Bigg City Stars Prologue: When You Wish Upon a Star
Written by Jonathan Downs, Rachel Ravens and Zack Wanzer
September 1889
Johnathan Star's Point of View
The first day of the new school year had come, and my son, Patrick, was excited as he was about to start kindergarten at Bigg City Elementary School.
"Well, Patrick, this will be your first day at kindergarten," I said. "I hope you're not nervous."
"I'm not nervous," replied Patrick confidently. "I'm going to make lots and lots of new friends."
I gave a chuckle as I walked him to his new class – Room 89T.
"Here we are," I said once we'd arrived. "Your new kindergarten room. Do you want me to walk you in?"
"No, thanks," replied Patrick. "I've got it under control."
"That's the spirit," I replied. "I'll pick you up after class."
"Okay, dad," replied Patrick and with that, he went inside.
"Well, hello there," greeted the teacher. "How nice to see you, Patrick Star." With that, Patrick sat down and the teacher addressed the class.
"Welcome to Bigg City Elementary School," she greeted. "My name is Miss Hardwick and I'll be your kindergarten teacher."
After calling out the register, Miss Hardwick read them the story of Cinderella and how her Fairy Godmother helped her go to the ball.
Soon, it was time for recess. Outside, Patrick decided to play with his toy boats. Suddenly, a bigger kid came up.
"Um, what do you think you're doing, you little runt?" the bigger kid demanded.
"I was just playing with my boats," replied Patrick.
"You mean these piles of scrap?" sneered the other kid, snatching one of the boats.
"Hey, give them back!" snapped Patrick. But the other kid just threw his boat on the floor. The funnel snapped off.
"Aw, are you going to 'cwy' now?" the other kid said mockingly. Suddenly, he felt something hit him in the back and he was now wet.
"Hey, Jebediah!" snapped another boy. "Leave that kid alone!"
"Why should I?" snapped the bigger kid.
"If you don't," the other boy said menacingly, "I'll take your lunch and throw it into the trash can."
"Err, on second thought," said the bigger kid, "I don't want to starve." With that, he ran off into fright.
"Thanks," said Patrick.
"Hey, no problem," said the other boy. "My name is Sean Zero. What's yours?"
"I'm Patrick Star," said my son, before looking at the broken boat.
"Hey," said Sean, "my family is neighbors with someone who can repair your boat. What do you say?"
"That would be great," replied Patrick. "Thanks."
So after class, Patrick told me what happened and we went with Sean's family to another house. The doorbell rang and a man answered it.
"Hello, Sean," he greeted. "You're just in time; Lenore, Lacey, Luna and Jennifer have finished their lessons for the day."
"Hello, Mr. Tugg," said Sean. "This is Patrick Star and his father, Johnathan." He quickly explained about the broken boat.
"Oh, not that Jebediah Broke again," groaned Mr. Tugg. "Don't worry, Patrick. I'll fix that boat for you."
"Thank you, Mr. Tugg," replied Patrick.
"Oh, and I'm Jordan, by the way," said Mr. Tugg, shaking my hand.
"Pleasure to meet you," I replied. With that, we entered and saw four girls inside. A few toys were laid out on the floor. One of the girls had brown hair and wore a dark blue dress.
"Ah, Lenore," said Jordan. "Meet Patrick Star, and his father, Johnathan. Sean met them at kindergarten today."
"Hi, Patrick. Hi, Sean," greeted Lenore. "These are my sisters Lacey and Luna, and our friend Jennifer Salvage." Jennifer wore a red dress and had red hair.
"Nice to meet you," Patrick greeted. "So… what's the story with these 'lessons' that your dad mentioned?"
"Oh…" said Luna. "It's… not supposed to go around."
"We're being homeschooled because of how difficult it is for girls to get an education," explained Lacey.
"Very commendable," I replied. "I think your four will make a great difference in the world when you're older."
"Thanks, Mr. Star," said Jennifer. With that, Jordan and I went to mend the boat.
"So do you like boats?" Patrick asked.
"Well, my father and I are friends with a fleet of paddle-driven tugs in the port," replied Lenore. "Their names are Evangeline, Striker, Otis Jones – or O.J. for short – Locust, Moonshine, Lady Luck and Twinkle. Their captain is Anthony Dun, but his son Tiberius is destined to take over the fleet one day."
"Cool," said Patrick. "My dad works for a shipping company. Maybe it has a contract with that fleet."
"Oh no," said Sean playfully. "My boat, Z.B., is stuck on rocks after getting caught in a current."
"Don't worry!" called Jennifer. "I'll save you!"
"Bring me to my yard and I'll repair it," replied Lenore.
The six kids laughed together. Soon, Jordan and I entered with the repaired boat.
"There you go," said Jordan. "Good as new."
"Thank you, Mr. Tugg," replied Patrick happily. "Looks like Big Stack is ready to get back to work."
1894
Over the years, Patrick, Sean, Lenore and Jennifer became the best of friends and would hang out together.
"Hey, Patrick, Sean, Jennifer!" called Lenore. "Come here!"
The trio rushed to the dock, and saw one of the paddle steamers.
"These are your friends you told me about, Lenore?"
"Correct, O.J.," smiled Lenore. "This is Patrick, Sean and Jennifer."
"Welcome to Bigg City Port, children," he smiled. "Would you all like a ride?"
"Oh, yes, please!" cried Patrick. "I'll ask my parents about it!"
"Me too!"
"Same here!"
We all agreed to this and boarded O.J.. He took us around the harbour. Near the railway station, we saw another boy taking numbers of the engines.
"Hi, Fred," called Lenore. "Trainspotting, I see."
"That's right, Lenore," replied Fred. "One day, I'd like to run a railroad myself."
"Let's hope your engines don't cause confusion or delay," chuckled Sean. We all laughed at that.
1900
Patrick and his friends were now attending high school. Patrick had even tried dating Lenore at one point, whilst Sean tried the same with Jennifer. Both couples went with each other to the prom.
"Wow!" gasped Patrick. "You look amazing in your dress, Lenore."
"You look great in your tuxedo too, Patrick," she replied. "Shall we dance?"
"Of course."
"Ooh, come on, Sean," said Jennifer. "Let's get some snacks from the buffet."
"I couldn't agree more," nodded Sean.
All four of them had a wonderful time, and went on a few more dates since. However… while they had fun together, they struggled to make romantic connections.
"Ah well," said Lenore. "Just because we aren't romantically involved, doesn't mean we can't be friends, right?"
"You're right, Lenore," agreed Patrick. "Just a pair of best friends linked by a love for tugboats."
"Who knows," chuckled Sean. "Some of us could become tug captains one day."
"I wouldn't be surprised if one of us became O.J.'s captain," agreed Jennifer.
"Come on," said Patrick. "Let's get some ice cream. Then we'll pay O.J. a visit."
1904
I was making plans to set up my own tugboat fleet. Patrick attended Bigg City University to get a business degree in the hopes he would take over when I retired.
"Phew…" he panted as he handed in his documents. "I think I need a break…"
Suddenly, he dropped one of his files on the ground. "Oh, barnacles–"
"Here," said a female voice, handing it to him. "Wouldn't want to lose this old thing."
"Oh, indeed not," he replied. "Thank you, er… you are?"
"Sarah," she replied. "Sarah Webber."
"Pleasure to meet you…" Patrick saw the shirt that Sarah was wearing. It had a picture of an ocean liner on it. "Are you into boats too?"
"Yes, I sure am," replied Sarah. "I love listening to the waves and riding boats on the water."
"So do I," said Patrick. And it wasn't long before the two were talking about how he wanted to help me start a business with tugboats. Sarah revealed she was studying to become a history teacher.
"That's really good," said Patrick. "My friend Lenore would be thrilled to hear that."
Patrick and Sarah continued to meet up after that, and as time went on, romantic feelings started to grow. Shortly after graduating years later, the two would get married and I was proud to welcome Sarah into the Star family.
As Lenore continued to pursue her dreams of repairing boats, she was invited to help repair Twinkle at the repair yard.
"Lenore, I presume?" said another chap.
"Yes," she nodded. "And you are?"
"Harry. Harry Lucky."
"Good to meet you, Harry." She glanced over at Twinkle. "What happened to you, dearie?"
"I broke down trying to move some barges due to not being in for maintenance," she explained.
"Oh, don't worry," said Lenore as she got a barrel of Green Water. "You'll be fixed in no time."
"W-will I wake up again?" she asked shakily.
"Of course," replied Lenore. "Green Water is only used to sedate sentient vehicles. It's Black Water that euthanizes them."
"I just… I heard two tugs talking about a tug who… died because they euthanized a tugboat."
"Oh," said Lenore. "Don't worry. We'll track them down and make sure they don't scare you again."
"What were their names?" asked Harry.
"Burke and Blair. They work for the breaker's yard Up River."
"Why do I have a feeling their owner is my childhood nemesis, Jebediah Broke?" muttered Lenore.
"Just relax," said Harry. "We'll sort this out."
Twinkle's maintenance went without incident, and Harry and Lenore went on a lunch break together.
"You did very well in calming down Twinkle," said Harry. "I could see you giving counseling sessions in your future."
"Maybe," said Lenore. "I'll think about it. You sure know your way around a boatyard."
"Well… I have a stronger interest in the military," replied Harry. "But I still feel like I can make time for my family."
Lenore giggled. "That is most important, my friend."
The two also managed to maintain a strong connection, and this eventually led to another beautiful marriage.
Meanwhile, Sean was running late for class, but didn't look where he was going and bumped into another woman.
"Hey! Watch it!" she snapped.
"Oh, sorry," said Sean. "I was running late for class. I'm Sean Zero, by the way, and you are…"
"Ursula Carroll," grunted the woman. "But I'd be willing to forget this incident if you take my books to class."
"B-but I'll be late for class myself and…"
Ursula glared at him.
"I can c-catch up some other time."
"That's what I thought you said," smirked Ursula.
Jennifer, however, scowled at Ursula. "Sean… don't make a horrible mistake…"
I'm sorry to say, he did… Sean saw the weddings of his two friends, and he felt he needed to get married too. So, he and Ursula tied the knot… but unfortunately, he found himself trapped in a toxic marriage.
As for Jennifer, she decided to remain single.
1909
Patrick, Sean, Jennifer and Lenore were now working at Lucky's Yard. Because Harry had no interest in taking over, Lenore became the heir apparent. This was an excellent choice as Lenore was the heart of the group and that was what the boats needed whilst undergoing repairs. Heh, she had even charmed her way to the top!
Meanwhile, Frederick Lloyd was working for the Central Railroad of New Jersey (also known as the Jersey Central), but was making plans to build his own railway in Bigg City Port and the surrounding areas.
I had also gained a successful application for setting up my tugboat fleet and had invited Patrick and Sean to help out.
That evening, Patrick was getting ready for bed when he saw a star outside.
"Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight, I wish I may, I wish I might, have this wish I wish," he said.
"What did you wish for, honey?" asked Sarah.
"If I told you, it won't come true," replied Patrick. However, I can tell you that his wish was for my fleet to be the best in Bigg City Port.
The End
Athour's Notes: Well, here's the TUGS prequel series, and the first new post of 2024. No sign of the Stars or Z-Stacks yet (all except O.J., who isn't even part of the Star Fleet yet). If you haven't guessed, Z.B. and Big Stack are nods to the Salty's Lighthouse TV show. We get to see Patrick, Sean, Lenore and Jennifer in their early years as in their rises to become the captains they will eventually be. Oh, and the narrator is actually Johnathan Star, not the Captain Star we all know.
Next time, we see what happens when A Star is Born.