It was a fine Thursday evening in the town of Royal Woods, and Lola and Rita were on their way back to the Loud House from a pageant. Lola had to miss a day of school just to go to the pageant, and was going to make up with her homework the next day. "I'm so proud of you, sweetie," Rita told her 6-year-old daughter. "You've won yet another pageant, just like you did in all the pageants you've been in since you were 2."
"Thanks, Mom!" Lola smiled. "This crown is so worth going into my collection." With that, Lola noticed that Rita drove by her school, and she noticed that her new friend, Meli's bike was still parked in the bike rack, and it was 6 PM! School was over 3 hours ago, so Lola whispered to herself, "Meli's bike is still in the bike rack."
"What was that, sweetie?" Rita asked.
"Mommy, when we were just driving by the school, I saw Meli's bike parked in the bike rack, and it's been 3 hours since school got out!" Lola told her mother.
"Well, you can ask Meli why her bike was in the bike rack when you get to school tomorrow," Rita told her daughter.
The next morning, Lola and Lana were walking in the hallway, and Lana said to Lola, "I'll meet you in the classroom, Lols. I've gotta take a wiz."
"Okay," Lola said to Lana. "Enjoy your wiz!"
When Lana walked into the girls' bathroom, she saw Meli brushing her teeth in there. Lana awkwardly stared at her, before they both made eye contact to each other. "I'll just... go find another bathroom to pee in," Lana said, and let Meli continue to brush her teeth. Later that day, the twins were walking in the hall, just getting done with gym class, and Lana was noticing Lola was walking funny, so she asked, "Why are you walking so funny?"
"Because my thighs hurt from squatting," Lola told her twin.
"Oh," Lana said. "Do you want some thigh cream?"
"No!" Lola barked. She then saw Meli at the soda machine, so she said to Lana, "Hey, look! She's doing it again!"
"Why would a 6-year-old girl need a supply of soft drinks?" Lana asked.
"Meli's been acting weird lately," Lola said. "Like... Lucy weird."
"You know, this morning when I went to go take that wiz, I saw Meli brushing her teeth here in the ladies' room, so I went to the 4th through 6th grade ladies' room," Lana told Lola.
"Ya know, last night on the way back from my pageant, Mom and I were driving by here, and I saw Meli's bike parked at the bike rack," Lola told Lana.
"Weird," Lana commented. "I wonder what's up."
The twins then see Meli walking towards them, and Lola said, "Hey Meli, what's up?"
"I saw you here this morning, and Lola said she saw you here last night..." Lana began.
"Everything's normal!" Meli said, running away.
"Meli, come back!" the twins yelled, running after their friend.
As they ran after their friend, Lucy walked by the soda machine, and saw the sodas Meli dropped, and said, "Stray sodas? Yes!"
Later at the stage, the twins were still looking for Meli. "Meli, where are you?" Lola asked.
"Meli?" Lana called.
"I saw her run in here," Lola told her twin.
"You're still walking a little bow-legged, are you sure you don't want some thigh cream?" Lana asked.
Later that night, the twins were at their friend, Abigail's house for a sleepover. She invited all the girls in her grade, and they were all waiting for Meli. Meli then showed up and said, "Hi everyone!"
"You run fast," Lola commented.
"Real fast," Lana agreed.
"Thanks," Meli agreed. "Well, bye."
"Hey, what's going on with you?" Lola asked.
"Hey girls, do you still want to watch the movie?" Abigail asked.
"Oh look!" Meli said. "A movie! Everybody pay attention to the movie! No more questions for Meli!"
The kids were watching the movie, Max. It was about a dog named Max, and every time the dog barked, Ellie Hathaway decided to be annoying by going, "Woof, woof!"
"Hey, Ellie, will you please stop doing that?" Lola asked. Ellie then smacked Lola on the head. "Ow!" she whined.
"I can go woof woof if I want to," Ellie told her.
Then Abigail's little sister, Jackie, went, "Shut up!"
At the end of the movie, Meli started to feel homesick, so Lola walked over to her and said, "Meli, are you okay?"
"I'm okay," Meli said shakily. "I think I'm just getting a little homesick."
"I can always have my mom call your mom," Abigail told her.
"It's okay," Meli assured. "I'll just walk home."
"Would you like me and Lana to walk with you?" Lola asked.
"Sure," Meli said. "You can just drop me off at school."
"School?" Lola asked.
"But it's nighttime," Lana told her.
"Wow!" Meli lit up. "You sure know a lot about time."
Later that night, the twins waited for all their friends to go to sleep so they can sneak to the school to see what Meli was hiding. "Hurry!" Lola whispered.
"Relax," Lana replied. "I'll help you."
"Don't push me!" Lola said in a loud whisper.
"Okay," Lana said.
Once they got in, Lola said, "Do you have a flashlight?"
"Yes," Lana said, grabbing a flashlight out of her pocket. She then shone a flashlight at a red ladder, where Meli was climbing up. "Did you see that?" Lana asked.
"Yeah!" Lola responded. "She went up that ladder!"
"I'll help you!" Lana said to her twin.
"Stop it!" Lola screeched.
"Ow!" Lana said, covering her ears. Then she said, "Is she in there?"
"Let's find out," Lola said.
"Wait!" Lana said. "I'm scared. "I saw a movie once, where two twins just like us, were in a situation just like this, and when they went in..."
"Lana!" Lola said, but then yelled, "LANA!"
"Yeah?" Lana asked.
"If you don't take your hands off me in the next 2 seconds, you won't have hands!" Lola warned.
"One..." Lana began, but then took her hands off her twin before saying, "Two."
"Meli?" Lola asked. But then Meli turned off the lights. "Turn it back on," Lola told her.
"You guys want some corn nuts?" Meli asked.
"What are you doing here?" Lola asked.
"I'll have some corn nuts," Lana smiled.
"Meli?" Lola asked.
"Well I guess I kinda..." Meli began, but then said, "Live here now."
"Why are you living in a tiny room in the attic of our school?" Lola asked.
"Well, my parents took my brother to this special place in Idaho, where doctors can make sure he gets mental health, and he can't escape," Meli explained.
"How long will they be gone?" Lana asked.
"Between 6 months and 2 years," Meli explained.
"Two years?" Lola asked, shocked.
"My brother's pretty messed up," Meli told them.
"But why have you been sleeping in the attic of our school?" Lola asked.
"Because my parents want me to stay with my uncle Walter and aunt Pearl, but their mean," Meli told them.
"What's wrong with them?" Lana asked.
"Everything!" Meli told them. "They don't like my braids, they only eat vegetables, they think I should talk more, and they won't let me flush the toilet unless it's absolutely necessary."
"So you ran away?" Lana asked.
"Yeah," Meli said. "I live here now."
"Well there has to be some other relative you can live with," Lola told her.
"What about your grandmother?" Lana asked.
"Oh yeah!" Lola smiled. "What do you call her? Nana?"
"I would love to live with my nana, but she moved away to Texas," Meli told them.
"Well you can't live here," Lola told her.
"No way!" Lana agreed.
"Why?" Meli asked. "I've got this rope, these extra long extension cords, a light bulb, so it's not so bad. Except when the giant mice jump down from the ceiling."
"Giant mice?" Lola asked, backing up.
"Oh my God!" Lana shrieked. "How often do they..." Before she could finish, a giant mouse fell on her. "AAH!" she yelled.
The next night, Lana and Meli were playing cards. "Give me all your threes," Lana said.
"Go fish," Meli said. She then put her cards down and said, "Lana, I'm bored! I don't wanna play anymore!"
"Oh," Lana said.
"Lana, you can just go home, I'll be fine here," Meli assured.
"No!" Lana said. "I'm not leaving you here!"
Then Lola walked in and said, "Meli, grab your stuff. We're taking a little walk."
"To where?" Meli asked.
"To your grandma's apartment."
"But I told you, she moved to Texas."
"No, I called your parents," Lola told her. "Your grandma moved to Dallas."
"Right," Meli said. "That's in Texas! I looked it up!"
"Dallas, South Dakota!" (I know they live in Michigan, but I'm gonna act this story out at some point and put it on YouTube, and I'm from South Dakota, so stick with it.) "It's 12 miles from here!"
"Well that explains why I saw her at the mall last weekend," Meli said suddenly. "You'd think she'd let me move in with her of Dallas of South Dakota?"
"Yes, your parents talked to Nana, and she'd love to have you come live with her."
"I'll just live there then!" Meli smiled.
And she did.
THE END!