Mass Hysteria

Image borrowed here

A rush of students flooded the LRT station. Some looked worried. Others looked simply apathetic. Patiently we waited for our turn in that long stuffy ticket line.

Everyone's talking about the latest buzz in town - after Friday's magnitude 8.9 earthquake in Japan, the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is still in an 'alarming' state following a blast at its number 3 reactor, probably a hydrogen explosion. Text messages were all over the place warning to stay indoors lest you want to be exposed to some nasty radiation that got leaked and carried away by the wind from the north.

2pm.  Skeptic after overhearing from a weather report that there was no need to worry, I completely dismissed the forwarded messages as a hoax. But my jokes regarding the radiation's effect on my oh-so-bumpy complexion - fruits of labor from my sleepless nights - turned into complete horror as we watched our chairperson going over classrooms announcing the suspension of classes made by the university administration. Cold chills ran down my spine. Anxious remarks were apparent. Apocalyptic images I've seen from CNN started flashing inside my head. Is this friggin' serious? I can't believe all these are happening. It was all so scary. The campus was evacuated. A rush of students flooded the LRT station. A tense aura enveloped the atmosphere.

5pm. I received another text message from a friend that all the shiznits were simply a product of the circulating hoax text messages. Shiznit. Perhaps it was the worried look from our chairperson's face that scared me the most. Shiznit. I realized I have a final exam tomorrow and we're still three-quarters done working on a final requirement.

False alarm. Student life goes on. Another whopping shiznit.