Jack Takes a Dare

 by Lanora E. (ages 10-13)

   Jack Goodwin hurried up the school stairs while the last bell was ringing and slid into his seat as Mr. Foster came into the room. A few pupils hurried up the stairs and slid into their seats quickly, not wanting to be marked tardy. But Mr. Foster called them out, anyway.  

   “A-hem,” A small voice came from the back of the room, and several of the pupils, Jack among them, turned to see an unrecognizable girl in at the top of the stairs. “Is this Mr. Gerald Foster’s class?” She asked hesitantly.

   “This is indeed. I am Mr. Foster.” Mr. Foster came from behind his desk. “And you are a Miss Alice Smith, I presume?” 

   The new girl nodded shyly. She was tall with auburn-brown hair in a delicate pull-back, was dressed in a simple but elegant green calico dress with a white pinafore, and had striking blue eyes.

   “I have been expecting you, Miss Smith.” Mr. Foster gave her one of his rare smiles. “I very much hope you will enjoy it here.” Mr. Foster then assigned her to share a desk with Rachel. 

  Throughout the week Alice kept coming to school, and Jack figured out that her family had moved from back East. Alice didn’t play baseball like Andi. She normally just sat off to the side watching baseball games, talking to one of the girls, or occasionally joining in on jump rope.

Alice was never tardy, and hardly ever got an answer wrong, whether it be Spelling, Grammar, Math, or History. It was clear that she was raised in a wealthy home, like Virginia, but there was something different about Alice that separated her from the type that all the other girls were. She wasn’t like a tomboy, but she wasn’t all prim and proper, like most other girls.

And Alice was apparently funny, because several times when Jack would be walking by a group of girls with Alice among them, the other girls would be laughing or giggling, like a lot of girls did. They would be saying,” That’s so funny, Alice!” Or, ”How can you come up with such good jokes, Alice?”

But strangely, Jack always saw Virginia wrinkle her nose at Alice’s jokes, obviously not sharing the opinion that it was funny. But then again, Virginia almost never thought anything was funny.

   

                                                                   ++++++++  

 

   One day Jack and some other kids were about to start a game of baseball, when they figured out that the teams were uneven by one. 

    Johnny Wilson kicked at the dust with his well-polished shoes. “We need another player,” He announced.

    “Well, none of the girls would want to play, so someone will have to sit out this game.” Jack replied.

     Cory disagreed. “Alice might want to play,” He suggested.  

     Now Johnny disagreed with Cory. “Alice is lady-like, and prim and proper, like Virginia.” He retorted. “I’ll bet she’s scared of little critters, too, just like the other girls.”

      “I’ll bet she’s just like Virginia,” Toby Wright agreed. 

      “Well, Virginia isn’t that bad.” Jack defended Virginia. Everyone looked at him, astonished. “But she probably is scared of lizards,” He added quickly.

      Andi spoke up. “Alice isn’t like Virginia, actually. Far from it. I’ve talked to her before, and she might be willing to play.” Before anyone else could say anything, Andi took off running for a small group of girls to attempt to get Alice to join the game.

      “Great idea, Cory. Now we’ll be stuck with another sissy girl.” Johnny glared at Cory. 

      “Andi isn’t a sissy, and Alice is different from the other girls.” Cory retorted. “She isn’t like Virginia.”

      Johnny scoffed at the idea. “You should put a frog in her desk, and see her reaction. Then you’ll know that I’m right.”

      Cory laughed. “That’s ridiculous. It doesn’t matter what her reaction will be.”

      “You’re just afraid to be proven wrong. I dare you to do it.” Johnny smirked.

       Cory shook his head. “You can do it if you want to, but I won’t. It really doesn’t matter.”

    Jack cut in the conversation. “Fine, I’ll do it.” He looked at Cory and Johnny. “Then we’ll know who’s right.”

   Before anyone could say anything else, Andi came up to the field with none other than Alice, much to everyone’s surprise. “It took some doing, but she said she’s willing to play this once,” She announced.

     Alice was put on Cory’s team, and on the last inning, the last up to bat was Alice. There were  two outs, no one on the bases, and the game was a tie, so it all depended on Alice if they were going to win the game. And she would have to get a home run, which was as likely as a pet rattlesnake. Jack could tell that some of the kids on Cory’s team didn’t have much hope that they would win, having seen Alice play the last eight innings.

     Johnny, on the pitcher’s mound, locked eyes with Alice, drew back his arm, and threw the ball. Alice swung and missed. Johnny grinned and pitched the next ball, and the result was a foul. Everyone held their breath as Johnny drew back his arm for what looked like the last throw of the game. A smirk was on his face, and he looked positive that he would win. 

    But Alice also looked determined. She was dusty, so dusty that Jack never would have imagined her to look like that even in his wildest dreams. But she stood ready, and when Johnny threw that ol’ ball, Alice swung with her eyes closed, then opened them to see a ball flying through the air over everyone’s heads. Some boys in the outfield tried and failed to catch the ball. 

   Suddenly Alice realized that everyone was yelling, and Cory pushed her. “Get going around the bases!” He yelled above the noise, and Alice took off.

   By the time Alice had reached home plate, an outfielder was still running back with the ball. Suddenly everyone was around her, yelling congratulations.

   Then Johnny came over. ”That was a lucky hit. Just pure luck.” He said, and stalked off.

   Alice looked at Jack. “What’s the matter with him?” She asked. 

  Jack shrugged. ”I guess he’s mad about losing.” He said. But inside, he knew why.

   

                                                                      ++++++++

   

   Jack couldn’t find any frogs the next day, so he got a small one from Toby, who unsurprisingly had one in his pocket, and snuck into the classroom when no one was there.

    Noon recess was almost over, so he would have to hurry if he wanted to carry out his plan. Jack crept silently in the room, opened the desk that Alice sat at, and dropped the frog in just as Cory came in.

Cory noticed what Jack was doing and tried to act like nothing was happening. Jack grinned. Cory gave him a tiny smile. He obviously still didn’t think putting a frog in Alice’s desk was a good idea.

   Jack slid into his seat just as the rest of the kids filed into the stuffy classroom. Rachel, who shared Alice’s seat, headed to her desk, Alice close behind. Then Jack realized that Rachel was going to get to the desk first. And he knew she would freak out. He was suddenly filled with dread. This is a ridiculous idea. Why did I ever agree to this? 

   He would have to act quickly. Jack stood up and blocked Rachel’s path to her desk. ”Hey Rachel, can I show you something real quick?” He asked hurriedly.

   Rachel gave him a look “No, Jack Goodwin.” She said. “Class is about to start, for goodness sake! Now, will you please excuse me.”

   Rachel tried slipping past Jack, and he tried again. “Say, did you hear about-“

 “Mr. Goodwin, take your seat.” Mr. Foster stood right behind Jack.

 Filled with dread, Jack took his seat, hoping with all his heart that neither of the girls would look in the desk for all of class, which was not likely.

   Rachel slid into her seat and Alice slid in after her. Much to Jack’s dismay, Rachel immediately lifted up the desk lid and screamed. Alice turned toward Rachel, opened her mouth to ask what was wrong, and the small amphibian jumped into her mouth! Now Alice screamed, and Jack didn’t blame her. 

  Alice spat out the frog, coughing and gagging. The frog fell onto the floor, and the room suddenly exploded in boys yelling, girls screaming at a silly frog, and in the back of the room, Johnny was laughing so much that tears came to his eyes. To Jack, this was anything but a laughing matter. 

   “A frog!” A boy yelled. He dove for the frightened animal, tripping over Alice. They both tumbled to the floor. 

     All this time, Jack dreaded what Mr. Foster would do when he figured out that Jack was responsible for this mayhem. He tried not to think about it, but he couldn’t. I sure hope Pa doesn’t find out about this. Softly, Jack put his elbows on his desk, rested his face in his hands, and squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block out the chaos.

 Mr. Foster was trying to get everyone to quiet down.  “Silence!” He yelled. There was no response, and no wonder no one could hear him. Mr. Foster walked briskly over to the boy who had tripped over Alice and yanked him up by one arm. “SILENCE!” He ordered. Everything automatically went quiet. “What is the meaning of this?” He demanded.

  Rachel spoke up. “There was a frog in my desk!” She exclaimed. “And it jumped into Alice’s mouth!” 

   Mr. Foster walked over to Alice and helped her to her feet. “Are you all right?” He asked. 

   Alice nodded. “I’m fine.” She sat down in her seat, continuously wiping the slime off her mouth.

   Mr. Foster faced the class. “Who is responsible for this assault?” He demanded. No one spoke. “I demand an answer!” He said sternly.

   “Uh, it was me, sir.” Jack said meekly and hesitantly. 

   Mr. Foster looked surprised, but then turned to his normal self. “Step up front, Mr. Goodwin.”

   Jack stood up, but suddenly Alice started laughing! Everyone was astonished. She was laughing when a frog had just jumped into her mouth! “Please don’t punish him, Mr. Foster. It was just a harmless joke.” She said between gasps, trying to catch her breath.

   Mr. Foster shook his head. “This has happened before to Virginia, and the result was not harmless! I would think that you of all pupils would be taking this seriously!” 

   Alice was laughing so hard now, that tears were in her eyes. “It’s just that everyone started yelling and screaming over a silly frog.” She explained. “I wonder what the younger kids were thinking when they heard it! And,” She added, “That was Virginia, before. And I can guarantee  that us two girls are very different!”

   Alice continued laughing, and some kids started chuckling nervously, but then they started laughing. They didn’t even know why it was so funny, but it was! 

   Mr. Foster was almost speechless, but he nodded to Jack. “Return to your seat, Mr. Goodwin.’’ Jack returned to his seat, astonished practically out of his mind that Mr. Foster actually let him go. 

  

                                                                   ++++++++

 Mr. Foster had dismissed school, and Jack was about to head down stairs when Mr. Foster called him to his desk. “Mr. Goodwin, I let you off this one time, but if you try a “harmless’’ joke like that again, I will not do the same as I did today.”

   Jack nodded. “I won’t do it again, sir.”

   Mr. Foster sighed. “Very well. You may go.”

 Jack caught up to Johnny as he left the building. “So, uh, Johnny, we found out who was right. Do you still think she’s a sissy?”

   Johnny glared at Jack. “So what if I do?”

   Jack shrugged. “Just wondering.”

 “So?”

   “So, I’ve learned my lesson for today. I’m not ever daring anyone about anything, and I’m not taking dares, and I think it doesn’t matter if she’s scared of frogs. If she is, that doesn’t mean she’s a sissy.  I’m just glad she started laughing.”

   Johnny tried to change the subject. “What did Foster do to you?” He asked. “You stayed longer than usual.”

 Jack shrugged. “He just told me that if I ever did that again, I wouldn’t get off as easily as I did this time.” 

   “You should try it again, then.” Johnny said with a smirk.

   Just then Alice walked up to Jack, and Johnny stalked away. “Why did you put a frog in my desk?” She asked straight out.  

   Jack shifted his feet, and his face got red. “Uh, we were trying to see if you were a sissy.”

   “Why?” 

   “I dunno.” Jack answered. 

  “Do you still think I’m a sissy?’’ Alice asked.

   Jack shook his head. “No.”

  Alice smiled. “You know, I used to have a collection of lizards. I had around 20 at one point.”

   Jack was amazed. “Wow, really?”

 Alice nodded. “I have a few of them, but Mother said I have to get rid of them. She says that young ladies shouldn’t do those kind of things.” She paused. “Do you want them?”

 “Your lizards?”

 “Yeah.”

 Jack thought for a moment.  “You know, I don’t really keep bunches of critters like that.” He said, but added, “But I know someone who does.”

 “Who?’’ Alice asked.

 “Cory.”

 

                                                                   ++++++++

                     

   The next day after school had just ended, Alice walked up to Cory and Jack, her dress pocket bulging. “Hey Cory,” She called.

 Cory turned around. “Yeah?”

 Alice pulled a couple of lizards from her pockets. “My mother won’t let me keep these, and Jack said you would keep them. Will you?”

   Cory looked at Alice, astonishment written all over her face. “You have a collection of lizards?” He asked.

   Alice nodded. “Yep. Will you keep them?”

 Cory grinned. “Sure.”

   “Good.” Alice placed the two lizards into Cory’s cupped hands, dug around in her pocket, and added four more lizards to the small pile of critters in Cory’s hands.

  Cory was grinning like a cheshire cat. “Thanks a lot!” He said gratefully.

 Alice smiled back. “Your welcome. I have a few more at home. I’ll bring them here tomorrow.”

 Jack was silent as he watched Alice put the lizards into Cory’s hand.

 All-in-all, Cory ended up getting eleven lizards. No, Jack definitely did not think Alice was a sissy. Not even close.