Chapter 14 of 22 · 3'22"
Tessa's life sits with the police, the CPS and the court, and one line admits she has no control. Privacy, family and friends are "so much at stake," yet she still answers "Yes, I will give evidence in court." Under the fear is the girl who fought to be seen, and the worry that doing nothing would lose her.
❝ Monologue · 9 lines She Has No Control and Still Says Yes
❝ Monologue · 9 lines She Turns the Law Back on Herself
Even If They Get Away With It
A woman says her life is in the hands of the police, the CPS and the court. Privacy, family and friends are at stake, and she is scared, yet she agrees to give evidence. Her mother arrives with a straw bag and a jam sandwich. She berates herself, then her mother wraps her in a gruff hug: even if they get away with it, they must not ruin Tessa.
On the surface a woman has agreed to testify, and her mother shows up with a straw bag and a strawberry jam sandwich. Under that sits a fight over who owns what happened. She has already put her life with the police, the CPS and the court: "I have no control." Privacy, family and friends are "so much at stake." The reason she still says yes is "that girl who fought and fought to be seen." Do nothing, and she thinks she could lose her. Then she turns on herself. She calls it her fault that she froze, and she builds Julian up as "a good barrister" who "does lots of pro bono work," so she can keep blaming herself. Her mother does not debate him. The hug is gruff, and the line is narrow: "Even if they get away with it, you don't let them ruin our Tessa."
A1–C2 is the CEFR scale. Cards above the level you pick fade, and playback will not auto-pause on them.
“But there is this person inside of me, that girl who fought and fought to be seen.”
Repeating fought makes the courage sound like someone still alive inside her.
literary
“Look to your left, look to your right, who won't make it?”
The left and right look turns a pep talk into a count of who fails.
Neutral
“'You can't rape and then pretend it was consensual, can you, Mum?'”
The crime is named, then Mum pulls that legal line back into the family.
Informal
“'Be your strong self! Don't let the bastards get you down!”
It tells her to be herself and uses a swear to name the people flattening her.
Informal
“'Even if they get away with it, you don't let them ruin our Tessa.'”
It admits they may walk free, then guards the person rather than the verdict.
Informal
No, my life is in the hands of the police, the CPS, the court system. I have no control. So much at stake – my privacy, my family, my friends. Everything. I am scared. But there is this person inside of me, that girl who fought and fought to be seen. Look to your left, look to your right, who won't make it? She is brave, and if I do nothing, I... ..I think I could lose her. 'Yes. Yes, I will give evidence in court.'
'You fucked a guy on a sofa in work.' 'You invite him back to your home.' 'You're so drunk you even vomit.' Berating myself. 'You didn't scream or kick enough, you just froze. 'In the middle of it all, you just froze. What is wrong with you? 'No. You're pathetic. 'You let him sleep in your bed after he'd done that to you, 'while you cried in the shower? 'Julian, he is a good barrister, he does lots of pro bono work, 'what are you doing to him? 'What if he really thought you were consenting?'
Up next · 15psyche myself upThe scene: Tessa Is the One on TrialShe says privacy, family and friends are at stake and "I am scared," but there is "that girl who fought and fought to be seen." If she does nothing, she thinks she could lose her. What she then says is "Yes, I will give evidence in court."
The speech is labelled "Berating myself." She calls him "a good barrister" who "does lots of pro bono work," then asks "what are you doing to him?" The unpaid work adds weight to "good," so the blame stays on her.
Not the case file. She says if she does nothing, "I think I could lose her," and "her" is "that girl who fought and fought to be seen."
The hug has just told her "Be your strong self" and not to let them get her down. The next line is "Even if they get away with it, you don't let them ruin our Tessa." It does not promise they will be punished. It draws a line around Tessa herself.
