Life In My Bubble

There were two sides of this quarantine. The ‘I want to go back to school’ people, and the ‘this is so good’ guys. I guess I was in the middle of it all. We all went into the lockdown as the ‘this is so good’ guys. But no one was aware of what was going to hit us, not knowing that by the end of it, COVID-19 would have torn us apart. The weeks, days, even hours took forever to pass. Nothing could cure this severe boredom but school, and friends. Nobody knew how long 7 weeks could actually be.We spent a long, time consuming level 4 in our homes, the only thing that kept us motivated was the thought of pure freedom after this was all over, but of course it made us all school sick/work sick. My family would sit at the dining table, and exchange jokes, and laugh for hours. Without my little brother Jimmy, none of that would've been possible. He had come up with many ways to maintain the family comedian. There was the classic ‘Dinosaur Egg Hatching’ and the ‘Dilophosaurus’.

We always enjoyed our family zooms, they were also a MAJOR time for laughing. We made quizzes for everyone and did birthday zooms for many of the family birthdays in quarantine. We would make our own cake and eat it from the other side of the screen. I also enjoyed weekly runs/exercise with family. I learnt and taught my siblings lots of trampoline tricks, and everyone enjoyed to watch Jimmy attempt many of the tricks.Finally level 3 came, dad and I waxed all the surfboards to get them ready for many surf trips, sometimes they were socially-distant with friends.

Then came mums birthday! We were finally allowed takeaways for the first time in 5-6 weeks! Jimmy and I also joked around in the car while dad went in to get many treats for mum, and I also helped him pick some online stuff for her/as well as myself. We were dying for another surf a few days later. I got everything out to wait another 20 minutes before dad decided to put his wetsuit on. Then it took us another 45 minutes to get there because mum let 3-year-old Jimmy walk at his own pace. When we finally got in me and my sister, Aria, went out, then were immediately called back in. We caught the same wave, laughing as the water splashes in our face. I look one way down the beach and look back at Aria. She had fallen off her board and it had flung at me, I tried to duck out the way but it hit me smack in the gum and teeth.

A heavy bloodstream flows out and into the water and into the sand as I scream and run out. Aria runs after my mum who took off to the cafe while dad grabs the boards and we follow him to the nearest car park, where mum and Aria will bring the car. I was holding the towel over my mouth, still spitting the blood out onto the sand, creating a trail. It would have taken too long to put the surfboards on/in the car so dad ran home while the rest of us took the car. I was sitting next to Jimmy, who was completely devastated, and wanted to stay at the beach. When we got home mum helped me take off my wetsuit, sprayed me down and sent me to get dressed. Then she spent the next 5 mins calling the open A & E, Hospital and dentists. I was in an unexplainable plain, and was not ready for the 2 hour wait that blocked the path ahead of me. This was not how I planned to spend my quarantine.We waited the 2 hour wait to see the dentist, and all she did was give me the name of mouthwash that I had to use, and an appointment for Monday, it felt annoyed, but I pushed it out because I know it will help me get better. I sit quietly and sip on the zesty Wendy’s drink that dad bought me, and watch as my dad happily gobbles down the burger, and I feel the sides of my mouth go heavy as I frown.

After that we called mum, who didn’t have time to make potato and gravy (what I wanted), so we took the small drive to KFC, my frown, now upside down when we ordered. I was also very happy to have such supportive friends that were messaging me, worried. The happiness they bought me made me forget all about my painful mouth. Chatting always made me feel better :)I took the mouthwash the dentist told us to buy, and it tasted RANK!! I always went onto the zooms with a pongy, strong minty smell, and a disgusted look on my face. I also couldn’t eat the ‘good food’ that the rest of my family were eating.

The appointment day finally came, and I had to go to this, pleasing, fancy, eco dentist/doctor school. They gave me an ambrosial baby blue candy floss tasting mouthwash, and they took X-rays. Nothing was broken or misplaced but the ligaments had stretched, causing lots of pain. I optimistically continued to enjoy life, and they got better, leaving nasty scratches on my gum, but to this day, they feel and look regular :)

I was very chipper to come back to the New Zealand Prime Minister state that we will migrate to level 3!I punched the air, after 7 long weeks, I finally got to go back to school! Life in my bubble was never dull, my ‘funny’ family were very amusing, but even if I had to, I would not do it again!

By Kiana Brown

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