It was getting to the point where Ginger O'Toole was looking forward to the last bell of the day and couldn't wait for school to end. Not because she hated being a Freshman at Moon Lake High, but because the last bell meant she could rush back towards her house and spend the afternoon with her neighbor and new friend John Harper, who was currently living at the nearby Jenkins house.
She found the object of her interest (affection?) sitting on the Jenkins front porch. Normally he would be reading something, but today he was just sitting back and staring at the porch roof.
John had his eyes closed, but Ginger could tell that he wasn't sleeping. He's lost in thought about something.
Whatever was weighing on his mind, and there was a lot it could be, Ginger didn't even need her abilities as a weretigress to sneak up on him, but she did intentionally make a noise as she approached so she wouldn't startle him.
"Oh. Hi Ginger. It's that time already?" he asked, greeting her.
Even if John wasn't aware of it, the smile on his face told Ginger he was happy to see her.
"Yeah. I got here as soon as I could," she replied, not elaborating on how fast a were could run, even in their human form. "Homework first though, if you don't mind," added Ginger, sitting down next to him and digging the text books out of her backpack. "I've still got Science and Algebra today. Managed to do the rest during Study Hall."
"Would you like me to help you go over the other stuff first?" John asked, eager to do some actual school work himself, since he still couldn't enroll until the emancipation process was completed and he was officially in his older sister Jenny's guardianship.
"Sure," replied Ginger, getting comfortable to tackle the work.
It took about an hour, but everything was done to the kids' mutual satisfaction. Ginger knew her parents would still want to look it over for themselves, but that could wait until after dinner tonight.
As Ginger put the last of her school stuff back in her backpack, she said, "I got you something."
"Really?" said John in disbelief, as she pulled out a small box with a checkerboard pattern on it.
"It's just a travel chess set from the convenience store," announced Ginger, handing it to him. "I have no idea why they put it in what passes for their toy section but when you open it up, the outside makes a complete chess board, and the magnetic pieces can be stored inside when closed."
"Neat. Thank you," said John, as she set it up on the small table between them.
"The pieces are kind of tiny, but you can still make out who's who and they stick to the board well enough. I also got you this," added Ginger, pulling a book out of her backpack, "but I'm afraid I'll need it back the night before it's due back at the school library."
"Sure. No problem," John replied, looking over the Beginner's Guide To Chess book that she had checked out for him.
"I'm looking forward to this, but can we talk about something else first?" John asked.
"Sure," said Ginger, making sure she was looking directly at him. "What?"
"How did you know?"
"Err... how did I know what?"
"How did you know you wanted to be a weretigress?"
"Oh," said Ginger, being sure to hide the disappointment in her voice because she was kind of hoping John would ask her something else. "I know you've had a lot on your mind with everything going on in your life right now, but my brother Fred and I are naturally born weres. Remember? Our parents are both weretigers, so we didn't really have much of a say in the matter."
"Oh. Well, if you weren't already a were..." began John, trying to find the right words to express what he wanted to say.
"You mean a normal human being, like you?"
"Yeah. If you were in my shoes, how would you go about deciding whether or not to even become a were, let alone what were to be if you did?"
"Oh, wow," said Ginger, realizing what John was asking her. "I've never thought about it from that perspective before. Considering how many options there are, I can see where it would be difficult for someone to choose a species, let alone a specific animal."
Then Ginger paused before asking, "Are you considering actually becoming a were?"
"The thought's crossed my mind," answered John, thinking back to how he felt when he saw Ginger last night in her were form.* "After all, a lot of people I know here are already weres, including Jenny and her husband Harry. Plus Janice keeps going on and on about how she's going to be a beautiful were-mermaid once she turns 14."
"Come to think of it, even though they say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I never have seen an ugly were. In or out of their fursonas," admitted Ginger.
Then, remembering the reaction John had upon seeing her as a weretigress, both physically and emotionally, Ginger said, "The best advice I can give you is to be absolutely sure that you want to become a were to begin with, let alone which one, because it is literally a once in a lifetime situation. Once you gain a fursona or whatever your new form has, there's no take backs or do overs."
"I remember," said John.
"Listen," said Ginger, looking at him more intently. "I appreciate you confiding in me and as your friend, you know you can always talk to me, about anything," she stressed. "But have you also been thinking about that other matter that's on your mind too?"
"You mean my confusion and undecidedness over some... personal issues?" he asked in return.
"Yes. It wouldn't be good to let one issue influence the other," advised Ginger, knowing John was still trying to figure out what his sexual identity, let alone his sexual preference(s) might be. Besides, if he winds up becoming a were-wildcat or one of the few other mono-gender species there is, he might not have much choice in the matter, she realized, knowing that the male version of the female werecat was always either bi or outright gay for some unexplained reason.
Ginger had already considered the possibility and was uncertain if she could ever share John in any way with another man if Harper eventually decided he was bi, but to never have the chance if John decides he's totally homosexual? It would be bad enough if I'm not his first, but if I never get to be intimate with him at all, or even get the chance to say "I love you," I don't think I could live with that, she told herself, feeling the emotional angst only a teenager experienced.
"Truthfully," began John, looking at Ginger, "there is so much going on in my life right now that at times I'm not sure whether I'm coming or going."
"I've had days like that too," she confessed. "My mom says its part of being a teenager."
"Certainly not a fun part though."
"Definitely," agreed Ginger.
"If I tried talking about any of this with my folks, my mom would be totally oblivious about everything and my dad would tell me to 'be a man'. I shudder to think how they would react if they knew I still can't figure out yet whether I'm straight, gay, or bi."
"I wish I could help you with that. I really do. But I'm afraid in the end, you're the only one who can truly answer that question."
"I know, but I do appreciate your company and friendship," John told Ginger, not realizing how big a smile he was giving her. "But part of the confusion I've been feeling is because that boy I became friends with back in Alabama was the first person who ever expressed any romantic emotions toward me. I have no idea if it was because of me, my parents, or something else but before then, everyone I knew was polite enough, but that's all. I never had any real friends before him either."
"So he was gay?" asked Ginger.
"He said he was. We hung out together and talked a lot, but about the only real intimacy we ever shared was conversation and holding hands once."
"Really? When?"
"Once when we were alone together in the boy's bathroom, because neither of us dared to do anything so risky in public. It was only for a few seconds before somebody else started to come in, but we could see each other in the mirror over the sinks."
"How did that make you feel?"
"Nice. We were both smiling at each other in our reflections."
"Was it him specifically or just being with someone in general?" wondered Ginger.
"That's part of my problem. I wish I knew for sure," admitted John.
"Were there any girls back in Alabama who—"
"If there were, they never said anything to me. Then again, I barely saw anyone outside of school because my parents were so strict."
"So how did you and this guy..."
"While we never had any actual classes together, we shared the same route most of the way walking to and from school and talked all the time. Dad never believed in schools wasting his tax dollars on busing so had us kids walk everyday. 'To build character', he said, even though we were eligible for the bus. It certainly would have been nice during bad weather days," thought John.
"I bet. Well, I only walk because the high school is just a couple of blocks from here," said Ginger, pointing back the way she came from. "My folks promised us one of them would drive us to school during bad weather days, but Fred and I certainly rode the bus during our elementary and junior high days."
"Must have been nice, being with other kids outside of school," observed John.
"It is."
"I guess there's no point in continuing to gripe about the past, even if parts of it are still affecting my potential future."
"And whether or not you ever do decide to become a were, I'm sure you have a bright future ahead of you here in Moon Lake," promised Ginger.
"I certainly hope so," was all John Harper would say. I just wish I knew for sure how much of a role I want or even need you to play in it, he silently added, staring at Ginger O'Toole whenever he thought she wasn't looking.
But what John didn't know was that Ginger was aware of how he looked at her, even if he wasn't, and the emotions that would pour out of Ginger's heart if John just asked her the right questions.
Instead, the two teenagers remained silent on that subject as she began to teach him how to play chess.
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*During the previous episode: "Close Encounter of an Interesting Kind".—tmw.