After the last 2 chapters, I've been taking all of your comments into consideration. I've had my own plans for this story, but considering everyone's comments and opinions, now I'm not so sure if some of you would agree with what I have planned for this next chapter. I hope it still works out though.
After their "father-son bonding day" out, Lincoln and Lynn Sr. drove back home and kept silent during the entire trip. Lynn Sr. definitely didn't expect their day to turn out like this. All he wanted was one day to bond with his one and only son, since he usually spends most of his time doing it with his many daughters. But now, he felt like his relationship with Lincoln was all but shattered.
He thought he could say something to lighten the mood a little bit, but right now, he just didn't want to make everything worse between them. Lincoln, on the other hand, didn't say a word and just stared out the window with a pale, emotionless expression on his face. To him, it felt like he was watching the world pass him by like an old movie, just waiting until they finally made it home so that this movie could end and he could move on with his life.
After a few more minutes, Vanzilla finally pulled up into the driveway of their destination. While still maintaining a lack of communication, Lincoln and his father slowly exited the car and made their way to the front door. As they entered, they were welcomed back the matriarch of the Loud family, Rita Loud, who was expecting them to return from their day out with a positive outcome.
Unfortunately, the looks on their faces were not what she was hoping to see coming through the door. Lincoln had an indifferent scowl on his face, indicating to her that he must've not enjoyed his time with his father very much, whereas, her husband was sporting a more sad look, telling her that the day didn't turn out very well for him either. "Hi boys," Rita said cheerfully. "So, how was your big day, do anything fun?" she asked.
Lincoln didn't answer and just sighed with exasperation as he immediately walked up the stairs to his room. "Lincoln, where are you going?" she asked.
The white-haired boy stopped halfway up the stairs and turned to talk to his mother, while maintaining his uninterested scowl. "I'm going to my room, Mom. Back to my comics and video games. Because that was one day out that I'd rather not relive right now," Lincoln answered continuing to his room, much to his mother's confusion.
As Lincoln entered his room, Rita looked to Lynn Sr., who was slouching with the sad face that he had since he came in. "Lynn? Honey, what's wrong? Didn't you and Lincoln have a good day?" she asked prompting her husband to sit down on the couch to tell her what happened.
"No, Rita. We didn't have a good day," he answered.
"Why? What happened?" Rita asked in concern, putting her hand on his shoulder.
Lynn Sr. sighed again. "Lincoln practically deserted me. I took him for a day out to do some of the traditional father-son bonding activities, but no matter what, Lincoln wouldn't do anything!" he exclaimed.
"What?!" Rita exclaimed in response.
"That boy just kept ignoring everything I tried to do with him! I take him to play in a baseball game, and he just stands there doing nothing while the game's going on! I can still hear the sound of those people booing at him."
"Really?" Rita said. "That can't be, Lynn."
"No it's true. And it gets worse," Lynn Sr. answered. "I brought him to the batting cages so that we could work on his swing, and guess what, he ditched me!"
"Lincoln 'ditched' you?" Rita wondered, her concern growing into rage at Lincoln's actions.
"Yep. I turn my back on him for one second, and he just disappears. The next thing I know, he's playing video games in the arcade, just being lazy again." Lynn Sr. tried to remember what happened next without getting angry, but the very memory itself felt like it was eating him up inside. "And-and-and," he stammered.
"What happened?" Rita wondered.
"I tried to get him out of there so that we could get back to playing sports, but then Lincoln went and shoved me!" he shouted.
"He what?!" Rita asked. Clearly, she wasn't satisfied with how Lincoln acted today either.
After telling her, Lynn Sr. managed to let out his anger and calmed down, but that couldn't make Rita let her anger go with him.
He sighed, ready to tell her the rest of the story. "I was so mad at him after that. I had to put my foot down and tried to force him to do more sports, but still. Lincoln just kept avoiding everything," he groan. "I brought him to places where we could do all kinds of guy things together, and all he wanted to do was be lazy and play video games all day. Honestly Rita, it was like Lincoln would rather do anything but spend time with his own father. I-I-I just don't get it," Lynn Sr. said holding back tears as he put his hands over his eyes.
"I don't believe this," Rita said angrily. She stood up with a strong and decisive look on her face. "I am going to talk to Lincoln and give him a piece of my mind!" Rita went up the stairs to Lincoln's room to give him a stern talking-to that would more than make him regret the way he treated his father, and she wasn't going to take no for an answer.
Lincoln was currently in his room playing on his handheld video game, trying to forget how his day with his father went. However, even though he didn't like how it all turned out, deep inside, he felt some great regret for how he treated his father. But in the midst of his thoughts, Lincoln was awoken from them as heard a knock on his door.
"Lincoln! Open up, young man! You're in big trouble!" Rita yelled. Lincoln opened the door and was quickly shocked to see the furious look on his mother's face. He gulped nervously, but then sighed as he expected a punishment coming after what he did to Lynn Sr.
Lincoln opened the door to see the angry form of his mother, a sight that he would've been frightened to see, but right now, fear was the last thing he could feel. "Lincoln, your father told me everything. I can't believe you would treat him like that when all he wanted to do was spend time with you," Rita scolded.
"That was his mistake, mom," Lincoln answered.
"What?!" his mother asked in shock.
"It wasn't my fault. Dad wanted me to play sports but what he doesn't understand is that sports are just not for me," he said.
"Lincoln, all he wanted was for you and him to spend more time together. And what did you do? You embarrass him, leave him hung out to dry, and shove him?!" Rita said. "Why would you do that?!"
"Look Mom, I would've liked to have a good time with Dad, but the fact is that all he wanted was to play sports, and I'm just not good at any of that stuff," he answered.
"That's no reason to not give anything a chance, Lincoln. And it's also no excuse for your bad behavior!" Rita shouted. "Now, listen to me, Lincoln. You owe your father an apology for the way you treated him," she said before turning around to leave, but not without making one last point. "And honestly Lincoln, I just don't understand what you have against sports exercise when they're supposed to be good for you."
"Hardly Mom. Sports do nothing good for me. That's for sure," Lincoln replied, much to Rita's surprise as she changed her mind about ending their conversation.
"What? That's ridiculous, Lincoln," Rita said.
"No it's not," Lincoln countered. "How do you expect me to have any fun playing sports when I'm just no good at them, no matter how hard I try?"
"Lincoln, we both know that you're not very good at sports because you barely ever gave them a real chance. You know that right?" Rita said.
"Are you talking about the time you wanted me to play football for more exercise?" Lincoln said, to which his mother nodded "yes."
He sighed. "Lincoln all I wanted back then was for you to get some exercise. And sports can help you do that," she said. "After all, you know that playing video games and reading comics inside all the time isn't good for you. Maybe, if you had actually given sports and exercise a chance-" Rita began only for Lincoln to cut her off.
"I don't think actually 'trying' would've made much of a difference back then, Mom."
Rita tried to process what Lincoln said, but felt like she was getting more confused. "What do you mean, Lincoln? Of course trying would've made a difference. If you had practiced some more, then you would've gotten better," she countered.
"I don't think so," Lincoln said. "I bet even if I did practice, I probably still would've messed up the whole game back then."
"That's not true, Lincoln," Rita said.
"Yes it is, Mom!" Lincoln exclaimed. "After all, it's not like I could be good at that kind of stuff. Lynn was the real star of the show back then, while I was just the loser who screwed everything up and made a complete fool of himself. I should just stick to comics and video games since those are the only things that I'm actually good at."
Rita couldn't believe what her son just said, he was comparing himself to his more athletic sister and calling himself a loser. She also noticed that the look on his face had changed from annoyed to sad at that moment.
"Lincoln, sweetie, you're not a loser," she said in concern.
However, Lincoln looked toward her with an angry stare. Rita flinched in surprise at the look on his face as she didn't expect him to react like in such a way when all she was trying to do was help him feel better.
"Oh yeah, Mom? Then tell me, if I'm not a loser, why is it that every time my sisters do their own things, they always end up on top while I'm always the one who gets the short end of the stick?" Lincoln asked in a bitter tone.
Rita was confused as she tried to process what Lincoln meant by him always "getting the short end of the stick," but after a minute or so, she was beginning to understand what he was talking about.
"Oh come on, Lincoln. You know it was your own fault for not exercising. If you had just stopped focusing on your video games and participated more, then you would've-" Rita said before Lincoln cut her off again.
"It wouldn't have changed anything, Mom!" Lincoln shouted as he stood up off of his bed and startled his mother with his sudden outburst. But then Lincoln saw how he scared his mother and quickly regretted snapping at her.
The white-haired boy sighed with remorse as he sat back on his bed while calming down from his earlier anger fit. "I'm sorry, Mom. I didn't mean to yell at you like that," Lincoln apologized and Rita could now see the sadness in his eyes as he hung his head down in shame.
After recovering from her initial shock, Rita heard what Lincoln said in his outburst and finally understood what he meant out him getting the short end of the stick and how he truly felt about what sports have done for him in the past.
Rita then took a seat next to her son on his bed and placed her arm around his shoulder for comfort. "Lincoln, is that really what you think, that you really had no chance at all of being good at a sport?" she asked and Lincoln silently nodded "yes" to her question. This just made her feel even worse for Lincoln as she saw him trying to fight back tears.
Lincoln sighed. "It's true, Mom," he said. "I don't have any athletic ability like Lynn does. She's the family all-star, and me, I'm just the family's big disappointment."
"What?!" Rita said in shock. "Lincoln, you're not a disappointment."
"Yes I am," he said in disagreement. "You and Dad are always so supportive when Lynn plays her sports. She always wins and you guys are always so proud of her. But me, on the other hand, I'm a complete failure when it comes to sports. Whenever I actually try, all I ever do mess things up and make a complete idiot of myself. Lynn was the one you guys were proud of there, not me. And in the end, unlike her, all I brought you was shame and humiliation." Lincoln couldn't hold his tears back any longer and silently let them fall.
Rita was hurt to hear Lincoln talk about himself like this. Seeing him in such a state was enough to break her heart and she just couldn't bare it anymore. Lincoln found himself enveloped in his mother's arms as she held him in a comforting hug. Lincoln was surprised at first, but then he just accepted her embrace, so he heavily inhaled and then let it all out with a sad sigh as he hugged her back.
Their embrace lasted about three or five minutes before they finally let go of each other. "Lincoln I had no idea you felt this way. I'm so sorry," Rita said, wiping the last bit of Lincoln's tears. "It was my fault. I never should've forced you to play football."
"It was my fault too, Mom. I was the one who was being lazy," Lincoln replied. "You were right, though. I should've given things a chance more. But it doesn't even make a difference now."
"Lincoln, I know you'd rather play video games and read your comics books and that's okay. But it's not good all the time," Rita said. "Would it really hurt so much just to step outside of your comfort zone and try your luck at something new for a change?" she asked with a reassuring smile while putting her hand on his shoulder.
"In my experience, Mom, yes. It would really hurt," Lincoln answered.
"Okay, Lincoln. If you don't enjoy sports, I get that. But that still doesn't excuse the way you've been acting with your father," Rita said. "So, for your own good, no more comics and no more video games until you've learned your lesson." Rita gathered all of Lincoln's things, starting with his handheld video game console and his comic books. "I want you to go and apologize to your father, okay Lincoln," Rita said but Lincoln didn't respond, much to her confusion.
"Lincoln, did you hear me?" she asked.
He sighed. "Look, Mom. I still feel bad about the way I treated Dad, but right now, I can't apologize to him."
"Why not?" she asked.
Lincoln hesitated to answer, but still felt he had to say something. "Dad just doesn't understand me. I'm not made for sports, but he just can't deal with that. I'm sorry, Mom. Really, I am, but I just can't do it right now."
Rita took a few seconds to understand what Lincoln said, but she still couldn't believe it. "Lincoln. I...I," Rita sighed. "Alright then. If that's how you feel, then your punishment stands. We are going to discuss this again later, okay?" Lincoln still didn't respond and Rita had enough as she finally left his room with all of his things.
Lincoln lied down on his bed feeling sorrowful for his actions. He couldn't bring himself to tell his father he was sorry just yet, but now, all he wanted was to forget about it, and yet, he just couldn't purge the thought from his mind. "I bet you think that heart-to-heart talk with my Mom, would've helped move things along, right?" Lincoln said, addressing the audience. "Well, you're kind of right. Maybe if I was better at sports, Dad would understand me. But the fact is, I just can't see that happening."
The next day, Rita and Lynn Sr. were in the living room going through their morning routine. Lynn Sr. was reading the newspaper and Rita was working on the computer with her morning coffee in hand. The day was oddly quiet so far, especially for the Loud house. Normally, the Loud sisters would be up to their usual ear-piercing shenanigans, but today, they were pretty mellow, some of them anyway.
Lori and Leni were in their bedroom, with Lori texting her boyfriend, Bobby, and Leni reading one of her fashion magazines. Luna was listening to music on her headphones while Luan was working on one of her comedy routines, Lynn was practicing with her soccer ball in the backyard, Lucy was reading her poetry book, Lola was having her tea party with her stuffed toys, Lana was feeding her pets, Lisa was studying for another one of her presentations at the annual science expo, and Lily was playing with her blocks in her and Lisa's room.
The only member of the Loud family that wasn't making the most out of the day was the sole brother, Lincoln Loud. After his talk with his mother the other day, he pretty much had nothing else to do since she already talk his things away. However, Lincoln's boredom was brought to an end as he heard a knock on his door and allowed his visitor to come in. It was his mother, who came to finish what they started yesterday.
"Good morning, sweetie," Rita said in a friendly tone that slightly brought the boy's spirits up. "Hey Mom," Lincoln greeted back with a small smile, which Rita accepted and sat on his bed with him once again.
"Look Lincoln, I've been thinking about what we talked about last night and, well, I thought maybe you would like to consider trying sports again," Rita suggested. But Lincoln gave her a surprised look as he thought about it.
Lincoln remained unsure as he was thinking it would only turn out the same as the other times he tried sports. "Um. I don't know, Mom. You know how it is. I don't know if I want to risk humiliating myself again," Lincoln answered.
Rita then stood in front of Lincoln and kneeled down to be at eye level with him. "Look Lincoln, my mistake before was forcing you to play football without your consent. This time, I'm not going to force anything on you," she said with a kind smile, hoping that being a little more gentle and patient with him would be a more convincing approach.
"I don't want you to just refuse the idea right away, I just want you to be a little more open-minded, okay?" Lincoln was still unsure of how to answer and was even becoming nervous trying to think of a good response.
His mother put her hands on his shoulders to calm him and then patted him on the cheek to help ease the tension he was feeling. "Honey, I get it. You still think it'll turn out badly, but you won't know that if you don't take a chance. I'm not going to force you to play but I still want you to."
Lincoln was beginning to calm down thinking maybe he could give sports a chance for once, but he was still hesitant until his mother went for her last resort. "Okay, Lincoln. Let me be clear this time. All I want is for you to actually try to play sports. If you try, you might just find something you like, and if it doesn't work out, then that's okay. You can always try again and as long as you don't quit and just do the best that you can, even if you fail, we'll all love you no matter what, okay?" Rita said in a comforting tone.
Lincoln took her encouraging words to heart and decided that if it was going to be like that from now on, then maybe it wouldn't be so bad to give sports a chance after all. He exhaled as he calmed down and gave her his answer. "Okay, Mom. I guess I can give it a shot."
"Oh, I'm proud of you, sweetie," Rita happily said and gave Lincoln a gentle kiss on his forehead, much to his joy. "Now what do you say we find a sport that you can actually enjoy, and don't worry, I'm sure this won't turn out like the football incident.
Even though his mother said it wouldn't turn out like the football fiasco, Lincoln was still feeling pretty skeptical about it. But even so, this time he wasn't going to walk away from an opportunity like this.
"So Mom, what's the plan for today?" Lincoln asked.
"Well, the good news is there are lots of sports teams holding try-outs today. So, I'm going to take you to each of them and if you find something that you like, then we'll go for it," she answered hoping that Lincoln would be onboard with her idea.
Lincoln was unsure at first but decided to go through with it anyway. "Okay, Mom. Let's go," he said.
As Lincoln and Rita left the house and drove off in Vanzilla, a few new thoughts ran through Lincoln's head. He was thinking that this could be his big break. Maybe he would actually find a sport that he was good at, something that would make his father finally accept him, at least, he was hoping that would happen.
Lincoln and Rita rode off in Vanzilla for another day of playing sports, and this time, hopefully, Lincoln was actually going to participate and try to find a sport that he actually liked to play. The first stop in their search led them to a soccer field where soccer try-outs were being held. Lincoln felt pretty good about it and thought that soccer would be more up his alley.
As they got out of the car, Rita gave Lincoln his gym bag, with his gym clothes to change into at the stalls. Rita thought that maybe football wasn't exactly the best first choice for him, so she figured soccer would be better for Lincoln to start with, considering he should be better with his feet than his hands since he likes to play all of those dancing games at home and at the arcade. "Okay, Lincoln. Are you ready for some fun?" she asked as she got down on one knee.
"Yeah, Mom. I guess I am," he answered nervously, which Rita picked up on.
Rita then put her hand on his shoulder to console him. "Now honey, I know you have your doubts about this, but I just want you to give this a chance," she said trying to comfort Lincoln. "If you try it, maybe you'll find that you really like it. Who knows? But most of all, just go and have fun, okay?"
"Okay, Mom. I'm ready. I'll do it," he replied and Rita gave him a kiss on the cheek for it.
Lincoln went to change into his gym clothes and got on the field, ready for try-outs to begin. He got into the group of kids signing up while his mother was sitting in the stands watching him. There was at least 15 to 25 kids competing at the event to get a spot on the team. "Alright kids, are you all ready?" asked the coach, and they all cheered "yes" as they showed him they were all ready and waiting anxiously for it to start. "Good, now everyone get into your positions," he commanded, and then blew the whistle for the kids to begin.
The try-outs began with a simple jog, two laps around the soccer field. 'So far so good,' Rita thought. However, it didn't seem to start out that well for Lincoln as it did with most of the other kids. Lincoln was having a little trouble keeping up with them during the laps and kept lagging behind them.
The white-haired boy was off to a pretty rough start as the coach was not very impressed by his less-than acceptable performance. "Loud! Come on, I've seen snails run faster than you!" the coach shouted and startled Lincoln as he pushed himself a little more to make it to the second lap, but it still wasn't enough to make a good first impression on the coach.
Their next exercise was to do a total of 15 push-ups, and once again, it was difficult for Lincoln to push himself. He tried to do as many push-ups as everyone else, but the problem was that his arms had a hard time standing their ground until, eventually, they gave out and Lincoln fell onto the ground, much to the coach's disappointment.
It was finally time to get to the actual soccer exercises. It started out with them getting into rows of 5 where the first one in line would kick the ball as far as they could and then move to the end of the line for the next person to kick, and then repeat the cycle. But when Lincoln's turn to kick came around, he tried to kick the ball as far as he could, only for it to go barely a few feet from where he kicked it. The other kids were beginning to chuckle a little bit, which started to make Lincoln feel nervous as he thought they were laughing at him.
*whistle blows* "Alright everyone, that enough. Line up over here!" the coach commanded as everyone lined up in front of him. "Everyone split into two equal groups and take one of these." He held up a pair of sports vests, a red one in his left hand, and blue one in his right hand. "If you're on my left, take a red vest, and if you're on my right, take a blue one," he instructed and the children complied.
Lincoln was on the team with the wearing the blue vests and met with his group. "Is everyone ready?" the coach asked, to which, they all said yes. "Alright, now the exercise can start. Blue on the left side, and red on the right." *whistle blows* Lincoln got into position with his team and felt ready to play. Rita was watching and felt happy that Lincoln looked like he was having a good time.
But that feeling didn't last very long. Once practice started, Lincoln was having a tough time trying to play well. He was still too slow to keep up with everyone on his team, and even tripped over his own feet a few times. Lincoln's clumsiness was beginning to ware on the nerves of some of his teammates. And to make it even worse, whenever he had the ball, Lincoln could barely control it and tripped and fell to the ground as someone from the red team took the ball from him.
Some of his blue teammates were getting pretty annoyed by Lincoln's clumsiness and lack of coordination, while the other kids, from both teams, just laughed at him, much to his embarrassment. Rita noticed how Lincoln felt when they were laughing at his blunder and started getting worried. "Oh no. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea?" Rita wondered.
As Lincoln got back up, he tried to put their laughing out of his head and continue with the practice. Even though he still had it much harder than the other kids, Lincoln still tried to do the best he could. Near the end, one of his teammates had the ball and he was pretty close to him. "Over here. I'm open!" Lincoln shouted trying to get him to pass the soccer ball over to him.
However, that player didn't trust Lincoln to handle it well and just ignored him as he passed it to someone else who scored with their next kick. Lincoln felt pretty bad after that guy left him out. Things went from bad to worse after that, when Lincoln managed to get the ball, but then when he kicked it, Lincoln failed to notice that he kicked the ball into the wrong goal. His blue teammates were pretty mad at him, while the coach shook his head in disappointment.
At the end of it all, the try-outs were over and most of the kids earned a spot on the team, but unfortunately, Lincoln failed and didn't make the team. He walked away while the other kids all laughed at him again. "Hang on, Loud." One of the kids called to Lincoln and made him turn around. "Don't go yet. I think we have a special position just for you... as the water-boy!" The boy made a mean joke at Lincoln and caused everyone to laugh at him even more.
His mother came up to him hoping she could make him feel better about it. "It's okay, Lincoln. You did great out there. Wasn't it fun?" she chuckled hoping it would get his spirits up. But Lincoln didn't answer as he just walked past her and went to the car with the same sad look on his face.
He sighed. "Let's just go, Mom," Lincoln said. Rita also became sad after that wondering if she made the right decision by convincing Lincoln to come out her.
They drove off in the car to their second stop, the Royal Woods gym, and the sport that Lincoln was going to try next was basketball. "Okay, Lincoln. Now, this one looks like the sport for you. Are you ready?" she asked.
But Lincoln hesitated to answer and Rita could see the look of anxiety in his eyes. "I don't know about this, Mom," Lincoln said.
"Don't worry, sweetie. So soccer didn't work out. Basketball might just be better," she encouraged.
Lincoln sighed as he got out of the car and went to join in the try-outs. He hoped this would be different, but, to his misfortune, it wasn't. Just like at soccer, Lincoln could barely keep up with the other kids when they were running, and he could hardly even dribble the ball or shoot the basket straight. To those other kids, it seemed so easy, but for Lincoln, it felt almost impossible.
He could hardly control the ball while dribbling it, and, also like the soccer practice, whenever he would start looking like a klutz by tripping over his own feet or letting the ball bounce away from him, everyone would just laugh at him like he was just a clown for their amusement. Lincoln was beginning to lose his patience as he kept trying to be as good as the other players, but he just couldn't catch a break.
When it came time for him to prove his skill by making a basket, Lincoln went for a running start and threw the ball up to the basket, however, it hit the rim instead and bounced back to him, only to hit Lincoln in the face and knock him to the ground. Everyone laughed even more at him, and Lincoln was beginning to feel even worse about himself. "Hey Loud, I hear the circus is in town. And they could use a good clown, you'd be a shoe-in!" One of the kids mocked Lincoln for his clumsiness, causing him to run out of the gym in embarrassment.
Rita ran after him and saw Lincoln sitting down against the wall with his knees tucked into his face. She squatted down to him and put a comforting hand on his shoulder to help him get over it. "Lincoln. Honey, it's okay. Don't listen to those boys, you're just as good as they are," Rita said trying to comfort him. But it didn't work as Lincoln almost felt like crying and looked at his mother with a face that looked like it was going to break out in tears.
"No, Mom. That guy is right. I suck at this. I'm such a klutz. I don't know if I want to do this anymore," Lincoln said. Rita couldn't stand seeing Lincoln feel so pathetic and tried to snap him out of it.
"Come on, Lincoln. We'll find a sport that you're good at," Rita said.
"No we won't, Mom," Lincoln answered, much to Rita's surprise. "I just don't think I'm cut out for this. Maybe I should just go back to playing video games. At least nobody can laugh at me then."
Rita couldn't believe was her son was saying. Lincoln was already thinking about giving up and going back to his lazy lifestyle, but she wasn't going to let that happen. "Oh, no you're not, Lincoln!" she yelled, startling Lincoln as he flinched at her outburst. "I brought you out here so you could find something you're good at that doesn't make you lazy, and I am not going to let you quit! Now get up! We are going to find another sport," Rita scolded. But that was a decision she quickly regretted as Lincoln stood up and walked back to the car with his head hanging in shame.
For the rest of that day, Rita drove Lincoln to many different sports try-outs trying to find a sport that he was capable of doing. But in all of their attempts, it was the same result as the first two. Lincoln kept trying to compete in many sporting events only to be constantly ridiculed for his un-coordinated ability and his inability to perform even the simplest of actions, like running, throwing a ball, catching a ball, or anything else sports-related. It was the same with everything: tennis, track and field, hockey, volleyball, even lacrosse, and still Lincoln failed at everything. Lincoln wanted to try to find the sport that he could play, but all he found that day was embarrassment, needless injuries, and a feeling of nothing but self-pity.
He might've failed all of those events, but one thing was for sure, at least this time he didn't avoid any of it like he did with his father. After so many failures, and facing so much humiliation, Lincoln felt his spirit break and couldn't take anymore. He didn't care if playing video games and reading comics just made him lazy, he decided that he would rather be a lazy person and stay in his room than have everyone laugh at him for how un-athletic he was. "Mom. No more. I want to go home," Lincoln pleaded.
Rita was going to say no, but after seeing how bad Lincoln felt and all that she saw, she couldn't take it anymore either. It was getting late that day and after so many failed attempts at sports, Lincoln had enough and wanted to call it a day. She felt terrible for convincing Lincoln to go through with this since it only brought him pain, so she decided to just take him home and, maybe, try again later.
As they drove home in the car, Rita looked at Lincoln to see him looking down with a deadpan expression and felt her heart break. "Lincoln, it's okay, sweetie. We'll find a sport that you're good at. We can try again later. How does that sound," she suggested hoping it would lift his spirits, but it didn't work.
Lincoln looked at his mother as his deadpan look changed into one of irritation. "No way, Mom!" he shouted. "I'm sick of this! I don't want to sports anymore."
"But Lincoln, you have too. Do you want to be lazy all your life?" she asked.
"Better than being humiliated. I told you it would hurt if I just stepped out of my comfort zone," he said.
"Come on, Lincoln. I just wanted you to find something that you liked. I didn't force it on you like I did in football," she replied.
"So what? Either way, it's always like that lousy football fiasco, where I end up a complete loser," he said.
"But, honey, I wanted this to be different from the football game," Rita said.
"That's what you said about soccer, and all of those other sports, Mom. And it was never different!" Lincoln countered.
"But, Lincoln-" she said only for Lincoln to stop her there.
"But nothing! I've had enough, Mom. I'm sick of it all! I'm sick of trying new things just to end up a miserable failure. I'm sick of facing so much pain and humiliation. I'm sick of getting my hopes up for nothing. But most of all, I'm sick and tired of you trying to make me more like Lynn!" Lincoln finished ranting, leaving his mother wide-eyed as she was shocked and flabbergasted at the last thing that Lincoln said he was sick of.
"What?! Lincoln, I wasn't trying to make you like Lynn. I just wanted you to be good at sports," Rita said.
"You mean like Lynn is?" he countered. "Yeah right, Mom. I know you don't like any of the things I do at home. You just want me to be more like my sisters."
"Lincoln! This isn't about that!" Rita exclaimed, but Lincoln didn't believe her.
"I don't think so, Mom. I know how you really feel. All you want is for me to be more like my sisters. Well, I've got news for you. I'm not like them. I can't be anything like my sisters like how you want me to be!" Lincoln sighed as he calmed down and returned to his previous, sad position while looking at the floor. "I'm just Lincoln Loud. The most pathetic loser in all of Royal Woods. I can't be anything more no matter how hard I try, and after this, I know for sure that that's all I'll ever be."
Rita was shocked at Lincoln's statement as she watched her only son hang his head in shame and soon banged his head on the glove compartment in front of him. She wanted to console him but Lincoln just pushed her hand away and told her that all he wanted right now was to just go home and nothing more. She sighed in defeat and decided that she didn't want to hear anymore, so she just complied with his request and drove them back home.
As they drove, Rita grew more worried than ever. Her own son felt so bad about himself and she didn't know what to do to help him out of this emotional rut he was in. "Now what are we going to do?" Rita thought to herself as she drove.
Hey everyone. I had a little trouble completing this one because my computer's been having connection issues. So I've been losing good progress in this chapter with some wording that I thought was better. Anyway, I don't know if this chapter is all that good, but I hope you guys give it some good feedback. I hope to hear from you all soon.