Stacey Morales from Professor Hu Ying's "Fantastic Fictions" class creates her own fantastic version of a standard day during the pandemic.

The Standard Day
By Stacey Morales
The voice awakens me to start another time-lapse. Our time-lapse is exactly 24 beeps. They reduce the beep during resting hours so we can get sufficient rest but on the 8th beep a voice says the current situation.
"US: 67,939  confirmed and counting. 2,770 since last night...."

The number grows higher, and we're in here.  The 9th beep is heard and my morning meal comes through a hole in the wall. I wonder who or what puts it through there. I've tried to see what's on the other side of the wall, but it closes before I can take a good look. The hole is inside a bigger rectangular hole that hasn't opened for as long as I can remember. I used to remember it opening, I faintly remember the other side. I shake it off and enjoy the morning meal. At the 12th beep, my sessions start. My screen appears on the other side of the room, I state my name when called on and begin to retain information along with the others in my session. We don't talk much to each other. There's no point really. No one's been the same since being in here. It's all been mushed together, living day by day. It only sounds sad if you want it to. I hear the 14th beep. It's leisure time. I can do whatever I want during this time but at the 18th beep, I need to start preparing for rest.

I can use the phone to dial someone in the next room--there's not much to talk about though. We are doing the same thing as we did 24 beeps ago. When I go into my rest sessions, I tend to have visuals. I see green. I see people gathered. It feels real. I have been here before. It's so blurry when I try to remember. I heard from a friend in room 254 that we used to go out that rectangular door as many times as we wanted. I was in shock. As many times as we wanted? They said that the voice didn't want us to be at risk so we were put in here. Another friend in room 323 keeps reassuring me that the voice will let us out soon enough--being in here is helping. Another friend in room 125 hates being in here,and wants to be let out. What do I think? Like I said, it's bad if you see it as bad. The voice will release a loud beep when the numbers slow down and we can go back to see the other side. Others lost hope, others are seeking hope, I never lost it. Until then, we will live by the beeps. Live beep by beep. It will be okay.