An Anonymous Girl: A Novel

Jessica meets Dr. Shields in person at her office. Jessica seems most eager to know how much money she will make if she follows through and is relieved to hear she can back out of the experiment at any time. Dr. Shields decides that Jessica is different from all her other subjects and suspends that study to focus on Jessica. She hints at a future in which Jessica will break rules, test her morality, and need inner strength and resolve to endure it. All that Dr. Shields tells Jessica is that the study has evolved into a “real-life exploration on morality and ethics” (69). Jessica is asked to describe her childhood and life leading up to the present, and the next phase of the study officially begins.

On November 30, Jessica returns for another in-person session with Dr. Shields and spends most of the time talking about herself and her family. She realizes that the lies she tells her parents about work and Becky’s medical bills are not entirely her own doing. At the end of the session, Dr. Shields gives Jessica an expensive nail polish that Jessica admired and a check for $600.

Jessica meets Lizzie for her birthday.