Chapter 29: Study Date
Thomas and Tori were walking home almost reaching Thomas'. "Thank you for taking the time to study with me, the trainings have been too intense now that we're close to the first game of the season" Thomas said looking at Tori. "It's no problem, it's for the best you get the study organized as soon as possible, and I'm happy to help you." Tori said with a smile. Once they reached Thomas' house and were about to walk in, they heard sounds coming inside. "Come back here, you big blue monkey!" Thomas heard Bluey shout. "Oh no…" Thomas said face palming his muzzle. "Something wrong?" Tori asked confused. "Um…" Thomas said until he heard another sound. "Catch that blue baboon!" Bluey shouted. "It had to be zoo…" Thomas said, in almost a whisper. "Zoo?" Tori asked confused. "Um… sorry, Tori, but can you just wait here a second," Thomas said as he snuck into his own house. Thomas entered and shut the door behind him. "Alright now where is that blue baboon," Thomas said as he went through the house.
Thomas went through the house looking for his dad until he ran into Bluey and Chilli. "Jason the janitor there you are!" Bluey shouted looking at her brother, referring to him by his name in the game. "Bluey! Where's dad… I mean, the blue baboon!" Thomas shouted as he approached his little sister. "How should I know? It was your job to clean the cage! And now the baboon has escaped!" Bluey said waving her arms in the air. "Yeah sure…" Thomas said, approaching Chilli. "Mom, where's dad?" Thomas asking her in a whisper. "He's…" Chilli started to say until she looked to Bluey who gave her a look. "I have no idea where the Ape is and he took Snowdrop with him," Chilli explained. "Snowdrop? Bingo…" Thomas said as he ran off to the front room to check on Tori. "Hey Tori," Thomas said walking out the front door. "Is everything alright Thomas?" Tori said with a chuckle. "Um…" Thomas said until he heard monkey noises. "Snowdrop!" Chill screamed. "Yeah… I just need to find my big blue… I mean dad," Thomas said nervously. "Here sit in the shade and I'll be right back," Thomas said getting Tori comfortable.
Thomas then went inside the house again and grabbed his dad's cricket bat and helmet and shouted. "Come out you big blue monkey!" Thomas shouted as he ran into the house on the hunt for his father. It took him a while, but he, along Bluey, managed to capture the 'big blue baboon', using a sheet like it was a net and putting him to 'sleep' with a 'tranquilizer'. "There… this may put an end this little baboon's mischief" Thomas said. "No! Ooh-ooh!" Bingo, pretending to be Snowdrop, said, trying to reach the blue baboon, while being held by her mother. "Come on, Snowdrop, let's leave the zoo keeper and the nice janitor do their jobs" Chilli said, while "Nice job, Jason, now I hope you can handle this stinky baboon," Bluey said. "Of course, zoo keeper, you can count on me," Thomas said. "I do hope so, otherwise you're going to clean the lion's cage," Bluey replied, with her authoritarian tone, before moving away.
After Bluey was out, Thomas took out the sheet from his dad. "Dad, what's the big idea?! I told you I would bring my friend Tori to study!" Thomas told. "Sorry, mate, but you know your sisters, when they want to play something, there's no stopping them" Bandit told, while sitting up. "And now Tori must think I have the weirdest of families, with her standing outside," Thomas said. "Come on, son, it's not that bad, I mean, she must know you have little sisters who like to play," Bandit said, while getting up. "I know, but… I'm afraid that she will find me too weird and won't want to be with me again," Thomas replied. That caused Bandit to drop a chuckle, much to his son's confusion. "You know, you sound like your uncle Rad when he used to bring girls home," Bandit said. "What?" Thomas asked. "Before he met your mother, your uncle Rad was quite popular with the girls and, occasionally, he would bring them over, but he always tried to avoid them to meet me and your uncle Stripe, he feared we would make him look bad," Bandit told. "So, what happened? Did he look bad?" Thomas asked. "Why don't you find out for yourself… by making your own version of the story?" Bandit suggested, placing a hand on Thomas' shoulder.
Hearing that, Thomas meditated on what his father had told him. He was right about one thing, even if warning about Tori days from advance, there would always be an unpredictable variable to consider: Bluey and Bingo, who were always coming up with games they would impose to their family, even if they wanted to play or not… all thanks to their ultimate and most terrible weapon: the please face. Perhaps trying to prevent Tori from knowing about the wild side of his family wasn't the best decision, as that would be almost impossible to accomplish. And, if he wanted to establish a good friendship with her, he needed to allow her to see her family as what it was. With that, he started heading towards the entrance, with his dad observing him with a smile. Arriving to the front door, Thomas took a deep breath, before deciding to open it and face Tori, no matter the consequences.
Getting out, he found Tori sitting at the stairs of the porch. "So, am I going to getting in or do you want to study right here at the porch?" she asked, with a smile. "I mean, we could do that, but I think it wouldn't be very practical," Tori joked. "I'm sorry, Tori, it's just… I had to deal with some shenanigans, my family isn't exactly what you would call… normal," he said. "I think no family is normal," Tori replied. "But mine… well, I'm still trying to figure that out," Thomas replied, while sitting beside her. "My mom and dad… they divorced when I was young, he came back to Australia and built a new family, while I remained with my mom, for years I cut off my ties with dad… long story… but after my mom died, I came to live with my dad and I got two little sisters that are just some times too much to handle," Thomas told. "I… didn't know about your mother" Tori replied, with a sympathetic voice. "It's okay, I'm dealing with that, I have my dad, my stepmother… and the two little tornados I have as sisters, I was just hoping that we could have a normal study session, with no chaos or interruptions… but I guess that is out of question," Thomas said, looking down. It was then that Tori raised his chin. "I would love meet your family," she told him, causing Thomas to smile.
"Alright then come meet my family," Thomas said as he opened the door. As soon as they come in, Bluey and Bingo raced to the door, with Bluey still using her disguise as the zoo keeper, and stopped looking at Tori. "Thomas she's pretty is she a princess?" Bingo looking up with her cute eyes. "Aw, you're so cute!" Tori exclaimed to Bingo. "This is Bingo and this is…" Thomas started to say until he was interrupted by Bluey. "Are you doing to marry my brother?" Bluey asked, causing Thomas's jaw to drop, while Tori couldn't help but to chuckle. "Bluey!" Thomas finally said. "I hope we're invited to the wedding!" Bluey teased, with her and Bingo ran off to the playroom, before their brother could do anything to stop them. "They're so cute," Tori said looking to Thomas. "A little too cute, in my opinion," he told her. "Anyways, come meet my dad and stepmom," Thomas said as he took Tori up the stairs to the kitchen. Bandit and Chilli were in the kitchen, taking a glass of lemonade after they were done playing the game of Zoo.
"Mom, Dad this is Tori, Tori, these are my parents," Thomas introduced. "Hey Tori," Chilli said "Nice to meet you," Bandit said with a smile. "It's also a pleasure to meet you too, Mr. and Mrs. Heeler" Tori replied. "Oh Thomas!" Bluey called from the playroom. "I'll be right back," Thomas said as he left Tori with his parents. "So Tori what classes are you taking?" Chilli asked as Thomas left to go see what his sisters wanted. "What do you want now?" Thomas groaned as he entered the playroom. To Thomas's surprise Bluey and Bingo were with their please faces with a hint of tears. "Oh no… why are you looking at me like that?" Thomas asked, fearing what they were about to ask. "Please play with us," Bluey pleaded. "Oh no! You both know I have to study for school," Thomas said in serious tone, trying to build resistance to his sisters infamous' please face. "You don't ever play with us!" Bluey said still with her please face. "I play with you all the time!" Thomas protested. "It's like you don't even love us!" Bluey cried. "You are joking right?" Thomas said crossing his arms. "Your never home!" Bingo said with a tear drop. "I'm always home!" Thomas protested.
"Son! What's going on down there?" Bandit said from the kitchen. "Coming dad, everything is fine!" Thomas called back. "Please stay with us!" Bluey said grabbing her brothers leg. "Bluey!" Thomas said trying to break free. "Please play with us!" Bingo said grabbing her brothers other leg. "Bingo!" Thomas said now stuck in the playroom. "This may work on dad but not me!" Thomas said as he started to move with his sisters stuck to his legs. "So, Tori, you are from Scotland, right?" Chilli asked, while preparing some veggie chips. "Yes, am, have you been there?" Tori asked. "Unfortunately no, the only place I've been in the UK is London" Chilli replied. "You'll love it there, in case you decide to visit it, my granddad actually came for a visit and decided to stay there, he is from here, actually" Tori told. "Interesting…" Chilli said. "You're quite a charm, Tori, no wonder Thomas likes you… I mean, as a friend of course," Chilli said. "Smooth…" Bandit whisperer to her wife. "Speaking of the devil, I wonder where he could be?" Chilli said as she handed out some veggie chips to Tori. "Should I go get him?" Bandit asked looking to his wife. Chilli then shrugged not knowing what to do.
"When did you guys get so heavy!" Thomas said in the hallway. "There he is now!" Bandit said with a smile. Tori turned and looked at the hallway and saw Thomas struggling with his sisters. "This isn't easy you know!" Thomas said trying to walk. Chilli, Bandit and Tori all looked at Thomas and his sisters struggling to come in the kitchen. Tori laughed as Thomas came back into the kitchen. "This is just a little work-out routine I have to stay in shape for touch football," Thomas explained to her, trying to be cool. "That's a first," Bandit said as he came to his son's rescue. "Come on, kids, let your brother study," Bandit said picking up both girls and letting Thomas go to Tori. "If you need anything let us know," Chilli said, kissing Thomas on the head. "Mom!" Thomas protested, while Chilli got out. Tori couldn't help but to laugh. "Sorry about them," Thomas said sitting down next to Tori. "You have a loving family, Thomas, you really do and the legend himself of the Heeler brothers is funny too," Tori said with a smile. "She's a keeper son!" Bandit said from the other room. "Dad!" Thomas shouted back. "Alright let's tackle the books," Tori said getting her books out, with Thomas doing the same.
They went to study for the next hour, Tori explaining to Thomas some of the things he hadn't been able to understand during classes, mainly because his brain was too much tired or focusing on the next training. Not only that, but she also was able to arrange him a schedule that would help him to organize his day better. "There, with this schedule, you'll see you won't have any problem with time, I had in consideration your classes and your training sessions and you still have time to spare to play with your sisters, for your hobbies and to rest," Tori said, while giving Thomas a piece of paper with the schedule she had made. "Thanks, Tori, you don't know what this means to me, schedules are not exactly my thing" Thomas said, getting the schedule. "Hey, that's the reason why we're here, right?" she asked. Thomas looked into the schedule and then noticed something. "Oh, you really took in consideration everything…" he said, nervously. Noticing that, Tori realized something was wrong. "What, did I forget anything?" she asked.
"Not exactly… you didn't know about it, but…" Thomas said, trying to find words to express her what he wanted to tell her. "Could you just make a few adjustments to Friday? I kind of have a weekly thing happening there," Thomas said. "Really… you could have told me about, if it is important," Tori replied. "Yeah… sorry, but that's not exactly something I like to share with others," Thomas said. "Well, you don't have to tell me, if you don't want to," Tori told. "No, I can tell you… I mean, if you took your time to help me, you should at least know about it… besides it's not a big secret… I have weekly psychiatric therapy appointments," Thomas revealed. "Really?" Tori asked, surprised. "I'm not crazy, if that's what you're thinking, it's just… some months ago I went through a bad phase… I had some panic attacks and I'm still trying to get hold on myself," Thomas said. "You don't have to tell me about it, I understand," Tori said. "You know, actually that makes you more… you know, admirable," she added. "Admirable?" Thomas asked. "Well, all dogs have problems, but very few are able to admit them or tackle them, like you are doing," Tori explained. All that caused Thomas to blush a little. "Thanks, Tori…" he said. "You're welcome… so do you want me to…" she started, pointing to the schedule. "Yeah, sure…" Thomas told, giving it to her.
The two of them continued with their study section and, by the time they were ready, Chilli came to the kitchen to start making dinner. "Oh, so are you done studying?" she asked. "Yes, Mrs. Heeler, Thomas is really a quick learner," Tori said. "Of course he is, he is a Heeler, after all," Chilli replied. "You do know I'm here, right?" Thomas asked, causing both Tori and Chilli to chuckle. "Hey, Tori, do you want to stay for dinner?" Chilli asked, causing Thomas to feel a sudden desire for Tori to accept the invitation. "Oh, I would love to, Mrs. Heeler, but I really need to go home, I still have some chores to do at home," Tori replied, causing Thomas to feel a big feeling of disappointment. "Oh, that's too bad, I was about to do one of Thomas' favorite shrimp recipes," Chilli said. "You'll love my mom's shrimp, it's delicious," Thomas told. "I bet it is, but I guess I'll have to taste it in another time," Tori said, while putting her backpack on her back. "Oh, that's too bad, Thomas, dear, can you take Tori to the door?" Chilli asked. "Sure," he said.
Thomas did that and took Tori to the door, getting down the stairs. "Thank you so much for this, Tori, you were a big help," Thomas said. "You're welcome, besides, I really enjoyed meeting your family," Tori replied. There was a pause and then Tori was the one to break it. "I really appreciate you told me about… your problems, Thomas, it really meant a lot to know you trust me to confide them to me," she said. "Well, you're my friend… and you gave me a big help too," Thomas said. "Besides, I know you wouldn't judge me or anything like that, so…" Thomas started. But before he could finish what he was about to say, Tori gave him a kiss right on the side of his muzzle, causing him to get silent of how much caught by surprise he was. "Thank you for this wonderful afternoon, Thomas," she told, before opening the door and getting out. Thomas just stood where he was, while still processing what happened, bringing his hand to the place where Tori had just kissed him, while a smile started to appear on his face. However, his state of happiness ended up being interrupted.
"Oooh, Thomas got a smoochy kiss from his girlfriend" Bluey said, right behind Thomas, along with Bingo. "Yeah, a big smoochy kiss," Bingo said. "Oh, you think that was funny, don't you? Well, you won't think that once you get caught by the tickle monster!" Thomas exclaimed, while engaging on one of his favorite games he liked to do with his sisters, starting to pursue them, as they run away, while fun screaming.
Later that night Thomas was in his room laying on his bed watching some TV until Bandit came into his room. "Hey Mate," Bandit said with a smile. "Hey dad," Thomas replied. Bandit then sat down on his son's bed and looked at him. "What?" Thomas said looking at his father. "So I heard you got a little kiss from Tori?" Bandit said with a smile. "Dad," Thomas said with a chuckle. "Come on mate you can tell me father to son," Bandit said wanting to know more. "It was just on My muzzle, nothing Serious," Thomas explained. Bandit chuckled again. "accept I felt like I was normal for once being around her," Thomas expressed. "I felt the same way when you mother kissed me mate," Bandit explained placing his on on his son's.
"You said you always loved mom when you first saw her right," Thomas asked "I did, why do you ask mate?" Bandit asked. "Was it the same feeling when you met Chilli?" Thomas asked Bandit was surprised by this question. "Son, your mother and Chilli are the most important dogs in my life very close to you and your sisters," Bandit explined. "Then how do you know if you really love someone?" Thomas asked. Bandit smile patting his son on the head. "It's something that you just know mate," Bandit said standing up. "You'll be at my game tomorrow?" Thomas asked as Bandit stopped at his son's door. "I wouldn't miss it for the world mate, me, your uncle Stripe and your uncle Rad will all be there," Bandit said with a smile. "Okay dad, good night," Thomas said with a smile. "Good night mate ," Bandit said leaving the room.
Kodiwolf321 A/N well no family is normal especially at the Heeler household well guys this is one of my favorite chapters and I can't wait to share more with you soon!