High School Dares

There had to be something in my memories that would help.

I grew up on Scooby Doo, with a love of spooky places-weren't they always in the cartoons? Colleen and I used to pass that house on our way to and from school. We always reflected what a neat old home it was, even though it looked forlorn and in need of a loving touch. During our high school years, the old house had become more of a temptation-a Dare. Karl, a high school friend with a penchant for daring his friends, decided one day that it would be our turn to visit the place in person. He dared Colleen and me to go inside, while he and half-a-dozen of our friends watched.

I felt a little strange entering a place that wasn't ours, but at the same time, I was not going to lose the dare! So, after climbing through a broken window, careful not to cut ourselves on the glass around the edges, I suggested to Colleen that we give the watchers outside a scare.

"Okay, who thinks they can scream better?" I asked her.

She grinned back. "Remember the gerbil," she said.

Colleen had a pet gerbil, which got out one night when she was hosting a sleepover. She apparently forgot to put the cover over the top of the cage, and the little guy took off. He decided to take a walk over the faces of each sleeping girl-all six of us. And I think we woke up the whole house with our screams. It wasn't that I was afraid of the little guy. It was just the unexpected feet across my face that unnerved me. And that's how this would work.