AN: Hello again! I am so sorry for the weeklong delay for this chapter! This one is a pretty hefty one, capping at around 10,000 or so words; the longest chapter yet!
Before I let you read the story, however, I wanted to take a moment to commemorate a pianist whos music has helped me vastly with this project and with my life as a whole, that being George Winston, a very underrated composer in my opinion. Unfortunately, he passed away on June 4th, the Sunday following Big School Blues's release. I had grown up listening to his songs, and his music really helped me focus and calm myself while working on this story. I know he's long since passed on, but I am still trying to move past the fact that the man who helped spark my interest in piano compositions back in 4th grade had passed away after many years of playing. Thank you, George Winston, for all of your music and everything you've done in your time here.
With my commemorations stated, time to move on to the story. I hope you enjoy this one. This one had me a little worried that it wouldn't be good enough.
Also, I apologize in advance to any Jack fans currently reading this story.
I ALSO APOLOGIZE FOR SEASON 3C SPOILERS! I'm so sorry, there was just a character from the newest episode that I just HAD to include into the story!
Anyway, hope you enjoy!
After a long summer season, the day had finally arrived; the final day before their first day in Secondary. Over the course of the summer, several things had happened to the future students. Most notably, Rusty started practicing Cricket again with his family, Mackenzie and his family went to visit some relatives in New Zealand, and Bluey's old friend Jean-Luc had officially moved with his family from Canada to Australia, and had coincidentally found occupancy in the house where Bluey's neighbor Doreen used to live before passing away. But truth be told, even with all of these events happening, it really didn't feel like the kids saw each other much this season, if at all. The only people Bluey can for certain say she had seen this summer were Lucky and his brother, Judo, and Jean-Luc. Even still, she spent time with Judo to keep her company as she healed from her previous incident, and Jean-Luc was usually too busy unpacking or doing something with his family to come out, leaving Lucky and Chucky the only two to play with them, which she didn't mind at all. Bluey also had her sister, who she had promised months ago that she would be able to play with her as much as she can moving forward. Dare she say, her promise haunted her. It was a promise she wasn't sure she could keep, but she knew the least she could do was try. "What's the worst that could happen?" She often reassured herself with this mantra, though as the days went by, her grip on it began to become looser, clouds of doubt beginning to slowly form in her mind as the days got closer and closer to her first day of Secondary.
The afternoon arrived quickly, and the evening was soon to arrive quicker, so haste had to be made to end this day with a bang before school started again, and all of the kids' parents knew this. They had all decided to organize one huge barbeque together at the park, where both the adults and the children could do their thing. Everyone would bring their own food, drinks, and games, so there would be a variety of activities at their gathering place. Surprisingly, a good majority of the parents agreed to meet at the park for the barbie, and when the time came, everyone set out for the park to attend the gathering.
The first ones to arrive were the Heeler family, who got to business prepping everything as soon as they could. Bandit decided to bring sausages to the park, since a lot of people knew him well for cooking sausages at events prior. He had also got in touch with the other attendees and figured out what food they were bringing so no one would accidentally bring the same thing. Soon Pat and Lucky came with some homemade pizzas, followed by Mackenzie and his family with fresh curry, after them came Bella with Coco, Snickers and his mum, Rusty and Dusty driven by their brother, Digger, and Indy and her mum. Bluey excitedly greeted all of her friends as they came in, and they all gathered under a pavilion to chat.
"So, how have your summers been?" Bluey kicked off the conversation.
"I mean, it was alright," replied Mackenzie, rotating his hand. "I thought we would have all had more chances to get together, but I guess everybody was busy this summer. After I visited some family in New Zealand, I just stayed in my room playing games, for the most part."
"Wait, didn't you come over to my and Jack's houses?" Rusty butted in, questioning his friend's memory.
"Nah, I don't remember that, mate," Mackenzie answered dismissively. "Why don't you tell us about your summer since I hadn't seen you in a while?"
"But you-," Rusty stuttered, followed with a sigh. "My brother wanted to buy a house of his own this summer, so my family and I spent a lot of time helping him, but I was able to see some of my friends this summer, at least," he spoke, looking at Mackenzie suspiciously.
"Well, my mum and I did a bunch of religious stuff around the holidays," Snickers added. "After that, I went to summer camp for a week. It was alright, I suppose. But I missed you guys while I was away."
"My family and I spent the holidays by the sea!" Coco spoke excitedly, only for her tone to become more bummed as she continued. "But after that, we didn't really do much besides visiting relatives."
"You already know how my summer went, Bluey! I spent it kicking your tail at Rugby!" Lucky chuckled jokingly.
"Hey, I'm getting better!" Bluey lightheartedly clapped back at her neighbor, playfully hitting his shoulder. She then looked over at the last of her friends who haven't recapped their summer yet, that being Indy, who looked like she might have been uncomfortable to speak of the subject. "What about you, Indy?" Bluey asked her friend.
"Oh, me?" Indy answered hesitantly, putting her arms down in front of her nervously, one hand over the other, and she began rocking on her toes. "Yeah, I..-" Before Indy could speak, Bluey took notice of a light blue car pulling into the parking lot, and immediately recognized it, excitedly and unknowingly interrupting Indy.
"No way! Judo's here!" Bluey excitedly yelled as she ran over to greet her friend, leaving everyone else muddled.
"Judo?" They all questioned in unison, raising their eyebrows out of curiosity. Coco, Snickers, Lucky, and Rusty knew full well who Judo was, although the former two hadn't seen her in ages. Mackenzie and Indy, however, hadn't ever really met her. They had only heard of her through conversations with Bluey. Though if there was one thing they all knew, it was that she never, ever showed up to events at the same time as other people, if she ever went anywhere at all. Lucky and Bluey, however, knew the full extent as to why she was never able to attend most of their birthday parties or stay in touch with everyone. That's when it clicked back into Bluey and Lucky's minds that something terrible had happened to Judo not too long ago, and she most likely didn't want to get overwhelmed.
"Wait, guys!" Bluey stopped dead in her tracks to call back to her friends to alert them of the situation. "Go easy on Judo when you greet her, alright?" Her friends all nodded out of understanding of her request, although they didn't understand what the reasoning for it was.
When Bluey and Lucky made their way up to Judo and Wendy, the first thing they noticed was her curved lips and darting eyes. It was pretty clear to them that she was nervous about something, and they had an idea why that may have been. "There's so many people here," she whispered to her friends. "And this isn't even a fraction of what school's going to be like."
"Judo, I promise you'll do fine," Bluey reassured her old friend, getting a friendly grip on her hand. "Besides, the more friends you have at your side, the easier it'll be to get through school. I remember when I first went to Kindy, I was nervous-"
"This isn't Kindy, Bluey! This is secondary!" Judo hushedly worried. "Nobody's going to help me get acquainted with anybody! The teachers are probably going to be mean, too!"
"I didn't get to finish, Judo," Bluey looked at her neighbor with slight annoyance present in her face. Judo immediately silenced herself and let her friend finish.
"As I was saying, I was nervous until I met my best friend, Chloe, and she showed me around, played with me, and we got along really well, and she's stayed with me all the way up to now."
"Oh yeah," Judo's mood changed drastically. "Chloe. Your best friend. Right." Judo had never told Bluey to her face, but she had always felt indifferent towards Chloe. She never truly understood why Bluey thought of Chloe, some random dog that lived down the road, as her best friend compared to someone like her, Coco, or Snickers, who had known her as early as since they were all a year old. But Bluey's choices were her own to make, and she had no jurisdiction over who she was to spend time with, as she had learned many moons ago. But even though Bluey's life was her own, Judo wished she could be more influential in helping her friend make decisions. It may come off as her being controlling to others, but Bluey understood that Judo just wanted the best for the person she considered to be her best friend, despite the feeling not being mutual. However, now that she thought about it, with this new setup, she may be able to be of more use to her friend. Maybe she'd be able to make up for lost time?.. But what was the point of it, anyway? Bluey wasn't going to see Judo any higher than she currently was. If she was good enough to be her best friend, she would have already been dubbed as such. Intrusive thoughts began to race and spiral through Judo's mind, as her expression shifted from subtle jealousy to horrific worry.
"Judo? Are you alright?" she could hear Bluey calling out to her, and she began to snap out of her trance.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Judo hurriedly dismissed, not wanting her friend to be worried about her. She took a deep breath. "Let's just get this over with."
Judo, her mum, and her neighbors began to walk down to the pavilion Bluey's other friends were staying in. They all gazed in awe at the sight of the elusive Chow Chow. Coco was the most excited to see her, however. She dashed right up to her and grabbed her arms, starting to dance around in a circle, dragging Judo along with her, which immediately cheered her up.
"Judo! I haven't seen you in ages! Where have you been?!"
"With people I'd rather not talk about anymore," the mood was instantly killed as Judo replied to her old friend's question. However, her mood brightened back up when she noticed the blue and yellow butterfly hair clips on Coco's fur. "You're still wearing the butterfly clips I got you for your birthday all those years ago!"
"Yeah, I love them a lot! I haven't gone a day without them since I turned 6!" Coco happily reported to her old acquaintance. "I also keep them on because they remind me of you. Feels like we never get to see each other anymore, but the clips help me remember you!"
This warmed Judo's heart tremendously, knowing that her mum and Bluey weren't the only two people who cared for her. Coco still remembered her, and she willingly wanted to remember her. This was already going much better than she initially anticipated.
"Yeah, mate! We really gotta do a better job of communicating with each other!" Snickers added, happy to see his old play buddy again.
"Heard a rumor you're staying in the neighborhood," Rusty pitched in, curious of Judo's current situation. "Hope you don't mind me asking, but is this true? Are you alright, by the way?"
"Rusty, I don't think now's a-" Lucky stepped in to dial his friend back a bit, only for Judo to step up and take the hit.
"It's fine, Lucky. I need to get over it at some point anyway," Judo spoke up and began to explain herself. "I got into some family drama and my mum's letting me live with her from now on. That's the long story cut short." Everyone under the roof of the pavilion was shocked by Judo's abridged recap of events.
"I'm really sorry about that," Indy spoke up, addressing Judo for the first 1time. "You're not alone, though. My mum grounded me for almost the whole summer all because I watched a show she doesn't like, and she thought it made me become rebellious or something. All I did was try to ask her what was wrong with it!"
Everyone's shocked faces looked over to Indy. They all had known her mum to be strict at times, not letting her eat certain foods or watching certain shows or movies, or even playing certain games with her friends. Whether out of superstition or overprotection wasn't always clear, but from what Indy and her friends could remember, she hadn't gone this far before.
"Jeez.. Sorry Indy," Rusty gave his condolences to his longtime friend.
"Yeah, sounds like a real bummer summer, mate," Judo responded genuinely and lightheartedly, which made Indy crack up a bit from her word choice.
"That's funny," chuckled Indy. "You're Judo, right? Bluey and Coco have told me about you before."
"Oh, really?" Judo said in a sort of disbelief, which turned into a worry. "What did they say?"
"They told me you're a very thoughtful and protective friend," Indy reassured Judo, giving her a grin. "In fact, I'd say you're sort of like Rusty. He's one of the most loyal friends you could ask for."
Rusty blushed at Indy's compliment, his cheeks going a red deeper than his fur. "Well, I try," the Kelpie said, scratching the back of his head. "But I'd rather you thank my dad and my brother, they're the ones who inspired me to be who I am today. I just want to make them proud, you know?"
"Well, I know we don't talk much, but I'd say you're doing great," complimented Judo, followed by everyone else under the pavilion nodding in agreement, giving Rusty a thankful and confident smile across his face. Judo began to smile and wag her tail in return, seeing how great this was all going. Maybe Secondary wouldn't be so bad after all, seeing how well she was getting along with the others.
"You're doing great too, Judo!" Bluey whispered into her friend's ear, reassuring her that everything was going great.
The rest of the afternoon was spent playing games, eating food, and chatting it up with each other about personal interests.. All except for Mackenzie, who had seemingly disappeared without anyone taking too much notice, but as time went on, his friends, even Judo, began to grow a little concerned for the Border Collie.
"Hey, has anyone seen Mackenzie?" Coco questioned her friends, to which they all shrugged.
"Last I heard, he was going to the bathroom," Rusty explained to the others to the best of his ability. "I'll go check on him to see if he's alright." Without hesitation, Rusty dashed over to the restroom, where he thought Mackenzie went off to, only to find that he wasn't in the bathroom, but rather sitting outside, leaning against the wall, knees curled up to his chest. Rusty knew this position all too well, and he knew something was up.
"Hey Rusty," Mackenzie greeted his friend without looking over in his direction.
"Is everything alright, Mack?" Rusty questioned his friend, who looked as if he was caught in a daze of sorts.
Mackenzie didn't know how to answer Rusty. What was on his mind, he had deemed 'too weird' to talk about with anyone, but it was eating away at him, and he needed to get it off his chest.
"Rusty?" he asked his friend, still not breaking his gaze. "Can we talk for a bit?"
"Yeah, what's going on?" Rusty accepted as he sat down next to Mackenzie. "Are you nervous about big school?"
"No, not just that," Mackenzie began to explain how he felt to the best of his ability. "Look, I'm gonna be real with you, mate.. I didn't really want to play with Bluey this summer because I've been feeling very off about her lately. I'm not sure what it is, but when I see her, my body just gets all fuzzy and warm, like a blanket.. And now that I think about it, this new Judo person kind of makes me feel the same way.. I don't know what's going on! I haven't really felt this way before, have you?"
"Well, sometimes I feel cozy with Indy, kind of like you said," confessed Rusty to his mate, who had finally decided to make eye contact with him. "But that doesn't stop me from hanging out with her."
"I just don't want to make it awkward," the Border Collie voiced his concern. "I don't know what'll happen if I say something when I get that feeling. What if I say something I don't mean or they think I'm acting weird and they get all worried?"
"Mack, mate, it's alright," Rusty grabbed his friend's hand and snugly squeezed it. "Whatever's going on, we'll figure it out together. You, Jack, and I, we've stuck together for ages now, and we've taken on just about everything together, both in whatever game we were playing and for real life, because we're like brothers in war! We're gonna fight through thick and thin together until the very end, like the soldiers we are, do you hear me?!" Rusty began to raise his voice, going into his Sergeant mode in an attempt to motivate Mackenzie, which seemed to work, as a determined smile slowly began to spread across his face as Rusty spoke to him.
"Sir, yes, sir!" Mackenzie began to pipe up, beginning to speak with a slight bit of confidence in his voice, although, not enough for Rusty to be certain his friend was feeling better.
"I can't hear you, soldier! Speak it loud and proud!" the Kelpie ordered the Border Collie, causing the latter to speak louder and more confident than before.
"Sir, yes, sir!"
"With pride, soldier!"
"Sir, yes, sir!!"
"One more time, give it all you got! I need to know that you're ready!"
"Sir, yes, sir! I'm ready, sir!!"
"Attaboy, now charge forth with confidence!"
"Sir, yes, sir!!"
Rusty and Mackenzie shot up from their spots and took off sprinting and yelling a powerful war cry towards their friends, feeling motivated and empowered, ready to take on the world as a mighty duo.. Only to bump into Indy and Bluey, who had gone to check on their friends, as they rounded the corner. The two pairs crashed into each other and plopped onto the ground, mostly unphased by what just happened.
"Well, there you two are!" Bluey spoke up, rubbing her head. "We were beginning to worry about you!"
"'Beginning to'?" Mackenzie teased, soothing his aches as well. "Like you weren't already worried about us?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Bluey joked back with her friend.
"Oh, nothing, I just thought, y'know, since we've been friends for so long, you'd show a bit more concern for us," Mackenzie continued to tease, although he was beginning to feel anxious again. That tickly feeling he had described to Rusty was beginning to come back, but he had to stay strong.
"Really funny, mate," the Blue Heeler retorted sarcastically. "Now, let's get back to playing before-"
"Alright, girls, I'd say it's about time we head back!" Bandit called from across the field, making his way to the car.
"Same with you, Indy! Tomorrow's a big day!" Indy's mum called out from where she was standing. Eventually the other adults stood up and motioned their kids over, and they complied.
"Aww, we didn't get to finish playing," Indy whined, sad that it was time to go.
"Don't worry, Indy! We'll see each other tomorrow, and we'll start playing again when they let us out for playtime!" Bluey tried to cheer up her friend, only to be dismissed by Rusty's unfortunate news.
"Actually, I don't think playtime's a thing in Secondary, unless you're enrolled in a sport," Rusty explained to his feminine friends. "Digger told me all about Secondary over the summer, and he said it's really boring compared to Primary, but we'll still be able to hang out with each other after school or on the weekends!" However, this didn't seem to lift Indy's spirits all that much, and it only seemed to drain Bluey's. Both of the boys began to feel bad in their own regard, Mackenzie for feeling like he wasted everyone's time and Rusty for failing to cheer his friends up. Soon the quartet of dogs were sadly and awkwardly looking at each other. That was, until Judo came to say goodbye to her newfound friends.
"Hey, Indy," the Chow Chow asked the Afghan Hound. "Are you going to the same Secondary school Bluey and I are?"
"Yeah, I think we all are, right?" Indy asked the people surrounding her, to which they all gave a nod.
"We'll all go through Big School together, as a team," Mackenzie spoke up to his friends. "We'll all take it on together headfirst tomorrow morning." Everyone cheered in agreement with Mackenzie's vow.
"Hey! Are you lot coming home or camping out here?!" Bandit joked from afar, awaiting his other daughter to follow him. The other parents were with him as well, awaiting their mini-mes as well. The kids knew they couldn't keep their parents waiting, so they all took off to meet with them and go home. However, Judo and Mackenzie went a lot slower than the others. Mackenzie hadn't said a single word to Judo up until then, and she was curious as to why, if he would even answer.
"Hey, 'Mackenzie', right?" she asked the monochrome dog, to which he simply nodded at first. "Come on, I know you can talk, mate," she coaxed him, eventually getting him to say something.
"Yeah, I talk," he replied. "What do you need me to say?"
"I just wanted to know why we didn't talk much and why you ran off. Was it something I said?" questioned Judo, who was worried she might have done something to upset him.
"No, no, not at all! I just didn't really know what to say, is all," Mackenzie tried his best to respond to her question, hoping he wasn't coming off awkwardly. "I guess sometimes I just worry about stupid things and I just go off to get some space, I dunno. I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings, I promise it's not your fault."
"It's alright, I get it. Life's rough and you need a breather sometimes. I just wish we got to talk more, you seem like an interesting bloke. Maybe we can talk some more after school tomorrow?"
"Sure, if we have time."
"Right-o! It's a date, then!" Judo playfully nudged Mackenzie's arm as she confirmed their plan aloud before running off to meet with her mum. "See you after school tomorrow! Nice meeting you!"
Mackenzie didn't know what to make of any of this. He was stuck in a state of stupor, staring in Judo's direction as she lively skipped along back to Wendy. He could feel the warm, blankety feeling he described earlier running through his body, his cheeks beginning to lightly blush. What did any of this mean? Why was he suddenly feeling like this? He thought he should ask his dad or his mum, but he didn't want them to worry about him either. This might be one of those things he'd have to figure out himself. However, as soon as Wendy and her daughter drove off, the comfortable feeling had then faded again. He wanted to give in and ask his parents for advice, but he had to stay strong for his friends. He had to stay strong for Rusty. He had already caused him enough worry with the constant sneaking away and his absence for nearly the whole summer. He had to make it up to him somehow. Mackenzie took a deep breath, then marched forward back to his family's vehicle to prepare for the big day ahead of them.
Later that night, everyone had fallen asleep early, as to get an adequate amount of sleep before school the next morning. Everyone except for Rusty, who was laying in his bed, staring at the top bunk he once slept in ages ago. He still had a lot on his mind, most dominantly, what Mackenzie had brought up. The warm and cozy feeling that occurred whenever his friend saw Bluey and Judo. The feeling he got sometimes when he was with Indy. He didn't understand what this feeling was or why he felt this way with Indy in particular, but not with anyone else, not even Jack, who he had grown very close to since they first met in Primary. Obviously, his dad wasn't going to have the time to tell him, his little sister most likely wouldn't know, and he didn't dare think about asking his mum, especially not at this hour. He would wait until tomorrow afternoon, but he needed answers now, and he couldn't sleep because of it. Rusty grabbed his phone from off his drawer and dialed his brother, Digger, who was typically up around this hour playing games or on his phone, scrolling through his socials. The ringing went on for a bit, but eventually, Digger picked up.
"Hey, little bro! Miss me already?" Digger teased his brother on the other end.
"Hey, I'm sorry for the late call, but I need your help for a bit," Rusty pleaded to his brother. "Something's been on my mind lately and I can't sleep because of it."
"Yeah, what's bugging you, mate?" Digger accepted his brother's offer. "I promise I won't tell Mum."
"Alright. So, I have this friend that I've known since I started Primary, right? Her name's Indy, I'm sure you've seen her before. Lately, there's been times that, when I'm around her, I get this really warm, tingly feeling when I'm with her. My mate Mackenzie's been feeling the same about a few people. I was just wondering if you could help me understand what this is so I could maybe help him?"
Digger initially gave a chuckle, the kind of laugh you'd hear following a well-executed joke. Rusty was confused at first, but then Digger spoke. "I think I know what this is!" he spoke in a sly-ish tone. "You're in love, mate!"
"What?! For real life?!" Rusty spoke with a start, while also trying to remain quiet.
"Yeah, no better way to put it, I'm afraid! That's one of the ways your body's gonna say 'Take a look at this Sheila!'" Digger cracked up a bit more, although Rusty didn't find it funny. He was more confused than anything. He had never really considered himself and Indy in a real life relationship before, besides all the times they've played Mums and Dads together and joked about how weird it would be if the game was for real life. But Rusty trusted that Digger knew what he was talking about, he usually did. "See, bro; as you get older, your body gets bigger and changes more inside than it does outside, and you're gonna be dealing with these horrid things called 'hormones', which make your emotions go crazier than Dusty on a sugar rush!" the older Kelpie explained to his little brother, who was listening attentively to everything Digger had to say. "Do you remember any days where I've been super moody? Angry one moment, then sad the next, and after that I'm happy again?"
Rusty thought hard about his brother's question. Usually, he was very good at keeping his composure around him, Mum, and Dusty. Although, try as he may, there have been times where he's caught Digger aggressively groaning or crying in their room, and he did what he could to help, even if it was as simple as hugging him or leaving him alone. "Yeah, a few, I think," Rusty answered after some consideration.
"That's how it might be for you and your mates soon, I'm afraid. But it's just a part of growing up, nothing to be ashamed of," Digger reassured his brother, giving him the clarity he needed for now. "Hey, listen, it's getting late, and it's gonna be a big day for both of us tomorrow. Why not try and get some shut-eye now, and I'll answer the rest of your questions after school, alright?"
"Alright, thanks Digger. I love you, mate."
"Love you too, brother!"
And with that, the Kelpie brothers had severed the line and were both lying in bed, eyes slowly closing, brain slowly drifting to sleep. All the while, Rusty tried to make sense of his brother's wisdom. Was he really in love with Indy? What did it even mean to love someone romantically? How would he go about telling Indy that he may have feelings for her? What would she say? Most importantly to him, however; how would Mackenzie assess his situation? Would he be able to decide on someone at some point down the line? Did the 'crazy emotions' thing apply to everyone? Did that mean other people like Coco might try to express how they feel? Eventually, the only thought that circled Rusty's head was the crowds calling to him in his dream, and he stayed within his dream throughout the night, sleeping peacefully until the next morning.
The night that followed felt like one of the shortest to most of the kids in Brisbane. The time went by so fast that they felt like they had barely gotten any sleep at all. One minute, they were asleep, and the next, they were being beckoned to their bathrooms to prepare for the day ahead of them. However, as groggy as everyone was, everything still ran like clockwork, most of the students arriving at school early enough to get a quick chat in before heading inside. Standing at the doors, staring at the entrance was Bluey and Jean-Luc, who have just been dropped off by their parents, who wished their offspring the best of luck on their first day.
"Bye, Bluey! You're gonna do great!" Chilli called out to her daughter.
"Au revoir, Jean-Luc! Bonne chance!" Jean-Luc's dad encouraged his son.
As their respective parents drove off, Bluey and Jean-Luc stood next to each other, staring at the large, two story school in front of them, striking intimidation effortlessly into the two dogs.
"You ready?" Bluey asked her foreign friend.
"Oui," Jean-Luc gave his friend the approval she needed, and they grabbed each others' arms and began to walk into the building together to take on whatever today had in store.
Walking through the heavy metal doorway, Bluey and Jean-Luc saw the hallways lined with several students at their lockers, inspecting the space and stowing away items for later. To her surprise, Bluey recognized only a few faces in the hallway. The rest, she had never seen before. "More opportunities to make friends!" she thought to herself, optimistic about the ordeal. One of the faces she did recognize in the hallway was Jack Russell, who appeared to be looking for his locker with a very nervous expression on his face. His fear was understandable, as this was a brand new environment for him. Bluey wanted to help him, but she didn't know how she could be of any use to him, as she and Jean-Luc were in the same boat as him.
Before Bluey could do anything, however, right behind Jack walked up four dogs she had never seen before; a Rottweiler wearing a spike collar and bracelet, a German Shepherd with dilated pupils and frantic movements, a very muscular Bulldog, and leading the quartet was a tall Cane Corso who had a smug grin on his face as he was walking up near Jack. In that very moment, Jack spun around to go the other direction, but wound up bumping into the tall, black dog as he did so, causing the former to lose his balance and fall onto the floor, and the latter to stumble back a bit.
"Hey, bonehead!" the Cane Corso scolded Jack. "You were given eyes for a reason! Use them!"
"I'm so sorry, I'm new here, and-" Jack panicked, trying to apologize for his mistake, only to be cut off by the dark dog.
"We're all new here, stupid! What, did you not show up for orientation? Do you even know who your teacher is?"
"I forgot! Look, I'm sorry for bumping into you, but can you please help me out here?"
"Yeah, mate. Let's get you closely acquainted with these walls!" The black dog then snatched Jack's arm, yanking him up to his feet, and then shoved him against a vacant wall that wasn't taken up by any lockers, forcing him against the painted bricks. "The name's Zeus, you squib, and I want you to remember this moment in case you ever want to think about bumping into me or my mates again. Understood?"
"Wait, so, are you just not going to introduce us?" the Rottweiler spoke up, annoyance very present in her voice.
"You can introduce yourselves!" Zeus barked back at her. "But my name's the only one he really needs to remember going forward!"
"Alright. I'm-" the Rottweiler was cut off by her Bulldog friend.
"Hey, Boss? We're running a little late," the muscular dog spoke to his tall acquaintance. "You said you wanted to make a good first impression, right?"
Zeus growled at his time with Jack being interrupted, but he knew he had to leave a good impression on the teachers if he were to continue pulling any more stunts. "I'll be back for you later, Spot Butt!" Zeus let off Jack and then set off to attend his first class. Bluey and Jean-Luc then rushed over to check on Jack.
"Jack, are you alright?" Bluey asked the shaken boy, who was breathing heavily and quickly.
"Yeah, I'm alright, I guess," Jack replied, gradually slowing his breathing. "I didn't mean to make him upset.. Last time someone was that angry with me was when I didn't buy Lulu a unicorn plushie for her birthday last year."
"Pas de soucis, Jack. It wasn't your fault," Jean-Luc soothed Jack. "They were bullies, and they only did that to you because they like being mean to nice and happy people like you."
"I don't have any sushi on me today, sorry," Jack replied, mishearing the foreign dog. "I'll try to remember to bring some someday."
Jean-Luc got a chuckle out of Jack's misinterpretation. "No, no, 'pas de soucis' means 'no worries' in French," he kindly corrected Jack, who now felt even more incompetent and sorry than before. Jack sighed heavily.
"I'm sorry, I'll go try to find my class now," Jack spoke to Bluey and Jean-Luc, walking away in shame and guilt for feeling like he messed everything up on his first day. Bluey and Jean-Luc felt just as bad for Jack, but they had no more time to console him, and they hurried their way to their first period, which they coincidentally shared.
Bluey's first period class was nothing short of exciting at first glance. Not only was her first period literature, but in her class were some of her other close friends, including Judo, Mackenzie, Coco, and Chloe. The rest of the students were foreign to her, but most notably among them was a very noisy and flamboyant Siberian Husky in the back of the class who had her ears pierced and had the tips of the fur tufts on the sides of her head dyed red. Interestingly, in contrast to her red fur, she wore a jade ring on her right hand. She was standing on her chair with one of her legs standing on the desk, and she spoke to her other classmates with a dry, slightly raspy voice, as if she had previously been screaming nonstop for several minutes.
"Yeah, I've been to a few of his concerts before," she spoke proudly to her peers, who were all listening intently. "But I don't think any of them have topped his tour a few years back. I was lucky enough to attend it with my dad, and I still remember it like it was yesterday!" As she boasted of her experience, Bluey and Jean-Luc sat down at their desks and awaited their teacher. However, the Husky noticed them before their teacher arrived, and she began to address them. "Good day to you both! Name's Lucy, how are we doing this fine morning?"
"Good, thanks," Bluey replied to her new peer. "I'm Bluey, and this is Jean-Luc."
"Bonjour, Madame," the Labrador kindly greeted the Husky in his native tongue.
"Nice to meet you two! Always nice to meet new people, in fact! Have you met Mackenzie? He's a sweet bloke, isn't he?"
"I am right here," Mackenzie spoke up, looking down at his desk with his hands over his head, embarrassed by Lucy's compliment.
"It's true, though!" added Coco, who was conveniently assigned right next to Mackenzie.
"Please leave me alone," the monochrome dog briskly dismissed his fluffy friend. Bluey was very concerned about her friend's behavior, but she also wanted to respect his wishes to be left alone, so she reluctantly shelved her intrigue. Before she could say anything else to anyone, an adult Cocker Spaniel walked into the room and began to introduce herself.
"Good morning, all! I am Ms. Spaniel, your literature teacher for the year!" She greeted herself with a large smile on her face. "I'm very excited for this year, and I can't wait to get to know you all! In fact, we'll be taking our first class session to do just that! We'll be going down our list in alphabetical order, so that means we'll be starting with.. Albert!" In response to his teacher's request, a rather chubby pug stood up from the middle right of the room and began to speak, and thus commenced the class's meet and greet.
The hours went by and the day proceeded as expected. The students all made their rotations around their periods, taking time to introduce themselves to their teachers and get used to their new workspaces. Most found themselves feeling comfortable with the new arrangements, all but Mackenzie, it seemed, as no matter where he went, a few girls always followed, and it seemed like the more girls he met, the more people had their eyes set on Mackenzie, and this made him more uncomfortable than ever. Eventually lunchtime came, and the students marched their way down into the cafeteria, getting whatever food caught their eye and placing it on their trays before sitting down at a table with friends of their choosing. Rusty had already sat down at a table with Jack, and they were already talking a bit, although Rusty noticed Jack was a bit more anxious than usual, and he was constantly, frantically looking behind himself.
"Jack, is everything alright?" Rusty questioned his nervous friend.
"Oh, yeah, everything's fine, nothing's happened, I'm good!" he briskly and awkwardly responded, raising more concern from Rusty, but before the Kelpie could say anything, Mackenzie rushed over to the table and slid into the seat in between Jack and Rusty.
"Woah, that was smooth!" Rusty complimented his other friend, who too looked stressed.
"I'm not trying to rack up style points, Rusty," Mackenzie hurriedly spoke, frantically shoving food into his mouth, only to catch a piece in his throat and begin coughing.
"Mackenzie, slow down! What's got you in a rush?" Rusty cried out, concerned for his friend who had almost begun to choke on his food.
"I don't want to be here any longer than I have to be!" Mackenzie began to rush again, scarfing more food into his mouth. Rusty then stood up, walked over to his friend, and grabbed his hand.
"Slow down, Mackenzie! You're going to hurt yourself!" Rusty repeated to his friend, who he had just noticed that his eyes were a pale red. "Dude, did you even sleep last night?!"
"I'll be fine, let go of me!" Mackenzie snapped at Rusty as he tried to pull away to no avail.
"Mackenzie, breathe!" ordered a very worried Rusty. Mackenzie began to notice the concern in his friend's eyes and took a deep breath as instructed. He immediately began to feel much calmer than before. "What is going on?" Rusty calmly, yet sternly asked the shaky and seemingly tired Border Collie, who gave an answer he wasn't fully prepared for, a knack he seemed to have, Rusty reckoned.
"To be honest with you, I didn't really sleep well last night," Mackenzie caved in and finally answered. "The feeling I felt yesterday kept eating at me all night and I couldn't figure out what it was, so I asked my dad what he thought of it, and he told me I might be - as crazy as it sounds - in love with Bluey!"
"Well, do you believe him?" asked Rusty, curious of his friend's views on the matter.
"I don't want to admit it," Mackenzie began to sulk. "But I think he might be right.."
"Digger told me something like that last night," Rusty consoled his friend. "I think it's just a part of getting older. Your emotions are gonna go crazy as time goes on, and this is only the start of it, from my understanding."
"Dear God," Mackenzie whined, burying his face into his arms. "This year's gonna suck.." Before Rusty could continue comforting his friend, Jack spoke up.
"I gotta go to the bathroom, be right back!" Jack hurriedly spoke as he rushed outside of the cafeteria, although sounding more panicked than expected. Rusty didn't think anything of it until he noticed four dogs getting up and following Jack. The leader of the parade, a Cane Corso, had a grin on his muzzle, but not an innocent, cheery grin; it was a grin of malice with a hint of rage.
"I got a bad feeling about those guys, Mack," the Kelpie addressed his concern. "Should we follow Jack just to make sure he's alright?"
"What guys?" Mackenzie didn't know what Rusty was talking about, as he still had his head down when the five people had previously walked out of the room.
"The ones that just followed Jack into the bathroom," Rusty clarified, beginning to sound more worried. "The way they all got up after he ran out just seems off to me. Not to mention the guy in front had a mean look on his face."
"Maybe they all had to wee at the same time? I don't know, Red! I'm not in the mood for drama today!"
"Well, I'm gonna go check it out, because if anything were to happen to Jack.." Rusty trailed off and cringed, not wanting to think about the possibility of Jack being injured or worse. He shook his head to clear his mind and then sneakily made his way up to where the bathrooms were. Immediately, as he rounded the corner, Rusty bore witness to something that would forever be ingrained into his mind.
Jack was pinned against the wall, held down by the Cane Corso he saw earlier. Surrounding them were who Rusty could only assume were the latter's friends. He could hear Jack whimpering and heavily breathing as the Cane Corso began to speak over him.
"I told you I'd be back for you, didn't I, Shrimp?" Zeus spoke almost tauntingly to the terrified Jack Russell.
"Please let me go! I'm sorry! I'll be more careful next time, I promise!" Jack cried, hyperventilating. However, Zeus did not take any mind of Jack's apology.
"No," he chuckled malevolently. "No, I'm not letting you go yet, mate. I don't think you know what it's like to be bumped into and stepped on like a doormat. But I'm gonna teach you!"
Zeus then hit Jack in his stomach with his knee, causing him to kneel and cry out in pain. Rusty knew he couldn't sit back anymore and just watch this all unfold, so he ran up to them and barked at the bullies.
"Hey! Let him go!" he sternly demanded, grabbing the group's attention. Zeus let off Jack and turned to Rusty, who was standing boldly, staring at them. However, Zeus and his companions were unphased. If anything, Zeus began to laugh.
"Well, I didn't know the shrimp had a friend!" he chuckled at the appearance of Rusty. "What, are you gonna try to stand up for him, Capsicum? Don't see much of a point, honestly. I'd just suggest you get better friends if they're this weak."
"Jack is not weak! In fact, he's got something stronger than any muscle in your body, and that's his heart! And that's all he needs to be stronger than you!"
"Let's get one thing straight, kiddo," Zeus began to walk up to Rusty, and the Kelpie then noticed how the Cane Corso was just about half a foot taller than him, but he wasn't intimidated, not in the slightest. "It's pretty apparent nobody's told you this before, so I'll go easy on you: The power of friendship gets you nowhere in life. It's a sad lie created by hopeless fools who want you to remain ignorant of the fact that, no matter how many times you wake up and say your prayers, society won't become any better than it was yesterday, and people will always use and abandon you at their leisure!" Rusty was unphased by Zeus's delusion and continued to stand strong against him. "Now, I have enough respect for you to let you off with a warning and steer you down the right path, Kelpie. In fact, I'll do what you ask of me and leave Shrimpy alone for now.. But I'm leaving you with a reminder." Suddenly, Zeus unsheathed his claws and swatted once and hard at Jack's cheek as he struggled to get up, knocking him back down again, causing him to cry out in pain once more. "You stay out of my way, you stay on my good side." Zeus then motioned his friends to return to the cafeteria, and they followed. The bulldog had a blank expression as he walked, unphased by what he witnessed. The German Shepherd was snickering, which gradually turned into a quiet cackle. However, the Rottweiler took a brief glance at Rusty as she walked away, showing a miniscule hint of thought for the boy and his friend. Zeus then stepped back and looked at both Jack and Rusty. "And if either of you think about ratting me out to the knurse, I don't think you'll like what'll happen next.." After the threat was made, he marched off with the rest of his group, and as soon as the gang left, Rusty raced over to Jack and slid onto the ground to get to his viewing level.
Jack was left in a state of stupor, with sharp, choppy breathing and tears beginning to stream down his face. He picked up one of his paws and put it against the cheek that was scratched to feel the depth of the cut, only to be greeted with a wet, warm substance. When he lifted his paw up off of his cheek, he saw his fur was now sprinkled with lines of red. His hand began to shake and he began to hyperventilate again. Rusty then gently grabbed one of Jack's hands and stood up, pulling up the wounded young man off of the ground. Suddenly, Mackenzie rounded the corner and saw what was, immediately racing over to the boys to help them take Jack to the nurse's office.
It took them a while to get there, but they eventually made their way to the nurse's office, where Jack was sat down and given some ice to cease the swelling.
"Miss, is it alright if we stay here with him?" Rusty asked the nurse, who had a rather annoyed expression on her face.
"No, I can handle this. You two go back to class," she rudely declined.
"But Miss!-" Mackenzie pleaded, only to be denied once more.
"No. Means. No! Get out!" the nurse irritatedly snapped at the boys, and with deep sadness and worry, the boys gave one final look to Jack before heading back to the cafeteria to regroup with the rest of their mates, leaving Jack alone and afraid with no one to talk to besides the snippy nurse, who was ringing Jack's parents to pick him up, seeing how he was hardly able to walk. Jack felt miserable the whole time, and he couldn't help but feel like it was his fault. After all, Zeus had only gotten mad at him after they bumped into each other. Maybe if he had minded his own business, he wouldn't be in this predicament.
Meanwhile, Mackenzie and Rusty were traversing through the hallway, worried as ever for their friend. As they walked onward, Mackenzie began to feel strange, but this wasn't the fluttery feeling he got when he laid his eyes upon someone like Bluey or Judo. His heart began to feel heavy, hurting almost. His eyes began to feel warm, as if tears were about to pour out. His mind was running in circles, thinking about Jack and the bullies. Rusty was right, those people were bad. He didn't listen to him, and his friend paid an unfair price because of it. Mackenzie began to feel something he hadn't felt since the beginning of summer, a feeling he thought he had left behind in the tunnel back at Glasshouse. That feeling of guilt, the fear, the anxiety that manifested from it; it was all starting to come back to him. Mackenzie stopped dead in his tracks and breathed heavily. Rusty stopped and turned back around as well, looking back to his friend, who was beginning to slowly shut down.
"You were right," Mackenzie began to rant. "They were bad. They hurt Jack. I should have come with you. I could have helped prevent this."
"This isn't your fault," Rusty began to console his friend. "Those bullies hurt Jack, not you. I'm not sure how we could have prevented it, to be honest with you. But they're gonna regret hurting him."
Mackenzie slowly started to come to his senses. He took a deep breath and began to feel around himself for all of the negative emotions, as Bluey instructed him to do when she first showed him the technique, and then threw it down the hallway. He immediately began to feel better following the disposal of his negative emotions. "We should tell somebody if we get the chance, maybe one of the teachers here will know what to do," he suggested to Rusty, who had a look of great concern on his face.
"No," Rusty declined, much to Mackenzie's surprise. "The bully said that if we told on him, he'd hurt Jack even more. I don't want to take any risks."
"Then what do you suggest we do about it?" Mackenzie's question made Rusty think long and hard about the situation. He didn't know what to do, if he could do anything at all. If he told anyone in authority, that would put Jack at risk of getting hurt again, but if he didn't do anything, the Cane Corso and his friends might find other victims to harass.
"I don't know.. At the very least, we can try to keep him company throughout the school year. Do you think he'll fancy a sleepover this weekend?"
"I guess we can text him and see what he thinks later," Mackenzie agreed to the Kelpie's idea.
Without warning, another voice echoed down the hall, calling out to them. "There you are! The teachers have been looking for you!" Bluey called down the hall to her friends, only to notice that there were only two young men standing in the hallway and not three. "Where's Jack?"
"He's hurt," Rusty explained. "But he's a strong soldier, he'll hold out until his parents come to take him back."
"We wanted to stay with him, but the nurse wouldn't let us," Mackenzie added, still feeling a little sad about the ordeal.
"What happened? Did he slip in the bathroom?" Bluey worriedly questioned her friends as they all began to walk back to the cafeteria to finish their lunch. Rusty and Mackenzie were debating on if they should tell Bluey the full story or not. They knew how sensitive Bluey was at times, and they especially knew how much she loved her friends, so they were positively sure she would not take the news of a gang of bullies lurking within their new school lightly. Then again, they couldn't think of anyone who would, outside of maybe Lucky or the Terrier triplets, who would most definitely try to take the bullies head-on. She was also one of their oldest friends, so they thought her trustworthy enough to know.
Rusty began with a sigh, "We have a bully problem. Jack got beaten up by a Cane Corso while his friends watched.
"I saw him earlier! He was holding Jack up against the wall and saying mean things to him!" Bluey responded, informing her friends of what she witnessed. "His name is Zeus, I think! We should go tell the teacher!"
"No, we can't!" Mackenzie butted in. "He told Rusty that he'd hurt Jack again if we told anyone!"
"Nonsense, Mackenzie! If we tell the teachers, they'll set him straight! He won't have time to hurt Jack again!"
"No, he's right," another voice called from down the hallway. "Your situation is only gonna get worse if you rat them out. Take it from me, I've dealt with him and his group for ages now. You'd think after everything we've been through, he'd change by now." The group turned around to look at who was speaking, and standing in front of them was a Siberian Husky with pierced ears, a jade ring on her right hand, and red fur tips on the side of her head.
"Lucy, what are you doing here?" Bluey asked her new classmate.
"The teacher sent me to fetch you, since you took forever trying to find the boys," she half-jokingly responded to the Blue Heeler.
"I got lost, it's a new school for all of us!" Bluey retorted, not in the mood for joking around, seeing as how one of her friends was hurt.
"Fair point," shrugged Lucy. "Come on, let's head to our next class. The teachers said they'll take care of your lunch."
"We barely had time to eat!" Mackenzie rightfully complained.
"Not your fault," she consoled him. "Zeus and his mates are nothing but sad, attention-seeking muppets, plain and simple. I've put up with them and their rubbish for years now. I hate seeing others go through the same stuff I went through.." Lucy's expression changed slightly as she noticed there were only three people, and she was meant to come back with four. "I'd assume this 'Jack' mate of yours was the one who got turned in?" In response, Lucy was met with the slow, grim nods of Bluey, Rusty, and Mackenzie.
"He's going to be taken home soon," Rusty reiterated to Lucy, who gave a brief sigh of relief, knowing that their friend is mostly fine as of now.
"Tell you what? We'll be confidants," Lucy proposed. "If we spread the news about Zeus, it's gonna cause trouble for everyone. Not only will Zeus get furious, but everybody's gonna be watching their tails in fear of the big, bad, Cane Corso. But if we keep it a secret - at least, for now - then we might be able to come up with a plan and deal with it ourselves before anyone's any wiser. I've got unfinished business with them, and I'm sure you want this school year to be easier on yourselves. Together, we might be able to stop them!"
"Lucy, no offense, mate, you seem like a really nice girl, but I think you're a little in over your head here," Mackenzie replied almost immediately. "We're four pre-teens in a brand new school who know next to nothing about anyone here. Or, at least, us three don't."
"Mack, we have to do this, not just for Jack's safety, but for everyone's safety, yours included," Rusty sincerely spoke to Mackenzie, putting a paw on his shoulder.
"Now that I think about it, I think Mia said something about how the teachers here aren't as nice as Calypso," Bluey spoke up, considering Lucy's offer. "I think it might be our best bet, just to be safe."
"Wait, you went to Calypso's school?!" Lucy exclaimed. "You lot have no idea how lucky you were! I always wanted to go there when I was little! It would have been so much better than the Primary I went to.." Lucy then began to look at her ring on her right hand. "Maybe if we were there.." she began to trail off, her face beginning to look as if she stumbled across a late family member's headstone. She closed her eyes and slowly shook her head before looking back to her new colleagues. "I'll see you later, after school. I'm afraid we won't be sharing the next few periods together."
"See ya, Lucy!" they all said to her as they began to part ways. Just then, Mackenzie remembered something vital.
"Aw, biscuits!" Mackenzie swore aloud. "Judo said she wanted to meet after school! She said something about a date, I think?"
"Mack, mate, when I encouraged you to charge out into the world, I didn't mean knock the ball out of the park!" Rusty cried, not knowing whether to laugh in pride or be just as worried as his friend.
"How did she say it?" Bluey asked her friend with a hint of doubt in her voice.
"She said, 'It's a date, then!' after she brought up meeting up to talk after school let out," Mackenzie explained to his liaison for Judo.
"No, no, mate," Bluey snickered, face-palming. "That's just what she says when she makes a plan with someone. She said she heard it first from.." Bluey looked around the hallway to make sure Judo wasn't somewhere listening to their conversation before continuing. "..Her dad."
"Ohh," Mackenzie spoke slowly in understandment. "Man, you girls are funny, I'll give you that."
Before Bluey could make a retaliation against Mackenzie, their teacher for their next period and the rest of their class walked down the hallway.
"There you all are! I've sent several students out to look for you all, what happened?" the teacher cried out worriedly.
"We just got a little lost is all, Miss!" Rusty took initiative, speaking to their teacher. "We'll try our best to not let it happen again!"
"I thought there was someone else that went out before you all," the teacher curiously commented. "Wasn't his name 'Jack'?"
"Yes, but he slipped in the bathroom and got hurt," Bluey added. "His parents are coming to pick him up soon."
"Oh, I see," the teacher replied caringly. "Bless his heart, I hope he's alright. Anyway, it's almost time for class to start, so why not come on in?" Bluey, Rusty, and Mackenzie soon did as they were asked, and the day began to proceed per usual. Although, the three had a lot to think about now, between Lucy's offer, Jack's status, and meeting with Judo later. All worries aside, regardless of how the dice rolled, Bluey, Mackenzie, and Rusty were still fairly certain that at the end of the day they'd still be staying strong together and doing whatever it takes to make it through. They didn't realize that today would only mark the beginning of a continuous downward spiral, not just for Bluey, Mackenzie, and Rusty, but for all of their friends as well.
AN2: That was certainly much longer than I had previously anticipated! I apologize once more for the delay, hopefully the next chapter will be out sooner and we'll be back on a decent schedule! Hopefully you all enjoyed this one! As always, feel free to leave your thoughts in the reviews, and I'll see you all when the next chapter drops!
Boy, it's gonna be a doozy.