Isolation Diary Day 4: The Trapped Housefly And I Have Forged An Alliance

Jerusalem, March 18 –

Dear Diary,

The situation continues to look grim. Our stocks of precious toilet paper look visibly diminished – we may have only seventeen rolls remaining – and Rose continues to obsess about running out of toothpaste. Access to wifi, though precarious, appears stable for the moment. On the bright side, the fly that got trapped inside with us has sided with me in the ongoing dispute over who controls the Venetian blinds. I have decided to name him (her? it? them? The fly has not made clear any pronoun preferences) Hannibal.

I came to that conclusion after Hannibal buzzed the faces of everyone else when they got near the window, but left me alone. If relations among the four family members deteriorate any further, it’s good to know Hannibal has my back. I guess he senses which of the humans here is best situated to provide him with what he needs. Good people instincts. I’ve chosen well.

Jared’s nervous foot-tapping habit will be the end of us. He doesn’t even seem to realize he’s doing it, which makes it that much harder to overcome. He’ll be reading a book and the couch starts shaking. It gets worse the more time passes as we’re stuck here. If I were a gambling man I’d place my bet on that being the trigger for either homicide or one of us risking arrest by going outside.

Rose coughed this morning. She insisted it was just something she inhaled, but damned if the adrenaline level in this house didn’t go up a few hundred notches. The rest of us have been not-so-subtly keeping our distance from her all day. I think she’s going to throw some dishes if this keeps up. My attempts to break the tension with humor have so far come to naught. Note to self: Rose does not appreciate invocation of  her non-corona hospitality skillz in the context of “hosting” a deadly virus.

Pasta for dinner again. We’ve relaxed the rules somewhat, in the interest of minimizing conflict. Phones and tablets are fine, as long as you use earphones. Hannibal knows to avoid my plate, and has learned to harass Jared when the latter taps his feet. Alexis is practicing her social distancing by remaining in her bedroom at all times except for meals. Ah, teenagers.

Maybe tomorrow will bring further developments on the shape of the mildew stain in the kids’ bathroom.

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