Millennials: The Collection

Three: Shadows (II)

"What have they told you?" she crossed her arms as they watched Nasir and Andrew being led by a nurse to Dr Andrew's office for a physiological assessment that followed.

Shahidah stumped at her question.

Mrs Kelly drew her breath and repeated, "What have they told you?"

"I – I don't know what you mean, Mrs Kelly," Shahidah replied dubiously.

"Look," she scoffed, "I do apologise for my untimely 'punctuality' earlier, but I know my work. And I want to know those children."

Shahidah stiffened and swallowed.

"I see the way they look at you. They trust you," Mrs Kelly said bluntly, glancing at her hijab, "more. For obvious reasons. Now it's hard to get them to open up to me in a session without breaking that wall first and lest you were paying attention to all that was happening in that room earlier, you'll know what I mean. So, what have they told you?"

Momentarily, Shahidah attempted to reorganise everything that happened during the critical twenty minutes she had with Aysha and Nasir earlier. It almost felt like an interrogation, frankly; Mrs Kelly's discerning look wasn't really helping the apprehensive situation.

"He didn't want to go to the army," Shahidah finally said. "He was going to be enlisted when he turned 17 – 18. But he didn't want to fight for something he – he hated war. And he wanted to take care of his sister. Their father believed that their best option was to escape the conflict. So here they are."

Mrs Kelly's eyes lit up, yearning for more, "How about his sister?"

Shahidah wet her lips with a shrug, "She never says anything."

"OK," Mrs Kelly let out a breath, "Anything else I should know about? Violent experiences? Injuries?"

Shahidah shook her head. She intended to mumble a 'don't know', but decided otherwise.

Soon after, Mrs Kelly headed back to the play room then out to her office, not bothering to excuse herself or anything. Dumbfounded at her fluctuant nature, Shahidah awkwardly followed suit as she herself checked some items off the children's medical records out of formality. She was beginning to feel more like her secretary at that point, especially when her supervisor started to request for a cup of coffee from the pantry. Then again, what was the difference between interns and secretaries?

"Mrs Kelly, is there anything you'd like me to tell them? Are they free to go?" she watched as her supervisor sat up in her seat and began to type furiously on her desk. "After their physical health check-up of course," Shahidah made herself clear, taking a peek at Dr Andrew's office to make sure the children were alright.

"No, no, no," she replied promptly, "I need to do another psych evaluation."

Mrs Kelly took a look back over her shoulder and then walked in and out again to file some printed papers. "Nasir's having sleep deprivation; that's never a good sign. And the girl, she's 4? 5? She should be speaking by now even if I don't understand anything. Yet I don't hear a word. Could be a case of delayed speech or anxiety or... something."

For a while Shahidah found herself admiring Mrs Kelly's credentials framed on the wall. Her books immaculately arranged in alphabetical order on the wooden shelves. God knows why she felt so furtive in that office, but she did.

"I also need to speak with their parents."

"Oh, they're at the community centre," blurted Shahidah, "or some sports and rec camp." She had a sudden recollection of her conversation with Nasir; how exactly their family fled to refugee camps before applying for their current status in Australia.