'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.
