It's just a Little Prick - like your son

“He grabbed a fist full of my hair and slammed my face into the floor,” Whitney said as she reached up and adjusted the i.v. drip. “As my shoulder dislocated, I knew that I could not get away. He raked my face over the heating vent. Pieces of my teeth scattered under the coffee table.”

Sarah groaned and shifted under the starched hospital sheets.

“It's not fun feeling helpless is it Sarah?" Whitney circled the bed. "Don't bother trying to speak, the sedative is stronger than your will power." Whitney shined her light in Sarah's pupils.

"You remember me don’t you Sarah? I was in my first year of undergrad and I was impressed by the PhD types; you sensed that about me." Whitney pressed the stethoscope to Sarah’s chest.

“You could have convinced me of anything. It’s laughable when I think back to you quoting Principle 3 of Social Judgment Theory. I was sitting in the hospital, like you are now. How is that for a twist of fate?" Whitney grinned and shook her head. “You explained that the theory indicates that people sometimes have a baseline for their thoughts and that they wouldn't believe me. You said that the community had a strong sense of loyalty to him and that the jury would stick up for him like a mother protecting her child at a parent teacher conference.” Whitney looked up from her clipboard. “I was scared and I believed you. I didn't want to lose my scholarship on account of causing trouble.”

Sarah’s eyes began to close and she reached for the emergency call button.

“Oh that’s sweet, are you reaching out for me Sarah?” Whitney patted Sarah’s hand. “Well Dean Sarah, I want you to know that I’m glad that I didn't pursue the case against your son. He deserved a life sentence but you intimidated me and bought me off. I used that money to fund medical school." She pulled the cap off the needle. "Now I have access to a more extravagant method of achieving justice."

"You're going to feel a little prick." She stroked Sarah's hair and whispered in her ear, “Oh and just between us girls, your husband is such a tiger. I love what you've done with the room.”

• Smith, S., Atkin, C., Martell, D., Allen, R., & Hembroff, L. (2006). A social judgment theory approach to conducting formative research in a social norms campaign. Communication Theory, 16, 142-152
• Note to reader: This story is fiction. A friend was telling me that she enjoys soap operas. I haven't seen a soap in about 20 years; I wanted to write a scene (just to find out if I could do it).