1. Luan and me.
Now that the heat has replaced the cold, the improvement of mood in the Loud House is noticeable. Especially for Lana, who has resumed her dirty games in the family yard.
I'm talking about her twisted habit of creating a puddle and throwing mud balls at me. In a family where I am the only boy along with ten sisters, I tend to become an automatic target for their games. In fact: Lana saw when I was just going to read my comics, and that was enough to declare my goal. The smile she gave me was terrifying.
While I hid behind a tree to avoid being bombed, I saw my sister Luan approaching, with a pile of artifacts for children's parties in their arms. It was not a good time for her to get back from work.
"There's no point in running away, you little chicken ... Get out of there" Lana said, giving a perfectly spherical shape to a mass of mud.
"Hey Lana, could you consider a truce? I mean..."
"Too late, this little friend wants to meet you!" was the answer I received and the least I wanted to hear. But things were still not complicated enough. Giving a full swing at throwing the foul ball, Lana gave a small slip in the mud of the ground, which was enough for the missile to move away from me ... And towards the inadvertent Luan.
The shot went very fast, but I still had a chance to avoid something worse.
"Oh no, watch out, Luan!" Lana exclaimed, as I started to run towards the future victim. Luan paused at the warning, and by barely shaking her head, she tried to find the source of danger. But she just saw me, jumping in front of her and getting the mud bomb right in my mouth.
Poor Lana did not fail to express her regret. "Linc! Are you okay, man? I'm so sorry!" she said, while my mouth tasted like heck and shame prevented me from rising from the ground. When I stopped thinking about how much I hate Spring, I could see the stunned face of Luan, who had put her bulky load aside when she discovered what could happen to her.
"Linky! Did you sacrifice for me? That is awesome! It would have been a big problem if things from my job were muddled!"and she continued, as she took my left arm: "Get up, I feel deeply obliged to thank you in a special way".
As I got to my feet, I spit out much of the mud that I almost swallow. That made her smile.
"Whoa, kid! Watch out that vocabulary, you're talking dirty!" she exclaimed, and her laughter flooded the courtyard, as she joyfully pulled me into the house.
Dang it..
A couple of hours later, after a long session of gargle with mouthwash, it was filling my mouth with something almost as harmful as mud, but much more delicious. That's right: Luan invited me to Burpin 'Burger, and a huge LardBall Steak Burger was caught between my teeth.
"You can not imagine how successful the new routine was. What you suggested the other time worked great. It was great!" she said, gesturing with her arms. The combo she chose was still intact, as mine vanished at an absurd rate. Listening to their lively conversation was the best music to enjoy my favorite junk food.
"You mean what I suggested the other time about Mr. Coconuts?" I said, remembering how dissatisfied the dummy looked with the original routine. I took a sip of soda while she continued telling her experience.
"That's right. Even the birthday girl's mother almost spits out the drink when she laughed. That would have been something to capture with my camera! It would have become the ugliest fountain sculpture in the world".
That mental image had an effect on me, and it was me who ended up expelling the drink.
"That's what I mean! That one is on you, little bro!" It was her final comment before joining in with my laughter.
As you see, I really enjoy spending time with Luan. She is someone with whom it is impossible to spend a boring moment. Although unfortunately, I ended up remembering that the happiness of her company would disappear at a near date. On her favorite day of the year.
I'm talking about the April first, the April Fool's Day. That evil celebration created for the sole purpose of turning humanity into victims of pranking. And we have one right in our family group: the sweet Luan L. Loud turns into a monster during those very long and painful twenty-four hours. Believe me, it's not nice to even remember.
That's why I unimaginably envy Lori, the eldest of all my ten sisters. She'll be out of the Loud House this week, visiting Aunt Ruth. A whole week. How can this be possible? Why not me, for example? I do not exaggerate to say that the aunt with her calloused feet (which include an extra toe), her cats and her vomiting food are something better than what can be lived here on April Fool's Day. But it had to be someone who could take her in a car where necessary in an emergency, and that discards me.
I did not want that day to come. That day when Luan would turn into something horrible.
"You quiet? Either you're thinking about your beloved Ronnie Anne, or you're choking", my sister suddenly said, casting an inquiring glance.
"E-excuse me, I'm enjoying every bite. That's all", I lied.
"I think it's the other. Do not feel sorry for that" she said, and taking on a more literary air, almost like a poet, added: "Love transforms us all. It puts us head on, to the degree of wanting to change and be better".
There was a deep truth in the last thing she said.
"Have you ever been in love, Luan?"
She looked at me in silence, smiling serenely.
"Yes. Someday I'll give you the details".
And she took the first sip of her drink.