‘Truth,’ I said loudly, trying to sound confident.
‘Truth, hey?’ Persephone said, stroking her chin. ‘Now let me see …’
I giggled nervously.
‘C’mon!’ Izzy coaxed. ‘You’re killing us here.’
Persephone took a big dramatic breath. ‘So, you’re ready to tell the truth, Kitty?’
I nodded, my heart thumping. I’d told enough white lies this holiday. Now I was ready to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. I shot a glance at Rio. He smiled back at me.
‘We’ll know if you’re lying,’ Persephone warned me.
‘Okay,’ I said, wondering why I ever wanted to play Truth or Dare.
‘What’s … two plus two?’
Everyone laughed, except me. TC even fell over backwards he thought it was so funny.
‘Four?’
Persephone clapped. ‘Well done,’ she said. ‘That was just a practice round. Now for the real question. Are you ready?’
If Persephone was trying to build tension, it was definitely working. I could feel a drop of sweat on my forehead.
I nodded nervously. I was as ready as I was ever going to be.
Persephone opened her mouth when Izzy jumped up and elbowed her aside.
Izzy shined a torch in my face. ‘Tell us the truth. Do you always wear little girls’ knickers?’
How embarrassing! I glared at Izzy, knowing the only way to play this was to roll with it.
‘Yeah, that’s right,’ I said. ‘Every day of the week. Monday is Snow White, Tuesday is Dora the Explorer, Wednesday’s Rapunzel, Thursday is … Minnie Mouse, Friday is Cinderella and on Saturdays I wear Barbie pants. On Sundays, I have the day off and wear saggy granny undies.’
The whole circle was laughing at me – not really the way I had hoped the game would go.
‘Okay, my turn to ask a question,’ I said, reaching for Izzy’s torch.
But Persephone got to it first. ‘Not so fast,’ she said, grabbing the torch. ‘That wasn’t a proper question and, Kitty, I don’t believe you told the truth.’
Mia stood up. ‘Yeah, that’s right! I’ve seen her in her Dad’s leopard-print undies on Sundays.’
Oh great! I thought. Suddenly everyone’s a comedian. I’m going to be in the spotlight all night!
TC really loved Mia’s joke. ‘Good one,’ he laughed and Mia looked totally pleased with herself.
‘We need a proper truth question for Kitty,’ Persephone insisted. She paced around the outside of the circle shining the torch on her own face. It was serious, like she was in court about to cross-examine a witness. She was really starting to freak me out. What was Persephone going to ask me that would require such a dramatic build-up?
Maybe she’d ask me about Tori – we had just been talking about her. I wondered if Persephone would ask if I liked her. That would be a totally awkward question to answer. Even though Persephone said I was more fun, Tori was still her friend. And I’d be lying if I said I liked her. Tori was cool and pretty, but she was too much of a princess and a bit on the mean side.
Or maybe Persephone would ask why I told her we were at a rural retreat when we were actually camping. That would make me look like a total liar. It would be bad in front of my friends and really awkward in front of Rio. In fact, any question would be embarrassing in front of Rio. Persephone could ask me something really personal.
I suddenly realised I’d made a big mistake choosing a truth question. ‘I’ve changed my mind. I’ll do a dare!’
Persephone looked at me calmly. ‘Afraid I can’t permit that,’ she said seriously. ‘I’ve already decided on my line of questioning.’ She cleared her throat. ‘Kitty MacLean,’ she commanded, ‘tell us the truth …’
‘Uh-huh.’ I shuffled uncomfortably, accidentally bumping Rio’s elbow. He glanced at me and gave me a little nod. Was he trying to reassure me that everything was going to be all right?
‘Do you like Rio?’
I gasped. I turned away from Rio to hide my face. For the second time that night, I’d gone bright red.
My mind whirled. No matter how I answered the question I was in trouble. I was either going to embarrass myself with a yes or lie by saying no. And once the answer was out there, I wouldn’t be able to bring it back.
I looked around the circle. Everyone had their eyes on me, waiting for a response. It felt like the whole world had stopped to listen.
I couldn’t look at Rio, but I felt him squirming beside me. He must have been mortified, too.
I stared up at Persephone. Did she want to screw things up between Rio and me? Was she punishing me for lying about camping at The Lost World? It was impossible to tell.
Her face became all soft and perfect again. She raised her eyebrows, waiting for a response.
Just as I opened my mouth, I snatched a sideways glance at Rio. He was staring right at me with those gorgeous eyes. In that fraction of a second I knew what my answer had to be.
With my eyes lowered, I replied slowly in a whisper. ‘Yes.’
My whole body tightened. The circle erupted into a ripple of oh-ing and ah-ing.
When everyone settled down, I felt Rio’s shoulder pressing very lightly against mine. I sneaked a peek to make sure I wasn’t imagining it. There he was, right beside me.
All of a sudden I understood what Persephone had been doing. She was kickstarting things between Rio and me. She really was very, very cool.
And I was feeling pretty happy with myself, too. I’d made the right decision. Now the truth was out there, I didn’t want to take it back.
I noted the time and the date. This was it. The start of my life.
