So people liked the last chapter, and even left a few questions. Let's see what we got, alright?
That Engineer - Thank you for that idea, but I think I'll stick with my version. Reading your version, I didn't feel like the impact at the end would be the same if Lincoln did score. Not to mention that his plan was to be serviceable but utterly deserving to be forgotten. Not that the plan worked mind you.
As for why didn't Rita sign Lincoln up for the track team or something like that? I can't help but feel like Rita decided to compromise on this one. She wants Lincoln to exercise, but he is not responsive to any of the activities they've been doing so far. Therefore, why not send him to a sport? Track seems too much like he would exercising for the sake of exercising. Football, on the other side, is still a game, and something that Lincoln might find exciting.
He might even make some new friends. No offense to his own friends.
In short, I'm sure that Rita's thought process is the same of all suburban moms who think their little tyke could use some more sunlight.
DarthWill3 - What, was 'clogging the toilet' his plan? I'm not sure what you mean by that, but I'll go ahead and say no, he just really needed to go.
As for Ronnie… Sorry to the girl, but I think I'm already trying to juggle too many relationships that I'm struggling to give them all relevant scenes. Maybe next time.
YellowPikmin88 - I feel like even if Lincoln hadn't been crippled by Lynn's 'good luck charm', he still would have tried everything in his power to sabotage his own performance. He was that desperate.
Also, I did include a line on Lincoln commentating about Lynn's superstitions. "I swear that Lynn's good luck things are going to be the death of me some day", or something to that effect. A little cheeky nod to NSL.
Alright, I think answering these things answers everyone else.
ON WITH THE CHAPTER!
Disclaimer: I don't own the Loud House.
"Good game."
Bad game.
"Good game."
Bad game.
"Good game."
"Good game."
Part of me realized that another player on the opposite team had actually said his piece a little more audibly.
Apparently, after every game, in order to foster good sportsmanship and stuff like that, we had to line up and pass the other team, giving them high fives and congratulations for a good game.
I struggled to keep my head up and straight.
Looking around, I saw mixed reactions. Some, like Patrick, were a bit more genuine, actually trying to shake everyone's hand and had a bit more feeling in their congratulations. Some, like Terrence, were nice enough, yet you could see that they were busy thinking over the game that we just had and wondering if there was anything else that they could have done. And others, like Ross, weren't even paying attention, the words just falling from their mouths as they were stuck on the fact that they lost…
The fact that we lost…
I want to go home.
Over there, our Coach was talking with the other coach, shaking hands and probably praising the other guy on how well his team did against us, masking his disappointment at how close we had come. Over at the stands, the people that came to cheer the team were leaving, looking utterly disappointed, and I couldn't blame them. This was supposed to be the debut game, an indicator of what was going to come, and this is what they got. I bet it would have been easier to accept that the Roosters were just going to lose every time, instead of getting so invested in a game just for the Roosters to come short.
...Come on, hurry up with the ceremony and all that, I don't want to be here anymore.
Finally, the last member of the team finished, and our Coach made us all group us together and kneel down on the other side of the field. Looking behind us, the other team were quickly packing their things. Probably had a bus waiting for them to take them back home. Now that I thought about it, where were they from?
Oh, I think our Coach is talking now.
"Well… that was a good game, everyone. Sure, we lost, but let's hold our heads up high and know that we gave everything we got and just simply came a little short. Let's continue working hard and prepare for next game, alright?"
The Coach got a few half-hearted nods and grunts.
"Alright, come together now."
The Roosters scooted closer to each other, not as enthusiastic as they were at the beginning of the day.
"1-2-3! 1-2-3!" Terrence called out.
"Roosters!"
With that, the team was dismissed, majority of them returning back to the locker room. I was about to leave when I realized some were staying behind. One of them I recognized.
"Hey, Patrick." I greeted as I walked up closer to him.
'What are you doing? Stick to the plan!'
'Forget the plan.' I said to myself as I looked back up at Patrick. He was staring out at the field with such focus, part of me wondered if he was trying to will the field itself to burst into flames.
"Patrick?"
"Huh?" Patrick looked back at me, before realizing that I asked him a question. "Sorry, man. I was just thinking about stuff."
I stood beside him. "Pretty deep thinking, from what I saw."
He nodded. "Yeah, didn't expect my first real game of football to be like this."
I looked back at him, utterly confused. "Wait, this is your first real football game? How does that work?"
"Well, I mean with all this." Patrick gestured to the equipment. "The helmet, the football pads, that kind of thing. Most of the time, I just played flag or touch football at recess and gym."
...Just nod like you understand what those even mean, Lincoln.
"Even then, my dad wasn't sure about me joining the team here. My grades aren't the best, but I managed to scrape things together, and I'm here, and I was hoping to show my stuff…"
Patrick's expression became glum. "Guess I got a lot to learn."
...Come on, Lincoln. Think of something.
"Yeah, you do."
Patrick looked at me.
Dang it, should have thought about that more. Okay, okay, what else to say?
"I mean, this is supposed to be a team game, right? You're not alone here. I saw what happened between you and Terrence during one of the last plays. You guys only worked with each other for three weeks, I don't think there still will be times that everyone will get some things wrong. I mean, just look at me and my sisters. Even though we probably know each other a lot better than others, we still argue and fight sometimes."
"...Wait, you have sisters?"
I nodded. "Ten of them."
Patrick blinked, utterly gobsmacked at my answer. "Ten?!"
I exhaled and grimaced. "Yep. Trying to get a moment of peace in that house is practically impossible. But either way, my point is that it's okay. Frankly, you guys did alright for a team that has half new guys and half veterans that know each other. I'm sure that by next game, you guys…"
I fell silent for a moment.
"You guys are definitely going to win the next game."
Patrick looked at me funny. "What do you mean by that?"
It was my turn to look confused. "What? You guys are definitely going to win the next game, what's wrong with that?"
"We."
"What?"
"We!" Patrick grinned. "You're part of the team too, Lincoln. Heck, you got us pretty far on that return!"
Then he grimaced as he rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry that we couldn't capitalize on it. We even ended up missing the kick…"
I...tried to smile. "Well… It's fine. Glad to have helped in some way."
"Alright, got to go! My dad's gonna pick me." With that, Patrick began to jog away, before turning back to look at me. "ALRIGHT, SEE YOU AT PRACTICE, LINCOLN!"
With that, Patrick dashed until he was out of sight.
As I started to walk back to the changing room, I couldn't help but think back on Patrick's words. Got to go… Come to think of it, I think Dad was telling me something while I was at home, but I dashed off to find a restroom before I heard the whole thing.
Ehh… Maybe I remember after I change back to my regular clothes.
As I entered into the locker room, I saw that the atmosphere from earlier was still present, with everyone downcast and looking to change into their regular clothes and get out as soon as possible. Walking through the crowd, I soon spotted an empty spot. Then I saw the person changing next to it. I quickly looked around for another available spot. Seeing none, I sighed as I cautiously approached.
Thankfully, Ross didn't stop me, and we had about five moments of peace.
"Hey, big man! Nice hustle out there!"
I stayed staring down at my bag as I saw three other of the team come up to Ross, sneers on their faces.
"What do you want?" Ross asked, clearly annoyed.
"What? Just wanted to congratulate you on your performance out there. Never seen a beached whale move so fast before!"
"Oh my gee, just leave me alone. I'm not in the mood for this."
"I don't know, man. Maybe we shouldn't leave you alone. You're probably in the mood for some Greg and Benny's, huh?"
I heard a hand smack skin.
"WHAT THE HECK, MAN?! WHY DID YOU DO THAT?!"
"What do you think?! You lost us the game, tons of fun!"
...
"You know what? I don't need to deal with this."
"Yeah, run away. How about eating a salad while you're at it?!"
Just look down. Don't get involved.
"I DID THE BEST I COULD!"
"HOW ABOUT YOU PUT THE SAME EFFORT INTO TRAINING AS YOU DO IN AN EATING CONTEST?!"
Dang it.
"HEY!" I came up in front of Ross, standing in front of the three. "THAT'S ENOUGH! WE LOST THE GAME PERIOD. GET OVER IT AND GET READY FOR THE NEXT GAME!"
The three looked at each other before laughing their heads off. At that point, I was aware that the whole locker room was staring at us.
"Oh, look at this. Snow White trying to protect her dear beast."
...Pretty sure that's not the fairy tale.
"Get out of here. The real football players are talking." The lead person said as he pushed me aside. I gritted my teeth as I felt my back collide with the metal of the locker. Just as I was about to get up and do something…
"Yeah, well, the football captain is here and I'm telling everyone to SHUT UP!"
Terrence appeared in the midst of the group of people that I just realized had been crowding around us. Almost immediately, the rumble of noise that was starting to pick up immediately died down. Terrence came to the middle, then looked at Ross, then at the three people, who looked immediately cowed.
"Loud's got a point. We lost this game, and no amount of blame game is going to change that fact. As far as I'm concerned, we will cry over it, we will grumble over, we will learn from it, and that's it. This game might as well have happened a year ago. IS THAT CLEAR?!"
"YES CAPTAIN!" I found myself shouting. Almost immediately, Terrence gave a quick look at me before staring at the three dead evenly.
"And that goes double for you guys. If I hear that you tried to pull this crud again, other than one or two plays that Coach puts you in just because he has to, expect your new official positions to be Benchwarmer. GOT IT?"
"YES CAPTAIN!" The three shouted before scurrying away. Terrence gave me another look before walking away. I looked over at Ross.
"You alright, man?"
Ross nodded. "Thanks."
Brief and without any real feeling behind it.
"No problem." I said, before fully changing into my regular clothes and getting my stuff. As I left the building, someone cleared the throat loudly.
"Well, kinda glad you managed to get that message, Loud." Terrence said as he leaned against the wall. Getting off it, he walked past me.
"Come on." He said, nodding his head towards the bleachers. "We'll talk up there."
The walk towards and up the bleachers was quiet, nothing said between us. Finally, the two of us stood at the top of the bleachers. I looked out towards the view, mentally comparing what I saw here and at the field level.
"Alright. Let's not waste time." Terrence frowned at me. "I saw what you did there."
"Oh?" Let him go first.
"Both on the field and there in the locker room."
"Oh." Oh no.
"Part of me wishes that you kept quiet during that whole thing, just so I drag out everything. But instead, I got you actually going out of your way to defend Ross, so I'm guessing on some level, you at least understand just what you did."
"..."
Terrence glared at me.
"Not going to say anything for yourself? Okay, listen closely. You get one. After this, if you try pulling something like that again, I won't have a problem exposing you. You signed up for this…"
Terrence got up.
"You might as well put some effort in it."
With that, Terrence left, leaving me at the top. I sat down, bowing my head. I don't know how long I stayed there.
Signed up? I didn't even sign up for this sport. I didn't want - don't want to be here. Why was it so hard to get through everyone's head? I DON'T WANT TO BE HERE!
I DON'T I DON'T I DON'T I DON'T I DON'T
"Lincoln?"
I looked up at the Coach, who was looking at me worriedly.
"Are you alright?"
I took a moment to wipe my eyes. Then I paused before looking at my fingers. They were wet.
I rubbed my eyes some more.
Not really. "Yeah, I'm fine."
The Coach looked unconvinced and wanting to say something.
"You sure? Don't mind Terrence. Knowing that kid, the first loss of the season always gets to him."
"Y-You don't say."
"Anyways, for what it's worth, good work out there."
...What do you mean by that?
"I mean, for a rookie, you sure got some moves out there. And even though we didn't capitalize on it, we still got you to thank for even getting that far."
"Are you serious?"
The Coach chuckled. "Still, I bet with some more training, you could have made it all the way."
"You can't be serious."
He looked at me funny. "Lincoln, where have you been for the past three weeks? I remember, first day of conditioning, I worried that I would have to call the hospital to report one of my players in for heat stroke. Now look at you, getting the ball that far!"
"That was a fluke."
The Coach grinned. "Only if you let it be, Lincoln."
With that, he got up.
"Alright, I gotta go now."
Wait, is that seriously it?
"Get home safe, okay?"
You had to notice. Terrence noticed, you didn't. That's impossible. You have to be messing with me.
"See you next practice."
"STOP MESSING WITH ME!" The words spilled out of my mind and out my mouth. Some part of me was horrified, but the rest of me felt too many things.
"What?" The Coach turned to look at me.
"JUST STOP, OKAY! I KNOW! I'VE BEEN FEELING BAD ENOUGH ALREADY!"
The Coach frowned. "Lincoln, it's alright. You did great for your first play-"
"DON'T YOU GET IT?! I MESSED UP! I TRIPPED ON PURPOSE! I RUINED EVERYONE'S HARD WORK! I… I JUST…"
Guilt and shame swirled around in my gut. I stared down at my shoes, unwilling to make eye contact.
I DON'T WANT TO PLAY FOOTBALL.
The feeling of leather against your arms.
I DON'T WANT TO PLAY FOOTBALL.
The wind blowing through the face guard and onto your face.
I DON'T WANT TO PLAY FOOTBALL.
The roar of the crowd.
I don't…
The smile you had on your face.
"Lincoln? Lincoln!"
I blinked, feeling tears slide down my face and dripping onto my shoelaces. I looked up and sniffled. The Coach held out a tissue. I took it and started wiping everything that was dirty. I tried to think of something to say.
"Lincoln, breathe."
"Coach."
"Breath, Lincoln."
I began to take a breath, before the Coach held up a hand.
"Follow me." The Coach breathed in through his nose, before exhaling out his mouth. "You try."
Breath in through the nose. Exhale through the mouth.
Breath in through the nose. Breath out through the mouth.
Breath in. Breath out.
Slowly, like air coming out of a balloon, all the conflicting feelings inside me started to settle down.
"Feel better?"
"Yeah… Yeah, I do."
The Coach sat down again. "So tell me everything. I sense there's a story behind this."
"And now we're here." I finished.
Coach Johnson blew some air through his mouth. "Well. Should have seen that one coming?"
I raised an eyebrow.
"No offense, Lincoln. But when you're in the coaching business as long as me, you see a lot of stuff. And believe me, your case isn't exactly special. I cannot tell how many times me or one of the other coaches have had to deal with a mother's angry tirade because their darling little boy got themselves hurt playing football."
"Yeah, my mom was pretty insistent on making me exercise."
"Well, nothing we can do about that now."
"Huh?"
"Well, if you're thinking that I can just cut you from the team, I'll still need to notify your mother about it, and you're going to need a better reason why you should be let go of the team besides 'I don't want to be here' if you can't get your mother to agree with you."
"Oh…"
"Wait, was that even what you even wanted to ask?"
"...I don't know."
"Lincoln, do you mind if I give you some advice?"
"Go ahead."
"Lincoln, there are times in our lives where we find ourselves outside our comfort zones, doing stuff that is just so far from what we usually do, it can be frightening. But I believe we have a choice when that happens. We can either flounder around, complaining about how it just isn't what we do… or we can take it as an opportunity."
"An opportunity for what?"
Coach Johnson looked at me straight. "That depends on you, Lincoln. Either way, you can sit there, mourning over all the time that you could have spent on something else and generally wasting your time, or you make something out of the time that you spent here. It's your choice, Lincoln."
As the Coach stood up, he smiled down at me. "Still, call me biased, but I am your coach, so do come to practice, ready to work, alright?"
I frowned. "Just want to let you know, I'm not exactly the most athletic of my family."
He chuckled. "It's alright. I'm not expecting Randy Moss. I'm expecting Lincoln Loud, doing the best he can."
With that, the Coach left the bleachers, leaving me alone.
Expecting… Expecting… I know that everyone at home was expecting me back for something, but what…
Wait...when was Luna having that concert of hers?
"OH SHOOT!"
Grabbing my stuff, I ran down the bleachers and out of the field, my feet barely feeling the difference between pavement and grass. Everything practically passed by me in a blur, the only thing on my mind was getting home before we had to go. Just as I was about to stop, the familiar shape of my house came into view. I put in one last burst, coming to a stop in front of the door. Only then did I allow myself to lean forward, propping myself on my thighs as I regained my breath.
Then it hit me.
I just ran all the way from the field to my house. It took about 15 minutes to walk from here to there. And I just ran that distance.
Woah.
Suddenly, the door opened. "THERE YOU ARE!"
I looked up just in time to see my mom reach out and pull me inside. Once we were in the house, mom looked me over and grimaced. I could imagine what I looked like at that moment. Looking around, I saw everyone in a frenzy trying to get ready, Luna being the most.
"Lincoln, quickly go up and make yourself presentable, okay? We're gonna have to leave in 10 minutes if we don't want to be late."
I nodded and quickly made for the stairs. Just as I was halfway there…
"Oh by the way, today was your first game, right? How was it, Lincoln?"
All activity stopped. I looked back to see everyone having stopped and looked at me. I noticed Lynn staring at me intently.
Can't let her know about the fact that I went during the game, or she'll think that I brought the team bad luck! I mean, I could have gotten the teams points and I didn't. BUT I'M NOT DOING THAT THING AGAIN!
"Umm… It went pretty good."
"You won?" Mom asked.
"Yeah… We totally did. It was close, but we managed to do it." Please don't look it up. More importantly, don't let Lynn look it up.
"Okay, I gotta go get ready!" With that, I finally got into my room.
I stared out the window as we drove back to our house. As usual, Luna and her band tore the house down, and the crowd loved her for it. Part of me was still aware of my sisters talking all around me. I began to pay attention.
"GREAT, MY EARS ARE STILL RINGING!" Lola shouted.
"Geez, dude, you don't need to shout." Luna commented. "Besides, that's a mark of a good concert right there."
"That or possible hearing damage." Lisa interrupted. "You know, if the problem still persists, you should come see me, Lola."
"WHAT?! No thank you. I'll just wait for this to blow over. I do not need you to make me a super ear or something like that."
I couldn't help but smile hearing Lisa curse under her breath.
"Besides, as if something as small as this could do anything to me when I go up against Sweetwater on Wednesday. I practiced so hard to crush her."
"Oh shoot, honey! I forgot that Lola had that pageant on Wednesday!"
Just then, Lynn snorted.
"Practice? All you do is just walk back and forth with books balanced on your head. Try coming to one of my practices, and you'll how much work you have to do in my world."
Lola scoffed. "No thank you, you can stay in your gross sweaty world. My world requires class and sophistication, unlike you."
I tuned out of that conversation, as it looked like everyone else was starting to get into it. Still, something out of that stayed with me.
'Hard work, huh?'
We arrived at our house, and everyone immediately went their separate ways, going into different parts. I felt thirsty and began to make my way to the kitchen. Out of the corner of my eye, a glint blinded me. I looked over.
There, our trophy cabinet stood. Filled to the brim with all the awards that my sisters had won over the years, it spoke a lot about how much they had all achieved. And then there was me.
I opened the door, and took out the lone trophy that I was given. It was a small trophy with a sticker with the words 'Most Improved Brother' stuck on the base. I remember being so happy and proud to display it front and center in my own corner of the trophy cabinet.
Holding it now, I felt nothing.
I looked up. I realized that all the trophies and awards that my sisters had won over the years didn't just fall into their laps. Standing there, I looked at each trophy, imagining each of my sisters putting in time and effort, day in and day out, until the moment they were able to lift that award high in the air, all their efforts having paid off.
Me on the other hand, I wanted a trophy but I didn't want to actually work for it.
Me at the Marathon? Played video games all the time.
Me at the Karate Tournament? Read all the manga I could get my hands on.
Me at the Kid Pageant? Did both at the same time.
Now that I thought about it, I didn't even deserve this trophy. I had basically embarrassed my sisters in public, and was just trying to make things right. And that deserves an award, just because I was trying to be a decent person?
I sighed as I put the trophy back in the cabinet. Going back to the kitchen, I got a glass from the cabinet and turned on the faucet. Filling the glass with water, I drank it all before putting it inside the sink. Just as I was about to go back up the stairs, I happened to stare out the window out into the backyard.
I stopped, before immediately turning around and going outside. Walking close to the object, I bent over and grabbed it. I looked over it, before going back and opening the door.
"MOM!"
"Yeah, Lincoln?"
"I'm going for a walk!"
"Okay, stay safe."
Closing the door, I left the backyard and walked away. I had only one destination in mind, and soon, I saw it in the distance. Keeping the same pace, I eventually entered onto the football field. Setting down the football, I looked around, feeling a little awkward to be standing in the middle of an empty field.
Either way, I set the ball down, before setting my hand on it. I tried my best to copy the position that I saw the guy in front of Terrence was in. I looked up, seeing the goal post in the distance.
I imagined that I was wearing my helmet.
"...23, 10, 14, 51, HIKE!"
As I grabbed the ball and brought it close to my chest, I imagined a line of people blocking the other team from getting to me. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a figure coming towards me. I backed up, letting the shadow pass by me. Seeing my opportunity, I made a run for it.
Passing by the line, I ran like the wind, the breeze brushing through hair. My heart started to beat, both from effort and a feeling in his chest. Shadows began to appear on the stands, a sound beginning to make itself known in my ears.
"LINCOLN! LINCOLN!"
Faster.
"LINCOLN! LINCOLN!"
Faster!
"COME ON, LINCOLN!"
FASTER!
I crossed the end zone and stopped.
Tried to.
Immediately, I slid across the turf, my free arm windmilling as I fought to keep my balance. Then gravity grabbed my back and sent me onto my back. I blinked, seeing the sky above me.
I laid there for a few moments, just watching the sky and clouds pass me by. Slowly getting up, I looked back across the field, mentally tracking where I was. As I did, the shadows left me, leaving me alone.
I stared out again onto the empty field.
The disappointment on everyone's faces.
"You're part of the team too, Lincoln."
"You signed up for this, might as well put some effort into this."
"You can sit there, mourning over all the time that you could have spent on something else and generally wasting your time, or you make something out of the time that you spent here."
The feeling of excitement that was coursing through my veins as I ran with the ball.
"Alright, let's see what happens if I actually try."