Rusty's Secret

22. Holiday Season

The sun was halfway up the sky. The birds sang through Rusty's window as he slept. The suns warm, glowing light floated into Rusty's room, coating his room in a sparkly yellow hue.

"Rusty, get up!" Rusty's mum demanded from the kitchen. Rusty's eyes slowly opened and started to look around. He groaned and yawned as he sat up from his bed. His mum walked towards his room and swung open the door. "C'mon! This is your last day before winter break!" She shouts, glaring at the exhausted kelpie.

He gives her a shaky thumbs up as he unplugs his phone and yawns again. He opens up his creeky bedroom door and creeps over to the bathroom. He stares at himself in the mirror. He takes a deep breath before grabbing onto his toothbrush and applying some mint toothpaste to it.

After fixing his hair a bit, he slowly walks into the kitchen. He sits down at the table next to Digger, who was staring down at his glowing his phone screen. Rusty didn't touch the plate of food in front of him. Rusty watched Digger have a conversation with his mum, trying to listen in on what he was saying. "And they say I'll get into a good college if I go. I basically get to live on campus for just a couple of weeks" Digger said to her. "I don't know...Are you sure about this Diggy?" She questioned him. "I don't want to get into a crappy college, please mum" He begged as he handed her a paper. "Alright, where do I sign?" She asked, holding a pen.

Through the window, Rusty can see the school bus parking in front of their house. "Kids, the bus is here!" Their mum yells. They all grab their backpacks and leave the house, and walk outside. Their mum waves goodbye before turning around and staring down at Rusty's still-full plate.

"Bye Dusty, Bye Digger!" Rusty waves to them. They were both sitting at the bus stop. Rusty walks down the aisle towards the back of the bus, where he usually sat. His eyes traveled around the room, there was a french bulldog spinning a noise maker around. Everyone around him covered their ears, even Rusty. Someone snatched the noise maker out of his hands and threw it out the window. The bulldog screamed "are you fucking kidding me, dude!?" Then slumped down in his seat, crossing his arms.

Rusty noticed a German shepered he's never seen before sitting in the back of the bus, she looked anoyed, or angry. She looked like she wanted to kill someone at that moment.

Rusty was lost in thought. He stood in the middle of the aisle. The bus driver stared at him in the reer veiw mirror. "Are you going to sit down or not!" She shouted. He snapped back into reality and began to walk towards the back of the bus again.

He looked down at his usual seat, Jack was staring out the winodw, not noticing Rusty hovering over him. "Uh...H-Hi Jack..." He said nervously,  giving Jack an akward wave. Jack quickly turned around. "Hey Rusty!" Jack said enthusiasticly, patting the seat, signaling for Rusty to sit next to him. "Are you excited for Christmas?" Jack asked him, trying to create a conversation.  "Y-Yeah...My Dad is visiting from patrol" Rusty replied excitedly. "That's good!" Jack smiled.

They walked into the school and headed to their first class."Well, I'll cya during social studies" Jack said, waving to Rusty as he walked into science with Bluey. They both sat down, staring at the whiteboard in front of the room. "Have you noticed Rusty's behavior lately?" Jack whispers in her ear. "Uh, Y-Yeah...." She said nervously. Everyone knew why Rusty was acting that way. She wanted to keep it a secret from Jack. "Well, we think he-" The teacher clapped his hands to get the attention of the class, cutting off Bluey's scentence.

"Class, quiet down, please! Thank you. Anyway, I know everyone is excited for Winter Break, I know I am" He joked, no one laughed. Jack turned his head back to Bluey. "He thinks what?" Jack confronted. "Uh....W-We think that...Uh...We think he's just worried about his dad's visit" Bluey lied, as she started to sweat a bit. Jack can tell it was a lie, but he decided not to pester and stopped asking.

The bell rang, and every student jumped out of their seats. "I hope you all have a good winter break, and I look forward to seeing you next year!" Mr. Mastiff said quickly as the students ran towards the exit.

Jack meets up with Rusty in the crowded hall. "H-Hi Rusty...I have a question..." Jack said nervously. "What is it?" Rusty asks curiously. "So I've been noticing you've been acting strange a lot, and it's making me worried, I just wanted to know if you were okay" Jack explained in a concerned tone. "You can tell me anything, Rus, you can trust me" Jack said calmly, hoping he knew what Rusty's next words. Rusty started to blush. "oh...uh....it's just that....I......I'm a bit nervous for my Dad's visit...." Rusty said anxiously. "Oh....okay...." Jack sighed.

Rusty steps off the bus and unlocks the door to his house. "I'm home!" He shouts. Rusty could hear Dusty's bus stopping in front of the house, followed by Digger entering the front door. He walked home. "Hello?" Rusty said. "Where's Mum?" Dusty asks as she walks into the house. "I don't know. She shouldn't be at work today" Rusty answered.

The three wander around the house for a while, they walk into the living room together. They stand there, their eyes widen, and their jaws drop. Their open mouths turn into the biggest smiles you'll ever see.

Thier Father is sitting on the couch with a huge smile on his face. "DAD!" They all shout in unison. They all drop their belongings and run up to give him a huge group hug. "I missed you kids!" He shouts happily. Rusty wanted that hug to last forever, longer than forever. They eventually let go. They have conversations for hours. He told stories of while he was out on patrol and even saved some condensed milk for each of them. The sky was getting dark. They all went to eat just like they always did when their dad returned.

When they got home, Rusty prepared for bed and entered his darkened room. He opens up his phone and sees many missed notifications. He looks through each one, one at a time.

Jack: Rusty....are you sure ur ok?

Jack: Rusty?

Jack: Rusty, please answer....

Jack: I guess you can't talk....Good night, I guess...

Rusty types slowly.

Rusty: I'm so sorry I didn't respond. My Dad came home today.

It took a couple of minutes for Jack to respond to the text.

Jack: That's great! Are you still feeling nervous?

Rusty: oh uhhhh Nope not at all....

Jack: are you sure....you know you can tell me anything Rusty.

Rusty: I know....I just need time....

Jack: ok.....Goodnight :)

Rusty: Goodnight :)