5. Chapter 5

I don't mind the comparison to Flagg that much. He's a good author and I like some of his stories. Has his flaws and some of his content freaks me the fuck out (we all know "that" story), but he has plenty of strengths. Not to mention that Godly update schedule. Plus, it's pretty much obvious at this point he blew the starting whistle for more stories about these kids. Jury's still out on whether or not that's a good thing.

Bitchy? Tut-tut Guest reviewer. Remember that so far you've only gotten mostly one side of the story and that it's going to be biased.

Onto the story

7 in the morning on a Thursday. A lot of people in Royal Woods were just crawling out of bed or silencing their alarm clocks to steal just a few more precious minutes of sleep. Those who were up were making the trudge to work. It was lethargic like any small town in the morning.

But there were always people who woke up and hit the ground running- some literally, even. Two females in Royal Woods were known practitioners of this philosophy and were a very common sight on summer mornings running or jogging. This morning was no exception.

At the moment, they were jogging in place at a pedestrian crosswalk waiting for a chance to cross. One was an adult the other a preteen. The adult stood barely over 5 feet, with brown hair trimmed neatly but just short a buzz cut. The two-piece exercise outfit she wore prominently showed off muscled arms and legs and a finely chiseled stomach.

The 12-year-old next to her had longer hair tied back in a pony tail, hair which was an oddly light shade of brown in comparison. She did look short for her age, but there was no missing her strong physique even though it paled to the woman beside her.

The crosswalk light changed and both girls bolted across the street, clearing it in just under three seconds and resuming a steady jog down the sidewalk. "New record, Lacy!" The woman called as they reached the other side- a designated halfway point in their jog.

"Third time in a row!" Lacy Loud called back to her mom. They didn't usually take this route more than a few times a year. Their usual route led them in a two-mile lap back to their apartment. This was a one-way route to her uncle Lincoln's house.

Summers were tough for the two. During the school year, her mom was a gym teacher and sports captain for a private school that had cropped up in town for people who didn't want their children in the public schools in the big city. Lacy got to attend for that reason. It paid good- when school was in session. In the summer, things tended to get a little tighter even when they saved, and her mom had to take odd jobs. Sometimes her brother- Lacy's uncle- would help her out, usually by watching her while she worked.

She'd visit her uncle during the school year (only on holidays and weekends, obviously), but it was a lot more often during the summer. She really liked visiting. He was a fun guy, a lot like the father she never had. And she really loved getting away for a little while.

She loved her mom, but she just liked a break every now and then. Now, Lacy was a very active girl and loved fitness and sports. But her mom just oozed those same qualities, and she always took her along for the ride. And sometimes it was just enough to be annoying.

Like school sports. When she started at the school, her mom had signed her up for the sports teams. ALL the sports teams. She'd done it and apparently expected her to be the same. Lacy still worried whether or not she'd disappointed her by telling her she just wanted to play soccer. And now that she was on the team, her mom was pushing her to try and become the captain. She was content where she was, and she knew the current captain was a really nice girl; she didn't want to usurp her.

And food. Her mom an amazing cook when it came to healthy meals. But that was all she made. As much as she loved the idea of staying healthy and growing big and strong (big meaning tall), she really longed for some variety. They'd pig out every now and then- her mom loved subs and Lacy loved cheeseburgers-, but it didn't happen often, and they made sure to work it off the next day.

And of course, like any parent, she embarrassed her. Lacy understood it better since she attended the classes, but her mother's outgoing enthusiastic attitude did not really fit in the school, or with most company even. She knew people laughed about it because they thought it was stupid. At least the jokes after the time her mom ended up flooding the women's staff bathroom didn't last long. She still had friends, and some people took a curiosity in her (she was related to a famous scientist and a famous Rockstar even if she didn't know them that well), but she knew there was people that made fun of both of them. It made her blood boil some days.

Her uncle was always a relief from all that. They could play sports, but she didn't feel like she was practicing for anything or trying to prove her abilities. She could act freely. And he always had tasty food. His calm demeanor was relaxing. It was like a prolonged bench break, always leaving her ready to get back to things with more energy. She was always excited to visit.

And this time she had two of her cousins to hang out with. Aside from her uncle, the only other family she regularly saw was her Aunt Luan and cousin Liby, usually only on birthdays and holidays. Lyra and Lemy though, they came to visit a bit more often. They'd visited at the start of the year, actually. Usually they'd come to stay at their apartment for a week or two, but now they were staying with their collective uncle.

Lyra's attitude and the way she looked at people reminded her a lot of some of the older girls she saw at school, just not as snobbish. She didn't poke fun at people either. But she looked like she could. She'd told Lacy off before for roughhousing with her brother. And she talked about her religion a lot. Lacy's mom had told her, sternly, to not pay attention to anything she said about that. She wasn't sure why.

Lemy was a lot more fun. She liked playing against boys and proving she was stronger despite her size. Mom was pretty strong, but the victory tasted so much sweeter when it was over someone who looked the part. It made her feel significant. No boys she knew were up to it though. But Lemy would always play along, although she might have to prod him a little at first. It was a lot of fun. Some of the music he listened too was really good for getting pumped up too.

They seemed like normal kids despite having a rich and famous mom. The two were a little weird from how they were complete opposites but got along. And they both always shared a bed for some reason. Still, Lacy felt kind of jealous seeing them and wondered what it'd be like if she could have a sibling. An older one to annoy or a younger one to take care of. Either appealed.

She was excited to see them. It had been a surprise on Monday when mom had called about staying. She'd watched her mom smile and ask him about her staying the night, then her smile drop. "What do you mean they're staying over?!" She'd demanded, getting up from the table and heading towards her room. Lacy had had no idea what was going on. Her mom had eventually come back out and told her that her cousins were already staying at her uncle's, and she worried for a moment she wouldn't be able to visit. But her mother had assured her he was fine having all three of them over.

And here they were now. The whole trip by foot had taken just over half an hour, their best yet. Lacy was going through a growth spurt and she was really appreciating the extra muscle mass and longer legs, even if it was still slight. But it was the little edges that mattered. They entered the apartment and bounded up the steps to Lincoln's unit. Lacy reached it first and excitedly pounded on the door.

It took over a minute, so they must've woken him up. Again. When they heard the locks being undone, Lacy braced herself and shared a predatory grin with her mother. The door opened and there stood her uncle in shorts and a t-shirt, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

With a war cry, Lacy bounded forward and slipped behind him. In an instance she jumped up and grabbed his shoulders. She effortlessly pulled herself up and wrapped her legs around his neck, tight enough to keep herself in place on his shoulders but not actually hurt him. "I'm king of the hill!" She declared, pumping her arms.

"You've bested me, your highness!" They'd played these games enough that even half asleep he could play along. She laughed while he knelt down so she could climb off. "Oof. You're getting too big for that." He stood back up.

"Oh, just give me a few years." Her mom came in. "She'll be unstoppable." She socked her brother on the arm. That was how they greeted each other. Mom said they'd rough housed a lot when they were kids and they still did it now.

It'd even been the first thing she'd seen them do. She remembered when she'd met her uncle when she was 8. He'd just moved back into town and had come to pay a surprise visit. Mom hadn't recognized him at first; Lacy was pretty sure she'd mistaken him for someone else, because she'd immediately grabbed a bat and raised it to swing. She'd put it down once she recognized him and he'd opened his arms for a hug. Mom made like she was going to return it then gave him a surprise gut punch. Not only had he dodged most of it, but once he stopped wheezing he'd started laughing.

They were weird like that.

"I can hardly wait." Her uncle rubbed the impact point before returning the jab with much less force.

All the noise they'd made had to wake up the neighbors. It definitely woke up the other people in the house, since the bedroom door opened and Lyra and Lemy stepped into the hallway in their sleeping clothes. Her mom smirked and went to greet them.

"Lincoln said you guys were here. Haven't been keeping up with those routines I gave you, huh?" She stopped in front of them. A moment passed, then two, and after a third Lacy watched her mother tilt her head back ever so slightly to meet the eyes of Lyra in front of her.

Lacy bounded up to in front of Lemy, making him lean back cautiously. She put a flat hand on the top of her head and swept it out, grinning with satisfaction when it sailed over her head and barely brushed his poofy hair. She was taller than him! Finally!

Her cousin just swatted her hand away.

"It's nice to see you both again." Lyra greeted. She'd usually go in for a hug when she said that, but this time she just eyed their sweaty forms.

"Hey." Lemy raised his hand up halfway. Lacy's mom walked back into the living room and started stretching off the run they'd just finished. Lacy joined her.

"Why are you all sleeping in this late, anyway?" Mom asked.

"Late?" Lincoln looked at a clock on his desk. "It's still early." Mom laughed.

"If you're slow. Huh!" She faked a lunge forward, causing her brother to flinch. That made her laugh.

"I guess I'm just slow then." Her uncle shrugged. "You want any coffee?" He asked as he passed her into the kitchen.

"Nah, I pumped up enough." She declined. Lacy glanced back into the hall to see her cousins had gone back into their room. Lyra crossed the hall to the bathroom with an armful of clothes and Lemy followed a moment later to wait outside the door. "Hurry it up, Lincoln, we got stuff to do."

That was another thing about their visits- mom didn't just drop her off and leave. Lincoln would drive them around to do boring adult stuff like bills and shopping, drop mom of at home and grab Lacy's overnight stuff, THEN the visit would start. Lacy had gone with them for the longest time, although the last few visits she'd been trusted to stay in the apartment by herself. She liked that, since her uncle let her on his computer; they didn't have one at their apartment.

"Nothing's even open yet!" He called from the kitchen.

"We can stop by the apartment for a little while. I need to hit the showers and change and you can grab Lacy's stuff."

"I could've come and picked you guys up." He said as he came back into the living room with a cup of coffee. He'd made that offer plenty of times before, and mom's response was always the same.

"And make us miss a run? Ha!" Not wanting to listen to their back and forth and feeling the effects of the half bottle of water she'd drunk on the run over, Lacy went into the hallway and stood behind Lemy. He glanced over his shoulder at her and moved up a little bit.

"How's it going?"

"Fine." He muttered. She'd learned from the visits before he didn't like to talk much. A 'tough guy act', her mom called it.

"How long are you guys staying?"

"Mom's going to pick us up in August." He answered.

"August?" Lacy repeated. They got to spend over a month with him? Lacy only ever got to stay three days max!

"Yeah. We've already been here about a week." He responded. His sister exited the bathroom at that moment and he went in. Lacy followed Lyra into the bedroom and flopped down on the bed while her cousin stored her pajamas.

"Hey."

"Hello." She sat down next to her. "How have you been?"

"Pretty good. Passed my grade at school. We didn't get the championship though." Lacy admitted glumly. They'd gotten to the semifinals but lost it by half a dozen points. Lacy had thought her mom was going to faint when it happened. She'd promised her they'd work over the summer and next year they'd blow the competition out of the water. And work they certainly had.

"Sorry to hear that." Lyra offered. "Anything else been going on?"

"Just puberty." Lacy rolled her eyes. She'd turned 12 back in March, and that had blown the starting whistle for a lot of stuff. The growth spurt was still the only one she liked. That got her a sympathetic pat on the shoulder.

"I noticed you've gotten taller." Lacy had to beam at that. "It gets easier."

"I hope." Lacy said. Lemy came back in in a new set of clothes just then and unceremoniously tossed the dirty ones on top of his bag.

"I'll be right back." Lacy headed for the bathroom, and heard her mom coming down the hallway. The race that immediately broke out ended with her mom reaching it first.

"Too slow!" The door closed before Lacy could even get a foot in to contest.

"Moooom." She whined. Her uncle laughed as he passed her.

"You'll get her one day." He assured her. Lyra looked up as he entered the bedroom. "Lyra?"

"Yes?" Both her and Lemy looked at him.

"I'll have to take Lynn and take care of a few things in a little while. We'll be gone for maybe two hours."

"We'll be fine." Lyra assured him. "Is Lacy staying here too?"

"Yeah." Her uncle glanced back at her. "I'm making you guys something to eat before we go."

"All yours, champ." Her mom patted her on the shoulder when she exited. Lacy returned a back pat and went in before anyone else could steal it. When she came back out, Lyra was still in the bedroom but everyone else had moved into the rest of the apartment. Her uncle and mom were in the kitchen and by the sound of it Lemy was in the living room.

"So how's your mom doing?" Lacy asked as she sat back down on the bed. She saw her Aunt Luna on tv a lot, but she'd only met her once. It was obvious her and mom were sisters- they acted a lot alike. 'Eccentric' was a word she'd learned in school that she liked. Being related to a famous person was dull overall though. The only thing it did was make people ask her if they really were related.

"She's fine. How is yours?" She got a short answer and a question.

"Same as always." Lacy groaned. They didn't like her mother's constant enthusiasm either. "Hey, so how come you guys are staying with Uncle Lincoln for so long?" She asked. Her cousin was quiet for a few moments.

"I'm not sure. This is the first time we've ever met him. It might just be so we can get to know him. Or just because mom is busy with work." She added, almost begrudgingly. Lacy nodded; it made sense.

"You guys are lucky, he's-"

"Breakfast is ready!" The call came down the hallway. Lacy stopped what she was going to say and darted to the kitchen, beating her cousins who followed at a slower pace. Breakfast at their house was fruits, bagels, and cereal- bland but healthy. Her uncle always had tasty stuff that was more like snacks than a full meal, like chocolate toaster pastries or honey buns; stuff you could eat quickly or on the go. But it was so tasty!

None of that today though. He'd cooked a large breakfast of pancakes, and with a whole lot of syrup.

Lacy jumped into her seat and got a plate. Her cousins joined shortly after and the three ate while their uncle stood by the counter with his own. Even mom took a small helping for herself. Just a small one though.

"Now are you ready to go?" Lynn pestered her brother again.

"It's still only 8. If we leave now, we're going to end up waiting outside till they open. Again." Lincoln ate deliberately slow.

"They open at 9. We leave now we can be first in the door." That was her mother- always rushing and taking things head on to deal with them quickly. It was a good attitude when you wanted to get a problem out of the way instead of letting it hang over you. But, again Lacy thought, the rest of the world didn't always comply to it.

"Why don't you check on the computer to make sure that's what time." He suggested. Lacy's mother rolled her eyes and went to do just that. While she did, her uncle piled some seconds onto Lacy's plate and winked. Her cousins looked amused at that but turned down the same offer of seconds.

"They do open at 9! Told you!" Her mother's triumphet voice reached them by the time Lacy had finished the second helping.

"Fine, let's get going." Her uncle feigned resignation and went into the bedroom to change.

"Lacy!" Her mom poked her head into the kitchen. "Come say goodbye." She took her plate to the sink before going out into the living room.

"See you tomorrow." She hugged her mom.

"Have fun, sweetie." Her mom picked her up and lifted her so they could hug at eye level. Her feet dangled closer to the ground then they ever had before.

"I will mom." She set her back down.

"Let's go, Linc!" She called. He emerged from the hallway dressed and ready. Lemy and Lyra came to see them off too.

"Alright, alright." He went over to his desk and grabbed a few items including his keys and a thick envelope before going to join his sister by the door. He apparently thought of something and stopped to turn at Lyra. "Do you have a phone?" She shook her head. He took his out of his pocket and handed it to her. "Just in case there's an emergency. Call Lynn if you need to talk to me."

"Understood." She nodded.

"We won't take long." He told them. By this point, mom was getting impatient and grabbed his arm. "Alright, alright, Lynn! I'm coming!" The door closed behind the adults and left the two kids and teenager by themselves.

Lemy went back to the video games and Lyra went back into the bedroom. Lacy sat down beside her male cousin and watched him play for a bit. Lyra came out a few seconds later with a book and sat down at the end of the couch. Lacy turned to Lemy.

"Some of the games are two player and he has an extra controller." Lacy told him. She'd played a few times with her uncle; he'd even gotten a few sports games they could play together. It was good fun, even if he'd go easy on her at first. After a few curbstomps though, he'd let off and they could get into some serious competition. Virtual or real, she wasn't a pushover in any sport.

"Yeah, and?" He asked, he looked over at her. She watched his eyes flicker to where his sister was, suddenly looking a little uneasy

"I bet I can beat you in most of them."

"Pfft." He blew her off and turned back to the screen. "Yeah, right."

"You wanna bet?" She bounded to the tv and grabbed the second controller before coming back. Her cousin mulled over for a second before getting an overconfident smirk on his face.

"Fine. But I'm really good at video games. Don't cry when I beat you."

"You're on!"