino observes his blondest student, he approaches her a little under the gaze of the others.

"Karma? Are you OK?" Aquilino asks him.

"Yes, my head hurts a lot, Professor, that's all it is."

"Give me a few minutes. I’ll bring you a painkiller," Aquilino tells her. Karma does not answer.

"There is a war out there, professor. Haven't you seen the news? We shouldn't be here" complains a nervous young woman who has been restless at her desk for a long time.

"Yes, Emma, of course I saw the news, I'm coming, I'll bring a painkiller for Karma."

"I personally didn't have any problems, professor, but right now I would prefer to be at home with my son. "I'm horrified to think of anything happening to him while I'm here," Emma explains with a trembling voice."

"We all watched the news, I guess. Horrible. Everything is under control, the authorities are keeping the outbreak locked up in Baybeach, you don't have to worry, Emma. We must continue with our lives, tasks and work. In my case I must work, in your case you must study. The authorities will take care of the incident, they will resolve it as soon as they can," Aquilino lies to them, he tries to raise their morale, he sees them very crestfallen and nervous.

"Pfff, the authorities stink" exclaims Rolando in a mocking tone from his corner. Romualdo, there at his side, celebrates those words with laughter.

"Well, if you want, let's talk about this, let's leave the matter that concerns us. Has anyone been directly affected by this? That is, any friends or close relatives who are locked in a quarantine zone right now?" Aquilino asks with a serene, patient, paternal voice. An awkward silence ensues.

A general bustle breaks out among her classmates, because Emma has said what many others feel and think. Aquilino wants to talk to her about the matter, the bustle does not seem to subside after the minutes.

"Silence, please. Silence!" exclaims the professor.

He surprises his students, they have never heard him scream. Little by little, he manages to silence the most scandalous voices. He doesn't like doing that kind of thing, but he hasn't had a choice.

"Please, everyone. We cannot all speak at once," he says. He looks back at the young woman. "Emma, if I let you go home for one reason or another, I will have to let everyone leave. You understand that, don’t you?"

He feels that, despite saying the politically correct thing, he is somehow betraying her. If he lets them leave, he will be suspended and perhaps even disciplined. He does not say what he truly feels.

"I don't care about the faults, I will go with my son right now" the young girl repeats, just before standing up.

"If I mark you absent again, you’ll fail the course, Emma. Remember: twenty absences mean a failing grade, and you already have too many." Aquilino takes a couple of steps toward her.

He senses that the situation may spiral out of control at any moment. He knows his students are fond of him, but they care for one another more. They would never side with him against Emma, distraught over her son. He fears he may have to watch them stampede from the classroom, though perhaps there is nothing he can do to prevent it anyway.

"Well, I'm leaving. "Do what you want, professor," Emma warns, before standing up from her desk."

Emma is about to leave the room when Aquilino steps in front of her, intercepts her, looks her in the eyes. She has them full of fear and tears. He doesn't see his usual student, but a mother worried and scared for her son. He nods once, stepping aside to let her pass.

"Go, Emma, take care of your son. I won't discount your fault. Promise me you'll text me to tell me everything's okay once you're home."

"Thank you, professor, count on it. Thank you."

Without further ado, Emma runs towards the door before everyone's stunned gaze. Some are already standing up. Aquilino watches her leave through the door, sighs with resignation, then turns around to address the rest of the students again.

"Very well guys, it has been a strange, fatal day, but we will get through it, you will see, don't be discouraged." he sees concern on almost every face.

"What I mean, Professor, is that there should not be classes anywhere today," Bruno says angrily, frowning. "If it had been up to me, I would not have come either, but if I miss class I lose my scholarship. I cannot afford that. I should not have left my grandmother and my brothers alone in Los Condominios."

"Yes, Professor. Even the teachers should not have come. They have families to care for in an emergency like this. It isn’t fair to force them," Jessica says.

"Well, you see guys, certain teachers have been forced not to come today. They were directly affected. In my case, well you know, I live alone with my dog Kika. In fact, forget to leave food and water for him. He must be waiting for me hungry at home" his smiles weaken, collapse and sadness reflects on his tense, worried face.

"Professor, did you know that crazy Karma has a boyfriend who works in a bar in Baybeach? Why doesn't she tell us what's happening there?" Rolando denounces him between smiling and exalted. Romualdo celebrates those words with loud laughter from his corner.

Aquilino tenses as a chill races down his spine. He looks again at his blondest student. The young woman is paler than snow, with dark rings beneath her eyes, and strikes him as far more than merely distracted. She seems on the verge of losing consciousness.

"Why don't you shut your fucking mouth, idiot? Die!" a very upset Darma, sister of Karma, reproaches him.

"Hey, hey! What kind of language is that? We do not speak that way in this class. Since when?" Aquilino rebukes them, managing to calm them for the moment. "Karma, is that true?"

The young woman does not answer. Her eyes are utterly vacant, lost. Aquilino approaches and studies her closely. She is sweating profusely and even trembling a little. He can make out a cluster of three small blisters on her neck—something he had been unable to see from a distance. Every gaze now rests upon the young woman and him.

"Karma? I asked you a question. Can you hear me?" She does not answer. "Darma, tell me—is what Rolando said true?"

"It is true" acknowledges Darma with great anger.

"Were you with your boyfriend at Brittany's concert yesterday?"

"I don’t know. She came home late yesterday." Darma’s answer is enough for Aquilino. He approaches her sister.

"Karma, talk to me, tell me something," he doesn't respond, his eyes are empty. Miss Kasinski?

"What the hell is on your neck?" exclaims Bruno before suddenly standing up and jumping back.

The small blisters are on the side facing Aquilino, though he is still some distance away. Darma is closer and had not noticed them either. She takes her sister's face in both hands and turns her head the other way so that the daylight falls on it more clearly. Leaning in, she examines those bilious, fluid-filled things. Aquilino draws closer. Karma does not even blink.

"Your face is very hot, professor, you have a fever" says Darma.

At that very moment, one of the three blisters bursts like a tiny erupting volcano. Pus and blood spray directly into Darma's open eyes. She recoils with a start, rises and staggers backward, desperately trying to wipe away the filth that has splashed her. Then she screams at the top of her lungs, seized by panic and revulsion, and rubs her eyes fiercely. Karma remains rigid in her chair, drooling like a rabid dog. Bruno runs for the classroom door. Aquilino wants to help the sisters, but he stands frozen. The other students rise and try to follow Bruno.

Suddenly Karma blinks hard, twice, after which, as if mad, she shakes her head frantically, screams and vomits on the floor with brutal force. The teacher manages to back away, trips over a desk, and falls to the floor. His head hits something. Chaos breaks out in the classroom, which worsens when somewhere outside the building, shrapnel fire, drone rotors, and the hum of electric aircraft engines can be heard. Aquilino, with a headache calmed by fear, only has one thing in mind in the midst of this unleashed disaster: Returning home to Kika.