On Thursday morning, the Loud House awoke and engaged it's ritualistic routine. The six older Louds awoke to the blaring of alarm clocks and voices. All six of them crowded the sink to brush their teeth, acquiring their own posture and position to see the precious mirror. Foam spewed all over the sink as each of them vigorously scrubbed within their mouths, generating garbled mumbles over the mess and lack of room. Yet even with this inconvenience, they all insisted on having tooth brushing being the first thing to do in the morning.
Following that, they retreated to their rooms, where space became abundant. Leni promptly got dressed before going to the closet to pull out plastic bags full of fabric and supplies and plopping them on her bed. The task didn't take long. Following that, she headed downstairs.
Meanwhile, Lori was parked in front of the bureau with a full white tube. The girl popped the cap and crushed it within her firmly clamped fist. The cream shot out like a missile, splattering on her palm. Lori mashed her hands together, giving them a sloppy rubbing before slapping her cheeks and lathering them with the white goo. Her nose recoiled at the cold stench the cream produced. It smelled like Dr. Tyson's office, too clean and naked to be comfortable.
The oldest girl pulled back her egg white hands to see her face. It was completely covered in the white stuff, but many regions were considerably thick.
"It's not too much. After all, it keeps my face clear anyway."
After a quick stop to the bathroom to wash her hands (and some of the excess cream), she grabbed a gentle pink lipstick and carefully applied it, making sure to not let the stick touch the cream. She knew it was better to wait for the cream to absorb, but as she liked to tell herself, there was simply too much preparation to do to wait. And on this day at least, she technically wasn't wrong.
From her peripheral vision, she saw Leni re-entering the doorway holding something. Following this acknowledgement, Lori finished the lipstick and proceeded to the other important step, eye liner. She took the black stick and pulled out the black pointy stylus. Unfortunately, some of the cream hadn't fully absorbed left, her face covered with thick blobs of the material.
"I brought you up some breakfast for when you're, like, ready," Lori heard as she tried positioning the stylus. Concentration required silence. She prayed that Leni would have it in her to understand that.
Thankfully, she made the delicate contact needed to start brushing her lashes, beautifying them for the upmost success. After all, it was the bare minimum she felt she needed for friendship. Right now she was in what she considered a precarious position. She had her eyes on five girls that associated with each other and no one else. To her, those five eighth graders were the best in the whole school. They took fashion and 'sophisticated' culture to an extreme unfounded by most of the school. She wanted to compete to win their attention, their friendship. Sure they're selective, but as far as she's concerned, many haven't gone out to try. The in the school that she has seen attempt to achieve their status was (as much as she hated to admit it) not quite in their league.
After several meticulous minutes of work, her eyes were simply glamorous and ready for school. Putting away the stick, she turned to see Leni staring at her eating a bowl of dry cereal. The crunching sound was grating and the sight of mush and saliva behind those crumb-stained lips was gross.
"Please eat with your mouth closed," Lori said, moaning and slouching her shoulders forward. It was at that moment that she noticed a second bowl on her nightstand. From what she could make out, it was the same brand of cereal overflowing in the round bowl, not a drop of milk to be found, "and you couldn't get me coffee or something? You know I don't eat that."
Leni lifted her spoon and pointed at her.
"Please," Lori interjected, raising her hand, "don't talk while you're eating," she then walked to the nightstand and grabbed the bowl. Several troublesome kernels fell as she carried the heavy, overflowing container, causing Lori to sigh, "Let's just eat downstairs. We can come back for this stuff after."
"How stupid of me," Leni thought as she followed her sister down the stairs, all while continuing to munch on her cereal.
The kitchen was crowded. These days, Lynn Sr. took it upon himself to make breakfast to the growing number of school-age children while Rita watched over the younger ones. The other four kids crowded around the round table, eating eggs and bacon while drinking orange juice. Lori placed her bowl on the counter, went to the drawer and pulled out a spoon. She briefly glanced at Leni (who was staring at her) before eating the dry cereal as it was.
As she ate, Lori thought about the day ahead. She'd rather spend it talking to her friends, especially about their predictions for upcoming episodes of Dream Boat. To them, that new show was a sensation. But instead, she agreed to help Leni bring supplies to school. Sure she was glad her older sister was reaching out more, but this was way more than what was required. All week, she had been moving steadfast to promote the new Fashion Club; she forced it into conversations, helped hang signs up around the school, and she would even be attending it. With all this work put in, all she could wonder was if anyone would show up. Given the high class attire of some of the girls she came across, there had to be at least a few takers.
After finishing the bowl, she plopped it in the sink. Simultaneously, Leni did the same thing (Lori observed how there were still some kernels left in her sister's). The two of them headed upstairs and entered the nursery room. Rita spent her mornings in there caring for Lucy, the twins, and the latest arrival (the two-week old Lisa).
The room was a mess. While Lucy was lying in bed, Lana and Lola were chasing each other around the room, stumbling about with their fast legs. Meanwhile, Rita sat in a rocking chair with Lisa. White flash cards were strewn all over the floor and the very youngest Loud was head deep in a book (a thick hard cover). Rita awkwardly held her hands up, struggling to find a learning opportunity for her daughter.
"Oh. Good morning kids," Rita said, looking up at the two oldest. There were prominent bags under her eyes and her voice was weak.
"We're heading out," Lori said.
Rita then yawned.
"Alright kids. I love you...have a nice day," she said before her face fell to the book Lisa was reading.
With that, the two girls headed to their bedroom and started collecting the bags of materials. Lori groaned at the excessive amount of materials her sister bought.
"Does she really think we're going use this much? At our first meeting?!"
With all of their hands clenched with multiple plastic bags, they made their way back down to the front door.
"We're heading out Dad! Bye!" Lori shouted.
"Bye girls! I love you!"
"Love you too!" Leni replied, eagerly smiling.
The walk to school was mostly routine (even with all the bags clunking around). The weather was accommodating, minimal noise, and they had each other. Lori gazed at her sister, who was mostly staring forward. Nothing about her demeanor suggested anything really.
"So," Lori said, trying to break the ice, "do we just, you know, drop it off at Mrs. Barnes as soon as we get there?"
"Yes."
She already knew the answer (as if they were gonna haul these things around all day) but Lori became desperate to get her younger sister talking. Even with her growth, Leni still had difficulty initiating conversation, becoming the one that got the ball rolling, the sewing machine running.
"Have you talked to anyone about the club?" Lori asked.
"Kinda," Leni replied flatly, "I told it to some girls and they said they'll think about it."
There's no question that Leni was telling the truth. Even Lori knew by this point that her little sister had started speaking up, asking questions when push came to shove (or if someone brought up clothes). Lori was glad about this, but she also knew that speaking alone wasn't enough to craft friendship (or even commitment to a brand new club).
"Do you know the names of any of the ones you talked to?" she asked.
Leni briefly stared at the sky, as if the clouds would rain down the answer.
"Like, one of them was Lori and I think another was, like, named Penelope. And I, like, don't know who the other one was," Leni said.
"Are those the only three you talked to?"
Rather than speaking up, she merely shrugged. All Lori could assume was that they were the only three. And to think that she had spread it to at least thirty over several days. She figured it was best to not even ask when her sister talked to each of the three she just mentioned.
For the most part, the two walked in silence. Leni shifted her head continuously to intake the sights she was used to from walking this same path every day for the last few weeks. Each house they passed had a unique feature to it (a coat of a certain color, a cute garden decoration, an interesting roof).
"Lori."
The older Loud shot over to Leni, who was still looking forward.
"Do you think that I'm, like, a likeable person?" Leni asked plainly.
Lori was taken aback. Did she hear that right? To think that she herself spent so much time trying to cultivate her own popularity. Her younger sister had always seemed to not be aware of matters like this. It was surprising to say the least.
"Well," she started, moving slowly, "of course you are...why do you ask?"
Leni shrugged.
"Just wondering."
The older sister watched her sister, causing the latter to veer her head to the houses they were passing. This avoidance caught Lori's curiosity. For a few fleeting moments, she felt there was something else going on. She wondered if she really understood her younger sister as much as she thought. Sure Leni was relatively quiet and she could be reclusive at times, but she knew her as well as anyone else (barring her parents of course). And she boasted herself as being someone that would look out for her in this tumultuous battleground known as junior high.
Leni chuckled, breaking Lori's train of thought.
"It's, like, so nice out today," the younger Loud said, her eyes glimpsing at certain sights without resting on anyone, "like, don't you think so too?"
"Uh, yeah," Lori said, confused. She was even more baffled by the direction of their exchanges. Most of their interactions never had Leni speak in such a vocal yet meandering fashion.
"How have you been doing?" Leni asked, now staring at Lori.
Lori turned to see her sister giving her a substantial smile. Her eyes appeared intent on learning her answer. Come to think of it, Lori hadn't spoken to Leni all that much about her own social life. It wasn't like Leni asked before.
"Good. Me and the girls have been getting along really well," she said calmly. She then paused, "they all know about the club and some of them said they would be coming."
Lori allowed the sound to fall from her mouth. For the next few seconds, the two strolled along. The shaking and clashing of paper bags brushed against all of their ears.
"What about Emily?"
Lori's eyes widened. After all of this, her younger sister still remembered her best friend from first grade? And why now of all days? Was she one of the girls she talked to about the club? She took several hesitant breaths before proceeding.
"I see her in the halls from time to time," she replied, "she's been cool and all, but...well we just moved on from each other. I found other girls like Shelby and Monica while she got friends of her own," she then made sure this next part was made with direct eye contact, "We don't have anything bad against each other."
Leni, though, just kept looking forward.
"Okay," she replied. Personally, she wanted her sister to say a little more, but it wasn't like she was vague. Leni found it sad that two friends could just fizzle off like that. And in turn, it made her think of some of the other people that phased past her life. She wondered if she could ever get them back. Would she ever see Mrs. Egan again? Or Mrs. Boxer? Or those few kids that didn't go on to Royal Woods Junior High (whatever fancy school they were at now).
"What am I doing with myself? Never anything..."
Leni then thought more about the Fashion Club. Her mom had suggested the idea over the summer, as a way to 'be creative' and 'make new friends' (whatever creative meant). She recalled how on the first day of class, Mrs. Barnes (her English teacher) brought up how she does sewing as a hobby. Well, Leni saw that as a chance to be 'creative' and got to spend time during lunch talking to her about it. Mrs. Barnes went out of her way to get approval from the school. And Lori decided to help out.
"I don't get it. Why are they being so nice to me?"
The two arrived at the Junior High. Upon entering, they made their maneuver through the school's unusual halls. They even passed by the special corridor where Lori usually hangs out with her friends. Indeed they were already there chatting away. All of them proceeded to wave at the two sisters as they walked by, quickly noticing the presence of multiple plastic bags full of fabric and thread.
"Hi Lori," one of them said.
"Oh hi, Monica," the older Loud answered, giving a hasty smile.
"Hi," Leni said.
"Hi Leni," the girls replied.
"Lori bothered to mention me..."
The exchange ended like that and the two Louds continued on their way. The rest of the walk was pretty uneventful. Barely anyone was in the hallway, or at least anyone they knew. All either of them could do was keep their eyes forward. Eventually, they turned into a classroom towards the end of the hall.
The room looked a lot like Aunt Ruth's house. It was decorated with vases, photographs, rugs, and shelves that each appear to be at least fifty years old. Even the sewing machine that was stashed in the back didn't break from the look. All Lori could wonder was whether it was functional. Sure the objects were dusted and maintained on a regular basis, but the aesthetic was still homely. Lori didn't have Mrs. Barnes for English, but her friends did describe her as 'old-fashioned'.
"Good morning, Leni," a gentle voice said.
And right there at her desk was none other than Mrs. Barnes herself. While she wasn't elderly, her black hair was starting to turn gray, her cheeks were showing some wrinkles here and there, and her figure was starting to appear tiny and frail. Lori estimated she was about the same age as Aunt Ruth.
"Hi Mrs. Barnes!" Leni exclaimed, smiling. That beaming face then turned to the other girl, "This is my big sister Lori. She helped me carry in all this stuff!"
The kind lady grinned and got up to approach the older sister.
"Well it's nice to meet you, Lori," she said, gazing through her thin glasses with eyes of admiration. Even with the stale vibe of the decor, Lori could immediately tell this was a much softer soul than Aunt Ruth's rugged strength, "Do you plan on joining Leni's fashion club?"
Lori nodded as she processed the situation. She told herself she shouldn't be confused at this. She could imagine how Leni managed through her conversations without dropping her sister's name or involvement. But after a morning of some unusual behavior (or so she thought), a flicker of her did expect that maybe she would have surprised her once more. But perhaps Leni couldn't simply be described in an extrema; she was someone who's behavior, while somewhat predictable, still pulled numerous surprises.
"It'll be a treat to have you with us," Mrs. Barnes answered before gesturing to the area surrounding her sewing machine, "You can put those bags down over in the back."
The two made their way to the back. Leni was drawn to the sewing machine. That wasn't there the day before (Mrs. Barnes had agreed to bring her own in for the club). It was different from the one she had. This one didn't have an extension cord attached to the end of it. Instead, it had an manual pedal below it. The whole thing was so bulky that she marveled at how Mrs. Barnes even got it to the school.
"All that work. Just for...me," Leni thought to herself as she felt her smile threaten to dissolve. She continued to stare at it as Lori placed down her bags and moved back.
"Okay Leni, I'll see you after school," she said, not checking if she was paying attention, "Have a nice day."
Lori stood there for a moment, waiting for a response. She noticed how Leni was transfixed to the sewing machine.
"So Lori," she heard Mrs. Barnes say. Lori, though, kept her eyes on her sister, "the club is holding its first meeting right after school today in this room. Tell your friends all about it."
"Thank you," Lori replied, not looking away. With that she said, "Leni?"
That time, the younger sister jerked her head to her, her face completely blank.
"Okay," Lori said before waving, "I'm heading out. See you after school."
"Goodbye," Leni answered flatly, lifting a hand and holding it in midair as she saw Lori depart from the room.
Mrs. Barnes approached her student, whose attention turned back to the machine.
"I know it's a little different than what you're used to, but it works the same," she said, pointing to the machine's base, "all you have to do is push that pedal on the ground with you foot and it's pretty much the same. Do you like it?"
Silence.
"Yes. Thank you, Mrs. Barnes. It's lovely," she said simply. After several more seconds of observation, she turned to her teacher, "I'll see you in class."
"Well okay," Mrs. Barnes said tactfully, "I will see you then. I hope you have a nice morning."
With that, Leni departed as well without another word. All she wanted now was for that silly fuzziness to go away. To her, she didn't deserve that joy, those butterflies in her tummy.
Most of the morning went smoothly, even Mrs. Barnes class (although she was embarrassed when the teacher advertised the club in front of everyone). Those goofy feelings (thankfully) came in fleeting waves, allowing Leni to return to her normal stasis not long after disruption. She didn't recall talking to any of her classmates throughout the morning.
As class was dismissed for lunch, Leni lurched out and strolled down the hall by herself. A flood of seventh and eighth graders plowed in the other direction as they barged their way to their next class. The girl did everything she could to not bump into them, trying to walk alongside the wall. She observed the sea of students and at one point could have sworn she saw Lori there. She was in the middle of it all, chatting with some other girls around her age. Her eyes were glued on her older sister (who in many respects was her idol).
"Oof!"
Leni recoiled slightly, her vision temporarily being blurred and focused to the white floor. Eventually, she looked up and saw the person she bumped into. She was a girl that was slightly taller than her, adorned hair the same golden tint as Lori's. But what sparked her the most was the girl's clothing (a wool blue button-up shirt with white cuffs and collar, long skirt, and matching ankle socks).
"Sorry!" Leni exclaimed, her Ducky arms shooting up. Whatever calm remained in her body was grilled by the flames of humiliation. She scolded herself for not being more careful.
The girl, however, smiled.
"That's okay," she said professionally. Sure her shirt was a little wrinkled, but she refrained from touching it, a note that Leni fixated on. But before the Loud could contemplate further, the older girl continued, "You know, I've seen you around before. You're Lori's little sister, Leni, right?"
"Yes."
The girl then extended her hand. Leni stared at it, particularly how unified and firm it looked. And then, she moved one of her wobbly hands forward and touched it. It was the cleanest, softest Palm she ever felt. As this happened, she asked herself what she did to earn the privilege of having a girl like this associate herself with someone...like herself.
"I'm Carol. It's nice to meet you, Leni," she said cheerfully.
Suddenly, Lori's voice flooded her mind. Snide comments, frustrated tirades, bitter laments often alluded to that name. It all traced back to Carol, Carol, Carol. From all she had heard, Carol seemed like a meanie that only cared about herself.
"Lori said she doesn't like you," Leni said meekly, her face still flushed from the collision. She then lowered her arms and used one of her hands to rub them, "But, like, you seem pretty nice."
Carol, though, giggled.
"Well, I guess I can't win over everyone," she said, putting on a humble smile.
Now Leni was confused. Here was a girl that she had been told was mean and bad. But she was none of those things. What was this all about?
"So, like, the Fashion Club is having a meeting after school today. Do you want to come?" Leni asked, trying her best to save some of her confidence. Her posture was straight, although by now her arms were fidgeting. They had veered from the front to the back to the side and then back to the back. Her hands clenched each other together from that point.
"Sure," Carol responded, "I like clothes as much as any other girl."
"Okay. Well it was nice getting to meet you Carol."
Leni then paced forward, not giving Carol a chance to respond. She was filled with a mixture of emotions. Guilt, uncertainty, excitement, emptiness, fulfillment. She had suddenly cooked up a plan of sorts. If Carol really was all that nice, then perhaps Lori could see that and try to get along. Her mind was occupied by that one episode of Princess Pony where Rosy Cake used her mutual friendship with two grumpy ponies to like each other. Leni supposed she wanted to do that. Or something.
All that mattered now was lunch.
The final bell rang. Leni felt her heart raced as she slowly collected her things and placed them in her bag. She got up and made her silent journey through the corridor en route to Mrs. Barnes's room. Images of clothes and that episode of Princess Pony played in her head throughout the whole time. There was simply no space of concentration left for talking.
Upon stepping into the class, she saw Mrs. Barnes and Lori already there. Leni took her seat next to her older sister in silence. She twidled her thumbs while her hands were on the desk. Lori decided to start a conversation with the teacher, but she wasn't paying attention. She was simply too excited for what was to come. She kept her eyes on the open door, seeing who would show up.
Over the next few minutes, several girls filed into the seats. Leni smiled as she saw students that were actually interested in fashion. Most of them only had facial recognition, but she was still excited with the prospect of friendship.
"That'll make them proud. That'll make them happy."
She did know the name of one of the girls that entered. It was her, Carol. Even after she bumped into her. Leni felt gratitude and shame at the same time, culminating in a blank expression. She turned to Lori, whose face had some tense pockets along her forehead and lip corners. Leni instinctively leaned in towards her big sister.
"She's nice. Like, give her a chance," she whispered.
Lori jerked herself back, her mouth agape.
"No," Lori pouted softly, "she's always been so selfish and mean. I don't get why she's here! And. Ugh!"
Leni was confused again. She didn't understand what Lori was talking about. To verify, she turned to view Carol. She was sitting with a few of the other girls. She was smiling and politely chatting. That gentleness she was greeted with in her encounter was unchanged for the others. And Carol didn't appear bothered by Lori. With that, she leaned back into Lori, keeping her eyes on the girl in question.
"But she was so nice to me," Leni whispered.
With that sight, she heard Lori scoff.
"Don't let that fool you! She's bad news, you hear."
Several more minutes passed and a few more students entered. Leni switched her focus between Carol and Lori. The latter tried to avert her eyes from the former. All Leni could think about was Rosy Cake. Even Rosy had a hard time during the episode. She went through a lot of yelling and some tears in order to get to that happy ending. She wished she could tell Lori about this tale, but the older sister had already expressed disdain for Princess Pony. Leni sighed from this fact.
"Good afternoon everyone," Mrs. Barnes announced, causing the room to fall to silence, "Welcome to the very first meeting of the Royal Woods Junior High Fashion Club," she then turned her focus to one particular student, "Leni, would you like to come up here to say a few words?"
Leni was quiet. Her chest twisted within itself and her throat was clamped from nerves. She had to turn to Lori for advice who gave her a nod of approval. Thankfully, she had learned by now what that gesture had meant. She then turned to Mes. Barnes and stared at her reassuring eyes and tranquil smile. Leni took several deep breaths before lunging from her seat to approach the front of the room.
"Everyone," Mrs. Barnes said, "this is Leni Loud, the founder of the Club!"
Each of the students clapped courteously as Leni slowed herself to a stop in the front's center. Her heart pounded. She briefly darted her eyes at both Lori and Carol (who were each staring at her) before exhaling.
"Um...h-hi everyone," she stuttered, her face lacking any emotion, "I-I'm happy that there are people in the school that like clothes. Mrs. Barnes, like, told me about how she like clothes and...like, she gave me, like, the idea to make s Fashion Club," she then paused to think, "Oh, well it was also, like, my Mom and Dad and, like, Lori that helped me get the Club, like, started."
Leni stood there, unsure of what to say next. She turned back to see Mrs. Barnes, who was eagerly watching.
"Tell them about the fundraiser," the teacher whispered.
And then those plans struck her mind like a laser beam.
"Oh!" she exclaimed suddenly, "So, like, this fall we have a special project that'll be, like, totes fun. You see, there's this special school over in Sterling Hill called...um..."
"Batholomew's Helpers," Mrs. Barnes said gently.
"Yes, thank you Mrs. Barnes," Leni said, smiling. She then continued, "So, like, it's a special school where kids like us go when they have a really hard time learning or talking or stuff. And when I was told about it, like, I thought that a lot of those kids were like me, only they don't have what they need to, like, grow and de-devlope. So, I was hoping that, like, we could all make clothes and then, like, sell them to make money. And then we could, like, send the money to the school so that the kids can learn and, like, be happy."
With that, Leni locked her hands at her stomach. She gazed around the room, only to be met with more stares.
"Um...I'm done speaking," she said before walking back to her seat. The people in the crowd clapped once more, though Leni noticed her sister glaring toward the opposite side of the room.
"Very good, Leni," Mrs. Barnes said, standing up, "Now does anyone have any questions or concerns?"
The club founder gazed around the room and noticed one shy hand ascend.
"So did you want us to make the clothes or could we just buy them?" the girl asked.
Leni then stared at Mrs. Barnes. The girl nodded at her teacher, giving her permission to answer.
"Either or will do. If you want to make clothes, then I could teach you how to use the sewing machine in the back," she said, using her aging hand to point to the relic. She then directed that same hand at the founder, "you could also ask Leni to teach you. She's a real talent at it!"
The girl kept her hand up.
"What about old clothes that we don't use anymore?"
Mrs. Barnes nodded.
"Feel free to send them in. The more clothes we have to sell, the better," she said with a smile, "and any clothes we don't sell will get send to Goodwill."
"Okay," the girl said before lowering her hand.
"Any other questions?" Mrs. Barnes asked.
And just like that another hand shot up. Lori immediately groaned.
"Hi," Carol said, "So if we already have our own sewing machine, could we start working on clothes from our own house?"
"Yes!"
Everyone jerked their heads to Lori, who had a nasty snarl on her face.
"The answer is yes," Lori said, barely able to seal her contempt.
Leni turned to Carol whose eyes were wide in shock. Her entire physique was frazzled by the outburst. The underlying shame emerged.
"Any other questions?"
Silence. Leni didn't expect there to be many, and especially not on the first day. Still, it was slightly disheartening for the entire atmosphere to sour like that.
"Thank you all for coming. We'll meet again around this time next week."
Leni shot from her seat and raced to Carol.
"I'm sorry I brought you here," Leni said sadly, her eyes with a clear conviction, a duty to right this wrong, "I didn't know that Lori was gonna be that mad at you..."
Carol, though, was gentle and placed a hand on the girl's shoulder.
"Don't be mad at yourself," Carol said softly, "I want Lori to be able to accept me too, but she may not be ready y-"
"Let's go."
Lori grabbed Leni's hand and yanked, dragging her along. Leni struggled to get her footing right and nearly tripped at several points along the hall. All she could feel was confusion and offense. Eventually, the two slowed to a stop.
Leni could hear Lori's breathing even from behind. She wanted to help her big sister, but she didn't even know what the fuss was about. Carol seemed like a nice person. She liked her. Leni slapped herself for not knowing enough to act. So, she simply wrapped her free arm around Lori's neck.
"It's okay, Lori," she said softly, "let's just go home."
Even with the eventual happy conclusion, Rosy herself couldn't resolve that issue in a day, nor any other conflict she dealt with. In that moment, Leni imagined herself as that bubbly pink pony. Sure she didn't smile or laugh as much as her, but she understood it was her turn to play that role. She would figure this all out. She would make Lori and Carol friends.
Somehow.
But for now, the two of them needed time to contemplate. The walk home was quieter than usual.