Author's Note: If you are easily triggered by racial stereotypes, then just save yourself the grief and moral indignation. You have been forewarned.
*****
Dr. Charlotte Russell was shuffling the papers on her desk when a knock sounded on her office door.
"Come in," the 45-year-old psychiatrist called out in a weary tone.
The door opened, and the administrative assistant stepped in. "Dr. Russell, your 2:30 appointment, Darrien Bryant, is here," she announced.
"Come in, Mr. Bryant, come in," Dr. Russell said absentmindedly as she looked down for his file folder on her desk.
The door clicked closed as the administrative assistant left, and then Dr. Russell found the file. As she lifted her head, she was greeted by the sight of a tall, lanky young black man sitting on the sofa against the back wall.
He had a cocky, arrogant look that Dr. Russell immediately recognized as a problem. She'd seen the likes of him innumerable times before among the prison population she served, which she always found ironic. So many men had an entitled attitude, as if the world owed them everything and should bow at their feet, and the loss of freedom rarely ever dampened their overinflated egos. Somehow their poor fate was never their fault, although their lack of self-awareness and entitlement was a large reason why they ended up behind bars.
She had studied Darrien's file. He was 18 years old and sentenced to prison for raping his teacher, although she hardly even batted an eyelash at the serious charges anymore since the prison was filled with murderers and rapists.
Her job was to evaluate his psyche for a variety of reasons including evaluating his prospects for rehabilitation and identifying any serious psychological issues that needed further therapy or psychotropic medication. If the prisoner came up for parole consideration, she filed recommendations based on her evaluations for recidivism.
Her job was a mostly futile effort of attempting to reason with unreasonable people, although many of the prisoners were surprisingly open and endearing, appreciative of anyone who lent an open ear, even if they were often in denial of their own shortcomings or delusional that their actions were justified. She had no reason to believe that Darrien was any different.
Dr. Russell stepped out from behind her desk and walked over to the chair across from the sofa where Darrien sat.
"Mr. Bryant, it's good to meet you," she introduced herself in a clinical tone. "I'm Dr. Russell."
The young teen sat silently, eying the psychiatrist with abject suspicion.
"As I'm sure you're aware," she continued, undeterred, "I am the prison psychiatrist, and my job is to help you. Now obviously, you don't end up here if there aren't issues in your life, and I want to help you understand your issues so we can address them and get you to a better place. But I can't help you unless you're willing to help yourself. Is that clear?"
Darrien appeared indignant, and Dr. Russell couldn't help thinking how his tough guy persona was only holding him back. The prison was filled with toxic masculinity, with so many inmates believing that being in touch with your emotions was a sign of weakness.
Nevertheless, Dr. Russell pressed forward. "So, I see in your file that you were convicted of raping your high school teacher. Do you admit to your crime?"
"Nope, I didn't rape Mrs. Williams," Darrien insisted in a firm voice.
Dr. Russell maintained her cool, ignoring his combative tone.
"Well, twelve jurors disagreed with your assertion," Dr. Russell calmly replied. "They deemed you guilty. I don't even see how you can deny it. From what I see in the case file, your teacher is having your baby. Can you even imagine the hurt she feels carrying the baby of her rapist?"
Darrien gave a devilish grin, then he sat back and collected his thoughts for a second before responding. "I didn't make Mrs. Williams do nothing. She wanted it, you better believe. In fact, she was begging for it. I don't ever make any bitch do nothing they don't want."
Dr. Russell sat forward and squinted her eyes. "Is that the lie you tell yourself to rationalize your evil actions?"
"It ain't a lie," he shot back. "We got caught fucking in her classroom after school when the janitor came by. He heard her screaming out, and he unlocked her door and caught us in there and then reported it. But them wasn't screams of pain. She was in ecstasy."
"The report said you had her bent over and tied up."
"That's just how she liked it," Darrien said with a smug grin.
"And your teacher, Mrs. Williams, claimed you raped her."
"Yeah, I'm still pissed about that," Darrien conceded.
"You mean you're mad that you got caught," Dr. Russell said dismissively.
"I'm mad that she ain't telling the truth," Darrien countered.
"Then tell me why she claimed you raped her."
"Think about it," Darrien insisted. "It was all 'he said, she said,' and she didn't want to admit the truth. Did you think she'd tell the world how much she loved my black cock? No, so she took the easy way out. She had a husband and kids at home. Her husband was a doctor, and she lived in a big house in a gated community. So, when we got caught, she got scared and denied it. She knew how it'd look, the facts be damned. A woman, bent over and tied up. Her skirt bunched up around her waist and panties down around her ankles. All the buttons on her blouse ripped off while the thug black student was tearing up that pussy from behind. It doesn't matter that she begged me to do all that to her."
Dr. Russell skeptically looked at the young black boy seated before her. He spoke with a firm conviction that gave her pause, and she couldn't help having a gut feeling that he might actually be telling the truth.
"That wasn't the first time that happened, either," Darrien continued. "She liked to be tied up and then fucked all rough. Like I said, I don't ever do nothing to a woman she don't want me to, and she was a freak. She wanted me to throat fuck her. I'd pound that pussy. She'd take it up the tail pipe. There wasn't nothing off limits. She was the one that wanted us to fuck in her classroom. She got off on the thrill of fucking one of her students and almost getting caught. That is, until she actually was caught."
"You realize that you need to show remorse for your crimes for me to advocate for any kind of early release," Dr. Russell explained.
"If you're asking me to lie, that ain't gonna happen," Darrien insisted.
"What do you think, you're God's gift to women," Dr. Russell scoffed.
