I wasn't expecting this chapter to be so long but it was actually fun writing it.
Starry feelings
Camping area, outskirts of Brisbane*
After a day filled with emotions and a long-awaited reunion for the Blue Heeler, night finally covers the forest in a pitch-blank mantle. The insets of the forest sound off in between the trees with the birds that landed earlier in the branches to rest for the night. However, some trees were covered by the light color orange of a nearby light source…a fire pit set up near the caravan of the Heelers
Around the campfire were all the family members, each one with a stick and a marshmallow on its tip, aiming to the top of the campfire to melt it. Some members like Bandit, Stripes, Radley, and Chilli were talking while Trixie had her girls Muffin and Socks leaning into her to feel the warmth of her mother. Rossi and Frisky were busy making something Rossi learned at his primary school, S'more sandwiches. This leaves a lonely Bluey, the only one with two sticks with marshmallows.
As her family keep telling each other stories of their day-to-day lives, Bluey didn't pay attention at all to the conversation and focused on the marshmallows that were slowly melting. When the marshmallows melted enough for her, she said to her family before getting up "I'm going to be with Bingo."
"Ok, Bluey" said Chilli before continuing to talk to her father and uncles
As Bluey got up and started to walk away from the light and the warmth of the fire, she was submerged in the cold and dark night of the forest. She made sure to be careful enough not to clash into a tree or find another spider like her cousins did and drop the marshmallows for her and Bingo. The Heeler walks until she reaches a clear break outside the group of trees, the light of the bonfire projects itself through the trees behind her, but in front of her, the light of the moon cast on top of the grass and the few flowers around a red heeler with a blanket covering her, she recognized the figure as her sister looking up to the few shining stars that are bright enough to be seen.
Bluey walks behind until she was close enough to say, "You need company?"
Bingo's ears jump up at the sound of her sister, and she turns around to meet her under the moonlight. "Oh, it's you…" Bingo also looks at the marshmallows she brought along. "You brought one for me?"
"Obviously," Bluey answers, shrugging her shoulders and walking beside Bingo. She sits down carefully, and Bingo covers her with her blanket to protect her from the cold of the night. When the Blue Heeler is comfortable enough, Bluey extends her hand with the stick and marshmallow to Bingo to give it to her.
"Is it gluten-free?" She asks
"Always," Bluey responds confidently, resulting in Bingo grabbing the stick and eating the Marshmallows In one bite.
Bluey also eats the entire marshmallow in one bite, looks up at the sky, and says, "It is really a beautiful night "
"Yeah, Jack is right," Bingo said, getting closer to Bluey to be warmer. "To think those stars are actual planets is a mesmerizing thought"
"Too late to explore the world, too early to explore the stars" Bluey recalls something Jack said before
"But just in time to be in this confusing world," Bingo joked half-heartedly, and Bluey quickly noticed that
"Something wrong Bingo?" Bluey ask
"It's just…" Bingo slightly leans back to the sky. "I'm just thinking, that's all"
"It must be some serious thinking if you are here by yourself," Bluey responded looking at Bingo
"Yeah…it actually is" Bingo said in a tiring voice which caused Bluey to keep asking.
"Soooo, can I know what is it that's bothering you?"
Bingo doesn't respond right away, but she keeps her sights on the stars until she mutters, "Bluey…" The red heeler lowers her gaze to Bluey and shoots her question away, "What is it like to be in love?"
"!" Bluey's eyebrows raised immediately. She knew this kind of conversation would come up one day, but she never thought it would be during the camping trip. The blue Heeler turn her head to the ground below her to think of an answer. She knew exactly how it feel to be in love, eleven years of experience to be exact, and now she must figure out a way to compress all those years she wanted to be with Mackenzie into an answer to her sister
"Well…" Bluey gathers the courage to keep talking "I guess, you just feel happy; you can't avoid feeling happiness whenever something reminds you of him. Sometimes you look at yourself in the mirror and think Today, im going to keep it together, but when you finally stand in front of him or even when someone mentions his name, you just aren't ready for it. You feel your knees give up on you, you feel… your heart wanting to come out of your chest, but even if you hate the feeling of breaking down in front of him…you want more. It's like a drug. You just want more of it and try everything in your power to be next to him. You always debate in your head should I try to hug him? Should I try to talk to him? Should I try not being a weirdo around him? You really try your hardest not to think about it all day, but still…you end up thinking about him."
Bingo stayed quiet while looking at her sister, absorbing everything she told her until she said somberly, "Are you going to finally confess to Mack?"
"Oh" Bluey mentally smacked herself. Of course Bingo would say something like that after pouring her heart out "I don't know… I don't know how im going to do this. Im…afraid"
"Bluey, this is your last year with him. It's now or never" Bingo stated
"You are not helping" Bluey said, looking away from her sister
At the sight of what she had provoked, Bingo apologized, saying, "I'm sorry," and looking away from her.
The little time of both sisters looking away from each other makes Bluey think about what Bingo said; this was indeed going to be her last year with her friends from Glasshouse before separating and going on their own to the world. Jack has already committed to join the Army, Rusty will continue his path to become a professional Cricket player at a University. Chole, Indy, and Snickers decided to leave Brisbane to study in other parts of Australia; the Terriers want to go to their homeland in Scotland to study, Judo will most likely go to London to study to be a professional stylist, and Lucky expressed his wish to go to the United States to study to become a sports commentator. Leaving her with Mackenzie, Honey, Winston, Winnie, Coco and Pretzel, still deciding on what their future will be like, although she may have an idea where Honey and Pretzel are going to go
If she needs to confess her feelings for Mackenzie, it needs to be soon.
Wait, she has her crush on Mackenzie…who Bingo got a crush on?
She probably has the answer.
"Hey Bingo," Bluey called her in a low voice, turning her head to see her. "Who did you fall in love with?"
She had to admit it was a bold question, but Bingo reacted, turned her head to look at the ground before her, and started tapping her leg. Bingo stayed like that for a few seconds before looking up at the sky and to the ground a couple of times until she finally said, "Can I ask you something first?"
"Yeah, sure," Bluey responds without concern
"What if... hypothetically," Bingo started to talk, "One of your friends likes… someone of the same gender?"
"I guess accept them," Bluey answered. "That doesn't define them who they are"
"But what if…if its someone like…Winston"
Bluey chuckle at the thought. "That would be impressive, but yeah…I would accept him either way."
"What if… is someone like Rusty?"
"That wouldn't surprise me, but yeah…I will still be his friend."
"what about…Jack?
"NOW I wouldn't be surprised. You see how he follows Rusty everywhere." Bluey giggles a little
"What about someone like…Winnie"
"Same thing, I will support her"
"What about…Chloe"
"Honestly…" Bluey started to talk but noticed how Bingo got trembled by the word used "...I don't see it, but I will still support her."
Bluey noticed how subtly Bingo relaxed before continuing, "What about…Muffin or Socks"
Bluey turned to look behind her to ensure her cousins weren't nearby before looking at Bingo again and saying, "That would be the surprise of the year. But still, I would love them just like I loved them before."
"What about…" Bingo stops looking at her sister to look straight. Her face stiffens, and she closes her eyes with force before letting out in between her teeths, "Your own sister."
…
…
…
"That wouldn't change a thing," Bluey said in a comfortable tone, her heart pounding with force while she put her arm around Bingo who slowly relaxed her mouth and her face.
"You are still my sister. I will still love you for who you are."
Bingo relaxes her entire face, and a tiny tear emerges from her closed eyes. Without even expecting it, Bingo throws herself at Bluey and covers her with her arms in a tight hug. The hug causes the two sisters to lie down on the grass.
"You are the best freaking sister I could ever ask for," Said Bingo with teary eyes.
"Me too Bingo. You are the best," Bluey says while putting her arms around Bingo to accept the hug. "So, who do you have a crush on?"
Bingo giggles a bit before confessing, "Lila, I fell in love with Lila."
"Called it" Bluey smirked victorious
Bingo separates from her sister and questions, "You knew?"
"You talked about her in the caravan as if she was your true love," Bluey says.
"Oh, yeah, I couldn't help it," Bingo said ashamedly, putting her right arm over and behind her back, but Bingo's face got a serious expression and asked, "Do Mum or Dad know about this?"
"Probably not" Bluey answers. "But I'm pretty sure they have an idea, but they will accept you either way"
"Good, I wanna tell them whenever I'm feeling ready," Stated Bingo
"Of course," Bluey says as she gently pushes Bingo up to get up from the ground. Bingo and Bluey return to sit down as before, with the mantel covering both dogs
When both sisters look at the sky again, Bluey asks, "Since when did you have these feelings for Lila? "
"A couple months, but honestly, it was today that those feelings grew stronger" Explained happily Bingo
"Why?"
"I don't know. I guess spending time in the woods with a massive spider in your palms can make you think more clearly."
"Yeah, that sounds like something Bingo would say," Bluey quips, causing both sisters to laugh aloud.
When Bluey and Bingo stop laughing, Bluey asks, "So, who else knows about this?
"You and Dougie"
"DOUGIE??" Bluey exclaimed, looking at her straight away
Bingo simply nodded proudly. "I told him a week ago, it was hard to…" she raises her hand to look at her palms "...Tell him, how I feel about her, but he understood me, he even hugged me and signaled me how happy he was for me"
"He is simply a boy made out of gold"
"No…He is made out of diamonds," Bingo says before grabbing the mantel behind her and getting up, saying, "I'm tired. I'm going to sleep."
"You know what…" Bluey managed to say as she was about to yawn but managed to keep it in. "Me too. It's been a long day."
"Yeah, who would have thought you would reunite with Jean-Luc earlier?" Added Bingo
"None one. This world is truly a magical place." Says Bluey as she also gets up and walks alongside her sister toward their tent
Bluey and Bingo reach their camping spot where the tents are. There were five in total: one for Radley's family, one for Stripes and Trixie, one for the Muffin and Socks, one for Bandit and Chilli and one smaller one for the Heeler sisters.
As Bingo kneeled to get into her tent, she requested as she got in "If Mum or Dad start snoring, I will volunteer to wake them up."
Bluey kneeled too and talked as she got in. "Alright, all yours then."
When Bluey got in the tent, she turn around and use the zipper to close the tent from the wind of the night to sleep to their next chapter the following day
But what Bluey didn't know that night
Is that someone has feelings for two separated dogs
Next morning*
Border-Collie's home*
"Alright," Says Mel, stepping back into the garden at the front of the house as she shakes the dirt off her hands to stand alongside Fozzie and Jean-Luc with the sun shining bright on the sky. "What do you guys think?"
In front of the two border-collie and the Labrador, there are four pots on the porch: two big pots with one New Zealand flag each representing the two parents and two smaller pots, one with a New Zealand flag representing Mackenzie and one with a Canadian flag representing Jean-Luc
"Looks awesome," Adds Jean-Luc while nodding while Fozzie also nodded
It's been less than 24 hours since Jean-Luc reunited with Bluey and got confronted by Mackenzie. he was feeling happier than usual to accomplish what he wanted in the first place, to reunite with Bluey and befriend her again. But another part of him was shaken and worried about Mackenzie. It looked like he wasn't happy at all for him to be near Bluey. The confrontation last night shook him so much that he lost hours of sleep thinking of what he was going to do going forward, he had already promised him that he was going to let him be Bluey's Boyfriend, But at the same time, he wants to spend more time with her without getting him mad
Barely 3 days in Brisbane, and he has to make his brain work, and classes haven't even started…wonderful
RING RING*
RING RING*
Mel's cell phone starts to sound off. "Huh, I wonder who is calling me so early," she grumbled as she picks up her phone from her hip and answered without looking at the caller ID
"Hello?...OH Hi ALI!...Yeah, he is with me."
Both dogs look at Mel in confusion until she takes the phone away from her ear, puts it on speaker mode, and hands it to Jean-Luc. "It's Alice"
"Alice?" Jean-Luc reacts confused but grabs the cell phone and answers, "Hey Alice, what's up?"
"Hey Jean-Luc, you know I said I would give you a couple of days to rest, right?." Alice's voice sounds off on the cell phone
"Yeah, I remember," Says Jean-Luc
"Well…"
One hour later*
The orange truck arrives at the visitors' parking lot across from the massive gray and blue two-story complex. The second Mel turns off the vehicle, Jean-Luc gets off immediately to find the place where he is going to spend most of the year in front of him.
"Let's go, Jan-Luke. Alice must be inside," Says Mel adjusting her purse and starting to walk toward the entrance
When both dogs started to get closer and closer to the entrance of the building, Jean-Luc begun to slow down and down, letting Mel go ahead until he stopped far and close enough to see the five big stars under an extensive set of letters above the doors that says
Professor Berthold. R Koolie*
Southern Stars High School*
"(This place is definitely bigger than I saw on the photos, bigger than Tyler's too,)" Jean-Luc whispers in french
"Let's go, Jan-Luke" Mel calls out while holding one of the many doors that lead inside
Jean-Luc reacts to the sound of the Border Collie and walks to the entrance to the school. As he ultimately gets in, he is met by the many foldable tables that make up part of the main hall of the building, which is connected to both Classroom halls with lockers on the side, two sets of stairs that go to the upper floor where more classrooms are located, the main hall also connected to the library, a computer room, the main office where the principal office is located and a small hall that leads to the cafeteria and the fields.
And in the middle of the Main hall, there is the Canadian Eskimo responsible for Jean-Luc's presence, facing toward the cafeteria.
"Alice!" Jean-Luc shouts at the sight of her friend
Alice turns around to see her compatriot coming at her. She is 34 years old and has shorter fur like her older sister. She also has glasses that make her look intelligent and knowledgeable, with a set of headphones around her neck. "Jean-Luc, Mel!"
"Hey, hey, hey," Jean-Luc celebrates with his arms slightly out as he gets close enough to hug Alice. In the middle of the hug, he says, "I made it, I made it!"
"Hell yeah, you did," Alice celebrates too. "I told you I was proud of you, and I still im, you guardian"
"(Mom raised a guardian)" Jean-Luc separates from her, and with his closed right fist, he bangs simultaneously with Alice. "(NOT A COWARD!)" Jean-Luc and Alice shout at the same time and open their fists to high-five each other in celebration
When their antics are done, Jean-luc quickly adds in French "(I found her)"
Alice's eyes open entirely and respond amazed "(You are kidding me)"
Jean-Luc just shakes his head and Alice turns to Mel. Both white and brown dogs pointed at each other for a few seconds before opening their arms and saying, "Sister!" before getting together in a hug in between giggles
"You look taller than what I imagine," Says Alice as she separates from Mel
"What about you? You look smaller in person," Adds Mel, lifting her finger up
"I got a really tiny camera, alright, plus the camera made me look younger than normal"
"Haha, I might need one of those cameras then; I'm getting old," Mel bent her back backward to get the point across
"This wannabe teenager," Jean-Luc gets in the conversation. "Said one day, that if you say you are old, you are going to feel old"
"I taught him right," Says Alice as she points at Jean-Luc with her thumb. "It's all in the head; you gotta mentalize what you want in life, and you will get it"
"So if I think I want a million dollars, I'm going to get it one day." Mel sets an example
"Yes, and robbing a bank helps too," chips in Jean-Luc making all three dogs laugh
After laughing, Alice extends her arms "Sooooo" and turns around herself to showcase the main hall while saying "What do you guys think of Southern Stars?"
Jean-Luc looks around to form an opinion. For some reason, the hall's colors reminded him of something: "This looks cool, but somehow…this feels…American?"
"Then you are going to feel like at home"
The three dogs turn to the male voice of a young adult on the stairs. It came from an authoritarian yellow dog wearing a black suit and pants going down the stairs as he keeps his hand on the rail, his chest up and a warm and friendly smile
When the imposing yellow dog got to the end of the stairs, he continued with his arms extended as he got closer to Jean-Luc, "Welcome to Southern Stars, my friend, where we create the stars of tomorrow"
"Sounds good," Jean-Luc commented. "It could go on a t-shirt"
"Actually" The tone of the yellow dog changed entirely to a friendly, playful voice as he unbuttoned his suit, and when he unbuttoned enough, he spaced his suit out to reveal a t-shirt with the phrase he said before. "We already did it three years ago"
"Wow"
"Oi, where are my manners?" The yellow dog shakes his head, bottoms his suit again and shows his hand for Jean-Luc to shake it. Without asking twice, Jean-Luc grabs it, and the yellow dog starts shaking his hand. "I'm Thomson Chinook, But you can call me Tommy. I'm the principal of this school, and it's such an honor to finally meet you. I'm a big fan of your work with the Guardians"
"Really?" Jean-Luc's eyes light up at the mention of his team
"Yeah!" Tommy let go of Jean-Luc's hand. "When Alice told me that you are a future Hockey superstar, I couldn't avoid looking at some of your matches, And let me tell you, I love the match you had against the Operators in Hamilton"
"Yeah…" Jean-Luc barely let it out from the discomfort of having a "Superfan" in front of him. His demeanor totally changed to precaution. A hockey superstar? he had never heard of something like that before. He knew some of his matches were good but not to the point of being called a superstar, but still, he carried on and put a hand on his head to signify pain "Head hurt for two days after blocking that shot"
"But the warcry you let out after…ufff." Tommy's fur shivers. "My blood ran wild"
"Well…" Alice forces herself into the conversation "Let's have him set up the classes so he can keep resting. Changing a time zone like this ain't no joke on the sleep schedule"
"Aw c'mon, Alice." Tommy dropped his shoulders and pleaded "Don't you wanna show him the school? The classrooms, the fields, the auditorium"
"But you said…" Alice gets closer to Tommy and points a finger to his chest in a threatening way "...We set up the classes and he is going back"
"Please, Alice," Tommy slowly transformed his face to use his puppy eyes against Alice and continues in a pleading voice "You know how important this is for me and the school"
Alice's face remained strong, but after a few seconds, it started to twitch out of cuteness from the Chinnok until she finally said, "Agh, Fine." She turned to Jean-Luc and asked him, "You want to stay longer and see the school?"
"Ehh," Jean-Luc turns to Mel, who is on her phone. "What about Mack? Can he wait for us until we are done?"
"Now that you mention it," Mel starts to talk while still typing on her phone, "Mackenzie wants me to take him to Blaze's now to talk to some of his friends "
"Ok so we are going to take care of Jean-Luc in the meantime," Says Alice, shrugging her shoulders
"Yeah, sounds fine." Mel turns around and heads to the exit. "See ya guys"
"See ya madam Mel "Jean-Luc farewells the border collie
When Mel finally gets through the door and off the building, Tommy turns to the two Canadians and puts a hand on his heart "Uff, my heart is pounding"
But Tommy's scene is cut short as Alice Looks at him with threatening half eyes closed and Jean-Luc looks at him with a cheek half closing his right eye
"Oh yeah, sorry." Tommy pulls himself together and looks where the office to see several displays and explains to them while walking toward the exhibition, "To answer Jean-Luc's question about why this place looks so familiar to him, we gotta learn who my grandfather and father were"
The group stops in front of the display of an old green military uniform with a slouch hat where the head is, there are also several photos in black and white and plates that explain the history behind the uniform, but Tommy explains anyway,
"This is the uniform of Berthold Richard Koolie, my grandfather. He was your typical folk working with livestock in the morning. But when he got older, he started to spend time playing cricket or footy with the younger kids while their parents were working in the fields.
"As he spent more time with the kids, they started asking questions about life and whatever they could come up with. Since they were all working on farms, they couldn't have access to a proper education in the city. That's when Berthold started to gather books to study them at night and would relay what he learned to the kids the next day. He was so good at teaching them that the other parents started to send their kids to him to study, something he gladly accepted."
"Then, World War Two started when he was 25 years old. When the Japanese Empire threatened to invade Australia. Berthold knew that he had to protect the hardworking adults and innocent kids who depended on him and finally enlisted in the Australian army, just in time to participate in the battle for Papua New Guinea. There is a photo right there with his unit in the defense of Port Moresby in the Kokoda trail"
Tommy points at a black-and-white picture. It was Berthold, the Koolie with white fur, black dots along his body, and white arms. He was one knee down and posing next to five more soldiers with their bolt-action rifles and the jungle behind them
"After enduring horrible conditions there and successfully defending Port Moresby, his unit was transferred to participate alongside the Americans to liberate the Philippines from the Japanese forces in 1944. But his unit and others were relegated to send supplies to the main force in Manila"
"And in a typical supplying mission, he and his unit found what seemed to be an abandoned school in the middle of the jungle, with a wide array of kids of different ages gathering around. After the war, we discovered that the invasion force sacked their villages and killed anyone who opposed them in the search for much-needed supplies while retreating. We also discovered that these kids were a combination of classmates and other kids who thought it was a good idea to hide in the school since no one would think there were supplies there"
"When the kids were found, it was estimated that some of them spent as much as three days without eating a proper meal, some of them had enough energy to play with a ball or walk around the jungle in search of help, but some of them were on their last leg resting, hoping to survive the nightmare"
"Berthold was so moved by the scene that he convinced his captain to stay and share some of his supplies with the kids. He shared some water from his canteen and gave a chocolate bar to one of the kids. Even one photographer was around to capture the moment"
Tommy points at another picture in black and white. It was Berthold on his one knee giving a kid, an Askal dog, a chocolate bar with the wrapper haft off
"Bethold's action inspired the guys from his unit to also share their provisions with the kids. Even the captain shared crackers with some of the kids, and it didn't take them long to recover their energy and play footy. Since he always played that back at home, Bethhold joined them with several other soldiers, and they played until the captain got mad and ordered his troops to keep the convoy moving. There is a picture right there of the moment"
Tommy points at a picture of Bethhold being the goalkeeper while the kids and some other soldiers play with a makeshift ball
"When the convoy left the abandoned school, one of the older kids called Alejandro decided that if they wanted to survive the jungle, they needed to follow Berthold and the convoy, and they did. When Berthold's convoy arrived at a supply and medical base on the outskirts of Manila, the American guards pointed their weapons at the kids behind them. You gotta keep in mind that the situation in the Pacific was dire. None one trusted anyone, and these soldiers weren't going to hesitate to shoot kids. But when Berthold and his guys realized what was happening, they quickly stopped the guards and convinced the American captain to let them in, something the captain accepted grudgingly"
"But in the end, the kids proved to be a great addition to the base. The unmatched energy of the kids helped the war-torn Americans relax as they recovered from their injuries. Even they organized themselves into teams to play several sports. The Australians taught everyone cricket and rugby; the Americans taught everyone baseball and soccer, and Berthold taught the kids everything he knew from his time teaching on the farms. His dedication to the kids and the soccer team he gathered was so good that the kids, his fellow Australians and American soldiers called him The Southern Star"
"When the Americans kicked the Japanese forces out of the Philippines, the base was dismantled, everyone who needed to go home from their injuries already did, some of them kept going to fight in Okinawa, the rescued kids were sent to the Orphanage to rebuild their lives and Berthold's unit was chosen to be dismantled and to be sent home to help the war effort in the factories, but Berthold went straight to the farm to find that the people he protected, built him a school to continue teaching the kids, he married another Koolie shortly after, and they had two kids. My aunt and my father"
"It was when my father got older that the stories of the Southern Star started to ring out in the Philippines and America, So both of them knew they had to tell the story themselves. My grandfather wrote a book about his experiences on the farm, Papua New Guinea, and the Philippines, while my Father followed his steps to become a teacher to spread his story even further. He taught in a high school in Brisbane and got so good at it that he got offered to teach at a university in California. That's when he met my mother, a yellow fur Chinook"
"That explains your fur" Jean-Luc adds
"Yeah, I was the only one in my family that was born with Chinook colors. Both my brother and sister were born with Koolie colors," Explained Tommy
"So anyways," Tommy continued to tell, "15 years ago when the story of my grandfather was well known, my father started a movement to convince the city to build a high school in his honor when Berthold's health was deteriorating. It was finally approved by the Minister of Education, and the school was built based on the experiences of my grandfather on the farm and my father in the Americas. And ten years ago, the school was founded."
Tommy points at another picture, this time with color. It was a gathering in front of the main doors with an old Berthold in his wheelchair cutting the red ribbon to open the school; the photo in color shows that he has black and blue dots all over his body except his yellow arms, expectable characteristic of a Koolie
"When we started to teach at Southern Stars" Tommy started to walk to another, more prominent display, making the Canadians follow him. "We teach with the same passion as Berthold did on the farm and in the Philippines. He and we know how important it is to take care of the next generation and for them to practice hobbies, and thats is something we successfully did over the last ten years"
Tommy stops before the display filled with trophies of different sizes and disciplines. Both Jean-Luc and Alice looked in awe at the trophies until Tommy pointed and said "Look at that guy"
Tommy pointed at a picture of him hugging over the shoulder a red kelpie in cricket uniform "That's our biggest cricket prospect we got this year. He is so good that he managed to hit 6 Sixes consecutively in a match"
Jean-Luc and Alice both tilt their heads to the side confused
Tommy quickly noticed his term mistake and corrected himself. "Well, I think where you guys are from, a six is called a home run"
"Ahhhhhh" Both dogs understood what Tommy meant
"but besides sports," Tommy continues to go to a set of photos that are hung on the walls, "We also teach our students life skills that they will need to be a star out there, like this beagle right here"
Tommy points at a picture of a yellow and white beagle conducting an orchestra
"She is our best conductor in this school" Tommy says and turns to the two dogs. "Considering that this school is accomplishing ten years running with this many achievements, it is an absolute honor to welcome our first batch of exchange students to Southern Stars"
Jean-Luc shakes his head at what Tommy said and repeats in confusion, "Batch?"
However, Alice hits Jean-Luc arm with her arm and shushes him down in a low voice, "I already taught you this before," but raises her voice to talk to Tommy, "Well, it's an interesting story, and we are honored to start this collaboration with such a great high school, but I really would like Jean-Luc to choose his classes before Mel gets here, after that, we are free to show him the place"
"Oh yeah, good idea; let me check if Ms. Dingo is here" Tommy says before walking away from the two dogs and getting into the office
When Tommy closes the door to the offices, Jean-Luc returns the favor to the Eskimo, hits her arm with his forearm, and says in a noticeable angry voice in French "(A hockey superstar!? Are you nuts!?)"
"Hey!" Alice turns to the Labrador and Answers in French while pointing at him "( Your reputation precedes you, whatever you like it or not!)"
"(But you know how I feel about this Alice)" Jean-Luc points at her too
"(Well you are here, right?)" Alice stops pointing and raised her eyebrows mockingly "(That's all that matters Jean-Luc)"
"(Whatever)" Jean-Luc dismissed as he moved his hand around as if he was pushing her away to look at the entrance of the office to wait for Tommy
"Jean-Luc '' Tommy called, peeking his head out of the door "Ms.Dingo is here. She can help you set up your classes''
"Alright, coming." Jean-Luc recomposes himself and walks to the office. When he gets in the office, Tommy steps out and closes the door of the office
"Ms.Alice" Tommy calls the Eskimo as he starts to walk to her
"Yes" Alice answered slightly, annoyed
"You know this year is going to be special for us here at Southern Stars"
"I know" Alice responded…still annoyed
"So obviously, I want this year to be special for everyone, and I'm hoping you could help me with that while you overlook Jean-Luc"
"Ok….What do you need help with?"
"I would like to bring over from the Americas some traditions they do at their high schools"
"Okay…Anything in particular you wanna learn?"
"What do you know…about the Prom dance?"
Blaze's shakes and Hamburgers*
"Sooo…This guy is a purple Labrador from Canada, Not from France, as I thought before. I didn't think much about him when I first met him. He is just a normal kid a year younger than us, but the more time I spent time with him, the more I understood him and why he managed to be here in the first place: he is funny, he is responsible, and he has a great heart"
"My family allowed him to pick the first place he wanted to visit and chose the camping site you usually visit in the holidays; we didn't think much about it. My father and I thought it was just an innocent trip for him to relive his childhood, but we were so wrong"
"When we arrived at the camping site, one of the wheels was flat. I had to stay behind to help my father, so I told him to go anyway and that we would catch up with him soon enough. We managed to change the tire, and my mum told me to find this guy. It took me a little bit to find him, but I followed some of his footsteps he left behind until I reached a stream with a pink tree there, and thats is where I found him"
"He was standing there…hugging Bluey…YES, the same freaking Bluey. I was in shock, dude. I shouted her name, and both of them stopped to look at me. It was then that both of them told me they played together 11 years ago. It looked like we arrived just in time for lunch, so without even considering my output, we stayed to eat. And during this time, I noticed how both of them were looking at each other with their tails wagging. It made me sick"
"Luckily for me, we decided to leave the camping site shortly after, but before we did, he and Bluey went back to the tree to take a selfie with the pink tree I saw behind them. It…Broke me, I cried a little bit, but I managed to stop it. I took one last look at the tree and noticed a piece of paper on the ground, i opened it, and it was a note he had prepared beforehand to leave it for Bluey when she came back to camp"
"The note made me think he had already planned this out before. He totally made us drive all the way out of Brisbane for a chance to be reunited with Bluey, and he was lucky enough to find her. I talked to my father about the note, and he brought up the possibility of confronting him…and I did it…I told him it was not ok to make us drive to the forest to leave a note for Bluey, and the dude answered out of nowhere that he didn't mean to give me the impression that he had feelings for Bluey like a freaking magician and promised me that he is not going to get in the way of my feeling for Bluey…I didn't believe it and stormed out of the room"
"So what do you guys think? Should I be worried about this guy?"
Mackenzie finished his story with his arms slightly up and out on top of a white table in a packed restaurant with a theme from the 80s, but on the other side of him…
... Rusty and Lucky are wearing white cook uniforms and wearing a paper hat. Both dogs have their mouths open in astonishment at Mackenzie's story until Rusty reacts by putting both hands on his face and whispering, "Oh no…"
But Lucky shakes his head and points at the Border-Collie. "You know what, you really are"
"A pathetic"
"incompetent"
"Bozo"
"Bastard"
"Muppet"
"Asshole"
"Wanker"
"Tosser"
"A cheap Christmas movie"
"A disgrace to the family name"
"Cocky"
"Smug"
"An Opp to yourself"
"A sorry excuse of a male"
"Pillow biting"
"Tottenham supporter"
"DUMBASS"
Lucky shout out at the last word, making everyone in the restaurant stop what they were doing to look at the yellow Labrador. Some dogs stopped when they were about to take a bite from their hamburgers, two servers looked in astonishment at Lucky, and one cook stopped what he was doing while his hamburger patties were burning on the grill
Lucky takes a look around the restaurant to look at everyone and hits the table with his close fist before saying "I am calm" and covering his eyes with his finger to digest what he just heard
Mackenzie has his eyes wide open, slowly puts a hand on his heart and says "Ouch"
While the restaurant returns to normality. Rusty puts his hands away and says startle "But how can you be so sure he wants to be Bluey's boyfriend? It could be just a simple friendship"
"I know it could be a simple friendship" Mackenzie acknowledged "but you should've been there; you could just feel the love both of them had to each other"
"Fucking hell" Rusty curses as he repeats Lucky gesture and whispers "Fucking dumbass"
"Well…!" Lucky snaps out of his position. "They could very much be in love, but they aren't officially a couple"
"Yeah…" Rusty recomposes himself "We still don't know everything; who knows, there could be a chance for you"
"Besides" Lucky started talking, "Does he have her phone number?"
Mackenzie stays quiet, throwing a quick Look at his friends, the note has Jean-Luc's phone number, so it is really a possibility that Bluey doesn't have his phone number. Which means they are not being able to communicate at all while Bluey is still camping
A little spark Of hope lit up in his heart. There is hope after all
"No…" Mackenzie talks, projecting his hope "They don't. The note has his phone number…so naturally, Bluey doesn't have His phone number"
Rusty and Lucky light up as their eyes open up; Lucky claps once and Rusty Exclaimed while rapidly pointing at him "There you go mate"
"But…" As fast as the hope reappeared in Mackenzie's heart, it vanished at the thought of one detail "...They are hanging out after she comes back from Camping"
"Aw fuck" The light vanished too out of both dogs as Lucky curses
"Yeah, that's all folks" Lucky moved up and down his hands in surrender. "I can set you up with Angela if you want"
Mackenzie rapidly shakes his head, but Rusty looks away from Mackenzie to look beyond their table; his eyes snap open and taps Lucky's arms while saying "And speaking of the devil"
Coming from behind Mackenzie, A yellow and cream husky the same age as the boys wearing a black shirt and black pants appeared with a round tray with their food "Ok, so I got a Texan Double with chips, a Gold Coast Beach Shake and…" the Husky's eyes got slightly shut and she annoying said the last item "A Toowoomba special with no veggies and a side of nuggets"
"Thats me," Lucky sounded off as Angela started to put down the food
"Fucking child" Angela whispered loud enough for Lucky to hear her
"Huh uh, Talk to my hand" Lucky says as he extends his palm to Angela
"Whatever…" Angela dismissed as she finished putting down the food. She put her tray on her chest with her arms crossed and turned her attention to Mackenzie, who had ordered the shake. "You are Mack, right?"
Mackenzie sighed with the shake that Rusty and Lucky gifted him in front of him before saying "Yes," …He totally knew where this was going
"I was wondering…" Angela started to talk as she balanced herself on her heels "...If you know how Honey is doing, it's been a while since the last time I heard about her"
"Oh, yeah, she is getting better" Answers Mackenzie as he starts to shake his shake with a spoon. He totally read her like a book "Better than last year, that's for sure"
"I'm glad to hear it" Angela's face changed as if a lot of weight got off her. "We are all missing her a lot in the orchestra, I'm still wishing her the best"
"I will tell her that," Mackenzie says, and he finally takes his spoon filled with shake to his Mouth
"Please do" Pleads Angela as she turns her attention to Rusty and Lucky and speaks in a dictatorial tone "When you guys are done with your breaks, the boss wants you guys to make inventory in the freezer"
"What the fuck?" "Fuck meee" both guys complained
"No buts" Angela points at them threatening them "You guys know what happened the last time Blaze got mad at us"
"We know" Says Lucky not too happy "We will do that; we are not going to be happy doing it, but we will do that"
"Great." Angela magically changes her conduct to a happier one to go back to dealing with customers. She looks at Mackenzie and says before walking away "See you in S.S, Mack"
Mackenzie couldn't answer due to his mouth filled with the cold texture of the shake, But he waves his hand goodbye to Angela
As Angela goes back to work, Mackenzie and Lucky focus their entire existence on eating the food in front of them. But Rusty, on the other hand, was playing dipping a Chip (A french fry) in ketchup on the plate "Mack?" he calls
"Yes?" Mackenzie manages to say in between spoons of the shake
"What are you going to do next with this guy and Bluey?" He asks
"I still gotta show him the city as planned I already talked to my father. We are going to outsmart him if he suggests something else, but other than that, im going to hope he keeps his word," Explains Mackenzie as he dips his spoon on the shake to continue
"I think the time of hoping is over" says Rusty throwing his Chip to the plate annoyed
"!" Both Mackenzie and Lucky stop eating to pay attention to the Kelpie
"Think about this Macken…"
"Oh no, here we go again" Mackenzie interrupts Rusty as he rolls his eyes and head "At least let me finish my shake"
"NO!" Rusty shouts out and goes under the table to pop out on the other side next to Mackenzie. "You gotta listen to me"
Mackenzie glances at Lucky with his eyes half closed, But the yellow Labrador just shrugs his shoulders and takes a bite out of his hamburger with no vegetables making Mackenzie look back at Rusty, who once again was about to go into "Emotional support" mode
"It's been eleven years mate" Rusty talks "Eleven years we listen to you talk about how madly in love you are in Bluey, eleven years we plan and plan to get you guys together, eleven years all of us get up each morning expecting either you or Bluey to call us and say we are finally together, its been eleven years of hope"
"Nah, The time for hopes and prayers is over. This guy will make a move on Bluey and become her boyfriend if his holy nuts wish him to do so one day. And I'm telling you now, im not going to be your shoulder to cry on if that happens"
"The time to act is now. We know it's possible, I know you can do this; you got an entire army behind you, wishing you the best. So go back home, leave all the cards on the table and plan the moves to finally be Bluey's boyfriend"
"But before you leave us to accomplish your dream" Rusty put his arm around Mackenzie "Promise me something"
Mackenzie glances at Lucky again with an unsure face. The Labrador was looking at the entire speech, but when he notices the Border collie's face he says with his hamburger on his hands "He is dating a lady, i would listen to him"
With Lucky's confirmation in his mind, Mackenzie turn his eyes back at Rusty; the look gave Rusty the signal to continue
"If it comes down to it, Mack"
"At the final week of our final year in high school"
"Are you prepared to disappoint…"
…
…
…
"Wait, what's his name again?" Rusty Shakes his head, and his tone changes to confusion
Mackenize closes his eyes to think. He inhales the air in, the feeling he felt the last three days flow through his soul, The happiness he shared with Jean-Luc in Downtown Brisbane, the confusion he felt when he found Jean-Luc and Bluey together at the camping site, the sadness he felt when saw Jean-Luc and Bluey together like a couple, the betrayal he felt when he found the note and finally he let out the air through his mouth and says his name
"Jean-Luc"
"Are you prepared to disappoint Jean-Luc"
…
…
…
"Yes"
Notes and references
Is Southern Stars based on an American school?…Yes
Are you still going to put elements of an Australian school in Southern Stars…Yes
Are you going to keep teasing what the hell happened to Honey until you have people begging at your feet…Yes of course
The References brother
Some are self-explanatory but here are the ones I'm going to explain
Bertholdt… Bertoldo… Betho… Bertotoro… Berhtold, the colossal titan okay, and it's impressive how I accidentally managed to put together the German name with the Koolies who are of German descent… sometimes my genius is scary
Southern Stars: considering that most of the scenes are going to take place at school, I took the liberty of giving it a name and lore, I'm not going to talk much but it's a reference to the southern stars of Australia
Blaze's: REFERENCE TO ACE COMBAT 5 YES SIRRRRRRRRR, Blaze is the name of the main character of my favorite game. Yes sir, I finally posted one, but this won't be the last time im going to post a reference to Ace Combat
Angela: Same as Jenna in chapter 2, she was inspired by Angela from the Second Lady and the Tramp movie. Same deal as before, this is going to be the only time she shows up. I'm probably going to continue to do this, taking names from other places to be the students at the school.
Thats all for now, Leave a review or like this story if you are liking it so far and i will see you guys next time