EPISODE 1 – GROWNUPA vulnerable young woman seeks meaningful ways to experience her newfound relative freedom despite unanticipated trauma.
A vulnerable young woman seeks meaningful ways to experience her newfound relative freedom despite unanticipated trauma.
⚠️ This fictional story includes misogynistic violence. Proceed with discretion.
Ignoring the Event
Three inseparable girls have been hanging out nearly every day since high school, studying, learning dance moves, shopping, and styling each other’s hair. Without Krista’s sharp intellect, the other two would’ve barely received passing grades. Reyna is the choreographer among them, while Ingrid is the cosmetologist and fashionista.
After graduation, Krista enjoys a full scholarship at an out-of-state university, while Reyna is pursuing dance at a local college. Ingrid, on the other hand, is still on a journey of self-discovery. To keep in touch, the three girls video conference, frequently in groups, as often as possible.
Although Ingrid still resides in her parents’ home, she has recently crossed the threshold of legal adulthood. To her, this means the dawn of greater freedom in making personal choices. Her celebration begins with a no-curfew girls’ night out. And of course, Krista wouldn’t miss it for the world.
The first umbrella cocktail becomes two, and then bubbly champagne flows. Colorful lights and pulsating music transform Ingrid into a new version of herself. Before she knows it, her night of seductive dancing finds her ensnared in the back seat of a stranger’s car. She struggles to commit to memory a deep voice, rasping, “The way you dress and dance sends mixed signals. Why are you resisting?”
She rouses her senses and objects emphatically with a firm slap. In a desperate attempt to maintain her virginity, she bites his lip as he kisses, her while scratching and shoving him away. Her screams draw the attention of Ingrid’s girlfriends, running to her aid as she is pushed from a car that speeds away.
“Ingrid, are you alright?” Reyna asks in a tearful embrace while Krista snaps blurry pictures of the license plate.
Still wobbly from alcohol, Ingrid replies, “Yes, nothing happened—at least, I don’t think so. Thanks so much for coming to help.”
Krista inquires, “Did you get a good look at him?”
“I just want to forget about it, and wouldn’t recognize him again, but I might remember his voice. Don’t mention any of this to my parents. As far as they’re concerned, we had a great time, as responsible adults. But right now, I need to puke.”
This isn’t Ingrid’s last night of dancing or wearing tight short skirts. However, she switches to ginger ale in a subtle attempt to regain control over her destiny, even though the trauma still haunts her dreams, long after the bruises on her arms and torso fade.
Following Desperation
Throughout her teen years, Ingrid heeded warnings about social media and shared her passwords with her parents for monitoring. As an adult, she creates a new account to post-cosmetic tips. She doesn’t plan on inviting her girlfriends until she has many followers to boast about.
Without the instant success hoped for, she begins examining the posts of more popular women on the platform. This leads Ingrid to improve her facial expressions and reveal a little more chest. Comments from her few followers encourage her to lower her camera, exposing more décolletage. As she complies, the number of followers begins increasing. In a short time, Ingrid ingratiates her growing audience with occasional wardrobe malfunctions for more “likes.”
New Reflections
What began as a wholesome cosmetology path is figuratively dragging her into the backseat of the fateful car each night to test her weakening resolve. The video ambiance changes from a brightly lit vanity to a dark corner of her bedroom. Ingrid begins experimenting with mirrors, color cells, and an artistically angled ring light to illuminate provocative poses.
She suppresses the realization that her followers are objectifying her. But soon, Ingrid crosses another boundary into self-objectification. To enjoy a dopamine boost, she encourages others to objectify her for something as intangible as numbers beneath a thumbs-up icon on her social media account.
Krista reminds Ingrid of her availability to discuss her trauma when the time is right. But Ingrid shrugs it off, insisting that she’s fine and there’s nothing to talk about.
Like a bucket of ice water splashed onto someone slumbering, the reality of how far her morals have deviated becomes evident when the hosting platform suspends her account. This should be the motivation to seek help, or at least refocus on cosmetology. However, appeasing followers has become an addiction to her fragile psyche, reeling from abuse. So she finds a new platform that caters to women posting videos similar to hers.
As though rinsing away filthy behavior, Ingrid showers frequently. Each morning, she happily prepares breakfast for her parents in exchange for room and board. During conversations with her besties, she obscures her activities and shifts focus to their academic progress. The rest of the day, Ingrid practices her craft….
Various upgrade packages for her website promise more followers. She chooses one and begins receiving fees for private live viewings, where she responds to voice requests from unseen clients. But one night she entertains a surprise visitor with consequences that send her recoiling.