The Dare Pair

I designed this series of books to address some of the problems that our children face in today's difficult world, after finding a lack of books while raising my son, that taught any lessons or dealt with any of the pertinent issues that our children deal with growing up. My hope is that this series will teach kids values and lessons in a way that they can relate to, with a bit of humor, and a good scary story. This first book touches on a number of subjects including, as the title suggests, first impressions or judging people by their looks, as well as teasing, name calling, friendship, and the consequences of not following the rules. Parents may wish to discuss these issues more in depth with your children, perhaps including some of your own ideas or morals in the conversation. Hopefully, by the end of each book, the reader will walk away with the subtle teachings in mind, to help see them through some of the difficult times faced by today's generation, or at least give them something to think about that relates to their own individual lives.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

The Dare PairVolume #1 First ImpressionsBy L.L. ScullyAuthorHouseCopyright © 2015 L.L. ScullyAll rights reserved.ISBN: 978-1-4969-2254-0CHAPTER 1He sat quietly, looking out the large living-room picture window. The blinds were mostly closed, open just enough for him to watch the big moving truck pull into the driveway across the street. He was pretty sure that no one could see him in the window, but he could still see all the action happening, as the new family finally moved in.Sheldon had known for quite some time now that the house across the street was sold. The new family would be moving in on August 20th, and that was today! Sheldon glanced at his digital watch, with the big green numbers. It was 8:04 am on a Saturday morning, and Sheldon turned his attention back to the window to watch as the moving guys got out of the big transport truck and made their way to the back of the truck to open the two big doors. Sheldon wondered what the new family would be like, and if they would have any kids. Would they have boys or girls? Would they be his age? He couldn't wait to find out!He had prayed really hard the last few weeks, hoping that he would finally have someone to play with once this new family moved in. Hopefully, there would be a boy his own age! There were only a few kids in the neighborhood that lived close enough for Sheldon to play with, but the boys were a couple of years older than Sheldon, and usually they wouldn't even give him the time of day. They all picked on him, teasing him and calling him names. The odd time they did decide to include Sheldon, it was only to make fun of him or to use him as a "guinea pig" for one of their dumb games.Yet, whenever they did ask Sheldon to play, he never said no. Sheldon wanted so much to feel like he was a part of some group of friends that he put up with the punishment from the other boys in the neighborhood, rather than be alone all the time. He knew it was wrong, the way the other kids always teased and called him names, but Sheldon took whatever the others dished out, dealing with the hurt quietly, hoping that one day things would change, and they would decide he was cool enough to be accepted as a part of their group. So, now he sat, hoping that this time things would be different, that he would finally meet a boy who could turn out to be a real friend to him, if the new family even had any boys his age!As Sheldon watched, the moving guys set up a big, wide ramp from the back of the truck, getting ready to start unloading. As they did this, a mini van pulled into the driveway and parked behind the transport. This was it! They were here!Sheldon spied out the window as the doors all opened on the red minivan. Out of the driver's door a very large, bald man stepped out, and from the passenger's side, a woman with long dark hair appeared. That must be the parents, Sheldon thought ... but they sure didn't look like parents!And finally, out of the sliding back door came a tall boy who had to be a teenager, Sheldon guessed, followed by a shorter kid with a baseball cap on his head. Yes, Sheldon thought! It looked like it was his lucky day! The second kid that got out of the sliding door definitely looked about Sheldon's age, and, Sheldon thought, he was wearing a navy baseball cap, so it must be a boy!"All right!" Sheldon said, out loud, meaning only to think it. He was so excited that he wanted to run right over and introduce himself, but he didn't want to seem too anxious or rude, so for now, he just watched, deciding to wait ... at least until he saw the moving truck leave. Then he would go over and meet the new boy and his family. He couldn't wait!CHAPTER 2Sheldon stood in front of the green door, staring at the big brass knocker on the door. It was now 10:58 am, and the moving truck had just left a few minutes ago. Sheldon had watched and waited patiently while the moving guys took the last of the boxes out of the truck and carried them into the house across the street. As soon as they left, Sheldon had gone to his front door, put on his shoes, and walked across the street.He now stood in front of the green door, feeling excited, but a little bit scared too. He wasn't really sure why he felt scared. He had been so anxious to finally meet the new family, but seeing the big, bald man that got out of the driver's door had left Sheldon feeling very small, and he guessed that it was the thought of that big man opening the door, facing Sheldon, that had left him feeling kind of scared.The bald man had looked pretty tall to Sheldon. He must have been over six feet tall, Sheldon guessed, and with his bald head, and big arms, Sheldon had thought that the guy could be a wrestler or something! He was even sure he had seen tattoos on the man's big arms too! No wonder I'm feeling nervous, Sheldon thought, as he pictured the big man who appeared to be the father! Scared or not, Sheldon couldn't wait any longer to meet the boy his age, so after a brief moment to gather his nerve, he reached up and grabbed hold of the brass knocker and banged it against the door a few times. Then he waited.To Sheldon, it seemed to take forever, but after what was only a few seconds, he heard someone coming. He hoped the boy would answer, but as the door opened, Sheldon looked up into the dark eyes of the big, bald man.Maybe this was a mistake, Sheldon thought, knowing now why he had been so scared, but it was too late! The big, tall, scary-looking man, wearing a black tank top, with thick arms, covered in tattoos now easy for Sheldon to see, began to speak to him, "Hi there, young man! What can I do for you?", he asked, as a smile appeared on his face.Sheldon looked up into his dark eyes: "Hello, my name is Sheldon Barrett and I live across the street," he answered quickly, his voice a little shaky."Well, hi there, Sheldon Barrett, I'm Paul Bryce", the scary man responded, quickly continuing, as he held out his hand, "... and I guess if you live across the street, then we must be neighbors!" he finished, waiting for Sheldon to shake his huge hand. Sheldon shyly took Paul's hand and as they shook, Sheldon's small, bony hand seemed to disappear as Paul's giant hand closed around his.Sheldon found a small squeaky voice, and managed to ask the question he was dying to ask, "Do you have any kids my age that would be able to come out and play, Sir?", he asked in his tiny voice, picturing the boy with the baseball cap in his head.As Paul let go of Sheldon's hand, a huge smile beamed across his face and he chuckled out loud, as he said to Sheldon, "Please, just call me Paul, no need for the sir, O.K?"As the big bald man smiled and spoke to Sheldon, his face seemed to change. His dark eyes seemed to light up now, and all of sudden, as Sheldon looked up at his smiling face, he didn't seem so scary anymore. Actually, Sheldon had to admit, Paul seemed pretty cool and down to earth.When Paul asked, "How old are you, by the way, Sheldon?", Sheldon relaxed, not so nervous anymore, and answered, "I'm ten years old, sir, ... I mean, Paul", he said, a small smile appearing on his own face as well.Now they were both smiling, as Paul spoke the words that Sheldon had wanted so much to hear: "Well Sheldon, you're in luck, because we just happen to have a kid who is ten years old as well. Wait here a minute, O.K.?" Sheldon nodded yes and Paul turned and walked to the bottom of the stairs, off to the left, and yelled up the stairs, "Alex, come down here a minute please!" Sheldon's smile grew from a slight grin, to one that spread across his whole face. The kid with the baseball cap was a boy, he thought, and his name was Alex! Plus, Paul had said that he was the same age too! Sheldon couldn't believe his luck!Sheldon's excitement bubbled inside of him, but when he caught a glimpse of Alex coming down the stairs, the smile quickly faded, and his jaw almost hit the floor. As Alex reached the bottom of the stairs, Sheldon could not believe his eyes! He stared in disbelief. Alex was not a boy Sheldon's age at all! Alex was a girl!CHAPTER 3"Sheldon, this is my daughter Alex ... Alex, meet Sheldon Barrett",Paul said as he introduced the two of them.Sheldon was still speechless, so he just waved shyly at the girl standing in front of him. The girl who was supposed to be a boy, Sheldon was thinking to himself.Sheldon was suddenly snapped out of the shock he was in over Alex being a girl, when she blurted out, "So, Sheldon, are you the one who lives across the street, in that huge fancy mansion?" she asked, looking right at him. Before he had a chance to answer, she added, "Wow, you must be rich!""Alex, that's rude!" Paul scolded, as Sheldon was about to attempt an answer."Sorry Sheldon, I didn't mean anything by it. Sometimes my mouth works faster than my brain ... at least that's what my dad always says!" Alex finished her apology, glancing over at Paul, smiling, and rolling her eyes.Paul laughed, "Yes ... you'll have to get used to her, Sheldon. Alex is a definite brat!" he explained. "Don't take what she says most of the time seriously ... she's a good kid, but she doesn't think before she speaks!", he added, warning Sheldon.Paul then turned his attention to Alex, as he smiled, and said, "With that, I will leave the two of you to talk and get to know each other, while I get back to unpacking.""Can we go for a walk or something, so Sheldon can show me around a bit, dad?" asked Alex, before her dad left them alone."I guess, but don't go too far, watch for traffic, and be back for lunch, o.k.?", Paul answered, and Alex nodded and agreed not to be gone long. Then Paul said quickly to Sheldon, "It was nice to meet you, Sheldon ... looking forward to meeting the rest of your family, once we get settled in a bit!" He gave a quick wave to the two kids, and then he was gone, leaving Sheldon standing there, alone with a girl!How had this happened? It wasn't how Sheldon had imagined! For the first time in his life Sheldon was completely speechless. He had thought he was coming here to meet a boy his age, and maybe go play some baseball, or something ... now he was standing here, probably looking pretty stupid, he thought ... and this girl he didn't even know expected him to go for a walk, and show her around? Sheldon didn't know what to say, or do!"So are you going to stand there all day, or are we going for that walk?" Alex questioned.Sheldon thought for a quick second, then swallowed hard, and blurted out, shocking Alex, as well as himself by his answer, "First of all, I never even said I wanted to go for a walk!"At first, Alex was surprised by his answer, but so was he, and then it was her turn to once again, to shock Sheldon! She gave a quick giggle, and said, "You got guts, kid ... I like it! Maybe you won't be so bad, for a boy and all!"This made Sheldon mad and now the words came easy for him, "Who are you calling a kid, anyway? Your dad already told me that you're the same age as me!" he said to Alex, in an angry voice.With that, Alex burst out laughing! "You're great, I love it", she said in between laughs.Now, not only was Sheldon angry, but he was also confused! "What's wrong with you? What's so funny?" Sheldon asked, wondering what he had said that she found so funny, and then he had to add, "You are the weirdest person I've ever met!"This only seemed to make Alex laugh even harder, but she did manage to say, "Thank you!"Now, Sheldon was more confused than ever. What was wrong with this girl, Sheldon thought? I tell her she's weird, and she thanks me? Sheldon didn't know what to say anymore, so he was about to give up, and tell her to forget it, and just go home, when Alex finally stopped laughing long enough to give Sheldon a reason for her strange behavior!She began by saying something that almost did make Sheldon leave, but she had such nerve, that he had to stay, just to see what she'd say next! "When I first saw you, Sheldon, I must admit I was kind of disappointed! I mean, I was kinda hoping that I would meet a GIRL my age, and when I came down the stairs and saw you.... well, let's just say ... you're not what I expected! Looking at you, I had thought, what is this tall, wimpy-looking boy doing here ... and why is he looking for me? I had my doubts when my dad first introduced us, but then, when you stood up to me and spoke back ... well, that's pretty cool in my books! So, Sheldon, I'm happy to say I was wrong, and you seem like a good guy, so from here on in, I'd be happy to call you my friend!" Alex finally finished, a little out of breath.With all she had just said, Sheldon still could not believe the nerve of this girl! He had never met anyone like this before, so he had to stop and think of something, while she stood there, looking at him, waiting for a response.As he thought, he did have to admit to himself that for a girl, she did seem pretty easy to talk to. It was kind of cool to be able to talk to someone and actually speak his mind. He normally wasn't like that. He was usually far too shy to be brave enough to stand up for himself, but she had made him so mad that the words had just come spilling out. Maybe Alex wouldn't be so bad to have around after all, Sheldon thought. At least she brought out the courage in him! Sheldon decided it might not be such a bad thing to have a girl as a friend after all, so he figured he might as well get to know her a bit better before he made up his mind.Alex was growing impatient, waiting for Sheldon to say something, "So, now that I've explained myself, are we going for that walk, or what?" she asked, forcing Sheldon to finally answer her."Yeah, I guess I'll show you around if you promise to be nice", Sheldon replied, and then added, "You've shocked me enough for one day!"At that, they both laughed. Alex then nodded yes, and promised to be nice. With her promise, Sheldon was satisfied, and he turned and started to lead the way, down the driveway and out to the road, with Alex, his new friend, close behind.CHAPTER 4As they walked down the long, quiet street they both lived on, Gravel Park Road, Sheldon turned to Alex and said, "You know, there's not much to do around here. We're kind of in the middle of nowhere. The only things that are even within walking distance are the school and a corner store. Then there's the dump the other way, oh, and a cemetery down the road, way at the other end.""Cool, a cemetery!", Alex interrupted."What's so cool about a cemetery? It's just a bunch of big stones and dead people," Sheldon commented."Yeah, but what about at night, when it's dark, and the spirits come out," Alex teased. "I bet you never went to the cemetery at night before?" she asked curiously."Of course I haven't," answered Sheldon. "Why would I want to?""No, of course you haven't", agreed Alex, "that would be too cool and scary for you, right, Sheldon?"Sheldon wasn't sure if she was joking or not, "No, I just have no reason to go to a cemetery after dark," he argued."Sounds to me like you're chicken", accused Alex, as they continued to walk down the road towards the cemetery."I'm not chicken," replied Sheldon quickly, still not sure if she was just teasing. "It's just that why would I want to go to a stupid cemetery anyway?""Why not?" asked Alex and then added, "Maybe we'll run into some ghosts or werewolves or something!"After she said that, Sheldon guessed that she had to be teasing, but still, Sheldon didn't like all this talk about cemeteries, so he told Alex, "Well, I don't know about you, but I have no interest in going to any dumb cemetery!" hoping that she would change the subject.Unfortunately for Sheldon, this didn't work. Alex had decided that it would be more fun to keep bugging, and teasing. Smiling from ear to ear, Alex began, "I bet you'd be too scared to go to a cemetery at night ...I'd bet twenty bucks that you'd chicken out after ten minutes ...", she said, pushing Sheldon to defend himself."NO, I'm not! I could go at night, but I wouldn't ... because, I wouldn't want to get caught ... and get in trouble or something ...", Sheldon said, stumbling for words, trying to sound brave."You are chicken!" she laughed. "Sheldon is scared like a little girl! Maybe I'll call you Shelly, instead of Sheldon," Alex continued to tease."Don't call me Shelly!", Sheldon yelled back. "Don't ever call me that again", he said, really mad now. He didn't mind a bit of teasing, but now Alex was just being mean!"O.K.! O.K.! Don't be so touchy! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you or anything, I was only bugging you," Alex apologized. (Continues...)Excerpted from The Dare Pair by L.L. Scully. Copyright © 2015 L.L. Scully. Excerpted by permission of AuthorHouse. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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