Nichole Charleston had a lot on her mind as she and her daughter Karen finished their discussion with Ms. Brooks, Moon Lake High School's Guidance Counselor.
Despite all the problems the Gambonis caused them because of one man's psychotic obsession with their daughter, Karen was on the verge of being enrolled and active in school once more.
Granted, there would be a hard road ahead of her in regards to the class work and catching up with her peers, but the motherly side of Nichole was quite confident her daughter could handle it. Besides, Moe and I will be here to help and support her every step of the way.
What Nichole was more concerned about, besides the Gambonis themselves, was where they now found themselves.
She was slowly starting to come to terms with the fact that Moon Lake was actually a secret sanctuary for weres. People (creatures?) that could change into animals with human characteristics at will.
That was difficult enough for her to acknowledge, but the town's "Mandatory Were Law", where one of them would have to join were society, was harder to accept.
Karen was taken with the concept, provided that she could become the feline based were of her choice.
But me and Moe join too? Nichole asked herself once more in disbelief. Sure, Francine made it sound really great, but I feel no desire to do so. Yet if Moe ever does, I'd have to or never be intimate with my husband again without running the risk of joining.
"Our sex life is better than ever since we became weres," Nichole remembered Francine bragging.
But there's more to life than that, Nichole told herself as they prepared to leave.
Just as they were starting to walk out of the administrative offices the bell rang, signaling class change at the high school.
Nichole and Karen kept close to each other as the hallway filled with students.
Yet one student in particular seemed quite interested in stopping to talk to them.
"Hi Mrs. Charleston. Karen," said Peter Brooks. "What's up?"
"I start school Monday!" Karen excitedly told him.
"That's great," he replied, happy to hear the news. "What about those..."
"They're still an issue," Nichole answered, not wanting to talk, let alone even think about the Gambonis any more than absolutely necessary. "But if Karen keeps her grades up, everything should be fine as far as her education is concerned."
"Yeah. Officially I'll be starting as a Sophomore, but there's a chance of making it back to Junior in time," added Karen, before briefly explaining the situation to her friend.
"Good. Listen, I've been chatting with some of my friends. If you're interested, I might have a werecougar that's willing to talk to you this afternoon," offered Peter.
"Really?" asked Karen, excited to meet another potential feline candidate.
"Yeah. By the way, did you have any interest in werecats?" he asked cautiously.
"That specific one I'm not sure of," admitted Karen, remembering in the handbook Samantha Twist left with her family that the entire species was at least bi, if not outright lesbian sexually. I'm not against anyone who chooses those options for themselves, just not sure if it's a lifestyle I'd be happy with. "Let's save it for last, just in case."
"Okay. No problem," said Peter, silently thankful about that. Even if you don't decide to become a weredog, whenever you do join were society, I'm still hoping there might be a chance for the two of us to at least date. "Anyway, I've got to get to my next class. I'll stop by your place after school and we'll go from there. If that's okay with you Mrs. Charleston?" Peter asked.
"What? Oh, yes. Sure. As long as Karen's safe and remembers to keep her promise about talking to us first before joining as whatever she decides to be," answered her mother.
"Okay. See you later," said Peter, before hurrying off.