Chapter Three
Father or Celebrity?
It was a clear and sunny day at the beach in Adventure bay, the air had a crisp summer taste to it, the hot sand crunched underneath the paws of the pups and the water was as cool as a glass of iced tea. It was here at the beach that Zuma was trying to pull off his latest jet ski stunt...
"Alright Zuma, you're all clear to try your uh...what are you calling it again?" Rocky asked
"It's the 720 twiple backflip wotation dude" Zuma replied with a spark of excitement in his voice
Rocky rolled his eyes
"Yeah, that"
Rocky grabbed a flag with his claw arm and looked at Zuma who was in position with his jet ski now...
"Ok Zuma, on your mark, get set...go!" Rocky waved the flag
Zuma pushed the jet ski to full throttle as he eyed the ramp, he could feel the water splashing on his face as he raced towards the ramp, the closer he got, the faster he went until finally he reached his jump
Zuma nailed the trick till he had to land his jet ski, as he was coming down he over flipped so that the nose of the jet ski caught the surface of the water and flipped, throwing Zuma off in the process...
"Zuma! Are you alright?!" Rocky yelled in shock
Zumas head appeared above the water, he was conscious and looked okay. Zuma tried to answer but started coughing...
"Yeah...cough...I'm good...cough cough" Zuma said with watering eyes
"That's good, do you want any help?" Rocky asked
"No, I should be good" Zuma responded
Rocky looked over at the jet ski that was floating towards shore...
"What happened? You had it till you tried landing it"
"I just need a little bit mowe pwactice at it, that's all"
Zuma caught up with his jet ski and hopped on it again...
"But I'll get it this time, I can feel it in my bones dude"
"Ok, just don't break something" Rocky picked up the flag again
"Are you ready Zuma?"
Zuma maneuvered his jet ski into position again
"Weady when you are dude"
"Ok, on your mark...get set...go!"
Rocky watched as Zuma jumped the ramp, and crashed again in the water, moments later Zumas head appeared above the water and before Rocky could ask if Zuma was ok, Zuma yelled at Rocky...
"I'm ok, I just need to need to keep pwacticing"
Rocky stared at Zuma with Concern in his eyes...
"...Ok, just don't hurt yourself"
"Don't wowwy about me, you just make sure I'm cleaw to jump"
Rocky continued examining his water soaked friend with concern...
"Ok, I'll do it"
"Thanks dude"
Zuma hopped on top of his jet ski again, and moved into position...
"I'm weady"
Rocky grabbed his flag again"Alright, on your mark...get set...go!"
Later that afternoon
"You've almost got it Zuma! Just try it one more time!" Rocky shouted
By now Zuma had lost all of his "want to" for this trick, he was sore, hungry and tired. he looked up at Rocky with defeat in his eyes...
"Wocky, I think I'm done fow the day"
Rocky stared at Zuma in disbelief, he had been working on this trick all day and wanted to give up now?
"Why? You're so close, just try it one more time"
"No way dude, I'm done trying to do this stupid flip" Zuma snapped back
Zuma got on his jet ski and rode it to shore and hopped off, Rocky was still trying to convince him to try one more time...
"Aw c'mon Zuma! Just try it one more time, please!"
That was it, Zuma couldn't take any more of Rocky's begging, so as Zuma was walking back towards his pup house with Rocky following him, he grabbed his surf board and slammed it on the ground, snapping it in half, and screamed in Rocky's ear...
"I SAID I'M DONE WITH THAT STUPID FLIP ROCKY, I'll never land it, I'll never be able to get it, and I'll NEVER BE AS COOL AS MY DAD!"
Zuma stared at Rocky with frozen eyes, Rocky couldn't decide whether he was more shocked at the fact that for the first time ever, Zuma actually snapped at one of his friends, or Zuma pronounced his name right. At first Rocky struggled finding any words to say...
"I...I'm sorry Zuma I...I had no idea..."
"Well maybe if you were a better fwiend you would understand" Zuma said still irritated
Zuma turned towards his pup house and started trotting away from the beach, he went inside his pup house and collapsed on his bed, he covered his face with his paws and started tearing up, he didn't mean to be a jerk to Rocky, but why couldn't he get his flip?
As these thoughts raced through his mind, he heard a soft, weak voice coming from his front door...
"Zuma, are you ok?"
It was Rocky, Zuma couldn't help but turn his head and gaze at his friend
"Yeah, I'm fine"
Rocky shuffled his paws on the ground
"Ok...hey Zuma, I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings"
Zuma let out a deep sigh
"No Wocky, I'm the one who's sowwy, you were just trying to help"
"Are you sure?"
"I'm positive dude"
Zuma laid his head back on his pillow
"Well, is there anything I can do to help?" Rocky asked
"No, I don't think so" Zuma huffed
Rocky nodded his head and looked around Zumas pup house, his eyes were eventually drawn to a picture of two chocolate labs, the bigger one a holding the smaller one on his lap while he sat on a jet ski...
"Hey Zuma, is that you with 'flipping Fernandez' in this picture?"
Zuma jerked his head up and jumped off of his bed before Rocky had any time to react...
"What? Flipping Fewnandez? With me? No way dude"
Zuma quickly grabbed the picture, and slid it underneath his pillow then turned back to Rocky who had become very suspicious of the situation...
"You're sure it's not flipping Fernandez?"
"Yup, absolutely cewtain" Zuma chuckled nervously
Rocky examined Zuma even closer than before, looking for any signs of anxiety and tension with his big brown eyes, after studying his body language, he came to the conclusion that Zuma was not only hiding something, but also was hurting
"Zuma, I know you're hiding something, but I can't help you until you tell me what happened"
A cold chill ran down Zumas spine, he had kept this a secret for so long but now, he just didn't know if he was ready to open up old wounds again...
"Fine"
Zuma hesitatingly grabbed the picture from under his pillow...
"You pwomise to keep this a secwet?"
Rocky nodded, Zuma made sure no one was looking and showed his best friend the picture...
"That is flipping Fernandez" Rocky stated
Zuma sighed again
"No, that wasn't flipping Fewnandez, not to me anyway, no he was...dad"
Rocky jerked his head back in utter disbelief and stared at Zuma with a bewildered look on his face
"Your dad was who now?"
"You heawd me, flipping Fewnandez was my dad" Zuma restated
Rocky swung his head back and forth from to the picture then back to Zuma again, after analyzing both the picture and Zuma for a couple minutes he came to the stunning conclusion that flipping Fernandez was indeed Zumas dad...
"How?...What?...Why?...When?..." Rocky stuttered
"It's okay dude, I'll tell you the whole stowy once you'we done fweaking out"
Rocky nodded his head and sat down, Zuma sighed and looked at Rocky with a downtrodden expression...
"It was 2005, and the national dog watew spowts wewe undew way..."
Date: Early August 2005
Location: New Orleans Louisiana
A tall proud chocolate Labrador with green eyes strutted down the sandy beach inspecting his competition, taking note to every little detail of their size, weight, type of jet ski and how much confidence they had, all the while being followed by a much smaller and younger version of himself...
"Hey dad, when does the actual competition stawt?"
"Later on today"
"Oh, hey dad, isn't thewe supposed to be a huwwicane coming in this month?"
The Chocolate Labrador stopped in his tracks and looked at the young pup following him with a confused expression
"Hurricane, what hurricane?"
"Mom said that thewe was going to be a huwwicane this month"
The Chocolate lab let out a chuckle
"No I don't think we're going to get a hurricane Zuma"
"Oh, okay"
The two started trotting down the beach again with Fernandez shaking his head at the thought of a hurricane when he heard another familiar voice...
"Hey Fernandez, you say you got the championship in the bag again aye?"
Fernandez looked over his shoulder to see his friend Jackson, now Jackson was a golden retriever from Canada with light blue eyes, he was the same height as Fernandez but weighed a little bit less. He had a mischievous smirk on his face when he walked over...
"I can't lie, the competition looks pretty pathetic this year" Fernandez responded with a smile
"Oh really? Is that what you think?"
"Oh yeah, totally man"
The golden retriever let out a playful laugh
"Ha! You always were the cocky one"
Fernandez could only smile
"Well...someone has to be, and that someone might as well be me"
Jackson could only shake his head and chuckle, the idea of a cocky Labrador amused him somehow
"Well I guess I can only wish you luck then, unless you already have enough of that too"
"What do you mean? I could always use some spare luck"
"Very well, I wish you luck Fernandez"
"And I wish you luck Jackson"
Jackson turned and started plotting away towards his jet ski all the while Fernandez watched him then turned and headed back towards his jet ski with the clumsy little pup still following him...
"Hey dad, is this weally the most pathetic competition that you've evew seen?"
"Nothing could be farther from the truth Zuma" Fernandez replied without ever stopping or looking back
"Nothing could be farther from the truth" he thought to himself
The competition started with one great stunt after another, dogs were perfecting jet ski stunts that Fernandez himself had created! Fernandez could only watch and wait as the name of the next dog up was called. he could feel the tension in his body slowly rising with each passing minute, the pounding of his heart only added to this tension. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath...
"Jackson Hunters, report to the jet ski bay" a loud megaphone shouted
The sudden loudness of the voice made Fernandez jump in shock, after he settled down he looked over at his friend Jackson...
"Finally, I've been waiting all blooming day for this" the Canadian retriever grumbled to himself
Jackson lumbered over to the jet ski bay and started putting his safety gear on. Fernandez took another deep breath trying anything to help calm his nerves down, he closed his eyes again only to hear a different voice...
"So what stunt awe you going to do this time dad?"
The voice gave it away immediately as to who it was, Fernandez opened his eyes to see an ecstatic little chocolate Lab pup with sparkling eyes standing there wagging his tail...
"I don't know Zuma, I thought about trying the triple double again" he replied completely lacking any excitement
Zumas tail stopped wagging, he tilted his head and stared at his dad with a confused expression
"Weally? That's getting kinda old to be honest dad"
Fernandez looked away for a second and thought about it, then turned back to Zuma with a helpless expression...
"Zuma, I'm completely out of ideas, I don't know what I'm going to do"
"But you'll think of something...won't you?" Zuma asked
"Yeah...I'll think of something"
Zumas tail started wagging again
"I know you will dad, I can feel it in my bones"
A weak smile began forming on Fernandezs lips as he examined his hopeful, energetic pup, only to have it shattered by the call of his name over the megaphone...
"Flipping Fernandez to the jet ski bay"
His heart sunk, as he stood up looked back at Zuma with doubt in his eyes but soon masked it with an emotionless expression that he had mastered over the years...
"How do I look?"
"Like a champion dad" Zuma replied with excitement
"Alright, wish me luck!" Fernandez said as he started to trot towards the jet ski bay
When he got to the jet ski bay, he immediately started putting his safety equipment on and tightened any loose ends he happened to find when another dog with a clipboard walked up and asked...
"So what's the name of your stunt?"
Fernandezs mind went blank as he never settled on a stunt to begin with so without much thought he stuttered the first words that came to his mouth...
"I ca...call it the...the...720...triple...backflip...rotation dude"
The dog holding the clipboard dropped his jaw...
"You're going to try what now?"
"You heard me... a 720 triple backflip rotation man" Fernandez restated with vigor
The dog shook his head and jotted down on his clipboard
"Well I guess I should expect just as much coming from you Fernandez, good luck" the dog said as he walked away
Fernandez put his helmet on his head and clicked it into place, then he climbed onto his jet ski and waited for the green light to go into the main outdoor arena that had a ramp for the jump in place and ready
Fernandez closed his eyes and began thinking about all of the different variables that were about to be implied in his jump, and after thinking about it, he had only one main conclusion...he was going to need all the luck in the world in order to pull this one off.
He opened his eyes just as the light turned green, he speed out to the main area as they announced his name and stunt to crowds of people and dogs alike, now the only thing holding him back was the announcers go ahead for the jump, a loud booming voice came over the speakers...
"On your mark...get set...GO!"
Fernandez pushed the jet ski to full throttle sending up a mist of seawater as he sped off to his jump, faster and faster he went until he reached his jump, Fernandez closed his eyes as he felt the jet ski launch off the jumping ramp like a rocket, the hang time he got on this jump felt like an eternity until he couldn't take it no longer and opened his eyes only to see...a perfect landing?
"Flipping Fernandez has done it! He is the first dog in history to ever land a 720 triple backflip rotation!!!" A voice blared in pure elation over the megaphone
The crowd started shouting and throwing roses at Fernandez as he made his victory lap around the outdoor arena with his paw clinched in the air, eventually he rode his jet ski to the shore and was going to find Zuma who was in the background behind everyone but was overwhelmed by a throng of news-hungry sports journalists shoving recorders up into his face...
"Mr. Fernandez, how would you describe this victory today?"
"Uhh...pretty good man"
"Mr. Fernandez, can you tell us what was going through your mind during the jump?"
"Well, about halfway through the jump I knew that I was going to land it so I guess you could say...peace of mind"
"Mr. Fernandez, how long did you practice that stunt in particular?"
"Mmm...about...a year"
A gasp and whispering spread among the journalist's that weren't already scribbling on their tiny little notepads
"One last question before you go, Mr. Fernandez, can we expect to see more stunts like this one in the near future?"
"...Yes...yes you can"
With that, the journalists disbanded, some still scribbling and jotting down what Fernandez had just said on their notepads, others discussing what the next stunt could possibly be, Fernandez just shrugged and scanned the area in search of Zuma, what he found was a teary-eyed, quivering lipped pup on the verge of crying. Fernandez darted over to his pup as a wave of concern came flooding over him...
"Zuma! Are you ok? Are you hurt? Did someone bully you?" Fernandez began questioning but was cut off by Zumas weak quivering voice
"How could you dad?"
"How could I what?" Fernandez asked beginning to wonder what he did wrong
"You...you lied to them"
"Well...I..." Fernandez tried backtracking but was again cut off by Zuma
"you said you had been pwacticing that stunt fow a yeaws when you just made it up!" Zuma said almost yelling
"What else was I supposed to tell them?!" Fernandez shouted back angerly
"The twuth" Zuma said calmly
Fernandez thought about what Zuma had just said then looked him in the eyes and stated
"Zuma, the world doesn't work like that"
Zuma's eyes widened then filled with tears as his lip began quivering again, it was the look of a pup whos idol had just been cast down
"Is...Is that why you and mom don't see each other at all anymowe?"
Fernandez froze at that thought, ever since the divorce, he and Zumas mom had kept Zuma in the dark as to why they got a divorce but it seemed that he was putting the puzzle together at a fairly young age...
"I don't know what you're talking about"
"Moms always talking about how you would nevew tell the twuth"
"That's just your mother's opinion"
"So its twue"
"I never said that"
"No you'we wong, I wish you wewen't my dad!" Zuma cried as he ran away
"Zuma! Wait! Come back!"
Fernandez tried to run after him but was stopped by fans who wanted his autograph, he tried to push through but to no avail, in desperation he looked in the direction which Zuma had run only to see nothing. With a heavy heart that seemed to be sinking every minute, he felt emotionly drained of any energy he had and on top of it Zuma was probably going to hate him for the rest of his life. He began trotting towards his hotel room...
"He just needs some time alone, that's all"
It was about nine o'clock when Fernandez got to his room, with nothing but Zuma on his mind, he tried to sleep, but the more he thought about him, the more it bothered him, Fernandez was tossed and turned restlessly all night
The next morning he woke up and searched the room frantically...nothing. After searching the lobby of the hotel, he came to the conclusion that Zuma was still gone, Jackson on the other hand was outside enjoying a cup of coffee in the rain...
"Morning Jackson, have you by chance seen Zuma?"
"Mm...no I haven't...Why? Is the poor laddie okay?"
"Not really, he ran away yesterday after we had a talk, and I thought he would have cooled down by now, but he's still gone"
"Well I'll keep an eye out for the lad, and if I see him, you'll be the first to know"
"Thanks Jack"
"Not a problem, I just hope we find him before the hurricane does"
"Hurricane? What hurricane?" Fernandez asked
"Don't you know? The biggest hurricane in nearly thirty years is barreling towards New Orleans"
Fernandezs eyes widened at this news, now not only was he trying to make things right with Zuma, but he was also trying to beat the hurricane...
"Oh no...I've got to find Zuma!" Fernandez said as he started running down the street
"Good luck! And if you need me I'll be standing by!" Jackson shouted
Fernandez had no clue where to go, but he had to start somewhere, so down the street he went shouting Zumas name...
"Zuma! Zuma come back! Zuma I'm sorry!"
"I'm sorry"
The hour turned into hours, then the hours turned into a day, and a day turned into days but still no sign of Zuma. Fernandez was searching the southern edge of New Orleans when the rain began falling heavier and the wind began blowing harder. the echo of his voice seemed as though it was falling on deaf ears and reminded him how lonely he really was.
Fernandez eventually began wading through water filled streets that resembled rivers more than streets, the water level on each street started off pretty low but rapidly climbed higher and higher as the hurricane moved closer to the mainland until the water was up to Fernandezs neck, but not even elevated water levels was going to stop Fernandez until he found Zuma
So on the great Flipping Fernandez went pushing through the doubt and struggle in his pursuit of the pup he loved until one day while rafting through the streets he heard something, it was a sound coming from down one of the streets he hadn't passed, now the sound was faint and weak but after listening for a second he heard the voice loud and clear...
"Dad!"
Could it be? After days of searching could it be Zuma? A euphoric rush of adrenaline ran through his body as he shouted back...
"Zuma?!"
"Dad! I'm over here!"
Fernandez began paddling toward the sound with all his might, he found Zuma on top of a roof, cold and shaking but still alive...
"Zuma! Over here!"
"Dad!"
Zuma ran to the edge of the roof that wasn't under water, Fernandez maneuvered the raft close enough to the roof for Zuma to jump into the raft.
Once in the raft Zuma hugged his dad as tears started dripping down his face...
"I'm so sowwy dad, I'll nevew do that again..."
Fernandez embraced his long lost son even tighter
"Shh it's okay Zuma, I'm the one who's sorry"
After embracing Zuma for the first time in days, Fernandez reached over and grabbed a walkie-talkie...
"Jackson I found him, we're ready to go home"
"Rodger that!" An excited voice answered over the radio
As the two were waiting there, Fernandez apologized to Zuma for the lies he had told the journalists and his mom, and promised to make it right again when they heard the faint sound of chopping, that grew louder until Jackson's personal helicopter stationed over the raft and let down a ladder, the two climbed into the helicopter and off they went.
Present day
Rocky sat there mesmerized by the story Zuma had just told
"So...so did your dad eventually make things right?"
"Totally dude, he apologized to the jouwnalists fow lying then to mom fow the way things tuwned out, last I heawd mom and dad wewe getting wemawwied"
"Wow, that's unbelievable!" Rocky said
"I know, that's why I didn't want anyone to know who my dad was"
"I see. Well...are you ready to try the 720 triple backflip rotation again?" Rocky asked energetically
Zuma grabbed his helmet
"You I am dude!"
The two started walking back towards the beach where they were stopped by Chase...
"Hey! Do either of you two know why Zumas surfboard is snapped in half!"
So what do y'all think! Sorry it took so long but after thinking about it Zumas dads back story has endless possibilities!