5. Ch 5- Out Of Options

Lynn Jr was sat on the couch watching her favourite team's latest game, and was getting excitable now that her team were in the lead. "GO GO GO GO GO!" She shouted, watching with wide eyes and a big grin as her favourite player made their way down the field, dodged the defensive line and managed to score for their team. Seeing this, Lynn practically bounced on the couch, though still careful not to hurt her injured leg worse than she had. "YES! WE'RE NUMBER ONE! WE'RE NUMBER ONE!" As the players and fans celebrated on screen, Lynn heard the front door open and saw her mother come in, followed by her brother. "Hey, Link! How was racquet-" She stopped herself and winced when she saw the bruising on her brother's nose, as well as the bloody tissue he held to it. "Ooh… I guess not that well?"

He nodded to her. "Never again," was all he told her, before he made his way upstairs. Lynn watched him walk up the stairs, then turned to her mother when she sighed.

"I wish he could find something he enjoyed," she muttered to herself.

"Don't sweat it, mom," the thirteen-year-old assured her mother. "Give it time, he'll find something."

The blonde matriarch smiled at her daughter. "I know, honey. I can't help but worry, though, I'm a mom. Plus, he'll be a teenager soon, and with puberty, he'll need something to keep him active."

"Yeah, that's fair. Still, I think he might be able to try for some of my teams, or my coach might be able to recommend something. I'll keep asking around."

"Thanks, honey. Guess I'll go see if your father needs any help with dinner."

While her mother walked away to the kitchen, Lynn grabbed her crutches and got to her feet. 'Think I'll see if Lincoln's alright,' she thought, making her way up the stairs. After reaching the top, she turned and walked down the landing towards the open door. Walking in, she saw her brother laying on his bed, eyes shut. "Hey, Stinkoln. You asleep?"

He opened his eyes and gave her an unamused look. "No, just thinking. And do you have to call me that?"

"Ah, relax, I'm just messing with ya. So," she sat down on the bed by his legs, prompting him to sit up, "how's your shiner?"

"Sore, but the bleeding stopped."

"Ah, you'll be fine. Stick a bandaid on it tomorrow, you'll be fine. So, guess you'll be looking for another sport now." He nodded. "Well, if you want, I could talk to my coach, see if he's got room for you at softball practice." The second after she said that, she regretted it, seeing how his eyes went wide and he started shaking his head, muttering "no" to himself over and over. "Ah, dang it, I forgot about that." The last time Lincoln had gone to see one of Lynn's softball games, it had led to what the family referred to- but only when they had to- as the 'bad luck incident'. Since then, Lincoln refused to have anything to do with softball, whether that meant seeing Lynn's games or helping her practice. Realising her mistake, Lynn grabbed her brother by the shoulders and shook him gently. "Hey, hey, hey, Lincoln. Lincoln, look at me." He did so, his eyes still wide. "You don't have to do it if you don't want to, I know you're uncomfortable with it. It's okay."

It took him a few second, but Lincoln eventually calmed down, his eyes returning to normal. "Yeah… you're right. Sorry about that."

"Nah, it's my bad, bro. Kinda forgot about that for a second." He waved it off to let her know it was okay, but she instantly picked up on the thoughtful look on his face. "You, uh… wanna talk about anything?"

He was hesitant to respond, but knowing what Lynn was like, he knew she wouldn't leave until he spoke about it. "… do you think, maybe… I'm just not meant to do sports?"

She blinked, caught off guard by the confession. "Where'd that come from?"

"It just seems like, whatever sport I try, something goes wrong and something doesn't work, or it just doesn't feel right. I know mom and dad really want me to try and find something that I enjoy, but… maybe there isn't something."

Lynn, despite not saying anything, understood where Lincoln was coming from. She also knew how to make him think otherwise, so she used her crutches to get to her feet. "Wait here a sec, bro." Raising an eyebrow, he curiously watched as she staggered her way out on her crutches. It didn't take long for his curiosity to win him over, convincing him to get up and walk after her. Checking in the middle room on the right, he saw the athlete checking on her desk, which was very disorganised, so it took her a moment longer before her search was successful. She grinned as she pulled her hand out of the clutter, a red book in her hand, then caught sight of her brother looking at her. "I thought I asked you to wait for me?"

"I figured this would be quicker than waiting for you to 'waddle' back in," he joked.

Lynn rolled her eyes, but still chuckled. "I'll remember that when I'm off these things." She sat down on her bed, Lincoln sitting next to her after she gestured for him to do so. "Anyway, this is what I wanted to show you." She opened it up, letting Lincoln see that it was a photo album. After a couple of moments of flicking pages, she eventually found the picture she was looking for- one of a younger Lynn, possibly seven or eight, wearing a sports jersey, with a foam finger on her hand and a big smile on her face. "This was me after my first time seeing a baseball game, which was the first sport I really got into, though it wasn't the first sport I tried."

He looked up from the picture at his sister. "It wasn't? Then, what was?"

"Well, it was volleyball. I wasn't too sure about it at first, but I thought I'd give it a try. Problem was, all the other girls there were… well, they were a lot more experienced than me and they liked to pick on the fact that I was new. By the end, I was so glad to get out of there, I almost swore to never try sport again."

Lincoln's eyes widened- he found it hard to imagine that his athletic sister, who brought a new trophy home almost every week, almost stopped doing sports ever again. "Woah…"

"Yeah, I know." She looked back at the picture again. "Point is, had it not been for that game and how awesome it was, I would never have tried it for myself, and I wouldn't be who I am today." She closed the book and looked at her brother again. "Even if you don't become an athlete, that doesn't mean there isn't something you'll enjoy. Just keep trying, and if you find nothing, at least you've looked, right?"

As he considered what she said, he smiled. "Guess you're right."

"See? Now, come here." He saw her open her arms for a hug, and he prepared to embrace her, only for her to use the opportunity to pull him towards her and give him a playful noogie. "That's for the crutch joke."

The next day, Lincoln was in gym class, where everyone had just finished completing a fitness test. It was the final class before lunch, so everyone was eager for the class to end so they could get some food. "Right," Coach Pakowski called out. "I'll be honest with you, I was expecting that to last longer than it did. Since there's no point in letting you go just yet, we'll finish with a quick game of dodgeball. You know the deal- line up while I put you into teams."

The class knew not to complain, lest they wanted extra exercise to do, so they quickly lined up. Rather than alternate down the line like most people would, the gym teacher lazily split the line in half, making one half one team, and the other half the other team, meaning that Lincoln was with his friends again. "So, Lincoln, how goes the sports hunt?" Stella asked.

"Same as usual, so far," he admitted. "I've now tried track, football, soccer, basketball and racquetball. At the rate things are going, I'll have tried every sport imaginable before the month is over."

"Then why not tell your parents that you don't want to do sports?" Rusty suggested.

"If it was that simple, I wouldn't even need to have done football." They returned their mind to the dodgeball game upon hearing the whistle blow. "Scorpion formation!"

They quickly moved into position, with everyone stood in a line facing the other team, apart from Zach who was at the back and to the side. "We've got you this time, Girl Jordan," Rusty taunted.

"What makes you think this time will be any different?" Zach questioned, causing the taller redhead's ego to deflate.

"Just shut up and go with it okay?"

As soon as he said that, the whistle, and he turned around just in time to be beaned in the head by a dodgeball, knocking him to one side. Lincoln looked back and saw Girl Jordan, the smirk on the ponytailed girl's face confirming herself as the perpetrator. A couple of seconds later, Zach was taken out by another ball from another angle.

"Abandon formation!" Lincoln called out, and everyone scattered about their half of the court, doing their best to dodge the incoming rubber projectiles. Being against Girl Jordan, however, meant that this was a lot tougher than with anyone else, as the girl was inexplicably a deadshot when it came to the game, rarely missing a throw. Lincoln could only throw and pray as his team was wiped out one by one. As he ducked another throw from the ponytailed girl, he stumbled and fell to his knee. It didn't hurt, but the moment it took him to get back to his feet saw him get hit with a ball to the ribs, eliminating him and ending the game. A whistle blow signified this, causing him to sigh.

"Never mind, Lincoln," Stella told him with a smile.

"Yeah, I know."

"Alright, that's all for today," Coach Pakowski called out. "Go get changed, then head to lunch."

Everyone was quick to do so, with Stella splitting off from the guys as they went to their respective changing rooms. "So, Lincoln," Liam asked the Loud boy, "you gonna ask Coach if there's anymore sports you can try?"

"I guess," he replied. "There aren't exactly many other options."

"Ain't there anything outside of school you could try instead?"

Lincoln sighed, slipping his polo shirt over his head and getting his arms through the sleeves. "I wouldn't even know where to look. I know that there's a martial arts club, but after being Lynn's 'sparring partner' so many times… no thank you."

"Well, I don't envy you, buddy," Clyde admitted. "Still, maybe you will find something you can enjoy after all?"

"Maybe, though I'm not holding my breath." A minute later, he was fully clothed, his gym clothes packed away. "I'll see you guys at lunch." With that, he walked out of the changing room and walked across the gymnasium towards the small office, where he saw the gym teacher looking at a computer. "Coach?"

Pakowski looked up. "Ah, Loud," he greeted, "come in." Lincoln did so, leaving the door open. "So, how did you find racquetball?"

"Actually…" When Lincoln pointed at the bandaid on his nose, the gym teacher winced at the size of the bruise. "Yeah. Is there anything else I can try instead?"

With a sigh, Coach Pakowski stood up. "Sorry, Loud, but you've tried everything. The only other club is girls only, so unless you're willing to try anything again, you're gonna have to look elsewhere."

Though disheartened, Lincoln nodded out of understanding. "Well, thanks anyway, Coach."

"No problem. Now, go on for lunch."

Lincoln nodded again and walked out of the office, then let out a sigh. "What am I going to do?"

"Hey, Lincoln," he heard a voice. Turning around, he saw Girl Jordan approach, dressed in her usual yellow shirt, blue skirt, brown shoes with white socks, and blue bow in her brown braided ponytail.

"Hey, Girl Jordan," he greeted back. "Congrats on winning… again."

She rolled her eyes. "Thanks. So, how come you were talking with Coach Pakowski? Apparently, you've been to see him every day this week."

"Well, my family are trying to get me into sport after the, uh… the football incident." She frowned, having heard about what happened after the final game. "I've been asking Coach what there was I could try at school, but so far, nothing's worked, and he's just told me that there isn't anything else I can try here."

"So, you need to find something else you can try instead?"

"Pretty much?"

"Well, maybe I can help."

He looked at her curiously. "Wait, really?"

"Yeah, there's a taster session on Sunday. Normally, it's ten bucks, though if I remember correctly, it's free for first timers."

"That's actually perfect! Thanks!"

"No problem."

"Hey, Jordan, let's go!" They heard another girl call.

"One second, Mollie!" Jordan called back, then looked back at Lincoln. "It's at the sports centre near the north of town at three o'clock, but I usually meet with some of my friends at my house at two o'clock, so if you meet me there, we can head there together."

"Sure, I'll see you then." As Girl Jordan walked away, he felt a smile come to his face. 'Looks like I'll get the afternoon off.'