Truth or Dare . . (5 page)

Then everything went terribly wrong one foggy autumn evening as Sara walked home alone after studying at Jake's house. A car rounded the corner just a little too fast, lost control, and swerved onto the sidewalk, slamming into Sara and killing her instantly. Abby remembered all too well the awful days that followed: the small groups of students crying quietly at school; the funeral that was unbearably sad; the scholarship foundation that Sara's grieving parents had started to make sure their beloved daughter would never be forgotten.

And Abby remembered something else, too: the heavy cloud of sadness that seemed to follow Jake everywhere last year. In fact, it was only recently that Jake had started to seem like his old self. It seemed like his summer away at baseball camp had really lifted his
spirits. Abby was so happy to see her old friend smiling again. And she started to realize that she liked him as more than just a friend, and maybe he liked her that way too.

But as she looked at the photo of Sara, Abby felt her hope fade.
Even if Jake is ready to go out with someone else, I'm totally not his type. I'm
nothing
like Sara James.

Suddenly the light on Abby's desk burned out with a loud
pop
that made her jump. In the darkness of the bedroom, the computer monitor gave a spooky glow to Sara's photo on the website. Abby shook her head as she closed the site and went to the basement to find a new lightbulb.

But it was impossible for her to forget those luminous green eyes, gleaming in the darkness.

Arriving at school the next morning, Abby and Leah found a cluster of kids just inside the entrance, blocking the front doors. Abby raised her eyebrows as she looked at Leah. “What's going on?” she asked.

“Must be something important,” Leah said as she craned her neck, trying to get a glimpse over the crowd. “Or something exciting!”

“Exciting? Here? Yeah, right.” Abby laughed as they slowly made their way into the lobby. Just beyond the doors, they saw what all the fuss was about: a large poster announcing the first dance of the school year.

Leah grabbed Abby's arm. “A dance!” she squealed. “I can't wait! And it's the perfect excuse to get a new outfit. What are you going to wear?”

“Let's see,” Abby mused. “My gray hoodie and my favorite jeans.”

Leah frowned. “You're kidding,” she said bluntly. “That is the worst outfit for a dance.”

“But it's perfect for lounging around and watching TV,” Abby said. “Which is what I will be doing instead of going to some stupid dance.”

“Don't be like that,” Leah complained. “I know the dances were boring last year, but this is the first dance of this year. That's kind of a big deal.”

“Whatever,” replied Abby. “Every dance is the same, Leah. They play the same lame music and serve the same nasty cafeteria hot dogs every single time. And all the girls stand around just waiting for
anybody
to ask them to dance while all the guys end up shooting hoops. No thank you. Come on, I need to go to my locker before homeroom.”

But Leah hovered near the poster. “Well, here's something different,” she said slowly. “It says here that proceeds from the dance will go to the Sara James Memorial Scholarship Fund. You know what that means, right? You-know-who will definitely be there, so—”

“Shhh!” Abby hissed, glancing around to make sure
no one had overhead Leah. “You promised you wouldn't mention that ever again.”

“All right, all right,” Leah said. “I just want you to come to the dance! It won't be any fun without you. Please?”

“I'll think about it,” Abby finally said, just to stop Leah from badgering her.

“That sounds like a yes!” Leah said, clapping her hands. “Now, seriously, what are we going to wear?”

“I'll think about that, too,” Abby promised with a laugh. She couldn't stay annoyed with Leah, not after being her best friend since kindergarten—even if it meant suffering through another awful dance in the gym.

But as the days passed, it started to look like Leah was right to be excited. The whole school was buzzing with rumors about the dance, like that the student council's events planning committee had actually hired a DJ and promised to order better food. After school on Wednesday, Abby and Leah joined a group of kids who had gathered around Morgan Matthews, the class president. Morgan was in the process of describing all the improvements she had planned for the dance. “It's the
least
we can do in memory of Sara,” she gushed.

Abby resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “Um, I don't think a pizza upgrade is a really special way to remember Sara,” she whispered to Leah.

Just then she felt someone tug on her backpack. She turned around to see who was behind her.

It was Jake!

Oh, no,
Abby thought in a panic.
Did he overhear me?

“You know what?” Jake asked in a low voice. “I couldn't agree more.”

“Hi, uh, hey, Jake,” Abby stammered. “Yeah . . . it's kind of weird, huh?”

“A little bit,” Jake said, nodding. “What are you doing now?”

“I was just about to head out for the bus,” Abby said.

“It's such a nice day,” Jake began. “I was wondering if you'd like to walk home with me.”

“Um, yeah,” Abby said as her heart started to pound. She shot a quick glance at Leah. “I'll see you later, Leah?”

“I'll call you!” Leah exclaimed as she gave Abby a little wave. “Bye, Abby! Bye, Jake!”

As Abby and Jake crossed the wide school lawn toward the sidewalk, Abby couldn't think of a single
thing to say. Finally she blurted out, “So how's your school year going?”

“It's good, so far,” Jake replied. “A lot more work this year, huh?”

“Tell me about it,” Abby said. “I have
hours
of homework every night.”

“Me too!” exclaimed Jake. “I already can't wait for summer vacation.”

“Well, that's only eight months away,” Abby pointed out.

“Don't remind me,” Jake groaned.

Abby smiled at Jake and looked down at her feet. She couldn't remember the last time she'd been so happy to walk home.

“So that dance,” Jake began, “it's turning into kind of a big deal, I guess.”

“I guess,” Abby said carefully. “Everybody seems really excited about it.”

“Are you?” Jake asked, shifting his backpack to his other shoulder. “I mean, are you going?”

“Um, yeah,” Abby replied. “I think so.”

“That's cool,” Jake said. “Me too. Do you want a ride?”

“A ride?” repeated Abby.

“Yeah,” Jake said. “My mom's going to drive me, so we could give you a ride. If you want one.”

“Yeah, sure,” Abby said quickly. “That sounds great.”

Jake smiled at her, and Abby felt like she had a hundred butterflies fluttering in her stomach. “Great,” he repeated. “We'll come over at seven on Saturday.”

“Okay,” Abby replied. “I'm, um, looking forward to it.”

“Me too,” Jake said. Then, lowering his voice, he added, “I heard a rumor that there's even going to be
pizza
.”

As they rounded the corner of Elmhurst Lane, Abby started to laugh. “Do you mean
really
amazing,
really
delicious pizza?” she asked, imitating Morgan. Jake's laughter told Abby that her impression was spot-on.

“Well, here's my house,” Abby said.

“Right,” Jake said. “I'll see you around. Later, Abby.”

“Bye, Jake,” Abby replied as Jake turned to cross the street. She couldn't stop grinning as she walked along the path to her house. When she had almost reached the front door, she dared to glance behind her.

Jake was standing across the street, looking at her—and smiling! When he saw Abby peeking over her
shoulder, he held up his hand in a wave. Then he turned away and walked over to his own front door.

Abby opened the door as slowly and calmly as she could, just in case Jake could still see her. But when she got inside, she raced down the hall to her room, smiling so broadly that her cheeks started to ache a little. As she expected, she already had two voice mails, an e-mail, and IMs from Leah.

Leah601:
HELLOOOOOO!!

Leah601:
WHERE ARE YOU? I AM DYING HERE!!!!!

Abby grinned as she sat down at her computer. She quickly typed a message back to Leah.

AbbyGirl:
I'M HERE!!

Leah601:
WELL?!?! WHAT HAPPENED?!?!

AbbyGirl:
JAKE IS GONNA GIVE ME A RIDE TO THE DANCE!

AbbyGirl:
HELLO?

AbbyGirl:
DID I LOSE U?

Leah601:
SORRY, I FAINTED AND FELL OFF MY CHAIR. R U SERIOUS?! ABBY! U HAVE A DATE W/ JAKE!!!

AbbyGirl:
NO, IT'S NOT A DATE, JUST A RIDE :)

Leah601:
WHATEVER!! IT'S TOTALLY A DATE. I HATE U SO MUCH. U R SO LUCKY.

AbbyGirl:
OH PLZ. IT'S JUST A RIDE.

Leah601:
COME ON, HE'S SOOO INTO U! AND U DIDN'T EVEN WANT TO GO TO THE DANCE!

AbbyGirl:
LOL, I WANT TO NOW!

Just then Abby heard her mom's voice. “Honey, can you take Chester out?” Mrs. Miller called from the living room. “He won't stop barking, and I'm expecting a phone call any minute now.”

“Sure, Mom,” Abby called back. Then she typed one more message to Leah.

AbbyGirl:
GOTTA TAKE CHESTER FOR A WALK. CALL U LATER?

Leah601:
U BETTER! WE HAVE SO MUCH TO DISCUSS! BYE!

Abby bounded down the hall. “Chester!” she said. “Let's go for a walk, cutie!” Chester trotted up to Abby, wagging his tail. She fastened a red leash to the dog's collar and walked toward the front door.

But as they approached the door, Chester's fur
suddenly bristled. His mouth twisted into a snarl as he started growling, a long, low, menacing sound that sent chills up Abby's spine.

“What's the matter, boy?” Abby asked as she moved closer to the door and glanced outside. Across the yard, golden sunlight streamed through the trees in the nature preserve. It looked like a beautiful autumn afternoon—and completely ordinary. Abby couldn't imagine why Chester seemed so tense, but there was definitely something outside that was making him growl so fiercely.

“Shhh, it's okay, Chester,” Abby said soothingly as she stroked his head for a few seconds. Eventually he stopped growling, though he wouldn't take his eyes off the door.

But the minute Abby reached for the doorknob, Chester started barking so furiously that Mrs. Miller called out, “Abby! I'm on the phone!”

“Okay, okay!” Abby replied as she scooped up Chester and hurried through the front door. Once they were on the sidewalk in front of the neighbor's lawn, the dog calmed down immediately, but Abby couldn't stop wondering what had bothered him. “Was it a squirrel, buddy?” she asked. “Or another dog, maybe?”

Chester just trotted alongside her, wagging his tail happily. Abby shook her head and gave up trying to figure out what had spooked her pup; she decided to think about more important things as she turned off Elmhurst Lane, like imagining what she and Jake could talk about at the dance. But that made her nervous. She could feel her palms start to sweat.
Why are you being so silly?
she thought.
You've known him forever.
She smiled at her foolishness and started mentally rummaging through her closet instead, analyzing each potential outfit she could wear.
Definitely not a dress
, she mused.
I don't want to look like I'm trying too hard. Maybe my new skirt?

As dusk began to fall, Chester started to seem a little tired from their long walk. Abby started heading back home. As soon as they got inside, Chester curled up in his dog bed in the living room and fell right asleep.

Abby walked into the kitchen, where her mom was making a big green salad. Eddie was lounging on the kitchen floor, clearly happy that the dog wasn't around. “Mmm, something smells good! What's for dinner?”

“Your favorite—lasagna,” her mom said.

Abby's stomach growled. “Score! Can I help?”

Mrs. Miller shook her head. “It's already in the
oven,” she explained. “Dinner will be in about half an hour, okay?”

“Yum. I can't wait,” Abby said, grabbing a handful of baby carrots from the colander on the counter. Then she paused. “Um, Mom? I have to ask you something.”

“Go ahead, honey,” Mrs. Miller said as she chopped a tomato.

“Um . . . ,” began Abby awkwardly. “There's a dance at school this Saturday night, and, uh . . . Jake Chilson said he could give me a ride—er, his mom would drive, of course—so . . . is that okay?”