It's Your Future, Charlie Brown!
High School: Freshman
By Sean Mahoney
Chapter 1: The First Day
"I can't believe we're finally in high school, Charlie Brown. I've waited for this for a very long time!" Linus had been excited about going to high school since the summer began. "It's going to be awesome; we're finally going to get our chance to really show everybody how much we rule." Linus had been my best friend since we were little kids. Most other people thought that Linus was a bit strange. He had a very unique appearance. He was actually a year younger than me but was bumped up a grade in elementary school. He was a bit shorter than me and had really messy black hair. He had patches of facial stubble, ever since he began to hit puberty he had been very proud of his facial hair, even if it was somewhat uneven looking. He wore a striped red shirt and blue jeans: both were about a size too big for him. His most notable piece of attire was his ratty blue blanket: ripped and stained over years of use and abuse (mostly from my dog).
Linus may have looked somewhat unkempt but he was living proof that external appearances mean nothing. Linus was always known for being a very deep and thoughtful person. He was always the one most knowledgeable about Philosophy and Theology as well as having an unshakable code of morals that he lived his life by. Linus was also often my sole confident; he would listen to my problems and offer non-critical advice.
Linus was fairly confident in himself. He may have needed a security blanket to function, but as long as he had that he was fine with himself. I, on the other hand, had zero self-confidence. Ever since I was a kid I always thought of myself as a loser: constantly letting my failures and shortcomings get the better of me. As a kid I was able to get by with such low self-esteem but once I got into middle school things really got bad. I was no stranger to being bullied in my past but kids really started making life difficult for me. It got so bad that I needed to go for psychological help in order to cope. Luckily that part of my life is over, and by the time I was done with 8th grade I was able to function normally again. However the damage was done and from all the bullying and the name calling I was still a very sensitive individual who lacked any sort of self-confidence. I really wasn't looking forward to high school at all. Not only would people continue to bully me and make me look like a fool, but I'd have to meet twice as many new people this year, which means more people who wouldn't like me.
I sighed. Linus may have been excited to start school but I certainly wasn't. Besides the fact that I was a total loser, I didn't exactly look all that great either. My head has always been slightly too big looking for my body, which has earned me the nickname of "blockhead". To make matters worse, my thin blond hair makes it seem like I'm bald. I'm slightly overweight and have a wardrobe that seemingly consists of only tee-shirts with a zigzag stripe: mostly yellow shirts as well (though I do have one or two red and blue shirts).
"Do you really think anybody is going to take you seriously Linus?! You're still carrying around that stupid blanket! You are going to be the laughing stock of the school with that blanket!" Lucy van Pelt was Linus's older sister and probably the number one source of frustration and grief for him. I know how he feels; she used to make my life miserable when we were kids. She's one of those people who love to criticize and she has a very violent side to her. I've seen Linus cower in fear because of her plenty of times. Back when we were kids she used to scam me out of my money too. She ran a psychiatric booth and I was her primary patient. Of course her brand of help was mostly her criticizing me and then telling me I was hopeless. I also still have nightmares about the football as well…. However, I've known Lucy even longer than I've known Linus and despite the fact that she tortured me and has always belittled me, she was still a very close friend of mine. I know that deep down she cared about my well being and had been trying to help me in her own weird way. She had certainly grown into a very pretty girl, even if I considered her something of a sister. She grew her black hair longer over the summer and had a very fair face, which was often juxtaposed with a very severe expression. She was slender and even at age fourteen had already begun to er…um… fill out… very nicely. She tended to favor wearing blue shirts and would alternate jeans and skirts. Lucy was also into being a part of as many causes and organizations as possible. Perhaps it was a church group, perhaps some feminist rally, or maybe some sort of school political position; Lucy was usually wearing at least two or three pins on her shirt declaring what her causes of the week were. "People are going to bully you everyday about that thing!"
Linus smirked as he clenched his blanket, "They'll only bother me once." I agreed with him on that account. Linus was pretty adept at using his security blanket as a weapon and few people dared bother him about it anymore.
Lucy shook her head, "Despite the fact that you are an embarrassment as a brother, I fully look forward to starting high school myself. I'm already set to be a member to the Student Government Association and I intend to run for treasurer in October."
"Oh great, you in charge of money, that's going to make this year even better than I had expected." Schroeder, the fourth member of our party finally said. Schroeder and Lucy always have had a very rocky relationship…if you can even call it a relationship. For whatever reason, Lucy has always been madly in love with Schroeder since they were kids. Schroeder however only cared about one thing: Beethoven. Since he was an infant, Schroeder was a musical genius: wowing us day after day on his toy piano. While over the years he had finally been convinced to overcome his fear of real pianos, his skill remained top notch. Schroeder's big weakness however was his lack of patience. He was something of a hot head, especially when it came to people who were ignorant of Beethoven's greatness and more commonly, Lucy. It was almost sad to see how much Lucy had tried to appease him and how he just blew her off more and more. Lucy remembered every one of Beethoven's birthdays: a day that Schroeder celebrated instead of his own birth. Schroeder's obsession with Beethoven could be scary sometimes. One time in Jr. High he had bought a wig identical to Beethoven's and wore it around the school. It was the one week that Violet was crueler to someone other than me.
Schroeder was about my height and was well built, not like a body builder or anything, but he was definitely in better shape than me. He had blonde hair that was much thicker than mine. He tended to wear striped shirts: usually green or purple and carried a picture of Beethoven in his wallet at all times.
Schroeder had been very irate lately: he had spent the summer applying to music schools like Julliard and was rejected from all of them. I felt bad for him but I didn't exactly know what to say. It was very apparently though that he was bitter about having to go to our public high school and with Lucy constantly telling him to 'suck it up and forget about those stupid music schools', I can understand why he'd be frustrated.
Lucy ignored Schroeder's remark and asked, "What about you Charlie Brown, you don't seem too thrilled to start."
I didn't really want to talk about how apprehensive I was about starting high school: about how I was worried about making an idiot out of myself. "Oh you know school's school."
Lucy nodded, "Yeah I guess you're right, I'd rather it still be summer too."
Linus then piped up, "Oh come on, you have to be excited about something Charlie Brown."
I thought for a moment and then, truthfully, said, "I guess it'll be cool going to school with Peppermint Patty and Marcie." Peppermint Patty and Marcie were two of my closest friends who lived on the other side of town. They had gone to a different school in the past, but we were still in the same school district and all would go to the same high school together.
RING
The school bell rang, signaling us all to head to homeroom. The four of us had been hanging out in the hallway as we had waiting for the bell to ring. I said my goodbyes to Linus and Lucy who were heading off to a separate homeroom from me and Schroeder.
………………………………………………………………………………………………
"CHARLIE BROWN!? AND SCHROEDER!?! I HAVEN'T SEEN YOU GUYS IN FOREVER! WHAT A SURPRISE!" As we sat down this strange, but slightly familiar girl bellowed at us. I know I have seen her before. She was slightly overweight and had incredibly messy and curly hair. She wore a blue skirt and looked liked she was dressed up as if she was still in elementary school.
Schroeder politely, but still somewhat awkwardly asked, "Excuse me but do we know you?"
The strange girl's smile quickly turned into a scowl, "OH DON'T TELL ME YOU GUYS HAVE ALREADY FORGOTTEN ABOUT ME, CHAROLETTE BRAUN?!" Good grief, Charlotte Braun, our town's resident loud talker. This girl put Lucy to shame. I knew her very briefly when I was a kid and in a matter of a few days I went from actively trying to befriend her to avoiding her like the plague. Just as quickly as she moved into our area though, she moved out. She must have moved to a different school in the district.
Schroeder, much less polite than before replied, "I'm sorry if we don't exactly remember you after only knowing you for like a month eight years ago."
"THAT'S NOT VERY NICE YOU JERK!" Schroeder is interrupted in his reply by another entrant in our conversation.
"Hey Braun, they can hear you out in the football field. Shut yer trap!"
"YOU STAY OUT OF THIS 'BAD CALL'!" I look over to see 'Bad Call' Benny smirking at us, with his feet resting on his desk. Benny was a kid who used to play tennis against Snoopy. He got his name from his tendency to call every shot 'out'. He was also one of those guys who loved to start trouble, usually with the wrong people. Just as things were starting to heat up however, the homeroom teacher entered the classroom and took roll call. After a couple of statements he handed out our schedules.
"Do we have anything together Schroeder?" The two of us compared our schedules and noted that we had English with a Ms. Othmar (which was very strange as that was the name of our elementary school teacher) as well as music with one Mr. Swanson. We were then dismissed from homeroom and headed to our respective classrooms. Schroeder had first period gym, which he was really annoyed about. I suppose I can't blame him, it would stink to get really sweaty in the very beginning of the day. I on the other hand had a class I wasn't looking forward to: Biology with a Mr. Wheeler.
……………………………………………………………………………………………....
As I entered my first class, Biology, I thought I had been transported to the jungle. Various exotic plants had been hanging up from different areas of the room and cages of reptiles and rodents took up any shelf space on the sides. I immediately thought that this was going to be a cool class. I didn't get to look around any further however because I had seem something much better. Sitting alone at a table in the back corner of the room was Marcie Johnson.
Marcie was the sweetest girl I've ever met. She is very shy and quiet but has the biggest heart of anybody I know, she always tries to make me feel better whenever I'm feeling down. She's also incredibly intelligent as well as very witty. She's the kind of person who always has something funny or sarcastic to say, you just have to listen closely for it. She's very cute too. She's pretty short and has shoulder length brown hair. She usually wears red sweatshirts and shorts. A lot of the other girls make fun of her sense of fashion, but that doesn't matter to any of us. She also wears very thick glasses, without them she's practically blind. She thinks that she looks ugly with them on, but I disagree; I think she looks very cute. Not that I'd ever tell her that.
"Mind if I sit with you Marcie?"
She smiles, "Not at all Charles. It's good to see you. I'm glad we have a class together."
"Yeah, we've never been in school together so this should be something new."
My elated mood crashed down though when I saw who had entered to room. He looked around the classroom and honed in at me and Marcie, a devilish grin creeped onto his face. He was quite a bit shorter than me, even shorter than Marcie. His facial expression alternated between a sneer and a smirk. He had long black hair which was complemented by the most obnoxious pair of sideburns I've ever seen on a human being.
His name was Thibault, and he was one of the few people in the world who I couldn't stand. He went to school with Marcie and Peppermint Patty, so I didn't have to deal with him much, but the amount I did see of him was far more than I ever would want. The first time I met him he was playing on Peppermint Patty's baseball team. I had lent him my glove and he refused to give it back. The next time I saw him was when he was bullying Marcie and I failed to stick up for her. He was always out to bully Marcie: he hated her. In fact, many think that he hates woman in general, that he's a sexist pig. He occasionally might listen to Peppermint Patty, but that's only because of her domineering personality. Even so, I've seen him be just as cruel to her as he was to anybody else.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't Marcie Johnson. What are you trying to become a doctor or something? You girls have no business taking biology, go to a home ec. class or something."
Marcie glared at him and I followed suit. I did not like this kid. Marcie was the nicest girl and yet he still went after her. "I didn't think aspiring janitors needed biology either, Thibault."
Thibault grabs her, "Listen you geek, shut your dirty little mouth!"
I meekly speak up, "Hey Thibault, get your hands off her." He blinks and looks at me, trying to figure out what to make of me.
"You look familiar kid, what's your name?"
"Charlie Brown." He snaps his fingers as he tries to put my name to my face.
"Ah-ha! You're that friend of Peppermint Patty's! The punk who thinks he's better than everybody else! Yeah I know your type alright! I'll take you on right now!" He raises his fist at me. "Don't think I'm bluffing kid!" I edge away from him; I couldn't take him in a fight!
Luckily I was rescued by the bell. Class had begun and our teacher, Mr. Wheeler had entered the room. Thibualt took a seat at another table and hissed at me, "We'll finish this after school!" Great, my first day and I already am going to be beaten up.
Mr. Wheeler looked like he just got his master's. He was very young, yet was soft spoken and nervous. He was tall and lanky and wore a sweater vest with khakis. He was well groomed and sported a goatee of light brown hair. He gave a brief introduction to the class and confirmed that this was his first year as a teacher, as well the fact that he was currently working on his dissertation for his doctorate. Marcie was curious about what he was writing about, but he had ignored her question in favor of handing out our textbooks and having us read the chapter on all of the parts of a cell. As I was trying to differentiate between cell wall and cell membrane, our teacher sat at his desk, typing furiously at his laptop.
Marcie hissed at me, "Is he planning on teaching us at all today or are we supposed to teach ourselves."
I shrugged, "I guess he wants to learn this on our own." I sighed because I was never going to get straight what a ribosome does.
Marcie sulked, "I already know everything in this book though, I had read it before. How I am supposed to get into medical school if this guy isn't going to teach me anything?"
I rolled my eyes, "If you already know everything in that book I don't think you need to worry about getting into medical school Marcie."
It felt like an eternity, but just as I was about to finally about to memorize the function of the mitochondria, the bell had rang and Mr. Wheeler waved us off. I parted ways with Marcie and after getting a dirty look from Thibault, proceeded to my next class.
………………………………………………………………………………………………
I smiled as I made my way into my next class, history, when I saw Linus and Peppermint Patty sitting next to each other smiling at me. I was very glad to so far know people in my classes, I was nervous about finding somewhere to sit if I didn't know anybody. Patty moved two seats behind Linus and gestured to me to sit between them which I gladly obliged. I always sat behind Linus in Ms. Othmar's class in elementary school and Peppermint Patty would be able to whisper to me from behind for answers during the term which I didn't mind as long as I didn't get in trouble.
Peppermint Patty has always been one of my closest friends. I had met her once when she had volunteered to play for my baseball team. She was amazing; unfortunately she was disgusted at our team's lack of skill and only played one game. Peppermint Patty was always much better than me at baseball or pretty much any sport. She was also very competitive (without being a jerk about it). She was always something of a tomboy, and still remains it to this day.
Peppermint Patty is slightly taller than I am and has a lean build. She has a very rugged appearance to her: she commonly has scrapes and cuts from various different activities. She's probably the most in shape person I know and has a vigorous daily exercise routine (she doesn't however limit herself to eating whatever she wants whenever she wants). She has very short brown hair and a face full of freckles. She has always been very self-confident of the way she looks: be it her freckles or her "big nose" (which I never really seemed to notice). I don't think she should be so down on herself. She may not be a supermodel, but she certainly isn't bad looking. Besides her personality more than compensates for her "Plain Jane" looks as she would call it. Peppermint Patty was the first girl I ever knew who didn't act like they hated me and tried to actively demean me. Don't get me wrong, there have been plenty of times that she's gotten extremely frustrated at me, but she always eventually is able to get over whatever stupid thing I had done. She also has always had a great deal of confidence in me which I feel is misplaced. She is always convinced that I can do something when I personally know that I can't. Unfortunately she usually just ends up being disappointed and I get upset knowing that I did disappoint her, but deep down I do really like that someone believes in me. The problem with Peppermint Patty is that is always giving mixed signals about things. One minute I think that she may be hitting on me (though I know that would never happen) and the next minute she is yelling at me for being an idiot. Sometimes I don't understand her, but regardless I am really happy to have her as a friend.
"Hey Chuck! Glad to see we have a class together. It should make dull 'ole history a lot more bearable."
Linus took offense to that, "Peppermint Patty, history is one of the most important subjects of our education! How can we form a productive future if we do not understand what has happened in our past?"
"Just because you are aspiring to be the President of the History Club doesn't mean that the rest of us care about what happened in the past." Before Linus could offer a rebuttal, our teacher, Mr. McKinley entered the room. He was a short and thin man who never seemed to have gotten enough sleep. He was unshaven and wore a wrinkled and even slightly ripped suit to class.
Despite his droopy appearance, Mr. McKinley was easily the most animated and spirited teacher I ever had. After giving a brief introduction to himself, instead of lecturing or explaining what we would be learning this year he smiled and said, "History may be a product of the past, but today will soon become tomorrow's history. That's why I want to hear from you, 'What is wrong with our world?'" The entire class was silent. We looked around at each other confused. "Don't be shy now, I want to hear from you guys what you think the biggest problems are in our world."
Linus immediately put his hand in the air and answered, "I think that we live in a culture that is far too dependent on superficial things like appearances and material wealth and is lacking a true solid moral foundation."
Mr. McKinley chuckled, "A very deep concern Mr..." he looked down at his course register "…van Pelt. That is exactly something that some colleges of mine like to discuss. You'd probably fit in well with us." He laughed once more, Linus sunk down in his chair; his face was beaming with both pride and embarrassment. He continued to ask different students what they thought the biggest problems in the world were. We all got a good laugh when Frieda, a very attractive but very self-absorbed girl in the front row, stated that the chlorine in public pools messes up her 'naturally curly hair'. Peppermint Patty started a heated discussion about woman being allowed to play on major league sport's teams with men. When he called on me though I blanked out; I never had given much thought to what I thought the biggest problems in the world were. I mere stated that I didn't know while some of my class mates sniggered at me.
At the end of the period Mr. McKinley stopped the discussion to say, "All of these concerns we've discussed today are legitimate and will certainly affect the history of our future in one way or another." At that point the bell rang, "Alright I'll see everyone tomorrow, and everyone please bring in a copy of the newspaper tomorrow if possible! Oh and Charlie Brown, I'd like to have a quick word with you." My heart sank. My first day of class and I was already in trouble. He was probably going to lecture me on how stupid I was: on how I should keep up with current events. I nodded at Peppermint Patty and Linus as they walked off and approached Mr. McKinley.
"Um, can I help you sir." He eyed me.
"Does your father happen to own a barber shop down by the Main Street and Woodycrest intersection?"
"Uh yeah, Brown's Barbershop. He's run it for years."
He smiled, "Ah I thought so! I knew Charlie Brown sounded familiar! I have been a regular at that barbershop for years! I get my weekly shave there and I must say, I don't think anybody gives a better haircut than your old man!"
I laughed nervously; I was sort of embarrassed that my father was responsible for Mr. McKinley's mop of a hairdo.
"I've heard a lot about you Mr. Brown! I look forward to a very capable and intelligent student like you!"
"Oh…thanks…" I look down at the floor. I was sure to disappoint him. I wasn't capable or intelligent, that was just my dad bragging about me…obviously lying. There was nothing about me that my dad would truthfully brag about.
"Well I suppose you better get going; we wouldn't want you to be late for your next class now would we?"
I nodded and rushed out the door, plowing straight into a group of seniors who cursed me out before allowing me to continue on my way.
………………………………………………………………………………………………
I stumbled into English a minute late, though it didn't seem to matter since our teacher hadn't arrived. I looked around the room and spotted Linus who thankfully was in two classes in a row with me.
"What
did McKinley want Charlie Brown?"
"Just to tell me he knew my
dad. Apparently my dad has been telling him that I'm some genius,
so Mr. McKinley thinks I am going to be a great student! Just what I
need, a teacher having expectations of me!"
Linus chuckled, "Well it is a father's right to dream, isn't it? Anyway did you check out who's teaching our class?" I shook my head no. "Look at your schedule!" I did as I was told and subsequently gasped in surprise.
"Ms. Othmar!?!"
"Yeah, I wonder if it's the same one." Ms. Othmar was our elementary school teacher. It was also common knowledge that Linus always had a huge crush on her. Once he spent all his money on getting her a huge Valentine (which he unfortunately never got to give her). And I can still remember how heartbroken he was when she had her brief marriage to one Mr. Hagemeyer. And let's not even begin to discuss how he reacted when she got fired during the teacher's strike and was replaced with Ms. Halverson.
I nudged his elbow, "So Linus, you going to woo her after all these years?"
"Hah! She's got to be what, like 40 now? I've got to draw my lines somewhere Charlie Brown! Ms. Othmar was just too late to realize what she had with Linus van Pelt. The two of us stared laughing but quickly were silenced when we saw who walked through the door.
She was like a goddess or a model or something! Like the kind of woman who'd be in a hair metal rock music video! Her blond flowing hair glowed in the light and was complimented by her perfect form fitting dress. Her glasses perched on her forehead indicated that she was as intelligent as she was beautiful and the entire male population was absolutely captivated by her…robust chest…
"Hello class" it sounded like the gates of heaven opened, "I'm Miss Othmar and welcome to 9th Grade English." She began to explain how she was only teaching for two years; she just got her masters and that she was inspired to go into teaching by her older cousin who taught elementary. At that point I stopped hearing what she was saying though, as I was thoroughly distracted. At one point during the lecture she dropped and picked up a piece of chalk, which caused Schroeder, who sat on the other side of the class, to fall out of his seat.
It wasn't until the bell rang that I snapped out of my daze and realized that I'd have to control my hormones if I wanted any chance of passing this class. I turned to Linus, "It's going to be one heck of a job paying attention to the actual literature in this class."
Linus had a look on his face that was quite familiar to me. It was the same look he had when talking about the Great Pumpkin. It was an unshakable look of determination. "She will be mine, Charlie Brown. Ms. Othmar will be mine!"
Oh good grief, not this again!
………………………………………………………………………………………………
Gym was never pleasant for me, and high school gym was no exception. The gym teacher, Mr. Chadwick was an old, squat man who had very little interest in his job. Our first day he told us that we needed to bring a change of clothing to keep in the gym locker and that he wouldn't tolerate any "BS" in his class. He then brought out a bunch of balls, told us to "go nuts", and then went off to a corner and started reading a magazine that probably was not appropriate for school grounds.
I sighed: a free period. Most students loved free periods but not me. It was just another situation all the other kids would hang out and I would be left out and forced to spend the period by myself in awkward silence. I looked around and saw that bullies Joe Agate and Thibault were playing some one on one basketball. Popular girls: Violet and Patty were gossiping in a corner while Pig-Pen was trying to (unsuccessfully) hit on
Frieda.
It was then when I saw her, sitting on a bench giggling at Pig-Pen and Frieda. My heart completely sank. The girl of my dreams, the girl who I have loved from afar since I was six, was in my gym class: the place I was most prone to make a fool out of myself. For years it was always the same story. I admired her from across the room and she would never know I existed. I always longed to go talk to her, but she was everything and I was nothing. I was just some creepy loser named Charlie Brown.
"Oh Charlie Brown!" I snapped out of my depressed musings to see Lucy throwing and catching a football to herself. "You want to kick the football? I'll hold it and you'll come and kick it!"
"Do you really think I'm that stupid Lucy? Do you really think I am going to let you make a fool out of me in front of all these people?!" It's insulting to think that Lucy was still doing the old football bit with me.
"Oh come on Charlie Brown, that's such a childish thing to do. We're in high school, do you really think I'd do such an immature thing now that we're in high school." She made a good point. Pulling the football away from me would be incredibly immature. "Come on Charlie Brown, you need to at least make it seem like you're playing some sport if you want to get credit for today's class."
"I suppose you're right Lucy, I'll do it!" I took a few steps back, elated that I would finally kick this football. We were in high school; Lucy wouldn't be petty enough to pull the football away now! This was going to be a new era for Charlie Brown! I'd kick the football on the first day of high school and then more things would work out for me. I could finally talk to that Little Red Haired Girl!
"AUGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I flew through the air and landed on my back, like hundreds of times before. The cries of laughter immediately filled the gymnasium.
Lucy walked over to me and beeped me on the nose. "Just so you know that Little Red Haired Girl found your flight quite hilarious!"
Who am I kidding: things are never going to change for Charlie Brown.
………………………………………………………………………………………………
"You really are stupid Charlie Brown. Only a blockhead like you would still let Lucy pull the football away from you!" Of all the people who had to see Lucy make a fool of me, Violet Grey is the absolute worst. Her and her friend Patty were two of the most popular girls in the school, and they knew it. Violet was fairly pretty, but that was more than offset by her snobbery and downright nasty attitude. Patty was both prettier than Violet and marginally friendlier, but was too quiet to do anything but be Violet's sidekick.
It was lunch period and I hadn't found anybody to sit with, so I just sat at the first empty table I could find. Of course that didn't stop Violet from finding me. Of course I had to have gym and lunch back to back with her, it would ensure that I'd never stop hearing about everything I did wrong in gym.
"You are totally worthless Charlie Brown. It's no wonder you're sitting here alone." I tired ignoring her. I took a bite of my bland peanut butter sandwich and stared blankly ahead, fighting every urge to show weakness.
"You need to be more like Shermy, Charlie Brown." Patty began to brag, it was no secret that the two of them were dating. I could see Violet roll her eyes. Shermy was a decent guy: I used to be friends with him ages ago, but we just sort of stopped talking after a while. Truth be told, I haven't even seen him in a while. "He's already been appointed Freshman class representative on the student board."
"On the first day of school?"
Violet sneered, "Oh yeah. Unlike you, Shermy actually is going to make something of himself."
Patty smiled, "Oh my Shermzie is going to be class President! Just you wait!"
I stare at Patty, "Shermzie?!"
Violet grabs Patty's arm, "Get a grip Patty!" Patty's smiled evaporate as her face turned a bright shade of pink. "Come on, let's leave Failure Face to his brown bag lunch!" The two girls walked off laughing, leaving me to contemplate how much of a loser I was compared to Shermy.
"Another brown bagger, eh? I sense a kindred spirit." I looked up to see a slightly familiar boy standing next to me. He had dark curly hair and wore a blue Hawaiian shirt. I knew I had seen him before but I couldn't put my finger on it.
"I'm sorry, I know I know you from somewhere but you need to jog my memory."
He shrugged, "Fair enough. The name's Roy. We're mutual friends of Peppermint Patty; in fact, you met her through me years ago." Oh man! Now I remember! I hadn't seen Roy in ages, I completely forgot about him.
"Oh wow! Yeah I remember you! We met at summer camp. What's up?"
Well me and my friends noticed you were sitting here alone, with no company but the scorn of the 'popular' girls. We thought we'd invite you over to our table. Though I warn you…" he smirked, "we are the nerds of the school. I wouldn't expect your social standing to rise with anybody through us."
I smiled, "Well I don't exactly think anyone could possibly think any lower than me."
"Well it's settled then Charlie Brown, follow me." He lead me to the other side of the room. "I guess you know everyone though."
"I sure do! Franklin! Pig-Pen! It's been ages!" Franklin Armstrong got up and shook my hand. He was always a very level-headed guy.
"It's great to see you Charlie Brown! How's the team holding up?"
"Oh well, we disbanded back in 6th grade. Everyone else pretty much lost interest."
Franklin sighed, "Yeah, I guess that's the way it goes for most teams. Of course with Peppermint Patty as our manager, we'd have a bounty on our head faster than you could say carbonite if we tried quitting her team."
"You can't exactly blame us for quitting." Pig-Pen, who used to play for my team, spoke up. "5 years with only three wins. Not exactly good for the spirit, eh Charlie Brown?"
I sighed, "Yeah I suppose you are right." Pig-Pen was still very true to his namesake. Although in addition to his trademarked cloud of dust he also had stains of various foodstuffs peppering his clothing. He had gained a bit of weight over the summer and was in desperate need of a shave.
I hadn't talked to any of these guys in a few years, but it was cool to finally be able to hang out with them again. At least I knew I wasn't the only misfit in the school.
………………………………………………………………………………………………
I had music class, with Schroeder, next. I could tell he was still in a foul mood about the whole Julliard affair. He wouldn't speak to me except in grunts. Of course, I don't think our teacher, Mr. Swanson, made matters any better. He was a tall, blond, guy in his mid thirties with a huge cleft and an even bigger smile. He introduced himself as being a world famous singer and we quickly discovered that he was a washed up child star who ended up turning to lounge singing before moving on to teaching. Of course even as a child star his roles were usually limited to minor parts in Jean-Claude Van Damme movies. He claimed that he could cultivate those with talent into stars comparable to him. At that point Schroeder loudly scoffed and was swiftly sent to the principal's office.
………………………………………………………………………………………………
My final class of the day was Math, which I had with Lucy and this guy we knew named '5'. 5 was a nice guy I guess, I knew him since I was a kid. I was never good friends with him or anything; he was one of those guys that always seemed to just be in the background. He was named because his dad had some sort of nervous breakdown and was overwhelmed with the importance of numbers in our world. He named his children after numbers as his way of 'giving in' (as a side note, 5 has twin sisters named 3 and 4). 5 was so unassuming that under any other circumstances I wouldn't bother mentioning him. But today was different, he looked really depressed. Lucy and I weren't sure if we should have asked him if anything was wrong. We were friendly with him back when we were kids, but we really never talked to him much since then. We weren't sure if it was any of our business.
It didn't take long to realize why 5 was so upset though when our teacher walked into the room. He was a man of average height and average build. He was balding and wore very odd unmatching clothing. He had a nervous tick where he'd twitch after every sentence and had a bad stutter. He introduced himself as '1'.
"N-n-numbers are a very imp-p-portant aspect of our lives. No matter how m-much we may try, there is no escap-ape-aping them…" It was really sad watching 5's reaction to his father and I was determined to talk to him after class. We didn't get to do any actual math that day either, as 1 just kept talking about how numbers control everything. When the bell finally rang 5 sprinted out of the class before I could say anything to him.
Lucy walked up to me, "Damn Charlie Brown, and I thought you had problems!"
………………………………………………………………………………………………
I was glad that my first day of high school was over. While I was happy to have some classes with friends, I still knew that high school was just going to be more of the same for me: I was still going to be that pathetic loser of the school that everyone walked over.
Lucy and I had separated after class: she wanted to find Schroeder and sit with him on the bus. That left me to walk back to the bus alone…or so I had hoped.
"Hey, Charlie Brown! Where do you think you're going!" I stopped in my tracks and slowly turned around. "I told you that we'd finish this after school! Well, school's out buddy!" Thibault walked over to me and started to push me. "Come on Charlie Brown! Let's do this! I'll take you on right now!"
"I'm not going to fight you Thibault." I tried to turn around and head for the bus but he grabbed me by the shoulder.
"I don't like your attitude kid! I think it's time to teach you a lesson!" I grimaced, fully expecting to feel a fist meet my face.
"What the hell do you think you're doing Thibault!?" Peppermint Patty came running up to us. "I can't believe you picking on Chuck on the first day of school!"
"This isn't any of your business Patty! Keep your big nose out of this! It's between him and me!" Peppermint Patty stomped her foot.
"I've had it with your attitude! I don't care if you're a great shortstop: I can't stand your attitude! You're an asshole and a sexist! I'm kicking you off the team again! And this time for good!"
Thibault snorted, "Pft, we'll see how long that lasts! What're you going to do, get four eyes to play short stop again?! Hah! You'll be begging for me back soon enough!" He faced me, "You got lucky this time kid, but you won't always have some girl protect you! I'll see you later, you freaking wuss!"
He stormed away leaving me and Patty together. Embarrassed, but grateful for her help, I turn to her, "Thanks Patty. I'm too much of a wimp to stand up for myself."
She patted me on the back, perhaps a little to hard as it caused me to trip forward a bit, "Think nothing of it Chuck! That guy is a real jerk, he always gets on my nerves! Good riddance I say!"
"But isn't he a good shortstop? I kind of feel bad being responsible for you hindering your team."
"Aw, that's alright Chuck! Sometimes you got to put your principals over your players."
I laugh, "Yeah, sometimes I wish the major league teams would do that more often. There are sure a lot of jerks like Thibault on those teams!"
"Hah, well you're just upset cause Shlabotnik's been pushed to the minor leagues again!" We both begin to laugh. "But it doesn't really matter, I'm disbanding the team soon anyway, I just haven't gotten around to telling everyone."
"What?! Why would you do that?"
She looked at me in shock, "Why do you think Chuck?! I'm going to try out for the school's team! Unfortunately I'm not going to be able to go for pitcher this year, but I'm sure I can nab it after showing everyone how good I am. Are you trying out on Thursday or Friday?"
I stared down at my feet, I never told her, "Um…I'm not going to try out. I'm kind of done with baseball."
I had never seen such a look of outrage on Peppermint Patty's face before, "WHAT!?! You can't be serious Chuck! Baseball is your life!!"
"But I've always been so terrible at it. If you cut off my thumb and I was to count my victories on one hand I'd still have fingers to spare."
"Oh there's always room for improvement Chuck! And it's not like you'd be manager; you'd find your niche in the team! Maybe you were always destined to be shortstop, or catcher?!"
"Look, I've tried out before in middle school and the coach laughed at me! Why should I bother now? I'd rather just avoid making a fool out of myself."
"Avoid?! Is that what you're going to do?! Just avoid things because you're afraid of them! I know you were a blockhead Chuck, but you're better than this! You can't just give up!"
"It's not worth it Patty, why should I bother with something that I'm so terrible at? I'm not trying out, I got enough to deal with already."
She sighed, "I can't believe you Chuck. I seriously can't believe you." My heart sank. I felt like a piece of garbage just giving up like that. Despite all my mistakes Peppermint Patty usually was someone who'd stick up for me. Maybe she'd get frustrated at me, but this was the first time I ever saw her be down right disappointed in me. The two of us said goodbye and went to our respective busses giving me plenty of time to contemplate how much of a loser and a quitter I was.
………………………………………………………………………………………………
As Charlie Brown and Peppermint Patty parted ways towards the busses, both feeling very upset because of the conversation that took place, Lucy van Pelt approached her friend and object of affection: Schroeder at his locker. He was having quite a bit of difficulty getting his combination to work, something that Lucy thought was cute.
"Having trouble sweetie?" He shot her a dirty look and then quickly returned his focus to the locker. "Man, you seen extra cranky today."
Without looking at her he mumbled, "Of all the people to talk about crabbiness!"
"Oh good grief, don't give me that attitude, what's wrong?"
"Well I guess you won't shut up if I don't tell you… I got sent to the principal today! I already have a detention under my belt!"
"Sheesh Schroeder! What the heck did you do?"
"I told the truth! That's what I did! I called out that good for nothing Mr. Swanson! He didn't take very kindly to it. I knew that this school was worthless! If Swanson is who they think is qualified to teach music then I refuse to cooperate with any of these idiots!"
Lucy stared blankly, "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. By the way it's right-left-right, not left-right-left: that's probably why your locker isn't opening."
Schroeder slammed his fist into his locker door, causing Crybaby Boobie, whose head was looking for a book in her adjacent locker, to hit the ceiling of her locker in reaction to the sound. "I-KNOW-THAT-LUCY!"
"Lucy backed a few steps away from the aggravated Schroeder, watching as he finally got his locker open thanks to her advice. "Well, I'm sure you'll get into music school eventually, you just need to be patient."
"Oh what do you know?! You're still under that delusion that you have a future in psychiatry!"
Thoroughly offended Lucy turned around, "Alright, if this is how you are going to act, I'm going to leave you to yourself for now. I'll save you a seat on the bus."
As she walked away Schroeder slammed his locker door and angrily stared at her. He muttered, "When the hell is she going to get the hint?!"
