The end of the day couldn't come fast enough for William. Much of the whole week had had the campus swamped in various rumors over this special City Council Meeting with various ideas, theories, and even conspiracies attached to them. Being civic minded and civically aware of things was all well and good, as there were times back at the University of Minnesota where he felt his students really didn't care much beyond what party they were going to next, but some of the rumors flying around Moon Lake College were practically too much. He was able to handle his classwork okay and handle grading and organizing things in his office between classes, but he often found students discussing the rumors before classes and even after them.
And even some of the other staff members at the college had seemed to repeat some of the rumors or have theories on them. There was a general theme to the rumors, as in some way they would relate to the were secret as it were. A real part of William could understand that sort of concern, as all of Nate's movies generally depicted werewolves either as a mindless monster or as some deliberately malevolent force that was out to destroy humanity. It generally wasn't a positive perception, and after becoming a werefox and finding that for the most part actual weres were hardly like the depictions of them in movies, William truly came to understand why Moon Lake had its mandatory were law to insure the protection of the were secret. If weres were exposed, people might jump to what popular culture said weres were and persecute them for that reason.
In that the fears that related to the were secret were understandable, but from what William understood, these sorts of meetings weren't all that uncommon, and often resulted in nothing of note. The only thing that really kept William curious about this meeting to a degree, was that even if this meeting was likely over nothing, how none of the rumors flying around reported some new big business wanting to add offices or facilities in Moon Lake. A part of him trusted what the Dean had told him, but at the same time a part of him was interested in truly figuring out what this meeting was about given that none of the rumors seemed to reflect that sort of thing. It was something that remained on his mind as his last class for his Monday, Wednesday, and Friday schedule ended, and something he would need to talk over with Martha. That was the biggest thing that remained on his mind as he packed up the things he would take home with him for the weekend.
The drive home, itself, was calm and quiet and he soon came up on the home that he and his family had settled into. The scent of fall was in the air as he put the Anderson family's SUV in park, collected his things and made his way inside. As he opened the door he could hear Martha shuffling about in the kitchen, mostly due to the fact that Eric would be spending the weekend with Julie and that Nate was presently at practice for the Thanksgiving football game. Martha was the only Anderson that would be home. He set his briefcase down by the stairs and slowly made his way toward the kitchen where he found his wife placing a few things in the refrigerator. She did turn to face him as he came in, though he also noticed a heavy sigh escape her lips as she turned.
"Rough day?" William asked as he came closer.
"Not really," Martha gave a slow sigh as William came into the kitchen, "just that some of these rumors seem to just keep going."
"Yes... they're still all over the campus," William nodded, "I think it'll be a relief to finally get through this meeting. Let things finally come out into the open on what the meeting is about rather than just random guesses."
"I'd heard one rumor that was supposed to suggest that the meeting was about demanding all female weres be turned into baby machines or something like that," Martha spoke, "It's just odd... and I'm not sure where it all could have come from."
"My guess is that something about this meeting relates to the were secret in some way," William gave a sigh, "it could be nothing... like a revision to a pre-existing law or with a new business coming in, and that the rumor mill got started when the child of one of the council members heard about it and began trying to repeat what they heard and from there it became a game of telephone, with the rumors changing the longer the game went on."
Martha nodded. That did make sense with the rumors, as the more the initial one was repeated, the more likely it would change. Though a part of her wondered heavily on just what had been overheard to lead to one rumor being that all the female weres would be urged to become "baby machines" as one rumor apparently seemed to indicate. The call from the citizens group never seemed to mention anything on the rumors or just what the meeting was about, just that it was an "important" meeting.
"It still leaves me a bit curious as to what would happen with this meeting," Martha answered, "perhaps even more so."
"You'd want to go?" William asked, "even though it could be nothing?"
Again Martha nodded, "Yes... It's more curiosity at what has happened with regard to all these rumors. I mean they have to have come from somewhere. Aren't you curious?"
"A bit... though... at the same time, it could just be nothing," William said slowly and nervously, sounding rather indecisive.
Martha nodded at this and recognized his indecisive tone. In some ways it was understandable, and reflected the fact that Martha knew that her husband was a bad liar. He was curious about where all the rumors came from and the truth that had sparked them, but was wrestling with what the Dean had told him about the nature of these sorts of meetings.
"It could be..." Martha said slowly, "but something about these rumors just doesn't sit right with me. After all, if this was all nothing with a new business coming to Moon Lake or some minor revision to something that was already on the city laws... then how or why would there be a rumor going around saying that female weres were to be made into baby machines to raise an army?"
"Or that Moon Lake would vote to take over the state of Washington," William said slowly, repeating one of the rumors he'd heard, "All of them repeated something that would essentially mean changes to the were secret... and major changes at that."
"And so why not go and find out?" Martha asked, "If it's nothing, we can come home confident that we were right that everyone got excited over nothing. If it is something, we might finally know what it is, exactly, and maybe even get the reasoning for it. As the woman who called me about this meeting said it was important but didn't really give any details. It could be an important meeting for a good reason... right now we just don't know."
"And if we go we'll find out?" William asked.
He watched as Martha nodded, and he had the sense that she truly was interested in this meeting. It might simply be curiosity over all the rumors and other things that had been going on, but the desire was real and it was there. In this, if it eased Martha's curiosity, he would go. It would be something that would sate his curiosity as well, and as Martha nodded her head up and down, he slowly did the same.
"Then we'll go," William said slowly, "if only to find out what's the truth behind all these rumors."
"We'll need to be ready to eat a bit earlier," Martha said slowly.
"That will be fine," William spoke, "We can go together... If Nate gets home from practice before we leave, we can tell him... if not we can leave him a note. Eric should be with Julie over the weekend."
With that Martha nodded, and the two turned to what to have prepare for dinner. For the moment it might only be planning, but if they were to get to City Hall in time for the meeting, they might need to have things ready earlier than what had become normal for them in Moon Lake.