Justice & Revenge

Monday night

I was a college student, and had heard that a member of a hated rival fraternity loaded with obnoxious rich kids was the last person seen with a young woman who had disappeared from campus. Somehow I had ended up possessing a receipt which, without a doubt, placed him at the last location where the woman had been seen.

I drove my van over to the suspect's fraternity house, turned off the engine, and waited. Before long, I was approached by a member of their group. He wasn't the guilty party, but he was a friend and protector, and I loathed him, as well. He leaned in my passenger's side window, found the receipt in the door pocket underneath, and grabbed it. He fixed me with a mean, satisfied gaze, said, "Sucker," and walked away, convinced that he'd put their little problem to rest. That's what I wanted them to think. Unbeknownst to them, I still had the yellow copy of the receipt, which I proceeded to drive to the police station.

*****

On one hand, this is a sort of an "Animal House"-style class struggle, with some "Law and Order" seriousness thrown in. But in a larger sense, I wonder if this dream is dredging up some anger at rich folks in this country who are "getting away with murder"?

The case of poor Natalee Holloway, the Alabama college graduate who disappeared in 2005, probably filtered in there, too.