A magical world part 1
"Don't worry, honey, this wheel will hold up. Oh don't worry son, this will hold up""
Mackenzie says, shamelessly imitating his father's voice as he angrily takes the spare wheel out of the open trunk.
"IT DIDN'T EVEN LAST A WEEK," Mackenzie screams angrily as he let the wheel bounce once
"HEY…" Fozzie exclaimed on his kneels in an attempt to silence his son while he tried to remove the last lug nut from the wheel with the lug wrench "...I didn't know Jack-luc would send us to the fifth pine. Now, can you shut up for 5 seconds and help me here"
"Ugh" Mackenzie reacts, letting his head fall back and letting the wheel lean on the vehicle,
Mackenzie grabs the lug wrench with his father, and the latter counts "3,2,1 NOW" using all their strength. The two Border Collies try to move the lug wrench, but the nut doesn't move, and they give up. The two Border Collies release the wrench to catch their breath through their mouths.
"Weren't you going to buy…" Mackenzie manages to speak with his hands on his knees but continues to catch his breath before continuing," One of those pit guns that are used in the Surfers Paradise race"
"I know I said that," Fozzie says, catching his breath and turning his attention to his wife" Honey, help us here."
The brown Border Collie was leaning on her back on the vehicle's hood while she was playing with the four lug nuts of the wheel with her fingers, and a lost look at her dirty hands… As if she was thinking about something
Mackenzie notices that his mother is lost in the lug nuts and says," Mom, I don't want to spend the night here; please help us."
Mackenzie manages to catch her mother's attention, who opens her eyes and reacts "Eh, Oh yeah, I'm coming."
Mel drops the nuts on the ground and positions herself so that she has to push the wrench. The two male Border Collies position themselves so that they only have to pull the wrench.
"Ok, everyone ready?" Fozzie alerts, Mackenzie and Mel nod their heads" Ok…1,2,3 GO"
With the combined force of 3 canines, the wrench moves slowly with difficulty until, magically, the nut comes loose, causing Mel to shoot toward Fozzie and Mackenzie. In a true comical scene, Mel ends up on top of the two Border-Collies. The family grunts and moans in pain until Mel is the first to speak sarcastically with one arm raised "Family time, woohoo"
Mel manages to stand up with difficulty before Mackenzie and Fozzie. She brushes the dirt off her fur with her hands and says, "Your father and I can take care of the rest; you go find Jan-Luke. I don't want to deal with Alice if he gets lost in the woods."
Mackenzie stands up and does the same as his mother and then asks, confused," Who is Alice anyway?"
Mel slaps her face with her palm and says annoyed "That doesn't matter; just look for him"
Mackenzie just rolled his eyes in annoyance "Whatever, Mom" and started walking in the same direction as Jean-Luc.
As Mackenzie walked away, Fozzie got on his knees again to work on the wheel, but Mel decided to look at the three cars that were nearby until a car looked very familiar to her.
" Hey…" Mel pats her husband on the back while continuing to look at the red car"... Are those?"
"Hi Bluey"
Bluey's eyes widen upon hearing her name, and she turns her head in the direction of the voice. And it was there that her gaze connected with a familiar face.
There was Jean-Luc…standing on the other side of the small stream, greeting her with a smile and his tail wagging.
Bluey gives a soft smile, and her tail starts to wag even though there isn't much room because she is sitting down. After what seemed like an eternity, Bluey was the first to speak in a low voice.
"Mom was right…"
Jean-Luc just stands there and answers "…About what?
While keeping her gaze on Jean-Luc, Bluey closes Muffin's book and carefully places it next to the tree.
And in the blink of an eye,
"JEAN-LUC!"
Jean-Luc opens his eyes in surprise when he sees a ball of blue fur shoot out toward him. Instinctively, he opens his arms, waiting for the impact.
Bluey launches herself towards Jean-Luc, enveloping him in a strong hug, which the Labrador accepts with the same force, however, due to the inertia that Bluey is carrying. Jean-Luc takes a few steps back and unintentionally lifts Bluey with the exact inertia for a few seconds with the hug before bringing her back to earth.
The two canines stayed hugged, feeling each other's fur with their tails wagging at full speed; Bluey kept burying her head more and more in Jean-Luc's shoulder while Jean-Luc caressed the soft fur on Bluey's back with his right hand.
After what seemed like an eternity, Bluey took her head off Jean-Luc's shoulder to look him straight in the eyes and said with a giant smile.
"You're back, really you're back, Jean-Luc"
Jean-Luc fixes his gaze on Bluey's eyes, whose joy manages to spread to the Labrador, who accidentally answers in French with a smile "Mieux vaut tard que jamais"
Bluey laughs lightly, closing his eyes momentarily, and translates " Yes…better late than never"
"Wait, do you speak French?" Jean-Luc asks, surprised, with his eyes wide open after somehow composing himself to speak Eglish again
Bluey tilts his head from side to side until she answers, "You're not the only one who studied all these years."
"hehehe…I missed you, Bluey."
"Tu m'as manqué Jean-Luc" Bluey says in French as the canines tilt their heads to touch their foreheads to enjoy the moment a little longer.
"LUKE!"
"LUKE!"
"Luke, where are you"
Bluey finally separates her forehead from Jean-Luc's forehead to position herself next to him to look at the pink tree; this leaves Jean-Luc staring speechlessly at the tree with pink leaves.
"So…this is what I planted?" Jean-Luc asks, tilting his head to the side where Bluey is
Bluey nods and says "Qui, the same tree"
"Danmmit," Jean-Luc says, lowering his head.
"Huh, What's wrong? " Bluey looks at him, confused and worried about Jean-Luc's reaction
Jean-Luc notices Bluey's reaction and continues talking "I remember I said that this tree would give us food… and look" says Jean-Luc jokingly while pointing at the fruitless tree with his two arms extended.
"Ah hahaha," Bluey laughs before playing along with Jean-Luc. "At least we have the wild pig that we hunted."
"Bluey, that was a long time ago" Says Jean-Luc, looking at Bluey "There should only be bones and dust left
"Let's hunt another one then" Says Bluey, shrugging her shoulders and causing the two canines to share a few laughs
"LUKE"
"JAN-LUKE"
"Damn, Luke, where did you get yourself into"
After laughing, Bluey is the first to speak "How have you been, Jean-Luc?"
Jean-Luc sighs after laughing" Well, freezing myself in Canada."
Jean-Luc expected Bluey to laugh, but Bluey instead said, surprised, "Canada? They don't speak English there?"
"In Quebec we speak French…huh, I told my friend the same thing yesterday at the airport, "Jean-Luc says
"Friend? So you're not with your family" Bluey asks worriedly.
"No, but I'm going to stay with a family in Brisbane this school year" Jean-Luc explains with a smile.
"For real life!" Bluey exclaims excitedly."
Jean-Luc just nods happily and explains "Yes, I came as an exchange student."
"Wow" Bluey reacts, amazed and then continues "It must have been hard for you to be one of them"
"Yes it was…" Jean-Luc says nodding "…I hate math"
Bluey let out a giggle, and Jean-Luc couldn't help but smile. Bluey finally says after laughing," Who doesn't hate them, but…"
Jean-Luc changes his expression to one of curiosity, waiting for Bluey's question.
"Why did you come to the forest today?" Bluey asks and then places both of her hands on her hips, leans towards Jean-Luc, and jokes," Were you stalking me?
Jean-Luc is surprised and raises his hands to shake them in defense " Nononono! I swear I didn't know you were going to be here today. In fact, I came to this place to leave this…"
Jean-Luc pulls a paper note from his hip and shows it to Bluey; she curiously grabs the note.
Bluey opens the note to read it while Jean-Luc blushes and says "I knew there was a chance you wouldn't be here today, so I prepared that note for you"
Bluey's eyes move from side to side with the note until she looks at Jean-Luc for a second. Then, she looks at the note again and folds it to put it on her hip.
Out of nowhere, Bluey hugs Jean-Luc again, and on Jean-Luc's shoulder, she says in French, "Vous êtes génial Jean-Luc."
Upon hearing that, Jean-Luc puts his arms around Bluey to accept the hug and begins to caress Bluey's back again.
The two canines continued hugging without giving the slightest importance to what was happening around them. Unbeknownst to them, they had been waiting for each other's presence for over ten years, and neither of them wanted to move on; they just stayed at that point in time and space to enjoy the moment forever in a world that seemed magical.
Until…
"BLUEY!?"
The two canines open their eyes in surprise, break the hug, and look toward where the voice came from
It was Mackenzie. Looking in amazement and confusion at the scene from the tree line, "Bluey, what are you doing here?"
"I camp here," says Bluey, pointing to the ground below her and then points at him. "What are YOU doing here!?
"Do you know him?" Jean-Luc asks Bluey with a hand on her shoulder
"Eh?" Mackenzie reacts, confused with a raised eyebrow, and asks," Do you know each other?
Bluey takes the lead and takes a few steps toward Mackenzie. "Yes, I do" The heeler turns to Jean-Luc and continues "I met him when I went camping 11 years ago."
"Qui," now Jean-Luc takes a few steps to stand next to Bluey "We played for two days. We built a house of sticks over there"
"We planted that tree," says Bluey, pointing to the tree behind her
"And we hunted a wild pig together," Bluey and Jean-Luc say at the same time with excitement and with their tails wagging at the same time
Suddenly, their tails stop moving, and they look at each other out of the corner of their eyes. Bluey and Jean-Luc turn to each other and point to the rhythm of…
"JINX, JINX, JINX, JINX, JINX"
Bluey and Jean-Luc stop saying "jinx," but they still point at each other until the two canines burst out laughing. Bluey held her stomach with both of her arms while Jean-Luc placed both of his hands on his knees and slapped one of his knees in laughter.
Mackenzie watched the silly scene in front of him with exasperation and a twitch in his right eye until he smacked his palm against his forehead. "And I'm lucky enough to study with these two…"
Mackenzie's sentence causes Bluey and Jean-Luc to stop laughing and widen their eyes. The two canines begin to bounce their gazes between Mackenzie and the canine in front of them as if they are putting the pieces of a puzzle together until Bluey speaks first.
"That means… You're the "Frenchman" everyone was talking about," Bluey points at Jean-Luc and says, stunned, with her hand bouncing
"French?" Jean-Luc shakes his head back in confusion" I'm French Canadian, not French, big diff…"
Bluey interrupts Jean-Luc, grabbing Jean-Luc's shoulders, and says" You're the exchange student that's going to my school."
"Which means…" Jean-Luc says, knowing full well what it means
"WE'RE GOING TO STUDY TOGETHER," says Bluey excitedly, who hugs Jean-Luc. The Labrador happily accepts the hug, and they begin to jump up and down in excitement while making happy sounds.
Mackenzie slowly moves his hand away from his face until her hand stops blocking his vision, and she sees the scene that sank her heart.
Between the little jumps that Bluey and Jean-Luc were making, Mackenzie could see in slow motion the happiness that the two canines expressed as she tightly and lovingly hugged Jean-Luc with her eyes closed. Mackenzie couldn't explain what he was feeling easily...in fact, he couldn't explain it at all; the only thing his feelings were telling the Border Collie was
"This isn't right."
Mackenzie was about to say something to the couple, but a female voice interrupted him first.
"BLUEY, LUNCHTIME"
Bluey and Jean-Luc look in the direction of the voice and stop hugging. The blue Heeler answers by placing a palm next to her mouth "I'M COMING MOM"
Bluey excitedly and quickly looks for the book she was reading next to the Tree, places it on her chest with one arm, and approaches Jean-Luc "Come on, Jean-Luc"
The Blue Heeler grabs Jean-Luc's hand to guide him as she did before. But when she starts to walk, something makes her stop dead, and she looks at Jean-Luc confused.
Jean-Luc just stood there looking at the union of his hand with Bluey's and then looked at Bluey and said" Bluey, I can understand you. You don't need to take me by the hand."
"Oh," Bluey lets go of Jean-Luc's hand and places her free hand on her chest to hold the book. "Well…Follow me"
Jean-Luc listens to her and starts walking behind her, but Mackenzie stands still for a few more seconds.
"Oh boy" Mackenzie says to himself before gathering strength and walking towards Bluey's camp.
Mackenzie manages to catch up with Bluey and Jean-Luc, and they walk together until they can see Bluey's family's camp.
As the three canines approached the caravan, Bluey could see Stripes at the grill with Radley and her mother next to the table with a bowl preparing the salad. She could also see Muffin and Socks talking to Trixie, Frisky, and Rossi at the caravan's entrance. Even Bluey could see that Socks' eyes had a reddish tint.
Muffin looks away from Frisky, who is talking, and fixes her gaze on Bluey... her book more specifically. Muffin starts walking between Frisky and Rossi to go for Bluey, completely ignoring the presence of Mackenzie and Jean-Luc; when she is close enough, she snatches the book from Bluey's arms to the sound of "MINE!"
With the book in her possession, Muffin turns around and goes back to the trailer with a stunned Bluey behind her, who only reacts with open arms "You're welcome!?"
Muffin doesn't waste any time and climbs straight into the trailer. Socks gives Rossi a glare with his red eyes before following his sister inside. With her two daughters in the trailer, Trixie looks at Frisky and then shakes her head in disappointment before climbing into the trailer and closing the door behind her.
After the trailer door is closed, Frisky sighs and slumps her shoulders before raising her index finger and saying in a menacing voice low enough for her son to hear, "We're not done yet, Rossi Almond Heeler."
With his eyes wide open in fear upon hearing his full name, Rossi gulps and says in fear, "Yes, Mom."
"What happened here?" Bluey asks, coming up behind Frisky and Rossi
Frisky and Rossi turn to the three canines. Rossi's tail starts to wag when he sees Mackenzie. "Oh, hey, Mack, hey…"
But he and Frisky are surprised to see the dark blue Labrador next to Bluey and Mackenzie. Frisky points at Jean-Luc and asks, "Bluey, who is he?"
"Oh, that's Jean-Luc." Bluey puts her arm around Jean-Luc to bring him closer to her. "He's going to stay with Mackenzie while he studies where I go."
"Oh, so you're the exchange student your dad mentioned?" Frisky asks Jean-Luc, making Mackenzie slap himself with the palm of his hand.
"Your dad wasn't joking about the "Half of Brisbane" thing." Jean-Luc says, looking at Mackenzie, who just replied, "Uh huh."
"You have no idea, Jean-Luc," Bluey says, removing her arm from Jean-Luc's shoulders. "What happened to Socks? I Noticed she has red eyes"
Frisky looks at Rossi out of the corner of her eye until she elbows the blue-tailed Heeler's arm.
"Ow" Rossi reacts with pain to his mother's elbow until he interlaces his hands to play with his thumbs, also starting to swing with his feet and explains slowly, "Let's say that my cousin doesn't like it when people mention that she's never had a boyfriend in her life because she starts to cry... And she would also like me or anyone else to never mention it again in their life."
"OR I'LL SEND YOU TO HELL ANIMAL!"
Socks shouts furiously from the trailer, making Rossi jump in fright and hide behind his mother Frisky quickly
"We have to control that mouth somehow, Rossi" says Bluey with her eyes half closed at the scene
"Hey, are you going to eat? "Chilli approaches the caravan, stirring the salad that was in the bowl with a long spoon, but remains paralyzed like Frisky when she sees the dark blue Labrador "Bluey, who is he?
Bluey opens her eyes completely and runs towards her mother. "Mom!" Bluey slows down to hug her mother, who still has her arms occupied. "You were right! You were right!"
"Uh, about what?" Chilli stands still in her place, confused about what Bluey is saying
Bluey separates herself from her Mother and grabs her by the shoulders "The world is a magical place" Bluey says excitedly and then steps aside, revealing Jean-Luc "Look who's back"
Jean-Luc just stood there shaking one of his hands like he did with Bluey in the stream moments ago.
Chilli squints her eyes, trying to recognize Jean-Luc until she opens them completely "Oh, I remember when you left, Bluey spent a week crying for you"
"MOM!" Bluey screams shameful, with Jean-Luc letting out a giggle and Mackenzie looking confused at the three of them
After laughing, Jean-Luc says, "Yeah… I should have said goodbye properly."
"Don't worry about the past, Jean-Luc," Chilli says, adjusting the bowl on her arm. "The important thing is to live in the present. Now, you guys want something to eat, Stripes made some chops and hotdogs"
Mackenzie was going to protest with his index finger up until Jean-Luc spoke first "Yeah, sure, I'd like to"
"Perfect, Mackenzie, I know you're going to say no, but you know I'm going to insist" Chilli says and then turns around and says "Bluey, could you help me with the salad
"Ok, Mon" Bluey says and then turns to Jean-Luc and Mackenzie "you guys can walk anywhere; after all, Mackenzie knows everyone"
"Ok, Bluey" Jean-Luc nodded, but Mackenzie looked unsure of what was going on
Bluey turns and starts walking to accompany her mother, leaving Jean-Luc and Mackenzie on their own
Mackenzie places his hand on Jean-Luc's shoulder to pull him towards him and says worried "We should call my parents; I don't think they know we're here"
For some reason Jean-Luc scans the camp until he points to where the grill is "You mean them?
Mackenzie looks where Jean-Luc is pointing and is surprised to see his parents talking to Bandi and Stripes next to the grill; Mel notices the look of the two canines and screams while waving her arm "MACKENZIE!"
"Oh, wonderful" Mackenzie says, irritated and dropping his shoulders
"It seems that we will stay for lunch here" says Jean-Luc, but Mackenzie could notice the happiness in what the Labrador said
"And what about our plan to show you the city?" Mackenzie asks worried
"Ehh…" Jean-Luc reacts by squinting one eye with his cheek and shrugging his shoulders "That can wait; I want to spend more time with Bluey"
"Oh, ok" Mackenzie expresses without emotion and then turns his eyes to his parents and says" At least… can you talk to my parents to see if that is the plan?"
"Qui" The French-Canadian answers before leaving to talk to Fozzie and Mel
This leaves Mackenzie alone in the middle of the camp. The Border Collie took the moment to look at Jean-Luc, who was talking to his parents, and Bluey, who was helping her mother with the rest of the food
Mackenzie had an idea that Jean-Luc and Bluey had a very special relationship, but the question that bounced around in his head was
"How special was it really?"
After cooking under the watchful supervision of his older brothers, Stripes finally finishes his duty of cooking steaks, beef ribs, and sausages for the hot dogs.
And going one by one each grabbed what they were going to eat until only Stripes was left at the end. The purple Heeler, aware of his daughter Socks situation, saved some food for his girls, who were still entrenched in the trailer.
With the help of Fozzie and Stripes...and Rossi, Bandit arranged two wooden tables together with a white blanket on top so that everyone present could eat together.
Mackenzie and Jean-Luc already had their plate of food, Jean-Luc had his steak with a portion of salad but Mackenzie only decided to eat a hotdog with tomato sauce and chips that Trixie brought.
When the two canines were in front of the long table, they noticed that there was room for two between Bluey's parents and Mackenize's parents
Mackenzie thought about sitting next to Bluey, but to his dismay, Jean-Luc stepped forward and sat next to her, leaving Mackenzie sitting next to his father.
As Jean-Luc places the plate on the table, he asks "Excuse me, but where can I get something to drink"
"Oh, I'll take care of it, Jean-Luc" says Bluey, getting up from the table but is interrupted by the Labrador
"It's okay, Bluey, I can do it myself" insists Jean-Luc, placing his palm on Bluey to make her sit
"Ok, we have sodas in a small cooler behind the trailer" explains Bluey, pointing to the trailer
"D'accord" says Jean-Luc, he stands up to go but asks Mackenzie first "Hey Mack, do you want me to get you something?"
"Nah… Can I go with you" Mackenzie answers emotionlessly and stands up with Jean-Luc to go to the trailer
As they were walking, Mackenzie kept going back to her question about Bluey and Jean-Luc until he was interrupted by the last one.
"Mack…" Jean-Luc says looking at Mackenzie"...are you okay? you seem different"
Mackenzie shakes his head and answers "Yes, I'm okay…just thinking"
"Ah well, I should have known…" Jean-Luc says, still walking next to Mackenzie "Sometimes I get like this if I'm thinking"
Mackenzie ignored the last thing Jean-Luc said, but luckily for him, the two had already reached the back of the trailer, and indeed, there was a cooler.
Mackenzie bends down with Jean-Luc and says "Let's see…what do we have here" as he opens the cooler
The two canines take a look and manage to see soda cans of…
"Coke, Orange and… Grape?" Jean-Luc says curiously to the last thing as he grabs a purple can
"They're good…"Mackenzie says, grabbing a can of orange-flavored soda and pointing at Jean-Luc with the can and then saying"...It even matches your fur"
Jean-Luc snorts and protests with the can in his hand "I'm blue, not purple"
"Huh…Too bad there aren't any blueberry-flavored cans"
"In that case…"Jean-Luc stands up with the can of grape-flavored soda in his hand and starts walking
"I'd rather have orange fur so I could drink orange so…"
"WOW"
Just as Jean-Luc turns to the right to get out of the back of the trailer, an orange-colored figure collides with Jean-Luc.
From the shock and the impact, Jean-Luc drops the can, and thanks to his quick reflexes, he manages to grab the figure by its arms to prevent him or the figure from falling to the ground
Mackenzie hears the commotion, still crouched, heads to the right side placing his right forearm on the ground, and manages to see the figure with Jean-Luc and greets him, shaking his free arm "Oh…Hi Bingo"
Jean-Luc continued to grab Bingo's arms while the Labrador and the Heeler continued to breathe heavily from the scared with their gazes completely fixed on the dog in front of them.
"Hello…" It is all that Bingo manages to say in a low voice while her gaze remains focused on Jean-Luc's eyes
"Hello…" It is also all that Jean-Luc manages to say in a low voice while he continues to look into Bingo's eyes
…
…
…
…
"Hello?"
Mackenzie raises his voice with his sore forearm on the ground "Bingo, what do you want to drink? I don't want to be down here all-day"
"Oh" Bingo finally reacts and tilts his head to the side to say "Coke, I want Coke"
Mackenzie rolls his eyes and composes himself, staying out of Bingo's sight.
With Mackenzie dealt with, Bingo nervously looks at Jean-Luc's arms and then looks into the Labrador's eyes again and says quietly "I'll be fine; you can let me go now"
That makes Jean-Juc shake his head and say "Oh yeah, okay"
Jean-Luc let go of Bingo, and quickly, the two took a step back. Jean-Luc crosses his arms and looks nervously away, breaking eye contact with Bingo While Bingo adjusts the fur on his body and arms…and quickly passes a hand over his head.
"I'm Bingo" a nervous Bingo composes herself and shakes the Labrador's hand "Bingo Heeler"
Jean-Luc looks back at Bingo and says at the same time as he shakes the orange Heeler's hand "Jean-Luc Labrador"
"And I'm Mackenzie Border-Collie" says Mackenzie out of nowhere, standing between the two with an orange can and a red can "This is Bingo, the girl I told you about this morning, Luke"
"Huh" Jean-Luc reacts to the information
"Talking about me behind my back Eighties" Bingo says, taking the can of coke from Mackenzie's hand
"I just told him about the day you bought that console for your father. Summer sun" Mackenzie says confidently
"And I still think it was the best purchase I've ever made in my life" Bingo says as he opened his can and took a sip
"Wait…" Jean-Luc says, raising an eyebrow and looking at Mackenzie "Your father this morning said Daughter in plural…" Jean-Luc turns his head towards Bingo and points at her "So… Bluey has a sister?"
"A sister named Bingo" Bingo says, pointing with his pinky at Jean-Luc still with the can in his hand" For an international student, you are smarter than I expected"
"Did you already know that I am here as an exchange student?" Jean-Luc asks, tilting his head to the side
"Yes, Bluey already told me everything" Bingo says, pointing over her shoulder towards the table "I would like to talk more with… you guys. But I would also like to eat my hotdog. So… I'm going to go back"
"Let's get back to the table before the food gets cold" Mackenzie says
"Ok, you two start…" Jean-Luc says before picking up his can from the grass"...I still have to do something"
"Ok" Mackenzie and Bingo respond. The two teenagers start walking, leaving Jean-Luc behind
With Mackenzie and Bingo far enough, Jean-Luc extends his two hands away from his body to open the can and as expected the gasses cause the drink to come out of the can aggressively but not shooting out of the can like champagne. With the drink slipping from his fingers, Jean-Luc takes the opportunity to sip the drink.
"Ummm Je peux m'habituer à ça " Jean-Luc says in French after tasting the soda and starts walking back to the table.
"Ummmmmmmmmm Je peux définitivement m'y habituer"Jean-Luc says in French, his cheeks full of food, as he brings another piece of meat to his mouth.
Mackenzie and Bluey lean forward so they can see each other between Jean-Luc. All the dogs present were eating and talking at the table except for Stripes and his family, who were still in the trailer. Mackenzie says, confused "What did he say?"
"I can get used to this," Bluey translates and then looks at Jean-Luc in amazement
Jean-Luc finishes swallowing what he already had in his mouth and continues "Screw the diet" Jean-Luc pokes a piece of meat with his plastic fork and says, while admiring the portion "This is the best meat I have ever tasted in my life"
"I'm glad you like it. That's Uncle Stripes' secret recipe" Bluey says as Jean-Luc brings the portion to his mouth
"With important touches from Uncle Rad" Radley adds, who was sitting at the other end of the table with Frisky to his left and his son to his right
"And with important revisions from Bandit" Bandit says, earning a friendly nudge from his wife while the dogs laughed at the comments of the two Heelers
"Really…" Fozzie begins to speak with his plate without food, which was next to his wife on his left and Frisky on his right "Thanks so much for sharing with us"
"Nah, you're welcome, Mate" Bandit says, shrugging his shoulders and continues "It's a shame that Stripes couldn't share with us; you know how it is…Family always comes first."
"Yes, we do" Fozzie says before finishing his soda and then looking at Mackenzie and Jean-Luc "Shall we go? The day is still young"
Mackenzie looks at her father with wide eyes, and his tail starts to wag at the news, but Jean-Luc tilts his head to the side looking at Fozzie.
"You know what…"Mel starts to speak with his shoulders relaxed"...Why don't we stay a moment longer and let Jan-Luke introduce himself, as if this were a school"
"Huh" Mackenzie and Jean-Luc react confused until Bluey places her elbow vertically on the table and rests her head on her hand
"She's right; I barely know about you, Jean-Luc" Bluey says, looking curiously at Jean-Luc
"Yes!…"Bingo joins in the conversation from the other side of the table"...If you're going to hang out with us to school, then I'd like to meet you now"
"Yeah! Come on, mate " Radley encourages
"Jean-Luc, Jean-Luc, Jean-Luc" They all encourage him hitting the table with their fists and palms, chanting his name, except for Mackenzie, who just stared at Jean-Luc
After a few seconds of enduring the social pressure, Jean-Luc looks up at the sky and then lowers his gaze and surrenders "Okay, I'll make a presentation"
"Hooray" They all celebrate with open arms except for Mackenzie
"This will be interesting" Mackenzie thinks curiously as Jean-Luc gets up from his seat and walks behind where Stripes and his family were supposed to go so everyone can see him
When Jean-Luc gets to his position, he turns his back to the table, and Mackenzie can see how the Labrador moves his foot and arms as if he is warming up his muscles… It was obvious that Jean-Luc was thinking about what to say.
Finally, Jean-Luc stays still and says to himself.
""maman a élevé une garde, pas une lache""
Jean-Luc sighs, turns around to his audience, and begins.
"Bonjour à tous…" He waves"…My name is Jean-Luc; I am 16 years old, and I am a blue Labrador from Quebec City, Canada. I like to walk in the city or in nature. I have two best friends named Louis and Thatcher; I like spending time with them…although sometimes they go to far. Jean-Luc whispers the last part and then continues "Many dogs describe me as a reserved person, but when I'm with my friends, I can be more outgoing. I still don't know what I want to do with my future, but I have an interest in writing and Hockey… Oh, and I'm also on the school Hockey team with my best friends"
"Oh?" Chilli and Bingo react, but Chilli is the first to comment
"We also play Hockey" Chilli says, pointing at Bingo and herself
"Ice hockey?" Jean-Luc asks, squinting at the two red Heelers
"Ground hockey" Bingo answers, shrugging her shoulders indifferently; her comment causes Bluey and Frisky to laugh
"I've seen some games of the American League" Bandit says with his arms crossed "They really hit each other hard on those matches"
"Qui…" Jean-Luc barely murmurs as he caresses his left cheek with his left hand
"Question…" Rossi raises his hand out of nowhere, getting Jean-Luc's attention "Why did you decide to come to Australia?
"Oh" The question takes Jean-Luc by surprise "Ehhh…
Jean-Luc crossed his arms between his stomach and chest, but Mackenzie noticed how Labrador bounced his gaze between Bluey and Rossi.
Finally, Jean-Luc starts to talk.
"Because i did go to Brisbane when I was a kid, I don't remember many of the details, but… I remember how nice it was to walk without worrying about the snow, without worrying about wearing so many clothes… I also remember the colors of Brisbane and Australia; everything looked so… Alive, compared to my home in Canada"
"And also…" Jean-Luc looks at Bluey with a smile, and his tail starts to wag "I remember the memories I made when I went camping here"
Mackenzie glances at Bluey and realizes that she was also wagging her tail when she heard Jean-Luc.
"Ever since I returned to Canada" Jean-Luc continues "I have always had that desire to return to Brisbane, and I was finally able to fulfill that dream thanks to my school's exchange student program. So here I am, ready to start studying with Bluey and Mack at their school
"Wow" Rossi reacts in amazement
"Question" Mel says excitedly with a raised hand as if she had returned to school "How did you meet Alice?"
"Ugh" Jean-Juc drops his shoulders in disgust before composing himself and continuing to speak in a monotone"It was after my trip to Brisbane…
While Jean-Juc tells how he met Alice, Mackenzie relaxes and stops focusing her gaze on Jean-Luc. His mind goes into a hurricane with the names "Bluey," "Jean-Luc," "camp," "school," "Canada," and "exchange student" in between.
Jean-Luc and Bluey were happy to see each other, not one of them, both of them. And of all the places they met again, it was at the same camp, on the same weekend, at the same time. Mackenzie's brain was racing with two answers: either they coordinated all this time, or the world was rigged against them.
His head was also racing with the chemistry of the two. Bluey had never but never treated him or some of his friends in the group the way she treated Jean-Luc. Even if he was lucky, Bluey hugged him more than once at school.
But she…She looked so happy to be with Jean-Luc; he should be happy for Bluey to witness a magical reunion.
But that wasn't the case for the Border Collie.
His stomach was churning.
He didn't want to see those two together.
He wants to be with her.
He and She
He wasn't happy
He was worried about Jean-Luc.
He was anxious about Bluey.
He was scared of himself
And like a math exercise…Mackenzie already had his answer.
He was…
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"
References
Surfers Paradise Race: This is the closest Australian V8 race to Brisbane (it's actually right next to Brisbane), and what Mackenzie was referring to were the "pit guns" that are used to change tires at pit stops. I wish there was a racing episode on Bluey...well we have fanfiction for something, right?
JINX JINX JINX: The Fairy Tale episode tells how the Jinx works and Mackenzie's mother shouting her name is from "Space"