Truth or Dare by Peg Cochran Read Free Book Online Page B

pool where Rivka balanced half in and half out of the water. Rivka wheezed loudly as she tried to catch her breath.  The roughness of the concrete scratched her bare arms, and she heard her own breaths screaming in her ears.
    After a couple of minutes, she struggled to a sitting position.  Mary and Pamela sat watching her. 
    “What are you looking at?”  She demanded.  She pushed long, dripping strands of hair off her face.  Her dress was soaking wet and clung to her body like cellophane wrap. 
    “I’ve ruined your dress.”  She plucked at the wet silk and whirled around to face Pamela.
         “Don’t worry about it.  That’s the most entertaining thing I’ve seen in weeks.”

     “It’s not funny!”  Suddenly Rivka realized what she’d done and started to cry.
         Pamela shrugged.  “Whatever.
    “I think I’m going to be sick.”  Rivka put a hand over her mouth.
         “Just don’t puke in the pool.”  Pamela rose to her feet and padded barefoot to the French doors. 
         “Wait.”  Rivka cried.  “What am I going to do?”  She gestured toward her wet dress.  One of her shoes was floating at the bottom of the pool, a peach colored smudge barely visible below the moonlit surface.
         “Frankly, I don’t care.”  Pamela slammed the door in back of her loudly.
     
    Deirdre lay in the half dark trying to identify the various shapes around her room.  The big square on top of her dresser was her jewelry box.  Next to it she could make out the candle that had been a present from Mary for her birthday.  The weird, fuzzy shape in the corner was her old teddy bear—the one her father had given her for her third birthday when it was almost as big as she was.
    She rolled over and groaned.  If only she could be three again—then none of this would be happening.  She flipped onto her right side and scrunched the pillow up under head. 
    She told her mother she had cramps and couldn’t go to Pamela’s parents’ party.  Her mother had been pissed—especially since they’d bought a special dress and new evening sandals.  Deirdre could see the dress hanging on the back of her closet door.  Fortunately, she knew her mother would forget all about it.  She never thought about Deirdre for long. 
    Deirdre looked around the room some more trying to take her mind off the…thing…in the bathroom.  It was a fire-breathing monster with flashing green eyes and bared teeth.  She laughed into her pillow.  A monster would be preferable.  Then she could call her Daddy to come get rid of it the way he used to when she was little. But no one was going to banish this monster.  Her father was hardly ever around anymore, and her mother spent all her time locked in her room with a headache.
    No, this monster didn’t have flashing eyes or smoke or teeth or anything—just a thin, pink line down the center of a stick telling her that life as she knew it was over.
     
    Rivka woke with a pounding headache.  She pulled the covers up over her eyes and pressed the heels of her hands to her temples.  She must be coming down with something.  Her mouth was dry, her head hurt and her stomach was doing very unsettling somersaults. 
    Then she remembered.
    She heard noises from below—footsteps, chairs scraping and hushed voices.  Someone was downstairs with her parents.  She listened carefully and groaned.  It was Bubbeh and Zayde!  They must have taken an early train out from the city.  This wasn’t good.
    Rivka tried to make out what they were saying, but all she heard was the soft murmur of indistinct syllables.  She smelled coffee brewing, and it made her even more nauseous.  How was she going to face them? 
         Her parents hadn’t said anything last night—just sent her straight to bed with sad looks that made her feel terrible since it was obvious she’d let them down.  Was wanting to be normal and like everyone else really so bad? 
    Rivka heard