From Petra's diary
Petra: Ahi ahi...
I still have that annoying headache, and maybe I even had a bit of fever last night... How unlucky, how was I supposed to keep up with the lectures and the homework this way?
Emy is now in her second year of medical school, and the more time passes, the more she seems to identify with the role she's aiming to fill in the future. So she started staring at me with an inquisitive look, as if trying to assess the severity of my symptoms simply by looking at me.
But that wasn't sufficient to make her give up.
Emma: I'm probably worrying too much, and I really hope this is the case! But I think you should still get some tests done, just to be sure. Selvadorian fever can be fatal if not treated right away, you know?
In the end, all my excuses weren't enough to make her change her mind, and she booked me an appointment at the campus clinic for the end of the day.
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Michael: Is Petra doing any better?
Emma: Not really, but there is no way to convince her to take some rest.
Michael: Understandable.
TV: "Let’s interrupt the broadcast for an urgent governmental communication: the persistent drought conditions continue across the entire continent, prompting authorities in New Sixam to impose the rationing of water supplies. “Supplies will be reduced from 2:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. until the restoration of water reserves,” the President said. The same drought has also severely affected the neighbouring Sims Nation provinces of Riverblossom Hills and Del Sol Valley, causing a sharp reduction in agricultural production. The increase in food prices has been evident for many seasons now, but no improvement is expected at least until-"
Emma: (watching TV) The more time passes, the more the news seems like an apocalyptic film…
Michael: (resigned) I can't really say I'm surprised, though.
Emma: …
Michael: Instead, should we go to the café to finish our homework? Petra just wrote she's waiting for us there.
Emma: What, she left the dorm? I'm coming!
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It took a while to convince Emy I was doing well enough to study, during the day I actually started to feel much better. Rather, it was the latest news that worried me. They also talk about water rationing now, something as extreme as that will surely cause major troubles to everyone, both for our everyday life in the dorms and for the work done in the labs...
Petra: I heard some of our professors talking about it, they've received the go-ahead experiment with cloud seeding using silver iodide.
Emma: Let's hope they'll manage to trigger some rain, then...
Michael: Even in the computer science department the researchers are working flat out on simulating the climate system. They've also asked us students to run part of their calculations to try to shorten the computing time.
Emma: Rather… Petra, are you sure you don't want to go back to the dorm? You could sleep until the medical visit tonight.
Petra: Don't worry, I'm already doing much better than yesterday evening, really!
No, that headache was nothing in comparison with the long series of bad news we received in the last few weeks. Really drastic solutions would be needed to reverse the process of climate change, will we really be able to build something able to help us with the current inflation level and the issues with the water supplies? The more I studied and interacted with our teachers, the more worried I was...
Anyway, at that moment there wasn’t much else we could do but study, and so we did.
Emy and Mike said goodbye to me a little later, they had to go to class. I stayed at the café instead, as I had often done to participate in the various activities organized on Wednesdays.
Sonia: (cheerful) Hey Petra, welcome back!
???: Hi Petra, how are you?
? ?: How did your first semester exams go?
Seeing Sonia again was a bit embarrassing, but on the other hand I expected that kind of cheerful and friendly greeting from her. In the end, the reason I liked spending time with those girls was because they had always been very understanding with me, and I wasn't disappointed this time either.
And that also explains the nature of those strange barrel-shaped robots. I heard they belong to the entomology department, they are trying to understand if any of those bugs are carriers of the Selvadorian fever that everyone is talking about.
The buzzing increases and the headache gets worse, could it really be just a normal flu? Well, maybe all this talk of Selvadorian fever is making me overthink, I certainly can't have caught a tropical disease here on campus, right?
Rather than worry about things I couldn't change, I'd be better to hurry up. Emy was waiting for me at the student areas to eat dinner together, after all.
Emma: I'll have the fish!
Petra: And I'll have the spaghetti.
Emma: Listen Petra, since you say you're feeling better and Mike is still at some class, could we talk about some "girls' stuff", for once? If you want, of course.
Petra: (perplexed) Sure. Is something bothering you?
Emma: Nothing major, I would say I just need to vent a bit. Yes, that's probably it.
Petra: (perplexed) Sure. What's up?
Emma: Well, ehm, it's just that, you know... I've tried spending time with a few guys since we got here, but the dates have always been a real disaster. You know, embarrassing as hell from start to finish.
I can't say I'm surprised, this is not the first time she has talked like this. Hearing her talk about dates with other people always makes me feel a little jealous, but I feel even more worried about her. She looked so upset, saying she just needs to vent a bit it's probably quite an understatement.
What I also noticed, however, is that usually she talks about this stuff with Mike too, so why did she wait for us to be alone this time instead? This became soon very clear, and in a very unexpected way too.
Emma: (embarrassed) Petra, you don't have to answer if you don't want to, I'm mostly asking you because I don't know you else to ask. But, I mean... have you always been sure that you really liked girls?
That question might have been the most surprising thing she’d ever said to me, did I hear correctly? I know people who would have been offended to hear a question like that, but I could only wonder what could possibly be going through Emy’s head at that moment to make her think of asking me such a question.
I don’t know how long I remained silent, but by then Emy seemed on the verge of apologizing and taking back the question she’d just asked. I had to answer, but I also had to avoid coming up with nonsensical answers like I often do when I’m under pressure. So, very carefully, I answered:
Petra: … Well, when I was really little I didn’t really think about it, but since I was a teenager I’ve always been pretty sure about it, yes. And I was probably even more sure boys weren't for me, so to speak.
Emma: …
Petra: But that doesn’t mean it’s like that for everyone... It's quite complicated, actually.
Emma: I see...
Emy seemed so thoughtful, what was going through her head? Asking how I know I like girls just after saying she isn't enjoying dating guys, am I overanalysing this, or the two points seemed a bit related? Maybe it was my turn to ask difficult questions...
Petra: (cautiously) You don't have to answer this either, if you don't want to. But, by chance... are you having any doubt, instead?
Emma: I... well...
BIP BIP BIP!
It was her phone alarm, reminding us of my upcoming medical visit.
Emma: Oh, I'm sorry, I almost forgot about it! Let's go, we have to reach the clinic!
Petra: But my headache is almost gone…
Emma: No complaints!
So, without complaining (too much), I followed her towards the doctor's office. Of course, the conversation we were having was totally dropped in favour of medical suggestions. That day had given me so many things to think about, I had almost forgotten about that visit too and I didn't care so much about it either at that point.
In hindsight, however, I probably should have paid more attention to what the doctors on TV said, to Emy, and to my symptoms as well.
The diagnosis that would change my future arrived shortly after, unexpected like all the other news I received that day: after all, Emma's fears were well-founded, I had really been infected by Selvadorian fever.
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§HermioneSims§ corner
Bwahahaha, what a way to close a chapter... Did I already say that Gen 10 will be a bit harsher than the previous ones?
What may I have opened this parenthesis for this time, you may wonder? It's for closing the chick in the dorm story, of course! As I already wrote once, I really would recommend against keeping a chick outside of its chicken coop, because it ended very, very badly...
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