On the Loud family farm, things were in the process of going back to a form of semi normality as most of the children worked the fields with Lynn Sr. while Rita and Leni sat on the front porch, sowing up holes in some of the family's worn clothing. The Louds had done their best in the last couple of weeks to deal with both Lynn and Lincoln leaving home. The parents had contacted the local and state police and hoped that someone would have news soon about the missing children. Luna had been noticeably quiet about the entire issue and pushed herself entirely into her role on the farm, running herself ragged in the process. Every time she'd hear her runaway sister's name, she'd grit her teeth and head off to some other task to help take her stress out on something.
As the family focused on the days tasks, the postman's truck appeared on the road outside the farm fence line and stopped in front of the residence. "Mail's here." Lana said as she looked up. The vehicle's lone occupant stepped out in his uniform and placed the various letters into the mailbox before waving to Rita and Leni on the porch in the distance and headed on his way.
"I'll get it." Luna said as she put down her shovel and made the long walk to retrieve what had just arrived. She opened the box and slid out a small stack of letters and glided over each of them. Most were made out to her parents but one in particular stood out as it was from the city of New Sol, New Orleans. A raised eyebrow was given by Luna as she slowly walked back to the house. On her way curiosity got the better of her and she pulled out her pocket knife, cut the envelope open and pulled out the contained type written letter. Her pace slowed as she read the contents to herself. Her eyes widened as she scrolled down the lone paragraph and her steps ground to a halt, her heart skipping a beat as the other letters fell from her hands.
Rita watched from the porch as she and Leni watched her third eldest daughter stagger towards the house. "Luna, what's wrong?" She called to her as the young woman simply kept walking slowly to her. "Luna?" Her call again went unheeded as Leni now wore a distressed expression. The other family members in the field now spotted Luna's strange behavior as they all began to walk back to the house at a hurried pace as they made it to the porch just as she finally stumbled up.
The brunette haired girl said nothing as she looked up to her family, tears in her eyes as she handed over the opened letter to her father. "It's Lori." Luna said simply. Lynn Sr. initially assumed it was written by their eldest daughter and thus was rather confused why a letter from her could be a bad thing as he took it and began to read it aloud slowly as everyone listened. After the first sentence his demeanor changed as it opened with "We regret to inform you..." and didn't help to improve anyone's mood as he struggled to get through the contents. Lynn Sr. dropped it to the ground as he joined Luna in tears as the two embraced and soon found the rest of the family huddled together with them.
One Week Ago
Lynn and the others traveled back to Ronnie Anne's house after their meeting with Ma. It was a pretty uneventful meeting for them, sans Lynn's panic attack, which she nor Morag disclosed to the others. The woman explained to the group what their roles in her organization would be and they were then given a tour of the particular facility that they met in, one of many of her establishments in New Sol. Most were run in the backrooms or basements of shops that acted as either fronts or legitimate businesses whose owners were "convinced" to allow them use of valuable space. Her largest operation was "Mother Morag's School for Disadvantaged Children". Despite being a front for her operations, the building was rather lavish, with full classrooms and staff as well as a large recreation building attached, complete with swimming pool. Officially, everything was paid for via "anonymous donations", though Lynn was certain she knew what that meant.
The group stopped briefly as they stopped at a general store to shop with money provided in advance by Morag herself to help get the new arrivals settled in. Lynn had to keep up with the Fox kids as the two siblings raced around the store in amazement as they took in the sights, sounds and smells of the many items in the establishment. While she kept them in check as best she could, Lincoln looked around the building as Ronnie Anne showed him around and suggested a few items for him. All the while he noticed he was getting some odd looks from some of the other shoppers as one woman had to do a double take as he passed by her. Another was a little boy who saw him and tugged on his mother's skirt as he pointed to Lincoln It didn't take the Loud boy long to realize what the fuss was about. He stopped in front of a mirror in the clothing section. The boy looked at his own reflection while placing a hand to his snow white hair as he had a uncomfortable expression on his face.
Ronnie Anne paused as she turned to look back at the boy who was focused solely on the mirror. "Are you okay?" She asked as the boy continued to look at his reflection.
"I guess." He said simply without turning to her and still holding his hand to his head. "It's just...back home I stuck out like a sore thumb because of this. It always bothered me how everyone would stare and talk about it all the time. I've just been kind of self-conscious about it, I suppose. After a while everyone at home kind of just got used to it. But here I feel like I'll stand out even more around here." He looked in the mirror and could see new shoppers entering the store and taking notice of his unusual hair color.
The Mexican girl looked to him and saw how uncomfortable this was making him. "You know, I sort of felt the same when I first came to this city." She said a bit bashfully as this comment brought Lincoln's attention away from the reflection in front of him and to her. "I was from a small town too. Came here to the big city with Roberto a few years back after we lost our parents. Everywhere we went people were looking at us funny, like we didn't belong. My brother was out a lot working on the docks and I was by myself a lot since I didn't know anyone. Kids around started giving me a hard, calling me..." She hesitated a moment and turned her gaze to the ground before dismissing the old memory from her mind.
"Anyway, one day I decided to make a change to myself. I stopped being so timid. I got out of that house, found those kids that had been giving me a hard time, walked right up to the leader and gave him a punch dead center between the eyes. After that, no more trouble." She said confidently, accompanied with a small smile on her face.
"Wow Ronnie Anne, you're pretty great." Lincoln complimented her which caused her to blush slightly. "But...I'm just not sure I can do that. I'm not all that brave." He said as he put a hand to his head again. Ronnie Anne stopped to think as she snapped her fingers.
The girl took Lincoln by the hand and began to lead him to another aisle of the store. "I think I might have just the thing then." Ronnie Anne combed through several items on the shelf while Lynn was still trying her best to keep the two Fox siblings from touching everything as the shopkeeper's eyes were trained on the trio of children.
After the short shopping trip, the five had made it back to the small Santiago home, which Ronnie Anne explained technically belonged to Ma as the deed to the property was in her name. It made things easier as it was the only way that the girl could legally stay there as Morag had claimed it as a halfway home. As Lynn relaxed on the couch with Pam and Stevie were playing a game of checkers. It was one of the few games the two understood as they had whittled away hours of their downtime between shows with their brothers while they were still in the circus. Lincoln had been taken by the Santiago girl to the back room where she showed him where the bathroom was so that he could get cleaned up.
Lynn laid back as she found her thoughts drifting back to the family farm. She wondered how they were getting along. That was answered pretty quickly as she knew that without her, Luna would certainly motivate the others to pick up the slack in her absence. The one thing that became her focus was how they would handle the fact that only son Lincoln was now gone as well. That, coupled with the letter informing them of Lori's fate was sure to deliver a heavy blow to the family. Lynn almost wished she hadn't had it sent but knew it would be wrong to keep them in the dark about it. And she was certain that once she made enough money and got established, she, Lincoln and the Fox siblings could separate themselves from Morag's service and make a decent life for themselves.
Even from the front room, the sound of rushing water from the bathtub could be heard behind the closed bathroom door. Inside, Ronnie Anne held up several bottles, the contents of which she emptied into a small porcelain bowl and mixed together the contents with a spoon. "Are you certain you still want to do this?" The girl asked Lincoln who was on his knees with his head down, leaning over the tub.
"Definitely." He said without any sound of hesitation. "Let's do this." Ronnie Anne shrugged and decided to proceed as she wet her hands with the running water before grabbing the bowl and proceeded.
Back in the main room, Lynn was soon growing board with the same old sounds and watching the two kids in front of her play another round of checkers. She hopped off the couch and did a few stretches before she grabbed her shoes and put them on. "Lynn, where are you going? It's dark out." Pam questioned as she looked up from her game.
"I'm just going for a walk. I'll be back in a bit." Lynn said simply as she pulled a work baseball cape from her bag and put it on, tucking her long hair into it. Growing up in a family of almost all daughters she learned quickly that her father tended to stress himself out worrying about them. Growing up, or as grown as she was so far, Lynn remembered her father always making a big fuss whenever any of her older siblings wanted to go out with their friends after dark. He'd always say, "There's nothing but trouble for girls after dark" and he'd stay up well into the night waiting for them to come home. Lynn had never had the chance to do anything like that, only ever getting to go to supervised sleepovers at Margo's house with some of the other girls on the softball team.
Still, if nothing else Lynn was her father's daughter and she took his words to heart as she concealed herself. "But Lynn, remember what happened earlier." Pam continued to voice her concern with her new sister figure going out on her own.
"Pam's right." Stevie spoke up as the two ran over to Lynn and hugged her around her waist. "We barely survived those three yesterday. You can't go out on your own. You can't!" He urged her as the two held on tighter.
Lynn found herself chuckling as she patted then both on the head before prying herself from their grip. "Hey, don't worry about me. I'll be alright. I just need to get a little air. You two hold down the fort until I get back and if Ronnie Anne has a problem with it, well...let her." She gently opened the door to the house and began to head out. "And lock this behind me. I'll knock exactly four times that way you'll know it's me." They gave a nod of hesitant confirmation before she headed out into the dark city night. Lynn made her way down the streets that she had journeyed down two days prior just to reach the Santiago house. She figured to stay on this path to make certain she didn't get lost in the city streets which were new to her to begin with and definitely didn't want to get lost in the darkness. The Loud girl began to have some small regrets about venturing out when she spotted a group of men wandering the streets. If their unbalanced nature didn't give it away then the powerful smell that came off the bunch was a sign that they had been heavily drinking.
Not wanting to deal with them, Lynn made a quick decision to change her path and veered onto a different, unfamiliar street in order to avoid them. Had this been the only group of drunken revelers, the night would have gone a lot smoother. However, it seemed that every turn brought her in the direct path of boozed up folks, men and women alike as the late hour didn't seem to deter anyone from enjoying a drink and a laugh with friends. Lynn had to admit that it didn't seem too bad as they were just having a good time. This was the kind of freedom she could get behind: Everyone doing their own thing without getting hassled about it.
This brought Lynn back to her thoughts of the farm and all the days she would practice with Lincoln or just alone only for Luna to come and ruin everything. Her elder sister could never stand to let her have anything in her life that didn't revolve around the farm, especially if it meant nurturing a talent that could take her away from that dirt pit. Her thoughts began to drift to her last real discussion with Luna as the two opened up to each other for possibly the first time in their lives. Everything seemed to have happened so quickly after that: The escalated voices, the insults, the slap that still stung Lynn's cheek as she placed a hand to it.
Lynn was still lost in her own head as she stopped in front of a well lit park with a pond in the dead center of it. As she grew closer she saw a large crowd of people gathered inside the grounds and went to see what the commotion was about. She crossed the street as the sound of lively music began to fill her ears. Squeezing around some of the onlookers she managed to spy the source, a large band playing upbeat music inside of a well lit gazebo. Lynn watched in amazement as everyone around her was similarly invested in the music filling the night air.
The girl stood with everyone as the music carried over the night air of the city. All around her Lynn witnessed a few couples dancing along to the music as others lightly swayed to the tunes. Still others simply stood, no motion to them but gave subtle hints that they were enjoying the performance all the same. The entire scene reminded her of warm summer nights back home, the entire family on the front porch as Luna would play her worn but trusty guitar for them all. It would play out similarly: The twins, Leni and Luan would all dance to the music. Lincoln and Lynn would sit back, tapping their feet to the beat and even Lucy, who would refuse to do either was clearly having a good time as, even int the low light a smile would creep across her face. The same was happening here as Lynn reminisced about those nights with them all together as they could forget about all of their troubles for just a little while.
That small moment quickly faded alongside her smile as she brushed the thoughts from her mind. Things were different now, things change, people change and she wasn't going to live in that past any longer. She needed to push forward with her life and now she had the chance. So turning away from the performance, she made her way out of the park and back to the streets of the city. If she was trying to clear her head, it certainly wasn't proving all that successful as everywhere she went reminded her of home. "Why can't I just forget?" She said in frustration as the sound of music could still be heard as she rounded the outskirts of the park.
Her eyes shifted upwards as she spotted the glow of the moon in the night sky. It was partially obscured by the bell tower of the church that it rested behind from that angle. What really caught Lynn's attention however was the silhouette of a person standing stop the tower in front of the bell, leaning precariously close to the edge. They had one hand holding onto the brick support and one foot raised over the edge as if they were only moments away from doing the unthinkable. Instinctively, Lynn raced toward the building and tried to entered through the front door only to find it locked, which wasn't surprising given the time of night. She reasoned that whoever this was either had a key or entered through an alternate route. Sure enough, she found it in an open basement window that had been forced open.
Lynn swiftly slid in thanks to her thin frame and tumbled down to the dusty basement floor. She could swear there were ghosts all around her by all the items covered over with white sheets to prevent dust from accumulating on them. Brushing off the creepiness of the dark atmosphere, the girl got to her feet and navigated the room until she found the stairs leading to the main floor and headed up into the assembly area. She navigated through the rows of pews, the room only being lit by the dim moonlight that crept in from the high windows. Lynn finally found the spiraling staircase that led up to the bell tower and began climbing cautiously until she reached the wooden hatch that opened up to the top.
She hadn't heard any shouts of panic from possible passersby or the screams of hesitant thoughts that came far too late, so Lynn figured she still had time. The brunette had no desire to spook whoever was up here and give them a premature push, so she slowly and quietly opened the hatch halfway, slid out and then slowly closed it behind her. Sure enough, someone was still here: A rather tall girl stood on the edge of the tower, her long black hair going down to her mid-back. A lone hand kept her teetering body in place for the moment as Lynn prepared to say something before Lynn made one small step and opened her mouth to speak. "Um, nice view up here, huh?" She almost slapped herself in the head for saying that.
Immediately the girl turned to face Lynn, her pale freckled skin illuminated by the moon. She was clearly upset as her tears glistened in the moonlight. "What are you doing up here?" She squeaked out in a frustrated tone.
"I suppose I could ask the same thing. Not much of a church goer myself but it kind of seems like this is an after hours visit." Lynn said with a smile. She cautiously put her hands in front of her, her palms out to show she meant no harm.
"Get out of here!" The girl yelled at her, her voice echoing into the nearby bell.
"Sure, if you'll do me a favor first." Lynn asked quietly as she looked to the girl. "Could you step away from that ledge?"
"Why?" The girl asked in a more hushed tone then before as she squinted her eyes with an angry glare.
Lynn kept her hands in position and took a few steps back. "Well so that we can talk and so you won't do what I reckon you're thinking of doing."
"Just leave me alone!" The girl said harshly as she slowly took a step back to the ledge. "I...I got nothing to say to you or anybody else. Now just go."
"I can't do that. Not if you're going to..." Lynn slowly crept closer to the girl. "My names Lynn. What's yours?"
The girl cocked her head slightly as she gave the brunette a strange look before sighing. "Margaret."
"Okay, Margaret. Now you want to tell me why you're up here?" Lynn said as Margaret looked over the edge behind her.
"What does it matter to you anyway?" The girl said as she took another step back.
Lynn was never good with the emotional stuff in life but she knew she had to pick her words carefully. If she'd learned anything from Leni it was that a few kind words went a long way. "Well, for one I'd hate to see such a pretty girl make a huge mistake."
The comment caused the raven-haired girl to look at Lynn in flustered bewilderment as a small blush ran across her face. "You-you think I'm pretty?" She said in utter shock before casting her gaze downward, concealing her face. "Honestly, that's the first time anyone's ever said that that I'd believe." Her words were uttered in a saddened tone as she held her ground. "Everyone here thinks I'm just some freak. The kids at school, my cousins, even my parents can't stand the sight of me!" As she began to spiral again, she slowly started to retreat back to the ledge.
"Now why would you say something like that?" Lynn prepared herself to lunge forward with all the speed she possessed if worse came to worse.
"Why? Why?!" She said in a pained voice as she looked to Lynn with tears running down her face. "No one understands what I'm going through. No one! Day in and day out I have to live knowing I don't fit in with everyone around me and they don't seem to care. I just..." She began to choke up as her legs seemed to give out under her as she cried.
"You don't know what to do." Lynn spoke up as she cautiously walked over to the girl. "Everyone just goes along with their routines and they just expect you to do the same like nothing's wrong. They give you words of encouragement that things will get better and they just feel empty. Everyday you just feel like no one would miss you if you just...left."
Tears still clouding her vision, Margaret looked up to Lynn who was kneeling down in front of her now. "How did you know that?"
"Let's just say I can relate." Lynn said before she placed a hand on the girl's shoulder. "But believe me; They do care, even if they don't always seem to understand." The brunette was surprised when Margaret suddenly wrapped her up tightly in a hug that she reciprocated after a few stunned seconds. In less than a day Lynn had twice found herself given into emotions that only a few days ago felt so foreign to her. Yet here she was in this city and she'd been comforted once herself by Morag and was now doing the same for a stranger in a time of need. It was strange for her but at the same time it gave her an odd sensation inside, and it wasn't an unpleasant feeling on top of that.
"What do you say we take you home?" Lynn asked as she felt Margaret nod lightly as her head rested against the brunette's. The two separated as Lynn stood up and offered her hand to the girl. "Come on. Let's get down from here." The two made their way back out to the street through the basement window and were on their way as Margaret led the way to her home.
The walk was mostly quiet before the two spotted the bright headlights of a car coming their way as it pulled up next to them and someone exited the rear driver's side of the vehicle. To Lynn's surprise it was none other than Clyde McBride. "There you are!" He said excitedly.
"Clyde?" Margaret said, just as surprised. "What are you doing here?"
"Yeah McBride, what gives?" Lynn added on as the boy stopped to look over at her, seemingly a bit perplexed.
"Have we met?" He asked, not able to recognize Lynn at first.
"It's me. You know, Lynn Loud?" She said in frustration as her attempts to mask her identity was actually effective.
"Oh, Lynn? Almost didn't recognize you." He relaxed a bit as he spoke a bit more jovially to her.
"Wait, you know Clyde?" Margaret asked Lynn.
"Uh, yeah. We're...recent acquaintances." She explained with a shrug.
Clyde then turned his attention back to Margaret. "We're going to be working together from what I hear. Anyway, I've been looking all over for you. Your parents are worried sick and asked if I could keep my eyes peeled for you."
"They are? They did?" This revelation shocked the dark haired girl as Lynn placed a reassuring hand to her shoulder.
"Come on, we'll give you a ride home. You too Lynn." The two nodded in agreement and joined Clyde in the car as the driver took his directions and they eventually arrived in a neighborhood that was not all that far from the Santiago home, though it would still be a considerable walk, especially from where Lynn and Margaret had both started. The three exited the car as Margaret slowly walked up the three steps to the front door. The girl reached out to knock with her left hand, hesitating momentarily. She looked back nervously at Lynn who gave her a supportive smile before forcing herself forward and tapping on the frame. She fiddled with her hands as the door opened as a dark skinned woman with curly brown hair opened the door.
Upon seeing the girl in front of her, the woman's eyes began to well up with tears before she pulled the girl in for a tight hug. Lynn herself was very much surprised that this woman was the pale skinned girl's mother. "Surprised?" Clyde asked as they stood at the base of the steps and allowed the mother and daughter to have a moment as the two embraced and shared tearful reunion. "Margaret has always been sensitive about her looks and folks around here aren't too kind about it. I guess she never felt like she really belongs."
Lynn admitted to herself that she could relate to the girl in that regard at least. She never would have guessed that Margaret was colored, though she had to wonder if that fact even really mattered. Margaret was a girl in need and Lynn intervened to prevent a tragedy and …. she was glad she did. "She's a good kid. Happy to help."
"How did you end up running into her, anyway?" Clyde inquired.
Lynn thought for a moment, hesitating to tell Clyde the darker truth of the matter. She cleared her throat and avoided eye contact with him. "Was just walking to clear my head and bumped into her. We got to talking and I convinced her to give her family another chance."
"Margaret? Oh honey, we were so worried!" The woman loosened her grip on her daughter as she had her hands placed on the girl's shoulders as tears continued to roll down her face. "Are you alright? Why did you run off like that?"
Margaret struggled to get her words out as she turned her eyes to the ground. "I thought...I thought nobody wanted me around … that you didn't want me around."
"You silly girl …" Her mother cried as she hugged her tightly again. "Don't you ever think that because that's not true, it never has and it never will be. I know things haven't been easy for you but your father and I will always love you no matter what. Okay?"
"Okay ma...okay." The girl choked out through her tears as she held on to her mother. Eventually the two collected themselves as the elder woman turned her attention to Clyde and Lynn. "Thank you. Both of you."
"It was our pleasure ma'am." Lynn said, lightly tipping her hat.
"Would you like to come in for dinner?" The woman invited. Lynn was definitely hungry, especially after the ordeal they had just gone through. Add to that she hadn't had a good meal today and she was more than willing to accept the offer. Despite this, she reasoned that she should head back, considering that they had sent out someone to look for her.
"That's very kind of you ma'am, but my family is probably wondering where I am so late." Lynn said.
"Well, you're always welcome to drop by for a meal ..." The woman paused, never having been formally introduced to the one that helped bring her little girl home.
"Lynn. Lynn Loud. You take care now." Lynn said as she and Clyde turned to get back into the car as the driver waited patiently.
"Wait." Margaret said as she raced down the steps and over to Lynn who had turned back to her. "I just wanted to thank you … for what you did and what you said back there. You were right. This..." She placed her left hand to her face, gently touching her own pale skin. "It's not going away, but I'll manage."
Lynn smiled and lightly shook her head. "No. As long as you've got good people in your life who are there for you through the ups and downs, you'll do better than just manage. Just remember that you've got them to help you no matter what and you can really start living life." Lynn placed a reassuring arm on the girl's shoulder that caused her to take notice. "And if you ever forget that, I'd be happy to give you a reminder. Take care of yourself, Margaret."
The pale skinned girl blushed slightly. "I'd like that. And..." The girl leaned forward in a quick motion and placed a kiss on Lynn's cheek. "you can call me Maggie." Lynn was in a bit of shock herself at the sudden action as were Clyde and the girl's mother. "You know there aren't too many boys who would do what you did for me tonight. I'm lucky I met a good one tonight." She quickly turned away, her face flush with emotions and ran back into the house joined shortly by her mother.
Lynn stood there for the longest as she held a hand to that same cheek that Maggie had gifted with the kiss. The girl had to admit that this disguise may have worked a bit too well. Though the gesture gratitude from the girl wasn't unappreciated either as the brunette wore a genuine smile on her face. Clyde gave a small chuckle as he guided Lynn to the car. "Now let's get you home. I'm sure Lincoln is missing his 'big brother'." He joked as Lynn couldn't help but playful punch his arm as they were soon on their way.
It was a rather short ride before the vehicle pulled up to the front of the Santiago home. Lynn got out and closed the door behind her before she looked back and leaned in on the open window frame. "Appreciate the ride, McBride."
"Not a problem at all. Thank you for helping out a friend. I've worried about Maggie for as long as I've known her, but it seems like she might be alright thanks to you. If you do head back over, let me know. I'd like to go with you and talk to her to see where her mental state is." Clyde said.
Lynn found herself chuckling a bit. "What, you a headshrinker now?"
"Well, I did study psychology before I dropped out of school." His response caused Lynn to stand back with a raised eyebrow. "Hope we can work together again soon, 'Mr. Loud'." Clyde joked before signaling for the driver to head on as the car drove down the road and soon vanished around the corner. The girl walked up and knocked on the door as it opened moments later with a displeased Ronnie Anne on the other side.
"You know, next time you decide to head out at night in a city you don't know anything about, why not let the people who know know you're doing it?" Ronnie Anne complained as Lynn paid her no mind as she continued to berate the Loud girl who removed her cap and allowed her hair to hang free.
"Lynn, you're back." She heard an excited voice say from the hall as a brunette haired boy hugged her. The voice threw her off a bit as it was one that was extremely familiar to her.
"Lincoln?" She pulled herself from his grasp as she looked him over. "What did you do to your hair?"
"What do you think?" He said as he ran a hand through his chestnut hair with confidence. "Ronnie Anne helped me with it. Isn't it great? Now I won't stick out so much around here."
Lynn forced a smile on her face as she looked once again at the change that her younger brother had made. She had to wonder if this action was a result of her outburst the day prior. "You look like a whole new man, Lincoln. Where are Pam and Stevie?"
"They wanted to wait up for you but they went to bed a while ago." Lincoln responded.
"Well we better do the same. We've all got a big day tomorrow." Lynn said. "I'm gonna go get changed. I'll see you in the morning brother." She bid him goodnight before grabbing her things and heading to the bathroom, Ronnie Anne having since given up trying to talk to her and leaving for her own room.
Lynn placed her things down and began to look herself over in the mirror. As she did she fidgeted with her hair, moving and twisting it into different directions as if trying for a new look. For the longest she'd always kept it in a usual high ponytail, except on special occasions or when Leni wanted to use her to test out her hair styling skills. The entire time she kept recalling the interaction between her and Maggie not long ago. The girl legitimately mistook her for a boy. Lynn couldn't help but laugh at this as well as the joking nature of Clyde's comments before she focused on herself in the mirror. She looked down and noticed a pair of scissors that rested in a cup on the sink and took a few deep breaths before going ahead with what she had planned.
The next morning everyone sans Lynn were just getting up and prepared for the first day of work in Morag's service. Lincoln awoke to find that Lynn was not present as he got to the kitchen table where the Fox kids were already seated as Ronnie Anne cooked eggs for the group. "Good, you're awake." The Santiago girl said as she spooned some eggs onto a plate in front of an empty seat. "Hope you like eggs."
"Oh yeah!" Lincoln said excitedly as he sat at the table set out for four people with one still empty seat that was probably reserved for his sister. "Where's Lynn? I didn't see her this morning."
"She said something about getting a run in before we headed out." Ronnie Anne said. "I barely saw her before she was out the door. Does she do this a lot?" Lincoln nodded as he chewed a mouthful of his breakfast causing Ronnie Anne to sigh I frustration. "Well at least she gave me a heads up this time."
Not long after, the front door was heard opening. "It's Lynn. I'm back." The girl said as she closed it behind her. "Hey, do I smell eggs? Great, I'm starving." The others were shocked as she stood in the kitchen doorway. Both the Fox kids dropped their forks at what they were witnessing. The Lynn who stood before them looked drastically different than the one they had traveled with the last few days as her pony tail was completely gone along with most of her hair as it was cut very close. If they hadn't recognized the voice, the group could have sworn it was a young man standing in front of them.
"What's with you guys?" She asked with a raised eyebrow before realizing what the reactions were all about. "Oh right. So what do you think? Thought about what you said last night, Lincoln and I decided to make a change of my own."
Lincoln started to speak but couldn't quite find the right words. "Lynn..."
"This will work out great for a cover. Nobody really knows the old me around here outside of you guys and Ma. I mean, new start, right? And hey, you finally got that older brother you always wanted, huh?" Lynn said with a confident smile.
"I guess." Lincoln said, he and the others in the room not sure about this sudden change in Lynn.
"Trust me, guys. Now scoot over. I've worked up an appetite." Lynn sat down at the table as Ronnie Anne came over and set her food onto the waiting plate.
"Ma's gonna get a kick out of this." The girl said under her breath as she turned back to the stove.
The others watched Lynn for a bit as she ate, still a bit put off by the new look. Lynn did figure this was a good idea. After all, she was in a new place full of new people who didn't know her and as long as she was careful, Lynn could keep up the facade. It could also gain her more respect if people thought she wasn't just some girl in way over her head.
Though that was the reason she gave out loud, anyway. If Lynn was being honest with herself it had more to do with the talk she had with Maggie. Things about the girl's situation reminded her a lot of her own of not feeling you belong and wanting to get away from it all. Even if it did feel good, helping the girl reconnect with her own family only made Lynn think about the family farm more …. and she hated it. Last night after taking that long look in the mirror she decided to make the changes she wanted: A new look, new identity, anything to separate her from her old life … his old life. It was a new day and a new Lynn Loud Jr. "After finishing the meal, Lynn stood up and prepared to head out. "Come on, let's get to work."