Hey everyone! I'm back with a new chapter. Hope you enjoy this next segment.
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Chapter 14: Titanium
The next day, the family and I went to the playground for the afternoon (not long after we picked the kids up from school.)
There, some of Bluey's friends had come to join us such as Chloe, Mackenzie, Rusty, and a few others. Bingo wanted to get on the swings (or as Bluey called it…big girl swing) and Bandit ultimately decided to accompany her. Chili, meanwhile, went to do cardio around a small trail nearby in the meantime.
That left Bluey and I.
Speaking of the small Blue Heeler: she gathered some of her friends for a game of pretend…some kind of Olympic-style competition or something like that. I, however, chose to explore the park first instead. It wasn't very big so it didn't take long for me to get bored and head back.
Along the way, from the corner of my eye I can see a group of three older kids grouped together. Judging by their looks, they appear to be anywhere from 11 to 13 years old. They all have skateboards and whatnot, but what had me look at them with a stink eye was the fact they were picking on younger kids in the park.
I already got irritated by them, scoffing at the absurdity of what they were doing. They had no reason to be doing it…just a bunch of immature little brats. It doesn't take a genius to know they're up to no good…but maybe we adults really ARE that stupid to see what's in front of our eyes?
Despite all this, my attention is soon instead drawn to Bluey and her friends racing, and I decide to join them (I shouldn't give those bullies any attention anyway, right?)
"Dustin! Wanna join us!?" The small Heeler asked as I nodded. And so, we did a bit of racing on a flat field in the middle of the park. Bluey called it: Kangaroo Hopping (which is a hilarious race she had made up.) Bandit saw Chili coming back and they both decided to sit down on a bench not too far away from us.
Anyway, I was paired with Coco, one of Bluey's classmates, and we held each other's shoulders and tried hopping in unison to win the race against the others.
"Come on, we got to jump on the same leg together, Coco!" I told her in my heavy child, Aussie, accent. Unfortunately, we couldn't get in synch, and we ended up tripping while others passed us by. I groan loudly in response, but resolve overcame me. I tried to help the pink poodle up, "come on, we got this!"
Funny enough, Coco tried to run instead of hopping to make it to the others, but it failed spectacularly and resulted in us tripping again. I sighed as Coco grumbled about our failure…I guess we were just destined to fail together…heh.
I need a drink…water to be more specific. Bluey, once everyone broke away for a moment, saw me walking up to her, "boy…doing all this is exhausting…"
"You look thirsty, come on" she suddenly grabbed my paw and dragged me toward a little building not too far away as I blurted out, "w-where are we going?"
"To the bubbler!" She said, pointing ahead as if we were on some grand adventure, but all it did was wrap me in confusion, "the what?" She stopped, surprised by my question; however, she remembered that I was not from here, "ah yeh! It's one of those…uh…places you drink water from!" She finished the last of her sentence with confidence upon finding the right way to answer.
I scratched the back of my head, but it didn't take long for me to put two and two together, "oh…you mean a water fountain?"
She giggled, holding a paw to her maw in response, "is that what they call it in Canada?"
"Yeah" I admitted, "well technically the more appropriate term is drinking fountain but yeah."
The blue pup continued giggling, amused by the phrase, "who in their right mind would drink out of a fountain, Dustin?"
"It's just what we call it, Bluey, I don't know!" I laughed back as she lightly pulled me in to guide me again, and we made it to the so-called bubbler…yup, just an ordinary drinking fountain…fountain, heh…actually I'm starting to think why we DO call it that in North America.
Man, such a culture shock, I need to read a book on Aussie slang and phrases more because I was totally lost on what she said for a moment, heh. Either way, we drank water and returned to the others in no time after all that.
As we continue playing, Bingo is across from us…following a small butterfly that is flying around the field. To her, it was the most majestic creature she'd seen in person in a while. She followed the small creature…right toward a small white flower where it rested. Bingo's eyes glowed, her smile was probably the most wholesome I would have ever seen from her if I was present.
Unfortunately, she was close to the delinquents…and the pre-teens couldn't resist. They looked at each other and smiled mischievously before walking to the five-year-old Red Heeler. Bingo Heeler was in her own little world, enchanted by the small scene in front of her…oblivious to what was about to happen. In the moments leading up to it, she had her eyes close to the resting butterfly, singing her unintelligible verses to her new friend. Suddenly, her dog ears caught the sound of footsteps approaching and in response, she looked up to see three boys (who were much older than her.)
Without warning, one of them suddenly brought their foot down on the flower…more importantly: the butterfly…and Bingo's face fell into shock…and very shortly afterward: despair.
I heard her cries…along with the stark laughter from the three bullies. It soon dawned on me what had happened. I broke off from Bluey's group and the Blue Heeler herself soon noticed her sister crying in the distance. I was closer to the boys and well…it went about as well as you'd expect.
"Look at the 'ittle baby crying!"
"It's just a bug…I mean come on!"
I arrived to see the crushed butterfly next to Bingo's sobering form…grieving for the creature. I looked up at the Bulldog, Doberman, and Rottweiler (three stereotypical "tough" dogs) and I curled my paw into a fist.
"Who's this?" One of them, the bulldog, said…crossing their furry arms. They were, all of them, taller than me…and theoretically stronger and could beat me to a pulp, but I didn't care.
"This must be their friend" the Doberman snickered in response.
"They're friends with a wuss!"
I growled back, feeling anger consume me as they continued. I tried to stay logical, say some "kid friendly" comment to them, pick up Bingo, and be on our way; however, maybe it was my younger mind taking over or my protective dog instincts for the Red Heeler behind me, but I firmly stood my ground.
"Apologize to her…right now…" I said in a demanding tone.
The rottweiler laughed back in response, stepping a bit closer…almost to my face…to the point I could feel their breath against my muzzle, "you're a girl…you think I'm scared of a girl?"
"You will be." I muttered under my breath. Something in me just snapped…finally letting my emotions run wild, and my instincts ultimately took over. I lunged at the dog just as Bluey arrived.
Sure enough, our fight got everyone's attention and parents from both parties came running over to us. It all happened so fast that before I knew it, we were both pulled away.
"Stop, Dustin, stop!" My senses came back to me when I realized that it was Bandit Heeler, who was now carrying me away from the others. I can see Chili trying to de-escalate the situation with the boy's parents as I'm taken away. Bluey was hugging Bingo as her friends surrounded them, along with a crowd.
Unbeknownst to me, two dogs (which had chased me days prior) were in the crowd and had instantly recognized me…the ramifications for this would present itself on a later date.
For now, the most immediate outcome was me realizing what I had just done, and how confused/and furious Bandit probably is feeling right now toward me.
What have I done?
