Sem Lockdown, Day 16
Akira did her daily chores as the military floats rode the streets of Sem. She sung and danced through the hallway while she hoovered, under the notion that Kain was exercising in his room, Miles was focussed on learning a new verb tense in Sterculian and Tristan was out getting the groceries.
She was so engrossed, she didn't hear the footsteps treading towards the kitchen, continuing to tap her feet backwards and forwards and spin the hoover round like it was her dancing partner. She twirled round with her arms flailing gracefully in the air, only to catch sight of a certain Kain Douglas who was failing to let a smirk escape his mouth.
"Having fun there?" He asked, resting his arm against the starkly blank wall.
"Oh shut up," Akira stopped the hoover and folded her arms, "Don't tell me you haven't done anything like that before, Mr Jogs-A-Lot."
He laughed, "Yeah, I have, it's just kinda funny watching you being so... sprightly."
"Since when have I not been sprightly?"
"I didn't mean it like that. I've just never seen you being so childish when you've got a job to do."
"Well, there's nothing wrong with keeping your spirits up. Especially in a time like this."
"Yeah, I agree," he smiled, "I'm going to grab some lunch before I speak to my family for a bit. Do you want me to put some loud music on while I heat up some beans?"
Amused, she dropped her arms down by her sides, "As long as it's not any of that hovercar horn music that's in the charts."
He scoffed, "No, that's a load of rubbish. Call me a 'mummy's boy' if you like, but I prefer the type of music my mum listens to." He told a white lie. He liked some of the current chart music, he was just missing home.
"Sure, go ahead."
Kain had discovered, in amongst the practical furnishings and gross flooring that the kitchen had to offer, that there was an interactive wall at the back of the room. He presumed it prevented the staff from missing any important updates during their breaks. He found a music application on the screen and streamed a tune through it, an old song someone had made by banging some basic utensils together, stomping their feet, clapping, singing and then adding in a loosely fitting electronic harmony over the top. It sounded a bit like a caveman version of what Earthlings would know as '80s music.
Nevertheless, it somehow managed to be quite catchy and Akira found herself grooving with the hoover just like before.
"What's all this racket?" Miles asked, now also appearing in the hallway, slightly agitated that his study had been disrupted.
"Join us, Miles!" Kain beckoned, sticking his head out the kitchen door.
"Oh come on, this is ridiculous," he said, a sense of temptation creeping into his serious tone, "This isn't meant to be a holiday."
"Lighten up for a while, it's good fun!" Akira laughed, causing the young man to stop and listen to the rhythm of the music for a second.
"Oh, to Angst! Liberty! Freedom! *and booze with it," he laughed and began doing a sort of clicking and jiving motion, "I suppose that's where all this started anyway." He got a laugh and a cheer in return from the other two.
A few minutes later, Tristan came back, carrying a rusack of food and supplies, to the chaos in the hallway.
"Come on lads," he said, stopping in his tracks on the way to the kitchen, "I don't mind a little bit of fun, but we need to practice what we preach. This is possibly verging on party status."
"Oh, just until the end of this song, please Captain!" Miles protested, "It's only the afternoon."
"Here here!" Kain shouted fron the kitchen.
"Okay," Tristan laughed, "But then it's back to work."
Speaking of which, it must have been a good laugh to see all the floats going past today. I saw a few myself when I went out for my daily exercise earlier and seeing the 'isolated' soldiers going past certainly gave me a chuckle.
With more updates on today's events, here's Kain."
She was so engrossed, she didn't hear the footsteps treading towards the kitchen, continuing to tap her feet backwards and forwards and spin the hoover round like it was her dancing partner. She twirled round with her arms flailing gracefully in the air, only to catch sight of a certain Kain Douglas who was failing to let a smirk escape his mouth.
"Having fun there?" He asked, resting his arm against the starkly blank wall.
"Oh shut up," Akira stopped the hoover and folded her arms, "Don't tell me you haven't done anything like that before, Mr Jogs-A-Lot."
He laughed, "Yeah, I have, it's just kinda funny watching you being so... sprightly."
"Since when have I not been sprightly?"
"I didn't mean it like that. I've just never seen you being so childish when you've got a job to do."
"Well, there's nothing wrong with keeping your spirits up. Especially in a time like this."
"Yeah, I agree," he smiled, "I'm going to grab some lunch before I speak to my family for a bit. Do you want me to put some loud music on while I heat up some beans?"
Amused, she dropped her arms down by her sides, "As long as it's not any of that hovercar horn music that's in the charts."
He scoffed, "No, that's a load of rubbish. Call me a 'mummy's boy' if you like, but I prefer the type of music my mum listens to." He told a white lie. He liked some of the current chart music, he was just missing home.
"Sure, go ahead."
Kain had discovered, in amongst the practical furnishings and gross flooring that the kitchen had to offer, that there was an interactive wall at the back of the room. He presumed it prevented the staff from missing any important updates during their breaks. He found a music application on the screen and streamed a tune through it, an old song someone had made by banging some basic utensils together, stomping their feet, clapping, singing and then adding in a loosely fitting electronic harmony over the top. It sounded a bit like a caveman version of what Earthlings would know as '80s music.
Nevertheless, it somehow managed to be quite catchy and Akira found herself grooving with the hoover just like before.
"What's all this racket?" Miles asked, now also appearing in the hallway, slightly agitated that his study had been disrupted.
"Join us, Miles!" Kain beckoned, sticking his head out the kitchen door.
"Oh come on, this is ridiculous," he said, a sense of temptation creeping into his serious tone, "This isn't meant to be a holiday."
"Lighten up for a while, it's good fun!" Akira laughed, causing the young man to stop and listen to the rhythm of the music for a second.
"Oh, to Angst! Liberty! Freedom! *and booze with it," he laughed and began doing a sort of clicking and jiving motion, "I suppose that's where all this started anyway." He got a laugh and a cheer in return from the other two.
A few minutes later, Tristan came back, carrying a rusack of food and supplies, to the chaos in the hallway.
"Come on lads," he said, stopping in his tracks on the way to the kitchen, "I don't mind a little bit of fun, but we need to practice what we preach. This is possibly verging on party status."
"Oh, just until the end of this song, please Captain!" Miles protested, "It's only the afternoon."
"Here here!" Kain shouted fron the kitchen.
"Okay," Tristan laughed, "But then it's back to work."
******
"Good evening, fellow citizens.
Here at the RSB we took some joy in a short spot of relaxation today, just to take our minds off work for a bit. I should encourage you to take breaks if you are working from home or keeping up any projects during the lockdown period. While it's good to keep yourself occupied, it's also really important to find the time to have fun and enjoy yourself. It'll keep you in a positive mood and it'll make you feel a lot better.
Speaking of which, it must have been a good laugh to see all the floats going past today. I saw a few myself when I went out for my daily exercise earlier and seeing the 'isolated' soldiers going past certainly gave me a chuckle.
With more updates on today's events, here's Kain."
******
"Thank you, Captain, and good evening to you all.
I definitely agree with Tristan, the floats seem to have had a positive effect on everyone. I've heard many good reports from friends, family and soldiers alike. I'm glad that, even in times like these, we've managed to pull together and continue with our usual celebrations, though in slightly unusual fashion.
I also want to say, on behalf of Sem's military, that our sponsors and the organisations behind global health and education strategies are very much welcome to the efforts shown by our soldiers today. We were very happy to take up your floats in your absence.
You can rest assured, as well, that all the soldiers involved in today's processions were taking the correct measures to reduce the spread of crāpulavirus. However, there were a few instances of soldiers slightly getting carried away with their isolation performances. Fortunately, those soldiers injured by the breakage of glass screens have been treated with all but one sustaining only minor injuries.
A reminder to everyone that, no matter how dramatic or passionate you are feeling, it is never a good idea to smash your head through glass. All the best to Sargeant Stewart and her family.
With just two more days of Pasqual left to go, we encourage you all to continue with the traditional celebrations as far as you possibly can. The shops are still stocked full of traditional cooking ingredients, you can still get in remote contact with your friends and family to share tales of Pasqual present and past and you can still play games online or with the members of your household.
Pictures of the world's favourite floats from today will be viewable on our website. Props to the aloofplant tea float, I don't want to know how you achieved the steam coming out the top of the mug, but I thought that was really impressive.
Here's Miles with today's medical updates."
******
"Good evening, planet Sem.
Our research teams and military officials would like to thank you for the orderly fashion in which you placed your tests in the containers this morning. Your co-operation made a potentially difficult job so much easier for everyone, with only a few instances of non-compliance. Our deepest apologies do go to those who feel this is an invasion of privacy but we promise that it's the best way to ensure the accuracy of our cross-section of the spread across the planet.
We saw a reduction in calls to stop late night parties last night, so our officials and I would like to thank you for that too. The more you adhere to our advice, the easier these difficult weeks become.
Someone asked me last night if, with the analysis of tests, some of our measures would be reduced. The answer to this is yes, we are hoping this will be the case. We will report further once we've gathered more data on this.
That's all from me this evening. Here's Akira with the weather."
******
"Thank you, Miles, and good evening Sem.
As the snowstorm at the North Pole continues, the poor weather is set to spread further than expected.
Most of Secat is due to be covered in at least a dusting of powder tomorrow. The temperature will drop dramatically to about -2 degrees centigrade. All farmhands should take the necessary precautions to ensure the protection of their crops. Simul Santu is due to experience this weather too, though to a slightly lesser extent, with a temperature of about freezing.
Meanwhile, Piscanturia continues to be a bit luckier than the rest of us, with warm weather and a few showers. The temperature tomorrow will be 15 degrees centigrade.
The South Pole will remain cold and dry yet again tomorrow, though there is due to be some form of precipitation at the West. This will most likely be hail, but it could be snowfall if the temperature fluctuates overnight.
Please be careful if you're going out in harsh conditions for your daily exercise tomorrow. Back to you, Captain."
******
"Thank you, Akira.
Please do heed all the warnings mentioned in tonight's broadcast and stay safe. While our services are there to break up late night parties and aid you should you suffer an injury or get caught in poor weather, you can lower the strain on them by following the health measures. Stay indoors and keep your music off at night.
On a positive, thanks again for your co-operation. You really are doing a lot of good by continuing to follow these measures.
To play us out tonight, here's a song from Miles.
Goodnight, fellow citizens."
Comments
Post a Comment