Contents

Megan Catches Covid-19

(Untitled)

OWEN JONES

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DEDICATION

INSPIRATIONAL QUOTES

Contents

Chapter One: Omicron

Chapter two: Jane’s Problems

Chapter three: The Pandemic Hits Home

Chapter four: The Evans's Luck Changes

Chapter Five: Wacinhinsha

GLOSSARY

A NIGHT IN ANNWN

Megan Catches Covid-19

A Spirit Guide, A Ghost Tiger, and One Scary Mother!

by

OWEN JONES

Copyright © August 14th 2023 Owen Jones Author

All rights reserved.

Megan Catches Covid 19

by Owen Jones

Published by Megan Publishing Services

https://meganthemisconception.com

The right of Owen Jones to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988. The moral right of the author has been asserted.

In this work of fiction, the characters, places and events are either the product of the author’s imagination or they are used entirely fictitiously.

All rights reserved.

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Other novelettes in the same series:

The Psychic Megan Series

A Spirit Guide, A Ghost Tiger and One Scary Mother!

The Misconception

Megan’s Thirteenth

Megan’s School Trip

Megan’s School Exams

Megan’s Followers

Megan and the Lost Cat

Megan and the Mayoress

Megan Faces Derision

Megan’s Grandparents Visit

Megan’s Father Falls Ill

Megan Goes on Holiday

Megan and the Burglar

Megan and the Cyclist

Megan and The Old Lady

Megan’s Garden

Megan Goes To The Zoo

Megan Goes Hiking

Megan and the W. I. Cookery Competition

Megan Goes Riding

Megan Goes Yachting

Megan at Carnival

Megan at Christmas

Megan Catches Covid-19

DEDICATION

This edition is dedicated to my wife and best friend Pranom, who does everything she can to make my life easier, and succeeds phenomenally.

Karma will repay everyone in just kind.

INSPIRATIONAL QUOTES

Believe not in anything simply because you have heard it,

Believe not in anything simply because it was spoken and rumoured by many,

Believe not in anything simply because it was found written in your religious texts,

Believe not in anything merely on the authority of teachers and elders,

Believe not in traditions because they have been handed down for generations,

But after observation and analysis, if anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, accept it and live up to it.

Gautama Buddha

∞ ∞ ∞

Great Spirit, whose voice is on the wind, hear me.

Let me grow in strength and knowledge.

Make me ever behold the red and purple sunset.

May my hands respect the things you have given me.

Teach me the secrets hidden under every leaf and stone, as you have taught people for ages past.

Let me use my strength, not to be greater than my brother, but to fight my greatest enemy – myself.

Let me always come before you with clean hands and an open heart, that as my Earthly span fades like the sunset, my Spirit shall return to you without shame.

(Based on a traditional Sioux prayer)

∞ ∞ ∞

“I do not seek to walk in the footsteps of the Wise People of old; I seek what they sought”.

Matsuo Basho

∞ ∞ ∞

Contents

Chapter One: Omicron

Chapter Two: Jane’s Problems

Chapter Three: The Pandemic Strikes Feyton School

Chapter Four: The Evans’s Luck Changes

Chapter Five: Wacinhinsha

Glossary

Bonus Chapter: A Night in Annwn

Chapter One: Omicron

“Quiet, children, please!” said Mrs. Henshaw, Megan’s form mistress. “I have an important announcement to make, which will affect each and every one of you. I also have a letter that you should pass to your parents or guardians as soon as you get home. Don’t worry, it’s not a school report on your academic abilities. It’s a short explanation concerning what I am about to tell you now. By the way, every form is receiving this exact same talk at this very moment.

“It concerns that ghastly virus Covid-19 that is making everyone’s life so difficult, so please listen with both ears.

“As you may know, children have not been much affected by the strains of Covid-19 that we have experienced so far, and that is why most children have not been vaccinated. However, there is a new strain of the virus on the way, which looks as if it will infect the younger members of society too.

“And, yes, Jonny, that means you lot, so stop talking!” There was a restrained titter at the teacher’s little joke for everybody liked her.

“Are you saying that we will have to have an injection, Miss?” blurted out Jane from the desk adjacent to Megan’s.

“What have I told you about shouting out, Jane Thomas-Davies?”

“Sorry, Miss”, she replied raising her hand but still searching the teacher’s face for an answer.

“We’ll get to that later. Don’t be in such a hurry. So, where was I? Oh, yes. The letters for your parents. Please take one and pass the others back”. She gave the six pupils sitting at the front of the rows five sealed envelopes each.

Megan took her letter, turned it over, passed the others back over her shoulder, and looked at Jane. She was definitely looking a bit queasy.

“Are you all right?” she whispered. Jane’s only reply was to turn the corners of her mouth down and shake her head almost imperceptibly. Megan knew that she hated needles.

“Omicron, the latest variant is attacking children, but the good news is that it is not as powerful as its predecessors. It is more virulent, that means that it is harder to block it, but it doesn’t, well, rarely does as much harm as the others. Children are likely to catch it, and even fall ill, although it won’t be severe. However, that doesn’t mean that you can’t make an elderly person extremely ill, if you pass it on to them.

“The government is therefore recommending that henceforth, all school children be vaccinated as soon as possible… and so to your question, Jane, that means an injection in the upper arm. However it is quite painless. I have had three already and didn’t feel a thing. Look, not even a mark”, she said lifting the short sleeve of her blouse.

Megan put up her hand, and Mrs. Henshaw nodded. “When will it happen, Miss?”

“Good question, Megan. Well, today’s Friday, so your parents will have the weekend to read the letter, and some time next week to ask any questions they may have. The inoculation programme will begin on Tuesday next week. A group of medical personnel will come to the school to !make things easier, and they will set up shop in the Hall.

“Any questions?” She looked around the class, but only Jane’s hand went up.

“Jane?”

“Do we have to have it, Miss?”

“The truth is that I don’t know. I don’t see how they can vaccinate you against the will of your GP, or your parents… or if you’re kicking and screaming on the floor… However, it is the recommended option, so you will need to discuss it with your family. Now, one last thing before we disperse to the first lesson, if anyone wants to discuss this with me, seek me out. All right, go!”

Megan helped her sickly-looking friend on with her backpack, and they left the room.

∞ ∞ ∞

The first opportunity that the two friends had to talk was at lunchtime, but neither wanted to be the one to bring up the subject. They sat on a bench near the tennis court, and opened their sandwich boxes.

“Oh, fish paste again!” groaned Jane. “That’s all I need today!” She started to cry very quietly, but Megan knew. Not only did she know her friend well, but she could see the sadness in her aura, and Grrr had put her head on Jane’s lap. Jane had made a lot of progress in being able to see the ghost tiger over the recent weeks, but she was showing no sign of it at that moment.

“Come on, Jane! Snap out of it. Nothing’s happened yet, and you’ve still got your parents to talk to.

“Look, even Grrr is worried about you. She’s put her head in your lap”.

Jane opened her eyes, dried her cheeks, and patted thirty centimetres above her lap landing just in the big tiger’s fur.

“Thanks, Grrr. You’re a good girl, aren’t you?” She looked at Megan for confirmation that her hand was in the right area, and Megan nodded smiling.

“Come on, Jane. Few things are actually as bad as we think. Our imaginations don’t always work in our favour. You’ll see! I’ll swap you a cheese, tomato and lettuce sandwich for one of your fish paste”.

Jane smiled, did the swap, and said, “That Davy Thomas looks fit in his tennis kit, doesn’t he?”

Megan looked up. “Yes. He’s a good player too”, but Jane wasn’t interested in tennis. She’s on the mend thought Megan.

The bell for the beginning of the afternoon session seemed to come quickly, but Megan knew that the drama was not yet over. Her friend had a strange sort of brain that seemed not only to dwell on a problem, but to flit from one subject to the next.

They packed away their things and made their way back to their form room for afternoon registration.

∞ ∞ ∞

The next opportunity the friends had to talk was on the way home from school, but their street was only two hundred metres from the school gates, and Megan wanted to know what was troubling her best friend.

“You know me, Jane”, she said once outside, “I can see in your Aura that something is bothering you. Will you come for a cake and shake with me so we can talk about it?”

“Are you paying, ‘cause I’m brassic. I don’t get my pocket money until Saturday”.

“Sure. It’s my treat”.

They took their seats at an empty table outside the delicatessen on the Crescent and waited for some service. Grrr sat opposite them, her tail swishing in the traffic on the road.

“Your Mum’s not going to be waiting for you, is she, Jane?”

“As if!” she replied. “What about yours?”

“I’d better call her. You know what she’s like”. Jane did only too well. Their relationship had always been touch and go at the best of times. Suzanne, Megan’s mother didn’t think that Jane was a suitable best friend for her daughter or any other kind of friend for that matter.

Once they had been served their milkshakes and cakes, Megan dived straight in.

“What is bothering you so much about the Covid-19 vaccination, Jane?”

Jane hesitated. “You know me. I just don’t like injections…”

“No. There’s more to it than that”.

“Err, well… a week or two ago, I overheard my parents talking about the vaccination programme. I was coming downstairs for a drink, and you know… sort of overheard them like…”

“Yes, and…?”

“Well, everyone thinks they’ve had their jabs but they haven’t, because… well, because, they say that Bill Gates has put a a tracker bug in each jab so that they know where everyone is”. She looked at Megan eyes wide. “What do you reckon?”

“I’m a thirteen year old girl, why would ‘they’ want to track me? Or you for that matter? I don’t understand, sorry…”

“Well, we’re schoolgirls now, but what about in ten or fifteen years?”

“Mmm, I suppose so… but couldn’t they track us through our mobile phones or our computers?”

“Perhaps, if they have our phone numbers they could, I suppose, but we could be using burner phones to evade them… and we could be using VPN on our computers. Anyway, it’s probably not for now, but just in case we get good jobs, so they can make sure we aren’t giving away any secrets to the enemy”.

Jane smiled sheepishly at Megan, and Megan could tell that it was all beginning to sound a bit far-fetched even to Jane when she heard the words spoken aloud. She was starting to ponder on this frequent phenomenon, when Jane suddenly announced that she had to go home. Jane took a last bite of cake and thought a few seconds.

“I don’t know, Megs… You won’t tell anyone what I’ve said, will you?”

“Of course not! We’re mates aren’t we? I’ll see you tomorrow”.

“Yeah. I’ve got a headache. Thanks for the cake and shake”.

As Jane stood up Megan looked for signs of a headache in Jane’s Aura, but could only see those of fibs. Why did people, even close friends, do that… tell lies unnecessarily? she wondered. She sat there another ten minutes in the evening sunshine thinking about lies, and then wandered home vaguely sad.

“Can I help, Mam?” she asked when inside.

“Thanks, but everything’s in hand. Why don’t you go and have a shower, then you can lay the table?”

Fifteen minutes later, Megan was laying out the cloth and the plates, when Suzanne brought in a plate of buttered bread, she looked at her daughter and asked, “All right. What’s bothering you?”

“Nothing, Mam”, she heard herself saying, and immediately realised her lie. She had been thinking about Jane’s lying to her and here she was doing exactly the same thing to her own mother.

“Don’t give me all that. You’ve put the cloth on upside down!”

“Oh have I? Sorry. It’s nothing really. Just something someone said to me at school. Oh, that reminds me. I have a letter for you about Covid-19 jabs… “

“What did this someone say?” she asked, not letting the subject drop.

She was about to say ‘nothing’ but that would have trapped her in the second unnecessary lie in five minutes.

“They said that Bill Gates has put tracking devices in the vaccine”.

“Oh, that… You don’t want to believe crackpots who spread stupid conspiracy stories like that! Who was it? That dopey so-called friend of yours, Jane, I’ll wager. It’s just about her mark”.

Megan wanted to deny it and defend her friend, but that would have been the second near lie in a few minutes. It was beginning to dawn on her how easy it was to lie, and how often people did it… even to loved ones.

She decided to say nothing, which her mother took as an admission anyway.

“You need to be careful of that girl, Megan. She’s no good, and she’ll drag you down with her. You mark my words. Anyway, cutlery, please. Your Dad will be home soon. We’ll read the letter together after tea”.

∞ ∞ ∞

After everyone had finished their meal and the plates had been cleared away, Suzanne poured the tea and unveiled a few cakes, and then she presented Robert with the letter.

“Megan was given this today, Robert”. He opened it with his butter knife, put his glasses on and cleared his throat in order to read the missive aloud.

“Well, that’s quite straightforward, isn’t it? Your mother and I are up-to-date with our injections, and now it’s your turn, Megan. Do you have any problems with it?”

“No, Dad”, she replied honestly. “I’ll do whatever you and Mam think best”.

“Good girl. That’s the ticket! Job done then”, and he put the letter down and clicked the TV on with the remote.

“Just in time for the news”, he said turning to watch it.

Suzanne had wanted to complain about Jane’s input, but decided against it.

Chapter two: Jane’s Problems

Megan hadn’t slept well worrying about Jane, so, she was already awake when she heard her parents creeping past her room to go downstairs. She decided to shower first and then join them for breakfast.

“Are you coming shopping with us today, Megan?” asked her father as he always relished her company. He had long felt that he didn’t see enough of her because he spent so long working in the office and travelling to and from there.

“Yes, Dad, I’d love to”, she replied feeling the same way as he did. “Ten o’clock, as usual?”

“We depart at 10:00 hours as usual”, he joked, pronouncing it ten hundred hours in the military fashion.

“OK, captain!” she replied navally, a little off-subject. “I’ll be in my cabin until then”, and she bounded up the stairs with Grrr in hot pursuit.

“I’ll swing for that girl one day, I surely will!” said Suzanne from the kitchen looking at the stairs running up the living room wall. “Why can’t she be more ladylike?”

Robert thought she was exaggerating, but had learned over the years that it was better to say nothing than have his wife in a bad mood for hours, so he picked up the newspaper again and kept stumm.

Once in her room, she flopped onto the bed with Grrr and reached for her smartphone. Jane didn’t answer, but since it was only nine-thirty, she thought that she could still be asleep or in the shower, so she left a text message, then thought she would change into something easier like shorts.

Restrictions on masks and movement had been relaxed for a while, but the Evans’s still wore masks when they expected to be in close proximity to many people, so just before ten, they put on their masks and boarded the car. Grrr sat on the back seat with Megan, her head in her friend’s lap.

When they had finished shopping, Robert suggested that they have Elevenses in the supermarket tea shop. Megan was all for it and took the opportunity to check for a message from Jane, but their wasn’t one.

“Have you got anything special planned for lunch, Suzie?” asked her husband. Jane looked up from her phone at the strange question.

“Why? Do you have anything in mind?”

“Well, it’s such a lovely day, and what with all the lockdown restrictions of late, I thought we might buy a roast chicken, a loaf of crusty bread, and some cakes and go and sit on the beach this afternoon. Somewhere quiet like Jackson’s Bay. We could watch the yachts from the club sailing about, and maybe even go into the Yacht Club for a drink later. What do you girls think?”

“I’m up for it, Daddy. Please, Mam?”

“Do you think that they’d let us into the clubhouse? We aren’t members, are we?”

“No, we aren’t members, but a lot of clubs have relaxed those stuffy old rules. They’re just glad of the custom these days. Anyway, we know Ray. He might be there”.

“I don’t want any unpleasantness. I would die of shame if we were asked to leave”.

“OK, but that won’t happen. I’ll go in first and check that it’s all right”.

On that proviso, Suzanne agreed, and she went back into the main shopping hall to buy what they would need for a picnic, leaving Robert with Megan.

“This is going to be Ace, Dad!”

“Yes”, he grinned squeezing her shoulder. “Ace”.

∞ ∞ ∞

After the family had taken their shopping home, transferred the picnic into Tupperware boxes and a hamper, and then put on their bathing costumes, shorts and T-shirts, they had driven to the secluded Jackson’s Bay. There were only two other families there so social distancing was not a problem.

They laid out their blanket and settled in for a lazy afternoon, something that Robert rarely got.

They ate chicken sandwiches, washed them down with lemonade; swam; played Happy Families and snoozed for four hours, while Grrr sat on guard, a!though only Megan knew that.

It was a most relaxing afternoon, except perhaps when a stray dog tried to steal the chicken carcass as they slumbered. The three of them had been startled awake, when a dog yelped loudly, running away with its tail between its legs. Megan looked at the dog as it stopped thirty metres away and turned to look at the food that it had left behind. Megan watched as Grrr jumped to her feet and roared menacingly, and the dog took off again.

“I wonder what got into him?” asked Suzanne. “He looks as if he had seen a ghost!”

Robert laughed, but his smile became more knowing when he looked at Megan.

She pulled a slight smile and looked at Grrr in reply, to which Robert’s reply was an almost imperceptible nod. Neither of them thought it necessary to let Suzanne in on the truth.

They had both shared an understanding, and both thought that it was a terrible pity that Suzanne would probably never be part of it.

“Maybe it did see a ghost…” replied Robert to his wife, but she only screwed up her face and said, “Bah!”

She got it, but would never admit it.

Drinks in the Yacht Club had passed pleasantly, although they hadn’t known anyone there and they had only had the one, ‘so as not to outstay their welcome’.

However, Megan could tell that her family liked the Yacht Club, and that the members who had been there had no problem with them being there either. In fact, a man behind the bar, Dean, had invited them to return the following day for Sunday lunch, which was a special occasion every week. Robert and Suzanne had promised to take him up on his kind offer one Sunday, if not the next day. It was obvious to Megan and her father that she had been very flattered by the invitation.

All in all, it was a very successful afternoon, and everyone was glad to get home, so that they could shower and relax in front of the TV.

∞ ∞ ∞

Megan was usually allowed to watch the late night film on a Saturday night, and this was no exception, but none of the three of them could honestly claim to have followed the whole film, because the sea air had made them drowsy.

When Megan went to bed, she checked her phone again, but Jane still hadn’t replied, so she determined to pay her a nocturnal visit by Astral Travel.

∞ ∞ ∞

First thing in the morning, Megan thought about her ‘dream’ of the night before, in which she and Grrr had visited Jane. They had met in her bedroom, but it had appeared to be far larger than the three by four metres of her actual room, which was the same as Megan’s. Not only had it seemed far larger, but it was brighter and airier, since it had several large open windows. She couldn’t remember what the weather had been like outside, just that it had been bright, like looking out of a window on the higher floors of a skyscraper on a cloudless day.

The three of them had sat on her bed and talked… laughed even, and Jane had cuddled and tickled Grrr.

She couldn’t quite remember what they had talked about either, but she knew that her friend was not seriously ill, although she also knew that something was up.

She decided to pay her a visit at about eleven.

Before going to see her friend, Megan walked down to the Crescent to buy a small box of chocolates, then she retraced her footsteps, walked the extra hundred metres to Jane’s house, and rang the bell. It set off a loud chime in the tune of the Welsh National Anthem, which the neighbours could were sure to be able to hear. Jane’s mother, Mary-Jane, opened the door.

“Good morning!” she greeted Megan. “Come on in. Jane will be pleased to see you. She’s in bed… a bit poorly, don’t you know?” In strong contrast to Suzanne, Jane’s parents were always glad to see her.

“Go on up. I’ll bring a glass of iced lemonade up soon. It looks as if we’re in for another