A World Without Charlie Brown (Part 4)

CHAPTER 1: CHARLIE BROWN, MOST POPULAR?!

Charlie Brown was fitting in quite nicely at his new school. The kids he hung out with didn't care about how clumsy he was, nor did they make him a scapegoat when they lost a game of some sort. Plus he was on a new baseball team. While he didn't pitch, he was a second baseman, while Snoopy was again made shortstop. Plus he didn't have to be a manager of that team. And when they lost a game it wasn't at high margins like his old team. When he got sad about losing a game, the rest of the team would tell him it's not a big deal. While they wished they would have won, they knew another day they would win a game, and that it wasn't his fault. Charlie Brown, to say the least, wasn't used to being treated kind or anything resembling "fair", so to say all of this was alien to him was the mother of all understatements.

His three closest friends were Charlotte Braun, Tyler, Marcus, and Abigail, who, in particular, took a liking to the round-headed boy. No girl, besides Peppermint Patty, Marcie, and Peggy Jean, ever voiced interest in him ever. And for all the trouble he had trying to get the little red-haired girl to notice him, Abigail made it clear to him that she liked him very much and thought he was a cute boy. He was beside himself. He had friends who respected him, a potential girlfriend, and was on a dependable baseball team, albeit as a regular player and not a manager, so that took a lot of the pressure off of him. Life was going pretty well for Charlie Brown.

Sally, by contrast, was struggling to fit in. She would still make those silly comments and weird show-and-tell presentations that she did back in Sparkyville. She looked like a bigger fool than she did at Birchwood. It seemed like common sense and logic was lost on the young girl and she didn't seem to get it. One day while Charlie Brown and Abigail was watching TV together, Sally stormed in, fuming.

"WELL, IT'S OFFICIAL!" she angrily fumed. "THE ENTIRE SCHOOL IS AGAINST ME!"

"What in the world are you talking about, Sally?" asked a confused Charlie Brown.

"I'm not even halfway through school yet and already I'm failing!" cried Sally. "Today my teacher asked me what Independence Day was. I thought it was that alien movie with Will Smith. How was I to know she meant the 4th of July?! Big brother, did you know that Independence Day and the 4th of July were the same day?!"

"Sally, everybody knows that the 4th of July is Independence Day," sighed Charlie Brown. "They just refer to it as the 4th of July because it rolls off the tongue better than Independence Day, though it's the official name of the holiday."

"Why didn't someone tell me about this?!" asked Sally, confused. "Who else knew about this?!"

"Your sister's quite a handful, isn't she?" said Abigail to Charlie Brown.

"You have no idea, Abigail," said Charlie Brown, shaking his head in frustration. Turning back to Sally, he said, "Sally, that has been common knowledge to everyone. There are kids younger than you that know this. How could you not figure out that Independence Day and the 4th of July were one in the same?"

Sally didn't answer, but made a beeline towards her room and slammed the door shut.

"Sorry about her, Abigail," said Charlie Brown. "I may not be the smartest kid around, but Sally seems to be worse off."

"It's okay, baby," said Abigail, kissing him on the cheek. Charlie Brown blushed and smiled. "My brothers are none too bright, either. The youngest seem to grasp things better than our older brother, though. He seems to just want to play video games and watch sports all day."

"Remind me of my friend Peppermint Patty back in Sparkyville," said Charlie Brown. "Speaking of which, she and our friend Marcie will be coming to visit in a few weeks. I'd like for you to meet them."

"I would love to, Charlie," said Abigail, smiling.

"Be warned, though. Patty can be a bit much. You think Sally's a handful? Sally's a walk through the park compared to Peppermint Patty! Marcie is pretty mellow, though, so as long as you don't make her mad, then she may be liable to kick you in the shins."

"It sounds like you know from experience."

"Let's just say for a whole month, I wore shin guards when I was around her." Charlie Brown and Abigail laughed for a bit. She looked at the clock.

"Well I better get back home before dinner, Charlie," Abigail responded. "I had a good time being with you this afternoon. Will you be free this weekend?"

"I have nothing going on," said Charlie Brown.

"Well, I would love it if we could go to the movies together. Would you want to come?"

"I'd love to, Abigail."

"Great. I'll see you later, my love." After giving him one more kiss, Abigail left for home. Sally, now calmed down, came out of her room to talk a bit more to her brother.

"Well you finally have a girlfriend," said Sally. "And you actually didn't chicken out in talking to her."

"I know," said Charlie Brown. "She a wonderful girl. We're going to the movies this weekend."

"I wish I had someone to go to the movies with," lamented Sally. "Back in Sparkyville, at least I still had my sweet babboo." At that moment the computer beeped in an email notice. Sally went to see who sent it. To her surprise it was from Linus. It read in bold print:

"I AM NOT YOUR SWEET BABBOO!"

From blanketboy sparkmail

"What does he know?" shrugged Sally.

"The real question is how did he know you said that, hundreds of miles away?" wondered a confused Charlie Brown.

NEXT CHAPTER: A DATE FOR THE AGES