The Daring Game (18 page)

E
LIZA SAT HAPPILY
at lunch one sunny Friday, waiting for a second piece of pie. There was an inter-house baseball game after school; Miss Clark had praised her essay comparing spring in Edmonton and Vancouver; and tonight they were all being taken to see
My Fair Lady.
Last but not least, she had been elected vice-president of 7A. The prospect had scared her, but she soon found out the job consisted of little more than waiting for each teacher in the hall before a class and walking behind her, carrying her books, to the classroom. There the president waited to shout, “Stand for Mme Courvoisier!” Having a position made her feel distinguished. So far, this term was a great improvement over the last.

“Save your tip,” reminded Carrie beside her. You were supposed to cut off the tip of your piece of pie, eat it last and wish on it.

Miss Monaghan was taking the noon roll call to check on what each boarder was doing after school.

“Helen Beauchamp.”

“Games, please, Miss Monaghan …”

“Elizabeth Chapman.”

“Games, please, Miss Monaghan …”

“Pamela Jennings.”

“Dorm please, Miss Monaghan …”

“What's Pam up to?” whispered Eliza to Carrie. Staying in the residence after school was not encouraged, and Pam was such a tennis fanatic, she always said “games” instead of “walk.”

“
I
know,” said Helen, across from them. “I'll tell you later. Meet me in the gym before the game.” Eliza swallowed her tip of pie and wished that Cedar would win.

T
HEY DIDN
'
T.
Oak, Helen and Carrie's house, won 10 to 7. Eliza had hit two home runs, but she'd missed five throws.

She and Helen and Carrie trudged slowly up the path from the playing field, stopping at the top to rest on a low bough of Eliza's tree. Eliza wiped her sweaty forehead and took deep sniffs of the tart smell of cut grass. She pulled off the sticky brown caps from the new tips of a fir tree.

Carrie squinted up at the Blue Sitting Room balcony across the lawn. “Are they there yet?”

“I don't see them,” said Helen. “Let's just wait here. She can't spot us.”

Helen had told them that Norm was visiting Pam after school. “He's bringing back a sweater she left at his parents'—I heard her asking Bix if it was all right for him to come. I bet that's just an excuse. They've probably got it all arranged.”

Eliza pointed. “Look—there they are!” It was such a warm day, the door leading to the balcony was open. Through it they could see two standing figures.

The three of them scooted across the lawn and crawled into the thick laurel bushes under the balcony. Away from the sun it was chilly, especially with shorts on. Eliza shivered as she squatted and brushed the dirt from her knees.

“Shall we do it now?” whispered Carrie, trying to cover up her laughter with both hands.

“No! Wait and see if they come out onto the balcony.” Helen frowned at her, and Carrie was still.

In a few minutes they heard footsteps overhead. At Helen's signal they moved over to the side so they could see the balcony more clearly.

Pam had changed into one of her new outfits, an orange-and-black striped dress and orange suede shoes. “She looks like a wasp,” breathed Helen. The boy wore a maroon blazer, a yellow-and-maroon tie, which he was loosening, a crumpled white shirt and grey flannels. He had a round face and black hair that hung in his eyes.

Eliza stared at him curiously. He looked like any other boy. She didn't see what was so special about him.

“He's not so great,” scoffed Carrie. “He has pimples!”

Pam was doing all the talking. “This is our recreation time. Normally I'd be playing tennis. Did I tell you I was in the Intermediate Finals?”

“Show-off,” hissed Helen. “Okay, you guys—now!”

They opened their mouths and sang up as loudly as they could.

NORMAN! OOH-oo-ooh-oo-ooh-oo

ooh-oo-ooh

NOR
MAN!
OOH-oo-ooh-oo-ooh-ooooh-oo-ooh

NOR
MAN!
Norman, my love!

His face turning crimson, the boy looked around wildly. Pam grabbed his arm and pushed him inside.

Eliza, Helen and Carrie tumbled out of the bushes and rolled around on the lawn in convulsions.

“Oh! Oh! I can't stop!”

“Did you see his face?”

“Did you see
hers
? It was perfect!”

“OOH-oo-ooh-oo-ooh-oo …” crooned Carrie.

Eliza clutched her stomach. “Stop!” she begged. “It hurts too much!”

“That'll teach her not to be so boy-crazy,” pronounced Helen as they picked themselves up and hurried off to change.

P
AM WOULDN
'
T SPEAK
to them for the rest of the day. That evening she had to go and see Miss Tavistock. On Sunday Jean told them that the headmistress had been very upset about Norm's visit. “And Miss Bixley got told off, too,” said Jean, her eyes round at the idea of her being the bearer of such gossip. “Boys aren't
ever
allowed to visit. Pam was supposed to wait and get her sweater yesterday.”

Helen couldn't resist continuing the joke. “When's your boyfriend coming again, P.J.?” she said smoothly that evening. “We'd love to see him. You know, that was a good trick, the way you got him here. I think we could even count it as a dare.”

Pam turned to face Helen, clenching her fists as if she were trying not to hit her. Then her face crumpled into tears. “I hate you, Helen! You're such a child, you and your stupid games. When are you going to grow up?
You've
never done a dare—you just give them to us. I bet you're afraid to.”

Helen flinched, and her usually white face turned dull red. “You've never really done one either, have you, Pam?” she said softly. “I dare you to give
me
a dare. I'll do anything you like.”

“What is all this commotion?” As usual the Pouncer appeared out of nowhere. “Get into bed at once. I'm turning out the lights and I don't want another word!” Unlike Miss Bixley, who would have tried to discover what the matter was, she didn't even notice Pam's tears.

After the matron left they waited to hear if Pam would answer. Eliza listened to her subsiding sobs and decided she would apologize to her tomorrow for their trick.

Finally Pam spoke, so quietly they could barely hear. “All right, Helen, I
will
give you a dare. And you'll be sorry, because it's much worse than anything you've ever thought of yourself.”

16

A Tangled Web

T
he dare that Pam whispered to Helen that night was so risky that Eliza, Carrie and Jean all tried to talk her out of it the next morning. It would mean breaking one of the school's strictest rules.

“You'll get caught,” said Carrie.

“And if you do, you'll be expelled,” added Jean with a shudder.

These warnings just seemed to make Helen more determined. “Come on, Pam,” pleaded Eliza, “say she doesn't have to do it. Or give her something easier.”

“She doesn't have to do it,” said Pam coolly, not looking at Helen. “It's up to her.”

Helen glared at her. “I'll do it! I said I would, and I will. I'm not afraid. You'll all have to help me, though.”

Eliza saw an escape route: surely Pam wouldn't take part, for then she might get into trouble too. But Pam agreed; her anger made her unusually reckless.

Eliza considered that
she
could refuse to be involved, but that wouldn't stop them if Pam was going to help anyway. And if Helen insisted on doing this, she wanted
to make sure she did it as safely as possible.

“We'll plan it tonight,” said Helen. “At least there's still five more days until Saturday.” For the first time, she sounded nervous.

P
AM
'
S CHALLENGE
to Helen was to pretend to stay in on Saturday and then sneak out, stay away a few hours and return without being caught. They decided that Pam would come out with Eliza and Carrie to Eliza's aunt and uncle's, so Helen could meet them on the secret beach. “Otherwise,” said Pam, “how would we know you'd done it? You could just say you had.”

“Only you would do something like that, P.J.,” retorted Helen. The two of them were more hostile than they'd ever been. It was as if the flames of irritation that had licked at both of them all year had flared up into a blaze of antagonism.

Eliza hoped her aunt would say she couldn't have any guests that Saturday, but Aunt Susan didn't mind. “Bring them both along,” she said. “But what about Helen—doesn't she want to come too?”

“She—she has to stay in and catch up on some work,” said Eliza. She hung up the phone feeling as if she had started events rolling and there was nothing she could do to stop them.

By the time Saturday morning arrived, however, they were beginning to feel excited about the dare. If Helen succeeded, it would be the most thrilling thing they had done. And after all, thought Eliza, in her English boarding
school books the girls often sneaked out, sometimes even at night. Compared to stories, just leaving the grounds for an hour or two seemed tame.

Now that Eliza had experienced a real boarding school, however, she was amazed at how easy it was for the jolly schoolgirls in her books to escape for midnight feasts on the cliffs, or forays into town. Even if they were caught, they had usually done something heroic, like catching a band of smugglers.

At Ashdown, she could too easily imagine Miss Tavistock's reaction to a student sneaking out on her own. And there was so much sharp-eyed supervision here that it was going to be very difficult for Helen to leave and come back without being detected.

They waited together in the hall to be picked up. Jean looked relieved to be going home as usual. They hadn't asked her to come because they knew she didn't want to take part.

Helen watched them leave, her round face particularly pale. “Goodbye, Helen!” Pam called back lightly as they trooped out the door with Uncle Adrian. “Have a good day!”

B
Y ONE-THIRTY
they were sitting on the beach, waiting for Helen to arrive. Carrie and Pam were collecting mussel shells. Eliza perched on the look-out, gazing at the sparkling blue sea. It was a perfect day. The water danced in lively little waves as if it knew something exciting was going to happen. Hundreds of white sails dotted English
Bay. One boat close to them flapped wildly for a second, then caught the wind and glided by. The sun-heated driftwood gave off a tarry smell.

Eliza wondered how Helen would manage to escape. They had given her several suggestions, but so much depended on whether Miss Tavistock stayed in or went out. Luckily Matilda, not the Pouncer, was on duty for the day.

Already something had almost gone wrong. After lunch Aunt Susan had said, “Why don't we
all
go to the beach? The baby could play in the sand, and I'd like to tan my legs.”

“Oh, but …” Eliza blushed, unable to continue.

“
I
know,” teased her uncle, “you have some kind of private game going on, don't you?” Eliza nodded gratefully.

The other two joined her on the rock. It was quiet for a Saturday. Then a seagull screamed “
yow, yow
” from an adjoining rock, and a teenage couple appeared with a blaring radio. Eliza glanced at them coldly; she regarded the beach as her own property.

It was a quarter to two; where was Helen? She'd said she would leave the school at one. They watched the stone steps anxiously. “Maybe she won't come,” said Pam. “I almost hope she doesn't—it
is
pretty dangerous.”

Now you regret it, thought Eliza with exasperation. “She will,” she said stiffly. “Helen's really brave.”

Carrie turned her head, then jumped up. “There she is!” They waved frantically as a round red-headed figure in a green jacket approached from far down the beach.

Helen flopped down breathlessly. Her eyes shone as she tore off her jacket, fanned her dripping face and wiped her glasses. “Whew! I got off way past the stop, so I just came down to the beach and started walking back. I figured I'd see you eventually, as long as I headed this way. Got anything to drink?”

They pulled out the pop and sandwiches they had saved for her. Helen gulped half the bottle down in one swallow. Eliza watched her with admiration. Helen
was
brave. Even Pam had to admit it: “You did it, Helen,” she said reluctantly, but her voice was fearful.

“Only half, though. I still have to get back.” Helen grinned proudly. “It's great to think that nobody but you knows where I am.”

There was almost an hour before she had to catch the bus back. They stretched out and roasted in the sun, and even paddled briefly in the icy water, while Helen told them how she had got away. “The rest of them went to a movie, but I told Matilda I was going to stay behind and study. She won't bring them back until at least four-thirty. After Charlie drove off, I just walked out the gate, then ran until I could wait for the bus without being seen. It was easy.”

I
T WASN
'
T EASY
to watch her leave. Helen didn't want to go so soon. “I could stay another hour,” she complained. But the others, especially Pam, wanted her safely back at school.

“Do you have enough money?” she asked, as they walked to the bus stop.

Helen smirked wickedly at her. “Sure, P.J. Don't look so worried. This was
your
idea, remember.”

They stood there apprehensively after the bus had carried Helen away, all the serenity of their hour in the sun spoiled. “This is the worst part,” said Eliza, leading the others back to her uncle's house. “What if someone sees her come in?”

“They won't,” said Carrie. “She has lots of time. Everyone will still be out except for the kitchen staff, and they won't notice.”