| |
––––––––
Jesse went to school on Monday. He didn't see them in the halls and didn't have a chance to look for the girls until after History class. He figured that when he found one, the other was there too. It was in the cafeteria when he finally saw Cora sitting with Hank. They were deep in conversation. He hurried through the lunch line keeping an eye on them in case they might leave. After paying at the register, he rushed to join them.
“Hey, you two,” Jesse said, putting his tray down and taking the seat beside Hank. “Have you seen Janice today?”
“She called in sick,” said Cora. “I was just talking to Hank about it. I tried to call over the weekend, but her mom said she had a headache. I even went over there, but I was told Janice didn’t want to see anyone. Something is wrong. I just know it.”
Jesse felt something was wrong too, and he was sure it had to do with the fight with Brice. Brice had been furious, and from things he had heard around school, he could be mean. He had to find out if Janice was okay. “I agree with Cora, something has happened. Let's go see her after school.”
“How did it go with Katy on the way home?” Cora asked, concerned. “She looked pretty upset.”
“Brice scared her with his talk, but we talked, and she’s okay now.
“Oh good, I like her a lot, Jess.”
“Me, too. Maybe we can go out again sometime but without Brice!" said Hank.
“Good idea,” Jesse said.
Just then Hank got Jesse’s attention and nodded at a group of boys standing by the lunchroom door. Brice! Whatever he was saying, made the other boys laugh. He was acting cocky, as usual.
“That’s not good,” Hank said “He’s up to something. Jesse, you’d better be careful for the next few days.”
“I intend to. I'll see you after school.”
The day seemed to drag until the last bell finally rang and school was over for the day. Hank and Cora were outside when Jesse came out. It didn't take long to reach Janice's house. As they approached, they saw her mother coming down the steps.
“Her Mom’s leaving. Now’s our chance to talk to Janice,” Jesse said. “Cora, why don't you go and see if you can get her to open the door.”
“Sure, maybe she’ll see us if her mother's not around.” She walked quickly to the front door and knocked. When she got no response, she knocked again. Cora was ready to give up when the front door opened a crack, and Janice peeked out.
“What are you doing here?” She asked Cora could see Janice’s face. Her eye was swollen, and her lip was split.
“Never mind that,” Cora exclaimed. “What happened to you?” Cora waved to Hank and Jesse.
“Please, go away,” Janice cried. “I don’t want anyone seeing me like this.”
"Don't be silly. We're your friends. Now let us in." Cora pushed the door as Jesse and Hank approached.
“Janice, my God, what happened?” Hank asked.
Janice turned away. “Come in and close the door. There's no point telling the whole neighborhood.” She went to the couch and curled up. She kept her hand over her eye, but that couldn't hide her embarrassment.
They waited for Janice to speak first, but she only sat there crying. Cora went over, knelt in front of her and took her hand.
“Jan, we're only here to help.”
"Please, tell us what happened," Jesse said.
Janice couldn’t look at them. “Brice happened to me!” She burst into great uncontrollable sobs.
Hank jumped to his feet. "That son of a ...! He hit you? Did you tell the police? Does your mother know?” It was like an exclamation mark to his question when he punched his fist into the palm of his hand.
“Hank’s right. You have to report to him. He can’t get away with this,” said Jesse.
“No!" She held her hands out pleading. "And you can’t tell anyone either. My mom thinks we had an accident, and that’s how I want to leave it.”
Cora walked over to them. "Maybe you should wait for me outside. I don't think she'll say anything while you guys are here, but she might talk to me along.”
They left reluctantly. Cora sat on the arm of Janice’s chair and put her arm around the crying girl.
“Now tell me what happened. It'll make you feel better. I promise not to tell anyone if you don’t want me to.”
Janice angrily swiped tears from her eyes, took a deep breath and began.
“After Brice and I left, we drove around. He was ranting about how he would get even with Jesse and that girlfriend of his. He drove up at the point near the river and stopped. You know the place. He got out of the car and paced along the shore, kicking at stones. He came back to the car and told me to get out. I was afraid not to do what he said, so I did. We were just walking, not really talking when he grabbed me. He kissed me really hard. I told him he was hurting me, tried to push him away, but he slapped me and split my lip. I could taste the blood. I tried to run, but he caught me and tore my blouse. He threw me on the ground. He was fumbling with my skirt, trying to get it up. I screamed at him to stop. He told me to shut up that it wasn't anything I haven’t done before. I tried to tell him I'm not like that, but he wouldn't stop. I told him I’m still a virgin, but he hit me with his fist. He said he would fix that problem. Oh, Cora, he raped me! He was so rough. It hurt... but he wanted to hurt me. When he was finished, he told me to stop crying and get in the car. Then he drove me home. He reached over, opened the car door and pushed me out into the street. He said that’s what all bitches get, and then he drove away. He left me there, crying in the street.
“I told my mother we had a car crash and I had hit the dash. She was just glad it wasn’t worse and that I was alive. Oh, Cora, It was awful. I feel dirty. How could he do something like that?” She wiped her eyes with the palm of her hand. “Please don’t tell anyone. I don't want people to know what he did. How could I face the kids at school if they knew?" Her voice rose. "Cora, I can't tell the police. Oh my god, what would he do if he knew I told the police?” The tears came back, but this time it was fear she felt.
"I don't like it that you aren't calling the police and you should at least tell your mother," Cora said. "But I understand, and I won't say anything, except...
"No, you must promise!"
"Janice, we have to tell Jesse and Hank."
"No, no, you can't!"
"They have to know. Someone has to keep an eye on Brice and what he's up to. Besides, they're a part of this too. They won't tell anyone, but they have to know."
"How can I ever hold my head up again? Oh, Cora, I'm so ashamed."
“Honey, you didn't do anything wrong."
"But people will think it's my fault."
"The boys won't tell anyone. You get some rest and get better. I have to go, but I'll call you later.” Cora said. “And please, call me if you need anything. If you decide to go back to school - you know, when you’re ready - Hank and I will walk you to class every day, if we have to.”
“I... oh, not tomorrow. That's too soon. Look at me; there would be too many questions. Mom can call and get my assignments. Let's wait and see, maybe next week.” She took a deep breath and seemed to relax a little. “Okay, maybe next week. I’ll call you. I promise.”
Janice walked Cora to the door. They hugged, and Cora said, “Please think about telling your mother. She loves you.”
Cora told Hank and Jesse about what Brice had done to Janice.
“That creep. We need to do something about Brice!” Hank said. He punched his palm, once, then twice. "That makes me so mad!"
"It makes me mad, too, but we can’t do anything right now, and we can't tell anyone. Let's keep an eye on him.”
“We should ask around,” said Cora. “Let's find out if he’s done this to any other girl.”
“If I know Brice, he'll be bragging to his buddies. Some of them are on the football team too. I might be able to get some of them to tell me." Hank shook his head. "I just can't believe anyone could be so cruel."
“Be careful, you two. I have to go, but I’ll see you tomorrow.”
