71. Ch 71- Project Day

When Monday came around, Lincoln found himself walking to school early once again, hands in his coat pockets and earphones in his ears. He had his bag on his back, which was heavier than usual, but he paid it no mind. He simply walked to school with his music playing, keeping it low enough for him to keep aware. It had never been a long walk from Franklin Avenue to Royal Woods Elementary School, so he quickly found himself at the front doors to the school, wasting no time in getting out of the cold. He smiled as the warmth of the school's heating washed over him, but knew he had things to do before class started.

His first stop was his locker, where he put some of his belongings in it, along with his coat. Once he had done this, he closed the locker and began to head towards the library, his ends destination. Along the way, he saw the door to Principal Huggins' office opening, the balding man entering from it. Seeing the white haired boy, he approached him. "Ah, Lincoln!" he greeted. "Good morning."

"Good morning, sir."

"I got your request that you sent, so my apologies for not getting back to you sooner. I'll admit, it's an unusual one, but if it's for the benefit of your education, then I can allow it this once. Just make sure they know that I approved of this."

The boy's smile grew. "Thank you!"

"Don't mention it. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to make sure everything is up to standard in the gymnasium."

The man walked away, allowing Lincoln to walk the other direction to the library. Given that it was still early in the morning, there were only a couple of people there, including the librarian and a couple of other early students reading some books. He saw that there were no computers taken, so he walked over to one of them and sat down in front of it. He logged into the computer, and as it began to load, he pulled his phone out and decided to change the song that was playing, his eyes closing as he let the music take over him.

Of course, this meant that he wasn't aware of the new arrival in the library. Jordan had just arrived, and as she walked into the quiet room, she saw the boy sat in his chair, his head bopping slightly to the beat he was listening to. She grinned as she walked over to the boy, keeping out of his line of sight until she was right next to him. She was going to tap him on the shoulder, but he seemed to sense the presence, turning to see her and removing one earphone. "Hey, Jordan."

She playfully pouted as she replied, "no fair. I wanted to surprise you."

He smirked. "I have ten sisters, including one who has a habit of appearing from out of nowhere and scaring all of us. You're gonna have to try harder if you want to jump me."

"I'll keep that in mind." Her smile came back as she sat down at the computer next to him. "So, you have everything on your memory stick, right?" He reached into his trouser pocket, pulling out a grey memory stick and holding it up. "Yes, Lincoln, that is a memory stick."

He rolled his eyes. "Very funny." He plugged it into the computer and opened up the PowerPoint, the one that they had finished the previous Friday. "Okay, so everything is as we left it. Did you have anything that you wanted to add?"

"I couldn't think of anything, so unless you have anything you want to add, I'm fine with just checking to make sure everything's okay."

"Yeah, I didn't really have anything either, so let's just check it over and- Oh! Before I forget, at lunchtime, I need to speak with Principal Huggins about something, so I won't be in the cafeteria for lunch."

"Okay." As they began going over what they had, Jordan noticed that Lincoln still had his earphone in. "What are you listening to?"

"Hmm? Oh, right." He pulled his phone out to turn off his music. "Kinda forgot I had my music on."

She giggled. "Could you not hear it or something?"

"It just kind of became background noise for a second." She gave another giggle, making him raise an eyebrow. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing, just… I didn't know you were that into music."

"I'm not especially, but since I've been walking to school for this past week or so, I've just gotten used to having music on. It makes the journey more enjoyable."

"Yeah, I feel that. I do the same whenever I have a long car journey."

"I typically just read a comic or talk with my sisters. The only time I really listen to music in the car is if I'm listening with Luna. I'd probably say half of the songs on my phone are by bands that Luna introduced me to."

"Let me guess, the other half are songs from video games."

"Pretty much." They shared a low chuckle, which turned to sniggering when they noticed the mild glare the librarian gave them. "Still, sounds like you and Luna have something to bond over."

"Yeah, we… we do…"

She heard how his voice trailed off, looking at his face to see him looking distantly with a slight frown on his face. "Oh… I, uh… sorry."

He shook his head, smiling once again. "Don't be, it's fine. I mean, yeah, I haven't made up with any more of my sisters since Saturday, but I'm still hopeful that I'll make up with the others. I just want things to go back to the way they were before."

"I understand, and they will. What's more important is that they realise how much it means to you, and they support that. Give them a chance, and they'll show that." His smile grew slightly, his gaze not leaving her. "What?"

"You know, even though things haven't always been smooth… I'm really glad you're my friend, Jordan."

Her heart melted a little at hearing this, her smile beaming. "Aww! That's really sweet, Lincoln. I'm really glad you're my friend too."

"Thanks."

"You too. Now, come on, let's get this done or else we're gonna get kicked out for talking too loud."

"Right."

The day passed by pretty quickly for the Loud boy and the Rosato girl. Their morning geography work was over with quickly, so they chatted until the first bell rang. They headed into their classroom, and the first lessons of the day were over with relatively quickly. Recess came and went, another class was endured, and lunchtime finally arrived. While Lincoln went off to do his thing, Jordan joined her friends in the cafeteria, and was unsurprisingly met with questions as to the white haired boy's whereabouts. She simply told them that she didn't know, though she would be lying to say that she didn't wonder what he was up to as well.

This curiosity only grew after lunchtime was over, and she returned to class with her friends. As the sixth graders filled the classroom and took their seats, she saw that Lincoln was one of the last to make it, a slight amount of sweat on his brow as if he had been running.

"Hey," he greeted her as he sat down, "I'm not late, am I?"

"No, Mrs Johnson isn't here yet, you're fine," she told him with a bemused grin. "Where were you?"

"I was doing that thing for Principal Huggins. It took me a little longer than I thought, and I was on the other side of the school. I kinda ran to make sure I wasn't late."

"Yeah, I can tell. What were you doing, anyway?"

"Well…" Before he could say anything else, everyone heard the door open, all turning to see Mrs Johnson enter. "I'll tell you later."

"Alright, everyone!" the teacher announced. "Sorry I'm late, the teacher's lounge was chaos. Never get between Mr Grahams and his doughnuts." Most of the students looked confused by this statement, with a couple whispering to each other, "who's Mr Grahams," but the female teacher paid it no mind. "Anywho, it's time for geography, and as you all should be aware, today is the deadline for your travel presentation project. You've had two weeks to work on this, and I've been monitoring what you've achieved in class, but now it's time for you to present your work."

"Mrs Johnson?" Cookie asked. "Are you going to be marking us based on our delivery?"

"Thank you for bringing that up, Cookie. I realise that some of you might not be confident about speaking, so as long as what you're saying is clear and makes sense, then you'll be okay. I'm going to be marking based on what you're going to be talking about and your overall presentation." She saw that some of the students were relieved by this. "I'll give you all five minutes to make any preparations, and then we'll begin."

So, the class all took the opportunity to check everything over and make sure they were ready to present, before Mrs Johnson began the presentations. She first had Artie and Liam giving a decent presentation about Germany, which was followed by Sadie doing her best to give a presentation about Spain without kneeing Rusty in the groin every time he talked about Spanish women. Mrs Johnson, though she didn't say anything, gave Sadie a slightly higher grade for putting up with this, before then calling for Clyde and Chloe. They gave their presentation on France, with Clyde handing out some French cookies known as 'sable breton', which he had made with his dads on the weekend.

"Thank you very much, Clyde and Chloe!" Mrs Johnson announced once they finished their presentation, still munching on her cookie as she and the other students applauded them. "That was a very well prepared presentation. Up next, we will be looking at Italy, so Lincoln and Girl Jordan, you are up."

The two kids in question nodded, getting up and allowing Clyde to take his memory stick out of the computer before Lincoln put his in, opening up the PowerPoint. Once they were ready and their classmates were settled, they faced the class and smiled.

"Ciao, e benvenuti nella bellissima Italia!" Jordan announced first.

"That means hello, and welcome to beautiful Italy!" Lincoln clarified. "Home to more than sixty million people, Italy is a country filled with beautiful landscapes and is rich in culture and history. Today, we're going to be showing you just some of what this amazing country as to offer."

Once Lincoln changed the slide, Jordan continued. "As Lincoln mentioned, Italy is home to over sixty million people, the fourth highest population of any country in Europe behind the United Kingdom, France and Germany. Until recently, it was also the healthiest country in the world, with an average life expectancy of eighty three years." She pointed to the map displayed on the screen. "Italy shares its borders with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia, with sea borders by the Mediterranean Sea, meaning that there are plenty of beaches and boating locations for people to enjoy."

Lincoln changed the slide again. "The first city in Italy we're going to talk about is a place called Turin, which is in the Northwest of Italy. The city used to be the capital of Italy, but this only lasted a few years before the title was given to Florence, and later Rome. The city is known particularly for two things. Firstly, the city is known for its automotive industry, which is home to car manufacturers such as Fiat and Carrozzeria, and has been considered the Detroit of Italy. The other thing that Turin is known for is sports- in particular, soccer. While Italy has achieved four soccer World Cup victories, Turin is home to two national teams: Torino FC and Juventus. The two teams are rivals, and have varying degrees of success. While Torino FC have won the country's top league seven times and come second seven times, Juventus have one the Serie A an amazing thirty five times, and been runners up an additional twenty one times, cementing them as one of the best teams of all time in Europe."

Jordan waited for Lincoln to change the slide a third time. "While Turin has a large sporting heritage, Milan is known more for its artistic culture. The city is known for its opera and is home to La Scala, one of the most prestigious opera houses in the world. However, Milan is most widely known for its design and particularly its fashion, being considered one of the fashion capitals of the world. The city hosts Milan Fashion Week twice every year for fashion companies to showcase their latest fashion designs, and is home to such companies as Gucci, Armani and Dolce and Gabbana."

"Is that where your next fashion show is?!" a random boy at the back of the class shouted out, causing laughter from some of the students whilst Lincoln and Jordan rolled their eyes in opposite directions, lightly blushing.

"Settle down!" Mrs Johnson spoke out, her raised voice settling their laughter. "Let them present without interruption, okay?" She turned to Lincoln and Jordan and told them, "continue."

Lincoln nodded before changing the slide. "The next city I'll be talking about, and one of the most well known cities in Italy, is Venice. Right by the Mediterranean Sea, Venice is known as the City of Water, among other things. This is also helped by the Venetian gondolas, a type of rowboat that is commonly used by tourists and citizens alike as means of travel. As the gondoliers row you along the waterways of Venice, it's a great way to relax and see the city. Of course, Venice is also known for many festivals, including the Carnival of Venice, which is celebrated once a year at the same time as we might celebrate Mardi Gras. The festival is especially known for the costumes and masks that people wear to celebrate, with elaborate and flamboyant designs like the ones pictured here."

He waited a second before nodding to Jordan and changing the slide. "We now head further South to the city of Florence. While known for many things, Florence is most especially known as the birthplace of the Renaissance, a time of change in the art world towards naturalism and emotion in their pieces. From the Mona Lisa to the statue of David, and from the painting of Venus to the Uffizi hallway, Florence is home to many masterpieces by the likes of Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael and Donatello. Which, yes, is where the names for the Adolescent Amphibian Army characters came from."

Chuckles filled the room as Lincoln transitioned to the next part of the presentation. "However, Italy's culture goes back further than that, and most of this comes from the city right in the centre of Italy, Rome. As I previously mentioned, Rome is the capital city of Italy, but is also the city that was home to the Roman Empire. Founded over two thousand years ago, this was one of the most powerful empires in history, and gave us many modern advancements in culture and society. Among other things, without the Romans, we wouldn't have currency, baths, fast food, roads or calendars. We also wouldn't have the colosseum, famous for the famous gladiator fights, battles of strength amongst mighty warriors for the people to enjoy."

He acted the last part out, waving his arm around as if he was swinging a sword, which Jordan couldn't help but stifle a giggle at, before she changed the slide once more. "The final city that we'll be talking about, just a bit South of the capital, is Naples. While there is a lot that can be said about Naples, such as its advancements in theatre and art, and its architecture, you can't talk about this city without mentioning one thing: pizza. The city is the birthplace of the Margherita pizza, named after Queen Margherita of Savoy. Unlike American cheese pizzas, which use grated cheese, a Margherita pizza uses slices of balls of mozzarella, and is topped with fresh basil leaves."

"Of course, the only way to know for sure is to see for yourself." Jordan looked at him, having not anticipated it, and was more surprised when Lincoln pulled a Tupperware container out of his bag. He opened it up, revealing something wrapped in foil and unwrapping it to reveal a steaming hot pizza, causing an "Ooh" from the crowd. "As you can see, the pizza has a thinner crust, and is made with fresh ingredients."

"I hope you're willing to share that around, Lincoln," Mrs Johnson joked, only for the boy to reveal that he had paper plates, and the pizza was already sliced.

"Way ahead of you. I'll give some out when we're finished."

He looked to Jordan, who nodded before facing the class again. "This is just the tip of the iceberg for what Italy has to offer, and the only way to truly experience it is to go and see it firsthand. That concludes our presentation, so thank you for listening and we hope you see beautiful Italy soon."

They both extended their arms and said together, "Grazie!"

The class clapped them as they gave a slight bow, Mrs Johnson standing up as well. "Thank you, Jordan and Lincoln! That was an excellent presentation, with a good variety of information presented very clearly to us all! I think that's worthy of an A+!" Lincoln and Jordan both smiled widely, sharing a high five at the news. "Now, whilst Mollie and Flat Tire set up their presentation, I'll allow you to share out the pizza with your friends."

So, once Lincoln removes his memory stick from the computer, he began to plate the pizza, giving the pieces to his friends and one piece to Artie, before he and Jordan sat down with the last two slices. While some of the class were upset that they didn't get any, Jordan and Lincoln paid it no mind, especially when the former of the two took her first bite. "Oh my God! That's delicious! How did you make this?"

"Well, I've kind of picked up a couple of things from my Dad, and after what we came up with on Friday, I thought it would be a good idea."

"But, this is still hot! How did you-" Her eyes went wide as it hit her. "That's what you were up to at lunch!"

"Guilty as charged."

She grinned at how he didn't hesitate to own up to it. "Well, Lincoln Loud, I think that this presentation was nothing short of a success."

"That it was, Jordan Rosato. That it was."