By Blake and Paige Evans 

“Some people believe that the size of your school makes a difference on whether or not you will be affected by COVID-19.  From our experiences,  it didn’t make a difference. We are sisters, we go to different schools and we were both in contact with someone who tested positive for COVID.”

Blake Evans (@blakealese) is a freshman in high school and a writer for Girl Refined, a Christian publication.        (photo by shotbyvic)

My name is Blake. 

I am 14 years old. When I was younger I always dreamed about my high school years and having the time of my life. Due to COVID, I did the first semester of my 9th grade year at home. For the second semester, my parents allowed me to go back to school in person. I was excited and nervous all at the same time. Going to school is different than it was before and it was especially different when I got sent back home because I had been in contact with someone who tested positive for COVID. When I found out, I was at school in the lunch room with my friends. Someone who works at my school called my name over the intercom and told me to come to the hallway. The thoughts that were going through my head were “Am I in trouble?” “Why am I here?” and “I really hope I don’t have to get sent home.” My heart started racing because I’ve never been called out before. Then we walked to the gym and met with the school nurse. When I arrived at the separate room with the nurse, she sat me down and told me that I had been in contact with someone who tested positive for COVID and I had to go home for two weeks. The thoughts in my head changed. At that moment I was thinking, “Who tested positive for COVID?” “I don’t want to go back to doing online school” and “I hope I don’t have COVID.” She also explained to me that I had to leave the school in the middle of the day and go home. Thankfully my father was near my school and he was able to pick me up. Knowing that I was in contact with someone who had COVID frightened me. This virus has taken a toll on so many people’s lives and I didn’t want that to happen to me.

Paige Evans (@paigecolae) is a seventh grader and student-athlete. (Courtesy Photo)

My name is Paige. 

I am 12 years old. I am a student athlete. I play volleyball, basketball and run track. The basketball season was going fantastic! We were winning most games and having a great time playing. We had a winning game on a Tuesday. The very next day, one of the girls on my team took a COVID test and tested positive. Oh no! This meant that we had to stop practicing and could not play in any of our scheduled games. Our whole season had to stop.  

At our school, we were already online for the month because some teachers and students traveled. I found out we couldn’t play or practice in my school group chat. Our coach sent our team a text message and told us the news. I knew I had to quarantine to stay safe. I did not have any symptoms. I felt fine, but I was still questioning if I had it. I asked my parents if I needed to be tested. They weren’t sure, so they called our doctor to see if I needed to get tested. Our doctor said to follow the school rules and I didn’t have to get tested unless I developed symptoms. I was so relieved that I did not have to get tested. The nose swab makes me nervous. I was also sad that I couldn’t see my friends at practice. This experience just shows that kids can definitely get COVID even in a small school. Everyone really needs to stay safe during this time.

Blake is in the ninth grade and she goes to a large public school. 

Paige is in the seventh grade and she goes to a small private school.

Support for this article was provided to Word In Black (WIB) by the Chan Zuckerberg initiative. WIB is a collaborative of 10 Black-owned media that includes print and digital partners.