"Keep 'em coming, Paula! I can do this all day!"

Lynn dashed around the gymnasium with the agility of a hummingbird possessed as red rubber balls flew through the air. No matter how many projectiles swarmed her, not a one managed to so much as graze her body. On the other side of the gymnasium was Paula Price, her intense game face staring straight ahead as she deflected dodgeballs left and right with her crutch. It was a complete standoff between the two, as all of their other teammates were knocked out over the course of the period.

"Ugh~. Why does every dodgeball match end up coming down to those two?" Margo griped from her seat on the bleachers. "I keep telling ya, Coach Keck! Whenever Lynn and Paula are on opposite teams, the game never freaking ends!"

If Lynn heard her friend's complaint or anything afterward, she didn't acknowledge it. As it stood, she was firmly in the zone, facing down a worthy opponent and giving it her all. Only when she heard the telltale shrill screech of the coach's whistle did she snap out of her trance.

"Time out!" Coach Keck proclaimed, motioning with her hands. She then turned to Lynn. "Loud, someone wants to see ya."

Lynn tilted her head. "What, right now? Who?"

"Uh, h-hey, Lynn."

A small voice made itself known as Lynn turned around. Standing off to the side was none other than Stella Zhau, one of the reporters of the Royal Woods Middle School Action News Team. Getting interrupted by the Action News Team was not unusual for Lynn. They were always ready to get her opinion on the latest sports-related news. But this time, something felt off. Stella wasn't even dressed in her reporter attire, nor was she with anyone else. Lynn shrugged.

"Sorry, Paula. This shouldn't take long," she said. She then walked over to Stella. "Hey there, Stella. What're you doing here? I thought Rusty usually covered the sports."

Stella heaved a sigh. "Please don't talk to me about Rusty right now," she grumbled. She then lowered her voice so that no one would overhear. "Listen, this isn't about a scoop. Can I have a quick word with you in private?"

Lynn scratched her head. "Um, hang on. Does anyone know you're here?"

"This'll only take a second, I promise," Stella insisted.

Unable to even guess at what was going on, Lynn simply sighed. "Alright, but if you get in trouble for this, don't pin it on me. C'mon." She then turned to Coach Keck. "Just heading over to the locker room, coach. Stella wants to do this in private."

"Understood," said Coach Keck with a nod.

Lynn nodded back and led Stella over to the girl's locker room. Once they were far enough away from any prying eyes, she turned to face her.

"Okay, so what's up?" Lynn asked.

Stella sighed and rubbed her arm sheepishly. "Sorry if this is too personal, but I was wondering. Have you ever gotten picked on?"

Lynn raised an eyebrow. "Me? I mean, sure. My first year at middle school was very rough, but I think you already know about all that."

Stella nodded. "Yeah, that makes sense. But, did anyone ever pick on you for being, well…"

She trailed off and averted her gaze. Lynn just stared back, completely lost.

"Being what?" she asked.

"Being, y'know…"

Stella's cheeks turned a rosy pink as she continued to look away and muttered something under her breath. Lynn frowned and folded her arms.

"Look, just spit it out, will ya?" she said firmly. "I don't have all day."

"Okay, okay," Stella sputtered, taking a deep breath. "Have you ever gotten picked on for being, well… a tomboy?"

As the words left her mouth, Stella squirmed in place, as though the very thought made her sick. Lynn tilted her head.

"Huh? Um, no. I never got razzed on for something like that," she said blankly. "Why do you ask? Is someone giving you a hard time about that or something?"

"Oh, no. I-I haven't dealt with anything like that since I moved to Royal Woods," said Stella. She then let out a bitter scoff. "Although, I'm kinda jealous, Lynn. I wish I grew up in a place where I didn't have to worry about anything like that. Anyway, I'm sorry I took up your time."

She motioned to leave, but Lynn shuffled over and blocked her way.

"Hang on, Stella," she said. "What's gotten into you? And why'd you come to me about it?"

Stella sighed and shook her head. "It's nothing. You probably wouldn't understand, anyway. Just… forget this ever happened."

She then maneuvered herself around Lynn and continued walking, her head hanging low. Lynn couldn't help but stare as she watched her leave, her mind trying its best to figure out what just happened. Stella had never really talked to her before outside of the light small talk between classes or whenever she came over to visit Lincoln. What's more, something in her gut told her that she couldn't leave this alone. She started walking after her when Rusty Spokes entered the gym along with Zach Gurdle.

"Oh, hey, Stella," he said with a wave. "Um, are we switching it up today? Usually, Zach's the one handling the camera for my segments."

Stella just sighed and marched onwards, deliberately going out of her way to avoid making eye contact with Rusty. He and Zach arched an eyebrow.

"Yeesh. She's still in that funk, huh?" Zach asked.

"Looks like it," Rusty said with a sigh. "I don't get it. She's been like that all day."

Lynn stroked her chin in thought. Once she collected herself, she nodded and walked over to Rusty.

"Hey, Spokes. Think I can join you and the rest of your crew for lunch today?" she asked.

"Huh? Oh, um, sure, I guess," said Rusty. "Why? You got a private scoop or something?"

"Not really. I just wanna compare notes," said Lynn, nudging her head over to Stella.

Zach and Rusty looked at where she was gesturing and nodded.

"Gotcha," said Zach. He then cleared his throat and readied his phone. "Anyway, got any sports news to tell our viewers?"

"Lynn, is this gonna be quick? Or are you forfeiting?"

Lynn glanced over at Paula, who was balancing a dodgeball on the end of her crutch. She then grinned as she scooped up a dodgeball of her own.

"Louds never quit, Paula! I would think you would've learned that by now!" she boasted. "You're about to see history in the making, Kangaroos! The dodgeball match of the century!"

"Knowing you two, it's gonna take a century!" Margo heckled playfully from the bleachers.

Lynn scowled and tossed a dodgeball at Margo. Much to her surprise, Margo caught it in her hand, as well as another dodgeball launched at her by Paula. Coach Keck scratched her head.

"Um, I don't think the rules cover that, Roberts," she said.

"That was still pretty ace, though!" Lynn cheered, giving Margo a thumbs-up. She turned back to Zach. "I'm tellin' ya, with hustle like that, the Kangaroos might just end up playing Great Lakes City in the next Tri-Lakes Area Dodgeball Tournament! Now, let's get back to the action!"

Coach Keck shrugged and blew her whistle, resuming the bout. Zach and Rusty watched from the sidelines, with Zach managing to film every moment.

"You heard it here first, Kangaroos!" Rusty announced. "Royal Woods Middle School might have some big sports plans just around the corner! We'll keep you posted on how this match is going, but for now, back over to you, Lincoln!"

As the day wore on, Lynn kept finding herself thinking back to her interaction with Stella. No matter how many times she ran through the scenario in her mind, something simply wasn't adding up. All she knew is that whatever it was, it was giving her a dark, hollow feeling in the pit of her stomach. The feeling persisted right up until lunchtime. As soon as she got her grub, she wasted no time tracking down Lincoln and his friends. Thankfully, they weren't hard to spot. Lincoln quickly waved her over.

"Hey, guys," she said as she moseyed over to the group. She took a quick look around. "Huh. Where's Stella? Doesn't she usually eat with you?"

"Well, not today, apparently," said Liam. "I tried askin' her about it, but her lips were locked up tighter than an oyster full of peanut butter." He sighed. "Shame, too. This is the day her mom packs that leftover chicken adobo stuff, and I was gonna swap her my homemade PB&J for it."

Lynn raised an eyebrow. "Um, aren't most PB&J sandwiches homemade?"

Liam let out a weak chuckle. "I doubt most folks make their own peanut butter, jam, and bread from scratch."

Lynn couldn't help but chuckle as well. "Ah. Gotcha." She quickly shook herself. "Anyway, about Stella. Rusty and Zach mentioned something about her being in a funk all day. Can you guys tell me about that?"

The boys looked at each other before turning back to Lynn.

"Um, why are you so interested in Stella all of a sudden?" asked Lincoln. "You two have barely talked to each other."

"I know. That's kinda why I'm interested," Lynn sighed. "She knows you guys a lot better than me, so why did she wanna talk to me about bullying?"

"Wait, bullying?" said Clyde. "I… don't think Stella's been bullied recently. I think I would've noticed by now."

"Same here," Liam agreed.

"Likewise," Zach concurred.

"Ditto," said Rusty.

Lincoln furrowed his brow. "Wait, back up, Lynn. What exactly did Stella ask you?"

"She was wondering if I ever got picked on for being a tomboy," said Lynn. "When I said no, she up and left without explaining anything."

Lincoln nodded. "Yeah. That really isn't like Stella at all. Something's clearly bothering her."

"But why the heck won't she tell us about it?" said Liam. "We're her friends. She can trust us."

"That's not always enough," said Clyde matter-of-factly. "Dr. Lopez says if you want someone to open up, they have to know that they're in a safe place."

"Well, if that's the case, whatever's bugging her must be huge," Lincoln mused. "You guys would know better than I would, seeing as you're all in the same homeroom. Did you notice anything else about her?"

"Well, she kept giving me these looks," said Rusty, stroking his chin. "At first, I thought they were 'I'm secretly into you' looks, but I kinda know Stella better than that."

Lynn deadpanned. "Outta curiosity, has anyone ever given you a 'secretly into you' look, Spokes?"

Rusty thought for a moment. "Does Polly Pain count? Because she didn't make that a secret; I can tell you that for free."

"Forget I asked," Lynn groaned, rolling her eyes. "But now that you mention it, I did mention your name 'cause you're the one who usually does the sports stuff. And when I did, she got all annoyed."

Rusty did a double take. "Wait, really? But I don't remember doing anything to make her upset. Well, not since the whole Friend-Off Fiasco, anyway, and we already apologized for that."

Lincoln tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Well, whatever it is, we shouldn't just leave her hanging like this. I say we go with Clyde's idea and talk to her about it someplace where she feels safe."

"How about when we have our next Action News Team meeting?" suggested Zach. "That place's pretty safe."

"Sounds like a plan," said Lincoln with a nod.

Lynn pursed her lips and thought for a moment before slamming her hand on the table. "Count me in, too."

The others gave Lynn a curious look.

"I mean, I won't object if no one else does," said Clyde. "But what's your angle here, Lynn?"

Lynn tilted her head. "Angle?"

"It's news speak," Lincoln explained. "I think we're just curious as to why you're offering to help Stella out."

Lynn sighed and cast her gaze downward. "Lincoln, you've known me your whole life. You know that if there's one thing I hate about losing, it's letting other people down. I don't know why Stella came to me with this problem, but she did, and I apparently couldn't help her. I can't just leave it at that. If I did, I-I'd just feel crummy about it all day."

Clyde frowned. "But, that's not really your fault, Lynn."

"Doesn't matter," Lynn said firmly. "I still wanna help her. It wouldn't feel right if I didn't."

Lincoln smirked. "Well, I've got no objections. And knowing you, you wouldn't accept any objections, anyway."

"Dang right I wouldn't," said Lynn with a scoff. "So, we doing this?"

Lincoln nodded. "We sure are. Meet us in the Action News Team room right after school."

"You got it," Lynn said with a thumbs-up. She then started in on her potatoes. "So, Rusty still has a thing for Polly Pain, huh?"

"Yeah, he never really got over the fact that she moved to a different school," said Zach.

"Hey, we really had something, y'know!" Rusty protested. "I mean, not had! We still do have something! Why, just yesterday, she…"

As Rusty continued ranting, Lincoln rolled his eyes.

"Nice one, Zach," he grumbled before turning to Lynn. "Little word of advice, Lynn. If you're gonna bring up Polly Pain around Rusty, make sure you don't imply that they aren't seeing each other anymore."

"Well, are they or aren't they?" Lynn asked.

"We don't know, and at this point, we don't care," said Liam dryly.

Lynn nodded slowly. "Oooookay. Noted."

Stella barely acknowledged the stampede of students as everyone bustled through the hallway ready to head for home. Her gloomy aura caught the attention of a few onlookers, but she paid them no mind. She simply dragged herself along over to the Action News Team headquarters, her shoulders slumped and her head hanging low.

Just be cool, she told herself. They don't have to know.

She took a deep breath and let it out in a heavy sigh before opening the door. Once she did, she was surprised to see her friends all sitting in a circle. Even more surprising, Lynn was with them.

"Uh, guys? Wh-what's going on?" Stella asked.

"Have a seat, Stella," said Lincoln, gesturing to an empty chair.

Slowly, Stella closed the door behind her and sat down, fidgeting as she did so.

"Relax, Stella. This is a safe space," Clyde said soothingly. "Nothing's gonna leave this room."

"Wh-what're you talking about? I-I'm fine," Stella stammered.

Lynn arched an incredulous eyebrow. "Really? After what we talked about in gym, you expect us to believe you're fine? Sorry, I'm not buying it, Zhau."

Stella squirmed. "I-I thought I told you to forget about that."

"Well, I decided not to," Lynn stated bluntly.

"Stella, you've been acting awfully weird all day," said Liam. "I don't think we've even seen you smile once today. You look about as cheerful as a turkey in November."

"I-I'm just in a bad mood, okay? It's nothing to make a big deal over," Stella said with a pout.

"Well, you also kept looking at me," said Rusty sheepishly. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No, you didn't do anything wrong, Rusty," Stella sighed, rolling her eyes.

Rusty opened his mouth to reply, but quickly thought better of it. "Then, what was…?"

"It's none of your business," Stella huffed.

"But it's somehow mine?" Lynn asked.

"Th-that was a mistake. I-I'm sorry," said Stella, her face turning red. "Look, can we just drop this?"

Lincoln sighed. "Stella, we're your friends. We've always got each other's backs, so if something's bothering you, we wanna help. You can trust us."

"Th-this isn't a matter of trust, you guys," said Stella. She shuffled in her seat and hid her face. "I-I just… I don't think you'd understand."

Lynn frowned. "How do you know?"

Stella gave Lynn a sideways glance. "Wh-what?"

"We have a saying in sports, Zhau. You miss a hundred percent of the shots you don't take," Lynn quipped. "How come you were comfortable taking a shot with me, someone you barely know, over these goobers who've been with you since you first moved here?"

"I, um…"

Stella hemmed and hawed, but in the end, she couldn't ignore Lynn's point. She heaved a sigh.

"Sorry. O-old habit, I guess," she said. "And, it's actually part of my problem."

"Well, lay it on us," said Zach. "Even if we don't get it, we'll still listen to you."

Stella's lips curled into a small smile. "Thanks, guys." The smile disappeared as she sighed again and looked up at Lincoln. "Lincoln, do you remember when we busted Chandler for selling sewer jewelry so he could afford to bribe us with all that fancy equipment?"

Lynn's eyes went wide as she turned to Lincoln. "Say what now?"

"Long story," said Clyde. "Let's just say it's gonna be hard for the Action News Team to top that bad decision."

Lincoln suddenly perked up. "Wait, are you still upset about Rusty playing the wife in that sting operation? I told you; he nailed that audition."

"No, it's not that," said Stella, rubbing her arm. "Well, it is that, but it's not what you think it is. I'm not mad at you or Rusty."

"Then, why've you been so blue, girl?" Liam asked.

Stella took in a deep breath, her eyes affixed to her feet. "I-I was just thinking about it. I mean, I won't deny that Rusty really deserved that role. But if he can play a better girl than I can, what does that say about me?"

The guys all looked at each other and shared a shrug before turning back to Stella.

"Um, nothing," said Clyde. "It doesn't say anything about you, Stella. You're still great."

Stella scoffed bitterly. "Yeah. Of course you guys would say that. Because you never had to live with that."

"Live with what?" asked Zach.

Stella sighed as a ghost of a smile crossed her face. "Can I be honest with you guys?"

"Always," said Rusty automatically. "In fact, we can pretty much always count on you to be honest; especially when we mess up."

Stella let out a small giggle. "You're not wrong, Rust," she said before composing herself. "Anyway, the thing is… moving to Royal Woods has been the best thing that's ever happened to me. Sure, meeting all of you guys for the first time was… not exactly great."

Several of the boys blushed and averted their eyes, to which Lynn scoffed. Stella cleared her throat and continued.

"But after we set all that aside and became friends for real, I've never been happier. I can hang with you guys as much as I want, and no one's gonna get on my case about it. No one's called me weird, or told me that I should be hanging out with girls. It's nice."

Clyde frowned and adjusted his glasses. "Stella, did that happen to you before you moved here?"

Stella blushed and cast her gaze downward. "It did. Honestly, I didn't have a lot of friends before you guys. I couldn't really get into fashion or dolls, so playing with girls felt kinda uncomfortable for me. But whenever I tried to play with boys, they wouldn't let me join in. They kept telling me 'this is boy stuff; you wouldn't understand'. That or they ran away from me saying I had cooties."

Lincoln blinked. "Had what?"

Stella perked up to notice a collection of blank stares looking at her. "Wait, none of you guys know what cooties are?"

"Nope."

"Nuh-uh."

"Sounds like an alien fungus. Maybe I should ask my folks."

"Dr. Lopez never mentioned anything."

Stella blinked. "Wow. I, uh… sorry, I'm just not sure how to feel about that. Anyway, the point is I didn't want to do fancy girl stuff with girls, and I couldn't do boy stuff with other boys because they wouldn't let me. So I was just stuck in this weird limbo, where my only friends were anyone who'd take pity on me. Sometimes, the other kids asked me if I even was a girl."

Lincoln gasped. "Really? Geez, that's terrible, Stella! Is that why you ended up moving here?"

"Among other reasons, but yeah," said Stella with a sigh. "So when Rusty got that role over me for the sting operation, it just… triggered a bunch of bad memories. It's nothing to get excited over."

A heavy silence hung over the group as they looked at one another, wondering what to say next. Rusty finally broke the silence by clearing his throat.

"Y'know, Stel. When we first started trying to court you, I don't think any of us really cared what kind of girl you were."

Stella looked up and raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

"Well, I mean, we all knew you were a girl, of course," said Rusty. "But nothing else really mattered to us. We didn't care if you were into boy stuff or girl stuff. We just liked hanging out with you."

Stella's bemused expression didn't vanish. "I'm sorry, Rusty, but how exactly is that supposed to make me feel better?"

Rusty shrugged sheepishly. "Yeah, that probably could've been worded better."

"I think I know what Rusty's trying to say, though," said Lincoln. "Stella, if living with ten sisters has taught me anything, it's that there are all kinds of girls out there. Some of them are into fashion and pretty dolls; others are into sports and video games. So when we met you, none of us were gonna judge you on what kind of girl you were."

"No, you were just judging me for being a girl," Stella huffed.

Lincoln sighed. "Yeah, we did. And we were wrong to do that. But we know now that your gender doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things. We don't care that you're a girl, and we definitely don't care about what kind of girl you are. You're our friend. And we like you for you."

Stella's face slowly flushed as tears welled up in her eyes. "Oh jeez. Th-that's so sweet, Lincoln. But, I dunno. Part of me still wonders what all of the kids from my old school would say if they saw me now. Like, they'd probably still ask if I was really a girl."

Lincoln opened his mouth to add something, but Lynn held up her hand.

"I got this, bro," she said.

Lincoln smiled and nodded as Lynn stepped forward and cleared her throat.

"Stella, you wanna know how everyone knows I'm a girl?" Lynn asked.

Stella looked up and blinked. "H-how?"

"'Cause I'm the one who told 'em so," said Lynn. "I know what I am; you know what you are. Being into sports doesn't make me less of a girl; no more than liking Dream Boat makes Lincoln any less of a boy."

"Yeah, it's like my dad says," Rusty added. "A real man shouldn't be afraid to get in touch with his feminine side."

"Is that why you like crossdressin' so much?" Liam asked.

Rusty gave Liam a sly smirk. "Yes, it is. And I'm not ashamed of it, either."

"Yeah, 'cause that would require actually having shame to begin with," Lynn stated dryly.

"Oof~. Shots fired," Zach said with a snicker.

Rusty scowled. "Yeesh, Lynnsanity. Rake me over the coals, why doncha?"

Lynn let out a small snicker herself before turning back to Stella. "The point is interests and hobbies don't determine whether you're a boy, a girl, or anything else. The only person who can decide that is you, and if other people don't like it, they can go jump in a lake." She then pounded her fist into her palm. "And if anyone gives you any flack over it, I'll throw 'em into a lake myself. 'Cause no one deserves to be treated like that."

At this point, Stella couldn't hold back anymore. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she stared at her friends with misty eyes.

"Wow. I-I think all of that was exactly what I needed to hear," she said with a sniffle. "N-now I just feel silly for not being straight with you guys earlier."

"Aw, don't worry 'bout it none. We figured it couldn't've been easy talkin' 'bout all that stuff," said Liam. "But we promise, everything said here stays between us. And if ya ever need to get somethin' off your chest, we're willin' to listen."

"Th-thanks, you guys," Stella whimpered. "I-I really am one lucky girl to have friends like you. C'mon, bring it in."

No one needed to be told twice. The boys rushed in and enveloped Stella in a large group hug. Lynn looked on from the side, brushing a tear from her own eye.

"Hey, Stella?"

Stella looked up. "Yeah?"

Lynn smirked. "I know we don't talk much, but if you ever have concerns like this again, I'm just as willing to hear you out as these jokers are. I mean, us tomboys gotta stick together, amiright?"

Stella giggled a little. "Yeah. That's… actually why I went to you first. Sorry about that."

"Nah, it's cool. I get it," said Lynn. "And hey, I meant what I said before. If anyone gives you any flack over being a tomboy, I will throw 'em into a lake."

Stella laughed. "Thanks, Lynn. But I don't think I'll have to worry about that. Like I said, moving to Royal Woods is the best thing that's ever happened to me."