the next morning had been earlier than the previous ones. most of them had been awoken by the storm, so they met in the living room downstairs.
"do we have flashlights if the power goes out?" luke had asked.
they did a quick search and realized that they did not, in fact, have any flashlights. so karl and luke had decided to go out and get flashlights and snacks for their day indoors.
which had left jess and claire alone in the quiet house, where they now sat in the living room, warming by the fireplace.
they were talking about what had happened in the four years since they saw each other last.
"i'm sad i didn't get to watch you get your license." jess was saying, a touch of sadness in her voice. "or turn 18."
"i know, i would've loved to call you and tell you all about it. too bad things . . . fell apart."
"yeah. hey, karl's gonna kill me for this, but wanna see some old pictures of him? you know, since you never got to see the peak of his awkward teen phase."
claire laughed. "sure, why not."
jess went through her camera roll and found pictures of teenage karl. she even had a few from when he was really little, reminding claire how much he had changed.
"what is the context to this picture?? and oh my gosh, the hair!!" claire said, laughing so hard her stomach hurt.
"oh, he would definitely kill you for showing me that one, jess . . ."
"aww, those ones are actually super cute!!"
they laughed a bit longer at the pictures. even though his teen pictures were ridiculous and geeky, claire found them charming and cute.
when there was a moment of silence, claire decided to ask the question she had been wondering for a while.
"hey jess, what was it like for you to be the oldest of the group? you didn't think we were lame or anything?"
jess smiled and sighed. "no, you guys were kind of cool. i don't know, it was weird. i'd go to school and just get judged so hard by all my classmates. and for no good reason!" she shook her head. "i remember this one time when i was 13, i went to school wearing some dumb shirt i thought was cool, i don't know. i got made fun of the entire day, though. i was so upset. then we saw you guys later that same day, and you didn't look at me like i was some weirdo in an ugly shirt. you looked at me like, i don't know, like i was cool or something."
jess paused before continuing. "you guys never ever judged me on the way i acted or what i wore. so we'd play for hours. i know my classmates would've thought i was so weird for playing games and climbing trees with a bunch of little kids, but man, those were some of the best days of my life. i'd take hanging out with you guys over gossiping with the other girls any day. i could hang out with you guys without being judged, but i can't say the same about my classmates . . ."
claire understood completely. but still, she couldn't imagine jess--feisty, strong, brave, fearless jess--ever being made fun of or judged. her heart broke for her. "man, i never even knew you went through all that. i just couldn't imagine it, you were--and are--literally the coolest person i know."
"thanks claire." jess gave her a genuine smile. "not half as cool as you, but i try."
right at that moment, they heard the front door slam open as two soaked teens rushed into the warm cabin.
"whoo! it is bad out there!" luke said.
karl walked over with two bags in hand, beaming. "wanna see the haul?"
they dumped out their bags on the coffee table in the living room and went through everything they got.
"okay, we got flashlights and batteries. then we got doritos, reese's pieces, and sour gummy worms. i also bought clue and a deck of cards so we can play."
"oh, awesome! thanks guys, this stuff is great." claire said.
they got bowls out for the chips and candy and set everything up at the kitchen table. they decided to start off by playing clue.
"karl, you strike me as a mustard kinda guy." claire said as she slid the yellow piece over to him, grinning.
"i'm just gonna assume that's a good thing . . ."
claire took the blue piece, jess took red, and luke grabbed the green. claire sorted the cards and picked up one from each pile to put into the envelope, shuffled and redistributed the cards, and then they played.
as with any game of clue, suspicions were high and at least three people yelled, "STOP LOOKING AT MY SHEET!"
"i'm not, luke! and either way, just cover it better!"
"i literally am!"
"okay guys, i'm guessing now." karl said after moving his piece towards the center.
"what? how! i don't even know who it is yet!" claire exclaimed.
"don't worry." jess slid in. "he does this every game and he's wrong. every. game."
"shut up, jessica."
karl declared his guess and looked at the cards in the envelope, defeat written across his face.
"wrong again?" jess jabbed, hardly looking up.
"maybe . . . but i was so close!"
they continued the game without him and claire was getting close to winning.
"claire don't you dare." luke demanded as she started to move her piece towards the middle. "i know what it is!"
"okay, and? so do i." claire moved until she was just four tiles away from the middle.
"well, if it makes you guys feel any better, i'm not even close." jess said casually.
the siblings ignored her as luke stared at claire with a competitive look in his eyes.
"go, it's your turn. just hope you get a . . ." she quickly counted the amount of tiles he needed. "eight or higher."
luke, of course, rolled a seven.
"nooo!"
jess rolled but didn't even bother entering a room to ask a question since she knew claire was about to win.
"here we go." claire rolled a six and grabbed the envelope. "peacock, hallway, dagger." she declared.
she slid the three cards into the palm of her hand and examined them. she was right! instead of celebrating, though, she took the opportunity to mess with luke and faked a sad expression.
"HAH! you really thought, claire!" luke paraded.
"kidding!" claire slammed the cards onto the table, face up, where everyone could see her victory. "read it and weep, suckers!"
luke groaned as jess slow clapped.
"good game, i guess." karl said. "even though i was sure i had it."
"how? your guess was greene, kitchen, and dagger. you got one right!" jess pointed out.
karl grumbled something that sounded like ". . . stupid game anyway . . ." as they began to pack up.
"well guys," claire said cheerfully, "that was fun!"
"yeah, it was." jess said.
they decided to stay up and eat snacks until they were too tired, and full, to stay awake any longer.
* * *
"i think i'm gonna head up to bed now." karl annouced after most the snacks were gone and a few hours had passed. "that was fun though! we should play it again another night."
"yeah, we should." claire agreed. "i think i'm ready for bed, too."
another day at the cabin had ended. claire still couldn't believe she was back here with her best friends again.
all she knew was that she was loving it.