It was another average day at school for the middle child. With the symptom still on his mind, he had little concentration on his schoolwork. As he was done on his test, he rested his head quietly, trying to keep his eyes open. He did not try to keep it open because of the recurring dreams, but to the homeroom teacher from catching him sleeping in class. Not that he cared all that much anyway.
"Hey Linc, what's the answer to question four?" Zach whispered silently.
Mrs. Johnson cleared her throat loudly at Zach, indicated she had her eye on him. Zach played it cool and continued to focus on his test, while Lincoln remained perfectly quiet.
After the final hand, Mrs. Johnson got up from her seat and announced. "Okay class pencils down, I have an announcement to make."
As ordered, the students turned their attention to Mrs. Johnson.
"I have most exciting news to announce."
"We are going on a field trip," Rusty guessed.
"Even better, today is our annual Career Day. It will take place at the Assembly to talk about the true importance of these careers. Remember that these careers will further shape your future, not as an employee but as a person." Mrs. Johnson explained.
Lincoln did not need to be reminded since he already knew what his career was. If he could not find his talent then careers were no different.
There was lots of thoughts occupied Lincoln's mind as he made his way to chairs. He took his seat next to Clyde as the Assembly was about to begin. When the lights set, the principal made his way to the center stage, he cleared his throat.
"Good evening students," Principal Huggins greeted the crowd. "As your homeroom teachers had told you, this is a very important day for you while you're still young, but nevertheless, you need to start to consider your plans for the future so that it will help in becoming a better human being for today's society. So please take your time to fully embrace the world of wonderful job opportunities."
After he took himself off stage, the first person made his way on stage.
Principle Huggins passed the microphone to the first person who appeared in a fancy suit. By his fancy attire, it was clear that the man worked for a worldwide company. Lincoln was correct with his analysis as the man gave his presentation on his career. With him being the manager if a huge company, more than a few employees were at his fingertips. The next made his way on stage was a Fireman. As he made his opening presentation, he gave all the insights and challenges of being a Firefighter. Third up on stage was a Lawyer. There on stage, he went through different steps and objectives in the way of the law.
Though how boring and important the assembly, he followed along the speakers. Still, in his head, he did not think it was going to make that much of a difference. Lincoln watched with glumness as he was taking in all the information of the different adult individuals and their lifestyle. From each word muttered from the adult speakers, he yawned repeatedly.
Finally, the assembly was over as it was lunchtime. Lincoln sat along with his friends and Lisa who was already very chipper after the long assembly, while Lincoln's mind remained somewhere else. As they took their seats, everyone started to chatter on their different future paths.
"Man that was quite an assembly," Rusty commented.
"I'll say," Liam added.
"As if I needed all those explanations, my future is already set for my unique talent." Lisa happily marveled.
"After that, I know what I want to do now," Rusty announced. "I'm getting into the family business by running my dad's Tailor shop, ladies like a man who run their own business.
Zach was in relief as he said, "Well I'm glad that learning basic chemistry is not a necessary requirement into the career world because I'm getting into construction."
"Coolness, I'm planning on opening my own farm, and not just for chickens," Liam stated. "What about you Clyde?"
"Oh that's easy; I'm planning on going to the University to study Therapy. All these sessions with Dr. Lopez will finally pay off," Clyde answered with confidence.
"What about your career Lincoln? What are you going to be?" Rusty inquired to Lincoln, who has not said a word ever since the assembly. The friends and Lisa took a questionable glance at the middle-child.
"Huh," Lincoln replied barely listening.
"What are you going to be Lincoln?" Rusty asked again. "You know the future is not too far away from here."
Lincoln stuttered for a couple of minutes. The last thing Lincoln needed was a reminder as his mind was still a cold hard blank. TV static and cold colored images clouded his young mind.
Lincoln lips went dry as he replied, "I don't want to talk about it, alright." He said, glumly.
"Come on Lincoln, don't be shy, we already told you what we wanted to be," Clyde cheered up Lincoln.
Lincoln was already irritated as he hid his hidden scowl. "Look can we please drop this!" Lincoln hissed with a harsh tone. "Give me a break!"
"Their right, elder brother. If your future goal is not decided, you may end up being one of those good for nothing, street name; deadbeats. And I hear the large majority is constantly growing now and days," Lisa blurted with her science knowledge came muster.
"Thanks, Lisa! I'm sure everyone needed to hear that explanation." Lincoln bawled, silencing his sister. Everyone grimaced at Lincoln's sudden reaction. "Look, can we just move past this already?"
As he strolled down his neighborhood, he looked at the number of houses people worked hard to earn. All of which came from finding their talent and later a job of their capabilities. Some became lifetime; others did not and had a career change, but still kept their financial standing. When he came to one house, he saw a man leaving to work as a police officer, bidding his wife and kids goodbye.
He started to wonder the different path and options for those careers.
Lincoln then saw an electrician working on the streetlights. He hung from a high height to balance himself. Lincoln only wondered if he had a fear of heights or anything else, that or the possibility of being electroshock in the process.
He then glanced at an incoming ambulance van. Judging by the sirens, it was clear that it was in a rush. Lincoln thought about that option as well but was not so sure if he would make it in time, nor fight through endless traffic. He also wondered how many years of experience or education did it need, and did he have the patience for it.
He stopped by a house, where he glanced at a couple of people performing in their garage. One was on the computer. The other was on the keyboard, and the last person was on the microphone, performing a song.
"Do you guys get good money doing that?" Lincoln asked.
"Nah man, it's just a major hobby of ours on our downtime." The lead singer answered. "My real profession is a tech Clerk analysis." He then pointed to the keyboard player. "My friend there works as a cable guy." Next, he pointed to the computer person. "And the other guy here teaches at a college campus. Sometimes we get gigs, other times we do not, but you would be surprised at the number of fans we get. If you know what I mean." The lead person winked a few times.
Lincoln continued to explore his options on the tube at home. One commercial advertises enlisting in the army. However, Lincoln was not sure if he wanted to follow in pop-pop footsteps. Another one advertises being a salesperson, from door-to-door to local businesses. The third choice that came on TV was being doctored. With how long medical school took, he was not sure if he had that time or patience. The number of choices overwhelmed Lincoln's brain. He felt the time was of the essence as the dark future was drawing near.
"Pass the remote twerp, the style channel is on," Lori demanded.
"Knock yourself out," Lincoln answered tossing the remote.
Lori looked at Lincoln with suspicious eyes. Although, she was in question at first, but was happy she got the remote. Usually, the fight over the TV remote would turn into an all-out war in the Loud Family. This time, he forked it over without a fight or even a word of combat.
Even after looking through the channel, Lincoln still had zero ideas of his talents, let alone careers. Filling in his time and boredom, Lincoln decided to accompany his dad to the Aloha Comrade restaurant. While there, he watched as his father cook some extravagant meals for the customers. He glanced at mid-admiration the man who loved cooking for his family and now cooking for some paying customers. As he continued to stare, he thought about a career in Cinerary Arts.
"I don't get it, dad, why don't you add the spices in there now." Lincoln inquired.
"Because son, cooking is more complex than that, you can just add to things together and expect it to turn out good; you got to use more ingredients." Lynn Sr. answered Lincoln. "You just have to be patient with it."
"Kind of reminds me of Lisa chemistry set," he wondered to himself.
"Dang it, I put too much sauce in, now I have to remake it again." Lynn barked, burning his finger. "Son, do me a favor and tell the customers of Table Twenty that there will be a twenty-two-minute delay with his meal."
Lincoln following destination led him back to the Dentist office where his mom worked. Like his dad's work, Lincoln sat quietly to himself, watching with an emotionless face. To make the day more painful, a raggedy patient brought in the room. Judging by the dirty and holes in the clothes and appearance, it was clear that this patient was homeless off the street. As Lincoln took a closer look, it then turned into his future self again. Most of the front teeth were partially missing within the homeless person, while the others were any color but white.
This was clearly a result of being on the cold streets for too long. Lincoln could not stop staring at the person as his mother operated on him. As he stared, he often wondered about the man, never mind how bad the man's cavities were. Rita was a tough woman to deal with this kind of grossness every day. Lincoln wondered how long it would be before he is unable to chew normal foods. Lincoln had nothing but sympathy for the man.
After a long day, the family sat down for dinner. The girls were glad to talk about how interesting their day was. Lori went on and one about her life in high school. Leni talked about the latest fashion trends. Lola ranted about her Pageant Activities. Lisa discussed a bunch of science stuff. Luan kept the humor at the dinner table. Lynn Jr. boasted on how awesome she and her team were. Luna excitedly expressed how good she was in her music gigs. Lucy being dark expressed her dark interest in her poems. However, Lincoln still was the distance one as he silently kept to himself. All he did was stare down at the table and poke repeatedly at his food.
"If I keep this up, I will be a worldwide Pageant success," Lola happily expressed.
"That is great that your passionate sweetheart, but it never hurts to have second options," Rita reminded. The mother then turned her attention to her son. "What about you Lincoln?"
"What," Lincoln answered once again barely listening.
"We ask you how was your day Lincoln."
"Oh…it…was nothing special," Lincoln said with lament in his tone with no signs of the happiness that his family was use to.
Lincoln's unhappy tone hinted curiosity for both parents
"Um, is there something wrong sport? You've been quiet most of the day?" Lynn Sr. asked with concern.
Without haste, Lincoln shook his head and replied with, "It's nothing." He grabbed his plate a food and left the table, still leaving his family with worried glances.
Luckily Lincoln was the first to avoid the crowds as he freshens himself up. After that, he lied secluded in his room. For the next few minutes, he glanced at the dark ceiling with things still on his mind. Even after exploring different options, Lincoln still had zero ideas on possible careers choices, as his friends were already set.
Once again, he was starting to feel more left behind. With every glance, Lincoln felt his eyes dim shut.
When Lincoln's eyes close shut, he found himself back on the cold dark streets. However, instead of it being daytime it was now nightfall. On foot, homeless Lincoln continued his travels on the streets. There was not much Lincoln could do at the time in terms of getting more change. Barely anybody was around during the nights. Throughout the nights, Lincoln watched as Truckers were doing their nightly loads and gas station attendants were occupying the stations.
He could only sit and admire the careers people worked on, while he had nothing. As he stared at the lake, all he could see is the failure he has become. Just a homeless deadbeat on the streets begging for change after change and savaging food like an animal. This was now his life and his new occupation. While looking into the water, he could almost hear tremendous laughter, although it could have just been in his head. As he left, it was just two people watching a comedy video on their phone.
While walking on the sidewalk, he passed a pet shop full of different kinds of birds. When the animals glanced at homeless Lincoln, all the endless amount of squawking went off, which almost sounded like laughter to him. It was a sad day that even animals were enjoying his predicament.
Lincoln put on a scowl, "Yeah well at least I'm not the one in a cage, so the jokes on you!"
Finding the nearest gas station bathroom, he decided to freshen up a bit. The sink became Lincoln's own personal bath. Fortunately despite his dirty appearance that he sure no women would find attractive; he still kept his teeth clean. While looking in the mirror, Lincoln's hallucinations continued as if he was on drugs. In the mirror, he saw his all ten of his sisters all laughing at what he has become. In addition, it was not harmless teasing. For the most part, it was really talking down to him just like the time the toilet was clogged.
"Look at you Lincoln, you look pathetic," Lori mocked.
Leni noticed, "Ew, Lincoln is that really you, you look awful,"
"Oh how the mighty have fallen, and I mean have really fallen," Lisa stated.
Lola laughed with glee, "It sure sucks being you Lincoln, glad I'm not like that."
"That funny to you," Lincoln gritted his teeth in anger.
Even if it was not real, he could still feel his sister's constant mocking. Lincoln banged on the mirror, nearly cracking it to wipe off the image from his head. He then took several breathes at a time to get himself back to reality. Lincoln then took the final splash of water on his face.
As he came out of the bathroom, he spotted some siren lights. Thankfully, they were not on him, but it was around the corner from him. Lincoln's curiosity took over as he decided to check it out. He spotted an ambulance and police officers nearby, working on a body.
"Oh, geese looks like we got another one this week." One of the officers has cringed at the dead body.
"So what shall we do with this one?" The second officer inquired.
"I don't know. Send this one to that Goth Mortician, I hear she's study dead bodies when she was young and practically lives it, so this would make her job a lot more fun for her and less of a hassle for us."
Lincoln did not even need to guess whom they were referring to, "I hope you're enjoying this Lucy."
Getting back to his alley corner, Lincoln rested his head on the wall.
"Hey, you!" a familiar voice called out to him.
When Lincoln turns his head, it revealed to be the same thieves that robbed him before, but he eluded them. Upon second glance, he discovered they were one man short.
"You got my buddy busted." He said.
"So what, he stole from me, if you ask me he deserved to be in jail," growled Lincoln.
"Fine, then you will be the collateral damage," he shot back cracking his knuckles. "I'm picking right where I left off."
Lincoln already knew where this was going. As he turned his heel to leave, Lincoln was caught from behind. Holding both arms from behind, the thief started to pound away at Lincoln. Lincoln felt the fist impacting both his face and his chest. No matter how much he tried to escape, he was powerless against this gang. Neither of them wasted any time seeing to his destruction.
To add insult to injury, they even went through his pockets. Not only they robbed Lincoln of his loose change, but his material processions as well. Eyes spotted at his bronze wristwatch, so they grabbed that too. They finished it off with a kick to the gut; leaving Lincoln injured the hard surface. At this point, Lincoln's pleads of mercy was useless as he now had nothing. There he lied collapsed on the ground, not because of his injuries inflicted, but the sorrow he had endured.
At this point, Lincoln almost wishes he were like that dead man, for his faith was very limited.