His Most Scandalous Secret

Tessa looked around the room at the hands raised in response to her question. She’d decided to run separate classes based on age. This group was all teenagers. In this area of the city it explained why so many hands were up.

“How many of you had any kind of warning?”

Only a couple this time. Probably home violence, Tessa decided, a threat carried out.

“How many of you felt helpless?”

The hands came up again. She came around to the front of the podium, removing the barrier between them.

“The purpose of this class is to prevent you from being a victim. I’m not going to show you fancy moves, because they rarely work, especially if you have only a split second to react What I will show you is how to defend yourself well enough to escape.”

“Miss Rose?”

“Yes, Luis?”

“That was some fancy move you put on Stone Man.”

Tessa had anticipated the comment. She glanced at Chase, who leaned against the back wall watching her, a gray-haired man beside him. The infamous Sarge, unless she missed her guess.

“That’s a good point, Luis. However, I was prepared for him. Because I’m always aware of who and what is around me, I knew he was probably going to try to grab my purse. I also knew I couldn’t escape it, because he was too close.”

“How’d you know he was gonna grab it?”

“He slowed down when he saw me. He eyed my bag. I knew what was coming. I stopped at a place on the street where I was sure I could handle him. The second he reached out, I grabbed him. Before he knew it, he was hugging the hood of a car. Yes, I’ve learned the self-defense moves, but more importantly, I’ve learned to see what’s ahead, what could hurt me and how to make sure it doesn’t happen.

“That’s what I want you to learn. That, and how to get away. There’s nothing tricky about it. There’s also a chance you could get hurt. However, your goal is to get away, and you may have to fight back. But your injuries will probably be less than what your attacker had in mind for you.”

Every gaze was focused on her. She didn’t know whether to be pleased that they sat so attentively or sad that their lives necessitated the class at all.

“Okay. I’ll need some volunteers to act the roles of the criminals, preferably boys.” At the instant vocal response, she said, “I’m not being sexist. This is as realistic as I can make it. Part of the allure of crime for males is their power over females. Women don’t commit violent crimes in anywhere near the same numbers.”

“And guys are stronger,” one of the girls called out as several boys shuffled to the front of the classroom.

Tessa smiled. “Depends on the situation. But we’ll deal with that when we get to it. We’re going out of the classroom for a few minutes. Mr. Ryan? Would you take over, please?”

He nodded and headed to the front of the class. As he passed by, he grabbed her. Tessa reacted instantly and automatically. Shouting, she pretended to make two quick, debilitating moves, then she turned and ran, screaming. He huddled.

Silence filled the room. The shock on the kids’ faces faded when she stopped at the podium and looked at them. They started to chatter amongst themselves. She raised her voice to be heard.

“Mr. Ryan and I set that up ahead of time, although I didn’t know when or what he was going to do. I wanted to be as surprised as possible. He did surprise me—” she looked his way “—because I expected him to wait until later in the class. Now let’s go over what I just did.”

“She came dam close to hurting me, even pretending,” Chase said. “Her scream really caught me off guard, and her strength, as well. I thought I was the one in control, but she proved me wrong immediately. I forgot my own plans.”

Most of the kids stood to get a closer look as Tessa moved beside Chase and continued her lecture.

“You might be tempted to carry a weapon of some sort, but remember—a weapon can be taken away and used against you. So, you need to use weapons that they can’t take. Your fingers. Hands. Elbows. Your feet and knees. I’ll show you later.”

She looked up at Chase, mentally measuring his height. He stared back, his eyes almost silver in hue. “You’re what, six inches—” She stopped, realizing how he might inteipret her question. “Um—”

“Seven,” he said under his breath.

“Um, Mr. Ryan is, um, six or seven inches taller than me—” she emphasized the word taller, and ignored his eyes, sparkling with what she strongly suspected was laughter “—and outweighs me by probably fifty or sixty pounds. Yet, if I’d used full force against him, he’d be on the floor right now. And I wasn’t even mad. When you add anger and fear to your strength, there’s little you can’t do, at least one-on-one.”

“Okay, let’s recap,” Tessa said two hours later. “What’s the best way to get yourself out of trouble?”

“Practice,” someone called out.

“How?”

“In your head, every day. And with your friends. It makes you be prepared for anything.”

“Good. What’s your best weapon?”

“Havin’ you along, Miss Rose,” Luis said.

“Your hands and feet,” one of the girls said when the laughter died.

“Screaming,” said another.

“Biting.”

“All correct answers,” Tessa said. “Make a lot of noise, fight as hard as you can and just as dirty.”

“Don’t believe anything your attacker tells you, ’cause he’s lying,” the quietest girl in the class said. She hadn’t spoken during the entire two hours. “Get hurt fighting back, if you have to, instead of getting raped or—or worse.”

“Exactly. Thanks for reminding us, Sherry.”

“Don’t ever let ’em take you somewhere. Crash the car, or make them crash it somehow,” Luis added.

“Good. What’s your primary goal?”

“To get away.”

“Right. Everybody say that together, loud.”

“To get away!” they yelled.

“Nobody tries to be a hero, right?”

“Right!”

“Mr. Ryan, do you want to add anything?” Tessa asked.

Chase approached the podium. “I think that at least once a month we should practice what we’ve learned today. And I say ‘we’ because I’ve been as much a student as you today. Miss Rose, that was an excellent program. I’m sure I speak for everyone when I say that we all feel more prepared. Thank you very much.”

She scooted the teenagers out of the room, embarrassed at the applause, happy to have everything she’d learned in the past twenty years or so be received with such enthusiasm.

“There’s someone I’d like you to meet.” Chase indicated the man standing, posture perfect, at the back of the room, as he had been for the two hours of the program.