The Failure of a Father

Ch 12: Horrible Experiences in the Past, Recounted…

It was another boring day at school, but for Michael, it would be the complete opposite. He was in a good mood today, so it makes sense. He went to get the books he needed for class, when Lori came up to him and asked. "Michael?"

Michael turned to the older girl before him. "Yeah?"

"I need to talk to you, in private." They went to the auditorium, and closed the door so no one will see them, not even Coach Pacowski.

The duo sat on their respective chairs. "You know what happened on Tuesday, right?"

Michael nodded in response. "Father and I got into a conflict and ran away."

Lori sighed, as small tears formed in her eyes. "Life was being too hard on you, y'know?" She wiped her eyes of any tears coming out.

"Why are you crying?" Michael asked.

"I'll tell you why. There are moments when I act like a total asshole to my brother and siblings, first one is, I broke his VR goggles to which he cursed me out on the telephone." Lori replied. "There was this moment when I got angry at him because he insulted Ronalda, Roberto got so mad at me and we broke up, if you're asking that, it's real. We managed to resolve it at Jean Juan's French Mex hopefully, but things turned for the worse when Lincoln insulted Ronalda, he managed to resolve the issue by kissing her in public."

"So they are boyfriend and girlfriend?" Michael asked.

"Nope." Lori said. "They are just friends, but Chandler and his friends considered them a couple anyway..."

"Unless if they want a beating, they'll consider them a couple." Michael said, cracking his knuckles.

"They're just like that." Lori responded. "I used them as slaves, in return for a favor. I sabotaged Leni's driving test by giving her bad instructions, and I always call Lincoln a twerp."

"It's all in the past, at least you changed."

"Yeah, you're right…" The 5-minute warning bell rang. "Ugh, school…you know what, let's go to class…"

They went to class, the burden of homework and school notes weighed on them. The students groaned in annoyance, they wanted to go home early or their recess to arrive at least. Given what time it is, it seems like their time of glory is to come. 10 minutes in and the bell is to ring. Later, the recess bell rang and the students stampeded to the cafeteria.

Michael was about to step out of the door when Mrs. White called out to him. "Michael?"

The boy turned to see his teacher. "Yes, ma'am?"

"Please take a seat, we need to talk." The adviser said as Michael grabbed his chair and sat in front of her.

"What is it that we will be talking about, Mrs. White?" The teenager asked.

Janet asked, worried. "You have been sad lately, what's bothering you? Are things OK at home?"

Michael didn't know what to answer to his teacher's question, so he lied. "Things are smooth sailing at home…"

Janet knew that what her student said was a lie, so she commanded him in a stern tone. "Tell me the truth…or else…"

Michael sighed, and he explained. "Fine, things weren't the best at home. My father abused me, my mother didn't stand up for me. I told off my father on Tuesday, and ran away afterwards…I did it so that I could take a break from the emotional and physical abuse that was given to me at that time."

"Oh my God…" Mrs. White said, shocked. "I'm so sorry to hear that from you, did you and your father talk it out?"

"No, I lashed out at him on that day, and slapped him in the face, while using words no kid my age should be using." The boy replied, as he wiped his tears. "Please don't notify the authorities…"

The teacher took a moment to skim in her thoughts. She replied. "It's OK, Michael, I'm not going to call local law enforcement, but if this happens again, I will, OK?"

The teenager nodded in response.

"You can go to the cafeteria now."

Michael then went away until he was out of eyeshot, Janet then fished for her daily lesson log and wrote something in it.

In the cafeteria, Michael and his friends were busy talking about what happened over the past few weeks.

"Darn, your father was being pretty harsh on you lately." Robert said.

"I hope things get better soon!" Elijah said.

"Thanks for the support, guys." Michael said as he continued eating. "You guys are the best friends anyone can ask for."

"Aw, thanks, Michael!" Stephanie, Robert, and Elijah said as they hugged Michael, they had been best friends since they were seven years old. After they finished eating, they stood up from their seats while putting their hands on each other's shoulders. They laughed at each other while talking.

Lincoln was in the library, listening to 'Mama's Boy' by Dominic Fike. He was reading a fiction storybook based on a damaged relationship between a mother and her son, the 11-year-old Loud thought of what was happening between William and Michael as he flipped through the pages. Cassidy grabbed her chair, and sat near Lincoln, interested in what he was reading.

Hours later…

They headed back to their respective classes, and was burdened with the weight of school notes for the next one and a half hours of the school day. Sooner, the final bell sounded, and the students exclaimed in happiness as they cleaned up their stuff and headed for the exit door.

At Stephanie's house…

Stephanie and Michael came home from school and sat down on the couch. The teenager wanted to narrate something to his friend. "Stephanie?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I tell you something? It's about…Lori."

"What about her?" Stephanie asked.

"Well, it seems like she has regretted her past mistakes, y'know, she destroyed Lincoln's VR goggles, and he cursed her out on his telephone." Michael narrated.

"Lincoln has his own telephone?" Stephanie replied. "What does it look like?"

"It looked like a duck when Lincoln showed it to me, and another bad thing Lori did, is bossing her siblings around, and giving Leni bad driving instructions."

"So she did something bad in the past…before we arrived here?"

"Yeah…but she did something good to her siblings." Michael said. "Roberto broke up with Lori, she planned out a double date for all four of them and they managed to patch things up, much to Clyde's irritation. Chandler and his group of friends arrived at the restaurant soon after, and Lincoln hid in the bathroom, and the band was in the loo, asking if they could play music and Lincoln said 'no' to them. A man was outside waiting for him to complete his bathroom routine, he exited the bathroom and hid in the dumbwaiter lift that Clyde (who was a fake waiter) was using."

"That means Clyde has a crush on Lori, like, dude, how old is Lori? 16?" Stephanie asked Michael. "Also, I feel bad for Roberto and Lori's breakup."

"Lori is 17 years old, while Clyde is 11. Considering the age gap, the two are not to be meant for each other but let's get back to what happened at Jean Juan's, Lincoln, seeing Chandler and his *dumb* friends, asked Clyde to bail him out of the restaurant in a costume. As they wore the disguise, Clyde thanked the customers at Jean Juan's," He imitated Clyde. "Au revoir! ¡Gracias! Merci!" The boy spoke in his normal tone. "Lincoln then told him," Michael imitated Lincoln's voice. "OK, Clyde, less talking, more walking." He narrated. "Clyde walked Lincoln to the entrance, they almost made it out when suddenly Lori asked for the cute little waiter she saw, Clyde upon hearing she said, rushed to Lori and Lincoln fell to the floor."

"Did he escape?" Stephanie asked, putting a hand on the couch.

"He almost made it out, when Chandler spotted him and he asked him what he's doing at Jean Juan's, Lincoln replied," Michael imitated Lincoln's voice. "I'm just here with family, no, I mean, friends, I mean, family friends." He spoke in his normal tone. "One of Chandler's friends named Gerald, the fattest kid in the group, asked Lincoln if he was wearing 'date pants'. Another kid named Nigel said that Ronalda and Lincoln are a couple, Lincoln said that they weren't, but they didn't listen and they chanted, "Ronnie Anne, Lincoln, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"

"Are Ronalda and Lincoln a couple?"

"No, they are not, but some of Lincoln's dumb classmates think they are. Lincoln insulted Ronalda and told them that he would rather lick the bathroom floor, than be in love with that weirdo. Lori yelled Lincoln's name, and Ronalda rushed to the entrance in tears. Roberto broke up with Lori, again, and she started crying. Lincoln, then made his speech to everyone in the restaurant, and kissed Ronalda (on the lips) much to Chandler and his classmates' excitement, Roberto and Lori's happiness, and Clyde's irritation as he called Dr. Lopez."

"What happened afterward?"

"They teased him again at recess the following day, when Ronalda came in and slapped Lincoln's cheek for kissing her yesterday. She 'broke up' with him, then Chandler and his friends shared their sympathy for him. An ice pack was given to Lincoln by Ronalda, then Clyde comes in with the Mexican band and he and Lincoln dance together and said 'Olé!' in unison, and that's where it ends."

"Ronnie Anne and Lincoln are friends, right?" Stephanie asked, squinting her eyes and putting a leg over her knee.

"They're just best friends like we are, Lincoln is not even interested in romance so it makes sense." Michael smiled as he shrugged.

Julius came home from work, as he sat down on the armchair. "Hey kids, what are you talking about?"

"Hey, Dad, we were talking about something about Lincoln and Ronalda." The teenage girl smiled to her dad.

"Well, before a person can get involved in a romantic relationship, he or she must focus on her academic progress first." The dad replied to his daughter.

"Yeah, you're right, but me, Michael, nor Lincoln is interested in romance."

Jamie came in the house, holding hands with Lincoln. "Hey guys." He ordered Lincoln. "Go sit on the couch."

Lincoln Loud went to the couch, sitting in the middle of Michael Afton and Stephanie Williams.

Abigail came into the scene and sat near her husband, looking at the boy that was standing in the middle of the couch.

To be continued in Ch 13…

A/N: Hey guys, it's me again. I mentioned some episodes of The Loud House, can you guess all of them? I was planning an introductory scene between Lincoln and Stephanie's parents. That's all I'll tell you for today, and thank you.