Melinda, a freshman girl, and her friends were at a party drinking. Melinda went out behind the barn towards the edge of the woods to get some fresh air. A senior came up to her, kissed Melinda, then raped her. Melinda did not believe this could happen to her. She fell victim to the dangers of underage drinking and sexual abuse. Speak teaches teens about the dangers of underage drinking and sexual abuse, some of the effects of sexual abuse, and how you do not always know what is going on in someone else’s life. There are many dangers of underage drinking and sexual abuse. Melinda recalled her experience at the end-of-summer party in August, “...and he smells like beer and mean and he hurts me hurts me hurts me and gets up and zips his jeans and smiles.” (Anderson,135-136) Melinda and a senior named Andy Evans were at an end of summer party; later on the two of them got drunk and made out near the woods. Then, Andy pushed Melinda to the ground and raped her. Though Melinda did not speak out against it, she did not want to have sex with Andy. Underage drinking can lead to things like sexual abuse. …show more content…
At the pep rally, Melinda thought, “I have worked so hard to forget every second of that stupid party, and here I am in the middle of a hostile crowd that hates me for what I had to do. I can’t tell them what really happened.” (Anderson,28) At the pep rally, two girls overheard Melinda and her friend Heather talking to each other. When the girls heard Melinda’s name they stated that Melinda had called the cops on the end of summer party. Victims of sexual abuse often suffer from depression, lack of trust, loneliness, and a feeling of being outcast. Melinda is depressed about what happened at the party, lonely in school, does not trust her fellow classmates, and feels outcast in a “...hostile crowd that hates