The Social Misfit

There was a time when Mina never thought twice before smiling. She smiled when she answered questions in class. She smiled when her friends dragged her into games she pretended not to enjoy. She smiled so often that her mother used to tease her, saying one day her cheeks would get stuck that way. Life wasn’t perfect, but it was simple. Wake up. Go to school. Laugh with friends. Come home. Do homework. Sleep. Then do it all again. At twelve years old, Mina had never imagined that a single year could change everything. It started with whispers. “Did you hear about that virus?” “My uncle said schools might close.” “It’ll probably only last a few weeks.” Nobody believed it. Not the teachers. Not the students. Not even the adults. The announcements came on a Thursday afternoon. School would be closed until further notice. The classroom erupted into cheers. “Yes!” “No school!” “This is the best day ever!” Mina laughed along with everyone else. She stuffed her books into her backpack, waved goodbye to her friends, and skipped through the school gates without a single worry. She had no idea it would be the last normal day of her childhood. If someone had told her then that she wouldn’t see some of those classmates again… That she would spend months trapped inside her home… That one day she would become someone who hid behind a mask… She would have laughed. Because nothing that terrible could happen to ordinary people. Right? She was wrong.