Martha had to force a degree of confidence as she gave her assurances to Eric regarding what was "all that mattered." While weremer stage transformations for stage 1 and stage 2 could enable them to retain some mobility on land, it wasn't quite the same as the abilities that Martha, William, and Nate gained when they became weres. Their pads under their digitigrade feet when transformed could easily deal sharp rocks, pine cones, or things that might be troubling for them in their human forms allowed for that movement in the woods. Eric wouldn't get that, and that could well mean that he would end up going out to sea with the Stovalls if things went south. And Eric thought he could hear some hint of that worry as Martha said that.
And while Julie was his future and one he happily looked forward to, there were things that related to the present reveal that Eric worried over as well. He could see the reasoning for why his mother would worry, given things that had happened in Minnesota with regard to those that had bullied him and that his mother will always worry about him. Eric also knew that if things went south and Moon Lake broke apart as a result, a part of him would probably worry about his parents and brother. Sure, he and the Stovalls might be able to head out to sea and escape problems on land and go into an area where most of humanity had little knowledge of... he would still be separated from his family and they would have stuck running from woods to woods if things went south, and there might be many places where they could truly hide. And ultimately, Eric had hopes that his parents would be their when Eric Junior and Melinda were born in the future.
"Hopefully things will be calmer today," Nate spoke up shaking Eric out of his thoughts on Julie and the future and making him turn to his older brother.
Nate had finished his breakfast and was already standing up, leaving Eric to look down to the half eaten pancakes on his own plate. With that he returned his focus to eating, as he didn't want to miss out on the ride to school, since Ben Twist had been a good neighbor in carpooling Nate and his boyfriend, Alex Ramsey, himself, and Eric to the high school. And while there were worries over what might go on with the reveal, the sweat taste of maple syrup allowed for at least some relief, if only for a brief moment. Meanwhile, Nate moved off and back toward the steps to head upstairs for a moment.
"Hopefully," Martha agreed and looked down to Eric, "don't rush yourself, dear. You have time to eat. Don't wolf down your food."
"I can't, I'm a weremer," Eric offered a joke to his mother, which she chuckled at and then headed back into the kitchen.
From there Eric finished breakfast, went about brushing his teeth, and then joining Nate at the front door. The pair called back over their shoulder to wish their mother a good day and head out. As they did so, they could see Moon Lake waking up for the day. Some might have left earlier, as apparently their father did with a staff meeting at the college, but for those that were high school and college students, their days were just starting and some others would likely also be starting their day too. Among those that Nate and Eric turned to was Ben Twist who was coming out to his car as well
"Here's hoping for a calmer day," Ben said to them as they came across the lawn to approach his car. He held the door open to let Eric toss his back pack into the backseat and then climbed into the backseat while Nate went around to sit up front beside Ben. Both Nate and Eric nodded in agreement to that as the got in and then went about the ride to pick up Alex.
"Yeah... do you... do you think they'll have figured out some things with what they'll do with any and all after school programs?" Eric wondered as Ben backed out onto the road.
"Maybe," Ben said, "as was said yesterday, much of the cancellation for things yesterday was in relation to things that the reveal has brought out and getting things in order. If the staff still has things to decide... they'll probably be in the morning announcements…"
"I'd assume they'd do the same if they have reached a decision?" Nate wondered as he looked over to Ben, as he turned to the west and then turned to head down the that would take them toward the Ramseys. Nate could even see a familiar and friendly face standing outside the Ramsey home waiting for them.
"Yeah," Ben nodded, "though they probably won't hear exactly what the full details are for the after school programs are until after school. Teachers might have to go over in class rules, but I suspect they won't be too different from what we got yesterday."
"Unless they'll have new rules for the day," Nate commented.
"Hmmm?" Ben wondered while Nate opened the door to let Alex climb in.
Alex gave Nate a quick kiss before climbing into the backseat and buckling himself in next to Eric and asked, "What I miss?"
"Just questions on what the days announcements will cover," Nate answered, "like the rules for the day or what they'll do for the after school programs. That sort of thing."
"Classroom rules will probably be discussed by the teachers after the announcements," Alex answered, "anything with after school programs will be in the announcements. And given Moon Lake's small size... I'd imagine they've figured things out. The district isn't that big."
"The college called our dad in for a staff meeting or something early this morning," Eric commented, "So..."
"If you're looking for a comparison, that's not really there," Ben warned, "The Moon Lake School District in grades Pre-K through 12 are open to listed Moon Lake residents and the district does not allow for open enrolment. So if you're going to go to the high school, one must live IN Moon Lake or on the general area that the city controls. As such any normals that go there will know about weres from having grown up in Moon Lake with them or having met with the Town Chancellor after having moved into town. The college, by contrast, is open to anyone who wishes to enroll and functions as a private university. In this there could be students from not only outside of Moon Lake but even outside Washington State. Non disclosure forms are provided to all non-Moon Lake residents that attend the college and those that live on campus are often given a curfew... largely with safety in mind, with references to wild mountain lions, wolves, or black bears."
"When the answer is really weres..." Eric wondered slowly.
"Mainly... but those mundane predators can do occasionally stumble into town, or at least its outer edges, which can lead to clashes between were and wild animal," Ben answered as he backed out of the Ramsey's drive way and was soon on the road and headed toward the high school, "but the big thing is that with the college... they may have more students there than the high school does and may have to work with some students that might be unaware of everything that goes on in Moon Lake. Thus the college may have some additional things that the high school doesn't have to deal with."
"But a lot of that would be more administrative, right?" Nate wondered.
"Primarily," Ben commented, "everyone in your father's department discuss how they will handle and respond to things... follow any decisions the dean has made, and so on. So... it'd be nothing to worry about."
"Good to hear," Eric said with a small degree of optimism as he looked over to Nate and Alex were looking forward with a part of his mind thinking over what Nate saying he'd want to do if the were secret weren't so secret. To a certain extent it'd make sense in that Nate had always loved werewolves, even before the family had moved to Moon Lake. Thus becoming a werewolf was like a dream. Though a part of Eric also wondered as to whether or not Nate might have his own worries on the reveal as well. For Nate could recite most of the plots to most werewolf movies by heart and few of them treated werewolves as anything more than a monster out to eat people. And those movies were the protagonist was a werewolf also included the effort to fight the "curse," which made the movies very different from what the Andersons had found real weres to be like. Though maybe Nate's voiced thoughts was on if things went well, and Eric couldn't say with any authority that things would be good or bad.
For the moment he didn't say much more as Ben drove through the center of town and turned onto the street that would take them straight to the high school. They had to park a bit further away than the previous day, but it gave Eric a fairly wide view of things as they got out and looked up toward the building. Just as with the previous day, the yellow school buses were lined up in an area right in front of the building with students disembarking and heading in, and there were a few other students walking in from parking lot just as he, Nate, Alex, and Ben were. This was, for Eric, the main test to see how well things might have progressed from the previous day when a fight broke out before a group of students could even get into the building. If it happened again, that would be a sign that things weren't so well or that the school hadn't figured things out yet.
As they got closer, Eric could see that many of the students were quiet as they walked on, passing glances to one another or toward the building they were headed to. It was like the fight from the previous day sat on everyone's mind, regardless on what they thought about the planned reveal. Eric could hear some small talk, but sense most of his sensory enhancements after becoming a weremer functioned better under water, Eric couldn't overhear much, and what he could hear sounded relatively normal, at least so far as Moon Lake went. When their group got to the sidewalk that walked along the front lawn of the high school, Eric also picked up an officer standing outside the high school building, and this was either a regular Moon Lake Police officer or the school's resource officer, but the purpose would be the same, to provide a security presence. By the time they got to the steps, a familiar smiling face came into view.
"Eric!" Julie said happily as she dodged through some of the students coming into the high school and they met and hugged just as Eric reached the top of the first set of stairs, "It's great to see you."
"And you too, my jewel," Eric answered as he hugged her back, "and hopping for a calmer day today..."
"Me too," Julie agreed.
And for the moment they walked arm in arm until they got closer to the school's front doors, as there was still the rules regarding public displays of affection on school grounds. Then came the problem that neither Eric nor Julie shared a class together at all in the fall semester. Eric sighed and wished Julie a good morning before heading on to his first class of the morning. It was math and relatively simple as far as Eric could tell. He put his things in his locker and then took the book he needed and then made his way to the classroom. He sat down and waited while other students came in, and kept his focus more on the box and speaker where the room's intercom was. As news on whether or not after school activities being on or off as part of the announces should be among the first things given for the morning, and for the moment that was his focus.
Eventually the intercom did crackle to life, drawing those who hadn't sat down to sit down, and the male voice of the school's principal, Ian Andrews, spoke out over it, "good morning staff and students. Before turning things over to your regular announcements and any classroom rule reminders, I would like to give a couple of announcements that would relate to all after school activities. Those participating in the Thanksgiving football game are to report to the gym after school. The coaches will then handle all issues and functions related to the team there. All members of the academic all-state team are to meet in Mrs. Virginia Jenkins' room after school. Any groups or new organizations proposed may be handled in the library after school to all responsible parties, and the presenters must provide some frame of reference for how this clubs will comply with school requirements, particularly at this time given the reveal. Staff will provide reference for those requirements as needed, but petitioners will need to have a framework that can assure compliance with those rules. As we do not want people hurt. Thank you... and now to our regular announcements for the morning..."
That answered some of the questions for the morning that Nate and Eric had had. It seemed likely that the after school events would be back on, at least for the moment, though there would still be some hurdles to overcome. Namely some of the clubs that Eric and Julie had figured on starting might still have to meet some school rules, but Eric figured that he and Julie discuss those matters at lunch.