SPRING 2020 / ELLEN GERST
the day of wednesday
march
eleventh
5:11 P.M. Fuel America was still open on March 11, the day Governor Charlie Baker declared Massachusetts in a state of emergency. The employees wore gloves, and all drinks were served in to-go cups. And, as always, it was packed.
to work here, trying to distract ourselves from the rumors flying around campus about whether we’d be sent home from school or not. Earlier in the day, without knowing it, we had attended our last physical classes at Boston College.
My friends grabbed a couple seats at the end of a table while I set up at the window, next to one of the cafe’s coveted outlets. We’d decided
Some said the email was coming at 6 p.m., some said 5. I tried not to look at the time too often, but I couldn’t help it. Between my iced latte
and the threat of having to leave college forever, my leg couldn’t stop bouncing. A few minutes after 5, my friend Andy tapped me on the shoulder. I turned around and squinted to read the email she was holding up on her phone. “They’re making us go home.”
9
