Nichole's thoughts remained jumbled and shocked as she walked back from the Brooks home to her own. On one hand, it was a good thing to apologize to Francine and see that Francine wasn't vindictive about the way that she had talked on the issue during dinner their first night in Moon Lake and the previous day at The Local Diner. As they had been good friends in the past, and that Francine didn't act in anger or anything like that did reinforce some of what Moe had told her the previous evening regarding having trust in Daniel and being willing to learn more about weres before going forward.
On the other hand, however, there was the issue that Francine had mentioned that related to sex and the were birth control pills. Now, taking birth control pills wasn't a bad thing. Nichole knew that she and Moe weren't old enough that such actions in the bedroom weren't impossible, but she also knew the pills she took were for a normal human and were not a required thing for every day use. Francine's happy smile as she recalled how great her sex life as a were was also unsettled Nichole a bit. Though for a different reason. It wasn't so much about Fran enjoying herself with her husband, that was fine as far as Nichole was concerned, and neither was it her business to intrude on what Fran and Daniel Brooks did together in their private time.
However, Nichole also had Karen to think about. Her only daughter. She'd only loosely accepted the idea of her becoming a were under the idea that she learns more first, which would create the idea that that sort of thing would happen later, when she was ready for it. Perhaps when Karen turned eighteen or something like that, and if Karen had legally agreed to go through with it, it wouldn't be like Moon Lake could take extra measures against her, since she'd already agreed to become the Charleston family were. But that issue of a heightened libido and needing to take birth control pills, likely specifically toned to s a specific were-species, presented an issue to Nichole that gave her the sense that weres ran on a much higher hormone level that would make some things more likely, even among teenagers, and Karen WASN'T eighteen yet. Nichole was well aware that no child was always going to be a saint and that they did experiment with things like sex from time to time, but that didn't mean she wanted HER daughter to be one of them doing so.
"But that would mean Moe and I would have to change," Nichole thought to herself as she came in through the front door and looked at the clock in the living room. It wasn't time to go to the meeting, yet, but the thought on that she and Moe would have to change soon resurrected her memory of the dream she'd had the previous night. The dream on her actually being a werefox and very seductively approaching her husband. That was one of the other things that worried her, particularly as she had made any decision to want to be a were. She'd wished she could have asked Francine on that, but for some reason it'd slipped her mind.
She ultimately set about making herself some lunch and continued to ponder things. Much of it simply relied on what there was to do and her dream and so on. Was it just her unconscious mind telling her things, that in reality she wanted apparently highly active sex life that weres had? Or was it just a figment of her imagination born out of all the stresses that had gone on since coming to Moon Lake? Eventually Karen's voice snapped her out of her thoughts.
"You okay, mom?" came Karen's voice.
Nichole looked up to see Karen standing there and starting to make herself a sandwich, setting two slices of bread down on the table in front of her. Karen then returned bag of bread to Nichole as she recovered.
"Yeah... I was just lost in thought," Nichole said weakly as she pulled a couple of slices out to make her own sandwich.
"Things go okay with Francine?" Karen asked, remembering some of her own questions that she'd wish to ask with regard to some of the other things that would come with being the Charleston family's were... but that wasn't something she was comfortable talking with her mother about at the moment.
"Yeah... I think we got things sorted out between us," Nichole answered as the two set about making sandwiches to have for lunch before the meeting with the High School's guidance councilor.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The two arrived at the school on time for the meeting and were able to make their way into the office, which was right next to the school's front doors. They went through a side door in the security area into the main office.
"High, we're here to see Ms. Brooks," Nichole spoke, "She called me earlier today with something about having things related to my daughter's future schedule."
Nichole privately wondered on who Ms. Brooks was. She couldn't be related to Daniel, as Daniel had no siblings, and Peter was the only child that Daniel and Francine had had. If they'd had another child since coming to Moon Lake, the child had been abscent from the family dinner, and Nichole was pretty sure there wasn't a younger sibling for Peter. As while Francine had said somethings like that were very possible with regard to weres, Francine also didn't brag about a second bundle of joy for her and Daniel. That left Nichole curious as she gestured to Karen.
"Your name, please ma'am?" the secretary asked.
"My name is Nichole Charleston," Nichole answered, "this is my daughter, Karen, and I was in yesterday about getting her enrolled. That's what Ms. Brooks called me about this morning."
The secretary nodded and swiveled in her chair and pressed a lone button on what looked like a phone switchboard. She then gestured to three plastic chairs that were just inside the door that lead out into the main hallway.
"Ms. Brooks will be out shortly," the secretary said calmly.
Nichole and Karen moved to sit down and they sat quietly, listening to the secretaries type on their computers and talked to each other as no one was calling the school at the moment and no one was using the intercom to call the office. It was relatively quiet for a few moments and that lasted for a little while. After a few moments they heard a series of footsteps approaching and they looked up to see a rather tall and well muscled woman, far more so than Fran was, come out into the room. She wore a dark skirt and a polo shirt that did little to hide her musculature or how well curved she was. She wasn't built like a body builder, but she was far more toned than what she'd been able to see with Fran.
"Hello, you must be Nichole and Karen?" the woman spoke with the same voice that Nichole recognized as that of Ms. Brooks.
"Yes," Nichole stood up slowly and offered to shake hands, "You wouldn't be related to Daniel Brooks, would you?"
"No... there is no one named Daniel in my family," Ms. Brooks answered as they shook hands. Nichole noted the firm, yet gentle grip. After that, Ms. Brooks waved them forward and lead them down the hallway within the office. They followed along going past several other offices before coming into one of the last ones, with the words "student councilor" on a plaque on the door. They entered into a small room that had a great many college advertisements, which included many of the major colleges along with some of the minor ones in the region, and especially Moon Lake College. The woman they'd been following and turned to another door that lead into a slightly larger and carpeted room. It had a lone desk with two cushioned chairs in front of it.
"To start with... I will say that given what I could get from the various schools you've attended, Miss Charleston, I would say that you've been most fortuitous, given the circumstances," Ms. Brooks commented, "multiple schools and having missed a lot of class work... in some cases to the point where you'd have to repeat the grade."
"I didn't want to be chased around by Marcus Gamboni," Karen answered with some irritation.
"As I said, under the circumstances," Ms. Brooks answered, "as your previous schools did say that you did work hard and that many of these absences were not of your desire. I think they mentioned the Gambonis as the cause... You can rest well here. Neither our police nor the school will be easily intimidated by thugs."
Nichole and Karen both sat down as Ms. Brooks then continued.
"But because of that absence issue... we can only transfer you in with a Sophomore's credits," Ms. Brooks said slowly, "the good news for you is that we can arrange for a set of tests that would go along with the regular semester finals before Christmas. If you can pass those specialized tests in addition to your end of semester finals, we might be able to boost your credit hours to where you'd be in your Junior year... which based on your age, and the grades from the work handed I... you should be there."
"And if not?" Karen asked.
"You'd have to complete high school one grade at a time," Ms. Brooks answered, "the only other boost that the district will allow is that you won't have to "catch up" on material that's already been started with regards to your grades, but it wouldn't hurt to read up on the material or get notes from someone to become more familiar."
"That sounds reasonable, I suppose," Karen gave a shrug and then looked to her mother who nodded. A lot of this wasn't exactly something she hadn't heard before. The constant running from the Gambonis had put them in a rather tight position. That had often meant catching up when it came to school work. Constantly having to do that was just another of many reasons why Karen had personally drawn her line in the sand. She didn't want to have to keep changing school districts and often at short notice.
"That's good then," Ms. Brooks smiled, "and should you need any help with anything class related or with other issues that may stress you... feel free to come to me. I'm here to help."
They both watched as Ms. Brooks presented a set of papers to both Karen and Nichole. They looked like pretty standard registration forms with lines marked for student and parent.
"Then the only other think I and the office staff will need are your signatures," Ms. Brooks finished, "and I'll get you your schedule and a floor map of the building. That'll help you get around when you start next Monday."
"Next Monday?" Nichole wondered as she signed on the line that was marked "parent."
"It'll help us keep things in order and make sure the teachers understand the terms that have been agreed to," Ms. Brooks explained, "in some cases with some transfer students to Moon Lake... this is done in advance, as the student has contacted us by phone or by email and were thus ready for when they arrive... but under your specific circumstances, that would probably be a bad idea to try it. Don't worry. Everything will be fine."