Chapter 5

Luna gets schooled

The van drove up against the curb, looking out towards Royal Woods high. No matter how strange the morning had begun, Luna had no choice: she had to get through the day like any normal teen wood. With a sigh, she grabbed hold of that special breakfast and was ready to leave through the sliding door, when Lincoln grabbed hold of her wrist once more. It was amazing how still she was feeling it; like she fully expected it no matter what.

"What is it, Linc?" She asked, hoping it didn't come off as cold.

Her white-haired brother shook his head. She didn't see his expression, but she knew that concerned look was evident against his face. "Hey... whatever's going on, just remember we got that awesome show next month! I know that'll give me a smile every time!"

It sounded so innocent how quick he came up with that solution, it nearly made her giggle. Hey, maybe he was on to something; she did feel a little better thinking like that. She nodded, still unable to look into his eyes. "Y-Yeah. Thanks, little bro. Have a rockin' day, all right?"

"Heck yeah! Just don't rock out too hard! Save it for the Swag and Smoochers!" He cheered. Everyone else groaned. The boy really wanted those nicknames to stick. Luna joined in as a sign of mob mentality, but deep down, she actually kinda liked calling them that.

The van drove off, leaving the older members of the family to head off towards the giant building awaiting to swallow up America's future. Leni practically galloped, lovingly looking down at her shoes as if she just bought them. Probably because, to her, she truly thought she did. "I still don't know where I got'em, but Lincoln's right! These are new and sparkly!"

Luan was a funny girl, but even she sometimes found herself lost dealing with her older sibling. "Leni, he was... well, I don't know what he was doing. At least it added a lot of 'sole' to your step!" she slapped her knee, wiping off a surprise morning tear. "Woo, got one before school! You think I did good, Lunes, or should I brace myself turning heel?"

The two girls were happy, but their smiles vanished looking at the middle one of the pair. Luna held her stomach, feeling the hunger pain spreading about her limbs. She sighed, feeling that bag against her back as if it was a solid cache of boulders ready to crash down, bringing her deep into concrete below. Every so often, she found a spare finger scratching at those freckles. Never took the time to notice them before; were they prominent? Was that bad?

Luan looked at Leni, who shrugged. "Hey, Lun-Lun, you okay over there? I know you love purple, but you're looking blue in the face!" She laughed, but thanks to an elbow nudge from her sister, she quickly returned her estranged frown. "But seriously, what's up with you? If you're sick, you shouldn't be here, y'know?"

More worry. Lincoln worried, and now they're sharing it. Worry, worry, worry. She felt sweat against her brow. Did it make her smell? Was it awkward? She shook her head. "I'm good, all right? Just...," she actually had nothing to follow that up with. She slammed a palm against her face. "Aw, come on girl, pull it together..."

This did nothing to alleviate her sister's fears, but they had nothing to follow her words up with either. Leni folded her arms, making careful notice not to crack a nail by mistake. "Well, okay. It's just that you're kinda... like Lori on her bad days, right? You look ready to explode!"

Worry. Waste. Deficit. Luna swore she saw someone in the crowd of kids walking by. Looked just like her, only with a smug grin she could only dream of pulling off. Seeing her got her blood boiling, and her hands quickly degenerated into killing machines. "I said I'm good! Bug off!"

Luan fell back. "Woah, okay, okay. We're just confused, is all. Just don't let, er, whatever's eating ya... eat ya!" She looked at the bag their mother gave her. "Speaking of, we still got some time. You gonna eat that breakfast-thingy?"

She should. She needed to. By the door, she knew her friends were waiting for her. What would they say if she didn't bother eating, and bringing that ugly rumbling sound everywhere they went? Just take a few bites, if anything. Otherwise, those tests were gonna be brutal, right?

She looked at the bag, before closing her eyes. No face looked back, but it seemed the voice found a home within her eardrums. "Go ahead, pig," it laughed at her, "You need it, right? All good little piglets need to fill their fat bellies! Your sisters at least keep the pounds off, but you? Wow, you'll win the county fair for sure!"

She never noticed it before, but she looked down at her stomach. Was she bulging? How long had she been? Now that she investigated, there was a little bit within her head that questioned the lack of... certain features underneath her shirt. Were those coming in?

"Why would a hog like you need them? You got enough going on around the waist, right?"

Luna held the bag, before sighing. In a strange move, she handed it over to Luan. "I'm not hungry. I... think I had enough already..."

Luan blinked. There was a punchline here, she just knew it. Sadly, she was drawing blanks. "L-Luna, what did you eat, though? Everyone said you skipped dinner, and I know you probably forgot lunch again, so what?"

The eldest of the three looked ready to cry. "Oh no, you forgot how to eat! I remember when that happened. Somehow I thought feeding Lori would save me. Boy, was that a wakeup call!"

No response for that. Luan grew furious, stopping them all from walking. "Leni, we'll discuss that issue later! Luna, take that sandwich in there and eat it! I don't know what's wrong with you, but I'm not liking where this is going!"

The voice within Luna's head laughed like the devil himself. "Look at that! You're wasting her happiness, too! I thought you were just wasteful yourself, but now you got her emotions all screwed up!"

Waste. Worry. Deficit. Moneyless. Worthless.

Luna snapped, and slammed her hand in Luan's face. Both girls shrieked as their rocker sister began walking away. "I'm outta here! Just leave me alone!"

She charged through the group, not caring if her sister's were following. Once she made it to the door, she took one quick look. She still saw them standing in the distance, far enough to not give anymore chase, but close for her to see the tears running down her younger sibling's face.

Never before did she look so horrified. She looked at her hands, seeing them tremble. "Oh god... what did I do? I-I have to apologize. I gotta!"

She would've, if it wasn't for the new guest entering her vision. A calming hand reached her shoulder, causing Luna to flip around. Sam Sharp, beloved bassist for the Moon Goats and the love of her life, looked on a little confused. Her pretty eyes took in all of the Loud sister, noticing her appearance was in, well, a little disarray.

"Lunes? You okay?" She asked, before quickly perking back up. "Oh, I get it! Were you looking for Maz and Sullsters? Dude, I'm so excited too! Heck, I know my ticket's coming, and I'm still jumping here!"

Sam. So pretty, so caring, so kind. Just staring at her face made Luna forget her problems. For good? She prayed. Luna rubbed a hand through her hair, hoping her shaggy appearance wasn't too bad. Placing the bookbag down, she quickly opened up the top flap, seeing the mighty envelope that truly held the kindness of her friends.

"Believe me, I'm just as shocked, dude! Got them all right here! You...," she held the three spares in her hands, and immediately froze. Something seemed off as she looked at them. Everyone around stared at the crouched Loud sister, with whispering quickly taking hold of the air. Sam wasn't the type to mind such things, but right now this whole situation felt surreal.

"Luna? What's up? Those are the tickets, right?"

They were. Nothing wrong with them. They were the things they looked forward to all summer, and now that she held them, it seemed... strange to be doing so. Sadly, it wasn't a good kind of strange. Rather, she felt sick nestling them within her fingers.

The voice returned. "Your fingers are so grimey, Luna! Are you seriously gonna hand that over to her? Oh, and what about your friends? Your stupid face is rather apparent today. Even Sam noticed, and if she commented, then that's bad, huh? You should probably just hand that over and get out fast. Hope she doesn't dump a slob like you. Then again, maybe it'll be best for her, right?"

Luna stood tall suddenly, staring at the ceiling. "shut up! Just shut up!" She yelled toward the flickering lights. The whispering stopped, with everyone backing away. The rocker was far from a violent soul, but there was an unspoken rule when it came to those in the music club: don't mess with them. Even the geekiest musician that's into metal could probably rough them up.

Sam blinked. Was she talking to her? Didn't seem like it, but it still stung. "Um... Luna? I'm sorry, I think..."

There it was; sweet, beautiful guilt. It loved attacking at the worst possible moment, and it sucked so badly too! Luna saw Sam's face. She wasn't one to cry so easily, but lord help her, seeing her girlfriend's lip quivered nearly shattered her heart into a million pieces.

And the voice laughed. "Can't do anything right! So damn worthless, you are. Always were. Always were..."

Luna gulped, before handing the tickets over to Sam. "H-Here. If you see them, make sure they get it, okay? I... I'll see you later..."

Sam was still frozen in shock at what just happened, she barely felt the tickets enter her hands. It was the perfect getaway for Luna, who snuck her way through the crowd, now knowing three sets of eyes were probably gonna look for her now.

But she refused to be found. Class was inevitable, but for this brief respite, she rather just be hidden from the world. She reached a corner and took a deep breath, looking at the food still in her possession.

"Pig...," it spoke again, though deep down, Luna wondered who really said it, for it felt natural coming off from her tongue.

As the bell rang, she walked off towards homeroom, stomach begging for anything as the bag was left behind on the ground.