Morning came early for the Van Direstag family, and there was some degree of tension and frustration for all of them on certain levels. Some of it made sense, as they'd gotten a flat tire on their way in to Moon Lake, and while they'd ultimately gotten help from a state trooper from a County Sheriff's office, it still meant they'd need their van towed into Moon Lake for repairs, largely due to some of the mountain roads and the volume of things that were packed on top of the spare tire. It would mean that Richard and Frank Van Direstag would have a bit of a walk to get the van from the repair shop, which appeared to be on the south side of Moon Lake's main street when they came in from the East. It would also mean that Rose would have a bit of a hike with the younger Van Direstag children, Rachel and Robert.
Both were of high school age, so that made getting ready and dressed easier than it would with little kids. Though, sometimes Rose thought her only daughter was a bit overly dramatic for her own good. The online map of the town was a little odd and it was out of the way, but the city's website posted a rather friendly demeanor and the fact that it was surrounded by woods added a feeling of impressive natural beauty that they hadn't had in Michigan. Sure, they could drive to some camp grounds there, but most, if not all, of the green they saw there was the result of someone's garden or the city park. Moon Lake's surroundings seemed more natural to Rose, which was nice, even if Rachel was more worried about YouTube than anything else.
"Do we really have to go to school today?" Rachel said slowly as she came down the stairs after a quick shower and then getting dressed. She felt a bit tired and was a bit out of sorts after dreaming about being attacked by a werewolf... a werewolf that said that the werewolf WAS her.
"It's a Monday and most of our furniture isn't supposed to arrive until later," Richard spoke as he poured bowls of Fruit Loops for everyone.
"Frank doesn't have to go..." Rachel complained.
"I was able to work out a deal with the College Dean when Frank got his scholarship here," Richard answered as he looked to his daughter, "until Thanksgiving, he can take his courses online. They would prefer he be on campus sooner to attend his classes in person, but since we didn't know for sure when we'd get here... they gave us the leeway."
"The High School is different, though," Rose added, "their courses aren't online and just like the college, their school year has started. The more you and Rob miss, the more you'll fall behind."
Rachel gave a groan and accepted her bowl of cereal before going into small adjoining room where a small folding picnic table was set up and joined Frank, who was already eating. Rob soon followed after her with their parents bringing up the rear. Fruit Loops wasn't the "healthiest" or "heartiest" of breakfasts, but since things like their refrigerator and other appliances weren't here yet, things like eggs might go bad before those appliances arrived.
"Not to mention that if you stay here, you'll be drafted into help moving in boxes and furniture when they arrive," Richard commented, "they should arrive some time today, and Frank, your mother, and I will be busy with a lot of that sort of thing... After we get the van from the repairman, of course. Your choice."
"Ung... I'd think I prefer school," Rachel gave a groan to which her father only smirked.
"Thought so," Richard Van Direstag chuckled.
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The walk from the Van Direstag home was fairly quiet, though Rose had to rely on a map that they'd printed before leaving Michigan. Thanks to satellite imaging, Google Maps was able to have a map of the Washington town and that was what was used for directions from their new home on the western side of one of Moon Lake's inner rings and near a larger complex that looked almost like a feudal Japanese castle or palace to the high school which seemed to be on the northeast side of Moon Lake. It wasn't a very long walk, but it did reflect some of the odd layout that Moon Lake had.
"Some of this layout is weird," Rob commented as the walked along one of the roads that curved along, like it was part of a perfect circle, "I mean... a wagon wheel..."
"Maybe its for nature," Rose commented to her younger son, "for it seems like they have some woods between these "spokes" that make up the straight streets."
"Maybe," Rob admitted.
They continued on and Rose looked over her shoulder to make sure that Rachel hadn't doubled back or left them. She was still there, though she was also fairly quiet, which was something that wasn't typical for Rachel. Rachel almost always had an opinion about something and wasn't afraid to share it. Some times it was a bit overly dramatic for Rose, but in a general sense it was something of a good quality. In this her silence was a bit surprising.
"Are you okay, dear?" Rose asked to Rachel as they walked along.
"Yeah," Rachel answered simply, "Just a bit bummed I guess... I mean, I won't see my old friends again, and I know Melissa moved somewhere in Washington State, but I can't remember where she said she was moving to..."
"Did you email her?" Rob asked.
"Yeah... but she hasn't answered," Rachel replied.
Though that wasn't really it. A part of her was still dwelling on that nightmare that she'd had, of being attacked by a werewolf version of her. A part of her put it as "too much late night reading" based on the guidebook that they'd found. It had to have been part of a fantasy erotic book series and that guidebook was something of an encyclopedia to that fictional world. But the werewolf "her" in the dream insisted that it wasn't and was quite aggressive, which made no sense to Rachel. She put it up to her own frustration with moving from Michigan and went along with it.
"This isn't about starting a new school is it?" Rose asked, "we got you enrolled and they even sent floor plan maps with regard to your schedule so you'll know where to go."
"Because that will make it easier," Rachel grumbled.
"You'll just have to put your best foot forward, dear," Rose commented to her daughter, though also sighing and not really figuring out what was fully bothering Rachel.
Rachel had no real intent on voicing that. She couldn't just say that she had a nightmare about being attacked by a werewolf version of herself. That'd be crazy, all over creatures that weren't real. Her parents wouldn't believe that and if she said it to anybody, they'd likely suggest a good therapist on that issue, which wasn't what Rachel wanted. She followed her mother and brother along until they came up to large brick building that straddled two of the of the straight line roads that lead in and out of the center of town.
"Here we are..." Rose said slowly, "and it looks like people are an early start here."
"Yay for them," Rachel commented with a bit of sarcasm as she rolled her eyes.
Though as they approached the front steps to the building, the three of them could note a surprising amount of health that was there. Many of the students that were outside the building looked to be a bit taller and more athletic/muscular than they would be otherwise. Rob even noticed that one Japanese-American girl, standing before the front doors with a rather nervous looking boy looked rather stacked for a girl that looked like she was around Rachel's age, maybe a bit older. However, Rob did his best to be careful, as he didn't want the girl to notice him gawking at her and neither did he want his mother or older sister to notice that either. Rose gave it all no real notice and lead Rob and Rachel in through the front doors.
They came in and Rose ushered them to a side door that lead directly to the office. Rob and Rachel glanced back over their shoulders for a moment, but then turned to face the school secretary, who almost seemed to be sniffing at them to Rachel. But it might just be that the woman had the sniffles at the moment.
"Can I help you?" the secretary asked.
"Yes, I'm Rose Van Direstag, I'm here to finalize all the enrollments for my son Robert as a Freshman and daughter Rachel as a Sophomore," Rose said to the woman.
The secretary nodded and held up one hand with her pointer finger raised. They watched as she walked toward a series of filing cabinets. They opened with a metal clunk and the secretary was soon thumbing through the various papers that were there. Rose could hear the woman repeating her family name over and over as she thumbed through the pages.
"V-a-n D-i-r-e-s-t-a-g," Rose offered, hoping that helped.
"Thank you," the secretary responded and then turned back to the filing cabinet again, "ah... here it is."
The woman then returned to the desk and presented a couple of sets of papers before Rose, Rob, and Rachel, "all that will be needed with this is to sign to finish the enrollment. Did you get your schedules?"
"We did," Rose answered, "and both of them should have their schedules with them, along with the floor plan maps you sent, which was most helpful given the situation we've had for our older son Franklin. Who will be at the college."
The secretary nodded as Rose began to sign where it said "signature of parent" and then motioned on to where Rob and Rachel were to sign where it read "signature of student." The signatures weren't to hard to do, though Rose found that the secretary was still focused on her.
"When did you two get in... Saturday? Yesterday?" the secretary asked.
"We got in late yesterday afternoon or early evening," Rose answered, "we had a flat tire on the way in and it was raining... we were pretty miserable when we made it in. We really didn't have time to do anything but pick rooms, set up some sleeping bags while getting what we had with us packed in and just trying to unwind."
"Did you see the Town Chancellor at all?" the secretary asked. She remembered some report on there being something of a gun battle on Wood Street near the Twist house and figured that Samantha Twist would have been involved in that in some capacity, but the report that their arrival had been in the late afternoon to evening would have been after that incident, not knowing that at the time, Samantha Twist had been worried on Frances's health and safety at the time.
"Is this part of a welcome to town policy?" Rob wondered as he looked to the secretary.
"Of sorts," the secretary nodded.
"I'm afraid we didn't see anyone... though I'd think your city offices probably closed for the day by the time we got in because of that flat tire," Rose spoke, "though we do thank you for the welcome."
The secretary again raised one finger and moved over to one of the other filing cabinets as well. After a few moments the secretary returned and presented a series of forms to Rose, Rob, and Rachel. Rose looked it over and then noted, "this is a confidentiality form!"
"Yes..." the secretary nodded slowly, "this has been something that Moon Lake has had for years. Largely to protect certain hobbies and things that the people of Moon Lake would prefer be kept private. It's nothing illegal or criminal, but Moon Lake has long taken that right to privacy very serious and has expected that anyone that comes in to work or lives outside the city limits would be expected to sign these forms. As a resident in Moon Lake... that will be something more in relation to what the Town Chancellor's office will present. But that meeting and information is a bit beyond what I can say at the moment."
"And it won't be that we're going to have to hide cocaine or marijuana is it?" Rose asked.
"No nothing like that," the secretary promised.
With that Rose, Rob and Rachel shrugged and then signed the agreement.