[3.23.23] Penny Duckhat, Part 1

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Sitting with at the table with Dog-Man, 80-HD and the kid, Petey took a drink of his coffee and a bite of his cereal. He watched the kid eat his own cereal enthusiastically, as if he had places to be.

Well, doy, Petey realized. Comic club's today.

"Hey kid," he asked, and the kid in question looked up at him. "What time does Comic Club start?"

"It starts after breakfast!" The kid smiled brightly, looking like a halo wouldn't be too out of place floating above his head. "So that's why I'm hurryin up and eatin so fast!"

Petey laughed a bit. "Alright, well, I can take you to Comic Club if that's OK with you?"

"Yeah! You can totally come wif, papa!"

Suddenly, the doorbell rung and Dog-Man went into a ballistic wave of barking, and LP leaped from his chair and scurried over to it like his life depended on it; meanwhile, Petey sat down dumbfounded and a bit bewildered, like a man who'd just witnessed someone rob a bank with a raw fish. The door swung open, whether by the completely expected guest or the kid was anyone's guess though.

Molly strutted— or, at least, floated in a manner that suggested if they could, they would be strutting— into the house, laughing with Lil Petey all the way to the table.

"Come on papa, let's go!"

Petey nodded, grabbed his coat, and left with the two of them, who were talking and laughing some more.

Once at the Comic Club, Petey simply sat down in the back near some of the baby frogs, who exactly he wasn't sure, but regardless he sat.

"Hey Wally!" Molly called, snapping Petey out of his zoned out state.

"Hmm?"

"Do you wanna make a comic?"

"About.. what..?"

"Anything, really!" Lil Petey piped in. "Do you wanna?"

Petey looked at his finger, the grass, and whatever else caught his eyes attention, suddenly aware that most eyes attention was on him. "Oh, I'm not much of a drawer anymore, haven't been since I was a kid..."

"Oh, that's sad. Maybe you could show us some drawings you made when you were a kid, papa?"

"Oh, uh, they were just superheroes and stuff. Nothing that interesting. Most of them were lost anyways."

"Oh...."

"Sorry, I don't mean to be a Debbie downer. Sure, I'll make a comic!" Petey smiled, and LP smiled, giggled and clapped. "I'll get you some paper and crayons STAT, papa!" He said, and he ran inside the trailer where Flippy and the baby frogs lived.

"So, Wally, what are ya gonna draw 'den?" One of the baby frogs asked him, Wendy wasn't it?

"Oh, probably just..... I'm not sure, actually."

He was supplied with paper and crayons, and he spun the orange crayon in his paws for a moment before starting to draw.

After he was done and the baby frogs had shared their comics for this week, Petey hesitantly handed his comic to the kid, who read it out and showed the drawings to the club.

One of the baby frogs pointed at the drawing in the first panel.

"WHO'S THE GIRL S'POSED TO BE?" They asked, pointing at an orange cat. Petey looked embarrassed and confused. "Me...? Me when I was LP's age, that is."

"Oh, papa, did you write a comic 'bout yer childhood?"

"Er— Somewhat, yes."

"Why did ya draw yerself as a girl?"

"I... didn't think I did? Y'know, when I was a kid I was confused for a girl a lot. I didn't really mind it though."

"Why were you confused for a girl?" Someone piped up.

"I don't know, just was."

"I thought you knew everything though!" One of the baby frogs complained.

"I don't!" Petey yelled, incredibly overwhelmed, but still knowing he'd been a bit too loud. He apologized, standing up and grabbing the comic from LP, crumbling it up a bit. "Hey kid, I'm gonna go inside and talk to Flippy for a bit, or maybe just get some water. I'll be right back."

He went inside the trailer, still feeling overwhelmed and still clutching the comic in hand. He went into the bathroom, locked the door, and placed the comic on the counter to stare at as he washed his hands. He inevitably locked eyes with the mirror, and immediately looked away.

He heard a knock on the door, and opened it gently.

"Mr. Petey?"

It was Wendy. Petey opened the door a bit wider. "Yeah?"

"Are you ok? I noticed you seemed really, really overwhelmed earlier."

"Oh, uh, yeah, just got a bit overwhelmed by the questions."

Wendy smiled, and looked at the comic. "What did you write about?"

He looked back at the comic, grabbed it and held it a bit tightly in his hands.

"Just... I don't know. It's not really about... anything, y'know? Just school and what life with my mom was like."

"What was your mom like, Mr Petey?"

He sighed. "She was.... I dunno. It's foggy, but she loved me a lot and I loved her a lot. She was kind, and brave, and... what's the word. Determined? I think that's right."

"She sounds like she was a good mom."

"Yeah. She was." He smiled at Wendy, who smiled back. "Thanks for checkin up on me, kid."

"You're welcome!"

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