WARNING: IF YOU DON'T LIKE BASEBALL OR HINTS OF CB/PP, YOU'RE GONNA HAVE A BAD CHAPTER.
Chapter Two: The Baseball Game (TEAM)
The first game of the season. To Charlie Brown, this was like Christmas. The game would be against Peppermint Patty's team (the Pelicans, he believed was their name). Not the most optimistic matchup, but he believed he had a fair chance of winning. He liked to pretend he was a big-league manager, carrying a spiral notebook and scribbling notes - lineups, scouting reports, practice plays, etc. He wasn't going to be Connie Mack anytime soon, but he could do his best. He walked over to the neighborhood sandlot, eager to get the game underway. He saw his team standing around the bench, talking about...something or other. Probably property values or theology with his luck. He also saw...
"Hey, Chuck!"
Peppermint Patty smiled. She wore her usual striped shirt, though purple and white instead of green and black, along with her white cap with a black bill. She and her team was smiling and ready to play as well, but for a different reason; it was always nice to get an easy victory.
"You hear about the weather?"
"No, Patty. Why?
"It's supposed to rain later."
"Perfect."
"Well, who's home and who's away, Chuck?"
"I think you should bat first, Patty. 'Ladies first', after all."
A member of Patty's team, Thibault, (was that his name? Charlie wasn't sure) coughed. Charlie didn't mean the "ladies first" remark as an insult, in fact he took Peppermint Patty (and her team) very seriously. Why wouldn't he?
"Wow, are you sure? We could always do the battle of the bat again..."
Charlie Brown blushed. The "battle", as Patty put it, involved placing their hands up the bat till there was no room. Patty always won, by pulling the "eagle claw", placing her hands over his and ripping it from his grasp. This almost always caused their hands to touch, causing Patty to remark, "You're touching my hand, Chuck..." No, he would prefer to not suffer that.
"No, let's just get this game started. Your team bats first."
With that, both teams began their team meeting.
"Alright, team. A brand new season is upon us," said Charlie Brown.
"Where we will lose every game," remarked Lucy.
Charlie Brown winced. True, he hadn't had any history of winning, but his luck was getting better.
"We have just as much chance as anyone," he said, and he believed it.
"Okay, lineup is same as usual. Patty and Frieda, you two can decide among yourselves who gets left and who gets center. Other than that, no changes. Objections?"
There were none, and so the game began. Thibault led it off for the Pelicans, and he took a moment to stare down Charlie Brown.
"Hey, get in the box!"
"Scared of Charlie Brown? Aw, poor thing!"
"Just pitch to him, okay?"
Ah, he could always be calmed by the sound of infield chatter. He looked down, the ball in his hands. The first pitch of the new season. What should it be? Can't go wrong with a good ol' number one...
Thibault connected. The ball was a line drive - straight towards him. He raised his glove to protect his face, squeezing as he heard the rubber of the glove pop. The ball's momentum threw him backwards, sending him into a tumble midair, head over shoe. He landed headfirst, hard into the dirt, and saw stars. But he still had the ball in his glove, and raised it for everyone to see that he caught it.
"Woah! Charlie Brown caught it," exclaimed Linus.
Thibault threw his bat to the ground in frustration, and Charlie Brown received an "ovation" from the little kid in the stands, the only spectator.
Charlie Brown then struck out the next batter on three pitches, the first time he could remember doing so. Schroeder went out to the mound.
"I can't believe it! I struck him out!"
"Yeah, he's been sick all winter. He started to forget what the sun looked like and stuff. Also, he's kinda nearsighted, and hasn't played baseball before..."
"Sometimes a catcher knows too much about your opponent," Charlie Brown mumbled to himself.
Roy got a base hit off of him, Peppermint Patty hit a run-scoring double, and 5 grounded out to end the inning. In the bottom half, Pig-Pen doubled, Snoopy homered, Linus and Schroeder singled, and it was 2-1. Linus on third, Schroeder on first, and Charlie Brown at bat. Peppermint Patty and her catcher stopped to talk for a minute; she was having an off day, but still pretty good.
"Okay, Chuck. What kinda pitch would you like to miss?"
Charlie Brown just rolled his eyes. It couldn't be to hard to hit a baseball, could it? Patty wound up and fired a blazing fastball. He grit his teeth and swung...
WHOOSH!
Strike one. Next pitch, another heater. He hit nothing but air.
WHOOSH!
Strike two. He choked up on the bat, and kept his eyes fixed on the ball. A slow curve, right down the middle...closer...closer...NOW!
WHOOSH!
He was out. Frieda and Patty (not Peppermint Patty, the other Patty) struck out as well. 2-1, with two innings to go. Royanne homered off of Charlie Brown, tying the game at 2. Shermy singled for Charlie Brown's team, but was left on first to end the second.
"Okay, we're tied and we've got one inning left," said Charlie Brown, "so give it your all out there. One more run, and the game is ours!"
Thibault hit a screamer between second (Linus) and shortstop (Snoopy). Patty's quick throw cut him to a single. The second hitter struck out again, as did Roy. One on, two outs, tie game, and Peppermint Patty at bat.
He smirked and allowed himself a rare boast. "Okay, what pitch would you like to miss, Patty?"
She smirked back. "Give me your best pitch, Chuck."
He reared back and threw with all of his might. She slammed it right up the middle.
CRACK!
It smashed into his forehead, knocking him unconscious.
...
"Hey, Chuck? Chuck?!"
He woke up, Patty standing over him, head still aching. Thibault had already scored, making it 3-2, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw the ball, between home and first.
"I'm fine, Patty," he said. He was kinda seeing double, but he thought it would pass.
Shermy picked up the ball and tagged her on the shoulder.
"You're out."
"Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yeah."
She walked back to her bench, conscious clean, as Charlie Brown stumbled back to his bench.
"What the heck, Pat? You could've scored before that loser woke up," Thibault snapped.
"You want a problem, Thibault?! One more word and I'll slug you!" Her cheeks were burning, with anger and embarrassment.
Linus hit a grounder, but tripped over his blanket running to first. One out.
Schroeder popped out to right field. Two outs.
And Charlie Brown at the plate.
"Grit your teeth, Charlie Brown!"
"Hit a homer!"
"Just get on base, ok?"
Peppermint Patty said, "Good luck, Chuck, but I'm gonna throw my best. You ready?"
"Ready as I'll ever be, Patty."
Charlie Brown walked out into the rain, opening the mailbox and halfheartedly throwing it in. He noticed his letter from yesterday and sighed, putting the flag up for the mailman to notice. It was always something, wasn't it?
Wednesday - 2nd Day of Summer
Dear Pen Pal,
It's me, Charlie Brown again. What do you like? Just asking, uh, just interested in knowing. I have a passion for baseball, though, if I'm honest, I'm not very good. Today, me and my team had a game. It was against Peppermint Patty and her team. We don't really have the best team, but we're not too bad. Snoopy is an amazing shortstop, catching the balls in his teeth. Not sure that would be allowed in professional leagues. I'm pitcher and manager. I've asked my dad about playing Little League before, but he says that system's broken. He says it focuses on winning too much, rather than having fun. I've never really won before, so I don't know if it's worth focusing on.
It was a close game, though I'm not sure how much you know about baseball, so I'll give you the short version: it all came down to me. I had an opportunity to win the game for my team. And I knew they'd hate me for it if I blew it. I tried, I really tried. But it just...I blew it. I lost the game. And I heard it, the shout from the gallery, "We lost! We lost because of Charlie Brown!"
They say that two teams go out, and the one that wants it more wins. I wanted it so badly. Not for me, for my team. They deserve it, sticking by me through thick and thin.
So, how's camp? I hear it's quite far. I wish I was there. I've never felt comfortable writing letters, it's easier for me to talk to someone, face-to-face.
Your Friend,
Charlie Brown.
