“How was your weekend?”

It’s a question commonly heard on Mondays, particularly the Monday following the first weekend after the start of college. Parents ask it, friends ask it, teachers ask it; it seems as though the question ricochets from one mouth to the next. With everyone asking the same question so much, you’re bound to come up with a standard answer to satisfy anyone who asks. Perhaps you tell people about the cool restaurant you went to, or the cute date you went on, or the road trip you made with friends, or the hike you went on, or the movie you watched in your dorm, or the big event you went to. The first weekend of college is typically a very exciting experience, especially for freshmen. They finally get the chance to do as they please and not have their parents breathing down their neck about every little thing. Many go out and see the city, or do stupid things with their new friends, or go over to someone else’s dorm or house. Some may have even gone to a party.

If you went to a party this weekend, you might have drank or made out with someone or stumbled home at 3 a.m. or danced or played a game or just sat there and socialized. You probably went expecting to have a good time and maybe meet some new people. Maybe you went with a couple friends, made yourself look nice, and walked to the party. When you got there, you might have said "hello" to some people you recognized, maybe introduced yourself to that cute person over in the corner. Perhaps you drank a little, or even a lot. You might have tried your hand at beer pong or just sat and talked with people. Maybe that cute person in the corner asked you for your number. Eventually, you gathered up the friends you arrived with and made your way back to your dorm. You then fell asleep and possibly woke up the next morning with a hangover. Regardless, you probably had a good time and met some new people.

But what if that’s not what happened? What if you went to a party and your night didn’t turn out the way you expected? Imagine this:

You dress up a little, gather a couple friends, and walk to the party. When you arrive, you say hello to a few people you recognize from around campus. You look around the party and see someone attractive on the other side of the room. You walk over, introduce yourself, and try your hand at flirting. Someone offers you a drink. You accept. You notice a beer pong game being played. One of the guys playing is extremely drunk and failing miserably. Another guy is holding is own, but is noticeably tipsy. You decide to watch the game. During the course of the game the cute person from earlier asks for your number. Eventually, the game ends. You decide it’s getting late and you should head back soon. You start to gather your friends, but one of the guys from the beer pong game comes up to you and starts a conversation. You realize he is the one who was a bit tipsy and not the exceptionally drunk guy, so you decide to engage in the conversation. You talk for a bit, but you really should be getting to bed. It has gotten very late. You absentmindedly say "goodbye" to the guy you have been talking to and scan the room for your friends, but you don’t see any of them. They are probably in the backyard. You stand up to go and get them, but you are stopped by a firm grasp on your arm. That guy is asking where you’re going. You tell him you’re tired and going home. He whines and tells you to stay for just one more minute. You tell him "no," you really need to get home. You start walking around the house, searching for your friends. You’ve checked a few rooms and decided to look upstairs. You walk up the stairs and begin opening a couple doors. After a moment you hear someone behind you. You turn around and it’s the guy from earlier. He asks what you’re still doing here. You answer that you’re looking for your friends. The next thing you know, he has shoved you into a bedroom. He locks the door. You tell him to stop, but he doesn’t. After, you walk home alone. You crawl into bed. This wasn’t the good time you were expecting to have. Instead of going to a party and having fun and meeting new people, you got raped by a stranger. You fall asleep with a horrible feeling in your stomach and the dreadful knowledge that you just started college and your first weekend at school, you got raped.

So,

“How was your weekend?”