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The Cold: Part 8

The Cold (An Easy English Story): Part 8

I found Dad’s note two days ago, and I cannot stop thinking about it.

We still can’t find him. Every day I watch the news. Will they find a new ice body? Will this one be Dad?

While I am watching the news, Ms. Sato calls me. “Ari,” she says with a gentle voice. “Are you doing okay?”

“We can’t find my Dad.” I want to cry.

Ms. Sato is quiet on the other end. She finally says, “Well, I have some information that might help you know where he is. Some of our journalists interviewed the police. Yesterday, the police found something the same about all of the ice bodies. About a month before each person died, they all took out $50,000 from their bank accounts. It was cash, and they took it out in small amounts. About $5,000 ten times. Because they didn’t use a credit card or do a bank transfer, we don’t know who they paid the money to.”

My chest feels cold. I know what Ms. Sato wants me to do.

“Ari, if you check your Dad’s bank account, you can see if he took out $50,000 recently.”

I can’t speak. If Dad really took out $50,000, then I know he is an ice body.

Ms. Sato adds, “Don’t worry about work this week. And I hope you can find your dad.”

She doesn’t say, “I’m sure he’s fine.” We both know the possibility.

Mom is still sleeping, so I wake her up. With her eyes closed, she whispers, “Did they find him?”

“Maybe we can find him, Mom. I need you to check your bank account.”

“Why?” Mom sits up and reaches for her glasses beside her bed. Before I can answer, she turns on her phone and opens her bank app.

“I need to see if Dad took out money from the bank recently.”

“Oh, Dad keeps most of his money in his own account.” Mom looks worried. “But I can try to find his login info.” Mom walks to Dad’s desk and begins searching through a stack of papers. She never asks why I need to check his bank account, and I don’t want to tell her.

We look through Dad’s notes for an hour. Finally, Mom cries, “Here it is!” She opens Dad’s banking site on her laptop and types in the login and password with shaking fingers. My heart sinks when I see the screen.

December 22, 2023 -$5,000
December 29, 2023 -$8,000
December 30, 2023 -$6,000
January 5, 2024 -$7,000
January 11, 2024 -$3,000
January 15, 2024 -$8,000
January 22, 2024 -$8,000
January 25, 2024 -$5,000

That’s $50,000.

I tell Mom about Ms. Sato’s phone call. She closes the laptop and calls the police.

When Mom called the police, they said sadly that Dad is probably an ice body. They told Mom to keep checking the bank account. If Dad takes out more money, then they know he is still alive.

So far, the police have found 755 ice bodies. And now there are 82 missing people. Now, banks will have to call the police when any customers take out a large amount of money, but this won’t help people like Dad who already took out the money. The ice bodies were only found in or near Clayton. Local hotels are filled with scientists, FBI agents, and news reporters. They all hope to find more information about a disease, a killer, or a war. But no one has an answer.

I call Priya. I don’t know what to say to her. When she picks up the phone, singing “Ari Brooooooks!” in her usual way, I start to cry. I cry for several minutes, and Priya waits patiently on the phone. When I finally whisper the words “ice body,” Priya says, “My dad is asleep now. I’m coming over.”

Priya, who lives five minutes away from my house, runs through the front door and hugs me. We stand in the front hallway for a long time, just hugging. Priya’s shoulder is soaked with my tears. Priya holds my hand as we go upstairs to my bedroom. She says quietly, “I noticed your Dad’s car isn’t in the driveway. Is it your Dad?”

I nod.

“Did they find his body?”

I shake my head, crying more.

“Then there’s still time. He might be okay.” Priya grabs the tissue box from my desk and wipes my face. “How do you know that he died?”

I slowly tell Priya about the $50,000. She squeezes my hand tighter.

“Ari, Carlos told me that you found ice in the mall, right? At the cafe that closed?”

I nod.

“Then let’s go! The police aren’t being helpful. We can do more.”

I look outside at Mom’s car.

“I know your mom will worry,” Priya says, understanding the problem with her plan. “So let’s sneak out tonight.” She whispers, “I’ll pick you up at 2:00 a.m. We’ll come back before 5:00.”

I sigh. I couldn’t save Alex. But maybe I can save Dad.

Part 9>

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See the World: Part 8

See the World (An Easy English Story): Part 8

Neil sits down in the brown leather chair next to Dr. Chen’s desk. He can’t stop looking at the red-spiked germs spilling out of Dr. Chen’s mouth as she talks.

“Neil, you know that today’s patient has a very serious disease.”

“Yes, cancer,” Neil whispers.

Dr. Chen nods. “The lenses work well on diseases like HIV and Ebola, but they do not work well with cancer. But the patient doesn’t want to do chemotherapy, so the lenses could help him.”  Dr. Chen leans closer to Neil. Neil leans back. “Neil, this is the first brain cancer surgery with the lenses. If the surgery fails, please remember: It’s not your fault.” Dr. Chen smiles and grabs Neil’s hand. Neil and Dr. Chen have been coworkers and friends for ten years, and she often grabs his hand when she knows he is nervous. Neil is nervous about the surgery, but he has a stronger feeling than nervousness. Disgust. A sick feeling in his stomach.  A few of Dr. Chen’s cold cells are on her fingers from when she coughed. When she takes her hand away, Neil looks down at his hand. Neon green and red circles dance on his skin.

Neil quickly pulls his hand back. He wants to wash his hands, but he doesn’t want to be rude.

Dr. Chen continues talking about the cancer surgery, but Neil cannot think.

He feels frozen in his chair.

He tries not to look at his hand, but every time he does, he sees the green cells buried in the hair on his knuckles. He wonders if there are still cells on his face from Dr. Chen’s cough. More cells float around them as Dr. Chen talks.

I’m fine. It’s just a cold. I’m fine. It’s just a cold. Neil repeats these words in his head, but he doesn’t feel better.

“Neil?” Dr. Chen waves her hand in front of his face. “Are you ready for the surgery?”

Part 9>

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See the World: Part 7

See the World (An Easy English Story): Part 7

Neil uses the lenses for two months, and he feels like a pro. The HIV of Neil’s first patient was cured in just five days. Because the surgery was so successful, Dr. Chen asked Neil to do twenty more surgeries. All twenty patients got better quickly. 

Neil feels excited to look at the patients’ new healthy cells.  Before the surgeries, their bodies look like Neil’s bedroom wall when Leila drew on it with crayons two years ago.  After Neil spent an hour cleaning the wall with mayonnaise it was a smooth light blue again.  Genome editing with the lenses is like mayonnaise for their too-colorful cells.

The diseases all look different with the lenses, and all of them are uncomfortably bright. Ebola is Neil’s least favorite. It looks like thousands of neon blue worms. These little worms seem to eat through the healthy cells, squirming in and out of them.

On the morning of Neil’s twenty-first surgery, Dr. Chen asks Neil to meet with her in her office to talk about the surgery. Neil already started getting ready for the surgery, so he is wearing the lenses.

Neil opens Dr. Chen’s office door and immediately feels sick. Bright green circles with red spikes float in the air around Dr. Chen. As she says, “Good morning,” the spikes fly towards Neil. He jumps to the left, but some of the green and red still hit his face. Neil wipes his face with his sleeve, and then he remembers: This is what a cold looks like.

“I see you’re wearing the lenses,” Dr. Chen says. She laughs at Neil’s reaction.

Neil tries to laugh, too. “I forgot that I put them in.”

Dr. Chen laughs louder and begins to cough.  More frog-green circles fly towards Neil, and he holds his breath.

Part 8>

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See the World: Part 4

See the World (An Easy English Story): Part 4

Neil got rid of HIV! Sam pats his back and gives a thumbs up.  Neil’s mask feels hot. He can’t breathe.  Everyone in the room says, “You’re amazing!” Neil says, “I didn’t do anything. The computer did all the work. I just pushed the buttons.”  But Neil’s boss, Dr. Chen, says, “You’re the smartest doctor in this hospital, Neil. No one else can use the lens.”

The doctors and nurses invite Neil to the bar after work. They want to have a party for Neil and for the lens. “I’m sorry, Leila is staying at my house this weekend. I can’t.”  Usually, Neil tells a lie about plans with his daughter because he hates parties. But today it is not a lie.

Neil and Amanda were married for five years, but they got divorced two years ago. Leila was three years old then. Now, Neil spends every weekend with his daughter.

Dr. Chen and the other doctors leave the room. Two nurses begin cleaning the tools. Neil looks down at his patient. He is still wearing the lenses. He sees the dead HIV cells. They are gray and move slowly. Soon they will disappear.  

Neil was so nervous about the surgery, and the HIV patterns in the lenses make Neil feel sick. Neil runs to the bathroom. He bends over the toilet. The toilet cleaner smells like oranges.

Sam comes in the bathroom and knocks on the door. “I know that’s you, Neil.” He slides a small metal box under the door. “You forgot to take out the lenses again, huh?”

Neil picks up the box and comes out of the toilet stall. His stomach feels heavy and light at the same time. “I tried LSD in college once. It was terrible. All of the bright colors… It made me sick.” Neil sighs. “Sam, every time I wear the lenses, it feels like LSD.”

Part 5>

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The Cold: Part 3

The Cold (An Easy English Story): Part 3

“I can’t believe it.”  Dad comes into my bedroom.  “Why did you take the job this morning?”

I am confused.  Dad wanted me to get a job.  He often said, “Why can’t you find a job?  You need to try harder and apply to more companies.”  But now he is frowning, and his arms are crossed.  From my desk chair, Dad looks much taller than me, but when I stand up, he is the same height.

“I did what you wanted,” I argue.

Dad sighs.  “Come on, Ari, think.  There is a lockdown now.  Your mom is crying in the bathroom.”

“But journalism is a dangerous job!  The world is a dangerous place!”

Dad’s green eyes look sharply at the floor.  Then, without replying, he walks out of the room.  This is normal for Dad.  Since I was thirteen years old, he has always been thinking of my mistakes.  Everything I do is a mistake to Dad.  And everything I do is dangerous to Mom.

I stop thinking of my parents and look at my computer.  The screen glows blue.  I am waiting for Ms. Sato’s email, but it doesn’t come.  I got the job… right?

Feeling worried, I text my best friends, Carlos and Priya.  I didn’t tell them about my job yet. 

Priya replies immediately.  yes!!!!!!!  i knew you could do it, queen!!!!

Carlos replies right after.  Are you going to write about the bodies?

I start typing I think so, but my boss hasn’t—, when an email appears on my screen.  An email from Ms. Sato.  I thought she was going to send an email only to me, but she sent it to nine other people.  She wrote:

Hello everyone,

As you know, many news companies are contacting us.  They all want to know about the bodies.  Sadly, we do not have a lot of information for them, and it is difficult to leave our houses during the lockdown.  You ten are the only employees who agreed to leave your houses, so you will be very busy.  I attached a PDF to this email.  It has details about your schedule for tomorrow.  Please look at it and let me know if you have any questions.

Also, I want to welcome Ari Brooks to The Observer.

-Emily Sato

I open the PDF.  Each journalist’s name is next to a different location.  A journalist called Tatiana Vasquez will visit the police station.  A journalist called Jimmy Cheng will visit the family of the first person who died.  What interesting place will I go to?  I look for my schedule.

Ari Brooks  /  January 23, 2024  /  Internet

The Internet?!  Ms. Sato just told me that I will need to go outside!  That my job will be dangerous!  Why don’t I get to go to interesting places like the other journalists?

Maybe it is because I am new.  Maybe Ms. Sato doesn’t trust me yet.

When I was in fifth grade, my class performed Alice in Wonderland in front of our families.  I wanted to be Alice, but instead, I was the Queen’s servant.  I was a playing card.  When my teacher told me about my part, I cried until the teacher called my mother.  When Mom came to school, she wiped my tears with her sleeve and said, “There are no small parts—only small actors.  Be the best playing card you can be.”  At the time, I didn’t understand the meaning of “small actors,” but her words helped me.  I decided to practice my part every day.  Mom and I made my costume out of cardboard and painted a big red heart on my face.

On the day of the play, I yelled my only line, “Off with her head!” more loudly than anyone else.  Actually, I was too loud.  Some of the parents laughed.  But Mom smiled and gave me a thumbs-up.  Dad was smiling, too.  And Alex, too…

Now I know about “small actors” and “big actors,” and I will not be a small actor at my job.  Even if I have to search for information on the internet about the bodies, I will work as hard as I can.

I will find better information than anyone.

I wake up at 5:00 a.m., and I can’t fall asleep again.  My work does not start until nine, so I decide to make myself breakfast.  Usually I eat cereal or something easy, but this morning I will make pancakes, eggs, and sausage.  I walk downstairs quietly, stepping on the right side of the stairs because the left side squeaks.

Surprisingly, Mom is already awake.  She sits at the kitchen table, looking at her phone.  She notices me when I turn on the kitchen lights.  Even more surprisingly, her voice is cheerful.  “I woke up early to make you breakfast.  I haven’t started making it, though.  I thought you were going to sleep later.  Are you excited for your first day of work?  What time are you leaving?”

I forgot to tell her that I will work from home today.  Does she know?  Is that why she is happy today?

“I’m actually not going out today.  Ms. Sato wants me to search for information on the Internet.” 

Mom jumps up and claps.

“Don’t get excited.  I’ll probably go out soon.  Our schedules change every day.”  I expect Mom’s smile to disappear.

Mom walks over and gives me a hug.  “I am just happy that you are home today.  Want me to make you lunch?  I’m working from home today, too.”  Is she not upset?

“Sure.  I’ll be pretty busy, though, so is it okay if I eat in my room?  I want to do a good job on this research.”

“Only if you’re okay with this!”  Mom takes out a small box from a kitchen drawer.  I untie the purple ribbon and open it slowly.  Inside is a black pen with a silver clip.

“It’s a recording pen,” Mom says.  “I’m sorry you’re not able to use it today, but I hope you’ll have interviews real soon.”  She grabs my hand.  The dry winter air often makes her hands bleed, and three of her fingers are covered with Band-Aids.  They feel rough against my skin.  “I’m sorry about yesterday.  I still don’t want you to go out until the lockdown is over, but you’re an adult, and I trust you.”

I squeeze her hands back.

“But just be safe.”

Mom’s gift is so kind.  I don’t want to tell her that I already have a recorder.  “This is perfect, thank you.  And I’ll be safe.  I promise.”

Part 4>