FebulousFebruary 2025: Lost and Found

Part 1 – Extract from Out of the Shadows series

Feel-Ups. Wake Up!

So usually when the game started, I would run for my life. 

Literally. Round and round the playground. 

You could not risk running into the girl’s toilets, because the boys would follow you 

and if you didn’t get to the cubical quick enough or lock the door in time, not only would you be sexually assaulted 

you also ended up with pissy water all over your clothes 

from falling to the ground or pushed against the toilet.

They would start this kind of chant, just before they would start chasing. 

I can not remember the words, but the groups would storm around the playground chanting something like “kiss chase kiss chase”. 

This would happen about a minute or so before they started chasing. 

I used to hear that chanting and feel like I was going to wet myself. 

I would feel instantly sick. 

Some of the girls would start giggle and laughing. 

Some would, like me, go very pale and quiet.

Then there would be like a mini roar and the chase would begin.

One day, after a particular horrendous round of “feel ups” I went home. When I walked in my mum was cooking, looked up and almost dropped the bowl she was mixing in. “what the hell happened to you “she said rushing to me, grabbing my face.

Man…what I would give for one of those hugs again one day.

This was not the first and most definitely not the last sexual abuse/ assault/ exposure that I experienced.

Wake up people.

Kendra Houseman 

Kent