Endsbrooke

Home Base

  "So, another strange day at Endsbrooke High, huh?" Evie asked as we drove home from school.

   "Yeah I guess you could say that," I muttered. From the corner of my eye I saw Evie glance over at me then quickly back at the road.

   "What do you think of Ronan?" I don't know, what did I think of Ronan? He was pushy, angered easily, a bit pig headed, possessive, and he wanted to be my friend.

   "Honestly I have no idea. He...well...he seems nice I guess. There is something that seems a little dangerous about him but at the same time I think he would only be a danger to those who threatened his family and friends." Evie nodded as if she understood but I don't think she really did.

    "Well, it looks like you are now one of those people he will protect. What is it with you and the guys in this town?" She huffed out playfully. "I mean really they just drop everything and run after you. And you would think that my little sister would introduce me to one of her newly found guy friends but no." Evie lightly punched my arm.

    "You want me to introduce you to a guy?" I was stunned. Evie and I had never bothered much with boys before because we knew that we would leave and never see them again. "Since when are you interested in guys?" She laughed at me.

   "Since always! But now that we are staying here for a while I figured I could actually have a boyfriend."

    "What if we don't end up staying?" I didn't want to see my sister heartbroken over some boy in a town we had only stayed a few months in.

     "I told you were going to be here for a while! I know we will!" She pulled into our drive way and turned off the car. We sat there for a moment quietly until I turned to face her, "If you want me too I can introduce you to some people. Although I don't know if Bea and Daphne will approve of the guys I know." Evie blushed and looked away.

   "Emmy I was just kidding! I don't want my younger sister trying to hook me up with a guy. Besides Daphne said she might know some guys for me."

    "You're really serious about this? What if we do end up moving, then what?" I couldn't help but ask.

    "Then I guess we will break up. Emmy we can't keep living our lives like we are going to up and leave at any minute. We have to do things, make friends, and do normal teenager stuff. Like sleepovers, and going to the movies, and going bowling, and going to the mall."

    "I just hate saying goodbye." I whispered.

     "I know. But I truly believe that were going to make a home here."

   "Why are you so sure?" I needed to know what drove her to believe in something that had never happened before.

    "I don't know, it's this feeling in my gut. Intuition I guess you could call it, besides mom and dad seem to really like it here."

    At dinner that night mom and dad were talking animatedly about their work.

    "You wouldn't believe all the legends and stories they have about werewolves here!" Mom said enthusiastically. "We could be here for a while just trying to learn all they have to tell us."

     "We've met with many elders in the community and each one has a story to tell. And what's amazing is that most of the stories go together. It's unusual to have so many legends and stories that all add up." Dad told us. I smiled at their enthusiasm for their job. Most people would probably think that grown adults who traveled the world learning about mythical creatures was strange and probably more of a hobby then a job. But I loved that they had such a unique job, my parents wouldn't be my parents if they weren't traipsing around learning about fairies and fawns. And surprisingly they made a good living; people came all over the world to hear them give talks about what they had found. Their books were sold in major book stores and were good books to use when researching for projects about mythology.

     "Has everyone been cooperative so far?" Evie asked. This was a problem that my parents had regularly, especially in small towns like these. People are wary of strangers, and they don't want to talk about old family stories and other private things.

    "There have been a few people who were reluctant to talk to us, but after we showed them our credentials they opened up. But we still have a long way to go, I'm sure there will be difficult people."

     "Well I'm glad things are going well for you now," I told them. "So when do you think you will be done with this project?"

    "Oh who knows!" Mom laughed. "There are so many things to learn about werewolves here it could take a while for us to gather it all up."

    "So you think we really could be here for a while then?" Evie asked but she was looking at me as she said it.

    "We told you we would sweet heart," dad looked at both of us as he took a sip of water. "We are not sure how long our research will take but your mother and I have been talking," my parents looked at each other and smiled. "We are thinking of making Endsbrooke a home base."

    "Home base? What does that mean?" I asked.

     "Well it would mean that when our research here is done we would stay here and travel to our next research sites." Mom answered.

    "Really?" Evie straightened in her chair.

    "We thought it would be best for your girls to have a permanent place to live. Especially for your senior year Evelyn," dad explained. " And you will need a place to stay on school holidays once you go to college. We want this to be that place. We searched around the whole country trying to decide where we wanted to settle down; there was just something about Endsbrooke that drew us to it." What was it with my family and this little town? Why were they so drawn to it? Though if I truly admitted to myself there was something about it that drew me in too. There was an aurora about the town; it was enchanting and mysterious, as if the town held secrets that could never be shared with other people. I hadn't been able to explore much of the town yet but I planned to find all the secret nooks and crannies.

    "Actually I only have a few more boxes to unpack before we are officially moved in." Mom told us proudly.

   "You're kidding?" I asked shocked, this never happened.

    "No I'm not kidding. Only a few more boxes one full of kitchen supplies, one for a bathroom and two for the family room."

    "Wow I can't believe it, this is a first!" Evie caught my eye and smiled widely as she said it. "Hey Emmy we should have a girls day soon," She said reminding me of the bet we had made the first day of school.

    "Oh that would be such a good idea," mom looked between us with eyes shining. "I love that you two are so close, not many sibling are like that these days." I smiled as I looked at my family around the table. I loved my family.