13. Chapter 13 - Academy Life

Hey guys, it's Auto here. I'm back in charge of the story, and decided to write the Author's Notes in honor of the occasion. I believe these are my first ANs in the story...so yeah...huh, I actually don't know what to say.

Okay, how about this, think of a number between 1 and 1000. Got it? Good? Okay, I'm going to guess it.

Your number is 2. That's it, that's the right answer for everyone, and if anyone in the reviews says otherwise, they're just lying because they're jealous that I'm so smart.

A muted sense of excitement and trepidation filled Ronnie Anne's chest as the shrill siren of her alarm clock pulled her from her sleep.

Only after she yawned and stretched her arms, listening to her shoulders pop, did she open her eyes. It was still dark. Grumbling, she got out of bed and pulled up the blinds, flooding her room with the pleasant sunrise. In spite of herself, she cracked a small smile; it looked like it was shaping up to be a beautiful day.

"Almost a shame I'm going to be spending most of it inside a school."

Eh. She'd live.

She went to the bathroom and took a quick shower, brushed her teeth, combed her raven hair, and then tied it in her signature long ponytail. She rushed back to her room to get into her hoodie and the rest of her get-up, and just as she began pulling her stockings over her feet, her mother burst into her room.

"¡Mija!"

Ronnie Anne shrieked, surprised, and fell over on the ground.

"What is it? What's wrong?!"

"Nothing, nothing. Just smile for the camera."

"The wha-"

There was an explosion of light, and Ronnie Anne went temporarily blind.

She muttered words under her breath that would've gotten her la chancla if her mother had heard. When she was done rubbing her teary eyes, she saw the camera in her mother's hands.

"Is that Tia Frida's camera?"

"She couldn't be here to take pictures of you," Maria explained, "so she sent over her camera and insisted I do it."

"Why couldn't you just take pictures on your phone and send them to her?"

"I said that, and she gasped. 'My precious niece is going to a good school and you want to remember that with a blurry phone picture?!' Then she became overwhelmed with emotion and started crying."

Both mother and daughter laughed.

"But now that the pictures are out of the way," said Maria, "I also wanted to check up on you. How are you feeling? Excited? Nervous?"

A blush crept on Ronnie Anne's freckled cheeks. Her smile flickered gently, and she looked down to the ground.

"A...a little bit of both," she admitted.

Her mother nodded. "I'd imagine that's a normal response."

Her words made Ronnie Anne flinch.

I'd imagine. Not I'd know or That's how I felt. It was a striking reminder that what she was doing, going to Archetype Academy, was something new to this family. Neither her mother nor her brother were as fortunate as her, to have people put everything on the line to give her a leg up in this world, to help her unlock her true potential.

The weight of the responsibility she had towards both of them felt crushing on her slim shoulders.

But it's more proof that I should just suck it up and stop being such a nervous little baby.

Her eyes hardened; her expression firmed. She lifted herself up and straightened herself, then went to her mother.

"But I can deal with it," she said, giving Maria a small smile. "And...thank you. For everything."

Maria returned the smile and bent down to hug her daughter.

"Bobby should be waiting for you outside," she whispered in Ronnie Anne's ear. "Don't keep him waiting too long, he has a morning shift to get to."

"I won't. I promise."

After breaking the hug and patting her on the head, her mother left her to finish getting dressed. Ronnie Anne quickly threw her socks and shoes on, slipped on her backpack, and reached for her phone…

It turned on, and her wallpaper photo of her, Sid, and Lincoln flashed before her eyes.

When her eyes met Lincoln's photographed pupils, every organ in her body decided to jump and down.

It wasn't out of disgust...nor pleasure...but some confusing mix of both. It felt strange looking at him; he seemed so innocent and dorky, with a dumb little smile, soft cheeks, and a cowlick sticking out of his hair. He looked like a Lame-O, her Lame-O…

But the Index doesn't lie. It had told her what he really was, deep down.

"A wolf in sheep's clothing," she murmured.

Suddenly, his smile didn't seem so innocent.

Ronnie Anne viciously shook her head, her ponytail flailing from side to side. She turned off her phone and angrily stuffed it into her pocket.

"Gotta change that wallpaper," she growled. "Put that pervy loser out of mind, Ronnie Anne. It's your big day. Just pretend he doesn't exist."

With that said and done, she went outside and got in the car, where Bobby was waiting.

"Ready for your first day of school, Ni Ni?" he asked.

Ronnie Anne buckled in her seat-belt and flashed her brother a smile.

"Yeah. Let's do this thing."

About forty minutes later, Ronnie Anne waved her brother off as he drove to the first of his many jobs. Ronnie Anne was never sure how many he had, which told her it was too many. She had long suspected that Bobby had latent Archetype abilities that allowed him to work so many shifts without breaking too much of a sweat, but which Archetype that could be, she couldn't guess.

If only he could have had a chance to get sorted by the Index.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a high-pitched squeal of "Ronnie Anne!" Before she could turn, she felt someone collide into her, knock her to the ground, and wrap their arms around her. Anyone else would've screamed or fought back, but Ronnie Anne was used to this treatment.

"Good morning, Sid," she said, her voice muffled by the grass her face was pressed against.

"Good morning!" cheerfully exclaimed Sid. Once she had her fill of nuzzles, she got up and helped her best friend off the ground. Ronnie Anne wiped some of the dirt and grass of her face, and watched Sid bouncing in place.

"Are you alright?"

"Sorry, it's just...it's our first day at Archetype Academy! And I also had a lot of sugar last night, and I don't think my high has worn off yet."

"Are you sure it was sugar?" muttered Ronnie Anne sardonically.

"Oh, I'm sure." Sid nodded. "Cakes and cookies and ice cream and all."

"Why were you eating all that?"

"Some kid had a birthday party at the zoo but their parents over-ordered, so me and Adelaide had to eat whatever they didn't."

Ronnie Anne looked mortified. "Your parents made you eat it all?"

"No, they let us. And by let us, I mean they put it somewhere where it was easy for us to reach."

"Please don't let me it was-"

"The dumpster. Yes, it was the dumpster," said Sid with a nod, obviously very proud of herself.

Ronnie Anne wanted to chastise her, but she knew her words would fall upon deaf ears. So instead, she forced a smile. "At least you're putting those Ninja skills to use," she said through grit teeth.

"Not Ninja skills. Assassin skills. Remember, I'm an Assassin."

It was true; during the Ceremony, Sid had shocked the crowd when the Index announced that she was an Assassin. It wasn't the biggest shock of the event (considering a certain someone with a special Archetype that went up before her) but the fact that such a universally beloved sweetheart like Sid could represent such a dark Archetype was discomforting to most people in attendance.

Thankfully, Ronnie Anne wasn't most people.

"Right, sorry. So, um, how do you feel about your Archetype?"

To Ronnie Anne's surprise, Sid's bright smile faltered.

"I mean, it sounds cool, but...I don't want to kill people. Or hurt them," muttered Sid. "And a lot of people are looking at me...differently now."

Her eyes flickered to the side, and Ronnie Anne followed them. Suddenly, she was aware of other people looking in their direction—looking at Sid. Their pupils were dark, filled with distrust and suspicion at best and deep dislike at worst.

To the worst pairs of eyes, Ronnie Anne bared her teeth, and they looked away.

"Don't worry, Sid." Ronnie Anne clapped her friend on the shoulder. "If anyone tries to give you trouble, just come to me."

"You mean it? I-I don't want to cause you any trouble."

The tomboy waved her hand dismissively. "I've been looking for a reason to remind people why I'm the toughest girl in Royal Woods anyway."

Sid giggled. "Thanks Ronnie Anne," she said. Then: "You know, maybe you don't have to be so… physical anymore? Now that you have m—"

She suddenly cut herself off. Her eyes widened at something behind her friend's head. Ronnie Anne turned to see what she was looking at...and her expression immediately soured.

There was a certain someone walking in their direction.

A certain someone Ronnie Anne was not happy to see.

Everything that had happened at the mall was still racing through Lincoln's mind.

After Leni had brought him back home, the two of them were swarmed by their legion of sisters. A suffocating mass of girls crowded around them, asking rapid-fire questions. Evidently, the details of Fiona's artificial Husk attack had circulated around the news fairly quickly, and while Lincoln was not named (most likely not even recognized), Leni was noted by one anchorwoman as having a "handsome boytoy" with her while she fought the monstrous horde, and it wasn't hard for the Louds to reach their conclusion from there.

Lincoln had graciously answered their questions as best he could, but somewhere in the back of his mind, his own questions were nibbling at him. It was only when he went with Lisa that he got some answers.

What had happened to him, exactly? How did he end up in that tuxedo? And what the hell was "Genre Shift" supposed to mean?

Lisa had a theory.

After a light hum and a thoughtful scratching of her chin, she had sighed and said, "Lincoln, have you ever read Sailor Moon?"

"What? Pfft, no, of course not. Th-that's for girls."

"Really? So you've never watched an episode of the show?"

"No."

"Never read a chapter of the manga?"

"No."

The scientist then grinned knowingly, evilly.

"Never drooled over a Google search of Sailor Jupiter?"

Lincoln blushed in response.

"No!" he said, a little too late.

Lisa took a moment to snicker before she continued. "Based on everything you told me, I have formulated a hypothesis: your Archetype, the ridiculously-named Harem King, is almost certainly defined by your relationships with other people—most likely other women. It is not something that you could channel in solitude. A Witch can perform feats of magic no matter what, but what is a Harem King without a harem?"

"I...guess. That makes sense. But what does that have to do with—"

"What if," said Lisa thoughtfully, "your Archetype allowed you to form a bond with the so-called 'members of your harem' and allowed you to replicate their abilities?"

Lincoln felt like his jaw had dropped.

"Replicate their abilities?" repeated Lincoln.

Lisa nodded, then rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "The exact words you told me you used tipped me off to this possibility. Genre Shift. You said this when you and Leni were in dire straits, and suddenly you adopted the outfit and abilities of a character archetype from the magical girl genre; in this case, a specific character from Sailor Moon."

"This sounds really weird, Lisa."

"Admittedly it does, but your Archetype is unstudied ground, so as far as we should be concerned, anything is possible. Think, Lincoln. Is there anything else that struck you as odd? How was Leni's reaction to your transformation?"

"She...she actually took it well. She started calling me Tuxedo Linky for some reason. But the way she said it...it was like she was talking about someone else."

"Hmm...when it comes to Leni, who can ever be sure what she's really thinking? But that does sound like something worthy of investigating. I'll be sure to ask her about 'Tuxedo Linky' and I'll share my findings with you at a later date."

"Oh, great."

"Great indeed. Now leave me, I have a colleague in Frankfurt that should be calling me in five minutes."

Lincoln had left her then, and went straight to bed, exhausted after his ordeal. It had been a fun day, though, he had reflected upon while sitting in Vanzilla earlier, and it was a good chance to spend some time with his older sister. Forget Archetypes; wasn't being the people you love really what it was all about?

But now he was here, alone, in front of Archetype Academy. Luan and Lynn, his schoolyard peers now, had gone on ahead into the school. He had to admit that he was frightened, thinking about how everyone was going to react to him. He had forgotten the negative reception his Archetype had gotten at the Ceremony. Would everyone hate him? Laugh at him? Would all the girls be disgusted by him?

It was that mix of fright and thinking about what Lisa had said to him that distracted Lincoln from the foot that stretched out to trip him.

"Woah!" he cried as he fell to the ground. He spun around to look at the culprit, only to see the stern face of Ronnie Anne Santiago staring down at him.

"Hey Lame-O," she said, her voice as chilly as blizzard.

"Hey Lincoln!" came the more cheerful voice of Sid. She was standing behind her friend, waving and beaming politely at him.

"Ronnie Anne, what the hell?" exclaimed Lincoln as he picked himself up.

"Sorry, I just didn't see you there," said Ronnie Anne with a shrug.

"Yes, you did," said Sid. "I saw him, then you saw him, and then you got a scary look on your face and then you decided to trip him."

Lincoln looked to Ronnie Anne for confirmation, and the young woman looked away from him haughtily.

He did note the light pink blush blooming on her cheeks.

"Are you seriously still mad about the other day? It's not my fault I got this Archetype, Ronnie Anne."

"Doesn't stop it from being anymore disgusting," she snapped back.

"That's not fair! You wouldn't like it if I judged you for your Archetype. Umm...what was your Archetype, again?"

"I don't need to tell you anything."

"Ooh, I can tell him," said Sid excitedly. Before Ronnie Anne could stop her, she turned to Lincoln and said, "She's a Witch!"

"A Witch?!"

"A Bruja!" Ronnie Anne turned back around, her eyes are fiery as her face. "I'm a Bruja. Just like my grandma."

"Oh, wow. That's, uh, actually pretty cool."

For just a moment, Ronnie Anne's expression softened. She seemed to like the sudden compliment. But then her anger returned, twice as strong. Ronnie Anne's fingers formed a fist that glowed with a dancing crimson aura.

"So now that you know what I am, you know what I can do to you. So, if you ever try to get your creep on with me or Sid, I'll introduce you firsthand to the sheer power of magic."

Lincoln flinched, taken aback. Under normal circumstances, he would've just left it there, and walked away, but these weren't normal circumstances. He was angry, hurt, confused, and more than a little scared. His flight-or-flight response activated in his brain, and for some stupid reason, he chose to fight.

"Oh no, I'm so scared," he said sarcastically, a cruel grin spreading across his face. "What are you going to do, turn me into a frog?"

"And dump you in a boiling cauldron," responded Ronnie Anne, co-opting his insult.

"What do you need a cauldron for, making a love potion? Cause you sure as hell need it."

As soon as he said that, he regretted it.

Sid audibly gasped, covering her mouth with her hands. Her widening eyes shifted to Ronnie Anne. All the fire had been taken out of the feisty tomboy, and for a moment, she looked wounded. Deeply, deeply wounded.

Then her teeth clenched. Her eyes burned. Her whole body began a glow forebodingly. She pulled her fist back, ready to punch Lincoln, and the young man lifted his arms in a meek attempt to defend himself…

He was saved by the ringing of the bell.

Sid grabbed her friend's arm. "We have to get to class now," she told her.

Ronnie Anne blinked, then lowered her arm to her side. "Y-yeah, yeah. Class. Let's get to class."

She shot one last dirty look at Lincoln. "We're in the same class," she told him, "so you better make sure you sit as far away from me and Sid as possible. Got it?"

Lincoln didn't refuse.

The two girls walked away from Lincoln. Sid cast him a kind yet pitiful look and mouthed Sorry as she passed him. He watched them pass through the front door. Ronnie Anne didn't go in immediately; she paused, and Lincoln could've sworn she looked back at him with sorrow in her eyes.

Then the door closed, and Lincoln didn't know what to feel.

Lincoln made sure to wait a few moments before going into the school as well. As students rushed to and from, bouncing between lockers and bathrooms and classrooms, the dejected Lincoln just limply marched forward like the saddest soldier crawling back home from war.

If he had any high hopes for his first day, his encounter with Ronnie Anne and Sid had dashed them.

Lori and Leni had made him feel special; they had made him feel like he was something more than a weakling with a gross Archetype to his name. He was a boy who could soar over the clouds before, but Ronnie Anne had brought him back down to Earth. He was still Lincoln Loud, Harem King; a figure that attracted—maybe even deserved—scorn and loathing and disgust.

"Sigh," he said, not unlike his sister Lucy at her most miserable. "Maybe she did me a favor. Not everyone is like my sisters."

When he finally reached his class, he almost didn't go in. He knew that behind that chestnut door and tinted window was a class of students just waiting to unleash their protests at sharing the same space and breathing the same air as him. Or maybe they wouldn't; maybe they would just ignore him, pretend he didn't exist, not even waste their precious breath on him. He couldn't decide which was worse.

His hand was shaking as it reached for the doorknob. The metal vibrated from the intensity of its trembling. Lincoln closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Let's get this over with," he whispered to himself.

He twisted the doorknob, and the door opened in front of him.

"There he is!" someone shouted. "There's Lincoln!"

The towheaded boy flinched, preparing himself for the barrage of insults.

"He was with Lovely Leni when the Husks attacked! He helped her fight them off!"

Wait...what?

The young man opened his eyes to find himself swarming with classmates, all staring at him with not distaste in their eyes, but adoration. They all seemed impressed for some reason. It made Lincoln feel nervous. Was he being set up?

"What's g-going on?" he asked.

"Chandler told us everything," said an orange-haired girl Lincoln recognized from the arcade (Pidge, Paige, something like that). "He told us about how some idiot cheapskate with poor management skills let a bunch of Husks loose, and how you and Lovely Leni took them down!"

Lincoln, surprised, looked to the desk where Chandler McCann was reclining at, and he shot him a shrug. "Though I'd get some cred by saying I knew you," he explained.

"He told us your name was Larry, but I corrected him," said Lincoln's old friend, colloquially known as Girl Jordan. She seemed rather happy with herself.

"So, tell us, Lincoln, how do you do it?" came a voice from the back of the crowd.

"Were you really that handsome guy wearing the tuxedo?"

"How many of them were there? I bet there was, like, a hundred, right?"

"Can you give me Lovely Leni's phone number?"

"Does my phone get heavier if I download more apps on it?"

"Why doesn't the Earth fall down?"

As more and more questions poured out of the mouths of the student horde, a sense of relief crashed over Lincoln. His worries evaporated like water atop a stove.

Th-they like me. Or, at least, they don't hate me. This is great!

"Ladies, gentlemen," he said, taking on a tone of swagger, "I'll be more than happy to answer your questions once I sit down."

To his delight, everyone in the class wanted him to sit next to them.

On the other side of the room, Ronnie Anne watched the crowd from her desk like a lioness perched on a rock watches antelope grazing grass. She wasn't happy to see so many girl—uh, people, swarming Lincoln as they were, but she kept her lips tightly sealed. She'd let him have his happy moment of glory now.

And it's not like she felt guilty about earlier. No, she didn't feel bad at all. No sir, not at all. Really. Not. At. All.