'Come on, Linc.'

Lessons are over for today and Clyde is waiting for his friend,

Lincoln, the middle and only male member of the Loud siblings,

to catch up, so that they can walk away from school together.

The white haired boy in the orange shirt is practically dragging

his feet.

'Sorry, Clyde. I'll rather walk alone today.'

'Oh.' The black boy is baffled, but he decides not to insist. 'Ok,

then, see ya.'

As Clyde walks away, Lincoln goes to a park nearby and sits

on a bench. He sighs in depression, staring at the grassy

ground. Tomorrow is the day. Again! Usually, it makes him

feel better when he discusses it with Clyde before... you know...

the day. But not this time.

He just wishes a day like tomorrow never comes again.

Unfortunately, there is nothing he can do to prevent it from

coming. He raises his eyes and looks at the pidgeons in

front of him eating carefreely stuff from the ground.

'I'm jealous of you,' he whispers, addressing the birds.

An old woman is feeding the flying creatures, with her back

turned to Lincoln. Wait, is she...? Darn, what is she doing here?

Are there not any places in the range of Lincoln's everyday life

where he can be safe from her?

Ok, Linc, make slow movements. With a little bit of luck, you'll

be able to get out of here before she sees you.

The boy slowly gets off the bench and starts tiptoeing. Damn,

too late! She turned around!

Lincoln gasps in terror for a moment and, the next moment,

sighs in relief, realizing that old woman is not Aunt Ruth after

all. However, the old woman noticed his momentary scare.

'Did something frighten you, kid?' she asks with a confused

expression.

'I'm sorry, I thought you were... I mean... it doesn't have to

do anything with you, ma'am,' Lincoln awkwardly apologizes

as he drops his butt back to the bench. Finally, he sighs and

lowers his gaze back to the ground.

The old lady approaches and sits next to him. 'Does something

trouble you?'

Lincoln stays silent and pensive for a moment. Finally, he raises

his eyes back to the lady. He decides to tell her.

He tells her about his aunt, Ruth, whom he has to visit tomorrow.

He detests everything about those visits. The cats. The food

she gives him and his siblings. But the worst thing of all is the

fact that she forces them to rub her feet. He wishes he never

had to touch those six toed feet again.

'Listen, boy,' the old lady finally says. 'That woman does not

have the right to make you or your siblings to rub her feet.

Forcing a child into any form of physical contact is a form of

child abuse.'

Lincoln's eyes bulge. 'Really?'

'Really,' the woman nods. 'Your parents allowing that kind of

behaviour is inexcusable. Listen to some things...'


The next day, the Louds went to visit Aunt Ruth. Well, except

Mister Loud and Lilly, who usually stay home.

'Lincoln, come here to rub my feet,' the lazy woman demands

while lying on her armchair and wiggling her twelve toes. So

freaky!

'Lucky you,' Lana whispers in jealousy.

Lincoln stays still and silent for a while, being hesitant. Ruth

raises an eyebrow. Why didn't that brat obey right away as

he usually does?

'No,' Lincoln replies and crosses his arms, to everyone's

surprise. Especially to mom's surprise.

'Lincoln Loud, I will not tolerate any kind of misbehaviour

while we are on a visit,' his mother taps the floor with her

heel. 'Be a well mannered boy and do what your aunt said,

or else...'

'I SAID NO!'

Everybody freezes in shock.

'Nobody has the right to force me to touch them or be

touched by them. My body belongs to me,' Lincoln

carries on.

Aunt Ruth pretends to have a heart attack, a trick commonly

used by spoiled old women when they want to draw the others'

attention. Mom raises her finger, about to declare some

punishment for her son.

She is interrupted by a clapping sound, though. It is coming

from Lori. Slowly, the rest of Lincoln's sisters, one after another,

join the applause, thus making it really noisy. They all have

determined expressions.

'Aunt Ruth, I'm so sorry about that,' the younger woman

apologizes to her and beckons to her children to follow

her outside.


Later, next to the family van, Miss Loud, with her arms

crossed, is waiting for explanations. But her offsprings

remain determined.

'There is nothing for us to apologize for,' Lincoln insists.

'Just because a toxic person happens to be a relative of

someone does not mean that that someone has to put up

with that person's whims.'

Miss Loud turns around. She places her palm on the van's

window, supporting her body. Come to think of it, her husband

has always avoided coming here. Taking care of Lilly was just

an excuse.

Perhaps it was a mistake of her to force her children to come

here all these years, to force them to deal with a person they

dislike just because they happen to be related.

She sighs, takes her hand off the van's glass and turns

around again. 'When the time for our next scheduled visit

comes, I'll find some excuse to cancel it,' she says, eliciting

cheers from her kids. 'Now wait a minute for me to go inside

and calm down Aunt Ruth before we leave.'

Mom goes back inside the house, leaving the kids alone for a

while. The sisters applaud Lincoln once more, making him

blush.

'I didn't really understand what happened,' Leni says, placing

her finger on her lips in confusion. And, taking a more delighted

expression, she continues: 'But I'm glad I won't have to touch

those feet again.'

'You acted really maturely in there, Lincoln. I respect you,'

Lori says.

'You rocked, bro,' Luna playfully punches his shoulder,

making him giggle.

'You are a true prince. I wish I find someone like you when I

am grown up,' Lola says, bowing slightly.

'Yeah, you nailed that disgusting woman,' Luan says and

produces her characteristic laugh, being the only one to laugh

at her joke. 'Get it? Because I said 'nailed' and Aunt Ruth forces

us to cut off her nails...'

The others sigh at how unfunny the joke was.

'Even though you're not good at sports, today, you

were a true warrior,' Lynn says.

'Come on, girls, stop,' Lincoln giggles, looking at the

ground in embarassment.

Lucy looks at us and, breaking the 4th wall, says,

'This was a social message, mortals.'

'Even though I will miss our visits to Aunt Ruth's, I

agree with my siblings,' Lana says. 'Nobody has the

right to force them into physical contact.'

'Experts say so, as well,' Lisa adds, with her finger

lifted, in her usual, lecturing tone of voice.