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Bluey opened her laptop again.
She was determined to get better at her language class after the parent-teacher conference she had just gotten home from. Her French teacher had mentioned that she had the capability of really excelling in the language, and all of a sudden, something clicked within her.
The room was silent, save for the constant tapping noises coming from Bluey’s keyboard and the commotion coming from her parents downstairs.
She had no idea what to expect from going on an online chatroom, but she figured it would be better than even thinking about practicing her French with her dad. There was no way she was going to be serious with him calling her a booger every two minutes. There was also her mum, but she never really spoke French - even during the weird time her dad had made pavlova and refused to speak English - which meant she probably wasn’t the best bet either.
Bluey finally made her way onto the website. She was undoubtedly nervous - stranger danger and all - but the only way she would be proficient in French was if she talked with people. It didn’t help that nobody she knew spoke the language, and it felt weird to ask her teacher to have one-on-one conversations with her. In her mind, this was the only way to go about doing this.
Searching for the language option, she swiftly changed it from English to French. Immediately, the whole website refreshed itself, completely transforming into a language she only moderately understood.
This is going to be fun…
Partially knowing what some words mean and partially guessing, Bluey navigated the website as best as she could, before finally clicking on the button that would create a chatroom with her and a complete stranger.
This website didn’t include cameras, so she thankfully wouldn’t stumble onto creeps or see anything she doesn’t want to see. But it would still be a complete stranger on the other side of the screen, and that scared her - no less with her having to speak in a difficult language!
Bluey stared at the loading screen for what felt like forever. She almost hoped that it would never find a person to begin with, and that she wouldn’t have to do this. But, in the words of her French teacher, she would need to put herself out there - to not be afraid of making mistakes, because that’s the only way she would be able to learn.
…
The chatroom was finally created. Everything around Bluey disappeared as the only thing she could look at or even think about was her laptop screen.
But before her paws even reached the keyboard, she was beaten to the punch.
Étranger: salut
Hello, she thought. Right - they would need to say hello first. That was customary for all strangers.
Toi: Salut!
Bluey figured she would need to tell this person her situation - that she was a French student in Australia trying to improve her language skills. It would be difficult to form the correct words to make a correct sentence, seeing how French wasn’t her first language, nor was she very good at it. But she would try anyway.
Toi: Je suis une étudiante, je suis en train d'améliorer mon français.
Toi: Ma langue naturelle est anglais.
She hoped she had explained it well enough. She re-read her comments: I’m a student, I’m trying to improve my French. My natural language is English.
Even if it wasn’t the most grammatically correct, she hoped it got the point across - she figured maybe she wouldn’t get tips on conjugation or anything of the sort, but as long as people understood her, she felt comfortable.
Suddenly, the stranger on the other end began typing. Bluey had no idea what to expect - hell, she had no idea if she would even be able to understand them.
Étranger: ahhh c chouette
Étranger: d'où venez-vous?
Okay, they’re asking me where I’m from. That seems simple enough. I don’t really know what the comment above says, though…
Toi: Je viens d’Australie.
Toi: Et toi?
She hunched back in her chair with a smile growing on her face. This was going pretty smoothly - at least she had hoped for the worst to happen.
Étranger: je viens du canada, au québec
Étranger: j’avais une amie qui venait d’australie, quel hasard!
Immediately, Bluey felt a little less confident. She had a bit of trouble with that last comment, as there were some words that she didn’t quite fully understand. But if she was correct, then they had a friend who came from Australia as well. Interesting…
Toi: Ah, cool!
Toi: J’avais un ami qui vient du Canada moi-même.
As soon as she hit ‘enter’, memories of Jean-Luc filled her mind. They had only known each other for a few short days, as part of a camping trip her family went on a few years back. It was her first time meeting somebody who didn’t speak English - but the way he was able to bounce back with her and play all her games without speaking a single word of her language, she wouldn’t forget it.
~ ~ ~
Jean-Luc had been thinking of Bluey when he noticed the person on the other end mentioned they were from Australia and had a Canadian friend. Although he couldn’t speak her language at the time, his camping trip in Brisbane had been one of the most memorable experiences of his life. He remembered how he wouldn’t stop talking about Bluey for the next month to his parents, classmates, teachers - everybody.
He had no idea that it would be so many years since that camping trip, having never gone back down to Australia, and he would still remember her so clearly.
Although he was expecting to improve his English this morning, it was a pleasant surprise to be reminded of somebody very important to him, even if they hadn’t seen each other in so long.
As soon as he had told the other person that he had a friend who came from Australia, the blue heeler popped in his head like she had never left.
You: ah, ça me rappelle à quelqu’un que j’ai connu avant
Stranger: Vraiment? Qui?
You: on avait voyager au australie pour faire le camping, où j’ai rencontré une belle chien
And then Jean-Luc was struck by a thought. No, that’s not possible. It wouldn’t be, he attempted to justify it. It was just a silly fantasy - the chances of it actually being true were close to nothing.
What if I’m talking to Bluey right now? Has fate brought us back together?
He thought about asking. But then how awkward would it be if this was just some random person who happened to be similar to her? Jean-Luc wouldn’t take his chances. Or would he? It was so difficult… but if this was his only opportunity to reconnect with his long-lost friend, then he would take it.
You: attendez, dites-moi, quel est votre nom?
Jean-Luc eagerly waited for the other person’s response. No matter how much his mind was trying to rationalize the situation, telling himself that it isn’t really her, he discarded all of it. He had to.
The website was going crazy. It kept telling him that the other person was typing, but then stopped, and then kept going again, and then stopped again. He could only wonder what was making them so hesitant.
Stranger: Oh, je n’ai jamais dit!
Stranger: Je m’appelle Bluey.
…
~ ~ ~
Bluey had given her name to a complete stranger online. God, I am such an idiot!
She couldn’t even think about what she had just done. All of her stressing about her French being good or not had preoccupied her mind so much that she completely forgot about keeping herself anonymous. What this creep would do with this information, she may never know.
However, something in the back of her mind had told her otherwise. It had been such a coincidence that this person was from Canada like Jean-Luc, had an Australian friend like Jean-Luc, and met them on a camping trip like Jean-Luc. On top of all this, even if this was a complete stranger, she felt a sense of familiarity with them.
What if I’m talking to Jean-Luc right now?
She knew it wouldn’t be true - but that didn’t stop her from entering her fantasies. If this was her last shot to reconnect with her long-lost friend, then she would absolutely take it.
Bluey was taken out of her own thoughts when she noticed there had been new messages from the other person.
Étranger: BLUEY
Étranger: IT’S ME JEAN-LUC
…
She read it, then read it again. She even looked away from her monitor then looked back to make sure they were really there. It was true.
Toi: OH MY GOSH WHAT???
At this point, she was hysterical. Bluey had started giggling to herself, becoming more and more frantic with each time she re-read Jean-Luc’s messages. There were so many things to ask him!
Toi: IT’S BEEN SO LONG!
Étranger: I KNOW
Étranger: what have you been up to???
Toi: Ehh, not much.
Toi: As you can see, I’ve been taking French classes.
Étranger: wow, cool!!!
Bluey felt something in her stomach as soon as Jean-Luc sent that message. No - it couldn’t be that, she already had eyes for Mackenzie - maybe it was just something she ate?
Toi: You’re really good at English, by the way.
Toi: I mean, it’s better than last time. You couldn’t even speak it!
She noticed the handful of seconds that passed before Jean-Luc began typing again, almost wondering why he had been so hesitant. Although, if it was anything like what she just felt, she didn’t have to do much wondering.
Étranger: hehe, thanks
Étranger: they don’t teach english in school in quebec, so i have been learning from the internet
Toi: Wow, really?! I couldn’t imagine doing that…
Toi: French is already hard enough in school!
Bluey reclined in her seat again, with a much wider smile. She hadn’t been gaining satisfaction from practicing her French, but rather, she was just happy to talk to Jean-Luc again. And if there were any indicators, Jean-Luc was happy to talk to her again too.
Étranger: hahahaha i understand that!
Étranger: but it’s easier for me because i have been speaking french for my entire life
Étranger: so much for you trying to improve your french when we are speaking english hahaha
…Oh yeah, Bluey remembered what she was even on the website for. She figured she would change her language settings back to English - but that would refresh the page, so she would just have to live with it for the time being.
Toi: Hmph, I guess you’re right.
Toi: By the way, did you call me cute earlier?
Another long pause. Bluey imagined that Jean-Luc was super embarrassed right now, which would be pretty funny.
Étranger: no, that’s just a thing we do in quebec, it’s a compliment
Bluey was amused enough with the answer. So he’s going to lie instead, huh? That’s pretty cute…
Toi: …I see.
Étranger: sorry, i have to get used to you understanding french haha
Étranger: you’re really good at it btw
Toi: Thanks!
She stared at the screen for a long time. Then she scrolled through the chat history, reading every single message they had sent to each other - knowing that the chatroom would soon close and she would eventually need to go to bed, she wanted to remember it as much as she could. She had a feeling Jean-Luc was doing the exact same thing, in another corner of the world. It was crazy how they were so far apart, yet so close at the same time.
Bluey was completely engulfed by her laptop, the only thing mattering in the world being her long-lost friend on the other side of the screen. So much so that she didn’t even notice her dad leaning on the doorframe.
“Bluey, it’s time for bed,” he stated, “it’s a school night.”
The younger heeler nearly jumped out of her seat and immediately turned to look at her dad. Once his words registered in her head, she slouched and groaned. “Okay, dad…”
She noticed when her dad was leaving the room that he had some sort of smile on his face. …How long was he standing there? she thought. What she didn’t notice was how long she had been away from her laptop, because there was a new message on the screen when she looked back at it:
Étranger: …bluey?
A part of her didn’t want to tell him that she had to go. She wished they could keep talking into the night, but her dad was right - she had school in the morning, and she had no clue what Jean-Luc was doing. Maybe he would need to leave before she wanted to say goodbye.
Toi: Sorry, I have to go to bed.
Toi: It was really nice talking to you, though!
Étranger: wait
Bluey’s ear flopped. She didn’t know what he would say next, but there was no doubt in her mind that it would be good news.
Étranger: i’m going back to australia in a few weeks for a camping trip
Her stomach immediately dropped to the floor. She would get to see him again?! Winter break was coming up, which meant that her family would go camping as well - of course, in time to make it back to Uncle Stripe’s for Christmas. Immediately, the joy and excitement she felt just a few minutes ago was surging through her body again.
Toi: I’m going camping too!!!
Étranger: what??? that’s crazy!!
Toi: I know!!
Toi: Maybe we’ll see each other again?
As she typed the message, her heart fluttered slightly. All of a sudden, it felt like she was six years old again.
Étranger: i would really like that
Étranger: good night bluey
Now she wasn’t as unhappy to leave as she was before. Bluey knew this wouldn’t be the last time they would speak to each other.
Toi: Good night, Jean-Luc
Toi: It’s nice to see you again.
Étranger: ça me fait plaisir :)
She looked at the last message for a few seconds longer. Smiling, she exited the tab, closed her laptop and jumped into her bed.
Bluey didn’t usually like going camping, but this time, she had a feeling she would.
~ ~ ~
“Bluey, that book’s mine!” Muffin shouted from the RV. Bluey had deliberately left her tablet inside the trailer car so she wouldn’t bore herself to death. She figured reading a book would help her enjoy the trip a little more.
She walked to a familiar creek - although she hadn’t remembered that Pink Trumpet tree being there before. “I know it’s yours, Muffin, I’m just borrowing it,” she yelled back, knowing her younger cousin wouldn’t make a fuss about it like she might have if she was any younger.
Bluey sat down against the tree, crossing her legs and opening the book. In all honesty, she had picked up a random book without even thinking twice about it - but the book was interesting nonetheless. She was reading about different dog breeds and what made each and every one of them so unique.
And she had miraculously turned to the page about labradors when she heard a voice she couldn’t exactly recognize, but with the accent, knew exactly who it belonged to.
“Hello, Bluey.”