Did I ever say this was going to be a short chapter?... I lied (Bruh). Here is the first 10K chapter of the story by complete accident… I wanted to wrap up as many things as I could before going to one of the major points of this story and the end of what I call "the Second Ark."
Background noise
"Ok…Is this on?"
The voice of a young 12-year-old Mackenzie is heard in the video as the phone camera is aimed at the floor and his feet.
"Yeah, I think is on," said Mackenzie as he aimed his camera up to the field and trees that are around the wooden structure he was in, but besides the nature going on as usual in the background, the camera also showed the blue back with three darker blue dots of a female blue Heeler that was sitting down on the ledge "Hi Bluey"
6 years ago*
Glasshouse Elementary School*
The young 12-year-old Bluey turns her head slightly to meet with the Border Collie. "Hi Mackenzie."
Still aiming the camera at her, Mackenzie moved over to sit beside her, something Bluey asked when she noticed Mackenzie holding the phone as if he was recording something: "What do you got there?"
Mackenzie managed to sit down and aim the camera towards Bluey, who was letting the turf on her hair grow up. "I'm just testing out my new cellphone. Apparently, this new model has the best camera up to date."
"Every year is the same story," said Bluey rolling her eyes at Mackenzie
"I know, I heard it before," Mackenzie agrees. "But anyways…I am also testing the audio quality on this thing…do you mind telling me some things?"
"Well…" Bluey moved her head toward the trees in the distance and commented, "I'm just relaxing here at the elementary school, looking at the trees, the animals, and the clouds in the sky while my parents are busy talking to ."
"Ah yes," Mackenzie speaks. "Today is the Parent-Teacher meeting…boring stuff."
"I know," Bluey says, moving her head to look at Mackenzie again. "Why do you think I stay out here…Actually, why are you out here with me?"
"Guilty as charged," Confessed Mackenzie, making Bluey giggle a little as Mackenzie lowered his cell phone to not get it in his way while talking to the blue Heeler
When Bluey finished giggling, she said, "Hey, did you notice the strange-looking guy in a black suit?"
"The yellow dog?" Mackenzie asked
"Yeah, the yellow dog."
"Yeah, I notice him, " Mackenzie affirms. "My parents talked a little with him; looks like he is the school director where Digger and Captain are going…I think… it's called Southern Stars."
"Huh…Why is he here?" Bluey asked with an eyebrow raised
"My parents were talking to him about me going to his school after…" Mackenzie's voice stutters, unsure of what he was saying is the thing he wanted to say "...Graduating from Glasshouse"
"Oh…" Bluey briefly breaks visual contact with Mackenzie's eyes to look at the grass beside him before looking at him again."...Sooo…Are you going to Southern Stars then?"
"I'm not sure…" Mackenzie revealed, "I'm still considering my options, but Southers Stars sounds good because apparently Rusty and Jack are going over there…Wait, have you decided yet?"
"Not really…I'm still thinking…" Said Bluey
"Oh, I see…" Mackenzie sounds dejected before speaking as if an idea came to his mind: "You should come to Southern Stars with us."
"I would love to, but…" Bluey sounded dejected too. "I kinda want to follow wherever Chloe and Honey go."
"Well, if that's the case, I would also like to follow you."
"For real life?" Bluey eyebrows are raised again
"Yeah, I don't mind not following Rusty and Jack. I always thought they have their own thing going on without me."
"Ha, I'm glad to hear it…" A soft smile appeared on Bluey's face, but she looked at the phone camera and said, maintaining her soft, friendly tone, "I think it's time to turn that off. We are getting way too personal with this."
"Oh yeah, sure," spoke Mackenzie for the last time before raising his phone and hitting the red button to stop recording
Present day*
Mackenzie's Home*
DING*
…
…
…
Mel, the Border-Collie, opens the door to meet two familiar figures, Rusty and Jack. "Oh, G'day, guys."
Instead of his white cook uniform, Rusty, the 18 years of age red Kelpie, has a white cap with a red brim with the logo of the Southern Stars Cricket team stamped on the front, a blue shield with six white stars, and a pair of cricket bats crossing across the shield, also a tiny part of his tuft of hair is coming out under the brim. The Red Kelpie also has a dog tag hanging from his neck, a proud reminder of his family's military background, but also represents his friendship with Jack.
Jack, the 17-year-old Jack terrier, also has a dog tag hanging from his neck, which represents his wish to serve his country but also a representation of his friendship with Rusty.
"Hi, Ms. Border-Collie." Rusty says as he humbly waves his hand. "We are here today to check on Mackenzie. It seems like he is not doing well right now."
"Oh yeah, I heard it too," Says Mel as she opens the door entirely to let the two boys get in. "Just let me know if you guys need water."
"Thanks, Ms Border-Collie" says Rusty and both he and Jack step into the house.
But as they get in, Mel mumbled under her breath as she rolls her eyes "I told you guys can call me Ms Mel." Unfortunately for her, they didn't listen while they go up the stairs to Mackenzie's room
Finally, Rusty and Jack found themselves in front of Mackenzie's room with the sign on the doorknob that said with a red background, "NOT AVAILABLE."
"This is new," the young Jack comments on the sign.
"Yeah, but it's not going to stop us," Rusty says in a whisper as he leans forward to grab the doorknob and twist it, but its stuck in place. "Seriously, Mack?"
"You still got the key they gifted to you?" suggests Jack
"Yeah, I still have them." Rusty pulls out his car keys, which also have the keys to his home and another key that could open Mackenzie's room, a measure in case Mackenzie stays garrisoned in his room.
Rusty inserts the key and effortlessly opens the room, but as the door opens out, the two teenagers find keyboard keys on the floor, a broken keyboard on his computer, and a massive bulk under a blanket on his bed—probably Mackenzie hiding under his blanket.
Rusty is the first dog to enter and ambles to Mackenzie's Bed. Even with the sound of the door opening and the soft steps on the floor, Mackenzie doesn't react at all, giving Rusty the impression that he is still sleeping. Nevertheless, Rusty and Jack move on, still worried about his best friend.
After Jack closes the door and moves to Mackenzie's bed, Rusty finally walks enough to be at the height where the Border-Collie's head would be and puts a hand on what seems like a shoulder. "Pss, Wake up, mate. It's me, Rusty," Whispers the Kelpie as he moves Mackenzie.
"Grrr," Mackenzie growls as he moves under the blanket. Finally, he takes it off his head to reveal his wasted face.
"Are you ok? We heard what happened over the call," Rusty says as Jack walks to be on the other side of the bed.
Mackenzie doesn't respond, but instead, he gets up to meet his friends with a down demeanor, tired eyes, messy fur with a lot of strings aiming everywhere, wet eyelids, tear marks going down his cheeks and half his blanket still covering from his stomach to his feet.
"Mate…" Rusty whispers when he sees his friend's condition while he takes off his cap, revealing that his tuft of hair is almost identical to Bluey's. After dropping his cap on the floor, Rusty gets on the bed and hugs Mackenzie. Jack doesn't waste time following his best friend and joins the hug.
Mackenzie's face and sight are still empty while a Kelpie is on his right hugging him and a Jack Terrier on his left hugging him too. "Im such a fucking loser," He whispers.
"It's just a game, buddy" Rustys adds, still maintaining the hug
"No, it's not about the game" Mackenzie whispers again.
"Huh…" Jack separates from the Border-Collie while still sitting on the bed. "...What is it then?"
"The photo…Bluey and Jean-Luc's photo" Mackenzie doesn't even bother to look at his friends in the eyes.
"Huh…" Rusty separates from Mackenzie and pulls out his phone to get into the group chat. "...Oh, I see."
"How is this possible…" Mackenzie speaks up with exasperation and teary eyes, "...I have known Bluey for more than ten years, and we just hug like once per day at school while this guy crosses the pond and looks like he is glued to her like they are the perfect couple or some shit…THIS IS OUTRAGEOUS"
"Hey!" Jack shifts his weight to be in front of Mackenzie. "It's just a photo. You guys always hug like that in every single picture."
"Plus," Rusty gets in. "Like I said, this doesn't mean they are a couple."
"C'mon!" Mackenzie rolls his eyes. "It's not that they are going to announce it to everyone."
"But at the same time, it's not wise to think it's over," Rusty says. "You remember that air battle we played a month ago in 'Lighting war'?"
"You mean the one we stayed up late playing against an air fleet of sweaty guys" Jack asks
"Yeah, that one. We were down by 20 air kills, and Jack suggested to leave the match, and you know what you said that night?" Rusty asks in yet another moment of motivational speech
Mackenzie rolls his eyes before repeating himself, "'No, we are staying."
"Exactly, and after that, we went on and won the match by one kill. The sweaty pilot wanting t us was absolutely comical."
"Yeah," Jack says, almost on the verge of laughing, "This is the same thing. You are going to keep going till the end, buddy."
"Yeah, 'The show must go on,'" Rusty quoted excitedly with one finger up.
"Ha…You guys can't get into my room and quote Bingo," Mackenzie says
"Why not? It's a really good quote:" Rusty defends himself while shrugging his shoulders.
"Um, yeah, I will give you that," Mackenzie states, as the sound of his old self can be heard in the background of his voice. "By the way, is Bingo still trying to annoy me?"
"We got calls from her, but after that, she just stopped," Jack says while pulling and looking at his phone.
"Good, I guess…"
"Party at Bluey's house…" Jack repeats the message in a low voice as his brain analyzes the text. "...This could beneficial."
"What do you mean?" Mackenzie asks with one eyebrow up
"Bluey said 'everyone,' so every single dog in the club will be there, including you and Jean-Luc."
"Soooo? What are you trying to suggest, Private Jack?" Rusty asks, following the game Jack is trying to pull
"Maybe…we can finally see how these two are behaving, see what their relationship looks like, see if there is something else than hugs."
"Ok…He has a point," says Rusty, looking at Mackenzie
"Ummmm," Mackenzie thinks about what Jack said. In the few instances where Jean-Luc and Bluey are together, they always hug at least once, and unfortunately for him, Jack is right. He and Bluey always hug by the shoulders, and they still aren't in a relationship.
The welcoming party for Jean-Luc in Bluey's house means she has to stay near him. Jack is right; this could be an opportunity for him to see how much Bluey likes Jean-Luc.
As long as he doesn't lose it like today. Everything will be fine.
"Yeah, let's do this." Mackenzie nods, confirming his friend of what they are going to do
"Alright…Operation…What should we call this operation?" Rusty asks confused
"Operation Homecoming, let's not drag this on," Jack says, shrugging his shoulders.
"Didn't you guys already have Operation Homecoming?" Mackenzie asks
"Nope." Jack turns to Mackenzie and points at him in a friendly manner. "That was Operation Homewrecker"
"Ok, Operation Homecoming it is," Rusty consents.
"Hooray" Mackenzie and Jack celebrate at the same time with but without extending their arms.
Tock, Tock, Tock*
"Huh?" All three boys react confused, after snapping their heads to look at the door of the room
"Can I open the door?" The voice of Mel sounds off at the other side of the door
"Yeah, sure" Mackenzie screams out, letting his mother peek her head into the room
"Mackenzie, you got a visitor." Says Mel, still holding the door
"Huh, who?"
Mel opened the door entirely to reveal Mackenzie's visitor.
"Oh," all three boys shout out at the sight of a familiar dog.
"Aw shit, just because we moved out doesn't mean the house is out of walking range of the Heeler's" Mackenzie thought with horror when he saw the familiar shape of a Red heeler on the door frame.
Captain Burke Park*
Brisbane city center*
To say the day was perfect is an understatement. The weather couldn't be any more perfect. There was not a single cloud in the sky, and it was windy enough to cool her fur. The grass absorbed the sound of the streets as an airliner high in the sky painted the clear blue sky with white trails coming out of its engines.
"And this photo," Jean-Luc says, putting his phone in front of Bluey, "Is from when I visited the museum in Perth harbor days before I got here."
"Oh," Bluey grabs his cell phone to look more determinedly at the photo while she and the Labrador are lying down on the grass as Jean-Luc decides to show her photos of the things he did before. The picture shows Jean-Luc posing with other boys in front of a green and yellow fighter plane with the jaws of a shark painted under the engine. "Look like it was fun for you," he says.
"Yeah. It was fun but the air was so heavy to breathe" Jean-Luc tells. "The more you think about what happened there, the heavier the air gets."
"You mean like…the souls of the dogs wandering around?" Asks Blue, speaking from experience.
"Yeah, something like that," Jean-Luc says
"That's sad." Bluey returns the cell phone to Jean-Luc to look at the sky again, to see the airliner fly in the sky, but the plane reminds her of something and asks away, "Soo, Jean-Luc if you wanted to come back to Brisbane so bad, why didn't you travel here before?"
"Cuz my aunt used to live here, she helps us to translate some stuff, and she lets us sleep in her place, but a little after our first trip, my aunt decided to move to Mexico. She said it is cheap, and she doesn't have to be so far away from the family in Canada. And also, the tickets to fly from Quebec to Brisbane aren't exactly cheap."
"Oh," Bluey looks at the sky again.
"My turn…" Jean-Luc asks. "I'm going to confess this might be personal, but what do you think of Mack?"
"Well…" Bluey rolls her eyes to think of a carefully edited truth "He is awesome. Out of all the people I hang out with at school or out there, he is the one I spend the most time with. He can be a little shy or too competitive with me sometimes, but we understand each other. There is no other dog I want to spend time with at school."
"Oh, awesome" Jean-Luc responds happily as he looks at the sky.
Out of anywhere, Bluey's eyes shot up the second she understood what she said, and holding her weight on her elbow, she got up slightly to look at him and says rapidly "...Imeaniwouldstillhandoutwithyouthoughdoesntmeanionlyhangoutwithhimthought"
"I know, I know," Jean-Luc says sarcastically bouncing his head from side to side. "I know what you mean. I'm just saying, it's awesome the relationship you guys have."
"Really?"
"Yeah"
"Cool." Bluey goes back to lying on the grass as her mind goes through what happened. She trusts Jean-Luc but not to the point of dropping the bomb on him that she has feelings for the Collie; he could just tell Mackenzie and spoil the moment. She is determined to tell Mackenzie her feelings whenever she is ready.
Suddenly, the involuntary urge of her mouth opening and the inhaling of air of a yawn signals to Bluey that it is enough talking for the day. "I'm tired. I had to wake up earlier to help my family pick up the camp, I barely sleep on the way to Brisbane, and I don't wanna sleep in the grass."
"Ok, I will text Mel to pick us up" Jean-Luc gets up and goes to work on his phone.
Mackenzie's room*
Ding*
The notification on Mel's cell phone sounds off. She pulls out her phone to look at it and says, "I gotta go pick up Bluey and Jean-Luc. Your dad is in the other room watching a race." Mel puts her phone back in her hip and says, "I will see you guys later."
"Don't worry about us. I think we will be gone by the time you guys come back," Rusty advises.
"Ok, Bye guys," and with that, Mel walks off, leaving Bingo on the doorframe of Mackeznie's room.
"What are you doing here, Summer sun!?" Jack questions as Bingo steps into the room closing the door behind her
But Bingo doesn't respond but instead looks at the mess caused by Mackenzie's moment. "Looks like someone is not doing good."
"Let's get this over with." With a face of courage, Mackenzie raised his head to face Bingo. "What do you wanna talk about!?"
"Oh…Nothing…" Bingo speaks innocently with her hands behind her back as if she didn't try to call Mackenzie the whole day. As she also gets on the bed where Mackenzie's feet are, "...Just wondering how my best friend is doing, cuz you know, Being so far away from civilization, it really makes you wonder how my friends are doing. In fact, I dare say that I missed you. I missed your tomfooleries and seeing your pretty black and white fur, and I'm sorry if my only sin is wanting to see you and asking how my best friend in the absolute world is doing."
…
…
…
…
…
…
"Really?" the three boys ask.
"NO!" Bingo barks as she lunges forward to grab Mackenzie's shoulder and shakes him violently. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING, YOU LOSER!? MY SISTER IS SPENDING TIME WITH THE HOT LABRADOR WHILE YOU ARE BEING LAZY AS FUCK IN YOUR BED!"
"First of all. No, I just cried myself to sleep. Thank you very much" Mackenzie speaks, trying to recover from all the shaking "Second of all, I wasn't invited to go, so what do you want me to do? Going undercover and being an absolute ass to Bluey and Jean-Luc? Third, Just because you are helping me to date Bluey doesn't mean you walk over to my house and shake me violently."
"But it's my job as a wingman to put your bolts together," Bingo shakes Mackenzie again, but slower this time. "How can I help you date my sister if you are not doing your part, especially after you blocked me?"
"What if you put your part instead?" Mackenzie says more determined, and asks Bingo, "Did Bluey mention something about Jean-Luc at the camping site?"
"Nope," Bingo shakes her head. "Luckily for you, she didn't. Just a drawing she did while she was bored, but nothing else."
"A drawing?" The three boys ask, confused
"Long story, But…" Bingo let go of one of Mackenzie's shoulders and pointed up with one finger. "There is still a chance. Trust me on that."
"A chance?" Mackenzie says with a drop of hope in his voice
"Yes, but that chance is fading fast if you don't act fast enough."
"So she has feelings for Jean-Luc?" Rusty asks with both arms crossed
"No, but you Mack, you know the story these two have" Bingo says
"What story? "Jack asks innocently
"It's a long but long story," Bingo says. "Okay, my turn. Did Jean-Luc mention something about Bluey?"
"Not really," Mackenzie speaks, "but on the camping trip, before leaving, I followed Bluey and Jean-Luc back to the pink tree, and when they came back to the trucks, I found a note that Jean-Luc wrote for Bluey in case she wasn't there."
"Oh…" Bingo let go of Makcneize's other shoulder and dropped herself onto Mackenzie's legs before saying with close eyes "You mean the Godforsaken note Bluey has been searching for all three days?"
"She did?" Mackenzie asks with one eyebrow up, to which Bingo nods defeated
"I swear I almost punched her cuz she keeps asking for the note, but if I did, she would have fed me to the salties" Bingo confesses, still with her eyes closed.
"What note?" Jack asks again
"Long story." Bingo finally opens her eyes to look at Mackenzie. "What happened next?"
"I talked to my father about it when we came back, and he told me to confront him cuz he can't use us for his leasure, and I did, But he thought I was talking about my feelings for Bluey, so he said he is not going to get in the way, that he will not try to make a move on Bluey."
"Oh," Bingo's shoulders relax. "Ok, then, we don't have to worry about him then."
"No!" All three boys shout at the same time
"Bingo…" Jack says with his hand covering his eyes. "I don't know what is going on, but it's Mans 101 that if a man says they are not interested in a girl another guy is in love with, that guy, in most cases, is lying."
"I'm a girl! how the hellI was supposed to know that distracted soldier?!" Bingo defends herself while using Jack's Nickname
"Thing is…" Mackenzie speaks with his right hand on his right eyebrow. "...We don't trust Jean-Luc not to make a move on Bluey, especially considering the photo they sent to the group chat today."
"You guys always take photos hugging by the shoulders." Bingo covers her face as she slowly shakes it. "What's so special about this?"
"Cuz..." Mackenzie quickly moves his eyes around to come up with something. "I'm not there?" he says with a nervous smile.
"You are just jealous. Be for real." Bingo friendly taps the top of Mackenzie's head. "What now, Mack?"
"Operation Homecoming" Rusty talks. "We will spy how much those two actually behave at your sister's party."
"Didn't you guys already have Operation Homecoming?" Bingo asks, pointing at Rusty
"That was Homewrecker," Rusty corrects.
"Huh, yeah, I still remember Homewrecker…Anyway, I heard Bluey was hanging out with Jean-Luc, and I got worried you didn't do anything. That's why I tried to call you," Bingo says humbly.
"Bingo…' Mackenzie also talks in a humble tone "…you know I don't like talking to you while you are mad cuz you…"
"Cuz then I don't listen, I know, I know," Bingo interrupts Mackenzie with a palm on her eye. "It's just…You know how hard I worked to get you guys together, and with Jean-Luc around, I got nervous."
"Yeah, I guess"
"Just unblock me." Bingo takes her palm from her eye. "And I will deal with the rest of the guys."
"...What?"
"The other guys…don't you have your phone with you?"
"I threw it away before going to sleep," Mackenzie says before turning to the white and brown Terrier and pointing to the left corner of his room. "Jack, it should be over There."
"Righto," Jack says as he looks for Mackenzie's phone behind a little table with a lantern on top. Jack grabs his phone and tosses it to Mackenzie so he can turn it on.
"Holy…" Mackenzie's eyes opened, and his heart sank completely at the sight of many, many not-friendly notifications
Rusty leans to see and read every notification: "Missing calls from Chloe, texts from Sadie, and More missing calls from the Terriers. It looks like they did not like the fact that Bluey is hanging out with Jean-Luc."
"'You dumb idiot, why is he hanging out with Bluey and not you?'" Mackenzie repeats a text message he got from the Afghan hound
"Geez, Indy, Don't need to go that far," Rusty commented.
Jack joins his friends and leans in to see the notifications "'You bobo head, no wonder you are still single.'"
"Banjo still being Banjo" Mackenzie says
"'We worked so hard for a purple Labrador to date Bluey? Fucking idiot'" Rusty reads another text message
"Why, I'm not surprised it came from Chucky," Mackenzie says, hitting his face with his palm.
"'Fuck, you'" Both Jack and Rusty read a message at the same time.
"Let me guess…Buddy?" The Collie speaks still with one hand on his face
"Nope, Coco" Both guys say at the same time.
"Fuck…Me" Mackneize, slowly and defeated, passes his hand through his face.
"I guess I deserved this for being a loser and having the WHOLE FUCKING GROUP HELPING ME." Thought Mackenzie as his hand finally got off his face to look at Bingo
"You see how much we care about you and Bluey," Bingo says as she finally gets off Macknezie's legs and the bed. "We want to see you guys together."
"Yeah, I know…" Mackenzie passes a hand through his fur to accommodate it. "I would like to spend more time with you guys, but I need a shower. I need to think."
"Sure, mate" Rusty says, before he and Jack get off the bed to leave and pick up his hat from the floor.
Bingo opens the door to let Rusty and Jack get out of the room, but before she walks out and closes the door, she calls him, "Hey, Mackenzie."
"!" Mackenzie's eyes open up. Bingo usually calls him Mack, but sometimes, she calls him by his real name whenever she has something important to say. "Yes, Bingo?"
"Don't give up yet. I know this doesn't look pretty, but you got this. The show must go on."
"Thanks, Bingo," Mackenzie says softly, but when Bingo turns around and about to leave him alone, he shouts, "Bingo!"
"?" Bingo doesn't say anything but stays under the door frame, waiting for Mackenzie to talk to her.
"Remember what we talked about at the beginning," Mackenzie says
"I do…" Bingo turns her head around and talks to the Border Collie for the last time. "...No a single word to Bluey."
And with that, Bingo steps out of the room and closes the door, leaving Mackenzie with his thoughts.
"She is right," Mackenzie thinks as he watches the door. "She always spends time with Bluey, so if she says I have a chance, then I still have a chance."
Bluey's home
"It was fun spending time with you, Jean-Luc, " Bluey says as she holds the passenger door open to speak with Jean-Luc and Mel, who are in the front seats. I will see you on Wednesday for the party, and thanks, Ms. Mel, for picking us up."
"Don't worry, Bluey. It's been a pleasure," Mel says, looking back as she holds onto the steering wheel.
"à plus tard, Bluey" Farewells, Jean-Luc also looking behind to see Bluey.
"à plus tard Jean-Luc" Bluey closes the door to let them go back to their house, and as Mel drives off, Bluey stays in front of the house to wave Jean-Luc goodbye.
When the orange pickup truck is out of her sight, Bluey turns back and walks to the door of her home, The good old massive house she would never change for any other house in the world. She enters, goes up the stairs, and into the kitchen where she finds her father, Bandit, preparing a smoothie. "Hey, Dad"
"Oh, hi Bluey" Bandit greets as he cuts some bananas on a wooden cutting board. "How did it go with Jean-Luc?"
"It was amazing," Bluey says with a joyful tone as she sits on a stool located on the other side of her father. "We catch up on a lot of things."
"Awesome" Bandit reacts as he shifts his focus to the bananas on the cutting board.
As Bandit continues, Bluey looks around herself and asks, "Is Bingo awake yet? I gotta talk to her."
"Bingo barely slept like one hour before walking to Lila's house," Bandit says as he cuts another banana. "She said she wanted to spend the night over there."
"For real life?" Bluey expresses annoyance with a frown on her face, for which her father just shrugged his shoulders. "I guess I will text her then," She says as she pulls out her phone and starts typing. "She needs to know this."
"About what?" Bandit raised his head to look at Bluey
Bluey puts down her phone, inhales air, and says, "Does the name 'Diamond' ring a bell to you?"
Mackenzie's house front porch
As Rusty, Jack, and Bingo walk out of the house, Rusty asks, "Do you want me to take you to your house?"
"No, I told my father that I'm gonna be in Lila's house to be here, but I kinda need a night over there. This whole situation is stressing out," Bingo says as she walks over to Rusty's car, a modern red four-door sedan.
Rusty unlocks his car, allowing him and Jack to get in the front seats, leaving Bingo to get in the back seat
"Guys," Bingo calls as she sits in the middle of the back seats in between the separation of the two front seats. "Can you stay a little bit at Lila's? We need to have a conversation about Mack and Bluey."
"Yeah, sure," Rusty responded while putting his hat on the back seats and pressing the button to turn on his car. "I got nothing else going on."
"What about Indy?" Bingo asks
"She is busy spending time with her family," Rusty responds as he shifts into gear to drive forward. "Sometimes, in relationships, we need time for ourselves. You will get that when you get into your first relationship."
"Pff, the expert has spoken," Bingo jokes, rolling her eyes.
"By the way" Jack gets into the conversation "Did anyone catch your eye yet?"
"I don't think you should be asking this, Jack" Bingo scolds him. "Besides, School year hasn't even started."
"So you don't like anybody from the club?" Jack asks again
"Do YOU like anybody from the club?" Bingo counterattacks
"Uhhhhh"
"Point proven." Bingo returns to her seat and pulls out her cell phone to start texting her best friend
Bingo: Hey Lila
Bingo: Can I stay at your place just for tonight
Bingo: I kinda need it
Bingo puts down her phone and looks at the vehicle's ceiling while Rusty keeps driving through the neighborhood. Her conversation with her sister that night starts to reproduce in her head as her heart makes its presence known by beating harder and harder with each beat. She is not expecting to confess to her tonight, but the fact that she feels a lot more freedom after confessing to her sister, let her feelings for Lila run wild in her heart until a rumble from her phone makes her look at it again.
Lila: Sure
Lila: I thought you got tired of sleeping in my house
A soft smile appears on Bingo's face as she texts back.
Bingo: LoL Never
Bingo: Also, Rusty and Jack are going to hang out with us, we need to have a conversation about the two lovebirds
Lila: Mack chicken out again?
Lila: Wait, Bluey chicken out this time? Been a while since that happened
Bingo: Nope, it's about the new Exchange student
Lila: The guy that hugged Bluey by the shoulders on that photo?
Bingo: Yeah, him
Lila: Oh Boy
Lila: I will let Mum know you are coming
Bingo: Thanks
The red Heeler puts down the phone to enjoy the quietness of the car while Rusty keeps driving to Lila's place.
Bzzzz*
However another text reached her phone, making Bingo raise her cell phone again.
Bluey: Bingo, you got a moment?
Mackenzie's home
"Think…Think…Think" Mackenzie concentrates with his eyes closed as his body is submerged in water inside the bathtub.
"Let's go part for part," Mackenzie says in his head, feeling the cold water get in his fur.
"I got Bluey on one side. We been together since Glasshouse, arguably my best friend, fell in love with her since I was like…six?...a long time basically. I tried to confess to her a couple of times…did not work out…Then, Bingo found out and decided to help me…then Rusty…Chloe…Indy…Jack…Honey…The terriers…Winton…The rest of the group…then Bingo's friends from her class joined us and all of them decided to help me too…but still, when the time came, I can't bring myself to do the next step…I felt fear…fear of the unknown…what if she doesn't feel the same? Would she still be my friend? Would she leave me? Would the group separate because of us?... But what if we actually share the same feeling?.. Then what? Go on dates?... Actually, it sounds sweet…focus Mackenzie.
"Then, on the other side, we got Jean-Luc…Exchange student from Canada…a place I think he called 'Quebeck' a weird place where the population speaks French instead of English like the rest of the country. High school hockey player, 'unofficial captain,' he said, a top-graded student, speaks English well. He basically treats my mother as his mother, too… a really calm guy but can be manipulative.
"Then…"
Tock, Tock, Tock*
"Mackenzie, are you going to finish soon?" The voice of her arriving mother shouted out from the other side of the door of the restroom, making Mackenzie open his eyes entirety
"Yes, Mum, give me a couple of minutes," he says, still lying down in the tub.
"Ok" Mel respond
"I guess I need to continue this later," Mackenzie thinks.
A little while later*
Lila's house*
"Ok, leave the talking to me," Says Bingo as she and the two boys step out of the car and walk to the house. "I think Lila's mum is not going to take it so lightly that two boys are going to spend time with her in their own house."
Lila's home is a two-story red brick House with a well-maintained porch and garden, a garage on the left with a white s.u.v parked outside, on the white door, there is a sign that says "We are Malteses But not from Malta. HaHaHa" with a button next to the door which Bingo presses to signify her arrival.
It doesn't take long for the white door to open with an adult white Maltese on the other side
"G'day Ms Shaila." Bingo greets her with a waving hand, but instead of a friendly response, Shaila gives a threatening look at the two guys behind Bingo.
"Why are they here?" Shaila frowns and points with one finger to the boys
"They are just here for a little bit. We are going to talk to Lila, and they will be on their way," Bingo explains.
"I already have a girlfriend" Rusty defends himself trying to be one step ahead of Shaila
"I'm an angel." Jack shrugs his shoulders… doing his best
"Huh uh"
"Mum!" a female scream rumbles behind the door. "Let them in. They are just going to talk to me and Bingo, and they will leave"
Shaila looks behind her. "That's fine but next time, let me know if you are bringing boys over"
"Ok Mum."
And with that, Shaila finally opens the door to let the three teenagers in but it also reveals the teenage Maltese with a pink band holding together some of her hair
"¡Lila!" Bingo shouts with open eyes as she walks to her best friend and gives her a tight hug
"Bingooooo!" Lila accepts the embrace by hugging Bingo tighter. "How did it go?"
Bingo separates from Lila and says, while holding her hands, "It was good. You should have been there; the stars were beautiful."
"Naturally, because of the lack of light pollution, stars are easy to see."
"Always being smart, eh?" Bingo jokes, causing Lila to shrug her shoulders and close her eyes in a conceited way
"Glad everything went well while camping," says Shaila, closing the door after Rusty and Jack got in. "Would you guys like some water?"
Rusty and Jack are about to deny the offering, but Bingo speaks first "Yeah we got a lot to talk about" causing Rusty to raise his eyes amazed while Jack secretly gulps
"Ok, I will be right back" says Shaila as she turns and Walk towards the kitchen
"Let me help you Mum" notify Lila as she starts to follow her mother.
With Shaila and Lila out of the living room, Jack turns to Rusty and says, "Okay, we need to start planning for Operation Homecoming."
"Yeah…" Rusty says, putting his index finger and thumb on his mouth "...Spying on Bluey and Jean-Luc in Bluey's house."
"Spying on them in the middle of the party will be the easy part," Jack starts planning also with one index and thumb on his mouth. "But if they go on their own, that's going to be complicated."
Bingo only limited herself to sigh while hearing the two boys talk behind her. Tired of their military acts, tired of being in this situation, tired of Bluey and Mackenzie
It didn't take long for Lila and her mother to return to the living room with three cups of water. "Thanks, Lila and Ms. Shaila," Bingo thanked as she grabbed one cup of water for herself.
"Alright…" Lila hands Rusty and Jack a cup. "What do you guys want to talk about?"
"Can we talk in your room instead? Bingo asks with one raised eyebrow.
"Yeah, sure. It's a good thing I cleaned it today," Lila celebrates as she turns to go up the stairs.
"I'm fine with it as long as you guys leave the door open" warns Shaila as Lila, Bingo, Jack and Rusty start to go the stairs
"Yes Mum" Lila states as she continues going up the stairs.
Already on the second floor, Lila and her guests reach her room, a pink closed door with a sign that says "No brothers allowed." Lila open the door and let Bingo Jack and Rusty in, but when it was her turn to get in, she accomplished her mother's wish and left her door open after she walk-in
Lila's room has every tone of pink imaginable covering everything: her massive and tall bed, the walls, the curtains, and even her table, which has a PC with LED lights under the table and a black monitor on top.
Bingo leaves her cup of water on top of the table with the computer and turns around to start with two pleading hands together. "We need to stop this."
"What?" Rusty reacts confused, still in the center of the room while Jack sits on Lila's bed
"We can't continue doing this. I can't do this anymore."
"What are you talking about Bingo?" asks Lila as she moves behind Bingo to drag the pink gaming chair from under the computer table and sits on it
"This…whole thing…"
"Bingo!" All three teenagers protest except Bingo
"Ughhhh" Bingo exasperatedly looks to the ceiling with grinding teeth before looking down again and continue "We need to tell both of them the feeling they have for each other."
"WHAT!" All three teenagers scream out
"Are you serious Bingo?" Jack says, putting a hand on his face
"We can't do this" Rusty says, crossing his arms over his chest.
"We made a promise…" Lila says in her chair "...To both of them"
"Well, looks like we can't keep that anymore." Bingo stands her ground also crossing her arms
"Why is that?" Rusty opens his eyes and leans towards Bingo, letting the white of his eyes intimidate the Heeler
"Jean-Luc…" Bingo opens her eyes to look straight into Rusty's eyes imitating him "...Jean-Luc is the problem."
Rusty open eyes change to a frown. "You know something we don't."
"Alright" Jack speaks up making both Rusty and Bingo look at him. "Let's start from the beginning. Did Bluey mention something about Jean-Luc?"
"Not exactly" Bingo starts talking " But whenever someone mentions him at the camping site, I notice her tail starts to wag. However Bluey told me her heart is still with Mack."
"Good" Rusty adds "but that doesn't say much. We all wag our tails for several reasons."
"True" Bingo points at the Kelpie, giving him the reason. "But that's not the problem."
"Im listening." Lila leans out of the chair to hear with more clarity. "But Bingo, you better tell me what Is going on."
"Oh yes I will." Bingo nods several times as she turns her head to look at Lila. "I'm going to start from the beginning."
"Soo" Bingo looks forward to explain to Rusty and Jack "One thing to know about Bluey and Jean-Luc is that they already met each, back when you guys were in Glasshouse and back when Lila and I were in kindy, eleven years ago."
"What!" Jack leans forward astonished
"Mack did mention something like that the last time I saw him" Rusty says with Index and Thumb on his mouth.
"What do you mean?" Bingo asks with one eyebrow raised
"After the trip, Mackenzie visited Lucky and me in Blaze's to talk about him, so I already know a little bit about what happened at your guy's camping trip."
"Not me…" Jack gets himself into the conversation
"Or me" Lila also speaks.
"Let me speak," Bingo annoyingly looks to the ceiling before continuing. "Like I said, Bluey already met Jean-Luc on one of our camping trips. Apparently, Bluey loved spending time with him so much that she made a drawing with her and Jean-Luc and kept it with her throughout all these years."
"Wait…" Rusty raised his head as if a lightbulb lit up on top of his head. "A purple dog?"
"Yeah" Bingo nods "a purple/dark blue dog on the left and Bluey on the right."
"¡Hey! I remember that drawing…" Rusty says "...I was next to Bluey when she made it in Glasshouse."
"Oh, good to know. Ok, everyone up to date?" Bingo looks around, receiving nods from Lila, Rusty, and Jack. "Now, eleven years later, Jean-Luc becomes an exchange student, flew from Canada, and somehow he finds Bluey in the same camping site."
"Something must have happened there" Lila opinates. "It's simply not possible to find someone like that."
"Well" Rusty starts to speak "According to what Mack said, Jean-Luc wasn't expecting to find Bluey at the camping site."
"So it was an accident?" Lila comment
"Yeah, cuz if it was planned, I would've known from the beginning, or Bluey would have recognized him as a stalker and kicked his butt" Bingo states
"OK, but why are you worried Bluey might choose to date Jean-Luc instead of Mack? Everything that we know has happened to them doesn't mean they are a couple," Rusty asks.
"Because I know my sister."
"Huh?" Lila and Rusty react
"What do you mean?" Jack asks
"Lila…" Bingo turns her head to look at Lila next to her. "You remember that sleepover at Honey's a few years ago?"
"Yeah…the one we spend the night watching a movie?"
"And also the night we played truth or dare…"
"Oh boy" Rusty sarcastically turns around with his hands on his hips, preparing to hear what happened that night.
"Bluey…" Bingo turns to the boys to recount, "...Got dared to say who else her crush was besides Mackenzie, and she said she had feelings for Lucky before."
"Lucky!?" Jack reacts by shaking his head back
"My brother in yellow is so busy watching games in the Americas and Europe that he is straight-out incompetent to date Bluey" Rusty says sarcastically, his arms slightly open.
"Well, he is dating Judo" Lila says, shrugging her shoulders. "And arguably, Judo is harder to date than Bluey."
"And also!" Bingo speaks up making the three dogs fall silent. "When she reconnected with Winnie at that party three years ago, she spent so much time with her afterward that Chloe got jealous of her."
"Yeah, I still remember that" Jack comments "She was always planning something to get Bluey away from Winnie, but luckily they talked things out."
"And also" Bingo continues "Whenever I had classes with her, I noticed she always treats other Labradors better than some other dogs."
"Isn't it…" Jack says with one finger up, but he also rolls his eyes. "Reverse racism?"
"What the…" Rusty facepalms his face
"It's favoritism, you dork." Lila says annoyed at the Jack terrier
"POINT IS!.." Bingo screams out "...Bluey has a thing for Labradors"
"Really?" Jack says, ignoring the fact that Rusty and Lila wanted to choke him out. "Didn't know that"
"Well, yes" Bingo nods with her eyes closed, already getting tired of Jack, but she opens them up to continue. "My problem with Jean-Luc is that Bluey is going to choose him over Mack, considering the stuff I witnessed before."
"But telling the truth to them?" Rusty says with a confused face "We made…Lila said it before. We made a promise to both of them."
"Yeah" Lila speaks. "We promise Bluey not to say anything to Mack, and we promise Mack not to say anything to Bluey."
"And eat up this idiocy?...C'mon guys!" Bingo says exasperatedly, getting angrier by the second. "Are we really gonna let everything we did for those two down the drain just because a Canadian showed up in a forest!?"
"..." Rusty and Lila stay quiet, looking up and down the room to avoid looking at Bingo.
"Then so be it…" Jack dared to speak up, gaining an annoying look from Bingo and an amazed look from his best friend and Lila."…This whole thing…of keeping the secret…is to make it run naturally…right?"
"Yes," Bingo continued. "Both of them said it. They wanted to confess to each other without any other help, just like Rusty and Indy did years ago."
"Then what if…the fact that Bluey falls in love with the Labrador…is part of nature."
"What are you talking about?" Says Bingo
"I mean…if it meant to be... if it meant to be that Bluey has a stronger feeling for this guy instead of Mack," Jack continues in a humble tone.
"Look…" Rusty finally gets in the conversation turning to Bingo "...I know we did a lot to set them up, but if Bluey chooses this guy instead of Mack…then there is nothing else we can do. We can't force Bluey to date Mack."
Bingo looks at Jack and Rusty stunned, not believing a single word she is hearing.
"Don't get me wrong," Rusty continues "My loyalty is still with Mack, and I will help him in any way I can. But let's be realistic. We have been helping both of them for so damn long that this ain't even funny anymore."
"And you heard us when Mack was going through those notifications. I'm willing to bet a lot of us are already fed up with Mack and Bluey; even Indy confessed to me that she has given up on them."
Bingo looks down, absorbing Rusty's words in a moment of reflection. At the same time, her down behavior signals to the three teenagers that she is acknowledging that Rusty might be right.
"Bingo…" Rusty puts his hand on Bingo's shoulders while she is still looking down "...I learned this on my first days working at Blaze's. It's a kind of bias, when you work on a project for so long that you hesitate or refuse to abandon it for a better project…this might be the same thing."
…
…
…
"I heard it countless times before with my family" Jack says. "Sometimes the best thing we can do is to let it go."
Bingo raises her head to Jack and says, "If I want your opinion, I will pull Rusty's dick out of your mouth!."
"What!?" Both guys exclaimed
"Actually" Bingo says as she grabs both of Rusty's shoulders to turn him around and push him. "We are done here; been a pleasure talking to you guys. Lila help me out with Jack."
"Oh boy." Lila gets up her chair and walks to Jack
"Hey I can walk…wow" Jack protests but he is interrupted by Lila, who grabs him by the arm to pull him out of the bed and push the jack terrier to kick him out
"Hey" Rusty protests. "We can walk towards the exit, you know?"
"Nah" Bingo dismissed it, pushing Rusty out of the room and towards the stairs. "Kicking you guys out is way more entertaining."
"Should have known this is how it ends boys" Lila says as she continues to push Jack down the stairs.
"Bingo, you better think this thought" Rusty says as Bingo makes him descend the stairs.
"Dont care, didn't ask," Bingo dismissed
"They are not going to be happy with you for spilling the secret," Rusty says as Bingo and Lila finally push both guys to the main door to the porch.
"I have a brain" Bingo says as she opens the door and pushes Rusty out of the house, with Lila doing the same to Jack "Leave me alone."
PLAM*
The sound of the door closing reverberates, leaving Rusty and Jack by themselves.
"Girls…"Rusty sarcastically says as he turns to Jack "Gotta love them."
"Jeez…So what do you wanna do now?" Jack asks
"Maybe we can annoy Lucky at Blaze's. He always likes to take his breaks late" Rusty suggests as he turns his body to prepare to walk to his car.
"Good idea." Jack starts to walk with Rusty to leave the place
Inside the house, Bingo looks to the floor, defeated, something Lila notices and put a hand on her shoulder. "You ok Bingo?" the Maltese asks.
"I don't know…" Bingo says defeated "I'm tired…Of everything…Bluey and Mack are still scared of each other…People are giving up on them…Jean-Luc might attempt to become my sister's boyfriend or vice versa…and she reminded me of something."
Bingo pulls out her cell phone, searches for her conversation with her sister, and shows it to Lila.
Bluey: Bingo, you got a moment?
Bingo: Yeah, what's up?
Bluey: Found Diamond selling ice cream at the park in the city center
Bluey: We almost fought again, but Jean-Luc managed to push me away from her
Bingo: Oh Boy
Bingo: Completely forgot about her
Bingo: Bluey, I really do not want to start the school year with you getting into another fight *Rolling eyes emoji*
Bluey: Me neither, but she can get some if she wants to *Close fist emoji*
Bingo: *Facepalm emoji*
"Oh yeah, Diamond, it's been a while since I saw her." Lila says still looking at the conversation
"Me too, but it reminded me that we will also be studying with her this year. With everything going on right now…your bed is a lot more comfortable than mine, if you know what I mean.
"Bingo…" Lila gives the cell phone back to her."...You can't just call me out of nowhere and tell me you wanna sleep in my bed."
"Yeah you are right." Bingo raised her head to look at Lila "Does your mom still have that inflatable bed?"
"I mean…You can't tell me you wanna sleep in my bed and not share it with the owner" Lila says with one cheeky eyebrow up.
At the sight of Lila's cheekiness, Bingo couldn't avoid smiling. "Fair…Fair"
"Let's go back to my room" Lila suggests. "I gotta show you what I made while you were gone camping."
"What do you mean?"
"The story…the fanfic I talked to you about."
"Oh!... Oh yeah, show me" Bingo says as the two best friends go up the stairs to return to Lila's room.
Mackenzie's house
"There are two places I usually think these kinds of things" Mackenzie thinks as he goes down the stairs of the house. "The restroom and the park near the house."
When the collie arrived on the main floor with a clean face and fur, he found Jean-Luc sitting on a stool, talking to Mel and Fozzie in the kitchen. As if the sound of his steps reached the Labrador's ears, Jean-Luc turned his head to look at Mackenzie. "Oh, hi, Mack."
"Hi Luke" Mackenzie greeds back with a waving hand
"Probably this is going to hurt" Mackenzie thinks as he approaches Jean-Luc. "But it's worth a shot."
"How did it go with Bluey in the city center?" Mackenzie asks as he walks enough to be next to Jean-Luc
"It went well" The Labrador answers happily. "We catch up on a lot of things."
"Good to hear…" Mackenzie says, slightly nodding his head. "I'm going to be in the park. I will be back soon."
"Ok Mack" "Ok Mackenzie" Both the border collie parents say in unison.
But as Mackenzie turns back to walk out of the door…
You can stay under my um–brella, ella, ella, eh, eh, eh*
Jean-Luc's phone starts to sound off with a part of a pop song, and he immediately picks up his phone to shut down the call.
"Ha, ha, ha," Jean-Luc laughs and looks around nervously as he pushes the green circle forward to accept the call, "Salut Alicia."
"Jean-luc, tu as une seconde?" The French voice of the female Canadian comes out of his phone.
"Ouais?" Jean-Luc answered back unsure
"Nous avons un problème. J'ai reçu un appel de Juneau au Québec. Je pense que ces gens ont décidé d'être ennuyeux dès le début."
"Oh Boy, laisse-moi aller dans ma chambre" Says Jean-Luc as he gets off the stool and walks to get up the stairs
Mackenzie sees all the conversation and thinks, "Whatever it was, it is important enough that Jean-Luc needed to be in his room." and finally turns to the door and walks out.
As Mackenzie starts the short way to the park near his house under the bright summer sun of Brisbane over his head, he begins to think, "Where was I…Oh yeah, Bluey and Jean-Luc…they already met each other, they reunited at the camping site, bla bla bla, we know this already."
Finally, the border collie arrived at the infamous park with a single tree in the middle where an angry magpie usually makes its nest. Mackenzie briefly walks through the spiky grass towards the tree, and when he arrives, he sits down with his back to the truck under the shadow of the branches. "What is going on…" he reflects.
"Jean-Luc and Bluey have a pretty close relationship, that's undeniable, especially after the photo they sent to the group chat… what's next?... Ah, the party on Wednesday…awesome." Mackenzie rolls his eyes.
"That is going to be hard, seeing them together…Laughing, maybe holding hands…should I straight up not go to the party?"
"Do I really wanna end up like Honey? Pushing everyone away?...No, I gotta go; Bingo said it: I have a lot of dogs supporting me in this, besides she said there is still a chance, a chance that's fading fast"
"That means I have to act fast…but how?"
"Be smart…" Mackenzie recalls something his father said days ago "Think Mack…What's the smartest thing you can come up with?"
"Let's see…I can't declare my love to her right now…she will think i'm desperate and leave me…next time I will see her is in the party…everyone is going to be there… The kids included…Bluey's house…Knowing her that means no alcohol, …THATS MASSIVE. Definitely going to help me not lose it like today, although I lost it without alcohol…bruh."
"Go back to the party Mack, kids included, when was the last time we had a party with everyone included… previous year's end-of-school party at this park, what did we do that day?... Eat…Play…Cricket…Soccer…Karaoke…what was I doing that day?"
"Oh!" Mackenzie's eyes snap open. "I spent most of the time with Bluey…of course, with so many things going on, Bluey and I decided to stick together."
"If this party is going to be anything like that party…Probably I'm going to stick to Bluey…But Jean-Luc will also be there, and he will probably be like a kid at a proper high school party… sticking to the people he knows best…Bluey…I see now."
"If I want any chance with Bluey, I gotta follow my father's advice and show Jean-Luc, Bluey is off-limits. If I stay with her the entire party and be the friends we always are, that will send a clear message to Jean-Luc despite telling me he is not interested in her."
Mackenzie looks to the branches above him and thinks "I know what to do."
Lila's room*
Got a figure like a pin-up,
Got a figure like a doll
Don't care if you think I'm dumb
I don't care at all.
Candy bear
Sweetie pie
Wanna be adored
I'm the girl you'd die for
The loud song coming from Bingo's phone bounces off the walls of the pink room as Bingo is behind the Maltese while passing a comb through the back of her head on top of the massive bed. All of this while Lila is texting a friend through her cellphone
I'll chew you up and
I'll spit you out.
Cause that's what young love
Is all about
So pull me closer
And kiss me hard.
I'm gonna pop your bubblegum heart
"Hey Bingo?" Lila calls as her head goes back and forth with each passing of the comb
"What!?..." Bingo shout up, unable to hear Lila
I'm Miss Sugar Pink
Liquor
Liquor lips
Hit me with your sweet love
Steal me with a kiss
I'm Miss Sugar Pink
Liquor
Liquor lips
I'm gonna be a bubblegum bitch
I'm gonna be a bubblegum bitch
Lila picks up the red Heeler's phone and shuts the song down to talk to Bingo. "I Just finished talking to Missy, none one is mad at Mack anymore"
"Good, Mack own us for this one"
"Yeah…Are you excited about starting high school?"
"Besides the fact that I'm going to be dealing with 'Diamond the crazy bitch' again. i'm actually looking forward to begin" Bingo explains as she keeps working on Lila's backhead fur
"Yeah!, I can't wait…" Lila exclaims with cheerfulness in her voice "Has anyone caught your eye yet?"
"Did you take lessons from Jack's annoying school?" Bingo leans to her left and looks at Lila with a frown
"Nope, just saying. There is nothing more romantic like a high school relationship."
"I guess…" Bingo leans back to keep working with her comb. "No, no one caught my eye yet."
"Well, at least we can go to the parties; maybe we can meet someone there."
"Lila…" Bingo looks to the ceiling annoyed. "I'm not interested in that."
"Huh, why not?"
"Cuz I don't wanna go back home drunk up to my head like some of the boys and girls Bluey mentioned last year. Besides, I'm not ready yet."
"You have a point."
"I just don't wanna step into Southern Starts and get into a relationship straight away. I gotta get comfortable and get good grades first, PLUS, I gotta train for my first season of Field Hockey."
"True, true, I believe you will do well."
"Thanks, Lila," Bingo says as she continues to work with the comb behind Lila's head. But after a few passes through Lila's fuzzy fur, she asks, "Do you think they are right?"
"Huh, what are you talking about?"
"That it's time to let it go? To allow Bluey to date Jean-Luc?" Bingo voices her thought
"Yeah, but I kinda wanna follow what he said," Lila Speaks "To be loyal to Mack until Bluey finally chooses someone"
"Yeap" Bingo says discouraged
"So what do you think of Jean-Luc?"
"Huh." Bingo leaves the comb on the bed to talk "What do you mean?"
"I guess you already met him in the camp," Lila says, slightly shrugging her shoulders. "I want to know more about him before Bluey's party."
"Yeah, it was days ago that I met him…I literally met him when I collided with him"
"Really?"
"Yeah, my heart skipped a beat when he grabbed my arms to ensure I didn't fall over. He has pretty eyes, I must admit."
"Huh? Tell me more."
"He is gentle, well kept," Bingo keeps telling with a lost look over Lila's head. "He also plays hockey. He is even on his high school team; he seems like a really accomplished guy."
"Sounds like someone nice enough to spend time with."
"Well, we figured that when Bluey uploaded that photo to the group chat."
"Yeah…Do you think he is cute Bingo?" Lila asks away
"..." Bingo stayed quiet, still looking lost and dreamy over Lila's head until she finally answered "...Yes, he is cute."
"Oh…Awesome, I can't wait to meet him in person." Lila says, but a dark troubling mental shadow covers her face as she quickly comes to her conclusion.
The dark blue Labrador of Jean-Luc has caught Bingo's eyes.
Without wanting to
She found herself in the same position as Mackenzie.
Shoutout to my sister (If she ever reads this) for being an exemplary sister and annoying the crap out of me with her videos. It really inspired me to change how Mackenzie's pov chapters start and I realized I can tell more of Mackenzie and the rest of the characters' stories this way
References…finally
Green and yellow plane: P40 Warhawks…nuff said and yes, a plane from the Flying Tigers is in the museum in Perth harbor
Bluey's crush on Lucky: It's from a deleted scene in which a drawing of Bluey and Lucky holding hands appears. Considering this is a children's series, it makes sense why they deleted it.
Bingo's "pull Rusty's dick out of your mouth": SPOILERS for Deadpool and the Wolverine. In the Latin American dub of the movie, Kidpool is voice by the same kid who voices Bingo, that is why there has been a lot of fanarts with Bingo being dressed as Deadpool.
Jean-Luc's phone ringtone is Umbrella by Rihanna from the last chapter…yeah, I probably should make him change the ringtone in the next chapter
The song in the last scene is "Bubblegum bitch" by Mariana and the Diamonds, the anthem for Bingo in this story, I already have an anthem for Jean-Luc and Bluey, but im still deciding which should be Mackenzie's anthem.
Until next time
