Monday’s class was going as usual. The professor lectured to us about vaccines, while I listened to her and scribbled down notes. I found the discussion interesting, although a bit disheartening, given my country’s recent push against vaccines. 

“Given the rise of very preventable diseases, the usage of antibiotics and antivirals will probably rise, so let’s talk about how those work.” the professor lectured. 

I turned to a clean page in my notebook and, once again, scribbled down notes as I listened to her drone on about the various kinds of antibiotics and antivirals. 

“Unfortunately…” my professor said after about 20 minutes of lecturing, “Antibiotic resistance will surely rise even more. If that happens, then what? Well, aside from people just getting sick and having to fight off bacterial infections themselves, there is, at least one more way to treat bacterial infections that are antibiotic resistant…”

I instantly perked up, which got the professor’s attention right as she said, "That is called Bacteriophage therapy.”

“Yes?” she asked me, “Do you have something to say about that?”

“Goddamnit,” I thought to myself, knowing what was about to happen.

“I uhh…” I stuttered nervously, “I did bacteriophage therapy when I was a teenager.”

“You did?” my professor’s eyes widened in disbelief. 

“Yup.” I gulped as I glanced up at the clock, hoping I could leave.

“Well, would you like to tell us about it on Wednesday when we dive into the topic of bacteriophages?” 

“I uhh, sure.” I nodded, avoiding eye-contact with the professor. 

“Great!” she smiled, “Looks like we’ll be having a guest speaker on Wednesday! See you then, everyone!”

“Oh my God… What the hell have I done?”