If there was one thing in the world that Lynn Loud Jr. - AKA The Lynnster - loved, it was being active. She was a huge sports fan and enjoyed playing every sport you could imagine, even the dumb ones like rugby and lacross. As much as she was into sports, she didn't need sports per se, just as long as she was active. Hiking, jogging, swimming, skiing, snowboarding - sports were important to Lynn, but she could live without them just as long as she could get her blood pumping somehow. Being stationary, watching the world pass by, was a fate worse than death, and just thinking about it sent shivers of disgust down her spine. She had two sentient siblings in Lincoln and Lucy, and she honestly didn't know how they did it. They both sat on their butts all day long and did absolutely nothing.

Well, okay, Lincoln wasn't quite that bad because he did go outside on occasion, but Lucy,..man alive, Lucy was a slug. She actively hated leaving the house and would complain the entire time she was away from her "special dark place." She said her skin was too sensitive for prolonged exposure to the sun ("Just more proof that I'm a real vampire," Lucy would say as a matter of course) but Lynn thought that was a load of malarky. Lucy just didn't like doing things other than being alone and reading. She was a huge book nerd and would spend hours with her nose shoved in a trashy, dog-eared paperback. They always had titles like Ghost Story, Punish the Sinners, The Vampire Lestat, and Mr. Murder. It was super cringy. Like okay, Luce, we get it, you're an edgy goff who contrives to like "dark" things. You don't have to beat us over the freaking head with it.

Part of Lynn felt sorry for Lucy. When the weather was nice and the sun was shining, being outside in the fresh air was the most amazing thing Lynn could imagine. Lucy didn't get to experience that and it was kind of sad. She was sure that all Lucy needed was a nudge or two in the right direction. For that reason, Lynn stayed on Lucy's ass about going outside. On nice days, Lucy slithered away to one of her hiding spots early on because she knew that Lynn would pop up behind her like a slasher movie villain. "Hey, Luce, wanna go for a walk?" Usually, Lynn would search high and low to find her, but sometimes she just didn't have the energy. Mom said, "That's just how Lucy is, she doesn't like the same things as you," and while Lynn got that, sitting up in the house 24/7 like a fat indoor cat isn't healthy. Lynn wasn't trying to force Lucy into a game of tackle football (she had Lincoln for that), she was just trying to get her to be a normal, functioning human being who didn't hide in the chimney to read books where people get mutilated by black gloved killers in fedoras.

God, what a miserable existence. The more she thought about it, the worse Lynn felt for her younger sister slash roommate. If she really wanted to be pasty white slug, fine, what are you going to do? Lynn would keep trying here and there as she always had b, but she wouldn't twist Lucy's arm.

Even if it worked.

See, they won't tell you this in those dumb PSAs or after school specials, but a little bullying is a good thing. She didn't believe in making someone's life a living hell and tormenting them into suicide...just in keeping them on their toes. Bullying helps you build up a tolerance to other people's BS, plus it keeps you in check. Like...you know those grown men who go to comic cons and stuff? They're thirty-five, live with their parents, and have never had a girlfriend. Is there anything wrong with liking nerd stuff and being a neckbeard? Lynn wouldn't get into that, but a lot of those people never learn boundaries. They're wide open to the point that it affects them and those around them. Have you ever seen a balding ass grown man record a seething video because someone wrote a fan fiction he didn't like? Lynn had and it was sad. Guys like that were obviously never bullied or they would have built up an internal stopgag that would activate every time they were about to do something stupid. You know how rats learn not to do certain things because they'll get a little zap? People are the same way and it shows. No matter what you're into, you can' be 100 percent wide open with it because people will think you're a dweeb. Is that "right" or "fair"? Probably not, but like they say, life isn't fair. People can be petty, bigoted, and hateful, and if you grow up thinking its okay to dress like Blippy and talk about how much you love My Little Pony and Powerpuff Girls while being forty...I mean, what do you think's gonna happen?

That might rub a lot of people the wrong way, and maybe Lynn didn't know how to articulate herself well enough to get it across in an gentle manner, but that's how it goes. It's kind of like how, you know, bad things are sometimes necessary. Like a lion eating a gazelle. Yeah, it sucks for the gazelle and it's kind of brutal, but what's the alternative? You gonna teach every lion to be a vegan? Okay, have fun watching them all die because they're not getting the nutrients and stuff they're supposed to.

Lucy, in Lynn's opinion, needed to be whipped into shape by a little light bullying, the same way a pudgy creampuff is whipped into a freaking Marine by his drill instructor. Are drill instructors nice? No, they're the biggest bullies in the world, but they get results. Sure, you might have bad memories of eighth grade when everyone let you know how fat and gross you were, but if they accepted you, you'd still be that fat ass because you'd have no reason to change. Because they did bully you, you got into shape and now you're living a better life.

With that in mind, Lynn declared today National Bully Appreciation Day. Find a Chad or a Brad or a Butch and give him a big hug. Let him know we'd be much worse off if he wasn't a chode. These boys peak in high school and go on to have miserable adult lives so that they can bully you and turn you into a success story. Talk about a self-sacrifice!

Lynn applied this to Lucy where she could. But, eh, it was kind of a lost cause.

Another thing that was a lost cause was Lynn's grades. She did just well enough to keep from getting kicked off all her sports teams, but she owed a lot of that success to Lisa tutoring her. If it weren't for Lisa, she'd fail and she'd fail hard. For one thing, it was kind of hard to focus in school because Lynn was a ball of energy and sitting still for eight hours a day was seriously lame. Try to concentrate on something when you're really hungry or when you have a rock in your shoe and you'll have a rough idea of what it was like for Lynn. For another thing, she didn't do her homework the way she should. Once she got off school, it was her time, how dare they intrude into her private life with even more work. For a third thing...she had legit trouble with some of the subjects. She did okay in English and history because those worked largely on rote memorization, but science and math required her to think logically and stuff, and that gave her a headache. Before Lisa started tutoring her, she was getting Ds, but now she was up to Cs with the occasional B. A few weeks back she started feeling pretty full of herself and fired Lisa. "I don't need you anymore," she said smugly. "I'm awesome, I got this."

A bunch of Ds and Fs later, she came crawling back to Lisa. "I guess I'm not that awesome after all."

Admitting that hurt Lynn more than anything. She was deeply ashamed of her lack of perfection in the academic arena. She always pushed herself to be the absolute best and falling short of that always left her feeling like a total failure. She tried not to be delusional, though; she stank at math and science and that's just the way it was. She needed someone to bully her over it, but because she didn'thave that, she would just have to make do with Lisa's tutoring.

Even with that period of straight Ds, she passed eleventh grade and was set to tackle her senior year. Luan was going to leave for college in September, and for a little while, the mantle of OLDEST would pass to her. After that, she, too, would strike out from home and go to college just like all of her older sisters before her. She couldn't lie, she was a little nervous. Being the defacto oldest, and then going to college, were both completely new experiences. She was accustomed to her life, but her life was about to radically change.

That was a big deal and it intimidated her just a bit.

No shame in that.

Even so, it wasn't something that kept her awake at night. She had a ton of other things to worry about.

Like sports.

Sports was always a top concern for Lynn. All though high school, she had been the captain of the girls; basketball team. She had led her tream almost to the state championships on two occasions; last year, they made it to the finals but lost out to the team from Holland, a town on the other side of the state (Lynn and her teammates unaffectionately called them the Holland Hos). She was determined that this year, she would take her girls to state. She wanted to win, of course, but just being there would be enough for her. This was her last shot and thus she resolved to practice harder than she ever had before.

Today, June 11, she left the house at noon and went to the park with a basketball tucked up under her arm. It was a bright, sunshiny day after nearly a month of rain, and the smell of flowers and honeysuckle caressed Lynn's senses like a favorite childhood memory. The sky was a piercing shade of cobalt blue and big fluffy clouds sailed across the sky like an armada of Spanish galleons. Somewhere in the distance, children laughed and shouted in their play, and a lawnmower droned like a passing car. Lynn sniffed the air and the scent of freshly cut grass made her mouth water. Now I'm in the mood for a salad.

As much as Lynn liked winter sports, summer was her favorite season and she looked forward to it every year the way a child looks forward to Christmas. In November and December, she was all about skiing, ice hockey, and snowball fights, but by January or February, when the cold turned bitter and the snow was gray and crusty instead of fluffy white, she was over it and wanted fun in the sun. Summer was to her what Ramadan was to a Muslim, what spring break was to a drunk white girl - it was the holy and good and she couldn't wait for it.

The best part, she reckoned, was the total freedom that came with it. During the fall and winter, you have to worry about school and junk, but in the summer, the days are long and they are yours. You can do whatever you want with them without any worry of meeting deadlines or having to be somewhere at a certain time.

That was awesome.

Fifteen minutes after setting out, Lynn walked through the front gate of Miller Park and followed the concrete walking path past a rush of playgrounds and pavilions to the basketball court where a game between two groups of girls was in session. Lynn recognized a few from her team and went over. "What it do?" she called.

Her friend Poly Pain turned around, saw her, and grinned. "Hey, Cap!"

That's what the girls called her, since she was the Captain and all. It was a title of respect that Lynn didn't insist on but enjoyed nevertheless.

"Looks like you guys could use an extra player," Lynn said and slapped her friend Margo on the back.

"We always have room for our fuhrer," Polly said.

That maybe wasn't exactly true, and Lynn wound up on the other team with a bunch of girls she didn't know: Polly and Margo introduced her, but their names went in one ear and out the other. In true Lynn fashion, Lynn made up her own nicknames to remember them by. Pigtails, Gap-Tooth, Mexichick, That Black Girl with the Band-Aid on her Forehead - Lynn wasn't terribly creative when it came to nicknames. Her team was down by five points when she took charge, but in less than twenty minutes she had them kicking Polly's team's ass. "I knew putting her on their team was a bad idea," Margo moaned.

Yeah, it was, but Polly had something to prove: She wanted to beat Lynn and prove that she was just as good. It was a friendly rivalry thing; neither had acknowledged it out loud, but they didn't have to. Lynn knew Polly well enough to see and sense it. They were a lot alike in many ways and if Lynn were in her shoes, she';d want the same thing. No boxer wants to beat Glass Jaw Joe. He doesn't mean anything. They want to beat Evander Holyfield because he's the best, and beating the best...man, there's no greater feeling. Unfortunately for Polly, however, she just couldn't rise to the occasion. It wasn't her fault, though. When you're balling with the best, you can't help but come in a distant second.

Having said that, Polly played well and Lynn was impressed. That didn't mean that she was going to take it easy on her or anything. In fact, she wanted to decimate her just to make a point. I'm the best, know your role and shut your mouth. She did this by stringing Polly along and letting her score a couple baskets. Her plan was to get Polly thinking she was going to win, then, at the last minute, to demolish her hopes of victory. LOL. With a few minutes left in the game, Polly's team was ahead by two and Lynn was gearing up for an epic comeback that would blow Polly the frick out so bad she would never dare buck up ever again. Polly dribbled the ball and came at Lynn; when she went to dodge around her, Lynn stole the ball and ran at Polly's hoop. She laid the shot up and jumped as high into the air as she could.

The ball left her hands and soared through the air. It hit the rim, circled around it, and fell through, making the net swish.

BOOOYAH.

Still in midair, Lynn kicked her heels together Fred Flintstone style.

Worst mistake ever.

Lynn didn't fully recover before she came down, and instead of landing on both feet like a cat (as she was wont to do), she landed at an angle. Her right foot twisted and a nuclear jet of agony shot up her leg. Her skull swelled with pressure and her eyes bugged out of her head. She issued a high, pained scream and dropped like a sack of dodgeballs. Everyone ran over and stood around her, Polly and Margo kneeling on either side. "You okay?" Margo asked.

In response, Lynn could only groan.

"Someone call an ambulance," Polly ordered.

Lynn tried to say No, I'm fine, but she moved wrong and her entire leg caught fire and she howled instead. Mexichick whipped out her phone and called 911, telling the operator what happened in a panicked rush, and Margo and Polly did their best to calm Lynn down, both looking lost and stricken. Lynn rolled onto her side and her foot screamed. By the time the ambulance arrived, the pain had subsided to a sharp throb. When the paramedics put her on the stretcher, however, it flared up again and she bore down on her teeth to keep from crying out.

And that's how Lynn broke her ankle.

The emergency room was largely empty that afternoon, staffed only by a flurry of nurses and orderlies. A little boy about eight was in the room next to Lynn's, curled up on his side and flushed with fever, and a sickly old man with twig like arms sat in a wheelchair at the nurse's station looking glum. Lynn sat in the middle of a big bed with rails on the sides and stared up at the wall-mounted TV where Dr. Phil chastised a man in a dress. "Kyle, you are not your own mother, stop this."

"That's how I identify," Kyle said and crossed his arms. "My pronouns are Mom and Mommy. Respect them, bigot."

The ER doctor, a bald man with glasses and a lazy eye, had already come and put a cast on Lynn's foot after taking x-rays of it. It was broken in two spots and had to be reset, which hurt like hell. Mom and Dad came as soon as Polly called them, but Mom left again to pick Lola up from a birthday party. Dad wandered off a few minutes ago to find a vending machine because Lynn was hungry. The doctor said she would be able to leave soon, but she couldn't wait: She was so famished that her stomach hurt and she felt like she was going to puke.

She crossed her arms over her chest and hugged herself tightly. Why was it so cold in here? What sense did it make to keep your emergency room the same temperature as a freezer? Sick people came in here, wouldn't that just make them sicker?

Lynn shifted her weight and her ankle twinged. The doctor gave her a shot of painkillers that left her feeling numb, warm, and tingly, but it wasn't enough to kill the pain entirely, only to blunt it. Soon, the meds would wear off and she would go back to hurting; hopefully the doctor sent some of his magic juice home with her. Or at least some pills. She doubted he would, though, and if he did, it would be something weak like Tylonol 3. Lynn was no stranger to the emergency room - if you're always active, you're always hurting yourself - and she knew firsthand that doctors and hospitals are irrationally paranoid about people conning drugs out of them. Lynn got it, people faked illness and injury to get morphine and stuff all the time, but guarding your medication like a dog with a bone hurts people who actually need it. Lynn didn't need morphine for a broken foot, but she needed something stronger than a freaking baby aspirin.

The curtain jerked open in a tinkle of metal rings on metal rod, and Dad came in with a fun size bag of Lays. "Here you go," he said and gave it to her.

"Thanks," she said.

He sat down in a chair beside the bed. "How do you feel?"

"Okay," Lynn said. "It kinda hurts when I move."

Just as Lynn was finishing with her chips, the doctor came through the curtain with a clipboard in his hands. "Your paperwork is all set," he said. "You're free to go." He flipped through the papers attached to the clipboard. "I'm going to give you a copy of this, it's instructions on how to care for your leg. No getting it wet, of course, and you have to stay off of it until the cast is ready to come off. You'll be able to use crutches in a while but for right now, I want you completely off of it." He jabbed a stern finger at her. "And keep it raised."

"How long will I be out of the game?" Lynn asked nervously. She had never broken her foot before and had no idea how long she'd be down, but something told her it would be for much, much longer than she wanted to be down.

"Eight weeks," the doctor said at length, "possibly longer, probably not sooner."

Eight weeks? That was forever! Lynn did some quick mental math (which wasn't really quick since she was a mathtard) and her blood ran cold. That was the whole summer. HER WHOLE SUMMER WAS RUINED!

"Are you sure?" she asked, a hint of panic creeping into her voice. "I-I-I mean, that's all summer."

The doctor nodded in practiced and professional sympathy. "Unfortunately, yes, but the alternative is hobbling around on your cast in excruciating pain and then breaking your foot again, necessitating an amputation. If you think eight weeks is bad, imagine forever."

Lynn's mind rebelled at that request. "Okay, okay," she said, "I'll stay off the foot."

"Good," the doctor said.

No, it wasn't good, it was awful, terrible, horrible, the worst thing to ever happen in her life, and she'd had some pretty sucky things happen to her (like the time she peed herself in kindergarten). Not only would she have to be cooped up in the house like Lucy and Lincoln, she would lose her whole summer. By the time she was up and around again, it would be September. All of her plans - hiking, swimming, practicing her jumpshot - were up in smoke.

She sighed deeply and hung her head, fighting back tears.

Nice one, Lynn, really great.

After the doctor gave Lynn her paperwork and left, a nurse brought a wheelchair in and helped Lynn into it. Dad wheeled Lynn into a waiting room off the emergency department. She sat with her head hung and her shoulders slumped. She wasn't the kind of person to wallow in self-pity, but right about now, she was feeling really sorry for herself. "It's not the end of the world, honey," Dad said and patted her back.

"It might as well be," she grumbled. "My whole summer is shot."

Dad nodded. "Yeah, it kind of is, but these things happen."

"Yeah, but why did it have to happen to me?"

Her voice was whiny and petulant to even her own ears, but she couldn't help it. She had been looking forward to this summer forever and now it was gone...all gone. She wouldn't be able to do any of the things she wanted to do If that wasn't a good reason to throw yourself an epic pity party, Lynn didn't know what was.

A few minutes later, Mom pulled the van up to the curb outside and Dad wheeled Lynn through the automatic doors. The day was hot and bright and perfect, and it made Lynn sad to think that she would miss out on the rest of the best season ever.

Dad opened the side door and helped her in. He went back inside, grabbed a pair of crutches, and shoved them into the van's cargo hold. Mom looked into the rearview mirror. "How are you feeling, honey?" she asked.

"Like crap," Lynn said.

She told Mom what the doctor had said and she let out a soft, "Oh no." She frowned deeply and twisted around to look at Lynn. "I'm sorry. It's not all bad. We can still do things. You'll get to use the crutches after a while so that'll give you some mobility."

"Yeah, but not enough," Lynn said. "I won't be able to do anything I want to do. I can't get it wet so I can't even swim. This is dumb."

Before Mom could reply, the passenger side door opened and Dad slid in. "We have a prescription for Tylenol 3," he said.

Oh, great, not only would he be prevennted from doing all the stuff she loved, she'd be in agony because the stupid doctors were terrified of drug addicts. A sudden rush of burning hatred came over Lynn and her chest clutched like an angry fist. She took a deep breath and let it out in an even stream. She was being irrational and she knew it; she was mad that her summer was taken from her and she was therefore liable to lash out.

On the ride home, Lynn stared vacantly out the window, her arms unconsciously wrapped around herself in a comforting embrace. "On the bright side," Dad said, "you can catch up on all the games you haven't seen."

Ugh.

"And," Mom added, "you can spend time practicing your schoolwork."

Double ugh.

Was Mom trying to make her feel worse? Because if so, she was majorly succeeding. How could Lynn stomach slaving over school books while the weather outside was so beautiful? How could she stomach not being able to do anything for a month, and then doing nothing but hobbling around on crutches afterward? Just thinking about it made Lynn want to break down and cry. Her chest felt constricted, like an unseen steel band was tightening around her lungs; she tried to take a deep breath but her chest refused to expand. She wasn't even home on day one and she felt like a caged animal,

This was going to be a loooong summer.

Because of her bum leg, Lynn couldn't climb the stairs, meaning she was confined to the first floor at least until she could use her crutches. She would sleep on the couch at night and sit in the living room or kitchen during the day. With help, she could go outside, but the idea of sitting on the porch and watching summer pass her by made her feel tight and claustrophobic again. Dad picked up a wheelchair at a medical supply store and adjusted the foot rest to keep her wounded ankle elevated. She could make short trips to the bathroom but otherwise, she was not allowed to get up or exert herself.

That first afternoon, she sat on the couch with her bad foot propped up on a stack of pillows on the coffee table. Each one of her siblings came by individually to wish her well. Lucy brought an armload of her old paperbacks down and Lincoln hooked his video game console up to the TV for her. Leni closely inspected her plaster cast with a thoughtful expression and stroked her chin, her mind working like a network of rusty cogs and wheels. "White is so bland," she said, "I can fix this." Her idea of "fixing" it was to crochet a knit sleeve that fit over the cast like a big sock. She would eventually make three of them: One pink, one purple, and one rainbow. Lynn hated all of them but would wear them just to please her. Why not? It wasn't like she was going to be going into public anytime soon. No one was going to see her except her family, and she'd seen them in far worse than a rainbow leg sleeve.

Her siblings kept her company and commiserated with her for a while, then they all abandoned her to go do their own thing. Lori had a date with Bobby at the carnival, Leni went to the mall with her friends, Luna had a gig, Luan too, Lana wanted to play in the dirt, Lola to sun herself. And Lincoln...Lincoln the homebody went to ride bikes with Clyde. Never in all her life did Lynn think she would see the day when she and her brother switched roles.

That was depressing.

By the time they were all gone, the only ones remaining by Lynn's sides were Lucy and Lisa, one to her left and the other to her right. When it came to discussing her siblings and how much time they spent outdoors, Lynn always focused on Lucy and Lincoln. Not because she was picking on them especially, but because she sometimes completely forgot Lisa even existed...except when she was tutoring her, of course. That wasn't a dig at Lisa and it wasn't to say that Lynn didn't care about her, but the little genius spent so mich time locked away in her bedroom laboratory that it often slipped Lynn's mind to include her. If she felt like giving up on Lucy, she had already given up on Lisa, if she had ever tried at all. The great outdoors was a foregin a concept to Lisa as not starving to death was to a North Korean peasant. She occasionally visited it when the course of her ex[irimentations required it, but she never reveled in it for its own sake. She did it the way other people went to the doctor's office: As a mundane, perhaps even unpleasant, task that needed to be completed. More often than not, she refrained from leaving the house or, even, her own bedroom. She could pass entire weekends locked away and working on some strange science project, coming out only to eat and poop. Lynn couldn't understand or connect with Lisa because they were two totally different people.

At least they had been up until today. Now they were both homebodies.

Groaning, Lynn threw her head back. "I wanna go play basketball."

"That's what got you into this mess in the first place," Lisa pointed out.

Lucy nodded. "Basketball is dangerous. You should read a book instead." She leaned forward and scanned the mess of paperbacks on the coffee table. She selected one and handed it to Lynn. "Here," she said, "this is a good one for beginners."

Carrie the title read by Stephen King.

"Sounds boring," Lynn said. "What's so great about books anyway?"

A look of horror crossed Lucy's face and she let out a contrived, "Gasp." That, Lynn thought, is why everyone thinks you're a faker. "Books are awesome," Lucy said. "They can transport you anywhere. I have lived a thousand lives and seen the world ten times over without ever leaving this house."

Lisa adjusted her glasses. "They also contain knowledge, and knowledge is power. Knowledge is the difference between peaking in high school and then spending your life bagging groceries and having a lasting impact on the world. Do people discuss the thoughts and ideas of Brad the jock? No, they discuss the thoughts and ideas of Copernicus, Isaac Newton, and Albert Einstein."

"William Shakiespere too," Lucy added, ":He's been dead 500 years and they still teach his work in schools around the world. Do they teach about famous sports stars?"

Lynn opened her mouth to reply, but closed it again and considered her question. No, actually, they didn't. "No, but they teach gym."

Both Lisa and Lucy recoiled.

"I detest gym class," Lisa said. "What purpose does it serve?"

"I'd rather a free reading period," Lucy said.

Oh, my God, you're such nerds. Lynn pinched the bridge of her nose and summoned all the patience she could muster. "Gym teaches you how to be fit and active."

"Being fit, as you call it, doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things," Lisa said.

"Yes it does," Lynn said. "How can you be a super smart scientist if you're too busy being a fat, unhealthy slob?"

Now it was Lisa's turn to gasp for a reply before finally finding one. "Children need to be taught basic nutrition, yes, but gym class is a waste of time. What does climbing a rope teach one?"

"I don't know," Lynn said, "and I really don't care. I just want to go outside. You guys might like staying in the house 24/7, but I don't. I like to live."

Lucy and Lisa both shot her daggers. "I'll have you know that I enjoy living as well," Lisa said.

"Yeah," Lucy said. "Our definition of living is just different from yours."

Inferior to mine, Lynn thought but did not say.

She as well have, for Lisa and Lucy both got up and walked off in a huff, leaving Lynn alone. Lynn watched them go, then turned away. What a couple of dorks. oUr IdEa Of LiViNg Is DiFfErEnT tHaN yOuRs. Is that what they called what they did? Living? It wasn't living to Lynn. In fact, it was very much like being dead in a coffin.

Regardless of that, Lynn had to face facts: For the next eight weeks, maybe even longer, her life was going to be the same as theirs. Boring. Unaccomplished. Pathetic.

She never thought she'd say this, but she couldn't wait for fall.

The first week was the hardest. At night, Lynn lay on the pull out couch struggling to sleep, and during the day, wheeled herself around the first floor of the house like a caged animal. Her world had been big and exciting just a few days ago, but after her accident, it had shrunk to the size of a living room and a kitchen. Actually, scratch that, she couldn't fit her wheelchair through the archway into the kitchen. She had the living room and the dining room, that was it. Her siblings came and went like ships passing in the night, and Lynn couldn't help but resent them. They could come and go, she couldn't. She was stuck here while they got to live it up outside. Did they take her thoughts and feelings into consideration before happily bounding out of the house? Nope, they;d leave right in front of her, mocking her with their functioning legs and unbroken ankles. She never noticed this before, but all of her sisters save for Lucy, Lisa, and Lana wore skirts, shorts, and dresses that bared their legs; it was like they were showing them proudly off. Look at me, Lynn, I can walk!

Wait, Lola didn't bare her legs either, but that still left a whole lot of people running around with obscene amounts of flesh showing. Like...put those things away, no one wants to see them.

At least Lynn didn't, because when she did, it was like having her disability rubbed rudely in her face. Why not just spit on me and call me a cripple while you're at it?

They weren't doing it on purpose, she told herself, but that was cold comfort when the house was empty and she knew they were all out having the fun that she herself couldn't have. On Tuesday, they all went out to the pool in the backyard, and their joyous laughter drove Lynn crazy. She rolled to the dining room window and glared out at them, so jealous of them that she thought she was going to be sick.

Days passed. She forgot what the sun looked like and how the warm breezes felt on her face. Mom tried to get her to go out on the back porch for "some fresh air" but she didn't want to. That would be like setting a Thanksgiving dinner in front of a starving person and telling them they couldn't eat it, only sniff it. She'd rather just stay inside than subject herself to that sort of torture. Better to not see paradise at all if you're in hell than to see, hear, and smell it.

Since Lynn's entire world revolved around being active, she was edgy and restless, not knowing what to do with herself. Every hour dragged into forever and each day brought her closer to the brink of insanity. She watched game shows in the morning, soaps in the afternoon, and news in the evening, each show blending with the last to form a long, continuous blur or sight and sound. She was always bored, always restive; her ankle itched as it healed, but she could not scratch it, her muscles ached, but she could not stretch them. Her saving grace during this time was Lucy and Lisa. They occasionally came downstairs to sit with her and they would talk. At first Lynn thought they felt obligated to keep her company, but she began to suspect that deep down, both of them were lonely and wanted human interaction.

To kill time, Lynn did high school coursework online, Lisa guiding her every step of the way. "Will this count toward next year?" Lynn asked.

"Some of it will," Lisa said. "If you complete an entire subject, you won't have to take it in the fall."

Hmmm, that meant she could leave school early, or leave and then come back.

Alright!

One day, she and Lisa were alone on the couch after a gruelling math session. "I hate to admit it, Lise," Lynn said, "but I just don't get math. I can't wrap my head around it." She sighed and hung her head in shame. "I'm an idiot."

"We all have areas we wish to improve on," Lisa said.

"Even you?"

Lisa hesitated, then gave a slow nod. "Even me?"

"What?" Lynn asked.

For a long time, Lisa was silent, and Lynn began to think that she wasn't going to reply. "I enjoy my own company and never feel like a prisoner in my lab, the way you might suspect I do, but it would be a lie to say I don't wish to be a tad more sociable," She uncomfortably shifted her weight like a girl in a hemorrhoid cream commercial. "I find it hard to interact with people, especially those my own age. That's not a great revelation, but it is true. I cannot "hang out" with normal kids because they annoy me, and I cannot "hang out" with intelligent children because they annoy me as well. I am naturally drawn to academics and other elements of the intelligentsia, but I have found most of them to be pedantic, condescending, and overly opinionated. You cannot even express affinity for a certain type of food without it turning into a bitter debate. Perhaps I'm just too sensitive, I don't know, but most people get on my nerves. I wish I weren't like that but I am."

Lynn looked down at her lap as she tried to come up with a response. Lisa was kind of like an alien, but she was still Lynn's little sis and Lynn felt like she had to come up with some sort of advice. "Well...that's just life, I guess," Lynn said. "I mean...but who are just like me annoy me too, but sometimes you just have to, like...you know, ask yourself what's more important: Never being annoyed at all or having friends."

"I suppose," Lisa said."I think my problem is that socializing is a chore to begin with so I am already disinclined to do it. There are times, however, that I do feel lonely and wish I could be somewhat more normal. It's not something that keeps me awake at night, you understand, but I do recognize it as a flaw and really should work on it. You say yourself that I'm a loner loser who needs to get out more."

That made Lynn feel kind of bad. "Look, Lise," she said seriously, "I didn't mean anything by that-"

"No, no," Lisa said, forestalling her, "I'm not upset. There is merit to that assessment."

"If you're happy being by yourself in your lab, go for it," Lynn said. "Don't feel like you have to be a social butterfly or something. I just...for me...I couldn't do it. And, you know, you should have some friends and a boyfriend or something. You might be fine not having anyone now, but later in life, you'll probably regret it."

Lisa was quiet for a moment. "You're probably right. I'll take that under consideration." She thrust out her hand for a handshake and Lynn surprised both of them by sweeping her into a big hug.

A couple days later, Lynn was sitting at the dining room table in her wheelchair and working on her laptop, Lucy next to her. As always, Lucy was reading. "I tried reading that book you gave me," Lynn said. "The Carrie one. It was boring so I gave up.":

"You're insane," Lucy said.

"I didn't like it," Lynn said.

"I don't mean that, I mean reading in general. You of all people should be begging to read."

"Why?"

"Because," Lucy said, "reading takes you away from your problems. When you're focused on reading, even if it's a bad book, all your troubles go away."

Lynn favored her younger sister with a sidelong glance. "Is that why you read?"

She expected Lucy to stammer and beat arounf the bush, and was shocked when she answered quickly and directly. "Partly, yes."

"What troubles do you have?" Lynn asked.

Lucy sat her book down. "Normal things, I guess. The boy I like doesn't like me back, my third period teacher is an asshole, and the news scares me. That last one is the biggest. Everything's doom and gloom. Climate change, race riots. The world is terrifying. I like horror just because I like it, but it's also therapeutic because no matter how bad my day is or how awful the news looks, I can read a book about zombies and say At least that isn't happening." One corner of her mouth turned up in a smile. "It's hard to be bothered by the news when you just read about someone getting their throat ripped out by a vampire. That's infinitely worse."

"I guess that makes sense," Lynn said, and it kind of did. "I'm the same with sports. Well, not exactly, but when I'm playing a game, i forget about my troubles."

"So sports is to you what reading is to me."

Lynn took a moment to digest that. "Yeah," she said, "I guess."

Those talks with Lucy and Lisa got her thinking - and she had plenty of time to think. Everyone is different, she reckoned, but essentially the same. We're all living life and filling time with things we love. We might not all love the same things, but the energy behind that love is almost identical. Lynn was into sports, Lisa science, and Lucy reading. Lincoln was into video games, Leni fashion, etc. Those were all different things but each girl loved them just the same.

That led to a series of revelations that resulted in a breakthrough of sorts.

For the first time in her life, she felt like she totally understood Lincoln, Lucy, and Lisa. Seen through a prism of her own thoughts and actions, they were alien because their ways were not hers, but taking a step back, they were identical to her. She still didn't think sitting in the house all day doing anything was great, but that was okay, she didn't have to. They did. And to them, she was probably the lame one. Oh, there goes dumb old Lynn, she constantly needs external stimuli because her brain is too small to entertain itself he he he.

On a Saturday in the middle of July, just after Lynn tried walking on crutches for the first time, Lola came into the living room and flung herself onto the couch. Lynn was playing one of Lincoln's video games and actually enjoying it. It wasn't as good as fresh air and sunshine but it was cool.

"What's wrong?" Lynn asked.

"That bitch Lindsey Sweetwater," Lola said. "She's trying to steal my boyfriend."

Lola was eleven and dating Winston, some little preppy kid from the rich side of town.

"Really?" Lynn asked, crinkling her nose. "Oh, no, fuck that you. What did you do?"

"I made a mean post on Instagram calling her names,"

Lynn regarded her with a blank stare. "Really?"

"What else can I do?" Lola asked testily.

Really?

Rolling her eyes, Lynn said, "Beat her ass."

Lola blinked.

"Seriously, she's trying to steal your man and she's probably not going to quit unless you go nuclear on her and make her too afrtaid to fuck with you ever again."

Lola stroked her chin. "Hmmm."

"Guarantee she'll never see it coming, Girls like her never do. They think they can do whatever they want, whenever they want, and no one's going to stop them. They think that right up to the moment they fuck with the wrong one and get beaten."

"What if I get in trouble?"

Lynn waved her off. "Just put the blame on me. What's Mom and Dad gonna do? Ground me?" She threw her head back and laughed richly.

The next day, Lola punched Lindsey in the mouth. Mom grounded her, and she told her that it was Lynn's idea. "I'm very disappointed in you, young lady," Mom said.

Doing her best to look contrite, Lynn muttered, "I'm sorry."

But she wasn't.

After getting to know Lisa and Lucy a little better, Lynn began to appreciate them and their company more. They would both come downstairs and hang out with her for long periods of time, Lisa forsaking her lab and Lucy foregretting her books. They would talk, laugh, and occasionally play a video game together. Lisa stank at first but quickly learned, Lucy was good right off the bat. "Damn, Luce," Lynn said, "you're a certified expert."

"I sneak into Lincoln's room and play games while he's asleep," she confessed.

Lynn and Lisa both laugh. "That's nothing," Lisa said. "I occasionally sneak into Luan and Luan's rooms at night to take illicit blood and DNA samples."

She laughed and Lynn and Lucy both looked at her funny.

Sobering, she said, "I don't do that to either one of you, of course."

Yeah, something told Lynn that that wasn't true.

"Sometimes I sneak out of the house just to jog after midnight," Lynn said. "Or...I used to before this." She nodded to her hateful broken foot.

"You'll be out of your cast soon enough," Lisa assured her. "Then you can go back to being normal."

Why did that not sit well with Lynn? She wanted to go back to being "normal" and had since the very first day she was off her feet. The promise of picking up where she had left off was alluring, sure, but she was starting to enjoy bonding with Lucy and Lisa. She had really come to understand them over the past couple weeks and she felt closer to them.

That didn't mean she wanted to have a broken foot forever, but when this was all over...she hoped they could remain close the way they were now.

Finally, July turned into August and Lynn entered the home stretch. The doctor said she was on track to be completely healed by the end of the month. She used her crutches more and more and was able to leave the house.

She wanted to do something special for her new favorite sisters, and on the last day of August, the day she finally got her cast off and could walk again, she picked up a pizza and a sheet cake, then brought it home. That night, while the others went out to enjoy the final weekend of summer, Lynn willingly stayed in. She, Lisa, and Lucy sat on the couch in a mound of blankets, ate, and played video games. When they were finished with that, they watched a scary movie at Lucy's insistence. Lisa hid her eyes and sidled up to Lynn for comfort. "I do not enjoy these types of films."

No, Lynn didn't either, but she enjoyed being with her sisters.

And you know what?

She kind of enjoyed being indoors now, too.