4 YEARS AGO
The town of Royal Woods was as peaceful and quiet as ever. Even with the ruckus of the Loud family, the residents honestly had no complaints. It was a very safe and friendly place, ranking as one of the highest in the country, despite the small town residing only 40 minutes away from Detroit. A city that was notorious for not only having one of the highest poverty rates in the United States but being one of the most dangerous in terms of crime. On the outskirts of the city lay a brutal wasteland of danger, while the city itself was infested with a nightlife scene of luxury, where crime lords, politicians, celebrities, and anyone with power and status would partake in shady business endeavors in the heart of the downtown of the shrinking city. An atmosphere that Lincoln will know very well. But for now, the 12-year-old boy was doing what any normal boy his age would be doing on a Wednesday morning. Taking the bus to school.
"What's up guys"! Lincoln exclaimed as he sat next to Clyde and his group. Liam and Zach were sitting in front of them, while Stella and Rusty were in the seat behind.
"Just trying to study for a math test we have coming up," said Stella with her head down reading a math book. She took her attention away from her book and looked up at Lincoln with a smile. "Though, Mrs. Salters' tests are easy, and not only were we getting extra credit but a 5-point curve since everyone in the class turned in their reviews"! She gleefully exclaimed
Lincoln just frowned and slumped into his seat. "Must be nice..." he grumbled. "Mr. Bolhofner always gives some of the hardest tests I've ever taken. I swear I don't think I'm going to pass this class. Doesn't help that Chandler is constantly bugging me", he sighed defeatedly. His friends just looked at each other with sorrow, then back to him.
"Aww shucks, don't go giving up now, we're halfway through the year," Liam said.
"Yea man, besides, you always got things figured out" Rusty added.
Lincoln smiled. "Yeah, I guess you guys are right, I don-" he was immediately cut off by the hit of a crumpled-up piece of paper that was thrown at him from behind. Everyone turned their heads to the back of the bus where a group of three eighth graders, two boys, and a girl, were sitting, glaring daggers at the group. Their names were Anderson, Taylor, and Pablo, a group of bullies that gave the group issues earlier in the year over a bus seat. Although Lincoln and his friends were able to stop the group's harassment for a brief period. They still suffered torment from them throughout the day and on the bus.
"Knock it off you guys", Lincoln ordered.
"Or what little baby"? Anderson responded, grinning his teeth while crossing his arms. He was a tall and bulky fella, overtowering the group like a monster. He had short hair, wore a black t-shirt and red basketball shorts, and a pair of sneakers.
"Yea, you gonna come do something about it you losers"? Taylor added, giving a devilish smile while leaning back into the seat. She was a bit shorter than Anderson but was still tall, and certainly taller than Lincoln and his group. She was wearing a white tank top with a black t-shirt underneath, red shorts, fishnet stockings, and a pair of boots. She was easily the most sadistic of the three.
"Yea, losers"! Pablo annoyingly repeated, causing both Taylor and Anderson to roll their eyes. Pablo was the shortest, almost as short as Lincoln. Despite Taylor and Anderson's rough appearance, Pablo dressed pretty decently. He had his hair well-kept and wore a white button-up shirt, dark grey jeans, and pair of brown dress shoes. Regardless of his appearance, he still sinisterly glared at the group through his glasses.
"Just ignore them guys," Clyde said, turning around and facing forward. Everyone except Lincoln agreed and turned around, taking their attention off of the three. Anderson and Pablo just rolled their eyes, turning their attention back to their phones, refusing to bother the group anymore for the day. Except for Taylor, who continued to glare at Lincoln. Lincoln stared at her, returning the look of hate. "What is wrong with her"? he thought to himself.
"What a loser, I hate how he's looking at me," Taylor thought to herself. The two continued to lock eyes with one another before the bus stopped in front of their middle school. They took their attention off each other and proceeded to exit from the bus.
MR. BOLHOFNER'S CLASS
"Dang It", Lincoln said to himself, struggling with the test that was in front of him. The class was already halfway over, and the boy feared he wouldn't finish on time. He wiped a layer of sweat that accumulated on his forehead, before looking up at the rest of the class. The other students were also sweating profusely from the lack of air conditioning that Mr. Bolhfner's class was notorious for. Like him, they also seemed to be struggling with the test. Even Chandler seemed to be focused entirely on the test, wiping the sweat off his face with his sleeve.
Just then Lincoln turned to face forward from the sound of Mr. Bolhofner clearing his voice. He was now standing in front of his desk with his hand extended outwards, glaring down at Lincoln. He was a middle-aged man with a dirty appearance. His hair was messy and his beard and mustache were uneven. He wore a dirty khaki polo that was halfway untucked in the beaten green pants he had on. The aura that emanated from him was one of a putrid smell. He was known for being one of the rudest, strictest, and most brutal teachers at Royal Woods middle school, and unfortunately, Lincoln was placed in his class while all his friends were placed in Mrs. Salters's class, a teacher that had a reputation for being one of the nicest teachers at the school. To make things worst, he had Chandler sitting right behind him.
"Cheating in my class Loud? That just earned you a fat zero. Hand your test over and get out of my class", he snarled. The putrid smell of his breath infested the whole classroom with every word he spoke, causing the other students to cover their noses and resist the urge to puke.
"But..but I was just raising my head up for a bit", Lincoln worriedly explained. But Mr. Bolhofner wasn't having it.
"Don't argue with me. Now hand it over before I personally see that you're expelled". Mr. Bolhofner retorted. Chandler, who was sitting behind Lincoln, began to laugh.
"Yea Lincoln Lame, you were definitely cheating off of me, it was so obvious", Chandler lied. However, Mr. Bolhofner turned his gaze to the red-haired bully behind Lincoln and glared at him.
"Disrupting my class during a test? Hand over your test as well McCann". Mr. Bolhofner said. Chandler immediately stopped laughing and began to protest, only to be cut off by Mr. Bolhofner, threatening the same thing to him that he did to Lincoln. Both Chandler and Lincoln sighed, before handing their test over the Mr. Bolhofner and leaving.
As they exited the trailer that Bolhofners class was located in, Chandler immediately pushed Lincoln to the ground and began to kick and punch the boy furiously. The beating continued until Lincoln began to cough up some blood. Chandler stopped and began to calm down, staring daggers at the beaten white-haired boy that lay in front of him. "You're dead meat for that Loud. You just cost me a grade, now I'll probably have to repeat that class thanks to your sorry ass. I'm gonna ruin you so bad that you're gonna wish you were dead", Chandler explained before kicking Lincoln one last time in the boy's side. The kick caused Lincoln to yelp in pain, as he just laid there in tears. Chandler proceeded to walk back into the main school building, leaving Lincoln. After a while, Lincoln got up from the ground, wincing in pain from the beating he just took. He wiped the tears from his face and the blood from his mouth before regaining his composure, then proceeded to enter the building.
By the time lunch rolled around, Lincoln slowly made his way to the cafeteria, only to run into Jordan in the middle of the hallway. Upon seeing the state the boy was in, she immediately stopped and ran to him.
"Lincoln, what happened"? she said with concern. Jordan, usually going by girl Jordan, was in the same grade as Lincoln. She had her light brown hair tied in a ponytail with a light blue bow on the side of her hair. She wore white pearl earrings, a yellow t-shirt, and a blue skirt with high white socks and brown shoes. Although the two have had an awkward relationship since elementary, over time they slowly began to form a friendship. She would even occasionally be involved with the group's antics now and then. Lincoln just stared at her, reluctant to say anything, but the look of worry in the girl's eyes made him sigh.
"Just got into a little accident that's all Jordan", he said. Jordan frowned and immediately figured out what happened.
"Let me guess Chandler"? she asked, looking the boy straight in his eyes. Lincoln just shifted his gaze to the floor, as his eyes started to water. The sight of her friend breaking down made Jordan clench her fist. "That's it, that jerk has gone too far. I'm going straight to principal Ramirez's office to sort this out", she exclaimed. Lincoln's eyes shot open in fear, as he immediately grabbed Jordan's shoulder, stopping the girl in her tracks.
"Please don't Jordan"! he begged. Jordan angrily turned back to him.
"No Lincoln, for too long he's been messing with you, and I won't just sit by and let it happen anymore. Him attacking you like this is the last straw", she said. To her surprise, Lincoln just began to break down into tears.
"Please Jordan...me and Chandler both got kicked out of Mr. Bolhofners class for different reasons, and we both were immediately given zeros on our test. Mr. Bolhofner accused me of cheating but agreed to not tell the principal. If you tell on Chandler, I know he'll lie and say that he was innocent and that I was cheating off of him, and then I'll get expelled"! He cried out. Jordan just stared at him in shock, not knowing what to say. Seeing her friend in tears broke her heart. She just sighed and reluctantly listened to him.
"O..okay fine. But we're going to fix this okay"? she said. Lincoln just wiped his tears and nodded. Jordan proceeded to hug the boy, not letting go. After a minute she stepped back and sighed. "Come on Lincoln, let's get you some lunch", she said.
ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE SCHOOL
Taylor was walking down the hallway to her locker. She was kicked out of her Algebra class for rude behavior and had decided to just ditch school. Although her friends Anderson and Pablo were bad kids, they still cared about their grades, and as a result, they actually tried in school. Taylor however, did not. She wasn't passing any of her classes and would have to repeat 8th grade at this point. Though she didn't care. It's not like anyone at home actually cared about her, so she had no one to disappoint. But before exiting the building, she stopped at her locker to grab her bag. However, upon opening her locker, a stink bomb was set off, showering the girl with a disgusting odor. She immediately covered her mouth, resisting the urge to puke. It was clear that someone had planted the trap in her locker, but who? That's when she realized a piece of paper that sat on top of her bag with the name "From Lincoln Loud" written on it. She grabbed the paper and proceeded to rip it up angrily. Her face was now red with anger and steam was starting to fume from her nose. "THAT LITTLE SHITS FUCKING DEAD", she angrily declared, before grabbing her bag and running out of the building. Just as she was out of sight, Chandler popped out from the corner, rubbing his hands together as he devilishly laughed to himself. It was he that planted the stink bomb in Taylor's locker in an attempt to frame Lincoln. And it worked.
"I told you you were dead meat Loud", he said to himself laughing, before heading back to class.
