Charlie Brown lay on his bed, contemplating the events of the dreary summer.

His best (and practically only) friend Linus had spent most of the season with his grandmother in Florida. Charlie had gone to the amusement park twice and thrown up both times — once on the roller coaster, and the other time due to food poisoning. The baseball team he pitched on and managed had had its worst season yet (and that was really saying a lot). And Charlie had to spend six weeks of the summer taking care of his younger sister Sally and her broken toe.

And yet, none of these things even surprised Charlie Brown. He had gotten used by now to the fact that he was life's punching bag, doomed to have bad luck to the end of his days.

But something else had happened this summer that was, simply put, too much — even for Charlie Brown. Just last week, Heather Wold, his beloved little red-haired girl, had moved away. For five years, Charlie had pined for her, ever since the first moment he saw her walk into Mrs. Hagemeyer's classroom in third grade. For five years he'd tried to gather the courage to speak to her, or hoped against hope that maybe, just maybe, she'd notice him one day.

But that day never came. Endless potential opportunities to speak to Heather came and went, and Charlie never took a single one. And now she was gone.

Today made precisely one week since the Wolds had followed the moving van out of the neighborhood for the last time. By now, Heather must be in New York City, thought Charlie, settling in and getting ready to start eighth grade.

Eighth grade, he mused. We're going to start eighth grade. The thought of his last year at Monroe Middle School without the promise of seeing Heather there every day made Charlie's head throb with sheer dread.

Suddenly a voice from outside his bedroom cut swiftly through Charlie's thoughts.

"Oh, big brother!"

"Come in, Sal," he answered blandly.

The door opened, and in burst Sally Brown, donning a breezy blue sundress, white strappy sandals, and a pair of round shades. "Are you ready?" she asked as she danced around the room.

Charlie, who had been facing the wall, turned his head to look at Sally, and his eyes widened as he saw Sally's attire. "Ready for what?"

"To go to the fair—" Sally froze as she turned and saw her brother curled up in the fetal position in his pajamas. "Aren't you going?!"

"Oh, the fair." He shook his head. "I don't think so, Sal. I'm not up for it."

Sally scoffed. "I don't accept that," she replied, flinging open the doors of Charlie Brown's closet. "You really need to stop moping around just because what's-her-face is gone."

"Heather," Charlie corrected her.

"Yeah, whatever. Lying around the house isn't going to solve anything. Come on, get up and go with us. It'll help clear your head."

"Sally, the last two times I went to the fair, it ended in disaster. Why would I want to tempt fate by going again?"

"Oh, come on," laughed Sally. "You're being silly! Do you know what the odds are of you throwing up at a fair three times in a row?"

"Do you?" Charlie shot back.

"Well, not exactly," she admitted, "but I know they can't be very high."

Charlie sighed and sat up. Deep down, he knew Sally was right. If he ever expected to get over Heather, he had to start getting out of the house and get some fresh air and sunshine. He had just taken a breath to say so to Sally when a red fabric flew through the air and hit his face.

"Wear that shirt," Sally said over her shoulder as she opened a drawer full of jeans.

Charlie grabbed at the t-shirt and looked at it. It was one of the many t-shirts he and Linus had made that year for the school fundraiser, which showed Charlie's beagle as "the World War I Flying Ace." The shirts had been such a hit that Snoopy had even become the mascot of Monroe Middle before the school year was out.

Charlie Brown smiled as he thought of that eventful semester. He quickly changed into the shirt and immediately felt better. He tried not to think how that spring had most likely been when things went as well as they ever would for him.

Soon enough, he had also put on the jeans Sally had chosen for him, and after brushing his hair and putting on some sneakers, he went into the living room. Only Charles and Clara Brown were there, however.

"Sally already took off," Charlie's mother informed him.

"Oh, okay. Thanks." He quickly gave his mother a kiss and his father a hug before heading out the door.

The sun was shining brightly on this last Thursday of the summer, and Charlie could feel his spirits lifting already as he crossed the street and came to the door of the Van Pelt residence. He rang the bell and, within seconds, the door was answered by Schroeder.

"Charlie Brown!" the blond boy greeted him with a smile. "I'm glad you decided to come!"

Charlie smiled his greeting and stepped into the house.

"Thanks for rescuing me," Schroeder whispered as the two walked toward the living room. "Lucy had me cornered, so I was saved by the bell."

Charlie laughed in reply. "You're welcome."

As Charlie Brown walked into the living room, he immediately heard a greeting.

"Hi, Charles," called a smiling Marcie.

Hearing this, several pairs of eyes looked up at Charlie: Linus, Sally, "Peppermint" Patty, Jack (or Pig-Pen, as he was more commonly known), and Matty (or Rerun) Van Pelt. Lucy was there as well, but she was standing in the corner of the room, looking stunned. Charlie guessed this was due to Schroeder's swift escape just moments earlier.

Everyone else said hello as well, and Charlie and Schroeder headed toward Linus, who was sitting on the couch; Sally was sitting on the arm of the sofa, trying (and failing) to get Linus to look up from the book he was reading.

Seeing Linus begin talking to his friends, Sally sighed in resignation and walked over to Lucy instead.

"Join the club," Lucy grumbled as Sally came up next to her.

This made Sally laugh. "We should form a club."

The black-haired girl nodded. "The Rejection Club. Even Marcie and Patty can join."

Hearing their names mentioned, the other two girls looked up. "What's this?" asked Marcie.

"We were just talking about our lousy luck in love," replied Sally matter-of-factly.

"Tell me about it," agreed Peppermint Patty, sneaking a glance at the three boys gathered on the couch. "But at least you gals' crushes know how you feel about them."

"Yeah, so they can reject us constantly," bemoaned Lucy. "Trust me, you two have it better."

"No, I disagree," chimed in Marcie. "You and Sally make a bit of progress now and then with your respective crushes, but we don't have that kind of advantage."

"Well, at least you're friends with the blockhead," Lucy snapped.

"You're friends with piano boy!" This was from Peppermint Patty.

"His name is Schroeder," shot back Lucy. "At least I know that. You've known this guy for seven years and you don't have the decency to even learn his name!"

"I do, too, know it!" gasped Patty. "I call him Chuck because I want to!"

"Well, no wonder you can't make any progress!" By now, the two girls were all but hollering.

"Okay!" interjected Sally, grabbing Lucy's arm. "Maybe I was wrong. Maybe a club is a bad idea."

"And it's probably not a good idea to discuss this subject in front of said boys, sir," Marcie said to Peppermint Patty.

This got the attention of all three other girls, who seemed to suddenly realize that Linus, Charlie, and Schroeder were in the room as well. They all turned slowly and saw the three boys looking at them in stunned silence.

Lucy was the first to think of something to say. "Excuse me, are you eavesdropping on our private conversation? I thought you were supposed to be gentlemen?"

Before anyone could answer, Mr. and Mrs. Van Pelt entered the room, concern evident on their faces.

"Children! What is going on in here?"

"Nothing, mother," answered Linus and Lucy, both blushing deeply.

Julia looked the kids over, noticing both their groups collectively looking down at the ground in an uncomfortable lull. The only ones who appeared innocent were Pig-Pen and Rerun, who had been talking casually and were now looking at the others with a touch of fear.

"Right." She nodded slowly. "Are we ready to go?"

The kids all nodded quietly and began gathering their things.