I try to lift it out of my duffle bag again, but this time I use the pants to hold her in a little bundle.
The baby duck wakes up but doesn’t attack me.
Quack, quack, quack.
It shakes almost like a dog, its little tail vibrating with the motion.
“Ok, then. Let’s go.”
Colsen, Mack, and Nash all glare at me suspiciously. “What?”
“Where are you going with that thing?” Nash asks.
“I don’t know. I think I might take it to a vet to make sure it’s healthy, and it doesn’t have rabies or something. Do ducks get rabies? I mean, it didn’t draw blood, but it bit me.”
Mack looks perplexed. “What if its mom comes back? Wouldn’t it be better to leave it here?”
“I don’t know if they can get rabies; the vet will know. And I’m not leaving it here. What if its mom doesn’t come back? This thing is so tiny and defenseless. It could be eaten by a predator. I don’t know if we have wolves around here, but we definitely have coyotes and foxes. I couldn’t sleep knowing this baby is out here in danger. Besides, hopefully the vet has some padded gloves or something and can get it away from my lucky pants without losing a finger.”
Colsen agrees with me. “I’m with Tuck. I don’t know if she’s gonna survive out here on her own. The vet will be able to make sure she’s ok.”
“She? Do you think it’s a female?” I ask.
He shows me his phone. “While you guys argued about good luck charms, I googled ducks. First off, it says that it’s very unlikely that they could have rabies, so that’s good news. Also males make a raspy sound; it’s mostly females, the ones who quack. And males display more colors even at a very young age. She’s mostly brown with a little yellow.”
“It makes sense that she’s attracted to my male pheromones then.”
Nash shakes his head. “Yuck. That smell can only attract wild animals, dude. I doubt any human female would even go close to you in those pants.”
“Whatever.” I bite out. “Baety obviously knows a real man when she sees one.”
“Betty?” Col asks.
I correct him. “No, not ‘Betty,’ it’s Baety, even though it sounds similar.”
“What kind of name is Baety? It isn’t even a real name.” Nash argues.
“Her name is Baety Swalls.” I inform my teammates.
Colsen pinches the bridge of his nose. “I’m almost afraid to ask why you chose this particular name. But I’ll bite. Why Baety Swalls?”
My smile widens. “It’s an anagram for sweaty balls. It’s perfect for her since she likes my lucky pants.”
“Oh, fuck.” Colsen says. “We’re in trouble. Just FYI, Tuck, in the email with the living quarters rules that we got when we moved in, it states no pets.”
I tighten my hold on my boxers, but I’m careful not to crush Baety, who in the meantime has fallen asleep lulled by my walking. “I’m not trying to keep her. I’m just going to make sure she’s safe and taken care of.”
“I hope so,” Mack rolls his eyes.
“Why does no one believe me? I’m not deciding to keep her. But I can’t leave her in danger.”
Col sighs. “You already named her, Tuck. That is never a good sign.”
“They’re right.” Nash backs them. “Don’t get any strange ideas. We’ll leave her with the vet; they’ll know what to do with her.”
“Of course. There’s nothing to worry about.” I tell them as we get to the parking garage where we got a permanent spot allocated for the duration of summer training. “Don’t worry, Baety. Whether it’s with the vet or with us, I’ll keep you safe.”I murmur before settling into the driver’s seat and placing the duck wrapped in my boxers onto my lap.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
