Being Liberated

Chapter Four

After that shock back to reality, I grabbed my bag from the reception and went into the nearest disabled toilets to change into the 'nunnery' dress that I had initially intended to wear. It was a long khaki coloured dress that covered me from my neck to a few inches below my knees. After a look in the mirror, I realised that Megs was right. It did look like something a nun would wear. I did not know what tempted me to buy this last week- it was just a waste of my money.

Sending my parents a quick text that I was leaving now, I pulled out all the pins from the up do Meg had done for me and slid my backpack onto my shoulder and walked out the gates. I had already delegated all the post party activities to Christina and a few others, telling them that I will be in early tomorrow to clean up the rest of the stuff if it becomes a bit time consuming for them.

I lived a twenty minute walk from the school but the streets of London can be a bit intimidating at times, especially at dark. So, I snuggled into my coat and speed walked, taking the long way as it was brighter and filled with more people.

However, there was one street right after I reached the Glitz that was usually abandoned and was the typical 'alleyway' type that you hear about in the newspapers. Of course, that was the street that I was dreading the most. If I could just come out the other end alive and well, I would be thanking the gods on my knees.

Oh dear lord, there it was. I did not know if it was my terror or if it actually looked like that, but right then, at that moment, the alleyway looked extra dark and dingier. I tightly clenched my hand around my pepper spray. Muttering prayers under my breath and my head down, I almost jogged towards the end of the street.

A sudden thud on my right startled me and I jumped, all the while shrieking an animalistic sound that has ever come out of any sane human being's mouth and cowering at the ground with my head between my legs.

A hand covered my mouth and pulled me up, cutting off the shriek so that a sudden silence fell upon the night, only my laboured breath filling the quietness. Eyes widening, they fell up on the irritated individual whose arm was currently wrapped around my head. The first thing I noticed was the hazel coloured eyes that shone like fire as they glared at my head.

 Snapping out of my terror and full of adrenaline, I did the one thing that I could do to protect myself. Aligning my hand to his eyes, I pressed my finger down on the nozzle.

With a loud screech, the man released me and fell to the floor, clutching his eyes and screaming out profanities that almost made my ears bleed.

Taking the opportunity of him being distracted with the contents of my pepper spray, I readied my legs and fled out of there without a second thought. As I reached the end of the doomed alleyway, I turned my head to see if he was following me. When I spied no one, I quickly blended into the crowd around a pub, put my hood up and hurried home.

Later on in the night, as I was snuggled up into my comfy duvet, it hit me that I was okay. I was fine! The thug did not murder or rape me. Guess all my prayers worked out. With a huge sense of relief, I fell asleep. I just hoped that I never run into him again.

*

True to my words, I woke up early the next day so that I could clean up the mess we had made yesterday. Reaching school at 7:30, I was shocked to see Christina and Mark already there; Mark was mopping the wooden floors while Chrissie was taking down the decorations from the walls.

"What are you two doing here this early in the morning?" I dropped my bag and coat at the entrance and walked over to the pile of chairs at one corner of the room.

"Hey, Leigh! You didn't have to come down, you know? You worked hard to make the party a success! We are more than happy to clean up." She said as she threw down yet another tinsel from the metal ladder she was standing on.