Part 1: A Funny Thing Happened…

Mills never considered herself a liar.  Sure, she told fibs when she was littler and could keep secrets from friends and even her own parents.  In fact, secrets were what had brought her to this moment — sitting at the computer, her parents out for the evening, a pop up window on her web browser which read:

THIS SITE CONTAINS ADULT CONTENT.  BY CHECKING THE BOX BELOW YOU AGREE THAT YOU ARE AT LEAST 18 YEARS OF AGE OR A LEGAL ADULT AND WILL ABIDE BY THE FORUM’S TERMS OF SERVICE.

Mills remembered her classmate, Liz, saying something about FURHUB.NET being some kind of “grownups-only club.”  The young dragon didn’t really use the Internet for anything besides school and videos, so finding out about this site sounded like an adventure.  But she hadn’t expected there to be such an official-looking proof of age.  Now she was poised to tell the biggest lie in her life.  And it was a doozy — like, lying-about-bad-grades-to-your-parents big!  The fact that this evening her parents had left her alone for the first time without a sitter was oddly unhelpful; it meant she was also going behind her parents’ back, something she never had done before because, of course, she prided herself in being responsible, and not being a liar.

Which is why she surprised herself when she checked the box.

As the screen transitioned to a standard message board layout, she could feel the complex rush of fear and excitement flow from her stomach to her chest and out to her fingers and toes before rushing back to make the trip all over again.  Oh no, Mills thought as she began to panic, Mom and Dad will kill me if they find out about this!  Could they already know?  Will I get in trouble with the Internet Police? Is that a thing?  Ohnohnohno awheckawbeans I’m in so much trouble, maybe—.  She stopped, taking a deep breath.

“Don’t be a baby,” she said as confidently as she could, “you got this far…at least see what all the fuss is about.  The age check was probably just to scare away little kids or something.  No big deal.”  She scanned the forum titles.

“Now, where to start…”

It didn’t take long for Mills to realize that most of the subforums and topics were restricted to users only, which really bugged her.  She had hoped to just poke around a little and then leave, but it looked like Liz was right; making an account was the best way to get to “the good stuff.”  So, despite her trepidation, Mills decided on the username AzureDrake266.  Upon submitting her new account info, Millie’s eyes went wide.  The main forum page had reloaded, and not only were the locked topics now free for her to peruse, but new ones were revealed that hadn’t been there before.

“I guess even grownups like their secrets,” she muttered as her cursor hovered over one of the new sections entitled Hunting Grounds.  She noticed this subforum, along with most of the others that had appeared, were marked NSFW, an acronym she wasn’t familiar with.  A quick web search revealed it stood for “Not Safe For Work,” usually because of pornographic content.  Millie was vaguely aware of porn — specifically that it had to do with sex, and so it wasn’t something kids her age weren’t allowed to look at.  “That must be what it meant by ‘adult content,’” Mills pondered.  Not wanting to invite more trouble if she got caught, she decided to check the general topic section that had originally caught her eye and leave exploring these new, forbidden subforums until she felt bolder — if she ever got there at all.

Nearly an hour went by as Mills skimmed thread after thread.  Despite having intriguing titles, most of the conversations were boring adult stuff, devolving into complaints about work, politics, or some other equally dull subject.  At one point Mills worked up the courage to reply to one political argument with “cant we all just be friends?” before immediately backing out of the thread and returning to the main page, worried about the kind of responses her post might incur.  Moving on to the media discussion subforum, her mood immediately brightened as she noticed a topic dedicated to one of her favorite shows.  Gleefully she began devouring these threads.  She knew adult fans of Princess Set and the Guardians of the Universe existed, but her parents were not among them.  Finding dozens of grownups who were avid fans like her felt vindicating somehow, like her interests weren’t just childish cartoons.  She even learned the current show was based on some cartoons and comics that were released back when her parents were younger — a fact that only made their disinterest more puzzling — and resulted in the young dragon asking a myriad of questions about how things had changed.

Mills was so engrossed in this newfound community that the ping of the forum’s direct messaging system made her jump.  She looked down at the username, TheWaffleHowler.  Definitely not someone she recognized, not that Liz or the other girls had bothered to share their usernames.  Nervously she clicked to expand the chat window.

TheWaffleHowler heya havent seen u b4…u new?

Mills nearly clicked out of the site then and there.  Who was this person?  Were they suspicious of her?  Would they get her kicked out?  Would they tell her parents?  The niggling thought about the Internet Police returned, despite being pretty sure that wasn’t actually a thing (she hoped).  Instead she decided to just treat it like a private thread, and try to keep up the ruse.

AzureDrake266 hi yeah
A just signed in today
T cool
T noticed u on the GotU threads
T nice 2 c a fresh face ;-)
A aw, thanks! :D
T np
T btw I’m Connor
A Millie
A but my friends call me Mills
T ASS?

Mills was unsure how to respond.  Another quick search revealed the acronym  commonly meant “Age, Sex, Species.”  Mills could feel her pulse in her ears, despite knowing the message wasn’t as naughty as it appeared.  She was already regretting that she gave her real first name, and now this stranger was asking for more personal info.

A u 1st?
T lol ok
T 31 M wolf
A 22 F dragon
T nice! wings/horns/spines?
A no wings or horns…
A spines r more like stumps :P
T lol stumps r good 2
T easier on clothes amirite?
A lol yeah

Mills giggled, happy that the conversation was going so well. 

A what about u?
T no wings, no horns, no spines…
T wolves are boring >>
A I mean fur color/length
A dingus XP
T i c ;-P
T pretty normal length
T blu-gry or beige depending on season
T Im guessing blu scales 4 u?
A yeah
A aqua not azure tho :P
T ooh that sounds very pretty
A thnx! ^^

As the small talk continued, Mills began to relax.  Connor was really nice: curious and friendly, but not nosy or pushy.  He had an interest in Guardians, but his tastes were significantly broader.  A connoisseur of both anime and western animated media, Mills quickly felt out of her depth.  She was terrified that she’d say something ignorant that would give away her actual age, but it seemed her new wolf friend also wasn’t snooty about his own interests; once Mills explained that she hadn’t gotten into anime, Connor shifted to making brief recommendations but otherwise avoided referencing anime in favor of the shows the dragon was already familiar with.  As the minutes stretched into hours, the conversation shifted back to more personal topics.

T so what brought you to FH?
A here?
A friends mentioned it yesterday
T oh?
T what users?
T maybe we have mutual friends?
A Idk
A didnt tell me their usernames XP
T lol so those kinds of friends
A yeah…not so bad
A just ditsy I guess?
T lol
T well if it was between you or one of them, glad I met you
A aw ur sweet ^^
T nerds are more fun ;-)
A hey!
A I take back my compliment…
A ur a butt >:(
T just callin what I see…
T GotU fan girl :-3
A ok I guess imma little nerdy
A but ur the anime boy so :-P
T lol not wrong
T cant remember the last show I followed like you follow GotU tho
T Ill bet ur the nerdiest 1 in school
A naw thats Susie Hinkle…shes a huge dork
A looks like one too
A thick glasses, braces, the works
T heh, sounds like it
T Now I don’t mean to be rude…but I’m guessing you aren’t actually 22?

Oheckingcrap!  Mills suddenly felt her heart palpitating, mortified that she had dropped character so easily.  This is it, she thought as the panic increased, only a few hours in and I’ve messed everything up…mom and dad will find out, I’ll get grounded from the computer for life, and maybe even get arrested!  For a moment she felt the urge to try and backpedal, play off her slip-up as something benign.  Maybe she should just log out and never come back to the site again.  But she also worried either of those options might just get her into more trouble, especially since she had no idea who this guy was.  So she took a deep breath, and decided that if she was this bad of a liar, she might as well try what she was good at.

A …no im not
A how long did you know?
T I’ve been wondering since I saw one of your Guardians posts
T Sounded like you didn’t know what a videotape was
T Looked through your posting history and got more suspicious 
T btw, your politics could use some work
A …
T Ok, that was uncalled for
T And baiting you out like this was pretty heartless
T I’m sorry
A its ok…
T I just wanted to confirm my hunch before throwing out wild accusations
A I wasnt trying to do anything bad
A I didnt even look at the NSFW stuff
A I was gonna log off until I saw the GotU topic
A It just seemed like a lot of fun…
T Well, for the record I don’t plan on reporting you
T Far be it from me to rain on a young lady’s parade
A Thank you! :)
T I mean, you’re also fun to talk with, so I’d just be hurting myself ;-P
A aw, ur fun 2! ^^

Mills let out the breath that she didn’t realize she was holding. However, looking down at the desktop clock, she realized it was nearly midnight.  She had been online way longer than she originally intended.  Her parents were probably on their way home right now, and she didn’t want to try and dodge two bullets in one night.  She turned her attention back to the chat window.

T but if u wanna stick around you might keep on the DL for a bit
T post a little less often
T wouldn’t want to draw attention or give anyone else more breadcrumbs
A yeah ok
T r u ok if we keep dming?
T after the shit I just pulled, i understand if you want me to get lost
A yeah I think its still ok…
A no ur cool ;-)
A but I g2g b4 my “roomies” get back XP
T lol 10-4
T Nice2meetu Mills
A u2 Connor

The young dragon quickly exited out of the chat window, logged off, and followed the instructions Liz gave to delete her browsing history and hopefully avoid her parents’ notice.  There were butterflies in her stomach, and she couldn’t tell if it was the anxiety of getting caught by a complete stranger on a site she shouldn’t be on…or the excitement of getting away with it regardless.  Sure, she would need to be careful both to avoid parental suspicion and to evade the scrutiny of the people who ran the forum, but now she had a new place to talk about her interests.  And she met a cool guy who would keep her secret and wanted to chat one-on-one.  Mills blinked, the realization suddenly sinking in.  She met a guy online!  And he wasn’t a gross creep, either…more like an older brother or an uncle or something.  He would need to stay a secret too, of course.  Her parents would freak out, and her classmates might either get worried or, worse, jealous — either reaction could result in her mom and dad finding out and, again, freaking out.  So better to just leave that one detail out of her escapades when she shared them with the girls at school.  

Mills had just changed into her favorite pajamas and crawled into bed to watch some videos on her phone, when sounds from the front door heralded her parents’ return.  As the door shut, she could hear the shuffling of clothes and the muffled sound of her parents’ voices.  The dragon girl strained to make out what they were saying, the voices only growing clearer as they neared her room.

“…thing more often,” her mother was saying, “now that she can take care of herself.”

“Wouldn’t always be this fancy,” her dad replied, “but yeah, that would be nice.”

There was a knock on the door.  “Come in!” Mills replied, laying her phone in her lap as her parents stepped in. Both were in formalwear that complemented their scales: mom wearing a maroon dress so dark it was nearly purple, and dad wearing a smart, slate-blue suit.

“Mildred Elizabeth Ferrier,” her mom exclaimed, hands on hips, the picture of a scolding mother save for her comically straight face, “up this late on a school night?  We thought you would already be asleep!  What would your parents say?”

“Hey, Dad said I could stay up until you got home,” Mills stuck out her tongue playfully.

“Ha, you sneaky little gremlin, c’mere!”  Mills squealed as her mother pounced, laughing as she was bombarded with a mixture of tickles and kisses.  After a few moments Mrs. Ferrier relented, allowing Mills to catch her breath.

“Was it a nice dinner, Mom?”

“It was lovely, sweetie…your dad hasn’t lost his touch.”

“Helps when I have a hot date like you, Martha,” Millie’s dad leaned over to kiss his wife, causing the young dragon to grimace.

“Eeeew, dad, stooooop!”

The two adults chuckled at their daughter’s disgust.

“Greg, could you tuck her in while I get changed?”

“Sure thing, hon.”  Greg stepped up to the bed and waited for Mills to slide fully under the blankets.  “Got all your homework done?”

“Yes, dad, and I cleaned the kitchen after dinner, just like you asked.”

“Atta girl, glad to see you’re being a responsible almost-teenager.  I hope you at least had some fun while we were gone?”

“Oh, uh, yeah, just played games and watched videos,” she shrugged, “nothing special.”

“Well, between you and me,” Greg smiled, “you have the whole house to yourself…as long as you don’t do anything dangerous or wreck the place, no reason why you can’t bend some of the normal house rules.”

“You serious?!?” It was all Mills could do not to jump out of bed and into her dad’s arms.

“Of course!  Part of being a grownup is learning to be smart and make your own rules.”  He sat down on the edge of the bed.  “Look, tonight was kind of like a test…mom and I wanted to see how well you’d do on your own for an evening.”

“You didn’t think I could do it?”

“No, nothing like that…you’ll turn 13 in a few months, and that means Mom and I will consider you an official grownup-in-training.  We’ve been talking, and we want to see how well you do with more responsibilities.  If you do well, we’ll let you have more grownup perks.”  Greg held out a paw, “deal?”

Mills pulled her paw out from under the covers to shake her dad’s. “Deal!”

“Ok, so keep your grades up, don’t get into trouble at school, and don’t give Mom and I a hard time.  If you do that, Mom and I will talk and make sure you have what you need to make the next ‘night in’ more like a party.”

“I will, promise!”

“I’ll hold you to it,” Greg tucked the covers under his daughter, leaned down, and kissed her forehead, “sweet dreams, Mini Mills.”

“G’night, dad!”

As the light went out and the door shut, Mills snuggled deeper under the covers, a shiver of delight and anticipation running through her body.  Her very own little party on Mom and Dad’s next date night!  Maybe they would let her invite friends from school?  Probably not, but even if it was just a party of one, she’d still have the whole house to herself.  She could get up to all kinds of shenanigans, and as long as she left the house as she found it, her parents wouldn’t care.  Not that she usually got into much trouble…compared to most of her classmates she was a role model.  But as with any child going through the changes of puberty, Mills was beginning to chaff under the stricter rules her parents had enforced since grade school.  However, she couldn’t think of anyone her age whose parents encouraged their independence quite like this.  She couldn’t wait to brag to her friends at school, and couldn’t wait to tell Connor.

Her thoughts turned back to her new internet friend.  If someone had asked her even that morning what she would do if some random guy more than twice her age tried to talk to her on a random website, she would’ve said “run.”  And yet when it happened, she did the opposite.  Despite all her better judgment and caution, she trusted Connor like he was a teacher at school, but better.  He accommodated her, but never patronized her; the only other people she knew who did that consistently were her parents.  The more she thought about it, the more she wished her conversations with Connor didn’t rely so heavily on her parents’ computer.  For now, though, she would make due.  She knew deep down she could manage it.  She just hoped she wouldn’t need to wait long.

And that was the honest truth.