Lincoln Walked through the halls of royal woods elementary, shortly after being dropped off,passing students let out some snickers and a few snarky comments about his outfit,but he just completely ignored them and continued his journey to class while mentally preparing himself for the day ahead.
He approached the classroom door,already hearing a muffled commotion behind it,his suited hand hovered over the handle,he slowly breathed in...and out,then he was ready.
"Geronimo"he said under his breath as he clutched,twisted the handle and walked in to English class.
The whole class is in complete silence as they listened to mrs.Johnson ramble on about poems or something like that,most of the kids didn't really seem to care and Lincoln was among those kids,but unlike them he wasn't daydreaming...he couldn't help but think about all he's been through lately,every time he's in a class his mind just wanders away and he thinks of his situation,having to wear this suit day in and day out since he got it,his family believing him to be good luck when he has it on and sometimes the unfair mistreatment he was receiving from some of his sisters,mainly from Lynn.
Sitting near Lincoln was his friend Clyde Mcbride who like any good friend was worried for his well-being cooped up in that thing all day every day,Lincoln had started to distance himself from everyone which made the nerdy boy worry for him by the minute,at first he thought this squirrel suit thing was some sort of joke or maybe a bet Lincoln had with his sisters but then day after day the boy kept arriving at school with that goofy outfit,Clyde couldn't see because of the mask but he could definitely sense some...sadness and maybe...just maybe... a bit of depression.
We see the squirrel boy sitting at a lunch table in the far corner of the cafeteria ,his mask was off and put to the side, his tray full of food but doesn't seem all too interested in it,he's just sitting there arms crossed on the table.
"Hey there he is in all his glory"came a gleeful familiar voice,Lincoln turned his head to see his fellow comic book lover,Clyde with a warm smile,tray of food in his hands,He gave a quick wave and continued to stare off into the distance.
Clyde cleared his throat and asked "am I okay to sit here?"his reply was a single gesture towards the empty part of the lunch table bench,and he happily sat down.
"Man,let me tell ya it is so good to see your face again"said a relieved Clyde,taking a seat and setting his tray down.
"Same back at you"came Lincoln's response.
Clyde spoke again"And just to clarify I said 'face' specifically becau-"Lincoln cut him off with."Yeah I know,because of the mask"
After that an awkward silence filled the atmosphere.
"So...you doing alright?" Clyde asked,not knowing what else to say.
Lincoln shrugged and answered with "as alright as I can be."
Clyde nodded in understanding before the two eleven year olds were once again engulfed in silence,which they sat in for quite a while.
They haven't been hanging out much so both were at a loss for what to say,but then Clyde finally thought up something,he cleared his throat in preparation.
"Right,Lincoln...you've been worrying me and the others and well...we want to help you"
The other boy glanced towards his friend"I appreciate it but I'm working on helping myself,I just need an opening" he told him
Clyde rested both his arms on the table,mirroring Lincoln "and how do you plan to do that?"he asked.
"Oh I have a few ideas already...just don't know which one to take"he said as he grabbed his milk carton and proceeded to open it.
Clyde sighed as his white haired friend started to down the carton.
"Well I hope you pick one sooner or later,I can't bear seeing you like this buddy"he said,eyes filled with sadness.
Lincoln finished chugging down his milk and crushed the carton in between his hands.
"I know and I'm sorry for making you worry,I really am"came his response to the African Americans statement.
Clyde shuffled over to him and wrapped his arm around the squirrel boy "Come on you don't have anything to apologise for"he stated.
"I'm the one who dragged on a blatant lie made up by my sister and it lead to where I am now,so I think I have plenty to apologise for"Lincoln said without pause.
Clyde let a sigh,removing his arm from around Lincoln to interlock his hands together and firmly placed them back on the table."If there's anything you can think of that I can help with,now is a good time to let me know"he offered.
Lincoln looked towards his friend giving him a guilty look and told him one thing...
"I'm sorry I don't want you to get involved in this"
And he stood up,grabbed his tray and walked away.
"Lincoln wait I-"Clyde started to say before he was cut off by Lincoln.
"I'll see you when I see you" he called back just as he reached a bin and disposed of his half eaten meal.
Clyde sighed and put his head in his hands,silently wishing for his best friend to come back and for everything to return to how it was before the squirrel suit.
School had long since ended and the loud middle child had just reached his home,he walked up the steps to the door,opened it and stepped inside to to see and hear the inevitable chaos of the loud house that his family was infamously known for.
He was given some homework,chemistry and maths homework to be exact so he wanted to get to his room and have some space to work,but of course something or rather someone had to get in the way.
Just as he ascended the last step a raspy tomboyish voice called out to him belonging to a certain sporty sister of his.
"HEADS UP" followed by another body colliding with him,knocking him off his feet and falling onto the ground letting out an "oof" in the process.
Lynn jr was now on top of Lincoln with a big grin on her face "just the guy I wanted to see,I gotta job for you tomorrow"she exclaimed whilst still on top of poor boy,her hostage let out an annoyed groan "of course she does"he deadpanned to himself.Lynn's smile was still plastered on her face as she started to get up,when she was on her feet she bent down and grabbed Lincoln's arms and pulled him back up to her height.
"Cmon don't be like that stincoln we got a big day tomorrow I'm gonna need that good luck of yours for my soccer game,lord knows we need it after we got our butts handed to us the other day"she explained.
"Oh give me strength"he muttered to himself as face palmed his mask.
Lynn ignored him and delivered a few pats to his back"I'll come and collect you after school tomorrow alright"she told him and turned around to walk away when she suddenly jumped in fright as her gothic roommate Lucy was standing there.
"You're still hanging onto your superstitions?" she questioned in her usual monotone voice,Lynn groaned in annoyance almost matching Lincoln's from earlier when she had him on the ground.
"Really,Luce this again?"she deadpanned,the sport lover stepped to her sister and said "listen,I'm not in the mood for your pep talk and fake predictions again so buzz off and leave me alone" and with that she walked passed Lucy and made her way downstairs whilst Lincoln looked on confused.
"Um wha-"Lincoln started but Lucy cut him off before he could ask the question.
"Don't worry I've never believed her"she told him.
"Really now?"he asked unsure,this was news to him.
"I approached her the other day about it and told her that this luck thing was getting ridiculous"said Lucy.
Lincoln reached up and took off the squirrel head revealing his confused and slightly sweaty face.
"You've believed me this whole time?"he received a nod in response to that question.
"And you didn't say anything?"he pressed on,Lucy scoffed.
"Oh please they were to far gone when they thought of and agreed to the idea of boarding up your room and kicking you out,besides as long as Lynn was there it's not like my opinion would've mattered."came her response,well she wasn't wrong there.
"Well...um I don't know what to say...uh thanks for believing me I guess" he said whilst scratching the back of his neck,Lucy gave him a small bow which caught him off guard for a second but then shrugged it off,he decided to stop there for surprises for today.
"Well I got some homework to do so I'll see you at dinner"he finally said before turning and walking to his room with Lucy doing the same.
Then another thing Lynn said came to mind not in the mood for your fake predictions Lucy did like to tell fortunes and do other gothic stuff like that,and everyone usually shrugs it off no matter how scary it actually sounded because it always turns out to not be that bad in the end,but nonetheless Lincoln was a little curious as to what she came up with this time.
"Actually Lucy" he called out to which the 8 year old poet stopped just by the door to her room and looked back to her brother.
"What did you predict this time?"he asked with a tiny smile,Lucy glanced down behind her bangs contemplating how to say it,after some time she looked back up at him.
"It wasn't just Lynn I told it to but all of our sisters"she added just clear that up.
"Okay then what is it,I'm in the mood for spook"he pressed on eagerly.
Lucy took a deep sigh,well she actually said the word 'sigh' but dragged it out but that was just Lucy being Lucy and everyone was used to that.
"I told all our siblings that our actions shall have grave and brutal consequences,if we fail to mend what is broken,sooner or later a demon will come to break this family apart"she spoke.
Oh...how interesting,Lincoln was smiling a little at the beginning but the end had his smile falter a little at the mention of a family falling apart.
"Oh so typical fortune telling stuff" commented the loud boy,shaking off his unnerved thoughts.
Lucy gave one last nod before she turned and disappeared off into her room,leaving Lincoln standing there thinking about what he just heard mainly thinking about that a demon coming to break the family part,Lincoln held a bit of a grudge against Lynn and the others for putting him through this but never wished for the family to fall apart he actually wished that someday they'll grow out of this superstition and everything will be cool again,he shook those thoughts away once more.
"No come on Lincoln think positive it's just Lucy being Lucy,nothing to worry about" he thought to himself and went to his empty room closing the door behind him and threw the mask to the side whilst peeling off the rest of the suit and reunited it with the smaller piece,he then sat down on his sleeping and pulled out his homework and began.
2 hours had passed and all the siblings and parents were seated around the dinner table and in the middle of eating their meal for tonight,a classic family favourite,Lynn-sange and of course Lincoln had to keep the suit on around the table only quickly lifting the squirrel head and putting a mouthful of food in before quickly putting back down while he chews and swallows if the head is off for more than ten seconds anyone who still believes Lynn over him will freak out.
Everyone was talking amongst themselves whilst eating,Lincoln on the other hand was sitting in silence whilst eating his meal.
He looked at his siblings and parents he knows now that Lucy is on his side and has been the whole time,was she the only one?he really just wanted them all to believe him so he can stop living like this,he didn't know why or how his parents of all people allowed him to be bossed around and treated like an object instead of a person,being dragged to different events to be used as a lucky charm and nothing more,the more he was treated like this the more he felt like not being around them.Lincoln pushed his plate away,he just lost his appetite.
Rita was the first to notice this and looked towards him.
"Not hungry?"she inquired.
"No not really"he answered back.
The patriarch,Lynn loud.sr looked up from his plate to Lincoln.
"Cmon it would be a shame to waste it,is it too saucy?is there not enough cheese?"he questioned,slightly anxious if he messed up the food somehow.
"No dad its great as always but I'm just not hungry right now"he let out a sigh.
In a flash the plate of food was swiped up by small pink gloves hands,to which Lincoln gave the thief a deadpanned look.
"More for me then"came Lolas voice.
As the little princess was going back to her seat Lincoln pushed his seat back and got up,making his way towards the stairs.
"Where are you off to?"asked the matriarch.
"To my room,I think I'll sleep early tonight"he called back as he ascended the steps.
Rita was getting a little worried,the way he said that he wasn't hungry had a bit of a sad tone to it,and she had a pretty big idea why but it was for his own good,see she didn't really believe her son was any kind of luck,she and her husband came up with a plan to teach him a lesson about this lie,but maybe they've gone too far,he been wearing that suit for a month and a half and it doesn't look like it's going well for his mental well-being,she also noticed that when he spoke it was as if he wanted to get the conversation over with and be done with it,and that added to her worry.
Rita turned to Lynn.sr and spoke to him in a hushed voice.
"Do you think we've gone too far?"came her question.
Lynn looked at his wife and spoke to her in the same tone of voice.
"You noticed that too?"he asked,referring to Lincoln's tone and posture.
Rita nodded "I think it's time we talk to him"
Lynn sighed "yep,let's do that" he responded.
The two loud parents the looked over to where Lincoln was sat and then to where he went,they were both praying for the same thing at that moment.
Please don't hate us for this.
Hallelujah the second chapter is out, hope you enjoyed and thank you to those who left the wonderful reviews on the first one,they were much appreciated.
Stay tuned and have a good day/night,we may be getting into some juicy stuff next chapter.