I Dare You

• Bianca Palamara, Grade 6
• Short Story
• 2015

I Dare You


Hi, I'm Elizabeth Alston, Beth for short. I'm 14 and live in a world of mysteries. My brother Gus is 17, we don't talk much but when we do it's actually quite fun. Both my parents work full time so Gus and I have to learn to co operate.


Every Sunday I walk down the street to a hidden path. There's always the same boy just sitting there, he never moves and never flinches which kind of scares me. Every time I see him I dare him to move or turn around but he never does. I've never seen his face because it's turned to the wall, every time I think he's going to move Gus calls.


Today is Monday. Mum and dad left early for work so Gus and I have to walk to school. "It's very quiet" I say, he replies with a bored grin. I really want to talk to him but he's always on his phone probably texting his friends. The bell rings but Gus doesn't care, he never cares.
"I'm gonna run to school," I say in a confident voice, he looks at me then turns back to his phone.
I run past the hidden path but I don't have time to stop so I yell out, "I dare you".


By the time Gus and I got home, mum and dad had already made dinner. It was weird having them home so early. When I sat down at the dinner table, mum asked us if we wanted the good news or the bad news. Gus looked at me, I didn't care about the good news, "bad news" I say quietly.Mum tells us the bad news in a worried voice, "Your father and I have been talking about”, she pauses, "go on" I say, "about moving" she says quietly. I close my eyes and replied with "ok”, mum looks surprised.


On the day of the move I run down to the hidden part. I yell at the boy because I'm tired of waiting for him to talk to me. "I dare you to move, I dare you to talk, I dare you to do something, just anything”. He turns around and once in a blue moon says, "Hello", I gasp. Mum beeps the horn and I say, "goodbye".


Our new house is very big and the good news is I no longer have to share a room with Gus. Overall, things are going fine but I kind of miss the boy. I never knew his name, he had black hair and big blue eyes. I made new friends and Gus is finally talking to me.
When I grow up I want to return to the hidden path and see if the mysterious boy is still there.



By Bianca Palamara VIC