Breakout Rooms (#4)

a u t h o r ' s n o t e # 1

A U T H O R ' S N O T E

As spindly hands on the grandfather clock tick past eight, ghosts of previous lives wander the streets, illuminated by faint streetlights. The ghosts chatter, teeth clatter, yet no sound leaves their blurred lips. One could call this peaceful, this eerie silence that hangs under the moon. The ghosts know better. They have each lived through this horror before, and now they watch their descendants live it again.

A woman, fingertips curled against her chest, brushes past the ghosts. They stare at the cloth hugged to her mouth, at the wide berth she gives passersby as they too, hurry along. It was all too familiar, to the ghosts. They quietly encourage the scientists, working furiously to find a vaccine. Their wispy fingers lace between those of nurses and doctors, of whistleblowers and lifesavers. They whisper to strangers who see straight through them.

"This too shall pass."

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I N F O R M A T I O N

1. So, it's been three years since I wrote Snow Boots. I've forgotten 90% of what I wrote in my previous stories, because I have the worst memory known to mankind. However, I can't bring myself to read them, because that's a Try Not To Cringe challenge that I've failed. So, it's inevitable that I'll accidentally write something that doesn't make sense in canon. If that happens, let me know.

2. One of the MCs is Black, the other is East Asian. I don't want to see any comments that are like, "I'll imagine them as white!" as I've encountered on other stories. Let me be clear, that is what any reasonable person would see as whitewashing. Black characters are often the white MC's token Black friend or that one Black guy we included to pretend we care about representation, and East Asians don't get representation in Western society aside from K-pop and anime. I'm saying this as an Asian myself. Let us have this.

3. If you've read my other stories, you know they're set in the US. If you've followed me for a while, you know I'm not American. There are many times where I've messed up and put non-American terms in my stories. Let me tell ya, I accidentally named a character Alex Hamilton without knowing he was a historical figure in the US. That's how clueless I am. With that being said, if I screw up, tell me.

4. You don't need to read my other three dialogue stories (Waffle Cones, Eye Drops, Snow Boots) to follow along with Breakout Rooms. I'll sprinkle some references in for the sake of nostalgia, but nothing relevant to the plot. This is a spinoff, not a sequel.

5. Breakout Rooms is set in the year 2020. Waffle Cones and Eye Drops are set in 2015 and 2016 respectively, but Snow Boots is set way into the future, like, 2043. This means that Fletcher, Emily, Erin, Alex, Scarlett, Faith, and Tristan are young adults during Breakout Rooms, while Quinn, Andrew, Oliver, and Penelope have not been born yet. So, if you're wondering why the latter four are never mentioned in this story, this is why.

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D E T A I L S

Status: Ongoing (Aug 2020 – present)

Updating schedule: I'm aiming for once a day with the dialogue chapters, and a week for the prose chapters. However, I've historically sucked at updating regularly and have been known to disappear off Wattpad for months, so take this with a grain of salt.

Cover: evethespy

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S Y N O P S I S

"Hey, if there's anyone who could cook up a virus to start off this decade, it's those mothertruckers downstairs."

"Well, let's hope those mothertruckers down there are wearing masks."

"If not, I'll eat their souls."

"That's not very social distancing of you."

"I'm the king of the underworld, baby. It's my solemn duty."

If Josie Chen had a dollar for every time 2020 screwed her over, she would have enough to pay off her college tuition fee. It was twisted fate that after narrowly escaping Australia's infernos in favor of a New York exchange program, her newfound freedom would soon be snatched away by The Black Death 2: Electric Boogaloo. However, upon a fateful meeting with one Elijah Morris, a fellow classmate whose family members are fighting on the frontlines of the pandemic, Josie's about to reach the eye of her hurricane.

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