The first time I saw a condom was in 4th grade. Mr. Green and Mrs. Clevenger took it gently out of its wrapper and let us play with it. Maybe they even put it on a banana, I don't remember. But I do know that we were aware of how babies are made by the time we were 12 years old and compulsively playing Truth or Dare in Arisugawa Park after school.
Truth or Dare was a good game, because you got to tell boys you liked them without feeling accountable for the admission, and because sometimes, you even got to hug them. There were always about 6 girls and 2 boys (usually Derek, a tall flirty Brit, and Masa, whom everyone called "papa") from my class, plus a couple of girls from a prestigious nearby Japanese middle school who joined us for the thrill. They were a couple years older, maybe 15 years old. One of the girls was named Kyoko,* and one day, it was Kyoko's turn to take a dare.
"Truth or dare." we said.
"Dare."
Since she wasn't one of us, we thought we'd keep it simple. "Kyoko, I dare you to hug Derek!" we said. What Kyoko said next shocked us all.
(To be continued after I eat my dinner...)
*Name has been changed for privacy purposes, and because I can't freaking remember her name. Oh, and I found this pretty photo of our beloved park here.
Such a tease.
Posted by: some dude | September 24, 2006 at 08:50 PM