Page 125 of I Can't Even Think Straight
I promise I’ll be up in time for work.”
Mum looks like she wants to argue.
I think she’s about to impose a curfew,
which I’m already willing to accept
as long as I can go for a few hours.
Mum opens her mouth to speak,
then closes it.
Mum shrugs, then nods.
I try out some dark humor on her.
“Can I please hear some verbal consent?”
I feel guilty when Mum doesn’t smile.
“Yes, you can go to Obi’s party,” she says.
“I trust you to be sensible
και να προσ?χεις τον Βασ?λειο.”
We talked about Vass’s sexual assault recently,
after Theía Estélla told Mum
that Vass had told me.
Mum went to great pains
to make it clear
her previous comment
about my bad judgment
was about school,
and not anything to with
what happened to Vass.
But she went on and on
about the importance of
verbal consent, clear boundaries, and limits.
I didn’t open up to Mum
about how I was feeling at the time
because it was all too confusing.
