Reversal of Fortune: Chapter 5: Return of the Mack-Bride
After pausing for a split second, as if to take everything in, the shadowy figure stepped into Royal Woods Elementary School's hallway to reveal a sight no one could have possibly anticipated. The entire student body gasped in shock as soon as they saw it.
It was Clyde McBride. But looking at him posing in front of the door, the uninformed observer would be forgiven for thinking he was someone else. The first thing everyone noticed about the "new" Clyde McBride was that he looked significantly bigger. Thanks to a combination of a growth spurt and better posture, Clyde was now about an inch taller than Lincoln. In addition to his height, Clyde also seemed to have gained the first bits of muscle on his arms and legs, making him look a little "athletic."
The second thing everyone noticed about Clyde was a fresh, well-defined fade haircut that gradually tapered off the further along the sides and back you went. However, the hair on the front of Clyde's head did not appear to have been cut at all, which now made it stand out spectacularly. If one pulled the curls to the front of Clyde's head, very thin, straight lines on either side of the front of Clyde's head would be revealed. And Clyde's hairline had been done in the perfect shape for his oval facial structure. It was a haircut that would have been considered hot for someone twice Clyde's age.
Heading down to Clyde's face, Clyde's glasses were replaced by a set of contact lenses that prominently displayed his eyes, much like many of his peers that didn't need to wear glasses. Further down his face, his freckles had grown very faint, and the smallest, faintest singular strands of black facial hair above the upper lip and on the chin could be seen.
Clyde wore a white V-neck t-shirt underneath a stylish black jacket, slim-fit midnight-blue True Faith ripped jeans with a black Louis Von belt holding them up, and a pair of all-white Nike Air Force Ones. Clyde topped off his new look with a small silver necklace and silver watch.
In addition to Clyde's complete aesthetic makeover, his body language and overall mannerisms had completely changed. Clyde walked into school standing perfectly straight with his shoulders back and chest puffed out. He spread his legs apart to take up as much space in the hallway as possible. And as he walked through the hallways with a relaxed yet supremely confident stride and smile on his face, everyone in the entire school couldn't help but stare at him in admiration. The song blaring through the PA for the school's weekly Music Monday seemed quite fitting for the occasion:
Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
(Turn and face the stranger)
Ch-ch-changes
Don't want to be a richer one
Many of the kids watched Clyde frozen in disbelief. Even Chandler McCann, the school's reigning popularity king, and his cronies couldn't help but stare and whistle in awe at Clyde.
Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
(Turn and face the stranger)
Ch-ch-changes
Just gonna have to be a different one
Every girl in the hallway blushed madly and stammered, "Buh… buh… buh", upon seeing Clyde. Some girls, including the elementary-school-aged Loud Sisters, blissfully fainted. A few other students crashed into their lockers or fell into garbage cans while gawking at Clyde. A few young female teachers, including Ms. DiMartino, even eye-fucked Clyde the moment they saw him.
Time may change me
But I can't trace time
As Lincoln and Paige got their first glimpses of the new Clyde, their jaws dropped and they paused in awed silence to gawk at him. However, they quickly tensed up when they noticed that about 10 yards behind Clyde, a growing group of lovestruck, blushing girls were following him towards Lincoln's locker.
When Lincoln saw the ever-growing group of girls, he whispered to Paige, "Oh no... I bet those girls have a massive prank up their sleeves."
Paige stayed silent since she didn't want herself or Lincoln to get teased, so she instead gave Lincoln a gentle look that told him, I'll protect you. Paige's tender gaze and body language comforted Lincoln a little bit.
However, when Clyde finally reached Lincoln to give him a strong bro-handshake and hug, Clyde shocked Paige and Lincoln by exclaiming at Lincoln in a Jamaican accent, "Jheeze… di bossman Lincoln. Wagwan, mi day 1? Cau ya dunnoe, bare shorties tryna holla! Di Girl Guru ting… ih a dun, fom!"
A dumbfounded Lincoln squeaked, "C-C-C-Clyde? What? Happened? To? You?"
While slapping Lincoln on the shoulder, Clyde chuckled, "Yo, chill, Chain-Linc! I linked up with my dukes dukes and cuzzos in Scarbz, broski!"
Lincoln stammered, "B-b-but how? You got a new haircut, you got new clothes, y-you got tall…"
Clyde interrupted, "Yo, don't worry bout me, bro. I know you preeing, but we gotta reach class, styll. Lunch has no motives, so I'll explain everyting there. Grab your books and let's roll, brodie."
Lincoln consequently checked the time on his phone. When he saw it read 9:53 AM, he opened his locker to find the books that weren't stuck with his parents due to the luck incident. Unfortunately, as soon as Lincoln opened his locker, a huge pile of garbage inundated him in front of the crowd of girls following Clyde. They, along with many other students, turned to, pointed at, laughed at, and took pictures of him on their cellphones.
As the other students laughed at Lincoln, Ronnie Anne ran over and taunted, "Sup, lame-o? Since you like nature so much, I thought you might wanna drown in it!"
As the laughter continued, Lincoln seethed, Paige growled and clenched her fists, and Clyde yelled at the girls, "Yo, 'nize it ya bozos! You keep foolin' like this, mans gettin' dealt with! I don't give a fuck if ya bad gyals or sweet tings… I don't care if there's a bare number of you… no more runnin' up on Chain-Linc!"
Clyde's fierce tone immediately shut the girls up. One girl, Emma, sheepishly approached Clyde, pouted, and gave him puppy-dog eyes as she whimpered, "S-s-sorry Clyde. I-I thought it was funny, and…"
Clyde interrupted Emma, "Ya think it's jokes, eh? Cool it or issa scrap ting!", making her cry in heartbreak. Cookie immediately rushed to her side and gave her a soft, comforting hug.
Clyde then turned to Ronnie Anne, pointed at her, and roared, "And you! Ya waste gyal!"
When Ronnie Anne heard Clyde yell at her, she indignantly clenched her fists. However, an undeterred Clyde quickly got in Ronnie Anne's face and furiously shouted, "Yo, Lincoln's had bare loyalty to you! You two locked lips on that date, don't think I forgot, eh? That sweet ting, Lori, forced him, but styll! Ya two cut from the Sadie Hawkins jam to cop 2-for-1 at Gus'… that woulda run you a bill at least with how much you play! A man took bucktee tricks from Luan on April Fools' Day! For you! If after all that you don't rate my guy and you still tryna move like you want smoke… it's gonna be a ting! Don't make me go mod out here, fom!"
Ronnie Anne derided Clyde, "Whatever, Super Lame-O. You might have new drip, McBride, but you're still a wimp inside. Don't worry about Lori, she already knows that. And I'm gonna prove it to every. Girl. In. School!"
After shaking off a split-second urge to stammer Lori's name before fainting, Clyde banged his fist against his palm and growled, "OK, yo, run up so I can crush dat!"
As Clyde and Ronnie Anne assumed fighting stances, the remaining students around Lincoln, Clyde, Ronnie Anne, and Paige pulled out their phones, turned their cameras on, and cheered loudly for a fight to take place. The students' cheering attracted the vast majority of the school's students to the area surrounding Lincoln's locker.
As for the fight itself, Ronnie Anne tried to punch Clyde in the face, but Clyde ducked, making her punch miss entirely. Unfortunately for Ronnie Anne, she was so focused on aiming her punch at Clyde square in the face that she didn't even see Paige approach her. The next thing Ronnie Anne saw after pulling her fist back was a furious Paige a foot away from her face.
Seizing her opportunity, Paige landed a clean, hard right-handed cross punch on Ronnie Anne's left cheek. Paige's punch knocked Ronnie Anne out cold, gave her a black eye, and knocked her left second molar, which was the last of her baby teeth, loose. As Ronnie Anne fell to the floor, Paige stalked over to her and stood over her body, fists clenched and panting in pure rage.
After many of the students' initial shocked gasps, Boy Jordan yelled, "DAAAAAAAAANNNNNG!" Then, a couple of more students started to cheer, followed by a couple more students, until every student at the scene started loudly whooping and hollering, pumping their raised fists in the air and jumping for joy in celebration. The cheering startled Clyde, Paige, and Lincoln to the point where they quickly backed away from the dazed Ronnie Anne, giving Rusty just enough room to run through the euphoric crowd and taunt her.
After briefly looking back at the jubilant crowd to gain their attention, Rusty exclaimed as he stood over Ronnie Anne's body, "YOU GOT KNOCKED THE FUGG OUT!", causing the other students to cheer and laugh even louder as he ran back into the crowd to celebrate with them.
Unfortunately, the students cheered so loudly that Mrs. Johnson burst out of her classroom's door and yelled, "THAT'S IT! QUIET! PAIGE, CLYDE… TO THE PRINCIPAL'S OFFICE, NOW! AND FOR GOD'S SAKE, SOMEBODY GET RONNIE ANNE TO THE NURSE!"
Every student in the hallway immediately started chuckling with malicious glee or uttering insults like, "Ooh", or, "Someone's in trouble." As they did, the opening school bell rung, causing Mrs. Johnson to yell at them, "EVERYBODY TO CLASS… NOW!"
As students scattered to their respective classrooms, Clyde immediately volunteered, "Chill, I got her," before he and Paige teamed up to carry Ronnie Anne to the school nurse's office EMT-style.
Meanwhile, at the scene of the knockout, Lincoln limped and dragged his garbage-covered body into Mrs. Johnson's classroom. Students who giggled at the sight of Lincoln were immediately silenced by the harsh glares of both Mrs. Johnson and Lincoln himself. Lincoln, for his part, barely fought off the temptation to keep both of his middle fingers raised during the walk of shame to his seat as he glared at his entire class. When Rusty, Liam, and Zach gave Lincoln concerned looks, he focused his glare on them and flashed them a split-second middle finger from his clenched right fist at his side. Lincoln made sure his gesture was subtle enough so no one else but those three caught it. Any thoughts the trio had of tattling on Lincoln for his obscene gesture were immediately silenced when Mrs. Johnson slammed her hands on her desk and focused her glare on them. After Lincoln took his seat, Mrs. Johnson exasperatedly looked over her class before slumping back into her chair and taking a couple of deep breaths to steady herself.
After a few tense seconds of silence, Royal Woods Elementary School's secretary, Cheryl, said through the PA system, "Good morning, Roosters! Please stand for the National Anthem!"
As the class stood at attention while the Star-Spangled Banner and morning announcements blared through the PA system, Lincoln resentfully ruminated about how most of the school bullied him, and how even his so-called "friends" in Liam, Zach, and Rusty would not miss out on an opportunity to disown and/or bully him if it meant becoming more popular themselves.
(Time Skip: 5 minutes later)
As the morning announcements ended, Mrs. Johnson sighed, "Good morning, class."
The class chorused back, "Good morning, Mrs. Johnson!"
Mrs. Johnson then walked to the chalkboard before blankly turning to the class and asking, "Does anybody know what day it is today?"
Girl Jordan immediately and loudly answered, "It's October 3!"
The whole class laughed in response as Girl Jordan high-fived Mollie.
However, an unamused Mrs. Johnson deadpanned, "Great that you know the month and the day, Girl Jordan. And since you were so eager and so smart you didn't raise your hand, mind telling us what day of the week it is and what the current year is?"
Girl Jordan simply replied, "Umm… It's Monday, October 3, 2016."
Mrs. Johnson quipped, "Good job, Girl Jordan. Nice to know you know it all and are not just a know-it-all." After chuckling at her joke, Mrs. Johnson then turned toward the chalkboard, wrote down the date on the top and her name as usual, and sat at her desk to look for the day's lesson plan in a big black binder perched atop the desk. When Mrs. Johnson turned to the page she wanted to find, she ran her finger through it before pointing at exactly what she was looking for.
When Mrs. Johnson found what she wanted, she stood up and told her students, "Alright, class, turn your Math textbooks to page 25… we're going to be going over last weekend's Chapter Review. I hope you did that homework… big test coming up tomorrow, so I want to see you paying attention. If you have any questions to ask, ask them today."
As Lincoln pulled his school supplies out of his backpack, he noticed that while his notebook and pencil pouch remained clean, his textbook had a significant amount of garbage on it. Hoping to avoid embarrassment, Lincoln decided to only display his notebook and pencil pouch on his desk. Unfortunately for Lincoln, as Mrs. Johnson scanned the classroom, she noticed that Lincoln didn't have his textbook on his desk, and decided to call him on it.
When Mrs. Johnson arrived at Lincoln's desk, she accosted him, "Lincoln, what happened to your textbook? And don't tell me your sister used it as first base again, that's not going to slide."
The sporty students, overhearing Mrs. Johnson's unintentional pun, chuckled cruelly. Meanwhile, the rest of the students "ooh'd" at Lincoln's apparent trouble. With all eyes on him, Lincoln simply turned to his teacher, pulled out his textbook, and coldly stated, "Ronnie Anne got garbage all over my backpack, as you can plainly see. And I guess my textbook got hit in the crossfire."
The other students uproariously laughed at Lincoln's misfortune, making Lincoln furious. Not wanting to give the other students the satisfaction that they had gotten to him, Lincoln just ignored the laughter.
This seemed to work with Mrs. Johnson, as she yelled at the class, "Quiet! Let Lincoln continue."
As Mrs. Johnson's gaze continued to pierce Lincoln, she looked down onto his desk and saw that his notebook was empty. She pressed, "and where's your homework, Lincoln? Did your 'dog eat it' again?"
Lincoln blankly replied, "Sorry, Mrs. Johnson. Guess I forgot to do my homework," with the tiniest hint of fury and bitterness seeping through his voice. Mrs. Johnson, however, did not catch this, and sighed at Lincoln, "Very well, then. But you're gonna have to see me after class about this. You're getting a homework note, and it'll have to be signed and dated by your parents by tomorrow."
The class softly "ooh'd" in response, but Mrs. Johnson ignored them and demanded, "Will anyone please share their textbook with Lincoln?"
No one responded to Mrs. Johnson's request for a few seconds until Zach rolled his eyes and groaned, "Fine, I'll share."
Mrs. Johnson praised, "Thanks, Zach," before suggesting, "Lincoln, why don't you take a seat in Clyde's desk until he gets back?"
Lincoln nodded his head before standing up and cleaning whatever remaining garbage that was stuck to him off his clothes and backpack. When he did, he realized that his hands were extremely dirty, which meant that Clyde would be upset with him if he touched anything on his desk. With this in mind, he raised his hand to get Mrs. Johnson's attention.
When Mrs. Johnson saw Lincoln's hand raised a few seconds later, she questioned, "Yes, Lincoln?"
Lincoln asked, "Mrs. Johnson, can I please use the bathroom?"
Mrs. Johnson slightly smiled, "Sure, Lincoln. Remember to take your bathroom pass and put the time you're leaving down, and when you return, mark the time you come back."
When Lincoln made it to the bathroom, he cleaned off all of the garbage stuck to him before washing his hands. Strangely, being away from class helped Lincoln calm down. Once Lincoln fully dried himself off with paper towels, he looked at himself in the mirror and felt like he looked decent enough to not get made fun of for the rest of the day. That gave him the confidence to walk back to his class with a little pep in his step.
About 5 minutes later, Lincoln made it back, breathing a sigh of relief as he returned to Clyde's seat. When Lincoln saw a candid picture of Lori in his new desk's book-box with heart shapes all around it, he groaned and shook his head.
(Time Skip: 1 hour later)
As Lincoln wrote the answer to a math question in his notebook, the PA system blared, "Attention, Lincoln Loud, please report to the principal's office. I repeat, Lincoln Loud, please report to the principal's office."
Once again, the entire class taunted Lincoln, "Ooh!", and, "Lincoln's in trouble!", but were immediately silenced when Mrs. Johnson yelled, "QUIET!" She then gently sighed, "Lincoln, you're excused."
While walking out of his class, Zach wished Lincoln good luck, to which Lincoln looked back at him and smiled. As for Rusty and Liam's wishes of good luck and nasty rumors of what the principal does to "troublemakers," Lincoln ignored them. As Lincln walked into the hallways, he readied himself for whatever punishment Principal Huggins was willing to throw at him.
(Scene Change: Principal Huggins' Office)
Principal Huggins asked Ronnie Anne, "Ronnie Anne, is there something you want to say to Clyde?"
Ronnie Anne, who was holding an icepack to her face, sighed, "Clyde, I'm sorry for trying to punch you. I just didn't know what I was thinking, and when I heard you say that stuff to me, I just lost it, OK? Look, can we just put this behind us? I promise I'll never prank Lincoln again, and I'll be nicer to him."
Clyde saw Ronnie Anne's apologetic look and assured, "Yo… it's cool, Ronnie Anne. You're blessed, fom."
As Ronnie Anne giggled, stood up, and shook hands with Clyde, Maria proudly smiled at her while Principal Huggins praised, "It's good that you two apologized. And now, Clyde, you're free to go back to class."
Clyde gasped, "No detention?"
Principal Huggins stated, "Again, you didn't hit anybody, so no detention."
Clyde beamed, "Jheeze, Principal Huggins, say less! I'm off this, fom!" With that, he strutted out of the office with swagger and gave thumbs-up gestures to Principal Huggins, Ronnie Anne, Maria, Cheryl, and Paige as he walked into the hallway.
When Ronnie Anne saw Principal Huggins' smile, she asked, "So… does this mean…"
Principal Huggins sternly interrupted Ronnie Anne, "No. You still have one more student to deal with."
Just then, the door open to reveal a scowling Lincoln Loud stomping his way into the office. Cheryl smiled as she said, "Principal Huggins is here to see you," but Lincoln just scoffed at her as he walked to the principal's office. However, when he traded glances with Paige, Paige faintly smiled at him while whispering, "Hey, everything's going to be OK. Just tell Principal Huggins the truth."
Lincoln relaxed a little at Paige's words, but when he arrived in Principal Huggins' office, he glared resentfully at both Huggins and Ronnie Anne when he saw them. Not even seeing Maria attempt to comfort Ronnie Anne could soften Lincoln's glare.
Principal Huggins started the conversation by thanking Lincoln for coming in, which Lincoln spitefully ignored. Noticing Lincoln's scowl, Principal Huggins quickly tried to reassure him, "You're not in trouble, Mr. Loud. Ronnie Anne has confessed basically everything she did to you over the last few months. Now, there's something she'd like to say to you…"
Lincoln furiously interrupted Principal Huggins, "I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT! I saw you ignoring me when I walked to school with leftover garbage on my clothes, and you did nothing! Why do Mrs. Johnson & Coach Pacowski still have jobs here, huh? After they belted me with pies after the 'Girl Guru' incident? And you still gave me two days' detention for that? I try, try to do the right thing around here and get treated by dirt like everybody, and you don't do anything about it! So whatever you're making Ronnie Anne say, because I know she doesn't mean it! I don't want to hear it!"
Principal Huggins uneasily insisted, "M-Mr. Loud, Ronnie Anne just wants to say…"
Lincoln interrupted Principal Huggins, shouting, "Whatever she wants to say, she can shove it! I've had it with her antics, and she's not going to be able to get an apology from me and go back to being normal! I've had enough of that treatment from my sisters, and really everyone else around here… what makes you think she's different, huh?"
After yelling at Principal Huggins, Lincoln turned to a tearful Ronnie Anne and growled at her, "Ronnie Anne Santiago, remember what I told you that time… before Lori and Bobby forced us to go on that double date?"
Ronnie Anne gulped and sheepishly nodded her head as Principal Huggins' eyes widened.
Lincoln then pointed at Ronnie Anne and growled, "We are not friends. We are not dating. You are rude, and gross, and totally annoying. I'd rather lick the bathroom floor than see you in these halls ever again."
Lincoln's words caused Ronnie Anne to cry into Maria's arms. Although Maria felt that Ronnie Anne deserved Lincoln scolding her, she rubbed her right hand up and down Ronnie Anne's back as she gently comforted her, "Shh… shh… shh… it's OK. Mamá te tiene. Mamá te tiene."
While that was going on, Lincoln grunted at Principal Huggins, "Alright, are we done here?"
Principal Huggins sternly replied, "Now, that wasn't very nice, Lincoln. Now go on and apologize to her."
Lincoln bitterly chuckled, "Apologize? Why should I apologize to her? She probably downplayed the extent of those pranks, or blamed them on me to avoid getting in trouble with you. And if she doesn't kill me, one of my… erm… sisters will."
Principal Huggins pleaded with Lincoln, "First of all, Ronnie Anne admitted the truth. The whole truth. What's going on? If there's something going on at home, you can tell me."
Lincoln chided, "Why would you care? You always take the side of my bullies, anyways. And if Ronnie Anne admitted the whole truth, why is she still here?"
Principal Huggins responded, "Because I need you to confirm that everything she told me is true," before asking, Now, Ms. Santiago admitted to tying your shoes to each other, pantsing you, putting a whoopie cushion on your seat, shoving a sandwich down your pants, and stuffing his locker with garbage that fell on you. Multiple times. For the past few months. Now, Lincoln, because you're testing my patience, is this true?"
Lincoln annoyedly sighed, "Yes, all of that is true."
Principal Huggins then exhaled, "Thank you, Lincoln, I appreciate your cooperation. Now, you're not in trouble, Mr. Loud. You did nothing wrong in this situation other than telling her you don't like her being around you, and you didn't even call her any names while doing so. But I may have to send you to the counselor. This behavior of yours is concerning me. You've never been a problem student before, so I just want to help you."
Lincoln didn't want to see his ex-housemates again, especially if it was because he got into trouble with Principal Huggins. As a result, Lincoln sighed, "You're welcome, Principal Huggins. Now, when's this counselor appointment going to be?"
Principal Huggins explained, "I can't tell you right now. I'd have to call him, schedule the appointment, get my secretary to handle it, and then I'd have to hand the slip to your teacher, who'll give it to you."
Lincoln blankly replied, "OK."
Principal Huggins then sighed, "Alright, Lincoln, now go back to class. And don't get yourself into any more trouble today."
Lincoln promised Principal Huggins, "I won't."
Principal Huggins replied, "OK. I'll call your teacher letting her know you're going back."
Lincoln nodded before heading back to his class. As Lincoln walked out of the office, he traded glances and "OK" gestures with Paige.
As Cheryl began to file paperwork, Meanwhile, Brian and Linda agitatedly entered the waiting area. As soon as Cheryl saw them, she greeted, "Good morning, Mr. and Mrs. Sweetwater. Principal Huggins will see you shortly."
As the Sweetwater parents took seats on either side of Paige, Brian scolded her, "Paige, what were you thinking? I'm driving, about to turn into my parking spot, and I get a call from the school saying you knocked out… um… what was her name again?"
Paige muttered, "Ronnie Anne."
Brian said, "Yeah, Ronnie Anne," before asking, "Why, sweetie?"
Paige cried, "She played a prank dumping a bunch of garbage on Lincoln, got the whole school to make fun of her, and tried to hurt Clyde! I couldn't just tell a teacher, the crowd surrounding us was too thick! And you heard what she did to Lincoln! I just couldn't!"
Linda implored Paige, "Sweetie, remember what we told you. If you have a problem with anybody at school, don't use your fists, use your words. And if that doesn't work, make sure you tell a teacher!"
Paige bemoaned, "But those teachers have been doing nothing about the bullying that's been going on with Lincoln for months! And then, when I heard her laughing at him, when I saw Clyde in danger, I just…", before crying into Linda's arms, which broke her heart.
As Brian and Linda watched Paige cry, they gently hugged her, rubbed her back, and reassured her, "Hey, it's OK, honey."
After Paige finished crying a few seconds later, Linda, who was still holding Paige, promised, "Now, we're going to talk to Principal Huggins and get to the bottom of this," to which Paige sadly nodded and slumped in her seat.
After the Sweetwater family calmed down, Cheryl informed them, "Mr. and Mrs. Sweetwater, Paige, Principal Huggins wants to see you."
As the Sweetwaters walked into the office, Ronnie Anne and Paige exchanged brief glares before the Sweetwaters sat to the side of the Santiagos.
Principal Huggins started, "Alright, well, now we've got everybody here. Thank you for coming, Mr. and Mrs. Sweetwater."
Linda politely replied, "No problem."
Principal Huggins remarked, "Now, Mr. and Mrs. Sweetwater, as you may already know, your daughter, Paige, assaulted a student."
Brian and Linda nodded, "We understand."
Principal Huggins continued, "Now, Ronnie Anne and Paige have told their sides of the story to me, so I'm going to summarize them for you." He then turned his black notebook a couple of pages back, and began to explain the full details of what transpired between Ronnie Anne, Clyde, Paige, and Lincoln earlier that morning, in addition to Ronnie Anne's pranking history. As the Sweetwater and Santiago parents listened to Principal Huggins' notes, they gasped while glaring at their children.
When Principal Huggins finished reading his notes, he asked, "Paige, do you know what you would like to say to Ronnie Anne?"
With the calmest yet most passive-aggressive voice Paige could muster, she told Ronnie Anne through gritted teeth, "I'm sorry," mentally adding, that I didn't get to turn your face so swollen that they'd ask if you had a severe allergic reaction.
While the Santiagos glared at Paige, Principal Huggins saw Paige's aggressive body language and did not buy Paige's clearly fake apology. Annoyed at Paige's insolence, he warned her, "No, Paige. Say it like you mean it, or maybe I go through with my initial idea to suspend you for the fight. It is school policy, after all."
While Paige knew she didn't truly regret Ronnie Anne, as she was still furious with the girl, she didn't want to get suspend and jeopardize her plan. So, she tried to search for any image in her head that made her happy. In doing so, she thought of Lincoln, and imagined his face juxtaposed over that of Ronnie Anne's. Doing so made it much easier for Paige to relax.
As Paige visualized Lincoln's face in place of that of Ronnie Anne's, she found the compassion to apologize, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for knocking you out, I'm sorry for losing my cool when I shouldn't have, and I'm sorry for taking out my anger on you."
When Ronnie Anne saw that Paige seemed genuine, she smiled before warmly consoling Paige, "It's cool. Hey, if anyone else hurt Lincoln and I saw it, I'd probably do the same thing."
The two girls shared a brief laugh at Ronnie Anne's words, which instantly warmed the parents' hearts and filled them with pride. Maria smiled proudly at Ronnie Anne, while Brian put his arm on Linda's shoulder and gave her a loving look which Linda returned.
Meanwhile, Principal Huggins slightly smiled, "That's better. Now Paige, you still have that after-school detention to account for today, so stay out of trouble."
Paige chuckled, "I will," before thanking Principal Huggins as she and her parents left the office.
Once in the front foyer of the school, the three shared a final hug, with Linda reminding Paige, "Stay safe, sweetie. And if anything else happens, remember, tell a teacher or tell us." With that, Paige, Brian, and Linda waved each other goodbye before Paige headed back to class and the Sweetwater parents drove back to work.
Meanwhile, back in the office, Principal Huggins firmly stated, "Normally, because of everything that's been happening with your daughter, and everything she confessed to, I would give your daughter a 5-day suspension. And while your daughter clearly showed remorse for her actions towards everyone involved, I still believe it's not in the best interest of the safety of the other students, particularly Lincoln, that she remains in school. As such, I will be suspending Ronnie Anne for the next 2 days. Today, I will be placing Ronnie Anne under In-School Suspension so I can keep an eye on her and give her any homework she may need to complete. Tomorrow, I will be sending Ronnie Anne home for the rest of the day. During this time, she will be expected to show up to school to pick up her schoolwork, and will be expected to complete her schoolwork as if she was attending classes. After that, she will be able to take her classes as normal. As another condition of her returning, I expect a written apology letter to Lincoln on the morning of her return. Failure to abide by these terms will result in the full 5-day suspension being applied. Thank you for your understanding."
Maria gasped before starting to cry. After calming herself down, she told Ronnie Anne, "We'll talk about this further, at home."
Ronnie Anne paled in fear at Maria's threat, but Maria quickly calmed her down by checking her phone for the time and explaining, "Look at it like this: it's a little after 10 AM now. That means you have 5-6 hours to think about what you did. And believe me, without recess, that's going to be a lot of time."
Realizing how long of a day she had ahead of her, Ronnie Anne asked, "But what about lunch? I still need to eat."
Principal Huggins assured Ronnie Anne, "Don't worry, Cheryl will provide you lunch from the cafeteria. You can eat in here during your normal lunchtime, but once that ends, it's back to In-School Suspension."
When Maria saw Ronnie Anne calm down, she briefly hugged Ronnie Anne and kissed her on the cheek before leaving the school to drive back to the hospital for her shift.
After that, Ronnie Anne left Principal Huggins' office and was directed to the detention room. There, she would spend the rest of the day under the supervision of Mr. Watt, another no-nonsense disciplinarian.
Meanwhile, Principal Huggins exasperatedly clasped his hands on his head and said to himself, "Oy vey." As he struggled to brainstorm a solution to his school's apparent bullying problem, he also realized that he had to do something quickly. With this in mind, he ringed Cheryl, "Cheryl, get that spirit team, you know, Right-On Respect? Yeah, we may need to do another anti-bullying assembly, and we may need it urgently."
Closing A/N: So I knew I had to do a "cool Clyde," and I decided to make him 6ixBuzz-style. For those who don't know, 6ixBuzz is basically a Toronto-area meme page that's really popular on Instagram, showcasing everything about Toronto hip-hop culture & slang. Also, I don't feel like Clyde gets enough shine in many of these stories. He's usually portrayed as "Lincoln's nerdy sidekick," and I wanted to blow that portrayal away. I wanted to reverse the roles so that Clyde was the popular, dominant one. I was also inspired by the scene in the first episode of "Louder and Prouder," the "Proud Family" reboot, where Penny, after just hitting puberty, walks down the stairs with swagger to the song, "Do It" by Chloe x Hallie. I wanted Clyde to have a similar type of swagger & effect in his entrance to that. I was also inspired by the cast of Total Drama Island's reactions to Justin & the Loud Sisters' reactions to Hugh, swooning over them cartoonishly. I thought that was hilarious and I wanted to bring that here. So yeah… Clyde is basically seen as a black Justin, or as the Drake of Royal Woods Elementary. That's kinda what I was going for. His outfit… I wanted to do a Future thing with it because I saw Drake's fashion and thought, "this isn't gonna work on Clyde. Future would be more like the image I'm trying to go for with him." Plus, the Shrek song "Changes" and how it goes with Shrek's transformation into a handsome human in Shrek 2 was pure comedy gold. I wanted to combine all that to write this chapter as comic relief. I hope it worked.
A/N 2: For those complaining I'm misspelling a lot of stuff, trust me, I'm not. In Toronto, Jamaican Patois words are common slang, and that's basically what Clyde is saying: Toronto slang. I did Clyde's dialogue based on how I remember my friends & I talking in high school. Lincoln, Ronnie Anne, and Paige and Principal Huggins to an extent, are the only ones that can see through Clyde's façade, while everyone else is enraptured by him.
A/N 3: I know a lot of people are telling me to have Lincoln homeschooled, but read the story again. There's a good reason I'm not having Lincoln homeschooled… at least not yet. It's buried here, you can find it if you look carefully.
A/N 4: The Lincoln-Timmy Turner comparison is astute.
A/N 5: I just wanted to show how, in the wrong circumstances, Ronnie Anne and Lincoln's relationship would be seen very differently. I know they're cool and they laugh at each others' pranks in the actual show, but still, wrong place at the wrong time. Don't worry, Ronniecoln fans, Ronnie Anne will come around eventually.
A/N 6: So Principal Huggins does typical principal behavior, passing off the work to others to maintain his own image. At least he called everybody's parents, except for Lincoln's, for obvious reasons (to us, at least). Honestly, it's been so long since I've been in elementary school, on top of me going to school and growing up in Canada, where stuff like in-school suspension wasn't a thing. If you got suspended, you were out of school during your suspension period, that was it. I just did my best approximation of it. If any of you know how in-school suspension actually goes, I'd love to hear it and edit my fic accordingly. I think Ronnie Anne being able to get cafeteria lunch under ISS is not how it works… I don't know, help me out here. But I want to keep it such that Ronnie Anne gets ISS for this first day. At least Huggins called everybody's parents. The other students will also be dealt with at other points throughout this story, don't worry about that.
A/N 7: On the bright side, Principal Huggins not automatically suspending everyone involved for fighting and actually giving them proportionate punishments? Yeah, I know I'm getting unrealistic here, and some of you might see this as me giving Paige and Clyde plot armor. It totally is, but Clyde and Paige are necessary for the story, which is why I didn't suspend them. Paige will be needed at lunch because she'll need to tell her "friends" what's going on with Lincoln ASAP. I figured that having one, or both of them suspended, would probably provide an interesting angle to the story. Even calling Lincoln's parents would've been as well. But I believe, with something as serious as this, every day lost puts Lincoln's safety further in jeopardy.
A/N 8: Also, the detention teacher. (Luan's voice) Mr. Watt. Hahahaha, get it? Mr. Watt? (crickets chirping) Aight, Ima see myself out.
A/N 9 (November 14, 2022): Merged my original Chapters 5 & 6 in this one, after realizing I mentioned Paige's detention multiple times & could fit it in a short chapter.
A/N 10: In general, thanks for the support! And check out Saccharine Melody's "A Life in Decline" if you can! Saccharine, feel free to PM me any time to bounce ideas, and thanks for shouting out my fic in ALID!
Anyways, will Clyde be OK? And what will become of Paige, Ronnie Anne, and Lincoln? Find out next chapter on... REVERSAL! OF! FORTUNE!