June 6, 2016.
Royal Woods, Michigan
It was the first day of the last week of school. The early morning breeze washed over the suburbs as if Mother Nature herself was reassuring her children that things would go smoothly. For Lincoln Loud, however, he could only hope that such a thing may come true. The alarm clock next to his bed rang, and the young boy was wide awake. He looked to the clock and sighed.
"Whew. Right on time." The clock read 6:40 AM, and he slipped out of his sheets silently, sliding his socks in a pair of slippers.
'Alright, Lincoln. No sudden noises...' He thought to himself, grabbing a folded towel from his open closet before opening his door with a delicate twist of the knob. The old wooden entryway creaked lightly, and he grimaced at the sound. 'So much for Lana's maintenance work...' Lincoln shook his head, and weaved past the half-open door, stepping into the hallway.
With every step, he prayed that the floorboards would stay as quiet as he was. It seemed to the snow-white kid that the odds were against him; any one of his nine sisters could escape from their slumber at any given time, and considering it had been the last week of school, most of them were more than eager to get it over with.
Eventually, he had reached the middle of the hallway, which was divided by the nearby staircase.
'Lola, Lana, and Lisa are out cold. I hope Leni doesn't plan on doing her fifty brushes...' He exhaled, and pressed onwards.
As he crept past each door, every step felt like an eternity. In reality, Lincoln had only taken five long strides forward, and before he knew it, he had arrived at the bathroom.
'Hm. That wasn't so bad...' He wiped his sweaty brow, and turned the knob of the white door, pushing inwards. As he caught the gaze of the bathroom sink, however, a familiar sight made him panic.
"Nice try, Linky! But I was here first!" Lola shout-whispered, smugly leaning against the sink. On the other side of the door was a pink portal which shrunk at the snap of her fingers.
"C'mon Lola, gimme a chance! Not everyone can teleport like you can-"
From behind the shower curtains, he was cut off by a shadowy silhouette. "-But I can. I call dibs."
"Aah!" Lola clung onto Lincoln, the two of them startled by the sudden appearance of their gloomy sibling. "Dangit, Lucy! You and your shadow Stand..." The beauty pageant winner lamented, shaking her fist.
"Hey. I'll bask in the fog for only a moment. Now, leave before I change my mind."
"Hmph! Fine." Lola pouted, letting go of Lincoln and closing the door behind her. The older brother looked to the ground and sighed.
"Lola, can't you just use Tragic Kingdom to make your own shower or something?"
"And just how am I gonna do that? I love to take my precious time, and I can't do that in a place where time is faster! Besides, if I make one now, I wouldn't even have Leni's conditioner! The hair makes the look, Linky. You'd know that."
Lincoln scratched his alabaster hairdo and sighed once more. "You're right. Look, could you just-save some hot water for me? I just want things to go smoothly, since summer's coming up and stuff."
"Save some water? I'm gonna need all I can get! We're working on our year-end performance, remember?" She crossed her arms.
Lincoln rolled his eyes. "Isn't that the thing with the animals and flowers singing in harmony?"
"YES! It's gonna be my greatest performance yet. And that's saying something." She gave him a smug grin, and he shrugged in reply. "Well, fine. I'll just brave the cold, I guess."
Lola looked to the floor with a frown. "I mean...I could leave you some hot water...like, from Tragic Kingdom..." She rubbed her shoulder, looking back up to her big brother.
Lincoln gasped. "Really?"
"Yeah! That way, I could use what I want, and you get your hot water. How 'bout...a giant teapot pouring it out?"
"Uh...that works. Just don't make it too hot, alright?" He gave off a half-grin.
"Sure, Linky. Just be sure to slide me some extra cereal at the table, alright?" She nudged at him, and he chuckled in reply. "I gotcha, sis."
As they talked, the sounds of the showerhead echoed throughout the hallway, and the two eagerly awaited for Lucy to finish up her morning routine. Eventually, the splashing of the water stopped, and the sister in black opened the door dressed in a blue robe.
"All yours." Lucy walked past the two, and sunk into the floor below, before ascending from a shadow within the staircase.
Lola scoffed. "Hmph. What a show-off." The bathroom door closed behind her, and Lincoln leaned against the wall, holding his clothes and towel underneath his arm.
"Dangit, Tommy! You didn't set the alarm, you doofus!" A quiet argument seemed to break out from Lynn and Lucy's room. "Hey, it's not my fault! You should've woken up the boss!" The high-pitched voices went at each other, and Lincoln turned his head to its source.
"Cut it out! It's just an alarm, guys. There's bigger things than that." Lynn, along with three small, goblin-like figures, stepped into the hallway.
"Sorry, boss." The two sighed, while the third shook his head in disappointment.
"Oh, hey, Lincoln. Lola beat you to it, huh?" She walked up to her younger brother while the three goblins procured a nearby soccer ball, and kicked it amongst themselves.
"Yeah. Well, Lucy was in the shower before Lola even got there. Guess she started up her Stand before she slept..." He shrugged, and Lynn patted his shoulder. "Don't sweat it, lil' bro. If we had that kinda power, we'd use it just the same."
"I guess you're right...it just sucks that Lola's gonna use all that hot water again. One whole year of cold showers stinks." He pouted, shaking his head.
"Welp, it gives us the energy to finish this dumb school year, am I right?" She nudged him, and he chuckled. "Dumb is right. I can't wait to get out of Elementary school-"
"-I wouldn't necessarily call it 'dumb', per se. But I am looking forward to another summer of experimentation." Lisa approached them, adjusting her glasses as she dodged the soccer ball being passed around by Lynn's Stand.
"Morning, Lisa." The two said in unison. "Good morning, indeed. I suspect we'll be out of hot water soon, considering Lola's bed is empty." She gestured to the twins' open bedroom door.
Lynn crossed her arms and huffed. "Yup. Another day, another cold shower." The prodigy sighed, and sat cross-legged on the ground. "The frigid cold strikes again. At least it's not during the wintertime..." Her older siblings agreed, nodding in reply.
Suddenly, the bathroom door opened up. "Ahh...that was nice." The girl in pink strutted out of a warm mist, remnants of her sauna-like shower routine enveloping one half of the hallway.
"Hey, you got the teapot ready, right?" Lincoln whispered to her as they passed each other.
"You'll see." She gave off a devilish grin as the bathroom door closed.
The young boy paused and looked around the bathroom rather cautiously, taking off his socks and throwing them into the laundry basket. He took his time, soaking in the remaining warmth from the previous occupants' rituals as he pondered his sister's behavior. 'She had that look again. That evil princess look. What the heck's she gonna do this time?'
After his laundry was rid of, Lincoln pulled back the shower curtains and looked around. The tub was expectedly damp, and the shower head seemed to have a blue portal above it, and it occupied the space where an air vent once existed. He stepped in, and attempted to peer into the portal to no avail; pink energy blocked whatever was inside from being recognizable.
"Well, here goes nothing." He muttered to himself, closing his eyes and turning on the shower. "Ooh! That's cold!" He jumped in place, barely maintaining his balance on the wet porcelain as he was assaulted by a hail of frigid water. "Lola! Any time now..." Lincoln shout-whispered into the portal, and a large pink spout emerged from the exit point, and a steady stream of orange water fell onto him.
"What the-ooh...that's good." He was cut off by the overwhelming radiance surrounding his body, basking in it for a moment. However, after taking one breath, his face puckered up.
"Ugh! LOLA!" His nostrils and mouth were equally overwhelmed with an overpowering sour taste. "Lemon tea?! Really?" He shouted back at the portal, and it retracted the spout, plunging Lincoln back into the freezing waterfall provided by their plumbing. He could only hear devilish giggles from the other side. "What? It's moisturizing! Don't worry about it, Linky!" Lola replied, closing the portal.
After aimless attempts of scrubbing out the strong citrus smell, Lincoln gave up and dressed himself up, leaving the bathroom. He was met with more familiar faces...
"What happened to you?" Lynn asked. "You smell like you came out of a proper English breakfast, love." Luna quipped in her British accent. "Oooh! Did you do a citrus bath? That really helps the skin glow." Leni added.
Lincoln sighed. "No, guys. I wanted a little hot water, so I made a deal with Lola. I give her some extra cereal, she uses Tragic Kingdom to bring some hot water to the shower. Problem is, she poured freaking lemon tea all over me! Now I can't get this stupid smell out!"
Luan giggled. "I guess she couldn't follow it to a T, huh?"
The siblings, including Lily, who was being held by Leni, groaned. The comedian chuckled through the tough crowd's response.
"Well, Lincoln, if you really wanna get that smell off, my mud puddles are always open…" Lana proudly suggested.
"Uh...no thanks. I'll save it for another day." He walked back to his room, and Lana shrugged. "Suit yourself, dude."
Around an hour later, the Loud siblings were well into the second phase of their morning routine; breakfast. Their dining room table was adequately occupied, with all the children seated and going through their meals at varying speeds. Lola, who was nearly done with her cereal, nudged Lincoln, who was about to pour some in his own bowl.
"C'mon, Linky…we had a deal!" She spoke through a wide, forced smile.
"The deal was hot water. Not lemon tea." He shook a spoon at her, before pouring some cereal in his bowl.
"Hmph. Fine, then…I guess I could just–" Lola summoned a small portal at the vent above her bowl, but froze at a familiar voice. "Lola! No powers at the table!" Rita Loud shouted from the kitchen, making the pageant winner de-spawn her ability. "Sorry, mom." She frowned and looked to the ground, however the sound of dry cereal clinking against porcelain made her ears perk up.
"Huh?" She saw Lincoln filling up her bowl. "I changed my mind. I, uh, just remembered that Ronnie Anne likes citrus scents! Thanks again, sis."
"You're welcome, Linky~!" Lola replied in a sing-song manner, and grabbed a milk carton to complete her breakfast. The white-haired boy looked to her and grinned.
'I can't stand to see her look so down…it's like leaving a puppy in the rain.' He thought to himself, pouring what little was left in the box into his bowl. As he rounded it out with some milk, the sounds of rumbling automobiles enveloped the dining room. It was a familiar sound, however it was uncommon to hear it at such a tranquil time.
"Who could that be? The mailman already passed us…" Lynn Sr. commented, eyeing the windowsill. The ten siblings approached the window in unison, and they caught a glance at an unmistakable sight; a moving van rolling down the warm morning asphalt.
"New neighbors? Wow, guess they really wanted that house down the street." Their father looked through the glass as well, shrugging his shoulders before turning to grab the keys to Vanzilla.
"I hope it's not another old person this time. Franklin Avenue's one step away from becoming a retirement home." Lincoln quipped.
"Woah! Sweet wheels…" Luna pointed to the next vehicle; a low-riding coupe that came from a decade even their parents hadn't grown up in. The pinstripes along its sparkling green finish finely accentuated its edges, and it bounced as it went down the street, the music from within making the ground beneath them rattle. The siblings watched in awe as it bounced up and down, its hydraulics in-sync with the beats coming from within. "...sweet beats, too!" The resident musican bopped her head to the grooves, her athletic sister following suit.
"Hey, wait a minute! That's a–" Lana looked to Lisa. "Six-four!" They exclaimed in unison. "I've seen its magnificence only in West Coast Rap videos…oh, heavens above…" The little genius' eyes were wide-open, gazing upon the thumping coupe.
"And I thought Vanzilla was loud…holy moly." The tomboyish twin removed her cap and held it against her chest in respect.
"Huh. Guess we're not the only loud family around here!" Luan giggled, and the others chuckled for once. Meanwhile, Leni and Lola peered through the window with a little more focus.
"Leni! Lift me up. I gotta see the driver…" The primadonna was promptly elevated by her older sister, and the two squinted like old west heroes in the midday sun.
"...I can't see who's driving it!" Lola complained. "They put some kinda grey stuff on their windows!"
Leni gasped. "Oh no! The driver can't see! I'll tell them before they get hurt!" The family mechanic turned to her, and raised a finger. "Uh, Leni–" However, she was cut off, as Leni set down the sister in pink and ran out the front door.
"-it's tinted windows, Leni! They can see!" Lana chased after her older sister, who was somehow already past their front yard.
"Ooooh boy." Lincoln rolled his eyes, watching her older sister chase after the lowrider. "Well, at least Leni gets to see whoever's driving that thing. I bet he's handsome~! Like a knight riding his stallion through the kingdom." Lola giggled.
"Definitely, Lola. A gangsta knight!" The genius switched into a b-boy stance, crossing her arms momentarily. "Heh. I suppose my lingo will be useful in this neighborhood, after all…" Lisa commented.
"I dunno. Like they say, there's more than meets the eye." Lucy appeared behind her, making the others let out a startled yip all at once. "Jeez, Lucy. You should really try walking louder or something." The only son suggested, to which the girl in black shrugged. "I will consider it, brother."
Outside the Louds' home, the lowrider was approached by their resident seamstress, who waved and shouted at the driver's side of the car. "Hey! Stop the car! You can't see!" She jogged alongside the driver's door, which barely scraped the concrete sidewalk below.
The Impala began to even itself out, its hydraulics seemingly switched off as the music lowered in volume. Eventually, the coupe began to cruise smoothly, and Leni walked to its pace as the grey-tinted windows glided downwards into the car door.
"Excuse me, what'd you say? Couldn't hear y'all back there." A young black man dressed in an orange-red varsity jacket looked up at Leni, one hand on the steering wheel while the other hung out of the open windowframe. His afro nearly touched the ceiling of his six-four as he waited for a response.
"Oh, um–I was gonna say–" Leni was taken aback by the boy's face, and blushed a little as she attempted to compose herself. 'He's–cute! The boy next door…it's like the movies! Oh, c'mon, say it, Leni, say it!' She thought to herself.
"-SICK WHEELS!" Lana interjected, hopping up to see the young man in the driver's seat.
"Hey thanks, kid. What's ya name?" He raised a fist, and Lana promptly returned it with a fistbump. "Lana! Lana Loud. This is my big sis, Leni." She gestured to the fashionista, who was frozen stiff.
"Uh…Leni, you good?" The young man bore a puzzled look on his face. "Y–yeah! I just–uh, don't want your car to scratch the pavement! Yeah…I scratched our family van once, and it was reeeally bad." She rubbed the back of her head, giving off an uneasy grin as they walked with the lowrider.
"Ah, I get'cha. No problems, though. My suspension's hella good." He demonstrated the Impala's hydraulics once more, lifting it slightly before lowering it, almost as if the car was squatting up and down.
"So cool!" Lana gushed over the engineering, getting on the ground and looking at the underbelly to watch the mechanisms in action. "I'm Chris, by the way. Chris Morrison. Pleased t' meet y'all." He grinned at Leni, who returned the smile with rosy cheeks.
"Well, I gotta get goin'. Y'all prob'ly got school, too, so I'mma see y'all later. Peace!"
With a peace sign from his free hand, he sped up a little, following the trail of the moving van. Leni sighed, looking at the lowrider as it pulled up at a driveway a few blocks down. "Man, that car rocks! Can't wait to see it goin' again." Lana grinned from ear to ear as she walked back to their house, and the taller blonde clasped her hands together.
"Me, too."
As the pair of sisters returned to the house, the other siblings were occupied with gathering their school materials, with the exception of Lola, who approached Leni with excitement. "Well? Who was driving the car?"
She sighed and smiled, her clasped hands pressed against her cheek. "A knight in shining armor."
"Eeee!" Lola let out a squeal of excitement. "Wait 'till Lori hears about this! It's so exciting! The boy next door–your new boyfriend! What's his name?"
"Chris. He's got this huuge afro…it suits him, though. So unique…"
Lincoln, wearing his backpack, looked to the two with a raised eyebrow, overhearing the conversation. "Hey, Leni, if you wanna get close with that guy, let me know. Clyde and I can do a little…research for ya." He winked at her older sister.
"Oh! That would be great! Thanks, Lincoln!" She gave him a hug, and he returned it with a brotherly embrace. "Anytime, sis."
Eventually, the family vacated their house, ready to start their day. As the sisters waited for their buses, Lisa and Lily were being escorted into Vanzilla. "Have a good day, kids!" Rita waved at her children, who said their thanks in unison.
"Hey, where's Lincoln?" The musician in purple asked, looking up and down the block. "Prob'ly went to rendezvous with Clyde." Lola shrugged.
"Since when do you speak French?" Leni asked, and the sisters turned to her with a raised eyebrow. "What? It is a French word, you guys."
Before anyone could answer, however, an unfamiliar sound filled the air; the cawing of crows. The murder which flew above them headed towards the direction of their new neighbors, and it was an unusual sight in the first few days of the summer season.
"Six crows…that's not good." Lucy commented, gulping as the black birds settled down on the newcomers' abode. "W-what does it mean, Luce?" Lynn stammered, looking to her for an answer as the others observed the crows. From the back of an unremarkable sedan, which was parked next to the gaudy lowrider, a young boy in a dark leather jacket stepped out, appearing to be around Lincoln or Lynn's age. His back faced the sisters, until he turned around, and returned a harsh, scornful gaze. The sisters shivered and jumped in their places a little, before the boy faced away from them once more.
Lucy's lip quivered, as she turned to Lynn to whisper in her ear;
"...Death."
