Coney was incredibly excited. He could hardly wait for the day to begin. He jumped out of bed and searched frantically for just the right outfit. It had to be perfect! First impressions are so important.
“Hey mom, where’s my blue shirt?”
His mom hollered from down the hall, “I think its in the laundry room, Honey. I just washed it and haven’t had a chance to put it away yet.”
“Thanks.”
He scurried to the room and found exactly what he was looking for. He changed in the bathroom after washing up. Staring at his face in the mirror, he slicked his fur back and polished up his bill.
“I wonder if there will be any other duck billed, web-footed beavers in class today?”
Coney and his parents had recently moved from North Creek Ridge to Southwest Creek Ridge. No DWBs lived in North Creek. Growing up, Coney never felt like he fit in. He always felt out of place with his large bill and little teeth. He could swim as good as a duck, but he couldn’t fly because he had no wings, just paws.
It was hard to say goodbye when his family decided to leave but he knew it was for the best and in his heart he hoped that in Southwest Creek Ridge there would be other DWBs. He was tired of feeling like an outsider.
“Coney, hurry up. You don’t want to be late for the first day of school, do you?”
“I’m coming,” he said.
On the way to school, Coney was very quiet thinking about what would happen through out the day.
“Coney, are you all right?” asked his mom.
“Yeah, Mom. I was just thinking about my day. Do you think there will be any DWBs in my class?”
“Oh, honey. I don’t want you to be disappointed. DWBs have been around for many years. You have relatives that lived during the time of the Dinosaurs. Be proud of who you are, I’m proud of you. But don’t be surprised if you never meet another DWB. I’ve only met two others my entire life. We are quite rare.”
Coney was disappointed. He had been looking forward to meeting another boy just like him, or maybe even a girl. He took a deep breath and walked through the school doors. He was happy in spite of himself. He went to the office and asked where his class was. A stoutly bear cub, who worked behind the counter said, “I know just who to get to show you around.”
To Coney’s delight, he saw another DWB approaching the office.
“Hi,” she said, “my name is Sarah. I’m here to show you around.”
“I knew it,” said Coney, “your a DWB. . . your beautiful . . . your so . . . um . . . um,” Coney blushed, “Sorry”.
“A DWB?” said Sarah.
“A duck billed, web-footed, beaver.”
Sarah smiled. “Your cute,” she said, “It’s going to be nice having another platypus around. Think of all the trouble we can get into.”