Lucy Van Pelt: A Lost Cause (Part 1)
CHAPTER 1: FAILURE FACE NO MORE
AUTHOR'S NOTE: As mentioned, this mini-series will be based off the fanfic A Waste of Time and Space. Read that fanfic posted by David Crap-Writer to see the background behind this story. Link here: s/13126518/1/A-Waste-of-Time-and-Space
Vallejo, California, 5:30 AM
It was almost dawn. The alarm went off. And a 36-year-old Charlie Brown was getting up to start the day. He had to open his restaurant; a restaurant that he started with a business partner named Susan Franks. It was named Brown's Bistro, and it served everything from Italian, to burgers, to steaks, to seafood. It was named a five-star restaurant and was listed in the Top 20 Restaurants in California. This was a far cry from the days that he couldn't do anything right and was considered a failure. He had proven everyone wrong and that he could be successful.
After getting out of the shower, Charlie went downstairs to start breakfast and check his messages. He saw his phone beep with a new message. He saw it was from Linus. In the years since they were kids, the two best friends kept in constant contact with each other, although Linus was way on the other side of the country in Boston. Charlie figured since it was in the middle of January it must have been freezing over where Linus was. He checked his phone to see what Linus had sent. The message was small but to the point:
"The bitch is dead. Just FYI."
Charlie Brown knew what that meant. His biggest antagonist and Linus's sister, Lucy Van Pelt, had died. He wasn't particularly shocked or even saddened. He knew that she wasn't taking care of herself and had gained a ton of weight; even more than she already had gained when all of them were in high school. Anything could have killed her. A heart attack, diabetic complications, hypertension, anything. What he was wondering was how she finally kicked the bucket. He decided to call his parents. If anyone knew the details, they would. He dialed his father's cell number.
On the other end, Charlie's father, Silas, answered the phone. "Hey, son. What can I do for you?"
"Dad?" Charlie began. "I just got a message from Linus. Lucy apparently had died last night. Do you or mom know anything about it?"
"Now that you mention it, Lacey, their mother, had called us this morning. She told us that Lucy had committed suicide."
"Suicide?!"
"Yeah. I can see why. Her parents have been taking care of her for this long and she never did anything with her life but get overweight and eat herself into oblivion. From what they told me and your mom, everyone had enough of her and she was about to be evicted and was facing some financial problems from overdue credit card bills. She must've been desponded over her situation."
"Well, dad, Lucy never really grew up. She still felt like the world owed her something. That everyone had to bend over backwards. And her attitude sucked, too. She didn't give a damn about anyone but herself. Not to mention the years of abuse she heaped on me."
"I understand, son. Lucy was a difficult person to deal with."
"That is the mother of all understatements, dad. As bad as I got it from her, Linus and Rerun had it worse because they had to LIVE with her! Linus hated her and even severed ties with his parents because they paid more attention to her than him and never intervened when she beat him and Rerun up. I don't know if Linus will even go to the funeral. I'll ask him later today about that. Did you tell Sally about Lucy?"
"No not yet, but we will let her know."
"I'm sure her fiancée will jump for joy."
"Why do you say that, Charlie?"
"Because it's Schroeder, Lucy's former crush. He couldn't stand her probably even more than Linus, Rerun, and myself combined."
"Good point. Anyway, I gotta head for the shop. I'll let you know about the funeral plans when they become available."
"Thanks, dad. I'll talk to you later." And Charlie Brown hung up the phone and finished getting ready for his day.
NEXT CHAPTER: FROM THEOLOGIAN TO ARMY BRAT