A World Without Charlie Brown (Part 2)
CHAPTER 1: FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL IN A NEW TOWN
The Browns had moved into their new home and settled in pretty well. Charlie Brown wanted to feel out the new neighborhood and see how the kids were. Would they be better than the kids from his old neighborhood; would they be pretty much the same; or would they be worse? He was optimistic, yet cautious at the same time. He didn't want to deal with kids who were as bad as, or worse than Lucy, Violet, and Patty (Swanson). This was a clean slate for him. And even though he'd probably run into that one kid who had a chip on his/her shoulder, he hoped that not ALL of them was like that and most were friendly and not judgmental.
Sally was having virtually the same thoughts as her brother. She had issues with kids in her old town as well, but for different reasons. She always looked for an easy way out of dealing with things and even alienated some kids with her attitude. While she wasn't as wishy-washy as her brother, she always got in trouble with her mouth. She was way too blunt to a fault. And she also wanted to start on a clean slate, but Charlie Brown felt, as hard as it could be for him, it would be even harder for his sister.
Snoopy, meanwhile, built a new doghouse and immediately put all 10,000 of his belongings inside! He also hoped he wouldn't have to deal with a cat like World War II, the cat next door at their old home in Sparkyville. While he knew Kansas City wouldn't be cat-free (that would be wishful thinking on his part), he hoped that IF a cat was next door to him, he wasn't as big or as violent as his old nemesis next door at the old house. He decided not to look over the fence and wait it out, for now.
The first day of school was starting and Charlie Brown and Sally were walking to the new place. She was wondering why they didn't take the bus like they did back in Sparkyville.
"I'm getting tired already!" Sally whined. "Why isn't there a bus stop near our house?!"
"The school is close to our house, Sally," Charlie Brown explained. "It's only three blocks away from where we are. We'll be there soon."
And they arrived at their new school. It was called Rhinestone Hills Elementary School, or RH as the local kids called it. The Brown siblings looked at all the kids milling about in the hallway. Charlie Brown walked Sally to her classroom.
"I'll see you later on, Sally," he said. "I need to find my room." And Sally went inside her class.
Charlie Brown had found his classroom and sat down at his desk. He saw some of the kids talking to one another. All of the sudden he heard a familiar voice.
"Charlie Brown?!" He turned around to see a familiar face.
"Charlotte Braun?!" he gasped.
"I thought that was you!" said Charlotte, smiling. "What are you doing here in Kansas City?!"
"My family and I moved here from Sparkyville about a month ago," Charlie Brown explained. "My father is operating a new barber shop here in Kansas City. This is where you're living now?"
"Yeah, I've been out her for some time now. Later on I'll give you a tour of the school during lunch and throughout the day." Charlie Brown breathed a sigh of relief. Someone he knew from the old neighborhood was going to his new school. Even if it was the one girl who could give Lucy Van Pelt a run for her money as far as "loudness" went, at least there was someone familiar he could hang out with.
NEXT CHAPTER: NEW FRIENDS