Ah, Saturday mornings. That tiny little window of time during the week would always hold a special place in Lincoln's heart. It was a time for lounging on the couch in his pajamas, eating a big bowl of Zombie Bran, and greeting the Loud sisters as they emerged from their bedrooms, one by one. He had a bit of homework to do this weekend, but for now, he had ample time to be a lazy slug.

…or so he thought.

"Liiiincoln!" sang a voice from the second floor. Lincoln looked back to see Leni fully dressed with her purse over her shoulder, bounding down the stairs. This struck Lincoln as a little odd; while Leni was a bubbly girl, she wasn't generally a morning person, at least not until she had her coffee.

"Hey, Leni," he said with a yawn. "Excited for today?"

"You bet!" she chirped, beaming down at her little brother. "I've got a big day planned for us!"

"Well, have fu- wait, for us?"

Lincoln sat up and tried to rub the sleep out of his eyes. "Us, as in you and me?"

"Uh-huh!"

Leni opened her purse and started digging through it. "I was hoping I could cash in one of my coupons today!"

Lincoln had to stifle a groan. Oh, right. The coupons.

Last December, Lincoln made the mistake of putting off his holiday shopping until the last week. Fortunately, after an exhausting shopping spree at the holiday fair the day before Christmas Eve, he managed to find a gift for each one of his sisters… except for Leni. There was a dress at the fair that he knew she would love, but someone snatched it up before he did. Having run out of time and options, he went home, grabbed some construction paper, and cobbled together a cheap- but in his mind, thoughtful- gift.

Leni, much to Lincoln's chagrin, decided to save his gift for last- and she had already received a fully stocked sewing kit from Luna, so he had a tough act to follow. She tore open Lincoln's box to see a multicolored construction paper book bound together with staples, that read "COUPONS" on the cover.

"Coupons?" asked Leni.

"Yeah!" said Lincoln, trying to sound enthusiastic. "It's a book of coupons I made just for you. Whenever you need a favor from me, just cash one in, and I'll do it- no questions asked!"

Leni started to flip through it, reading the coupons aloud as she did. "Free hug from Lincoln... Lincoln does your chores for the day... free sandwich from Lincoln... freestyle rap from Lincoln (any subject)... Lincoln does your homework…"

Lori shot Lincoln a pointed glare. "Wow, Lincoln. You've given us some lame gifts before, but this is literally the-"

"Oh, Lincoln, I love it!" cried Leni, dropping the book and giving Lincoln a squeeze. "Thank you so much!"

Lincoln's heart swelled with pride as he hugged Leni back. With some quick thinking and ingenuity, he had managed to make his sister the happiest girl in the Loud House- and all without spending a dime, to boot.

Which brings us to today…

"Ah, here it is!"

Leni pulled a pink slip of construction paper out of her purse and held it aloft. On the front, it said "ONE DAY OF SHOPPING WITH LINCOLN" in black permanent marker.

"I was thinking we could, like, hit up the mall today. It'll be fun! What do you say?"

Lincoln sighed, wolfed down the last few bites of Zombie Bran, and forced himself onto his feet.

"Yeah, sure," muttered Lincoln, ambling towards the stairs. "Just lemme get dressed."

Lincoln knew he didn't have a choice. His track record when it came to keeping promises was a little iffy, but he never, ever broke a promise that he made on Christmas. Besides, if he tried to renege on this promise, it would defeat the entire purpose of the gift. So for the rest of the year, whenever Leni needed a favor, he was bound to do it without question.

"Don't take too long!" Leni called after him. "Lori's already revving up the van!"

That warning sent Lincoln into overdrive. If Mom or Dad were driving them, he could have afforded to take his time, but Lori wasn't someone you wanted to keep waiting. He bounded up the stairs, got dressed, brushed his teeth, combed his hair and strode back down, with the ruthless efficiency that he usually reserved for busy school mornings. While he pulled it all off without missing a beat, he couldn't help but resent the fact that he was forced to be awake and alert this early on a Saturday. (That said, "early" was a relative term here, as it was already a quarter to 10 by the time he hopped into Vanzilla.)

For what it was worth, Lincoln rather enjoyed the fifteen-minute drive over. Since the only other two passengers were Lori (who was driving) and Leni (who was riding shotgun), he had the entire rest of the van to himself, including the coveted "Sweet Spot". This meant that he didn't have to put up with the usual aggravations that Loud family car rides entailed, and he had more than enough space to lie down across the seats and take a nap. It was almost enough to make him wish that the mall was just a little farther away.

Alas, Lincoln let himself get a little too comfortable. His nap was abruptly interrupted when Lori grabbed him by the wrist, jerked him out of the car and marched him to the curb, where Leni was waiting for him. The first sight he was greeted with when he fully opened his eyes was the domineering gaze of his oldest sister.

"All right, twerps, listen up, because I'm only going to say this once," began Lori, staring down her two younger siblings. "It is now 10:00 a.m. You have exactly four hours and thirty minutes to complete your shopping. You will meet me back here at no later than 2:30 p.m., and it will be your responsibility to make sure that all of your merchandise is accounted for. Is that clear?"

"Yes, ma'am," Lincoln and Leni responded in unison.

"Good," said Lori. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some shopping of my own to do."

With that, she strode up to the front gate and disappeared behind the glass automatic doors.

"What's with her?" asked Lincoln, once he was confident that Lori was out of earshot.

"Oh, she just has a busy day today. After our shopping trip she has to pick up Luan from her improv class, and then once she gets home she has a date with Bobby to prepare for."

Of course she does, thought Lincoln. When didn't she have a date with Bobby to prepare for?

"Anyway, let's get moving! We've got a lot to do today!"

And so, the two of them walked up to the front gate, ready to begin their journey. Lincoln had no idea what Leni had planned for the two of them, but he wasn't particularly anxious. While he didn't like shopping, he did like to make Leni happy, and he usually got along with her pretty well. How bad could a four and a half hour shopping spree be?

To be continued...