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She sat down on her bed and placed the thermometer next to her on the table. She could not get this thing again. She was still getting over having it the first time…
Layne felt okay, even if her temperature was high and she’d coughed a few times, so she pulled out her laptop and looked up any information she could find on people having COVID more than once. When she saw that the game would’ve just started by checking the clock on her screen, she found the streaming channel for the conference and logged in with her free student account to watch the somewhat blurry video.
She wanted to be there with her team. She should be sitting on the bench in that empty chair over by the freshmen and sophomore players. She wanted to be called in to help Shay bring the ball up the court during the press and to help pull a double-team so that Shay could get off a good shot.
Dunbar was up by two at the half, which made Layne feel a little bit better, so she started to think more about how she could’ve gotten it. Outside of practice and games, she wasn’t sure. No one on the team had a positive test. She’d seen all of them, including everyone on the staff, either on the court or the bench, so it wasn’t through one of them. Or, even if it were, she wouldn’t know until someone on the team got a positive test, too. And while they’d just started going to in-person classes again, Layne had been able to do hers virtually because she was in season, so she hadn’t yet been inside a classroom where she could’ve picked it up. She eliminated everything else until all she could come up with was the bathroom.
The school had a cleaning crew keeping everything as clean as possible, but there was a chance Layne had gotten it from a toilet when she’d flushed, the shower when she’d hung her robe on the bar to give her a little privacy, or at one of the sinks. It was the only place that made sense. People who delivered their food were supposed to wear masks and gloves, so she supposed if they didn’t, there was a chance she could’ve gotten it from them, but then, more athletes would probably have tested positive.
It was exhausting just thinking about where she could have gotten it from, and before Layne knew it, she’d fallen asleep. She woke to the sound of her phone ringing and saw that it was Shay calling.
“Hey,” she greeted, still half-asleep.
“Sorry, I know it’s late,” Shay said into the phone. “We just got back to our rooms. How are you?”
“Um… Good,” she replied and looked over at the thermometer she needed to use again.
“Good? You sound tired.”
“I was asleep. I figured I should try to get some rest, to be safe.”
“Probably smart. Babe, I’m worried. Are you really okay?”
Layne sat up and said, “Yeah, nothing so far.” She closed her eyes and couldn’t believe she’d just lied to her girlfriend. “I watched the game. You played great.”
That was her second lie. She’d fallen asleep without finishing the game and closed her laptop when she realized it was still open on her bed by her feet.
“Only fourteen points.”
“Oh, only,” Layne joked.
“It’s another win, so I feel okay about it,” Shay replied. “I don’t feel okay about you, though. I wish I could be there, even down the hall.”
“I know. Me too.”
“We’ll be back tomorrow. Coach told us we have to get an extra test when we arrive, to be safe.”
“So, everyone knows I have it?”
“She had to tell them because we’ve all been around you. I guess she could’ve tried to keep your name out of it, but you were the only one not on the bus, so it would’ve been obvious anyway. She still doesn’t know you had it before. Are you going to tell her?”
“Yeah, if I need to. If I don’t get any symptoms this time, there won’t be a point.”
“How likely is that?” Shay asked. “You got them the first time.”
“I researched a little while you were driving there, but it’s hard to find anything conclusive. Some people who had it twice said it was easier the second time. Others say harder.”
“How did you get it, babe? You’re more careful than me.”
“I’ve only been able to come up with the bathrooms. I don’t exactly wear gloves in there, and I’m not masked when I take a shower.”
“Other people would’ve gotten it, though, right?”
“Maybe. I don’t know. That’s just the only idea I have.”
“What do we do?”
“Nothing. Wait and see,” Layne said and felt another cough coming. “I’m going to get some more sleep, though. It’s after one. I’m going to try to just sleep it off.”
