101. Ch 101- Extra Training

(A/N: hey, everyone! I know I thanked you guys for a milestone at the start of the last chapter, but we've already hit three more amazing milestones for this story: 250 favourites, 250 followers, and two hundred thousand views! I wasn't expecting to hit that many views for another few chapters, and I didn't think it would hit that many favourites or follows until after the story was finished, but you continue to surprise me. Thank you all so much for the support you've given me, it means so much, and it continues to give me the motivation to keep on writing.

Okay, that's enough from me, so on with the story! Thank you all for reading, and enjoy!)

Another couple of days passed, and for Lincoln, things had been pretty good. At home, he noticed how his sisters had continued to be considerably 'quiet'— that meaning, they weren't asking him to do favours all the time, and were happy to just sit down with him whenever he had the remote. Of course, that didn't stop him from helping them when they did ask him to, which he always did with a smile on his face. With how practice had gone on Sunday, and the following practice session on Tuesday, he had a noticeably improved mood that his sisters were quite happy to see. He had also shown this mood at school, which his friends had questioned him on, including an unsurprising question of "did something happen between you and Jordan" from Rusty, but Lincoln simply told them that he was feeling better about the showcase, and that was enough to settle their curiosity.

When he arrived at school on Wednesday, it was no different. As Vanzilla pulled up in front of the school that morning, Lincoln followed his little sisters in stepping out of the van, a smile on his face that told people he was ready for the day ahead.

"Okay, you know the deal," Lori reminded them. "If you're staying late, text me so I know. If not, be here on time."

"Have a good day, girls," Lincoln told his sisters as he walked away from the van, leaving them all to wonder where he got his energy from. Still, he didn't let that stop him as he joined the crowd of students that was entering the building, the usual chatter about lessons, gossip and whatnot filling his ears. Though the corridor was quickly getting fuller, he found no issue getting to his locker. He quickly put his things inside it, including his gym bag, and closed it again. When he did, he saw that Jordan had made her way over to him, making his smile grow. "Morning, Jordan."

"Hey, Linc," she greeted back, opening her own locker, just a couple of doors down from his. "Were you able to get that math homework done? I'm not sure I did it right."

"Yeah, I think I was able to do it. Want me to check yours?"

"That's okay. I'll probably ask Kat when she gets here, she's the best out of us at that stuff." She then shut her locker, locking it once more before turning to him with an inquisitive look in her eye. "So, you finally going to explain what's going on with you?"

He rolled his eyes, cracking a smirk. "This again? You've been asking me for two days now, and I keep telling you, I'm just feeling good."

She shook her head dismissively. "No way, Lincoln, I know you better than that. Something has you smiling like that."

"Well, why wouldn't I smile? My sisters and I are getting on, I've got good friends, and I'm starting to feel better about the showcase. Nothing more than that, really."

She gave a small titter. "If you say so, Linc. Still, whatever it is that has you like this," he resisted the urge to do another eye roll, "I'm glad. It's nice to see you smile."

The sudden comment brought a blush to his face. "Th-Thanks… though, I'd say your smile is better than mine."

She giggled again, her own cheeks turning slightly red. "You're sweet, Lincoln." She was going to say something else, but after catching sight of something behind him, she decided against it. "I'll see you in class."

"Okay."

She gave a curt not, and began walking away, though she turned around again after a few steps. "Oh, and don't forget. You may have gotten lucky again last week, but not this week. I'm not the dodgeball queen for nothing."

"If you say so!" She stuck her tongue out at him, making him chuckle while she continued to walk away. As soon as she disappeared into the crowd, he saw his friends approaching. "Hey, guys."

"Hey there, Romeo," Rusty spoke first, making Lincoln give a mild groan whilst Stella elbowed the ginger boy in his ribs. "Hey! What was that for?"

"It was either that, or I stomp on your foot," she scolded. "We've talked about this before, Rusty."

"Well, excuse me, but I'm not going to pretend I didn't see them flirting."

"Rusty, we weren't flirting," Lincoln insisted. "We were just joking around."

"It did kinda seem like flirting, bud," Liam argued. "I mean, when she walked past us, it seemed like she was looking rather chirpy."

"They're right, Linc," Zach agreed. "Come to think of it, you actually seem to be happier now, too."

Lincoln let out another groan, this one heavier than the one before. "Me and Jordan are just friends. Seriously, nothing's changed."

"Well, not nothing," Clyde pointed out. "You did tell us that—"

He was cut off when he felt a hand cover his mouth, a hand which belonged to the white haired child, who then hissed, "remember how we agreed not to tell anyone else about this?" Clyde chuckled nervously, his response of "sorry" being muffled by the hand, which Lincoln removed thereafter. He then reminded his friends in a hushed tone, "yes, that has changed, but that's it. We're still just friends, okay?"

"But for how long?" Rusty's thoughtless comment resulted in Stella elbowing him again, to which he gave a louder cry. "Ow! Seriously!"

"Next time, I will stomp on your foot," she warned, glaring harshly at him. Once it was clear he was going to be silent, she turned to Lincoln. "So, how is practice for the showcase going?"

Lincoln smiled, silently thankful to his friend for changing the subject. "It seems to be going well, or at least, I hope it is. Artie's been good at helping me to take his place. Just got to keep practicing and hoping that I can get it down."

"I'm sure you will. If anyone can, it's you."

Seeing the guys all nod as well, Lincoln's smile grew. "Thanks, you guys. I know I haven't been able to hang out with you as much since all this started."

"Don't worry about it," Zach dismissed. "This is important to you, we're not gonna get in the way of that."

"I know, and I appreciate that. When this is done with, we need to plan a trip to Gus' or a sleepover or something." His friends all nodded, just as the bell rang to begin class. "We'd better go before we're late. Don't want Mrs Johnson to yell at us."

With no one arguing, they all made their way into the classroom, taking their seats in time for the school day to begin. The morning classes were the same as usual, with the first classes of history and English passing them by. While most of his classmates found them pretty boring, Lincoln didn't seem to have any issues with staying focused, and actually found the lesson on ancient Egypt to be quite interesting. The imagery of some of the Egyptian gods really stuck out to him, making him want to try and draw them in his own style when he next got the chance. Still, he was no less relieved than the rest of the class when they heard the bell ring for recess, joining his friends in heading outside to relax and chat.

Of course, recess never lasted long enough in their minds, and it wasn't long before the bell rang again, with the teachers ushering them back inside. As they approached their lockers, Lincoln could see the look of despair on his friends' faces, as could Stella. "What's up with you guys?" she asked.

"I hate gym class," Rusty groaned, practically dragging his gym bag out of his locker. "Right after recess, too."

"And Jordan's been looking like she wants revenge after last week," Zach sighed. "Hopefully, we can just beg for mercy, or hope to get hit by someone other than her."

"Fingers crossed she keeps her attention on Lincoln," Liam dared to hope.

"I can hear you," the girl in question called out, prompting them to nervously turn to see Jordan approaching them, her gym bag already hanging over her shoulder. "But, you're right. Me and Lincoln still have a score to settle."

"Oh, come on, it's hardly a score," Lincoln refuted. "It's still, like, a bajillion to two in your favour."

"Actually, Lincoln, the overall score is closer to one hundred and thirty six to Jordan, and two to you, plus two ties," Clyde pointed out.

"You've been keeping score?" Jordan questioned, making the McBride boy feel nervous.

"I-It's more of an estimate, really. Lincoln's wins and the two ties were all recent."

Hearing his reasoning, she shrugged. "Good point." She then directed her attention to her white haired friend, rival and crush, who noticed the competitive fire in her gaze. "Either way, I'm adding another win to my tally, Lincoln."

"Knowing you, I wouldn't be surprised," he accepted, before matching her confidence. "But now that I know you can be beaten, I'm still gonna try."

"Try all you want, but I'm not taking you lightly anymore." She then began to walk away, calling out "say your prayers" over her shoulder as she did so.

Lincoln chuckled as she walked away, but that stopped when he noticed Rusty's smug grin. "Don't say it."

"Hey, if you don't want us to say it, then—" He cut himself off when he saw Stella's glare, making him shrink in fear. "I'll be quiet."

"Good," she told him, before they all began to head towards the sports hall. When they neared it, however, the Filipina noticed how some of their classmates were stood in the doorway, just staring inside. Among them were Jordan and her friends, so they approached them. "Hey, what's going on?"

"Take a look," Joy told them, so Lincoln and the others stepped through the crowd and into the sports hall. When they did, they were all quite surprised by what they saw, but none more so than Lincoln. Instead of the empty hall, they saw that a variety of crash mats had been laid out, but the more surprising feature was the two sets of vaults and vaulting tables that were amongst them.

"Woah," Lincoln uttered, his eyes struggling to believe what he was seeing. Instinctively, he turned to Jordan and the others. "Did you guys know about this?"

"Would we be stood here if we did?" Mollie countered, to which the boy rolled his eyes.

"True. Still, I didn't even know the school had gymnastics equipment."

"Neither did we."

"Had to have Norm locate it in the basement," Coach Pacowski explained, stunning them as he appeared behind them. "Now, what are you doing out here? Go get changed, now!"

A sharp blow of his whistle later, and the sixth graders were all rushing to the changing rooms, not wanting to be put through any additional exercise if they were late to get changed. One by one, they all emerged from their respective changing rooms, dressed once again in their gym clothes. While waiting for the rest of the class to get changed, Lincoln noticed Artie trying to open the door to the sports hall, so he walked over and helped him, allowing the brown haired boy to hobble in on his crutches.

"Thanks," he told the Loud boy.

"No problem," Lincoln replied. "So, I'm guessing you had no idea about this either?"

"This?" Seeing Lincoln use his head to point away from the door, Artie looked and saw the vaults with the same amount of surprise as everyone else. "Oh, wow! No, I had no idea about this. Truth be told, I didn't have to come to gym class. My doctor's note would have allowed me to just sit in the library for an hour."

"Then, why didn't you?"

Artie chuckled. "Are you kidding? I'd go out of my mind with boredom!" It was Lincoln's turn to chuckle, unable to disagree with his logic. "Still, it'll be interesting to see how everyone else does at this."

"Yeah, you're not wrong. Just hope Coach isn't expecting us to do anything too advanced."

"What, are you afraid you're going to show everyone up?"

"No, I'm afraid he's going to pick something even we can't do, and we'll end up looking stupid."

Artie laughed again at the boy's comments, but managed to control it when he saw Coach approaching the two. "Ah, Dombrowski," he greeted. "How's the fracture?"

"Healing. It's not as bad as last week, but I'm still needing the crutches to move."

"Ah, don't worry, you'll bounce back. I might be able to find something for you to help me out with."

Lincoln and Artie shared a knowing glance, before Artie responded, "sure. I think I can probably help out."

"Good to hear! Loud, go over and join the others." Lincoln nodded, then walked back over to his class. Once the gym teacher was aware that everyone had emerged from the changing rooms, he blew into his whistle to get their attention and silence any chatter. "Okay, class! Today, we'll be doing something different, and if you couldn't tell already, that something is gymnastics. We'll be looking at the vault and going over some basic moves, but before that, you need to warm up. Get moving!"

The whistle blew once again, and everyone began to do a couple of laps around the sports hall, followed by a series of stretches. Once satisfied that the class was warmed up and ready to get started, Pacowski moved onto the vaults. He split them into two groups of nine, each group standing next to one vault, and would instruct them on how to land without injury and how to do certain basic manoeuvres, such as a pike a vault and a front handspring. Lincoln and Jordan were often called on to demonstrate, but when they weren't demonstrating or practicing themselves, they were offering guidance to their fellow classmates, as did the rest of her friends. For Lincoln, it felt almost nostalgic to the boy, as he recalled what it was like when he was starting off in gymnastics, just a few months earlier. He felt more confident in his abilities now, especially upon seeing how his friends were able to learn from any advice he gave them.

With less than ten minutes before the end of class, Coach called them all away from the vaults. "Alright, let's see what you've all learned!" he declared. "You can either do a pike vault, or if you think you've got what it takes, go for a handspring. Who wants to go first?" He saw one hand go up. "Spokes! Good man!"

"You sure about this, Rusty?" Zach asked.

"Sure I am! Just make sure the ladies are watching!" he cockily answered, puffing his chest up as he walked away.

"I might not be an expert," Stella whispered to Lincoln, "but this isn't going to end well, is it?"

"You don't need to be an expert to know that," he told her, only making her apprehensive look grow more so. They watched as Rusty stepped up to the start of the runway that Coach had marked out, then began running down it towards the vault. He jumped off the vault, his arms outstretched with the intent of doing a handspring, then yelled as he sent himself too far, missing the table completely and landing face first on the crash mats. Lincoln and everyone else could only wince at the sight. "Told you."

Stella nodded, before they both went over and helped their friend to his feet. "You okay, Rusty?"

"Were they watching?" he asked in a dazed voice. Rolling her eyes, Stella nodded. "Sweet."

"Alright, Spokes, good effort," Coach Pacowski commended. "Who's next?"

"I'll go, Coach," Lincoln offered, to which the gym teacher allowed. Lincoln went over to the start of the runway and took a calming breath before he set off towards the vault. Planting both feet on the vault, he leapt forward and used his hands to spring off the table and complete a full flip. When his feet hit the mat, he only gave a slight jump forward to keep his balance, but managed to stay almost perfectly in position with his arms out wide. As he walked away from the mats, he actually heard some applause from his classmates, making him smile meekly and blush out of embarrassment.

"Lincoln, that was awesome!" Liam commended, only adding to his shyness.

"Oh, come on, it wasn't that special."

"Don't be so modest, Lincoln," Stella told him. "You made that look easy, and even if this was our first time doing gymnastics, we can tell it really isn't that easy." She then teasingly added, "isn't that right, Rusty?"

"Yeah, okay, it's hard," he conceded. "Still, you've got skills, Linc."

"You're gonna do great at the showcase," he then heard Artie tell him, prompting him to turn around. "You've come a long way, man."

"Thanks, Artie. I hope so. I still feel a bit out of my depth."

"Hey, we've got time, still. Don't worry, you'll get it."

"Thanks, man." So, Lincoln resumed watching as the rest of his classmates took their turn at the vault. While Jordan and her friends all went for handsprings, most of the others weren't comfortable enough to do that, and instead went for the simpler pike vault. The only one who didn't was Stella, who attempted a handspring but was unable to stick the landing, rotating just a little too far forward, which forced her to stick her hands out to avoid hurting herself. Though it was obvious she was a little disappointed in that, she got up and smiled as she walked back over. "Don't worry, Stella, you almost had it."

"Thanks, Lincoln. You know, I think I get why you enjoy this."

"You do?"

She nodded. "Yeah, it's pretty fun. I think I'll stick with track, though. I'm less likely to land on my face doing that."

"That's fair."

"Alright, that's it for gym," they then heard Coach announce. "Go get changed, and then head on to lunch." While the rest of his classmates did just that, Lincoln instead approached the gym teacher. "Something the matter, Loud?"

"No, Coach. I just wanted to ask you something."

"Well, go ahead."

"Why did you choose for us to do gymnastics today?"

The large man nodded, having expected this. "Well, Loud, the school board tends to get on my case about not making these classes 'fun' enough, so I decided to mix it up. Admittedly, though, it was Principal Huggins' idea for me to bring back gymnastics."

"It was?"

He nodded again. "Yeah, he suggested it last Friday at the staff meeting. Still, I didn't mind. It meant I could just watch and make you kids do all the work!" Lincoln couldn't resist a small chuckle at this, which got Coach Pacowski to smirk. "Yeah, yeah. Still, it's pretty clear that you've taken to gymnastics, if what you did today was any indication. I'm looking forward to seeing what you can do at that showcase you've got coming up."

Lincoln's smile grew at hearing this, a sense of pride coming over him. "Thanks, Coach."

"Ah, don't mention it. Now, go on, get changed and get moving." Lincoln gave a small nod before walking away, while Pacowski began to head towards his office, a smile of his own on his face. 'That kid's gonna do okay.'