Ripple- a Bluey Story

Olympic

Hermes

7:00AM, Sometime before Mackenzie's life went to fuck-all.

I picked my car keys up from a bowl next to the front door and turned to my Aussie Newfie son, Pan. 

"You ready?" I asked, making sure he had everything he needed for school. But when I turned around I saw he was holding a rather large and heavy-looking box in his hands, as well as his backpack.

"Yep." He replied without looking at me, apparently anxious to just get going.

"What's that box?" He still didn't look at me as he replied.

"Nothing, just some cans I bought for a food drive we're having." My shoulders lifted a little with pride, apparently I had taught him well.

"Good on ya mate."  I smiled and opened the door, both of us heading into my car parked in the driveway. I turned the keys in the ignition and yawned before backing out and starting the journey to his school. After a couple minutes of nothing I decided to break the silence. 

"You wanna have someone over this weekend? It's been a while." I asked Pan. He shrugged without looking at me. This had become the new normal since he started up seventh grade. He had always seemed so distant and cold. Every attempt to reach out had been immediately shot down, so I backed off and gave him the space I assumed he needed. 

The car drive continued in silence as we finally reached Pan's school and he hopped out. Before pulling away, I could see him take a deep breath and pick up his box a little more before he started walking to the building. 

7:10AM 

I pulled into the driveway and turned the keys out of the ignition, then sauntered into my house. 

I closed the front door behind me and sighed, contemplating what I was gonna do for the rest of the day. I only had the night shift for Brisbane tours tonight, so the world was practically my oyster sauce. My wife was at her job teaching the nearby private school, so I decided to surprise her with a clean house. At our age it was about the equivalent of a romantic dinner date. The little things matter.

9:00AM

Washed, dried, and sorted dishes, a vacuumed and declutterred living room, and all but one room with new sheets and made beds. Yep, I was on a roll. But the final and most daunting challenge still awaited me, my son's room. I always tried to give him privacy, especially since he became more distant, but if he wouldn't clean his room then I allowed myself a small breech of my morals.

I opened the door expecting the dirty minefield of a room I had seen only the night before, but instead was met with tidiness that legitimately rivaled a hotel room. No junk. No clutter. Hell, I couldn't even see most of his possessions at all. It was almost like he never lived here.

 After closer inspection, he definitely still had some things that were uniquely his lying around; Like his favorite hunting bow hung on the wall, a Stardew valley poster, and his flute in it's case on the desk. But the trash and utter unruliness of the room that had almost been his mark was now completely gone. Along with that, I couldn't see where he had put his monitor and gaming console. 

I shrugged and walked out of the room, glad I didn't have to clean any other bedrooms. I quickly grabbed some gloves and cleaning spray, then started working on the bathroom. 

9:20AM

After finishing up with the bathroom and trying desperately to erase the disgusting imagery from my head, I tried to occupy myself with something else. 

I picked out trimming the hedges, might as well go the full length. I never had this much free time usually, a past version of myself might've just sat around all day, but I learned productivity is much more gratifying in the long-term. I walked out behind the house and into the shed, grabbing my trusty bush trimmers.