The mood had lightened on the half-hour car ride to the summer fair in St. Paul. They had gone in two cars: Linus, Rerun, Lucy, and Charlie Brown rode in the Van Pelt family SUV, and Mr. Reichardt (Peppermint Patty's dad) drove Schroeder, Sally, Peppermint Patty, Marcie, and Pig-Pen in his pickup truck.
It was Mr. Van Pelt who had decided on the seating arrangement for the cars; he knew it'd be a good idea to split up the girls from their respective crushes — and Lucy from Peppermint Patty — to avoid fighting on the way to the fair. His wife and Mr. Reichardt had readily agreed with him.
"But I wanna ride with Schroeder," Lucy had complained as Charlie Brown got into the car.
"No," was Richard Van Pelt's simple answer.
His tone had been firm enough that Lucy shrank into her seat and didn't say a word for the next ten minutes, but soon enough, she was laughing with Rerun in the back seat.
Meanwhile, in the Reichardts' truck, Schroeder and Marcie had spent the ride talking about school, and Peppermint Patty and Pig-Pen about baseball. Sally didn't have anything to add to either conversation, but she half-listened to Schroeder and Marcie. She was starting sixth grade at Monroe this Monday, and she wanted to learn what she could about the school before entering.
Finally they arrived at the fair. The two cars full of teens and pre-teens swarmed out, some stretching their legs, some excitedly hopping from one foot to the other, and one (Charlie Brown) rubbing his head, which he'd bumped on the edge of the car as he got out.
"Rats," he muttered to no one in particular. "Things are going wrong already."
But it was certainly too late to turn back now. The group made its way to the ticket booth, where the kids each spent long minutes thinking before all simultaneously deciding to make the splurge and buy the special wristbands that allowed them to get on any ride.
Charlie Brown dug into his pocket and fished out the fifty dollars his father had given him to spend at the fair. He couldn't believe how easily forty of them had gone just on the wristbands.
He was still complaining about the fair's exorbitant prices when Lucy led the group to the line for the roller coaster.
"Uhh, Lucy…" he began.
"Yes?"
"I… don't really want to get on the roller coaster."
All the other kids turned to look at Charlie when he said this.
"Why not, Charles?" questioned Marcie.
"Well— Well, because… Because I… " His voice got smaller and smaller as Lucy's gaze grew heavier.
"Are you scared?" asked the Van Pelt girl as she raised an eyebrow.
"No," answered Charlie boldly.
"Then what's wrong?" Schroeder asked him.
"Oh, he is scared," scoffed Lucy. "Don't be such a baby, Charlie Brown!"
"I'm not, I just…"
"It's just that he threw up last time he got on," Sally cut in.
A stifled laugh was heard from Peppermint Patty. At the sound of her cough to stop the giggle attack from escaping, Lucy began to crack up. In mere seconds, everyone, with the exception of Linus, was laughing at Charlie Brown. He could feel his ears burning up at the sound of the laughter, and he wished he could run and hide.
Linus was brave enough to speak up. "Oh, good grief, Lucy! I can't believe you! To listen to you, one would think you'd never thrown up before! And that goes for all of you, too! If Charlie Brown prefers to stay off the roller coaster just to be safe, who are you to belittle him for it?"
This discourse quieted everyone down. Only Lucy remained steadfast in her position. "Well, I suppose I can laugh if I want to! It's a free country, isn't it?"
"Oh, don't start," replied Linus with a shake of his head. "You know very well what you're doing, and I advise you to pipe down before I go tell Mom and Dad how you're treating Charlie Brown. And then they'll make you stay with them all afternoon, which I'm sure won't be much fun for you."
Lucy was slightly taken aback at her brother's words. It was becoming clear to her that he was getting too old to push around. Quickly weighing her options in her mind, she decided it was best to calm down for now.
She scoffed as scornfully as she could. "Fine. Whatever. If the blockhead wants to miss out on the ride, it's his loss."
Just as she said this, the line for the ride began moving forward, and the other children continued to walk, although too shocked to say anything.
"Don't worry, Charlie Brown," Linus said to him as he slung an arm around his friend's shoulder, "I'll wait with you."
Charlie gave his buddy a small smile. "Thanks, Linus. You're a good friend."