Ch.2: A Bully's Threat
The next day, breakfast in the house was silent, as Donald silently flipped some waffles for his three, growing boys to consume. It didn't take Huey, Dewey, and Louie long to feel the tension in the air.
Normally, in the morning, Donald was in his usual panic to help the boys rush off to school, but today he could hardly look any of them in the eye. Louie felt that he knew the reason, and decided to take a chance to shatter the ice.
"Are you okay Uncle Donald?" asked Louie.
"Huh?" said Donald, looking up from his plate, surprised by the sudden voice in the room. He looked towards Louie, and dismissively answered. "Yeah, I'm fine. How about your…dog?"
The last word was spoken so softly, that Louie hesitated to respond, but Huey and Dewey jumped into explain excitedly.
On and on, while the blue and red duck continued to chatter about Alley, Louie noticed that Donald's frown continued to deepen more and more. Anger burned towards his chipper brothers. Dewey was the first to notice that look, and his chipper personality started to fade.
Luckily, he was saved from a lecture at that moment, when the school bus finally came.
Grabbing their pre-made lunches, the boys raced out the door, ready to ride to class. Donald stood, solemnly waving goodbye, 'till Louie turned around and returned.
Shock lit up on Donald's face, as the young fowl gripped his waist in a loving goodbye hug. The action confused the older duck, as Louie let go and then finally ran back to the bus to head towards school.
He smiled out the window to his uncle as he waved goodbye. Just for today, Louie knew how important it was for Donald to feel like he was loved. Even if he was the only one to make amends, at least Donald would know he still had someone to care.
Donald did feel a little happier after the kind gesture Louie had made, but confusion still continued to play his mind.
All his doubt from the night before, from his nightmare to the milk, had made him feel like he was worthless to the ones he loved. There was no question that the apology in Louie's hug was genuine, but why hadn't Huey and Dewey done so as well?
"Those two must still not care for me" thought Donald sadly " after all I've done in the past."
At least for now, Louie still cared, regretting that he had a hand in choosing the dog over his uncle's life.
The little pup padded up to Donald right now, as he lazily threw it a bone and settled down in his chair. Fingering for the remote, Donald was about to push the button to turn on the TV, when suddenly, the phone began to ring.
Annoyed at the little distraction, Donald instantly got up to answer the line, and gulped when he heard the voice on the other end of the line.
"Donald!" yelled the voice of his boss, Kent Powers, in his usual impatient tone. "You and Daisy are supposed to have my lunch here in fifteen minutes. How can I impress people with my rugged charm if I'm bending over, starving, because you were late with my food?!"
"Now get over here to the van S.A.P or you're fired!"
With that said, Kent Powers hung up, and Donald grumbled angrily as he slammed down his end.
"Why did I ever start working for that big palooka?!" said Donald, as he moved to gather his things for work.
That vain newscaster was a real pain in the butt to work for, even if Donald just agreed to do it to help Daisy out on the TV show. Well that… and he had planned to retire a bit from running around as the Duck Avenger.
Being a superhero was fun and all, but the job caused a lot of stress, especially since he had to keep his identity secret from all of his friends and family.
Daisy, his nephews, and Scrooge would never know how many times he had saved the world, or just what kind of supervillains he had faced.
Hanging up the mask and cape had been a blessing, giving him more time to hang out with Daisy and raise the boys. Heh, being an uncle and boyfriend was an adventure in itself.
"One will alert me if anything major goes wrong anyway" thought Donald " but what's the chance of that happening? Duckburg's been peaceful for a long time. Well, I'd better hurry, don't want Mr. Vain to spoil his appetite."
And with that final thought, Donald walked out and closed the door.
Meanwhile, later at the school, Huey, Dewey, and Louie were at their lockers, putting away their books to get ready for the next class when a grunty voice spoke meaning that Slab had appeared. Slab was the high school's resident bully, always picking on the little kids he thought were a waste. Huey, Dewey, and Louie were some of his favorite targets.
"What do you want Slab?" said Huey, instantly putting on a strong front.
"What I always want" said Slab, grinning his doggish grin " to make you and your brothers feel pain."
"Didn't the last visit to the principal's office teach you anything?" asked Louie with a glare.
"Oh it did" said Slab " and I learned how mean you boys can be. You're just a couple bullies yourselves aren't ya?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Dewey.
"Not that I'm surprised" said Slab, ignoring Dewey's question " given the Uncle you were raised with and all. I guess I would grow up to be a jerk if I had to be raised with that psycho-maniac too. Your parents must have been very cruel to leave you abandoned with a lunatic like him."
" Hey!" said Huey miffed " We are not abandoned! And you have no right to talk about our parents like that!"
"Or Uncle Donald!" said Dewey.
"Yeah!" said Louie " He's the greatest uncle that ever was!"
"Really?" said Slab " Well if he's so great, why did you almost leave him to die then?"
Huey, Dewey, and Louie were stunned.
"Wha…what are you talking about Slab?" stuttered Huey, surprised that the bully seemed to know the truth.
"I'm saying that I know all about what happened yesterday at the waterfall" said Slab, with a wicked grin " An anonymous source tipped me off, and now I know how cruel you guys can be. The proof is in my hands boys, and if you want it to stay secret, you'll have to be extremely nice to me from now on."
Just then, the tardy bell rang, and Slab walked off with a smile.
"See you in class, losers!"
Once the bully had disappeared, the three duck brothers looked at each other stunned. Guilt and frustration built in their eyes, and Louie looked ready to burst.
"He knows about the waterfall" the green duck grated " He knows what we almost did to Uncle D."
"But how did he find out?" asked Dewey.
"Bet you that anonymous source has something to do with it" said Huey " We find him and we…,"
"Are late for class!" a stern voice suddenly interrupted.
Soon, the three boys were dragged away by the school's security monitor and thrown into the classroom to learn. Their worries about Slab and his unexpected knowledge would have to wait until another time.
Which hopefully, given current events, would happen sometime soon.
