Exhausted! That was what the TNI members and volunteers were feeling right now. It could be said that they had only slept for three hours. Every hour, there was always someone complaining of being sick. The sound of children crying could even be heard constantly.
"Yaaawn," Vero said, stretching his arms.
"Oh my God, I'm so sleepy," Vero complained.
"Wait, where's Nindy?" Vero asked in confusion.
"Nindy's in the public kitchen. She said she wanted to make fried rice," Ranti replied, having just finished taking a shower.
"That kid is always eating. I wonder if she isn't afraid her cheeks will get even puffier," Vero said.
"Hahaha, she eats a lot, but she doesn't get fat," Ranti giggled.
"Oh, yeah, you're right. I wonder where all the rice goes," Vero chimed in.
"Tsk! It goes straight to her cheeks." Ranti's laughter rang out.
"Hahahaha, you're right. Ow, ow, my stomach hurts like hell," Vero said, wiping away his tears.
PUBLIC KITCHEN
"Mmm, this is really good," Nindy said after finishing up the cooking.
"Wow! Miss Nindy, what are you doing here?" a TNI member said, suddenly entering the kitchen.
"Good grief, sir! If you were coming in, you should've said something. You startled me," Nindy said irritably, pursing her lips.
Thank God, I get to see such a beautiful sight first thing in the morning, the TNI member thought.
"Oh, uh, sorry if I startled you, miss," the TNI member said sheepishly.
"It's okay, really, sir. Hehe." Nindy giggled.
"What are you doing, miss?" he asked.
"Oh, Nindy's making fried rice. I got hungry after praying earlier," Nindy said.
"You're beautiful, diligent about praying, and you can cook, too," the TNI member praised her.
"Don't praise me, sir. Nindy might start floating," Nindy giggled.
"If you start floating, I'll just catch you," the TNI member replied with a chuckle.
"With what?" Nindy asked.
"A net." The TNI member laughed.
Nindy joined in, though she had no idea what was so funny. She didn't know what a net was, but she still laughed when she saw the TNI member laughing.
"Good grief, miss, why do your eyes disappear when you laugh like that?" the TNI member asked.
"Nindy doesn't know, sir. They've been like this since I was born." Nindy giggled.
"Hahahaha, you're something else, miss. Go on and finish eating," the TNI member said.
"Don't you want to eat, sir?" Nindy asked.
"I'll have breakfast with the other members later. I only came here to get a glass," the TNI member said, then took the glass he needed.
"Oh, go ahead, sir," Nindy said.
"All right, then. I'll be going now, miss," the TNI member said before leaving.
"Yes, sir," Nindy replied politely.
After the TNI member left, Nindy immediately served the fried rice onto a plate. Then she sat down in one of the chairs there. She began devouring her meal. Nindy didn't realize that someone was watching her right now, smiling to himself.
"So, what do we do?" Vero asked.
They were gathered in front of the medical post. They were going to discuss what kind of virus had attacked the residents.
"Wouldn't it be better if we did blood tests? That way, we could find out what virus has attacked the residents," Nindy said while eating a snack.
"That's right, doctor. We should do blood tests instead of just guessing," Ranti agreed.
"All right, we'll do blood tests. Nindy, can you help me with them?" Rafael asked.
"I'm sorry, Doctor. I don't really know how to do something like that yet. So far, I've only learned about being a volunteer," Nindy said honestly.
"That's okay. You can watch how I do it later. Didn't you want to pursue your dream? You can start learning now," Rafael said.
"Doctor Rafael's right, Nin. You should start learning now. Think of it as gaining more knowledge," Vero added.
"It's not just me, Vero! Don't suddenly get amnesia. You want to go to medical school too, so you have to learn as well," Nindy grumbled irritably.
"Ha-ha-ha, okay, okay. Don't make that face. I'm not scared; it just makes me want to squish your cheeks," Vero said, then laughed.
"Oh, forget it. Come on, Doctor," Nindy urged Rafael.
They all quickly gathered the equipment they needed. Meanwhile, some of them were informing the TNI members and residents that they would be conducting blood tests.
With the help of the TNI members, the residents were now gathering in the spacious Unit 6 tent. Everyone, including the children, was brought there.
"Hello, good afternoon, everyone," Rafael greeted the residents.
"Good afternoon, Doctor," they answered in unison.
"All right. Today, I'd like to ask permission to take blood samples from all of you. We'll examine the samples to find out what virus is currently attacking your bodies. Are you ready?" Rafael asked.
"Ready, Doctor," they replied in unison.
"Alhamdulillah. All right, we won't be taking just one or two blood samples. We'll take samples from everyone so no one gets missed. Miss Nindy will help with the children," Rafael said.
The children cheered excitedly. Some of them were already very happy that Nindy was there. They thought Nindy was funny. Hehe.
Rafael and the others began dividing up the tasks. Since Nindy didn't understand the process yet, she watched how Rafael took the blood samples.
"So, do you understand now, Nin?" Rafael asked.
"I do. Thank you for teaching me," Nindy said with a smile.
Oh shit! Argh, why are you so adorable, Nin? Rafael thought.
Nindy began walking toward the children, smiling sincerely.
"Hello, kids. How are you? Are you ready?" Nindy asked.
"Does it hurt, sis?" asked a little boy who was about five years old.
"Mmm, not at all. It feels just like an ant bite," Nindy replied.
"Really? Squinty Sis, you're not lying, are you?" Dito chimed in, calling Nindy Squinty Sis.
Nindy burst out laughing when she heard what Dito called her. That kid was something else, calling her that.
"Ha-ha-ha, couldn't you come up with another name? Why do you call me Squinty Sis?" Nindy giggled.
"That's Dito's term of endearment for you, Sis," Dito replied, immediately making Nindy smile.
"All right, thank you for the nickname. Now, line up neatly, okay?" Nindy instructed.
They all obeyed. Nindy prepared everything with help from her friends. She had also prepared snacks and boxed milk for the children.
"Okay, let's get started," Nindy said with a smile.
A boy who looked about seven years old stepped forward. He was a little afraid when he saw the syringe, even though it was very small.
"Just relax. It won't hurt," Nindy said.
She took the blood sample while keeping up a conversation with the boy so he wouldn't feel the pain too much.
After the tests, only one little boy remained, hiding under a table. Nindy had been watching him from time to time and occasionally giggling at his behavior.
Nindy let him do whatever he wanted. Once the others were finished and only that boy remained, Nindy approached him.
"Hi," Nindy greeted him.
"Huh? How did you know I was here?" asked the boy, who looked about four years old.
"Wow, then I must be amazing to know you were hiding here," Nindy giggled.
"But I don't want a shot. It hurts," the boy said.
"No, it doesn't. Just ask your friends. It didn't hurt them, and they even got snacks from me," Nindy coaxed him.
"Food?" the boy asked.
"Yeah, food. Do you want some?" Nindy asked.
"I dooooo!" the boy shouted excitedly.
Nindy smiled at him. Her coaxing had worked. She immediately picked the boy up.
"All right, get ready. Don't look over here. Just look toward the forest. There's a flying cow over there," Nindy said while preparing her equipment.
"Sniff, waaaaaah, it hurts!" the boy screamed.
"Wow, look! There's a flying cow eating grass over there!" Nindy shouted, making everyone burst out laughing.
A flying cow eating grass? What would that even look like? Ha-ha-ha.
Good grief, you're so ridiculous, Nin, Rafael thought.
That's my friend, Vero thought.
Hahaha, she always does things that make people laugh, Vito thought.