by Luz Estrella Salado-Perez
It’s a scar that will never fade away. A horror movie starring me, and it all began on a quiet afternoon walking out of my art class. I walked into a school bathroom that felt too quiet, a silence that was about to be shattered.
There was nothing unusual for the first couple of seconds, until I heard heavy footsteps approaching. SLAM – it was the first stall door; the footsteps getting closer and BANG went the second stall door. A thundering BAMM; it was the stall door next to mine. I froze, then felt a chill shoot down my spine. Rushing to get out, I pulled up my pants as fast as I could. I saw a guy on his stomach looking up at me from the filthy floor; his eyes locked on mine. Oh God. The fear I felt at that moment had my skin crawling. This was no nightmare; this was real. I was the target. As he crawled into the stall I yelled at him, asking why in the world he was in the girls’ restroom. I rushed to unlock the stall door but it was too late – he already had a tight grip on my wrist. He grabbed me forcefully, pinning me to the wall hard while he started pulling down his pants. My mind went blurry. I couldn’t move or react. I froze. This was a trauma response my therapist later helped me understand. At that point, I was unable to process what was happening.
A couple of seconds later, I snapped back to reality. I gripped the hand he used to hold my wrist. With all my strength, I pulled his arm so that he would get away from the door. I was relieved when I finally unlocked the door but somehow, he was able to pull me back in. I heard the lock click closed as he was telling me to stop trying to run, claiming I was “just lying to myself that I didn't like it.” I can't even explain the disgust I felt about him saying that. I yanked my arm away, furious about what he had said, then pushed him away the hardest I could and bolted out.
I felt the fear wash over me; I was so scared I didn't know what to do. I was just standing there shaking, until I saw my best friend Lexie walking into the building, so I ran to her. I was already crying, but I tried my best to explain to her what had just happened. I saw the monstrosity of evil walking out of the restroom. I pointed at him, telling Lexie he was the one. Lexie was fast to react and took me to the front office. When we got to the office, there was already a large group of staff members, including the principal, Mrs. Miller, and two police officers. Mrs. Miller looked at me with wide eyes and asked me what happened, but when I opened my mouth, no sound seemed to exit. I was so petrified I couldn't even explain the situation.
Lexie explained to Mrs. Miller what had just happened. Soon after, they checked the cameras and immediately arrested the guy. He was an eighth-grade student in my school, a grade older than me. My parents were called to the school building to have a meeting about what happened. At that moment, I was so traumatized I didn't think I would ever have the courage to go back to school. The next day I didn't go to school. I stayed locked in my room, scared to be exposed to danger. My amazing principal convinced me to go back to school, which I am now very thankful for. A few weeks later I attended the court case with my parents, where I learned this wasn't the guy’s first time doing something like this. He was sent to juvie for a while but was later allowed to come back to school during my freshman year. The high school principal, Mr. Smith, gave me his word that he would make sure nothing would happen to me, but I never wanted to see the guy's face again, so that day I switched to a different high school. Luckily, he only lasted there for a few weeks, and I switched back to BEHS at the beginning of sophomore year.
It took me a year to finally be able to go into a public bathroom while it was empty. I will say, though, that I was very lucky to have people like Mr. Smith and Mrs. Miller in my life because in those tough moments, they made me feel safe and heard. I still doubt my safety everywhere and see everything as a threat because I have grown to feel that way.
So, if you asked me, “How should we improve the state of South Carolina?” I would respond by saying: This beautiful state needs to stop allowing things like this to occur. While I understand the concept of a second chance, victims do not deserve to live in a constant state of fear while their offenders are casually forgiven. Why is it that my beautiful state is consistently ranked as one of the most dangerous in the nation for women to experience sexual violence? In 2024, South Carolina ranked tenth in the country for high violent crimes, which include rape/sexual assault, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This state’s violent crime rate was approximately 21.6 percent higher than the national average. (USAFacts: What is the crime rate in South Carolina?)
Why are our officials not taking the alarming rate of sexual abuse as the serious issue that it is? There are countless innocent girls at risk, and the damage being done to their mental and physical health is a scar on this state. I truly believe that South Carolina needs to take this topic much more seriously to erase the scars that have been sewn too deep in the women who live here.
About Luz Estrella Salado-Perez
Luz Salado-Perez is a junior at Bamberg-Ehrhardt High School, where Coach Kendrick Brown was her most recent English teacher. The daughter of Isidro Salado and Lidia Perez, Luz plans to attend college and is considering a profession in the medical field. She enjoys watching horror movies with her three brothers.