Synonym

Chapter 4

"Traffic on the Eastbound with delays up to half an hour near exit-"

"Who the fuck turned the news on?" Rob complained while we took a water break from conditioning. Days like this made me wish we were in the weight room and not on the field. My muscles burned like never before every time we had conditioning practice. I laid on the turf grass, not giving a fuck if I looked lazy. Finn stood beside me while guzzling water from his bottle.

Rob went to change the station when the news anchors voice caught my attention. "Wait! Don't touch it!" I yelled, shooting up from the grass and getting close to the radio on the bench. Finn must have heard it too, because he was leaning into listen also. Everyone else was staring at us but I didn't care.

"-case in Connecticut is gaining national attention just two weeks before it is going to trial. After Judge Dennis sentenced a 19 year old girl to prison after a false rape claim in the Bridgeport Superior Court, tensions are high in the Connecticut Court systems. In just two weeks 18 year old Sylvia Mason will appear in front of three 17, now 18, year old boys who she claims gang raped her after a high school lacrosse game in New Canaan last December."

Finn reached to change the channel to save me from the feeling of all of my teammates eyes but I hit his hand away. Their eyes were already on me and I needed to hear what this woman was about to say. This story hadn't broken the news until today, I guess. There hands been a word about it before this moment and that made me nervous. The whole world would know my business if this was really a nation case like the reported had claimed.

"Judge Dennis will also be overseeing this case, as it happened in Fairfield Country not New London where the Plaintiff hails from. The evidence has not been presented yet but biased on police reports, the 18 year old claims three boys cornered her outside of the school and raped her before another student from her team, Griffin Riley, 18, stoped them. When police arrested the three boys they had sustained multiple injuries including concussions as well as broken arms and broken noses. They claim Riley and Mason used an unnecessary amount of force."

That is bullshit. Just hearing that made my muscles go tense. I didn't even care who was watching me anymore, all I saw was red. I'll show them force. Unnecessary force my ass, I was being fucking raped. If anything, I didn't use enough force. I only got in a kick and a punch. Finn did a hell of a lot more and I was jealous. I wanted to stand up for myself.

"One of the two major controversies stems from the fact that Mason was playing on a boy's team. Her name made headlines just months ago when she moved to Groton to play with her male counterparts. Now experts are calling into question weather it is ethical to have the two play together. Some argue cases like these would increase should coed sports gain support while others state that this is an anomaly. Let's talk to Dr. McKall, a professional on rape psychology."

Great. Another PHD to tell me I'm wrong. I didn't realize I scoffed out loud until Finn sent me a look that told me to be quiet.

"-This is simply relevant because she is a woman. Rape can happen between two males and two females. Regardless of gender, gang rape is an issue. From what I have gathered, the Connecticut High school Lacrosse scene has long been harboring intense feelings. The fact that a woman had now joined the race made it obvious to these boys that their masculinity is being threatened, especially since this happened after Mason won the game. In my opinion this is a case of volatile competitiveness overtaking morals. This isn't a boy-girl issue. This is a human issue."

I let out a sigh of relief that this man was defending me. I almost relaxed completely until I heard the next professional. This man wanted to make me claw my eyes out.

"This is a boy-girl issue. What are the statistics for opposite gender rape versus same-sex gender rape. The percentages are vastly different. Let's not forget that this is a woman being surrounded by a group of men. One or two is bound to be a monster. It is like putting flesh in front of a lion."