Chapter 1: Spring Break

It was Duckie and Tammy's final day of school before spring break. They and the rest of their classmates were trying to wait as patiently as they possibly could during their final class. It felt like the time was taking forever to move forward though. All they wanted was the bell to ring so they could be dismissed.

As their history teacher was teaching, Duckie and Tammy both whispered to each other. "Is it just me or is the time seriously dragging?" asked Duckie. "Trust me dude, I can FEEL the time dragging," replied Tammy. Making matters more difficult was that their history teacher (Ms. Reynolds) often over sophisticated subjects and would make classes feel like they were going on for an eternity.

After what felt like a lifetime of waiting, the bell to dismiss them finally went off. It didn't take long for all the kids to leave in an instant. "Okay class, before anyone leaves, I have assignments for everyone to do over vacation," said Ms. Reynolds, not knowing all her students had left already, "The books under the shelves will-" She then looked to see that all her students had left. The Groundhog sighed, "Everytime with my last class..."

With school officially not going back into session for a little while, all the kids rushed out of the school. "Woohoo! Spring break!" shouted one of them. "If anyone needs me, I will be in Florida during the week," said another student. "I'll gladly be doing the same," said a 3rd student, "Sometimes I need to get out of Brighton."

Duckie and Tammy split off from the rest of the kids to go do their own thing. Their plan was to meet up with their friends Johnny and Jessie at a fundraiser event. Both Brighton and their neighbor Nash-Lake were collaborating in raising money for the less fortunate. The event would be located on the town line between both of them.

"Did you let your parents know what we were doing after school ahead of time?" asked Duckie. "Nah, I just didn't bother to tell them," Tammy joked, "Of course I told them! You know if I didn't them, I wouldn't hear the end of it from my mom." "I can say the same with my parents," said Duckie, "But anyway, let's go have a good time with Johnny and Jessie."

The fundraiser event wasn't too far from school, as it only took Duckie and Tammy 15 minutes to get to where the event was being held. There were games, food trucks, and even a few other things over there. It seemed like it was going according to plan.

"There you guys are!" said Johnny, as he and Jessie waited for their friends. "If it isn't the lovebirds!" Tammy laughed, which made both Johnny and Jessie roll their eyes. "Anyway," said Duckie, "How did you two get so far ahead of us? It's not like our school is that big." "Me and Johnny had Mr. Brook for our last class," said Jessie, "And since he's on the first floor and right near the front entrance, I think you know what that means. A speedy way out!"

The 4 officially entered into the event to go have their fun. Best part is it was free admission, so they didn't have to worry about paying to get in. That alone would bring a high number in attendance. Tammy, Duckie, Johnny, and Jessie weren't the only ones from school coming into the event.

There were 4 others that had come into the event as well. One was a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, one was a penguin, one was a tiger, and the last one was a dog of some mix. Their names were Jay, Dino, Paco, and Ralph. Much like how Duckie and Tammy's friend group was made, Jay and her friends all met each other in school and have been hanging out with each other ever since.

"Wow, this event looks cooler in person!" said Jay. "Person!" said Dino. "See Jay? I told you this event is lively," Paco told Jay. "Did you know it hasn't been updated in forever too?" asked Ralph, not very enthused. Paco sighed, "We got an early dismissal from school and this is the first thing you say when we want to go do something..." "Well pardon me for expressing how I feel!" said Ralph. "Expressing!" Dino repeated. "Alright, alright," said Jay, "We came here to have fun, right? We have to start spring break off in a good note. So let's have some fun while we are here."

Jay was the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. She wore a red, blue, and green striped sweater with blue overalls. Much like Tammy, she liked taking risks, despite she and her friends being 3 or 4 years younger than Tammy and her friends. Jay was also friends with Tammy's sister who would occasionally hang out with her and her friend group. More on Tammy's sister later though.

Dino was the Penguin and also Jay's adopted brother. He wore a white and blue baseball cap, as well as a green t-shirt and yellow pants. He often repeated what others would say in one or two words, instead of full sentences. Not much was known why, but it's believed that he had a developmental disorder. Dino's origins before his adoption were also not known, as Officer M (Jay's father who worked for the Nash-Lake Police) only knew of it, including Jay's mother. With all of that said, Jay promised to look after Dino and Dino clearly looked up to Jay as a big sister.

Paco was the Tiger. He wore a black t-shirt that said Hawks 1979 Tour and brown pants. He was typically the one who got hesitant whenever Jay had any risk taking ideas. Often times he'd begrudgingly take part of whatever Jay wanted to do. Perhaps he was afraid of saying no to his friend.

Ralph was the seemingly mixed dog breed. He wore a red flannel and jeans. Unsurprisingly, he was the stick-in-the-mud out of everyone in the group. Ralph was good at heart, but he was also difficult to impress at times and often couldn't read the room. He usually prefered to do activites that weren't daring, and when Jay had one of those daring or risk taking plans, he was quick to voice his disagreement.

For the next hour, both Tammy and Jay's groups did what they could to have fun. Luckily, there was just enough things for them to be occupied. Of course, it wasn't just the games or food trucks that made the event good, both the mayors of Brighton and Nash-Lake were going up on the stage where the bands played at within that one hour.

1 hour later...

Tammy, Duckie, Johnny, and Jessie went to sit in whatever chairs were available, as did Jay, Dino, Paco, and Ralph. There were also a ton of others who went to see both mayors show up on stage. Many were residents of Brighton, Nash-Lake, and various other surrounding towns in the area.

Just then, the band playing on stage finished playing their song when someone came on stage and went towards the microphone. "Good evening everybody," the person said, "As you all know, this fundraiser event is for helping out the less fortunate folks in Brighton, Nash-Lake, and the other surrounding towns. This wouldn't have been possible if it wasn't for mayor of Brighton, Jack Walten; and mayor of Nash-Lake, Felix Kranken. So without further ado, please welcome them!"

Everyone clapped as they saw the two stepping onto stage. "Thank you everyone," said Felix, "As I'm sure many of you have found out, we had a part in helping this fundraiser become reality. Nash-Lake and Brighton developed a partnership about 5 or 6 years ago when we saw others struggling and knew we needed a greater cause. For the longest time, the towns were rivals in just about everything. From businesses, to schools, to sports. But when we saw there were bigger problems to be taken care of, we finally set our differences aside, after years of rivalry. And before I give the microphone to Mayor Walten, PLEASE stop with the rumors. I did NOT get intoxicated and trigger a series of "events" as many call it."

Everyone in their seats were really weirded out that Mayor Kranken was bringing this subject up in the middle of an event like this. "Bit of an awkward time to bring that up..." whispered Tammy. "Ugh, how did Kranken become an elected official?" asked Ralph quietly. At the same time, Jack Walten's family were also present and were very much weirded out that now of all times was for Felix to bring this up.

Felix then walked off as Jack took the microphone. "Umm...thank you Mayor Kranken," said Mayor Walten, "Uhh, let's get back to why we are here. While we might have made part of this possible, we want to thank our volunteers and you as the attendance for making this event just as possible. If it wasn't for you, this event wouldn't have continued like it has been. I wish everyone a good time, as all funds will go directly to our campaign. Have a good night and happy spring break!"

Everyone clapped in response, including Mayor Walten's family. Same could be said with Tammy, Duckie, Johnny, and Jessie. "Now that is a dedicated mayor!" said Duckie. "Jack Walten couldn't have come in at a better time," said Tammy, "Calling previous mayor cheap and basic would be generous." Meanwhile, Jay, Dino, Paco, and Ralph were clapping for Walten. Though, Ralph seemed to be a little sarcastic when doing so. "Wow, why couldn't he be our mayor?" said Ralph sarcastically, "We had such a good one before Kranken took his place!" "Can't win em all dude," replied Paco. "Win!" blurted out Dino. "I mean, this is Felix's first year as mayor, so he might not know how to handle it yet," said Jay, "But I do agree with him on the rumors needing to stop, Jack's kids and wife are still alive and well."

The event went on as the sun was starting to set. By this point, Tammy and Jay's groups decided they were gonna head home, as the place was getting super packed. Plus, they promised their parents they'd be home as soon as the sun went down. Both groups wouldn't encounter one another, but they sure would later on when the time was needed...

To be continued in the next chapter...

(Chapter 1 published 1/11/25)