The Adorable Stories of Webby and Louie

Facing Today

"Louie! Are you coming?" called Webby excitedly, sprinting into the living room. Her eyes darted from the large, messy pile of empty soda cans to Louie's slouched figure before the TV, then to his bedraggled hair and pajamas. Louie's head rested on his hands, his tired eyes unfocused. He was right there, but at the same time, it seemed he wasn't there at all.

Webby picked up the remote and switched the TV off. She turned to him with her hands confidently on her hips, her face still colored with ecstasy despite Louie's demeanor. "Come on!" She waved a hand in front of his face, and it took several seconds before Louie was snapped out of his daydream.

"Pardon?" he asked lazily, looking up at her.

"What do you mean, 'pardon'?" asked Webby back, getting a bit testy. "I asked you to play ping pong with me, remember? I found an old table in the basement."

"Nah."

"You promised, Louie."

"When did I ever?!"

"When I asked you earlier this morning! Sure, you were half-asleep, but you said yes when I asked if we could play ping pong in the afternoon. Which is now, by the way."

"Uh huh," responded Louie stupidly. "Promises during sleep don't count. Why can't you get Mom or Huey or someone to play with you?"

"Huey and Scrooge are taking care of something in the office. Dewey and Della are out on a mini-adventure, and I didn't want to bother them because it sounded like a mother-son thing. And Lena's on a family fishing trip."

"What about Uncle Donald?"

"Well," answered Webby, her voice sheepish. "He's here at home, all right, but he's relaxing in the pool and wants to be left alone."

"I want to be left alone too," replied Louie without thinking. Ouch. Why did he have to be so mean?

Webby, however, didn't seem to mind his tone. "Come on, Louie," she said in a pleading voice. "It'll be fun! Pleaaaseee?"

Louie noticed that her eyes had widened, her mouth in a pout. Gah, why did she have to be so cute when she used puppy-dog eyes? A blush crept to Louie's cheeks, and he clenched his fists to keep himself from saying something stupid again.

"Fine," he said, defeated. "Let's go." He motioned her to the basement, but Webby just stared at him. "What?"

"YOUR CLOTHES!" exclaimed Webby, so loudly Louie jumped. "Get dressed, you silly!"

"Oh right!"

***

Louie certainly was taking his sweet time in the shower. Webby set up the ping pong table in the basement and put the paddles on the side. Wait, he must have brought his phone in the shower with him! That was why he was taking so long! Webby smacked her forehead. She could just imagine him, still in his pajamas, scrolling endlessly on Chirper.

Should she try to enter the bathroom and take away his phone? No, what if he actually was taking a shower right now? Her heart started to pound faster. OKAY, WEBBY, STOP. NO WEIRD IMAGES, YOU'RE ONLY A KID –

"I'm back," announced Louie, stepping into the basement. He was wearing his signature green hoodie. "Ooh, that does look like a sweet table."

"Ha ha, yeah," said Webby, relieved he came just in time to interrupt her weird thoughts.

They started playing. Webby was a natural since she had trained in martial arts and developed great reflexes – ping pong was nothing. Louie didn't give up though, and as time slipped by, they were laughing excitedly, and their rallies got more exciting and impressive.