CHAPTER 2: MAKING THE ROUNDS
As the day progressed, Charlie Brown got acquainted with the kids at his new school, as well as catching up with Charlotte. She had moved to Kansas City after leaving Sparkyville. Her father had gotten a new job there just as Charlie Brown's father got the new barber shop. There were a few kids that came up to him during lunch.
"Hello," said one red-haired boy. "You must be Charlotte's old friend. Charlie, is it?"
"Yeah," said Charlie Brown, cautiously.
"My name is Tyler," the boy said, introducing himself. "Tyler Gooding."
"Nice to meet you, Tyler," said Charlie Brown, now shaking Tyler's hand. Another boy walked up. He was African-American and wore glasses.
"Hello, Charles," he greeted. "The name's Marcus Jenkins."
"How do you do, Marcus?" greeted Charlie Brown. "Do you play any sports?"
"Oh no, not good at sports, at all," said Marcus. "Computers, books, and Role-Playing Games are my thing."
"I do play some basketball," Tyler chimed in. "What do you like to play, Charlie?"
"Well, I like baseball," Charlie Brown replied. "Basketball is good, too. I also like football. Just don't ask me to do any placekicking. Let's just say I've had bad experiences with placekicks." Charlie Brown shuddered at the memory of many failed kick attempts at the hands of Lucy. At that moment, a pretty, brown-haired girl with blue eyes walked in.
"Hello, Charles," she said with a voice sweet as honey. "My name is Abigail Jones."
"Nice to meet you, Abigail," said Charlie Brown, shaking the pretty girl's hand. She smiled.
"I'm sorry to be forward, but I think you're cute," cooed Abigail. Charlie Brown's face turned as red as a ripe tomato when she said that.
"Th-Th-Thank you!" said a blushing Charlie Brown. Charlotte walked up to the group.
"I see you're meeting some of the kids here," she said to Charlie Brown.
"I am, Charlotte," said Charlie Brown.
"Your friend seems very nice, Charlotte," said Tyler.
"I could see ourselves being good friends with him," added Marcus.
"I also see that Abigail here has taken a liking to you," Charlotte observed, with one eyebrow raised.
"You could say that," said Charlie Brown, still blushing as Abigail held his hand. The bell rang. It was time to head back to class.
"What are you up to after school, Charlie?" asked Tyler.
"Nothing at the moment," Charlie Brown replied.
"Maybe we could hang out this afternoon," suggested Tyler.
"It would be nice to hang with some new faces," added Marcus.
"Plus we can get to know each other better," said Abigail, batting her long lashes at the round-headed boy.
"I'm free," said Charlie Brown, voice slightly cracking.
"All right, we'll see you after school, Charlie!" said Tyler, heading back to class.
"See you this afternoon, Charles," said Marcus.
"See you later, Charles," cooed Abigail, smiling and winking an eye at him.
"Wow!" Charlie Brown said to Charlotte. "I could never get the little red-haired girl to notice me, and now, a different girl, just as pretty, is actually interested in me."
"Maybe it took moving to a different town for folks to see the value in you, Charlie Brown," said Charlotte. "I always thought you were a good person."
"Thanks, Charlotte." And the two of them went back to their classroom for the next lesson.
NEXT CHAPTER: THE BEAGLE NEXT DOOR