Chapter 10
The guilt Lori felt over failing to warn Lincoln about Lester was quickly overridden by rage when she learned what their cousin had done.
"If I ever get my hands on that twerp, I'll turn him into a human pretzel!" she swore, a vein on her forehead visibly throbbing. Before she could have an aneurism, Leni, sitting shotgun, handed her a rubber ducky-shaped stress toy. Lori squeezed the toy numerous times until her temper simmered down. "Thanks, Leni." She drove her siblings back to their house so that everyone but Lincoln and Lisa could get started on their homework.
...
The next day at lunch, Haiku was sitting with her own friends, a group of girls comprised of Cristina, Girl Jordan, Tabby, and a Thai-American girl named Jenny. The other girls noticed that Haiku was staring into space, and tried to get her attention without success. The Goth girl only looked at them after Jordan flicked her ear, and had an extremely subtle blush on her pale cheeks.
"Dang, brah, you really spaced out there. What were you looking at, anyway?" Tabby asked.
"Not what. Who," Haiku replied in her emotionless monotone. She resumed staring, and the girls followed her gaze to where Lincoln was talking and laughing with the rest of his friends. Jordan noticed Haiku's blush increase, and she squealed in delight.
"Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! You have a crush on Lincoln!"
"Seriously? That sun-bleached circus freak?" Cristina scoffed. She was the school's "mean girl," and considered herself to be at the top of the social food chain. She was also Lester's girlfriend.
"Oh, c'mon, Crissy, he seems like a chill guy to me," objected Tabby, who happened to be friends with Luna.
"I share Tabby's opinion. His sister Lucy speaks about him quite often, and I have long desired to meet him." Haiku's right eye was covered by her bangs, and her left eye fixed Cristina in its steely silvery-blue gaze. "Furthermore, you should know by now that I have a soft spot for the weird ones."
"I'm telling you, he's an abomination that should've never been born. The world would be a better place without him and his kind," Cristina voiced her opinion. Haiku stood, staring at Cristina with her lips pursed in anger.
"If that's the way it's going to be, fine." She picked up her tray and walked over to Lincoln and his friends' table.
"Good luck with Lincoln!" Jordan called after her.
Haiku stopped when she was standing directly behind Lincoln and said, "Hello." The boy let out a yelp and shot straight up in the air, grabbing onto the ceiling's exposed ductwork. "My apologies. It was not my intention to startle you."
"Y-y-you must be one of Lucy's friends," Lincoln deduced while dangling from the ceiling. Clyde only smirked. He and his cousin had been living under the same roof for several years, so he was accustomed to her quirks.
"That is correct. I've heard a lot about you through her, and I am pleased to meet you at last. May I join you and your friends at this table?"
"Be my guest. Now can someone help me get down?" With his feet firmly back on the ground, Lincoln asked Haiku if she had any traits that would make her fit in at the "misfits' table."
He'd mostly meant it as a joke, but he was surprised when she smiled and lifted her bangs. In stark contrast to her left eye, her right eye was a bright amber color, like liquid gold.
"It's called heterochromia. A genetic mutation that otherwise doesn't affect my health or well-being in any way," she said.
"So, cuz, why the sudden change of tables? Did something happen between you and your friends?" Clyde brought up ("cuz" being short for "cousin").
"Cristina made an unsavory comment about Lincoln, so I am choosing not to affiliate with someone of her mentality."
"Wow. That's...really nice of you..." As he said this, Lincoln's face started to turn red.
"Uh oh, someone's getting bashful. Can't handle a compliment from a pretty girl, Lincoln?" Stella asked teasingly.
"Oh, gosh..." Now blushing madly, Lincoln pulled the drawstrings on his hood so that his face was mostly hidden. Ronnie Anne frowned and stood up.
"I need to use the little girls' room. Come on, Stella."
"But I don't need to-" Stella's protest was silenced when Ronnie Anne grabbed her shoulder and squeezed hard. She practically dragged Stella out of the cafeteria and shoved her against the wall.
"Look, Stells, I know you like teasing us about our potential crushes, but you have to lay off for a while. It's only Lincoln's second day, and he's still a bundle of nerves. Let his sisters do the teasing for now, got it?"
"Got it," Stella squeaked through the pain of Ronnie Anne's grip on her shoulder. The pair returned to the cafeteria just in time to see Lincoln get pantsed by Lester, leaving his form-fitting black boxers on full display.
"ALRIGHT, THAT DOES IT!" Ronnie Anne yelled as the rest of the students (excluding those that sympathized with Lincoln) roared with laughter. She picked up Lester by the back of his clothes and threw him head-first into the trash can. Unfortunately for her, Principal Huggins chose that moment to walk into the room. He hauled both children off to his office, and that was the last anyone saw of Ronnie Anne for the rest of the day.
...
Fast forward a week, and Ronnie Anne was finished with her in-school suspension. Lincoln's grades skyrocketed, deeply impressing all of his teachers. His friend group had also grown to include Tabby, who was also disgusted by Cristina's rude remarks, and the two started bonding over their love of music. Bobby started visiting The Loud House more often, and quickly became the big brother Lincoln never had. Things were looking up for the albino boy, only to take a sudden turn when Lori burst into Ms. Johnson's classroom one afternoon.
"Lincoln! You have to come with me, right now!" she panted, having run at a full sprint through the halls of the school.
"What? Why?"
"It's Great Grandma Harriet. She's dying!"