Sasha Williams walks into the Cedar Point Police Department and looks around. She had enough consideration that she had waited until after Remembrance Day and had even made an appointment ... or had her mother make it was more accurate. After the elections she felt as if she had grown up ... a lot. Now she was all about surviving an Apocalypse. The end of the world. A time when people were at each others throats and only the strong would survive. But she also knew that she was a kid, which came with its own set of problems. Would the police be able to protect her? Would they let her protect herself. Well, this was one way to find out.
Angie Johnson walks out from the back room cell area with a hard copy file and looks over the counter at the girl "Hello there Miss. May I help you?" Her tone becomes automatically more maternal sounding.
Sasha smiled and turned to face the voice. They had black people here, she rejoiced in the inside. Didn't mean automatic friendship, but it was comforting to her. "Hello, ma'am." she began. "My mother, Tonya Williams, made an appointment for me to speak to someone about the Cedar Point Police Department and its preparedness." she glanced around again. "I'm Sasha Williams."
Angie looks sympathetic, hearing the accent "You're American? I know it's been a period of adjustment to say the least. Of course we have disaster plans here. Come on in and I'll show you some materials."' She points the way to her desk and grabs a spare chair.
Sasha nods. "Yea. My mom has been looking for a job and planing to move to Canada now for a little more than a year. She said it didn't matter who won." she shrugs and follows, sitting in the chair, patiently.
Angie opens her desk drawer and pulls out several Canadian government handouts on various natural disasters. There are more on earthquakes than any other variety. Then she sits down at the desk and clicks at the computer, pulling up a website and going to a specific page for British Columbia.
https://www.getprepared.gc.ca/cnt/hzd/rgnl/bc-en.aspx
She leans forward so she makes eye contact but in an open and non threatening way. Clearly this child has some anxiety and she doesn't want to make it worse. "Now, you'll get earthquake drills and some preparedness lessons at the school. They're quite vigilant there. But did you have any specific questions about specific disasters?"
Sasha takes the handouts and begins to look at them ... to really READ them. But when the officer lady speaks up, Sasha lifts her head and makes eye contact. It is broken only to look at the woman's badge for her name.
Sasha can read quickly and mumbles a little to herself as she first reads the pamphlets and then moves on to the websites via her own tablet. "See, I didn't know much of anything about the earthquakes. I think Minnesota would be vulnerable to the New Madrid Seismic Zone, but that isn't covered much there and you don't really want to know what the police in Minneapolis has to say to me when I asked." she is one who can read and talk at least. "There a lot of hills and the like here .... avalanches, Landslides, tsunamis..." she sighs. "Things no one in the Midwest worries about." she continues to read, mostly quietly, sometimes tapping her tablet and typing or bookmarking a page. Angie can do other things, but it takes the better part of half an hour before Sasha really seems to join the Cedar Point Police Department in the here and now.
Angie lets the kid do her thing and takes a gander at the duty roster while she does so.
Cody Nault wanders by and looks down at the kid on her tablet with total confusion. He walks past and up to Tamela, who slipped in the back door quietly and was now typing away on her own computer, and leans in on the wall of the cubicle like he's trying to be suave.
Tamela is aware of him but ignores him and keeps typing until he chirps at her.
"Douglas... What's with the kid at Johnson's desk? "
Tamela answers in an irritated tone "I dunno ask Johnson. Nault I have a lot of work here. Did you need something or is this just bullshit chit chat?"
Cody smirks "Just saying hi."
Tamela dismisses him with a simple answer "Bye."
Sasha takes in a deep breath. "This sounds insane to most adults, because of my age and all ... and the truth is I DO have dysthymia. It's a kind of anxiety disorder and one of the reasons I am homeschooled." she takes a breath. "But I am not crazy." she pauses a second, realizing with part of her mind that the baggy jeans chock full of all kinds of things might belie that idea. She almost deflates, suddenly, as if she believes that Angie too will pat her on the head and tell her the police have it all under control and send her on her way. She then notices a male and female officer enter and tenses, not so much from the additional people as the exchange. Especially the male. Her eyes flick to Angie. "Excuse me ma'am. Is he American, too?" she whispers, subtly motioning to the big man. "I met one of the others. Reinhold . no .. Reinhardt? I think he thinks I'm paranoid, but at least he offered me self-defense lessons." she sighs and waits a few seconds. "This is all common sense. What about human nature?" she continues.
Angie is both kind and nonjudgmental. She can be ruthless in the interrogation room if she smells a lie but this is a scared kid so her softness prevails. She looks towards Cody who is pinning something on a bulletin board at the back now. "No he's one of ours." Her tone suggests a hint of disbelief. "Sasha, sounds like you got some challenges but I'm not going to tell you you're crazy. Human nature is always the unpredictable factor. All you can do is be responsible for your own actions, not everyone else's. Since you're homeschooled you're not getting the quake drills. We might be able to offer you that another way as well as some first aid training if that would set things at ease some? Officer Douglas over there gives a basic first aid class to some of our outreach programs." She gestures to Tamela across the room. who is typing again. "Sounds like Officer Reinhardt already has you set up with self defense. " She grins "His specialty."
Sasha grins. "Yea. We got more of them down south." she replies in regard to the guy. Looking at Officer Douglas and nods, but slightly anxiously. "I'd like that, please." then she giggles about Officer Reinhardt. "Well, he's kind of big so it makes sense. It surprised me that he's good with kids, but that isn't fair, is it. Like size discrimination." she pauses and seems to be moving from page to page on her tablet. "Humans are animals." she holds up a finger. "Not always in the bad sense, but we're mammals. And humans, when in certain situations .. especially when they're scared .. can be panicky dangerous animals." she looks up at Angie. "My grandmother was in Chicago in 1968 during the race riots then. She remembers the separate drinking fountains and the lynchings and the riots." she bites her full bottom lip. "In a disaster, if things get rough ... all this seems to say 'stay home' but what if someone comes into your home or you HAVE to go out in the streets to deal with it? If someone comes after me or my mom ... " she pauses. "How old do I have to be to be to legally use weapons?" she just spits it out. "Crossbows or guns? I like the idea of a crossbow better because if it got REALLY bad, I could learn to make my own bolts." she knows the terms and is ready. "Plus ... I seen enough guns in Minneapolis .. and more from the gangs and other folks than the police."
At the weapons tangent Angie holds up a hand to halt this whole area "I need to stop you on the weapons ideas. That will get you in a whole heap of trouble with the law. Just don't even go there kid. We don't live by the right to bare arms here and we have very strict gun control and weapons in general. Just don't.
I know you come from a very different experience and believe me, I get the race thing too. My grandparents came to this country through the underground railroad. It can be a scary world still, I know.
The good thing about a small town like this is the strength of the community. Get to know your neighbours, some kids your age - connect so you know some people are looking out for you and your mom. Because we will look out for you."
She tries to look reassuring but she's really starting to have some concerns about Sasha. She makes a mental note to follow up with her mother by phone if she can get a hold of her.
Just then Chief Callahan comes barging out of the door to the cell area and shouts "Nault! Get your ass in my office." Clearly he's furious with Cody about something. Cody gulps and walks past the back of Sasha muttering "Yessir."
Tamela swivels around in her chair staring at the commotion.
Angie has a look on her face of why now? Why yelling and chaos when I'm with the anxious kid? She sighs looking towards Tams. Tamela picks up on the cue and approaches Angie's desk and pulls out a pack of gum as she gives a nod and a smile to the girl. She offers it to Angie first and then the kid "It's strawberry... anyone?"
Angie takes a piece "Thank you Officer Douglas. This is Sasha Williams."
Tamela grins "Like the Walking Dead? Lucky name. Do you watch it?"
Sasha is about to argue when Angie mentions the Underground Railroad, then they get big in wonderment. "REALLY?" she begins to relax a bit. "I keep hearing that, but ..." she shrugs. "That's not how it works in America .. at least not where I'm from." she sighs and then a door slams and she jumps as if shes been stuck with a pin. She turns and stares at the jerk officer heading into a room, and doesn't change her gaze until the other officer comes by with gum. "Um ... yea .. hi ... Officer Douglas." she takes the gum and is shaking a bit. "Please and .. and thank you." she looks at Officer Douglas. "I watch all the time but ..." she sighs and sags slightly. "There was something about the election ... and the protests after ... that ... made it ... TOO fictional? Does that make sense?" she sighs and blinks towards the now closed door, then gives her attention to the other officers.
Tamela watches her jump and watch the door and says offhandedly "Don't worry about Chief Callahan. His bark is way worse than his bite. and yeah America's pretty messed up right now."
Angie points at Sasha and mouths something to Tamela and Tamela laughs "Thank you Angie." Followed by "Sorry Sasha. Didn't catch your accent right away."
Sasha looks at the closed door and the rumble that's coming from it. "Just like my mom." she giggles. Then she looks between them and takes on a little swagger. "That's right. Another politically persecuted immigrant up here in the 51st state." she giggles and then looks at Tamela. "I have an accent?" she clearly doesn't believe she does.
Angie throws her head back and laughs, a deep belly laugh "Everyone has an accent but no one hears their own."
Tamela smiles and nods "I'm sure you hear ours too eh?" she exaggerates the eh for humour.
Sasha turns a little darker, but smiles. She points to Tamela. "Yea ... that 'eh'. That's the first time I heard it since we got up here." she giggles and then grows serious. "So why can't I learn to use a knife or a crossbow, if I can't use a gun? I mean Officer Reinhardt says they're all soft options and I only need to know how to break holds and maybe disable to get away for someone official but ..." she sighs deeply.
Tamela looks like she might tip over at the weapons questions and then chuckles in disbelief "No...no and no. This isn't the Hunger Games kid. You shoot someone with an arrow and we have to arrest you, plain and simple, even if it was self defense. Reinhardt will tell you this too but even in defending yourself without a weapon, if you take it further than is deemed necessary to leave the situation safely, that still comes back on you."
Angie nods "It's true."
Sasha nods. "He did tell me that." then she shakes her head. "Maybe its ... culture. I mean I'm from a rough neighborhood. The cops pretty much let us exterminate ourselves, I guess. That's what my mother says. My grandma says it too. Mom is trying to get her to move and I think after this election, she might. We have a three bedroom apartment for her to have a room." she sighs. "SO .... it's not all about people getting shot and the cops not caring?"
Tamela just winces at Sasha's former neighbourhood and really hopes the family makes a happy home in Cedar Point.
Angie sighs "Well we're far from perfect Sasha, but I'd like to think lots if not most people here who get involved in law enforcement do so because they really want to help people. I understand your distrust from your experience though."
Sasha considers it. "I DO like it here." she admits. "It's REALLY quiet. One of the things I was thinking of asking is why you don't have sirens on your cars, then I realized it just looks like you don't have a reason to turn them on." she sounds nearly awestruck. "And that's good, but ... it's gonna take some getting used to." she sighs. "Alright. Officer Reinhardt can teach me self defense. And .. that should be enough?" she looks at them both a bit hopefully, like she can't believe it can be THAT easy.
Tamela smirks "We have sirens...just not the big ones. There's less traffic here than in the big city to get out of our way."
Angie nods at Sasha and then looks at Tams "And we were wondering if you'd consider teaching some first aid?" she's homeschooled so she's not getting that through our local school...or the drills. Maybe you could offer a homeschool first aid class Tams...there could be others."
Tams looks like this is new information, the homeschool thing and then looks at Sasha "So how does that work? Your mom just gets a curriculum from the government or something? How many homeschool kids does this town have? I mean we have such a small school..."
Sasha looks eager. "That would be great. I ain't really feelin the butter on burns thing, you know?" she smiles. "I'm not sure, but my mama says we're all legal and all. She sets my lessons and I do them. For example I am learning the history of Canada and British Columbia, plus about the Canadian Dollar and how it converts to and from the US dollar ... and taxes. Science and ... everything."
Tamela shrugs "Sounds good to me. I'll look at my calendar and see when I can do that. Let me get you card Sasha, so you can call and follow up on it." She walks over to her desk and picks up a card with her direct line and passes it to Sasha "I need to get back to it, but nice to meet you Sasha."
Angie smiles at Tams "Thank you. Did you have any more questions Sasha?" She gestures to the pamphlets "You can TAKE those."
Sasha takes the card and the pamphlets. "I don't think so. I have to give my mother a report on this. She'll be glad to hear about the guns and other weapons." she admits. "And thanks for taking so much time for me and thank your boss took cause I guess it couldn't have happened without his okay, right?"
Angie smiles warmly "Anytime Sasha. We're here to help. The chief too. You take care OK?"
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