Lost Cause Diaries #1: Violet Moves Away
CHAPTER 1: "ESPECIALLY EVERYBODY!"
Violet Gray had once said that her town was boring and that she wanted to move away and get away from everybody. She had a disdain for most of the kids in town, with the exceptions of two kids, her best friend Patty Swanson, and the only boy she actually considered a friend, Shermy Wilson. The other kids she barely tolerated. She was friendlier to pretty girl Frieda Rich, but that was because she was well-liked by everyone. She halfway dealt with most others. She avoided Pig Pen, the dirtiest kid in town, like the plague, but in her defense, so did everyone else. She had a rivalry with Lucy Van Pelt, the only kid who could give Violet a run for her money when it came to being mean. But the kid she harbored the most hatred for was one Charles Brown, or Charlie Brown as they called him. He was one of the nicest boys in town, and yet, he was treated with such disdain. Was it because he was so clumsy? Was it because he couldn't win at anything, no matter how hard he tried? Or was it that he was so wishy-washy? For Violet, it was all of the above, and then some. But other than that, she really had no reason to hate the poor kid. Even Lucy, who teased Charlie Brown probably worse than Violet herself, was willing to hang out with him, even if it was for her own amusement. Violet wouldn't even do that. So why did a girl carry so much hatred in her heart like it was a normal thing. Maybe she was longing for something herself.
There was one person in Violet's life that didn't tolerate her rude and snobbish behavior. It was her mother, Kathleen Gray. She wondered how her daughter became such a wicked brat to her peers and not even had a shred of remorse to hurting them. Outside of Patty and Shermy, she was cruel to almost everyone, especially Charlie Brown, whose mother, Maureen, Kathleen was best friends with. That made Violet sick to her stomach. Her own mother best friends with the mother of the boy she hated more than anything in the world. She pretty much tolerated it, and even played nice when Maureen came over. Violet would greet her and be cordial to her, maybe be even nicer to her than her own son. Violet figured it wasn't her fault that she gave birth to the blandest, stupid, wishy-washy boy on the face of the earth. Neither she nor Kathleen made it known that Violet hated Maureen's son's guts.
One day, Violet's father, Grant, came home from his job at Ace Engineering, with exciting news. "Kat, Violet, come on out!" he said, loudly. "I have great news!"
His wife and daughter came out from where they were. "What is it, Grant?" asked Kathleen.
"I just got a promotion from my job!" he said with a big smile. "I've been made Vice President of my department!"
"That's great, daddy!" said Violet. Of the two parents, she got along with her father the best, and she often doted on him to her peers and often talked about how better he was than their dads, especially a certain round-headed boy.
"Congratulations, darling!" said a happy Kathleen, who embraced her husband.
"Well there is a bit of a catch to this promotion," Grant continued.
"What catch is that?" asked Kathleen.
"We would have to move to California," said Grant. "I said I'd discuss it with my family before I committed to being V.P. for them."
"California?" said Violet. "I can finally leave this forsaken place! Take it, daddy!"
"Hold on, Violet," said Kathleen. "We haven't decided on leaving quite yet."
"Come on, mom!" Violet whined. "I can't stand it here! Outside of Patty and Shermy, I can't stand the kids here, either. They're so immature. Especially…"
"Don't you dare!" warned Kathleen. "You leave that poor boy alone! You've done enough to him to make him miserable. If we do move, I will apologize to him even if you won't for your behavior towards him over the years."
"Mother, you wouldn't?!"
"Try me!"
"Now calm down, ladies," said Grant. "Let's decide. Do we stay in Sparkyville? Or do we head out west?"
"I say California, here we come!" said an excited Violet.
"Well, I would like to be in a warmer climate," said Kathleen. "Okay, but we must take care of loose ends before we leave."
"Of course, dear," said Grant. "I'll let the bosses know my decision. Right now, we go out to eat!" And the family got ready to head out for dinner to celebrate.
NEXT CHAPTER: "WE'RE HAVING A GOING AWAY PARTY, BUT WE ARE INVITING CHARLIE BROWN!"