Barbara came over an hour or so after Mr. Jackson departed. Ryan left for work shortly after, but not before saying goodbye.
“Behave yourselves. I don’t want to get a call that you’ve landed yourself in prison in Oregon.” Ryan half joked while he kissed Claire’s head, cheeks, lips, and every other visible inch of skin.
“Don’t worry your pretty little head. I’m sure we can manage to keep our noses clean for two days, right Claire?” Barbara came up behind her friends with an armful of clothing. Seeing as Claire needed some new clothing, Barbara figured she might as well give her some hand-me-downs. They were much closer in size now. And Claire didn’t mind, it saved her a few extra dollars.
“Right. I promise, I’ll be a Girl Scout while we’re gone.” Claire said.
“Something tells me you’ve got your fingers crossed behind your back, but I don’t care to check. I guess I’ll see you two this weekend.” Ryan gave Barbara a hug before leaving the apartment. The second he was out the door the girls started “girl screaming” in excitement over their road trip. Ryan sighed, but left the apartment building with a smile.
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“So, have you called your folks yet?” Barbara asked. She and Claire were busy loading her car with their stuff. Claire found that the heightened strength made chores like that seem like nothing. It was like she was carrying a pillowcase filled with feathers.
“No. I haven’t worked up the nerve to do it. And I’m still not sure what I’m going to say. ‘Hey Dad, I’m moving to this other school because I’m a weretiger and I’m dating a werewolf cop.’ that’ll go over very well.” Claire said.
“Oh don’t worry so much. I’ve known lots of people who were in your situation. And from what I’ve heard, it’s better to keep things vague. Simply tell them you’ve made some life choices that you’re happy with, and you can only hope they understand. If they don’t, that’s their problem. You’ve made a choice, now they’ll have to learn to live with it.”
“But what if they get suspicious or something? Like, they want to know what the real reason behind all this.” Claire pointed at her new and “improved” body.
“Eh, growth spurt? There’s really no definitive way to explain the physical changes being a were causes. Aside from steroids or cosmetic surgery. Which you obviously haven’t had. You could say you just started some hardcore health regimen.” Barbara suggested.
“I don’t think they’d buy that. Or at least my brothers’ wouldn’t. Dad, maybe if I caught him on a good day. But there’s no way I could pull the wool over my brothers’ eyes.” Claire said as she closed the trunk of Barbara’s car.
“Well it’s like I said, you’ve got time to think things over. Who knows, maybe they’ll decide to move down here and then you won’t have to over explain everything, since they’ll already be in the know.” Barbara meant that to be a joke.
But Claire was wondering if that was a possibility. It would make life a lot easier, and it would also be nice to have her family closer. Her dad was getting on in years, and living in Alaska wasn’t ideal for older people. It was an hour drive from the house to the nearest hospital. Moon Lake was far more convenient and safe. They didn’t have Kodiak or Polar bears roaming the streets. They had weres, and Claire knew they wouldn’t have a desire to defend their territory and maul a person.
“I could talk to Dylan about moving. He’s always saying how he wants to live somewhere less isolated. I doubt Alan or Bradley would go for the idea of moving. They’ve actually got lives up there.” Claire thought.
Of her brothers, Dylan was the most rational and only a year younger than herself. Alan and Bradley, both older and into their earlier thirties, had made lives for themselves in the area they grew up in. The last thing they’d want to do is uproot themselves for some small town in Washington state. They’d never even left their home county, let alone left the state.
Claire was the first kid to go out of state for college, and express any desire to stay out of state. Much to the chagrin of her father, who wanted her where he could keep an eye on her. Claire had always been a bit of a magnet for trouble, a proven fact given that she wasn’t in Moon Lake more than twenty four hours before she landed herself in a prison cell.
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“Hello?” Dylan Robertson was always the first one up in his house. His dad and older brothers enjoyed sleeping in, and staying up to all hours. Someone had to be the “mom” in the family. And with Claire away at school, the role had been passed down to him.
“Dylan, it’s Claire.”
“Hey! Haven’t heard from you in a while. What’s going on? Ready to come home and take your old job back?”
“You wish. Is Dad around? I need to talk to him about something.”
“He’s not up yet. Want me to wake him?”
“No, let him sleep. Just let him know I called when he gets up. How are you? Hanging in there?” Claire knew senior year wasn’t easy. She’d spent most of it worrying she wouldn’t get accepted to any of the colleges she applied to. And worse, that she’d end up living in Alaska her entire life.
“It’s going alright. Sent all my applications the other day. Fingers crossed I have your luck.”
“With your grades, you don’t need luck. You could get into Harvard or Yale if you wanted to.”
“As if Dad would let me go to one of those schools. They’re both on the other side of the country. At least you picked a school on the west coast. Otherwise Dad might have blown his top.” Dylan said.
“Ya… about that…”
“Claire you didn’t drop out did you?” Dylan asked. He knew his sister had a bit of a rebellious side. She liked adventure, which meant she didn’t mind breaking rules. Which meant she landed herself in trouble more often than not.
“No. Not exactly. Can we just keep this between us for now. At least until I talk to Dad.”
“Sure. What’s wrong?”
“I’m transferring to another school.” Claire said quickly. Then held her breath waiting for some sort of explosion that never came.
“Which one?”
“It’s in Washington, just outside Seattle.”
“Any particular reason you’re switching? You’re not getting harassed by some dick-head are you? Because I’ll grab Alan and Brad and we’ll come down there to kick that guy’s ass.”
“No, no it’s nothing like that. I just found some place I think I’ll be happier. The people are really, really nice, and the school has a good photography program. Plus the tuition is cheaper, and it’s closer to a major city. I’ve already squared things with the Dean at that school, so I’m just heading back to Oregon to make the switch official.”
“Wow, already got your ducks lined up. If this is what you really want then I’m happy for you sis. And don’t worry, I won’t say anything to Dad until you do. But I hope you’ve got what you’re going to say figured out. You know how Dad is.” Dylan said, instinctively glancing over his shoulder. He expected one of his brothers or his dad to be standing behind him. Thankfully they were all still asleep upstairs.
“i know. Thanks Dylan. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Stay safe Claire, bye.”
“Bye.” Claire hung up her cell phone and looked at Barbara. The two exchanged a confident stare and went on their way down the highway. Claire was still a little worried how her father would react to the changes (not to mention the physical ones), but at least she had one brother on her side.