The Other Side of the Known Universe

Might Solve a Mystery

"Who downloaded all seven seasons of Ottoman Empire on my phone?" Louie continued scrolling on his phone. He was sitting on Huey's bed while Dewey was moving a few boxes of decorations around. "Uh, you did," Dewey said. "Sure I did. Is this some kind of prank?" Louie asked. Dewey looked up at him. Something seemed off with Louie ever since they had gotten back from the bakery. "Louie, did you put the cake in the fridge?" he said. Louie nodded, climbing down the bunk ladder. "Did you hide it well? It's supposed to be a surprise party," Dewey said. "Yeah, but I don't even know why you're doing this," Louie commented.

Dewey raised an eyebrow, confused. "What do you mean?" "If I were you, I'd smash that cake in his face," Louie said. "Are we talking about the same Launchpad?" Dewey was puzzled. They shared a confused stare. "Anyway, I have to go help uncle Scrooge move rocks. I'll be back later," Louie said, turning to leave. "Uncle Scrooge went with uncle Donald and mom on their trip, remember?" Dewey said. "What? When? Why didn't anyone tell me?" Louie dialed a number on his phone before Dewey could say anything. He walked out of the room while speaking with whoever was on the other end.

Perplexed, Dewey stood in his room. "I'm going to figure out what's up Louie and get to the bottom of this," he said.

In St. Canard...

Ding dong! Gosalyn ran down the stairs. "I'll get it!" she called. She opened the door. "Hi, Gosalyn!" Honker greeted at the door. She gave him a wave. "Are you coming? We have hockey practice in 30 minutes," he reminded. "Oh, right," she said. Her dad handed her her gear. Gosalyn stepped outside and closed the door behind her.

Honker and Gosalyn got to the hockey stadium 5 minutes early. Tank was there, along with some other kids they knew from school. "Hey, Gos! Are you ready to get your butt kicked by our team?" Tank teased. She jumped up on a nearby bench to make herself taller than him. "Ha! As if! My team could beat you with our eyes closed. Right, Honker?" she said. She smiled proudly while Honker just stood there, not wanting to get dragged into the conversation.

They dressed in their uniforms and got in their positions. The air in the stadium was frigid and tasted fresh. There was an echo to the large building and tension between the two team captains, Gosalyn and Tank. They stood ready, waiting for the referee to blow the whistle.

The sharp squeak shot through the air and the teams were off. Tank was able to collect the puck first. Gosalyn fumbled on her skates a bit before regaining her balance. He passed it along to his teammates. They began to move towards their target, the goal. Honker waited there, a little nervous. Tank had regained the puck while Gosalyn's team was slacking and went for the shot. Gosalyn was able to catch it before it made it to the goal. She smiled proudly under her helmet before remembering the enemy team. She swished it back and forth between her hockey stick. She advanced toward the enemy goal, prepping for the shot. Suddenly, Tank stood between her and the point. They made eye contact. She reeled back to hit the puck between his legs. He had his stick ready to block it. She skated back a bit then rushed towards it. Right from under her, one of the enemy swiped the puck from underneath her. She slipped and fell onto the hard ice. Her opponent passed it to Tank who flung it into her goal.

He shouted over his victory, even if he had only gotten one point. Honker slid over to Gosalyn to help her up. "Are you okay?" he asked. She got up to her feet but leaned forward as if she would fall again. She swung her arms to readjust herself. When she was steady, she said, "Yeah, but don't worry. It's not like he's going to win the game."

They prepared for the next shot and the game replayed itself. Later, Gosalyn found herself with the puck again. Tank's team tried to steal it from her, but she wouldn't let them. She swung for the goal and made it in. She cheered for herself. She looked around at her team, expecting them to cheer too. Instead, they either facepalmed or grumbled at her. She was confused for a minute and then realized what she had done. She had hit the puck into the wrong goal, giving Tank a point. Tank sneered at her while of her teammates shouted from behind, "Get your head in the game!" She blushed awkwardly and clumsily skated back to her post.