Morgan did return with clipboards and distributed them to Eric, Julie, and Spencer as they sat on the couches in the Barr family living room. They were of a hard plastic and were of multiple colors, which his mother had figured was a good way to keep his own "school" work organized. But his three guests had actual homework from school to work on and his system for organizing his own school work wasn't all that relevant at the moment, and being able to see Spencer again after the previous night made it worth a few sacrifices here and there. Eric and Julie's presence was a surprise, as he had no idea who Eric was and he only vaguely knew that Julie Stovall was the daughter of Moon Lake's mayor, but if it helped him score "points" with Spencer, he figured he'd make an effort.
He handed Eric a blue clipboard, Julie a red one, and Spencer a green one before moving to sit down beside Spencer on the couch facing the front windows. The light coming in through them was fairly bright, and Morgan nervously looked out through the windows for a moment as he thought over what to say, as all of this was a first for him. His life had been rather sheltered with few real contacts outside his parents and the occasional pack meeting, and even those didn't necessarily go easy for him.
"So... what are you working on?" Morgan wondered, figuring that was a good place to start, since Spencer had said they'd come over to do their homework and hang out.
"I have some Algebra I," Spencer answered as she looked down to the worksheet she had on the clipboard while fumbling through her backpack and looking for her calculator.
"I have some science to finish," Eric answered as pulled out a textbook from his backpack and flashed its cover to Morgan, it read: "Biology" on its front with a picture of a Whooping Crane under the word.
"And I have American History I," Julie added as she set her textbook in her lap for the moment before sitting back on the couch to get started.
"So, do you have any subjects like this with your homeschooling?" Spencer asked, mostly trying to encourage Morgan to talk and interact with them all.
"Not so much in the sense of formalized names for classes," Morgan gave a small shrug, "I've had to cover all the basic subjects... Math, Science, History, English, and Health, but nothing in the sense of a formal name for the classes. Mom and I work on the material through the day and at the end of each school semester for you guys... the state of Washington sends us a set of form tests to see if I'm covering all the material in a way that would meet the qualifications that would allow for home schooling to be successful. I've done pretty well, so far."
"Do you like it that way?" Eric asked, catching on that Morgan's voice seemed to be fairly nervous and got a bit weaker as he went on. He'd also noticed that Morgan had most of his focus on Spencer and it sounding like he was forcing himself to speak on "school" work and had other things in mind and didn't know how to express that given the social setting they were in. To a certain extent, Eric could understand that, as he'd lead something of a reclusive life before coming to Moon Lake in which he had a hard time interacting with people face to face for fear of being bullied for his diverse interests as he had in the past. Julie had fixed that and he was happy to have her as his "one true love" for that reason, but that didn't mean he couldn't recognize some things in Morgan that he realized weren't too drastically different from himself... in a way.
Morgan blinked at that as he didn't expect that question. He paused to look toward the wall behind Spencer, though his focus was more with his ears and listening to see if his mother was nearby. He could here her footsteps, but they seemed distant and moving back and forth. He guessed she was either in the kitchen or the laundry room and was too far away to really catch on to anything. With that, he turned back to the brown haired blue eyed weremer that had asked the question. He thought Eric looked a bit curious and perhaps even concerned as he slowly answered.
"Well... I like the freedom that comes with it," Morgan said slowly and softly, "I'm not hampered by "homework" in a way... though... there are times when it can be a bit lonely. Outside of the summer and some pack meetings... I really don't get out much."
Julie glanced to Eric for a moment with a small frown. Like him, she also recognized some of Morgan's nervousness. To some extent, it was pretty clear that Morgan had some interest in Spencer as more than as "just friends," but in the way he talked it seemed like Morgan was trying to be polite and to be protective. It could be that he was just shy and not used to meeting with people outside his family, but the more she sat there working on her homework, the more she realized that she had seen Morgan before. It was usually during the summer and at some specialized events at the lake at the northwestern edge of town. Morgan had often been close to his parents, or at least to those Julie assumed were his parents and really didn't leave their side.
She never recalled actually meeting Morgan, but in the times when she remembered seeing him talk with anyone beyond his parents, it didn't last for very long. And the way Morgan had answered the question also struck Julie that there were other issues at play. In this, she had the assumption that either Morgan's parents weren't letting Morgan out much in a way that went beyond not accepting the legal requirements for vaccinations or that Morgan, himself, was actually using that as a crutch to avoid having to really interact with people in a meaningful way. Julie couldn't really tell which was which at the moment though.
"Have you tried some other social events? Things like the movies or even the Halloween dance this past Halloween?" Julie wondered as she looked to Morgan as he slowly turned his gaze from Spencer to her, "I mean... while the dance is a school event... it's been a pretty big town event as well, as the High School gymnasium is large enough for everyone in Moon Lake to come in and have fun, and its not just the parents of students there that have gone."
"Or maybe something like a movie," Spencer commented pausing her own homework for the moment, "My parents say that Moon Lake does have a movie theater. You could meet people there."
"I really wouldn't know on what to say," Morgan gave something that was half smile half cringe.
"Just introduce yourself and be friendly... and be confident to handle any potential rejection," Eric commented, "It'd let people know who you are and what you like, and in theory they'll then share who they are and what they like with you."
"But not many people have come up to me," Morgan said slowly and looked down, and Eric watched him kick one of his feet forward, as if kicking a soccer ball softly.
"Some times you have to go to them," Eric commented, "It can be scary at times. Trust me. There were some times back in Minnesota where I didn't really fit in..."
"I didn't know there were weremers in Minnesota," Morgan blinked.
Eric glanced to Julie who shrugged. Neither of them really knew either, mostly as Julie had grown up in Moon Lake and Eric didn't become a were until after he'd met and fell in love with Julie. It could be possible, as there were a lot of lakes, some of them pretty isolated, that a weremer could probably tolerate, and during the summer, Lake Superior would be big enough and deep enough that weremers could probably swim throughout the Great Lakes, but because Eric didn't become a were until after meeting Julie, he couldn't say anything definitive on that.
"Well... there might, but I can't say for certain," Eric commented, "I was born a normal human boy and grew up Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota with my parents William and Martha and my older brother Nate. I've had a wide degree of interests and I've always sought to excel at whatever I do. I enjoy science and science fiction. I've also enjoyed baseball, and Joe Maur is the greatest ball player EVER. And for a while I kinda did want to be like him."
"You played baseball?" Morgan wondered, "but you... you don't look very big..."
"I was never built like a slugger, it THAT'S what you mean," Eric gave a small smile and chuckle, "but did my best and did fairly well on the field at getting some hits and doubles and playing smart in the field with few errors... but not all the kids on the teams I was on necessarily thought I was doing enough. In Middle School... some of the others that I'd played with in Little League caught up with me one day after school and didn't like that I was also into science and science fiction and all that stuff. They'd kinda bullied me a bit at school for that, though I ignored it and figured it was just some of the friendly teasing they'd had with other teammates. I never got into it, because I wanted to be focused... but when they caught up with me that day... well... THEN it turned physical. I managed to get away... or Nate scared them off... either way, that scared me and I sorta quit on many sorts of social things after that. I'd talk with my parents and with my brother, because I felt safe with them. I'd chat online with some people that were interested in Sci-Fi, because we shared interests but beyond that I really didn't talk to anyone more than I had to... and most of that ended up being questions on help with homework and that sort of thing."
"That sounds kinda lonely," Morgan said slowly.
"Looking back on it... yeah," Eric answered, "but staying quiet isn't going to change that. And in the end I got lucky." He then paused to set his pencil down and take Julie's hand, "when my family moved here we had some rough things go on. One of my dad's students at the college attacked and clawed him, making him become a werefox. My mom then became a werecat with the help of our neighbors and they've been happy together ever since, though their becoming weres was never planned. Only my older brother Nate actually signed up to be the Anderson Family were... as he's always been a big werewolf fan even before we moved here. But he joined a local pack and found himself a steady boyfriend so he's happy."
"You say your brother is...?" Morgan began, vaguely remembering seeing a young teen with a male werefox and a werecat some time back before Halloween, but the night soon went into one of the pack's favorite ways of initiating new members in a small orgy, and Morgan had no one to be with, so he went home after that and let his parents have their fun together.
"Nate Anderson," Eric answered.
"So his brother is in my pack..." Morgan thought for a moment, but said nothing. He let Eric continue with his explanation.
"The lucky part for me, was that I met a blond haired blue eyed girl at school, who was really nice and friendly," Eric continued, "she helped me get used to some of the weirdness that goes on in relation normal people moving to Moon Lake... learning that weres are real and that they aren't like in the movies. We talked at lunch and she made me feel comfortable and happy."
"So what happened?" Morgan asked, now more eager and even curious.
"I did the only thing I could do," Eric gave a small smile, "I fell in love with her and became her merman."
"Eric..." Julie blushed.
Morgan watched as the two of them shared a small kiss and smiled to each other. From what Eric described, it sounded like Eric's life had put him in a similar position to his own. There were differences, obviously, as Morgan had never been bullied, but the general effect had been the same.
"And it's in all that that I was able to come out of my shell," Eric finished, "You just need to be brave enough to introduce yourself and let people see the real you."
"What if I say the wrong thing... or something?" Morgan wondered.
"Then you pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and try again," Spencer commented, "Everyone makes mistakes. But you can't let that rule your life. You won't make friends that way."
"I see... but we are friends, right?" Morgan asked, "maybe more?"
"Sure," Spencer answered as she looked down to her homework, not noticing Morgan's smile in response to her answer.