AN: Hello everyone I hope everyone is staying safe amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic. I finally got enough free time to do this story after submitting a lot of homework and meeting online for my online classes.

As a matter of fact this story was heavily inspired by those experiences.

This was also inspired by Crescenta Lark's latest chapter on moments titled "Little Fantasy". I hope you enjoy.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Totally Spies which is owned by Marathon. I am also not a med student nor do I know who the Dean of the Harvard Med School is. This story is more of a written therapy for my own frustrations based on my own experiences from my school.

"Oh shit" he chuckled as he heard her swear as she looked into her phone. She lay beautifully lying on her belly with hair sticks on her hair to keep them up because she got too lazy tying her hair.

"Let me guess, additional homework?"

"Not just that, I got dragged in to an online chain letter dare game." She was mildly annoyed based from her tone and facial expression. Mildly, because they both know not to waste too much brain cells on bored people.

"Dammit Clover and Alex why do you girls have to do this to me?" he turned his back to her to briefly set-up his laptop on his desk that faced the wall so she could still remain on their bed.

"Let me guess, you reacted to their status?"

"I can't believe I fell for it."

"What are you supposed to post?"

"'100 heart reacts and I'll join Pandora' from Clover –""

"Pandora? That stupid DIY music video app of people dancing and lip sync-"

"Yes that one. And 'Goodbye ex, I've moved on'" a grin appeared on his face as she turned to look at him.

"What?"

"You just need to post it right? No specifics on the how?"

"Tim Scam, what are you thinking?"

"Want to make it interesting and worth your while?"

"Darling I love you, but I'm also on my second day of my period. My patience is a little thin now, so just tell me."

XxxxxxxxxX

IM Chatroom

Alex L: Do you think she'll actually do it?

Clover M: If she doesn't we'll just say she's Ms. Sam-No-Fun 😆

Alex L: Hahaha you're right. I wonder what's taking her so long. I hope she doesn't use her excuse of having too many homeworks she just posted she submitted them.

Clover M: Oh wait it looks like Sammy posted a status.

Alex L: OMG

Britney K: Hey guys I just went online, but did you see Sam's latest post?

XxxxxxxxxX

"I love you, Tim" she said in between kisses as she began to laugh.

"See how they're all quiet now." What was posted was a picture of a sharp kitchen knife with some artificial blood on top of a large fresh blood stain Sam made on the bed. On top was a caption of the phrase "Goodbye ex I've moved on" and on the bottom was the caption "100 heart reacts and I'll join Pandora".

Just then her phone buzzed interrupting them.

"That's probably them checking if you are okay." They share one last kiss before she picks up her phone and exits the room. He didn't mind if she stayed in their room, but he also knows she wouldn't want to bother his meeting when Clover could get pretty loud.

Ever since they've been ordered to stay home and to no longer venture outside, majority of their communication with the outside was through cyberspace. And he knows that while she was annoyed to have been caught in the chain letter. At least it was only one and it was a brief escape from her classes which has been moved to Zoom, a video telecom app. In his case, he was glad that work was transferred to cyber meetings and cloud drives.

Fortunately for them, he was working in an intelligence agency and decided to stock up on essential groceries and essential food and medicine for a lockdown. The more awkward adjustment during this week was her professors, who grew up in a generation who did things the old fashioned way, learning how to conduct classes from a camera over the internet.

Unlike other people, they didn't really panic. Both of them were inherently introverts who had limits interacting with other people. Sam was much more nice and polite about it than he was. And after they would go home together she would rant out about things she wished she could say but because of propriety she is restrained not to lash out and impulsively burn bridges. He on the other hand after mentally calculating if it will hurt him in the long run, wouldn't hold back his sarcastic remarks about people whose bullshit he couldn't stand anymore. And now that they were on lockdown to flatten the curve of a virus with no cure or vaccine yet, they were both reaping the benefits of not seeing people whose bullshit requires a strong level of restraint and discipline to not respond to.

"How was your meeting?" she enters their room in her bath robe with damp wet hair. From the looks of it her towel has already absorbed most of the water that was there.

"Incredibly boring. We're all getting frustrated that there's a lack of response."

"Back to observing and analysis."

"Its mainly in the hands of the team handling medical intelligence. But for now I'm watching my…'friends' to see what they'll do." He feels her wrap her arms around his shoulders and press a kiss to his temple. He could sense her worry.

"Any news from your end?"

"I don't want to think about it for now." He can't blame her. Some of the alumni whom she met with in her Freshman Med School party are on the frontlines. And some of those same people have either become suspected persons who may be positive for the virus or have already been tested positive for the virus. Some of her past teachers in both college and Med school have recently drcided to join the frontline of doctors.

"The rational part of me knows that there's still a chance for surviving the virus. But I can't help but feel worried. Not everyone has a strong immune system and fatigue and sick doctors, nurses and med staff may eventually die from being overworked." He turns and takes her into his arms.

"And I'm here to remind you that you need to stay healthy to help them. Apart from donations it's the only active thing we can really do at this point." He presses a kiss on her forehead. It's the few small gestures he knows would calm her down during these times.

XxxxxxxxxX

"Is everyone online?"

"Those that could go online are present Dr. Wodden." She sees him in the periphery of her vision as she talks to the laptop with her earphones on. Another Zoom meeting discussing topics that should have been reserved for the second half of her semester. The school decided to extend the school year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Can you hear me Ms. Simpson?"

"Yes Dr. Wodden but your video is not on yet."

"How do I put it on?" She proceeds to gently guide her professor on how to turn on the video while she sees her classmates slowly turning on their video screens. This was the time to experiment on how to conduct online classes when they can't be physically present. She hopes that professors in general will be more understanding of those who have weak or no internet access. In a way it was a little bit more motivating for classes to be in cyber space.

Even though she knows that Tim loves her regardless of her mistakes and considers her one of the smartest people he knows, she still wants to make him proud of selecting her to be his partner for life. She's far from perfect despite what some people think. Everyone who really knows her really well knows that. She still has her lazy moments and during times when she's fatigued or exhausted. It's the same reason why he lets her sleep in on days when he knows she's not going to have any online activity. Its also the same reason why for the meantime they haven't made love since the second week of their lockdown. They both know it's a big adjustment for everyone, and things are far from perfect in holding work and classes online. It was fun at first but change and adjustment can still be awkward and a pain in the ass. They both know rationally that its part of the process. But that didn't mean it no longer hurt.

XxxxxxxxxX

"I'd like everyone to know that I'm under quarantine now and for everyone to stay safe in their homes during this Pandemic." Tad Bailey says through his manager who delivered the news that he was tested positive for COVID-19. He joined the growing number of public personalities who tested positive. That's one of the many problems this pandemic has caused.

In her case, they were pressured to do multiple things that even for a diligent student like her, it was difficult to do. Their Dean has decided to extend their current semester and had informed the faculty to conduct online classes or some sort of online activity to help promote productivity while students were required to stay at home. Never mind if because of social distancing that her friends who had a psychology background said that its normal and even expected that there will be a drop in productivity. The pandemic has caused people to live in an unusual time, and productivity should not be the priority but rather the mental and physiological health of a person should be the priority.

But it was different in her case.

With the numbers of fallen medical staff from the frontlines, there was an added pressure for her to learn and absorb things as quickly as she can. And contrary to how relaxing it can be for others, she didn't have the time to have 8 hours of sleep. She would also forget to do her daily yoga exercise or at the very least a few minutes of meditation. Instead it was only when she felt a huge rush of negative energy or if she was feeling so overwhelmed by the amount of schoolwork that was given to her that she would remove herself from the desk and take deep breaths until she felt a neutral calm wash over her. How funny it was that before all this had happened, she had time to remind Tim to abandon his work for awhile to have a meal together. Now the tables were turned, and he made sure that she had a meal everyday. She would settle any pangs of hunger by drinking coffee or water and it was only after Tim would gently massage her shoulders that she forced herself to take a break.

"What's wrong?" he asked her when he noticed her expression as she typed away on her phone.

"I think my classmates are frustrated with me or our prof. I asked him after the lecture what the coverage of the midterms would be and his reply was that it would depend on where we finish. He scheduled another Zoom meeting next week. And next week according to my co-beadle is already the week before our midterms if we were to follow the new schedule of the exams. It should be the week where there shouldn't be any meetings or activities so that students could focus on studying for midterms. He argues if we were to follow our professor's instructions it would not only add more things to study but also would leave nothing for our finals. He's upset that nobody raised it during our online lecture."

"Well maybe he should have raised it himself. You're just one person love, even you can't see every single problem there is."

"He can't, he's got unstable internet and has not enough money for too much texts. That's why I mainly shoulder the beadle duties right now."

"He's the co-beadle right? So he also has your teacher's e-mail. If he has a problem with how your prof is handling things during this pandemic then he should e-mail him. He may not attend your Zoom meetings but even unstable wifi connections can send a simple e-mail. You've done a lot by carrying most of the responsibility, you did your job as being the prof's messenger." He takes her hands and begins to massage them.

"Its not just that…I hope he doesn't take anything against me. I was tired and I didn't see it right away and even our professor was beginning to get tired. Our Dean is pushing for more active participation and more online classes. And I know that we are pressured more than anyone before to quickly learn, but at the same time based on the Dean's actions I don't deny that there's financial interest mixed in with his motivations. He's already ranting out to me that it seems our professor is following the Dean's unreasonable expectations…but I also wish he would also see it as our professor having little to no choice but to do so. I know our professor is a good person, and I know he's simply following orders. I also hate that we are forced to be productive during this time and I also hate the thought of having more things to study for in our midterms. But there's also no denying the fact that the Dean has power over us, there's no denying that making him unhappy would either get you expelled or would not allow you to graduate." She felt him embrace her as she feels herself unknowingly shed tears. It wasn't the same as the tears she had shed for professors who died because they were frontliners in treating patients who were confirmed or suspected to have COVID-19.

"Shhh, let them out. You've done what you can for the day and you need to prepare for your quiz tomorrow for another subject. You're not a mindless beadle, you've done your job. If they or he is unsatisfied then he should either find a way to get himself in the next Zoom session or simply e-mail your professor. And as much as I despise him right now, I know enough to say that you are too close for him to permanently hate you. Let him calm down, or if he's pissed off enough to hold a grudge against you for this then message his boyfriend to have a virtual date with him. Who knows maybe its just pent up sexual frustration." He smiles as he hears her giggle. Its still not her normal laugh, but its enough for tonight.

"We'll get through this, you'll get through this. One day we'll all laugh about this. You're not weak or a mindless minion Sam, you're being smart and calculating. Its situations like these where you can't afford to be reckless even if you wish you could."

"Speaking from experience?"

"I was in my twenties is the demographic for being reckless." She felt him pout and she couldn't help but smile as she raised her head to look into his eyes.

"I thought you calculated doing that?"

"Reckless moves can also be calculated."

"Which part? Your actual moves or you getting fired from WOOHP?"

"I'm getting you a drink now that your tears have dried up." Their lips meet as she could sense his mild annoyance.

But he was right, we will get through this crisis. People will change after this pandemic. And though its vague, she trusts that when it has passed we'll be wiser and better than before.

The End.