A little over an hour ago, Rita and Lynn Sr. were, once again, approached by Leni about presenting her brownies at dinner. Unlike before, though, this was the first time that both parents were on board with the idea, and Rita was all smiles as she was about announce Leni's breakthrough to the whole family—she made to win the round of "nose goes" that determined whom it would be that would get that honor.

"More good news, everyone," Rita said over the cacophony of intermingling conversations that enveloped the dinner table.

Those who weren't Rita, Lynn Sr., Leni, or Luan, silenced immediately, dread overtaking them like a possessing apparition. It didn't take much for them to be reminded of the last time that Rita had "good news" for them.

"And, uh, by 'good news', you mean-"

"Yes, Lynn," Rita interrupted, giving her sporty daughter a look of gentle reassurance. "I really mean 'good news'. Leni's baked us another batch of brownies."

Before the dining room could explode in a state of bedlam, Lynn Sr. stood up whistled loudly with his fingers, keeping any and all hysteria in check.

"Lynn and I tried some before we both approved Leni sharing them with everyone else," Rita continued once her husband sat back down. She then turned to Leni. "And I must say, Leni, you've really outdone yourself. I never thought you'd make as much progress as you've accomplished in only a few weeks, but you managed to do it. Great job."

Leni just grinned shyly as she got up and went to the kitchen to get her brownies.

"I'll say," Luan added as her sister departed. "Leni's worked super hard to make them as good as they are, and I'm not just saying that for brownie points, either."

Lori was the only one not to groan at Luan's pun. The last three minutes she had seen and heard were among the most bizarre she had ever experienced in her entire life, and that was saying something with the kind of life she had in a family such as hers.

Had she heard Mom right? Had Mom, under no duress whatsoever, claim that Leni, Leni Loud, had baked together a batch of brownies that didn't have less edibility than a lump of coal? And Dad was right along for the ride, not doing anything akin to calling her out on a lie; he looked just as proud as she did.

And Luan…what was her deal? If her endorsement was some kind of prank, an attempt to get everyone else to drop their guard, then why would Mom and Dad be on it too? Did they want to buy immunity from next year's "Prank-agedddon"?

Whatever the case was, Lori had one dominating thought:

'Okay, now this is something that I've gotta see. Leni? Baking good brownies? Please, I doubt they're even decent at best.'

Lori looked on as Leni came back with a bake pan that she didn't even bother to keep covered this time. The air was nearly sucked out of the room as Lori—along with Luna, Lynn, Lincoln, Lucy, Lana, Lola, Lisa, and Lily—gasped at the sight before them. Neither of them, not even Lori could deny that what Leni had just placed in the dinner table was one appetizing looking pan of brownies.

"Like the Polish people say, bon appétit!" Leni cried.

And just like that, everyone was off to the races, thundering over to taste those brownies as if their lives depended on it…

Well, everyone except for Lori, was still too stymied to do anything more than look on with her mouth agape and her eyes as wide as globe models. 'This…this literally cannot be happening…'

But whether she wanted to admit it to herself or not, it was happening. Even Lucy, who had every reason to approach Leni's brownies with suspicion and doubt, was enjoying herself.

Despite that, Lori couldn't decide if she had stepped into the Twilight Zone or if she had somehow been subjected to a virtual reality simulation by one of Lisa's machines—either possibility sounded more plausible than the idea that Leni had done a complete 180° with baking practically by herself!

"Wow, these brownies rock!" Luna exclaimed.

"Who knew such a delectable confection was even possible?!" Lisa proclaimed with handfuls of brownie. "The sheer brilliance of this delicacy renders my own inventions as mere child's play!"

"I can't wait to give some of these off to Clyde!" Lincoln cried. "These are amazing!"

"Not if I eat 'em all first!" Lynn said.

Each declaration of praise only made Lori's latest explanation that much more valid to her, her stubborn pride not allowing her to accept defeat and admit that she was wrong to underestimate her little sister.

It wasn't that she was wrong about Leni—no, not at all! It was just that this was a-

"You want one too, Lori?"

Lori was shaken out of the reverie of her thoughts at the sound of Leni's voice. Lori looked up and saw Leni, beaming with the pride that Lori felt that she didn't deserve to have, setting a brownie on her empty dinner plate.

Then, against her better judgment, Lori gazed at the treat and found herself relishing in the delectable smell and look the brownie had. She could almost taste what was sure to be the chewy, pleasurable fudginess crumbling delightfully in her mouth as her tongue savored the texture, the flavor, and the…no!

Lori shook her head in a frantic bid to get the temptation under control. Once she felt that she had a better grip on her self-control, she sniffed at the brownie in disgust and crossed her arms.

"Absolutely not," Lori said.

She nearly felt guilty enough to reconsider her words at the wounded look of disappointment her words had caused, but only nearly, though.

"But…but why?" Leni asked sadly.

"I just can't accept these, that's all," Lori said. "I'll admit that you did a good job with them, but this is nothing more than a fluke; I can't reward you for a fluke by eating your brownies. It just wouldn't be right."

Now, it was a bitter frown's turn to morph on Leni's face. "Oh? Is that so?" Leni asked, her question presented as more of a challenge than an innocent question.

"Yeah. It is so," Lori insisted. "You're just not good at baking, plain and simple. Even a broken clock is right twice a day. That doesn't mean anything."

It was then and there that an oh-so clever idea crossed Lori's mind; if there was any way for her to be proven right, it was to have her words be put into action with a test.

"In fact, I bet you couldn't do this tomorrow with a dessert besides brownies," Lori said with a cocky sneer.

"Oh yeah?" Leni retorted.

"Yeah. Just you watch; we're all gonna see today as a fluke once tomorrow comes around."

As far as Lori was concerned, she had put Leni in checkmate, no possible way to come out the winner. She was sure she'd feel a little bad for having to put Leni in her place, of course, but it wasn't the time nor the place for regrets because she had a point to prove and it would taste sweeter than Leni's fluke brownies.

She'd show Leni. Oh, she'd show her, indeed.

But by the time that the next day rolled in, Lori could only find herself showing Leni, who was standing right next to her, her best impression of Edvard Munch's The Scream—it wasn't as if she could do anything else as she looked on at her family ravenously helping themselves to a plate of Leni's coconut macaroons, a confection that she had apparently baked sometime before going to bed late last night.

Though Lori couldn't see it, Leni's self-satisfied grin was as apparent as her flabbergasted stasis.

"You were saying?" Leni asked, her taunting tone proving to be enough to get Lori to break out of her paralysis.

"J-just another fluke," Lori mumbled with puffed cheeks.

Whatever. Fine. Macaroons and brownies? Big whoop. Like she said yesterday, broken clocks were right twice a day. She got it right twice, so far; she wouldn't stumble onto another victory again.

By tomorrow, everything would be back to way it should've been once Leni finally ran out of luck.

"Well, Lori, what do you have to say no-"

"Fluke, fluke, fluuuuuuuuuuuuke!"

Despite her outburst, no one who was munching down Leni's lemon bars, paid it any heed; that went double for the way Lori ran out of the dining room, as if a wild tiger was chasing her down.

For Lori, though, a wild tiger's ferocity paled in comparison to the ferocity of the debt of her words coming back to haunt her, demanding that she own up for all the doubting and discouraging that she had lobbed at Leni.

But it had been long past the point of a simple matter of stubborn pride for Lori. No, she had to run, had to keep looking for a way out. That way, she wouldn't have to own up to what she knew she would be if she couldn't see herself as in the right.

That's why, until she could find that way out, she would keep on running.

By the next day, Lori's determination had all but dried up to a shallow husk. She laid in bed, defeated and without refuge.

That last blow had done the trick; just a few minutes ago, Leni had brought out a tray of delicious-looking cupcakes, each topped with a different color of homemade frosting that she had crafted. There was orange for Lincoln, red for Lynn, pink for Lola, purple for Luna, and so on and so forth…

…except there wasn't a blue one. Her lack of inclusion was anything but unintentional; she could see that look of disdain that Leni had snuck at her as she passed her cupcakes around, making sure to cover her tracks by commenting that she had "accidentally" forgotten to bake one for Lori.

That was all it took for Lori to excuse herself from the dinner table, making sure to do so while retaining a level-headed, nonchalant composure: she didn't deserve anyone chasing her down to give her any pity.

Running was all that Lori thought she had, but now it just looked like an exercise in futility. She didn't want to run anymore—accepting her newfound label and wearing it with dignity was not only what she deserved but what Leni deserved too.

Lincoln might have said it in blind anger once upon a time, but Lori didn't feel like she could deny the accuracy of the claim any longer—she truly was the "worst sister ever".

What she was doing wouldn't do much to efface her sins, but Lori didn't care as much for atonement as she did for giving Leni what she was due.

That's why Lori, after mustering the courage to do so, approached the kitchen with tentative steps, finding Leni at the kitchen table with her head rested against her hand. Lori couldn't blame her for looking so despondent—after all, she couldn't imagine that Leni would've wanted to go up to her bedroom while she was there.

Well, if that was the case, then Lori hoped that when she announced herself to her, Leni wouldn't run off from her and lock herself in their bedroom.

At least, not without listening to what she had to say first.

"Hey, Leni."

Her greeting only got Leni's eyes to wander up at for the a split second before they looked away again. The little scowl she had before had grown longer.

Still, Lori was insistent on making herself heard, even after the warning signs had told her to abandon all hope.

"Look, you're probably really mad at me, and I don't blame you," Lori continued. "I've been pretty awful lately, haven't I?"

Leni's expression didn't shift, not even a little.

"And I just wanna say that I'm sorry."

That is, until Lori had said that. Her frown had all but vanished and her eyes had gone back to looking at her older sister, who looked about as miserable as she thought she'd only get after a hypothetical break-up with Bobby.

"I'm sorry for belittling you and counting you out," Lori said, her voice choked by dejection. "I should've given you the benefit of the doubt instead of being against you all this time. It wasn't fair of me, and I just want you to know that I'm proud of you. I know you're gonna be a hit at that bake sale. You deserve to be."

With that, without giving Leni a chance to react, Lori turned on her heel and began to walk away. She'd stick around in the living room until Leni decided to go back to their room. Then, she'd make herself at home on the living room couch for the nights to come until Leni had the stomach and the mercy to endure her presence again.

Yeah right, like that would ever happen.

"Wait."

Lori stopped herself, shook up from what she had heard. She didn't want to turn away, afraid that she'd be confirming that she was just deluding herself to make herself feel better.

But then, when she felt a head pressed against her back, felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist, and looked down to see the hands of Leni locked around her belly, she had to keep herself from swooning from the disbelief that racked through her body like lightning.

"You said a bunch of really mean things," she heard Leni say sternly, "but I can't exactly…well, blame you, I guess. I had to earn your trust to get you to believe in me. I couldn't just expect you to back me up just because I wanted you to."

Aghast by such a self-deprecating utterance, Lori reached down and held onto Leni's hands as tenderly as she could.

"No, Leni. That's no excuse," she replied softly. "Even if I wasn't exactly wrong to be skeptical, I should've never acted like it was impossible for you to be good at baking, especially with how much it meant for you to get better in time for the bake sale."

Feeling a little better with herself, Lori's lower face split with a grin as she turned around in Leni's arms, stopping until she was looking down at her. The embers of her joy flared once she saw Leni with a smile of her own.

"If it means anything to you," Lori said, "I'll make sure to be extra careful to try and encourage you from now on. So, uh, do you accept my apology?"

As soon as she said that, Leni broke away from her to walk over to the fridge. Despite how well Leni had taken her words, Lori was still a little worried about Leni's lack of an immediate, positive reply.

The worry dematerialized when Leni returned, bringing back a little piece of heaven with her—and the best part was, it was topped off with a hearty lump of light blue frosting on top.

"Only as long as you accept the cupcake I baked for you," Leni said, which she punctuated with a little laugh once Lori immediately took it from her.

"Heck yeah, I do!" Lori exclaimed before she started scarfing down the cupcake like there was no tomorrow, not even caring about all the frosting that got slathered all over her face.

After Lori, who had been more ecstatic about a cupcake than she had ever been before, finished off the last piece of her treat, she heard Leni telling her, "Thank you."

"Hmmm? For what?" Lori asked as she licked her fingers clean.

"For motivating me," Leni explained. "Even if you didn't mean to, you really pushed me to get better with all your doubting. I felt like I was the 'The Little Engine That Could'."

To illustrate her point, Leni started spewing out a series of chugging sounds, followed by her pantomiming a locomotive as she circled around the table with a huge, chipper smile on her face. Lori couldn't help but find the sight insanely adorable and amusing.

"'The Little Engine That Could', huh? Yeah, I suppose that works," Lori said, "but if I'm gonna be honest, I think 'The Little Sister That Could' works a whole lot better."

Once Leni stopped her little show, she let Lori know that she wholeheartedly agreed.

TWO DAYS LATER…

And…voila! Perfect!

Leni could get a little fussy when it came to getting every last detail of her handiwork as perfect as she could—a penchant that came from all sewing and fabricating she did over the years. Naturally, that meant that she had to be sure that her huge plate of raspberry turnovers was stacked as pleasantly as possible, a process that took a good seven minutes or so before Leni was satisfied with the pyramid formation that she had put together.

After all, presentation was almost as important as the baked good itself, and Leni couldn't imagine serving her family with anything less than her absolute best.

Now that that was taken care of, it was time for the presentation itself, which Leni made sure to draw out just a little bit by taking her sweet ol' time as she made her way to the dining room—there was just…something about keeping her family in suspense, knowing that they were sitting on pins and needles in anticipation of her, that made the few seconds of delay worth it to her.

"Okay, everyone," Leni cried as she arrived in the dining room, noting every watering mouth and captivated gaze that was transfixed on her and her plate of sweets, "who wants raspberry turnovers?!"

Everyone, even her parents, were in an uproar as they scrambled to her like a pack of hungry dogs. Lana and Lynn went so far as to sit on their haunches, pant, and bat at her legs just like hungry dogs. Leni had to hold the plate over her head just to keep their grabby hands away, though she couldn't help but find this sort of reception entertaining.

"Guys, guys, relax!" Leni shouted, though there was only mirth in her voice. "There's plenty of turnovers to go around! Just get in line, and I'll give you one!"

That was all it took for her family to compose themselves as they immediately pulled it together and scrambled in a single file line per Leni's request. Lincoln found himself at the head of the line, and began the train of compliments and gratitude that Leni could never imagine getting tired of.

"Thanks, Leni," Lincoln said as he helped himself.

The twins were next. "Thank you, Leni," they said simultaneously, their sweet little voices sending Leni to the moon and back.

"My sincerest of thanks, Leni," Lisa said, making sure to hug her big sister once she got her turnover.

"You da man, Leni," Lynn said, sneaking another turnover under the one she openly grabbed.

Okay…now that was just confusing. Last time she checked, Leni wasn't a man. She'd have to correct Lynn on that later.

Speaking of Lynn, a few days later, Leni was confronted with the sight of her jumping out in front of her as she laid across the couch, watching TV. Though Leni was a little perturbed by the sudden intrusion, the look of panic on her face was what truly got her to regard Lynn's appearance as a serious matter.

"Leni, we got a big situation on our hands!" Lynn cried.

Leni sat up and gasped, throwing her hands over her cheeks. "Did little Lincoln fall down the well again?!"

The distress in Lynn's features slowly began to deflate. "Leni, we don't have a well," she said, somewhat irked.

"We don't?" Leni wondered. "Then how did he fall down the first time?"

She didn't have time to ponder about that for long as Lynn shouted at her again, that timbre of distress back on display. "Look, forget about the well! I accidentally threw my football through Mr. Grouse's window, and he's threatening to call the cops on me unless I can bribe him! I can't go to jail! My soccer coach is gonna kick me off to team if I become a jailbird! You gotta help me!"

Leni took in the quandary, trying to empathize with Lynn's plight as best she could…

…but couldn't help but laugh. Lynn made it sound like she was dealing with something terrifying, something that couldn't be handled. Leg warmers? Jorts? Squirrels? Squirrels wearing jorts and leg warmers? Yeah, those were truly terrifying. But thus? This was nothing, and Leni was gobsmacked that Lynn didn't know that for herself.

"Lynn, relax," Leni reassured. "We have Dad to take care of that. He can just use one of his lasagnas."

Lynn shook her head. "No can do!" she said. "He caught wind of how awesome you are at baking, and he wants a plate of your sugar cookies, pronto! Ya gotta help me, Leni!"

Even though Lynn's request was too urgent to be taking any mental detours away from the dilemma right in front of her, Leni couldn't help herself—she knew she was good, but, from the sounds of things, she was good enough to have her reputation as an excellent baker spread to Mr. Grouse's ears.

And not only that, he voluntarily chose to indulge her baking over the baking of her father, someone who was not only good enough to work as the co-chef at one of the most popular fusion cuisine restaurants in town but was the go-to person for all of Mr. Grouse's bribes.

For him to buck tradition like this…that could only mean that Leni was far better than she could've ever imagined she'd be. She supposed that if she was such a good baker, it'd only make sense for both Mr. Grouse and Lynn to turn to her for their needs.

Leni grinned, puffed up at feeling of being relied on and the knowledge that she had the skills to back up her confidence.

"That's all? Piece of cake," Leni said, but stopped herself from continuing when she realized her "mistake". "I-I mean 'cookie'. I can have them done in about thirty minutes."

Before Leni could get up and take care of business, she was floored by Lynn's tackling hug.

"Thanks, Leni!" Lynn cried. "I'm not going to the slammer, after all!"

Even with the rib-compressing hug that Lynn had clamped around her, Leni wasn't sure that her day could get any better than this.

She was proven wrong when Lynn came back around half an hour later to tell her that Mr. Grouse had taken the bribe and was happier than she had seen him since the Christmas they had spent with him in his family's stead.

Now that…that most certainly made Leni's day better.

"Seriously?" Leni asked.

"Seriously," her father replied.

Leni was one step away from looking around the room for candid cameras; this was almost too peculiar to take at face value.

Could this be a trick? If it was, then her whole family, who was seated around the dining table and looking at her expectantly, played a role in this ruse too. But if it wasn't…if it wasn't a trick, then Leni had to ask again—she had to hear her father unbegrudgingly pass down such an honor to her.

"You're giving me the seat at the head of the table?"

"Absolutely."

Leni looked away from her father's face and back down at the empty chair in front of her. "But…why?"

Lynn Sr. placed a hand on her shoulder, the universal sign of pride that a parent had in their child.

"You've made dinner time the best it's been in years, Leni," Lynn Sr. said. "This is the least I can do to give you my thanks."

His gaze drifted towards his other children and his wife. "Any objections?"

None of them did as much. In fact, they all gestured for Leni to have a seat, a seat at the chair that they all felt like she deserved.

And now that everything was beginning to fall into place, now that Leni knew why she was being exalted like this, she didn't have the heart nor the mind to turn them away.

They were right; she had made dinner better with her baking skills. They wouldn't be as happy as they've been in the past few weeks had they not been. If this was the way that they were going to thank her, then who was she to deny herself of what she deserved?

"Well then," Leni said, complacency brewing through her body as sat down, "don't mind if I do."

Ah, what a view this was. She could clearly see twelve cheery faces, beaming their grins of appreciation at her. She could definitely get used to this.

Leni didn't know why she didn't consider doing this sooner—even if it was a few days before the bake sale, Leni couldn't see why her Fashion Club friends couldn't be treated to a little teaser at all the goods that Leni would have in store for their customers. Thus, Leni took it upon herself to bake a spread of an assortment of treats she could show off during lunch.

By the sounds and looks of it, the only thing that Leni did wrong was not bringing enough to satisfy her ravenous horde of fans.

"Okay, forget about new supplies; we can buy ourselves Ferraris with all the money we'll be raking in with muffins this good!" Jasmine, a dark-skinned girl with a ponytail, chirped before she took another bite of her blueberry muffin.

"Oh, those muffins are on fleek," Monica, a girl with a pink highlight streak through her short, black hair, said, "but have you tried the fried donut holes?! The blueberry filling is to die for!"

"I'll give 'em a shot after I post some pics of those cream puffs online!" Amber, a redheaded girl, exclaimed. "The entire world has to know about them!"

"Well, maybe the world won't know, but the entire school will once the bake sale rolls around," Micah, a freckled boy with curly, brown hair said, "We're gonna be a hit."

"And we owe it all to Leni, the 'Diva of Desserts'," Derek, a boy with glasses and a piece of strawberry shortcake on his wielded fork, said.

"That's not bad," Amber said, "but I think the 'Baking Beauty' is a much better fit—a good look and a good cook all rolled into one."

"Oooorrrr…" Monica said, giving her idea some build-up with a dramatic pause, "…how about the 'Goddess of Goodies'?!"

"How about just plain awesome?" Jasmine suggested.

The group all murmured and talked back and forth to themselves, collectively spouting out murmurs of agreement of grunts of objection. After about a minute of this, it was Micah who remembered the girl that they were talking about in the first place, and turned to her to ask, "What'd you think Leni?"

Leni, who had absolutely no problem with letting her friends gush about her the way that they had, replied, a contented smile on her face, "They all sound pretty good, actually."

And though Leni thought this to herself, she found them all to be quite fitting to boot.

The night before the bake sale had been a bit of a festive occasion; at least, that's how Leni felt about what had happened to her at dinner.

She wasn't prepared, but not displeased, when upon walking into the dining room, her family had greeted her with an uproar of cheers, applauses, and a "Leni!" chant that had gone on just a little bit shorter than she would've liked. That was fine, though, since it all started up again as soon as she brought out a fresh apricot pie.

Now, with the silence of the late evening gracing her ears, Leni was looking forward to catching up on the last few episodes of Dessert Storm that she had missed. Leni knew that she wouldn't have to worry about her DVR recordings of the show getting erased, a common source of annoyance between siblings who squabbled over DVR superiority, because her siblings had promised her that they would be sure to leave her recordings alone—Leni supposed she could chalk that up to yet another perk of being the "Diva of Desserts", the "Baking Beauty", the "Goddess of Goodies", and the "just plain awesome" girl who was gonna make head turns and mouths drool at the bake sale.

But could she think about her soon-to-be captivated audience later. Right now, she had Dessert Storm in front of her and with her family having already gone to bed, she'd be able to watch her show without interruption.

However, once Leni was fifteen minutes into the first of her recorded episodes, her mood had gone from mildly entertained to deeply pensive. At this point in the season, six competitors were left in the game and right now, they were participating in one of the oldest traditions of the show's eighteen-year history, the "Tiki Tropic Thunder Cake Challenge".

Ordinarily, Leni wouldn't think of that challenge as anything other than a form of entertainment. But now? She saw it as an opportunity for herself.

"Hmmm…now there's an idea," Leni said to herself.