7:00 a.m. on a Saturday on the first weekend of summer. Every kid's biggest dream come true-breakfast, cartoons till noon, and a whole day to do whatever you wanted. This is what awaited Lincoln Loud as his Ace Savvy alarm clock roused him from his slumber. With a grin, he shut off the alarm and turned to face the camera.

"WOO-HOO! School's out, the sun is up, and summer is officially here! Cartoons, here I come!" He opened his bedroom door and headed for the bathroom, only to find, shock of shocks, a line. Thankfully that line consisted of but one sister this morning-his older sister Lynn. Lincoln sighed and took his place behind her, and the athlete gave a precursory glance over her shoulder when she heard his footsteps. "Oh, g'morning, Linc," she said as she stretched her arms over her head.

"Morning, Lynn. Been waiting long?"

"Not really. Hey, you know what? I'm feeling generous today-go on ahead."

Lincoln raised his eyebrow in confusion and asked, "Go in front of you? Are you sure?"

"Absolutely, bro! Take as much time as you need!"

To say Lincoln was shocked by his sister's kindness was an understatement. Lynn was first in everything: first in sports, first to Vanzilla, first to breakfast, and the first of his sisters in line for the bathroom. This was unprecedented. Regardless, he put any doubts about her motive for doing so out of his mind and, once the door opened and Leni exited, Lynn stepped aside and held the door open for him. He walked past her with a look of bewilderment and closed the door behind him.

After five minutes, Lincoln stepped out of the bathroom in his everyday attire: orange polo shirt, jeans, and white shoes. He descended the stairs and headed for the kitchen, where he was stunned to find a pre-filled bowl of Zombie Bran, a jug of milk, a glass of orange juice and a plate of toast set up on the kitchen table. A warm smile spread across his face as he said, "Thanks, Leni! That was really nice of you!"

Leni poked her head from around the corner and replied, "You're welcome, Linky!" However, her happiness turned to confusion as she added, "Wait a minute...what are you thanking me for?"

"You set up my breakfast for me. You didn't have to do that."

"Uh...I don't think I did." Leni tapped her temple with her finger and began to think. "Let's see...I was down here making a smoothie. I drank the smoothie. I left the kitchen." She frowned in sadness and concluded, "I'm sorry, Linky. I forgot to set up your breakfast, but I'll remember next time!"

"That's okay, Leni. But if you didn't set up my breakfast...who did?" After a few seconds of thought, Lincoln shrugged his shoulders and said, "Oh well-no point in letting this go to waste." He sat down and poured the milk onto the cereal, which soon began to turn the distinct green color that made Zombie Bran so famous. Two spoonfuls into his breakfast, Lynn came in through the kitchen door and asked, "How's your cereal, bro?"

"Great, as always. Hey, quick question: this was all set up when I came downstairs. You have any idea who did it?"

"Sure! I did!"

Lincoln dropped his spoon in shock as his jaw did the same. "YOU?!"

"What? A girl can't be nice to her little brother every once in a while?" She gave him a light punch in the arm and added, "I'm even gonna throw in a bonus: no Dutch ovens, noogies or Indian burns this entire weekend!"

"All right," Lincoln said with suspicion. "Who are you, and what have you done with Lynn Loud Jr.?"

Her answer was a smile and a spin of the basketball on her finger as she departed the same way she came in, leaving Lincoln even more confused than before. He returned to his cereal, which by this point had grown quite soggy in the milk. Regardless, he finished it, chugged the now-green dairy and went to work on the toast when he saw a newspaper clipping tucked underneath the plate. He pulled it out from underneath the dish, and upon reading it, the reason for Lynn's shift in attitude became perfectly clear.

"I KNEW IT!"

With ad in hand, he threw open the kitchen door and marched outside, where Lynn was hard at work throwing footballs through the tire swing hanging from the tree. She had dropped back into a passing stance when Lincoln stomped in front of her, and before she registered what was happening, she threw the football and it found its target, beaning Lincoln in the side of the head. "Geez, Lincoln, watch where you're going!"

He rubbed the side of his head in irritation as he brandished the clipping in front of him. "Is THIS why you were being so nice to me, Lynn?"

The athlete stopped dead in her tracks and said, "Okay, Linc. You got me. But you've gotta admit, a brother-sister 5K run does sound pretty fun!"

"For you, maybe. You know I'm about as athletic as a spaghetti noodle."

"Which is why I'd be more than happy to train you. It's not till next weekend, so there's plenty of time to get you in tip-top shape!"

"You're making it sound like I don't have a choice."

"That's 'cause you don't," Lynn declared with a grin. "I already signed us up."

Lincoln's eyes bugged out and his jaw dropped once again. "YOU WHAT?!"

"I've already got your pre-test set up in the basement, so come on down!"

"Do I have to?"

Lynn flashed a wicked grin and replied, "Yes."

With a roll of his eyes, Lincoln declared, "Fine. Let's get this over with."

Lincoln stood in the basement alongside Lisa, Lynn and Leni, a grim expression on his face as he awaited the test Lisa had set up for him. His shirt laid on the floor next to the treadmill as the little genius attached heart rate and breathing monitors to his bare chest. "I am quite surprised that you decided to partake in a five kilometer run, brother," she said through her signature lisp. "I have never figured you to be the athletic type."

"That's because I didn't have a choice," he answered as he shot Lynn a dirty look. "Besides, what's the point of all this anyway?"

"Like I said, think of this as a pre-test," Lynn said as she slapped him on the back. Lincoln groaned as she continued: "The amount of training you'll get from me will all stem from this, so the better you do, the less you'll have to work."

"Question," Leni said as she raised her hand. "How long is a 5K run? And why do you have to run five of them?"

"5K is short for five kilometers, Leni. One of them is equidistant to approximately sixty-two hundredths of a mile," Lisa explained. "When added together, five kilometers equal roughly 3.1 miles."

"Oh...got it. Those are awfully big letters, though..."

Lincoln's face blanched as he exclaimed, "3.1 miles?! I can barely run A mile!"

"Which is why we're doing this," Lynn said. "Just run like you normally would and we'll go from there." Lincoln grunted in frustration and stepped onto the treadmill as Lisa activated the monitors on his chest, saying, "Heart rate and breathing are at normal resting rate. Are you ready, brother unit?"

"No."

"Then let's do it!" Lynn shouted as she turned the treadmill on. Lincoln began walking to keep up with the pace of the machine, his expression remaining irritated as Lisa recorded the results on her computer. "Our brother appears to be walking just fine. Increase the speed."

"Got it!" Lynn tapped the up button on the treadmill three times, turning the walk into a quick jog. Lincoln sped up and kept up with the belt as Lisa said, "Lincoln is now running at the average speed for a jogger his age. Let us see how far he can run in the next five minutes." He paid her no mind as he concentrated on the task at hand, running and keeping up to speed as best he could. Sure, he could run short distances, but 3.1 miles? That statistic echoed in his head as he kept running, every breath he took feeling less like air and more like fire in his lungs. Sweat started to roll down his forehead, and he tried to ignore it as best he could, but some of it got into his eyes, forcing him to try and blink the salty fluid away. That brief period of shuteye, though, was enough to trip him up, land on the belt of the treadmill face first, and fly off the machine into a pile of dirty laundry.

"Oh no! Are you okay, Linky?" Leni ran over and helped Lincoln to his feet as the boy groaned, "How'd I do?"

Lynn and Lisa took a look at the gathered data, and when they looked up, he could tell by the grim expression on Lynn's face that he'd done badly. Opening her mouth just confirmed it.

"You didn't even make a half-mile." She cracked her knuckles and declared, "Looks like we're gonna have to do this the hard way! Make sure you're awake at the crack of dawn tomorrow, 'cause we're gonna train and train hard!"

Lincoln could do nothing but gulp back his nerves as he wiped his sweat away with a towel. Knowing Lynn, this was going to be rough.

Peaceful, steady breathing filled the small bedroom early the next morning as Lincoln cuddled Bun-Bun in his arms, fast asleep and without a care in the world. His alarm would ring in a couple of hours, but as of right now, he was neck-deep in dreamland, fighting alongside One-Eyed Jack as Ace Savvy once again saved the world. He was just about to deliver the killing blow to the alien menace when his door was kicked open and a loud whistle jarred him out of his slumber. He screamed and fell out of bed only to be greeted by Lynn, a determined grin on her face. "Welcome to your first day of training, bro! Get up and get dressed-we're going for a jog!"

Lincoln rubbed his eyes and glanced at his alarm clock. 5 a.m. The sun was just coming up over the horizon, staining the sky a brilliant purple against the clouds. "Lynn...can't we do this some other time?"

"Nope! By the time I'm done with you, you're gonna be a well-oiled machine! Now get up and get dressed-time's a-wastin'!" She slammed the door and ran outside, waiting for Lincoln to come downstairs. She jogged in place, did push-ups, and stretched her legs to pass the time, and eventually the front door opened and Lincoln staggered out into the morning dawn with great difficulty, clad in a white T-shirt, black gym shorts and his white shoes. He let out a huge yawn and asked, "So...are we gonna start off easy?"

"Of course! Just a quick little run! So come on, slowpoke! Let's go!" Lynn broke into a full-speed run as Lincoln scrambled to keep up with her, managing to bring up the rear as the athlete turned around and declared, "At that rate you're never gonna make a mile, much less 5K! Come on, bro, work for it!" She turned back around and jogged ahead, easily leaving Lincoln in the dust as he tried in vain to keep up with her. It was no use, however, as she vanished into the distance, leaving him completely alone. His weariness gave way to frustration as he yelled, "So you woke me up just to leave me behind?! THANKS A LOT, LYNN!" He stomped back to the house and returned to his bed, flopping down on it and snoring within seconds. At least he didn't have to worry about Lynn looking for him. She was so far ahead that she was probably already-

"LINCOLN!"

The sudden yell jolted him back to reality as Lynn's angry, sweaty visage loomed over him. "Hey, you're not done! Get up and get back out there!"

Lincoln shook the sleep from his head and went downstairs, grumbling all the while. Before he left the house, he turned to face the camera and sighed, "Looks like I'm in this for the long haul. Hopefully Lynn will go easy on me."