"So did you figure it out," Marcie asked her at lunch.

"I don't know."

"Figure what out," Franklin wondered.

"Something about the dress not fitting right."

"No, it fit just fine, it just didn't fit me!"

"Oh I get it; that kinda thing just isn't your scene, you like casual outfits, plus you usually wear green," Franklin stated.

"It's not that either. I was looking at the other girls, I don't fit with them, I don't want to be them, I don't relate to them."

"We know, I'm not like them either."

"I don't want to be like any of them, you, Lucy, Molly any of you, period."

"I see."

"Hmm."

After school Schroder was practicing piano, doing his best to ignore Lucy, not entertain her, by his opinion, crazy dreams of them being married. It's been one of those days, he's on the edge, ready to blow up at her, even though it seemingly does nothing to change her, and Charlie walked in with Peppermint Patty.

"Hey Schroder… of course Lucy would be here," he rolled his eyes.

"Of course I'm here, what are you two doing here, this is our time!"

"Unlike you, Lucille; we were invited."

"How could you? This is our time!"

"Lucy, I never want you here, you just won't stay out," he scolded.

"I'm your muse!"

"No… you're not, now be quiet," he turned to Charlie, "since you talked me in to it; let's see how this sounds."

Schroder and Charlie played a few songs, on their toy instruments, he had tried his best to figure out how to accompany the classic works, both girls were amazed, but they knew it was Schroder to give the final call, and they both expected him to stop at any point. Once the last song was played, he was deep in thought, hand on his chin, Charlie gripped his guitar, waiting for his answer.

"You're practically like me with that guitar, you've been practicing."

"I have… I'm going to succeed in something."

"And I'm proud of ya, Chuck," she slapped his back.

"So am I," Schroder agreed, which started to make him blush, "as far as this experiment… I like it, you accompanied the songs, not over whelmed them, you did a good job."

"Thanks Schroder," his face tinged pink.

"Yeah well, I guess you are good at something other than being wishy-washy."

"Thanks Lucy," his mood ruined.

"You were great, Chuck."

"I should get on my homework, I'll see you tomorrow, Charlie."

"Of course, yeah, see you tomorrow," he put his guitar away.

"Bye, Lucy," he glared.

"Bye, my sweet honeybun," she sang.

"So what's with you and Schroder," Peppermint Patty wondered.

"Nothing, why?"

"You seem to be acting a bit odd around him."

"I think you're seeing things, Peppermint Patty.

"I wish you would look at me like that."

He sat up from the oak tree, "I'm not looking at him like anything."

"Okay, okay… forget I said anything. I have another… thing… on my mind, anyway, you're smart."

"Shoot."

"So… about the dance, I was happy you took me, it was fun, don't get me wrong, but; something felt off, I don't feel like the other girls, I didn't want to do my hair, and be in a dress, like I thought I would."

"We all know you hate wearing dresses, anyway."

"I think it'd deeper than that. Somethings wrong, a piece of myself is missing."

"Give it time. We're still kids, it'll take a while to figure out who we really are, who we grow to be, will be forged by our future. Maybe, just maybe, however… you have the answer already, and just need to figure it out."

"I guess it'll come to me, if I keep thinking about it."

"It's possible," he shrugged.

"You're a great friend, you know that?"

"I try to be."

That night she took a shower, giving herself a stare down, then squinting, trying to figure it out, what was missing. She went to bed that night, lost.

This internal conflict kept bothering her, days on end, she just couldn't figure it out, she tried not to let it affect her, but it did, and she wasn't sure why it felt so important. She thought she was missing the knowledge needed to come close to figuring it out.

Charlie was trying to get the nerve to talk to the little red-head girl, after finding out her name, and that she wasn't dating anybody, also; spending more time with Schroder, sometimes writing their own classical pieces, growing as close as he and Linus.

"So I'm going to do it; I'm going to talk to her, I'm going to talk to Heather," he snacked his fist in his hand.

"We're with you," Linus said.

"I'm just waiting for her to shoot you down, it'll be funny," Lucy added.

"Just you see… before the end of the day, I'll ask her out."

He did. He walked up to her in the hallway, she told him she had heard about him, she was curious about him. Charlie offered to take her out on a date, after their baseball match on Saturday, to which she agreed. The next day he told his friends, and introduced her, she immediately wasn't fond of Lucy. He was excited for that weekend, determined to give it his all, his team wanted to help impress her, Lucy agreed, but they all assumed she was lying, there was nothing more she enjoyed, than any failure, or downfall of Charlie Brown.

In the beginning he spent a lot of time with Heather, and things started to feel right again, but there was something deep in him, he still couldn't figure out, there was this feeling similar to how he felt about Heather, it confused him, the way he felt about Schroder seemed to spread, but differently, like when they changed for gym class, watching Lamar play flag football. With all he knew, it never made sense except when he spent time with Heather.

Finally that Saturday came, the baseball game they had practiced for, there was Heather in the stands, cheering him on. Unbeknownst to him; Peppermint Patty was in conflict herself, to the point where she wasn't bringing her a-game, like she tried. Charlie was fueled by her presence, only Lucy was lagging, even Frieda tried harder than usual. Up to bat, so close to Schroder, Peppermint Patty pitching what she thought was her great no-hitters, he had a fire in his eye, cracking the first swing nearly knocking her clothes off, loaded the bases, Lamar broke from third, he watched him slide to first, quickly looking away. Pitching; his patented fastball, faster, managed to strike out some of her team, including Peppermint Patty.

"You won the game, Charlie," Heather kissed him on the cheek.

"I did! I finally won a game!"

"No thanks to my sister, but we finally did win one," Linus cheered.

"You did great out there, Charlie," Schroder hugged him.

Charlie blushed a bit.

"I knew I was on the right team, let's keep this up, Charlie boy," Lamar hugged him.

He blushed even harder, Heather was a bit surprised over his reaction, but figured he was just embarrassed at the attention.

"You finally beat me, Chuck, you earned it," Peppermint Patty admitted.

"About that date; when your done celebrating, and cleaned up… I'll be waiting."

Peppermint Patty wasn't as disappointed as she thought she'd be, after all; as hard as he works, he should win sometimes, yet, baseball was not really where her mind was- this issue has clouded every thing else, why can't she figure out what's wrong with her, so she can make it right? She sat her equipment down in her room, caught a glimpse of herself in her dresser mirror, doing a double take, slowly she walked to the mirror, giving herself a once over, nothing seemingly changed, until she looked closer; the way she had her hair tucked in her hat, to keep it out of the way, thinking that was the reason she was not up to par on the field. Her mouth dropped.

She rushed to the phone and called Marcie, "hello, Marcie?"

"You're not upset over losing are you?"

"No, no, no, I figured it out! I know what's wrong!"

"You've solved your dilemma, sir?"

"Will you stop calling me- wait, no, that's it!"

"That's… huh?"

"Just come over, okay, it'll be easier."

"I'll be right over."

"Good, hurry up," she hung up.

After a while, she heard a knock on the door, going to let Marcie in, they went to her room, Peppermint Patty was still in her baseball uniform.

"So tell me; what did you figure out?"

"So look at me, what do I look like?"

"You look like you."

"I know that… but look closer… what do I look like?"

Marcie adjusted her glasses, looking at her head to toe, "hmm… well… judging by your appearance; you kinda look like a boy."

"Exactly!"

"I got it right, sir?"

"Yes," she rushed over to hug her, "I'm a boy… I wanna be a boy!"

"This is what you figured out?"

"I feel like a weights been lifted, I was just looking at myself in the mirror, then everything made sense! I don't wanna be a girl, I wanna be a boy."

"Congratulations."

"I'm so happy… but I'm kinda scared, I don't know what to do, what will my dad say? Good grief, what if he thinks I'm crazy, what if nobody wants to be my friend," she started to cry.

"I'm not going anywhere, sir. I don't see how it could hurt anybody."

"I can't just go to school and say I'm a boy, now," she cried, "they'll call my dad, and he'll have me committed!"

"I don't think he'll do that. I'll help you the best way I can, we'll figure it out, until you're ready to come out to the world."

"You'd do that," she sniffed.

"Of course I will," she rubbed her back.

Every day after school Marcie would come over to Peppermint Patty's to help her figure out her way, with research online, and keeps her company, and encouragement while going in boy mode. Marcie is the only person she ever trusted to know and see her that way. She was able to go back to her new old self, every time Marcie called her "sir"; it felt more like affirmation of who she wanted to be, than the annoyance. She knew at some point if she wanted to take the next step, she would need to tell her dad, and hope that he would accept her, for who she is.