CHAPTER 2: ARE THEY SERIOUS?!
Back in Australia, the gang were continuing on without Franco there. They were sure he would contact them when he was ready and decided to try to enjoy the rest of the time they had there. Jadan and Claire Montana was planning to expose the poachers and free the kangaroos back into the wild. Linus and Eudora had been especially helpful in that regard. The rest also have helped in setting things up, with two notable exception.
Peppermint Patty was still doing things with Zac, and even after Franco left abruptly, she still was seeing Zac and doing less with her friends. Not that they were really wanting to hang out with her, as of late. Her awful treatment of Franco aside, she had been doing much less with the others due to her and Zac doing their own thing. And while no one, except for maybe Marcie, harbored any animosity towards Zac, they couldn't believe that Patty would throw herself at a boy that she only met a month ago. The other was Jadan's brother Joey, who was hanging out with a mystery person. When asked who he was with, he would only say some friends.
One day, Jadan and Claire were going over a map of the poacher's supposed hideout. "It's in Bush Country," said Claire. "We'll have t' be careful with the eastern brown snakes."
"Are they venomous?" asked a nervous Linus.
"Very!" said Jadan. "Th' inland taipan is the most venomous land snake in th' world, let alone Australia, they always tend t' stay away from people. Th' eastern brown snake is second to th' taipan, AND it's far more aggressive and will chase after ya!"
"Oh good grief!" shuddered Linus.
"Don't worry, mate," said Andrew. "As long as you keep a safe distance from them, they will usually leave ya alone."
"So when do we go ahead and free the kangaroos?" asked Charlie Brown.
"It won't be for a couple o' weeks, Charles," said Jadan. "But once we 'ear from one o' our contacts for th' go-'head, that when we strike. Now since Claire has a license t' drive, she will drive th' truck that will carry us all."
"I hope nothing happens, sweetie," said a nervous Frieda.
"Me neither, Frieda," added Charlie Brown.
"This is for a good cause, Charlie Brown," said Linus. "We owe it to Jadan and her friends to help in saving the kangaroos." At that moment, Peppermint Patty came walking in the room where the rest were.
"Well, hello there, stranger!" said Franklin.
"Hey, everyone," said Patty.
"Going to see Zac again?" asked an annoyed Marcie.
"Maybe," Patty replied. "What's it to you, Marcie?"
"Oh nothing, just thought you would want to try to work things out with Franco. You know, YOUR ACTUAL BOYFRIEND?!"
"I didn't leave Australia, Marcie! HE did! If he wanted to go back to Sparkyville, that's on him, not me!"
"Maybe we should leave th' room," suggested Jadan.
"G-Good idea," agreed Claudia. And the rest of the group, except Franklin, just to keep Marcie company and to play peacemaker between the arguing best friends, left to let Marcie and Patty air out all of their grievances.
"You had a problem with Zac from Day 1!" accused Patty.
"Okay, I admit that I wasn't pleased with him flirting with you with you being with Franco! And I am willing to forgive that. But after the fight they both had, you pretty much cut off Franco and refused to speak to him for the rest of the trip! And while we all agree he went too far when he fought Zac, we also knew where he was coming from! Zac was flirting with you and at least, at first, you didn't seem to realize it, but ALL OF US, Jadan, Charles, Frieda, myself, even his own best friend Andrew told him to back off, but he still didn't! That was when YOU should have told him that you had a boyfriend already!
"Which brings me to the make-out session we walked into after we came back from the amusement park! Now I get that the two of you had a moment of weakness and now I can say I don't fault you or Zac for that. But this was where you should have really tried to fix things with Franco! You had a chance to talk to him and try to work things out. But what did you do? YOU START DATING THE BOY WHO TRIED TO BREAK YOU TWO UP IN THE FIRST PLACE! NOT TO MENTION YOU BARELY KNOW EACH OTHER! So you wonder what my problem is? You broke Franco's heart! He didn't cheat on you, YOU CHEATED ON HIM! And for what?! Freaking defending your honor?!"
After Marcie was done with her rant, Patty stood quiet for a moment. Marcie decided to let that all sink in with her before continuing. Franklin was standing back, letting his girlfriend calm down before he offered some comfort. After some awkward silence, Patty finally spoke.
"I see what this is all about," she began.
"Come again?" asked a confused Marcie.
"It all makes sense now."
"Maybe she's finally seeing the light," thought a hopeful Marcie.
"When Hans moved away, you lost him. And now you're afraid that the same thing will happen to me with Franco. Well even if we break up, I don't think Franco is moving back to Germany anytime soon."
"Oh good grief!" sighed Franklin. Marcie's blood began to boil. It was a rage she never felt before. Not when Thibault, long before he was reformed, was hurling insults about how girls couldn't play baseball and should stay in the house to cook and clean, not when Floyd kept calling her "lambcake" or his attempt to kiss her at the New Year's Eve party a couple of years back, and not when she kicked Charlie Brown in the shins when she didn't hear what she wanted to hear from him. This was pure unadulterated fury, the likes of none, not even Lucy Van Pelt herself, had experienced.
"How. Dare. You!" she said with pure fury. "ARE YOU THAT #$%*&^ STUPID?! WHAT IN THE HELL DOES HANS GOING BACK TO GERMANY HAVE TO DO WITH YOUR SITUATION WITH FRANCO?! HANS MOVED BACK BECAUSE HE HAD NO CHOICE! HE HAD TO GO BACK BECAUSE HIS FAMILY WAS GOING BACK! FRANCO DIDN'T GO BACK TO SPARKYVILLE BECAUSE HIS FAMILY DEMANDED IT! HE WNET BACK BECAUSE YOU BROKE HIS HEART! YOU CHEATED ON HIM AND HURT HIM! NOW I'M NOT ASKING YOU, YOU BLOCKHEAD, I'M TELLING YOU! YOU CALL HIM AND AT LEAST CLEAR THE AIR WITH HIM! AND EVEN IF YOU DON'T MAKE UP THEN AND THERE, AT LEAST PROMISE THAT YOU TWO WILL DISCUSS IT WHEN YOU YOURSELF RETURN TO SPARKYVILLE! AND IF YOU BREAK UP OR STAY TOGETHER AFTERWARDS, WE'LL GO FROM THERE ONCE THAT BRIDGE IS CROSSED. BUT UNTIL YOU CALL HIM, OR HE CALLS HERE, WHICHEVER COMES FIRST, DON'T SAY ANYTHING ELSE TO ME!" And Marcie ran out the house and slammed the door, making Snoopy, Gracie, and Woodstock jump from being startled. The rest of the gang came back.
"What just happened?!" asked a startled Frieda.
"I think I put my foot in my mouth again," said a sad Patty.
NEXT CHAPTER: FRANCO FINALLY GETS IN CONTACT