Riley Matthews was walking down the sidewalk of New York City wearing a backpack. As she walked around, she saw only a few people were walking on the sidewalk across the street from her, and all of those individuals were wearing face masks. Riley looked a little nervous as she continued walking. Then as Riley turned a corner, she bumped into an old woman carrying groceries. The woman dropped her grocery bags as Riley said, "Oh, I'm sorry for bumping into you. Here, let me..." The old woman then looked at Riley and yelled, "Stay back! You young people never wash your hands. I don't need your stickin' germs!" Riley then took a few steps back looking sad, and then walked away.

Riley walked into her home and saw her mother Topanga and brother Auggie eating a meal together. Topanga then seeing Riley said, "Good, you're home. How did your mission go?" Riley taking a package out of her backpack said, "Well I got the wireless adapter and booster at the store. So now all of our electronics will have good wi-fi." Auggie sighed and said, "Thank God! Now I can finally play my favorite online games with my friends. Gimme!" Riley handed the electronic devices to Auggie, and then Auggie ran off to his room. Riley then sat in front of Topanga looking upset, as Topanga said, "What's wrong sweety?" Riley then said, "Well... it's just... this city is always so alive mom. So many sounds, so many people. But within just a few days... it's like the world has almost died." Topanga then said, "Well that's a good thing Riley. We need to be practicing social distancing right now, and we should be glad our neighborhood is quiet. There are still more people wandering around other parts of the city right now than necessary." Riley then started to look more sad as she said, "It's not that. It's just... I accidentally bumped into a woman on the way home and... she looked at me like I had the plague or something. I wasn't coughing or anything, but... she was scared of me." Topanga then looked sympathetic as she said, "Don't take it personally Riley. That woman is probably afraid of everybody right now." Riley sighed and said, "Yeah, but... where is all this fear leading us?"

Riley sat in her room looking at her laptop, as she saw images of Maya, Lucas, Farkle, Zay, and Smackle were all on her screen. Riley waved as she said, "Hey guys. Glad we finally got this video chat thing working." Farkle then holding up a drink towards his laptop camera said, "Yeah, and thanks for giving us the ingredients to how your mom's shop makes all those shakes. Now it feels more like we're really there now. So how is everybody else holding up?" Maya then said, "Well me, my mom, and Shawn just finished our twelve hour chick-flick movie marathon. My mom and me were secretly placing bets on how many times Shawn would groan and complain about the logic in the plots." Zay then said, "Well I finally taught my mom how to play video games. It's been pretty funny but we honestly haven't spent this much time together in a real long while." Lucas then said, "Same. I know as we get older we're supposed to become more independent from our parents, but... it's honestly really nice to re-connect with them, you know?" Smackle then said, "I would concur that freeing up one's schedule does cause one to better appreciate what they always had at home. How about you Riley?"

Riley sighed and said, "Well... my dad has been helping out at the local hospital a lot. I mean he's not a doctor, but he's been helping transport elderly patients that are having issues with their check-ups. My dad said he hasn't come into contact with anyone that has the virus yet but..." Riley then tilted her head down with a sad face as Lucas said, "Your dad is doing a lot of good for the community Riley." Then Farkle said, "How are your mom and brother doing?" Riley sighed and said, "Oh, Auggie is having the time of his life playing video games all day. And mom is working from home, but she still has to go to the office sometimes because of important lawyer reasons or whatever. But even when she's home, she's been having to make a lot of calls. She's got a lot of clients and even co-workers in her firm that are really freaking out right now." Then Zay said, "I hear you on the freaking out part. Grocery store near my house is nearly cleared out. Not only is all the toilet paper gone, but most of the canned stuff and meat is taken. People hording like the apocalypse is coming or something." Lucas then said, "I hear you. People are getting really scared right now. This is a pretty crazy time we're living in." Riley sighed and then said, "Yeah. People are sure getting real scared right now."

In the middle of the night, Riley was laying on her bed, looking at the ceiling with her eyes wide open. Riley then heard her cell phone ring. Riley answered it, and had her device switch to video mode. Instantly, an image of Maya appeared on her phone as she said, "Hey honey." Riley made a little smile as she said, "Peaches. How did you know I'd be up at this time?" Maya smirked and said, "Because I know you babe. And I could tell you weren't feeling right during the group chat earlier. So how are you really doing?" Riley then began to looked more sad as she said, "Well... I... I..." Tears then appeared in Riley's eyes as she said, "I feel like the entire world is gonna fall apart due to this freaking virus. My dad is out there risking his life just because he had to do the right thing. People on the streets are afraid of every human being they come across. People are hording away food and supplies like there's gonna be none left soon. And all I wanna do is hug my friends right now to feel better, and I can't even do that!" Riley then began to cry as Maya said, "Riley, I am so sorry. I'd come over if I could, but you know it's better if we all stay home for now. Just be glad we can still talk to one another." Riley continued to cry as she said, "I know Maya. And yet I still feel more alone than ever. I feel like I'm dying inside, and it's not because of some stupid virus." Maya then with a caring face said, "Riley... it's gonna get better. This is the time to have hope for things to get better." Riley then said, "How can you have so much hope at a terrible time like this?" Maya smiled as she said, "Because you taught me how to once. Remember?" Riley then smiled as she wiped away some tears and said, "Peaches... can you just stay on the phone with me for a bit as I fall asleep?" Maya then made a loving smile as she said, "Whatever you want."

Riley walked into the living room in the morning and saw Auggie playing video games on the TV, with a video of Ava in the corner of the screen. As Riley saw what was going on she said, "Auggie, is that Ava on the TV?" On the TV, Ava waved and said, "Hey Riley!" Auggie then said, "Me and Ava are going on an epic fantasy adventure together." Riley raised an eyebrow as she said, "Ava lives next door. Why aren't you playing together?" Auggie then said, "Social distancing Riley. It's what we gotta do now." Riley sighed and then said, "I guess. So... where's mom?" Auggie then said, "She got a call from her office. Apparently she's the only one available nearby that has keys to the building and needs to be there for some important stuff coming in." Riley then looked at the refrigerator said, "But today is shopping day. What about eating tonight!?" Auggie then said, "Mom left money on the counter for you and a list of stuff to pick up. She said call if there's an issue." Riley sighed and said, "Oh boy. Well... I guess I better go shopping earlier rather than later. Auggie, obviously do not leave the building and call me or mom if there's a problem." Auggie waved as he said, "Okay. Be safe out there Riley." As Riley grabbed her coat, she said, "I'll try."

Riley was pushing a shopping cart through a grocery store wearing a coat, hat, and winter gloves, and was grabbing various items of food. As Riley walked, she had a worried look on her face as she saw most people around her were wearing face masks. Riley then grabbed a box of crackers, but then said, "Whoops. Wrong brand." Then as Riley put the box back, an older woman saw her and said, "Hey. Don't put back on the shelf something you already touched." Riley then looked at the woman and said, "I'm not sick m'am. And I'm wearing my winter gloves that I washed this morning, so..." The woman then walked quickly away as she said, "I'm getting out of this filthy place!" Riley then held her head down low as she kept walking.

Riley had just finished paying for food at a checkout counter in the grocery store, and was beginning to push her cart towards the door. A homeless looking man then stepped into the store through the front door and approached Riley as he said, "Excuse me m'am. Could you spare some food? I've been out of work since before the virus hit and I've got a hungry family." Riley then reached into her shopping cart as she said, "Oh my. Well I'm sure I can spare some..." Suddenly a store employee walked up to the two and said, "Hey. No filthy migrants in this store! We're trying to keep things clean here!" Then a woman saw what was going on and looking at Riley said, "Step away from him young woman. Or you've gonna get the virus!" Then another woman said, "Oh no. I'm going to call the police." Then an angry Riley yelled, "ENOUGH!" Everyone in the store then froze and looked at a very upset looking Riley.

Riley then looked at the many people in the store around her and said, "Look at you people! I get that there's a virus going around that's infecting people. But all of you have already been infected with something else. Fear and anger! This isn't a time to panic and just think about ourselves! It's a time to think about others!" Riley then looked at one woman pushing a cart full of over a hundred rolls of toilet paper and said, "You there! Do you really need that much toiler paper!? There are others that need it too!" The woman then said, "Yes, but so many people are taking it all, and I had none at home, so I..." Then an angry Riley said, "Then you should share it with others that have none as well. The same thing goes for food. I see so many of you people buying way more food than you could possibly eat in the next few months, and yet we have people like this man here who are starving. Instead of thinking about how you might die in the near future, think about people like this man here who might die in the immediate future!"

Then an old woman from nearby said loudly to Riley, "Well you youngsters might think you're invulnerable walking up to strangers that have who-knows-what, but I'm trying to keep myself from dying here." Riley sighed and said, "I know we all need to practice social distancing. But we can still wear gloves and keep our distance as we're helping people in need in our immediate neighborhoods. Or if you're too afraid to do that, donate food and supplies to doctors and charities that really need it. And those supplies definitely include face masks. Because as I see all of you wearing them on the streets, I hear from my dad who goes to help out at the hospital every day about doctors and nurses who have barely any face masks left. Instead of just thinking about saving your own lives, how about you people try to support the individuals that are trying to save all lives." Riley then handed a bag of food to the homeless looking man and said, "Here you go sir. And I slipped into that bag a piece of paper with directions and info for a shelter down the street. I hope they can help you there." The man smiled and said, "Thank you young lady." Riley nodded and then pushed her cart of groceries outside of the store.

Riley walked into the apartment and saw Auggie was still playing video games. Riley made a little smile as she said, "You and Ava still playing that game?" Then through the TV, the small image of Ava said, "You bet. We are making months of progress in just hours today." Then Riley looking at the TV said, "Ava, are you home alone too?" Ava then said, "Yeah. Mom still has to work, but she said I have to stay in social isolation like the news said." Riley then said, "It's social distancing Ava. Not isolation. And that means keeping your distance from people and not making any unnecessary trips anywhere. But it's not smart or safe for someone your age to be staying home alone for a long time. So it might be necessary for you to come over here if your mom is gonna be gone for a long time today." Ava then said, "Hmm. I guess. Let me call my mom and see if it's okay with her." Riley smiled and said, "Sounds like a smart move." Then Riley heard her phone ring. Riley picked it up as she said, "Hello?" Riley then heard her father: Cory's voice say, "Hey Riley. Just checking in. How are things with you and Auggie?" Riley then said, "As smooth as they can be." Then Cory said, "Well I'm doing fine too. Actually, funny little story. A few people just came by the hospital today and dropped off a ton of unused face masks for us to use here right as we were about to run out. Guess we can still have some hope for humanity in these crazy times, right?" Riley then smiled as she looked out the window as she said, "Yeah. I guess we can still have hope."

THE END