Title: It's the Little Red-Haired Girl from Paris, Charlie Brown
Crossover: Peanuts and Madeline
Summary: Miss Clavel and the girls receive an invitation to attend an American elementary in school for the Spring; meanwhile, Charlie Brown suffers the absence of the Little-Red Haired Girl causing his team another loss at bat not knowing that the rest of his school year is about to be altered by the arrival of another little red-haired girl, the small but spirited Madeline and her friends from Paris. Will Charlie Brown step up to the plate and finally make the good first impression he's been waiting for—that is—if no one stands in his way? And just how long will the little girls keep their two straight lines? New friendships, waves of culture shock and comic misadventures ensue.
Author's Note: Well, hello there everyone! It looks like I'm back from my monthS-long hiatus from fanfiction writing. Here now is a story of two of my childhood favorite cartoons that still remain close to me to this very day, "Peanuts" and "Madeline." For the record, this is my first time writing a crossover, let alone one between these two categories. It's a crazy idea but I just thought it would be quite fun and entertaining to see what it would be like if Charlie Brown and Madeline suddenly met and each of their friends met each other. Hmm...things might be interesting from here and for all we know, many things could happen before Miss Clavel could say "Something is not right" for there could be many things not going right happening all at once. For now, we'll see how this turns out! Without further ado, here is "It's the Little Red-Haired Girl from Paris, Charlie Brown!" I hope you enjoy this story as much as I do writing it!
Chapter 1: Good News
For every story such as this that begins with a rhyme…
In an old house in Paris that was covered in vines, arrived an unexpected message over the telephone lines.
The call was made overseas from a country they knew so well, but the reason for invitation quite intrigued Miss Clavel.
"I see! Yes, that would be wonderful! Merci beaucoup! I shall tell the girls right away." the nun nodded excitedly as she hung up on the stranger at the other end of the line.
She then turned her eyes to their newly placed and polished grandfather clock against the wall, seeing that it was far from half past nine—eight-thirty, to be exact—she chuckled to herself and thought, "We've still got time."
Miss Clavel gracefully scurried up the long flights of stairs, anxiously anticipating to share the news with her students. Though in a hurried pace, she consistently kept a pleasant look on her face for she knew that whatever this news was, the little girls would love it. When was there ever a time that they weren't delighted by a pleasant surprise? Her mind remained silent at the thought for there was no response. For a few years now, she knew them all too well. What could possibly be better than some surprising good news from Miss Clavel? As she made her way through the hall to the room where the little girls stayed, little did she know that once the word gets out, no response would be met with as much enthusiasm and anticipation than that of the smallest yet most charming little girl of them all...Madeline.
"Little girls!" Miss Clavel called out cheerfully as she gently pushed the doors open, "Hurry up, mes enfants, gather round quickly!"
"What is going on, Miss Clavel?" Madeline piped up curiously, following the rest of her friends as they surrounded their teacher.
"I have some very good news for you!" the teacher simply stated, sending a smile down to the children, leaving them to guess what was in store for them as a small and sly smirk graced her face.
"Did the Spanish Ambassador leave us expensive presents again?" Yvette chimed in.
"Will we be having visitors over?" Chloe added with just as much anticipation, tip-toeing to meet her teacher's eyes.
"You're very close, Chloe; very close!" Miss Clavel said still pleasantly as she bent over and placed her hand on the little girl's shoulder, then standing tall once again to catch all the other girls' attention. Seeing their teacher regain her stance, they all eyed her with wide-eyed anticipation awaiting to hear what else she had to say.
"I just received a call from the principal of Birchwood Elementary, an American school in the city of Minnesota and they want all of you to attend their classes and stay there for a month! Yes, mes enfants, you are going back to the United States!"
With that, the twelve little girls let out a series of whoops and cheers, jumping up and down from where they stood, their outbursts of energy barely allowing them to contain themselves and their self-control that they always had. Some threw their yellow hats up in the air without a care of which one they would catch and some simply embraced and continued jumping up and down at their excitement in the spur of the moment. Miss Clavel couldn't help but chuckle at this overly-stimulated but nevertheless refreshing sight. Nothing warmed her heart more than seeing her girls genuinely happy, even if it meant seeing them uncontrollably leaping with joy.
"Miss Clavel, you said us girls are going to the U.S.A." Madeline said meeting her teacher's eyes as she stepped out of the mayhem.
"Oui, Madeline! Aren't you excited? Is there something wrong, ma petite?" Miss Clavel began with the evident joy in her voice but softened at the question of concern for her littlest student, noticing her sudden shift to a more timid mood (which was unusual especially for Madeline).
"You will be joining us, won't you?" Madeline asked shyly with a hopeful tone in her voice.
Then and there at the sound of Madeline's words, Miss Clavel could pinpoint what seemed to be worrying the little girl at the moment. She then bent down to give the smallest of the twelve a small yet warm hug, hoping the gesture would give her the reassurance she needed.
"Madeline, when I said all of you, I meant all of us," she responded with her usual warm and reassuring smile that always seemed to put the girls at ease, "I would never dare leave you girls all alone in another country! That is why we stick together. And that's the way it always will be. Isn't that right, ma petite?"
"Oui, Miss Clavel," the little red-head nodded confidently as she rejoined her group of friends in celebration. For as long as their beloved Miss Clavel was there to watch over them in every step of the way, there was no reason for her and the rest of the girls to be scared.
"Now listen up little girls; the principal of the school has assured us that we don't need to take a boat to get there. She has everything already under control!"
Although her last statement was somewhat reassuring, the girls still remained quite puzzled.
"What does this mean, Miss Clavel? How will we get there? Surely we cannot go there by car or train," said a befuddled Nicole, her right brow raised in slight confusion.
"There is a better way we can be transported there," the teacher smiled, "And even better still, the school already paid for everything, even our plane tickets!"
"PLANE TICKETS?!" the little girls exclaimed in complete awe upon hearing what Miss Clavel has just said and in excitement, could not contain themselves a minute longer, "HOORAY!"
And so the celebration continued with the little girls jumping up and down completely caught in their excitement and glee, plain as their dear Miss Clavel could see.
Now in their anticipation, they were no longer confused, but in the other side of the world were some more boys and girls who still haven't heard the news.
And turning to the U.S.A., amidst a baseball game being played among friends was a little boy with a rounded head, a yellow shirt draped with a black zigzag wave and a face etched with a frown. There is no doubt, this boy must be Charlie Brown.
Author's Note: And that's all there is. There isn't anymore...Just kidding!
Well, here's chapter one done! I truly hope you enjoyed it, even if it was quite petite (even moreso than the usual length I write my chapters with). After such a heavy focus on Madeline in this one, rest assured, you will be seeing lots more Charlie Brown to follow and in future chapters, behold these worlds colliding (which I can't wait for, since there are even more crazy stuff planned that I'd love you all to see). Anyhow, please leave me a review (constructive criticism, yes...flames, nah) and let me know what you'd like to see!
It's lovely getting to see (and write for) you all again!
Cheers!
~ASianSuccessor2012
P.S. Why is Charlie Brown sad, you ask? There's even more to it than we might assume...with more to come at you soon!