Trans-demic
Chinese Flu
Sam Wong read the email from Josh Epstein, the partner in charge of the fiendishly complicated real
estate deal that had consumed the last three months of their lives.
“You’re going to have to close this deal without me. I’m sick as a dog, and my wife just called an
ambulance to take me to Bellevue. I just hope it’s not that fucking Chinese Flu. Do whatever it takes to
get this done.”
Sam flinched at the slur but was used to minority bashing that goes on behind closed doors of politically

The weeks passed by, and before I knew it we had reached the October half-term break. I was relieved to finally have a week off work. While some of the classes I was teaching were enjoyable - year 7 were just so infectious in their naive enthusiasm, and year 12 were quite profound in some of their observations on Shakespeare and Christina Rossetti's poetry - the others were becoming less and less pleasant.

“Lexie, whom you will be voting for?”

“Voting?… Aren’t the elections more than a year away?”

All women exploded in laughter.

“The company best man, you goofy.”

“Sorry?”

“We just talked about it. Didn’t you listen?”

CHAPTER 39
The rest of the week was less scenic than my first visit, as I followed Kul around a number of businesses that included more than a few of that old favourite from Sheffield, the waste cooking oil account. Kul was quite bullish about them, which surprised me, for he had never pushed himself so far forward back in Yorkshire. I slowly came to understand how deeply he felt that the Australian venture was his own particular baby, and it would grow his way.

Mistress Athena swooped in and put a stop to my misery at work, sparing me from the constant harassment and bullying that had become all too familiar. She forbade me from going back to that toxic environment, and I couldn't be more grateful. Her online business was thriving, and she deemed it sufficient to support us both for the time being. She also had a plan to put me through a rigorous training program at home, designed to help me overcome the trauma I'd endured.

Chapter 2

When it comes to convenience, Mechelen really sits in the right place. Just over twenty kilometres from the campus in Antwerp, and a similar distance to the centre of Brussels and the EU headquarters. That was where some of Elaine’s family worked. Her uncle Jules was part of the security detail in the main building, while Juliette, his wife, was a secretary in the office of one of the Belgian Commissioners. There were three children, all who had left home and lived in Brussels.

This is the final chapter.

Two teens on failing to find the start of a meme, decide to test it

Part two for you - for future readers its best if you read this work in order...

As we drove along, mom explained a few things about the last few days. The hospital admitted to everything being their fault in what had happened, especially when dad had our family attorney speak with theirs. It was simple case of mistaken identity. Seems a 26 year old woman named Jamie Stone was in for the procedures I got, and scheduled for the 11am slot. Then I, Jamie Stone the boy was scheduled for my procedure at 4pm.

CHAPTER 38
Chad was what I had always considered a typical, or perhaps ‘cliché’, Australian, in being too tall, too bony, too big in the nose and too sunburnt, especially on that overly long nose. I thought back to our friend in the campervan business, whose nose was similarly red, and wondered if I would end up as another Mr Rednose. It would be cheaper than getting there by drinking, anyway.