Most of the students, including myself, went straight towards the office to pick up the letter. When I got to the office, I realized that the place was packed. There was absolutely no way for me to get in the office without being pushed and stepped over. I overheard people gossiping as well as over reacting. I was standing in the crowd like an innocent angel, but soon I perceived that my innocence would not take me anywhere. After doing some "excuse me's" and "pardon me's", I finally got hold of one of the newsletters. I scanned through it quickly. At last, I reached the point, which everyone was waiting for. Our school was going to close for the next five days. My suspicion was correct. One of my classmates had has been suspected of SARS and as a result, the whole school was shut down as a precaution. As soon as I heard it and read it, a sigh of exasperation came out from me. I did not have to worry about the rest of my mid-term exams for the next five days! I was happy to hear the news of this unexpected five-day break. .
I reached home and spread the news to my family. They did not pay any heed to it, as they said everything would be fine. They have a strong belief in God and they pray for the better health of the whole family everyday, so they were sure God will hear their prayers. And so do I. I tuned into channel 24 to get the up-to-date information but they did not mention anything I was not ware of. After having dinner, I went to sleep. I had a peaceful sleep that night. But a phone call from The Toronto Public Health awakened me. I could barely open my eyes. It was 10:30 PM. The nurse told me that I was quarantine for five days i.e. I was locked in my house. I was to eat, sleep, stay, and work in a separate place. I was thunderstruck when I was told about the $5000 fine per person if conditions were not followed as told by the Ministry of Health. So, if we broke any of these rules, we would be fined by $5000.
