Be careful when playing “Truth or Dare”, there may be consequences.
 
INTRO: Schools are the first place we learn to have independence as children. A new environment away from home where the rules are stipulated by people we barely know and are told to trust. A kingdom where we are able to ask questions. Questions that perhaps our parents  would not know the answer too. Is there such a thing as too much school spirit?
 
I’m Tasha Wheelhouse and this is Coppershock.
 
BODY:
The radio softly pulsed “I’m Gonna Be” by the Proclaimers. It was the new hit that year in 1994, and the radio stations could not get enough of it.
 
My school was a mecca of kids, Grade K through Grade 5. Recess was held at the exact same time for all classes. A flood of children ran to the play area staking out their territory when the bell rang. My territory was often sitting on the monkeybars overlooking a wide soccer field of green grass. I hung upside down looking at the far edge of the school’s field. A chain link fence separated the school from a row of houses, their backyards facing us.
“It’s time for a new game!” Alyssa whined.
“What game?” I asked.
“Truth or Dare!” she smiled at me.
Alyssa rounded up a group of kids from my class, and we sat down in a circle.  The first few rounds went by as normal until Alyssa pointed toward me.
“Okay Tasha. Truth or Dare?”
“Dare.” I said bored.
“I dare you to walk up to the grey house.” She pointed to the chainlink fence on the far side of the playground. Most of the houses looked fine, but the Grey house…. Everyone in school knew that it was haunted. No one played near there not even the big kids. I looked over Alyssa’s shoulder making eye contact with the sunken face of the Grey house. The yard was barren of any vegetation, save for dead pine trees, their trunks bent over from too many winters bowing to the ground, and the windows were always dark.
 
I looked back to Alyssa. She had the most sinister grin on her face. All my friends stared at her then back to me waiting to see what I would do.
 
“Unless you’re scaredy cat. I double dog dare you.” Alyssa eye’s narrowed. Now she was just playing dirty. I felt my face grow hot from the insult, I was edging on wanting to cry. I knew I would cry from embarrassment if I didn’t go through with it.
 
“How close?” I clarified.
 
“How about this.” Alyssa said. “You get as close as you can before you get scared, then I’ll try to beat it, then you’ll try to beat my record, and then keep going just like that until one of us has gotten close enough, and the other is too scared.”
 
I felt my stomach drop. I had to go lots of times? Get closer each time? I felt cheated. We weren’t really going to play ‘Truth or Dare’ at all. Allyssa “Double Dared” me, and now I can’t go back on it. I stood up dusting off the brown dirt from my knees and began to walk to toward the grass.
 
The layout of our playground had levels. A higher level, where the school stood, had jungle gyms, and a paved road with hopscotch squares painted. The field, was a lower level. You had to take large wooden stairway down the side of the hill to reach the grass. I was at the bottom of the hill and now and looked behind me. My group of friends had gathered at the top of the stairs to watch me from there. This was after all, a spectator sport.
 
I took in a large breath holding it, then letting go. Some kids from another class were passing a ball to one another. They looked up at me, then continued on playing. I felt how dry the grass was underneath my sneakers. Flagstaff Arizona may have been in the mountains, but it was also classified as a dessert too. I was about 20 feet away from the fence when I stopped. I realized for the first time I couldn’t hear anyone anymore. I felt so alone.