So I was gonna wait until I was a little further in with Out of Sight before I started working on this story, but the more I thought about it I just really wanted to start writing it. So I might as well start on it and work on it a bit from time to time.
After I first saw Snow Bored I couldn't help but wonder what things would be like if the Loud family encountered a winter storm. I've actually spent a winter in the Great Lakes region where the show takes place and I can tell you this, they can some nasty winters up there. Not every winter is bad, but when they do they get that bad, they get REALLY bad.
I'm also setting this several years before the show because if Lisa were there she'd probably just figure out a way to stop what was happening through dues ex machina. This will take place before either she or Lily are born, but everyone else will be there.
Disclaimer: I do not own The Loud House
Winter time, the second most favorite season of the year for many children throughout the country, right behind summer vacation. As a child it meant days of snowball fights, snow angels, building snowmen, sledding and various other activities to fill the day with. Then one could conclude the day with a nice hot chocolate by the fire. It was especially best when school was cancelled due to the blocked roads and icy conditions.
As an adult it usually meant frustration with having to deal with the cold and having to drive on snowy and icy roads while children pelted your car with snowballs.
At a house on Franklin Avenue in the town of Royal Woods, Michigan dwelt a family of eleven, two parents and their nine children with the mother expecting another child in about six months. The rest of the family consisted of their son... and eight daughters, their ages ranging from thirteen to just eighteen months. Most people who see the family would call the parents crazy for having so many children, but the parents didn't care. They loved their children and each other regardless of what anyone else thought.
Right now, a soft snow was falling outside with icicles beginning to form on the sides of their house and every other house in the neighborhood. They were even forming on the street lamps scattered throughout the neighborhood. Even the roads were beginning to vanish beneath the blanket of soft snow. The snow plows came through every now and then, but with the snow beginning to pick up it was easily becoming a futile effort.
Inside the house right now were just the kids with the eldest child, a thirteen year old blonde girl named Lori, was in charge of her siblings and the household. Their parents had left a while earlier to get some extra groceries in case the snow got worse than what they were calling for. It was only supposed to be a few inches of snow, but knowing how the snow could get, they figured it would be best to get some extra in case they got snowed in at the house.
Right now the five eldest girls were gathered around the TV and waiting to hear the news about school closings while the young twins slept in their parents room and one was missing from the room as was usually the case, not that her older siblings ever really noticed anyway. The weatherman right now was talking about areas that were going to be impacted by the incoming snow amidst his weather advisories and how much each area was expected to get. Some areas were calling for several feet of snow and some were calling for less than a single foot.
As the kids watched however, their patience was growing increasingly thin as they didn't care about how other areas were being impacted. All they wanted to know right now is how much they were getting and whether or not they had to be in bed early tonight.
"Come on! Get to the school closings already," said a ten year old girl with light brown hair and was dressed in yellow shirt and skirt.
Another brown haired girl dressed in purple stood just to her left and looked at her with aggravation.
"Be patient Luan. We need to see how much we're getting first," the girl said.
Luan shook her head and said, "I don't care about how much we get Luna. I just want to know if we're going to have school tomorrow."
"I just hope we have enough for snowball fights. Whether we have school or not, you guys are getting it tomorrow," said the last brown haired of the group.
Everyone cast a slightly fearful (but mostly annoyed) glance at the youngest girl, the only exception being the only other blonde haired girl in the group.
"Getting what Lynn? Did you make presents for us?" she asked with enthusiasm and her eyes glowing at the last part.
Lori groaned and said, "Sure Leni. You can have Lynn's gift first."
Leni grinned in excitement as each of the girls turned their attention back to the news. Unbeknownst to them, someone was trying to jump up behind them. Every time he was finally getting close to a good luck at the TV, one of the girls would shift their position and block his view once again. So he then tried to squeeze between them, but the girls were gathered so close together he couldn't get past them.
"Come on guys! I want to see too," the small white haired boy complained.
No matter how much he complained though, none of the girls would move out of the way to let him see the TV. He still tried to push himself past each of them, but he quickly realized that his effort wasn't getting him anywhere. So he figured that if he couldn't get past them, then he should try to climb over them instead. Unfortunatly he had the bright idea to try to climb over Lori. She noticed what he was doing and quickly put a stop to that.
She threw him off of her arm and with a groan of disgust she said, "Will you get off of me twerp?"
Lincoln cried out as he stumbled backwards and then fell over, hitting the back of his head on the leg of the coffee table. He cried out again as his head connected to the leg and then clutched the back of his head as tears began forming in his eyes.
Both Luna and Leni had heard the sounds of Lincoln's head hitting the leg of the table and the both of them turned with a start as he cried out in pain. Leni couldn't help but gasp at the sight of Lincoln clutching his hurting head and Luna shot Lori a death glare.
"Lori! Was that necessary?" Luna said as Leni went over to their brother.
Leni helped him back up as Lori glared back at Luna and said, "What? The twerp had it coming when he tried to climb on top of me."
Leni brought him back over and Lincoln meekly said, "I just wanted to see what they were saying on TV."
He shrunk under Lori's gaze, but Luna pulled him away from their eldest sister and turned him away from her so that he could get a better look at the TV. Leni turned her attention back to the TV, but took a few glances at Lincoln to make sure he was okay. She had already checked him and was glad to see that he wasn't bleeding, but would probably bruise a little bit later.
"I can't believe you at times Lori," Luna said with a shake of her head before turning back to the TV.
Lori rolled her eyes and said, "Whatever. Let's just get back to the snow."
Luna rolled her eyes and draped her arms over Lincoln's shoulders, trying to comfort him. The tears had stopped, but the back of his head was still aching. At the very least he had some solace over his mission being a success as he could now see the weather report about the incoming snow. He just wished it could have been a lot less painful though.
The news was currently showing videos of the snow fall in several areas including their town, several neighboring towns, and even in downtown Detroit. One look outside could tell you that the snow was starting to come down a little harder than it had been earlier. A yellow light flashed by as another snowplow made it's way through.
"And we also have the snow banks to worry about. If you aren't careful on the roads, they can and will repossess your car in the worst way possible," the weatherman, Patchy Drizzle, said with a hearty laugh on the TV.
Luan frowned and said, "Hey! That's MY joke."
"That joke was a groaner anyway," Lynn said to Luan.
Luan looked back with an angered look and said, "And don't you forget it."
Turning back to the TV, Patchy touched something on his ear and said, "Okay I just got word that we do have some school closings in the area. Plenty as a matter of fact. We now go over to our temporary news anchor, Mr. Benjamin Lob as our main man is on vacation in Florida. Over to you Ben."
The camera switched to a younger man sitting at the news desk and he said, "Thanks Patchy. Well it looks like residents in the local communities will have a lot of free time on their hands for the next couple of days. Many schools and businesses are calling off tomorrow due to the incoming winter weather. So far all of the schools in Beaverton have called off. So have the schools in Hazeltuckey, many of the schools in the Detroit area with more expected to call off within the hour."
He continued naming off several towns, but kept passing over Royal Woods.
Lynn was about to shake the TV and she said, "C'mon! Say Royal Woods! Say Royal Woods!"
Luan was gripping her own hands tightly while Leni was about to hold her breath.
"Give us a snow day," Lori said excitedly.
"And give Lincoln his first," Luna said while clutching Lincoln tightly which filled the boy with even more eagerness.
It was true, Lincoln had never really had a snow day before. He hadn't started school until just a couple of years earlier. There had been a couple of snow days when he was in pre-school, but he had been sick with the mumps during that entire time. And last year's winter had been a dud. It had been an unseasonably warm winter and whatever snow they had gotten had been too light to really stick to the warm roads.
That's why he was now looking forward to this snowfall.
The anchorman continued and before long he was finished reading off the list of towns, but theirs had not been mentioned. The kids all groaned and looked dejected, with the exception of Lynn who looked like she was about ready to pulverize the TV. Then there was Lincoln who had a look of sorrow plastered on his face on having to miss out yet again.
"Guess there's always next time," Lincoln said sadly with Luna patting his shoulders.
Suddenly another person came into view on the news feed and handed Ben a new sheet of paper.
He looked it over and said, "This just in, we have a few more towns for the school closings list."
The kids suddenly froze and turned their attention back to the TV. Their eagerness returned as he named off several more towns one by one. It wasn't long until he reached the last town listed down. The children all held their breath as they waited.
"I have to give congratulations to the town of Royal Woods, you're the very last town on the list. You kids enjoy your snow day tomorrow," he said as he set the sheet of paper down.
If anyone were walking on the sidewalk at that moment in front of 1216 Franklin Avenue, they more than likely would have been driven deaf by the screams of delight that suddenly resonated from the house's living room. But the screams were soon replaced by the sounds of groans as the kids begin trying to dig into their ears to relieve themselves of the ringing within. Even Lincoln was doing the same as pain plastered his face.
"Okay that was a mistake," Luan said as she clutched her ears.
Lori shook her head clear and said, "That was too much even for us."
As they shook their ears clear, their faces of discomfort turned back into faces of excitement. The prospect of a snow day for them always filled them with excitement, but for at least a couple of them the prospect of their brother finally getting his chance to enjoy playing in the snow with them.
It was here that they could see headlights pulling into the driveway and this was followed by the sound of vehicle doors closing. A moment later, their parents stepped in with several papers bags filled with groceries and they shook the fresh snow off of their winter clothing.
"Hey kids. We're back," their mother, Rita, said as she took her scarf and winter hat off.
"Give us a hand with groceries, will you kids?" their father, Lynn Sr, said as he carried the bags towards the kitchen.
After their father gave the order, each of the kids groaned with the exception of Lynn who grinned widely instead, the others knowing full well as to why she was.
She looked to the rest of her siblings and as she ran out the door she said, "Bet I can carry more than the rest of you."
This just resulted in the rest of them groaning once again.
As the children celebrated their upcoming snow days, a warm and moist jet stream was meeting with colder and drier air further up north. As the two met, snow clouds formed and the resulting colder polar air was being forced into a southern direction and the snow front began working it's way down. Towards the Great Lakes region.
So I know this wasn't a long chapter, but this was simply an introduction chapter for what's to come. Plus I'm probably not going to make very long chapters for this story as this is just a little something I want to work on as I plan out my chapters for Out of Sight. There will be more in the next few chapters and I'll try to add in more detail into them. In fact the next couple of chapters will be more focused towards humor.
As for the anchorman, Benjamin Lob, I made his name as a combination Benjamin Legrand and Jacques Lob, two men behind the French graphic novel Le Transperceneige. Pretty good graphic novel that was adapted into the movie Snowpiercer. If you haven't seen that movie, you're missing out. Give it a look.