Lincoln walked out of the house and onto the sidewalk with more energetic movement than he had had for some time. He was back on his own two feet again. He had the casts removed yesterday and the crutch returned. He was grateful for it as Lola and Lana had taken a liking to doodling on it while he wasn't looking. He still had to keep his rib splint on for another two weeks though.
The bus pulled up to the sidewalk and Lincoln stepped on, followed by the rest of his sisters. He walked down the alley and sat next to Clyde.
"Hey Lincoln. You finally out of your casts?" He asked
"Yup. I'm really happy about it, I couldn't stand walking around in them with Lola's unicorns painted on it."
"What about the Blarney ones? I liked those."
"I have the casts at home if you'd like them. But don't come tomorrow, it's April Fool's Day."
Lincoln and the rest of his family, except for Luan obviously, had been on edge. She had promised "not to overdo it," this year, though they had seen how that had turned out in the past. He kept expecting a pie in the face at every corner which made him somewhat forgetful and kept him on his toes.
The bus came to a stop in front of the middle school. Lincoln and Clyde stepped off the bus and walked over to where Zach, Liam, Rusty and Stella were waiting.
"Hey you guys," Stella greeted. "Are you all good now?" She asked Lincoln.
"Almost. I still have to wear this splint for another two weeks."
"Shoot, I'm almost sad, I really liked those Blarney drawings," Rusty joked.
"Ha ha, real funny. I'm going to enjoy finally sending dodge balls back at Chandler."
"Well good for you, we have P.E. today before lunch," Liam said. "I got us some apple cider as a little victory treat for when we beat the other team." He opened the zipper of his backpack and showed off a small jug of juice.
"Does that have any pulp in it?" Clyde asked.
"Nope. Strained it thoroughly." Liam responded.
The school bell pierced through the air and Lincoln and his friends walked through the double doors of the school.
Lincoln stood in the locker room putting on his red P.E. shirt and shorts. School had gone noticeably smoother than before thanks to the fully restored use of both hands. He placed his orange polo, jeans and bottle of Diazepam in his locker before shutting it. He exited the locker room and walked out into the gym where the rest of friends were waiting.
"You guys ready?" he asked them.
"No, not really. Chandler's side is overpowered," Zach said. Lincoln looked over to the other side of the court and saw Chandler flanked by four other kids easily a head taller than Rusty.
"Hey Larry! Get ready to be put back in a cast!" Chandler yelled from across the gym. The others on his team guffawed.
Lincoln swallowed nervously before turning back to his friend to try and say something encouraging. "Well, uh... just give it your best shot."
"Get to the half line!" Coach Keck yelled out. They reluctantly closed the distance between them and the other team. One of Chandler's teammates was cracking his knuckles and Lincoln could hear each pop. Coach Keck placed three red rubber dodge balls on the line and stepped away. She put her whistle to her lips and blew.
Shreee!
Lincoln lunged for the leftmost dodgeball and jumped away. A dodgeball was thrown his way and he rolled to the side, irritating his ribs. He wheezed a bit as he stood up and quickly glanced around. Clyde had been unfortunately hit, but now all the balls were on their side of the court. Stella picked up the ball Lincoln had dodged and they both simultaneously threw their balls.
