This week, my deskmate caught conjunctivitis. She missed school the day before yesterday, and even though she hasn't fully recovered, she returned to class today with noticeably red eyes.
When she first returned, everyone was surprised, especially me. I didn't dare look directly at her and even asked her not to look at me. I asked other classmates if she was feeling better, but they said, "Not yet, look for yourself if you don't believe me." I was too afraid to look. Later, C whispered to me, "Don't talk about her," so I immediately fell silent. Thinking that she is my friend and noting how thoughtful C was, I went back to my seat.
Afterward, I watched her a few times. At first, I couldn't see very clearly and thought she was fine, but by the second and third time, I realized her eyes were indeed very red. After a few classes, I completely forgot about her conjunctivitis and continued to interact with her closely, leaning over her desk to ask math questions. Despite someone saying, "People with conjunctivitis shouldn't touch her things, or it will spread," I still shared correction fluid and rulers with her, even thinking about letting her use a tissue for her eyes and then using it myself.
After school, while walking downstairs with PT, he acted quite dramatic, telling me not to touch her. He said I was sitting too close to her and told me to go home and disinfect myself so I wouldn't catch it. Classmate q also told me not to touch her, but they were actually just joking with me.
Hearing them describe how scary conjunctivitis is—how you have to isolate, miss school, and suffer from eye pain—made me terrified. After getting home, I immediately used eye drops several times and drank some herbal tea.
To be honest, I am quite afraid of catching conjunctivitis myself. I truly value our friendship because, in our class, she and I are the only ones who study together and stick by each other through thick and thin. Perhaps that's why I forgot about the risk of contagion. I just hope the conjunctivitis doesn't find its way to me.
