Dare You by Sue Lawson Read Free Book Online

that,’ said Sas, her face deadpan.
    I held my hand over my mouth.
    Lyndal’s eyes narrowed. ‘You two are so immature.’ She huffed and turned back to the front.
    Stuck-up weirdo. ‘She deserves this,’ I said.
    ‘So, what are you waiting for?’ asked Sas.
    The Fink looked up and I motioned towards the door. She nodded. I leant down to Sas. ‘What’s the combo again?’
    Sas sighed. ‘Three-two-three-two. And my locker is—’
    ‘I know that!’ I scurried from the gym, Sas’s phone in my pocket.
    When I returned about five minutes later, the lights were on, the film had been paused and everyone, staffand students, faced the middle of the room where Lyndal slumped in her seat.
    The Fink stood over her, more fire-breathing dragon than meerkat. ‘If you didn’t bring it in here, who did?’ she raged, her neck as red as her shirt.
    Lyndal slipped further down in her seat.
    I glanced at Sas. Her face was set in a shocked expression so real that, for a second, I almost believed her. Then I noticed the gleam in her eye. I eased into the seat beside Sas, hoping I looked just as surprised and innocent.
    Penny pointed at me. ‘She did it!’
    I looked from Penny to The Fink. ‘Did what?’
    The Fink glared at me. ‘Where have you been?’
    ‘The toilet. You said I could.’
    ‘Are you sure?’
    Sas stood. ‘Want her to tell you what she did in there?’
    The red on The Fink’s neck spread to her face. ‘Well, no...’ she blustered. She turned back to Lyndal. ‘Take yourself to Mr Meyer.’
    Lyndal’s eyes filled with tears.
    ‘Now.’
    She huffed past The Fink.
    ‘Right, Alistair, resume the film. Lights, Jesse.’
    The stadium plunged into gloom and the frozen horses galloped across the screen again.
    The Fink leant towards us. ‘I’m watching you two,’ she hissed.
    I dug my thumbs into my elbows to stop myself from laughing.
IM Chat
    Sas: Lost—one tall, skinny guitar hero. Last seen after school
    Khaden: Found—one tall, rippling rock god. Recovering from spew-fest. C u 2morrow
    Ruby: Don’t give it to us!

Sas
    I figured Dad had gone as low as he could, but no, now he’s trying to bribe me. Wonder what I’m worth to him? Mum refused to tell me how much money he sent; just that he’d sent cash for me to buy new clothes. If I’d been spending summer with him, like he promised, I’d need new boardies and tops, maybe even a dress or two. But now—meh.
    And as if Dad trying to bribe me wasn’t bad enough, Mum has turned it into a mother-daughter shopping trip for ‘just the two of us’. Oh, joy!
    Guess it beats another night babysitting, which I am doing again tonight because Mum is working.
    Grrrrr! I’m so over myself, over the massive weight pressing down on my shoulders, I could scream. I need to break free, to quote that Queen song Khaden loves. If only I could escape from all the hassles and lies, scrape off all the sludge and gunk and wash it down the drainwith the shower water. Maybe then I’d feel like me again—excited, happy, like I did today when The Fink sent pig-faced Lyndal to Meyer. The look on Lyndal’s face was the funniest thing ever. That’ll teach her and Penny to carry on as if their poo doesn’t smell.
    It even loosened Ruby up, too. She actually laughed—sure, it wasn’t until the end of the day while we were walking home, but she still cracked up for the first time in ages.
    The only thing that would have made the whole thing better was if Khaden had been there too.
    Hope he’s okay. He said he had gastro, but yesterday he hinted that his dad and Taj were fighting heaps. Instead of asking if everything was okay, I just nodded. Maybe I should have tried to talk to him about it, but I didn’t want to upset him, and I didn’t want him to think I was being like Lyndal—a gossip.
    If I was being honest, I’d also admit that I didn’t want to push Khaden away. Something has changed between us, but not in a bad way. We’re better friends than ever, only