Here's the second part of the next chapter. Just to let you know, Lynn technically isn't lying. She's saying what she believes is the truth.
Judge Martha waited for a moment to hear any objections from the prosecution. She heard none. "No objections."
"Miss Leni," the defense attorney spoke to the Loud girl he hoped would most likely win the hearts of the court with her adorable naivety. "Will you kindly step forward?"
Leni stood up and took one step forward. "How's this?"
"No, prepare yourself for the witness box," he rephrased his request. Now he was starting to reconsider his decision.
Leni approached the bench and the bailiff approached her with bible in hand.
"Raise your right hand," the bailiff instructed. Leni complied. "Now put your left hand here." She put her left hand on the bible. "DoYouSolemnlySwearThatYouWillTellTheTruth,TheWholeTruth,And NothingButTheTruth,SoHelpYouGod?"
"What?" the confused fashion designer asked.
"DoYouSolemnlySwearYouTellTheTruth,TheWholeTruth,AndNothingButTheTruth?"
"Is this one of those 'make you say what' games?"
The bailiff was getting impatient. "DoYouSolemnlySwearToTellTheTruth,TheWholeTruth,And NothingButTheTruth?!"
"Why don't you answer him?" the judge asked.
"He's like speaking another language," Leni replied. "I don't know what he's saying."
"He's asking you if you swear –"
"Of course not! That's a bad habit."
"He's asking you if you promise to tell the truth," the impatient judge said.
"Well, why didn't you say so?"
"Just take the oath."
Once more, the bailiff repeated himself.
"Sure, I'm like totes an honest person," Leni finally answered.
"Finally. Now take the stand," the judge ordered.
The clueless 16-year-old walked over and picked up the chair from the witness box. "Where should I put it?" she asked. "I think it would totes look great in that corner over there."
"No! No! Take the stand!" the annoyed judge repeated her order.
"I got it. Now what?"
The bailiff, having had just about enough, snatched the chair from the girl and put it back in its place. "Sit down!"
"Oh, why didn't you say that in the first place?" Leni asked as she finally took her seat. The judge and bailiff both face palmed in annoyance. The rest of the family and the defense attorney, who had watched the entire scene, began to look nervous and embarrassed.
"Now Miss Leni," the defense attorney spoke to the young fashion designer. "When we ask you questions, would you kindly answer them in your own words concerning your side of the incident?"
"I object, your honor," the prosecutor objected. "The defense is trying to influence what he wants her to say."
"Preposterous!" the defense attorney disagreed. "I'm only instructing her to explain to the court what she experienced in an honest and understandable manner."
"Objection overruled," the judge declared.
"Okay Miss Leni," the defense attorney said. "Now please tell us about this whole 'bad luck' incident you and your family went through, and don't leave out any details."
"Well it was like this, Miss Judge, –" the young fashionista began.
"Address the judge as 'your honor'," the defense attorney corrected.
"Well it was like this, my honor, –"
"Your honor, not my honor!" the defense attorney corrected again in a more irritated tone.
"Why? You're not that bad a person," the clueless fashion-obsessed teen replied.
"Just let the defendant proceed," the impatient judge insisted. "The court understands her."
"Well, it all started the day Lynn lost her ball game," Leni explained. "Then when Lincoln warned us of his bad luck, we all decided to take measures to make sure his bad luck wouldn't infect the rest of us. When that wasn't enough, we did the only humane thing we could do: we made him live outside like an animal and got rid of his stuff as if he never lived in our home."
The defense attorney was at a complete loss for words. How could she say that so calmly and pleasantly as if she were telling a bedtime story to her younger sisters?! "You still don't understand what you did wrong, do you?"
"It doesn't feel any worse than other things that have happened to him."
"Hold on!" the prosecutor interrupted. "Let the record show that she just admitted that this isn't the first time they've treated the complainant like this."
"Okay, if I explain everything then you all will understand that things aren't completely out of the ordinary," the fashionista said with a sweet and innocent smile. "Most of the time, Mom and Dad hide in their room, so Lincoln picks up the slack for everyone. One time Lincoln accidentally walked into Lori's and my room, and she threatened to turn him into a 'human pretzel'. Just a normal sibling relationship. Another time, he posted an embarrassing video of us on the internet, but we eventually forgave him after he did the same thing to himself. Then half of us wanted to go to Dairyland and the other half wanted to go to Aloha Beach, so we pressured Lincoln to be the tiebreaker. When he couldn't chose, he made it up to us by doing all sorts of favors for us when we went to Scratchybottom Campgrounds instead. There was also the time we fought with him over the 'Sweet Spot' in Vanzilla. There was also the time he tried to teach how to drive until Lori sabotaged it. I can also remember the time the toilet got clogged with a Princess Pony book, we blamed him for it. We teased him about it for weeks." A few people, including most of the Loud sisters, chuckled at that much to Lincoln's embarrassment. "One time he bought a pair of earphones so he could ignore us, but Lola came up with a plan to have us prank in order to teach him a lesson. These also the time we fought him over money. The time Lori forced him to go on a double-date. The time Luan, Luna, Lynn, and Lucy hooked him up with multiple dates. There was also the time Lucy scared him with a fortune-telling card. Oh, and let's not forget the time Lori and I had a fight over buying the same dress, and we decided the only he could help resolve that was to leave the house. I also remember when we blamed him for Lisa acting average. There was a moment, where we kicked him out of the van and made him walk home for a few blocks. Aside from Lynn roughhousing with him, me using him as a mannequin, Lori calling first dibs on everything because she's the oldest, Luan pranking him, Lisa using him for her experiments, Lola making him do whatever she wants, he also takes responsibility for when things don't go our way and works his hardest to make us happy even when he gets nothing in return."
As she thoughtlessly told her statement, Leni completely failed to take notice of the facial expressions of everyone in the room. They were all completely jaw-dropped with shock. Not just by the things she just said, but by the tone in which she told them as well. How could she tell them ALL those disturbing things as if she were telling her friends how a wonderful vacation in Hawaii had gone?! Was she trying to get the guilty verdict?!
"You know, when she puts it that way…" a shocked and disturbed Lincoln said.
"Suddenly really happy I'm being homeschooled right now," an embarrassed Lola said to herself.
"So now do you all see? We're just a normal family having perfectly normal times together," the airheaded teen happily concluded.
"Oh my god, why am I defending you people?!" the disturbed defense attorney asked under his breath.
"Tell me, Miss Leni," the prosecutor spoke. "How do you think your brother feels about all that?"
"Oh, Lincoln's fine," she assured him. "He's happy and satisfied just like the rest of us. Aren't you, Linky?"
Lincoln wasn't comfortable with this. He knew his second oldest sister would not take the truth very well. It felt like he was telling a sensitive little kid that Santa Claus doesn't exist. Unfortunately, it had to be said. "Actually Leni, I've never been more miserable in my entire life than I am now."
"What?!" the fashion designer exclaimed both shocked and confused. "But how can you be miserable when the rest of us are just fine?"
"Have you or anyone else in your family ever asked your brother what he likes, what he wants, what makes him happy?" Brenda asked. "Have you ever asked him what he doesn't like or what makes him miserable?"
After thinking about the question for a moment, Leni found herself rendered speechless as a disturbing realization hit her. "But… but he agreed without complaint," she finally replied in a nervous tone.
"Because none of you would give him a choice!" Brenda responded.
"But he does have a choice!" Leni argued. Her tone was now filled with anxiety. "He either wears the suit that brings good luck or lives outside to keep away the bad luck."
"That's not a choice, it's an ultimatum!"
"I don't know what that word means," the nervous fashionista sheepishly replied.
"It is a demand or a threat to someone that if they don't comply, something unpleasant will happen to them," the prosecutor explained.
"Superstition is not a good reason to treat someone the way you and your family treated your brother," Derek said.
"It isn't?" Leni asked genuinely surprised and confused.
"Put yourself in your brother's shoes," Brenda told Leni. She was really getting tired of the girl's incredible foolishness. "How would YOU feel if the same things happened to you?"
After a moment, the 16-year-old fashion designer's eyes went wide with shock and horror as she finally got a perfectly good idea what her little brother had been through and how he felt about all of it. It finally dawned on her that what she and her family did to him wasn't normal at all. It finally hit her that she had not been a very good sister, at all.
"And by the way," Derek added. "That kind of treatment towards a child IS illegal in Michigan, just like many other American states." Hearing this made the already remorseful girl feel even worse.
"I… I didn't know," Leni said with tears beginning to fall from her eyes. She was really getting choked up. "No one ever told me! I didn't think anyone would be bothered by it! Please, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to be a criminal and a mean sister! I love my brother, Landon!"
"I think we've heard enough," the unamused prosecutor said.
As he watched his second eldest sibling hysterically cry, plead, and apologize, Lincoln couldn't help but feel sorry for Leni. Despite the part she played in everything, he knew deep down she was not a bad person. Her naivety just made it very easy for others to take advantage of her. On a list of which sisters who would be punished unfairly or more than they really deserve, Leni would be at the top second only to Lily.
The self-disgusted teen was taken back to her seat to rejoin the rest of her family. "Why didn't any of you tell me what we were doing was wrong?" she tearfully asked them. None of them knew how to answer that question.
"Well… the defense would now like to call Luna Loud to the stand," the defense attorney nervously announced. The most musical member of the family walked up and took a seat. "Miss Luna, could tell us about your relationship with your brother?"
"Course governor," Luna answered in her British-styled accent. "Lincoln is my baby bro, and I love him. That is all we need and it can't be bought."
"So when you ostracized him, kicked him out of your home, sold his belongings, and forced him to wear a ridiculous costume, you call that love?" the prosecutor accusingly asked.
"Well I was… uh… I… I just…" the 15-year-old rocker struggled to come up with an understandable excuse. Unfortunately, she had none and just hung her head in shame. "We never meant any real harm."
"That hardly excuses anything," the prosecutor coldly replied. "I think we're already done here, so let's move on. We have nine more of these people to hear from. Not that it'll make any difference."
Once Luna was dismissed, Luan was called to the stand.
"Miss Luan, would you please tell the court how you feel about this case?" the defense attorney asked.
"I feel guilty," the young comedian said in a remorseful sounding tone which caught everyone's attention.
"Guilty of what?" the concerned defense attorney asked.
"Theft." This caused many people to gasp in shock.
"Theft?!" this caught the defense attorney off guard. "What is it that you stole?"
"A quarter."
"From who?"
"You!" Luan said suddenly dropping her remorseful façade and pulling a quarter out of the defense attorney's ear. "See what I did there?" she chuckled. "I'm just kidding, here you go," she offered the quarter back.
The defense attorney just face palmed. It was as if he was saying 'oh great, it's one of those people!'
"Oh no," Lincoln said knowing just where this was going.
"Now I'm sure some of you might think my family is guilty," Luan said. "But aren't we all guilty of something?" Then she let out a chuckle. "Hey judge, I've noticed you use that gavel a lot. Ever thought of maybe becoming a carpenter?" She chuckled again. "Get it?" Unfortunately, the judge was clearly not amused by the 14-year-old comedian's inappropriately timed jokes. Nor was anyone else.
"Enough!" the prosecutor yelled unable to take anymore. "This is not a comedy show. It's NOT a laughing matter!" Then he approached the jokester. "Tell me, Miss Luan. Do you find child abuse funny? Well, do you?!"
"Now hold on," she said in a more serious sounding tone. "It's not as bad as you think it is. We Louds may cause a few commotions here and there, we're a big family after all. But we would never go as far as to break any laws to solve our problems. We deal with them the only way any good American would, the 'honest' way."
"And what is the 'honest' way?" the prosecutor asked with menacing curiosity.
"Wow, I'm surprised YOU of all people doesn't know that!" Luan said changing right back to her comedic tone and started laughing. She actually managed to make a few people in gallery laugh too. The prosecutor, on the other hand, was furious. She had tricked him into walking into another one of her jokes and make him the butt of it.
"YOUR HONOR, I –" the angry prosecutor was about to make a demand but was silenced by the judge pounding her gavel.
"Has the defendant anything to say in her defense?" the judge asked. One could see she was trying very hard to be patient.
"Miss Luan, I implore you to take this seriously," the defense attorney pleaded.
"Alright," the young jokester begrudgingly agreed. "Lincoln is my brother and I love him. But I just everyone to know that, while my family and I have our moments, so does he. He is not as innocent or sympathetic as those guys are portraying him as. He's made a few questionable and not-so-selfless decisions that have had rather ruinous consequences, like trying to flush a Princess Pony book down the toilet so we wouldn't find out he reads it." Then she started laughing again. Lincoln looked very unamused as he heard kids and young members of the gallery chuckling at his expense.
"Your honor, I object!" the prosecutor declared. "She is once again trying to turn this trial into a circus!"
"What?! No I'm not," Luan denied. "It can't be a circus with just one clown. Unless you would like to become my partner." Then she started chuckling. "Get it?" The livid prosecutor was about to say something, but was stopped by the judge pounding her gavel. He begrudgingly decided to return to his seat.
"Order in the court! Order in the court!" the judge demanded. She had just about lost her patience. "So help me, I will clear the room!"
PPPPPFFFFFFTTTTTT!
The room suddenly went silent as a flatulent-sounding noise coming from the prosecutor's seat as he sat down.
"What the…?!" the prosecutor got up and found a whoopee cushion on his seat. "How did…?!"
"Be careful, he might clear the room first!" Luan said before bursting into laughter. The prosecutor was so mad his face turned red and he was rendered speechless.
"I think we've heard enough!" the extremely annoyed judge declared. "Please call up the next defendant."
Luan was returned to her seat where she was met with the disapproving glares of her family and the defense attorney. The 14-year-old comedian masked her nervousness by chuckling and making puns. The truth was Luan was actually more nervous than she seemed. Just like her sister, Luna, she had no excuses for her treatment of Lincoln during the 'luck' fiasco. She thought she could win over the court with jokes and laughter. However, she was now realizing that was not a very good idea.
"We would now like to call Lori Loud to the stand," the defense attorney announced still clearly embarrassed by the way Luan behaved.
Nothing happened. Then they looked over and saw that she was texting on her phone pay no attention to anyone. Soon the bailiff came over and snatched the handheld object right out of her hands.
"Hey, I was literally in the middle of a text!" she angrily complained. However, the bailiff glared down at her and pointed toward the witness stand. "Oh, is it literally my turn now? Sorry about that," she nervously apologized and proceeded to the stand.
"Miss Lori," the defense attorney addressed the eldest Loud sister. "Can you please explain to the court what the relationship between you and your brother is like?"
"Of course, Lincoln's my little brother and I love him. I've cared for him since he was literally a baby," she claimed. "We Louds are a family, and this family supports itself."
"Oh really?!" the prosecutor interjected in a doubtful tone. "Tell me, Miss Lori. Were you supporting your brother when you agreed with the rest of your family that he should be kicked out of the house over a superstition?"
"Well… uh… no, but –" Lori answered sheepishly.
"Were you supporting him when you made him feel like a third wheel when you and your sister had that ridiculously petty argument?"
"Well… no."
"When he was labeled the prime suspect of the 'Princess Pony' incident, did you give him any benefit of the doubt?" Lori couldn't answer that question because she was too busy chucking about it. She stopped when she saw the prosecutor's icy gaze. "I'll take that as a 'no'. And when he accidentally walked into your room, how did you react? Did you calmly get his attention and politely ask him to leave, a nice and loving sibling would? Oh, I remember. 'Human Pretzel!' Am I remembering your threat correctly?"
"Okay, okay!" Lori anxiously spoke up. "I admit, there were a few times where I probably overreacted a little. But –"
"A 'little'?! Threatening an 11-year-old child with physical abuse and casting him out like a leper is a little to you, Miss Lori?! I wonder if you treat all your other siblings the same way or similar."
"I assure you, I don't! Right guys?"
"Nah, little bit," Luna admitted.
"Yeah, have to agree with Lunes," Lynn agreed.
"You are kinda bossy," Leni confessed.
"Pretty hard to dispute," Lisa said.
"No ones' perfect," Lincoln commented.
"Guys, literally not helping!" the 17-year-old said with irritation before nervously turning her attention back to the court. "I really do love all my siblings. I just want them to treat me with the respect I deserve."
"I think we all can agree that you do deserve 'something' for the things you've done, Miss Lori. But don't worry, I'm sure you'll get everything that's coming to you soon," the prosecutor retorted in an ominous tone. "The prosecution has no further questions."
"But I –" the eldest Loud sibling tried to plead.
"Next defendant," the judge demanded and Lori was dismissed.
"The defense would like to call Lisa Loud to the stand," the defense attorney announced. The tiny 4-year-old prodigy walked up to the stand and took a seat. "Miss Lisa, you look like a very smart girl for your age."
"I have studied the fields of chemistry, biology, physiology, psychology, and scatology," the brainy toddler boasted in her usual tone.
"Scatology?" the confused defense attorney asked.
"The study of feces."
"Sorry I asked. Sounds like you're quite the little scientist, aren't you Lisa?"
"Correct," Lisa confirmed. "Science is my life."
"Is that so?!" the prosecutor interjected. "Then tell us, if you are such a girl of science, why would indulge in such superstitious nonsense?"
"I suppose it's time to come clean," Lisa calmly said. "The truth is I never believed Lincoln was bad luck unlike the rest of my family."
"What?!" Lynn and Lincoln exclaimed at the same time.
"Your actions during that whole incident say otherwise," the prosecutor argued doubtfully.
"It was all part of the experiment," Lisa confessed.
"What experiment?" the confused prosecutor asked. Everyone else looked just as confused as him.
"You see, it all started when Lincoln tried to convince my eldest sister and I of his superstitious curse," the prodigy explained. "I, being a woman of science, didn't buy it for a second. But when Lincoln obviously pretended to 'accidentally' destroy Lori's golf clubs, I was surprised and amazed at how quickly she changed from rational to irrational thinking. With my curiosity peaked, I decided to conduct my experiment by pretending to go along with the superstition. During that time, I observed the behavior of everyone as they succumbed to this inane belief. I wanted to see how long they would cling to this belief, how far they would take it, and what would cause them to finally realize how ridiculous they were being. Either way, I have to say it was a very fascinating experience for me."
"Fascinating, eh?" the prosecutor said. "You know what I find fascinating? From what I've learned about you, Miss Lisa, is that you have quite the reputation of performing harmful experiments on people, including your own family, without their consent."
"Human experimentation is a necessary step in the field of science," Lisa nervously tried to justify. The confident brainy toddler wasn't really scared until the prosecutor made that statement. She thought that by explaining her side of the incident the court would understand and let her off easy. However, she was now realizing she had made a 'slight' miscalculation.
"Tell me," the prosecutor continued. "During your little 'experiment', did you ever once think about how other people might react to this? Do you ever think of the consequences of this? Did you ever think of the harm it would cause? How long were you going to let go on before someone seriously got hurt? Did you ever once think about how all of this would affect your own brother, who has suffer greatly because of the actions of you and your family?!"
"I was going to give him a dollar," the 4-year-old sheepishly replied.
"That is all, thank you," the prosecutor dismissed her.
"Law: one, science: zero," the tiny scientist sadly said as she walked down from the stand in shame.
"The defense would like to call Lana Loud to the stand," the defense attorney announced. The eldest of the 6-year-old twins walked up to the stand. "Now tell us, Miss Lana. Would you please tell the court your point of view of the incident?"
"I object, your honor," the prosecutor declared. "The defendant is clearly too young to give any accurate or trustworthy testimony."
"She has every right as the others to give a testimony," the defense attorney argued. "Besides, I could say the same for the 11-year-old complainant and that Sweetwater girl."
"The victim of the crime has every right to testify, no matter the age!" the prosecutor argued back.
"Order in the court!" the judge demanded striking the bench with her gavel.
CRACK!
Everyone suddenly went silent as they looked to see that the judge's gavel had fallen on a walnut and cracked it open.
"Thanks," Lana said taking the nut and stuffing it in her mouth. She was holding a bag of nuts in her left hand. "Care to crack open another one?" she asked holding up another nut.
The judge and the prosecutor looked very unamused. The judge motioned to the bailiff, who walked over to the stand and held out his hand to the girl. Nervously, Lana relinquished her bag of nuts to the gruff bailiff. "All of it," he demanded. Lana then started handing over other snacks she had stored in her clothes, including a moldy sandwich, much to the bailiff's disgust.
"Don't knock it till you try it," the tomboy said. The disgusted bailiff walked away with the snacks.
"Now Miss Lana, will you please answer the question?" the defense attorney asked.
"Well, I really wanted my brother to come and watch my alligator-wrestling match," she explained. "But when he said he was bad luck, I thought it would be best to cut my losses."
"Your parents let you, a 6-year-old, wrestle dangerous alligators?" the prosecutor asked suspiciously.
"Yeah! It's actually pretty cool," Lana replied completely missing the point. "You see, you get them in a headlock and then –" However, everyone stopped listening when they noticed the girl's red cap make strange movements on its own, as if there was something alive beneath it.
"Miss Lana, what is that?" the defense attorney interrupted.
"What is what?"
"What is moving beneath your hat?" the prosecutor asked suspiciously.
"Oh…" Lana nervously looked up at her cap. "Nothing. Just my hair standing up. I forgot to put that gel stuff on it today."
"But you ate the last of the hair gel yesterday," Leni pointed out.
"Bailiff!" the judge called and silently ordered him to take a look.
The bailiff took off the cap and to his horror saw a big gray rat sitting on top of the girl's blonde hair. "AAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!" he screamed when he saw the rodent. The bailiff's scream frightened the rat who instinctively leapt off Lana's head and started scurrying across the courtroom floor scaring everyone. Lincoln and the rest of his family sat where they were looking extremely embarrassed. As people were screaming and running around in a panic, the judge glared angrily down at the 6-year-old tomboy who smiled nervously back.
A moment later, the rat situation was taken care of and everyone was sitting back in their seats. Unfortunately, Lana was immediately dismissed after that and not allowed to finish her testimony.
"Sorry about that, your honor," the embarrassed defense attorney apologized. "I would like to call to the witness stand Lola Loud." The younger of the twins confidently walked up to the stand. "Can you tell us how you feel about your brother, Miss Lola?"
"Of course, good sir," the young pageant winner agreed in a sweet-sounding tone. "I love my big brother very much, he's the best butler in the world."
"Butler?" the confused defense attorney asked.
"Brother, I said brother," Lola replied. "He is the one who helps me prepare for pageants when Mom can't. I have him to thank for my stunning beauty."
"So you thank him by kicking him out of your home?" the prosecutor asked accusingly. "Even though he made all your pageant victories possible, you are still quick to believe he would be bad luck?"
Lola suddenly became nervous, she didn't know how to answer those questions. Then she got an idea. Quickly, she produced big watery puppy dog eyes and started sniffling a little. Perhaps she could use the adorableness of a 6-year-old to get herself out of this. "I didn't know what I was doing was bad. I'm sorry," she whimpered. "Will you please let me go? I promise I won't do it again."
"No," the prosecutor bluntly replied. He wasn't at all affected by the girl's behavior. In fact, he looked rather disgusted by it.
Hearing this response made Lola stop the crocodile tears. The expression on her face then turned to one of restrained annoyance. "I said I was 'sorry'," she said through gritted teeth. "Aren't you supposed to forgive me now?"
"Miss Lola, you can't possibly believe that you can get rid of all your problems just by –"
"ACCEPT THE APOLOGY!" the bratty pageant winner angrily demanded.
"Order in the court!" the judge demanded. "Miss Lola, I suggest you cooperate with the officials here or you and your family will be held in contempt of this court, more so than you already are."
"Fine!" Lola begrudgingly agreed. "You all want the truth? Lincoln, the guy you all think is the victim here, is actually one of the most stupid, most annoying, most selfish, and most pathetic people I have ever known." Lincoln didn't look too put down by what his sister just said. Some of those he could admit were true. "He causes more problems than he fixes. Trust me, I've tattled on him quite a lot. Like that time he clogged the toilet with that Princess Pony book." Lola stopped for a moment to burst into laughter. "What kind of pathetic dope reads that garbage?!"
"You're the salt of the earth, Lola," Lincoln said unamused.
"So your brother has committed quite a few misdemeanors," the prosecutor spoke. "However, I don't think you're in any position to brag after the felony you and the rest of your family committed." Lola growled in annoyance. "Now tell me, Miss Lola. Do really think you're some sort of angel for banishing your only brother from the warmth of his home, disregarding his feelings and belongings, and then subjecting him to imprisonment in an uncomfortable suit just to satisfy your needs?"
The more she didn't get what she wanted, the bitterer she became. But this time, something snapped. "Alright, I admit," Lola very begrudgingly confessed. "I'm no angel. I've done some rather not-so-nice things to my brother. Some things that I regret and some things that I don't. I tattle on him when it suits me, I blackmail him into doing me favors, I make him live in fear of getting on my bad side, I make fun of his habits and interests, I sometimes steal from him, I'm probably one of the last people he should ever have for a sister, and… and…" The angry 6-year-old's rant came to a halt as she tried to think of what to say next. However, her anger turned to fear as she observed the suspicious and disapproving expressions of the prosecutor, the judge, and the jury. "… and… this isn't helping me," the nervous pageant winner realized. Then in a tiny moment of panic, she resorted to the last thing she could think of in hopes that it might help her answer the question she was asked in a way that might not make her look bad in front of everyone. She had used this in school whenever faced with a question she didn't know how to answer. "Um… pass?"
"I think we've heard enough here," the disappointed prosecutor suggested.
"Will the defense call up the next defendant?" the judge asked as Lola was dismissed and shamefully returned to her seat.
"The defense would like to the father, Lynn Loud Sr., to the stand," the defense attorney announced. He was nervous because so far none of the girls had been giving good testimonies. Hopefully, one of the adults in the family would know what to do. "Mr. Loud, you seem like a man who knows a lot about taking care of a family. Would you please tell the court how many of your children you care for and how much?"
"Oh, that's easy," the patriarch confidently answered. "I love all my children. They're the prides and joys of my life. I give each and every one of them an equal amount of fatherly love and attention."
"Fatherly love, eh?" the prosecutor doubtfully said. "Gives all his kids an equal amount of care and attention. BUT you weren't giving one of them the same amount of affection this time, were you?"
"Well, I…" Lynn Sr. tried to reply, but the prosecutor wasn't finished.
"Tell me, Mr. Loud," the prosecutor demanded looming over the patriarch like a hawk looming over a small rodent. "What do you call giving into childish superstition and stooping so low as to eject one of your own offspring from the warmth of your home into a cold and lonely world that they are clearly not ready to handle on their own yet?"
"Uh… a struggling father doing his best?" Lynn Sr. nervously replied.
"Preposterous! I call that a lazy, cowardly, pathetic father doing his worst! Tell me, Mr. Loud. How could you possibly have thought that letting your daughters subjecting your only son to such horrid treatment was a good idea?"
"Well, I'm not always that the best judge-of-character," the man of the house admitted. "But I thought it all sounded reasonable enough."
"How long were you planning to let your only son suffer like this until you finally decided to do your job?"
The patriarch anxious tried to think of a way to answer the question. Then in a tiny moment of panic, he resorted to the last thing he could think of in hopes that it might help him answer the question he was asked in a way that might not make him look bad in front of everyone. He had used this in school whenever faced with a question he didn't know how to answer. "Um… pass?"
"The prosecution would like to ask the defense to call a real adult to the stand next time," the disgusted prosecutor requested.
"This trial is getting worse by the minute," the defense attorney nervously said to himself as Lynn Sr. was dismissed. "The defense would like to call Rita Loud to the stand." The matriarch made her up to the witness stand ready for questioning. Hopefully, she would do better than her husband. "Mrs. Loud, you seem like a very caring and reasonable person, would you kindly explain to the court your relationship with your children?"
"Of course," the matriarch replied in a tone that sounded more confident than her husband. "I love all my daughters unconditionally, but I also love my son just as much. I'm even writing a story based on some of his adventures."
"Is that so?" the prosecutor accusingly asked. "What are you going to say when you write about this event? The part where the poor boy was abandoned and cast out by his family, including his own mother?! It seems to me, Mrs. Loud, that you clearly don't love your son nearly enough as you claim given what you did and that you obviously favor your daughters more since you sided with them. Doesn't sound like a very good story if you ask me."
"Now hold on," Rita tried to explain. "It's not what you think. The truth is my husband and I don't really believe in those superstitions."
"WHAT?!" Lynn Jr. exclaimed in utter disbelief.
"We don't?" Lynn Sr. asked confused. Then he realized what was going on and adjusted his tone. "I mean yes, we don't."
"Taking care of eleven kids is hard," Rita continued. "My husband and I don't like to play favorites, so we just agree with what the majority of our kids say and hope that everything will work out."
"Well, how do you explain where you are now?" the prosecutor asked motioning to the rest of the courtroom.
"I don't understand how this all happened," Rita anxiously replied. "My husband and I were just trying to be good parents and raise our children to be good kids. It's not our fault."
"Hold on a moment!" Brenda interrupted. "I would like to point out that what she just said in absolutely false. When children misbehave, a significant amount of it is the fault of the parents."
"She has a point," the prosecutor agreed. "With that in mind, Mrs. Loud, tell us what you could've done differently to ensure that you and your family wouldn't be here today."
"I… don't know," Rita admitted bowing her head in shame.
"Then we have nothing further to discuss here," the prosecutor announced and the matriarch was dismissed.
"Well that's just great," the defense attorney sarcastically said to himself. "The defense would now like to call Lucy Loud to the stand."
"I'm already here," the 8-year-old goth announced already sitting in the witness stand startling everyone.
"Good, let's get this over with then," the defense attorney said recovering from almost having a heart attack. "Miss Lucy, would you please explain to the court your relationship with Lincoln?"
"Lincoln is my older brother," Lucy answered. "He can be many things. He can be one of the most irritating, most foolish, and most selfish human beings I've ever known. But he can also be helpful, understanding, and reliable."
"So you look up to him?" the defense attorney asked.
"In a way. He helps me with my poems, which makes me believe he's the only person who understands me."
"So where was this precious sibling bond when he was banished to the backyard like an animal?" the prosecutor accusingly asked.
"I admit, as a fortune teller and a séance seer, I am a very superstitious person," the goth replied.
Unexpectedly, the prosecutor went quiet and thought for a moment. Then a menacing grin formed across his face as he got an idea. "Miss Lucy, would you tell us your side of the 'Princess Pony' incident?" The prosecutor had noticed that whenever any of the other family members talked or laughed about that event, Lucy would instead sink into her chair as if she were nervous or ashamed of something.
"Uh oh!" Lincoln exclaimed. Only he and Lucy knew the truth about that event. But now that they were in court, she would have no choice but to come clean.
"I object, your honor," the defense attorney declared. "This question has nothing to do with the current case."
"Your honor, I believe that there may be something more to this particular story that may provide concrete evidence to this case," the prosecutor explained.
"Objection overruled," the judge declared. "Proceed."
"Miss Lucy, would you please answer the question?"
Underneath the long black bangs that covered her eyes, the 8-year-old was very nervous. Sensing this, her family tried to give her some encouragement.
"It's okay, Luce," Luna encouraged.
"Just be honest," Lori urged.
"Tell them Lincoln did it!" Lola ordered.
"We'll all still have a good laugh about it," Luan chuckled.
"Actually, he might've taken the blame on that one," the goth girl sadly said. This caught the rest of her family, with the exception of Lincoln, completely by surprise.
"What?" a confused Lori asked.
"That Princess Pony book didn't belong to Lincoln, it belonged to me," Lucy shamefully confessed.
"What?! No way!" Lynn denied. "I share a room with her and I've never seen her showing any interest in that girly stuff."
"May I have my poetry journal? I believe you have it as one of the exhibits," Lucy requested.
"Exhibit G!" the prosecutor snapped his fingers and order the bailiff to retrieve the evidence.
Sure enough, the bailiff returned with a little black book which he handed to the girl. Lucy skimmed through the pages till she found a certain page. Then she turned the book around and opened it wide enough for everyone to see what was inside. Covering two pages were bright colorful drawings of ponies, which caused the rest of her family to gasp in surprise and thus prove her confession true.
"Wait a minute, YOU were the one who clogged the toilet with that book!" Lisa realized.
"Wait, so it WASN'T Lincoln?!" Lola asked in complete disbelief. Lola sometimes enjoyed tattling on her siblings, especially Lincoln. But she only tattled on them for things she knew they were guilty of, she never lied about anything. The revelation that she tattled on her brother for something he was innocent of was completely alien to her and it was also a blow to her pride.
"So I grounded my own son and made him miss out on that convention for no reason?!" Lynn Sr. exclaimed in utter shame.
"But… how?!" Lynn Jr. asked utterly confused.
"Sometimes I need a break from the darkness," Lucy said.
"But why did Lincoln say he did it?" Luan asked.
"Because you all said that whoever it belonged to would become the 'laughing stock of the house'."
"Oh… my… God!" Lori exclaimed in horrific realization as she remembered all the things she and the other sisters said that night. "Lincoln was covering for you!"
Both Lucy and Lincoln exchanged sad looks to one another feeling now that everyone knew their secret, the sacrifices they had made to keep it were all for nothing.
While everyone was taking this revelation very hard, the prosecutor, on the other hand, was grinning with great satisfaction that his instincts were correct. "Let this serve as proof for many elements of this case!" he proudly declared. "Proof that just because a majority of these kids agree on something doesn't mean they're correct, proof that the parents' tactic of siding with said majority is flawed, and proof that claims they have made about their brother have been wrong. As far as we're all concerned now, these superstitious claims about him are wrong too! I thank you for your honesty, Miss Lucy."
"This proves NOTHING!" Lynn defiantly thought as the 8-year-old goth stepped down from the stand and rejoined her family in shame.
"The last defendant to speak on behalf of herself and her family is Lynn Loud Jr.," the defense attorney miserably announced. This was a major blow for their side. Hopefully things wouldn't get any worse.
Lincoln watched as his athletic sister, the one who started this whole thing, walk up to the witness stand. She looked confident. A little too confident, and this made the sickly boy very nervous. He knew that if she didn't keep a lid on her pride, things were about to get a whole lot worse.
"Miss Lynn –" the defense attorney began.
"Just call me LJ," she interrupted.
"Very well. LJ, is it true that you forced your brother to attend your game under the threat of violence, blamed everything on him after you lost, had him kicked out of the house, and then forced him to wear a squirrel suit 24 hours a day?"
"So what if I did?"
The defense attorney, the prosecutor, the CPS agents, the judge, and the jury all gasped when they heard this. The other members of the family showed at least some acknowledgement that what they did was wrong, but this girl believed she did absolutely nothing wrong.
"So you admit to causing your brother cruel and unnecessary abuse because you couldn't take losing one single game?" the prosecutor asked accusingly.
"Abuse?!" Lynn said. "You mean self-defense! Don't be fooled by that jinx's lies, you're only hearing his side of things. The real victim you all should be sympathizing with, and worshiping, is me. After his presence caused me the first loss in my entire sports career, I knew drastic measures had to be taken."
"You could've just accepted the loss, taken responsibility for it, and train harder so you'd be better prepared for the next game," the prosecutor suggested.
Hearing this, the 13-year-old athlete burst into laughter. "Do you even know WHO you're talking to?! I'm Lynn Loud Jr.! The best thing to ever happen since the invention of the toilet! I don't need to train more, I'm already the greatest. It's my destiny! It's my brother who's the problem, not me! He's bad luck! A jinx! The Anti-ME! We knew the only way to stop his bad luck was to contain it in a suit of good luck. But then those people had the nerve to come to our home and mess everything up. Now look where we are!" Lynn pointed accusingly at the CPS agents.
"It is our duty, and the duty of the agency we represent, to protect the human rights of all children under the age of 18!" Brenda spoke.
"What are 'you' gonna do about it, Loud?!" Derek angrily asked.
"I'm surprised you still have the nerve to keep making that ridiculous superstitious claim," the prosecutor remarked. "We have gained more than enough evidence to prove Lincoln's side of the story is true."
"I'm surprised that such backwards-thinking people like you actually exist," Lynn retorted. "I have all the evidence I need to prove that I'm right."
"And where is this 'evidence'?" the prosecutor asked in a challenging tone.
"Right here!" Lynn answered placing her right hand on her stomach. "This feeling in my gut is all the proof I, or anyone else, should need to know the truth. When you have this feeling in your gut, never ignore it. Even when you're hit with so many of these so-called 'facts' that try to prove otherwise, don't listen to them! Keep listening to the evidence your gut tells you to believe, no matter how small, because that is the truth."
For a whole minute, everyone stared at the young athlete as if she had tentacles coming out of every hole in her face.
"Wow! And I thought the not-so-bright one was delusional," Derek remarked.
"You expect us to just believe you because you have some 'feeling' in your gut?!" the angry and puzzled prosecutor asked. "Who do you think you are?!"
"Doesn't anyone besides most of my family get it?" Lynn replied. "I'm the One! Chosen by the softball gods to lead Royal Woods into a new era of sports and glory!"
"Here we go," Lincoln miserably said to himself. This was going exactly where he was afraid it would go.
"The championship is coming up and none of you stand a chance of winning it without me," the arrogant athlete continued to boast. "And with the softball gods on my side, no one will stop me from fulfilling my destiny!"
"These softball gods, who or what are they exactly?" the prosecutor rhetorically asked. "I'll tell you what they are, they're just ridiculous constructs made up by pathetic and deluded people like you. Allow me to break down the truth behind all superstitious beliefs. Good luck is a way for the prideful and pathetic to boost their already low self-esteem so they can feel they don't need to do what actually needs to be done to ensure success. Bad luck is a way for them to shift the blame and not take any responsibility for their own faults and mistakes. I have news for you, brat. The people in this courthouse, in this room, do not judge things based on this superstitious phony baloney, we judge things based on concrete facts and evidence. And that, my dear LJ, is something not even your so-called 'softball gods' will ever change."
For a moment, there was only silence. No one in the room made a sound. Lynn stared at her accuser with an unamused look on her face. Everyone's attention was focused on her, waiting to see how she'd react.
"You're just jealous of my awesome divine swagger," the 13-year-old middle schooler responded in an arrogant and mocking tone.
"Oh, for Pete's sake!" the disgusted and irritated prosecutor exclaimed. "Prosecution has nothing further to say." With that, Lynn was dismissed. The young athlete rejoined her family confident that she had achieved a victory. The rest of the Louds, including Lincoln, believed she may have just doomed them all. Even the defense attorney couldn't believe she what she just did. "Your honor, now that the defendants have all been given a chance to speak on their own behalf, and with all the evidence and witness testimonies presented, I believe it is finally time to wrap this up. It is time to ask the jury to finally pass judgement upon these callous, undisciplined little monsters."
"Hold on!" Lynn Sr. objected. "You can't talk that way about my daughters, they're just kids!"
"This coming from a man who acts less than his age!"
"You leave my husband alone!" Rita stood up for her spouse.
"So you're willing to stand up for your daughters and your husband, but not your only son?!" Brenda asked accusingly. Soon enough, both sides engaged in a heated argument.
"Order in the court! Order in the court! Order in the court!" the judge repeatedly demanded. But the arguing continued for over a minute.
Only Lincoln and the defense attorney did not participate in this embarrassing quarrel, and sat with their faces in their hands.
"ORDER IN THE COURT!" the furious judged yelled and slammed the sound block so hard her gavel broke in two. Finally, the annoying arguing stopped.
"Your honor," the defense attorney sheepishly spoke. "The defense would like to call for a short recess."
"Actually, that sounds pretty good right now," the stressed judge agreed. "Court is adjourned. I need to get a cup of coffee."
With that, everyone started leaving the room to take a much needed break. After many people, including his family, had left, Lincoln suddenly collapsed to his knees in another coughing fit. This time, the coughing sounded more severe.
"You okay, kid?" Derek asked. But the boy didn't answer and just kept coughing.
"He's burning up," Brenda said with concern as she felt the boy's forehead. "We need to call an ambulance."
"Get this boy to a hospital," the prosecutor ordered the bailiff. "We'll have to finish the trial without him."
Inside a waiting room, the defense attorney was really letting his clients know exactly what he thought of the way they handled things.
"I can't believe you people!" he angrily chewed them out. "What were you thinking?! You all told me none of you did anything wrong. But apparently you did commit the crime of child abuse."
"Oh, come on!" Lynn Jr. exclaimed. "How is forcing our brother out of our lives for being bad luck child abuse, or even a crime for that matter?"
"Every word of that was child abuse!" the defense attorney said in near disbelief. "And it is a crime!"
"Well, anything sounds like a crime when you say it with that attitude," Lynn replied.
"Listen, things obviously don't look good right now. But I have a plan. We're going to have to make a plea bargain."
"What's that?" Lana asked.
"A plea bargain is an arrangement between the prosecutor and the defendant where the defendant agrees to plead guilty in exchange for the prosecutor to drop a few charges and recommend a more merciful sentence acceptable to the defense. It's the last option we have."
"Well, I guess that sounds okay," a confused Leni said in reluctant agreement.
"I'm literally all for it," Lori said.
"Me too," Lana added.
"I am 90 percent positive that is the best, but mostly last, course of action to take," Lisa said.
"Well, if that really is the only thing we can do, we'll do it," Lynn Sr. agreed.
"NO!" Lynn Jr. yelled in absolute disagreement. "Are you crazy?! That's practically giving up. Giving up is for losers, and I'm no loser!"
"We have no other choice," the defense attorney argued.
"Yes, we do!" the young athlete disagreed and pulled out a sheet of paper and handed it to the defense attorney. "Here, I've written up a speech to use after the break. Say this, and we'll be home free."
After reading what was on the paper, the defense attorney's face became one of complete disgust. "Are you crazy?! This will never work! We say something like that and they'll surely chose the guilty verdict."
"Let me tell you something," Lynn said. "I'm so sick and tired of going places and no one recognizes and appreciates me. Instead of treating me like a celebrity, I get things like 'no roughhousing', 'please be quiet', 'that kind of behavior isn't allowed', or 'Get Out!' Well, not this time! I'm gonna remind everyone exactly who I am. The Great Lynn Loud Jr.! Chosen by the softball gods to lead Royal Woods into a new age of sports and glory! As the chosen one, everything I do, think, and say is absolute. Those fools should know that without me Royal Woods doesn't stand a chance of winning the championship. They wouldn't dare trade me for that bad luck spewing weak Link."
"I hate to break it to you, kid," the irritated defense attorney retorted. "But being a good athlete doesn't give you any kind of immunity." Hearing this made Lynn's blood boil.
"I'm not a good athlete," the annoyed middle schooler responded. "I'm the BEST athlete! I'm more than just an athlete, I am a demigoddess!"
After a long silence, the defense attorney finally spoke. "That's it!" he said in utter frustration and started packing his things.
"What are you doing?" a concerned Rita asked.
"This whole trial is hopelessly lost so I'm leaving," the defense attorney answered. "I quit!"
The family gasped in shock and horror.
"You can't quit!" Lynn Jr. angrily said. "It's your job to prove we're innocent!"
"That's the problem!" he furiously replied. "You're NOT innocent! What is wrong with you people?! You act like you can just do whatever you feel like and expect it to work out with little to no consequences, like the entire world revolves around you. A few of my past clients were serial killers that were easier to defend than you."
Anxiety started to overtake the family. Without the defense attorney, they didn't know if they could succeed in getting out of this predicament with minimal severity. However, Lynn Jr.'s face got redder and redder the more her pride was hurt.
"But, how will we –" Luan tried to ask.
"Not my problem anymore," the defense attorney interrupted. He was now finished packing. "I'm done with this. I quit!"
"You can't quit. Because you're FIRED!" Lynn Jr. yelled after him. But he just ignored her, left the room, and was gone. The rest of the family turned to the athlete with very angry looks on their faces.
"Way to go, Lynn," an angry Lori said sarcastically.
"He was useless anyway," Lynn replied. "Besides, we don't need him. I'll say the speech myself. You already have the Chosen One on your side. Just stick with my plan and we'll prove to everyone that Stinkin is bad luck, that the suit is good luck, that I was right, and that I'm still the greatest athlete in all Royal Woods! We'll be home before dinner."
"I disagree," Lisa spoke. "I believe it would be the best and most logical approach to take the defense attorney's advice and propose the plea bargain."
"My speech it is, then!" Lynn announced.
"Did you not hear what I said?" an annoyed Lisa asked her older sister.
"Remember Lis? I don't listen to a single thing you say," the athlete bluntly reminded.
The prodigy gritted her teeth in frustration. Not only because of her sister's stubbornness, but because she chose NOW of all times to feel insulted by it. "Family, I would highly advise against this. Blindly and continuously following Lynn's lead is what got us into this mess. It's time we started thinking logically for once."
"Remember guys, this family supports itself," Lynn said.
The rest of the family shifted their attention numerous times between Lisa and Lynn trying to decide who they should agree with.
After a half hour, the break was over and everyone returned to the courtroom, everyone except the defense attorney and Lincoln.
"Where's Linky?" a concerned Leni asked taking notice of her brother's absence.
"His health took a turn for the worse, so we called an ambulance and sent him to a hospital," Brenda informed the family.
Hearing this made the rest of the family feel nervous for their boy, even Lynn.
"I hope he's okay," the young athlete thought to herself for a moment before snapping herself out of it. "Focus LJ! You've got bigger things to worry about. Like looking out for number 1. Besides, this is perfect. With that jinx out of the way, victory is assured."
"What happened to your defense attorney?" Derek asked taking notice of his absence.
"Oh, we fired him," Lynn bluntly claimed. "He was no help at all."
"Sure you did," Derek skeptically replied.
"Is the prosecution ready to make its closing statement?" the judge asked. She now had a new gavel.
"It is, your honor," the prosecutor answered. The smile on his face was evident. This was the part he was waiting for. "Council, members of the jury, we all have things we believe in. I have things that I believe in and I'm sure some of you have things that you believe in too. But it is important to keep in mind that not everyone shares the same set of beliefs as others. Some people have followed certain beliefs that go against the law. And that's why we're here today. The Children's Protective Services themselves have caught the Loud family in the act of committing the crime of child abuse under the ludicrous excuse of superstition. They forced their 11-year-old son and brother to live outside in their backyard simply because they believe he was bad luck. Then they forced him to wear an uncomfortable and stolen mascot suit 24 hours a day which has had terrible consequences on the boy's health. Now young Mr. Lincoln admitted that he did in fact contribute to what happened to him by lying and agreeing with the accusations that were made toward him so he could have some alone time to himself. But the act of forsaking one's kin due to a superstition is no excuse in comparison to lying to get what one wants. Now we've all seen evidence, the boy's state, and his schedule so we know that he did have a solid excuse for wanting some time to himself and thus proving the truth of his story. Unlike his family, who have provided no solid evidence to their claims of him being bad luck. Instead, they have tried to use their respective personality quirks to try and appeal to your sympathy and admiration and thus have without a doubt failed to prove their innocence. Now think back to the witnesses. Some have claimed that they caught these people in the act of the crime they are accused of and others have given testimonies about things they've done in the past that support this accusation. I submit to you today that the information you have proves beyond a doubt that the Loud family is guilty of the crime they have been charged. You all have an important job today, because a group of childish self-absorbed delinquents believe for some reason that they are above the law and need to be reminded that they are not. Now some of you might have had some issues with these people in the past but you can't make your decision based on those personal feelings. You have to look at this charge individually and decide whether these people are guilty for it. So when you go into that room, think seriously about all the evidence you seen, the witnesses you've heard, and the testimonies given by the defendants. But I'm confident that by the end of the day, there's only one conclusion you can reach, and that is the Louds are guilty of child abuse. Thank you for your time and your patience."
"Is the defense ready to make its closing statement?" the judge asked.
"You bet ya'!" Lynn Jr. replied and stood up. The rest of her family watched nervously hoping that they had made the right decision while Lisa hung her head in despair believing they had not. "First off, I would like to ask what is that horrible smell? Oh wait, it's you!" She said pointing to the prosecutor and the CPS agents much to their annoyance. "Second, I would like to say that this entire trial has been boring, an insult to my character, and a huge waste of my time. I should be at home preparing for the championship instead of here. I'm Lynn Loud Jr., and all the great stories you've heard are true. Take a good look at this face because one day you're going to see it on bubblegum cards. I'm a true team player, even if the rest of my team aren't. I have been victimized by people who don't treat me with the respect I deserve." She glared at the prosecutor and the agents for a moment. "Now some of you may say that my family and I broke some law, but isn't a law that prevents one from fulfilling their destiny the real crime? The only reason Royal Woods has made it to the championship is because of my wicked skills, which I should be praised more for. Also, I would like to say that luck is a real thing. How else can anyone explain all the good and bad things that happen to them? And for those of you that still don't believe, you will. By the end of this day, you will all become true believers. In fact, when you walk out of that room and proclaim me 'not guilty', that will be proof itself. I assure you that there was no way I could've lost that one game on my own. My bad luck brother was responsible for it. He is most likely responsible for us being here too. And speaking of said brother, does anyone know what he does in his free time? He reads comics in his underwear! So are you seriously going to sympathize with someone as lame as that? Or you going to sympathize with someone as great as me? So you see? Luck is as real as the softball gods who have chosen me to lead you all into a new era of greatness. So if you try to bring me down, you will only incur their wrath. So I instruct you not to make the wrong decision. Oh, and may I suggest one way everyone can apologize for this is to erect a statue in my honor after I win the championship. Thank you and remember to cheer me on at the big game." With that, the 13-year-old proudly took her seat.
"Alright then, jury do your duty," the judge ordered.
One by one, the members of the jury exited the room to decide on a verdict.
Here's another activity: pretend you are a member of the jury. Think about everything in the case and decide on a verdict. Do you believe the Loud family is innocent or has their 'luck' finally run out and it's time to pay the piper? Also, for those of you voting guilty, are there suggestions for punishments? I already have a few things in mind but I'll listen and think them over.