4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4) Aftermath Part 3

It has been said that silence is golden. For the Loud House this was especially true. On any of the occasions when silence reigned it was sheer bliss for the neighbors of the large family. But currently the silence within the household was not only uneasy, but fragile as well. If Mrs. Loud chose the wrong words, she'd undoubtedly set loose a chaotic din that would prove beyond difficult to contend with. Her children were all watching her, including Lori who was looking over her shoulder.

"As far as I'm concerned, each of us has a share in the blame here. Even your father and I need to take responsibility for what happened. Perhaps we are just as much to blame as Lori."

"And as much as I don't like it, I agree." Lynn Sr. said, stepping forward. "Clearly we made a pretty big error in judgement. To be honest it makes me feel a little ashamed of myself as a father."

"And me as a mother." Rita added.

"What?! No!" Leni cut in. "You guys are awesome parents!"

"Yeah, don't apologize for what Lori did." Said Luna. "It's not your fault that she has issues."

"Actually, in a way it is our fault." Rita said insistently. "As your parents it's our job to teach all of our children how to behave as people. We need to make sure that each of you is prepared to go out into the world when you're old enough. Even if you don't leave right away. We need to know that you can take care of yourselves."

"And that means that you can handle conflict with others if you cannot avoid it in the first place." added Lynn Sr. "And for the most part, we thought that the best thing was to let you handle things on your own. But is seems that we may have been mistaken about that. From now on we'll both be playing a role in helping deal with any major arguments or other problems between you kids. At least until we know that you can be trusted to handle things on your own."

"But we can handle things on our own!" Lynn jr. protested.

"I beg to differ." Her father replied. "Or am I the only one who recalls the 'chore-strike' incident? We came pretty close to having our house condemned. Do any of you know what that means?"

Lisa's hand shot up. "A condemned building is one that has been officially judged not safe for people to live in or to use."

Lynn Sr. nodded. "Bingo. And a house full of trash with no power or running water definitely qualifies. If the house had been condemned, we would have had to leave. I don't suppose that occurred to any of you, did it?"

The children exchanged nervous glances. That hadn't occurred to any of them at all. The uneasy silence returned while the Loud parents allowed their children to absorb that bit of information. Then Lynn Sr. retrieved a notepad and pen, already beginning to write something down."

"So your mother and I have decided that the 'Sister Fight Protocol' needs to be revised if not completely replaced with something better."

The girls all suddenly erupted into a cacophony of protests at that statement. All of them except for Lori, who knew she was in enough trouble already, tried to argue that what their father said wasn't necessary. They defended that their protocol worked 'just fine'. But neither of the two parental units wanted to hear it; their decision was final. And Lincoln was silently grateful for that. He had been thinking the same thing for a while now.

Once the girls had all said their piece and gotten it out of their systems, Mrs. Loud stepped forward. She held her hand out to Lincoln who took it compliantly. He was then situated between his parents who each placed a hand onto one of his shoulders.

"Tell me girls." Rita calmly stated. "Just how does your brother fit into the 'Sister Fight Protocol'?"

There was another moment of uneasy silence. The girls were hesitant to respond to their mother's question. They knew the truth, that their brother didn't actually have a place in their protocol. And they knew that their mother and father knew that. Rita seemed satisfied with how uncomfortable they were getting over giving her an answer. It was good to see them acknowledging the problem, even if only in silence.

"I thought so." Rita continued. "And just how many of you were aware that Lori was going to go and hold up in Lincoln's room? Did any of you think of how he would feel about it?"

Again, the girls said nothing. They had known that Lori was going into their brother's room, but they hadn't taken his feelings into account. And it made them feel ashamed.

"So, it seems to me that ALL of you have a small share of the blame."

"Um...actually..." Lynn jr. began.

"Yes? Go on, speak up." Rita encouraged.

Lynn jr. stepped forward, rubbing her right arm with her left hand. She took a moment to prepare herself and then looked her mother in the eyes.

"I was the one who guarded Lincoln's room while Lori was in there. And I kept Lincoln from going in when he came upstairs. Also, I kicked in his bedroom door after I broke one end of the doorknob. That was an accident though. The doorknob, not the part where I kicked in the door. So I guess I'm more guilty than the others."

"A little bit, yes. But thank you for being honest. I don't plan on punishing the rest of you, not this time at least. So consider this the only warning you'll get. I don't care who has issues with who. Leave your other siblings OUT OF IT. No excuses. And that means you too Lincoln. From now on you get either myself or your father and if we aren't home at the time, then just do your best to not get involved until one of us comes home, understood?"

The girls and Lincoln all nodded. They had no objections to their mother's initial changes to the protocol. Although even if they did, they suspected that she wouldn't have much interest in hearing them. They could only hope that the rest of the changes would be as easy to accept.

"Next," Rita continued. "Until the time comes for whoever is fighting to talk it out, there will be absolutely NO taking bedrooms from each other! It doesn't matter if they share a bedroom with you to start with or if you're going to another's bedroom to cool off for a while, it's not going to happen! At least not without punishment."

"And on that note." Lynn Sr. cut in. "No more secluding yourselves in the bathroom or the kitchen either. It's unfair to everyone, especially since we all need to share the one bathroom. We have an attic, a basement, and a garage too if you really need some alone time to deal with anything bothering you.

Also, whenever there are two or more of you having a fight, you can eat your meals separately from the rest of the family. I'm not crazy about having to prepare two of every meal just because some of you aren't getting along for whatever reason. It's exhausting, not to mention hurting our grocery budget."

"Your father has a point. The two of us own this house and we pay for pretty much everything inside of it, including the food we all eat. And that means that we make the calls on how things are done here. If you don't like it, then that is just too bad. We're only doing what we believe is in your best interests. And we shouldn't have to change how we need to do things just because we wanted you kids to try and solve your own problems. We expect you to cooperate with us on this. I promise you can all trust the two of us to be fair with how we're going to handle things. We'll hear out all sides of the problem before deciding any punishments. And you're all going to listen to what the others have to say when it happens too. No interruptions of any kind will be tolerated. Is that clear?"

"Yes Mom." the Loud children chorused.

"Good. Now I say that we start with that right here and now. Lori, come here and stand next to me. Leni, you too."

The girls both took a place standing by their mother. At first Lori didn't understand why her younger sister was there when she was in trouble for what had occurred with Lincoln. But then she suddenly recalled that this whole mess began because she had gotten mad with Leni earlier that day. It had somehow completely slipped her mind. Everything that had happened since she had wrecked Lincoln's room and hurt him was weighing so heavily on her mind that anything prior to it was just absent. Until that moment, Lori hadn't thought of her sister or the reason that she had been so upset with her.

But now, it all came rushing back to her. Lori wasn't sure how to feel. But that may have been a good thing considering her current situation. Her mother wouldn't put up with it if she should become angry again, even if she did have good reason for it. She would just have to continue to do as told and see where things went from there.

"Now, I want the both of you to each tell us your side of the story. Your father and I want to know why you were fighting earlier and that's all we want to hear. We won't have anything to say until each of you has said your part, unless you interrupt each other or try to change the subject. As for your little sisters and brother, they won't be saying anything at all. They're only here to observe how things are going to be done from now on. Any future situations will just be me, your father and whoever is fighting.

And another thing. Above all else, it doesn't matter who we decide is right or wrong, we aren't playing favorites! We love you all equally and I expect you to remember that. If we say that someone is at fault, it's because that is just the way it is. Not because we value one of you over the other.

Now Lori, please start by telling us what happened with you and Leni. Then Leni will tell us her side of the story and either your father or myself will interrupt if necessary. Any questions?"

Leni raised her hand. "Um, like, I have one!"

"Yes Leni?"

"Can we, like, ask each other questions? After we listen to what the other has to say, I mean."

"That's fine, just try not to let it cause any more fighting. So if you don't like the answer to your question, then that's that. Now if there aren't any other questions, we should start. Lori, go ahead."

Lori hesitantly stepped closer to her mother and swallowed the lump in her throat. She took a deep breath to calm herself and then began telling her side of the story. It was relatively short and simple; she had gone out to the mall that morning since there was no school that day. She had offered to bring Leni along, but the younger blonde had declined. Lori admitted that she was surprised by that, but she didn't think much of it. That is, not until she got home less than a couple hours later.

"Yeah, like, you got home sooner than I thought." Leni said.

Realizing her mistake, she quickly clapping her hands over her mouth afterwards. She then smiled sheepishly at her mother and apologized for interrupting.

"It's fine Leni." Mrs. Loud commented. "But please don't let it happen again. Lori, please continue."

Lori took her gaze off of her sister, who she had been glancing at somewhat accusingly. She found Leni's choice of words to be a bit suspicious, and she almost called her out for it too. But with both of their parents watching and listening so intently, she refrained from giving into the impulse. And if it was necessary, she could just bring it up later.

"As I was saying, I left the mall early because I ended up running into Carol Pingrey. We were in the same store, literally reaching for the same pair of shoes. She smiled at me and started acting like she's my friend or something. And then she starts insisting that it's okay for me to try the shoes first, saying that I would look better in them anyway. I just know that she was being sarcastic and..."

"Lori, honey." Lynn Sr. cut in. "Sorry, but you're getting off topic."

"Oh, sorry. Anyway I came home and went straight upstairs. That's when I caught Leni and my Boo-Boo Bear." Lori spitefully stated, clenching her teeth. "They were sitting on her bed, giggling like crazy. Then Leni took a selfie with him and said that she wished she could post it on her Facepage. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I literally didn't want to believe it, but when I got their attention, they both looked suddenly guilty about something. And I mean really guilty. It was painfully obvious what was going on. My sister was stealing my boyfriend from me!"

Rita waited a moment to ensure that Lori had finished speaking. And when her daughter remained silent, Rita had her sit down beside her father. Next she had Leni take Lori's place as the center of attention, all eyes now on her.

"Alright Leni, it's your turn to tell your side of the story." Rita instructed. "What were you doing with Bobby earlier today?"

"Nothing! I swear that I wasn't trying to take him from Lori! I would never, ever do something like that!" the platinum blonde exclaimed earnestly. "And I could totes tell you what we were really doing, but...I kinda promised Bobby I wouldn't."

"And why is that?" Queried Mrs. Loud.

"It's supposed to be a secret. But...if it helps, I can call him and talk to him. He knows that Lori was, like, super mad at us earlier. So he'd probably just want to talk to her about it anyway."

"Good idea Honey. You're making the right call." Lynn Sr. commented, smirking at his pun.

"I agree." Rita added. "We should definitely have Bobby tell his side as well since he was involved."

"I'm literally on it." Said Lori, pulling out her cellphone. "I'll put him on speakerphone once he answers."

"Actually, I'll do that, young lady." Rita insisted, holding out her hand. "I nearly forgot to mention that you won't be allowed to use your phone until you're allowed to have your room back."

"Yeah...okay." Lori sighed in defeat, relinquishing the device to her mother. "Is there anything else about my punishment that I need to know?"

"Yes, but we'll discuss that afterwards. For now let's focus on resolving this problem first."

Rita opened Lori's contact list and called Bobby's number. He answered almost immediately and began to hastily speak. Many of his words blended together, making it nearly impossible for the woman to understand him.

"Bobby...Bobby! Calm down!...Thank you. I know you're eager to explain yourself to Lori, and you'll get the chance. I'm going to put you on speaker now so both you and Leni can tell her together."

Rita put Bobby on speaker and stood between her two oldest daughters, holding out Lori's phone. She signaled to the rest of the family to remain silent, receiving a group nod from them in response.

"Alright. Bobby, Leni, go ahead. Tell Lori what the two of you were up to earlier today."

[Alright, I'll start.] Bobby's voice stated over the phone. [I don't want to give all of the details though. But only because I really don't want to ruin the surprise for Lori. At least not completely. So Leni? Please don't show her anything we've done yet. We're just going to tell her. Okay?]

"Like, okay. I would've shown it to her only if you said to anyway."

[Thanks Leni. Babe, I know that the prom is still a ways away, but I wanted to do something special for you. So I asked Leni to help me with this really awesome idea that I had. Any girl can go and find a prom dress in a store, and I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with that. But how would you like to have a special, one-of-a-kind dress, made specifically just for you?]

"No way." Lori said, her eyes lighting up. "You didn't!"

[Not yet Babe. But we will. A friend of mine came up with the design, I paid for all of the fabric and Leni is going to put the whole thing together. And when it's done, it's going to be as amazing as you are.]

"Oh, Bobby Boo-Boo Bear!" Lori swooned. "If you were here right now I would literally give you the biggest hug ever!"

[You still can. But it's gonna have to wait until later. I'm going to work in a bit. So, does that mean that we're still on for dinner tomorrow night?]

"Definitely!" Lori exclaimed.

Rita Loud cleared her throat, gaining Lori's attention. She frowned at her daughter and slowly shook her head. Lori suddenly recalled that she was still in trouble. She smiled sheepishly at her mother and then returned her attention to her boyfriend.

"Actually Bobby, I'm afraid we'll have to reschedule dinner."

[What? But why? I thought you weren't mad at me anymore!]

"Boo-Boo Bear, I'm not mad. But I am in trouble with my parents right now."

[Why? Because you flipped out at me and Leni?]

"Not exactly, although it is sorta related to that." Lori admitted. "Do you have a minute? I can explain everything."

End of Chapter 4.