Mr. Peabody, Sherman & Penny

Chapter One: Back to School

It was a standard morning at Susan B. Anthony elementary school. The students were opening their lockers and preparing for the first lesson of the day.

"Did you hear about that crazy light show last night?" One boy asked another. "I heard it was some kinda freaky electrical storm."

"I heard the government were making their own black hole." His friend replied.

Just then, the front doors opened. The student stared at the latest arrivals. It was Sherman and Penny. The whole school was aware of what happened them during lunch a couple of days ago, and they were quite surprised at what they saw; The two were walking side-by-side, clearly aware of each other's presence, but showing no signs of animosity. No-one was more surprised at this then Penny's friends, Abby and Jill. They witnessed Sherman and Penny enter the classroom together, exchange smiles, then take their seats.

At lunch, Abby and Jill naturally followed Penny's lead.

"Where shall we sit?" Jill asked.

"How about over there?" Penny pointed to some empty seats near Sherman and his friends.

"Seriously?" Abby asked.

"What?" Penny shrugged.

"What's going on with you and him?" Abby inquired. "A couple of days ago, you hated him, and now you're acting like he's your new BFF!"

"She's right." Jill agreed. "What happened?"

"Nothing much." Penny declared. "His dad invited me and my parents around for dinner last night, and Sherman and I hung out for a while. Turns out he's not so bad once you get to know him."

"Not so bad?" Abby repeated. "He bit you on the arm!"

"Only because I put him in a headlock." Penny said matter-of-factly. "Seriously though, give Sherman a chance. He might surprise you." She chuckled lightly. "He sure surprised me."

Without another word on the subject, Penny wandered over to Sherman, Abby and Jill reluctantly following.

"Hey, Sherman." Penny smiled. "This seat taken?"

"Hi, Penny." Sherman smiled back. "No, it's free."

Penny sat beside Sherman on the bench, Abby and Jill sitting alongside her. Sherman's friends Mason and Carl on the opposite side, Carl's wheelchair beside the table.

"This is Abby and Jill, by the way." Penny introduced them.

"Hi." Sherman waved.

"Hello." Jill said tentatively.

"Hey." Abby said sourly. "Bitten anyone lately, dog-boy?"

"Abby!" Penny nudged her. "Knock it off!"

"Why should I?" Abby frowned. "Have you forgotten what happened a couple of days back?"

"I haven't forgotten anything." Penny declared. "What happened was my fault. I was being a jerk to Sherman, and I got what was coming to me. I realised that, and made amends. End of story."

"Really?" Mason chipped in. "I have a hard time believing you'd go from enemies to friends so quickly."

"Me, too." Carl said nervously. "I don't buy it."

"Relax, Carl." Penny said firmly. "If it wasn't true, would I even be sitting here?"

"Guess not..." Carl said timidly.

"Besides, what happened before is in the past now." Sherman declared. "Let's just forget about it and move on."

"So, you and Sherman hung out last night?" Jill asked. "You must have had some fun, to end up this tight."

"You could say that." Penny smiled. "Sherman flew a model airplane, didn't you, Sherman?"

"Oh, yeah." Sherman went along with the half-truth. "...And then I crashed it."

"It was a pretty fantastic crash, though." Penny recalled.

Penny and Sherman laughed at the memory, leaving their friends a little perplexed.

"That reminds me of a joke." Sherman smiled. "When the Wright brothers first presented their airplane, it was met with a lot of resistance. Finally, Orville said, "If flying is so wrong, then I don't want to be Wright."

Sherman, Mason and Carl laughed uproariously. Penny laughed a little less loudly. Jill giggled, and even Abby snickered a little.

"Good one, Sherman!" Penny chuckled.

"Thanks." Sherman snorted. "My dad told me that one when we visited Kittyhawk."

"You've been to Kittyhawk?" Jill asked, impressed.

"Oh, yeah." Penny nodded. "Sherman's been all over. His dad takes him on trips all the time."

"Wow." Jill sighed. "I've never even been out of town. What's it like?"

"It's pretty fun." Sherman smiled. "And I've learned so much, going to places like France, Italy, Egypt..."

"Check out Mr. globetrotter." Abby whistled. "I'm impressed."

They continued talking all through lunch, tales of Sherman's travels having enticed Abby and Jill into friendlier conversation. They even shared friendly banter with Mason and Carl. Before long, the time had come for them to return to class.

"What are you doing after school, Sherman?" Penny asked. "Maybe we could hang out."

"Actually, I've got robotics club after school." Sherman told you. "You could come, too."

"Eh, not really my thing." Penny shrugged. "We could always hang out tomorrow, though."

"Sure thing." Sherman nodded.

As the students returned to class, Abby sidled up to Penny.

"Guess you were right, after all." She admitted. "Sherman's not so bad. He's actually a little cool."

"Yeah, he's alright." Jill agreed.

"Told you so." Penny smirked.

To Be Continued...

(Mr. Peabody & Sherman and all associated characters are the property of DreamWorks Animation.)