Flashback

Abbie sat bored on the couch. She was tired of bingeing TV. It was a Friday night and she was 22 years old. She only had a few more weekends like this till graduation and the real world took over. She should be out there living her best life, not staying here on the couch.

“Guys c’mon there’s gotta be something to do tonight.” She bemoaned.

There was a murmur from the three others in the room. From the opposite end of the couch re roommate Courtney responded.

“Like seriously there has to be some party we can go too!”

“We said already babe. Campus police has busted like 12 parties the last two weeks. Everyone is too spooked to host.” Her boyfriend Elliot responded from right next to her.

“Yeah and besides we’re having our own party here!” Justin said from his spot on the floor nearby. He raised the beer and the other three did too in solidarity. It was true. They had been drinking for quite awhile. Abbie had to admit to herself that she was pretty tipsy. It was influential in her desire to be out and crazy.

“You’re right Justin. We just need to make our own fun!” She had always had a crush on the tall dark-haired boy that lived in the upstairs apartment. It had been her secret hope when they’d moved into this building the year prior that with Justin and Elliot living upstairs and her and Courtney downstairs that something would blossom between them. It had shown glimpses but so far nothing had come to fruition. Was tonight the night?

“We could play strip poker.” Elliot suggested to an immediate jab in the ribs from his small blonde girlfriend. It was a constant joke of his whenever the group was bored. No one had ever taken it seriously. But in Abbie’s **** state an idea struck her. If an opportunity to get both her and Justin naked together then maybe she should take it.

“C’mon El, how many years have you been suggesting that game and how often have people gone for it?” Justin asked with a laugh.

“Hey it works more often than you’d think… first time I ever saw Courts tits was during a game…”

Both Justin and Abbie turned their heads at this new information to them.

“Oh really now?” The brunette questioned her best friend. It wasn’t like her to keep secrets… but it also wasn’t like her to participate in a strip game.

“Ok listen… it wasn’t strip poker it was dare jenga… and we weren’t dating at the time so I was trying to do everything I could to impress you.” Courtney blushed as she recalled the details of the moment in question.

“You were playing two person dare jenga?” Justin asked.

“No.” Elliot replied with a wicked grin. Courtney buried her head in her hands. “There were six of us.”

“Hold up!” Abbie shouted with intrigue and excitement. “I’ve never heard about this.”

“Me either!” Both her and Justin were surprised at their respective best friends.

“You guys remember the night Josie and Ken went streaking down the quad?”

“Oh shit yeah! I remember hearing about that.” Justin replied excitedly. Abbie too had heard the story, but she now was less focused on the tale being told and more interested in the idea she had in her head now…

“The bet was on the last game that whomever knocked over the tower had to streak the quad. Josie lost and refused to do it alone thinking she could get out of it that way… till Ken said he’d do it with her.”

The idea had formed fast and furiously in Abbie’s mind, but she was no less committed to it.

“You know… that’s what we could do.” She suggested softly to the room?

“Dare Jenga?” Elliot replied leaning forward, “I’m in.”

“We are not playing dare Jenga.” Courtney said matter of factly.

“No. Not that.” Abbie let the sentence hang in the air as she gave a knowing nod over her shoulder in the direction of campus.

“You mean streak the quad?” Justin asked surprised.

“I mean. It’s tradition right?” The brunette said with a shrug.

The argument from the group included a lot of drunken yelling over each other. It had boiled down very quickly to this. Abbie, Justin, and Elliot were in. Courtney was a firm no. Abbie gave firm hand gestures to the boys to quiet them down as she took Courtney’s hands in her own.

“Court why not?”

“Are you kidding? It’s illegal!”

“It’s not illegal. It’s a tradition!”

“We could still get arrested!”

“No we won’t. Remember that weird campus safety meeting I went to last year? The Chief of campus police said he would always turn a blind eye to that stuff.”

“You went to that meeting two years ago, and I’m pretty sure that Chief retired.”

Elliot laughed. “Sweetheart you ever seen Chief Bruckner? That old geezers gonna die at his desk. He’s like a campus institution. He’ll never retire.”

“Court come on. How many people do we know that have done it? Have any of them got in trouble?” She asked the room at large. The two boys shook their heads. “It’ll be fun and crazy. Hey I just learned tonight that you were Will to do it if you lost a game of Jenga a couple of years ago! What’s your issue now?”

“It’s March! It’s freezing outside!”

“Babe like Abbie said its tradition? You have to do it before you graduate. Which for us is in less than 2 months. We all gotta Do it before then right?” Elliot raised good points in Abbie’s estimation.

Courtney took a long look into her boyfriends eyes. Then her best friends. Both of them nodded reassuringly at her.

“Ok fine! But!” She said holding up her hand to temper her friends excitement. “If when we get there and I see so much as a nerdy freshman walking to the library I’m out ok.”

And so the group started to get ready for the walk to campus.