Lana's Lizard

>Lincoln sat on the couch lazily flipping through the channels on the TV.
>Today was a rare day in the loud house.
>Every sister was gone, doing one hobby or another.
>Except for Lana
>Lincoln noticed his sister come through the front door, her overalls and hat suspiciously clean.
>Her expression told the tale
>It hadn't rained for days, and no one knew where the hose had gotten off to.
>Lana was without mud
>"Hey, Lana, something wrong?" Lincoln asked
>She climbed up onto the couch next to her brother and sighed
>"I looked all over, but I cant find any mud, frogs, lizards, even crickets!"
>Lincoln stroked his chin in thought.
>He was bored stiff here at home
>Surely there was something he could do with Lana that didn't involve filth or garbage?
>"Hey, I know! There's a traveling carnival in the park in town, why dont we go?" Lincoln suggested.
>Lana's eyes lit up.
>"Really?" she asked, showing her gap-toothed grin
>"But, Lori took the car..."
>Lana's smile faded.
>"No problem, we can take my bike."
>Her smile returned instantly.
>Lincoln had been saving up money for a new video game, but he'd already banked more than enough.
>No reason he couldn't treat Lana to a good time.
>"Awesome!"
>They hopped off the couch and Lana sat on the bike seat in front of Lincoln, holding the handlebars next to his hands
>They set off, Lincoln's knees bumping up against Lana's dangling feet with each pedal.
>Lana shouted happily each time they cruised down a hill and tried to help pedal up each incline
>Finally, they arrived at the Royal Woods fairgrounds.
>The smell of fried foods mixed with just a hint of cigarette smoke and vomit wafted through the air as Lincoln chained up his bike.
>Lana held Lincoln's hand as they walked to the ticket booth.
>Lincoln bought them enough to ride every stomach churner in the park.
>They rode the starship 2000 until they both puked up their funnel cake and corn dogs
>They rode the zipper until they saw other people puke
>They rode the rides until they were out of tickets
>Once they'd refilled their bellies, Lincoln was ready to head back to the house.
>He still had a long ride home.
>As they walked back towards the entrance, Lana gasped.
>"Lincoln! Look!" Lana shouted, dragging her brother to a carnival booth where a giant stuffed lizard hung from the ceiling.
>"It looks just like Lizzie!" she said, hopping up and down excitedly while still holding Lincoln's hand.
>"I wanna win it, can I play?" Lana asked hopefully.
>Lincoln had spent a bit of money today, but he was still over his video game goal.
>"Sure, Lana." Lincoln said, laying his money on the table.
>There was a wall of balloons at the back of the trailer, and each attempt got you three darts to try and pop them
>Lana took the darts in her hand and smiled.
>How often would she get to throw darts and pop balloons at home without getting in trouble?
>Lana let her first dart fly
>It landed short.
>Her next dart miraculously landed between two balloons
>Her third shot popped one!
>Behind the ballon was a colored star.
>The sweaty carnie handed her a small stuffed turtle about the size of her palm.
>Lincoln could see the disappointment in her eyes
>"Hey, what do you have to do to win that?" he asked, pointing to the lizard Lana wanted.
>"You gotta find the gold star, kid."
>Lincoln laid another five bucks on the table and got three more darts
>This time, he threw them.
>He popped three balloons
>But no gold star
>Her growled to himself, fishing another five out of his pocket
>Another three balloons
>Still no gold star
>Before he knew it, he had burned through his entire video game budget, holding his last five bucks in his hand
>"Screw it, I've already come this far."
>He'd popped nearly half the balloons on the board.
>He took his three darts and choose wisely
>The first dart sailed through the air, meeting a balloon.
>No gold star
>He threw the second
>Still no good
>His last dart.
>He had to win that lizard
>This was his last dart
>He had to make it count
>he picked a balloon and went for it
>It seemed to pop in slow motion
>But it revealed a gold star
>"Yes!" Lincoln pumped his fist in the air
>The carnie handed him the lizard and he gave it to Lana
>"Lincoln, you're the best brother in the world!"
>Lincoln bent down and she hugged him, sandwiching the stuffed animal between them
>She gave him a kiss on the cheek
>He blushed as she released him.
>After the euphoria of victory had worn off, reality began to set back in
>He had just blown his entire video game budget on a stuffed animal made by children in a thai sweatshop
>He looked down at Lana as they walked hand in hand back to his bike
>She was all smiles with her stuffed lizard tucked beneath her arm
>Wasn't that worth the money spent?
>It was, but still.
>He planned to veg out this whole weekend getting waist-deep in the dead via DOOM.
>They got back on the bike and headed home, Lana holding her lizard out as they sped down the hills, pretending it could fly
>Once they got back, Lana was eager to show her sisters what her big brother had one for her
>Lincoln smiled as he headed back up to his room.
>He closed the door behind him and looked at his gaming system
>He sighed
>It would be another few weeks before he had enough money to buy his game
>He decided to read some old comic books to pass the time until dinner.
>some hours later, a knock at the door drew his attention
>He opened the door to see his older sisters standing in the doorway
>"Lana told us what you did for her." Lori said
>"Yeah bro, it was really cool of you." Luna added
>"So we all chipped in and got you this" Leni said before producing a copy of the exact game he'd been saving up for
>"No way! Thanks you guys!"
>They all hugged, Lori being the one to break the silence.
>"By the way, I know what that game is rated. If mom and dad catch you with it, it's on you."