It was a cheat. I knew it. She would know it.
Still, my petition was complete. Fifty-nine names in less than twenty hours in a petition against violence against stuffed animals. I was both proud and somewhat ashamed of my situation. I wondered if she would hold it against me, or if it would pass her judgement. The idea had spawned the next night, as I was working on the computer. It had been so simple, I just had to have it done. It was so obvious that I was sure she would not think of it.
Of course, I wouldn't know until she read my mail. I was in front of the computer, rereading what I was about to send her.
Hi Danielle,
I hope this will be to your liking. I did the dare as you asked. I created an artificial cause, humourous, for the ethical treatment of stuffed animals. Now, I must admit that I bended the rules slightly. I got the names of up to fifty-nine people within the first twenty-four hours.
You might say I cheated. I'll accept your judgement in any event. But just so you know, here's the link.
I had searched for it online too. I had just created my own version.
And for your comparison, here's another link I found.
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gi....3290619926..1
Now, I'll accept whatever decision you take in regards to the conditions of the dare. If it's not acceptable, I'll simply forfeit.
I can't wait to get more news from you. Read you soon.
Frank
It would be a while (not until tomorrow) until I got an answer, so I decided to go out that night. I hooked with Gilbert and two others friends, Jacob and Laurie. We ended up playing card games. As we were well into the game, Gilbert spoke up.
"So, how did the cause go?"
"So far, 59 names."
"That memo you sent us thru facebook?" inquired Jacob.
"That one. Yeah."
"Some idea. What gave you that idea?"
I didn't answer. I should have because Gilbert picked up for me.
"He was dared into it."
"Dared? By whom."
"Gil!"
"What? It was a secret?"
As if he didn't know. I should have been more precise when I told him to be quiet about the details. He had understood very clearly that I didn't want him talking about the pictures he would be taking for me, but I had left everything else to his judgement. I shouldn't have.
"Who dared you to do that?"
"A friend... someone from my old stomping grounds."
"Old stomping grounds?"
It was Laurie's turn to become interested. I felt I had to provide them with a satisfactory answer so they would leave me be. I looked at Gilbert to tell him not to add anymore, then took center stage.
"I met this girl a few weeks ago... a friend whom I hadn't seen in several years."
"A girl? Oooh..."
"Laurie, please."
"Sorry. Go on."
"Anyway, we got to talking about where we were, what we'd done, etc. We swapped emails, because we decided we might want to get together at another time. So, a few days ago, she contacted me. She said... she was bored. Out of her mind. Now, back then... six years ago?... yeah, we had dared each other to do stuff."
"Like what?"
I looked at Jacob.
"Nothing much. Silly stuff. Kid stuff. She's younger than me by several years."
"Oh!"
"Anyway, she said she was really bored and wanted to do something. So we decided we'd dare each other to do stuff, you know..."
"Like create a new group against violence for stuffed animals?"
"Yeah. Well, she said she wanted me to create a petition, or a movement against something funny... a made-up cause... that's what popped into my head."
"And you did on facebook?"
"Well, I needed to get in touch with as many people as possible as quickly as I could. So I just... created the group and sent an invite to everyone in my friend list. And it worked!"
Laurie laughed.
"That seems a bit like cheating, but it's a cool idea."
"Yeah, you didn't tell us you were into daring stuff like that."
"I'm not. Well, I only did it twice... this is the second time for me."
"Really. Because I did quite a lot in my day..."
I looked at Jacob. When I had met him several years back, he had a meanstreak in him. Laurie, his girlfriend, had settled him down.
"It was before we hooked up" she added.
I wanted to inquire more but I didn't want to ask any question. Lucky for me, Jacob was in the talkative mood.
"I did all sorts of stunts back in high school, stuff you wouldn't believe. Dangerous shit, seriously... I wouldn't do them anymore, I was careless and sorta stupid back then."
"Back then?" commented Gilbert.
"Shut up! No, we did some pretty radical stunts and dares, I mean, we did the regular stuff like mooning people and streaking. We stopped when one of our friends broke both his feet doing a stunt."
"Ouch!"
"Yeah. I figured I got lucky. Worst thing I ever got was a sprain."
Laurie was staring intently at me. She popped the question that was rummaging through her mind.
"Do you like that girl?"
"Yeah. I do. But she has someone already."
"Oh! Bummer."
"But I don't really care about that. I mean, I do like her, and if I don't hook up... I mean, I have very little expectation other than... well, having fun staying in touch and acting silly."
"That's nice."
Jacob turned to me after looking away for a while.
"We should do dares together."
"Come again?"
"I miss it. I mean, if you're game. Your friend, she gives you dares?"
"Yeah."
"And you give her back some?"
"Well... yeah. I mean, not really, but... it's..."
"It's a one-way thing? You're her slave or something?"
"No. It's not like that. She's just not that able to do stunts like I am."
"Oh!"
Laurie didn't seem to believe me, and I must admit that I was also somewhat skeptical, but I didn't want to pressure Danielle in any way. Jacob insisted.
"Seriously man, we should do stuff together."
"I'm not sure she wants anyone else involved."
"Well, I'm involved" said Gilbert.
I wanted to hit him, but he was right. Still, I didn't want him to tell them he would be taking pictures. It felt awkward and it felt silly. It also seemed, as Laurie had hinted, that there was an element of manipulation behind Danielle's plan. But it had been clearly stated in her first mail. And I had reasoned the same thing on my end. In any event, I certainly didn't want to tell any of them that Danielle would (or might) be sending me pictures in return.
"I'll tell you what, Jacob. I'll talk to her about it, and if she's game, I'm game too. But I want to clear it with her first. And if she says no, then that's the end of it."
"All right, man, I respect that."
It's not that I didn't want to include Jacob or Laurie into the game: in fact, I would welcome their insight and participation. But this thing had started between Danielle and me, and before it went anywhere else, I needed to know if she would agree to it. But I decided to wait until her reply came in before talking to her about it.
First Gilbert. Now Jacob and Laurie. I needed to make sure this did not spread any further.
"Now, I love you guys, but I need your secrecy on this."
"Why?" inquired Jacob.
"Because this is about her and me. That's how it started. I only involved Gilbert because I needed a partner to watch my back. I trust you both, but this has to remain between the four of us. Well, five, if you count Danielle."
There was a moment of silence. Laurie spoke first.
"I think we're all in agreement here. I mean, we can keep our mouths shut. Right Jacob?"
"Sure."
"Right Gil?"
"Yeah... I guess I can."
"Say it?"
"I'll keep my mouth shut."
Laurie smiled at all of us. She had a way of making the guys behave. She would be helpful in keeping this to our small group. She would hold the reins on Jacob, and more importantly Gilbert would also keep in line. He did have a small crush on her (despite the fact that she was with Jacob for the time-being) after all.
I relaxed in the knowledge that my secret relationship with Danielle was contained and that her judgement, whatever it was, would fall upon me in due time.