Author Notes - Alright, we should be reaching the end of this surprisingly-long journey. I say this because we're finally entering Lynn's first year in middle school! Which, as we all know, was such a wonderful and joyous time for her. ... Text doesn't convey sarcasm very well, does it?

We're also talking about puberty blockers for the first half of this chapter, since it's a pretty important part of a lot of trans kids' lives. Hopefully I've gotten the information on them right. In the original version, puberty blockers were something I mentioned but kind of glossed over. Lynn chose to use them far too quickly, and I didn't really discuss any possible side effects. Hopefully, I've fixed this little error of mine.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN - LYNN IN THE MIDDLE

'AAAAAHHHHH!'

Rita and Lynn Sr rushed to the bathroom as fast as they could. Not because of a bathroom emergency, but because of the terrified scream emanating from the room. It was Luna, who hardly ever screamed like that - her rock-n-roll screams were quite distinct. Perhaps it was a false alarm, or maybe it was just because Lynn Jr messed up the toilet again, but the Loud Parents weren't going to take any chances.

Once they made it to the top, they found Luna stepping out of the bathroom with her cheeks all red. She didn't look hurt in any way, except for maybe her pride. Which was a concern all on its own.

'H-Hey Mom,' She said, looking at the floor. 'Hey Pops.'

'Luna, what's wrong?' Rita asked. 'Are you alright?'

'D-Don't worry. See, when I went to flush the toilet, I saw that the water was all red. I thought something gnarly had happened to me! B-But then I realised it was probably just my first period. Sorry for freaking you dudes out.'

Of course, Rita and Lynn Sr didn't have a single problem with this. And why would they? In a house with so many daughters, they were mentally prepared for discussions like this. They gave her soft smiles and Lynn Sr put his hand on her shoulder, which got the tiniest smile out of her.

'It's okay,' Lynn Sr said. 'This isn't the first time this has happened. Lori had a real freak-out when she got her period for the first time! And Leni… well, she was just kind of confused. Don't worry.'

'Have you stained anything?' Rita asked. 'Do you need any pads?'

'I don't think anything's stained,' Luna replied. 'But I could really use some pads.'

'Alright. I'm sure Lori and Leni won't mind letting you borrow theirs.'

'I should be fine. I'm just worried about how many jokes Luan's going to make about British people saying 'bloody' a lot.'

She made her way to Lori and Leni's room. Lori was very annoyed just to see her walk through the door, until Luna mentioned her period. Then she was rushed inside and the door was shut. It left Rita and Lynn Sr alone in the hallway. Lynn Sr was smiling. Rita was not.

'And there's another milestone down,' Lynn said. 'Only about… five-ish to go?'

Rita sighed. 'Lynn, usually I'm not too worried about our kids going through puberty. But I'm worried about Lynn.'

'Lynn? What would-? Oh, right. You know, sometimes I forget that she's actually got a more 'boyish' body. She's not gonna go through the same puberty as the rest of our girls. She's going to go through what I went through. I can't imagine what that would be like.' He shivered. 'Puberty was hard enough for me, and I was a boy!'

Lynn Sr cringed again as he thought about it. The increased amount of hair was probably something Lynn Jr could live with, if not be proud of. It was everything else that worried him. What if her voice became deeper? Her voice was already boyish, but ambiguous enough that she could seamlessly pass for a girl. Puberty could easily take that away from her. Then there was the concern of her, erm, bits. Puberty was going to mess with that.

Rita thought about it for a moment. 'Wait, I think I read something about this a while back. If I remember right, we can stop her from going through puberty all together! Temporarily, of course.'

Lynn snapped his fingers. 'Oh yeah! I remember reading about that too. Puberty blockers. I'm not sure how they work, but if they work the way I hope they do, then LJ can avoid going through that!'

'We need to look into it first. Obviously. But if we think it's a good idea, we'll present it to Lynn and let her decide if she wants to do it or not. She's starting middle school soon. She's old enough to decide this for herself.'


The research took a while, but the Loud Parents found out everything they needed to. It seemed like the perfect solution. Puberty blockers would essentially put puberty on hold to give Lynn some time to think about it. If she ended up changing her mind and actually was a 'boy' (unlikely after all this time), then they could just stop the treatment and male puberty would continue as usual. But if she chose, she could eventually go through female puberty at some point in the future.

Of course, they were not without side effects. Like any medical treatment. So, they sat Lynn Jr down in her bedroom to talk about everything. Lynn was struggling to pay attention to most of it, but she knew it was too important to ignore. It sounded like a way to just avoid puberty, after all, and that sounded nice on its own.

'So,' Rita said, after everything was explained. 'If you managed to get all that, tell us what you think.'

Lynn opened her mouth to say 'hell yeah!' immediately, but then she stopped herself. According to what she had managed to catch, it would affect her growth. Which made sense, considering that was arguably the whole point. It could have resulted in her being even shorter for her age than she already was. Not to mention her bones. Apparently, it could cause some bone problems in the future. Not would. Could. But Lynn needed those bones to be tough! Of course, she could always take vitamin supplements.

'It doesn't matter what you choose,' Senior said. 'We'll support you until the very end!'

'There is a chance that something could go wrong,' Rita said. 'Mind you, it's a very, very low chance, but a chance nonetheless. You have to think about the benefits. Would it be worth it?'

Lynn thought about this hard. Harder than she had thought about something in years. But not that hard. It only took her a few seconds to come up with the answer.

'We're doing it!' She declared. 'A little risk of something bad ain't gonna stop me from doing what I wanna do. A-And I don't like whatever puberty's gonna do to me. This body is tough enough to deal with. I don't wanna make it worse.'

Senior smiled. 'Well alright then! Sounds like this plan is a-go. … Assuming the doctors approve.'

'I don't know why they wouldn't,' Rita said. 'She's old enough. And she's definitely been displaying signs of wanting to transition for a long while now.'

'Yeah!' Lynn shouted. 'LET'S DO IT!' Her smile dropped. '... Wait, this won't involve any needles, will it?'


Lynn was given a choice - a needle, or an implant. Unsurprisingly, she chose the implant. Any excuse to avoid the needle. It may sound like getting an implant would be a big deal, but Lynn found that it wasn't much of a hassle at all. It helped that she was so used to extreme sports injuries that a teeny-tiny hole in her skin didn't matter. She'd have to return every year to get a new one, but it was something she could live with. And right on time too, because it was time for her to start middle school.

Middle school… Those words sent shivers down her spine. All four of her older sisters had horror stories to tell about it. Even Leni, who mostly had a good time, had been the victim of some pretty horrific words. But Lynn wasn't too worried. After dealing with Megan, middle school sounded so easy in comparison. Besides, Luan was in the year above her, so she wasn't going to be alone. The only Loud Sister who had to deal with it on her own was Lori, and only for a year. Not that she got out of that in one piece.

'I never understood why middle school is even a thing,' Lynn Sr, as Vanzilla approached the middle school building. 'Those grades are the WORST, and they put them all together in the one building! … Then again, maybe that's why they did it. So the innocent younger kids and the more mature old kids don't have to deal with them.'

'Dad,' Lynn said. 'You're not making it sound fun.'

'I'm worried. But I know you'll be fine. Nothing ever stops you!'

'You got that right!'

Even Luan telling lame jokes in the seat next to her couldn't deter her spirit. As soon as Vanzilla stopped in front of the school, Lynn unbuckled her belt and leapt out like a leopard released from its cage. Luan came walking out after her, giggling at her own joke.

'But seriously,' She said. 'Middle school is gonna be tough. If you ever need me, I'll be there for you! I can even show you where I usually sit at lunch, so you can find me!'

'Thanks, but I'll be fine,' Lynn said, puffing out her chest. 'This ain't gonna be that tough. If I can handle this weird little tube in my arm, I can handle this.'

'I'll show you, just in case. I had Luna helping me out during my first year here. You deserve a little help too!'

It seemed strange for her to go this long without telling a stupid joke. Lynn was almost impressed, and it certainly proved how much Luan meant this offer. It didn't feel right to decline it, so Lynn let her show off her usual lunch spot. It couldn't hurt to know, just in case.


Things were off to a bad start. A very bad start. Not only did Lynn realise how short she was compared to most of the students (she wasn't insecure about that or anything, but she had to wonder what was up with her genes), but she quickly found herself lost. The building felt so much more confusing than her last school. She had to be in her boring maths class and now, but she had no idea where it was. It was as if the school decided that the students could easily figure it out on their own. And those who couldn't were just a consequence they were willing to take.

Lynn being Lynn, she attempted to find her class by herself. After about ten minutes of being unable to find it, she finally found what she thought was the door. But when she opened it-

'HEY!' A student inside yelled. 'Can't you read the sign on the door?!'

The sign said 'dark room'. Lynn found, to her horror, that she had several photography students glaring at her thanks to a few ruined photos.

'Sorry!' She yelled. 'I was just-'

'Get out!' Another student yelled.

Lynn closed the door immediately. Muttering to herself about how 'stupid it was' to work with photos that were so easily ruined by someone opening a door that wasn't even locked, she realised that she needed help. Taking a deep breath, she approached the nearest group of students - a trio of eighth-graders. They were practically giants compared to her. But they didn't scare her. Not much, anyway.

'Hey, can you help me?' She asked. 'I'm looking for my class. Got any idea where it is?'

The eighth-graders looked down on her, and she gulped. It made her miss the days where she was easily the toughest kid in school. They looked at her for only a few seconds before snickering among themselves. Lynn couldn't quite understand what they were saying, but she could've sworn one of them said 'boy'.

'Yeah, we know where it is,' The biggest kid of them all said. 'Here's what you do…'

Lynn listened to every word they said, not sure if she could trust them but also not sure what other option she had. She followed their directions to the letter, and very quickly came to the conclusion that the directions were less than honest. It only really became clear, however, when she reached her destination.

'Uh, h-hello? A-Anyone?'

She found herself alone, in a hallway that looked just about abandoned. The lights hardly worked, flickering at best and filling corners with a foreboding darkness at worst. The floor was wet. The lockers were broken.

'HELLO!' She yelled. 'Is anyone there?'

No one responded. Well, this was clearly the wrong way. She grunted to herself as she turned around. Those kids would get it one day. She just knew it. But her top priority at that moment was just to find a way out. So, she turned right around… and quickly realised that she had no idea where she came in from.

'Oh no… This is fine. I'll find my way out. Eventually.'

She chose a path at random and travelled down it. It didn't take long before she reached a dead-end. The light above her flickered off and let out a small burst of sparks. She leapt out of the way before those sparks could touch her skin.

'Ooo-kay. That wasn't right.'

She went down another path. Choosing paths at random was the only thing she could really think to do. It just led to a broken locker, which had a little family of rats nesting inside. They scattered away as soon as they saw her, and she'd never admit to the sound she made when they ran past her feet.

'Wish Lana was here… or any of them.'

And so it continued. No matter how many paths she took, she could not find her way out. By the second hour, her stomach was demanding sustenance. By the third, she could feel her bladder being stretched to her limit. Her breath picked up in speed and intensity.

'HELP!' She shouted. 'What the hell is this place?!'

Without even intending to, she backed up into a corner. Another light broke, reducing the visibility even more. Lynn wasn't usually scared of the dark, but now it was something else she had to worry about. She was about ready to panic when she heard a voice.

'LYNN! I've been looking around for you all day!'

Lynn let out the biggest sigh of relief she could manage.

'LUAN!' She yelled back. 'Where are you? I want to get out of here!'

'Over here!'

Lynn followed the sound of her voice - it echoed easily in the empty hallways - until she finally ran across the staircase she used to get there in the first place. Luan was standing on the bottom step, worry etched on her face. Lynn almost leapt into a hug, but she stopped herself before she could do something so sappy.

'Luan!' She said, because all she could do was state the obvious.

'Where the heck have you been?!' Luan asked. 'I've been looking for you for like an hour now! How long have you been down here for?'

'Uhhh… I have no idea.'

'Oh, it isn't important how this happened or how long it's been. All that matters is that I've found you! Come on. Mom's waiting for us.'


When Lynn finally found her classroom, things weren't much better. If anything, they only got worse. Lesson learned - don't ask people for directions. Just rely on instinct. But she was sure to learn another lesson soon enough.

'Lynn…' Her teacher said, sounding as enthusiastic as you can expect a middle school teacher to be. 'Take your seat.'

Lynn wasn't sure if the teachers of this school were told about her gender identity, and she wasn't prepared to find out. Looking at the desks, she quickly found out that only one was left. An inevitability after she got totally lost on the first day, and arrived late the next. And it was a seat close to the front of the class, which was never any fun. Too close to the teacher. With a sigh, she took her seat.

Well, she tried to. It didn't take long for her to find out that this desk wasn't chosen for a very good reason. It was small. Practically cramped. Not to mention broken. The desk and the chair legs were a tangled mess. And, as Lynn quickly realised, she was a tangled mess too. It was so painfully uncomfortable that she couldn't pay a bit of attention to the actual class. And then the bell rang for break time. That's when things got really bad.

Lynn tried to get out of her seat, but she couldn't. It was like a bear trap. She pushed and pulled and squirmed, but she didn't move an inch. Not even the sweat gathering on her skin helped her squeeze out of this deathtrap. No amount of grunting or twisting got her out.

'Uh, a little help over here!' She said. 'I-I'm kinda stuck!'

One kid stepped forward and tried to help, but he didn't get anywhere and quickly gave up. The other students didn't even try. But they laughed. Laughed so hard that the only thing Lynn could hear was a cacophony of laughter. She did not stop trying to escape, even as her limbs began to ache. Her eyes were stinging. Not now. Not with the whole class watching.

The teacher, who sounded like she couldn't care less, sighed and got out of her seat. 'Alright, I'll call the school cook.'

'The cook?!' Lynn cried.

Lynn had heard terrible things about the middle school food - like whatever the 'mystery spaghetti' was meant to be. Imagine her horror when a giant of a person came in with a big jar of peanut butter and a massive knife. She squirmed and panicked some more, but it didn't do anything but make her aches hurt even more.

'Sorry, kid,' the Cook said. 'We're gonna have to grease you out.'

'What?!'

'You got any nut allergies?'


The next day, Lynn had really learned. She got to the classroom as soon as possible, before any of the other students had even shown up. With all the seats empty, she dashed to one at the back of that class instead and planted her butt down onto the seat. Eventually, the other students poured into the classroom. Lynn leaned back in her chair and grinned - now this was a good seat.

It didn't take long before the original owner of this seat approached her. It was a girl, giving her an irritated look through her glasses.

'Uh, that's my seat,' She said. 'You're gonna have to move.'

Lynn looked at her wordlessly for a moment. This girl had done nothing to her but laugh alongside the rest of the class. There was a moment where Lynn almost felt bad for her. It only lasted a moment, because Lynn was quickly reminded of the peanut butter that took hours to remove from her hair.

'Beat it!' She said. 'This is my seat now. Don't worry. You can take my old one.'

'Uh, but your seat-'

'I said, beat it!'

Author Notes - 'Middle Men' was a great episode for Lynn. After multiple seasons of her being the worst Loud Sister, we finally got some real development for her that explained why she's the way she is. Unfortunately, it seems like Season Five forgot all about that, because 'Schooled!' shows Lynn making Lincoln's time in middle school even worse than it already was. Despite the fact that she was previously trying to make it EASIER for him! 'Diss the Cook' is probably Lynn's best appearance in the newer episodes, which isn't really saying much.

I'm from Australia, and we don't have middle school here. It's just 'primary' and 'high'. With that in mind... WHY WOULD YOU PUT THOSE GRADES TOGETHER?! Believe me, those grades were the absolute worst for me when I was in high school. The idea behind middle school is just baffling to me. Are you trying to make Hell on Earth?!