Duckie Rookie: The Incident With A Duck

One day. One traumatic event.

Apparently, that’s all it takes to change your name and have a whole new identity.

Yesterday, Ethan Danielson was known by his government name.

Today, every townsperson and friend called him by his dumb nickname: Duckie Rookie.

Ethan shuddered at the thought of how he couldn’t even bring Straw into his pen without being freaked out by anything that moved after the accident he had yesterday.

“This is going to make up for what you caused my refuge to be known as yesterday. I can’t have a son who’s afraid of anything that moves running a wildlife refuge.” Ethan’s dad, Thomas Danielson, bellowed from the cushion of his hay barrel.

The red light of his camcorder pointed towards Ethan, recording his every move.

It had been quite the day yesterday and Ethan didn’t even know where to begin with how he got the nickname, Duckie Rookie.

All he knew was that he now had a deathly fear of ducks.

And camcorders.

The camcorder part though he couldn’t control.

Ethan yelled one more time for Straw to follow his commands but the donkey wasn’t listening.

The morning light shined through the raggedy old barn door as Ethan tried to get Straw in for his daily afternoon nap.

No one could get him into the barn but Ethan.

Honey, the other donkey, looked on as if he was laughing and enjoying the spectacle that was happening before him.

“Please, Straw. I have to go and meet my friends at the refugee hospital. They are all waiting for me.” Ethan begged but Straw remained stubborn.

Ethan tugged and tugged on Straw’s collar but it was no use so he just gave in and decided to let Straw stay out.

“Don’t tell me you have a fear of donkeys now on top of your fear of ducks.” Thomas scoffed as he snapped his camcorder shut.

“He won’t budge.” Ethan complained as his dad just let out a laugh.

Ethan wished that he would get off the bale of hay that he was laying on and help him.

Yesterday was beyond humiliating for Ethan and his dad wasn’t helping.

Worse, it all started with trying to impress the older kids.

He thought that finally the older kids were thinking less of him being a little kid.

That was until the duck showed up.

The whole duck incident happened when a group of older boys invited him on a duck hunting trip.

His father had hesitated.

Ethan had begged.

Eventually Thomas gave in.

“Stay close to the others,” he’d said.

Ethan promised he would.

The trip started well enough.

They had gathered snacks for the tree stand from one of the local convenience stores.

And then, went out mudding all the way to the back of the Danielson Family fields where the duck ponds sat.

The older boys let him sit in one of the blinds as they took their own spots deep in the marshlands. They joked with him, showed him how duck calls worked, and even treated him like part of the group.

For the first hour, Ethan felt like he belonged.

Then he made a mistake.

A very stupid and ducked up mistake.

One that would haunt him for years.

While trying to retrieve a duck decoy that had drifted away from the blind, Ethan slipped on a muddy bank and tumbled directly into the pond.

The splash was enormous and scared all of the ducks.

They immediately came for revenge and swarmed him.

The older boys burst out laughing at the circus show that was happening below.

Ethan scrambled to his feet, soaked and covered in mud.

Unfortunately, the pond happened to be home to dozens of ducks.

And ducks, as it turns out, don’t appreciate unexpected visitors.

The first duck charged him.

Ethan stared in disbelief.

The second duck joined in.

Then a third.

Within seconds an entire flock was racing across the water toward him.

Wings flapped.

Beaks snapped.

Feathers exploded into the air.

Ethan screamed.

The older boys laughed even harder.

Now he was flailing, splashing, and screaming while an army of angry ducks surrounded him.

To anyone watching, it probably looked hilarious.

To twelve-year-old Ethan, it felt like the end of the world.

One of the older boys finally waded in and dragged him out.

The ducks immediately lost interest and wandered away.

But the damage was done.

The story spread through town by the end of the day.

“The Rookie can’t even handle a duck.” One of the older boys shouted.

“Duckie Rookie!” Another one responded as he gasped for air in between his laughs.

And just like that, it started to stick.

What none of them understood was that every time Ethan heard the nickname, he remembered the feeling of those birds rushing toward him.

The panic.

The helplessness.

The laughter.

And after yesterday, he still wasn’t sure which part had hurt the most.

At least his dad had all of his encounters with animals on a camcorder now so that he can prove his son is worthy enough to run his wildlife refuge someday.

Ethan snapped out of his daze as Thomas reemerged from within the barn.

Thomas picked up the camcorder and pointed it at Ethan again.

“Good news,” he said.

Ethan groaned.

Whenever his dad said “good news,” it usually wasn’t.

“The wildlife hospital is getting a new rescue today.”

“What kind of rescue?”

Thomas grinned.

“Ducks.”

Ethan nearly fell over.