AUTHOR'S NOTE: I noticed there hasn't been many stories in this section recently, so I took it as a challenge to write one!
This might be three or so chapters long, and I haven't wrote a fanfiction in a while, so I hope I'm not too rusty.
Also, I'm not American, so if I say nickels and it's meant to be dimes or something like that, please tell me in a review. ;P
I hope you all enjoy! :D
(FUTURE AUTHOR'S NOTE: All rewritten! You probably won't notice anything, but I hope you new readers enjoy!)
AGES: Charlie Brown is 12 and a half, so Lucy would be 11/12-ish, Linus is 10, Sally is 9/10-ish, Patty + Violet + Shermy are 12, etc. (Yes, some of those strips counter the strip's canon, but Charlie Brown was eight years old for three decades, so I don't think it matters too much.)
TIME: Set in 2014. Don't worry, I'm still keeping the information the same. Lucy's booth is still five cents, but that's because she thinks it's a good price.
Five cents from 1959 = Forty-one-ish cents in 2014.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of these characters from Peanuts. They are all from various comic strips. They are not my creation – they were created by Charles M. Schulz.
Also, if any product is mentioned like Marvel or M'n'Ms, I do not own that product.
This disclaimer applies to the rest of the fanfiction.
"Soo… now I… stir in the… two cups… ah! No, one and three quarters of flour, not two…"
The thing you'd except wishy-washy Charlie Brown to do on a Saturday morning, was probably (depending on the season), go to the baseball field and lose, or maybe fall on his back from another failed kick, or maybe just whine about life at the Wall, but on this peculiar Saturday morning, Charlie Brown was baking cookies.
"Big Brother, what are you doing?" Sally, in her usual blue dress, walked behind Charlie Brown, who was standing on a stool, and was now mixing in chocolate chips.
"I'm making cookies, Sally…"
"YOU?! Making COOKIES?!" Charlie Brown nodded, smiling.
Sally watched Charlie for a few seconds, and then starting laughing.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Good try, Big Brother! You? Making cookies? HAHAHHAHAHA!" She walked away laughing.
Charlie Brown frowned in her direction, his unusual cheery mood dampening.
The reason Charlie was making cookies in the first place was because the day before Linus had suggested doing something that would take his mind of his depression. He reminded Charlie that he once built a rock wall when bored, which he did for a couple of days.
And he got the idea of cookies from when his mother offered him a cookie from the cookie jar for feeding Snoopy so much.
As Charlie finished it off and placed the tray in the oven, he shouted to his mother "I'm going outside!" and swiftly walked outside.
The crisp Autumn (or Fall, if you prefer) breeze flew around, and the orange leaves danced to the wind.
Charlie whistled as he walked around, not going anywhere in particular, but just waiting for his cookies to become edible.
I've never felt this calm! Charlie Brown thought to himself as he walked through a field, once right next to the baseball park.
I think I might actually be happy! Wow! I have not felt this feeling for a long time…
As if on cue, a voice called from behind. "Charlie Brown! Of course, it's you again."
Charlie turned around and groaned. It was none other than Lucy van Pelt, who today was at her psychiatrist booth.
"I'm surprised you didn't come sit down, Charlie Brown! I waited for you to come, but you didn't, so I called out." She smiled as if she cared. "Now, I assume you were so depressed that you actually missed my booth! Come sit down, Charlie Brown!" She grinned, waiting, her tin can at the ready.
However, Charlie Brown smiled, and shook his head. Lucy's smile wavered.
"I'm fine, but thank you anyway Lucy."
Charlie Brown continued walking, whistling.
Lucy blinked, not believing what she just saw. She rubbed her eyes, then ran after Charlie.
She stood in front of Charlie, and frowned at him.
"What do you mean, 'I'm fine.'? You c-"
"It means I'm fine, Lucy. Thank you." Charlie Brown turned around, walking in the other direction.
Lucy was absolutely stunned that Charlie Brown that had cut of her, Lucy van Pelt.
"YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS, CHARLIE BROWN! I JUST WANTED FIVE CENTS, THAT'S ALL!"
Charlie sighed, knowing that if he stayed around Lucy, his decent mood would dampen.
But as he walked past her booth again, and remembered what she said, he had an idea.
"Five… cents?"
He turned around to the booth. Lucy was back, glaring at Charlie for not using her "helpful services".
"Huh. Thanks for the idea, Lucy!" Charlie Brown continued whistling, and walked off once again.
"Idea? WHAT IDEA? TELL ME THE IDEA!" As he walked further away, Lucy's voice was drowned out of Charlie's head.
……
Lucy sat at her psychiatrist booth, in the field next to the baseball park, waiting for someone she can scam off.
"Oh, why can't someone just give me their money?"
As if on cue, Lucy started hearing a faint whistling sound.
Who could be whistling? No-one whistles anymore!
Charlie Brown then walked into the field, just whistling and smiling.
Lucy stared at him, expecting him to at least sit down, but he walked right past him.
Wow! He's so depressed, that he's gone nuts! He's whistling, smiling, and he missed me! Me!
"Charlie Brown! Of course, it's you again. How did you miss my pretty face?"
Charlie turned around and groaned, which was something he did normally.
"I'm surprised you didn't come sit down, Charlie Brown! I waited for you to come, but you didn't, so I called out." She smiled as if she cared. "Now, I assume you were so depressed that you actually missed my booth! Come sit down, Charlie Brown!"
She grinned, and pulled her tin can out. Another easy five cents!
However, Charlie Brown smiled, and shook his head. Lucy's smile wavered.
"I'm fine, but thank you anyway Lucy."
Charlie Brown continued walking, whistling.
Lucy blinked, not believing what she just saw. She rubbed her eyes, then ran after Charlie.
She stood in front of Charlie, and frowned at him.
"What do you mean, 'I'm fine.'? You c-"
"It means I'm fine, Lucy. Thank you." Charlie Brown turned around, walking in the other direction.
Lucy was absolutely stunned.
He… cut me off! Charlie Brown… cut me, Lucy van Pelt, off! In the middle of my sentence! Lucy's face became a dark shade of red, in anger.
"YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS, CHARLIE BROWN! I JUST WANTED FIVE CENTS, THAT'S ALL!"
Charlie sighed, which is what he would normally do.
Lucy stood still, waiting for him to give in, but he didn't.
As Charlie Brown walked past her booth again, she realised that Charlie Brown wasn't actually going to give in. She stomped back to her booth, glaring at Charlie's back.
"Five… cents?"
He turned around to the booth. Lucy was back, still glaring at Charlie for not using her "helpful services".
"Huh. Thanks for the idea, Lucy!" Charlie Brown continued whistling, and walked off once again.
"Idea? WHAT IDEA? TELL ME THE IDEA!" As he walked further away, Lucy breathed in deeply to start shouting again. However, she found she couldn't.
What the heck…? She thought, then realised what happened.
That Charlie Brown! He made my throat sore! I can't talk to my patients then! I have to pack up… all my hard work!
……
Where is that Round Headed Kid? It's Suppertime.
Snoopy was lying on his doghouse with Woodstock, waiting impatiently for the Round Headed Kid. He was already six seconds late, and he didn't want to wait any longer.
He raised his ear, and could hear the hammering of wood. He had heard that many times… That sounds like the same wood the Round Headed Kid would rebuild my doghouse!
||| |||| || |||?
How would I know that's the exact same wood?
|||.
Snoopy rolled his eyes. It's obvious, that's why.
Woodstock blinked, and fell down of the doghouse.
Snoopy sighed. I'll see what's taking him so long.
He jumped off the doghouse and immediately noticed something he couldn't smell if he were five centimeters away.
Are those… cookies?
Forgetting all about Suppertime, Snoopy zoomed to the location of the cookies. (Which meant going inside the house, knocking over Sally who was watching TV, and breaking the door.)
However, he did not expect to see the Round Headed Kid constructing a wooden stand. One of the wooden signs said "Cookies for 24c!".
Snoopy nudged Charlie Brown who turned around. "Oh, hi Snoopy! What's wrong? Oh, is it Suppertime? I forgot! To make up for it, would you like to try one of my cookies, free?"
Snoopy raised his eyebrows. You? Making cookies?
He then started laughing, as Sally did before.
Charlie sighed, and started hammering again. "Well, I thought you came here because you could smell the cookies… but oh well…"
Snoopy slowly stopped laughing, and frowned. The Round Headed Kid had a point. They did smell pretty good.
Snoopy poked Charlie Brown, who turned around and sighed. (Again.)
"Alright, here's your cookie…" He walked over to the window sill, where the trays of cookies were cooling off in the Autumn wind.
He passed one to Snoopy, who took it suspiciously, and sniffed it.
He then squinted, and gave Charlie a look that said If this poisons me, I'll sue you!
Carefully, he placed the cookie in his mouth, (Yes, whole. That's what Snoopy does.) and chewed it slowly.
After the first chew, his eyes lit up and chewed faster. In less than three seconds, Snoopy had finished of the cookie and stood up to beg from more.
"I haven't seen you beg since I was six!" Charlie laughed, and when Snoopy he realised what he did, and sat down, blushing.
"I can give you one more. I'm glad you liked them! I think I can make some profit out of this!"
Profit? I'm getting them for free.
……
Lucy shoved her booth into a shack she had found that no-one used, and walked towards the direction of the Brown residence.
When she turned the corner to Charlie Brown's street, she saw Snoopy dancing about something, while Charlie Brown was making something. Probably rebuilding Snoopy's doghouse again.
She didn't pause to wonder why Charlie wasn't building it in his backyard. Her mind went straight to the instance that had happened before.
She immediately started yelling.
CHARLIE BROWN! WHY D-… wait… where is my voice?
She blushed when she remembered the reason she came here in the first place was to tell Charlie off for hurting her throat. Luckily, no-one saw. Or heard.
As soon as she continued walking, she heard Beethoven piano music. Of course, she was right next to Schroeder's house.
Sadly, she couldn't go inside and pester him because her throat was sore. All because of that stupid Charlie Brown!
She crossed the street, and decided she was going to somehow tell him off, whether she could yell or not.
As she continued stomping (as loudly as she could) to Charlie Brown, Sally opened the door to the house.
"BIG BROTHER! TELL YOUR STUPID DOG TO-" Sally stopped yelling, so Lucy couldn't hear the end of her sentence. She quickly jogged up to the house to see Charlie's response.
"I'm making a stand." He said, his tongue sticking out, trying to carefully nail a piece of wood.
A stand? Like a lemonade stand? Lucy thought. She walked over.
"Hey Lucy!" Sally spoke, waving her hand.
Charlie flinched, nailed in the piece of wood, and turned around.
"Look, Lucy, I'm sorry that your yelling hurt your throat. But was it really my fault?"
Lucy raised her eyebrow, and mouthed How did you know?
He opened his mouth to speak, but then thought about it. "How did I know? Um… it was sort of obvious I guess."
"Who cares! What I want to know is, what is that stand for?" Sally butted in rudely.
"Oh. Uh, I made cookies earlier. You know, the ones you saw me making. That's why Snoopy's dancing." His face turned a light shade of red. "He, uh, liked them. So I'm making a cookie sta-"
Sally frowned. "You're lying! You couldn't- you can't do anything good in your life!"
Charlie shrugged. "You can try them for a… hm..." Charlie attempted to do the math in his head, and then frowned. "Three dollars?"
"THREE DOLLARS?!" Sally yelled and Lucy mouthed. Snoopy jumped up in shock and landed on the tree.
Charlie Brown scratched his head. "I did the math wrong, didn't I…"
"Don't worry, Charlie Brown. Your math skills are perfectly fine."
Everyone turned around to notice Linus, who was sitting on a rock nearby. Now that he was slightly older, he figured out many ways to keep his blanket. He currently had it in scarf form.
"I assume that you accidentally divided the numbers in the wrong sequence of… well, wrong sequence of numbers. If you take the common prices of cookies, and you divide them in the wrong order, that is the answer you receive." He got up and inspected what Charlie Brown just hammered. "However, if you switch it around, you come to the answer of a quarter." He smiled, and then quietly whispered so only Charlie could hear; "If you want to make a profit."
Lucy looked over to Sally, who had suddenly disappeared. Wasn't Sally just there? She asked, but Charlie Brown and Linus didn't notice, as Linus explained to Charlie Brown how he calculated the result.
Lucy sighed, and saw that Snoopy was eagerly trying to take another cookie. But Sally was right. How could Charlie Brown, of all people, do something that's good?
She became impatient. She couldn't take it anymore. She walked up to Charlie, and tapped him on the back.
"Uh, yes, Lucy?" Asked Charlie, looking slightly freighted.
Lucy brought out her tin can, and shook out five nickels - twenty-five cents.
Linus' eyebrows rose, like he could not comprehend what he was seeing.
Charlie frowned, trying to figure it out. "You… want… wait. You want one of my cookies?"
Lucy nodded, rolling her eyes.
"Uh…" Lucy grew impatient once again and just pushed the coins into Charlie's pocket, and swiped a cookie from the tray.
She eyed Charlie Brown as she bit into the cookie, and started chewing.
Instantly, she was taken aback… it actually tasted… good. But… how? This is Charlie Brown we're talking about here…
…but nevertheless, Lucy continued eating the cookie, and swallowed it down.
Charlie Brown looked like he was sweating. "Well?"
"…It's good." She whispered, and walked away.
……
"Lucy liked it! How?! Charlie Brown, you must really be onto something!"
Linus was still exclaiming on the fact that Lucy thought that Charlie Brown had done something… good.
"Wow! I can't believe it! It's a miracle! Charlie Brown, you've done the impossible!"
As he continued yelling, Charlie Brown hammered dabbed in the last piece of brown paint.
"Ah! Done!"
Charlie Brown had constructed a Cookie Stand, right outside his house. The original sign had been demolished when Snoopy fell out of the tree, so he started again. It took three hours to finally finish, so it was around 11:30.
"How's that, Linus?"
It was about the size of one and a half Psychiatrist Booths in length, but the same width.
It was painted yellow, with small dabs of brown in certain places. (The idea came from Snoopy, when he found brown paint. Charlie Brown nearly yelled at him when he painted a brown circle on the already drying yellow paint. He then showed Charlie a cookie, to which Charlie exclaimed, "Snoopy, you're a genius!".)
The top sign said "Crumby Cookies" in black marker, which was the name Linus suggested. ("It needs to have alliteration, Charlie Brown! That's what brings in the customers!")
The bottom sign said had certain times on it;
"Open Friday Prevenings [4:00-6:00], (Sally said she heard this word on a television show. Even though Linus protested that it wasn't actually a word, Charlie Brown couldn't think of a better word.)
Saturday 1:00-4:00
Sunday 2:00-5:00"
"So, Charlie Brown?"
"Yes, Linus?"
"I have, erm, a proposition to make with you."
Charlie Brown raised his eyebrow. "Huh?"
"I think I would be a fantastic asset to this small stand!" Linus stood up on the rock he was sitting on before, and raised his fist.
"I believe that this cookie stand can go to greatness! I believe that, not only can we make people happy by giving them cookies, but we can also achieve a lot of profit from this! We can help charities by doing this, Charlie Brown! I believe that if you let me be your business partner, I can lead yo-"
"Uh, Linus?" Charlie cut in Linus' speech. "I thought you already were my partner… I mean, you worked out the math for me, and gave me some ideas, so…"
Linus' face lit up. "Thank you, Charlie Brown! I really do think this is one of the best things you've ever come up with."
Charlie laughed shakily. "I hope so, Linus."
"Alright, Charlie Brown!" Linus grinned. "Let's get this thing going!"
Charlie nodded. "Uh, I think the paint is dry by now. Hmm… do you have any chalkboards?"
"Chalkboards? Yes, I have two I think."
"Great! Can you go get them? I have one, and I guess I have time to bake one more batch of cookies."
"Okay, Charlie Brown! But why do we need chalkboards?"
"So we can write the menu and change it if we need to, I guess…"
"Interesting idea, Charlie Brown. I'll go see if I can find them…
Linus walked off to his house, which was only about five minutes away.
"Now, how am I going to make sure no-one touches this…"
Charlie looked around, and noticed that Snoopy was gone.
"Snoopy!"
Snoopy walked through the door with Woodstock.
"You want two cookies? One for you and your friend?"
Snoopy nodded his head, and Woodstock "flew" in the air.
"Alright, well, how about I pay you three cookies if you guard this stand, make sure no-one touches it. Okay, Snoopy?"
Snoopy sprinted to his doghouse and came back with a large stick and a pencil, and gave the pencil to Woodstick.
He was also wearing pilot goggles, a helmet and a red scarf, saluting Charlie Brown.
The World War I Flying Ace is ready to defend this new machine! We cannot let that blasted Red Baron find this artifact!
"Uh… good work, soldier… I think…" Charlie walked inside, making sure all the ingredients were all still there.
He found another tray from the cupboard.
"Are they really that good, Big Brother?"
Charlie, not looking where Sally was, shrugged. "Lucy says it's good."
"LUCY SAID IT WAS GOOD?!" She yelled, taking Charlie by surprise, who dropped the tray on his foot.
"Owh… well, yes. Where did you go, anyway?"
"Er… uhm, I didn't want to see someone get poisoned."
"Ah." He said, skeptically. "Alright."
Charlie started making another batch of cookies, while Sally watched.
"I have an idea, Big Brother."
Charlie sighed. "Yes, Sally?"
"Why don't you have more than one flavor? You have the old chocolate chip cookies. Why not something else, like raspberry?"
Charlie considered this. "Maybe when I more." He sighed. "For all I know, it was just luck that I made good cookies."
"That can't be."
"Why not?"
"You don't have any good luck!"
"…of course. Oh, and we don't have raspberry."
Charlie continued fixing up the cookies. As he were about to finish them off, he realised something.
"Oh no! I only have enough chocolate chips for half the batch! Who's going to want plain biscuits?"
"Why not put in blueberries, Big Brother?"
"Blueberries?" Charlie looked through the refrigerator, and found a packet of blueberries. "Huh. Might work."
He folded in the blueberries, and placed the cookies in the oven.
"Now we just have to wait for it to bake." Sally said, smiling.
"Yes, I guess so… but I think I've forgotten something… ah! I have to get a chalkboard!"
He quickly rushed to his room as they heard a knock on the door.
"I'll get it!" Sally yelled, as she opened the door.
Linus was standing outside, holding two chalkboards.
"Hi Sally. Is Charlie still here?"
"Uh… yes." Sally tried to conceal her blush. The true reason she left earlier was because she didn't want Linus to see her blushing. Everyone assumed she had gotten over her crush when they were eight.
"He's, uh, getting a chalkboard, I think."
"Ah! Okay, cool."
"Hey Linus!" Charlie yelled from behind Sally. Charlie was also holding two chalkboards, and a bucket of chalk.
"Alright, let's get set up. Do you have an idea on how to attach the chalkboards to the wood? I was thinking nails or hooks.
"I think nails would be more sturdy, Charlie Brown."
"Okay, let's go!" Charlie walked outside, and Sally watched the two boys get to work. Meanwhile, Snoopy kicked Charlie Brown.
"Huh? Oh yes. Soldier, thank you for guarding this, er, cookie stand! Dismissed!"
Snoopy took three cookies, and sprinted to his doghouse. (Which involved going inside the house, knocking over Sally, and breaking the back door.)
……
"Alright, Linus… what's the time?"
"It's 1:30, Charlie Brown."
Finally done with the stall, they were checking up on everything to see if they'd missed something.
They had figured out how much gets what. Linus only wanted to take 40%, and he refused to take an equal amount of Charlie. ("It was your idea, Charlie Brown!" "But you gave me the idea to do this idea!"). Charlie would receive 50% of the money, and they would donate 10% to charity.
They also had written on the chalkboards a couple of things;
"ONE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE = 25 cents
ONE BLUEBERRY COOKIE = 25 cents
BUY ONE, GET ONE FREE!
COOKIES ARE 20% OFF ON FRIDAYS!
10% OF MONEY GOES TO CHARITY!"
"Okay… so we've got our shelf here for our cookies… we have about forty choc chips and fifteen blueberries. These small holes are where we deposit our coins.."
"Alright. I also brought a bell, and I have a couple of comics we can read while we wait for people."
"Okay! So, uh, I have two stools here as well. So, you can greet the customers, Linus, and I-"
Linus frowned, and sat on the stool next to that was next to the was on the side of the blackboards. The customer could still see Linus, but the top sign had an arrow pointing to Charlie.
"They're your cookies, Charlie Brown. You should be the one to greet people."
Charlie put his hands up. "No, no… you know I can't talk to pe-"
"Too late! Someone's coming!"
"Ack!"
Linus and Charlie stood silently in their stools, as someone in the distance walked along the sidewalk.
In turned out not to be one someone, but two someones.
Patty and Violet were walking along the sidewalk, blabbing and gossiping as usual.
As they came to the Brown residence, they looked over about to make a snide remark about Charlie Brown, when they saw the stall.
"What's this, Charlie Brown?" Asked Patty, genuinely suprised.
"Uhm, welcome to Crumby Cookies, Patty. Would you like some cookies?"
"Cookies? Well, gee, now that you mention it, I do feel a tad hungry…"
"Who made these cookies?" Butted in Violet abruptly.
"Er, I did."
Oh, boy. Violet's on one of her bad days. Linus thought.
"I knew it! These cookies are probably poisonous. Come on, Patty, let's get away from wishy-wa- Patty?"
Patty wasn't listening to Violet's rant – instead, she was inspecting the chalkboards.
"So, if I pay you twenty-five cents for a chocolate chip cookie, I can get a blueberry cookie for free? Or do I get another chocolate chip one?"
"Patty!" Said Violet, masked with shock. "You couldn't actually be considering buying a cookie from this failure face?!"
Patty didn't listen to Violet's pleas. "Look, I'll buy one, and if it somehow is good, then you can have the other one. Okay?"
"But this is Charlie Brown we're talking about here! He can't do anything right!"
"Will you shut up, Violet!" Linus yelled. Violet jumped in shock. She hadn't realised Linus was there.
"You're clearly diminishing Charlie Brown's… well, himself! Why don't you ever realise your words actually hurt people?"
Violet just stood in silence. Patty smiled, and came to a decision.
"Violet, would you prefer a chocolate chip or a blueberry?"
"…A blueberry."
"Alrighty! Charlie Brown, can I please have one chocolate chip and one blueberry?"
"Uh, sure…"
Linus brought out two cookies, slightly aggitated.
"I hope they're not too cold…" Muttered Charlie.
Patty brought out a quarter, and gave it to Charlie Brown. In turn, he gave the two cookies to Patty.
"Thank you, Charlie Brown!" Patty smiled, and gave one to Violet.
Violet eyed the cookie suspiciously. "You better have washed your hands before giving this to me, Charlie Brown, or I'll sue you!"
"He's got an attorney." Linus shot back, annoyed.
Patty brought the cookie to her mouth, and slowly bit it and chewed it.
"Well?" Violet asked, intrigued.
She chewed, and started smiling. She took another, bigger bite from her cookie.
"Wow, Charlie Brown! Did you really make these?! They're fantastic!"
"No way!" Violet yelled, biting into her own cookie. Her face changed as she chewed, however. It became into some weird held-back smile.
"Well… it's okay…"
"Charlie Brown, if I buy three cookies, do I get three free?"
"Uhm-"
"No, sorry." Cut in Linus. "You only get one free."
"Ah, okay. Well, we'll get two choc chips and one blueberry, with one blueberry free, thanks!" Said Patty, smiling.
"You're getting more?" Violet yelled again.
Patty frowned at Violet. "You know you want some."
Violet sighed, and grudgingly admitted, "Yes… okay…" Violet fished a fifty-cent piece out of her pocket, and Patty gave a quarter.
Linus brought out the cookies, and Charlie exchanged them for the money.
"Uh, thank you for shopping at Crumby Cookies, Patty and Violet!"
Violet had already scoffed down one of her cookies.
"Anytime, Charlie Brown! We'll back for the Friday discount!" Said Patty, who walked off with Violet.
Linus rubbed his eyes. "I really do think you're on to something, Charlie Brown… first Lucy, now Violet… I just have one thing to say."
Charlie Brown smiled. Today, he achieved many things; he did something that Lucy liked, did something that Violet liked, and finally, he felt a feeling that he doesn't feel often, a good feeling – happiness.