Hi Everyone! I'm FINALLY BACK! Here's the long awaited next chapter. Please enjoy.
It was morning at the Royal Woods Reformatory. Most days were not pleasant for some of the people who lived there. But even more so for a certain group of girls. Inmates were hanging out in the recreation room. While some of the inmates were enjoying themselves, the eight Loud sisters were not.
"Morning …" one female inmate greeted the sisters in a fake friendly tone. "Darn it, I forgot their last name."
"I believe it was the Louses," a male inmate replied.
"No, I think it was the Losers!" another female inmate said causing everyone else to start laughing at the eight miserable girls.
"Lisa, any chance you could invent some sort of time machine we can use to travel back in time and tell ourselves not to think Lincoln's bad luck?" Lola wishfully asked.
"As much as I want to, I'm afraid I can't," Lisa sadly answered. "I don't have the necessary equipment or resources to build one and I won't be able to get them because I got a letter from my financial supporters saying that they canceled my budget. They also called me a fraud and an embarrassment to those working in the field of science."
Hearing this news made the rest of the sisters groan miserably as they continued to endure the mocking laughter of those around them.
"What we need is a miracle," Leni said.
"Sorry Leni," Lori told her closest sister. "But miracles don't –"
Suddenly, the doors to the rec room opened and a guard walked in.
"Louds!" the guard called causing everyone to stop laughing and turn their attention to him. "You have a visitor."
The eight sisters followed the guard down the halls wondering who in all of Royal Woods would want to visit them. After their treatment of Lincoln was exposed, their reputations were ruined. The guard led them to a room with a couch, a few chairs, and a coffee table. Waiting there was, to their surprise, Brenda the CPS agent. She was seated in one of the chairs facing the couch. All eight girls took seats on the couch and faced the woman who had them tried in court for their treatment of their brother. They looked nervous and uncomfortable wondering why she was here. She had already taken their brother, parents, and lives away, what more could she want?
"Let me ask you all something," Brenda went straight to the point. "Did all of you really think you could get away with committing such a deplorable deed?"
The girls looked at one another with guilty expressions.
"Would being honest help us in any way?" Lola asked wishfully.
"Don't worry, I just got my answer," Brenda answered disappointed. "After you decided to kick your only brother out of your lives, what was your next plan? Deport him?"
Most of the sisters, particularly Leni and Luna, looked appalled that someone would think they would go that far. Lola, on the other hand, darted her eyes around with an anxious expression on her face.
"I see. Now tell me, are all of you really that selfish that you'd ruin the life of your only brother over ridiculous superstitions?"
"What are you literally trying to get at?" Lori asked unable to take it any longer.
"Your parents have recently been released from the institution," the CPS agent informed the girls getting their undivided attention. "We offered them a chance to better themselves and get their lives back."
"How?" Luan asked eagerly. The rest of her sisters were just as interested in knowing too. If there was a way for their parents to redeem themselves, then there must be a way they could redeem themselves as well.
"There is a learning course called Family Care where people are taught to listen to the members of their family and take their feelings into consideration," Brenda explained. "Your parents are ready to enroll in the course, they're just waiting for the rest of you to be ready so you all can enroll at the same time."
"But how can we enroll in that course when we're stuck in here?" Luna asked.
"I'm willing to pull a few strings and push your parole to an earlier date which will allow you all to leave this place and attend the program."
Hearing this lifted the girls' spirits and their faces beamed with hope.
"You really mean that?" Lana asked. She had to be sure.
"Yes," Brenda confirmed.
The sisters all squealed with joy. They would be getting a second chance, to leave that horrible reformatory, and to reunite with the rest of their family.
"Normally I don't care for inane human emotions, but…" Lisa said before letting out a happy squeal of her own.
"Alright, calm down, calm down," Brenda told the girls. "Don't think this means any of you are off the hook yet. If you pass the course and present us with the proof, you'll be returned to the custody of your parents."
The girls began to cheer at this news.
"What about our brother?" Lucy asked causing the cheering to stop and the room go silent.
"That is going to be much trickier," Brenda answered. "Even if you accomplish this task, there will be some people who still won't trust you. This will be especially true for him since he was the victim of your crime. To be honest, if I were him, I would never want to see any of you again."
The expressions on the faces of the sisters turned grim, sad, and fearful. The thought that they might have pushed their brother to this point filled them with dread. And what's worse, they wouldn't blame him for it either.
"But I don't know him that well, so I don't know what he'll do," Brenda said in an attempt to lift the girls' spirits. "I told this to your parents too, as well as in the possible event that your brother does decide to give you all another chance, CPS will monitor the family's activities for some time to ensure this never happens again."
"So, this literally is our second…" Lori replied.
"…And last chance," Lola finished.
"Correct," Brenda confirmed.
The girls looked and whispered to one another contemplating the offer. If they accepted and succeeded it would be a chance to get their family back together and their lives back on track, but if they should fail the Loud family name would be remembered with shame throughout history. Finally, Lori stood up to announce the sisters' decision.
"We'll do it."
Brenda smiled. "Alright, wait here for a minute while I get some paperwork in order," she said getting up and walking out of the room.
At the dismal home of the Loud family, Lynn Sr. and Rita had just returned from a rigorous day at Flip's Food & Fuel and were now waiting anxiously in their living room with the four family pets. Then they heard the sound of a car driving up to the sidewalk in front of their house, multiple footsteps walking up to their porch, and a knocking on the front door.
"The door is open," Lynn announced. He was hoping whoever was at the door was who they were eagerly expecting but was too nervous to get up and see for himself.
They heard the sound of the doorknob turning… and then break off.
"Dang it!" Brenda's voice was heard.
"Hang on, I'll get it," Lynn got up and ran to open the door.
When the patriarch opened the door, his eyes widened and began to water with joy at the sight of his daughters whom he had not seen for months.
"Dad!" the eight girls cried with joy as they all embraced their father at the same time.
"Rita, look!" Lynn called to his wife.
"Girls!" Rita leaped from the couch and joined the embrace. The pets joined too.
Brenda couldn't help but smile a little at the reunion. However, she steeled herself because she knew she needed to remind them of what needed to be done.
"I'm glad to see that you're all happy to be together but remember the deal. Pass the Family Care course and you can be a family again."
"Right," the family all agreed.
"Where's Lily and Lynn?" Leni asked.
"You'll be able to get your baby back when you've passed the course," Brenda answered. "As for the fifth-born, I was unable to pull any strings with her due to her actions and behavior in the courtroom. I'm afraid the only thing to do is to let her live out her sentence entirely. She of all people needs to learn that her actions have consequences whether she likes it or not."
The family lowered their heads in sadness at the prospect of having to leave Lynn Jr. in juvie longer.
"You're probably right," Lisa reluctantly agreed. "With an ego like hers, if we try to bail her out now there's a high possibility she won't learn anything from all this and will regress back to the behavior that got us all into this mess."
The rest of the family took a moment to ponder, then they all looked to one another as they had finally reached an uncomfortable decision.
"Sorry LJ," Lynn Sr. said sadly.
"Just wait a little longer," a sad Rita added.
"Her sentence should be over soon," Brenda informed. "Hopefully she learned something from all this. As for the rest of you, are you ready to learn how to be a better family?"
"YES!" the Louds answered loudly with determination. Even the family pets voiced their desire to see things get better.
"Then let's get you all registered."
Over at St. Linda's, Father George was sitting in his office looking over some papers when he heard a knock at his door.
"Come in," he called.
In walked Lincoln.
"Good day, Lincoln," he warmly greeted the boy. "How are you?"
"Doing well, Father," the boy replied. "I just wanted to ask if you've heard back from any of the other kids who got adopted lately. How are they doing?"
The question made the middle-aged fake priest sweat a little but he remained calm.
"They're doing fine," he lied. "They called me earlier and told me they were now happy with their new lives with their new families." He knew the dark truth about who they were sold to.
"That's great," an oblivious Lincoln said both happy and envious at the same time. "Glad to hear they're doing well. For some reason, I haven't been able to keep in touch with them."
"It happens," George replied. Then he picked up on the white-haired boy's mixed emotions. "Is something the matter?"
"It's just, it's been months since I came to St. Linda's and I'm still here," Lincoln answered in a sad tone. "But I can't say I'm too surprised. My family had a bit of a reputation even before the trial. Who would want to take in a kid from a family who lives up to their name?"
"My dear boy, I'm sure eventually someone will come to take you in," the old priest assured. "Hopefully before Sister Elizabeth finds someone who will."
"Pardon?"
"Nothing! It's nothing."
"To be honest, Father. I think I'd be happier if I could be reunited with my old family again," Lincoln admitted much to George's surprise.
"After everything they did to you? Why?"
"It's hard to explain," Lincoln replied. "While they can be a handful, a really big handful, but when you spend your whole life with them, they kinda grow on you. I don't think I can forgive them for what they did, but I never wanted to ruin their lives. I just wanted things to go back to the way they were before this whole luck fiasco." He paused for a moment to chuckle at a fond memory. "You know, there are a few things I have in common with my sisters. We all can be selfish at times and can cause a lot of problems. But when we realize that we went too far, we do whatever we can to make things right. Lori has had her moments, Lola has had her moments, even …" Lincoln was about to name Lynn, but then he stopped and pondered for a moment. After what he saw at the trial, he was beginning to wonder if his athletic sister was still capable of feeling remorse. "… even I have had my fair share of screwups. I pray to the Lord every night for Him to give us a chance to redeem ourselves so we can be a family again. Is that right, Father?"
George stared at the white-haired boy, touched by his words and amazed at his willingness to give those who wronged him a second chance. Anyone else would have never wanted to see those people ever again. He had always felt pity for the children unfortunate enough to be sent to this false orphanage, but he had never felt so much sympathy for any other than the boy standing before him, oblivious to the truth about this place and its people.
"Lincoln, my dear child. You deserve better."
Suddenly, Sister Elizabeth entered the room.
"I hope I'm not interrupting anything," she said in a friendly tone.
"No Sister, I was just having a conversation with the Father," Lincoln replied.
"You'd better get going, Lincoln," George urged.
"Okay, thanks for your time, Father."
Lincoln walked by Elizabeth, but before shutting the door he turned to say one more thing.
"You know, after all these years, I feel that there is a God and that He is finally giving me his blessings. Thank you both so much."
The happy white-haired boy closed the door and was gone. George hung his head in guilt while Elizabeth chuckled at the boy's naivety.
"He's a … very unique kid," George said.
"Yes, he is," Elizabeth agreed. "You don't see a lot of kids with white hair. With a feature like that, I think we should double the price than what a kid of his age is worth."
"Liz!" George said aghast.
"You're right, triple."
"I don't think we should do this."
"Never thought I'd see a conman getting cold feet," Liz mocked her partner.
"Don't you think this kid has been through enough," George pleaded.
"So many of these kids have little sob stories that I can hardly keep count," Liz said apathetically. "Now while we're on the white-haired subject, I'm going to be holding a little online auction soon. Our dear Lincoln will go to the highest bidder."
"But what if we're discovered?" George tried to reason with her pragmatically.
"I have friends in many places. Even in the CPS."
