"With you a fellow werewolf, you're mom a werecat like mine, and your dad a werefox, your family has certainly adjusted to Moon Lake well, let alone become quite a menagerie even if Eric really does become a were-merman to join his girlfriend," observed Ben Twist, as he removed the cellphone from the over sized lanyard around his neck, so it was still there in either his normal or were form.
"It was touch and go there for a while with my folks, even without that rogue sticking her paws into things, but I do have to agree with you Ben. Besides, it certainly has all worked out for everyone," added Nate, before putting an arm around his boyfriend Alex Ramsey.
"I want to show you guys something. Turns out my bio-mom was a budding artist before her untimely death. I still have to take a photo of that drawing over there," said Ben, explaining the College Friends Forever montage of Samantha and Francis, his biological parents, and Jeff and Jen Decker. "But they also have this of hers hanging near the Art classrooms," he added, calling up the images he took earlier.
Nate and Alex looked at the pictures of a framed drawing. The colored pencils portion showed an open country side at night during a full moon, with weres of all species frolicking about and enjoying themselves. The more traditional pencil portion showed the faint outlines of campus buildings and normal college students going about their day over that same stretch of country side.
"She called it The Duality of Life. The placard said her maiden name was Elizabeth Franklin, which would explain why they named me Benjamin Franklin Wilson before I decided to honor everything Samantha and Frances have done for me by adopting their last name. In hindsight, you don't think I betrayed my biological parents by—"
"NO!" Nate, Alex, and Kenya quickly answered, before Ben could finish his question.
"Besides my love, you have no genuine interest in chemistry, despite discovering that was the field of your father," added Kenya, holding his free hand in hers.
"You're right," agreed Ben, while giving her a quick peck on the cheek. "Besides, I was so young when I lost them, I barely remember them as it is."
"Hey, I hear it's hard to lose a parent at any age. I shudder to think how things might have been if one of us didn't survive that final showdown with Yvette at our house,*" said Nate.
"Like my what if's about my biological parents, some things are better left in the past," pointed out Ben. "Now then, other than me needing to take a couple of pictures of a picture, what are a business major, a possible future teaching author, a fledgling chef, and a budding artist gonna do this afternoon?"
"The college's open house last till 4, and I still haven't shown you my classes," said Kenya. "And then..." she said, leaning close and whispering in Ben's ear.
While Nate and Alex's acute were hearing couldn't pick up what Kenya was whispering because of her closeness to her boyfriend, the wide smile on Ben's face gave them a pretty good idea of what might lie in their immediate future.
"We have to be home and ready to go to the Skulk meeting by 6:30, but otherwise, my afternoon's open," said Nate.
"You're afternoon, maybe. But other than maybe offering your dad a ride home since your mother has the family car, I know for a fact that your evening, and your night afterward are spoken for," replied Alex, before he leaned close and whispered in his boyfriend's ear, causing Nate to show at least as big a smile as Ben had.
MEANWHILE...
Martha Anderson had enjoyed her morning at the Teachers In Service at Moon Lake Elementary. The seminars and lectures were widely informative. Some things had changed since Martha had last taught third grade. Thankfully not as drastically as she originally feared, but it still indicated that she was somewhat behind and not only needed to make sure she passed her recertification test next year, but brush up on her skill set as well.
However, there were two things that kept distracting her.
The first was wondering how things were going between her youngest son Eric and his girlfriend Julie Stovall. Would she be seeing the young boy that was at her breakfast table this morning, or would she be meeting the newest were-merman of Moon Lake when Eric joined them at the Skulk ceremony later tonight? Then again, did it truly matter which Eric was in attendance, as long as he was really in love and happy with Julie and whatever course is life took?**
The second thing that kept distracting Martha was all the bi and outright lesbian weres in attendance that kept making passes at her, subtly and otherwise.
Am I wearing some invisible sign or emitting pheromones I'm unaware of that say "Bi-werecat available for discrete fun"? Or is it just the fact that I'm the new werecat on the block and everyone just assumes I'm available? she wondered.
Since arriving at the Teachers In Service that morning, Martha had been teased or outright propositioned by the school Vice Principal Jennifer Grant, fellow teacher and sister werevixen den member Dawn Hale***, as well as some of the other teachers from pre-kindergarten right through the fifth grade!
Most were polite, with their brief conversations basically along the lines of "Nice to meet you. If your interested..."
The little notes with phone numbers from the others within Martha's purse would probably(?) be going in the trash when she got home.
There were two seminars left. One discussing the teacher's input and importance on child development throughout the school year, and the other on the evolving role of computers in the classroom that would also cover when and if they should be used.
Needing to answer nature's more personal call, Martha excused herself and went to the closest restroom. The fixtures were scaled for use by much younger people, but she accomplished what needed to be done.
As she moved to the basins to wash her hands, Martha saw Julia Eidlemann enter. The guest lecturer moved to the basin across from Martha to check her appearance in the wall mirror before washing her hands.
"The one problem with being an expert on child development. Everything on site is in miniature," said Mrs. Eidlemann with a smile, as she reached for a paper towel. "I don't remember seeing you when I was here last year... Martha," she added, looking at the name tag stuck on Martha's dress.
"My family and I just moved here from Minnesota over the summer. The recertification test isn't scheduled until next Spring, but I am allowed to sub when needed, and subs have to attend Teachers In Service days too," was Martha's polite and quick explanation, after giving Eidlemann a discrete sniff.
"Minnesota huh? Figures. One of the few states Franz and I haven't been to," replied Julia, referring to her husband. "We still lack that, Alaska, and Hawaii to complete the set."
"As it stands now, depending upon what eventually happens to Puerto Rico and a few other territories," commented Martha.
"True," agreed Julia with a smile. "So. You like it here?"
"So far," answered Martha, as Mrs. Eidlemann started eyeing her with more than a passing interest.
"Listen," began Julia, after making sure it was just the two of them in the restroom. "I don't usually do this on duty, but there is something quite... interesting about you and—"
"I'm married," said Martha, holding up her hand to show off her wedding ring, which thankfully still fit both her human hand and werecat paw.
"So am I," replied Julia, displaying her own wedding ring. "But Franz and I have a very open marriage. We're staying in room 103 of the Moon Lake Inn overnight, and I know he'll be out and about looking for some... adventure of his own before we take off for a conference in Seattle in the morning. If you're interested, come on by. I can personally guarantee you'll have a great time. If not, maybe the next time we're in Moon Lake," she added, before giving Martha a peck on the cheek. Then Mrs. Eidlemann walked out of the girls' restroom to head back to the seminar.
Martha waited until she could sense Julia Eidlemann was gone before letting out the breath she didn't realize she was holding until now.
Then Martha quickly reached inside her purse for her cellphone.
Come on. Answer. Answer! she demanded, before hearing the tell-tale click of the other end being picked up. Before the person she called could say hello, Martha said, "Samantha. It's Martha. I might have a problem here. A normal just made a pass at me!"
______________________________________________________________
*A divergent story line following that possibility can be found elsewhere on CYOC.net via the Moon Lake of Earth-3 thread.
**Readers of earlier Moon Lake episodes already know the answer, but stay tuned if you missed it.
***While her husband William will be directly joining the Skulk as a werefox, as his wife, Martha will be made an honorary member .—tmw.