6Night in the Haunted Mansion
An original murder mystery by Marriella
Summery: Taking on a dare, four friends will spend a night locked in a haunted mansion... which turns out to be more haunted than they thought.
Chapter One: The Bet
It was the last day of school before Spring Break and all the kids at Vanning high school were exited about it. Everyone was looking forward to getting off school for a while.
"Hey Jennifer!" Jake called. "Wait up!"
Jake Con was sixteen years old, had just gotten his drivers license last week and he was still thrilled about it. Jake had dark brown, curly hair and soft brown eyes. He was always joking around, he had an easy going charm about him, and was a very strong Christian.
Jake didn't hook up with a girl unless he really liked her and could see himself dating her for a long time. Because of this, he didn't get many girlfriends, but he didn't really care. He wanted to wait for the right girl.
Jennifer was Jake's best friend. They had been living next door to each other their entire lives, and were as close as siblings. Jen's mom left her and her dad when she was three. Since her father raised her by himself, she grew up to be a tough girl, and also a major tomboy.
"Jen! Hold on a sec!" Jennifer stopped walking long enough for Jake to catch up with her, then she kept walking.
"What's up?" Jennifer asked. She could tell that Jake was excited about something.
"I was just talking to Eddie and Derek…"
"Why were you talking to those two bullies?" Jennifer interrupted.
"Hey, that's not the point! Anyway, they asked me what I was doing for Spring Break and I told them that I didn't have anything planned so they wanted to propose a bet."
Jennifer turned around to face her friend. This time she was interested. Everyone knew that Jennifer Brogan loved a bet. "Keep talkin'."
"They said for me to get you and the other guys and then they'd meet us at lunch to explain everything."
"Then hurry up and help me find Marla and Chris!"
Marla and Chris had been best friends with Jake and Jennifer ever since they were all freshmen together two years ago. The four of them always hung out together in and out of school.
Marla had blonde hair and blue eyes. She was the only child of her two very rich parents. Because of this, she had grown up to be a little spoiled, but the other three love her just the same. She loved makeup and fashion, and couldn't stop talking about her brief brush in with Orlando Bloom a year ago when she had vacationed in Hollywood.
Chris, like Marla, also had blonde hair and blue eyes. His parents were obsessed with work, and didn't give him much attention. Because of this, Chris unknowingly looked for his lack of love in the many girls he dated, and of course, his best friends.
Jennifer and Jake knew just where they would find Chris. They went to Chris's English room, where they saw his teacher lecturing him. This wasn't unusual for Chris. He was slacking in school. Mainly because his parents didn't seem to mind what went on in their son's life, and without the motivation from his parents, he didn't see any point in doing well.
Jake stepped into the room while Jennifer waited in the doorframe.
"Hey, can I interrupt for a moment, Mrs. Darwhen?"
The elderly teacher smiled when she saw Jake. Jake was a favorite among all his teachers. He always got his homework in on time, his grades were hardly ever below average, and (this was probably because he was a Christian) he was one of the most polite boys in the school.
"Hello, Jake. Is there something I can do for you?"
"Oh no thank you, Mrs. Darwhen," Jake said smiling. "I just wanted to speak to Chris for a sec, but I see that he is busy."
Mrs. Darwhen shook her head. "No, it's alright if it's just for a moment."
"Thank you." Jake lead Chris a few steps away, then said, "Hey man, Eddie Michel and Derek are proposing a bet. There's lots of money involved."
For just a brief second, Jake thought that he saw Chris grow white, then he went back to normal.
"A… a bet?" Chris asked, a bit skeptically and nervous at the same time. "What sort of bet?"
"We don't know yet. They're gonna explain everything at lunch, so we'll meet you at the regular table, okay?"
Chris nodded a few times fast. "Yeah, sure whatever. See you there."
With that, Jake exited the room, nodding to his teacher as he past. "Good day, Mrs. Darwhen."
"Good day, Jake." After Jake left, she turned back to Chris. "Nice boy, Jake Con. You should be more like him." Chris rolled his eyes slightly. "Now, about your grades…"
…
"So what'd he say?" Jennifer asked Jake as they made their way to the cafeteria.
"He's interested… I guess. Actually," Jake lowered his voice, and slowed down a bit. "He seemed a little nervous when I mentioned Eddie and Derek."
"Hmm…" Jennifer thought for a second before arriving at an explanation. "He's probably just intimidated since Eddie and Derek are sort of known as bullies."
Jake nodded. "Yeah, that's probably it. Now let's go find Marla."
It was easy to find Marla. She was eating at the regular table in the cafeteria waiting for her friends. As usual, she wasn't eating. Instead she had her mirror out and was applying makeup to her face.
"Hey, Marla!" Jennifer said as she and Jake came over to the table with their lunch trays. "Guess what!? We're gonna do some sort of bet with the high and mighty bullies." Jennifer said this sarcastically, using her hands as she talked. Jennifer had a habit of being sarcastic.
"Hmmhm," Marla said distractedly. The other two could tell that she wasn't paying attention.
Jennifer looked at Marla, annoyed. "You didn't hear a thing I just said, did you?" This was more of a statement then a question.
Marla waved her off. "Of course not, dear. I was listening the whole time."
"Then what did I just say?" Jennifer asked.
For the first time, Marla looked up at Jen, giving her a shocked expression, like she had just been asked a very personal question. "How am I supposed to know what you said!?"
Jake and Jennifer rolled their eyes and crossed their arms. "You're hopeless," they said at the same time.
"Ah! Well at least I don't drive my parent's old car," Marla shot back. This particular remark meant for Jake.
"Oohh burn," Jennifer said, looking back and forth at her two friends.
Jake raised his eyebrows. "Oh, is that how it's gonna be now? Well at least I'm not a spoiled brat." This statement referring to the fact that Marla's parents were rich and she was an only child.
"Oh, major burn!" Jennifer exclaimed.
Marla and Jake turned to Jennifer with angry faces, both of them still in arguing mode. "SHUT UP!"
"Hey guys," Chris said, coming to sit down next to his friends. "So what's up?"
Jake looked around. "Eddie and Derek should be here soon."
Suddenly, they all heard a voice behind them. "Yeah, like now."
Turning around, they all saw that it was Eddie Michel, and his best friend, Derek Coleman. The two of them usually liked to be intimidating to the other students at Vanning High School.
Eddie sat down at the table, and Derek sat down next to them. There was silence before Eddie spoke. When he did speak, he did so slowly. "So, I'm sure your friend here has told you all," here he gestured to Jake, "that I want to propose a bet that will make one of our two groups sitting at this table a little more rich."
"I'm already rich," Marla stated.
"And we could all care less," Eddie said, still talking slowly, just now with a slight annoyed tone in his voice.
"What's the bet?" Jennifer asked in an urgent tone. She was obviously more excited than anyone else at the table.
Here, they could all see a slight smile on Eddie's face. It wasn't the least bit pleasant. In fact, it looked a bit greedy. "I bet that you four can't stay an entire night in the haunted mansion on Mining Hill without chickening out first and leaving before the night ends."
With every word Eddie Michel said, Chris looked more and more nervous.
"What are we betting?" Jake asked.
"Ha, money of course!" Eddie said. "If you loose, you guys have to pay me and Derek five hundred dollars. If I loose, then I have to pay you five hundred bucks. So, what do ya say?"
"Yes!" Jennifer said."
"Whoa, hold on a second, Jennifer!" Chris said. "Don't we all have to agree?"
"What is it, Fawning?" Eddie said, addressing Chris by his last name. "Are you scared?" Eddie laughed, and Chris's face turned red.
"I am not 'scared'!" Chris declared. But the way he was saying it, they could tell that he was also trying to convince himself the same thing.
"Then take the bet, Scaredy," Eddie taunted.
Chris looked around the table at his friends, then back at Eddie and Derek. "Okay! Okay fine! We will take the bet! And let me tell you something, Michel! You are the one who's going to be loosing the bet!"
"We'll see," Eddie said, standing up. "You four: be there at the Haunted Mansion tonight at 8:00. Don't even think about Chickening out," he paused. "Without telling me and Derek first," he added.
With that, he left laughing. Derek following close behind him.
Author Note: Please review! If I get reviews, then the updates will come sooner.