Attic Treasures
Fanfic by LivingOnLaughs
Peanuts Characters by Charles M Schulz
Charlie Brown and Linus were headed over to Peppermint Patty's house. The three of them were going to play a bit of football, watch cartoons and maybe even take a nap. "I can't wait, Charlie Brown!" Linus squealed happily, as they made it to the front steps.
Charlie Brown knocked on the door impatiently before a tall man opened the door. "Hello." The two kids said in unison as the man began talking; although all the boys could hear, was 'Wahhh wahh wah wahhhh'.
"Oh, thanks Mr. Reichardt, goodbye." Charlie Brown replied after talking to the man. Linus looked at the lovable loser before asking, "So, any change in plans?" Charlie Brown sighed as he directed his friend to another house.
Linus eagerly rang the doorbell, only for Snoopy to greet them. "What's going on?" Charlie asked in confusion. Snoopy barked as the two kids followed him into the house and into the attic, where both Peppermint Patty and Marcie were rummaging around. "Hey girls!" Linus called out as Charlie Brown embraced himself for whatever the girls would ask him. "Hey Linus. We're just cleaning out the attic. Don't ask me why." The freckle faced tomboy explained. The two boys looked at their bespectacled friend, who was crying as she looked through a box.
"What's wrong?" Charlie Brown asked as he headed closer to Marcie and cuddled her. "I'm fine Charles." The little girl lied as she tried to hold back the tears forming in her light blue eyes. She then looked in the box and pulled out a plushed rabbit. "Nice bunny." Linus exclaimed as he and Peppermint Patty snooped through some other boxes.
"Thanks." The seven-year-old softly said as she pulled the rabbit closer to her chest and snuggled it as if it were her own security blanket. Charlie Brown then pulled out some old books from the box. He groaned and replied, "Let's see which advanced books we've got."
Patty giggled, as she knew which books he pulled out: Little Red Riding Hood, The story of Peter Rabbit, Cinderella and The Very Hungry Caterpillar.
"What happened to War & Peace, Huckleberry Finn and Moby Dick?" Charlie Brown then asked as he began tickling his bespectacled friend. "Charles, is that important? Well, considering you're curiosity is killing you, I used to love story books." She explained in-between a fit of giggles.
Patty then walked over and pulled out a cute, little picture of a puppy dog. "Is this dog Snoopy?" She then asked, showing them the picture. The three kids nodded their heads in agreement.
Linus was still wondering why they were cooped up in the Carlin's attic rummaging through a box as he searched for something to pull out. His focus then fixed on a piece of fabric. He then pulled it out, only to reveal a pink blanket with yellow hearts all over it.
Patty chuckled as she turned around to her bespectacled friend and asked, "Isn't that your old blanket?" Marcie smiled and nodded her head in agreement with the older tomboy, who groaned in annoyance.
Linus chuckled as Snoopy tunneled into a box and pulled out a vermillion orange beret in his mouth. "What's that?" the lovable loser asked in curiosity. "It's a hat, Charlie Brown. A beret to be persist." Linus told his friend. Marcie giggled as she then pulled out a beagle-sized sweater from the box.
The gang took turns rummaging through the box until it was empty. "Now what?" Peppermint Patty asked in concern. "Now we put everything back in the box." Linus explained as he folded the blanket and carefully placed it in the cardboard box. Snoopy was laughing as he passed some storybooks to Patty, who gave them to Charlie Brown, who cautiously placed them in the box until it broke from all the weight being put on it.
"Now what, Chuck?" The tomboy asked in confusion as they tried duct taping the hole in the box. "Now, we put everything back in the box and hope it doesn't break again" Charlie Brown told her. "And if it, we can just…we can…we can duct-tape the box again and again." He added.
Charlie Brown and Marcie began to notice the sun set. "Terrific." Charlie Brown mumbled as he continued to duct-tape the box.
After getting everything in the box (except the plushed bunny), the four kids and the beagle flopped down on the Attic floor and began talking about life. That's when she said it.
Clutching the bunny, she took a deep breath and sadly said, "Guys, you've all been great friends and I'll never forget you all. From Lucy's psychiatric booth; to Sally's philosophies and Rerun's pictures. From all of the Beethoven we'd hear, Franklin's words of wisdom and Snoopy's fantasies. From Linus reciting the Bible and Charles trying to fly a kite."
She then held back tears as she turned to Peppermint Patty and said, "And you Sir, with all of your attempts to get me to be a better baseball player. I'll miss you guys so much." Patty cocked her head in confusion. Linus and Charlie Brown looked at each other before letting their bespectacled friend continue.
"Well guys, I'm moving away soon and, I really didn't want you guys to worry and…" at this point, she was crying her little eyes out. "It'll be alright." Charlie Brown reassured as he helped wipe away a tear. "Thanks, Charles." Marcie softly said as she hugged Charlie Brown. "I'll miss you too." He explained as he snuggled her. "Me too, Charles." The shy girl replied, sniffling a little.
Patty then looked back in the box and pulled out a picture frame. "Do you guys remember this?" She asked happily.
Linus closely examined the picture. There was a baby girl in overalls banging a pot with a wooden spoon, a little boy in a yellow t-shirt trying to feed his toy dog a teething biscuit, a baby girl giggling at her reflection in a mirror and a baby boy wrapped up in a blue blanket. "It's us!" Linus exclaimed as his blue eyes widened at the sight of the picture.
"Exactly, kid." Patty replied before turning back to Charlie Brown and Marcie. She smiled at her two friends before wondering how she'll make it through school without the bespectacled girl. "You'll find a way." Snoopy thought happily before falling asleep in Linus' blanket.