The Inhibitor

     "Hello, Mrs. Coff? Yes, this is Lisa Ala, from the Colorado Child Protective Services. Yes, we did have another child come into the system. They are 10 years old. The name is Jaspal Bachchan. From what I can gather, parents were arrested last night and next closest kin was out of state. Yes, it will only be for a week or so until the next closest kin arrives to retrieve Jaspal. Can you take her in tonight? Awesome, that is so nice to hear! I will make sure she is all ready to go. Thank you so much."

    You can hear the conversation clearly, even with the office door closed. The walls of the offices here were always padded with toilet paper; it was hard not to eavesdrop. You sit calmly on the nearby bench with a backpack full of clothes and the weight of a new life inside. This wasn't how mom said it was going to be, was it? She promised you that you were not going to be talking to any more police officers, or anyone who could take you away. But here you are, sitting and waiting for the bad news.

    The nice lady comes out of her office and kneels down to meet your sad eyes. You look up and dry a tear away. "Alright, Jaspal. I have someone who is willing to make sure you are taken care of for a little while. Let's go get you some other necessities while your guardian gets your room ready for you." You nod and take Ms. Ala's hand. You spend the next few hours buying some small bottles of shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, and deodorant to take with you to the new place. She even lets you buy the stuffed elephant you see on the way out of the store. You hug it close to you as you leave the store and get back into the large car. Ms. Ala tells you that your new place is closer to school than your home is, so you will still go to school in the same area. You smile; less friends to have to leave.

    The ride to the new place is easy and fun thanks to the music in Ms. Ala's car. Ms. Ala listens to the same music you like and her dancing is very silly. You arrive at the new place without realizing the car has stopped because you are too busy doing a wave with your arms. You look out and clutch the new elephant. Ms. Ala puts a hand on your shoulder. "It's okay, girly. You got this. Let's go meet Mrs. Coff and see if she's-"

    "Ms. Ala!" A voice calls out. You look outside to see a woman dressed up like she goes to work in an office in the movies. It's a suit with a white shirt under it. There is a briefcase at her side; did she just get home from work when Ms. Ala called? Ms. Ala steps out first and opens the door for you. You hop out and try not to stumble when you land. You almost trip, but catch yourself and stand tall. One more deep breath before you follow Ms. Ala to your new guardian.

    "Thank you for taking Jaspal in at such short notice." Ms. Ala calls back as you walk together.

    "My pleasure, my pleasure! My kids will be happy to have someone else to play with." Mrs. Coff laughs. You cringe. She sounds like a movie person too. The laugh sounds like it came out of a radio rather than a real person. "Hi there, Jaspal." Mrs. Coff kneels down to meet your gaze. You look down at your feet. "I know you are going through a lot of thoughts, little one. But don't worry. I promise I will take good care of you while you are here. I'm sure Abigail-"

    Just as Mrs. Coff says that name, a little girl with pigtails pops out from behind the woman. The little girl looks your age, maybe a little older. She perks up at seeing you. "Mommy, is this a new friend staying with us?" You look to Ms. Ala. She gives you a smile, but you can see the thought from her expression: oh boy, another one. You look at Abigail and wave shyly at her. She grabs your hand and pulls you into the house. "Come on! You can come stay with me in my room. My brother is in there right now, so you can come say hi." You hold onto my elephant tightly as you get dragged into the house and toward a pink door that throws itself open as Abigail giggles. "Jason! Jason!"

    The boy's back is turned to you both as he stares at his game. He is playing on a Nintendo Switch. You don't want to know which game, but you can imagine that -because he looks older- it is not a game his mother would want to know about.

    "What, Abigail? It's not your turn on the-" He looks up and sees you. You smile and look down at your feet again. "Well, well, well. You found yourself a new friend, did ya?" He picks up your chin and forces you to look up. He looks like he is barely a teenager; maybe 13 or 14. "What's your name?"

    "J-Jaspal." You whisper. 

    "Jaspal. That's a pretty name." He rubs the top of your head. "My name is Jason. My room is on the other side of the hall, just in case you want to get away from Abigail."

    "Hey!" Abigail whines.

    "I'm kidding." He tells her while giving you a wink. "But anyway, I'm glad you are here. Mom is probably talking to Ms. Ala now. We've had a lot of kids at our house, so it won't take long before Mom wants to see you again." You bite your tongue so you don't spit out the question you have. It would not be a good time to do that. He picks up his Switch. "I'm going to my room now. Like I said, remember to come in if you want to get away from Abigail." He ruffles your hair and leaves the room. Abigail stomps her foot as he leaves. 

    "He always says that to my new friends." She pouts. "But I don't want him to let you in his room. His room is gross. Mommy always gets mad at him for his gross room." She looks back at you, then down to your elephant. "Is this your new toy?" She frowns. You grip it and hug it to your chest. "What a silly toy. Don't you want a doll instead? I have all the best ones."

    "N-no thank you." You take a step back. "I like elephants. Ms. Ala gave me this one."

    "Oh. Okay." Abigail stares at it for way too long. "But dolls are better though. I even have one that looks like you."

    "Um... that's cool, I guess." 

    "Don't you want that instead of an elephant?"

    "No, I like my elephant." You repeat. This little girl is already showing her real self. Just like daddy warned you about.

    "Fine. If you want a doll, you can have one. But you have to give me the elephant first." She steps forward really fast and tries to reach for your stuffed elephant. You move so she can't get it. She gets closer and tries to reach for it again. You back up so your back is on the door. The panic comes in your belly as she comes closer to take it away. You finally yell, "Don't touch my elephant!" She pulls back and starts to cry loudly. You run out of the room and -without thinking- straight into the other room across the hallway.

    You fall down on the floor and start to cry as you hold tightly to your elephant. The room is pretty dark thanks to the curtain blocking out the summer sun. You hear a gentle chuckle on the other side of the room. Your eyes adjust to the darkness and you see Jason set his game down. 

    "Wow. That only took five minutes this time." Jason laughs. "Abigail is pretty weird, isn't she?" You nod and look down. "Don't worry, you are safe in here. She doesn't like coming in here, so you can stay in here until Mom comes looking for you." He helps you up and gives you a hug. As he does, he pets your hair like a puppy, then rubs your back. It feels weird, but you don't say anything. "Ms. Ala probably heard you crying, so she's probably asking Mom about how well Abigail has been behaving since the last kid came over here. It's always been something Ms. Ala worries about when someone comes to stay with us." You feel Jason rub lower and lower on your back. You pull away a little, but Jason pulls you back. "Sorry, sorry. I'm used to doing that for Abigail. I'll be careful." He picks up right where he was rubbing your back. You try to pull away again, but he only hugs you tighter. Thankfully, your hand comes close to your chest when he pulls you back in. "Don't worry, little one. I won't hurt you. I'm just trying to help you feel better." As soon as you feel him cross your back into uncomfortable territory, you tap your chest twice. A small glow radiates from that spot and you sigh in relief. "There, see? It's all better. You can just hang out with me and-"

    "Jason Coff, what are you doing!?" Mrs. Coff screams as bright light shatters the darkness in the room. Jason doesn't let go of you; he's too frozen in fear. You know Ms. Ala is standing next to Mrs. Coff, faces frozen in shock at the sight of Jason touching your bottom as he holds your shoulders still. You struggle against him and break out of his arms. You run back behind Mrs. Coff and Ms. Ala. "Ms. Ala, I- I don't know what to-"

    "Mrs. Coff, I would like to have a word with-"

    "Mommy, Jaspal didn't want one of my dolls! She just wanted that stupid elephant. I tried to-" Abigail screams as she opens her door. She stops as Ms. Ala stares at her.

    "Abigail... were you trying to take Jaspal's elephant away from her?" Ms. Ala asks. Mrs. Coff seems to be more focused on Jason. 

    "No." Abigail lies. 

    Ms. Ala looks down at me, nods, then back up to Mrs. Coff. "Mrs. Coff, let's have a family meeting. Jaspal, why don't you get in the car and listen to some music while we talk. I promise I will lock you in to keep you safe." You nod and walk out to the car with her. As you get into the car, you hear Ms. Ala say, "Good work, Jaspal. That was good timing. I will be right back. Just relax while I finish this up." You nod and lay in the passenger seat. You hear the car doors lock around you as you drift off in a quick nap.

    It feels like seconds pass before the car unlocks again. You wake up but keep your eyes closed. "Is that you, Annie?" You ask in a groggy voice. 

    "Yeah, it's me. Stay low for a second. I'm almost away from the house. Holy Lord, that was some quick work." Annie climbs in the driver's seat and starts the car. "Mrs. Coff was not too happy with those kids. That would explain all of the problems we've been having with the others that stayed there." There is a pause as Annie turns twice. "Alright, you're clear."

    With that, you feel your body shift and grow. You can feel each muscle shift back to its more comfortable state. You sit up and shake your hair out. You braid it and wrap it around itself to make a neat bun. Annie hands you a few pins and a scrunchie. "I'm not going to lie, Jaspal. That was your fastest alert in a long time. Good thing I told the captain to have you come with me. I don't think I would have sussed them out otherwise."

    "No kidding. Who would have thought between the younger one's attitude and the older one's perversion-" You stop to make sure your hair is in place, "-there wasn't any note of that on Mrs. Coff's records. Surely someone was aware of it."

    "Not the right people, apparently. Mrs. Coff 'fessed up pretty quickly. She said she was trying to let Jason get by with only a little handsy behavior. As for Abigail, Mrs. Coff thought Abigail was just being a little girl, as all of them have that tendency. Abigail actually admitted to wanting to hurt you since you wouldn't take the doll."

    "She was being pushy. A bit too much for my liking." You look over to Annie. "Do I look back to normal now?"

    "About as normal as I've seen you look." Annie smirks. "You know, as long as we have worked together, my skin still crawls when I see you shift. I don't know how you agers do that."

    "Unfortunately, neither do we." You laugh nervously. "I don't mean to freak you out, you know. For me, this stuff is like when you breathe. I do it so naturally, and-"

    "Save me the chatter. I just want to listen to some proper music now. No more Disney music." She turns the radio to a station playing classic rock music. You nod and bop along to the music with her. The paperwork can wait until the morning; now is the time for a victory ride.