The rest of that week went as usual, and Friday couldn't have come sooner. When I came downstairs that morning I was surprised to see Brandy sitting at the kitchen table scrolling on her phone.
"What are you still doing here?" I asked.
"Good morning to you too," she said as she looked up towards me, "Did you forget? I work nights on Fridays, so you'll spend the night at Bandit and Chilli's." I scratched the back of my head feeling a little embarrassed.
"Oh yeah...I guess I did forget about that. Do I need to take my stuff to school with me?" I asked.
"Yeah, you'll be going straight to their place," she responded.
"Righto," I remarked as I turned to head back upstairs. I really didn't need to grab much. My book, my MP3 charger, and of course my toothbrush were all I took. I loaded them into my school bag and went back downstairs, where I had a quick bowl of cereal. "Alright I guess I'll see you tomorrow then?" I asked as I headed towards the door.
"Yep, have a good day at school!" Brandy called as I took my leave.
School went relatively quickly and soon the end of the day had arrived. I grabbed all my stuff from my locker and made my way out to the car lot in front of the building. This area was mainly student parking, but it also served as parent pick-up. I stood, leaning against the wall for a few minutes before the red car I'd seen in the Heeler's driveway pulled up to the curb. Sitting in the driver's seat was Chilli. She rolled down the passenger side window and waved me over. I walked over and took a seat next to her with my bag at my feet and my tail to my side.
"Hey Oscar!" she said, "How ya goin'?"
"Hey Chilli. I'm doing alright. How about yourself?" I asked in response.
"Same old," she said as she shrugged her shoulders, "Bandit's working today, so you and I are picking up the girls. Also, Stripe and Trix are having their couple's night, so they'll be dropping Muffin and Socks off later today."
"Sounds good," I said. Chilli put the car in drive and pulled away from the curb. I spent most of the drive looking out the window, and occasionally glancing over at Chilli. I noted how cautious of a driver she is. After about 15 minutes of driving we pulled up to the top of a small hill, where a quaint little building sat. Surrounding the building was loads of play space. There was a playground, a sand pit, a small river, and even a forest. There were a few other cars in the lot, presumably there to pick up their kids. And speaking of kids, they were everywhere. No matter what direction you looked, there was always something going on. There were a couple Terriers playing on the playground structure with cardboard swords and shields, another German Shepherd was digging in the sand pit, and I could see Bluey playing with a Border Collie at the little water run. Chilli stepped out of the car.
"Come on," she said as she started to walk towards the building. I quickly got out and followed her. It was a short walk up a path to the school, which had a very open floor plan. We stepped up onto a deck that led into what seemed to be the main room. Chilli stopped and turned to me.
"I need to pick up some papers from Bluey's teacher, would you please go get Bluey?" She asked as she pointed in the general direction of that water run we saw on the way in.
"Sure thing!" I said as I turned and walked down the grass hill opposite the parking lot. On my way I passed a couple kids running up towards the school. Most of them paid no mind to me, but I did get a couple glances. It took me only a few minutes to get to the water run Chilli had pointed to. Bluey was doing something in the water and the border collie I'd seen was off to the side shaping a piece of bark on a rock. He had patches of black and white fur and one floppy ear. Neither of them noticed me until I was about 5 meters off.
"Hey Bluey!" I called out, causing her to perk up.
"Oh! Oscar!" she exclaimed, "What are you doing here?" I made it over to where she was playing in the water run.
"I'm here with your mum. I'm sleeping over tonight, remember?" I asked.
"Ah, yeah I forgot!" she said as she shrugged her shoulders. The border collie, who'd been listening from a few meters away, piped in,
"Who are you?" he asked with his head cocked to the side.
"Oh, I'm–-"
"That's Oscar!" Bluey said, interrupting me completely, "He's one of my cousins!"
"Really? Why weren't you at her birthday party?" He asked quizzically. I hesitated a second, thinking of the best way to respond,
"I'm... more of a recent addition to the family," I stated. The collie thought about this for a moment, sort of narrowing his eyes a bit. Evidently I passed whatever test he was giving,
"Well, I'm Mackenzie," he declared, "Do you want to play barky boats with us?" I scratched the back of my head and shrugged my shoulders.
"Ah sorry, I wish I could," I said before turning back to Bluey, "Your mum sent me to come get you." Bluey visibly sighed before responding,
"Oh alright. See ya Mackenzie." She gave him a quick wave, which he returned, and then started running up towards the school. I turned and started running up after her, and pretty soon we had made it back to the main building. Chilli was there waiting for us, holding a thin manilla folder in her hand, probably papers to sign. Bluey ran up to Chilli and embraced her in a hug.
"How was school Honey?" Chilli asked, looking down at Bluey.
"It was really good!" Bluey exclaimed in response.
"Alright!" Chilli said, "Let's go pick up Bingo." Bluey waved goodbye to a few of her friends dotted around the area, and we all started towards the car. Chilli hopped back in the driver seat, Bluey opened the rear driver side door and buckled herself into her car seat, and I took my spot in the passenger seat. Bluey seemed to take a bit of offense to this.
"Aw, why does Oscar get to sit in the front?" she asked, exacerbated. I didn't even need to respond because Chilli did it for me.
"Because he's bigger than the both of us!" She exclaimed, "Do you really think he'd be comfortable sitting between you and Bingo back there?" Bluey thought for a moment.
"I guess not," she finally answered. With that we were off. It was a slightly longer drive to Bingo's school. I was just looking out the window most of the way, idly listening to Bluey talk about everything she did at school that day (something about "buddies"). Anyway, pretty soon we'd arrived at Bingo's school. It was an unassuming brick building, no bigger than Bluey's school. We pulled into the parking lot, which was enclosed by a tall hedge, and Chilli got out.
"I'll just be a minute," she said before turning and heading up the sidewalk to the building. Bluey and I sat in silence for a couple seconds before she piped up,
"Oscar, will you play 'work' with me and Bingo when we get home?" she asked, looking at me through the rearview mirror.
"Sure, as soon as I'm finished with my homework. We can play whatever you want," I said, giving her a quick smile.
"Hooray!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms up towards the roof. It wasn't long until Chilli had returned with Bingo in tow, holding her hand. She helped Bingo into her car seat and jumped back into the driver's seat.
"Alright, back home we go," Chilli said as she popped the car in reverse and started backing out of the parking space. The drive back to the Heeler's place was interesting to say the least. Chilli was focusing on her driving while also juggling the random questions either girl would come up with. In the back seat Bluey was swinging her legs and looking out the window at the passing scenery, and Bingo was playing pretend with that stuffed rabbit of hers. I checked the clock on the car stereo. It was already about 4:00 PM, no doubt I was ready to check out and be done for the day. Boy, I was not ready for what was going to happen that night. We arrived at the Heeler's house and everyone got out of the car, the kids grabbing their lunch boxes and myself grabbing my school bag. Bluey and Bingo ran up the steps to the front porch and stood by the door while Chilli and I walked up behind them. Chilli unlocked the front door and the kids ran inside and straight off towards the playroom.
"Come on Oscar!" Bluey called towards me.
"I told you, I gotta do my homework first," I called back as I headed towards the kitchen table.
"Good idea," Chilli said, "Always nice to get that stuff out of the way. What do you have to work on anyway?"
"A 4 page review packet for my maths test next week," I responded as I plopped down at the table. Chilli nodded and took her leave from the kitchen, off to do housework I presumed. Refocusing my attention on the packet in front of me, I set to work.
30 minutes and two front and back pages later, I was done for the day. There would be time later, and I had the whole weekend after all. I shoved the packet haphazardly into my school bag and stood up from the table, pushing my chair back in. I walked out of the kitchen and into the living room, where I found the kids. Bingo was on the floor playing with a couple of stuffed animals (that bunny of hers), and Bluey was lying on the couch, her lower half practically hanging off onto the floor. She was tossing a tennis ball into the air and catching it over and over, looking very bored.
"Okay, I'm ready to play!" I said with a smile, an effort to shake the boredom Bluey was evidently feeling. I must've shook pretty hard because she perked up quickly. She finished what her bottom half had started and slid off the couch, landing on the floor rug with a soft thud. Bingo, who was thoroughly engrossed in her stuffed animals, finally noticed my presence and jumped up as well.
"Oh hello!" Bluey greeted with that patented posh voice of hers, "Are you here for the job opening?"
"Uh...yes!" I said, "And you are?"
"Margerie," she answered as she stuck out her hand for a handshake.
"Good to meet you Margerie!" I said as I reached out to accept her handshake. She quickly pulled her hand back.
"That's Mrs. Margerie to you!" she exclaimed with an offended look.
"Oh! My apologies! It's nice to meet you Mrs. Margerie." I said. She gave me a credulous look for a couple seconds before reaching out and shaking my hand. She turned and started to walk back towards the couch.
"Come with me to my office, and we shall start your interview," she said as she took a seat on the couch right behind the coffee table, which had been made to look like a desk. There were papers strewn about with random scribbles on them. On one corner of the table there was a stapler and a roll of tape. On the other there was a picture frame with a crudely drawn picture of some other dog. In front of the "desk" was a small chair, obviously taken from their playroom. I obliged her instructions and followed her to the "office" and took a seat in the chair.
"Do you have a resume?" she asked with that incredulous look.
"Uh..." I stammered as I quickly grabbed a sheet of paper and a marker from the desk. I proceeded to write up a quick resume, basically consisting of my name, my breed, and a couple other random things. "Here you are!" I exclaimed as I handed over the fresh resume. Bluey took the paper and studied it closely before looking up at me.
"I see you worked at a horse farm. Were you a trainer?" She asked.
"Eh, not exactly," I responded, "I was...one of the horses." Obviously she had pulled that reference from the game we'd played the previous week.
"Welp, I've seen enough. Welcome aboard!" she said with a smile as she reached over to shake my hand once again.
"Great!" I exclaimed as I accepted her handshake," When do I start?"
"Right now!" she responded as she hopped up from the couch, "Please follow me." She strode over to the other couch across the room and mimicked opening a door, "This will be your office!" she exclaimed.
"Oh wow!" I said, trying to sound enthusiastic, "what a lovely office!"
"Yes yes, only the best here," Bluey acknowledged once again with that posh accent.
"So...what do I do, exactly?" I asked as I sat at my "desk," which was just a comically small side table, the red armchair acting as my seat.
"Well, our company makes cutlery, and your job is to take the orders," she explained, "You answer the phone, write down the order, and deliver it to our factory manager." She gestured back towards the kitchen.
"Sounds good!" I said, "I can do that!" Bluey nodded and exited my "office." Once she was back at her desk she cupped her hands around her mouth.
"OKAY! WE'RE READY!" she yelled, quite a bit louder than I would have liked. Right on cue Chilli walked into the living room from the dining room, wearing a purple brimmed hat with a white flower. She held her cell phone up to her ear and started tapping her foot.
"Ring Ring! Ring Ring!" Chilli enunciated, miming a ringing phone. To be honest, I was confused for a second before I remembered my role.
"Oh! A customer!" I said as I picked up my "phone." There wasn't actually a phone, or anything resembling one for that matter. The only thing on my desk was a couple sheets of paper and a couple more crayons, so I used my hand instead. I tapped my finger as if I was hitting "accept" on a cell phone, "Uh...Cutlery Company! How can I help you?" I asked, projecting my voice so it would reach Chilli on the other side of the room.
"Ugh! Finally!" she said in a snarky tone, "I've been on hold for AGES. Don't you know I've got better things to do?"
"Oh...I apologize for the inconvenience ma'am, how can I help?" I asked, putting on my absolute best customer service voice.
"I've got a very important party tomorrow and I need cutlery for my guests," she explained as she pretended to examine her nails.
"Certainly ma'am, what would you like?" I asked as I picked out a green crayon and prepared a sheet of paper.
"I will need five full sets, that's forks AND spooks," she responded in that perfected snarky tone. I proceeded to scribble "5 forks" and "5 spoons" on the sheet of paper with the green crayon, creating a fine layer on the sheet.
"Okay, five sets," I repeated back to her, "Will that be all ma'am?"
"Yes," she said with a slight hesitation hovering on the edge of her voice, "That will be all." With that she hung up. I pretended to put my phone down and stood up with the paper in my hand. I took a walk out of my office, pretending to open and close the door behind me, and head towards the kitchen. In the kitchen was Bingo and Bandit. Bingo was sitting at the kitchen table sifting through a massive pile of cutlery, forks and spoons littering the area like a bomb had gone off. Bandit was watching her "work" with an incredulous look on his face. He was wearing a yellow hard hat that was obviously too small for his head. It hung haphazardly off one of his ears. Neither had noticed my presence yet.
"Faster worker!" Bandit bellowed, "That cutlery won't sort itself! I don't pay you to sit there and twiddle your thumbs!" Bingo squealed and moved as fast as she could, sorting out the jumbled mess of metal into neat piles of forks and spoons.
"I'm going as fast as I can!" Bingo protested, "My fingers are tired!" I cleared my throat to make myself known. Bandit turned and strolled over to where I was standing.
"We've got a new order," I announced as I handed the paper to Bandit, "Five cutlery sets for a party." Bandit took the paper and examined it closely.
"Righto," He said as he turned back towards Bingo, "Five forks and five spoons worker!" Bingo giggled but pretended to protest before starting to fulfill the order.
"Be careful," I warned Bandit, "The lady sounded a bit uppity over the phone." He nodded in acknowledgement and returned to his current task of berating Bingo. I turned and exited the kitchen, making my way back to my office. Just as I sat back down in the armchair Bandit excited the kitchen and walked to Bluey's office. He also pretended to open and close the door behind him. I could hear the conversation perfectly because they were only about a meter and a half away from me, but I pretended not to.
"I got that latest order Mrs. Margerie," Bandit said as he set a tray of cutlery down on the table and handed the order page to Bluey, "five full sets." Bluey examined the tray's contents as well as the paper Bandit had handed her, which was funny because I knew she couldn't read.
"Well this all seems to be in order," Bluey finally said, "Thank you." Bandit nodded and left her office, heading back to his domain in the kitchen. Bluey stood up from her desk and grabbed the tray of cutlery as she started towards the dining room. She rounded the corner and I heard her knock on something, presumably a front door. There was a short muffled exchange before the snarky, booming voice of Chilli shook the house.
"FIVE SETS!? I ORDERED TEN!" she yelled, her voice resonating through the house, probably alerting the neighbors to our cutlery conundrum. Another short muffled conversation with hints of annoyance later, and Bluey exited the dining room with an empty tray. She looked mad, and even worse, she was coming straight for my office. She marched over in a huff and pretended to throw open my office door before thrusting the order paper into my face.
"What does this say?" she asked incredulously. I took the paper and pretended to examine it carefully.
"It says '5 forks' and '5 spoons,'" I said in response, trying my best to sound confused, "I just took it earlier today. What's the problem?"
"The problem is that the customer ordered ten sets, not five!" she exclaimed.
"That's preposterous! She said 'five sets' clear as day!" I said defensively, "She's lying!" Bluey narrowed her eyes before responding.
"The customer is always right!" she said, "Pack your things, you're out of here!" I gasped upon hearing this.
"Y-you mean I'm fired?" I asked, sounding deflated. Bluey nodded.
"Yes," she said with resolve, "Now go!" I stood up from my chair and looked around, realizing I never had anything in here of mine to begin with. Nonetheless I grabbed a nearby cardboard box, which I figured Bluey placed there knowing exactly what was going to happen, and I left the office with it held close to my chest. Bluey stared at me, hand on her hips and her eyes still narrowed, as I left the room. In the dining room was Chilli with that same brimmed hat. She gave me a devious look as I left the living room and it seemed like she was about to say something, but at that exact moment the doorbell rang.
"Ah!" she exclaimed in her normal voice as she took off the hat, "That'll be Muffin and Socks!"