98. Ch 98- Ten Heads Are Better Than Seven

The sisters were once again gathered in the bedroom of the two eldest girls, muttering to each other as they waited for yet another sister meeting to begin. Of course, their waiting mutters were brought to an end by the sound of a banging against Lori's desk, and all of the girls turned their attention to the eldest sister. "Okay, this sister meeting is now in session," she declared. "Lynn, as the one who called for this meeting, the floor is yours."

"Thanks," the middle schooler replied, standing from the bed she was sat on and trading places with her elder sister, then turning to face the group. "Okay, as you all know, our bro's showcase is coming up, and as I found out two days ago, things have changed."

The school bell rang throughout the middle school, and Lynn was one of the first to leave her classroom once she heard the teacher dismiss them. She had already made sure that she had anything she needed in her bag to avoid going to her locker, so she was also one of the first to get out of the front doors of the school building, but had to let out a heavy sigh when she saw no sign of the blue and white van she was waiting for. "Well, that's just great," she groaned, looking down as she kicked at the sidewalk beneath her feet. "So much for making a quick exit." Her head lifted again when she heard a vehicle approaching, this time seeing Lori drive Vanzilla until it was right in front of her. Lynn's grin returned as she got into the middle seats. "About time. You actually made me wait for you."

"Lynn, I'm literally here at the same time I usually am," Lori retorted. "Did you get let out early or something?"

"Nah, just wanted to get home as quick as possible. What's so bad about that?" Lori didn't respond, just rolling her eyes as if to say "whatever" before beginning to drive away. "So, anyone heard anything from Lincoln?"

"Nah, bruh," Luna answered. "Why?"

"Nothing. Just wanted to check. Bro's had enough to deal with lately, wanted to make sure nothing else had happened."

"That's, like, so sweet of you, Lynn," Leni commended, to which Lori nodded.

"She's right. You've definitely become more protective of Lincoln these past few months."

"Hey, I've always said, no one messes with my bro and gets away with."

Lori was compelled to roll her eyes once more. "I don't mean like that. You've been acting more like a guardian to Lincoln ever since he started doing gymnastics. It's honestly kind of cute to see."

"Oh. Well, yeah, I guess you're right. Honestly, I kind of wish things had always been like that, but we've been bonding a lot better now. We haven't always had much in common, so I guess it's kind of made me appreciate him more as a brother."

"Wow, Lynn! Talk about letting your guard down!" Luan quipped. "You sure guard a great sister to him!" Lynn and the others groaned as Luan laughed at her joke and gave her usual "get it" line. "Oh, don't be such a stinker, Lynn. I'm trying to compliment you here, throw me a bone."

Though she rolled her eyes, Lynn did smile again as she told her, "thanks, Lu." As they continued to talk while nearing the elementary school, she peered out of the window and caught sight of Lincoln and his friends on their way to gymnastics. In particular, she saw the brown haired boy on crutches, making her eyes widen. 'He was the other guy in the video,' she realised. 'The one who got that jerk off my bro when he was being attacked… he does gymnastics too, right?' A feeling of dread brushed down her neck, making her shiver. 'That can't be good.'

"Hey, Lynn, you in there?" Luna asked, bringing her out of her thoughts. "What were you looking at?"

"Something not good, sis. Not good at all." Before she could be asked what that meant, Lynn felt the van pull to a stop. She immediately opened the door when it did and hopped out, ignoring the calls of her sisters as she took off in a sprint. She knew that she couldn't just wait for her brother to return in a couple of hours and explain— her heart wouldn't let her, and her mind wouldn't allow her to focus on anything else until she knew what had happened. 'Whatever happened, it's not gonna be good for Linc or any of them.' She only stopped her run to allow traffic to pass, though she continued to run on the spot as she waited for her opportunity to cross over. When it eventually presented itself, she took off once again. Crossing the road, she saw the group of kids heading towards gymnastics about a block ahead. "Hey, Lincoln!"

Her white haired brother and his friends all heard the call, so they stopped walking and turned around, allowing Lynn to catch up. "Lynn? What are you doing here?" Lincoln asked.

"Should we give you two a moment?" Jordan then offered, to which Lynn shook her head.

"Nah, it's cool. Besides, it's not just my bro I want to talk to." She then turned to Artie. "You're… Arnie, right?"

"Artie, not Arnie," he clarified.

"Right, Artie. Never got to thank you for sticking up for my bro yesterday." A frown formed on her face as her gaze lowered to his crutches. "I'm guessing that this is from what happened?" She looked back to his face when he nodded. "How bad is it? Is it a fracture?"

"Yeah, but only a partial fracture. Basically, I'm gonna be needing these for at least a month."

"That sucks. If you need anything to keep you active, I can recommend some exercises. I had an injury like that back in September, and I was going CRAZY not being able to do anything."

The brown haired boy chuckled. "Thanks, but I'll be okay, and I'll be going to physical therapy in the meantime, so I'm sure they can give me something to do."

"Well, if you change your mind, let my bro know, and I'll pass them on. So, I guess this means that… you can't do the showcase, right?"

The boy frowned, as did his friends. "Afraid so. Lincoln's gonna have to take over my parts, so I'm gonna help coach him a bit."

"I see…" She then turned to her brother. "Hey, you mind if I come and watch, bro?"

"You don't have anywhere you need to be?" Lincoln questioned, to which she shook her head. "Well… sure, I don't mind."

"Thanks, bro."

"I watched that session, and I can tell Lincoln's devoted to it," Lynn affirmed, her arms crossed in front of her, "but I can tell he's feeling the pressure. He's got more responsibility now, and the showcase is only a couple of weeks away. He should be able to cope with it, but I don't want it to get the better of him. That's why I asked you all to gather here. We need to think of anything we can do to help Lincoln and his friends make this showcase a success, and anything we can do to help him in the meantime." She then walked over to the whiteboard that had been set up by Lori. "First things first, we all know that we like it when Lincoln helps us with our stuff, but right now, we can't overload him. You all know what I'm like when I have a big game coming up, and especially what I'm like if I get stressed about it."

"So, you're suggesting we just leave him alone?" Lana asked, to which Lynn shook her head.

"Not exactly. If he needs to relax, then don't push him to do anything. That said, it might take his mind off things, so he'll probably say yes anyway."

"That's just Linky being Linky," Leni pointed out. "He's always been there for us if we needed him."

A general chorus of agreement seemed to spread throughout the room as Lynn grew a wistful smile, thinking about the many times their brother had been there for them. "He has done a lot for us. That's why we need to do this for him." She let her smile remain for a moment before returning her attention to the meeting at hand. "Okay, so from now until the showcase in particular, we can't stress our bro out too much, and we need to help him cool off if he needs to. Got it?" Everyone nodded, so she grabbed the marker from the whiteboard and took off the cap. "Great. Now, for the showcase itself, they're gonna need support from as many people as possible. If you haven't already, see if you can get your friends to come and watch."

"I literally spoke to Bobby about this at lunch," Lori cut in. "I told him what was happening, and he said that he's gonna try and get the whole Casagrande family to come down and watch. I imagine Ronnie Anne will probably ask Sid and her family if they would come watch as well."

Lynn's smile grew. "That's perfect. Lincoln would definitely appreciate seeing them there. If nothing else, it should give him a big confidence boost." She wrote this down on the board, then looked back to the others. "The rest of you, if they can, ask your friends to come. The bigger the crowd, the better it'll go. I've already told some of my friends, but most of them are gonna be in a roller derby match at the same time."

"Woah, hang on there." Lori crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at the thirteen year old. "You have a roller derby match on the same day as our brother's showcase?"

Lynn shook her head. "I don't. My team does, but I won't be part of it. I told my coach what's happening, and they were sad I couldn't join the team, but they understood. This is more important than that." She noticed how a stunned silence filled the room, making her a little uncomfortable. "What?"

"I never thought I'd see the day," Luna uttered, only further confusing her younger sister.

"What are you talking about?"

"Lynn, you're literally turning down a game by choice," Lori pointed out. "You have never done that before. Even when you were sick, you practically begged Mom and Dad to let you play. There was even a time when you were ten that you tried to sneak out after you had been grounded, and Dad had to threaten to tell the coach to kick you off the team for good."

The middle schooler felt a bit of a blush fill her cheeks. "Oh yeah… forgot about that." Still, she didn't let it get to her for more than a second. "That's not what counts here. This might be the only event our bro has that we get to go to, so I'm not going to miss this."

"Well, that's good to hear. Lincoln needs all of us there to support him, and that goes double for you, Lynn."

"Right. So, that's the obvious one out of the way. I also went to ask Chris if he needed any further help with coaching, and he said he'd be okay with me assisting, as long as I don't go overboard, but that was as far as I got. Do any of you have any ideas?"

Another silence filled the room, each of the Loud sisters putting their hands to their chins as they contemplated potential suggestions to make. After a few seconds, Luna was the first one to speak. "Hey, do they use music at gymnastics shows?"

Intrigued, Lynn lifted an eyebrow. "I think they do. I know they do for any floor routines, like the one Lincoln and his friends are doing, but I don't think for the whole show. Why do you ask?"

"Well, if I asked them, me and my band could probably provide some live music for the showcase. It might give it that extra edge, you know?"

"Hmm, maybe. I think that Helena already has a song in mind for the floor routine, though."

"Who's Helena?" Lucy asked.

"She's a friend of Chris' who is a choreographer," Lynn explained, before turning to the rocker once more. "The routine's set to the music, so they can't change it."

"Well, we could learn it. We've got two weeks, right? If it's to help our bro, then we can get it done, whatever it takes."

The younger girl couldn't help but smile at the confidence and commitment. "Well, it's a good idea, for sure." She wrote it down on the board. "Okay, now we've got something. Who else?"

"Ooh!" Leni exclaimed, sticking her hand up. "Me! Me! Me!"

Lynn couldn't resist a chuckle at the blonde's characteristically enthusiastic gesture. "Leni, you don't have to put your hand up. What've you got?"

"I could make them all uniforms! Something unique to make them look like a team."

"That sounds kind of ambitious," Luan reasoned with a mild frown. "Doesn't sound like something you could manage in two weeks."

"Not to mention, costly," Lori added. "Leni, I know you want to help, but that seems like too much to do by yourself."

"But, I wouldn't need to do it myself! Jen can help me, and I can get the materials cheaper from the store at the mall. I always get my materials for the fashion shows there, so they give me a discount. All I would need to do is get measurements and come up with a design, and we can get it done. I know I can't make anything too elaborate in that time, but it doesn't need to be elaborate. Just something that looks good." She saw how some of her sisters still didn't seem too certain about the idea. "Guys, I know it's a lot, but I can do it. Like Luna said, whatever it takes for Linky."

Lynn took in how insistent Leni was being— the look in Leni's eyes was one she recognised, one that she was known for having in her own gaze during many of her games. "Well, if you say can make it happen… then I believe you." She wrote down Leni's suggestion on the board, making the fashionista beam happily. "Alright, we've got live music and a uniform. Have we got anything else?"

"What about if we got a photographer?" Lola spoke up, a bit of a gleam in her eye. "Only the best pageants I've been in have photographers, and high quality ones at that."

"Yes, but that would be too expensive," Lisa argued. "For a fundraising activity, such an expense would be considered extravagant and unnecessary."

"I might know someone," Luan suggested. "There's a girl in my class, Parvana. She's in the drama club too, but she's really good at photography. I could ask her to see if she'd be willing to do it for free, since it would give her some work for her portfolio."

"I like your thinking, Luan!" Lynn commended, writing it down as well. She was going to ask if anyone else had anything, but she heard a low sigh coming from Lana, who was looking a little upset. "What's up, Grease Monkey?"

"I can't think of anything," she grumbled.

"Well, hey, it's okay."

"No, it's not. I want to be able to help Lincoln, but there's not really anything I can do to help him."

"Sadly, I must concur," Lisa then told the group, adjusting her glasses. "This is not exactly my area of expertise, and anything I might offer would not be of benefit to this cause."

"Sigh. Me too," Lucy agreed, adding to the shifted mood that overtook them.

"Hey, hey, none of this," Lynn instructed. "I know you think you're not able to help, but you're wrong. Even if there's not anything extra you can add, you're still going to be helping our bro out just by supporting him. That's all he's ever going to ask of you, and that's all you need to do. This extra stuff, sure, he'll appreciate it, but nowhere near as much as he'll appreciate you just being there for him. Okay?"

No one said anything for a good few seconds, making Lynn start to worry that she had said something wrong, but that was proven wrong when she heard and saw Lori give her a slow clap and an approving smile. "You've really grown up, Lynn," she lauded. "You've really shown that caring side of you in recent weeks, and it's nice to see." The brunette blushed again at the compliment, before Lori stood up and took the floor once again. "I think we can leave it at this. We don't want to overdo it, after all. Does anyone else have anything they want to bring up?" She waited to see if anyone would say anything else, but they didn't. "Alright. In that case, I declare this—"

"Oh, wait!" Luan interrupted. "When do we tell Lincoln about this?"

Lynn hummed in thought, having not considered that, before a sly grin took her face. "I say we wait a little. Tell him on Sunday at practice, surprise him."

The others all voiced their agreement, Lori included. "Okay. I now declare this sister meeting over." She banged her shoe on her desk to dismiss everyone, and her sisters began to file out of the room. She stopped Lynn by putting a hand on her shoulder. "Hang on a moment, Lynn."

The brunette was curious as to why she had been stopped, but she waited until everyone else had left to ask, "what's up?"

The look on Lori's face was now a more serious one, no smile left on her lips. "Sit down with me," she instructed, the jock silently obliging as they sat down on the eldest sister's bed. "You've seen how they've been getting on at practice, right?" Lynn nodded, her brow furrowed in confusion. "Be completely honest with me. Do you think that this is going to work?"

"What do you mean?"

Lori sighed. "We both want this to work, we all do. There's no doubt about that… but we both know that they're trying to achieve something big here. Can they actually make this work?"

Now fully understanding the question, Lynn frowned and looked down at her lap. "I see. Well, if I'm being honest, it's not going to be easy. The decision isn't theirs in the end, so this could just be a last ditch attempt…" A few seconds of silence fell between them, making Lori think she should say something, but Lynn looked at her again with renewed determination. "But I think they can do it. I believe they can do it, and I know that they deserve it. Not just Lincoln, but all of them. This is their best shot, and as long as they keep at it, then they have a shot."

Lori looked her sister in the eyes, looking for any sign of doubt or uncertainty, but saw none. Instead, she saw hope that things would work out, and even though it wasn't something that affected either of them directly, they both needed that hope. It was enough to make her smile again. "Alright. Thanks, Lynn." The younger girl nodded, then got up to wipe the board clean. "It's funny. Even though you're his older sister, it seems like he's the one that's rubbed off on you."

Lynn chuckled. "In this house, we all rub off on each other, even if sometimes we rub each other the wrong way."

"I think you're literally right." She got up and pulled her sister into a side hug. "You feel like hanging out for a bit? Just us?"

Lynn thought for maybe a second, before returning the hug. "Sure, why not?"