From the outside, the Local Diner didn't look like much. It was just another small town diner that looked like it was designed and build in the late 40s or early 50s, and Janice had seen a few of those sorts of things in Alabama. The major difference was that Moon Lake's diner looked a lot cleaner than the ones that her father would willingly go to. The ones he'd gone to had been clean, but looked like they'd only just past all the health and safety inspections required. The Local Diner didn't have that issue. As Jenny opened the door for her, she found the booths, tables, and all other parts of facility to be bright and cheerful in a way. The metal that made up the counter near the take out window where a couple of patrons were in sipping coffee was bright and shiny, and Janice thought she could see her reflection in it perfectly.
"This place looks rather nice," Janice stated as she looked around while Harry lead them to a booth nearby that would let Janice look out the window across Main Street, "Do lots of people come here?"
"A lot of people from Moon Lake do... occasionally you might get a tourist who's either found his timing in getting to Seattle off or getting out of Seattle off," Harry commented with a chuckle, "and at times you get some people who come in simply for the name."
"And why is it called "the Local Diner" anyway?" Janice wondered, "it seems a bit obvious."
"My folks tell me it was named for the original owner, but he or she had an odd name that was difficult to pronounce," Harry commented with a chuckle, "and as so many people had trouble with the name... because it was the only diner in town, people just started calling it the Local Diner. When the ownership changed, the name was literally changed to the Local Diner because that's what everyone in town called it. And it can be a bit of a joke for either new residents or guests coming through Moon Lake."
Janice shrugged and looked out the window as their waitress approached and offered them sets of napkins and silverware and then offered three menus. They weren't much, as Janice accepted the laminated cards that were about 8.5 x 11 inches, but as she looked them over there was a rather clean feel about them and found that the lunch menu had a fair number of choices. Some actually looked quite good, though as she looked at them and saw some of the prices, she then nervously looked back to Jenny and Harry.
"Fell free to have what you like," Harry said, "and don't worry about the price."
Janice felt some relief at that and looked over the menu. She ultimately settled on some chicken strips, French fries, and a coke. It wasn't the most fancy meal, but it would do for lunch. She quietly sat and let Jenny and Harry give their orders and waited for them to return their attention to her.
"So what do you think?" Jenny asked.
"About what?" Janice asked back.
"About the town and the sights to see here," Jenny clarified, "I know it's not a big city with amusement parks and other things that dad wouldn't let us ride growing up... unless it was sponsored by some group he supported, be it a church group or a political group..."
"It's not a bad town," Janice answered with a sigh.
She knew that the tour was mostly to show her where major landmarks, like where the Middle School she would go to or where the college that Jenny and Harry went to was. It would be a place to go should there ever be an emergency and Janice was smart enough to know that made sense. And given the town's small size, the fact that it had a movie theater at all was something. She'd also noted a few churches as they'd driven along. Most of them looked to be small and modest, likely comparable to the Baptist Church building that Jenny and Harry had apparently gotten married in. Something that Janice was sure would probably surprise their father, that weres worshiped God. However, those things really wasn't what she was looking for. For unlike John, who was wrestling with who he was, Janice knew fairly well who she was and wanted to meet a weremer, partially from her own daydreams on escaping James Harper Senior. Even with the fact that Janice knew that Harry and Jenny would be kind to her and that "escape" wasn't a necessity for her, that didn't change her interest.
"I just wish we could have met a weremer... or at least someone my age," Janice then sighed, "I mean... you two have each other. John will have Ginger... I feel kinda left out."
"I know... but things will get better," Jenny promised, not fully sure on what to say, "eventually yours and John's school paperwork will come through and you'll start school..."
"Where you'll make friends," Harry added, "including weremers."
Janice looked up as the waitress returned with their lunch and placed the plate before Janice. The food looked good and it smelled quite good as well
"They aren't the most common were in Moon Lake... but there are enough of them that I'm sure you'll met one along the way," Harry spoke.
Janice nodded as she chewed on a piece of the chicken, and it was quite good. The breading wasn't too thick and the meat was tender. Though her mind still focused on her interest in weremers and looking for some attention and something that would be "fun." She was hopeful that things with regard to school would go quickly, at least to get her something to do and meet people beyond the Jenkins family. They were all wonderful, but Janice did hope to make friends besides her older sister's family.
"Do you...?" Janice asked.
"I'm afraid James probably won't have any updates until Monday," Jenny said slowly with a sigh, "and that will be assuming that dad will be doing well enough health-wise to actually go about dealing with the school."
Janice sighed and looked down, soon poking her fries with the tip of one of her chicken strips. Jenny looked to Harry, who managed a small shrug.
"Harry... with the athletic/PE department at the college have any sort of recreational events... something that would be sponsored for youngsters or others?" Jenny asked him, figuring maybe finding a way to introduce Janice to some of Moon Lake's other teenage residents might help her a little bit.
"Maybe as "after school" areas for some..." Harry said slowly, "but that's often during the school week and is used more to help students at the college gain "coaching" experience. They won't have anything running on the weekend."
"Did any of your friends in High School have a younger sibling that's Janice's age?" Jenny asked.
"I think Reggie has a younger brother... but I think he's also a Freshman in High School this year, so a year older than Janice," Harry commented, "maybe Harriet had a younger sister..."
"Harriet?" Jenny asked.
"She was someone I often had lunch with in High School..." Harry answered, "I had friends... and yes, some were female... but that doesn't mean I know for sure who had siblings Janice's age..."
Jenny sighed heavily at that. It appeared that there really didn't seem like a great option for Janice at the moment.
"We may just have to be patient," Jenny sighed, "just know that things will get better. Hopefully your older brother will get things squared away with the schools and all your records can be faxed to Moon Lake and you can both start soon."
"I hope so," Janice sighed back, "but thank you for the tour... and thank you for trying."