Chapter Text
With a name like Mackenzie, I feel like I'm always meant to be a 'girly' boy., Mackenzie thought to himself
Though 'Mackenzie' was technically a name for both boys and girls (at least, that's what his dad told him), Mackenzie always got a strange look whenever he introduced himself by name. It grew especially bad when they began primary school, and he was meeting more and more people who seemed to cast him away despite his friendly, outgoing personality. It didn't help that he was an immigrant, having moved from New Zealand, and being mocked for his accent (despite it not being that different than Aus')
But, three who remained by his side despite his name ended up becoming his closest friends: Bluey, Chloe, and Honey. These three girls saw Mackenzie not for his name, but for his character: a fun-loving, energetic pup who just wanted to make friends.
Recess at primary school was a chaotic scene: children running around playing, boys tackling each other in rugby, and the group of four sitting on and around the swingset chatting.
"...and it was crazy!" Bluey finished recounting the story she told about her day yesterday.
Mackenzie laughed. "That was funny, Bluey!"
As Mackenzie calmed himself down from his laughter, he was surprised to see Chloe giving him an odd glare. "Huh? What's up, Chlo?"
"Mackenzie, is it okay if I ask you something? I hope you won't be mad..." The Dalmatian began, hesitantly.
"Um, depends. What is it?" Mackenzie replied, his tail slowly stopping its wagging.
"Well... I was just wondering... you're a boy, right?"
The black-and-white border collie rolled his eyes and sighed in frustration. "Yes, Chlo. We've been over this already! Yes, I'm a boy!"
"Okay! Well, I was just noticing... You're a boy, and we're girls. We play with other girls too if we're not playing with you, but I've only seen you play with us, instead of other boys.
"Chloe!" Honey snapped. "You don't just say that to someone!"
"I mean, I was also a little curious..." Bluey added. "I mean, we're in year 5, we're gonna be in secondary school next year! Why do you not have any boy friends?"
Mackenzie's tail now fully swished to a stop. He just stared at his 'friends' (as he was unsure if he could even call them that anymore) with a blank stare; a kind of stare that showed the gears in his head were working overtime, and he needed time to think and process what had just been said.
"I mean... I guess I haven't really tried... most boys laughed at my name... and my accent... and..." he began to trail off.
"See, Chloe! Look what you did! Now he's sad!" Honey berated Chloe.
"If it makes you feel any better, those rugby boys are always looking for more players!" The Dalmatian assured, patting Mackenzie's back. "We'll be cheering you on, right girls?"
"Yup!" The two other girls replied in unison.
"Okay... here I go... to play... rugby...?"
As Mackenzie began to walk away from his comfort zone, three terriers tackled a fiery-red Kelpie, marking the end of the match.
"Alright, fellas, good game!" the Kelpie announced. "Oh? Who are you?" he asked, seeing the border collie approach him.
"Um... hi...! I'm Mackenzie! And... I would like to join your rugby game... match... whatever!"
"Huh... well, we don't usually allow girls to play, right fellas?" he replied.
"Oh, I'm not a girl. My name's just Mackenzie!" he explained, clearly having experience with giving this talk.
"Ohhhh..." the Kelpie realized. "Ya do sound more like a boy than a girl hearin' you. Maybe it's that accent you got that makes it harder to tell!"
"Oh yeah, I'm from New Zealand... my family and I moved here before I started kindergarten..." the black-and-white boy shyly explained, having less experience with this talk.
At this announcement, the entire group of boys gasped and looked his way.
"You're... you're from New Zealand??" A long Dachshund questioned.
Mackenzie closed his eyes tightly while frowning. This is it. He already messed up. He was mentally preparing to go crawling back to his girl friends who would probably laugh at him for not being able to make friends.
"They're the rugby world champs!" a Labrador boy exclaimed. "I want him on my team!"
Wait, what? Mackenzie questioned to himself.
'No way, he's gonna be on mine! I talked to him first!" the Kelpie barked back.
As all of the boys began to bicker about whose team he was going to be on, Mackenzie couldn't help but feel a warm feeling wash over him. Never in his life had people wanted to include him so bad that they would fight over him. It was a strange feeling of relief, finally being accepted. As the discussion died down, the Kelpie stepped forward.
"Alright, you're gonna be on our team! Hi, I'm Rusty! This is Lucky..." he pointed to the golden labrador holding the ball. "...and that's Snickers." he said, introducing a long Dachshund with limbs smaller than the ball, who gave a short "Yo!" upon his introduction. "Also, that's Winton," he pointed to a stout bulldog before talking to him. "Hey Wint, you can rest, we're subbin' you out!"
"Thank goodness!" huffed the exhausted bulldog, immediately hiking towards a bench to rest.
"You ready, Mackenzie? You know the rules?" Rusty asked.
"Uhh... I've seen my dad watch it a bit... sure!" Mackenzie replied, not entirely sure.
"Alright, let's do this!" Rusty called.
As if almost on cue, all the boys all at once began charging at each other, leaving the poor border collie in the center.
"Wait, what's going on??" Mackenzie cried out, closing his eyes, bracing for impact.
When he opened his eyes, he felt a weight in his paws.
A red egg-shaped ball rest in his arms.
"Mackenzie! Run!!" Rusty called out.
If Mackenzie was good at anything, it was running away from things. So off his legs went, speeding past the Terriers and Lucky on the other team one by one before making it to the presumed in-goal.
"Did I do it? Did I score a... goal?" Mackenzie asked shyly, the ball quaking in his furry arms.
At this, Rusty and Snickers cheered and ran up to Mackenzie, trapping him in a hug. "Mackenzie, mate! That was insane!" Rusty complimented.
"Really? All I did was run!" Mackenzie countered.
"Yeah, but you ran like heck! Much better than I could ever do!" Snickers laughed.
"Th-thanks guys! Good game!"
Soon, a whistle blew, and Calypso was calling her students in for class. As the students retreated back to the school, Rusty walked alongside Mackenzie the whole way.
"Hey, Mackenzie? You wanna play rugby with us every recess?" Rusty asked enthusiastically.
"Oh, I don't know... Sure it was fun, but I don't think I will-"
Before he could finish his statement, the familiar voice of his Dalmatian friend piped in. "Of course he will!"
"Great! Can't wait!"
At the end of the school day, when all the parents were lining up to pick up their kids, Mackenzie felt a light tug on his arm before he stepped into his dad's car.
"Same time tomorrow?" Rusty asked, with a friendly smile on his face.
"Yeah... same time tomorrow!" Mackenzie confirmed, beaming a smile back.
Rusty ran off excitedly to his own parents' car, and Mackenzie closed his door.
"What was that?" Mackenzie's father asked.
"Oh! They taught me how to play rugby! They want me to play with them from now on!"
"Right on!" Mackenzie's dad cheered. "Finally, a rugby player in the house!"
"Dad!" Mackenzie laughed. "I'm nowhere near as good as anyone on the All Blacks!"
"Yeah, but its a start!"
"Yeah..." Mackenzie realized, looking out the window towards his new group of friends. "...the start of something new..."