NATURE VS. NURTURE
"Is that the last of the waste, Max?"
"I don't think so, Monty. We didn't leave you there!"
"Pah! Last one to the Yard has to sleep outside!"
"You're on!"
Max and Monty spun their tyres and roared out of the Waste Dump. Scruff glanced at Whiff, who groaned loudly from lack of sleep.
"...why couldn't they have waited until morning…" Whiff muttered.
During the previous day, Max and Monty had carelessly tipped their construction waste onto Thomas' Branch Line, causing several disruptions. As punishment, they were forced to spend the rest of the night taking the waste to the dump. Unfortunately, Jack and Alfie had to stay and help too. By the time the mess was cleared, it was the break of dawn, and the diggers were exhausted.
"How long have we been digging?" Jack yawned as he and Alfie trundled home. Alfie's eyelids drooped over his eyes.
"Huh? Oh, uh… can't remember…"
Jack was too tired to reply. At last, they arrived back at the Yard. Oliver was already there, having been called back after Thomas had been re-railed. Just as Jack and Alfie were about to back into the shed, honking horns blasted in the distance.
"I'm going to win!"
"No, I am!"
"But I don't want to sleep outside!"
"You should've thought of that!"
The loud bickering snapped Oliver out of his slumber.
"I'm awake, I'm awake!" he spluttered, gasping for breath. Then, he noticed who the culprits were. "Oh, bother…"
Max and Monty drove up to the shed, spraying dust into the others' faces. Max flashed a smirk.
"I won, Monty, just as I thought I would!"
"That's not fair! You cut in front of me!"
"If you don't mind my saying so, some of us are trying to sleep," Oliver cut in as politely as he could.
"Oh, like you have any right to complain!" retorted Monty, "All you did all night was lounge around here while the rest of us did real work!"
"You have no one but yourselves to blame for that."
Max scowled and rolled up to Oliver, staring him down.
"Oh yeah? We'll see about-"
"Max and Monty!"
Max and Monty immediately stopped and gulped as Miss Jenny strode up.
"I've just received a call from the police. Do you know why?"
Max squirmed, but Miss Jenny spoke first.
"Because you two not only damaged Oliver but dumped waste on the track! I honestly don't know what to do with you! I can only hope you won't be this reckless during our next assignment."
Oliver raised an eyebrow.
"Next assignment, ma'am?"
"We've been trusted with building a new seaside hotel at Knapford," Miss Jenny explained, "We're starting work on it tomorrow - I'm giving you all the day off today so you can rest up for it." She then turned to Oliver. "I have another project that I have to keep an eye on, so I'm trusting you to keep things in order for me."
"Don't worry, Miss Jenny. Under my watchful eye, I'll make sure nothing goes wrong," Oliver smiled. Miss Jenny sighed.
"I certainly hope so, Oliver…"
Miss Jenny started walking back to her land rover, but then remembered something and turned back around.
"Oh, I almost forgot! When you all set off to work tomorrow, there will be a surprise waiting for you at the site. Let's just say they'll provide some much-needed help."
Miss Jenny winked and walked away. Oliver was proud to be trusted, but grew a little worried.
"I'll make sure those two won't do anything rash," he mumbled to himself as he fell asleep. Max snorted, having overheard.
"Who's he to tell us what to do? He's only a stupid excavator."
"Yeah. We can drive circles around him," agreed Monty.
Max and Monty shared a devious grin and snickered.
For the rest of that day, The Pack caught up on some much-needed sleep. The following day, however, preparations for the project were underway. Thomas hurried along his branch line, pushing two wellwagons - one with a blue crane and the other a yellow steam lorry.
"Come on, Thomas!" the crane persisted, "We have to go faster!"
"I'm going as fast as I can!" Thomas panted.
"I seem to recall you telling me to slow down last week. A bit hypocritical, isn't it, Kelly?" smirked the lorry.
"Well, uh… Perhaps, but right now we have to make sure we're on time, Isobella. Besides, we wouldn't have to be in such a hurry if you hadn't dawdled and begged for that extra polish."
Isobella spluttered.
"I needed that polish and you know it! It wouldn't do for everyone to see me not at my best!" She harrumphed and looked away, offended. To Thomas' relief, Knapford Harbour came into view.
"We're almost there now!" he called, cutting Kelly off. Eager to get the two unloaded, Thomas shunted the wellwagons into the siding closest to the road. "Here we are!"
After carefully driving off her wellwagon, Isobella flashed a proud smirk at Thomas, who just rolled his eyes. Kelly, however, wasn't paying attention. His back wheels came close to lurching off the side of the wellwagon. Isobella saw this and gasped.
"Kelly, watch out!" she cried, blowing her whistle. Kelly snapped to a halt, just in time.
"Th-Thanks, Isobella. You too, Thomas," he stammered, noticeably shaken as he drove down onto the ground. Isobella raised an eyebrow.
"What's going on with you today?" she asked with genuine concern.
"Oh, uh... it's nothing. Just still waking up is all," Kelly said with a small smile.
"Makes sense for an old-timer like you," Isobella chuckled and she tore off towards the road. Kelly watched her leave before sighing with relief and chasing after her.
Meanwhile, at the Yard, everyone was still asleep - except Max and Monty. They each crept quietly on each side of the shed and smirked. Max mouthed, "One, two, three…"
"BOO!"
Jack, Alfie and Oliver jolted awake, causing Max and Monty to laugh.
"That wasn't funny!" Jack exclaimed.
"It was to us, and that's all that matters," chortled Max.
"See you when you finally get to the site, old-timer!" Monty teased. He and Max spun their tyres and drove away, leaving Oliver to sigh.
Kelly and Isobella drove into the building site, expecting hustle and bustle. What they got instead was a barren lot with no activity whatsoever, aside from a few stray workmen.
"Where is everyone?" wondered Kelly.
"I told you we were early!" huffed Isobella, "To think that my polish was rushed for this-"
Kelly and Isobella were suddenly sprayed with mud. Isobella gaped as two dump trucks roared past, cackling.
"So, those two are the help, eh? A bunch of stick-in-the-muds, they are!" Max grinned. Monty snickered.
"I get it! Because they're covered in mud!"
"I know, I'm clever."
Max and Monty drove away, laughing. Isobella heard a gasp behind her. She turned around and froze in horror - Jack, Alfie, and Oliver stood at the entrance, all very surprised.
"Oh my…" gasped Oliver.
Isobella's cheeks turned into a deep shade of red, first with embarrassment, then rage. She turned back around to chase after Max and Monty and give them a piece of her mind. Quickly, Kelly lowered his crane arm in front of Isobella's face.
"Let me through!" Isobella demanded angrily.
"Not until you calm down," Kelly said tactfully.
"Calm down?! How am I supposed to calm down when I did my best to make a grand entrance only to have my paintwork ruined?"
"Because you can always have it cleaned again."
Isobella tried to think of a rebuttal, but quickly gave up and sighed.
"I suppose you're right…"
"That's better," Kelly smiled, "Now, I expect Miss Jenny will be briefing us shortly. We better get in position."
"Yes, sir," grinned Isobella cheekily as she trundled away.
"Erm… Kelly? Miss Jenny's not coming, at least not for a while," put in Oliver meekly. Kelly raised an eyebrow.
"She isn't? Who's going to be in charge then?"
"Well, uh… She did say that I could keep an eye on things while she's away, so I suppose I am."
"It seems like you're not doing a good job at that," muttered Kelly to himself.
"What?"
"Nothing," Kelly said quickly, "Did Miss Jenny tell you what we're doing then, I expect?"
"No, she told me," interrupted a gruff voice.
Kelly and Oliver turned to see a man in a black uniform walking up to them, looking annoyed.
"Machines can't be in charge, what a silly idea. That's what us foremen are for. Now," he continued, "Jack and Alfie, you two are going to prepare what's going to be the car park for concrete. Kelly and Isobella, you are to collect incoming supplies from the nearby harbour and take them here. Max and Monty, you take construction waste to the dump." Max and Monty shared an annoyed glance. "And Oliver, Miss Jenny tells me you're a delicate digger, so you will dig the foundation for the hotel."
Oliver smiled proudly.
"Thank you, sir."
Without another word, the foreman left as soon as he came, leaving behind an awkward silence.
"Let's just say Oliver's in charge," suggested Alfie.
It wasn't long before Kelly was loading pallets of bricks from the quayside to Isobella's flatbed. Isobella was still cross.
"I can't believe I couldn't get a washdown! You can't just do work like this- Kelly? Kelly, are you listening to me?"
Kelly was snapped out of his thoughts.
"Huh? Oh, I'm sorry, Isobella. I've just been thinking."
"That would be a first," giggled Isobella cheekily. Kelly rolled his eyes.
"Very funny."
At that moment, Thomas bustled into the harbour with some trucks. Isobella gasped and tried hiding behind Kelly, but it was too late - Thomas had seen them and braked to a standstill close by.
"What happened to you two? You were as clean as can be when you left."
"I'll tell you what, complete and utter humiliation!" Isobella cried, reaching hysterics.
"Max and Monty came by and sprayed us," explained Kelly simply. Thomas grunted.
"That doesn't surprise me. They've been running amok lately!"
Kelly frowned.
"Really? How so?"
"They've been running on the tracks in front of me… Avoiding level crossings… Why, they even had the nerve to dump all of their construction waste onto my branch line, delaying trains for hours and-"
"What?!"
Thomas and Isobella jumped as Kelly gritted his teeth.
"I should've known this would happen! Bother, why did I ever trust him?"
Kelly abruptly winched another pallet of bricks onto Isobella, who yelped from the drop.
"OW! Hey! Watch it!" she snapped.
Kelly ignored her and drove away in a cloud of dust. Thomas and Isobella shared a confused look.
By now, the workmen were on their tea break, and The Pack were enjoying what free time they could get. Alfie, however, was growing rather bored. He dully looked around the site and saw a muddy puddle. Alfie grinned excitedly and, without checking to see if anyone was watching, starting rolling towards it.
"Alfie!"
Alfie abruptly stopped and blushed as Oliver trudged alongside.
"U-Uh, hi, Oliver," Alfie smiled nervously, "I-I wasn't doing anything, and I w-wasn't going to do anything either, heh-"
"There's no need to lie to me," Oliver said gently, "I know you were going to play in that puddle."
"Well… Alright, I was, but it's mud! You can't go wrong with mud!"
"I know, but safety first, as Miss Jenny says."
Alfie reversed away from the puddle convinced, making Oliver smile.
"Oliver!"
Oliver and Alfie yelped as Kelly raced into the construction site with a determined look in his eyes. Alfie gulped and scurried away to find Jack. Oliver was surprised.
"What's the matter, Kelly?"
"I'll tell you what's the matter - that you have been doing a terrible job of keeping everyone in line!"
"I beg your pardon?"
Kelly gestured to the site of the future car park with his crane arm. Jack was scooping up some dirt in his bucket.
"Hey, Alfie! Watch this!"
Alfie watched in anticipation. Jack tossed the dirt into the air, and it quickly fell down again, covering him in a brown coat of earth. The two burst into laughter. Feeling like he made his point, Kelly glared again at Oliver.
"Oh, Kelly, they're only having a bit of fun. There's no real harm in them."
"It shows you haven't been properly disciplining them. You know you're not supposed to play around during work."
"I'm fully aware, but I don't think it matters if we're on break, like we are now," Oliver countered, starting to grow frustrated. Kelly was growing frustrated too, and decided to leave before he said something he would regret.
"You shouldn't have been put in charge…" he muttered, thinking Oliver hadn't heard him, but he had. Oliver stood shocked and hurt for a moment before returning to work.
For the rest of the day, Oliver went out of his way to avoid Kelly as much as possible. This didn't go unnoticed by Alfie, as he and Jack worked on the car park.
"I don't understand it," Alfie mused, watching Oliver squirm as Kelly told Max and Monty off for racing.
"Don't understand what?" Jack asked disinterestedly, picking up a bunch of worms within the dirt of his bucket.
"Why Oliver's been acting so strangely. It's as if he can't stand being around Kelly now. That's never happened before."
"Maybe you should ask him if it concerns you so much," Jack suggested, staring at the worms wiggling around.
"No… We shouldn't bother him. Perhaps it'll sort itself out." Alfie heard an "Ooh!" and turned to see Jack looking intently at the worms. Jack looked up and blushed.
"What? They're funny little things."
At last, evening came, and work was starting to be wrapped up for the day.
"I think it's about time we head home," Oliver said, but no one paid attention. Kelly noticed this and sighed.
"Bother… Alright, everyone!" he called, raising his voice, "It's time to go home!"
This time, everyone looked up. Isobella, Jack and Alfie shared a grin before following Kelly out to the road. Oliver watched sadly.
"How does he get everyone to listen to him…?" he wondered aloud.
"Watch out, old-timer!"
Oliver jumped as Max and Monty roared past on each side, narrowly avoiding a collision.
"What was that for?" Oliver demanded.
Max chuckled as he and Monty reversed alongside him.
"That's for you thinking you can tell us what to do." He smirked. "And so is this!"
Oliver's annoyance turned to confusion.
"What are you-"
The dump trucks spun their tyres into the gravel and roared away, kicking up a cloud of dust. Oliver coughed furiously. From in front, Kelly rolled his eyes.
"Stop messing about, you two," he ordered firmly, "or I'll tell Miss Jenny."
Max and Monty braked and whistled innocently. Sighing with defeat, Oliver followed The Pack as they exited the construction site. Being rather slow, Oliver quickly fell behind. For a brief moment, he felt out of place as Kelly lead the way in front. It was then that they came across an intersection. Oliver stopped and looked down the country road.
"And that's when the lit dynamite fell right into my bucket!" Jack told Isobella, "It was most exciting, wasn't it, Oliver?" There came no reply. "Oliver?"
Jack and Isobella looked back and saw that Oliver had stopped.
"Come on, Oliver!" encouraged Jack.
"If you don't mind, I think I'm going to take the long way home," Oliver replied, starting to turn. Isobella took one look down the road and shuddered.
"Ugh, why would you want to go down a dirt road? Paved roads are much better for your wheels."
Oliver ignored her and continued down the road. Jack gasped.
"Oliver, wait!"
Oliver stopped in brief hesitation.
"I just… need some night air, alright?"
The excavator started down the road again, leaving Jack and Isobella very confused. The two glanced at each other before hurrying to catch up with the rest of The Pack.
Oliver trundled along the winding road, venting to himself.
"What does Kelly mean that I shouldn't be in charge? Miss Jenny trusts me, after all. I mean, I suppose Max and Monty have been troublesome lately… but they always have been! It's not like Kelly can handle them that much better anyway…" He trailed off, starting to doubt himself. "Can he?"
Up ahead, the road sharply curved as it followed the railway. Oliver was so lost in thought that he didn't notice an engine puffing up behind him. The engine smirked and blew his whistle loudly, causing Oliver to cry out in surprise.
"Who's there?"
Oliver breathed a sigh of relief as he realized it was only his good friend, Oliver the Great Western Engine, who had to slow down to nearly a crawl so as to not overtake the excavator.
"It's only me!" he chuckled.
"So I've gathered. I thought you would've been home by now."
"I would be, if there wasn't this night goods that I had to take. It's not exactly interesting," the engine grumbled.
"I for one think that all of our runs are interesting, Mr. Oliver," said Toad helpfully from the back of the train.
"Of course you do, Toad. Now, what exactly are you doing out here?"
Oliver the excavator quickly tried making an excuse.
"I just… er… wanted to take the scenic route home… heh heh…"
The other Oliver chuckled.
"You're a poor liar, Oliver."
"Are you talking to yourself, Mr. Oliver?" queried Toad innocently, "Because you are a bad liar."
"Er… no, Toad," Oliver huffed, face flushing, "I was talking to the other Oliver."
"Oh. Sorry, sir."
The excavator sighed.
"Alright, you caught me. I suppose I'm just unsure of things at the moment."
"What sort of things, if you don't mind me asking?"
"For one thing, if I can handle The Pack well or not."
"Of course you can! You kept those reckless dump trucks from ruining the new branch line, and kept those diggers in order too! What brought this on?"
"Some of our team has come to help us with a new project, one of them a crane called Kelly. Miss Jenny told me to keep things in order, but Kelly doesn't seem to trust me with that. He's been taking charge instead, and saying I shouldn't have been at all."
"Huh. Seems rude to me."
"Indeed. The worst part is everyone always seems to listen to him, yet not me! Why? I just like to take a gentler approach, is that such a bad thing?"
"Certainly not! Oliver, you can't let this 'Kelly' fellow boss you and everyone else around like that. You need to stand up for yourself and show him who the real leader is."
The excavator thought for a moment before grinning with newfound determination.
"Thanks, Oliver. I'll do that."
"I'm glad to hear it."
The engine whistled and sped up again, quickly outpacing the excavator. Toad saw the smirk on his face as they passed and frowned.
"Pardon me, Mr. Oliver, but I'm not sure it was such a good idea to have suggested such a thing."
"Why not, Toad? You can't just disrespect a leader like that and get away with it. Besides, what's the worst that can happen?"
"That's what I'm wondering too," mumbled Toad.
By the time Oliver came back to the Yard, all of the other Pack members were already fast asleep, with Kelly and Isobella joining them in the shed. Oliver quietly backed into his position. He glared at Kelly before shutting his eyes.
Early next morning, it was Oliver who was the first one awake. He glanced at the others, still sleeping, and smirked.
"Wake up everyone!" he cried, blasting his horn. They awoke with a start, looking at Oliver.
"What's the big idea?" snarled Max, "Now you're telling us when to wake up?"
To his surprise, Oliver grinned confidently.
"And why shouldn't I? We have a busy day ahead of us, and we mustn't let it go to waste!"
"Isn't it just a normal day?" Jack asked.
"I... suppose so, but-"
"It's five in the morning," yawned Isobella, "Was this really necessary?"
"Of course! We have to be really useful for Miss Jenny!"
"I mean, he's not wrong," commented Alfie meekly. Max and Monty glared, making him gulp and subside into silence.
"Well," Kelly sighed, "We weren't meant to leave until six but…" He honked his horn. "Alright everyone, let's get going."
"Pah! Why should we?" snorted Monty.
"Yeah! We're not going just because Oliver woke us up!" agreed Max.
Kelly narrowed his eyes at them, which made the two shut up at once. Oliver was shocked as the rest of The Pack obediently followed Kelly out of the Yard without a single complaint. He scowled as he trundled after them, once again falling behind.
Max and Monty were cross too, but for a different reason.
"Oliver keeps shoving his bucket where it doesn't belong," grumbled Monty.
"We can't even teach him a lesson with that Kelly watching us like a hawk now," scoffed Max, "Unlike Oliver, he actually has a spine."
"Wait… no he doesn't. He's a crane."
"Shut up, Monty. Listen, I have an idea. Oliver wants us to be careful on roads, so let's not be."
"Why don't you ever let me plan our revenge schemes?"
"The same reason no one ever says 'Monty and Max'. I'm simply known more."
"That's not true! I heard that phrase once!"
"Whatever you say… Now, follow my lead."
Max started to swerve from side to side along the road, Monty quickly copying him. Max carelessly nearly hit Alfie. Terrified, the little excavator sped up until he was alongside Kelly.
"What's going on?" Kelly asked.
"Take a wild guess," said Isobella sarcastically before Alfie could answer.
"Woo hoo!" the dump trucks shouted as they scurried from lane to lane. They were so busy having fun that they didn't notice Trevor up ahead, chugging along with a cart.
"Hey, look! Another slow thing in our way!" Monty grinned darkly as he raced straight towards Trevor. Trevor's eyes widened.
"Get out of the way!" he exclaimed desperately. At the last second, Monty swerved, just in time. Trevor blinked in shock as Max rolled past, bursting with laughter.
"Young'uns these days…" he grumbled and he continued on his way. Then there was trouble. In his attempt to avoid Trevor, Monty had veered towards the back of Oliver! Neither realized it until it was too late. Monty rammed into the back of Oliver, making him shoot forward.
"Ouch!" cried Oliver.
Oliver shifted direction from the impact and started swerving off the road.
"HELP!" Oliver wailed as he slid down the bank below.
"Oliver!" Jack and Alfie gasped together as Oliver picked up speed, finally coming to a stop when he splashed into a ditch.
"...ow," Oliver deadpanned. His operator stood up, rubbing his head.
"I can't believe this, you two! How many times have I told you not to drive on the road like that?" Kelly snapped. Kelly's operator had attached a strong chain between Kelly's hook and Oliver, and now the crane was hauling his colleague back onto the road. Max and Monty looked nervously at each other.
"See, Oliver, this is why we can't coddle," Kelly asserted, "Then, we get accidents like this."
"You said so yourself that you've told them many times to behave," Oliver smirked, "Perhaps, being stern doesn't always work."
"I'd rather be stern and at least let them know there are consequences for their actions than let them run amok like you've been doing lately!"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means that you've been letting Max and Monty cause chaos on Thomas' line! He told me himself! That wouldn't have happened if I was there!"
"Oh, I doubt it! Miss Jenny chose me to keep things in order for a reason, Kelly!"
"I never thought I'd see the day when your ego inflated, Oliver, but I suppose your 'leading' has gone to your head!"
The argument continued as Oliver and Kelly continued down the road. Jack, Alfie and Isobella watched in dismay.
Even as The Pack approached the building site, the argument showed no sign of slowing down.
"This is the worst I've seen either of them act…" said Alfie quietly.
"Power struggles can do that," muttered Isobella. Neither she, Alfie, or Jack noticed Max and Monty sidle alongside. Jack was the first to and glared bravely.
"What do you two want?"
Max glared back.
"Listen, small fry, you better not get in the way of our freedom."
Alfie gulped.
"F-Freedom?" he stuttered.
"Yes," smirked Max, "For once, we don't have the old-timers breathing down our necks-"
"We don't have necks either, Max."
"I told you to shut up, Monty."
"We still have to work!" protested Jack, "Besides, there's that foreman, isn't there?"
Max rolled his eyes.
"He probably won't even show up."
"Well, you can do what you want," said Jack smugly, "We'll continue to be really useful and make Miss Jenny-"
Monty revved his engine. Alfie, screaming, raced away.
"...proud," Jack finished weakly.
"Good one, Monty," chuckled Max.
"Alfie, wait!" Jack called, and attempted to follow him, until he saw the worms wiggling through the dirt again.
"Oooh, hello again!" Jack said warmly as he scooped the worms into his bucket. Max and Monty snickered to each other before racing off together, workmen diving out of their way.
"Imbeciles…" Isobella muttered.
"Hello, Isobella! You look busy…"
Isobella turned to see a smirking Bertie parked on the side of the road.
"I'm not in the mood, Bertie."
"You're never in the mood. Ah well, Miss Jenny's coming up here soon, maybe that'll give you a smile."
Isobella gasped.
"W-What? How do you know that?"
"I passed by Cronk earlier, and I said 'Hello.' She was getting into her land lover, so she's going to check on how you lot are progressing, I suppose."
Bertie heard Oliver and Kelly shouting at each other, and curiously glanced at the construction site.
"Doesn't look like she'll be too pleased," he chuckled, "Sorry I can't stay, but I have passengers to take. Cheerio!"
Bertie honked his horn and drove away, leaving a horrified Isobella.
"No, no, no! This can't be happening, this can't be happening! I-I can't let her see everyone like this!"
Panicking, she raced into the site, looking for someone to express her urgency to. She saw Alfie by the car park and hurried over.
"Alfie, please, listen to me! I-"
"N-Not now, Isobella! I have to be mischievous!"
Alfie shoveled some dirt and frantically threw it into the air. Isobella gasped and reversed just before it fell back to the ground.
"That's your definition of mischievous? It might've fallen on me!"
"S-Sorry," stammered Alfie sheepishly, "But Max and Monty might get cross, and no one's around to stop them!"
"B-But…"
Isobella groaned and drove over to Jack.
"Jack, Jack!"
But Jack was too enthralled by the worms to pay attention. Isobella only became more panicked.
"No, no! There has to be someone I can-"
"Out of the way, lady!"
Isobella gasped and swerved as Max and Monty flew past, splattering mud all over her again. Isobella gritted her teeth and grew red in the face - that was the last straw.
"ENOUGH!"
Her shout echoed around the site. Everyone stopped at once and gazed at Isobella in shock - none of them had ever seen her so angry before. Isobella took a deep breath and she rolled up to the taken aback excavator and crane.
"Oliver, Kelly, this stupid argument between you two has to stop now. Bickering about who can keep order doesn't mean anything when neither of you are doing so! Look around you! Everything's a mess, and if we don't get it cleaned up before Miss Jenny comes, we'll never be trusted on our own again!"
Oliver's face paled.
"M-Miss Jenny's coming?"
"Yes! Did you not hear what I just said? She's coming today!"
Kelly and Oliver glanced at each other, feeling ashamed.
"She's right," sighed Kelly, "I suppose there really isn't such a problem with how you do things, Oliver. Besides," he chuckled wryly, "I always tell Max and Monty to 'Slow down.' and they hardly ever do."
"In hindsight, I think I did get too carried away," Oliver admitted, "Miss Jenny trusting me wouldn't do much good if she found us like this, would it?"
Isobella smirked with triumph.
"Finally, you're listening to me! Now come on you lot, let's make Miss Jenny proud!"
Kelly and Oliver honked their horns in agreement and started off together. Kelly noticed Jack standing idle and was about to roll up to him when Oliver cut in.
"Let me handle this one, Kelly, if you don't mind."
Kelly stopped and watched as Oliver trundled up to Jack, whose bucket still contained the worms.
"Jack, I think it's time you put those in a safe place. A construction site isn't the place for worms, you know," Oliver said kindly.
"Alright, if you say so Oliver," Jack sighed. He reluctantly drove across the road and dumped his load, not seeing a bird in a nearby tree.
"That's better," smiled Oliver, pretending not to have noticed the bird, "Now, let's get back to work. You heard what Isobella said."
"Yes, Oliver," agreed Jack and he hurried to the site of the car park. Oliver grinned at Kelly who was quite surprised.
"Huh…" he muttered. Just then, some dirt fell close to Kelly.
"Sorry!" Alfie called. Kelly glanced at Oliver expectantly.
"You can take that one," Oliver chuckled, to which Kelly chuckled back and made his way alongside Alfie.
"Alfie, it's time to stop throwing dirt in the air and instead be productive," Kelly ordered.
"Oh, I-I'd love to, Kelly," stammered Alfie, "but w-what will M-Max and Monty say about it?"
Kelly smirked.
"Leave them to me."
Alfie raised an eyebrow before grinning as Kelly glared at Max and Monty, who were attempting to sneak away.
"Oh, no you don't. I'll tell Miss Jenny about you trying to shirk off duty… that is, of course, unless you behave."
Max and Monty looked at each other before silently rolling off to wait to be filled up with construction waste. Kelly turned back to Alfie.
"Now then, I think you have work of your own."
"Right away, Kelly!" Alfie exclaimed as he hurried away to join Jack.
"It's nice when we work together, isn't it?" Oliver mused. Kelly rolled his eyes.
"That's a trite statement if I've ever heard one." Oliver frowned. "...though you are right," Kelly added, laughing, "Come on, Isobella! I'm sure there's plenty of cargo waiting at the harbour."
Isobella grinned.
"I'll keep you both in line then!"
The Pack worked hard to make up for lost time. Whilst going about his work, Oliver saw that the dirt on the other side of the road was noticeably wormless. In the tree above, a fat bird sat contently on a branch. Oliver winced.
"...let's not tell Jack," he muttered to Kelly, who silently agreed.
By evening, the Pack had made up their quota for that day. Oliver and Kelly surveyed the handiwork.
"Miss Jenny's going to be pleased, I'm sure," said Kelly approvingly.
"Speaking of Miss Jenny… what's taking her so long?" Isobella wondered, "I better not have panicked for nothing-"
As if on cue, a familiar horn was heard, and everyone turned to see a land rover pulling into the site. Out stepped Miss Jenny, looking very impressed.
"This site's certainly orderly! What a fine job you all have done!"
Whilst she was talking, the foreman had walked up, late and grumpy, only to see her addressing her machines. Hearing the footsteps, Miss Jenny turned around in surprise. The foreman gulped.
"Uh…"
Before Miss Jenny could say anything, he hurried away.
"It looks like he's not our foreman anymore," Jack chuckled quietly to Alfie.
"Since that layabout apparently hasn't been here, I suspect you've been keeping things in order instead, Oliver!"
Oliver chuckled nervously.
"I suppose you could say that, ma'am."
"Thank you. You'd make a mother proud!"
Oliver glanced at Kelly.
"I appreciate it, ma'am, but only crediting me would be a disservice to those who helped, such as Kelly here."
"Ah, I see," Miss Jenny smiled, "That's no surprise then. In that case, well done to the both of you!"
Kelly smirked.
"Oh, but the credit's not all shared yet! Without Isobella, we wouldn't be where we are now."
Isobella's eyes lit up.
"Oh yes, of course! You can't forget about me!"
"Now, that is a surprise! I'm very proud of you, Isobella."
Isobella beamed.
"How about you lead us home, Isobella?" suggested Jack cheekily, "Show how much of a leader you've become?"
Isobella thought for a moment.
"No, Jack," she said at last, "Oliver and Kelly are the true leaders. I'm just the one who keeps everyone in check sometimes."
Jack gasped dramatically.
"Isobella? Humble?"
"Don't sound so surprised," Isobella laughed. Oliver and Kelly grinned before both honking their horns.
"That's enough for today. Let's go home, everyone," they called together. With Miss Jenny's land rover in front, they started towards the road side-by-side. Isobella followed, then Jack and Alfie. Max and Monty gritted their teeth but remained silent as they followed everyone else, this time last. Kelly glanced back at them and chuckled.
"I don't they'll give us any trouble tonight," he whispered to Oliver. Oliver smirked.
"Indeed. Not with us around."
Both laughed as the cavalcade made their way back home.
Author's Note: At long last, this story is finally here! I've said before that after going through development for almost a year, I was tempted to give up on this, but now I'm glad I didn't. I don't often write Pack stories, something I hope to fix in the future, so this was fun to work on. I've grown to love writing Isobella in particular, so expect her to pop up semi-regularly in future. Writing Kelly was a bit of a challenge, as I wanted to distinguish Oliver and Kelly from each other since in the series proper, Kelly just tells the others to "Slow down!" most of the time. In previous drafts, he was more aggressive, but I feel toning that down in the end was the right move. Kelly will likely keep some of his stoic and strict personality in future stories, though obviously not as far as here.
I'm not entirely sure what the next story will be, though I do have a few ideas lined up. In the meantime, I hope you enjoyed!