It was a Wednesday and the sun was radiating onto Princeworths Royal, a medical college where the 2023/2024 session freshers were basking in the euphoria of finally being in university. Seated inside was the Medical Science lecture hall for freshers.
It was rowdy. Some sat on the tables, conversing; some were isolated, reading novels. The overzealous ones had their eyes glued to lecture materials, and somewhere at the corner was Peter, just reminiscing about life.
“Good morning, everyone,” a voice echoed, forcing everyone into their seats as they scrambled to maintain decorum. It was none other than Professor Mark, a well-known professor emeritus often referred to as “Prof.” He wasn’t the only professor, but he was perhaps the most senior.
“In my previous class, I gave a lecture on some infectious diseases, the animals that harbour them, and how they spread."
What infection can be contracted through the faeces of a rat?” he asked Peter, his unexpected gaze fixed on him. Prof had this inexplicably creepy way of interacting with students. Some students referred to him as “The Cartoonist.”
Peter replied, “Rabies!”
Side giggles and muffling sounds rose across the room. In response, Peter turned around, and suddenly everyone laughed out loud. He wondered why the sudden outburst.
The professor called the class to order. “Silence, please,” he said, stomping his foot on the white ceramic tiles.
“What’s your name?” he leaned downward towards Peter, who was seated.
“Peter,” he replied, tilting his head away from the professor’s face while pinching his nose.
“Could you repeat yourself?” the professor asked.
“I said ra—”
“Hold on,” the professor cut in. “Why do you have your fingers pinching your nostrils?”
“Umm… nothing,” Peter said, gently lifting his hand off. How could he tell a professor that his breath stunk?
“Mmmgh... mmgh,” he cleared his throat. “Rabies can be spread from the faeces of a rat.”
This time around, the professor and the whole class burst into laughter. He thought: Did I say something wrong?
“Lassa fever is what I think you wanted to say, right?” Prof said, his hands resting on the table and his face still close to Peter’s.
Peter slowly nodded. “Ye… yes. That’s right.” He suddenly remembered that rabies Isn’t spread through rat faeces — Lassa fever does.
“What is rabies?” Prof asked.
“Umm… rabies is an infectious disease spread through the umm... ummm.”
“Take it as a homework,” he cut him off. “I want you to make a presentation tomorrow on the topic Rabies,” he added heading back to the front of the classroom.
“Understood?” he turned around, staring deeply into Peter’s soul.
Peter replied with a nod.
He felt embarrassed after the incident. He failed a question he had always known. Strange.
When he returned home, he slammed his bag on his bed and searched “Rabies” on his old faded laptop. It was his late dad’s, given to him before his father’s demise. He wasn’t the wealthiest, but he had just enough for survival.
He took in a deep breath while gazing at the laptop. It had wide patches of black from its faded silvery colour with only a sparse tinge of silver left.
His attention shifted from the laptop’s aesthetics to the search results on rabies.
“Hmmm… interesting,” he murmured as he pointed at images of animals — dogs, cats, wolves, coyotes, foxes, raccoons, monkeys, and bats.
“Damn! So a bite from these animals can lead to the transfer of rabies to humans,” he uttered.
“Gosh,” he scoffed, cupping his face with his palms. “I am such an idiot,” he said, hitting his head with fisted hands.
“So rabies is a viral infection spread through the bite of dogs, wolves, coyotes, foxes…” he muttered while nodding.
The next day, upon arriving at school, he opened the class door only to hear soft murmurs echo across the room. He shrugged his shoulders and walked in. His eyes met Susan — his crush who never reciprocated his feelings as much as he wanted.
He stared into her soft blue eyes as though they were beckoning to him.
“Are you ready?” a masculine voice broke his thoughts, pulling him back to reality. He had been standing for some seconds, lost in his inner thoughts.
“Ummm, yes,” he said, scanning the room, trying to locate the voice. A soft tap on his back made him shiver. He turned around. It was Prof.
“Did you eat magic mushrooms today?” Prof asked, and the whole class laughed.
“Yes, I… I’m ready,” Peter said, ignoring the remark.
“Shall we?” Prof gestured to the front with both hands like a gentleman opening a car door for his lady.
Peter walked to the front.
“So…” he began. “Rabies is an infectious disease ultimately spread through the bites of dogs, cats, wolves, foxes, coyotes, raccoons, bats, and skunks. It…”
He went on — no stuttering, no awkward pauses, no tension.
“... If you ever get bitten by a dog, always remember that you’re at high risk of contracting rabies… thank you.”
He ended his presentation, hoping for applause or even a comment, but none came. Silence filled the room. The ambience was cold.
“You’ve told us what rabies is and the animals that can transmit it, as well as how it spreads from the bite site to the human brain,” Prof said. “But can you tell us the immediate action to take if we were ever bitten by a dog or a raccoon?”
Without hesitation, Peter answered.
“Well, the first thing to do is thoroughly wash the bite site with water, then go to the hospital for immediate vaccinations.”
“Well, to add to what you said,” Prof stood from the front seat to face the class. “Once nothing is done about an infected bite, it will travel to the brain and guess what? The inevitability of death becomes apparent.” he paused.
"In the later stages they often have symptoms like throat pain while drinking water, irrational behaviours, hallucinations, and confusion. But once these set of symptoms kick in, survival chances are low. So don't take a bite from a dog or wild animal lightly. Wash thoroughly with water and visit the nearest hospital for appropriate vaccinations."
He placed his hand across Peter’s shoulder and gave a friendly pat. “Well done, my friend. I was impressed. I wasn’t expecting you to know how to effectively handle a rabies case.”
Prof never gave compliments, but this time, he did.
“You know, I remember the day I got chased by a wild dog…” He continued while Peter returned to his seat. Everyone’s eyes were on him. For the first time, he felt fulfilled.
The lecture was over, and he joined a local bus back home. He stayed with his mum off campus.
Upon arrival, he fell flat on the bed after his bath, almost drifting into an alternate universe when his phone chimed — it was a message notification.
“What are you up to this evening?”
He smiled and jolted upright. It was Susan — his class crush.
His rabies presentation was truly a blessing in disguise. He was the talk of the class — the guy who impressed Prof.
“Well… all work and no play makes Peter a dull boy,” he said to his reflection in the mirror in front of him, as his once-expressionless face slowly broadened into a smile.
NB: Inspiration was drawn from one of my very first fictional story here on hive.