Chapter 10

"Okay class, now that the excitement died down, let's play ball" Mrs. Frieda announced to the class as Lucy held her newborn daughter lovingly.

"Okay" Amanda piped in.

Orchid giggled and waved to her cousins. "Goo uck!" she smiled to Junior and Robin and the quadreplets.

Leif smiled as he walked off to the bench, where he found 'Tiny Tough', daydreaming to herself. "Hey" he smiled.

"Oh, hi Leif" she responded, looking over at him.

"So…I'm Leif Klimt and theose are my siblings: Samuel, Melonie and Kaitlyn…the one in the stands is my new sister, Angel" he introduced.

"Nice…I'm the only kid in my family" Tiffany smiled.

"So, what do you like?" he asked.

"Sports, mainly baseball…but I also love ponies and playing outside in a sprinkler"

"I love classic music-mainly Tchaikovsky-, football, running races with my sister Kaitlyn and making macaroni and cheese"

"You seem nice"

"Thanks…my mom was a real crab as a child"

"My dad hates when girls play sports"

"He doesn't seem nice one bit"

"He tries to not be mean, but it's a habbit of his to boo when a girl player is at bat"

Leif smiled, holding Tiffany 'Tiny Tough's' hand, both unaware of the camera man picking up on their conversation.

"So…good luck" he quivered, shaking her hand.

"You too, Leif" she smiled, blushing to herself.

"Someone's in love" Fabius Fabulous (from Freemont) called out.

"Am not!" 'Tiny Tough' denied, hiding her blush.

"You're getting all red" Dante exclaimed.

"Yeah!" a couple more boys agreed, laughing.

"I hate being the only girl on the team" she sighed to herself, looking back at Leif.

"Young love…" the announcer sighed. "Next to bat is Samuel Klimt" he continued as the chubbier of the quadreplets walked to bat.

"He won't be able to pitch" a Freemont kid joked. "He's too fat"

"I'm not fat!" Samuel denied.

"Look at him, he didn't loose his 'baby fat' yet" another Freemont kid teased as they all burst into laughter with the exception of Tiffany and the teacher.

Fabius smirked, tossing Samuel a slow ball. "I'll show you, Fabulous!" the chubby boy exclaimed, slamming the ball and racing to the first base as Junior ran straight to third base.

"The boy's fast" a man in the audience realized.

"I know…" a woman agreed. "What's the boy at 3rd base's name?" she asked.

"Charles Monroe Noah Brown III" Charlie Brown replied as a few spectators laughed.

"Charlie Brown?" they others asked in confusion/awe/surprise.

"Yeah, but we just call him Junior" his wife added.

"The shirt was a clear giveaway" a woman sighed.

"Agreed, knew it all along" the man complimenting Junior's speed added. "Besides, Charlie Brown, he looks like you" he praised.

"Thanks…wait! How'd you know my name?" Charlie asked in confusion.

"Charlie Brown, everyone knows you" the man responded.

"That doesn't mean you know me" the man with the blonde hair argued. "What's your name?" he asked.

"Matt" the light brown haired man explained bluntly.

"Sorry but we don't know any 'Matt' here" Marcie declined, looking over at Charlie.

"You sure?" her husband questioned.

"Trust me, you two know me" 'Matt' responded. "From when we were younger" he added.

"We do?" Charlie and Marcie questioned in unison.

"Yeah…remember a 'Pigpen'?" the man asked.

"Pigpen? Boy have you changed" Charlie Brown smiled, noticing the dirt and dust was completely gone from his friend.

"Yeah, well I finally found out why I was always so filthy" Matt explained.

"What was the cause?" the raven haired woman asked.

"Part of the problem was that sometimes there'd be no warm water, then there'd be no cold water…taking a shower was a daily struggle…you'd never know if there'd be warm water or cold water waiting you" he responded.

"How does that happen?" Charlie asked.

"Two words, Charlie Brown: Plumbing and Problems" Matt explained.

"Whoa" the bespectacled woman realized.

"Not only that, but I'm a dust magnet, just not as much as when we were kids" he added.

"Any kids?" Charlie asked.

"Yes…" the man formerly known as 'Pigpen' responded. "The little girl over there in the tattered overalls…" he explained. "Don't tell her but she's adopted" he added.

"What's her name?" Charlie asked.

"It's pronounced Maria but spelt as Marcia…confusing if you ask anyone" Matt explained.

"Figures" Mr. Brown agreed.

Amanda sighed as she kicked at the air. "Robin, a word?" she asked.

"Yeah?" the blonde questioned.

"Do you know how big of a fail-ee-ur your daddy was as a kid?" she asked.

"Yes…he's my dad after all" Robin responded as if that was an obvious question.

"Oh…" Amanda blankly answered, watching Junior and Samuel.

"I think that my brother is a really great guy" the blonde admitted. "Even if he IS named after my daddy"

~After the ball game~

"I can't believe it!" Jack sighed. "We lost, mates"

"I know" Suzie groaned. "But we did our bests" she added.

"We sure did" Junior agreed.

"Yes we did!" added Robin, patting her brother on the back.

"Great game, 'Tiny Tough'" praised Leif.

"You too…I hope to play 'gainst you again soon" Tiffany smiled.