CHAPTER 5: THE HOMECOMING DANCE (Part 1)

AT THE PREVIOUS DANCE

Lucy watched as her brother, Charlie Brown, Franklin, Pig Pen, and Schroeder went to greet the Queen and her Princesses. Franklin was first, then Linus, then Pig Pen, and then Schroeder. Finally Charlie Brown went to escort the Queen. He was very nervous. Lucy smiled very evilly. Her plan to humiliate Charlie Brown was going smoothly, so far. She managed to pull the ball away from Charlie Brown four times during the game, and he messed up on his own during a kickoff attempt, which was a bonus for her. His crush was destined to laugh in his face as far as she was concerned. But she was shocked when she took his arm and walked toward the dance floor. And Charlie Brown proceeded to give the traditional kiss.

Lucy was surprised. She managed to get away with folks thinking he lost the game, but the little red-haired girl wasn't put off by Charlie Brown at all. In fact, the total opposite in that regard happened. Charlie Brown somehow managed to charm her. And they danced to the waltz real smooth. Charlie Brown, who usually would have two left feet, managed to dance very smoothly. It was like God Himself threw a bone toward Charlie Brown; figuring he deserves a good time for once. As it turned out, Charlie Brown was a hit at the dance, much to Lucy's chagrin. Peppermint Patty, on the other hand, was forgiving at that point.

"He may be a lousy football player," she said, "but at least he can dance."

The next day, Violet met up with Lucy. She was the only person, besides Snoopy, who knew of her plan to humiliate Charlie Brown.

"Well I take it your plan to totally ruin Charlie Brown was a bust, huh?" she said.

"Not entirely," Lucy replied. "Even though the dance didn't go as I wanted it to, people still believe that Charlie Brown lost the game. So it wasn't a total loss."

"Maybe not," Violet said, "but if I were you, I'd be careful. Sometimes the truth comes out."

"I'm not worried, Violet. This is Charlie Brown we're talking about. He's the neighborhood's number one screw-up! No one will believe that he didn't lose the game."

PRESENT DAY HOMECOMING DANCE

At the dance, Charlie Brown, Frieda, Franklin, Melanie, and Linus were seated at a table. Eudora walked in and sat next to Linus. She was dressed in a lavender purple dress with white shoes. "Hey Linus," she greeted.

"Eudora!" said Linus, surprised to see her. "How are you doing?"

"Pretty good," she said. "I was wondering if you'd be interested in dancing with me."

Linus looked worried. He knew that Eudora was the best friend of Sally, Charlie Brown's sister and the bane of his existence. He often got annoyed whenever Sally called him her Sweet Babboo; a nickname he hated. And if she was at the dance, she would never give him a moment's peace.

Charlie Brown, knowing why Linus was worried, said to Frieda, "Did I tell you Sally is home with the flu?"

"No, is she all right?" asked Frieda.

"She is. She just needs to stay in for the weekend." Linus, picking up on the hint, said to Eudora, "I would love to dance with you, Eudora." They went to the dance floor.

"They look cute together, don't they?" said Frieda.

"Yeah," said Charlie Brown. "Eudora always seemed to like Linus. It's just with Sally hounding him, they could never get too close."

On the other end of the dance hall, Peppermint Patty was drinking some punch when she heard a tap on the window. She turned around to see Thibault outside. He pointed toward the door. She nodded and walked over to Franco. "I'll be right back, Franco," she said.

She walked outside to greet the pint-sized kid. "Thibault," she began, "what are you doing here? Patty's inside and if they see you, you'll get in big trouble."

"I know," he said. "That's why I tapped on the window. I needed to tell you something important."

"Really? What's that?"

"I'm going away to military school."

"Are you really?"

"Yeah. It was the suggestion of my psychiatrist. He suggested it to my father and me. We both agreed it probably be the best for me. Plus it'll get me out of that remedial school I've been going to."

"No argument there."

"Anyway, I leave tomorrow if you want to see me off. I figured I'd let you know before I left. You were busy playing in the game so I thought this would be the best time to reach you. By the way did you guys win?"

"Yep! Ol' Chuck scored the field goal for us."

"Cool. When you see him, tell him I said no hard feelings about the glove."

"I will. And I'll see you off tomorrow, Thibault."

"Okay, Patty. I'll let you get back inside. I've been out too long already. See you tomorrow."

"See ya, Thibault." And Peppermint Patty went back inside the dance hall. She was just in time because it was time for the Homecoming Court to commence the traditional dance. Schroeder and the rest of the court went first. Then Pig Pen, who managed to stay clean this time around, walked down to escort Sidney Walsh, who was the queen this time. After they reached the dance floor, Pig Pen delivered the traditional kiss and then they started dancing. Afterwards, the other kids joined them in the dance. After the waltz, kids started having fun either dancing or eating from the buffet.

Lucy sat at a table with Violet, Shermy, Patty, and Ox. She was crabby from getting read the riot act by Peppermint Patty and being thrown out of the game by Molly Volley. Violet took notice and said, "Oh stop sulking, Lucy. Just because your latest attempt to humiliate Charlie Brown failed before it could be implemented doesn't mean you need to be a Debbie Downer."

"Oh zip it, Gray," Lucy retorted. "I don't see how this night can get any worse."

Suddenly a strange voice said over the loud speaker said, "Lucy Van Pelt, your day of reckoning has arrived!" Everyone looked over at Lucy.

"I had to tempt fate," Lucy sighed.

NEXT CHAPTER: JUSTICE NEVER TASTED SO BITTERSWEET.