Peanuts created by Charles M. Schulz, and not by me. Darn!

Violet Holds the Ball

"Why won't you let me hold the ball for you, Charlie Brown?" Violet demanded one day.

He had no answer to that. Instead, he said, "What do you mean, Violet?" He had no idea where she was coming from.

They were walking past the retaining wall, side-by-side on their way to school. "You let Lucy hold the football," she said. Then she turned and glared at him. "Yet she pulls the football from you every time."

"What is I figure is that this next time will be different. This time, she isn't going to pull the football away and let kick me kick."

"Wake up, Blockhead. That's never going to happen. You're going to face facts and find someone who's willing to play ball with you."

He sighed. "Who would that be?"

"Me."

Charlie Brown stopped. "Violet, why do you want to hold the ball for me?"

She frowned. "You only let me hold the ball once, Charlie Brown."

"But you dropped the ball, Violet."

"And you never gave me another opportunity."

"But you dropped the ball."

"But I didn't pull it away like some people I could name."

Charlie Brown opened his mouth. His answer came out. "Maybe after school," he said.

"Thank you, Charlie Brown. You'll never regret this."

-OOO-

Charlie Brown and Violet met in the empty lot. Violet was holding the football so that Charlie Brown could kick it. "Go ahead, Charlie Brown. Kick it like you promised you would."

"I said that might do it, Violet."

"Come on." She fiddled with the ball enticingly. "You know you want to."

"Well... all right."

He back up ten paces, pointed himself toward the ball, steeled himself, and started running. She's going to pull the ball, he thought as he ran to the football. She is going to pull the ball.

He was quite surprised when he kicked the ball. He watched as it went sailing into the air.

"I'm nothing like Lucy, Charlie Brown," Violet said.

He nodded.

-OOO-

"I don't think I will the football for that stupid Charlie Brown anymore, Linus," Lucy said as they were walking down the sidewall. "It's starting to get a bit boring."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Lucy."

Lucy nodded to herself. "Yep, I'm not pulling that football anymore."

Blam.

"Ow! What just hit me, Linus?"

Linus picked up a football. "Looks like this."

"Oooh, Charlie Brown, that blockhead. He's going to get it for sure."

"What are you going to do Lucy?"

"I'm going to pull the football from him."

The End

(I added the disclaimer.)