As William and Martha Anderson made sure their sons were all right*, the aftermath from the police encounter with Dymixious Drake was being settled and Francis Twist rode with the suspect's pregnant wife Jade in an ambulance heading to Moon Lake General Hospital because the emotional trauma had sent her into premature labor**; John Harper and his younger sister Janice decided, after sleeping in that morning at the residence of their new in-laws the Jenkins***, to take a walk around their new neighborhood after the delicious and large brunch they had.
It didn't bother either child that they were still wearing the clothes they arrived in Washington state with, considering their visit was only supposed to be just long enough to stop the wedding between their oldest sister Jennifer and her fiance Harry Jenkins before their father and Dieter Wilhelm "dragged Jenny home where she belonged". After all, there were plenty of days when either their mother was too overwhelmed to do laundry or they didn't have any additional clothing to wear in the first place.
Not knowing the area that well, they decided just to walk around what turned out to be an extended block first, because of all the wide open spaces Moon Lake was known for.
"For what's supposed to be a small town, this is kind of big," John said, noting that they had been out for a good ten minutes already and still hadn't reached the corner yet.
Not that they were in any kind of a hurry, but still...
"Where do you think we'll actually live once Jenny gets us emancipated into her custody?" Janice asked her brother.
"Not sure," admitted John. "With the Jenkins? In that garage apartment Huck's supposed to finish renovating once he's healed," recalling that Wilhelm's true nature was confirmed when the police arrested him for attempted murder and other charges while their father suffered a heart attack after being confronted by both the truth and his older sister.
"Huck's parents are nice, but their place is a bit crowded right now."
"That'll change once Huck goes back to his place and Jenny and Harry move into their new place once it's finished."
"I guess," said Janice.
"You okay sis?" wondered John.
Janice just shrugged her shoulders. "You have to agree, some of this is a lot to swallow. Jenny getting married, let alone finding out she's a werefox and that were creatures do exist, and they ain't at all like how the movies and TV show them, and—"
"Yeah," agreed John. "Say, do you really want to become a mermaid?"
"If I can. It may have started out as just a silly dream to get away from mom and dad, but now..."
John remained silent.
"Like Jenny's a fox now, I'll still be your sister," she reminded him. "Besides, I still have another year to go. But you're already 14. Once we're officially residents, you can become a were if you want to."
John didn't reply.
"Do you want to be a were?"
"I don't know," he finally answered.
"Is there something wrong with being a were?" a male voice asked.
John and Janice looked around, but didn't see anyone.
"You didn't answer my brother," a female voice said. "What's wrong with being a were?"
"Who said that?" asked Janice in return.
"Up here," both voices said, as the Harpers raised their heads and looked at the tree ahead of them.
Then, two kids jumped down from the leafy branches, both landing on their feet and ready to spring into action if necessary, which reminded Janice of cats she'd seen.
The boy and girl looked similar, but not identical. Each had red hair, freckles, and green eyes, but that's where the similarities ended.
The girl had longer hair and kept staring at John, while the boy had shorter hair and looked at Janice as if she was the greatest thing he had ever seen.
Both kids dusted their hands off on their matching t-shirts, then held them out. "Hi," said the boy. "I'm Fred O'Toole, and this is my sister Ginger."
"John and Janice Harper," he said, as they shook hands.
"New in town, huh?" asked Ginger, moving a step closer to John.
"Just arrived yesterday for our sister's wedding, but now it looks like we'll be staying. At least the two of us," explained Janice.
"Harper...." said Ginger. "Oh. Did everything go all right?" she asked, not explaining how she knew about the wedding, let alone the troubles involved.
"Dad's in the hospital after a heart attack, and Jenny's going to emancipate us once she comes back from her honeymoon, but yeah. I guess everything went okay," said Janice as John looked at her, not believing she'd tell someone they just met so much.
"Don't worry. With Moon Lake being such a small town, there's not much news that doesn't get spread around here. Especially if it involves us weres," explained Fred, seeing the look on John's face.
"You two are..." began John.
"Weretigers," said Ginger proudly. "Actually, being a girl, I'm a weretigress, but you get the idea. We live over there," she added, pointing to the next house past the tree they were in. "Yet you never answered my question John Harper. What's wrong with being a were?"
"Nothing that I know of. I just don't know whether or not I want to be one."
"It's okay John. Us naturally born weres take to it easily, but not every normal that moves to Moon Lake joins were society," said Fred.
"Fred and Ginger? Like the old movies my mom watches sometimes?" asked Janice.
"Yeah. Mom's a fan of that classic stuff," explained Ginger. "We're fraternal twins. Born at the same time, but not identical."
"I can't blame you though for being a bit hesitant," Fred conceded. "It's a big choice, let alone trying to choose which kind of were to be, because there's one for just about every animal in existence. But take your time and do what's right for you, because once you do become a were, there's no do overs or take backs. What you become is what you are for the rest of your life."
"So you two..." began John.
"Are both 14 and have already had our first transformations," Ginger said proudly. "I'd love to show you my fursona, but there are rules about displaying in public during the day," she added, while moving close enough to John so he could tell she was interested in him.
VERY interested in the blonde haired teenager.
"I want to be a mermaid when I turn 14," said Janice.
"There are many aquatic based weres here in Moon Lake," said Fred. "Our mayor and his family are all were-mers, which is what we call them, whether they're mermen or mermaids. But like I told your brother," he added, while moving a bit closer to Janice, "you have to think long and hard about doing so first, because once you become a were, there's no going back."
"But enough about weres for now," said Ginger, while grabbing John's hand. "Why don't you two tell us all about John and Janice Harper, and we'll tell you everything about us and Moon Lake you want to know."
Together, the four of them sat under the tree and just talked for well over an hour.
John and Janice asked and received answers to a lot of questions about Moon Lake and weres, while Fred and Ginger didn't seem very interested in Alabama as they were in John and Janice Harper.
Ginger sat next to John, who was next to Fred, with Janice on his left.
Just four relatively normal teenagers just hanging out.
The Harper siblings found out a lot about Moon Lake High School and what the last year of Moon Lake Junior High would be like for Janice, as well as the town itself.
But, all good things must come to an end, as Fred's watch started beeping.
"Dang. Three pm already?" Fred complained, while turning off the alarm. "Mom wants us home to get ready to go to our grandparents house for supper by 3:30. But it was nice meeting both of you," he said, before shaking each Harper's hand, although the siblings couldn't help noticing that Fred held onto Janice's hand for much longer than the length of a regular handshake.
"Yeah. As soon as you're settled and start school, look me up," Ginger said to John. "Maybe we can be study buddies," she suggested, before suddenly giving him a quick peck on the cheek.
Then, both O'Tooles dashed off for their house faster than the Harpers knew a were could run.
Realizing that they should head back to the Jenkins house, John and Janice started to go back the way they came.
Yet John had to ask, "Why are you smiling so much?"
"You have a girlfriend!"
"I do not."
"Don't lie. I saw the way Ginger kept looking at you," replied Janice.
"Well, Fred seemed interested in you too," John pointed out.
"Maybe, but I still want to be a mermaid. Do fish and tigers get along?"
"How should I know."
"Well, maybe you'd look good in furry stripes," said Janice, trying to picture how her brother would look as a weretiger.
"When or if I do decide to become a were, it will be because I love the were I want to be with, not just for the sake of gaining a... what did they call it?"
"Fursona," answered Janice. "But I wonder what they call it for mers. After all, mermaids and mermen don't have fur. They have scales."
"Don't know. But like I said, when or if I ever become a were, it will be for love and nothing else."
Yet, even as they walked back to the Jenkins house, one problem weighed heavily on John Harper's mind.
It was basically the same problem he had back in Alabama, except the details had changed.
He honestly didn't know whether or not he was interested in Ginger or Fred O'Toole, let alone which one it should be.
________________________________________________________
*Within recent episodes of this series.
**As seen in recent episodes of our companion Moon Lake, Tad series.
***No known direct relation the title characters of that series.—tmw.