User blog:Metool Bard/Fanfiction: Missing Linc (Chapter 12)

Chapter 12: Ace for All Ages
I’m starting to wonder if I should’ve packed extra clothes for this. To be fair, I didn’t know we’d be going to an Ace Savvy meetup when we first started this, but, like, I don’t think my earthy tones are gonna work here. Whenever Lincoln goes to one of these conventions, he’s always dressed in that costume of his. Should we have come in costume, too?

When we pulled up to the library, we caught sight of Principal Huggins getting out of his car. It was then that my fears were realized. We should have come in costume. I mean, why else would he be dressed like… that? Though if I’m being honest, he doesn’t look half bad. Then again, who else do you know who can pull off the cowboy look? Not sure about the all-black color. He’s going to a meetup, not a funeral.

“Looks like Clyde’s information was right on the money,” said Lori. “Well, shall we?”

I fidgeted a little. “I dunno, Lori. I feel… underdressed.”

Lori sighed. “Leni, this was your idea.”

“Yeah, but I’m thinking maybe we should’ve made costumes. What’re they gonna say when we show up looking normal?”

Lori palmed her face. “Leni, they’re not gonna care. Think of this more like a book club than a convention. You don’t have to dress fancy for a book club, do you?”

“But what about him?” I asked, pointing to Principal Huggins. “He’s in costume.”

Lori looked at Principal Huggins for a moment before turning back to me. “My point still stands. We’re gonna be fine. Remember, we’re doing this for Lincoln.”

Hard to argue with that, I guess. “Right. For Lincoln.”

Lori nodded, and we made our way to the library. Principal Huggins saw us and waved us over.

“Well, now! If it isn’t the High Card and the Eleven of Hearts!” he said. “This is a surprise. Especially considering the circumstances.”

Huh? He was looking at us when he said that, but he didn’t get our names right. Like, at all. I looked to Lori for help.

“Those are the names of our characters in Lincoln’s comic, remember?” she said.

Ohh~. He’s doing that thing. Y’know, the thing where Lincoln and Clyde call each other Blake Saucy and One-Armed Joe. Or, whatever their names are; I keep forgetting.

“Yep, that’s us!” I said. I then remembered he said something about circumstances, and my smile faded. “I… guess you know about what happened to Lincoln.”

Principal Huggins nodded. “Indeed. I was quite taken aback when I heard about it on the news. Kidnappers in Royal Woods? It’s a complete outrage. I hope the police find him soon.”  He cleared his throat. “So, what are you two doing here?”

Oh, shoot. Why are we here? I mean, I know why we’re here, but what do we tell Principal Huggins? I remember he’s a very no-nonsense kinda guy. If we tell him we’re investigating, he’s gonna call our parents. I hope Lori thought of something.

“Funny you should mention that, Principal Huggins,” said Lori. “See, we’re actually looking for Lincoln ourselves, and after talking to Clyde, we think his disappearance is related to this new Full House Gang movie. So, we figured what better place to learn about it than here at this meetup?”

…

Okay, I know I’m not exactly the brightest knife on the crayon tree, but I think being that blatant and honest with Principal Huggins was just… dumb. Now he’s gonna call our parents and ruin everything. He’s even giving us a dirty look.

“Taking the law into your own hands, are you?” he said. “This kind of wild vigilantism is rather bold of you. I should inform your parents.”

Dang it. Way to go, Lori. Next time you rag on me for doing something dumb, just remember what hap—

“Not!”

Principal Huggins let out a hearty laugh. Wha-huh? What’s going on?

“That’s just like the Full House Gang to take a case like this,” he said. “No wonder Lincoln based those characters off of you.”  He then nodded and cleared his throat. “Well, we don’t know much, but you can deal ol’ Wild Card Willy in. We’re going to be having a roundtable discussion about the movie, and we’d be honored if you joined us.”

That… went pretty much the opposite of how I thought it was gonna go. Did Lori know we could trust him or something? I mean, I guess he is part of the Full House Gang, too. Lincoln wrote him into his coloring book for that contest, after all.

“Thank you so much, Principal Huggins,” said Lori. “I knew you’d understand.”

“Of course,” said Principal Huggins. “But please, call me Wild Card Willy.”

“What’s wrong with Principal Huggins?” I asked. “Isn’t that your name?”

“Perhaps at school,” said Wild Card Willy. “But here, I’m no principal. I am a fellow crime fighter, here to deal out my own brand of justice.”

He reminds me so much of Lincoln right now. Except a lot older. I don’t know if it’s appropriate for people his age to act like that, but who am I to judge? We’ve all done crazy things. Like this one time, I let Lynn benchpress me so I could decorate the ceiling.

“Whatever you say, Wild Card Willy,” I said. “Lead the way.”

“Of course, partner,” said Wild Card Willy with a tip of his hat. Hmm, I’m starting to feel kinda nervous. I know Wild Card Willy is a grown-up and stuff, but are we gonna be the oldest people at this thing? It’s gonna be super awkward, and I’m gonna feel super old. Well, no turning back now. I just gotta remember: we’re doing this for Lincoln.

***

When we got to the meeting room, I couldn’t believe my eyes. It wasn’t just a bunch of little kids. I mean yeah, there are little kids here, but I also recognize a bunch of our friends from school. There’s Becky, and Joey, and…

“Whoa, hey! Didn’t think I’d see you here, Leni.”

Chaz?! He’s an Ace Savvy fan?! Why didn’t Lincoln tell me this?! Is my breath okay?! Do I have a zit?! O-M-Gosh, what do I even say?!

“U-uh, hey, Chaz. I-I didn’t think I’d see you here, either.”

Really, Leni? That’s what you’re going with? Ugh, I’m totes not prepared for this.

“Leni, relax,” said Lori. “We’re all friends here. There’s no need to get so worked up.”

Wait, why isn’t Lori surprised by any of this? Did she know our friends were into Ace Savvy? Maybe it’s my fault for never bringing it up. But I mean, like, how would I ever have known?

“Howdy there, partners,” said Wild Card Willy with a tip of his hat. “Hope y’all don’t mind the High Card and the Eleven of Hearts joinin’ us.”

“Not at all! I’m surprised you haven’t joined us sooner, Lori,” said Becky. “I know your brother is really into this. He even based that Full House Gang comic off of you guys.”  She suddenly gasped and frowned. “Oh. I-I’m so sorry. I forgot that…”

“It’s okay,” I said. “That’s actually why we’re here. We think this new movie has something to do with Lincoln going missing, and we’d like to know more about it.”

“And we’d really appreciate it if you didn’t tell anyone else about this,” Lori added. “At least not yet.”

“Um, sure. No problem,” said Joey. He then looked behind us. “Hey, uh, where’s Clyde? He said he’d be coming today.”

“His parents thought it would be best if he stayed home,” I said. “Y’know, because of what’s been happening.”

Wild Card Willy sighed. “Shame. He and Lincoln should be celebrating with us. We even have a special guest.”

“A special guest?” Lori parroted. “Who?”

“He’s referring to me.”

We all turned to look at an unfamiliar girl sitting at the far end of the table. She looked to be in high school, but that was all I could figure out before getting completely distracted by her outfit. I feel like she’s making some kind of statement, but I don’t know what that statement is. Torn black jeans, a lavender sweater vest, neon green fingerless gloves, light brown hair styled into a ponytail that draped over one of her eyes, and little pearl earrings. But no makeup, oddly enough. I dunno, it’s like she’s combining a rebellious look with bits of conformity. Points for creativity, but the color clashes kinda hurt my eyes.

“Ladies, this here is Virginia O’Donnell,” said Wild Card Willy. “Her father, Dirk O’Donnell, is directing the Full House Gang movie.”

“Pleased to meet you,” said Virginia, blowing back her ponytail. “So, what are your real names? Or do you just go by High Card and Eleven of Hearts?”

“O-oh, right,” said Lori, clearing her throat. “I’m Lori Loud, and this is my sister, Leni. Lincoln’s our brother.”

“Hi, Virginia,” I said with a wave.

Virginia smiled. “Please, call me Ginny. Not Gin, though.”

“Why not?” I asked.

Ginny’s smile vanished as she glared right at me. “None of your business.”

Whoops. Sounds like a sensitive issue. “I-I’m sorry if I offended you, Ginny.”

Ginny relaxed a little. “It’s okay. You didn’t know.”  She then gestured to the table. “Please, have a seat.”

While Lori sat down, I raised my hand. “Um, I have a question.”

“Yes?”

“Wild Card Willy said this would be a roundtable discussion, but this table’s rectangular. Should we tell someone?”

Everyone stared blankly at me, except for Lori and Chaz. Lori groaned and slapped her own forehead while Chaz let out a laugh.

“Heh, good one, Leni,” he said.

I just stared back at Chaz. Did I say something funny? I wasn’t trying to. Luan’s better at that than I’ll ever be.

“Does she always joke like that?” Ginny asked.

“It’s cute that you think she’s joking,” Lori sighed. “Leni, just take a seat. It’s fine.”

Well, if Lori says so, I guess I’ll just drop it. We have more important things to talk about, anyway. I took a seat next to Chaz.

“So, I take it you all managed to catch the trailer last night?” said Ginny.

“Um, not all of us,” I admitted sheepishly. “Lori and I were watching a Dream Boat marathon.”

Ginny’s face lit up. “You too, huh? I gotta say, Keisha is gonna be so happy with her first mate.”

“I know, right?!” I said, equally excited.

“Um, spoilers? I haven’t seen it yet!” said Becky.

“Also, let’s try to stay on-topic,” added Joey.

Right. This isn’t about Dream Boat. This is an Ace Savvy roundtable discussion. With a rectangular table for some reason. Whatever, just get it together, Leni.

“Anyway, for those who have seen it, I’d like some feedback,” said Ginny, folding her hands. “What’d you all think?”

“I was blown away, honestly,” said Joey. “I know Bill Buck wanted to make a Full House Gang movie for a while, but I never thought it’d actually happen.”

“The Full House Gang is actually one of my favorite comics,” said Becky. “It’s great to see it get the cinematic treatment.”

Several of the kids squealed and cheered in unison, talking a mile a minute about their favorite parts. I honestly couldn’t keep up with them.

“I’m guessing that’s a positive review for the trailer, then?” asked Ginny.

“Um, duh,” said Chaz. “It had everything I’d expect from an Ace Savvy movie. It was campy, but not completely goofy. Mysterious and suspenseful, but not dark and edgy. It was a perfect balance of everything. Chaz like.”

Ginny beamed. “Thank you. I actually edited the trailer myself. Wanted to show the best of everything, y’know?”

“I’m actually surprised your father agreed to work on this,” said Wild Card Willy. “This isn’t his typical style.”

“Yeah, I noticed that, too,” added Chaz. “I’ve seen a lot of your dad’s work, and I gotta say, it’s hard to imagine him working on an Ace Savvy flick.”

“Why do you say that?” asked Lori.

“My dad is most well-known for directing some hardcore stuff,” said Ginny. She looked around the table. “Stuff that’s… really not appropriate for little kids.”

Well, that could mean anything from blood and guts flying everywhere to people doing naughty stuff. Or both. Either way, I can see where Chaz is coming from. I wouldn’t expect someone like that to make an Ace Savvy movie, either.

“But the fact is that we happen to have a bit of history with Bill Buck, and he came to us with the script,” Ginny continued. “So we figured, why not? Let’s mix things up a bit.”

“Whoa~. You know Bill Buck?!” one of the kids squealed excitedly. “That’s so cool~!”

Ginny chuckled. “Kid, when you’ve been in the industry as long as we have, you meet a lot of famous people.”

“Um, you keep saying ‘we’ a lot,” I said. “Are you and your dad working on this movie together?”

Ginny looked away from me and started fiddling with her ponytail. “You could say that, I guess. I mean, officially, I’m just interning as an assistant editor. But I think my job is just as important as everyone else’s.”

Hmm. I think I upset her again. I mean, like, she sounds like she’s making the most of her job, but her words don’t match what her body’s doing. Is she hiding something?

“I’m sorry,” I apologized. “Am I making you uncomfortable?”

Ginny suddenly perked up. “Huh? O-oh, no. Not at all. Don’t worry about it,” she said hastily. “A-actually, I feel my role in this project is gonna be a lot bigger than normal.”

“So, like, you’re gonna be more than an assistant editor?”

“That’s right,” said Ginny. She leaned forward and smirked. “I’m gonna make sure my dad stays true to the source material.”

There were a series of gasps from around the table, mainly from the older Ace Savvy fans. The kids didn’t seem to entirely get it, but they seemed happy about it.

“So it’s gonna be just like the comic book?” asked a little girl.

“Well, within reason,” said Ginny. “Movies and comic books are very different. You’re always gonna have to make some changes. But I promise, Dirk O’Donnell is not gonna turn this script into something it’s not meant to be.”

Huh. Now why would Ginny have to make a promise like that? I thought her dad and Bill Buck were friends. Wouldn’t her dad know not to change Mr. Buck’s script?

“I take it you’re a big Ace Savvy fan then?” said Lori.

Ginny nodded. “You betcha. I’ve been reading Bill Buck’s stories ever since I was a little girl. The guy’s a storytelling powerhouse.”  She then giggled. “Don’t tell my dad I said this, but he could learn a thing or two from Mr. Buck.”

I can’t help but feeling there’s more to this, but I don’t know what it is. I’d ask Ginny about it, but I don’t wanna upset her again and embarrass her in front of everyone. She seems so nice, despite her fashion choices.

“I have to say, it’s rather surprising to hear that you’re going against your father’s vision like that,” said Wild Card Willy.

Ginny raised an eyebrow. “Before you say anything, Mr. Huggins…”

“Wild Card Willy,” I corrected.

Everyone stared at me.

“What? He told us to call him that,” I said honestly.

“Leni, I literally don’t know what to do with you sometimes,” Lori groaned.

“Leni? Don’t you mean the Eleven of Hearts?” Ginny asked with a smile.

Um, was that supposed to be a joke, or does she really think my name is the Eleven of Hearts? I have so much trouble figuring that out. Don’t you hate it when people say the opposite of what they mean? It’s, like, so confusing.

“Anyway, rest assured, any rumors you heard about my dad are just that,” said Ginny. “Nothing but fanciful exaggerations. There’s no need to worry.”

…

Wait. She’s fiddling with her ponytail again. And she’s not looking at any of us. Is she… lying? She certainly looks uncomfortable talking about her dad. Maybe we should take her aside and talk to her in private. She looks like she could use a friend.

Just then, Lori’s phone vibrated. Oh, good. I was worried for a second that she forgot to put it on silent. That would’ve been embarrassing. She took her phone out of her pocket and checked it.

“I’m literally sorry about this. You mind if Leni and I stepped outside for a bit?” she asked.

“Something wrong?” asked Wild Card Willy.

“I just have to take a call. It might be about Lincoln,” said Lori.

Wild Card Willy thought for a moment and shrugged. “I don’t see why not. What do you think, Ms. O’Donnell?”

Ginny shrugged as well. “No skin off my nose.”

“Thanks. We’ll be right back. C’mon, Leni.”

I got up and followed Lori.

“Is it really about Lincoln?” I whispered.

“Close enough,” Lori whispered back as she started texting. “It’s from Clyde. I think he’s found something.”

“Oh. That’s cool,” I said. “So, um, what’d you think of Ginny?”

Lori frowned. “Well, besides the fact that it looks like she literally got dressed in a dark closet, I think she’s alright. It’s her father I’m more worried about.”

“Why do you say that?”

“She always seemed anxious when talking about him. I can’t figure out why, though,” said Lori. “I’ll admit, I’m not really a massive movie buff, and I’ve never heard of this Dirk O’Donnell director before.”

“Me, neither,” I said. “Chaz seemed to know him, though. Maybe we can ask him some questions.”

“If it turns out he’s relevant to this at all,” Lori mused. “We’re still not sure how all of this connects to Lincoln’s kidnapping.”

Dang it, that’s true. We came here to find out more about Lincoln, but now it just feels like we’re getting caught up in someone else’s mess. I know Lincoln’s important, but I kinda wanna help Ginny, too. I don’t know how, or what her problem even is. But she looks like she needs help with something, and I’d just feel horrible if I left her alone.

“Well, maybe Clyde can answer that,” I said hopefully. “Then we can find a way to help Lincoln and Ginny.”

Lori gave me a look. “Why do you care so much about Ginny? We literally just met her.”

I slumped over and twiddled my fingers. “I dunno. It’s like…  You know how I get the urge to adopt a puppy every time I see one in the window?”

“I’m painfully aware of that, yes.”

“It’s kinda like that.”

Lori sighed and shook her head. “You are just too nice for your own good, Leni.”

“Well, maybe if we help Ginny, she can help us find Lincoln,” I said with a shrug. “You never know.”

Lori sighed again. “One thing at a time, Leni. For now, let’s see what Clyde’s got for us.”

“Yeah, that’s fair,” I said. It’s like they say: you can’t walk and chew gum at the same time. I don’t know who “they” are; just that they say a lot of smart things. Still, I can’t help but wonder what Ginny’s hiding. There has to be more to this story than we’re seeing, but what…?

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