"Hehe, of course I remember. I lied that Ronnie Ann did not invite me so we could go to the arcade, but like all nosy people, Luna, Luan, Lynn, and Lucy made me a date with their friends." Lincoln remembers these girls with nostalgia because, despite everything, each one was funny in its own way, even Haiku, who impressed him with her great talent for shadows. Polly was very active, which was too much for him, but unlike Lynn, she was much friendlier. Giggles was obviously very funny—a girl who had a regular sense of humor besides being very confident; after all, not everyone dresses up as a clown like it's everyday wear. For a good girl like her, this wasn't a hobby; it was her way of life. Finally remembering Tabby, she had it all; she was beautiful, funny, and cool, and he even complimented her on her skill at playing the piano. "Yes, I remember those girls. I feel bad lying to them, my sisters, and Ronnie."
Clyde looked at Lincoln with some uncertainty. "Why are you doing that?"
"What are you talking about?" Lincoln, confused, asked
Clyde stopped Lincoln by putting his hands on his friend's shoulders and looking him straight in the face. "You discredit yourself so much; you are like a lightning rod; you take every bad thing life gives you and see how others take the good."
"But Clyde, it's all true." Lincoln said, removing Clyde's hands from his shoulders.
Clyde couldn't believe what Lincoln was saying. "No, not like that."
"Who ate all our chocolate that made us have to make these disgusting sour and salty pies?"
"Who gave you a bad example of what girls like, causing you all kinds of trouble with teachers and girls and boys at school?"
"Who got to where it wasn't called, arranged a date you didn't ask for without ever asking, and forced you to go to a dance you didn't want to go to? Who made these girls almost see you as an idiot only cheating on girls?"
"Who treated you worse than a carrier of the black plague and drove you out of your house? Who sold your stuff? Who put you in a squirrel suit and used you like you were a rabbit's foot or some kind of stress ball?"
"Who blinded you?"
Lincoln ripped Clyde's hands from his shoulders and pushed him away.
"Never mention that again." Lincoln spoke menacingly and walked faster, leaving Clyde behind.
"What have they done to you, Lincoln?" Clyde thought anxiously. You seem to be in denial that you deserve better." Clyde ran after Lincoln until he caught up. "Wait, Lincoln."
"What do you want, Clyde?" He replied in an angry tone.
"Listen, bro, I know family comes first, but you can't keep being a doormat."
"Listen, Clyde. We're friends, but I don't like you talking about my sisters like that."
"Don't you remember when you had to share your room with Lynn because she and Lucy were fighting? And then you had to share it with both of them."
"And remember when you covered Lucy and blamed yourself for flushing the Pony Princess book down the toilet? Your parents grounded you; you missed the Ice Savvy conference, and Lori posted about it on social media. At school, you were called Pony Boy."
"And remember when you helped Lana free the frogs in biology class? You were without a break for a month."
"And remember when you got caught in all of your sister's April Fools' Day pranks? Your eyebrows took a month to grow."
"And when did they force you to do all sorts of humiliating things when you ignored them with those headphones?"
"And what about the time you started hanging out at my house with my parents and they broke into my house and made a mess in my house? My parents still have nightmares."
"They have it all talent, popularity, a future, and what do you have? on your own."
"You don't even have a decent room; you sleep in a closet. Lori has installed a security system in her room, and they go into your room as if it were their own. You're a man, Lincoln. What if they walked in in the middle of a moment of privacy? At least they should have made you a room in the attic or downstairs." Clyde finished with an extensive list of things the Lincoln sisters had done to him.
"The attic is where Lucy and her bats go, and downstairs is where Lynn sometimes rehearses or Lori and Leni have parties." Lincoln.
"See? There you go again. Can you think about yourself for once?" Clyde reproach.
"Thinking about myself always got me into trouble." Turning his head to the side, Lincoln answered.
"truly?" Clyde asked. "Is wanting time to yourself selfish? Wanting a little quiet is selfish. Wanting some parental attention is selfish. Wanting to hit the arcade instead of silly dancing is selfish."