Janet walked into her room exhausted from the day’s activities, she wasn’t sure she could swallow the disgusting words her Mathematics lecturer always spewed while she was in his office anymore. She was the class captain and handled the submission of assignments to Mr. Jack. The day before, he had brushed past her in an uncanny manner while going to grab a cup of coffee from the table behind her. She had been sorting outher class’ previous assignments and he had commented on how beautiful she looked and how he would have wanted to get to know her better on a totally different level and now he was threatening to make her stay, a hell on earth if she didn’t succumb to his desires and wants.
A thought nagged at her mind to tell her brother Drake about her dilemma but he had been so happy that morning before they left for school that she didn’t want anything to spoil his day. They had been living on his scholarship funds even though it barely got them through the day. She had to always make sure that the little money left after paying their school fees and buying the necessary books was used meticulously for a month.
A lot of times, they’d go hungry for days but for the intervention of a female lecturer who Drake had said was the one funding his scholarship. Sighing, she shoved the thoughts of telling her brother about her lecturer’s advances away and concentrated on her assignments but she couldn’t. She was scared; he had a lot at stake if she didn’t succumb to his threats. He would tamper with her results.
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She knew that even though she was the best student in her class, nobody would believe the reason she failed a course was because she didn’t give in to the lecturer’s demands. She was in a dilemma only she could get out of. But how? The big question loomed like a predator from the shadows in her mind. She wasn’t going to allow his threats leave her emotionally distraught even though it was gradually doing that. She decided to visit the new female guidance counselor that also lectured her brother. If only she knew her brother represented the same evil she wanted to talk to him about.
Drake walked into Mrs. Kenwood’s office with the flair no other student had. He was notorious on camp despite his intelligence. Mrs. Kenwood looked up and her countenance changed. She began to fret in her seat but tried to mask it with a stern look. Walking over to where she sat, he moved her towards the camera’s blind spot and began to spew dirty words like she was his bitch. She was the new transfer teacher and had happened to send Drake out of the class because he hadn’t the requirements to be in her class. Embittered Drake had told his friend about it and he advised him to get back at her.
“She is just a lady, the weaker one; she shouldn’t control you or what you do in class. C’mon man, you are intelligent and have even the right to the scholarship awarded to the wrong set of persons in this school. Threaten her with something, her children’s safety something she would fret over if you threatened to take it away and then have her man. She’s just like every other lady you’ve been with.” And that was how Mrs. Kenwood’s nightmares had begun, he had waltzed into her office and had started touching her in places only her husband did. When she had threatened to call security on him and report him to the school authorities, he had whisked out a photo of her little boy and had threatened to kill him if she didn’t succumb to his demands. He had even gone as far as asking to be placed on a scholarship scheme and since she couldn’t let her husband know for his safety and that of their little boy, she opted to fund him in school and overlooked his harassment but she was tired and had to take that bold step.
“She also told her to clearly resist any other sexual attempt no matter what was at stake and report immediately as not standing her ground at the beginning might make and keep her a victim for the rest of her life.”
While she waited for her freedom, a beautiful female student had walked in looking dejected and introducing herself as Janet. Janet had withheld her other name for safety reasons and mostly because she was afraid of being at the mercy of Mr. Jack’s wrath assuming this bold step of having to tell an adult about his harassments went south. Mrs. Kenwood could relate to the story and so asked her to file a formal complaint of sexual harassment against Mr. Jack as fretting and allowing him get away with his crimes would not get her anywhere. She also told her to clearly resist any other sexual attempt no matter what was at stake and report immediately as not standing her ground at the beginning might make and keep her a victim for the rest of her life. She came up with a strategy with which Janet could pin Mr. Jack for his sins but she was too afraid to plant a video camera in Mr. Jack’s office. Moreover, his office was always locked if he wasn’t in.
“Then wear a microphone or record the conversation with your phone,” Mrs. Kenwood had suggested.
Janet felt a lot better after talking to her and went about doing what she had advised. She couldn’t bear the fact that other helpless students like her were suffering the same fate. This fueled her desire to speak up. She wouldn’t die in silence and neither should anyone.
Some weeks later, she had succeeded in filing a report and handing in the flash drive which unknown to Mr. Jack was his nemesis, alongside the report. Mr. Jack was asked to report immediately to the school authorities for a query. As he stood there listening to his voice boom from those loud speakers in the conference room, he shut his eyes in defeat and muttered curse words under his breath. Beads of sweat spiraled down his face and it suddenly felt like it was raining in the room. When he was asked to say something about the obvious evidence, he stuttered stumbling on words he frequently used in class as a lecturer. He was charged immediately for sexual harassment and was handed over to the police.
The thoughts of the conversation Mrs. Kenwood had had earlier with Janet flashed across her mind as she squirmed in Drake’s grasp. She hated him for what he was doing but still decided to give him his last chance at not getting caught.
“Drake, please you have to stop this, you could get caught” she said. Unknown to Drake this was Mrs. Kenwood satisfying her conscience which asked her to forgive him but he was stupid enough to ignore it. What did she have against him anyway, just her words that held no water. Who would even believe her, he thought.
She remembered the first time he had walked into her office with that evil grin playing at the corners of his mouth and his hands groping her body, she had told him to stop but he had continued ignoring her pleas as she couldn’t really threaten him and so she had hatched a plan, fixed a hidden camera which recorded his misbehaviour that evening in her office few hours after Janet had left and reported him for sexual harassment.
News had it that the Mathematics lecturer was no longer around to harass and molest students. Drake on the other hand was called in for questioning and a final verdict of expulsion was given. The videos found him guilty. Janet watched in utter disbeliefas her brother was dragged out of the school’s property never to return and she vowed to join forces with whosoever was willing on the school campus to start up a campaign against sexual harassment among students and their lecturers. That, she thought was the best way to handle this vice.
