After School Enrichment with Ms. K - My Reaction Piece

I wrote this piece when I instructed a mini-lesson about good beginnings and endings.  More information about the lesson is discussed in Enrichment with Ms. K - Week One.

Just Say No

by Ms. K

I mouthed the word, help, to the woman standing at the counter of the grocery store.  The man who had followed me inside finally let go of my arm.  Relief flooded through by body as the urge to run away began to build.  

"Is he harassing you?" the woman asked.

"Kinda." I said, as the man began to walk away.  "Yes!  I'm afraid."

"Do you want me to call security?" 

"Please." I answered. "He asked me for a hug, and then he wouldn't let go of me."

The next thing I knew a security officer was following the man down the isle toward the back of the store. It was at this moment that I decided to flee. The flight response had kicked in fully, and I ran out the double doors and across the street, choosing a dress shop in which to hide.  Once inside, the kind saleswoman listened to what had happened and immediately called "hospitality."  I wasn't sure what that meant, but I watched the man come out of the store, followed by the security officer.

I watched him cross the street and sit on a motorcycle.  Then he ducked into an alley.  I never saw him again after that.  I waited inside the dress shop until I felt sure he was gone.  I don't know where he went or what happened to him.  It wasn't until the doors were locked inside my car that I noticed the street was now swarming with police cars.  One of them escorted me out of the area. For awhile, the pungent scent of his body and the smell of alcohol on his breath seemed to linger everywhere.  It took two or three days before I felt free of it.