“Alright, you can open your eyes,” Holly commanded. I opened my eyes and looked at my friends. The first night always set the tone for the games ahead of us. “Ah, the first night’s always my favorite.” I chucked and leaned into my chair. Jessie choked. “Last night, a tragedy happened.” Holly stood up from her chair and started walking around the table. She stopped behind Tanner but continued to Silas’s chair. Everyone stayed quiet. “Are you serious?” Silas broke the silence. Laughter broke out in the room. “I always die first! It’s not fair. Someone has a grudge against me. God? Is it you?” Silas faked tears.

An evil grin rose from Holly’s face. “Silas was snacking on some chips with Denver, and the lights in the basement went out. Denver screamed for Silas. When the lights came back on, Denver found his mangled corpse.” “Holly’s got some beef with you today.” I joked. Holly was a fantastic writer and wanted to become a board game designer. “Was it too much for you, Jess?” Erik laughed at Jessica’s face. “You guys know I’m not into gore,” Jessie’s face hardened. Holly looked a little hurt by her statement. “Sorry, I wasn’t trying to gross you out. Had to start the game with a little excitement, unlike usual,” Holly shrugged off Jessie’s feelings. “So, discuss amongst yourselves who you think are the werewolves,” Holly said. 

Tanner pointed to Jessie. “It could be her, considering how she choked after Denver made a joke about Silas.” “But It may be Denver because of how Holly worded his death sequence,” Sam added. “Don’t rule out yourself because you defended her,” Tanner rebutted. I felt the tension rising. “We have to single out some people. Who is likely to be it? Since we looked at our cards, who was a little suspicious? Plus, it’s just the first round. You don’t need to get so heated right from the get-go.” I suggested. Someone cleared their throat. “Well, Denver, there are always two stereotypes of werewolves. Either being quiet or being very talkative.” Anna spoke. 

Anna Watson had been the first girl in our group when she moved across the street from my house during middle school. I had a crush on her, but she was more interested in some random Lacrosse player. Silas convinced me to give her flowers, but when I handed them to her, she asked if they were from a kid named Troy. It broke my heart. I played it off as a gift from him and stopped pursuing her. I haven’t pursued anyone since. Instead, I invested that energy into playing the bass. When we started high school, Anna introduced Jessica and - well, you know the rest.

“He’s only spoken this time. If you’re saying those stereotypes are true, it would be Tanner.” Erik defended me. “But then, if it were true, it would be Erik and me because we haven’t talked like everyone else. Some of us haven’t spoken. If we’re going off that logic, it may as well be Jessie, Isabelle, Lorelai, or Harper!” The table shook as Anna stood up in excitement. “Then we should lynch one of them!” Sam yelled. “It’s not like either of them are worth keeping around,” Jessie mumbled underneath the noise of chatter. “And it gets to me.” Harper sounded exhausted. “I was just trying to watch y’all fight it out,” Lorelai said, placing her head in her hands.