5

This man is a nut-job.

A hard nut-job.

I stared into his deep dirt-brown eyes and folded my hands across my chest.

"Dance," he continued, like I never interrupted, "represents assault so perfectly…in ballet, you all dance to tell stories…of betrayal, love, greed, corruption, trust, and yes, assault. In most cases of assault, the victim is to be blamed for the turn of events, why? She probably said something to provoke the assaulter to anger or dressed in order to arouse the sexual urge…leading to rape! This clearly tells one that the victim is to be blamed, else, why would a girl tread a lonely way alone at night, totally aware of the drunks lying in wait?"

Has anyone ever told this man that his goatee is long overgrown and he needs to shave it? I can see patches of brown hair in it. He needs to change his hygiene, isn't he earning enough? Of course, he is, we literally pay hundreds of thousands for our education, he's probably being cheap, look how brown his teeth look, how did he manage to get married self?

"In ballet, we use dance to tell the stories of such victims, and we can all see that it is the victims fault that they get assaulted, isn't that right class?"

"No, it isn't," I responded and shot him a death glare.

"Sit your useless-self down!"

"Take your advice for yourself."

I could see the anger rising in him, but it wasn't as much as what had risen in me, I'm way beyond angry. And yes, he is useless because all he ever does is to blame the victims of circumstances for their predicament. The man is so foolish, each time I look at him I wonder how he managed to qualify for this job in the first place.

"How can you blame the assaulted victim for her situation?" I started, "how can you say that? You have no idea how vulnerable and unfortunate the person could have been at the moment, you only thought it best to blame the victim, how dare you?! It's assault for God's sake, not loss! You don't know how the victim was manipulated into the situation, neither do you know how bad the person was beaten…the person could have been drugged or deceived. The person could also have been at the wrong place at the wrong time and by accident. Did you think of that? No! You did not."

I could feel the tears rising, my mood literally just switched from anger to sadness in such short time as I screamed at him. Everyone had their eyes on me, Samuel moved hold my hand but I yanked it out of his reach and continued. "it's because of people like you that assault is still rampant in our society, because you fail to recognize it as an issue, rather you think it's the victim's fault and lot, when it is not. It's because of archaic people like you that people still suffer from assault, because of your rusty mindset and poor sense of judgement that the innocent ones are still living in fear of the streets and what harm it brings to them."

He looked at me and ordered, "My office, now." He walked out of the lecture room and I wiped my eyes, grabbed my bag and ran out ignoring the boys calling my name and asking me to stop.

.

.

.

I stood in his cream-colored office and looked into his dirt-brown eyes as he sat behind his large mahogany desk which radiated the florescent bulbs overhead. He sat back in his chair with his hands folded across his chest, I think I'm beginning to imagine things, I think I can see steam coming out of his hairy nostrils. Either way, I will pass in this office of his.

"Rogers." He called,

"That's my name," I answered

"Your behavior today was pathetic"

"And it will get worst if your mindset refuses to change, though I think it's a little too late for that because you're probably way over forty."

"Silence." He ordered and I cleared my throat to show refusal. "You've got nerves young lady."

"I'm my mother's daughter after all." I answered.

"And I speak the truth,"

"No, you do not, which is why I keep arguing with you. You keep telling lies and keep on failing to see that it is an issue of concern that needs to be tackled, that is why we keep on having assault attacks and cases. People still live in fear."

He looked at me and I could see the wheels turning in his head, but I know this man is a nut job, so I can't expect anything. He rested further into his chair and waved me off; I knew I would pass but I also know that the battle is not over yet.

I walked down the blue corridor which was now lit by light bulbs, evening is fast approaching, then I saw Samuel run past and ask Muyiwa, "where could she be?"

"Over here boys," I responded, "Seriously, you guys don't know his office?"

"Ire, are you okay?"

"Yah, how about you guys?"

"That's out of the question, what happened to you?" he asked,

"I can't tell you here, follow me."

I walked out of the faculty building with them following closely behind. My ears weren't attentive, but I know they were talking as we walked. I kept walking then I turned around as I felt a tap on my shoulder,

"Are you sure you don't want to kidnap us?" Muyiwa asked,

"Just follow me," I replied and turned away.

I took a final turn and walked into my favorite area on campus, my hill.

"Wow," I heard Muyiwa marvel and I smiled as I walked up the little hill to sit with my legs folded beneath me, I motioned for the boys to come sit with me.

"How did you locate this awesome place?" Samuel asked

"Well, I was wandering about one day, and I found it, been practicing here since year one,"

"Nice…Ire, tell us what happened," Muyiwa urged, and I sighed and answered him,

"I'm an assault victim…I was assaulted by my father."