A World Without Charlie Brown (Part 7)

CHAPTER 1: SOMETHING IS MISSING…

Sparkyville, USA

12:30 PM

"So does that monster movie sound good to watch this afternoon at the theater?" That was Schroeder talking to Linus and Pig Pen as they were hanging out together for the day.

"Sounds good to me," said Linus. "What's the name of it again, though?"

"Killer Turnips from Outer Space," Pig Pen replied. "The reviews for it were great."

"Well, I'm definitely in, now!" said a happy Linus. "We should invite Franklin, too."

"I'll call him before we leave," Schroeder responded. As they continued walking, they spotted Frieda heading their way.

"Hello, boys," she greeted. "Where are you three off to?"

"Going to the movies to see Killer Turnips from Outer Space, Frieda," said Linus.

"Ooh, that sounds frightening!" shivered Frieda. "Can I come with you?"

"Are you sure?" asked Pig Pen. "It's quite scary."

"What you guys don't know is, in addition to having naturally-curly hair, I am a huge horror buff," said a gung-ho Frieda. "I love a good scary movie."

"What do you think, fellas?" asked Schroeder.

"Well, she's one of the good girls," said Pig Pen. "I'm game."

"Same here," added Linus.

"Okay, you can come with us, Frieda," said Schroeder. "We still have to invite Franklin."

"What about Peppermint Patty and Marcie?" asked Pig Pen.

"I heard they were at another Tiny Tots concert," said Linus. "They were listening to some Mozart today."

"As much as I like classical music, not a fan of Mozart," retorted Schroeder. "Now if it were Beethoven, you already know all bets are off!"

After scooping up Franklin, they headed for where the theater was. They spotted Violet and Patty already at the theater. Linus and Schroeder, in particular, weren't exactly thrilled to see them.

"Hey, gang," greeted Violet.

"Hello, Violet and Patty," Linus greeted back, dryly.

"Where's Lucy at?" asked Patty.

"She actually didn't feel like going out today," Linus replied.

"What are you two up to?" asked Franklin.

"We just saw Killer Turnips," Violet replied.

"We're about to go in and see that movie," said Frieda.

"One of the turnips had a round head," said Violet, turning sad. "It kind of reminded me of… never mind."

"Charlie Brown?" said Pig Pen. Violet sighed deeply.

"Kind of hard to hide it, eh?" she said sadly.

"We admit it," Patty chimed in, "we miss him, too. And not for teasing him, either. We miss his smile. He actually brought an energy t our lives that I didn't see until he left for Kansas City."

"How is he doing out there, Linus?" asked Violet.

"He actually doing pretty good," said Linus. "He and his girlfriend are still together, Woodstock had just joined Snoopy there, Sally is struggling a bit, but otherwise they're doing great."

"Next time you talk to him, tell him we're sorry," said Patty.

"Will do," Linus responded.

"In the meantime, we need to see this movie," said Schroeder. And the kids went in to watch the movie.

Elsewhere in town at the Van Pelt house, Lucy was going through some photos. They were of the gang in their past adventures. One photo was of them at Camp Remote after the bullies were defeated in the raft race. Woodstock is holding up his trophy in triumph and the rest of the gang were posed behind him. Another photo was of a beach trip they took. Charlie Brown and Sally were along for the ride. Lucy chuckled at her giving Charlie Brown "bunny ears". One other photo was their class photo. A bit of chaos going on in that photo. Schroeder was playing his piano, Frieda was primping her hair, Pig Pen was making dust choking Violet and Patty nearby, Lucy was trying to make Linus hide his blanket for the photo and the two siblings were having a tug-of-war over it, but Charlie Brown was the only one standing and smiling as instructed. Lucy looked at him in that photo. Despite the insanity going on around him, he was the only one that was calm and collected. That's when the tears started flowing from Lucy's eyes. She missed him more than she would have admitted. She realized she took him for granted and that there may not be a chance that he would return. All she knew was she wanted Charlie Brown back in her life, as he may have been the only true friend she had.

"I miss you, Charlie Brown," Lucy wept.

NEXT CHAPTER: MAKING THE MOST OF THE TIME LEFT