When a person is put through
immense pain and suffering, whether physically or mentally, it can be tough to
determine how to handle the situation. These situations can be anything from stalking
to sexual assault. In times of distress, it is often hard to speak up for
yourself, and in cases like this you typically need someone to stand up for
you. Speaking up for another person can entail anything from talking to them
and letting them know you are there, to telling a figure of higher authority in
order to get them help. In some cases, victims are able to stand up for
themselves, but when they are not I believe everyone needs someone in their
life willing to speak for them and stick by their side, however, in Friendswood,
that wasn’t the case.
In Friendswood, written by René Steinke, a
group of teenagers decide to leave school to go hang out and party at the
Lawbournes’ house. At this party, there were a group of guys, and one girl
named Willa, all who decided to pop pills and
drink. Willa, who is not usually a drinker wants to impress her crush, Cully, who has also attended this get together. In the meantime, Willa got blacked out drunk and raped. The next day she woke up in a mysterious room with little memory of what went on that night. A woman found Willa and called her mother. After her mother was called and while she was getting dressed, Willa noticed something foul written on her hipbone… slut. After such a traumatic experience, the last thing Willa needed was to get shut out, however for a while that’s exactly what she got. She was sent out of school for a few days, all of her classmates looked at her differently, her mom disapproved of her leaving school that day, and her dad wouldn’t even look at her, she had relatively nobody. This however, is because nobody knew her side except the ones involved.
In Willa’s case, there is one woman in particular
who should have taken the time and effort to speak up for her, and that is the lady
who found her in the room, Mrs. Thompson. When Mrs. Thompson found Willa,
practically naked in the room instead of confronting her in a rude manner, she
should have first asked her if she was okay. Although Mrs. Thompson was unaware
of Willa’s current status, as was everyone, before calling her mom it would
have been best to first check up on Willa and why she was found how she was and
all alone. Additionally, before Mrs. Thompson called her mother, Willa
attempted to dial the numbers to her house phone herself, however she was
unable to and had to write the number down on a piece of paper. Willa’s
behavior suggests that of trauma and it should have been recognized sooner. To
my knowledge, it is also implied that Willa remained in the room with Mrs.
Thompson as she got dressed and discovered “slut” written in ink on her skin.
All of Willa’s behavior, and the profound language found on her body, should
have led to questioning and or comforting from the lady that found her the way
she was. 
Mrs. Thompson, being the first to
discover Willa the next day, after the incident occurred, should have been the
one to speak up with and for her because she witnessed her at her time of most
vulnerability. All it may have taken was a simple “are you okay”, or “what
happened last night”, or even an “I’m here if you want to talk about what
happened to you” to make Willa more comfortable with the situation and what
happened to her. I have no doubt in my mind that at that point in time the actions
that occurred the night before were still a little hazy, and a blur, however,
knowing someone is there for you when the memories flow back can make all of
the difference. And I feel as though this coming from the woman who got a
firsthand look at Willa could have helped her through. It is the little things
that Mrs. Thompson could have went about differently, and speaking up for
Willa, that could have made a world of a difference. 