I had this idea based on two girls in my Marketing class who were asked if they were twins but were actually triplets. I figured that question must be so annoying so I put our favorite trio in the midst of it, obviously providing a nice bit of sibling angst and bonding.

It was only the second day of classes their second year of college and the question had already been voiced. The question that annoyed Louie Duck more than anything else right now. It already annoyed him enough that Huey was in several of his classes. Because Huey had to be a double major in Business and Applied Silence, both with licensure. Stupid Huey, wanting to be brilliant, wanting to teach others to be the same. Louie just wanted an empire. And he could be the charming face of that empire if he had to be, but he would prefer to run things from the shadows. In the shadows, you could wear a hoodie. In the limelight, you had to wear a suit.

And for the second day of classes, you just had to show up wearing something. So Louie was in a hoodie, and Huey was in a polo shirt, with his hat in his backpack for when class let out. And they were sitting together because it was better than sitting alone. And that was when the question was lodged.

"Are you twins?" Louie inwardly groaned, head hitting the table dramatically. It was too early in the morning for this stupid question and its endless follow-ups.

"Triplets, actually," Huey asked with that dorky, tireless, and genuine smile of his. Louie didn't get his brother, didn't get his aspirations or his "not an act"-ions. And at eight o'clock in the morning, Huey's puzzling pieces just seemed exhausting to Louie.

"Whoa! That's so cool!"

"Yep," Louie muttered sarcastically. The students in his Marketing class didn't need to meet the charming version of Louie Duck. Over the years it had become harder to keep both of his personas alive, so he let the charmer rest when he wasn't necessary. Maybe it didn't make him many friends. Maybe he didn't want many friends. After all, being a triplet was so cool.

"Where's the other triplet?"

"Probably sleeping in before his general education classes," Louie muttered.

"So he's not a business major like you guys?"

"Actually, I'm a business and applied science double major with licensure." There was no bit of arrogance intended in that sentence, and to Louie that made it all the more pretentious.

"Nope, Dewey's undeclared." Even saying that didn't make him feel better, it didn't make him feel like the better twin, sorry triplet, because he was just trying to be better. It didn't mean he was smarter than Dewey (even though he was) it just made him more arrogant. The more questions they asked about his brother, the more he squirmed, sure someone would figure out that he was arrogant and selfish and bitter. At least at eight in the morning, when the charmer was sleeping.

"So what's it like being triplets?"

"It's like always having two best friends with you all the time." Huey was so positive. So dauntlessly positive. When he wasn't being afraid or angry. Louie nodded in mock-agreement, but he had a different answer. Being a triplet is like having two mirror selves that are better than you. Louie would already have one mirror self that was better than him even if he was an only child, the sleeping charmer that drained his energy. Having Huey and Dewey, for all their imperfect perfections that he both loathed and longed for… It drained him all the more.

Which was not to say that he didn't love being a triplet. Which is not to say that he didn't love his brothers. But he felt inadequate next to them, and they made acting like he was enough, like he was charming and perfectly imperfect, so much harder. It wasn't their fault that they were good people, that they were already genuine and charming in their own ways. It wasn't Huey's fault that every true statement he made about himself made him sound like he was a benevolent genius. It wasn't Dewey's fault that his idiosyncrasies were fun and exciting. Louie had to put on a massive act to seem like he wasn't a total monster. His flaws weren't glamorous. When he wasn't acting people thought he was lazy, selfish, a little bit arrogant, or worse. But really, he was just exhausted. Most of all, it was exhausting pretending to like himself.

"We got asked if we were twins again," Louie groaned when he and his brother got back to the room, finding Dewey playing on their shared gaming console while he waited for his afternoon class to start.

"I never get asked that," Dewey complained.

"That's because you're not in any classes with us. And you're lucky because then you'd have to deal with the questions about what your brothers are like and what it's like being a triplet."

"The answer to both questions is annoying," Dewey joked, tossing a packet of fruit snacks at his brother in a kind of, "I know you haven't eaten today," way, while still believing that fruit snacks had some level of nutritional value. They had to, right? They were called FRUIT snacks! Louie tore into the packet to make his brother happy, though his appetite was lacking today. Well, it lacked a lot of days, but that was irrelevant. After eating through the disappointing assortment of mostly orange gummies (who likes the orange ones anyway?) he slumped next to Dewey on the floor.

It would have been so much easier to live Dewey's life. Undeclared. Everything was a party and a mystery and an adventure. Unlike Louie, Dewey never seemed to want or need to stop or slow down. Even this time of sleeping in and playing video games, which would've been lazy if it was Louie, was Dewey getting the most out of his college experience. Sure there was pressure on Dewey to declare a major and get good grades, but he seemed to thrive despite the pressure. Louie couldn't help feeling envious of the bliss he was sure his brother enjoyed.

Dewey handed him the other controller, the second-best controller. The had three, but Huey never played, so they'd distributed controllers based on who played the most. Technically they had four controllers, one for Webby as well, but they kept hers in a drawer so that it didn't get lost. Louie joined the game, a scrolling platformer that didn't mind if you played alone or with your closest friends, trying to forget about the pressure on himself.

"You two can't just sit and play videogames all day," Huey pointed out. Dewey and Louie grunted at him in unison.

"I'm serious, this isn't going to be like last semester. Both of you are going to have to do homework and work out and eat lunch," Huey preached with older brotherly authority.

"Okay, Uncle Donald. Who has homework on the second day?" Louie scoffed, using Dewey's avatar to help his jump a little higher in the game.

Huey didn't mind the comparison and raised his eyebrows at his brother, "We do."

"Yes, fine, I'll do it later. I have things to take care of now." He was going after a completionist run of this game that they were so familiar with.

"That's not- whatever. I'm going to go to the gym and then get lunch. You're both welcome to join me."

"Already had lunch," Dewey said, gesturing towards the microwave where he'd made cheese roll-ups.

"Same," Louie agrees, gesturing to the fruit snack wrapper. Huey decided to fight this battle later, when he had more ammunition, and left.

For a few minutes, Louie pretended that the only thing that mattered to him was in-game financial gains. Della, er, his mom, had pounded the idea into his head that no one was smart or dumb, that people just had different intelligences. One of Dewey's intelligences was emotional intelligence. Maybe it was because he was an actor as well, but he saw right through Louie's phony, "I'm fine," face.

"What's up with you?" That was another difference between Huey and Dewey. Huey would have listed options, made that question a multiple choice quiz. But, as Dewey and Louie both knew, when options were provided it was easier to lie.

So Louie decided to be perfectly honest with him.

"Do you ever hate yourself, Dewey?" Dewey paused the game, sat up from the beanbag, and began to ponder it.

"Sure. All the time." That floored Louie. If he'd been eating a gummy right now he would have choked.

"Really?"

"I don't exactly have any reason to lie. Everyone feels pretty terrible about themselves sometimes, some people more than others. I tend to go back and forth between thinking that I'm doing alright and thinking that I'm a fraud."

"To be honest, I sometimes think that you and Huey have it all together."

"You think Huey doesn't feel like a fraud all the time too? Because I guarantee that he does. I bet he felt super bummed out when he walked out of the dorm alone."

"You're just, you're both so much better than me, and it drives me crazy because I know that when I'm under a microscope or when I'm compared to you guys, someone is going to figure out just how awful I am."

"Yeah, that's how I feel. We're not better than you, and you're not better than us. We're a complete set together. Not anywhere near perfect but not half bad either. And if we want to be better, we'll get better together. Does that make sense? I'm not as good with words as you."

"No, that was perfect. I just… We're here for our futures and sometimes I think that means we'll split. That we won't be the triplets any more. And then I'll be under the microscope alone."

"Louie, you are never going to be alone."

"Thanks… I think I'll try to catch up with Huey for lunch."

"That's a good plan, I need to shower for class. See you later, Louie."

He joined Huey in the cafeteria, filling his plate just a little more than he wanted to give the appearance of a normal appetite. Huey didn't seem to question the change of heart and Louie didn't try baring his soul to him. Not yet, one brother at a time. But when someone inevitably asked them if they were twins, it was Louie that answered this time, with a smile that wasn't quite fake.

"Triplets, actually."