At the Loud House backyard...
The Loudest athlete known as Lynn Loud ran in circles around the backyard when Lincoln arrived at the scene. He saw her run in circles for a while first, and the athlete seemed to be so focused on her running that she didn't notice Lincoln was nearby.
"What are you doing, Lynn?" Lincoln asked.
"There's a big race in a couple of days!" Lynn answered, still running in circles. "I need to make sure my speed is in top notch condition to win it!"
"But according to Lori you've been running for 15 minutes, aren't you tired?" Linc remarked as Lynn started to slow down.
"Well... I guess... I might... be feeling..." and then Lynn went from running to just walking, before stopping altogether. "A bit... tired..."
"Come back in, I'll get you a glass of water."
The sports girl turned to her brother, smiled and went back inside. Once there, she sat down and caught her breath while Lincoln served her a glass of cold water. As he did this, she decided to further explain why was the race so important.
"I'm telling you, Lincoln, this race could potentially wind up being one of the most important races in all of Royal Woods!" she said. "And once they pick me for their team, I have to make sure my speed is at maximum so I can give it our all!"
"Did they tell you that you were going to be picked for the race?" Lincoln asked as he walked to Lynn and handed her the glass of water.
"N-Not really, but think about it: I'm one of the best athletic players in Royal Woods, the best female athlete at that!" Lynn replied, taking a sip from her water. "It would be best for everybody if they let me give it a shot, you know?"
Lincoln just rolled his eyes at his sister's attempt to look cool. "You do know you're not the only female athlete in the Royal Woods team, right Lynn?" he pointed out, causing his sister to stop drinking. "Like Ronnie Anne, and-"
"Lincoln, I know what you're trying to say, but don't even try to persuade me not to train," Lynn replied, finishing her glass of water and getting up. "I will be in the race, no doubt about it! So I need to be in top notch condition!"
"Lynn, I already told you that you need to rest!" Linc growled, grabbing his sister's arm.
"And I already told you, don't try to stop me!" Lynn spat.
She freed herself from Lincoln's grasp, slapped him and then returned to the backyard to continue her training. Lincoln rubbed his cheek as he watched her go, worried about what would happen when Lynn became disappointed at the time to pick someone for the race. An angry Lynn was definitely not a good Lynn to hang around with, and the instant anybody saw her, they knew they had to run away to be spared from her fury.
Luckily though, it would only happen if Lynn was rejected, which would definitely not happen.
Right?
The next day, at the School's football field...
Lynn, alongside Ronnie and a bunch of other female athletes waited as the coach walked back and forth, lecturing them about the upcoming big race. Lynn in particular paid attention to the best of her ability... while sweating a lot and breathing heavily.
"Hey, Loud, why do you look like that?" Ronnie asked, catching Lynn's attention. "Are you feeling well?"
"Yes, I'm perfectly fine, Ronnie. For this day, for the race, and for anything!" Lynn enthusiastically answered, right before chirping, "Now shut up, the coach's about to pick the racer!"
"And so, I have decided that the girl who will participate in the race is..." Lynn got off her seat, but then promptly stood in place as the coach finished: "Ronnie Anne Santiago!"
Lynn simply couldn't believe what she heard. She wasn't picked for the race? After she trained so hard for it, no less? That was possibly the biggest sport-related betrayal she had since... actually, just the first sport-related betrayal she's ever felt.
And as the rest of the girls and the coach went to train for the sports, Ronnie approached Lynn and told her, "Sorry, Lynn, but the coach sincerely thinks you're not in a good physical condition to participate in the race," Ronnie explained. "And he would also like for you to stay at the bench and relax while the rest of us practice. Again, I'm sorry."
Lynn formed a fist, shook with rage... then promptly took a deep breath and replied, "No, it's okay, I understand."
Ronnie gave the sports fan a smile and went to practice with the rest of the team, all while Lynn's smile turned into a furious frown.
Sometime later, at the Loud House...
Lynn kicked the door open and stomped her way towards her room as nearby, Lincoln and Lori watched her leave. They then went to the door and closed it as Lynn's loud footsteps grew quieter as she went upstairs.
"Do you think she's upset?" Linc asked to Lori.
"Lincoln, she literally kicked the door open!" the teenager answered, pointing at the door. "That's the first thing Lynn does whenever she's upset about something!"
"Maybe I should go talk to her?" Linc said, scratching his chin.
"Linc, whatever this is about, this is something Lynn has to face on her own," Lori replied as she walked back to the couch. "Besides, you've been acting like everybody's psychiatrist for literally long enough, take a break or something."
Linc took a look at Lori, then a glance at the footsteps left behind by Lynn, and finally... went to the couch and watched some TV with Lori.
Lynn and Lucy's Bedroom...
The gothic poet Lucy Loud read a book when Lynn once again kicked the door open, then promptly slammed it close before running to and jumping into her bed. Surprisingly enough, none of those events caught Lucy's attention.
"How did it go for you today?" Lucy nonchalantly asked.
"I don't wanna talk about it!" Lynn spat before slamming her head on her pillow.
The poet shrugged and continued to read her book... up until Lynn got up and told her what was bothering her.
"The coach picked Ronnie Anne over me, alright?!" she yelled. "After training for that race so hard, they had the audacity to pick Ronnie Anne instead of me! Can you believe it?"
"Yes, you've been in the spotlight for quite a while now," Lucy answered, flipping to the next page. "It's about somebody else got the chance to shine, don't you think?"
That got Lynn into thinking: Lucy would most definitely not pick her side, but she would show her point of view and how Lynn would be in the wrong. So she-
"And before you go get Lincoln to try and win this argument, how about you stop and think about it?" Lucy suddenly added.
Having been caught off-guard by the suggestions, Lynn, feeling like she had nothing else to lose, relaxed and decided to take the time to think about it. And as she did that, Lucy flashed a pleased smile before returning to her book.
And literally seconds later, Lynn walked out of the room and looked for Lincoln.
"Lincoln!" she shouted repeatedly, but she got no response. "Hey Lincoln! I need your opinion about something!"
"What is it?"
Lynn jumped and shrieked in fear upon hearing Linc's voice so close to her. Then she turned around and saw Lincoln was pretty much right next to her. "Wow, Lincoln, did spending so much time with Lucy give you the ability to teleport or something?" the athlete inquired.
"No, I came in as soon as I heard you calling me," Linc explained. "Anyhow, what do you need?"
"Listen, the coach picked Ronnie Anne over me to participate in the race instead of me," Lynn answered. "Can you believe it?"
Lincoln looked around Lynn's sweaty, presumably exhausted body and bluntly answered, "Yes, I can believe it."
"What?! Why?!" Lynn whined.
"Look at yourself, Lynn!" Linc grabbed a nearby mirror and showed Lynn her reflection. "You practiced so much for a race you didn't even knew you were going to run in, that you're not only too tired to run for it, but you're sweating like a pig!"
Lynn crossed her arms and scoffed. "Don't be ridiculous, Lincoln, pigs don't sweat!"
Suddenly, Lisa walked by and nonchalatly said, "That is factually true."
"The point is, you tried too hard, and the coach simply saw you unfit for such an important race," Linc said as he took Lynn to the trophy shelf, and put some focus on Lynn's part. "Besides, you've been in the spotlight for a while now, without giving the other athletes a chance."
Lynn took a look at her trophy, and some miscellaneous victory stuff she had, and rubbed her arm. "Okay, Lucy had the same argument, but at least you back it up with proof," she remarked. "Okay, so what do I do now?"
"On the day of the race, you'll give Ronnie encouragement and make sure you act like a good sport," Linc instructed. "Plus, she's my girlfriend, so I'm going to get mad if you do anything bad to her!"
"Oh please, as if you could do anythi-"
And then Lincoln performed a noogie on Lynn, making sure to hold her as tightly as possible. "Ouch! Okay! I got it! I'll be nice!"
The boy released Lynn, who whined "Geez, desperate situations calls for desperate measures, but did you seriously need to do that?" as she rubbed her head.
"I'm just making sure you understand the consequences," Linc answered, folding his arms. "Remember, be a good sport."
With that said and done, Lincoln left and Lynn took the time to think.
The day of the race...
It was minutes before the race, and the chosen participants all trained for the upcoming event. Among these were Ronnie Anne, who was being watched by Lynn. The athlete took a deep breath and put her hands on her hips as she tries to think of what to say.
"In any other situation, Ronnie would be the one giving encouragement to me," Lynn bitterly stated, almost sounding like a familiar spoiled diva.
"Shut up, and be, a good sport!" Lincoln instructed from afar.
After being reminded of her objective, Lynn walked to Ronnie's side and caught her attention. "Oh hi Lynn, what's up?" the Hispanic girl remarked with a friendly tone. "The race is starting in 5 minutes, so please make it quick."
"Listen, Ronnie..." Lynn started, paused, took a look at Lincoln-who gave her a thumbs up-and then resumed. "I'm sorry if I made you think I was angry because you were picked for the race instead of me. It's just that I've been in the spotlight for so long, I'm really used to being picked for events, and this was the first time somebody was picked other than me."
"2 minutes left!" the coach shouted from the starting line.
"So just to be blunt: I wish you good luck in the race, I'll try not to hold a grudge, and good luck in general," Lynn hastily said as she ran back to her seat. "I'll go back to my seat, you have fun!"
Ronnie waved goodbye and Lynn sat back down next to Lincoln. "Okay, now it's up to Ronnie to win this for Royal Woods," Lynn remarked.
"Don't worry, she's going to do fine," Linc reassured.
But words alone wouldn't ease Lynn's worry. The race started, and Lynn clasped her hands to pray that Ronnie wouldn't mess up and fail. And for the first part of the race, it looked like it was going to be the case, so Lynn prayed harder.
"Please, make me learn my lesson, make sure Ronnie wins!"
And then, Ronnie seemingly started to catch up with some of the other runners.
"For me..."
Ronnie ran past the 4th and 3rd runner.
"For Lincoln..."
She caught up with the 2nd runner and raced with her for the finish line.
"For Royal Woods!"
And finally...
A couple seconds later, everybody cheered as Ronnie clapped and saw the other runner hold the 1st place trophy, while she herself stood in 2nd place. Lynn just stood in confusion while her family cheered, but why would they? Ronnie didn't win, so there's no reason to celebrate.
But anyway, she went with them to the field and saw them congratulate Ronnie for doing so well. But Lynn still didn't get it: Again, Ronnie didn't win, so there was no reason to celebrate or congratulate her.
"I don't get it," she blurted.
And then she realized she was right next to Ronnie Anne.
"What don't you understand?" Ronnie asked in confusion.
"You didn't win, you just got second place," Lynn explained. "Why does that even deserve a congratulation?"
"Because Ronnie tried her best," Lincoln explained. "Plus, her family couldn't come, so we'll congratulate her instead."
Lynn took another look around, and saw no sights of Bobby or Ronnie's parents. And though she couldn't think of any reason for them to not come, the important part is that they weren't around.
And so, Lynn decided to join the congratulations and extended her hand to Ronnie. "Good work, buddy," she said with a honest smile.
Ronnie returned the smile and shook hands with the athlete. Shortly afterwards, the two engaged in a hug as Lynn thought:
"I guess I can't be in the spotlight all the time. But I guess I should get used to that. And next time I get the spotlight, well... I'll make sure to avenge this defeat. But until then, enjoy the spotlight everybody!"