After Alice Sebold had successfully won her case, she and her roommate had decided to move in with each other for the remaining years of undergraduate school. However, one day when Alice was out of the house she felt a sharp pain at 8:56 P.M. and decided to call her friend to pick her up. When they both reached the apartment they saw the police surrounding their rooms. They had finally told her that her roommate/best friend had been recently raped. The friend then admitted that she had checked the time as the rapist threw her onto the bed and it was exactly 8:56 P.M.(the same time Alice had felt pain and had called for a ride home). Alice quickly gave her best friend moral support and told her that she will get through this just like how she had couple of years ago. However, surprisingly her best friend did not want to hear it. She began to ignore Alice and did not allow her to help. They went to their friend's house that day and Alice and her best friend slept on the same bed. Alice asked her if she could hug her or if she should rub her back, but all she got in response was a rejection and finally a confession: she did not want Alice's pity or involvement and made it clear that there is nothing she could do to help. In a sense, the roommate had blamed her best friend for the rape as if she had brought her bad luck upon her. I quickly placed myself in Alice Sebold's shoes and began to feel terribly sorry for her. It must hurt for your best friend, whom you considered to be your sister to ignore you and give you the cold shoulder. The worst feeling in the world is to feel helpless. This later formed an awkward barrier between the two. If my best friend had gone through a traumatizing experience I would expect us to confide in each other, to comfort one another, and to even cry together. That vent session would have helped us both, by her knowing that I would always be there for her and for me knowing that I had done something to help. I cannot imagine losing my best friend. We have stuck with each other through thick and thin, and to imagine our friendship perishing due to an obstacle that we could have overcome together seems unreal and devastating. Once again, Alice Sebold did not fail in stimulating my emotions and making me feel as if though I had been there with her through every step of the way.
Setting and Mood