What Happened When My 40-Year-Old Teacher Harassed Me?
A story that still traumatizes me
Back in high school, I loved being part of the dramatics club. I was the club’s president, and being recognized for something I was passionate about felt great. The club was more than just an after-school activity for me. It was a big part of my high school life, where I made friends and faced some unexpected challenges. These experiences really helped me grow.
Mr. Tristin, our political science teacher, was very popular among students. He was in his 40s and had this cool look with grey and white hair and a beard. Whenever he walked into our classroom with his cigar, everyone noticed. He had a way of grabbing everyone’s attention. I, like many of my classmates, was really impressed by him. But I didn’t know then how this feeling of admiration would soon change into something uncomfortable and scary.
The Shift from Strictness to Favoritism
At first, Mr. Tristin was very strict with me, especially in political science, which was not my best subject. I had chosen it mainly because my mother wanted me to, but I struggled to keep up. Mr. Tristin didn’t go easy on me. He often marked my answers harshly, and I felt like he was always looking for mistakes in my work.
However, things changed after he saw me perform at the school’s New Year’s Eve event. I remember him smiling at me for the first time, and I thought he was just being nice. But then, he started to help me more in class. He gave me tips for exams, which really helped. Slowly, he began to treat me differently, favouring me over others. At first, I was relieved and thought maybe he had started to see my efforts.
Crossing the Line
Mr Tristin’s behaviour began to cross the line from being a helpful teacher to something more unsettling. It started with compliments about how I looked. He often said that brown was my colour and that I looked better with my hair down instead of in a ponytail. These comments made me uncomfortable, but I tried to brush them off, thinking maybe he was just trying to be friendly.
However, his words kept getting more personal, and I started feeling really uneasy around him. The day he called me into the staff room was the turning point. I walked in, and there he was, dressed in all black, looking different from the teacher I knew in class.
He started flirting openly, and to my shock, he began unbuttoning the top buttons of his shirt, and then he rubbed his d**k. I was frozen for a moment, not believing what was happening. Then, I realized I had to get out of there. I ran from the room, shaken and scared.
Confronting the Trauma and Taking Action
After what happened in the staff room, I was in shock. I couldn’t stop thinking about it and felt scared all the time. Going to Mr. Tristin’s class became really hard. I knew I couldn’t just stay quiet about it. It was wrong, and I was scared he might do it to someone else.
But speaking up about something like this was really hard. I was worried about what people would think and if they would believe me. It took a lot of courage to decide to do something about it finally. I talked to the school administration. Telling them what Mr. Tristin did was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. But I knew it was the right thing.
The administration took it seriously and started an investigation. It wasn’t easy, but eventually, they found out I was telling the truth. Mr. Tristin was fired from the school. Knowing he couldn’t do this to anyone else at our school gave me some relief, but I was still dealing with the trauma of what happened.
