Chapter 3: Child Services
It was still raining hard outside. Peter had just thrown poor Meg outside after she lost a game of hide and seek. Her glasses were skewed, and her hair was covered in dirt as well as her face. She started crying. It seemed that Peter hated her again, and now to make matters worse, she wasn't even welcome in her own home.
She slowly got up and brushed herself off and adjusted her glasses. She looked back at the house. "Now what am I going to do?" she sighed. There wasn't much place for her to go. Meg walked around the house and went to the front yard. She saw the car. If the car were unlocked, she could stay there and be sheltered from the rain. She started toward the car, but all of a sudden, the other Griffins filed out of the house and got in the car.
"We ought to do this more often, Peter," Lois said. Her green blouse was back on.
"Yeah, Dad. It'll be sweet going out for ice cream," Chris said.
"Wait for me…" Meg called after them. But it was too late. The car had backed out, and it left the house, leaving nothing but smoke in Meg's face. She looked sad as the car drove off without her. Almost instantly, though, the car spun around and turned back toward the house. Meg smiled, feeling hopeful they were coming back to pick her up. The Griffins pulled into the driveway and got out of the car and went into the house.
"Darn it, we forgot somebody," Peter said, going inside. Meg started to approach the door, but the Griffins came right back out, holding Stewie. "I can't believe we forgot our good son, Stewie," Peter said.
"Yes, yes," Stewie said. "I can't believe you had the nerve to forget all about me…Stewart Gilligan Griffin. I'm only a baby, you know! I'll have the police paddle you hard for neglect! And then world domination will be mine!"
"Oh, it looks like somebody is cranky," Lois said. "If you don't behave, you won't get any ice cream. So, is everyone here?"
"I'm not –" Meg started.
"Yeah, Lois, everyone's here. C'mon, let's go," Peter said. He then locked the front door, which left out the hope for Meg to go inside while they were gone. The Griffins got in the car and backed out, leaving Meg behind. This time when they left, a large puddle of water splashed all over Meg. She sat on the sidewalk and sulked. Her family forgot all about her…again. She bent down and started crying.
"Why do they treat me like this!" she sobbed. "What did I ever do to them!" She continued crying, and the rain poured harder.
About an hour later, the Griffins returned home. They got out of the car and went to the front door.
"That was nice of you to take us out for ice cream, Peter," Brian stated.
"Yeah, thanks, Dad," Chris said.
Peter giggled his famous giggle. "Hey, let's go inside, watch TV, and make fun of Bill O'Riley and Larry King as a family," Peter said. The other Griffins seemed excited by that idea. Peter unlocked the front door, and all the Griffins went inside except Meg. Peter then shut the door behind him. Meg could hear Peter lock the door from inside, so there was no chance for her to go back in.
Cars passed up and down the street, the sound of their windshield wipers abundant. Meg happened to notice one red car that passed down the street what seemed like every half hour. The car was a red Toyota Camry that with a golden license plate. Meg continued to sulk, but wondered why the car kept passing by so frequently.
A while later, the car suddenly stopped in front of Meg. A woman got out of the car and walked up to her. "Young lady, I've noticed that you have been sitting here alone on this curb sulking in the rain. Are you okay?"
"Well…my family locked me out of the house. See, we were playing a game of hide and seek, and my dad said that the loser of the game had to spend the weekend out in the rain. Unfortunately for me, I lost, so I'm stuck out here," Meg complained.
"Your dad is behind this? Gee, what an idiot," the woman mumbled. "Get in the car," she told Meg.
Meg got in the front seat next to the woman, feeling glad to get out of the rain. She was soaked so badly that a puddle nearly formed on the floor of the car. The woman began to drive and took Meg out of the neighborhood. Meg felt uneasy. She barely even knew this woman, and she was being taken some place away from home. "W-where are we going?" Meg asked.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Pardon me for not introducing myself. I'm from child services. I'm taking you to a building downtown where you'll be looked over until we can find another family for you," the woman said. Meg seemed confused. "Honey, it seems that your dad has really put you through a lot of rough times. You shouldn't have to live with it."
The two went downtown and eventually parked at a brick building. The two came out of the car and entered the building. The woman led Meg to a little room in the back with a cot, tiled floor, a dresser, a closet, and not much else. She then left to inform the office of her arrival. They filled out paperwork and worked out the legalities and whatnot. Meg felt uncertain as to how long she would stay at the strange building and hoped it would be over soon.
