The lights turned back on as the audience cheered and applauded as, surprisingly enough, only Catherine appeared. "Thanks for your patience, everybody!" the reporter greeted. "The votes have been made, and the lucky contestant who will get a second chance at the comedy grand prix has been decided! However, before we-"

"Hi Catty!" a voice similar to Carol's shouted.

Then Catherine turned to see Carol sitting at Maggie's judge seat. "W-Wait, what's the meaning of this? Where did judge Maggie go?"

"She said she had some important stuff to deal with, so she had Carol replace her," Giggles answered.

"Well, okay, but of all people to replace her, why did she pick Carol?"

The judges shrugged. "Also," Polly blurted. "We talked about it before Maggie left, and in fact, she found two people who she thought would be better comedians than us."

"And, to be honest, while the statement hurt, we could see where she was coming from," Tabby added, playing with her hair as she playfully added, "Besides, I have a little interest in one of the people she picked winning."

"Ah well, let's see who they are then."

It cut to a pair of shadowy figures standing nearby.

"If the resurrected turns out to fit the "boke" role, then their partner will be a woman in her 30s, a passionate teacher with a heart of gold for her students, but low patience for troublemakers. Everybody give a round of applause for, Mrs. Johnson!"

The redheaded woman was revealed, and she giggled and waved hello as she got showered with applause, even from the other shadowy figure.

"However, if the resurrected turns out to be a "tsukkomi" instead, then they'll get a young teenager with a passion for music, interest in conspiracies, and a nickname she insist to be called. Everybody give a round of applause for, Sam!"

Same thing as Mrs. Johnson, with Sam pulling double peace signs as she was showered with applause from everybody, including Mrs. Johnson.

"And now, we'll see how everybody is doing at the loser's corner."

A screen popped up to reveal Cristina and the losers... Wearing coconut bras, grass skirts, and dancing to some Hawaiian music. "Wha-ha-hat the heck is going on?! Hey! Hey!"

Everybody stopped as Cristina said, "Huh?"

"What are you doing?"

"We were getting bored that you were taking so long to tell everybody which of the losers were picked to try again."

"Fair enough, let's get to the point then."

Someone handed Catherine the envelope containing the name of the winner, and she quickly read it out loud:

"The loser picked is... Lucy Loud!"

A light shined on Lucy as everybody applauded her. "Which, being a boke, means that Mrs. Johnson will be her partner for this routine!"

Another light shined on Mrs. Johnson, who just smiled as a slightly disappointed Sam clapped.

"And now, since we don't have any prep time left, we'll have the two begin immediately. Good luck!"

The lights turned off and soon after turned back on to show a perplexed Mrs. Johnson and deadpan Lucy-basically normal Lucy-on the stage. "Oh, uh, um, h-hello everybody, thanks for having us today," the redhead told the audience as it cheered and clapped. "W-Well, looks like we got a good audience today, don't you think so, Mrs. Loud?"

"Why do you sound so nervous?" Lucy inquired.

"W-Well, Lucy, we were just asked to perform without being given a time to prepare, wouldn't you be nervous as well?"

"Hmm... There's another reason, isn't it?"

"...Yes, I can't really lie for you that much longer. I... Honestly didn't expect to be picked for this thing. In fact, seeing how one of the judges had plans for the other option, Sam, I honestly thought I was a goner."

"Well, did you even come up with a backup plan or something?"

"Didn't you hear what I just said?! I didn't plan for anything!"

"Neither did I!"

"Then what do we do now?!"

The duo hummed for a while, until Mrs. Johnson said, "I got it! How about a skit where you practice smiling?"

"I think Lisa stole my ability to smile."

"Your genius sister stole your ability to smile?"

"Yeah, see all the smiles she pulls? Those actually used to belong to me, until she stole them."

"Sounds like she did you a favor!"

And as the audience laughed, Lucy said, "She did, but still, it doesn't change the fact I can't smile anymore."

"Well, what do you find funny?"

"Dark stuff."

"Okay then, dark in what sense?"

"Dark."

"Dark in what sense?"

"Dark."

"Dark in what sense?"

The audience laughed some more as Lucy snapped, "Dark!"

"Dark in what sense?!"

"Dark!"

"Dark in what sense?!"

"Dark!"

"For the love of getting to the point, Lucy, what do you mean by dark stuff in general!"

"Corpses! Mockery! Humiliation! Black comedy in general, just not to the same extent as Luan!"

Mrs. Johnson fell silent for a moment... Then asked, "Was that so hard to say?"

"Of course not!"

"Then why didn't you say so in the first place?"

Lucy stuttered and glanced at everywhere before looking at the ground in defeat, followed by the audience laughing and clapping. "Okay, if that's what you like, how about we do this: We'll do a skit where we're two clowns, one happy and cheerful and one sad and melancholic-"

"So an ironic clown and an actual clown?"

"Pretty much, and we show our types of comedy."

"Sounds like it could work."

"It does, doesn't it? Let's give it a shot, shall we?"

"Got it."

Mrs. Johnson's skit, take 1...

Mrs. Johnson, dressed like a happy clown, sat next to Lucy... Who also looked like a happy clown.

"So, hey-" then the redheaded woman noticed Lucy's costume. "Why are you dressed like that?!"

"I'm dressing as a happy clown, in contrast to your sad clown-"

"No, you got it wrong, you're supposed to be the sad one, and I'm the happy one."

"That doesn't sound very accurate-"

"Excuse me?"

"You seem a bit sadder than me on the inside-"

"Excuse me?!"

And as the audience laughed, Mrs. Johnson took a deep breath and calmed down, while Lucy just tilted her head, seemingly confused.

"Even if I really was that sad on the inside, what matters is whether I show it on the outside or not."

"I thought the phrase was "true beauty is on the inside."

"Well, yeah-"

"Of the flesh baby tunnel."

"Who told you that?!" Mrs. Johnson turned to the audience as it started to laugh even louder. "Who told her that?!"

"Did I say something wrong?"

"Yeah, a corruption of a common phrase! True beauty is on the inside!"

"Yeah, isn't that how the original phrase goes?"

"Yes, but it's talking about beauty, not inner turmoil. And if there's someone here who fits the outward sad clown look, It's you, not me."

"So should I change my look to a sad clown?"

"Pretty much."

"Got it."

Take two...

This time, Mrs. Johnson was a happy clown, while Lucy was a sad clown. "Well, hello, Frowny!" the redheaded woman greeted.

"Hi Happy," Lucy answered. "How are you doing on this day?"

"I'm pretty good! How about you?"

"What do you think?"

"Dang, that sad?"

"Yeah."

"Well, there has to be something I can do about it... I know! How about I tell you a joke?"

"Sigh, fine..."

"Okay, so, a proton and a neutron sit together, and the proton notices the neutron is rather upset. So they say, "Hey, neutron, stop being so negative!" and then the neutron replies, "that's easy for you to say, you're always so positive!"

"Excuse me for a moment."

Lucy got up, and walked to a nearby place, shivering and seemingly trying to contain her laughter as the audience snickered. Eventually, once she reached a tree, the goth smacked it repeatedly as she laughed out loud.

And not deadpan laughter either, it sounded like laughter from a normal person, baffling Mrs. Johnson.

"That actually made you laugh?!"

And as the stage turned back to normal, Lucy clutched her stomach as she continued to laugh, while the redheaded woman pinched the bridge of her nose.

"There's no way that made you laugh," Lucy laughed some more. "There's literally no way that could've made you laugh that much, or make you laugh at all for that matter."

"It did, but not in the way you think!" the emo took a deep breath and explained, "You see, I'm laughing out loud, because you just used the exact same joke Lisa was going to use."

"Pardon me?!"

"Yeah, while I was talking with Clyde, he told me that one of the jokes he had planned to do with Lisa, which he later handed to Lisa after her victory, was the exact same joke you just told me!"

"Huh... Well, that's unfortunate."

"For Lisa, that is."

"Well, I guess we can end the skit there," Mrs. Johnson and Lucy took off their clown costumes and returned to their normal outfits. "So, did you manage to think up an skit while we were doing mine?"

"Hmm... I got it!"

"Yeah?"

"How about I act as the teacher, and you're a student on your first day of school?"

"That's a rather unexpected skit coming from you, Mrs. Loud, why did you pick that?"

"'Cause then I can see how easy it is."

The audience chuckled. "Nonononono, working as a teacher is not easy."

"It totally is! You just deal with some students, give a couple classes, get paid by the end of the school day, then go home, easy peasy!"

"That's a really crude way to look at it! And not a very accurate one either. No, if you work as a teacher, you have to be able to memorize and have an idea of what you're teaching, organize and be able to work with the schedules given to you, and it only grows even harder when you add several students into the mix!"

"You're just saying all of that to get me to pick a different skit."

"It's true!"

"Oh yeah? Prove it."

"Fair enough, I and a couple more people will be the students, and you'll be the teacher."

"Okay, let's do this."

Lucy's skit, take one...

Mrs. Johnson, Sam, and a couple random people sat on desks, wearing adult versions of school uniforms.

"Hey, thanks for letting me be a part of the skit," Sam told the redheaded woman.

"No problem, but try to stay in-character, okay?" the woman answered. "Remember, we're students, and we're supposed to give Lucy a hard time."

"Oh, okay, got it," Sam then asked, "Speaking of which, where's the teacher anyway?"

Suddenly, Lucy barged into the classroom, wearing an uniform that was a tad revealing for a teacher, let alone someone of her age. "Good morning, class-"

"What are you wearing!?" the redhead and blonde shouted as the audience laughed out loud, though some others winced instead.

Once the stage turned back to normal, Lucy asked, "What's wrong with my outfit?"

"You'd be fired on the spot if you came to school wearing something like that!" Mrs. Johnson growled.

"What about me?" Sam raised her hand. "What would happen if I wore that?"

"You'd be reprimanded and forced to change outfits at best, and outright expelled at worst!"

"What if I wore that as a teacher, then?"

"Same deal! You'd be fired!"

"So, what you're trying to say is that I should wear something more modest?" Lucy pondered.

"Something much more modest!"

"Got it."

Take two...

Same deal as before, but Lucy walked into the classroom wearing an outfit more fit for a librarian, but definitely more modest than her last costume.

"Good morning, class," Lucy greeted as she walked to the blackboard.

"Good morning, Mrs. Loud!" Mrs. Johnson and most students greeted.

Except Sam, who just yelled, "The education system is a concentrated effort by aliens to make their invasion much easier!"

"That would explain a lot, actually," Mrs. Johnson chuckled.

"Mrs. Sam, we can discuss your nonsense conspiracy theories later," Lucy started drawing something on the board... With a crayon. "For now, we have to begin our lesson of-"

Lucy drew a graveyard and the words "Death" and "Acceptance" on the board.

"How to accept that death is inevitable-"

"Wait!" the redhead yelled.

The stage turned back to normal as the audience laughed and Lucy asked, "What did I do wrong this time?"

"That's not a subject taught at school!" the redhead snapped. "Math, Chemistry, those are taught, but not acceptance of death!"

"Probably because life itself is already teaching us that-" Sam pondered.

"You stay out of this!"

Then Lucy said, "Well, even if that's not a lesson taught, I still learned something today."

Agnes and Sam asked in unison, "And that is?"

Shrugging and sticking out her tongue, Lucy sheepishly said, "Teaching is easy!"

An angry Mrs. Johnson snapped, "It's not easy!"

Followed by Sam ending by saying, "Thanks for watching, everyone!"

And the lights turned off as the audience cheered and applauded the duo... Well, trio...

.

.

.

The lights turned back on to reveal Mrs. Johnson and Lucy standing next to Catherine. "Well, that was...Something," she said. "You got something to say, Mrs. Johnson?"

"I... Have no comment, honestly," Mrs. Johnson answered. "We, well just I, thought up the skits on the spot, and everything was pretty much improvised from there."

"Agreed," Lucy added.

"Well then, let's see what the judges think," Catherine said. "Judges, if you'd please."

"JUDGING!"

Same deal as before, with the scoring turning out to be:

Polly: Mrs. Johnson.

Tabby: Mrs. Johnson.

Haiku: Mrs. Johnson.

Giggles: Mrs. Johnson.

Carol: Cereal

"Whoa! Four points for Mrs. Johnson and one point for cereal?!" Catherine recapped. "Did that really just happen?!"

"I'm cereal about my decision!" Carol stated.

"No, not you Carol, I expected your judging to be weird and bizarre, you're replacing Maggie after all," the reporter said. "But for the other judges, why did you all vote for Mrs. Johnson?"

"Well, our opinion on Lucy's brand of humor remain," Giggles said. "She wouldn't be able to be funny for long, specially if she gets more and more morbid."

"Besides, Mrs. Johnson is a much more interesting participant in general," Polly added. "I wonder what else she'll have up her sleeve."

"Aw, sorry Lucy, looks like you're out again," Catherine told the goth.

"Sorry, Lucy," the redheaded woman said.

"It's okay, I don't mind." Lucy turned to the redhead. "But, Mrs. Johnson?"

"Yeah?"

"... Good luck, specially if you're paired up with Lynn."

The audience laughed as Lucy went with the losers and Mrs. Johnson with the winners. "Well, that concludes the first round, but we're not done yet!" Catherine said. "We'll have the groups for the second round revealed to us in a moment!"

Cristina appeared and walked to the reporter, holding a box. Once she was next to the reporter, Catherine took out the names for the groups

"The first group will be Terrestial Prodigy, composed of Lisa and Lana Loud!"

Lisa stood in place, looking flabbergasted, while Lana raised her arms and celebrated, all while the audience applauded them. Then Catherine took the name for the second group.

"The second group will be School O' Rock, formed by Luna Loud and Agnes Johnson!"

Luna comforted a terrified Mrs. Johnson as the audience applauded. "What?! That early?!"

"Relax, Mrs. J," Luna said. "I'm sure we'll be able to come up with some good skits by then."

Then came the name for the third group.

"The third group will be Tough Love, formed by Lincoln Loud and Ronnie Anne Santiago!"

Lincoln and Ronnie smiled as people applauded them. "Awesome!"

Lincoln just hummed in agreement.

And then the final group name.

"And the final group will be Athletic Fashion, formed by Lynn and Leni Loud!"

Leni hugged her younger sister as the same applause showered them.

"And that was the first round of the "Royal Woods Comedy Grand Prix!" Catherine chirped. "Stay tuned, 'cause we'll begin the second round after a commercial break. And once we return, there's a special announcement from Mr. B himself! So until then... See ya!"