24. Working Loud

AN: An original idea. Inspired by the Drake and Josh episode "Movie Job". References to the "Shop Girl", "Driving Miss Hazy", and "Crimes of Fashion" episodes added. Thanks to Insane Master Writer Studio and sthompson1 for their suggestions on how to improve this idea.

In the Louds' living room, Rita and Lynn Sr. are currently having an intervention with their firstborn child.

"Son, I usually shrug this off but not this time." Lynn Sr. states before presenting a bill to him. "Your cell phone bill is through the roof!"

Loki casually takes the bill for a closer look. "Oh please, how- oh shit." He softly swore when he saw the price. Compared to everyone else's charges, his alone must be three times as much.

"There's literally an explanation for all of this. I talk to my long-distance girlfriend every day. I keep my data on when I travel in case someone in the family texts me in an emergency. And I keep telling you to switch carriers cause this one is too expensive and-"

"Loki, enough!" Rita tells him. "We didn't call you in here to hear your excuses. We called to tell you we can't possibly pay your bill. We got other bills and expenses to take care of."

"So you expect me to pay this myself? I'm broke, Mom. How am I supposed to do this?"

"Do we have to spell it out for you? Find a job." Lynn Sr. says.

Loki's face molds into an exasperated expression. "I was afraid you say that. Dad, me working? I already carry the weight of my siblings on my shoulders around here and now you wanna add a job to my stress?"

"It doesn't have to be forever. A part-time job will suffice until you can pay this off."

Loki pinches the bridge of his nose and then agrees reluctantly.

"You'll be fine, Loki. Just think of how much you're helping us out and how you'll help the people you'll come across." Rita assures him.

Later, Loki sits crossed-legged on his bed with his laptop, searching online for part-time jobs for inexperienced teens.

"Because telling me to use my phone less would make too much sense," Loki says bitterly at the screen. "Oh, who am I kidding? I wouldn't listen to that anyway."

Loni walks into the bedroom, texting. He briefly looks up to greet his roommate. "Hey, man. Whatcha doing?" He says before he crashes on his bed.

"Looking for a job to pay for my stupid phone bill."

"Yeah, I overheard you with Mom and Dad. It's kinda sad how glued you are on your phone. You wouldn't have this problem if you paid more attention to people around you and your environment." Loni had the damn nerve to look back at his phone and keep texting while saying all of this.

He looks up again. "What are we talking about? Oh right! Well, I usually go to the mall when I have problems. I'm sure you'll find a job there! Like, tons of teens work there."

"Great idea, Loni. That's, totally out of character for you."

"Thanks." Loni then gets up and stretches. "I need one of my healthy smoothies. You want one?"

"Gross."

"Your loss." He turns to walk out but accidentally walks into the wall with a loud thud. "Ow! Loki, who moved the doorway?" He asks before walking out for real.

"And he's back." Loki comments before clearing his search bar and typing in "royal woods mall part-time jobs". Of course, he sees job openings for multiple stores as Loni predicted. He chooses to fill out the online application for a department store called Reiningers. As he's the most familiar.

Ok, so most of you reading should know how the job application process works. Let's say it took two weeks and in those weeks, Loki waited in-between times of getting the first phone call, the interview, and the training.

Currently, he's pinning his name tag onto his clothes as he stands next to his new manager, Mr. Carmichael. They had just finished a tour of the retail store.

"Ok, Loki. You'll be helping the recovery team bring out the racks of unwanted clothes from the fitting rooms and placing them back where they belong."

"No problem, Mr. Carmichael."

"Good man. And, welcome to the team again." He says walking away.

With that, Loki walks into the fitting room and grabs a rack and does his tasks. He rolls them over to one of the displays the store have for separate clothing brands. He takes multiple clothes from the rack at once and hangs them up in their respective displays. "This is literally too easy."

Well, we can't have that. So at that moment, his fashion-designing brother walks into the store along with his two friends from school and immediately spots his big blonde hair. He excuses himself from his friends and walks over to him.

"Loki?"

"Hey, Lons."

"What are you doing at Reiningers?"

"I work here, genius." He says as he continues puts away the clothes. "Didn't I mentioned I was applying here?"

"I probs wasn't paying attention, to be honest. But this is great! You working at my favorite store in the whole mall! After Blossomingdales, of course. Hey, do you get an employee discount?"

"Yeah, actually. Employees get a fifty percent discount on all merchandise."

"No freaking way! That's almost half off! Can I use your discount?"

"Sorry, bro. I can't extend it to other people."

"Aw, man! I could have saved a lot of money for Dad, cause I have his credit card."

Loki contemplates for a moment. "Maybe, just this once, I could use my discount to-"

"Loki, you're the best!" Loni cheers as he hands over his shopping list and credit card he borrowed from Lynn Sr. He turns and calls out for his friends. "Jackson! Matthew! Let's go!"

"But you owe me for this." Loki adds.

Then a mother and her preteen daughter walk up to Loki. "Excuse me, do you know where the Juniors department is?"

Loki doesn't remember that from the tour. "I'm sor-". He doesn't even get the second syllable out because Loni interrupts.

"It's on the second floor in front of the escalator. But might I suggest the Petite department? It has what the Juniors offer but is perfect for those 5'8 and under. It's to the right of Juniors."

"Thank you." The mother says before going in the direction of the escalator.

"Nice save." Loki admits.

"Thanks! See ya later!" Loni waves as he walks back to his friends.

Later that day, Loki trudges up the stairs and walks toward his bedroom door. He drops the shopping bags at his roommate's feet.

"Yes! Thanks, Loki!" Loni throws away the magazine he was reading and looks through the bags. "Where are the sneakers I listed?"

"Wasn't in stock." Loki replies as he falls back on his bed.

"But the second week of the month past already! Reiningers always receives their shipment from that sneakers' brand in the second week of the month. Maybe they sold out. Of course, they did! Their stuff is fire. Anyway, how did the first day go?"

"Ok, at first. Then I was sent to clean up the clearance aisle. That was painful."

"Those are always the worst looking areas. I always hang up the clothes neatly when I pick it up and decided I don't want it."

"Anyway, Mr. Carmichael announced that there's an opening for an assistant manager before I clocked out. It comes with a raise in wages so I'm going for that."

"You think you got a shot as a new hire?"

"Of course. It's literally anyone's game."

The next day, Loki has to work again, basically doing the same thing he did yesterday. But this time, he had to organize the unwanted clothes by brand first. He kept going back and forth with the organizing and the recovery.

Loki has an hour left in his shift when Loni meets up with him again.

"Hey, Loki."

"What are you doing back here again?"

"You didn't tell me you were having a sale today. And I was wondering if you like to make another donation?"

"No way." Loki says firmly. "Loni, just because I'm working doesn't mean I automatically have money right now. I get paid every two weeks. And I just bought you a shit ton of clothes for you yesterday! With the little money I had in my own savings account."

"It wasn't that many clothes." Loni says under his breath.

"The point is I cannot support like this every day! I got real financial troubles! Find your own way to make money!"

"Ugh! This is BS! You used your discount on me once and you already cut me off. How do you expect me to pay for new outfits?"

"Do I have to spell it out for you? Get a job." Loki tells him. Feeling Déjà Vu for having this conversation with Loni.

"Oh, there's that. But Loki, I don't know how to get a job."

"Of course you don't. Which is why I'm gonna help you."

"Really?" The platinum blonde asks hopefully.

"Sure. Just give me an hour to finish my shift and I'll come up with something."

"Ok! I'll be browsing if you need me." Loni walks away with that.

Loki returns to his work but with a new objective in mind. Well, here is his best bet. He already knew the store layout like the back of his hand. Plus, it will teach Loni independence and then he can afford his own clothes with his own discount.

"How are you doing, Loki?" Mr. Carmichael interrupts his thoughts as the manager did his usual rounds of the store.

"Fine, Mr. Carmichael." Loki walks up to him. "I have a question for you. Do you hire sixteen-year-olds?"

Loni causally walks around the department store. Peeking over to the women's section, he sees a girl about his age picking out a skirt. He saunters over to her.

"That skirt would look great on you. And bonus, it can double as a poncho."

The girl gasps. "You just changed my life! Thank you!"

Loni waves her goodbye and walks away. Then he spots a grown man looking through the men's suit racks frustratingly. Loni stands next to him and gingerly taps his shoulder.

"Sir, you alright?"

"Gah! Oh, I'm sorry. I've been so stressed lately. I got an important meeting tomorrow morning and I can't find anything."

"I would be happy to help you."

"I don't want to take up too much of your time, son."

"I wasn't doing anything anyway." Loni reassures him, already on the next rack over. "Now, what's your size?"

After some time of searching and trying on different suits, their objective has been completed.

"That's the one, Mr. Greene!" Loni tells him from the couch in the men's fitting room when Greene steps out.

"I think so, too. How can I ever thank you, Loni?"

"By impressing your boss at that meeting tomorrow." Loni stands and stretches. "I'm gonna leave but you go ahead and buy it." He then bids him goodbye and walks away.

"Thanks again, son!"

Loni thinks about going over to where the sunglasses and takes a shortcut through the sundresses section. He looks over to find a woman holding her baby girl in one arm and too many sundresses in one hand. She drops all the dresses. Before she bends down, Loni rushes to her aid.

"Let me get that for you."

"Thank you."

After he put away the last of the sundresses, he tells her "I can help you pick out a sundress for you. If you want."

"That's so sweet of you!"

"And you know what?" He bends down to her baby's level. "I think we can find a sundress for you too, Princess." The baby smile at Loni's soft tone. Loni smiles back and looks over the sundresses with the mother.

After trying on several dresses and processes of elimination, Loni walks the mother and daughter pair to the nearest checkout. In the end, The woman found three sundresses to her liking and Loni himself found a cute Disney Princess sundress for her daughter.

"Thank you so much, Loni! You saved me a whole lot of time!"

"You're welcome, Mrs. Jones. I have to meet up with my brother now. His shift ended ten minutes ago." He says, checking his watch. "Have fun at the beach, Mrs. Jones."

"Say bye, baby." Mrs. Jones coos, holding her arm and motioning it to wave at him. Loni chuckles and waves back. Loni goes and searches for his older brother, finding him by the store's entrance.

"Finally. What took so long?"

"I've just been around, helping people. Let's go."

"Excuse me!" An older man's voice called out to the two Loud brothers.

"Mr. Carmichael." Loki acknowledges. He sends a quick, knowing glance over to Loni. This could be it.

"Hi, I wanted to meet you." He speaks directly to the platinum blonde. "I'm the manager of Reiningers." He stretches his hand toward Loni which he gladly accepts.

"I'm Loni Loud. Loki's brother."

"I've been hearing nothing but positive things about you from customers. And your brother here said you were looking for a job. We could use another sales employee with great customer service skills."

Loki smiles to himself. This was easier than he thought. With Loni unknowingly securing an offer at Reiningers on his behalf.

"Great," Loni says. "Let me think about it, and get back to you with a list of names." Loki nudges him with his elbow and gestures to him.

"Oh! Did you mean me? I'll take it! Where do I sign?"

"Stop by my office to fill out the paperwork."

"I'll meet up with you later, Loki." He tells his brother before following Mr. Carmichael.

"You're welcome!" Loki calls back.

The next afternoon, Loki drives Vanzilla to the Royal Woods Mall with his new coworker in the passenger seat.

"I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am that we're working together!" Loni tells him.

"Yeah, it became apparent when you woke me up from my nap two hours before our shift."

"Sorry. This is like a big deal for me. I get to help people in a field I know better than anybody else."

"And you'll be getting paid for it and have your own discount. So no more handouts from me."

"Course. But, helping people shop is more important than shopping for yourself, you know?"

"That's genuine of you, as expected. You should give me some customer service tips. I'm trying to get noticed by Mr. Carmichael so I can get that assistant manager position."

"Or you let me give you advice on how to be a nicer, more open retail associate! Mr. Carmichael will be so impressed, he'll have to give you the assistant manager job!"

Loki fully faces him and raises an eyebrow when they're at a red light.

"Don't embarrass me like that, please."

Inside Reiningers, The brothers are stationed at the window display mannequins, dressing them.

"What I did yesterday was I walked up to a random customer and asked them if they needed my help. Being nice and looking out for their best interests helps them out in the long run." Loni explains.

"Well, if it got you the job…" Loki scans the area and sees a woman who looks like she can't decide between two blouses in the Petite department.

"I got this." Loki walks over to her. "Excuse me, ma'am. Can I help you find something?"

"Ah," The woman look relieved at the sight of him and Loki is glad to see that. But then she continued to speak.

"Je suis à la recherche d'un chemisier pour ma fille. Elle a un entretien d'embauche. Aussi, savez-vous où je peux trouver les jupes?"

The seventeen-year-old is a deer in headlights. "I…uh… excuse me!" He speeds walks back to his brother. "That was a mistake."

"What?"

"She only speaks French!"

"And you still left her hanging? There's gotta be someone in here who knows french." He suddenly gasps. "Wait a minute! Keep an eye on her!"

Loni sprints in the opposite direction. A few moments later he has another associate, maybe three years older than him, named Michelle at his tail. Michelle makes her way over to the woman with the blouses.

"Bonjour," Michelle greets. "Mon collègue Loni m'a dit que vous aviez besoin d'aide?"

The lady smiles brightly at Michelle's French and tells her predicament. Loni and Michelle lock eyes and give each a quick thumbs up.

"How did you know Michelle speaks French?" Loki asks him.

"One time I heard her speak French with a customer when I was shopping here. Turns out she minors in French at the Royal Woods Community College. It wasn't fair to just leave that woman on her own. Everyone should be helped, no matter what language."

Later, in the shoe department, Loki is assisting a teenage boy find new sneakers. Unfortunately, he's not making it easier for him.

"These shoes are uglier than the last pair! And they're uncomfortable!" The boy kicks off what is the fifth pair of sneakers Loki found for him. "I'm trying to flex on these streets! How am I supposed to achieve that when you keep handing me trash ass shoes?! Isn't there anything else, bro?"

Loki exhales through his nose. He's already done with him."Sorry, bro. But what we have on the floor is all we have."

"That's some bullshit!"

"Loki!" His younger brother calls out to him as he made his way over. "What happened to "I'll check in the back". We have one, you know? Tell you what, you start putting these shoes away and I'll find a pair of shoes for him. My man, what's your size?"

The teen tells his size and Loni goes behind the cashier desk. "Hey Finn, can you help me out?" He asks a different associate, this time two years older than him. He nods and follows Loni into the shoe inventory. Loki starts cleaning up. He almost feels bad for his brother; this customer is insufferable.

A few moments later, Loni and Finn come out. Finn goes back behind the desk and Loni goes over to the customer. "My co-worker Finn and I had a feeling you'll like these Jordans." He gives the box.

Loki stands by as he put on the sneakers. And before him, he witness the impossible: Loni got it right on the first try.

"Oh my god! These ones are fire!" The boy says as he does a test walk in them. "And they're comfy! Wait until my boys see this!" He quickly takes off his new shoes and boxes them. "Thanks for your help, man!" He reaches his hand toward Loni.

"Anytime." Loni shakes it. The customer is first to pay at the counter, as there was no line. Then goes about his day with his brand new shoes in his shopping bag.

"I thought he never leave." Finn comments. "Nice job, Loni."

"Well, you're the one who helped me pick them out." He then turns to his brother, still shocked at how Loni's interaction went by smoothly. "Bro, you def need to work on your people skills."

Loki growls at that remark. And to add salt to the wound, Mr. Carmichael was passing by.

Finally, Loni's and Loki's seven-hour shift was over. After they clocked out, Loni was walking with Michelle and Finn to the main entrance. With Loki trailing behind.

"This was a fun first day!" Loni tells them. "Thanks for helping me out today, guys."

"Hey, thanks for joining us." Michelle tells him. "About time we had a useful newbie."

"I heard that!" Loki exclaims.

"Oh. No offense, Loki." Of course she didn't mean it.

"Alright team," Mr. Carmichael says to his employees at the front door. "Great job with the recovery and sales today! Have a good night." Everyone leaves but Carmichael stops the Loud brothers in their tracks again.

"Loni, I wanted to personally tell you did an excellent job today. You go above and beyond for our customers. People are calling you the nicest associate we ever had."

"Really?"

"Yes. And Loki, thanks for telling me about your brother here."

"Of course. Cause that what I did best. Suggesting Loni should have this job." Loki says with a forced smile.

"Well, I'm happy to make other people happy, Mr. Carmichael." Loni adds.

"Someone's bucking for assistant manager." Loki audibly gasps but quickly covers his mouth. "Good night, boys." Their manager sends them off.

On the ride home, Loki couldn't help but glare at the road. Loni, however, was in his own little world. Reminiscing about his first day at his first job to notice.

"It feels so good to be called "the nice one" back at the mall again." Loni begins. "I'm like, beginning to doubt the nice guys finish last quote. You know, I think I would make a great assistant manager. Based on what Mr. Carmichael said."

Loki slams on the brakes hard at a red light. Loni lunges forward violently in his seat. He grasped onto his seat belt on instinct.

"Are you kidding me right now?!"

"What's wrong?"

"You know I've been chasing after that position since day one!"

"I didn't say I would be a better assistant manager than you or I'm gonna steal it from you. I'm just saying it's a cool idea."

"Oh, what you would know about assistant managing? One, you're an idiot. Two, you can't even lead Chris to the litter box. And three, it's unfair that I have been working for three days and never got noticed like that! But you work one day and you're told you have a shot?"

A car behind him honks after his rant. He just notices the light is green and drives.

Loni retaliates. "One, ouch. B, I can be a good leader if I wanted to, Loki! Hell, I've basically been shadowing you my whole life. So I think I know where to start as one. And 12, if you tried harder at your job, you wouldn't have to worry about competition for assistant manager! You said you wanted tips but you don't follow them."

Loki opens his mouth to snap back, then shuts it. He mentally admits that Loni's third claim was a valid one.

He pulls up of the driveway of Casa de Loud but they don't get out just yet.

"Ok," Loki begins. "I'll try harder. But from now on, stay out of my way."

"Fine!" Loni crosses his arms.

Loki opens the driver's door and gets up. Then turns back and see Loni hasn't moved an inch. He opens the driver's seat again and leans in.

"What are you doing?"

"Staying out of your way."

Loki rolls his eyes. "I meant only at work. We still live together." Loni groans, gets out, and shuts his door.

"You need to be more specific."

"Just get inside." Loki demands as he shuts his door and locks the car.

Another afternoon, another shift for the two blondes. This time, Loki and Loni were stationed at the formal dresses section to do put backs. Loki overhears a frantic conversation between three women, who all look like they're in their mid-twenties.

"Girls! This can't be just any dress!" The one in the middle says. "Tonight is the night! Brandon went to a jeweler with his mother a week ago, for God's sake! So this dress needs to make a grown man kneel."

"Well, you don't want to look like you're waiting for it either, Nikki." The woman on the right tells her, looking through racks.

"Chloe's right." The last one said. "Leave Brandon his pride. You need a dress that implies "bride", not screams it."

"I know, Zoey. But.. ugh!" Nikki screams, frustrated. "This is so much pressure!"

Loki smirks at their exchange. This is a perfect opportunity to make a sale. He takes out a dress that he was going to put back and rips the clearance sticker off its tag.

"What are you doing?" Loni asks in an accusing tone.

"Making a sale. Desperate girls make commissions so easy." He walks toward the trio.

"So uncool." Loni mutters but stays behind and watches.

"Excuse me?" He gets the attention of all three of them. "Have you seen this?" He holds up his dress. "We just got it in. It's perfect for an engagement dress."

The three friends share a knowing glance. "It is very pretty." Zoey takes the dress and holds it up to Nikki's frame. "Don't you think so, Chloe?"

"Of course. But it's all up to Nikki."

"I would totally buy it." His first successful sale, Loki mentally boasts himself. Then Nikki shoves the dress back into his chest. "If I didn't see this dress in your company's magazine last year!"

"It was? I mean, honest mistake, really." He tries to reconcile with them.

"Right. Like it was "honest mistake" that you tried to sell my friend last year's dress at this year's price." Chloe says.

"I may be in love, but I'm not stupid, kid." Nikki says.

Meanwhile, Loni is cringing at Loki's failed sale. "I know he told to stay away, but…" Loni makes his way over quickly to the scene and pulls his big brother to the side.

"Sorry, Miss. Our mistake." He says directly to Nikki then turns to his brother. "Loki, finish the put backs. Ignore my brother, he hasn't been well." He tells her, twirling his finger near his temple. Loki scoffs at that white lie and glares daggers at him.

"I would be happy to help you find an engagement dress. Dresses from this year, of course."

"That's, really generous of you." Nikki smiles at him.

"It's no problem. I take care of all my clienteles." Loni leads them away on their search.

After some time of trying on dresses and eliminating the ones not everyone agrees on. Then place them in an overflowing cart of discards. Nikki steps out with a red strapless dress that stops at her knees and is met with cheers and squeals.

"There you go, Nick!" Loni tells her.

"Oh my god! This one's perfect! And it's just my size! And I have the perfect pair of heels for this at home."

"And with Chloe doing your makeup and nails and me doing your hair, you'll be flawless!" Zoey cheers.

"Loni, thank you so much! You're the sweetest employee we've ever met!" Nikki goes over to hug him, along with her two friends.

"You're welcome." He says breathlessly. When they release him, he takes in a breath.

"Which is kind of weird." Zoey begins. "Because aren't you the same guy from the fight-"

"Anyways!" Loni screams suddenly. Then clears his throat and brings it down. "Nikki, I'm not gonna lie to you, this dress is pricey. But you can sign up to be a member and receive a rewards card that'll save you money. Just go to checkout and ask."

"Got it." Nikki answers.

"Great! I have to start putting these back." He grabs the cart of discarded dresses. "Good luck, Nikki!"

"Bye, Loni!" All three of them say in unison.

Loni pushes the cart back where his brother was organizing dresses. "I got more work for us. Those girls were really nice. Why are you looking me like that?

"I told you to stay out of my way!" Loki snaps.

"And let you embarrass yourself? She saw right through your lies. What was your plan B?"

"Have you noticed that I haven't made a single sale since you came around?"

"That was a problem before!"

They continue to argue over one another until their manager walks up to them from behind and clears his throat.

Both immediately shut up. "Hi, Mr. Carmichael." They say in unison.

"Am I interrupting something?"

"No, no. Just a minor argument between brothers." Loki assures.

"Totally harmless." Loni adds.

"Anyway, I just saw a trio of girls purchasing an expensive dress and said you helped them, Loni."

"Oh yeah. Nikki really loved that dress but I warned her about the price. Hopefully, she took my advice and became a member."

"She did actually. It's like successful sale one after the another with you. I like your style, kid. In fact, how would you like to be promoted to assistant manager?"

"What?" The brothers exclaim simultaneously but with very different facial expressions respectively.

"I love to!" The platinum blonde responds, joyously.

"Fantastic! I'll have your new badge ready for you tomorrow." Carmichael leaves the two with that.

"Loni Loud, Assistant Manager." The very boy says with wonder. "Hey! That means I'm your boss! Guess I'm the big brother now!"

"Loni, you're still my little brother."

"Not in here, I ain't."

Loki wanted to scream. It's freaking unbelievable. His naïve, younger roommate is going to be his new boss? What sense does that sentence make?

The next morning, the associates line up before the new assistant manager as he reads their duties of the day off of a clipboard before the store opened.

"Ok, Michelle and Finn, you're both at registers downstairs. Lexus and Chris, registers upstairs. Diamond and Christina, shoe department. And the rest of you are doing the recovery, both upstairs and downstairs. Oh except Loki, you'll be putting the new 70% off stickers on the tags of the clothes in the clearance section. Alright! Let's make this another good day, guys! And make sure everything's in its place. Mr. Carmichael is doing inventory today."

Everyone spread out, except Loki. He roughly grabs Loni's arm and pulls him back.

"You can't station me in the clearance section by myself. It's huge! Putting stickers on tags will take all day."

"Hey, it is what it is. And as your assistant manager," he points to his new gold badge as emphasis, "you don't have a choice."

"Calm down with the ego, little bro. Let's not forget who helped you get this job. So don't rub your new position in my face!"

"I'm not touching you, first of all. I don't get you. You're the one who suggested I get a job. And when I get one and work my way up, you're jealous? Some big brother you are."

"And by "work", you mean by outshining me every chance you got, right? I needed this position more than you could!"

"Look, I know you wanted my spot, but to be honest, you would have been a bad assistant manager."

"Excuse me?"

"You were going after it for the wrong reason. The raise. I know you got your bill, but you took this job knowing you had to help people and you still put your money first. Every customer that walks in here is not another zero added to your paycheck. I wasn't even thinking about moving up until Mr. Carmichael told me I have what it takes. I still can't believe I got it. But I think the reason why is because I'm the other way around. I put other people's needs before my own. And helping other people get what they want makes me feel better than a paycheck or an employee discount could."

The unlocking of the main entrance brings an early end to the two's third argument in this chapter.

"Wow, you got me rambling." Loni says. "Chop chop! That clearance section isn't going to sticker itself. I'll be overseeing the jewelry section if you need me." He walks away but quickly turns around. "Oh yeah. Get the sticker gun from the laptop desk where we clock in."

Later that day, Loki is at his station using the sticker gun with much more force than needed as he monologues.

"Who does Loni think he is? I helped him get a job and how does he repay me? He becomes my boss! Then goes off on me saying, 'You're only in it for the money.'" He says that last line in a mocking imitation of Loni's voice. "Of course I am! I have a bill to pay!" He puts two stickers on a single tag during his rant but he doesn't care.

"He doesn't need that raise more than me. Hell, he doesn't need this job more than me! I'll be damned if I have to take orders from Loni for the rest of my time here."

He decides that he needs to do something. Something drastic, and fast.

"Ahem." Loki is face to face with an impatient-looking man. "If you're done talking to yourself, can you tell me where are the bathrooms?"

The eldest Loud goes into action during Loni's break. Which he announces walking past him.

"Hey, Loki. I'm going on my lunch break. Michelle, Finn, and I are meeting at the food court. Wanna come?"

"Uh, my lunch break is not for another two hours. But can I borrow a dollar from you so I can grab something from the vending machines till then?"

"Oh, sure." Loni takes out his wallet. "Uh, I don't think I have a dollar in here."

"Let me see that." Loki takes the wallet from him. Good, he was counting on Loni's dumbness to hand over his wallet. He sees his real objective: the key to the jeweler's case. Don't ask him why it isn't on a key chain. He wraps a dollar bill around the key and takes it out with his fist.

"Found one." He hands his brother back his wallet His fist is tightly clenched, you couldn't see the dollar. "I told you it's the one with George Washington on it."

"Oh right! The first man on the moon." Loki mentally cringes at that remark. "See you in an hour."

"See ya, boss!"

"Hey! Glad you're coming around." Then Loni leaves the store.

Loki unfolds the crumpled-up dollar bill and lets the key falls into his hand. He walks over to the jeweler's section then hides behind a shelf for a quick peek of the perimeter. Loni's replacement isn't here yet and there are no customers around. Perfect. Yet, the stakes are still high. Especially since he's out in the open.

Loki sneaks behind the counter and opens the glass case full of necklaces, bracelets, rings, all that. He grabs a shiny, expensive looking necklace, it would be obvious to notice it was gone, and stuffs it in his cargo shorts pocket. He locks the case and speed walks out of there. No traces and no witnesses. It just happened to not be busy in that quadrant in the middle of the day.

Loki chuckles at that anomaly. "I love cartoon logic. Now I need a good place to hide it. And an excuse to put the key back in Loni's wallet." Luckily, he's got an hour to come up with something. He quickly walks to his section when he sees the other jewelers associate approaching.

The seventeen-year-old hid the necklace in a secluded place in the store before Loni walks in with his two new friends. He separates from them to talk to his brother.

"Hey, Loki. How you doing?"

"Fine. Oh, you can have your dollar back. I couldn't find anything in the vending machine."

Loni pulls out his wallet and opens it for him, indicating for him to drop it in. Again with the key enclosed inside the dollar bill, Loki sticks his whole fist in the wallet and places it gently at the bottom. So the key doesn't make that ding sound.

After Loni pockets his wallet, he casually goes back to his position. Loki predicts that the damage he caused should take full effect soon.

Back with Loni, about twenty minutes later, he is with a customer and just finished the checkout process of a purchase.

"You made the right choice with that bracelet, miss." He says after boxing said bracelet. "The sapphire really matches your eyes."

"Thank you. And thanks for your help." She gushes before taking her purchase and leaves.

Mr. Carmichael comes up to him and clears his throat. "Um, Loni?"

"Hi, Mr. Carmichael. How's the inventory going?"

"Not great. I'm not sure if you noticed but a necklace has gone missing. And your replacement wasn't around during the incident when you were on your break."

"That's awful!"

"I'm going to need you to come with me."

"Are we going on a scavenger hunt?"

Loki was going to the manager's office to ask how to refill the sticker gun thing. Then stop by the door when he heard Loni's voice.

"I didn't do anything! I swear!"

"Loni, you're the prime suspect. Theft of merchandise is an intolerable violation of our rules. It's sad, you were a great member of the team. I'm going to have to let you go."

Loki on the outside grins at that. Mission accomplished.

"Go where?"

Carmichael raises an eyebrow at him. "That means you're fired. Hand over your badge."

"But,"

"Badge!"

Loni silently gives up his badge and clipboard. And if this wasn't humiliating enough, Mr. Carmichael throws out this line.

"Why is it always the nice ones?"

Loni gets up and turns toward the door. He didn't want Carmichael to see the tears. When Loki hears his chair squeak, he takes several steps away from the door. He walks up to Loni in feign concern when he's outside.

"Bro, what's wrong?"

Loni grabs his shoulders. "Mr. Carmichael thinks I stole a necklace!"

"What? Why?"

"I don't know! Loki, I can't be here right now. I'll see you at home. I'm taking the bus!" Loni lets him go and leaves the store upset.

Loki goes into the manager's office. "Uh, Mr. Carmichael? I need a refill on the sticker gun."

"Oh, yes." He searches around his desk for the clearance stickers.

"So you fired my brother?"

"Yes. Don't take it personally, son."

"Oh no, sir. It's just business."

Loki drives home alone for the first time in two nights. He recaps on what happened during the rest of his shift. Mr. Carmichael didn't immediately give the assistant manager position to someone else. But with Loni gone, he has more elbow room to improve and be in the limelight.

Loki enters the house and sees Loni on the couch with his head in his hands with Linka consoling him. She's the only Loud sibling you can cry in front of and not get judged. Not counting Leon, because he's way too young to understand your sorrow.

Linka and Loki share a glance. "Yeah, I heard," Loki says. "I'll…I'll be upstairs if you need me."

Loki walks up the stairs but stops at the top when his sister begins to speak.

"I don't get it, Loni. Why would you be accused of stealing?"

The sixteen-year-old picks his head up. "The necklace was gone after I went on my break. So Mr. Carmichael thinks I took it before I went on my break or that I left the case unlocked. Either way, I was the last one behind the case before it disappeared. I don't understand either. The key was in my wallet the whole time."

Oo, if only he knew, Loki says in his head. But it's like not he's going to tell him what really happened. Loki takes another step then Loni speaks once more.

"And just when people were starting to see the real me again." He sniffles after that.

Loki leans in closer.

"What do you mean?" Linka asks.

"I'm talking about the fight I had Stan and those guys. Linka, just because a new chapter opens up, doesn't mean people forget the old ones."

"That can be taken figuratively and literally." She lets out a slight chuckle.

"Yeah. Anyway, there was a video sharing around. Of me fighting those guys. And even though I befriended Stan and it's not a big deal as it was back then, I still get stares from a few people. In fact, when I visited Loki for the first time at Reiningers, it was my first time being in the mall since the fight. Yeah, in the past, being apart from the mall for a long time wasn't a problem. And I remembered being stared at by teens. It was a very small amount, but it still got under my skin. Like they didn't expect me to come back after the incident."

Loni smiles slightly. "Working at Reiningers, and seeing that I made people's days, and helping them. It made me feel like my old self again at the mall; my second home. Customers called me the nicest associate they met. I felt so proud of myself, cause who else knows about clothes better than me?"

Loni's face falls sullen and lets the tears run down. "Well, that was fun while it lasted. Now I can add "thief" to my fake reputation."

Linka wraps her arms around his chest tightly. Loni instantly hugs back.

"Thanks, Snow White. At least I'm treated like I should here."

Loki quietly goes up the rest of the stairs. He closes the door behind him in his room. He walks over to the mirror on top of his dresser and stares at his guilty expression. He just groans and put his head down.

What has he done? No really, what acceptable excuse he can use for himself? Loki knew he would be sad, but he wasn't even thinking about Loni's past! Loni is not only a great customer service worker because of his good nature, but because he wants to be known only by his good nature again. And he had to ruin everything! And thinking deeper into it, if everything wasn't run by cartoon logic, he could have gotten Loni into legal trouble.

"I'm literally the stupidest Loud brother." Loki admits out loud, voice muffled by the wood.

Determined to clean up his mess, Loki drives an unamused Loni to the Royal Woods Mall.

"Loki, I can't believe you woke me up at 10:00 am to bring me here." His younger brother complains with his arms crossed.

In all his years, Loki never heard Loni so unenthusiastic about the mall. "It's important, I told you."

"Just tell me. Cause I really don't want to go back to Reiningers. Wait, did you get the assistant manager job and want to rub it in my face?"

"No." Loki parks Vanzilla then fully faces his brother. "Bro, I know you don't want to be in the place you were fired in. But trust me, it's important that you're here."

Loni just sighs in response and gets out of Vanzilla.

Loki opens the manager's door without so much as a knock. "Mr. Carmichael!"

Said man jolts at his desktop. "Loki? Loni?" He narrows his eyes in suspicion. "What's going on here?"

"Mr. Carmichael, please! You need to hire Loni back! He did nothing wrong."

"Loki, I get it. Brothers looking out for each other. It's sweet, but rules are-"

"No! I mean he literally did nothing wrong!" His outburst frightens the other two men. Loki takes in a deep breath and tells it straight.

"I sabotaged Loni's employment." He repents.

"You did what?" Mr. Carmichael questions.

Loni is left confused. "Sa-bo-tage?"

"Dude, I stole the necklace, hid it, and let you take the blame."

Loni gasps loudly. "How could you?!"

"Where did you hide it?" The manager asks.

Loki leads both of them to the store supply closet. He pushes a rack out of the way, opens it, and fishes the missing necklace out from the corner. He hands it over to Mr. Carmichael.

"You could hide a body in there and no one would notice."

Carmichael snatches it back. Loki looks between Carmichael's glare and Loni's betrayed expression.

"Mr. Carmichael, I literally have no excuse for what I did. I just wanted Loni gone. I'm sorry, especially to you, Loni. Please give him a second chance. He's like the most outgoing associate here. You would suffer more with him not being here than me."

"You're absolutely right, Loki." Mr. Carmichael turns to Loni next. "I owe you an apology, Loni. I should of never accuse you of stealing the necklace. So, if you like, you can work here again. But with a warning: you can't return to your assistant manager position. Some higher positions you can't get back after you've been cut off. The best I can offer is that you become a sales associate again and see what the future holds."

Loni hums in thought. "Assistant manager, not assistant manager." He shrugs and smiles. "I'll take it either way." They seal the deal by shaking hands.

"As for you, Loki. You're fired. For theft and framing a coworker."

"Nametag is already off, sir." Loki places the item in his ex-boss hand.

"Ok then. Loni, I believe I have your old associate name tag in my office."

"Um, could you hold that thought, sir? I have to talk to my brother." Loni grabs Loki's arm and moves them to another area of the store. A secluded corner by the men's sneakers.

"First off, thanks for getting my job back! It's like, the nicest thing you've done for me!"

"It's the least I can do."

"Or it's the nicest thing you had to do for me. I still don't get why you would frame me."

"I was jealous, Lons. Jealous that you were the better associate and you got all the credit. But I didn't realize I had no right to be jealous after I stole the necklace. You were right, I was only in it for the money. I never cared for the customers; going as far as to try to swindle them. I was a lousy associate that way. You actually care for the people. Sure, I had reasonable intentions but yours were better. You're the nicest, most selfless person I know and deserve to be seen as such. You deserve this job."

Loni's cheeks begin to hurt from his huge grin. "Hug me, brother!" He quickly throws himself at him and wraps him up tight. Nearly knocking the wind out of his big brother.

"Oof! You need to stop watching those Drew and Jerry reruns." He comments but hugs back anyway.

When they pull away, Loni realizes something. "Wait. Now you're jobless. What will you do? What about your phone bill?"

"Don't worry, Loni. This is just a job. I'll find another one."

Sure enough, Loki did. Two days after his termination at Reiningers, he's now working at the local pizzeria/arcade, Gus's Games and Grub.

"This has been one hell of a week, readers. But at least Loni's happy at Reiningers. I'm just lucky Gus was hiring immediately, including temporary positions."

"Loud! Back to work! If you got time to lean, you got time to clean! The toilet in stall three is overflowing." Gus commands him in the background.

Loki's face falls. "Maybe I should have looked into babysitting."

AN: Who caught the Dork Dairies/Legally Blonde: the Musical reference? On top of so many others. Thanks for reading!