"And the rocket's red flare," sang Wanda at the top of her lungs, as her red thong panties waved high above her head, in place of the American flag.
"What's the meaning of this, Miss Locke?" asked an older man, scowling.
Blushing nearly as red as her undergarment, eyes focused on her black patent leather shoes, she greeted him. "Good morning, Principal Bilt. I just wanted to start our day with the National Anthem."
"And is that what you choose to salute, Miss Locke?" he asked, looking at the bit of red cloth hanging on the flagpole.
Laughter and giggles erupted from the crowd, earning the group silent glares from both Miss Wanda Locke and Principal Bilt.
"No, Sir... I couldn't find the flag?" she tried bashfully.
"It's right where it always is," he replied pointing.
"Ah, right... I'll remember from now on," she promised, starting to edge away slowly.
Waiting until she turned her back, Principal Bilt called out, "Miss Locke, to help with your memory, you may spend a half hour after school cleaning the flagstone."
"Yes Sir," the teen replied sadly.
At lunchtime:
"I can't believe you went through with it Wanda," giggled Darlene, before she popped a large green grape into her mouth.
"It's so going to be worth it! Just wait until you find out what your dare is going to be," replied Wanda, with an evil grin.
"For being best friends you two sure are good at causing trouble for each other," observed a boy with sandy brown hair.
"Shut up Burt," the two girls yelled at the same time, then burst into hysterical laughter.
"I'm going to have to think of something good for Darlene's dare," thought Wanda as she bit into her apple.
"So what is it going to be?" Darlene asked curiously, interrupting Wanda's thoughts.
Wanda looked around, and her eyes settled on the Halloween banner above the door. "Perfect... Just perfect," she whispered.
"Well? Don't keep me in suspense," insisted Darlene.
"For that little bit of drama, you have earned a one night, all expenses paid vacation. At the luxurious Hadlen House. On Halloween night, no less, announced Wanda, as if she were informing her friend that she had won a trip to Hawaii.
"I love a good dare, but that's just dangerous. Even adults don't like to go in there," she replied.
"You don't really believe in ghosts, do you?" Wanda asked with a giggle.
"Not... Really. But I do believe in rotten floors, and homeless people looking for a place to sleep," Darlene replied firmly.
"Don't worry... My dad is the realtor handling the property. He keeps it locked up tight. I'll swipe the keys, and we'll go in together. We can check the place out before it gets dark. And when I leave you'll still have your phone," Wanda said reasonably.
Early Halloween evening:
"I can't believe I'm even thinking about doing this! What if our parents find out? We'll both be grounded until this time next year," argued Darlene. In one last ditch effort to avoid her fate, she was attempting to appeal to her friend's somewhat limited good sense.
"They'll never know. Both my parents and yours think you'll be spending the night in my room. All I have to do is use the voice recordings you made, and keep it short," Wanda replied confidently.
"I still don't like it. If I get in trouble and have to call the police, they'll call my parents," Darlene pointed out.
"Oh, you worry too much! It'll never come to that. You could always call me instead," suggested Wanda with a laugh.
Darlene glared at her, but said nothing. "I'm so going to make her pay when it's her turn," she thought to herself.
A quick exploration of the rundown mansion revealed nothing more sinister than a broken section of bannister. The floors and steps appeared solid, and there were no signs anyone was using it for shelter.
"It looks fine to me," declared Wanda. As she made her way towards the back door, she handed her friend an extra flashlight.
"I still don't like it. What if someone comes after you leave?" Darlene asked, visibly afraid.
"Then you'll just hide, call the police, and claim you saw someone break in," replied Wanda calmly.
"Well... I guess the place is big enough that neither the intruder or the police are likely to notice me," Darlene agreed reluctantly.
Several minutes later, Darlene was sitting in the plush but rapidly darkening library. Turning on a flashlight, she took a sip of cocoa from a thermos. Then she put her book aside, and looked around.
The quiet room would have been inviting, had it been well lit. The walls were lined with well worn books of every description.
"Someone loved this place. But they didn't even take their books," Darlene thought curiously.
Looking at the time, she realized that her night was just beginning. "I guess I should find something to keep me busy... Otherwise I will just sit here until my imagination gets the better of me," she thought out loud.
"I'm going to take another look around. This time, I'll record some video. I'll show it off at school, it'll be the hit of the lunchroom. At least some good will come from this," Darlene decided with a smile.
She started where she was, by taking video of the library at various dramatic angles. Then she slowly and methodically made her way through the rest of the house.
"Only a few more rooms to go. Those dolls and the rocking horse really gave me some creepy footage," she thought with satisfaction as she closed the door of the nursery.
"I just spent ten minutes in there, and it was empty. What could have caused that noise?" wondered Darlene, as she heard something drop and roll across the room.
"Oh, I must have left one of the flashlights. I didn't realize I was still jumpy," Darlene sighed, as she saw a beam of light under the crack of the door.
Opening the door with her recorder running to get a few more shots as she retrieved her light, she gasped. Then she bolted down the hallway to the stairs.
Darlene sprinted downstairs at breakneck speed, taking two steps at a time. Not bothering to close the back door, she didn't stop running until she was a block away.
"Two minutes after midnight," Darlene panted as she turned off the video recorder, amazed that she was still holding her phone.
"Wanda? You won't believe what just happened. I need you to get a cab, and come over here to close the door to the Hadlen House. I'm not going back there alone, so unless you want your dad to find it open, you better get over here," ordered Darlene, trying to force herself to remain calm.
Fifteen minutes later, a cab stopped and Wanda stepped out, in Barbie pajamas and bunny slippers. "This had better be good. If you dragged me out here as a prank, I get to call the next two dares," she said with a yawn.
"It's not a prank. Let's get that door locked, and I'll show you what happened - once we're in the cab," replied Darlene.
"I'm sorry Darlene, I still don't see it," insisted Wanda, now going over the video frame by frame as the cab rolled down a peaceful side street.
"But there were two children, a boy and a girl. They were playing with a ball. Both children and the ball were glowing! It has to be on the video," she said, snatching her phone from Wanda.
As the cab neared Wanda's house, Darlene grinned. "It's my turn to dare. And I dare you to spend next Halloween night in the Hadlen House nursery."
Cover image made in Canva using their gallery