1-11. An Orgy Of Deceit

Believe Nothing Of What You Hear And Half Of What You See" -- A Journalists' Motto From The Movie, Crusader, starring Michael York. "I want this investigated immediately! Who was involved and what was Rani's role? How did this happen?" Lal demanded as he tossed the picture angrily across the room. "Jyoti check to see if Rani has any identifying marks that could show that this picture isn't her. And don't tell her anything. She's not to know about this picture, understood?" Jyoti looked at the picture and smirked. "Trust Rani to get herself in trouble like this." "Just get out of here and find out if this is her. Come back immediately and let me know. Robert, go with her." Cuthie, Jyotis’ mother, looked up from the table as Jyoti barreled into the kitchen.”Where’s Rani!”. “In the bedroom”, Cuthie responded. “What’s going on?” “Look at this! Uncle Lal wants me to find out if it’s really her! He’s really mad at her!” Jyoti gloated. Cuthie smirked, “What do you expect from these people?” Referring to Rani, her mother and brother. Aunt Cuthie hated the close relationship between Lal and Rani and her brother. She had long tried to convince him that Jyoti was the true loyal revolutionary and the others were no good. None of her past machinations had worked, maybe now Lal would listen to her. She had long hated their mother, her sister, for exposing an affair that she had in India before and during her marriage. The fact that her sister had no choice was irrelevant to her. She had betrayed her. Cuthie refused to acknowledge the letter Rani’s mother had received from the man’s wife and the fact that the entire village knew of the affair. The entire family had been humiliated because of Cuthies’ behaviour, but that didn’t matter to her. She was determined to prove to the world that her sister, and her sisters’ children couldn’t be trusted and they were no good. Jyoti strode down the hall, and barged into the bedroom, self-righteousness written all over her being. Rani was getting dressed and looked up in surprise. “Can’t you knock?” She said angrily. “I’m trying to get dressed!” “Open your shirt” Jyoti demanded. “Get lost!” “Now!” “What are you, a pervert?” “I said, now, and I mean it!” “Fine … get a thrill! Happy now?” Rani opened her shirt briefly then continued to button it. Jyoti had slammed the door and run down the hall. “It’s not her!” Rani heard hushed voices in the living room and walked in to see Robert, Aunt Cuthie and Jyoti with their heads huddled together over a photograph. “What’s going on? What’s that?” she asked. Robert slipped the photograph into his pocket and looked at Rani with sympathy. Aunt Cuthie and Jyoti were seething with self-righteous indignation and smirking at her. “Nothing. I have to get back. See you all later.” Said Robert, as he rushed out the door. “Where are you going?” Cuthie and Jyoti chimed. “I’m working tonight. There’s an Indian event at the College Theatre and they need Hat Check girls. I haven’t been getting my cheques from mom lately and I need some money.” Cuthies’ eyes lit up and she grinned. “Okay, we’ll see you later.” This is perfect, she thought. That picture was taken for a reason. Someone is probably distributing it in the Indian community. She’ll be humiliated, Lal will be embarrassed and I can convince him that she’s corrupt. How could that happen if she wasn’t corrupt and involved somehow. Part of the picture was her, even though the rest was fabricated. “Are you going back to see Lal?” Cuthie asked Jyoti. “Yes. Roberts’ coming back to pick me up.” “Okay, make sure you don’t tell him that Rani is working tonight and where, unless he asks.” “Why?” “Never mind, just do what you’re told.” Cuthie told Jyoti impatiently. “Fine!” She didn’t understand what was going on in her mothers’ mind but it didn’t matter to her. She knew she could count on her mother to make sure she looked good, and Rani looked bad. She really hated Rani. Whenever she saw her the jealousy came to the surface. Everybody liked her and things were so easy for her. Her mother had money and could help her out. Jyotis’ life was unstable. Her parents fought all the time. Her mother didn’t make much money and her father was unreliable at the best of times. It serves Rani right. Let her suffer a bit for a change. Rani was smiling and welcoming people as they arrived. She took their coats, chatted, and issued their tickets.Raj saw her and rushed to the Coat Check booth. “What are you doing here!” “Why? Is there a problem?” Rani asked curiously. Raj looked a little panicked. What was going on? She wondered. “Didn’t anyone tell you?” “Tell me what?” “There’s a phony picture of you involved in an orgy with 10 guys. It’s being distributed to people here!” Rani blushed with embarrassment. “I would never do anything like that!” “The people that know you are aware of that, but no-one else here is. You should leave. Someone is really trying to humiliate and insult you in public.” “I can’t just walk out. I’ve been hired to work the evening.” “Well I better get in there. See you later then.” Raj said with resignation, shaking his head as he walked away. Rani felt the icy breeze gently stroke her face as she climbed onto the bus. She had finished her shift despite Raj's warning and settled into a seat behind the driver. The bus was empty despite the crowds at the college. Gazing absently out of the window at the far off lights of the city, and deep in thought, she wondered how this could have happened. Her thoughts drifted back over the last semester. She had met a lot of new people this year. The crowd that hung around outside of the library from the Electrical Engineering program consisted of a Catholic Ugandan Asian, some Indo Caribbean and Indian students. The Student Affairs staff, a South African Indian woman (around 40 but who claimed to be 21), Susheel and her Indian boyfriend, Sammy. She had met their friends, including the Director of Student Affairs, Mark, a black Jamaican in his late 20s to early 30s. She had socialized with the group occasionally, gone to a couple of parties, and participated in the Indian Students Association of which Susheel seemed to be the driving force (a little strange since she was staff not a student). Susheel had shown her some naked pictures of herself the last time Rani went to visit her. Rani recalled being shocked, asking her why she allowed Sammy to take these pictures of her. She also expressed surprise that any company that developed film would develop these types of photographs. Susheel had just laughed and said that she didn’t mind and had never had any problem having them developed. Susheel was also the one who got her the Hat Check girl job. Kerry, the Ugandan Indian, had asked her out to a party one night. A party he had been invited to by Mark, the Director of Student Affairs. They had gone to a very nice upper middle class home in North York. The man who answered our knock was in his 30s, dressed casually, hair and clothes cut conservatively. The home was immaculate and decorated with photographs of his slim attractive wife and three young children, two boys and a girl. I had asked him where his wife and kids were. He indicated that they had gone away for the weekend and that he had decided to have a party. He was a nice looking man with dark brown hair and eyes, short for a man, but with a muscular build and square broad face. It had occurred to Rani at the time that it was somewhat unusual that a man like this would have a party to entertain college students. Kerry however wanted to stay and didn’t seem to think anything of it despite the fact that he didn’t even seem to know what this mans’ name was. The Director of Student Affairs brought Rani a drink and she had settled on the couch downstairs with Kerry and a group of people that she didn’t recognize from the College. There was no music and no dancing which also seemed weird since all the parties in the early 70s were dance parties. Disco dancing was very popular at the time for all young adults from their 20s right through to 30s. They talked and drank. Rani, as was her habit, drank slowly, just sipping. She rarely drank more than two drinks in an evening because she would get drunk after the second. Knowing that, she was always careful because she didn’t like getting high. However, that evening, she had felt dizzy after her first drink. Her recollection of the entire evening was fuzzy. She hadn’t had that much to drink, just one gin and seven up, but she couldn’t even remember how she got home, or, who took her. She vaguely recalled being taken into another room where the lights were unusually bright and hurt her eyes. They lay her down on the floor with a group of other people who were also lying down and appeared to be sleeping. She had tried to get up but someone had pushed her down and held her. She remembered the owner of the house standing behind the bar watching her; the heat of the lights; and then she was out. At the time she had put it down to a strong drink, and sleeping it off. Kerry had been quite distant since then and appeared to be avoiding her. She had assumed that he was embarrassed because of her reaction to the alcohol. She blushed again with embarrassment at the fact that people were being shown this horrible picture and many might believe that it was her. The whole situation sickened her. The person who did this had to be a serious pervert! Rev. 2007.05.12