Two white women and a black girl. She didn't recognize the girl, but the two women ... they kind of looked like the mothers of her friends Athena and Zelda, actually, but a little different. Little did she know, those two women were Athena and Zelda.
One of them went to unlock the door, while the other firmly held the black girl's hand. "We want you to be safe," she told the girl. "I know we aren't the traditional family, but....we do care about you."
Zoe approached. "Excuse me, I'm looking for Athena," she said.
"Yes?" The woman said. "And you are?"
Zoe stared at her.
Meanwhile, her brother arrived at school. The building looked the same, but there was definitely a different vibe. He headed to his locker. There was a girl nearby, who was looking mystified. "What the..."
Jon turned. He didn't immediately recognize her, but that seemed par for the course today. "What's wrong?"
"This isn't my stuff," she said.
"Are you sure you have the right locker?"
"The combination worked, so yeah."
Jon didn't realize that the reason he didn't recognize her was that she had looked very different before today. He was hoping for clues as to what was going on, and to be honest, stranger or not, this was the first friendly face he'd seen today.
