Schooling with the Gal Pals

(Story Summary: It's Lincoln's first official day of Middle School and...he has mixed feelings about it. After inadvertently causing some trouble during Middle School Orientation the previous year, both he and Clyde fear that some students may be after their heads. To add more fuel to the fire, he wonders if anyone will harbor any grudges against him over the events of his family's trial.

But just as he thinks all is lost, Lincoln will come across a few possible new friends along the way; friends who presumably have connections with people he knows. Will this be enough to help Lincoln have a successful first day?)

As our story opens, we find a school bus traveling down the streets of Royal Woods. After three months of merriment, adventure and fun; the time had come for kids young and old to return to their studies. Within said bus, we find many students either chatting amongst themselves or acting rowdy with one another; much to the driver's annoyance.

Among those in the seats are Lincoln, Clyde and a few of the Gal Pals. On this mildly brisk autumn day, they would be entering into their first official day as Middle School students. "I can't wait till we get there" Cristina murmured excitedly, "what do you think the classes will be like?"

Upon hearing this inquiry, Rusty's head popped up from the seat behind her and he proclaimed that he wasn't very eager to find out the answer. "From what I've heard; the higher your grade level, the harder your work gets" groaned Rusty, "I don't know if my brain can handle that!" At that moment, Haiku suddenly appeared (seemingly out of nowhere;) causing the poor boy to almost jump out of his seat in fear.

"I'm more anxious to see what sort of artistic clubs the school has, to tell you the truth" she murmured, "I hope to find and join a new writing club there." Not long after this, Stella admitted she was anxious to see what the school looked like. "From what Lincoln said, the columns outside the building are HUGE" she gushed excitedly, "much bigger than the elementary school."

Eager to learn more, Stella began searching around for the aforementioned Loud boy. But as she turned around, she was met with a most startling surprise. As one might expect, both Lincoln and Clyde were sitting together in the middle row of bus seats.

But rather than be greeted by his usual joyful, bucktoothed grin; Stella saw a look of terror on Lincoln's face. Meanwhile, Clyde was breathing in and out of a paper bag; which was something he'd often do whenever he felt nervous. Upon seeing two of her guy friends in such a state, Stella felt concerned and asked for someone to see if they were okay.

As luck would have it; Phoebe, who was sitting behind the boys, overheard her request and quickly got Lincoln's attention. "Not to seem rude, dude" she said bluntly, "but what's got you two so jittery?" At first, neither Lincoln nor Clyde answered; appearing too far gone to have heard them.

Upon being informed of this, Jordan took action and dialed up both their numbers on her phone. This in turn, caused the ringtones on their phones to chime loudly; snapping the boys out of their fearful state. Of course, this noise didn't go unnoticed by the driver; who warned everyone not to use their phones on the bus.

"Sorry about that, Ma'am" Jordan called out apologetically, "my friends just looked a little...piqued and I wanted to try and get their attention." While this answer did appease the bus driver, she still gave a warning on no further phone use while the bus was in motion. Jordan agreed to the rule, placed her phone back into her bag and zipped it safely inside.

Once this was settled, the pre-teen Gal Pals members turned their attention back towards the boys and asked what was wrong. "You've never been this nervous about school before, Linc" murmured Paige worriedly, "what's up?" For about a moment or so, neither of the boys answered; either out of fear or silly male pride.

But then, Haiku appeared and urged them to speak up; warning that if they refused, she would break out..."The Face." Naturally, Lincoln quivered uneasily at the idea; remembering how weak it made him feel. But Clyde didn't feel quite so concerned, thinking a sad face wouldn't be enough to break him.

"Okay, Clyde; have it your way" murmured the young Goth, "but just remember...you asked for this." With that said; Haiku cleared her throat, took in a deep breath and gazed at Clyde with the biggest pair of puppy dog eyes he had ever seen. After letting out an alarmed "eee" sound, Lincoln did what he could to "save himself" by placing his backpack over his head.

"C'mon, buddy; it's just a sad face" Clyde said confidently, "how bad could it be?" No sooner had he said this, the young man took one look in Haiku's direction and felt a lump lodge itself in his throat. The tears welling up in her one visible eye was bad enough.

But the moment caught sight of Haiku's lower lip quivering and heard her give a puppy-like whimper, his heart almost shattered. Finally, after almost a minute and a half of looking at her; Clyde finally relented. "UGH! ALRIGHT, I'LL TELL YOU WHAT'S WRONG" he shouted, "just...stop with the look...please?"

The moment he said this, Haiku's expression instantly shifted back into it's original deadpan look. "Who says the puppy-dog eyes don't work" she murmured with a soft smile, "now...spill it, what's got you boys so jumpy this morning?" After waiting for Lincoln to pull his backpack off his head, he looked around at everyone briefly and sighed.

"I'm...I'm just nervous about my first day, alright" he muttered bitterly, "and so is Clyde." As expected, the eight Gal Pals scattered around Lincoln responded to this proclamation with a simple yet slightly playful murmur of "we knew it." Mildly offended, the boys gave each of them the "Stink Eye" for their comment; proclaiming that they were "being serious."

"Whoa! Easy does it, boys" Kat said defensively, "what's with the dirty looks, everyone gets scared of their first day of a new school year." After taking a moment to realize their behavior, Lincoln and Clyde immediately calmed down and apologized for offending them. "No harm done, lil' dudes" Phoebe assured sweetly, "but...something tells me there's more to your nervousness than you're both telling us."

Realizing there was little point in beating around the bush for much longer, Lincoln decided to tell them everything. "You ladies already know about a lot of the stuff that happened between me and my sisters, right" he asked, earning nods from each of the Gals; "well, one of the things I failed to mention happened during Middle School Orientation last year." The moment this was brought up, both Cici and Phoebe's faces formed looks of great worry.

Without hesitation, the boys told their friends everything that happened to them that day. "First, we were searching for the 'Wonders of Watercolors" classroom" Lincoln muttered shamefully, "but we got lost while trying to find it on our own." After this, Clyde tagged in and mentioned how they ended up accidentally opening a Dark Room door.

"I remember, Phoebe mentioned that at Gus' where we all met up" Kat gasped in realization, "said something about ruining a whole month's work." Upon being reminded of the incident, Lincoln and Clyde suddenly felt themselves sinking into their seat in shame. After a brief moment of silence, the latter boy mentioned another incident; one where he and Lincoln tried to call dibs on a pair of desks.

"Unfortunately, the seats were already assigned to Cici and her friend" Clyde murmured, "but we refused to listen...and they ended up getting in trouble with their teacher." The ladies, save for Cici, each gasped in shock; wonder what brought the boys to act that hostile. Finally, after taking a moment to gather up a sliver of courage; the boys decided to reveal the last incident from that day.

"It happened in the gym during our last class of that day" Clyde whimpered shamefully, "at first, we were actually trying to stay outta trouble and keep a low profile." Intrigued yet concerned by this bit of info, Stella asked what happened next. "According to the coach, the floor was buffed for some sort of PTA event" Lincoln murmured, "we tried to keep out of the way...but ended up slipping on the floor, knocking over the ball rack and scattering volleyballs everywhere, as well as knocking a bunch of gym carts on the Coach and several students."

After this, he and Clyde expected their friends to viciously chew them out for their mess. But instead, the ladies offered both of them soft smiles and proclaimed they weren't completely at fault. "Everyone slips up that way at some time" Stella assured, "in my old school, the janitor had an entire hallway floor polished and I ended up skidding the whole way down on my heels!"

When asked how she stopped, Stella revealed that she ended up stumbling into the Gym; where she crashed into a group of cheerleaders standing in a pyramid formation. "At least you probably apologized for the slip, Stella" Lincoln grumbled, "but we chose to 'own up to nothing' and held our tongues." Upon hearing this reveal, the Gals questioned where he learned such poor advice from.

But rather than answer verbally, the boys simply gestured towards the back of the bus; where Lynn Jr. was sitting. When the first day of school arrived, the Loud Family's resident sports star hoped for a clean slate; after she and her family paid their debt to society. But even after doing Community Service all summer and agreeing to still attend Anger Management and Sensitivity Training on weekends, Lynn Jr. had yet to fully regain the respect of most of her peers.

The moment she stepped onto the bus, nearly every kid claimed their seats were "taken" or "saved." This left Lynn with no choice but to sit at the back of the bus, which had quite a few bad seats. One of these seats had torn upholstery, while another appeared rather wet; either from a drink spill or...heaven knows what else.

After a brief mental debate, she went with the bad upholstery seat; doing her best to sit on the part that was still intact. "Wow, that's awkward" Jordan thought uncomfortably, "I can't help but feel bad for her." At that moment, she suddenly realized she was getting off track and turned her attention back to Lincoln.

"So...let me get this straight" Jordan inquired, "your sister told you not to own up to any accidents you might cause, however big or small they were?" With a weary sigh, Lincoln and Clyde nodded and added that she thought it would help "save him from shame." "Other pieces of advice she gave us were 'don't be noobs' and 'don't get stuck with crummy desks'" Clyde listed, "we tried using it for ourselves, after we were left on our own the rest of the day...but you can probably guess how that went."

In that moment, the Gals were caught in a whirlwind of emotions. They were disappointed in Lynn for giving the boys poor advice, they felt sad about all the embarrassment they suffered after following it. But they also felt the boys should've known better than to trust such poor ideas.

"The whole time Lynn gave this advice to us, she used stories about a 'random student's' bad first year of Middle School as a reference" Lincoln stated, "turns out...she was that student." Feeling both shocked and intrigued by this, some of the Gals eased themselves close to them; eager to learn more. At the same time, near the front of the bus, a small handful of other students couldn't help but listen in on their conversation.

But they chose to keep silent, waiting until they heard more about what happened to do anything else. "By owning up to farting during a test, people mocked her for a week" Lincoln whispered, "she got stuck in a tight desk and had to be greased out...and worse still; thanks to some bad directions, she ended up getting lost in the basement levels for the whole day." After hearing all this; all the Gals felt, understandably conflicted.

On one hand, they still inwardly shamed Lynn Jr. for giving Lincoln and Clyde rather poor advice. But on the other hand; after hearing everything she went through, they realized that Lynn was only trying to help keep the boys from suffering the same fate. "Well, if I may offer my two cents here" Cici interjected, "here's hoping you'll get a wiser mentor to help show you boys the ropes."

Confused, Lincoln asked why neither she nor Phoebe could be their mentor; considering that they were both set to be in the 7th or 8th Grade. "Actually, it may be a good idea they don't get paired with us, buddy" Clyde murmured, "we don't want people think we need ladies to help fight our battles." While the Gals all agreed that the boys could easily help themselves, if necessary; Clyde's words held some truth to them.

"Another thing is...we all might not be in the same classroom together" Phoebe interjected, "ergo, we'll all have to face the storm alone...if need be." Once again, Lincoln could hear the ring of truth in his friend's words as clearly as church bells. Still, he dreaded what would happen to him and Clyde; once they've arrived at the school.

Meanwhile, the small group of students in front looked upon one another and nodded silently; as if coming to an agreement on something.

(Line Break)

After a half hour or so of riding, the bus had reached its destination; Royal Woods Middle School. Upon seeing the tall columns beside the main entrance, Stella couldn't help but gasp in awe. During the bus ride; Stella revealed that in her old hometown, the Middle School didn't look as impressive as this one.

Rather, in terms of scale; it looked about the same size and design as Royal Woods Elementary...just with a different paintjob. "There will be time to admire the building later, Stell" Cristina said firmly, "we've gotta get to the auditorium before the bell rings. Upon hearing this statement, Stella quickly snapped out of her awestruck daze and made a beeline for the entrance.

Meanwhile, way in the back of the crowd of students; Clyde and Lincoln are seen trying to either blend in unnoticed or to move as quickly passed everyone as possible towards the door. Unfortunately, as they tried to practice both options; the boys soon noticed several students looking down at them and whispering. Actually, it was Lincoln alone whom they placed their attention on.

Needless to say, it all made them both feel quite uncomfortable. "Just keep walking and don't make eye contact" Lincoln thought to himself, "the sooner you get to the auditorium, the sooner you can...probably relax a little." With this thought in mind, Lincoln did his best to speed-walk the rest of the way towards the door; doing his best not to pay attention to those watching him.

(Scene Change: The School Auditorium)

In time, all students arrived in the auditorium and took their seats. As Lincoln and Clyde made their way over to theirs, the former soon noticed a few familiar faces amongst the student body. There was Lynn's sports teammate and one of her closest friends, Margot. He spotted the members of their Roller Derby Team, there was Byron (Cici's other male friend,) Polly Pain (one of the girls Lynn tried to set him up with for the Sadie Hawkins Dance,) Paula (another one of Lynn's teammates) and Francisco (Lynn's possibly former crush.)

The whole time he looked at these kids, Lincoln wondered if there was any bad blood between them still. But his train of thought on that halted, the moment loud microphone feedback surged through the room slightly. As Lincoln and Clyde turned towards the stage, they saw several school staff members standing there.

Three of them they recognized were Coach Keck, Mr. Bolhofner and Ms. Pham; all of whom they remember from orientation. There was also another man standing on stage that Lincoln only seemed to faintly recognize. He was a stout-looking fellow, had a trace amount of black hair upon his balding head, was dressed in a shabby suit and had a thick mustache on his upper lip.

The last time Lincoln recalled seeing this man was last year, at the Tranquil Springs Spa. "I wonder who this guy is" he whispered softly, "must be one of the school's teachers or something." Before Lincoln could think any further on this, the man soon approached the microphone and lightly tapped it; causing the feedback to echo a little. After all the students fell silent, the man smiled and got right down to business.

"Good morning, students; I hope you had a wonderful break" he greeted happily, "I am Principal Ramirez, for those of you who don't know and I'd like to welcome you to a new school year at Royal Woods Junior High." This proclamation caused both students and staff to go into a light series of respectable applause. Once the clapping subsided, Principal Ramirez continued on with his speech.

He spoke of how "happy" he was to see familiar faces amongst the students, how eager he was to get to know the new ones and promised that if everyone behaves well, they would "get along smoothly." "However, as with many things in life; some changes will be added to the school's curriculum, starting today" Principal Ramirez announced, "but do not worry, they are all quite reasonable." Feeling confused yet somewhat, rather intrigued; Lincoln turned his full attention towards the stage.

At that moment, a young lady suddenly stood up; one who seemed to make Lynn feel rather on edge. She was a lovely woman with long auburn hair, a floral crown around her head and sported a pair of pink teashade sunglasses. She wore white bellbottom pants with floral designs along the thighs, a loose/flowy skirt around her hips, above-the-knee boots, a fake leather vest over her long-sleeved boho shirt and had a bauble on her necklace in the shape of the yin-yang symbol.

The moment he saw this woman smile out at the crowd of students, Lincoln felt slightly less anxious. "Good morning, younglings" greeted the woman, "my name is Ms. April Rains and I've been assigned to be your guidance counselor." Not long after saying this, she encouraged students to pop into her office; if they ever needed someone to talk to.

Ironically, this announcement was met with a stone dead silence; which did little to dampen Ms. Rains' incredibly positive demeanor. Once she took her seat, another familiar face to Lincoln stood up to the mike; Coach Keck. "Some of you may already know lil' ol' me" the gym said gruffly, "but I'm here to bring up one of the changes Principal Ramirez mentioned earlier."

Without delay, she popped in her whistle and gave it a little toot; which caused the side doors of the auditorium to suddenly burst open. Then, everyone gasped in awe; as a rather burly looking figure stepped onto the stage. He was dressed in the classic lumberjack attire; comprising of blue jeans, thick work boots, a plaid shirt and a matching ear-flap hat.

He appeared quite muscular with strong arms, equally strong-looking legs and sported a rather thick beard on his face. As expected, the sight of this stranger caused many ladies in the auditorium to hoot and holler with delight. But Lincoln quickly noticed a few males doing the same thing.

"Wow! This guy looks pretty awesome" he thought, "I wonder who he is...or what he's doing here?" As if on cue, Coach Keck called for everyone's attention and gestured towards the lumberjack. "No doubt, all of you may have heard about certain...incidents that occurred; in the previous year" she stated, causing the students to lightly murmur in agreement; "one of said incidents involved our mascot for the Royal Woods Softball Team, the Squirrels."

Upon hearing mention of the Squirrels, Lincoln's body suddenly tensed up; his mind flashing back to the indignities he suffered in the mascot suit. Then, just as he felt himself falling deeper into his anxieties; Lincoln felt someone's hand rest lightly upon his shoulder from behind him.

He turned around, expecting maybe one of the Gal Pals to be offering him up some emotional support. But instead, much to his surprise; he was met with an entirely new face. It was a young African-American student with thick dreadlocks tied into a ponytail, a gold ring hanging off his left ear and he had what looked like a peach-fuzz beard.

He appeared quite big with is broad shoulders, round yet solid belly, had a broad chest and when Lincoln looked down at the boy's hand on his shoulder, he saw that it was big enough to hold his face. At first glance, he looked like a Middle School version of a night club bouncer; which made Lincoln feel a little intimidated. But as he looked up into his eyes, Lincoln saw only tenderness.

It was as if this boy's expression was telling him he had nothing to be afraid of. After looking at the boy for another moment and taking in a calming breath, Lincoln turned his attention back towards the stage; where he heard Coach Keck briefly mention something about a "new mascot." "Due to the...er, 'negative feedback' forming around our former Squirrel mascot last year; the time has come to try something new" she stated, "so...meet the newest addition to our school; the Royal Woods Lumberjacks!"

With that declaration, the lumberjack-like fellow proceeded to do all manner of dances; all while spinning his rubber ax like a baton. As he did this, the cheer squad came on stage and performed an impromptu routine in honor of the new mascot/team; "COME ON, JACKERS; DON'T YOU FROWN; CHOP THE COMPETITION DOWN!" Surprisingly, this new cheer seemed to have worked; as all the students found themselves shouting victory hoots with incredible passion.

Even Lincoln couldn't help but cheer along with the crowd, despite not being much of a sports fan. After letting the students have their fill of cheering, Principal Ramirez called for silence and brought up a few more new additions to the curriculum. Among these were new cafeteria staff and menu items, the addition of a directory on the walls of some hallways, new equipment in the gymnasium and most importantly, a strict anti-bullying rule.

"Any form of bullying; be it in the halls, within the classroom, the cafeteria or even online will not be tolerated" he decreed firmly, "in other words...the moment we learn that you've posted an embarrassing video or image of your classmates online, there will be consequences." While some of the students began scoffing softly at their principal's threat, Lincoln felt thankful that Luan wasn't there.

If any of her online material had been found, the administration would chew her head off. Meanwhile, Principal Ramirez could sense that the students weren't taking his warning seriously. Thus, he gave a whistle and soon; several officers appeared onstage with him.

"I can see you won't take my warnings seriously" he stated, "which is why, by order of Superintendent Chen, members of the Royal Woods Police Force will be acting as security for our school." When a student asked why officers were called in to perform the task, one of the officers stepped forward. At first; Lincoln expected them to be either Miss Higgins, Simmons or Campos.

But instead, much to his surprise; it was an entirely different figure he hadn't seen before. He was a well-built man with a broad chest, black hair made into a buzz-cut hairdo, mutton chop sideburns and had a chiseled jaw-line. "Students...last year, it has been brought to the attention of Superintendent Chen that numerous acts of abuse and bullying have taken place within the school district" the man explained firmly "students pantsing one another, stuffing lockers full with garbage, relentless prank sprees, viral posts of embarrassing moments...just to name a few examples."

Upon hearing mention of garbage in lockers, Lincoln remembered all the times Ronnie Anne once did such things to him back in Grade School. Of course; looking back on it, he now saw it all as innocent fun. But if she were still in Royal Woods, her actions might not be tolerated in this new curriculum.

As for the other examples; he was, once again reminded of Luan's pranking sprees. It was then that he realized that this rule might not have been made out of reference to his past drama. Rather, he realized that Luan may have become rather notorious as a prankster while in Middle School.

Now that officers of the law would be monitoring things, however; he doubted that such shenanigans would ever happen again. Before he could think any further on it, Principal Ramirez made one final regarding class schedules; which would be handed to each of them at the door after the assembly. "On that note; I'd like to, once again welcome you all to our new school year" he declared, "here's hoping for a good year for us all."

The moment the principal said this, one thought echoed through Lincoln's mind; "that makes two of us, Sir."

(Line Break)

Minutes later, the students poured out through the auditorium doors and were off on their way towards their first period classes. After being handed his schedule, Lincoln looked it over to see what class he'd be off to first. But as he was walking down the hall, studying his paper; he failed to notice someone sticking their ankle out in front of him.

"Okay...According to this, I'm heading down to meet my Homeroom teacher first" he murmured softly, "then, it's off too..." Before he could finish his train of thought, Lincoln found himself stumbling over onto the floor. As he lay there, softly moaning in pain; Lincoln suddenly overheard sounds of mocking laughter ringing out above him.

"Best watch your step, twerp" a female voice shouted mockingly to him, "don't want your white hair turning red with blood!" With a soft groan of discomfort, Lincoln checked over himself to see if there were any signs of injury. Thankfully, everything appeared to be in one piece.

Afterwards, he glanced upward to try and find out who it was that tripped him. It was then that he saw what looked like an 8th Grader looming over him. She was dressed in a short-sleeved wool shirt, black jeans and had a pair of matching black sneakers on.

Her fiery-red hair was done up into a ponytail and though her eyes were a rather cute shade of pink, Lincoln could clearly see the spark of a sociopathic soul burning within them. Upon glancing over his shoulder, Lincoln could see another 8th Grader standing behind him; possibly one of the girl's friends. He was dressed in a typical "Punk Rock" look; complete with a leather jacket, a spiked dog collar, matching spiked wristbands, blue jeans with tears at the knees and sported a red spiked Mohawk.

To the left of this student was a 7th Grader, who was leaning casually up against the lockers. From his crew cut hairstyle, physique and the sports jersey he wore; Lincoln immediately presumed this guy was a jock. What was interesting however, was the fact that the aforementioned jersey had the old Squirrels mascot on the back.

As this trio loomed over him, Lincoln suddenly felt himself quivering slightly with fear. "Just as I feared" he thought nervously, "there are students who haven't forgiven me for what I did last year...and now, they're probably here for some payback." Surprisingly, in spite of the fear that he felt welling up inside; Lincoln still attempted to apologize for his past mistakes.

But before he had the chance to speak, the jock kid hoisted Lincoln up by his collar and slammed him up against the lockers. "So...you're the famous Lincoln Loud, huh" he snickered cruelly, "hard to believe such a little brat like you caused a family as big as yours so much trouble." Upon hearing the boy's comment, Lincoln stiffened slightly; wondering how he could've known about it.

It was then that he remembered how his family's trial was broadcasted all over Michigan, probably all over the country. With this realization in mind, it made sense why this student would be acting so hostile towards him now. "Because of you, kid; Coach Keck banned Lynn from football tryouts" the jock kid growled, "she's been our star player since she was in 6th Grade!"

This reveal caused all the color to suddenly drain out of Lincoln's face, in an instant. It was in that moment that he realized just how dead he truly was...and First Period hadn't even started yet. "Oh-ho-ho! Just you wait, squirt" the redheaded teen snickered cruelly, "Biffy here is really going to let you have it!"

With that said, the jock known as "Biffy" drew his right fist back while holding Lincoln up with his left; ready to punch him. At first, Lincoln took a look at his surroundings; hoping to find signs of Clyde, any of his Gal Pals or even Lynn around. Unfortunately, he couldn't find any sign of them; presuming they might already be in homeroom now.

"Guess I'm on my own right now" Lincoln thought worriedly, "I knew this would be happening...but I never expected to find myself in this situation so quickly!" While Lincoln hung off the ground in Biff's grip, he hoped that something would come along and save him at the last moment.

Then, before Biff could even thrust his fist out three inches; someone arrived and took hold of his arm, causing him to stop. Throwing caution to the wind, Lincoln opened his eyes to see what was going on. Much to his surprise, it was the same mystery student he saw from the auditorium earlier.

Beside him stood a young lady who also appeared African-American; she was tall (though only measured up to the big boy's chest) with dark brown skin and had brownish-black hair that was pulled into a large, poofy afro-like bun (which immediately reminded Lincoln of Whitney.) She was dressed in a purple striped shirt, dark red shorts with a white stripe on the side and wore a pair of white sneakers. Upon seeing the big guy, Biff couldn't help but smile.

"Heya, Big O" he greeted with a sly chuckle, "you want the first shot at the twerp...he's all yours." Rather than accept the jock's offer, the one called "Big O" simply crossed his arms and shook his head reply. "Actually, my man...I came here to warn you" he said in a soft bass-baritone style voice, "my sister here saw one of them officers headin' this way on monitor duty and if she catches ya roughin' this kid up...well, you know."

Biff and his crew suddenly tensed up, upon hearing this message. At the same time, they felt conflicted with choosing whether to give Lincoln his "rightful punishment" or to flee the scene. At that moment, they caught a glimpse of a female officer approaching their location near the end of the hall.

This gave the group of teens enough reason to leave Lincoln behind...for now. "You got lucky, you little rat" Biff growled softly, "but make no mistake...you will pay for what happened here, before the day's over!" With that threat made; Biff dropped Lincoln unceremoniously on the floor, snapped his fingers and fled the scene with his posse following close behind.

For a moment or two, Lincoln tried his bed to catch his breath and dust himself off. Unfortunately; by the time he was finished, the officer spotted him and gave a soft glare. "No loitering, kids" she said in a soft yet firm tone, "hurry off to class before the late bell rings."

Without pause, "Big O" helped Lincoln up and helped dust off his clothes. "Sorry about that, Ma'am" he said politely, "this young man had...a bit of a spill and we were just helping him up." As if on cue, Big O's "sister" plucked Lincoln's backpack off the floor and handed it back to him; after making certain everything was still intact first.

"Very well, then; thank you for your kind gesture" said the officer, "now...head on off to class, all of you." With that command, the three students bad farewell to the policewoman and went off on their way. "Hey, uh...thanks for...you know, helping me out back there" Lincoln murmured shyly, "I wasn't looking forward to getting into a fight on my first day...or getting detention."

Big O smiled down at Lincoln, slapped him a high-five and assured him it was no trouble. "Sorry y'all had to deal with Biff, Lincoln" the young lady stated, "guy's been mooching offa Lynn's skills in Football all year, last year." Big O gave a deep yet brief chuckle at this, adding that Biff only signed up for the free college scholarship.

"Still, he had every right to be mad" Lincoln murmured, "after what happened between..." The moment he heard the young lady address him by name, Lincoln's train of thought came to a screeching halt. "Wait a sec, how did you guys know my name" he asked confusedly, "I mean...I think I've already got a good idea but still."

The duo chuckled softly at Lincoln and told him that "the truth would be revealed, in time." After that, they said their goodbyes and went off on their way; expressing their hopes to meet up again later. After waving goodbye to them, Lincoln hoisted his back onto his shoulders and went off to his homeroom.

(Scene Change: Mr. Bolhofner's Math Class)

Time passed and Lincoln had taken his seat for Third Period, Math Class. As luck would have it; upon entering, he discovered Clyde was among his classmates. He also spotted Cici sitting in the middle row beside her friend, Byron. "This is a good sign" he thought to himself with a sigh, "maybe being around some familiar faces may help put me at ease a little."

Suddenly, he was snapped out of his thoughts by Mr. Bolhofner; who was gesturing for him to take his seat. Lincoln did as he was told, walked over to the second row of seats and sat himself in the middle. "I hope you all had a relaxing summer, kids" greeted Mr. Bolhofner, "'cause it's time to work out those brain muscles a bit with some division!"

Despite the man's rather enthusiastic tone, the classroom greeted his announcement with the typical response; weary groaning. As Lincoln took out his notebook to begin his work, he reached his hand into his backpack and...his jaw fell. Much to his shock and surprise, he discovered that his pencil was nowhere to be found inside.

"It must've dropped out when those jerks tripped me" he thought worriedly, "of course, I might be wrong." With a determined look in his eye, Lincoln began to feverishly search his bag for any one of his pencils...only to find nothing inside. Just as he was starting to fear the worst, a soft voice suddenly reached Lincoln's ears.

"Hey...psst" the voice whispered, "did you lose your pencil, amigo; you can borrow one of mine." Mildly startled by this offer, Lincoln eased his head up out of his backpack and located the student who was speaking to him. It was a young 7th Grader with emerald-green eyes, lips as luscious as a peach coated lightly with blue lip gloss, she wore a pair of Peridot dangle earrings and a purple scrunchy in her hair; which gave it a long ponytail.

She was dressed in a light-pink long-sleeved tank top, light-blue baggy jeans, had a golden bracelet around her right wrist and sported a pair of open-toe hippie style sandals; which showed off all ten of her red painted toenails, Needless to say, she looked rather cute and Lincoln knew it. But alas, much like he does with any other new gal he met; the young Loud boy swiftly became tongue-tied.

"Um...I, uh...ba...ba..." he mumbled, "er...I mean; may I borrow one of your pencils, please?" The girl let out a soft giggle and gently placed the pencil into his hand, causing him to quiver. "You are a strange one" she murmured with a light grin, "but it's okay, chamaco; I like people who are a little odd."

With that said, she turned herself around and proceeded to jot down the notes. Meanwhile, after hearing the girl call him "chamaco;" Lincoln quickly snapped out of his slightly love-struck daze. "Hold on a minute...what did she just call me" he murmured, "the only other person I know that calls me that nickname is..."

Before he could finish his thought, the young Loud boy suddenly heard Mr. Bolhofner roughly clear his throat in impatience. "Since you appear eager for a discussion, Mr. Loud; perhaps you'd like to try and answer the Division problem on the board for us" he challenged, "if a train is traveling a distance of 200 miles at a speed of 60 MPH, how long will it take to reach its destination?" With the question presented, all eyes soon fell upon Lincoln.

In the past, Lincoln would feel a little nervous about suddenly being thrust into the spotlight. But thanks to his friends, he developed a stronger sense of confidence and now felt like a good chance to express it. Of course, he still needed to really rack his brain; in order to find the answer.

"This seems...a little familiar to me, Sir" Lincoln murmured, "but I believe the answer is...3 and 1/3 hours?" For a moment or so; the room was so silent, one could hear the flag outside flapping in the soft breeze. Then, after what felt like an eternity; Mr. Bolhofner smiled at him and proclaimed "correct, Mr. Loud; not bad on your first try."

With that said, he returned to the board and began writing out the next problem. Meanwhile, one or two students grumbled softly; proclaiming Lincoln only had some "beginner's luck" with his correct answer. At the same time; Clyde, Cici and Byron were all softly congratulating Lincoln on his minor victory.

"Thanks, I actually can't believe I got it right" he sighed softly, "guess I can thank Lisa for her time tutoring me in Math." Mere seconds after he said this, Lincoln's expression quickly shifted from happy to anxious. "To be honest, though...I really was hoping not to get called up first" he sighed, "but I ended up getting a little...distracted."

Before anyone could say another word, Lincoln pointed his finger slightly at the girl he saw before. Upon taking notice of her, Byron suddenly tensed up. "You were making goo-goo eyes at Dolores" he questioned softly in surprise, "not a good idea, lil' dude...her mom's a cop."

After hearing this reveal, Lincoln came close to stumbling out of his seat. Of course, it wasn't the fact that Dolores' mother was a police officer. Rather, after remembering the nickname she addressed him by earlier; he had a sinking feeling about who she might be.

But for now, he decided to push that thought aside and focus completely on the lesson at hand.

(Scene Change: The Art Class Room)

After Math, Lincoln and Co. headed off to Art Class for their next period; which made Lincoln feel a touch more at ease. "Finally...after pushing my brain to its limits in there, I need a little break" he groaned while facing the "viewer," "and Art is my specialty." As Lincoln stepped into the classroom, he saw something that made his spirits rise slightly higher.

Not only did he spot Clyde in attendance; he also saw that Jordan, Stella, Haiku and Phoebe were in the class as well. But after almost getting distracted moments ago, Lincoln chose to wait until later to touch base with them. Soon, the teacher arrived and asked everyone to take their seats.

"For today, I'm going to test your memories" she stated, "by which, I mean I want you to paint for me what you thought was the most beautiful memory from your summer break." While this wasn't a hard assignment, Lincoln found himself feeling slightly conflicted. His summer was filled with so many great moments, he couldn't bring himself to choose one.

In the end, he simply decided to wing it and paint the first thing that popped into his head. While doing so, he decided to browse around and see what everyone else was doing; for curiosity's sake. All around him, Lincoln could see his classmates making all sorts of lovely paintings.

He saw Haiku making a portrait showing off a sunset underneath a starlit sky. He saw Stella painting an image of her granny's old house and saw Phoebe painting an image of Great Lakes City Sky Needle building, one of her favorite spots from there. Upon taking a glance over in Clyde's direction, however; Lincoln raised a surprised eyebrow.

The painting was one of him standing before a giant golden beam scale. In the left bowl, Lincoln saw that Clyde painted a mini version of Lori and in the right bowl, he saw Chloe; another girl whom he felt close with. Upon taking note of each aspect of the painting, Lincoln suddenly understood its meaning.

At this point in his Clyde's life, he's now found himself in love with two ladies now. Yet, at the same time; he found it difficult to choose between them. Of course; the choice was obvious, Clyde would be better suited with a girl his own age.

But Lincoln knew his friend to be a somewhat, hopeless romantic and couldn't help but smile a little. After a while, Lincoln finally got started on his own painting. However, because he had difficulty in choosing one specific memory to paint about; he decided to do something...unexpected.

For the next fifteen minutes, Lincoln was pouring through all manner of colors and moving his paintbrush about like he was swinging a sword. This did not go unnoticed by the other students or the teacher. "I do appreciate the enthusiasm, Lincoln" said the art teacher, "but please, be mindful and try not to splash too much paint around."

For about a second or two, Lincoln didn't appear to have heard the teacher's wishes. But then, after seeing some of the paint splotches on his smock; he quickly realized what he was doing and slowed down his brushing speed slightly. "Heh-heh...sorry about that, Ma'am" Lincoln chuckled sheepishly, "I must've got really deep into the zone there."

Surprisingly, the teacher accepted his excuse; proclaiming that every artist has had such situations happen to them, every now and again. Then, when she took a look at Lincoln's painting; she gasped. On the canvas was a collection of assorted symbols of some kind; painted in what could be seen as a collage.

"This is a most interesting piece, Lincoln" the teacher complimented, "would you care to explain what it means." Once again, Lincoln found himself in the spotlight in the classroom. This time, however; it was in a less stressful situation. "Well...over the course of my summer break, I had far too many good memories to choose from" he explained, "so, I decided to reference them all."

From here, Lincoln went on to describe the meaning of some of the symbols on his collage. There was a skyscraper, which he said represented a trip he took to Great Lakes City. Then; there was a beach umbrella, a knight's helmet (representing his trip to the Ren Faire,) a collection of party balloons (representing his birthday celebration) and a symbol showing three stars (which he explained was meant to represent star-gazing.)

Of course, these were but a few of the symbols he painted on his canvas. Unfortunately, he had very little time to talk about all of them. "My friends and I had been through so much during the summer" Lincoln sighed, "so...you can see why I had trouble choosing just one idea to work with."

After hearing this explanation, the class broke out into a series of soft applause. "What a clever idea, Mr. Loud" the art teacher said with delight, "and I especially like the history behind each of the symbols as well." Among the clapping students were the four Gal Pals, who appeared both impressed and touched by Lincoln's painting.

But some of the other students glowered slightly at him, proclaiming his work to be "disgustingly sentimental." As Lincoln gave a slight bow at the class, thanking them for their applause; he suddenly noticed someone studying his painting intently. She was an 8th Grader with long hair that was as red as a burning flame, had a light collection of freckles on her cheeks, wore a t-shirt that bore the words "Wild Child" on the front, a pair bootcut jeans and red sneakers with gold flames on their sides.

As this girl stared at his painting, Lincoln couldn't help but wonder if something was wrong. But then, he saw her nod with approval and give out a pleased murmur at his artwork. "You've certainly been busy, friendo" she chuckled with a smile, her voice harboring a light country accent; "the farthest I've traveled durin' the summer was when we went to Lake Michigan to see my meemaw."

As proof her words were, this girl turned her canvas slightly and revealed her painting. It was a rather modest-sized yet very cozy looking cabin by the lake and in the yard, Lincoln saw doodles of a family; which he surmised was the girl and her kinfolk. "Very well done, Ellie" praised the art teacher, "being with family is an excellent summer memory to have."

Upon hearing her say this, Lincoln suddenly felt a shiver of sadness flow through him. Even though he came across his family here and there on multiple occasions, over the summer; he had little quality time to spend with them due to their service work. Were it not for the Gal Pals (his "surrogate family" if you will) sharing some of their time with him, his break would've been a bust.

Just then, Lincoln felt someone lightly patting him on his shoulder. To both his surprise and mild confusion, it was the girl from before (whom the teacher addressed as Ellie.) "Keep your chin up, boyo" she said with a warm smile, "like my mama always says; 'ya can't find no silver linings, if'n you keep lookin' down at your shoes all day.'"

Lincoln couldn't help but chuckle a little at the statement, thinking it was both silly and yet...rather uplifting to hear.

(Scene Change: Cafeteria)

A half hour or so passed and after Art Class had ended, Lincoln made his way into the lunch room. Thus far, his first day of school had been...eventful; to say the least. "I wonder where everyone is" Lincoln thought to himself, "boy, do I have a lot to tell 'em."

With his lunch bag in hand, the young Loud boy began to search around the cafeteria; hoping to spot any familiar faces. As luck would have it; he soon spotted both his Gal and Guy Pals, sitting at a table near the left side. "Over here, Linc" Zach exclaimed, "there's plenty of room!"

Not needing to be told twice, Lincoln made a quick yet steady beeline for the table. But as he passed by some of the other students, he couldn't help but notice some of them giving him sideways glances. As one would expect, this made Lincoln feel rather self-conscious.

When he finally reached the table, he emptied out his lunch items and placed his lunch bag over his head; confusing his friends. "Um...dude, are you okay" Phoebe asked confusedly, "this is the second time you tried to hide your face from everyone." The rest of the gang sounded off in agreement and asked Lincoln if anything was amiss.

After letting out a reluctant sigh, Lincoln removed his bag from his head and told his friends everything. He told them of how the boy, Biff tripped him in the halls and attempted to punch him. He mentioned how he almost got distracted in Math Class and to top it all off, he brought up the many glares he received from people.

"You know what's even stranger" questioned Lincoln, "three times today, I came across some kids who either addressed me by name or helped me out in times of crisis without so much as a second thought." It was here that he brought up the kids he met earlier. Gals like Jordan, Paige, Cristina and even Haiku couldn't help but find the circumstances oddly coincidental.

Meanwhile, Zach quickly went into "conspiracy mode;" presuming that the mystery students were only "acting" nice just so Lincoln would lower his guard. "Then, when he least suspects it...WHAM" he exclaimed while slamming his fist atop his sandwich, "they decide to finish what Biff tried to start." This idea caused Rusty to suddenly chuckle sarcastically, proclaiming that "nobody could be that cold."

"I for one find the whole story a little hard to believe...no offense, buddy" murmured Clyde, "I mean, I haven't seen this big kid you mentioned even once today; so, how could he be..." Before he could finish his sentence, a large shadow suddenly loomed over both the young McBride and half the table. After gulping down a nervous lump in his throat, he nervously took a glance at the boy behind him.

When he saw the boy's face looking down at him; poor Clyde became so nervous, his glasses fogged up from sweating so much. Then, much to everyone's surprise; he started popping and locking while making robot noises. "ERROR! ERROR! THREAT DETECTED" Clyde exclaimed in a robot-like voice, "initiate defensive measures!"

Upon saying this, he quickly dove underneath the lunch table; causing the big kid to stare in blank confusion. "Yo, white haired kid" he called out softly, "is your friend okay...he looked like he just saw a ghost." After taking a moment to find his voice, Lincoln smiled sheepishly and said that Clyde was fine.

"He just gets...nervous, whenever he meets new people; at times" Cici added suddenly, "it happened when he first met me and Phoebe, a long time ago." After that, she urged the big kid to take a seat at the table with them. "Y'all got room for three more, Cici" another voice called out, "we could use the company."

Curious, Lincoln looked his shoulder and saw something that almost made him faint. Standing beside the tall kid were the three girls he came across earlier. "Okay...are these guys following me or something" Lincoln thought confusedly, "and why does it seem like Cici knows one of them?"

Before he could think much on it, Lincoln suddenly felt himself bounce slightly in his seat. He turned to the side and saw that "Big O" had taken a seat in one the table's open spaces. Due to his stature, him sitting down must've caused the seat Lincoln sat on to bounce slightly.

After this, the three girls took their seats beside Liam; causing the young country boy to become rather bashful. Meanwhile, Cici was shaking hands with the foursome; while also casually greeting them. "When Lincoln told us he met a big kid, I had my suspicions" she said with a coy smile, "it's great to see you guys again."

The three young ladies echoed the same greeting, while the big guy said it felt too long since they've last spoken. While the scene was rather pleasant; for Lincoln, it also felt incredibly confusing. "Wait a second, wait a second" he calmly interjected, "you guys all know each other...since when?" After taking a moment to have a little giggle at Lincoln's confusion, Phoebe decided to help explain things.

"First things first, introductions" she stated, "Linc; these guys are some of mine and Cici's BFFs." The first of the foursome Phoebe introduced Lincoln to was the young Latina gal he met in Math. "This is Dolores, we first met back when I was in 6th Grade" she explained, "she's a bit of a mix bag; half-fashionista and half-tomboy."

Within seconds, everybody saw Lincoln's cheeks flushing a deep shade of red; which caused the girls to giggle a little. Finally, after he managed to collect just enough of his nerves; Lincoln reached into his backpack and pulled out a pencil. "Uh...T-T-Thanks for letting me borrow this" he murmured, "and it's n-n-nice to meet you."

Dolores tilted her head slightly in confusion, wondering why he was acting so timid. "This happens quite a bit with him" chuckled Stella, "my buddy here has a soft spot for pretty faces." After hearing this reveal, Dolores turned towards Lincoln and gave him a sly grin.

At the same time; after hearing his friend expose one of his minor faults, Lincoln snapped out of his awestruck days and glared softly at Stella while crossing his arms. "You're not supposed to tell strangers that kind of stuff" he grumbled, "even if some of our other friends might know them!"

This caused the foursome to laugh a little harder but they assured him he was fine. "I think it's rather adorable" Dolores said sweetly, "and my mother told me you were rather adorable, chamaco." There it was again; for the second time that day, this young lady called him a nickname that only one other person he knew often addressed him by.

But a split-second later, the idea quickly faded from his mind just as quickly as it came. "It's impossible, they couldn't be related" he thought, "it would be too weirdly ironic." Just as Lincoln went deeper into his train of thought, he felt something heavy patting against his back. After snapping out of his trance, Lincoln looked up and saw the boy named Omar holding something out to him.

It was a pencil, which didn't seem like that big of a thing; until Lincoln realized that it was his pencils. He could tell because it bore a small slip-on eraser on the back end that was shaped like an ace symbol. "My sister found this on the floor before I walked off to homeroom" explained Omar, "she figured it might've been yours."

With that said, he placed the pencil on the table and slid it over towards Lincoln; who timidly slipped it back into his backpack. "Uh...thanks for that" he murmured, "and thanks for...you know, helping me in the hall earlier." Omar smiled down at Lincoln and said he was "happy to help."

"Wait a minute, what happened in the halls" questioned Cristina, "you weren't trying to pick a fight, were you?" Without hesitation, Lincoln shot upright and shook his head vigorously, all while assuring his friends that he had no intentions of fighting anyone. "We saw it happen for ourselves, ladies" Tonya stated, "Biff tripped him up in the halls and tried to punch him, a split-second later."

Not long after that, Omar added his part in the story as well; while also adding that one of the officers almost caught Biff in the act. Upon hearing all this, Clyde popped out from underneath the table and expressed his thanks to the two students for helping his bestie. Rather than accept his thank you, Omar turned towards Clyde and stared at him intently.

"You look familiar, lil' man" he murmured curiously, "there's just somethin' about your face that rings a bell to me." Upon hearing this comment, Clyde began to sweat profusely; worse than he did whenever Lori was around. It was then that he started to feel the same anxiety Lincoln said he felt earlier.

Meanwhile, Omar continued to study him from top to bottom; as if to make certain his hunch was correct. "Yeah...you do look familiar" he stated, "I just can't figure out why." That did it; with that simple statement, Clyde fell to pieces and began to cry.

"OKAY, OKAY; WE KNOW WE SCREWED UP BEFORE" he exclaimed, "JUST...please, don't hurt me or my friend!" Much to Clyde's surprise, Omar suddenly burst into a fit of boisterous laughter; as did Tanya. When the two siblings stopped, they assured Clyde that he was okay; as was Lincoln.

"You can relax, lil' buddy; my bro wouldn't hurt ya, kid" assured Tanya, "ya see...he knows what it's like to be a nervous little man." After saying this, she took out her phone and brought up a picture; which everyone assumed was her and Omar as kids. What really surprised Lincoln and Clyde was how the latter looked back then.

Instead of dreadlocks, he had slightly poofy hair. He wore square-framed glasses, wore a t-shirt with an image of a Muscle Fish character on the front and had an inhaler in his right hand. "Whoa! This is eerie" exclaimed Rusty, "aside from a few differences, Omar looks a bit like...Clyde."

You would think that such a comparison would upset him, correct? Well...surprisingly, after looking at the photo for himself; Clyde couldn't help but agree. "So...that's where I saw ya" Omar chuckled, "it was in my mirror back when I was in 4th Grade!"

This announcement left much of the table's occupants speechless; with the exception of Tonya, Cici and Phoebe. "But...how" Lincoln inquired, "you look like you could be in High School, you're so big!" The moment these words passed his lips, the young Loud boy suddenly clamped his mouth shut; fearing he might've upset Omar.

Instead, the boy in question chuckled softly; confessing that he was used to people making such assumptions. "See...when I was 10, I had bit of a growth spurt" Omar explained, "I'm actually twelve but I look as big as a High Schooler." When everyone asked what caused such a growth spurt to happen, Tonya said it was something "complicated."

"See...my bro here developed somethin' known as Gigantism, when he was eight" she explained, "it's something that causes the body to become bigger and/or taller than normal." Upon hearing this revelation, both Lincoln and Cristina gasped. When they watched The Princess Bride together with their friends, back in July; they remembered how one of the actors had such a condition.

However, this was their first time meeting someone in person who also had it. After a while, Lincoln brushed off the thought and thanked Omar again for saving him from Biff. "To be honest...when you arrived, I got nervous" Lincoln confessed, "I really thought you were going to help Biff in hurting me."

Once more, everyone feared that Omar would take offense to such an assumption. But instead, the boy in question smiled down at Lincoln and patted his head lightly; assuring him that he was safe. "Many people think my bro's a tough guy because of how he looks" Tonya explained, "but the truth is, he's actually as soft as a cinnamon roll and just as sweet."

Not long after this was said, Clyde curiously looked up at Omar; as if to ask for some clarification. But the moment he took a look into his eyes, he could already guess the answer. "In that case, I guess it's safe to make proper introductions" he stated, "I'm Clyde McBride and you already met Lincoln Loud; together...we're Clincoln McCloud."

After hearing him mention of their combined name, Omar reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a laminated business card. "If that's the case; I'm guessin' this must belong to you, Lincoln" he inquired, "I found it on the floor where Biff dropped you." Feeling curious, Tonya asked to have a look at the card for herself.

After Omar handed it to her, she couldn't help but giggle at the charmingly goofy photo on the card and its subtitle; "Clincoln McCloud: BFFs." "We made a few of those, last year; when we came here for orientation" Clyde explained, "figured it would be a way to help people remember us." After hearing the explanation behind the cards, the three girls each let out a giggle.

"These are so silly and yet...a rather clever idea" Dolores stated, "very nicely done, boys." Not long after this, Jordan and Stella thanked Omar for retrieving Lincoln's card; saying it was quite sweet of him to do so. The moment the word "sweet" was mentioned, everyone's stomachs suddenly started growling; which meant that they were getting hungry.

On that note, Lincoln and his crew started their traditional lunch trade-off; which was something the four "newbies" wanted to join in on. "If y'all are makin' exchanges, might we get in on it" Ellie asked, "I'll share with ya two of my fried green tomatoes for a slice of that there lasagna you got, Lincoln." Upon hearing that Lincoln had lasagna in his lunch bag, Tonya suggested sharing a little bit of her "po' boy" sandwich for a slice instead.

"I'll take that offer, if he doesn't want it" Liam exclaimed, "and in exchange; I'll share a few of my hushpuppies." With a broad smile on her face, Tonya accepted the offer and made the trade. After that. Omar exchanged a Ziploc bag full of peanut butter celery sticks with Stella for a cup of her soup.

Before long; the whole group found themselves trading together, eating together and happily chatting together. Soon, Lincoln felt as though his earlier stresses were melting away. After everyone made their exchanges, the foursome decided to try and learn a little more about Lincoln and his friends.

"So, my man; what'cha like to do for fun" Omar asked, "me, I'm really into either playin' some games or sittin' at home watchin' Operation: Dessert Storm with the family." Upon hearing this reveal, Clyde was so surprised that almost choked on his drink. "Are you serious...I LOVE that show" he exclaimed, "after every episode, my dads and I like to try and recreate the recipes ourselves." This reveal almost caused Tonya's eyes to pop from her head with surprise.

She then talked about how much Omar and their mother loved doing the same thing. "Me, I love chilling in my room while reading comics in my spare time" Lincoln stated, "my absolute favorite is Ace Savvy...as you could tell from my pencil's eraser." At first, he expected the group to mock him for his love of superheroes.

But instead, he saw Dolores turn her lunch bag upright; which showed off an image of Ace Savvy and the Full House Gang on the lid. "You like the girls too" Jordan gasped, "so do we...FYI, Lincoln here came up with them himself." This reveal was, quite understandably met with some speculative murmurs.

"You sound as shady as a snake oil salesman with them claims, boy" Ellie muttered, "ya got any proof to back it up?" As if on cue; Stella brought out her backpack, reached inside and pulled out the first issue featuring the Gang. "I based each of the members off each of my sisters" Lincoln said confidently, "see for yourself."

Though still feeling skeptical, Dolores cleaned off her fingers and began to skim through Stella's copy; carefully studying each member of the Full House Gang. After almost a minute and a half, she closed the book and looked over towards Lincoln. At first, the young Loud boy thought she was displeased.

Finally; she slid her lunch bag over to him, smiled and asked "um...(ahem) could I...have your autograph, I love these characters." To say that Lincoln was shocked by this development would be a gross understatement. "Hold on just one moment, partner" Ellie interjected suddenly, "what sorta music do y'all listen to?"

In response; Lincoln's first answer was the rock band, SMOOCH. But he also added how much he loved his sister, Luna's music. "Well, dag my nabbit" she exclaimed, "I've been a SMOOCH fan for almost four years!" This reveal left Lincoln, Clyde and even the Gals awestruck.

Finally, when asked what their favorite TV shows were; Phoebe decided to answer for the foursome. "Omar's really into Dessert Storm, as you heard earlier" she stated, "the girls, meanwhile are really into The Dreamboat." With this reveal; Lincoln almost lost his balance, he was so shocked.

"I love that show too" he stated, "it's one of my top favorites...but ARRGH will always be No.1 in my book." Upon hearing mention of the ghost hunting series, a mixed look of surprise and amazement appeared on Dolores' face. Feeling worried, Lincoln asked if she was okay; hoping she wasn't choking on anything.

"She's fine, dude" Cici assured, "ARRGH just happens to be one of Dolores' 'guilty pleasure shows,' next to Vest Friends." With this skeleton out of the closet, Dolores suddenly let out a deep whimper of shame. At first, she expected Lincoln to mock her for enjoying the show.

But instead, both he and Clyde told her there was no shame in liking somethin that wasn't "meant for you." "We once thought we were getting too old for loving Ace Savvy" Lincoln stated, "but...when I saw that a group of my eldest sister's classmates were still into him, all those fears went away." After hearing Lincoln's little tale and getting a second opinion from Clyde, Dolores' demeanor became more relaxed.

"In that case...I just can't get enough of ARRGH" she squealed with glee, "when Hunter went exploring an old Mexican cathedral in the season premiere, back in July; I was on the edge of my seat!" Upon hearing mention of this; Lincoln suddenly glowed brightly with joy, happy to meet a fellow Hunter Specter fan. "Y'all, I can't believe we have so much in common" Ellie chuckled, "small world, ain't it?"

Lincoln couldn't help but share in her sentiment; after meeting with the likes of Biff and his friend, he feared the idea of becoming Public Enemy No.1 in the students' eyes. But instead, he found himself four possible new friends. "Maybe, the rest of the day will turn out better."

With this thought in mind, Lincoln decided to lower his guard a little; thinking he was safe, from that point on. But then, out of nowhere; a glob of mashed potatoes suddenly struck him square in the face. This attack caused Lincoln to fall back out of his seat.

Alarmed, Jordan and Stella rushed over to his side; hoping that he was okay. Meanwhile, the others suddenly overheard the sounds of someone cackling maliciously from behind. Omar turned around slightly and spotted a student in another table.

This young man appeared to be holding a spoon in his left hand, one that was lightly coated in potato residue. "How's that taste, Loud" he chuckled, "give me a sec and I come and pour some gravy on those taters for you!" This caused the other students in his table to laugh maliciously.

Now, you would think that such behavior would cause Lincoln to become angry. In the past, this would've been the case...but he knew better now. After becoming accustomed to Luan pelting him with pies, over the years; this little sneak attack didn't seem to faze him.

So; he cleaned his face up with a napkin, dusted himself off and sat back down at his table. This end result not only left the jerky student confused but also Biff's crew as well. "That little rat was supposed to cry" seethed the punkish looking kid, "how else can we expose him for the wuss he is!?"

Vicky couldn't help but agree with her associate, thinking Lincoln only appeared strong because his "friends" were with him. "Have patience, everyone" Biff murmured softly, "we'll have our chance to get even, very soon."

(Line Break)

After lunch was over, Lincoln went off to his next class; English. He was both surprised and pleased to see that Haiku would also be in his class. To make things even better; not one of his other classmates glared at him, scowled at him or even whispered a malicious remark his way.

This all led Lincoln to believe that he would be safe, from that point on. But then, he realized that there was one class left in his schedule...Gym. "I could simply be getting worried over nothing" Lincoln murmured fearfully towards the "viewer," "but I've got a sinking feeling in my bones that something bad will happen in my final class."

The moment he thought of this, Lincoln's mind suddenly envisioned all the ways people like Biff or his cronies would try to hurt him. These ideas ranged from being thrown through the basketball hoop or the simple yet equally painful Dodgeball barrage. To make matters worse; as he looked over the class, he saw that a good number of the students were members of some of Lynn's sport teams.

This led Lincoln to believe they might all be out for revenge against him, just like Biff. But just as his mind was about to be consumed by fear, the shrill sound of Coach Keck's whistle shook Lincoln out of his thoughts. "Okie doke, kids; we're gonna do something a little simple for your first class of the year" explained the coach, "time for some good ol' fashioned...DODGEBAAAALL!"

With this announcement and with one final toot of her whistle, both sides of the gym split into teams. However, Lincoln appeared frozen on the spot; his body shivering with the chill of fear. "Of all games...why did it have to be Dodgeball" he thought dreadfully, "now, they'll have free reign to assault me!"

The moment he thought this, Lincoln quickly slapped himself across the face; quickly snapping out of his fearful daze. "You're not a chump, Lincoln" he murmured, "you're a Loud and Louds stand strong...even when they're scared." With this thought in mind, Lincoln stood at the ready; waiting for the coach to signal the game to start.

Before that, Coach Keck began lining up a series of dodgeballs along the floor before both sides. The moment one of them was placed within his line of sight, Lincoln thought up a plan. He thought that if he could get his hands on at least, one ball; he may have a chance to defend himself.

Of course, deep down; Lincoln knew he wasn't the fastest runner in his family. So, there was a strong chance his plan might fail. "Still, you've already been through enough at Biff's hands" Lincoln thought angrily, "you're not going to let him do that to you again here...right!?"

For a moment or two, the young Loud boy continued to psyche himself up; doing whatever he could to brush aside his anxieties. It seemed to do the trick; because very soon, a fiery look of determination began to blaze in Lincoln's eyes. Then, at long last; Coach Keck blew the whistle and Dodgeball was underway.

Like a bat soaring out of Hades (as Lucy would say,) Lincoln zoomed ahead towards the line of dodgeballs. But just as he was almost within arms reach of one, Lincoln's left foot got caught up in his shoelaces; causing him to trip over himself. Naturally, this brief moment of clumsiness did not go unnoticed by the other students.

Within seconds, several of them started laughing mockingly at his mishap; some of them outright calling him a klutz. Among those who laughed were, of course; Biff and his group. "Looks like someone tripped at the finish line" snickered Vicky, "which gives us just the opening we need."

With that said, Biff snapped his fingers and every student on his side of the gym collected their "ammunition." As Lincoln pushed himself up onto his knees with a soft groan, he soon caught sight of the group before him and went pale. "I'm dead" he whimpered softly, "I am so very...very dead right now."

At first, he tried to look for a way to defend himself; either offensively or to find cover. But all the other dodgeballs were taken and all the students on his side had already scattered. In the end, Lincoln was all alone and at Biff's mercy. "I told you I'd make you pay for ruining things here...and I always make good on my promises" he growled with a malicious grin, "say good night!"

As Biff drew his arm back, ready to throw the ball; his group of friends and all other students who had it out for Lincoln started chanting wildly; hoping that he would nail the boy hard. With no means of defending himself on hand and with no cover in sight, Lincoln felt vulnerable. But then, just as all hope seemed lost; an idea came into his mind.

After taking in a calming breath, Lincoln stood at attention and looked Biff square in the eyes with a firm stare. "Guys...I'm sorry" he said suddenly, "I know you're probably upset about my sister not being your MVP anymore...and I'm willing to take full responsibility for it." This sudden confession caused Biff to seemingly freeze in place, while the others on his side simply stared in confusion.

"The thing is, though...what's done is done" Lincoln said firmly, "my family faced justice, we've made amends with each other, we've moved on and...and I really hoped the rest of Royal Woods would've done the same; including you guys!" No one spoke a word, after Lincoln's statement; whether because they were still confused by his actions or because they were contemplating on what to do next. Meanwhile, those on Lincoln's side looked also upon the scene in silence.

But the six Gal Pals couldn't help but inwardly applaud Lincoln for wanting to make things right with everyone, even if the situation might not be as dire as he thought. "Whatever reasons you people have for hating me...I'm sorry you feel that way" Lincoln murmured in defeat, "but go ahead...pelt me with dodgeballs, if you think that will 'make things right.'" With that said, he closed his eyes and held his arms up; as if he were offering himself up as a sacrifice.

Understandably so, Clyde and the boys began to fear for their friend's safety. "M-M-Maybe they'll accept his apology" stammered Zach fearfully, "I mean, Lincoln's words were sincere." For a few brief seconds; Clyde, Liam and Rusty all began to hope for the same thing.

But as they looked on in Biff's direction, they saw his eyes narrow tensely and a wicked grin appear on his face. "It takes a big man to admit his wrongdoings, kid" he snickered, "it makes what I'm about to do all the easier!" With that said, he turned himself slightly and threw the dodgeball with all his might.

While still keeping his stance and his eyes shut, Lincoln bit his lip nervously; mentally preparing himself for the pain to come. Then, all of a sudden; his ears heard the sharp "twang" of a rubber ball hitting something. But when Lincoln opened his eyes, he was still standing; much to Lincoln's surprise.

Not long after, he saw what the ball had struck...or rather, who it struck. Standing in front of him was Byron, who was clutching the dodgeball tightly to his chest. In that moment, Lincoln suddenly realized what must've happened. "Wow...I can't believe it, Byron took the hit for me" he thought in surprise, "the question is...why?"

On the other side, Biff and his team blinked in confusion; trying to process what Byron had just done. "What is with you, man" shouted one of the students, "Biff had the twerp right where he wanted him!" Byron said nothing in reply; instead, he looked over at Lincoln and murmured "don't worry, pal...I've got your back."

Enraged by this defiance, Biff ordered his punkish colleague to try and hit him next. But much to their surprise, his ball was caught by Margot; who was glaring daggers down Biff's way. "You leave Lincoln alone" she shouted, "whatever your beef is with him, he said he was sorry!"

Once more, the jock was enraged from being denied his chance at "retribution" and ordered his team to take no prisoners. With this simple command, Biff's team proceeded to try and hit Lincoln with as many dodgeballs they could throw. But yet again, each of them were caught by members of Lincoln's team.

"You best back off of Lincoln, Biff" exclaimed Polly Pain, "if you've got a problem with him, you've got a problem with all of us!" Upon saying this, several people suddenly appeared by Lincoln's side. Among them were his guy friends, the Gals and even some of Lynn's friends stood beside him.

"You...You're helping me" Lincoln murmured confusedly at a girl named Paula, "but why; after everything I did, I thought you'd all be mad." In response to this, Margot approached him and gave Lincoln a soft pat on the back. "It's as you said; what's happened, happened" she affirmed, "a bigger man would accept someone's apology with dignity and respect."

The moment he heard the term "respect," Biff growled softly and hawked a loogie on the floor. "A twerp like this doesn't deserve respect" he shouted, "he deserves a lesson, one about taking a sibling's abuse and not cry about it!" Rather than be intimidated by this statement, Lincoln's group only smiled smugly at Biff; as if they knew something he didn't.

"Is that so, big shot" Tonya said coyly, "then...I guess Lynn may have a different view on things." No sooner had she said this, the door to Coach Keck's office slammed open; revealing the aforementioned teacher. At her side, much to Lincoln's surprise, was Lynn; who appeared to be dressed in a dark grey hoodie and light grey jeans.

"I haven't seen her wear that look in years" Lincoln thought in slight awe, "not since she was the one in 6th Grade." Not only did Lynn look different; in that moment, there was something about her that felt different as well (at least, to Lincoln.) While she had the same sort of "don't mess with me" look in her eyes, they didn't have the same raging fire in them like before.

Meanwhile, Coach Keck made her way over towards the kids and called for attention. "What's all this here" she demanded, "I call for a simple game of Dodgeball and then, I get word that there are people in here who are out for blood!" Upon hearing these words, Lincoln wondered how the coach came to learn about this or who spoke to her.

"We heard Biff say it himself, Ma'am" Omar called out, "he and his pack have been on Lincoln's case all day; constantly wanting revenge for what happened between him and his fam." Intrigued yet mildly frustrated by this, Coach Keck turned towards the aforementioned jock for a second opinion. "B-B-But Coach, it's for the best" Biff stammered, "it's because of Lincoln that this school lost its star player!"

Upon hearing this claim, Lynn cleared her throat softly and asked if she could speak for a moment. At first, Biff and his team felt that she was going to side with them; bringing in some much deserved justice. But instead; she approached her brother, took a knee...and hugged him lovingly in front of everyone.

"I'm sorry you got harangued so much on my account, dude" Lynn said kindly, "but I'm happy to know you didn't let Biff bait you and lead you into a fight." To say Lincoln was surprised by this development would be a tremendous understatement. This girl looked like his older sister, on the outside...but something felt different about her.

After releasing Lincoln from her embrace, Lynn turned towards Biff and demanded he back off. "Don't you understand, Lynn" Vicky exclaimed, "we're all doing this for YOU!" Biff sounded off in agreement and proclaimed Lincoln deserved to be harmed, after costing the school its star player.

After taking a moment to process Biff's words, Coach Keck shook her head and let out a weary sigh. "These fanboys and fangirls will be the death of me...I swear" she muttered, "Loud didn't get cut from the teams she's in, Packard; she's on the reserves!" Upon hearing this revelation, the entire gymnasium echoed with loud gasps of shock.

Meanwhile, Lincoln did his best to collect himself; before he chose to get the 411 from Lynn herself. "You heard right, Bro" she said with a light chuckle, "I chose to put myself on the sidelines...just in case my teams might need my help, someday." Even after hearing the news from the source, Lincoln still felt confused; wondering why she did it.

"Look...I'll try to keep this simple" she stated, "all those Anger Management and Sensitivity classes I took during the summer really opened my eyes on things." Feeling curious, Paula approached Lynn and asked what kind of "things" was she opened up to? "Long story short; after learning how much my behavior affected my family, I decided I wanted to try and change" Lynn explained, "you know...dial things back a little."

From here, she added how she still loved to play sports but never wanted to go back to what she used to be; all "in your face" and obnoxious about her skills. "So, I'm trying to bring back the old Lynn my brother once knew" Lynn stated, "the softer yet slightly reserved one while keeping a little of the sports me mixed in as well." After hearing all this, not only did Lincoln feel proud of his sister; Lynn's friends and the coach did as well.

But Biff and his friends, on the other hand saw all this as Lynn becoming a total wuss; all because of her brother. "He still needs to pay" growled the punkish-looking kid, "and we're gonna see it happen, one way or another!" With that said, the group prepared to unleash their dodgeballs at Lincoln.

But then, Lynn quickly warned everyone on her side to quickly cover their ears. "Trust me" she murmured while looking Lincoln in the eyes, "it's best you do it before it's too late." While still confused about the request, Lincoln did as he was told. Soon, the rest of the students on his side did the same thing.

A split second after that, the whole gym echoed with the shrill sound of Coach Keck's whistle blowing; which caused the students on Biff's side to immediately drop their balls. Not long after that, they painfully covered their ears while groaning in annoyance. "Congrats, Packard" the coach grumbled, "because of your behavior, all the students on your side of the Gym just earned a trip to the office!"

This announcement was met with Biff and Co. moaning loudly with either regret or disapproval. "But...Ma'am, it's our first day" Vicky pleaded pathetically, "we can't see the office this soon!" Sadly, Coach Keck wasn't hearing it and she ordered the group to go hit the showers.

As the group marched off in shame, she turned towards Lynn and thanked her for the head's up she gave her. "Wait...hold on, what's going on here" Lincoln asked, "is this all some sort of prank?!" Coach Keck smiled down at Lincoln and shook her head, before revealing that Lynn had been informing teachers like her about some of the students' actions all day.

"Much like you, Bro; I also feared about my first day back" Lynn murmured, "I wondered...what would people think of me now, after all the stuff that's been said and done?" After hearing this confession, Lincoln didn't know whether to call it irony or coincidence that she felt this way. "Then, when I saw Biff trip you in the halls; I couldn't believe when I saw almost everyone go after you instead" Lynn grumbled, "talk about overzealous fans...am I right?"

Upon hearing this lighthearted jab at her "followers'" expense, Lincoln couldn't help but chuckle softly. "The important thing here is that Linc is okay" Stella said reassuringly, "and that the guilty party is getting what's coming to them!" The group all shouted loudly in agreement, for a moment or two; before Coach Keck urged them to "simmer down."

"Best head on out to the track for a run, kids" she stated, "without another team; dodgeball's cancelled for today." The kids all sounded off obediently, placed the dodgeballs back onto the rack and hurried outside. Before he left, however; Lincoln took a moment to express his thanks to everyone for standing up for him.

"No problem, Lincoln" Margot said kindly, "those creeps had it coming the moment they were willing to hurt you after your apology." Upon hearing mention of it; Lincoln decided to express his regret, once again over everything that happened. But everyone, guys and gals, assured him that he was "a-okay."

"It's all water under the bridge, dude" a girl named Lainey chuckled reassuringly, "as long as you and your sis are okay again...nothing else matters." After giving Lincoln a light pat on the back, she and the rest of the girls went of into the Girls' Locker Room; while the boys went off to theirs. Before leaving, Lynn looked over her shoulder and gave Lincoln a "Victory" hand sign; as if to say they were cool too.

(Line Break)

At long last, the final bell rang; signaling the end of the school day and the kids came pouring out through the doors. The last to leave was Lincoln, who was currently sharing his number with some of his new friends. "So, Linc; you wanna hang at my place Saturday" Omar offered, "I got the new Gaming Goggles for my birthday and they came with that new survival game: 'The Haunted Asylum'"

After giving it a few seconds thought, Lincoln happily accepted the offer; provided that nothing else came up at home that day. "Hope we'll get the chance to hang to, dude" Tonya stated, "I'm anxious to meet all them other Gal Pals of yours." That did it, this was the third time one or all three of the ladies seemed to know something about him.

"First thing's first" Lincoln said firmly yet politely, "how is it that you guys know me already...we've only just met." This inquiry caused Tonya, Dolores and Ellie to smile slyly to one another; each of them thinking they've kept him in the dark long enough. But just as they were about to speak, three sets of police sirens suddenly rang out; causing Lincoln to jump in alarm.

Then, after some feedback noise was heard; a familiar voice spoke out to him in saying "I got you good, chamaco!" Upon hearing the nickname and the voice who said it, Lincoln looked up and spotted a long police van parked in the faculty lot. Upon seeing the vehicle's owners, both he and the Gals' collective eyes almost popped from their heads.

Standing beside the van was none other than Officers Higgins, Simmons and Campos; who were all waving at them happily. "What the...What are they doing here" questioned Lincoln, "I thought they'd be back on the beat, now that my family's debt's been paid." To make matters even more confusing, everyone watched as the trio of officers proceeded to hug their new friends in greeting.

Not long after that, Officer Campos affectionately ruffled Lincoln's hair; which caused the Gal Pals to laugh. "I see you met our lil' friend, niños y niñas" the officer said sweetly, "hope he wasn't any trouble for you." Dolores chuckled at Campos' over-protectiveness and assured her that all was well.

"I mean, there were some ragamuffins tryin' to stir somethin' up with him" Ellie grumbled, "but other than that, he's been nothin' short of a sweetheart." Lincoln blushed bashfully at the comment, proclaiming that he did nothing special. "Are you kidding, chico" Dolores exclaimed, "you were willing to take a full-on dodgeball assault just to get some kids off your back...that took guts."

Before Lincoln could deny the claims again, Dolores silenced him by giving him a quick yet affectionate kiss on the cheek; causing the boy to become as stiff as a board. This left quite a lipstick mark on him, which the Gal Pals couldn't help but giggle at. Meanwhile, the other boys proceeded to question why their new friends never revealed who their parents were?

"There's two reasons behind that, my man" Omar murmured, "first off...y'all never asked us and second; when people hear that you're the child of a police officer, it causes them to either become extremely cautious or just plain scared of you." After hearing the second explanation, Lincoln suddenly snapped out of his earlier daze and understood why he was kept in the dark about things. "I had my suspicions, when Byron told me Dolores was related to a cop" Lincoln thought to himself, "and it looks like they were right all along."

When the gang's four new friends asked if them having cops for family felt weird to them, everyone sounded off with an enthusiastic "NO!" "If anything, it makes you guys even cooler" Clyde assured, "I just hope your families won't mind us all hanging out together." Without so much as a second thought, Officer Simmons laughed uproariously and assured everyone all was well.

"If y'all wanna hang together, have at it" Higgins stated, "just make sure you don't get involved in no suspicious business...ya hear?" While everyone knew that the officer was joking, the kids still swore to be on their best behavior. "Perfecto" Campos said with glee, "you and your friends okay with taking the bus home, chamaco?"

Lincoln smiled up at the officer, gave her a thumb's up and assured her he was okay. "In that case, my man; see ya tomorrow" Omar said while high-fiving Lincoln, "and have a safe trip home!" With that said, he hurried off to the van; eager to get home. Meanwhile, the three ladies proceeded to hug Lincoln farewell; adding that it was a pleasure to meet him and his friends.

"I can't wait to tell Carol about you guys" Jordan said with glee, "the Gal Pals are always looking for new members; female and male." Upon hearing this, Ellie expressed great interest in wanting to meet their other friends. "If what my mama told me and Omar is true, your crew sounds like a barrel of laughs" Tonya stated, "that is...if they'll welcome us in."

Cici gasped dramatically at this assumption, as if her friend had said something obscene. "Of course Carol will welcome you, T" she said emphatically, "but we'll talk about that later; for now, have a safe trip back home!" With that said, everyone said their goodbyes and went off on their ways home; with Lincoln and Co taking the bus and their newest friend heading back to their homes in the van.

(Line Break)

Sometime later, the school bus arrived at the Loud Residence; where both Lincoln and Lynn proceeded to step off. Upon entering the house; they were both greeted by the pets, their parents and all nine of the remaining sisters. "Welcome home, kids" greeted Lynn Sr., "how was your first day back?"

For a moment or so, neither of the two said anything; which lead everyone to believe something was wrong. But then, Lincoln smiled up at his father with a chuckle and said "put on some cocoa, Dad...because we've got a story for you."

(First AN: And so, Lincoln's first day of Middle School comes to an end. Sure, there were a few bumps on the path but he stood strong. In the end; he survived, kept his nose clean and gained some new friends along the way. Here's hoping the rest of his Middle School semester goes well)

(Second AN: A note regarding the new group of characters featured in this oneshot. While Tonya *or as the show calls her "unknown Kangaroos team member #6*" is briefly featured in the show; Omar, Dolores and Eloise/Ellie are all original characters thought up by me. I just thought I'd point that out, in case anyone felt I stole anything. The same thing applies with Biff and the "punkish" member of his group.

Meanwhile, the character of Vicky is loosely based upon the Fairly Oddparents character of the same name. The main differences between them are their clothes and ages.)

(Third AN: To anyone who felt that this oneshot was another piece of "Lincoln Torture Porn" or that some of the kids were too mean-spirited towards Lincoln, understand this. Much of the kids against Lincoln were die-hard Lynn fans who loved watching her play. Whereas Biff and his group were just a bunch of lazy bums mooching off of her successes.

While it makes sense for fans to get uppity over their hero falling from grace, Biff and his crew were basically acting like spoiled brats whose doctor excuses were denied or when their cellphone privileges get revoked. Thus, to them; everything they were doing to Lincoln was what they would consider "justice" in Lynn's name. Think of Biff as a cross between Flash Thompson from Spider-Man and a teen, rich boy/jock version of Akainu from One Piece...but without the ugly sneer and facial scars)

(Fourth AN: In regards to Omar's character; the condition he has, Gigantism, is a real yet rare sort of medical condition that is known in the world. Two known figures who have this are Dalip Singh Rana/The Great Khali and Andre the Giant, who was referenced earlier on in the story)

(Fifth AN: While the idea of having officers patrol school hallways is often controversial. Whenever something hostile happens in real world schools, local governments feel that such security measures are necessary; should any kind of undesirable behavior/circumstances arise. Furthermore, in regards to the mentioning of prank sprees; that's meant to reference Luan's possible bad behavior for when she was in 6th Grade)

(Final AN: Along with Lincoln's own adventure, I thought it would be appropriate/nice to add some character development for Lynn. As such, I decided to give her the kind of personality she used to have; back when she was in 6th Grade. I also thought it appropriate to have her be in the Reserves, where her sports teams are concerned.

The reason, Lynn feared that going back to her old routine would cause her old vices to come back. Thus, Lynn's doing whatever possible to keep herself from relapsing)