Across the cafeteria, there sat T.K. at their usual spot, eating a burger. Surprised, Lincoln and Clyde rushed to the table. "Hey ya'll! What's good?" T.K. greeted them with a mouth full of burger. "Good to see you back, man! You feel better?" Lincoln asked, slapping hands and sharing a bro hug with T.K. "Yeah, are you?" Clyde pried, getting his bro hug in as well. T.K. rolled his eyes, "I told you guys time and time again, I'm fine." The duo took in T.K.'s apperance: his hair was disheveled, his eyes were red from lack of sleep, and he smelled like he hadn't have a bath in weeks.
"T.K. is something going on over at the foster home? You looked worse for wear," Lincoln interrogated, plugging his nose from T.K.'s stank. "Nope. Everything's peachy over there," T.K. lied, putting on a straight face. Clyde rose an eyebrow, "Are you sure? You really do look terrible." "Bros, I'm fine. Nobody gonna break me down," T.K. lied, finishing the last of his burger and starting on another one. Lincoln was unconvinced, "T.K., you're lying. You always flare your nostrils when you're lying. Please, let us help you." The worried faces on those two were getting to him. He had to tell them. If no one knew, then there was no chance of getting out of that hellhole.
"Alright, I'll confess. Leemick is the devil, ya'll! The first day wasn't so bad. The second day is when it really goes down. She had us working like those orphans from little orphan Betty. Scrubbing the floors, cleaning the windows, and rubbing her rough, calloused feet. UGH, that's the worse. On top of that, she rarely feeds us and she never has any running water," T.K. explained, growing angrier by the minute.
Lincoln and Clyde were shocked at the horrendous story. "That's terrible! Have you guys called the police?" Lincoln questioned. T.K. shook his head, "No use. She's in the feds' good graces, and on top of that, we need evidence before they can do anything." "That stinks, man! What are you going to do?" Clyde asked. "Probably run away. I heard that one of the older kids is running sometime this weekend," T.K. informed.
Lincoln's eyes widen, "That's insane, T! Do you know where you're going to go?" "No, but I rather be on the run than spending every waking minute under that roof," T.K. retorted. The bell rung, signaling the boys to go to class. Lincoln was halted by T.K.'s hand on his shoulder, "Hey, can I come over for the day? I don't want to go back to the house. And keep this between you, me, and Clyde. I don't want your parents nor your sisters to worry about me." "Sure, T. Your secret's safe with me," Lincoln reassured.
Lincoln managed to sneak T.K. home, and they are currently in his room. "Ok, first things first. You need a bath because the smell is setting my nosehairs on fire," Lincoln declared.
"Duly noted. Got any clothes I can borrow?" T.K. asked. "Sure, here," Lincoln answered, giving him a black Ace Savvy t-shirt with black jean shorts. "Thanks man. Guess I'm going commando," T.K. chuckled. "Ew. Hurry, before someone takes the bathroom," Lincoln warned. T.K. opened the door and snuck out.
Ten minutes later, Lori peeked her head inside Lincoln's room. "Hey, twerp. Who's in the bathroom?" She inquired. "Oh...uh, T.K." He answered. Lori looked confused, "Why is he using the shower? Doesn't the foster home have one of their own?" "Uh...he said that the water pipes burst," Lincoln lied, silently praying that T.K. hurry up.
Said prayers were answered as T.K. popped under Lori, scaring her. "Ahhhh, I feel better already. Thanks for the shower, bro," T.K. expressed his gratitude. "When did yo- Ugh! Nevermind. Link, Mom said dinner's ready, so wash up. I guess T.K. can eat too," Lori spoke, leaving the room. Lincoln reached for his shirt, "T, go on without me. I'll be a sec." T.K. nodded his head and left the room.
Downstairs, the other Louds were surprised at T.K.'s sudden appearance; nonetheless, they were happy that he recovered. T.K. helped the others set up the table. "Alright, everyone. Dig in! Tonight's fried chicken night," Mr. Loud announced. "Fried...chicken," T.K. whispered, hypnotized by his father's favorite dish.
Mrs. Loud noticed, "T.K., dear, is everything ok?" "Ma'am?" T.K. said, snapping out of his trance. "Yeah, dude. You were looking at that piece of chicken pretty hard," Luna explained.
"I guess you can say that he was chicken it out. Ha, ha, get it," Luan quipped. The others groaned while Mr. Loud chuckled, "Good one, honey!" "Thanks, dad," Luan responded. "So anyway, how's everyone's day been? Obviously, all of us have interesting stories to tell," Lincoln proposed, taking the attention off of T.K.
This sparked off a multitude of stories and conversations around the table. In midst of this, T.K. looked over to Lincoln and bowed his head as a way of saying thanks. Lincoln responded with a wave of his hand as a way of saying your welcome. "So T.K., how was your day?" Mr. Loud asked. "Dang it," T.K. thought.
"It's been uneventful, to say the least. Aside from a week long book fair, nothin' else had been goin' down," T.K. stated. "A book fair? What did you buy?" Mrs. Loud pried. "Just some new Spaghetti Legs horror books, that's all." T.K. answered. "Spaghetti Legs, nice. So Lincoln, what did you buy?" Mr. Loud asked. "Just a brand new Ace Savvy comic," Lincoln answered.
"Well, time for me to hit the dusty ole trail," T.K. yawned, getting up to go wash his plate. "Don't you want some chicken for the road, son?" Mr. Loud proposed. "No thanks, sir," T.K. declined.
"Wait a sec, I thought you said that the water pipes in your foster home burst," Lori pointed out. T.K. was confused, "I did? Oh, I did, yeah. Um-hm. It only flooded the basement, we sleep on the top floor." Lori wasn't convinced about the lie, but she let it slide for now. "So anyway, let me thank ya'll for your hospitality, and I'll be out," T.K. informed, proceeding to the kitchen.
Later that night, Lori called for a quick emergency meeting in her room. "Ok the subject of the matter is T.K. Have any of you notice how odd he's acting lately?" Lori asked. "Yeah, he's not his usual dancing self," Lynn chimed. "And he's not wearing those cute skate shoes with the little wheels," Leni added.
"There could be one reason he's acting like this," Lori suggested. All of the girls turned their heads towards Lincoln, who was reading his new comic. Lincoln notices, "What's wrong? Is there something on my face?" "Don't play dumb, Lincoln. Do you know what's up with T.K.?" Lola interrogated, pulling the comic down. "I haven't had the slightest idea. In fact, today's the first time I had seen him after two weeks." Lincoln explained.
"Oh I think you do know more, unless you want me to take this comic to Lily," Lori threatened, snatching the comic. Lincoln reached for his comic, "Hey, give that back, Lori! You wouldn't dare!" "Oh really. Try me, Link, try me," Lori deadpanned. "Ugh, fine. But you all not going to like it," Lincoln warned.
Lincoln told them everything: the starvation, no running water, and the lack of helpful cops. Surprise and anger appeared on the girls' faces as they soaked in the details. "So that's it? There's nothing that the cops can do?" Lynn asked, trying to stay calm. Lincoln shook his head, "T.K. said that Leemick is in good with them and they need evidence in order to do something." "That's literally unacceptable. The evidence should be on those foster kids' faces," Lori groaned.
"Yeah dude. You heard what Link said. They're starving, reeking, and being worked like slaves," Luna chimed. "Like, is T.K. going to do anything about it?" Leni questioned. "Not that I've heard of," Lincoln lied, keeping T.K.'s secret of running away under wraps. Lori looked at her clock, "Alright, everyone, it's close to bedtime. Without any futher ado, this court is adjourned."
