“Okay, well, bad news first. Â The sample did come back positive for antibodies to AD36,” says the doctor in her lilting Northern inflection.
Maurice feels as if someone has stepped on his viscera. Â “I’m a carrier.”
“Most people are asymptomatic. Â Even if you do begin displaying infectobesity, proper diet and exercise–”
“You don’t understand, he says. Â I’m American.”
“Oh.” Â She gets it. Â “The Healthy Kids Act.”
He swallows. Â “I’m a teacher. Â If I get selected for testing next year–the camps–”
“You can claim asylum here, Mr. Langham. Â I’ll give you an address.”
But Maurice is picturing his fifth-graders, apple-cheeked, innocent, doomed.