Given how many children they have, it is my firm opinion that Lynn and Rita Loud are both strictly pro-life, so I will continue to portray them as such.

Chapter 3

Now at fourteen years of age, Lincoln and the handful of friends he'd made over the course of his life sat around an unused desk at their school playing Texas Hold 'Em while all of their collective parents participated in a PTA meeting. Lincoln wore an olive-green zippered hoodie over a burnt-orange T-shirt tucked into faded denim jeans and scuffed orange sneakers. His ashen-blond hair was short but shaggy, and his expression was unreadable as he gazed at the cards he held in his clawed fingers. His friends Clyde and Liam had both withdrawn from the game, leaving him pitted against Ronnie and Stella.

Clyde was African-American, with curly black hair, glasses, and wearing a blue-and-yellow striped T-shirt over jeans and black sneakers.

Liam was a hard-working farm boy, and had a sun-kissed face dotted with freckles and carrot-red hair under a white cowboy hat. He wore a blue-and-green striped T-shirt, denim overalls, and brown cowboy boots.

Ronnie, of course, came from a Hispanic family. Her long black hair hung down her back in a ponytail held in place by a purple scrunchie, and she wore a purple hoodie over a denim skirt, light purple leggings, and purple Mary Janes.

Stella and her family had immigrated from the Philippines three years prior. She had caramel skin like Ronnie, curly black hair that came to her shoulders, and a white T-shirt over a black knee-length skirt, white knee-high socks, and green sneakers. Being a member of the girls' basketball team, she wore a red, black, and white Royal Woods Squirrels letterman jacket over her T-shirt.

Sitting nearby and observing the game was everyone's mutual friend Jordan, a girl with white skin, sandy-blond hair in a French braid, a canary-yellow blouse, a blue pleated skirt, white ankle socks, and black Mary Janes.

In a surprise move, Lincoln took one hand away from his cards, using it to push his entire pile of poker chips to the center of the desk. Everyone's eyes widened, and Lincoln gave a triumphant fang-filled grin. Ronnie and Stella looked at each other nervously. He must've had a really good hand if he was confident enough to go all-in.

"I fold," Ronnie declared, laying her cards on the desk face-down.

"Me too," Stella said, doing likewise. Lincoln shrugged and laid his cards down face-up, and everyone's eyes widened even more.

"You were bluffing the whole time?!" Ronnie asked incredulously, and Lincoln chortled in response. "YOU DORK! I had four Aces!" she screamed and shoved him angrily, which only caused him to laugh harder. His deep, warbling laughter was infectious, and the others soon found themselves laughing alongside him, even Ronnie. Despite his deterring appearance, they had all grown rather fond of him, especially Ronnie, seeing as the two had grown up together. For some of their parents, however, that wasn't the case...

...

Jordan's parents, Rick and Jesse Rosato, were very rich, at the top of the social food chain. Having so much money made them fairly snobbish, giving them the opinion that they had the right to boss other people around. Jordan's dad Rick was the head of the PTA board, and her mom Jesse was the president of a Homeowners' Association, and the power went to both of their heads. The focus of this PTA meeting was whether or not Lincoln should be expelled from Royal Woods High.

This was far from the Loud parents' first rodeo; however, this one was possibly the most severe. What happened was that earlier that same day, Lincoln walked into the boys' locker room to find three boys that were two grades above him trying to coerce one of his female classmates (he was fairly certain her name was "Cookie") out of her clothes and into the shower. He hadn't had many interactions with her, but he knew she was weak from chronic bone disease and couldn't fight back, so naturally he had beaten the snot out of the boys, emerging from the fight with hardly a scratch himself. While he had been in numerous fights before, this was the first time an opponent of his had been sent to the hospital due to injuries inflicted by his claws.

While Lincoln's parents, Liam's parents, Ronnie's parents, and the parents of the girl he'd rescued tried to argue in Lincoln's defense, it was no use. Jordan's parents were very influential, and Clyde's and Stella's parents were scared to death of Lincoln. Even though Rita threatened to sue the school for discrimination, the principal found the arguments in favor of Lincoln's expulsion to be superior.

The evidence provided by Jordan's parents included, but wasn't limited to, Lincoln's grades, attendance, and overall performance in the classroom. While Lincoln excelled in math, science, and gym, his grades were abysmal in history and social studies. He was literally born to be a hunter, so it was natural for him to be antsy and inattentive in classes that required him to sit still for long periods of time. As for his attendance, Lisa had written doctor's notes (she had received no less than three PhDs by that time) excusing him from classes so that she could continue conducting her studies on him. Said notes had apparently "never been filed" in the school's archives, and therefore must not have existed in the first place.

As the other board members filed out of the room, only Lincoln's parents remained in their seats, Lynn Sr. hugging Rita from the side while she rubbed her temples to ward off the ensuing headache. They were soon approached by Liam's parents, Glenn and Gladys Hunnicut.

"Rita, I'm sorry we couldn't get Lincoln out of trouble this time," Gladys spoke, laying a comforting hand on the shoulder of her best friend since high school. "That doesn't mean we can't find a silver lining, though!"

"Gladys is right," said Glenn. "If you want, Lincoln can come work for us on the farm. We could use a good strong lad like him, and we'll pay him for it. Ten dollars an hour, forty hours a week. Lunch and transportation provided courtesy of the Hunnicut family, free of charge."

"That's a tempting offer. We'll think about it and discuss it with Lincoln first," Rita said, bidding the couple farewell as she and Lynn Sr. walked out to where their son was waiting.

[Well? How did it go?] Lincoln asked in Sign Language. The looks on his parents' faces gave him his answer, and his own face fell to match theirs. They wordlessly walked outside to where the family van was parked, and Lincoln dutifully followed. Before they could enter the vehicle, though, Rita turned to face her only son, who was growing at a faster rate than ordinary human children and was exactly her height.

"Lincoln, I'm not going to sugar-coat this. What you did earlier today made a lot of people angry and scared. Some people think you're too dangerous to be around the other students," she began, and Lincoln hung his head in shame with a sniffle. However, he looked up when he felt her hand cup his cheek. "I'm not one of those people," Rita continued with a warm smile that conveyed her love for him. "Sweetie, I'm so proud of you for protecting that girl. Even if one boy had to get stitches, they were in the wrong, not you. I know it seems like the whole world is against you right now, but just remember that you have us, your sisters, and all of your friends supporting you, no matter what." Lincoln smiled in return, closed his eyes, and leaned his face against Rita's palm, making a rumbling sound deep in his throat that made it seem like he was purring (which he might have been; there were times that he seemed more feline than reptilian).

...

When they arrived back at the house, the twins Luan and Luna, Leni, and Lori all pounced on Lincoln the moment they saw his downtrodden expression. Having been knocked flat on his back, Lincoln could only laugh and squirm as his four most affectionate sisters all peppered him with kisses to cheer him up. Having literally known him their whole lives (the twins were nine, Leni was seven, and Lori was four), they were more than used to his appearance. They knew it wasn't normal for a human to look like him, but to them, he was only their quirky, bully-scaring big brother, and they loved him dearly.

Later that night, Lincoln was lying in bed, snoring softly as he slept. He snorted awake when he felt a tiny finger poke his shoulder. He blearily sat up and looked around. Not seeing anyone with his excellent night vision, he was about to lay back down when he heard a small cough. He looked down and spotted Lori's wavy golden hair. Being shorter than most of the furniture in the house put the preschooler at a definite disadvantage, and she looked up at her brother with tears in her eyes.

"Linky, I had a nightmare. Can I sleep with you?" she pleaded. It was a strange concept for Lincoln's younger sisters to go to him for comfort after a nightmare, considering that he looked like something from a nightmare himself. Lori, in her childlike innocence, once provided an explanation when she stated, "Linky is so scary that he scares all the bad monsters away! I'm not scared, because he's my brother and I love him!"

Smiling, Lincoln reached down, gently grabbed his youngest sister under her arms, and effortlessly lifted her off the ground, depositing her next to him on his bed. He then moved the covers aside so that she could crawl into her "snuggle spot" (that was what Lori and Leni called their favorite place to sleep when Lincoln allowed either of them to snuggle with him). Straddling his torso, Lori laid down on her stomach, pressing her cheek to Lincoln's sternum. Lincoln then pulled the covers over them both, and Lori allowed the sound of her brother's strong heartbeat lull her into a deep, dreamless sleep. Lincoln wasn't far behind, stroking Lori's back until he fell asleep as well.