Compared to other Chapters, I wrote this one in English to get a feel of what is it like to write something like this in a different language
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"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"
A high-pitched, bone-chilling scream came from the trailer, causing Jean-Luc to stop and Mackenzie to open his eyes in surprise. Every dog turned their head towards the trailer, but it didn't take long for the door to burst open, with a frightened Socks, Muffin, Trixie, and Stripes running out of the trailer.
Bandit instinctively gets up from the table and takes a few steps towards his younger brother's family. The four frightened Heelers stopped running when there was distance between them and the caravan and began to approach the table, looking over their shoulders every second towards the caravan.
"What's going on?" Bandit asks with his arms open in uncertainty.
The four Heelers began to chatter over each other, creating a pandemonium in which no one understood anything. The rest of the dogs, united in their concern, started approaching the four Heelers, hoping to know what was happening, but there was no coordination due to the panic in their voices.
"HEY!…"An impatient Radley shouts, causing the four Heelers to fall silent. "One at a time!"
Stripe steps forward, still terrified. "There was a spider this big." Stripe spreads his arms out exaggeratedly to give an idea of the spider's size.
"It's a giant with long legs," Trixie says, expressing exasperation.
"And it's so… hairy," Muffin says before shivers run through her body.
"I've never seen a spider that big in my life," Socks says, his reddish eyes filled with the same terror her family was experiencing.
After hearing the testimony of the four, Bandit and Radley look at each other and then… laugh out loud?
To the surprise of everyone present, Bandit and Radley laugh in front of their younger brother and family. Stripes approached his two brothers angrily, pushing them both by their shoulders with one hand while saying, "It's not a joke. It's serious!"
Bandit finished laughing, wiped his tears, and said, about to laugh again," Yeah, sure, the mother of all spiders also came to visit us."
"Yeah…" Radley says after laughing and then gives Bandit a friendly punch on the shoulder,"...A spider…" Radley spreads his arms as Stripe did and says jokingly in a thick voice,"...THIS SIZE."
Due to Radley's scene, he and Bandit laugh out loud again until Chilli grabs her husband's shoulder and forces him to look at her."Get serious, Bandit. What if that spider is poisonous?"
Frisky follows Chilli's example. She stands before her husband and says "Chilli is right. What if that spider bites one of the girls?"
"Or boy," Rossi says without permission from next to Fozzie.
"Come on, Chilli," Bandit ignores what his wife said. "When someone says the spider is big, ninety percent of the times it's a tiny spider
"But this one is BIG" Stripe implores
"There's only one way to find out."
Bingo says confidently as he walked past the adults.
"Where are you going?" Bandit asked, turning his head towards Bingo
"If you are right, I shouldn't have any problems dealing with the small spider," Explained Bingo, still walking
While Mackenzie watched Bingo walk towards the caravan with Bluey and Jean-Luc, anxious to see what would happen to Bingo, it made sense to the Boder-Collie; she was the family's insect expert.
"Take care, Bingo," shouted Muffin.
"Good luck, Bingo," shouted Socks.
When the orange heeler reached the trailer's entrance, Bingo touched the door frame, turned her head towards her family, and said, "I'll be fine; don't worry about me." Finally, she entered the trailer.
All the dogs present approached the trailer, anxious about what Bingo would find in there.
Until they heard Bingo say…
"Awwwwww, what a beautiful thing...come here beautiful...that's it...you're a brave spider, did you know that?"
"haha," Bandit forces a laugh but then looks at Stripes, who was still scared. "You see, a small spider
Everyone manages to see Bingo's back, who was retreating to the caravan's exit, but when she turns around to leave the caravan, she reveals…
And it cannot be emphasized more.
A GIANT BROWN HAIRY SPIDER THE WIDTH OF HER FOREARM IN HER PALMS
Everyone's eyes open like Chinese porcelain plates, and chaos breaks out in the camp.
Muffin, Socks, Trixie, and Frisky ran screaming at the top of their lungs toward Radley's truck. The three Heelers climbed into the back seats, and Frisky into the passenger seat. Already seated in the car, Frisky screams, annoyed, pointing at Bingo, but nothing could be heard through the windshield.
Stripes hid behind Radley, who managed to hold his son Rossi by his shoulders. The latter laughs at the chaos he is witnessing.
Chilli jumps, screaming into Bandit's arms, and the big blue Heeler takes a few steps back to get away from Bingo's spider.
Fozzie and Mel stood there unfazed. Even Fozzie nodded slightly with his head.
Out of nowhere, Mackenzie felt a hand on his shoulder and a pull to the right, making him collide with the fur of something. Mackenzie looked over his shoulders to see that Bluey had improvised a barrier between her and Bingo using Jean-Luc and him.
Bingo looks confused at the chaos unleashed in front of her, looks directly at YOU, and says, "Don't try this at home."
"DON'T YOU DARE COME CLOSE TO ME BINGO!" Bluey screams over Jean-Luc's and Mackenize's shoulder.
"Why is she holding the Spider like a pet?" Jean-Juc says quietly, still keeping his gaze on Bingo
"Let me introduce you to Bingo Heeler again," Mackenzie answers quietly with his eyes half-closed
"So, little spider, huh?" Stripes brags victoriously, still behind Radley
"Shut up!" Bandit shouts, still holding Chilli in his arms.
Bingo laughs proudly and then raises his palm to the same height as his face, standing face-to-face with the brown spider.
Poor little bug on the wall, ding ding
No one to love him at all, ding ding
No one to tickle his toes, ding ding
No one to blow his nose… pbbbt hahaha
"Hey, does anyone want a turn holding her… this spider is harmless," Bingo asks after singing to herself, holding her palm up high for everyone to see the spider.
"Is it poisonous, Bingo?" Chilli asks frightened
"Yes, but it's harmless," Bingo says as if what she just said wasn't important.
"I want…"Rossi says, hypnotized as he takes two steps before Radley grabs him by the shoulders again
"No, of course not, Rossi," Radley says as he pulls his son toward him.
"Aw," Rossi expresses sadly.
"Bingo, please leave that spider on a tree!" Chilli ordered, pointing at the trees behind the trailer while still suspended by Bandit's arms
"Ok, Mom," Bingo says, But an idea comes to her when she sees the three teenagers. "Do you guys want to hold the spider?"
"NOPE!" Bluey shouted, and she stepped back while holding both their shoulders; Jean-Luc let the Blue Heeler move him back. But Mackenzie stayed still, looking at Bingo and the spider with no fear in his eyes.
Bingo noticed Mackenzie ignoring Bluey and Jean-Luc and asked him, extending her arms with the massive spider, "You wanna hold it, Mackenzie?"
Mackenzie didn't respond immediately but looked behind him to see the girl he fell in love with and the new guy who could probably be…a rival. Scared of the giant spider
"Mackenzie dont…" Chilli speaks up, but Fozzie stops her with a "shhh" with his arm crossing her as if he wanted Mackenzie to hold the spider
Finally, Mackenzie looked back at Bingo, who was closer to him with the spider and though
"You may be the best of the best back home, Luke…But welcome to Australia boy."
Mackenzie extended his left arm, permitting Bingo to pass over the spider. Bingo carefully moved her hands next to Mackeznie's hand, and the spider moved over to the new territory. Mackenzie's body stutters at the contact of the fur and legs of the arachnid moving slowly up his arm
"Haha," Mackenzie reacts, the spider still moving up his arm until it reaches his shoulders. Mackenzie naturally shrugs his shoulders, but Bingo speaks behind him.
"Don't do that, Mack," instructs Bingo behind Mackenzie to ensure the spider is fine. "You don't wanna make the spider uncomfortable."
Mackenzie followed Bingo's words and breath slowly and deeply to ignore the massive spider in his shoulder. Eventually, it worked, and the shoulders of the Border Collie relaxed to let the spider crawl freely.
Finally, the spider passed his shoulder onto his right arm, allowing Mackenzie to look determinedly at the giant brown hairy spider. Bingo also moved to the right side of his body to receive the arachnid. Mackenzie noticed what his friend wanted to do and extended his arm to Bingo's arms to make the transition.
Without any problems, the spider ended his journey through the fur of a Border Collie and returned to Bingo's hands.
"Oh wow," Bingo raised her hand to her head to look at the spider face to face. "You really are a good spidey."
"Ok Bingo, you had your fun," Chilli talks from afar…still in Bandit's arms. "Now put that spider back into the forest."
Bingo turned to her parents, but she raised her eyebrows, and a smile started to form on her face. "Actually…im gonna keep it."
"WHAT!?" Everyone exclaimed except of the Border Collies
Bingo managed to get the reaction she wanted. She laughed and said, "Nah, im just kidding But…"She looks down at the spider before continuing," I wanna spend more time with this Huntsdog spider. We barely get time at school to study them."
Chilli was going to say something, but she is interrupted by Mel. "I would let her. Huntsdogs spiders are quite inoffensive compared to the rest of the animals we find in our barn."
"Also," Fozzie gets in the conversation, "My cousin in Wellington has those spiders as pets."
That piece of information causes Bandit's body to shiver.
"Ahh"
Unfortunately, that also causes Chilli to fall onto the ground.
"Alright then…" Bingo turned her feet, preparing to walk away. "Im going to be over there spending time with…" Bingo looks at the spider and frowns, annoyed. "I still gotta give you a name."
With Bingo walking away with "She will figure out the name later," Normality returns to the camp. Radley and Stripes relaxed while the girls went out of the truck at the sight of Bingo leaving with the spider.
"Ok, here is something I don't get, "Started talking Rossi after separating from his father. "why is she and my cousin allowed to hold massive insects?"
"Remember that Aunt Brandy doesn't want him to do that." Replied Radley and held his son by the shoulder to return to the table
"but it's so unfair," Cried out Rossi.
"I don't know why you did that," said Bluey, coming from behind Mackeznie with Jean-Luc beside her. "But that was impressive."
"Yeah, I thought it was going to bite you" Added Jean-Luc.
Mackenzie struggled to turn around and digest the sight of the two dogs together. The Border Collie knew why he did what he did, to make a point, but afraid to make the situation uncomfortable for the three of them, he just answered indifferently.
"What can I say…" Mackenzie shrugged his shoulder. "Spending time on a farm has its benefits ."
"Yeah, I figured." Bluey nods, agreeing with Mackenzie.
"So your family owns a farm?" Jean-Luc question Mackenzie
"His aunt has a farm outside of Brisbane. I would tag along with them to help around. He always volunteers to herd the cattle," Bluey tells Jean-Luc, tilting her head to him.
"Im a Collie. It's in my blood," Said Mackenzie proudly.
"Im just letting you guys know, "Said Jean-Luc, raising his palms. "If there are more spiders like that on your farm, im not going."
"Why? scared of a harmless spider, Luke?" Mackenzie jokes, moving his finger in front of Jean-Luc, simulating a spider
"It's not the spiders… it's the size that gets me."The Labrador Defended himself, crossing his arms on his stomach
Mackenzie and Bluey looked at each other and then at Jean-Luc, saying in unison, "Welcome to Australia, mate."
Because of the synchronization of their voices, Mackenzie and Bluey couldn't avoid laughing at what they did. The laughing reminded Mackeznie that Bluey could probably share the same feeling he has for her, but…there was still a lot of smoke in his mind before he could make the leap. But for now…he was going to savor this little moment he had with Bluey.
When both dogs started to regain their composure, Mackenzie noticed Jean-Luc looked at them with a little smile and his tail moving slowly, but a shout caught the trio's attention.
"Mackenzie, Jan-Luke." Mel shouted alongside the adults, "It's time to go."
"Yes, Mom," Mackenzie shouted back, turning to see Jean-Luc and Bluey with sad faces.
"I guess I will see you at school, Bluey," Said Jean-Luc as he turned to the Blue Heeler, saddened to go.
"Hey, um" Bluey said, putting her hand behind her ear. Bluey's voice gained the attention of the Labrador. "I live near Mackenzie's. I could visit you after im done camping."
"Really?' Jean-Luc said, amazed with his tail starting to gain speed
"For real life, I could show you the city since you are going to be here for a year," suggested Bluey
"Im already showing him the city today, Bluey," Mackenzie protested, leaning his head to his side, annoyed.
"But Brisbane is a big city, Mackenzie. It's impossible to see it all in one day," stated Bluey
"What if…" Started to talk Jean-Luc with a hand under his mouth. "Mackenzie shows me parts of the city until you return from camping, and then you will show me your favorite parts of the city."
"That sounds great," Agreed Bluey cheerfully. "What about you, Mackenzie?"
Mackenzie stayed put, thinking of Jean-Luc's plan. Unfortunately for him, Bluey is right; Brisbane is a big city, and his plan extended for a couple of days. He could split his part of the plan with Bluey to make his life a bit easier, but…that also means Jean-Luc will spend some time alone with Bluey, which is obviously a bad idea for the Border Collie.
But that also means overstepping in Jean-Luc's experience. The Labrador is there to travel and gain experience with the world, not to be bossed around by the host family; he is indeed living under their rules as a guest…but that's under their roof, plus his parents would get mad at him for bossing him around.
He had to admit it…it was a checkmate.
"Yeah, I agreed."
"Hooray!" Bluey and Jean-Luc celebrated with their arms extended
Mackenzie sighed, mentally praying to all the Gods that his decision wouldn't backfire, and said, "Let's go, Luke. My parents are probably waiting for us."
"d'accord," Jean-Luc agreed in French and turned to Bluey. "I'll see you later, Bluey."
"à plus tard Jean-Luc" Farewells Bluey with her hand, and the two boys started to walk back to the pickup truck.
When the two boys walked by the pickup truck, they noticed Fozzie next to the passenger door and Mel in the copilot seat, still talking to Bandit, Chilli, Stripes, and Radley. Mackenzie hops on the passenger seat behind the driver, but when Jean-Luc was about to get in the car sitting behind Mel, a shout interrupts him.
"HEY…" it was Bluey who got closer to the trucks." Can I have Jean-Luc for a moment?"
Mel looked at the seat behind her to find Jean-Luc nodding at her and responded, "Yeah, sure, Bluey."
Jean-Luc stopped trying to get into the truck and walked over to Bluey. Mackenzie heard Bluey and looked over to see the Blue Heeler and the Blue Labrador exchanging words. The conversation ended with Jean-Luc nodding before the two dogs started to walk back to the camp.
The curiosity got the better of Mackenzie, and he exited the car to follow the two dogs.
While maintaining a safe distance, Mackenzie observed how Bluey and Jean-Luc walked past the grill, the tables, the caravan, and beyond…
"What are these two doing?" Question Mackenzie in his mind when he notices Bluey and Jean-Luc walking back to the pink tree. The little hope he had earlier vanished in thin air and his mind got conflicted again when he processed the possibility of Bluey being Jean-Luc's girlfriend.
Mackenzie managed to watch how Bluey and Jean-Luc hopped down into the dry river bed where the tree is. Jean-Lul pulled out his cell phone, and Bluey smoothed the fur on her face to ensure she looked okay.
"You ready?" Asked Jean-Luc, showing his cell phone to the Blue Heeler
"Yeah," Bluey said, positioning herself alongside Jean-Luc with the pink tree behind her.
Jean-Luc extended his right arm with his cell phone in his hand while both teenagers put one arm around the shoulders of each other and smiled for the camera with the tree behind them to take a selfie
Mackenzie looked from afar, hiding behind a tree big enough for him to hide. A song of snowfall falling sounds off in his head while his exterior only projected a neutral face of sadness.
This was It?
Did he lose Bluey?
Mackenzie moved his head to hide behind the tree and slightly smacked his Head to the wood. His breathing got heavy, and he closed his eyes to avoid the tears coming out.
"No…this can't be," Mackenzie thought as one tiny tear slipped past his eyelids. He pulled out his phone to reach his friends for help but it showed no bars. He had no signal.
"Fuck…" Makenzie turned around and let his back feel the wood And slowly let it slide the tree To sit down at the base of the tree
Mackenzie opened his eyes and looked up to the leaves, which cast a shadow that hid his vulnerable side. He ran his hands over his eyes to remove his tears and said to himself, "C'mon, Mack…you don't wanna go back like this."
As Mackenzie cleaned off his eyes, he heard something on his right. "So when are you going back from camping?
It was Jean-Luc talking to Bluey while they were walking back.
"Two more days" Bluey answered. "I'm coming back on Monday."
"Cool…did you notice Mack acting strange today?"
"Not really" Bluey answered "but that stunt he did with the spider, that's not uncommon for him to do."
"What do you mean?" Jean-Luc questioned, but the two dogs were too far from Mackenzie for him to hear
With the feeling that he'd gotten rid of the tears in his eyes, Mackenzie slowly stood up from the Ground and shook off the grass that had gotten stuck in his fur. He took one last look at the pink tree and thought, "That tree must mean so much to them…" but stopped when something else caught his eye…something white…something of paper.
Curious, Mackenzie got down to the river bed and it was more apparent to him that it was a paper folded several times…like a note
Being raised right by his parents, Mackenzie picked up the paper to put it in the trash back in the camp, but his curiosity got the better of him, and he opened it to find a note and read it for himself.
"Hi Bluey, I'm Jean-Luc, your childhood friend. I'll be in Brisbane for a year, and I'd like to see you again. Call me or text me on this number…"
"What…the…fuck"
The paper's content shook Mackenzie, and a million ideas flew through his mind. He doubted everything he knew about Jean-Luc, but one thing slowed things down for him.
"This could explain why Jean-Luc acted weird on our way here. He knew what he was doing."
Mackenzie shook his head. He didn't have time to digest this; he saved the note on his hip and walked back to the camp to leave with his family…and a stranger.
"Just make sure to listen to him. The more time you spend with him, the better you will understand him."
Bluey finished talking to Jean-Luc, who was already beside the Border Collie's truck, waiting for Mackenzie to return.
"Yeah, I think I understand," said Jean-Luc.
"Out of all the families that could have been your host family," Talked Bluey. "Im really glad you got them."
"You are right. I got fortunate to get them," said Jean-Luc, looking at Mel and Fozzie, still talking to the Heelers
Mackenzie showed up by the Heeler's camping site, walking back into the two dogs' field of view. At the sight of Mackenzie, Bluey said to Jean-Luc, "I will see you on Monday, Jean-Luc."
"Yeah, can't wait for Monday," Expressed Jean-Luc
Bluey giggled and confessed, "Me too," and could not avoid giving Jean-Luc a quick hug, which the Labrador accepted gladly.
Mackenzie watched the hug from a distance and growled under his breath. Tired of watching them together, he ignored the scene and walked directly to the back seats of his parent's car.
Jean-Luc looked at the displeasure on Mackenzie's face and separated from Bluey to hop on the vehicle at the same time as Mackenzie.
"Ok, looks like Mack came back from doing his necessities," Said Fozzie before walking around the car and hopping on the driver's seat
Fozzie turned on the engine, Mackenzie and Jean-Luc got comfortable for the long trip back, and Mel said goodbye to everyone present. And finally, the orange Truck backed out and started to drive away.
"See ya later, guys." Bluey and her family waved goodbye to the Border collies and Jean-Luc as the red truck left their camping area. When the car was far enough, Bluey did not hesitate to go back to the trailer and enthusiastically grabbed her book and pen
The Blue Heeler opened the book where the first drawing of Jean-Luc was. She took a closer look at the incomplete drawing, then ripped the page out and started from zero with a new image of Jean-Luc in her head.
As Bluey started drawing Jean-Luc's shape again. Bingo hopped on the caravan without the spider and said, as she spotted Bluey drawing again, "So what are you drawing this time, Bluey?"
Bluey stopped what she was doing and pointed at her with the pen to respond, "You remember Jean-Luc?"
"What? you mean the Labrador that was here moments ago?" Bingo said, confused, as she sat down on the little table
"Yeah, But you remember the drawing of me and a dark blue dog when we shared your room.
"I think I do. You always implored Mom not to throw it away," Recalled Bingo
"Well, that dog is actually Jean-Luc, and im making a new drawing of him."
Bingo shook her head, opened her eyes wide open, and said, amazed "THATS HIM!?"
Bluey nodded excitedly and exclaimed, "YEAH!
"Wow," Bingo lay back on the seat and put a hand on her head, thinking of all her sister had told her. "So after that camping trip, he became an exchange student and flew all the way from Canada to here. Just to see you again?"
Bluey nodded again and said, "Wanna know what he did for me?"
Bingo nodded, curious to see what it was about, but when Bluey reached the back of her hip where her pockets were, she couldn't feel the note.
"Huh?" She hadn't felt anything on her hips
"Thats weird. Where did it go?" Bluey stood up and started looking under her seat and at the table, but there was nothing yet. Driven by her confusion, she left the caravan and started looking around the camping area.
When Bluey left the caravan, Bingo put her elbows on the tables to form a platform to sink her face onto her hands and whispered, "Mackenzie is in trouble."
*Two hours later*
*Lookout west of Brisbane*
It was 5 pm in Brisbane, and the sun started falling behind the summit, signaling that it wanted to leave the city into the horizon as it projected an orange tint in the sky. The border-collie truck arrived at Mackeznie's first stop in their "Mack's tour of the city," the highest summit in Brisbane where the lookout is
It was an obvious first choice for Mackenzie; he lost count of how often he hung out with his friends after school or just because they wanted to, considering the proximity to their houses and the school.
Jean-Luc went up the stairs with the Border Collie parents behind and Mackenzie dead last, without any desire to catch up to them. When the dark blue Labrador reached the top, he was amazed by the sight. "Wow"
In front of the lookout were the suburbs where Mackenzie's family lived. A combination of trees and houses painted the surrounding area to the lookout until it was met by the skyscrapers conforming Brisbane's downtown far away.
Jean-Luc slowly walked to the railing of the mount and posted his elbows on it. The Labrador was having his moment of peace and awe when Mel called him next to a pair of binoculars, "Hey Jan-Luke, wanna take a look through the binoculars?"
"Sure," Jean-Luc said and walked over to Mel.
In the meantime, Mackenzie walked over to the top of the pavilion the moment he reached the lookout area, sat down on the stairs, and watched Jean-Luc as he tried to get the binoculars working with Mel.
The eyes he observed Jean-Luc with are not the same ones he used when he first met him at the airport. The note he found back at Bluey's camping site left him wondering who Jean-Luc actually was.
Did he really…travel from Canada to steal Bluey from him?
Did he plan this all along?
If so…are they just pawns in his game?
The last doubt rubbed Mackenzie the wrong way. He hated the idea of being used like that, especially if he also used his family as pawns. Unfortunately, he was interrupted.
"Hey Mack," his father called and started to go up the stairs to accompany his son. "Everything ok?"
"Yeah…I think so," Mackenzie said as Fozzie reached the step where his son was and sat beside him.
"What's going on?" Fozzie said in a comforting voice
Mackenzie thinks for a second, deciding if he should mention the note he found. He taps his knee repeatedly with his right hand and gathers enough confidence to speak up: "What do you think of Luke?"
"Huh…I think he is a good kid. I can tell he was raised well by his parents," Fozzie started talking. "I'm amazed you guys got along this fast, considering you didn't attend any of our video chats before he arrived."
"Sometimes I didn't care; I wanted to be surprised," Mackenzie confesses before saying, "But sometimes, you know damn well why I couldn't."
"True that," Fozzie shrugged his shoulders and raised his palms. He lowered his hands and changed the theme. "How is she, anyway?"
"Getting better, but the trauma is still there," Mackenzie said
"I guess that's progress, But what about you?" Fozzie asked
"?" Mackenzie's eyebrows jumped, and he looked at his father.
"What do you think of Jak-Luc?" Fozzie goes back at him with his own question
"Well…" Mackenzie turned his head to see Jean-Luc again…struggling with the binoculars with his mother
"Parce que cette merde ne rentre pas!" Jean-Luc complained in French as he struggled to push the coin into the coin tray.
"Keep trying. I know this will work!." Inspired Mel as she also struggled to get the coin in
Back with Mackenzie and his father, "He seems like a good guy to hang out with, but…" Mackenzie pulled out the note he found to his father. "I'm afraid I'm wrong."
"What's this?" Fozzie asked as he grabbed the note and read it. When he was done, he questioned, "I don't understand. Did Jak-Luc meet Bluey before?
"Yeah…I found them hugging next to a tree outside the camp; they even told me they met each other eleven years ago," said Mackenzie
"But this note implied that he wasn't expecting to meet Bluey right away," said Fozzie as he kept inspecting the note
"Yeah, that's why he acted weirdly on our way there." Mackenzie explained his theory: "It may be true that he visited the tree, but he also wanted to leave that note for Bluey…"
"… Whenever the heelers came back to camp," Fozzie finished what Mackenzie started saying as his eyes slowly opened up entirely.
"So it looks like we have been played like a damn fiddle," Jokes Mackenzie as he sarcastically shakes his hands like a clown. Because he felt like a clown.
"So, does this mean?... He is going after Bluey?" Fozzie Said
After hearing his father's foreseen future, Mackenzie sighed, leaned back, and admitted, "I think so."
"Oh boy," Fozzie reacted as he put one hand in his head out of stress before calling him in a deep authoritarian tone, "Son…"
Mackenzie's eyes widened when he heard his father's tone. It was the tone before he taught something to him.
"Sometimes In life, you gotta step forward and let them know who is in charge."
"And how am I supposed to do that?" Mackenzie said
"By letting him know she is off limits, I'm not saying you should go up to him and punch him, but I'm sure you will figure out a way," Fozzie advises his son.
"Ok, Dad, but what are we going to do with him in the meantime? We can't let him use us," Said Mackenzie
Fozzie sighs as he takes a look at her wife…Who was still helping Jean-Luc with the binoculars?
"And my tax dollars are going to this piece of…"
"J'AI COMPRIS!" Jean-Luc exclaimed, interrupting Mel as he finally managed to get the coin in and look through the binoculars with the Border Collie next to him
After Looking at his wife and Labrador making the binoculars work, he said, "Your mother will try to defend him, so let's just be smart whenever he opens his mouth."
"Alright, Dad." Mackenzie agreed, and both guys looked at Jean-Luc, who was using the binoculars, and Mel, who had a hand on his back, pointing out several points of interest for the Labrador to look at.
They looked at the two dogs until Jean-Luc turned around and shouted, "Hey guys, wanna take a look?"
The Father and son duo side-eye each other, and without saying a word, they get up and step down the stairs. As they almost reach the end of the stairs, Fozzie tells his son, in a voice low enough for him to hear him, "Remember, be smart."
Mackenzie didn't talk back and walked over to Jean-Luc and Mel. As they got close, Jean-Luc stepped aside to let Mackenzie use the binoculars. But just as he moved the binoculars, the lents shut down; the time of use just ran out.
"Aww" Express Mackenzie sad
"Didn't know it was going to last this long," said Jean-Luc, annoyed
"Well, it's about to be dark soon, "Said Mel, looking at the orange sky. "I think it's time to come back home."
"I agreed. I really don't wanna drive anywhere else today," Said Fozzie…being smart.
"Well, I really appreciate you guys for an amazing first day in Brisbane," Said Jean-Luc, grateful
"No problems, Jan-Luke. We still have the rest of the week to hang out around town," Mel said.
"Ehh, we got two more days together, and then Bluey is going to show me some parts of the city," said Jean-Luc
"Oh, thats fantastic, im glad you got to meet Bluey today. She is a very good friend of Mackenzie," stated Mel
"Yeah, I know," Said Jean-Luc as his tail started to wag
"Alright, let's get going," Express Fozzie said, turning around to get off the Summit. Mel and Jean-Luc followed close, and just as they got on, it looked like they would get off with Mackenzie behind the three dogs.
Mackenzie started walking and took advantage of the situation to think about what his father had told him.
"You gotta let him know Bluey is off-limit. I guess, as a guy, he will understand." Mackenzie though
"At the end, be smart, Mack, be smart."
The day finally ended for the Border Collies and Jean-Luc as they parked into their house. Mel was the first to get off and suggested, "Hey, what if I cook some curry for tomorrow?."
"I'm down," Fozzie said as everyone walked to the entrance. "But let me make it cuz the last time you did it, someone's mouth got on fire."
Mel sighed and said, "Sweetie, the spicier, the better." Fozzie opened the door to let everybody in, and when she got in, she continued, "Right, Jan-Luke?"
"We don't eat spicy food in Canada," Jean-Luc answered quickly.
"That sounds sad," joked Mel, going to the Kitchen
"well, im going to be upstairs to call my family," said Jean-Luc as he was about to go up the steps
"Ok, What about you Mackenzie? " questioned Mel
"Im just gonna go to sleep; it has been a long day," Said Mackenzie before taking the stairs and going to his room
"Hey," Fozzie tried to catch his Wife's attention, "Wanna watch a movie tonight?"
"As long as it's not Monkey signing songs, then yeah," Mel said before going to the kitchen to make tomorrow's lunch.
Upstairs, Jean-Luc had already made his way to his room when Mackenzie reached his room with the sign "AVAILABLE" on the door knob. He got in and went straight to his computer. Mackenzie turned on the computer, sat down on the red and black chair, and put on his red headphones…even though he didn't feel like he wanted to play.
When Mackenzie's computer turned on, he immediately opened "Disclaw" to see if his friends were online. Unfortunately, no one was online; they were probably working or spending their little time available before returning to school.
Except…
Honey…
His username and profile picture showed the green dot, which meant she was available.
Mackenzie felt curiosity fill his body, and he was anxious to talk to one of his friends.
But his heart…told him to stop.
His brain… told him it was a bad idea.
His soul… backed him out
The second Mackenzie regains control of his body. He closes "Disclaw" without missing a beat.
"Not yet…Let her rest. You don't wanna get her into this," Mackenzie thought as he slowly moved his hands away from the keyboard and mouse and minded his own business.
Mackenzie swung his chairs left and right, thinking of the revelation of Jean-Luc meeting Bluey again, The note he found, and what his father told him earlier at the lookout. He had so many questions and so few answers that he started to damn himself for not attending the video chats they did before Jean-Luc moved to his house.
One part of him still wished to be friends with the dark blue Labrador, but he felt like he wasn't going to make it if he was still trying to be Bluey's boyfriend.
Especially after hiding the fact he went to the camping grounds to leave a note for Bluey behind their backs
Mackenzie pulled out Jean-Luc's note to look at it determinedly.
He needed to answer for the note.
Mackenzie got up from the chair and left his room to be directly in front of Jean-Luc's room, still holding the note.
"Remember, Mack, Be smart." Mackenzie thought before he knocked on the door three times
…
…
…
"You can come in."
Mackenzie opened the door to find Jean-Luc sitting in front of the desk to do homework with his phone in hand, trying to call his family.
The border-collie enters the room and closes the door behind him, still hiding the note. Mackenzie's odd behavior is noticed by the Labrador, who gets up the chair to stand face to face with Mackenzie and questions him in a worrisome tone: "What's wrong, Mack?"
Mackenzie took a deep breath and set his eyes straight on the Labrador's eyes, piercing them and looking into his soul, and thought one more time.
"Be smart."
Mackenzie raised his hand, the hand in which he was holding the note for Bluey to show Jean-Luc, and said, "You need to explain this."
Jean-Luc's eyes snapped open, and he passed both hands behind his hip to check them. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath to slow things down, and chose his words carefully before saying, "This ain't what it looks like."
"What?" Mackenzie snapped his head forward, not believing a word he was saying. "To make my family drive you all the way out of Brisbane to send a note to my friend?"
"I know it was wrong what I did today," Jean-Luc started to implore. "Forgive me, Mack. I didn't know what I was doing."
"Do what!?" Mackenzie was slowly losing his patience. "You knew what you were doing!"
"I didn't!... I should have known better."
Mackenzie broke visual contact with Jean-Luc and moved his head around, thinking of what he would say next. With everything on the tip of his tongue, he raised his index to Jean-Luc and warned him, "From here on now, you are going to come out clean, not more secrets, no more hiding stuff."
Scared, Jean-Luc nodded rapidly and said, "I agree, I'm not going to intervene between you and your feelings for Bluey."
…
…
…
…
…
"What?" Mackenzie asked with his eyes wide open
"Look, Mack," Jean-Luc put his hands together and appealed, "I respect you, a helluva lot, even more than some of the opponents I faced in Canada. It wasn't my intention to give the impression I have feelings for Bluey. I just wanted to reconnect with an old friend from the past."
Jean-Luc put a hand on his heart and continued, "In fact, im extremely happy for you cuz Bluey is a wonderful dog, and you are so lucky to share such a wonderful relationship with her, and I'm hoping you guys get together soon."
Mackenzie was dumbfounded by what he heard, to the point that he could not avoid asking, "How did you know I have feelings for Bluey?"
"Well," Jean-Luc recomposed himself, "I figured Bingo was Bluey's sister, and from there, it wasn't that difficult to figure out that the crush your father was talking about this morning was Bluey."
Mackenzie let out a single chuckle and said, "Bingo is right. You are smart."
"Yeah…when you are an exchange student and the unofficial captain of a high school hockey team, you oughta be smart at some point," explained Jean-Luc.
"But yeah, don't worry about me trying to steal your crush," Jean-Luc chuckled, trying to calm down the situation, but this didn't earn Mackenzie any grace.
Mackenzie looked down and away from Jean-Luc, thinking of what had just happened.
Jean-Luc straight-up promised him he would not be between him and Bluey.
He shouldn't be worried…right?
He had no idea where Bluey was standing, and Jean-Luc had already hidden stuff from him and his family.
It was too early to let his guard down, considering they were hanging out when Bluey returned from camping.
"I hope so," Mackenzie warned him. He left Jean-Luc's room but was still polite enough to close his door.
Inside the Labrador's room, Jean-Luc touched his forehead and said, "J'ai fait une erreur? Pas vrai? "
Outside his room, Mackenzie opened his door to get in, but he noticed the "AVAILABLE" sign. Before getting in and closing the door, without thinking twice, he turned it around to show the red side of the sign that said
"NO AVAILABLE"
Jean-Luc…
Now, he would make sure not to forget that name.
Referances
The "huntdog" spider; basically a huntsman spider and yes, there are cases of people adopting these spiders
"We have been played like a damn fiddle"; I have never thought of putting a reference to Metal gear solid 5 but here we are lol
"Monkeys singing songs" Bluey's favorite reddit phrase lol
it is until here that i managed to write, i will try my best to bring the next chapter as soon as possible
you guys know the drill, leave a review, follow and like the story if you guys are liking it
and until the next time