Nosedive set a plate of sandwiches next to his TV and scanned his movie collection. There were times when he simply needed to sit down with a heaping plate of food and watch something just for the heck of it. Right now, he decided, it was time for The Wrath of Khan. The only problem was, it wasn't there. That was odd. He always kept it with his other Star Trek tapes, which were some of the few things he managed to keep organized. Then he remembered Duke had borrowed it.

Annoyed, Nosedive marched up to Duke's room and pressed the buzzer. There was no answer. He pressed it again. Nothing happened. He was about to go off in search of Duke when Mallory came out of her room.

"Hey, Mallory," he said, "where's Duke?"

"He went out," she replied.

"When is he coming back?"

"I don't know."

Nosedive grumbled something inaudible.

"What's the problem?" Mallory asked.

"He borrowed Wrath of Khan from me, like, a month ago," said Nosedive, "and I want it back."

"So go get it."

"I don't know his passcode."

"You don't?"

"He changed it after I put those frogs in his room."

Mallory paused, reminiscing on that strange day. "Well, it serves you right. Guess you'll have to wait," she said, then started to walk away.

"You know the code, don't you?" said Nosedive. Mallory stopped.

"Yeah, but why should I tell you?"

"Come on, I just want my tape back."

"No."

"I promise I'll never sabotage his room again... or yours."

"Never?"

Nosedive hesitated. Was Star Trek really worth a lifetime without sabotage? "Never," he said. "Promise."

Mallory sighed. "9999."

Nosedive grinned and entered the code, and the doors opened. "Okay, I could've guessed that."

"It's called reverse psychology," said Mallory. "And if you tell him I let you in, I will de-feather you."

"My beak is sealed," Nosedive replied, then cautiously entered the forbidden space.

Duke's room was the same as always, tidy and sparsely decorated. His sword collection occupied one wall, along with a few autographed hockey sticks from some of Earth's finest players. But Nosedive didn't take the time to admire these. He went straight for the TV and checked the VCR. Finding no tape, he turned to Duke's prized mahogany bookshelf. He quickly located The Wrath of Khan in a row of neatly organized VHS tapes. Mostly science fiction movies, Nosedive noted, and some dramas he'd never heard of. Slightly curious now, he eyed the shelves. They were mostly full of books – long, intricate novels about who-knows-what. Leave it to Duke to actually enjoy Earth's literature, he thought. There were also, to his surprise, a few poetry books. That was interesting. He couldn't recall Duke ever saying he liked poetry, but he was a duck of many secrets, as Nosedive called him. This notion was further augmented when he noticed a lockbox sitting on one of the shelves beside some books. Intrigued, Nosedive picked it up and studied it. It was a small wooden box, finely crafted but not ornate. There was nothing odd about it except for its lone placing.

Nosedive's mind went wild with ideas of what could be inside. Was it some object of great value, like a rare jewel? Or maybe it was, dare he think it, something dark and incriminating. Or maybe it was both. After a moment of hesitation, Nosedive's curiosity won over and he tried to open it. But as he expected, it was locked.

"What are you doin'?" said a voice behind him. Nosedive shrieked and turned to face Duke, who looked less than pleased.

"What are you, a wizard?" Nosedive said. He quickly placed the box back on the shelf and grabbed his tape. "Uh, I thought you wouldn't be back for a while."

"Well, here I am," said Duke. "And you shouldn't be snoopin' around in here."

"I wasn't snooping," Nosedive replied. "I just wanted The Wrath of Khan back."

"Right." Duke stuck him with a steely gaze. "How'd you get in here?"

"Through the door?"

"How did you know the code?"

"It wasn't that hard to figure out."

Duke looked him straight in the eye. "Who told you, Dive?"

Nosedive bit his beak. Being caught between Duke's wrath and Mallory's was a terrible conundrum, one that he faced far too often. "Mallory told me," he said finally. "But don't tell her I told you she told me, 'cause she'll hurt me. And she only told me because I promised I would never sabotage your room or hers again, which seems like a fair deal to me. Also I can't believe you told her your passcode and not me."

Duke paused to process all this. He wasn't sure if Nosedive's last statement was funny or aggravating. "Who was it that put frogs in here?" he said pointedly.

"Fair enough," Nosedive responded. Figuring it was best not to prolong the conversation, he started heading for the doors. "I'm gonna go now. We good?"

"Yeah, we're good," Duke said, his expression softening slightly. "But I don't wanna catch you in here again, got that?"

"No problemo, bro." Nosedive stopped in the doorway and looked back at the cryptic box. "Hey, what exactly is in that box?" he asked.

"None of your business," Duke replied flatly.

"Can I just have, like, a little hint?"

"Out."

"I'm out."

Mallory was watching the weather forecast in the rec room. Nosedive entered and, seeing her, crept up to the couch, then popped up behind her. "What's up, girly-girl?!" he yelled in her ear. Mallory didn't even flinch.

"It'll be sunny all week," she said casually, and Nosedive just scowled.

"Gee, in Anaheim? Never would've guessed," he replied sarcastically. Then he hopped over the couch and sat by her. His encounter with Duke still lingered in his mind. "Hey, you know that box Duke has on his bookshelf?" he asked suddenly.

"That old lockbox?" said Mallory.

"Yeah."

"What about it?"

"Do you know what's in it?"

"No."

"Did you ever ask him?"

"Yeah. He told me it was 'his little secret', whatever that means."

"Interesting."

Mallory turned her attention from the TV. "Why do you care about this?"

"Well," said Nosedive, "I was just casually checking it out when I went in there, and Duke caught me and told me I shouldn't be snooping, which I wasn't. Then I asked him what was in it and he said it wasn't my business."

"So?"

"So it seems kind of suspicious, doesn't it?"

"We all have things we like to keep to ourselves."

"Yeah, but this is Duke L'Orange, Mal. What would he keep locked up in a box that he doesn't want anyone to know about? Think about it."

Mallory looked amused. "Okay, I'll humor you," she said. "What do you think is in the box?"

"It could be anything," Nosedive said. "Like, what if it's a priceless jewel from his shady past? Or what if it's something so secret and twisted that if we ever saw it, we would never look at him the same way again?"

Mallory gave him the most deadpan expression he had ever seen. "You didn't happen to get into his wine stash while you were in there, did you?"

"He has that?"

"Nosedive, I highly doubt he's keeping 'twisted' things in a box on his shelf. Come on."

"Okay, then what do you think it is?"

Mallory paused, thought about it, then quickly dismissed whatever she had come up with. "I don't know," she said gruffly, "but Duke's right. It's not your business, or mine. So just let it go."

She turned her attention back to the TV. Nosedive gave her a smug look.

"What?" she said.

"You're curious," said Nosedive.

"No, I'm not," she replied.

"You're totally curious."

"I couldn't care less."

"Come on, Mal."

"I'm about to slap you."

"Oh, look me in the eye and tell me you don't wanna know what's in that box."

"So what if I do? It's not like I can just go and look."

"Why not?"

"'Cause that would be wrong, you dumb duck."

"He would never even know. And if you're so convinced it's not something bad, what's the harm in looking?"

Mallory stumbled over her words for a moment. "Are you trying to get me back on his bad side? You can't just go snooping through people's personal belongings."

"Hey, we're young," said Nosedive. "We're expected to do stuff like this."

Mallory gave him a firm smack on the head. "Even you are too old for stuff like this," she said, then once again became absorbed by the TV. Nosedive brushed off the assault, undeterred.

"Well, I'm gonna do it anyway," he said. Mallory just smacked her hand to her forehead.

"Have fun," she said.

"I will," Nosedive replied.

"You'll be disappointed, you know," Mallory insisted.

"Maybe," said Nosedive. "But I'll know what's in that box, and I'll never tell anyone. Not even you."

"Good. I don't wanna know."

"Whatever you say."

There was a long silence. Finally, without taking her eyes off the TV, Mallory muttered, "Just a quick look?"

"Yep," said Nosedive.

"And you'll never tell anyone?"

Nosedive grinned. Persuasion was a wonderful thing. "Nope."