Rules of the Game

Joan dragged Harry's desk chair a few inches forward so that she joined us in a circle. “I've never played truth or dare before. How does it work?” she said. She took a gulp of wine from her red cup like she was steeling herself. My sympathies went out to her. Growing up like she did, her frame of reference for the game was probably a bunch of horror stories. I looked to Molly, then to Harry, and then last to Jack. Take it extra easy on her, I warned them all silently. Molly and Harry agreed with a quick nod. Jack quirked an eyebrow, but for once I didn't get any mischievous intent from him. He had basically no interest in Molly's roommate at all, for fun or meanness.

“It's just what the name says,” I explained. “We go around the circle and say whether we want truth, or dare. If we say truth, someone asks us a question. If we say dare, they tell us to do something.”

Joan's eyes went wide. She glanced quickly up at Jack, and then at Paul, softening for a second. “Anything?” she said.

“Within reason,” I jumped in. I didn't want anyone getting ideas.

“But if you turn down a dare, you have to do a line!” Jack reminded us.

“Jack, don't be an asshole, Joan isn't going to do fucking cocaine just because you–” I stopped myself. There was no reason to scare her with what sorts of things an idiot like him might suggest. If it came to that, someone would intervene on Joan's behalf. The ‘playing nice’ road went in both directions. If Jack insisted on being a menace, I would throw him out into the storm myself.

“Whoever went last gets to pick the next person to go,” said Harry, sounding more knowledgeable about the game than I expected. He had some fancy private school background, I knew. A bit of static electricity buzzed at the end of my fingertips. Maybe what they said about those schools was true, I thought with an inappropriate relish.

“Then, how do we decide who goes first?” Joan asked.

“That's a good question,” I said, looking back at Harry. But it was Jack who answered it.

“Me, since I'm the one with the coke, and I'm the one who came up with the game,” he said proudly.

“How many times do we have to tell you that nobody wants your coke?” I said.

Jack threw the baggie past Joan and onto Harry's desk. Joan flinched away from the contraband like it had lice. Jack paid no attention, and settled himself in a spare chair. Then he did just what I was afraid of: he looked at me.

“Alright, Violet, baby. Truth or dare?”