I do not own Duck Tales.

I'm not the best at accents, so please bear with me.

Report Card Day

Riiiing!

The school bell rang loudly, a sign to the students that they could flee the confinements of the education system that forced them to endure hours of boring lectures and pages of senseless reading.

At least, that's what Huey normally thought when the final bell of the school day rang.

But not today. No, Huebert 'Huey' Duck did not race down the stone steps leading to the various concrete paths that would take him to his destination of choice like he usually did. He leaned against the metal railing, taking his sweet time as his peers sped past, their excited whoops echoing in his ears.

The reason for his unhappy mood was simple.

It was report card day.

The blasted piece of paper was clutched in his wing. And just as he expected, his grades were far from being top-notch. Ugly red Dsand a few Fslittered the pure white sheet and Huey knew that any recreational plans he may have had in the future would be postponed.

Uncle Scrooge was going to kill him.

"Uncle Scrooge is going to kill you," Dewey echoed his brother's thoughts, a sympathetic look on his face. Huey scowled and jumped the last two steps to join his siblings.

"Not all of us can have a straight A streak," Huey grumbled.

Out of the three of them, Dewey had wised up the most when it came to school performance. He worked hard and it paid off-the duck had been getting honour-worthy marks since the fifth grade. Louie passed subjects with decent enough grades. He ended up being the type of high school student that could do a half-hearted job on homework and still come out with passing marks.

Huey, however, had steadily lost interest in the academics and what they had to offer him. He tried, he really did, but he simply could not grasp mathematical concepts or be bothered with analyzing the works of William Drakespere. He didn't mind reading the plays. It was the 'analyze-and-interpret' part that nearly killed him.

"Why don't you just do the work?" Louie asked, shouldering his green backpack. "Do what I do and just do enough to get you by. It doesn't have to be great. Just average."

"I try," Huey protested. "But you have the magical gift of finishing work at the last minute with little effort and still get the grades. I try to do my work but I either procrastinate or just forget! Even when I manage to do it I still bomb."

Dewey eyed the report card in Huey's wing. "Remember what Uncle Scrooge said when you got your report card for last semester?"

"'Ye better pluck up those grades, laddie, or else,'" Huey said in a poor imitation of his great-uncle's Scottish accent. "Well, it looks like I'm going to see what the or else is."

A sharp horn blast cut through the air, startling the triplets and the lingering students who were waiting for their late bus. Huey, Dewey and Louie glanced at the purple limousine waiting at the edge of the curb for them. "Oops! We better get going."

"Can't I walk?" Huey whined as he shuffled after his brothers.

Louie rolled his eyes. "It's three and a half miles."

"Besides, the more you put if off the harder it will be in the end," Dewey added. He threw open the limo door and climbed in, his brothers following behind.

"What, may I ask, was so important that you had to have a conference at the bottom of public school stairs?" Duckworth asked, starting the car and pulling into the street.

"We were just discussing Huey's current problem," Louie replied, settling back against the leather seats.

Duckworth titled the rear-view mirror slightly so he could get a better look at the eldest triplet. "What has Master Huey done this time?"

"Huey," the red-clothed duck stressed for what had to be the millionth time. "You can just call me Huey. And let's just say I got my report card."

"Say no more. I understand perfectly," Duckworth said solemnly. "I trust that you've enjoyed your last precious moments of freedom."

Huey's heart skipped a beat. He started to wonder if Duckworth knew something he didn't, but his fear was eased slightly when he saw the slight twitch of the butler's lips. "Not funny!" the boy complained.

"I thought it was hilarious," Dewey giggled. "The look on your face was priceless."

Huey scowled and slumped against the seat. The anxious knot in his stomach grew with every passing minute. Far too soon for his liking the mansion came into view and the golden gates parted, allowing them to cruise up the long driveway.

"Can't you guys keep your report cards hidden?" Huey begged. "Just for a while."

Dewey arched an eyebrow. "How long is a while?"

"Just until I'm certain Uncle Scrooge is in a good mood."

"Even if we did help you, you know Uncle Scrooge never forgets stuff like this."

"He's like an elephant that way," Duckworth remarked. "And yet he conveniently forgets to give me my paycheck most weeks."

"Which is hardly very much." Louie grinned. "Sometimes I wonder why you stick around."

"Don't be silly. He sticks around 'cause he loves us," put in Dewey.

Duckworth shook his head in amusement. "As true as that is, I make no guarantees of what my actions will be if my salary takes another cut."

He parked the limo in front of the mansion and the group climbed out. Huey lingered behind, his report card gripped in his wings. "Oh, why couldn't today have been a P.D. day?" he moaned.

"For the elementary schools, it was," Louie reminded his brother as they climbed the steps. "That's why we didn't have to make a stop to pick Webby up."

"Lucky girl," Huey muttered.

Duckworth held open the grand door and the triplets filed past him. For Huey's sake, Dewey and Louie crept as silently as they could towards the wooden stairs. Their brother trailed just as silently behind them, shoving his report card in his hoodie pocket as he did so.

"Is that yeh, lads?"

The thick Scottish-accented voice caused the boys to freeze inches before the first oak step. Casting sympathetic glances at their brother Dewey and Louie backtracked towards Scrooge's office. "Hey, Uncle Scrooge," Dewey greeted, hovering in the doorway.

Their rich guardian sat behind his desk, which was covered in papers and folders. The black cord of a phone could be seen trailing out from beneath the white pile, but the phone itself was buried beneath work.

"How was school today?" Scrooge asked, motioning for his nephews to take a seat. The triplets ventured into the home office and dropped into the cushioned chairs that were situated in front of Scrooge's magnificent desk.

"It was alright." Dewey shrugged. "Nothing special really happened."

"Our team won the soccer game in gym class," Huey spoke up. "I scored the winning goal, of course."

"Hmm. Can Ah correctly assume yeh scored the winning grades as well?"

Oh, crud.

Huey swallowed thickly and didn't answer. Scrooge tapped his wings together and eyed Huey for a moment before turning to Dewey. "Do Ah even need t' ask?"

"Straight As," Dewey said softly, wishing he could share his good grades with his brother.

"As always. Great work, Dewey. Ah'm proud of yeh. Louie?"

Louie held his marks up for inspection. Scrooge studied them for a moment and checked the teacher's comments. "Aye, yeh did well too, Louie. But see if yeh can pull up those math and science marks. And no more sleeping in history class."

"That was one time!" Louie exclaimed.

"And the last. Am Ah clear?" Scrooge asked firmly.

"Yes, Uncle Scrooge," Louie promised.

"Good lad. Nao run along. Ah'd like t' talk t' Huey in private."

Huey flinched and willed the chair he was sitting in to swallow him up. Dewey and Louie gave their brother a worried look before leaving the office, their backpacks slung over their shoulders.

The door clicked shut behind them. Scrooge cleared his throat pointedly and held out his wing. With a heavy heart Huey removed his report card from his pocket and handed it to his uncle.

"Oh, Huey," Scrooge sighed after a moment. "What am Ah going t' do with yeh?"

"I'm sorry," Huey mumbled. "I tried, I really did. But I'm just not good at school."

"Donnae give me that. Yeh have a smart head on your shoulders-yeh joost have t' stop playing video games and start doing extra homework."

"Does that mean what I think it means?" Huey asked warily.

"Until Ah'm convinced that yeh are taking your schoolwork seriously, there will be no video games, no comic books and no television."

"That's cruel and unusual punishment!"

"Of course it is. It's what your Uncle Donald would have done, isn't it?"

Huey could not help but smile. "Good point. But...are you sure you have to take away the television?"

"Get out of here." Scrooge rolled his eyes and pointed at the door. "Ah'm sure yeh have homework t' do and Ah want it done. When it's done, Ah want yeh t' show it t' me."

Feeling like he was eight-years-old again, Huey simply nodded and left the office.

Perhaps, after a week or so, he could convince his uncle to change his mind about the whole no-television thing.