Emily sat alone in the back seat of the police car, shaking with fear and disbelief. "How did I get here?" She thought sneaking a quick glance at the stern looking police officer sitting beside her. "This is all a bad dream," she thought to herself closing her eyes, "any minute now I'm going to wake up."

Emily slowly opened her eyes, realized that she was still in the police car and started crying softly. "My parents are going to kill me," she thought to herself wishing the ride to the police station would never end. She had always been a good student and obeyed her parents' rules and she knew they trusted her to make good decisions.

During the fifteen minutes ride to the police station she re-lived the events that had gotten her in the back seat of a police car. She had been hanging out with her friends at the mall when her friend, Kathy said three words that Emily always found hard to resist, "I dare you"

"You dare me to do what?" Emily answered.

"I dare you to go into that store and take something without anyone seeing you."
"Don't be silly Kathy", Emily replied, "I'm not going to steal something just because you dared me too."
"It's only stealing if you don't take it back," Kathy reasoned. "You can take it back later.
"Yeah Em, Shauna joined in, we just want to see how quick you are. I double dare you.

Thinking that it was only harmless fun Emily decided to take the dare. Unfortunately, the security guard who caught her didn't think it was very funny, neither did the police officers who were called to the scene. Kathy and Shauna quickly disappeared and left Emily, alone to face the consequences of her actions.

After arriving at the station Emily waited for what seemed like hours. Finally her parents arrived. Her mom was in tears and her Dad looked both worried and angry.

"Why did you do it Emily?" her mother agonized. "How could you do such a thing?" Emily paused for a moment and then said with tears in her eyes" my friends made me do it, they dared me."
"Your friends made you do it?" her Dad exclaimed in anger. "Emily is that the best excuse you can come up with?"
"Where are your friends now?" her mom asked.
"I don't know ma'am," Emily answered sulkily.
"Emily we are so disappointed in you," her mom continued.
"I hope you enjoyed your time with your friends," her Dad added, "because you won't be spending any time with them again for a very, very long time.