Groped in the Park

Two Little Girls Chapter 8

On Mondays, I took Shaz and Tracey to Brownies through the park to the community centre in Vicarage Road. On one particular Monday evening on the return journey, we were on the cycle track between the football pitch and the paddling pool when three older boys walked past us. I knew one of them was an older brother of a girl in my class.

We carried on walking but moments later I felt hands on my chest and between my legs.

I bent double and screamed.

Shaz and Tracey ran.

My screaming reached Marlborough Road a couple of hundred yards away because Daddy came running with a torch and the boys ran away. “Are you alright, Sarah”, Dad asked. I stood upright and said, “yes, I am.” “What happened?” “Nothing. The boys just scared me. I’m okay.” We walked back together. I felt safe with my dad. At the house, Shaz and I had our suppers on trays in our own rooms.

To get it out of the way I ate the little ham and cucumber slice square sandwich because it was curled at the edges and the inside was soggy. I pulled out a bit of gristle and put it on the side of the tray.

Next, I ate half of a clementine (my sister had the other half), biting into the skin on the inside curve to drag out the pips. I spat them out onto the tray along with the plastic-like skin.

For last and best, I had two malted milk biscuits with a glass of milk. These days that combination of citrus and milk would have curdled in my gut. After washing my face and brushing my teeth with the stripy blue and red toothpaste, I climbed under my covers with my torch and book.

Jill and Eustace killed the green serpent to free Prince Rilian from her spell. I turned off my torch when I heard Mummy coming up the stairs.

The next morning on the way to school through the park between the swimming pools and lake with Veronica and Emily I told them I’d been raped.

Veronica, who was good at writing stories asked me what had happened, so I told her. “You weren’t raped,” she said. I could feel the heat bloom in my cheeks. “Oh, what was it then?” “Those boys groped you.” “I was groped.” It didn’t sound any better, nor felt any better than the word I’d used. We continued on to school. Veronica and Emily chatted about a TV programme they’d seen the night before and I replayed the moments in the twilit-park as though it were on the TV screen. The following week I was walking towards Donnington Bridge at home time, and some boys shouted at me from the bus shelter. “We got you. We got you. We got you.” They chanted. I lifted my chin and pretended I couldn’t see or hear them. But my burning cheeks told the truth. I walked past and carried on over the bridge. On the way home, my memory flashed onto magazine pages torn into pieces that I’d found all over the ground in the bushes in the park.

Shaz and I had been playing hide and seek. I didn’t know how I knew the photos were of women’s genitalia. I left them on the ground and went with Shaz to play on the swings.

Thank you for reading.

Chapter 9 14-Year-Old Sarah Learns to Inhale Like Holly Golightly

The previous chapter, Moving to Marlborough Road, is here.

If you missed the earlier chapters you can find the first one here.

Two Little Girls and Other Life Moments Kindle Edition by Karen Madej

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