Author Notes - OH BOY, we're dealing with a particularly hot button topic today. Seeing as Lynn's primary characteristic is her love for sports, AND she's a trans girl in this story... this was inevitable. I want everyone to calm down and withhold their words on this discussion until this THREE CHAPTER arc is finished at least. I'm treading with the utmost care, but I can't guarantee I've done a perfect job.

Hopefully, the most inaccurate thing about this arc is how I describe the sport of running. It sounds right to me, but I'm the most unathletic person in the world so I'm certainly not the person to go to.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN - SHE'S 'DOMINATING' THE SPORT SCENE

Lynn loved running. It was such a simple sport compared to the others; no hoops or nets to land shots in, no aim needing to be taken, no hammers or javelins to throw - just a simple point-a-to-point-b dash. Or, sometimes, point-a-to-point-a. And yet, it was so much fun because of its simplicity, not despite it. Unlike the other sports, which required total concentration and focus, running allowed her to focus more on the little things.

The air pushing against her face.

Her heart pumping at the speed of a cheetah.

Sweat pouring down her face.

There was one boy just barely in front of her, and about ten more boys behind her. She pushed herself harder, further, faster… second place was just an participation award for failing to win, as far as she was concerned.

The finish line was right there.

If she could just pass this boy in a few seconds, then she could…

Come second place. Dang it.

Once she had crossed the white line at the end, she came to a stop to catch her breath. That sharp burn in her legs and lungs was another one of those things she loved about running, especially how it hurt a little less each time, until she'd push herself hard enough for it to hurt again.

'Oh yeah!' The boy in first place declared, dousing himself with his water bottle. 'I WIN AGAIN!'

As much as Lynn wanted to challenge him to a game of wrestling - a game she would definitely win - she wasn't all that mad at him. She had only seen his parents once, but they were both built like amazing runners. That boy had won the genetics lottery, and Lynn knew that beating someone like him wouldn't be easy. Especially with her genes. She loved her dad to bits, but he was probably the only member of the family less athletic than Lincoln.

'Nice game…' She said. 'But next time, you won't be so lucky.'

The boy smirked. 'I was built for speed. Have fun trying!'

Lynn sat down on a nearby bench. Trying to beat Mr Perfect-Genes was positively exhausting, but it was worth it to be a good two seconds in front of the rest of the boys.

'You go, Girl!' Another boy cheered.

'You'll get him one day!' A third yelled.

It had been a little while since Lynn officially 'came out' to her running team, and they had been surprisingly accepting of her. There wasn't even much of that annoying 'good for a girl' crap that she had been expecting. For the most part.

'Stop calling him a girl!' The boy who always came second-last whined. 'He isn't one!'

This attitude that he often spouted got him groans from just about everyone, including the guy who always came dead last and was just here to have fun.

Lynn chuckled. 'You're just too embarrassed to admit that you got your butt kicked by a girl, Chad!'

It didn't matter how much crap Chad would spout at her; it only gave her more material to burn him with. While she laughed at his expense, the team coach sat down next to her. He was a big guy, with that rather stereotypical 'team coach from hell' kinda look, but only those who weren't part of the team were frightened of him.

'You did good out there, Girl,' He said, giving her a smile.

'Coach…' Lynn said. 'You don't have to call me 'girl' every time. It was nice at first, but… com'on. I get it. I'm a girl.'

'Well, it's easy, ain't it? Whenever I say 'girl', you know I'm talking about you.'

'You're not wrong.'

Lynn watched the boys who made up the whole rest of her team, many of them sitting down for a rest too and a few others still ready to push their thighs. She had never felt like she belonged even before she realised that she was actually a girl, so now that she was finally presenting as herself… she felt even more distant from the boys. They were cool guys (except for Chad, but we don't talk about Chad), but still guys.

She was beginning to see the term 'one of the boys' as complete bullcrap.

'You know, Lynn,' Coach said. 'You've been on the boys' team for a while now. Since you're not a boy anymore, maybe you should swap teams.'

'Wait, really?!' Lynn cried. 'I… I didn't even think that would be an option. It never really crossed my mind.'

'You wanna do it?'

'Oh hell yeah!'

'OH YEAH!' She yelled. 'Make way for the Lynn-er!'

She barged into the locker room with a massive announcement, much to the irritation of many of the other girls inside. For a moment, she feared that everyone was going to insist that she didn't belong and yell at her for it. However, most of the girls just glared at her and moved on. Even those glares seemed to be more because she yelled, not because she was there at all.

'Can you not?' One of them asked.

A familiar girl shut her locker and gave that girl a look. Lynn immediately recognised her as Margo. It had been a while since they had really talked, but now they had the perfect opportunity.

'Hey!' Margo said. 'This is our locker room. You think we're supposed to be quiet? Come on, everyone! LET'S GO, GIRLS!'

'LET'S GO, GIRLS!' The other girls cheered, loudly.

'And that includes you too, Lynn!'

'YEAAAAAAAH!' Lynn shouted.

The entire locker room erupted with proud cheering for their team, all except for that one girl who just rolled her eyes. Lynn had no idea what her deal was, but chose to ignore her for now. She found the locker assigned to her and loaded it up with her things, including some spare jockstraps. Margo was nearby and got a peep.

'Woah,' She said. 'Are those jockstraps? I don't think I've ever seen one in person before.'

'Yep,' Lynn replied, shutting her locker. 'I got some equipment I gotta keep supported.'

'Oh, right. … That's so cool!'

The mean girl from before groaned. 'He's admitting that he's got a… you know, thing.'

Lynn cleared her throat as loudly as possible. 'If you're gonna insult me, at least do it right. She's admitting that she's got weird equipment.'

'You can't just join our team cos you think you're a girl!'

'Uh, wrong. I can join the girls' team, because I am a girl.'

'Just ignore her!' A girl in the back said. 'Megan's kinda a big jerk anyway.'

Now this was what Lynn was looking forward to. She could barely keep herself still as she took her position on the field, excitement rushing through every vein and threatening to make her begin early. It'd be the first time she would run up against other girls instead of the boys, and it felt good to be competing with her 'sisters' for once.

'On your marks…'

She could've sworn that Megan was glaring at her. Her response was a little smirk right back. A little bit of friendly competition never hurt anyone.

'Get set…'

After training herself for the past few days, she was determined to win for the first time in a while. No more 'consolation prizes' for her.

'GO!'

And she was off like a bullet. Her heart had to work overtime to keep up with her legs, and she could feel the burn slowly creeping upon her muscles. What a wonderful sensation. The wind against her perspiring body cooled her skin down as she passed one girl. And then another. And then another.

Only Megan was in front of her now. Lynn could tell just by looking at her that she had pretty good genes too, but nothing like what Mr Perfect-Genes had. She got closer and closer to Megan, and even closer to the finish line. If she could just pass this girl in a few seconds, then she might just be able to-

'And the winner is LYYYYYYNN!'

Once Lynn had crossed the finish line, she kept running for a little bit longer until she realised that she had won. Her lungs demanded more oxygen, so she supplied it with the heaviest gasps she could manage. Megan was doing the same thing right next to her - it must've been the closest victory for an elementary school to pull off.

'Fantastic job, Lynn!' Dasher said, clapping for her. 'You've proven yourself to be a great addition to the Royal Woods running team!'

Then, she was met with cheers. It wasn't strange for her team to cheer each other on after a try-out, but it hit a little differently when it came from other girls. It truly felt like she belonged with these people, a sense of belonging she had never truly felt before. While her lungs were still a little too exhausted to cheer back, she appreciated every little bit of praise. Hey, nothing wrong with a little self-esteem boosting!

That was until a voice interrupted all the cheer.

'HE'S CHEATING!' Megan shouted, shutting everyone else up.

Lynn's attention immediately snapped to her. If there was one thing that angered her most of all when it came to sports, it was someone accusing her of cheating. The idea of someone claiming that she was taking shortcuts to win a competition instead of relying on her own skill and effort was perhaps the most offensive of them all. In fact, it was so offensive that she barely even noticed that she had been called a 'he' once again.

'HEY!' Lynn shouted. 'I'm not cheating! What's even the point of sports if you cheat?'

Megan stomped her way over to Lynn in a manner resembling an annoying child. Or Lynn Sr when he arrived too late to witness a musical number. Both were fitting.

'I always won until you showed up!' She yelled, glaring right into Lynn's soul.

Lynn just groaned. 'How do you even cheat at running? Do I put wheels on my shoes? Tell the wind to push me? Come on.'

'You could never beat Paul, so you're pretending to be a girl just so you can win!'

Something inside of Lynn snapped.

Her eyes had never burnt with so much rage before in her life. Accusing of 'pretending' to be a girl so she could cheat? What a double whammy of claims. Coach Dasher's demands for them to be quiet fell on deaf ears.

'Why would I do that?!' Lynn demanded. 'Do you know how long it takes to switch teams like this? Do you know how long I was wondering what the heck was wrong with me? You-'

'You just wanted an easy win!' Megan claimed. 'So you're pretending to be a girl!'

'I don't like pretending. I pretended to be a boy my whole life, and that was miserable. I-'

'I should've won, but instead a stupid boy had to take my place!'

Lynn was barely keeping it together, hearing all this 'he' and 'boy' getting thrown around, but the anger and bitterness that word was spoken in was her breaking point. She clenched her fists so hard that her skin went white, and she grinded her teeth.

'That isn't true!' She yelled. 'You were beaten by a girl, fair and square!'

'You only got second place while you were on the boy team,' Megan said. 'But as soon as you're on the girls' team, you get first place? It's obvious what you were doing!'

'I'M NOT A-!'

'GIRLS!'

Dasher was the only thing that managed to get them to shut up, shouting loud enough to make them both flinch. For the first time in a while, she had to push two kids apart with as much force as she could use without hurting them.

'Trash talk is one thing, but having fights is another!' She said, speaking like an angry mother. 'Don't have arguments on the field!'

'She's calling me a boy!'

'He's cheating because he could never win before!'

'GIRLS!'

'He's not-'

Dasher glared at Megan. 'If you wanna have this discussion, then whatever. But stop calling her a boy!'

Megan went quiet, but that deathly look in her eyes remained. Lynn knew that look all too well. If Meg said anything, it would be 'I'M TELLING MY PARENTS ON YOU', and Lynn really didn't care. Her own parents would shut the argument right down.

When Lynn got room that day, she had mostly forgotten about that entire debacle. She had won the track race, and that was really the only thing she could remember. Yeah, there was this vague memory involving Megan, but it had been buried in the joy and victory of winning. She hadn't won in a while, after Mr Perfect-Genes had managed to push himself into first place, so she celebrated her little victory by beating up a punching bag in her room.

When working out was a reward, there was hardly any 'work' involved.

She kept going until her muscles begged for her to stop; really the only downside of pushing them to their absolute limits. Through the sounds of everything else - Lori chatting away on her phone, Lola chucking yet another tantrum, Luan and Luna fighting over whether their room should be a rock concert or a comedian's stage for the next hour - Lynn could hear her parents talking about something.

It was impossible to make out any of the words other than her name, and for all she knew they were merely talking about her father. Even if they were talking about her, she didn't really care; she had work to do!

And, since the next day was a weekend, she spent most of her 'day off' doing the same thing. She wasn't going to get anywhere if she just sat around. Her Sunday morning, on the other hand, was going about as it usually did, until-

'AAAHHHHHH!'

She suddenly heard a woman screaming from inside the house - it must've been her father! Since most of the other Loud kids were over at friends' places, it was up to Lynn to rush and figure out what was going on. When she arrived in the living room in two seconds flat, she did not expect to see Lynn Sr sitting on the couch staring at an open newspaper.

'Um… you okay, Dad?' Lynn Jr asked, approaching him. 'I heard you screaming, but you're just-'

'AHH!'

This time, he screamed because he realised that one of his daughters was staring up at him in confusion. Immediately, he adopted a nervous smile which was ruined by his narrowed eyes and perspiration.

'Uh… n-nothing's wrong!' He said, a little louder than he wanted. 'I-It's all okay.'

Junior groaned. 'Dad, you suck at lying. What is it?' She gasped. 'Wait, who lost?!'

Senior let out his breath. 'No one's lost anything yet. Maybe? I'm not up to the sports section yet. It looks like one of us has ended up in the newspaper again, and - like usual - it isn't good. It's… it's about you'

'Wait, what? Show me!'

Her father hesitated for a moment, but showed her the news story anyway. What she saw made her gasp.

TRANSGENDER STUDENT ACCUSED OF TRANSITIONING TO WIN RACES

She easily could've stopped at that headline and declared it false on every level, but her curiosity pushed her to keep reading. Perhaps not the wisest decision.

Megan Moon (10), a student attending Royal Woods Elementary school, claims that fellow runner Lynn Loud Jr (10) has changed teams for the purposes of gaining an advantage. Loud originally identified as male, though has recently transitioned and now identifies as female.

Moon claims that Loud could 'never win' when she was on the boy's team, but has switched teams and can now win races. Moon's parents believe that allowing Loud on the girl's team gives her an 'unfair advantage' over the other girls, insisting that the student is still a boy, at least biologically.

Royal Woods Elementary is yet to give an opinion regarding this issue, though they have stated they are in the process of figuring out the right answer.

There was more to the story than that, because it was taking up a good third of the page (though the photo of the school itself helped with that), but Junior couldn't read another word. Her blood was absolutely boiling, her face was turning red, and if she didn't punch something right now…

'ARRRRGH!'

Fortunately, she was able to get back to her room and beat the stuffing out of the punching bag, instead of her innocent father. With (most of) her rage sorted out, she stomped back down to her father with a huff and sat on the couch next to him. She looked like a little kid whose 'cotton candy for dinner' request got shut down.

'LJ…' Her father said, putting the newspaper aside. 'I know you're mad, but-'

'She's accusing me of cheating!' Junior yelled. 'As if I would change teams just so I could win. I'm an athlete! Either it's a challenge, or I don't even bother. … Oh, and she called me a boy.'

'What?! That… why didn't you tell us? We told them that you were a girl, and they were supposed to-'

'She accused me of cheating, Dad! Isn't that more important?'

'I…? Your priorities are weird, but I'm with you on whatever they are!'

He glanced back at the story in the newspaper. The only bright side was that it was surprisingly unbiased, presenting the story as it was.. For the local newspaper, it was something of a miracle.

Of course, that didn't mean that the readers would take an unbiased opinion.

'LJ…' Senior said. 'I know I shouldn't be worrying you, but I am, em, concerned about this. If other people find out that you're on the girls' team now, and winning no less, they might get mad.'

'Why?!' Junior cried. 'Because they think I would cheat or something?! I beat Meggy fair and square. The only reason why I could never beat the boys was because Pete or whatever his name was is built like a running machine! Have you seen his parents? They're both accomplished runners!'

'I can't imagine why someone would think you'd go through all of that just to win a race, especially since you don't even get any medals or trophies for it, but I know someone's going to have a problem with it.'

Junior just groaned. 'Well, if they're gonna accuse me of cheating, they'll have to answer to me.' She hopped off the couch. 'I'm all angry now. I gotta use it!'

And, from then until dinner, she spent the day channelling that anger into her sporting equipment.

Author Notes - I could've made this easy. I could've had Lynn win or lose BOTH games! But that isn't as fun, and with this topic I really can't 'take the easy way out'. It's a fairly serious discussion and I can't risk seeming like I'm intentionally crafting an easy argument to dismantle. Strawmen look bad, no matter which side you're on.

On a less serious note, I copy-and-pasted almost all of this from the previous version of this story. Obviously, I reworked a bunch of it, but it's just about the only part of the original story that was good enough to be used again. I will say, I like how I had her have a bigger problem with being accused of cheating than being misgendered. It just seemed more in-character for her.