“I brought the game,” exclaimed Janson as he walked into Eden's living room. Janson always thought Eden appeared breathtaking. Her long brunette hair, with a touch of caramel highlights, always brightens Janson’s day when he sees her in the math hallway. They become friends recently during their after-school club meetings with the Future Farmers of America club, FFA for short. Man,  Janson thanked the Lord for that.

“Janson, thank you so much,” Eden spoke with relief, “I thought you were never gonna get here.” Eden put her hand on his shoulder. Their eyes locked. The time froze around the two lovebirds. Eden felt the same feelings for Janson, but how could she tell him? They only met four weeks ago and decided it seemed too soon to let him into her emotions like that. Janson smiled back with pure happiness. A brisk wind broke the gaze. Eden removed her hand. Janson went and sat on Eden's bright red, velvet couch. Thoughts of her lingered in his mind, but he knew he needed to get focused. He wanted to win, bad.

Soon enough, the toxic couple from Johnson High School, Luna and Gus, walked in, followed closely by Luna's best friend, Harley. She followed the couple around like a puppy and practically became the third wheel. Janson readjusted to let the rest of the group squeeze on the sofa with him. 

“Why don't we just play on the floor?” Eden suggested, “That seems like it would be easier for us all to reach the board.” Instead, Janson, Eden, and the others sat in a lop-sided circle, due to Luna holding on to Gus like a leech, around the Clue box Janson brought. 

“Let's get this party started,” Gus vocalized as he grabbed for the box. Eden did not even try to stop him. She just let him tear the new clear packaging right off. Janson could see how much this bothered Eden, so he spoke up.

“You think you could slow down a little Gus? The box is brand new.” Just like that, the box crunched and the exterior ripped. Not only did Janson become worried about how much this bothered Eden's anxiety, but how he spent his own hard earned money on the game. “Really Gus? Come on. Did you really have to completely destroy the box?”

“Hey, I got the box open. Didn't I Jans-a-Doodle?” Gus smarted back with a grin. Janson started his friendship with Gus in kindergarten, but the nickname did not come until the second grade. Gosh, how much Janson hated that nickname. It came from when Janson happened to start doodling in history class and Gus came up with the bright idea to combine his name with his drawings. 

As the group unboxed the contents inside, they all contemplated which character they wanted to play. Luckily, as they selected their characters everyone declared a different one in their mind, so no arguing occurred. As Gus picked Colonel Mustard, Luna Mrs. White, Janson Mr. Green, Eden Mrs. Peacock, and Harley Miss Scarlett, the cards needed shuffling. 

“Here, Gus. You shuffle,” Janson spoke, handing the cards to him.

Gus replied with a huff, “No way. Shuffling is the worst job.”

“You tore up the box,” Eden chimed in, “It's only fair.”

“I'll just do it,” Harley spoke softly. The others knew Gus never did anything for the rest of the group, so they let her. As Harley shuffled the cards, Luna picked up the envelope containing the future murder mystery solution. 

“Hey, this has a whiteboard on it. Do you think we're supposed to write someone's name on this thing?” Luna spoke with a raised eyebrow. 

“I mean I would say so,” Janson responded, “But where is the marker?”

“Probably lost it when someone,” Harley glared at Gus and rolled her eyes, “opened the box like a maniac.”

As Harley and Gus began to bicker amongst themselves, Eden snuck away to her room and returned with a blue EXPO marker in her right hand. “Got one,” she replied, “Who should we put down though?”

“Why do you need an EXPO marker for?” Gus blurted.

Rolling her eyes, Eden spoke, “You write the name of the murder victim on the card. It is the one who we,” Eden used her air quotes, “kill.”

Before Gus could fully comprehend, Luna spoke up, “What about Mrs. Phillips?” she suggested.

“Yeah,” Janson agreed, “Nobody likes her. Plus, geometry is the worst.”

“That sounds like a good idea,” Eden included while she wrote the teacher's name on the envelope. 

The high schoolers took turns rolling the dice until finally, Janson entered the game's kitchen. He made his first guess and accused Harley, playing Miss Peacock, of murdering the teacher with a candlestick in the kitchen. But Harley showed him the candlestick card, which shot down Janson's theory immediately. He remained suspicious of her, however. 

Once everyone entered a room and took a guess, they all got their initial theories ruled out. The frustration within the group began to fluster and the tension grew. As Harley, Eden, and Janson started to bicker about the game, they suddenly heard yelling from the other side of the living room.

“Who is that girl on your phone,” Luna yelled with tears streaming from her cheeks.

“Baby, what are you talking about?” Gus responded in a higher-pitched voice.

“That girl on your phone she was na-,” Luna began to forget her own words, “She was naked Gus. Why would you do this to me?” 

“Okay…okay. I'm sorry, Luna. It was just a one-time thing.”

“A one-time thing? Is this your excuse? We're done, Gus. Get out!” she screamed with all her might.

Gus contemplated on whether or not to try and fight it, but he chose to walk out the door. He knew the only ways to calm her down would to provide her with space and time, so he let her maintain everything she needed. 

“Listen, Luna, it will all be alright. He was a complete jerk anyways,” Harley spoke with soft words and her arm around Luna. 

“I know he was a jerk Harls, and I could handle that,” she wiped her tears away and continued, “But I never thought he would do something like this.”

When they felt Luna became ready, Janson and Eden came over to try and console her. Once the tears disappeared, Eden suggested a way to finish the game, “Why don't we just all look at Gus' cards, and then we can continue on.”

“Can we switch Mrs. Phillips to Gus' name,” questioned Luna, “I think that would brighten my night.”

“Of course. Are you gonna do the honors?” asked Janson, holding out the marker with a slight smile. His care for Luna's hurt overrided his friendship with Gus. Plus, showing Eden he cared about a girl's feelings could definitely help him out in the long run. 

Luna took her shirt sleeve and wiped the board clean of Mrs. Phillip's name and replaced it with her new, worst enemy. “I could almost kill him right now,” she spoke, “Not even kidding.”

The game between the now four of them went much smoother. The arguing from earlier ceased and only slight disputes over who would win the game occured. Turns came and went. Frustration filled the air. No more small talk happened, just the spoken words for the sake of the game. Silence filled the remainder of the emptiness of the night. But the cycle broke when Eden spoke up.

“I think it was Mrs. White with the revolver in the library,” Eden asked Janson to show a card to prove her wrong. He couldn't. So she then asked Luna, who could neither. And finally, it  Harley's turn rolled around to prove Eden wrong, but at last, she could not. Harley and the others just shook their heads in disappointment. The others already knew the words Eden spoke next. “Yes,” she wailed with excitement, “I won!”

The envelope got snatched from the middle of the game board and opened immediately by Eden. Of course, after having everything narrowed down, Eden indeed emerged the winner. Once the others accepted their losses, Gus' name got erased from the envelope and everything returned to the box that Gus tore up earlier into the night. The friends originally planned for them to play multiple games, but the whole Luna-Gus fiasco put a wrench into those plans. Nevertheless, the remaining four experienced lots of fun. The girls started getting ready to say goodbye to Janson, so they could begin their sleepover.  

“Bye Janson,” Harley, and Luna almost spoke in unison. 

“See ya girls tomorrow,” he called, “Oh and Eden, nice win.” As Janson winked at her, her heart fluttered and she decided to follow him to the porch to say her goodbye. As they stepped out, the porch light gleamed on him. His smile only broadened her’s and it took everything within Eden to stop herself from kissing him right then and there. 

“Hey Janson,” she called as he started to walk away, “Thanks for bringing the game.” 

“Anytime Eden,” his smile grew, “Invite me back over anytime. Call me tonight?”

“Wouldn't miss it for the world,” Janson turned and his figure began to disappear into the dark night. Janson raced across Eden's mind. She just wished she got the nerve to tell him. 

Once Eden stumbled over her own feet heading back into her house, Harley and Luna glanced over at Eden and then at each other. They knew exactly how the two felt about one another, but decided to not pressure Eden over it. After a full night of gossiping, dancing, and talking on the phone with Janson, the three decided it to call it a night. 

With snoring from Harley, sweet dreams from Eden, and nightmares from Luna, the morning soon awoken. Before the girls could get fueled up for the day, Janson called Eden. “Oh hey, Jans. What are you up to?”

“Eden, something bad has happened,” Janson stammered, “Am I on speaker?”

Harley and Luna both turned towards Eden with fear written all over their faces. Harley mouthed, “What is going on?”

Eden held up a finger signaling for them to wait. “You're off it now. What's wrong? Is everything okay?”

“Gus' mom just called me,” Janson hesitated on what exactly to say next, “She told me something bad happened.”

“Well,” she tried to talk as softly as she could, “What exactly did happen?”

Janson responded. Eden could hear his throat closing as he broke the news. “He's dead, Eden. Apparently, after he left your house he went down to the library and someone shot him.” The tears began to flood his cheeks and Eden wished she could give him a hug. “Someone murdered him,” he wailed, “Murdered!”

Once Eden did her best to comfort Janson the two said their goodbyes, but this time with “I love you” at the end. Eden did not know for sure if he meant it as more than a friend, however, she could not concentrate on that as of now. She focused on breaking the horrific news to Luna and Harley.

When Harley and Luna learned the news, no words got exchanged. All eyes in the room turned to Luna. Only one word could describe her: regret. Suddenly, her tears stopped, and she wiped the remaining streams away. Luna spoke sternly, “We have to figure out who did this.”

After much contemplation and silence between the three girls, Eden made a realization, “Am I crazy? Or is this some weird coincidence?” 

“What are you talking about,” Luna snapped back. Her bright, blue eyes began to become cloudy with tears. The old memories flashed back like lightning. The good times. The bad times. The kissing. The fights, Everything, and all at once. 

“Well, think about it. Gus was murdered at the library with a gun, right? And the police are already assuming it's a revolver.”

“So,” Harley interrupted, “What does that have to do with anything?”

“That's how our game finished last night. We changed the victim’s name to Gus and the cards inside were the revolver, the library, and Miss White. How could this have happened by chance?” Eden questioned.

“That's absolutely crazy,” Luna remarked.

“Luna,” Harley spoke up, “It might sound crazy, but Eden isn’t wrong. Those were the cards from last night and that is how Gus got killed.”

“Murdered,” Luna corrected, “Murdered.” 

“Yeah, murdered,” Harley rectified.

A knock suddenly hits the door. “Yeah,” Eden called while she walked from her bedroom through the kitchen and to the front room's gleaming sun. Once the two locks released to free the door, it flew open, almost right into Eden's face. 

“Listen, Eden. We need to talk, now!” Janson burst as he whipped through the doorway. Eden tried to speak, but Janson became so hyped up she never even got a chance. Huffing, he spoke again, “What happened to Gus was horrendous. He was my best friend, Eden. I don't know what I am gonna do without him. But I also have something to confess.”

Eden could not imagine what words Janson could speak next. “What,” she stammered in her shooken voice. Her mind raced. “Was he about to confess to murder? Did he kill his best friend? No!” she thought. Eden moved those thoughts to the side, she knew Janson’s character. She knew he would never do anything like that. 

“Eden, I have been thinking a lot about what happened with Gus last night,” he paused, “I just need you to know this…” The fluttering in his chest almost outweighed hers. The anxiety filled him before he could speak what dwelled on his mind, “I have feelings for you…well more than feelings. Ever since the day I met you, I have been in love with you…” 

Before he could even say the list of reasons he considered her perfect, Eden interrupted, “Janson,” her soft voice that he loved so much spoke with a higher pitch than usual, “I feel the same way.” As the two embraced each other in a hug, Luna and Harley stood in awe. They knew that their feelings for each other seemed mutual, but they didn’t expect the confrontation to appear this heartstruck and beautiful.  

“Listen, lovebirds,” Harley uttered, “Not to interrupt, but we have someone else at the door.” 

A knock came once more but this time with unfamiliar voices. “Gingham Police. We need to speak to Eden Andrew,” one officer sternly spoke. The three looked at each other with uncertainty then split apart. Harley went to the kitchen, Luna to the pantry, while Janson headed out to the backyard. 

She opened the door strongly, but with ease. “That’s me,”  her unusually over-the-top voice went soft. 

“Do you mind stepping outside, so we can talk privately,” the other officer demanded more than asked. Eden did not even reply. She just followed the orders the officers gave her. “We need to talk to you about the murder of Gus Sears. Now, you aren’t a suspect as of now, but we do need some information from you.”

“Ok,” Eden hesitated knowing she needed to answer carefully, “What can I do to help out?” After the officers questioned her on her whereabouts, the officers asked about her friends the night prior. Eden confirmed that Luna and Harley spent the night and Janson left around 1:20 am. Eden convinced herself the officers just followed their procedures, but she never anticipated what she would endure next.

“Miss Andrews, we have reason to believe that Luna Spencer left your house last night,” one officer claimed. Officer Deaton backed up his partner, Officer Bertram. They knew this news would seem outrageously difficult for Eden to hear, but they needed to see her genuine reaction.

“There…there is no way,” she stammered towards the doorknob trying to catch herself from falling backward. “She couldn’t have. I know she didn’t. She had to be at my house the whole night. She had to be,” suddenly, Eden remembered. Luna did make a threat towards killing Gus, but Eden could never imagine her going through with it. 

Officer Deaton spoke up, “Well, we have text messages from Luna Spencer to Gus Sears the night of his murder. She texted him something about meeting at the library around 3 am. Do you know anything about this? And is Miss Spencer in your house right now?”

“I don’t know anything, I assure you. But yeah, she is in my house right now,” Eden replied. The officers motioned Eden to move away from the door and they let themselves in. Eden contemplated stopping them but chose not to bother. 

“Luna Spencer, we need to speak with you,” Officer Bertram demanded. As he and his partner glided past Harley, who pointed towards the pantry, the concern grew within them. Once they opened the gray, pocket door they got greeted by Luna holding a knife at her neck. Officer Bertram spoke again, but with a softer tone, “Miss Spencer, we just need to talk.”

“I don't want to talk. I just want this to be over,” Luna pleaded, “I need this to end.” Before the cops even formed a plan to help Luna, her spirit left her. Luna took the knife and sliced her own throat wide open. The once crisp, white pantry instantly transformed into a  painted red room with the remains of the originally unsuspected killer. The officers quickly rounded up the two remaining high school girls and took them out the back door to find Janson.

Eden hugged him, crying, “You are never going to guess what just happened.”