The day of the swap

The next morning, Lisa went to the prison for the swap. She wasn't allowed to drive herself, because Emily wouldn't be allowed to drive, and wouldn't be able to call any sort of rideshare since she didn't have any money. Their mom, Sonya, ended up chauffeuring her to and from the facility. John was asked to tag along in case they needed help with anything and he agreed begrudgingly.

Lisa complained the whole way there, but tried to make it sound like she was just concerned that everyone was just being treated as fairly as possible. "How am I supposed to know what she's even doing while I'm in there? You guys are all going to have to keep an eye on her, make sure she's not ruining my room. I mean, I'm not going to do anything crazy with her room."

John shook his head. His sister was just embarrassing herself at this point. "I think technically it's going to be her room while she's you. Isn't that how it works?"

"Mom!" She screeched.

Mom groaned. "Jesus. You're both adults; don't drag me into this. Lisa, you chose this so now you have to deal with what happens. John, quit being a dick, your sister is obviously upset enough already."

The rest of the drive was mostly quiet.

At the prison, the guards led the group into a small room with no windows. There was a table with a heavy collar on it. "Miss Doe, please put this on. The, ehrm, wolf is required to wear it for a few days after the swap so the family can subdue her if things get out of line."

John picked it up, eyes wide, examining the small steel nodes on the inside of the collar. "This is a shock collar. For animals. I'm not wearing this, and neither is Emily. She's a fucking person."

The officer sighed. "It's standard procedure, but your counterpart is a non-violent offender, so if your family agrees to forego the precaution, we can proceed without it. But if either of them insists, you will be required to put it on as per your agreement. Refuse, and it will be placed on you by ****, and two weeks will be added to your time for non-compliance."

She turned, wide-eyed, and stared at Mom and John.

Mom shrugged. "I guess that's fine. If she doesn't want to wear it, I say she doesn't need to. Non-violent offender, right?"

Everyone looked at John.

"John? Come on... please don't be an asshole. For once..." For the first time since they were kids, he felt like she was completely out of retorts and come-backs, and she was completely, totally, at his mercy. Of course, once the swap happened, it wouldn't even be her wearing the collar. It would be this Emily person. So it hardly counted. Then again... they didn't know anything about Emily. Precautions could be wise.