i feel insecure about my writing style. please excuse the grammar errors
✯◝ EPISODE I. | THE FIRST $10 CHECK. ◜✯
Louie wandered in the hall of the McDuck Manor, making his way to the TV room only to pause when he spotted a check hanging on the wall in a picture frame. The boy in green zoomed in on the check to see the amount of cash. It was only $10. Lame, but if it's cash, then he'll just—
Before Louie could reach it, a cane bonked him on the head, “Ow!”
“Don't touch it. It's old and expired.” Scrooge pointed.
“Then why is it hanging in a frame if it's old and expired?” Louie asked, rubbing his sore head.
“Because,” Scrooge removed the frame from the wall and dusted it off, “It's my first paycheck.”
The scot smirked, “What if I told you that there's someone richer than me?”
“I'm sorry, what? Are you saying that you're not the richest duck in the world?” Louie raised an eyebrow. He then panicked, “Oh no. Are we poor?!”
“I said someone richer than me. I never said anything about me being poor.” Scrooge replied flatly. “There's someone who inspired me to become the richest duck in the world.”
“So there's someone who's richer than you?” Louie raised an eyebrow.
“Yes. His name is [Y] Dampbell.”
The boy snickered, “Dampbell…”
Scrooge scolded the boy lightly, “Don't disrespect his name.”
“You're telling me that this guy inspired you in becoming an adventurer. Is he older than you or—” Louie raised an eyebrow.
Scrooge hummed, “Well, he was born in 1776. He's much older than I am—”
“Wait— 1776?! Don't tell me this guy is cursed?!” Louie exclaimed.
“Oh, Louie.” Scrooge said. “That man is practically a legend. Daddy told me countless stories about Dampbell. He's the reason why I tried to work so hard as a shoe shiney boy to earn money.”
“When did all of this happen?” Louie raised an eyebrow. “And how did you even earn the $10 check?”
“Back when I was your age. Back in 1877…”
In 1877, after earning his number one dime, young Scrooge decided to keep working, hoping that someone would come by again.
“Ugh. You really expected me to leave me castle just to do some pointless errands?” A voice grumbled, turning Scrooge's attention on a duck dressed in cleaned and fancy clothing. The older duck stepped out of the carriage with the help of his pig butler, annoyed. He groaned when the sun got into his eyes, “Yow…We could've just sent the servants to do the errand work while I stay behind.”
“It's just a few errands.” The butler said. “Unless you're too afraid and fragile to do most work.”
“How dare you! I am [Y] Dampbell! I fear nothing!” [Y] snapped as he pressed the hem of his cane against his butler's chest. “Don’t look down on me, lad!”
As he stepped forward, his boot landed in mud, making him more annoyed. “Blasted mud!”
“Perhaps we should ask that little boy to clean your boot?” the butler pointed to young Scrooge, who flinched and looked away.
“That child? Ha! I don't need any help.” [Y] scoffed as he was about to walk away, only for his boot to sink in the mud. “Yow! When are they gonna clean the street?!”
“Fine.” [Y] grumbled. He marched over to the child and slammed his boot on the crate. “Make it quick.”
“It won't take long. I hope.” Scrooge mumbled, grabbing a cleaning brush and began working to clean off the mud. [Y] watched the boy break in sweat, trying to scrub the mud off his boot. The mud was hard to scrub off.
A minute later, the mud was cleaned off, [Y] observed it carefully. It was sparkling clean. Very impressive for a child.
“Took you long enough.” [Y] scoffed before walking away.
“H-hey! It's not free, you know?!” Scrooge called out.
“You shouldn't have trusted a billionaire.”
The butler placed coins in Scrooge's hand, “He's just not good at showing appreciation. He'll come around.”
“Dampbell isn't always the best at showing appreciation. He's just a grumpy old man who lost the spirit of adventuring.” Scrooge shrugged. “Still, he doesn't see me worthy enough to prove that I can become the richest duck in the world.”
“How did you get the $10 paycheck?” Louie asked.
“Well…I spent the whole day at the entrance of his castle, hoping he could give me a job so I can make extra money for my family.” The scot revealed. “He gives up and gives me a job to polish his home.”
The pig butler dried Scrooge off with a towel after he spent too much time in the rain, waiting at the entrance of his gate. The elderly scot huffed, “What child keeps coming back to haunt me?”
“I just wanted a job. Since you're the richest duck in the world, I'm gonna prove to you that I'm capable of becoming the next richest duck in the world.” Young Scrooge said. “I’ll polish your whole castle.”
“...Tch. Fine. If you could just stop haunting me.” [Y] stood up from his chair. “You better tell your parents about your whereabouts. I won't be responsible for you being missing.”
The pig butler offered Scrooge a bucket of water and sponge, “You can start with this room.”
“Wait. So you scrub the castle from top to bottom?” Louie questioned.
“Of course. In just a month.” Scrooge winked.
The boy in green was not convinced, “You earned a $10 check for that?! You should earn more than that!”
“Louie. A $10 paycheck is more than enough for me.” The scot smiled. “It just shows how Dampbell respects me because he's not someone who admitted that he enjoyed my company.”
“Although his training kinda nearly got me killed multiple times…”
“Training??” Louie raised an eyebrow.
“It's super important.” The boy narrowed his eyes, leaning in with interest in his eye.
Scrooge sighed, “Well…Dampbell had a strange idea of ‘training.’”
Louie crossed his arms. “Let me guess. Old rich guy stuff? Like…learning how to count money just by looking at them.”
Scrooge scratches the back of his head, “Ah…More than that…”
[Y] watched young Scrooge stand on a tall ladder, carefully polishing the chandelier that hung from the ceiling of the grand hall.
“Hey, lad.” [Y] called out, nearly causing Scrooge to slip on the ladder. The elderly scot pointed toward the stained window across the hall. “Clean those.”
Scrooge blinked, “B…but that's three floors up…”
The young scot gulped. The butler turned to his master and asked, “Don't you think that's child endangerment?”
[Y] huffed before walking away, “You’re here. Watch him.”
Moments later, Scrooge stood outside the mansion window on a stone ledge that was too narrow. It was windy outside. The young duck desperately scrubbed the glass.
“Don't fall,” Dampbell called as he walked by from inside.
“That advice would've been useful earlier!” Scrooge shouted. He yelped when he nearly slipped.
Later that afternoon, Scrooge finished polishing the marble floor. He found a coin on the floor and picked it up, “A coin!”
He felt a tap on his shoulder, turning his attention away from the coin. A cane flicked the coin out of the boy's hand and landed in [Y]’s hand.
“Never keep your eyes off of treasures.” Dampbell said, placing the coin in his pocket. “The world is filled with greedy folk who wish to get their hands on the treasure. Or kill for it. That's a lesson.”
Dampbell pointed at a spot with his cane, “You missed a spot.”
Over the next few weeks, Dampbell’s so-called training became far more dangerous. He claimed to keep Scrooge prepared for any danger in case he goes on an adventure.
One day he had Scrooge balancing across a rope stretched above the courtyard while carrying heavy ass objects.
“Try not to fall. This is your 26th try.” Dampbell said while sipping tea.
“Then maybe don't distract me!” Scrooge hollered, trying to balance on the rope.
Dampbell grabbed a slingshot from his pocket and used it to sling rocks at Scrooge, catching the poor boy off guard.
“Rocks?! Are you daft?!” Scrooge exclaimed, dodging a rock that nearly hit him.
“Oh, sorry.” Dampbell apologized flatly before slinging another rock.
The boy, unfortunately, lost his balance on the rope and fell into the hay cart that the butler prepared below. Scrooge slowly lifted his head from the pile of hay with a bit of straw stuck to his feathers.
Scrooge pointed his finger at the older man, “You cheated!”
“Exactly. That's the same trick greedy adventurers used to go after my treasures.” [Y] smirked, leaning on the railing. “Once you take the path to success, you'll become the target. Remember every angle.”
“And be glad that you didn't die.”
Scrooge groaned then crawled off the hay and fell face-first on the ground. The butler approached the boy and helped him up.
“Are you alright?” The butler asked while brushing off the hay out of the boy's feathers. “Please excuse Master Dampbell. He believes harsh experiences build character.”
“He tried to stoned me!” Scrooge exclaimed while glaring upward at the smug scot. “He's unbelievable.”
“Stop your yapping and climb back up there.” Dampbell ordered lazily.
“Grrr…” Scrooge growled and marched over to climb back up on the rope.
The butler sighed with relief as he watched the scene unfold, “Well at least I know that Master Dampbell is enjoying the boy's company.”
Louie stared at Scrooge with wide eyes after he finished the next chapter of the story.
“So let me get this straight…” the boy in green said slowly. “You got ‘abused’, almost died, cleaned an entire castle for a month, and you still call that guy your inspiration?”
Scrooge crossed his arms proudly. “Aye.”
Louie blinked. “This is insane.”
“His methods come out as harsh, but every lesson he taught me was surprisingly helpful.” Scrooge smiled. “Adventure is dangerous. Fortunate attracts enemies. And the world will cheat you if you're not prepared.”
This made Louie more invested in this story. He leaned closer, awaiting for more answers. Before he asked, Webby popped up from behind the couch and asked, “What happened after the training?! Did you beat him?! Did you become richer than him right away?!”
“How long have you been there?” Scrooge questioned.
“Since you started the story.” Webby smiled awkwardly. She asked again, “So…?”
“Well, Dampbell is still the richest duck in the world. I'm just a few dollars away.” Scrooge stated. “It took decades to become the richest duck in the world. 2nd richest.”
“So you didn't beat him then…” Louie asked.
“That doesn't matter. At least I've proven myself to be a successful businessman.” The scot held up the $10 paycheck, staring at it fondly. “But that $10 paycheck was the beginning.”
Webby tilted her head, "What happened the day you got it?”
Just a month later, Scrooge was still scrubbing the marble floor despite being put through so many crazy training sessions to teach him many lessons.
Dampbell seated in front of a fireplace on a chair, sipping tea. He sighed, “He's still here. Here I thought he would give up or run away.”
“He hasn't taken a break yet, sir.” the butler informed his master. “His stomach was rumbling. I tried to feed him lunch, but he refused until he's finished.”
“This lad…” [Y] groaned, rubbing his temper.
Across the hall, Scrooge continued scrubbing with determination, ignoring his stomach rumbling. He noticed the older scot approaching him.
“I'll finish this floor soon, sir!” The boy said proudly.
“Good,” Dampbell replied lazily. “Five more left.”
Hours later, Scrooge dragged himself across the floor with a sponge in his hand, completely exhausted after scrubbing the floors. He was soaked with sweating and water. The poor boy plopped down on the floor.
The butler approached him with a glass of water and food for him to snack on. “Excellent work, young sir. You've worked very hard.”
From across the room, Dampbell watched while leaning against the wall. He opened his beak, “Oi, brat.”
Scrooge looked over his shoulder at the man, “Yes?”
Dampbell tapped his cane on the cleaned, marble floor.
“Tell me something,” he said. “Why do you keep coming back?”
Scrooge blinked. “What do you mean?”
“I've never seen a child at your age ever make it this far.” Dampbell narrowed his eyes. “What's your purpose?”
“Well…” Scrooge rubbed the back of his neck. “My family needs the money.”
“And because I want to be the richest duck in the world someday!” Scrooge exclaimed.
Scrooge and the butler flinched when they heard a small snort coming from the wealthy duck. Dampbell then suddenly burst out laughing.
“You?!” Dampbell laughed. “The richest duck in the world?! Hahahaha!”
Scrooge huffed. “Yes! To become richer than you!”
“Hahaha!! Hohohoho!!” The wealthy duck wheezed, wiping away tears. “Good luck with that, lad!”
Dampbell chuckled and turned to his butler, “Bring it.”
The butler nodded and left the room. Scrooge tilted his head in confusion.
The butler returned a moment later with an envelope. Dampbell took it and handed it to the child. “Pay day.”
Scrooge carefully opened the envelope. His eyes widened, “A…a $10 paycheck?!”
“What? You expected a million?” Dampbell raised his eyebrows. “Just don't look too surprised or disappointed, lad. You earned it.”
Scrooge wasn't disappointed by the fact that he only received a $10 paycheck, he's more than happy to earn something he worked so hard for. He embraced the older man, catching him off guard.
Dampbell flinched before using his cane to push the child off gently, “Yes. Yes. Don't get too comfortable.”
“I will tell Mommy and Daddy about this!” Scrooge beamed as he was about to leave the castle.
“Hold on.” Dampbell stopped the boy as the butler handed the child a bag full of food. “Take it and go.”
Scrooge smiled then took the bag and left while waving the billionaire bye. Dampbell was gonna wave, but decided not to.
The wealthy duck turned his attention to the picture frame that was covered by a cloth. He removed it, revealing a portrait of him, his late wife, and children.
Dampbell sighed and gently smiled, “Finlay…”
“Yes, sir.” Finlay tilted his head.
“Do you think I'm still young enough to adventure again?”
Louie and Webby followed Scrooge as he carefully set the framed $10 paycheck back in place.
"What happened next?” Louie asked. “Another training?”
“Not this time.” Scrooge folded his arms. “He just…disappeared the next day. Suspiciously quick, too.”
“What happened to him?! Did he die?!” Webby gasped.
Scrooge leads Louie and Webby to his bedroom. He pulled out a small box then opened it and handed the old letter to the kids.
Louie and Webby read the letter,
If you're reading this, then I assume you came back. I expected nothing less from you stubborn enough to scrub my castle without quitting.
I've left on a journey. An adventure. Turns out that this old duck still has some youth left in him. You wanted to become the richest duck in the world. Good.
But remember this: riches aren't just treasures. They're earned through hard work, scars, and the will to keep climbing even when the world throws rocks at you.
You survived my lessons. That means you might actually have what it takes.
So keep working smarter, tougher, and sharper. Keep adventuring. And someday…
“Aw.” Webby awed with sparkles in her eyes.
“So that motto comes from him?” Louie questioned.
Scrooge nodded as he put the letter back in the back, “Yes. It's memorable. It's mine now."
“Have you ever got to see him again?” the girl asked.
“...Not yet, but one day.” Scrooge smiled.
