Step It Up, Charlie Brown

by Ballz Mahoney

High School Junior Charlie Brown is used to being walked over which is why he is surprised to find himself playings baseball, which he hasn't done since he was in elementary school against the arguably best baseball player in the state: Jose Peterson.

3. Chapter 3

Step it Up, Charlie Brown!

By Sean Mahoney

Chapter 3

Jose Peterson locked up the school gym after beckoning Thibault to follow. One of the perks of being the school's biggest hero was his own private set of keys to the athlete's gymnasium, which of course was much more state of the art and pristine than the facilities that most students had available to them during gym class.

"I don't know why you're making us train so much Peterson; we got this in the bag. As much as I hate to admit it, that Royanne chick is pretty solid. I was looking up her stats. We can't lose." Thibault spoke, as Jose finished locking the place up. It was about 7:30pm and was starting to get dark.

Jose smirked, "We gotta keep up the illusion that we're trying. Especially for that state game.

"Yeah, you guys had best keep up that 'illusion'." A third voice stated with obvious hostility. Jose Peterson, recognizing the voice began to sweat. He looked at the open door a few feet down and tried to make a run for it. However he quickly found his shoulders being pulled back by two incredibly large kids. In fact, they had to be older than high school students, perhaps in their mid-twenties.

A figure around Jose and Thibault's age emerged from the shadows, he was wearing a fairly nice shirt, but most striking about him was his large orange hat.

Peterson smiled at the boy nervously, "W-why, Joe Agate, what a pleasure it is to see you!" Joe Agate was a kid to be feared. He was so bad, that he was expelled from school back in the 9th grade. Thibault and Jose Peterson weren't exactly sure why, but they had heard it had to do with intense drug dealing and gang related activity. Apparently some goody two shoes exposed him back then and ever since he had been banned from the school premises; being forced to attend night school at another facility. Thibault knew that he for his standards, Joe Agate was bad news. In his absence from school he apparently made connections with some real scum; not all of them small time dealers either. For a 16 year old, Joe Agate apparently had some clout in the town's criminal underworld; or so everybody heard. Thibault wondered what Agate would want with Jose Peterson.

"Shut your mouth Peterson, what the hell do you think you're doing?"

Thibault shot a confused glance at Peterson who was still sweating bullets, "I have no idea what you're talking about Joe, now if you'd just excuse me…"

"Answer my question! Guildenstern!" Joe signaled to one of his thugs, who began to bend Peterson's arm behind his back, dangerously close to its breaking point.

Peterson cried out, "NOTHING! NOTHING! I HAVEN'T DONE ANYTHING!"

Nervously, Thibault shouted, "Yo, what the hell's going on here? I thought this Agate guy got expelled like two years ago?"

Joe glanced over at Thibault, "I did you moron." He signaled towards his other thug, "Rosencrantz, get the midget with the sideburns outta here!"

The other hulking thug grabbed Thibault by the neck and led him outside of the school. Thibault, given his nature, did not go quietly, "I'M NOT SHORT YOU CHEAP ASS PIECE OF…ugh GET YOUR HANDS OFF ME YOU DIRTY LITTLE…" before Thibault could finish his slur, he was thrown soundly onto the school's pavement outside.

Agate turned his attention back to Peterson, "You have no idea how much you just messed things up! Your little publicity stunt against Charlie Brown can jeopardize everything!"

Peterson looked confused, "Wait, this is all about me challenging Charlie Brown to an exhibition game? How's that a big deal? If anything you should be thanking me; that got Peppermint Patty off the team and you know how close she was to finding out what I had agreed to. We were going to get rid of her."

Joe nodded at his thug who twisted Peterson's arm, causing Peterson to shout in pain. "You moron…of course we were going to deal with her, but in a controlled way."

"Well then why is your goon TRYING TO BREAK MY ARM!"

Joe Agate sighed, "I'm going to assume you really don't know what you've done… It all has to do with our agreement. Your team had an awesome season. That's why I contacted you; everyone in the state knows that with you hitting and Peppermint Patty pitching, you can't be beaten."

Jose continued, "Yeah, which is why we're going to throw the game for you. You guys are the only one's betting on Freemont and therefore you get all the money. With the exception of the large sum you pay to me. I fail to see how anything's changed."

"Thanks to your big mouth, everyone knows about your little grudge game with Charlie Brown's team. You lose that game, then you lose everyone's confidence. Nobody will put any money on you and there, our whole plan's kaput!"

Peterson smirked, "Relax dude, this is Charlie Brown that we're talking about. He doesn't have a chance."

Agate's eyes narrowed, "You lost Peppermint Patty, your best pitcher. Yes our plan was to have her have an accident, but that would be during the State game. You know how good she is. She could crush you."

"Trust me, we got someone better. This isn't a problem. Just think of it as a final assurance to our fans that we are going all the way. C'mon, Charlie Brown never wins anyway."

Agate himself grabbed Peterson's neck, "He's beaten me before you Swedish bastard; don't underestimate him!"

Agate calmed down, but then grew grim, "You know that my boss knows all about this. He's furious with you; it's about more than the money with him…"

Peterson stammered, "Y-y-you mean he knows?"

"Of course he knows you blockhead! He's more connected to this school of yours than anyone else I can think of! If you do anything less than decimate Charlie Brown's team, you're going to have to deal with him…and he's not going to be forgiving."

Agate snapped his fingers, which signaled his thug to drop Peterson. The three of them walked off, leaving Peterson alone, shivering in fear… "…we can't do anything less than decimate them."

Unbeknownst to all other parties, Thibault had managed to sneak in through another entrance and had eavesdropped on much of the conversation. This was all very enlightening information, and Thibault was curious the best way to utilize it.

…

Charlie Brown felt like he was going to have a panic attack. It had been years, but he had once again found himself in the position of managing a baseball team. The team was congregated in his living room; his parents were as per usual, out somewhere. Sally had plans with her friend Eudora so she wouldn't be able to harass Linus tonight either.

Everyone who Charlie Brown was able to get on his team was there, except for Lucy, who said she had something to do quickly before she could make it. Just looking at the group though, Charlie Brown didn't feel too confident. Pig-Pen, Linus, and Snoopy were playing a videogame while Frieda was gossiping with an obviously uninteresting Peppermint Patty. Worst of all, he was still missing two key positions for his team: catcher and left fielder. He figured he'd wait until Lucy showed up before attempting to get everyone's attention: the more times he'd have to call attention the less effective his attempts would be…the law of diminishing returns was well known to him.

Eventually, right as he decided to join the guys in a game of Novacraft Lucy barged in. "Oh Charlie Brrrrowwwn!" she called to him in a very happy manner. "Guess who I brought with me!"

"Your owner?" Linus muttered a little too loudly, prompting chuckles from Pig-Pen and Snoopy and a very nasty look from Lucy."

"You'll regret that when we get home baby brother. Anyway…I brought the greatest catcher who ever lived!"

She dragged a mortified Schroeder into the house, "Um…hey guys."

Charlie Brown instantly asked, "How'd she rope you into this."

Schroeder sighed, "Oh you know…a little bit of a guilt trip over how much of a piece of crap I was back in 9th grade…a little bit of outright threats. You know."

Charlie Brown nodded, "Normally I'd chastise Lucy's underhanded tactics here but we really need a catcher, so you're stuck with us Schroeder."

Schroeder groaned, "Brilliant…"

With Schroeder in tow, Charlie Brown felt a little better about the situation, even if he was still missing a left fielder. Charlie Brown decided to get the meeting under way; "Alright everybody, I think we can begin…" he looked around to see that only Peppermint Patty and Lucy were listening. Frieda was apparently talking to nobody, the guys were still playing video games, and Schroeder poured himself some soda and blankly stared at the wall. "Um excuse me everyone…"

"SNOOPY YOU DIRTY SON OF A BITCH! THAT WAS CAMPING!" Pig-Pen shouted, subsequently throwing Charlie Brown's controller onto the floor, shattering it.

Charlie Brown winced at his damaged controller and tried raising his voice, "Excuse me…as your manager I need everyone to…"

Lucy, getting frustrated at the scene walked over to Charlie Brown's videogame console, turned it off amongst curses from Linus, Snoopy, and Pig-Pen, and then shouted at the entire room, "SHUT THE HELL UP! YOUR MANAGER IS SPEAKING!" She then turned to Charlie Brown and smiled, "They're all yours manager."

"Charlie Brown stammered for a moment then continued, "Er-thank you Lucy. Anyway guys, thank you all for agreeing to volunteer to be a part of the team. It means a lot to have you all here."

"Hmph, 'volunteer', that's a good one." Schroeder mumbled.

"It's great that we got most of the old team together! Plus we have Peppermint Patty on our team, and she's actually good!"

Peppermint Patty tapped on his shoulder, "Perhaps you should show a little more faith in the rest of your team on day one Chuck."

"Um yeah, of course…So anyway most of us are coming out of retirement here and we are facing one of the two best teams in the state!"

Pig-Pen muttered, "Plus they're the favored of the two teams…"

Most of the other team began to mutter in disappointment. Charlie Brown quickly reacted, "But that doesn't mean we don't stand a chance! We just need to step up our training. For the next week we are going to have to train every day! At least two hours a day!" Most of the team groaned, Charlie Brown had to catch himself before he joined in their disappointment.

"C'mon you wussies, you all need a good work out, Chuck here included!" Peppermint Patty slapped Charlie Brown on the back, knocking him off balance. "That's why I'm going to be in charge of the training regimen!"

Charlie Brown gave a sigh of relief; at least she knew what she was doing.

Charlie Brown continued, "So yes, thank you Peppermint Patty. Now we need to all agree…"

"Stop the meeting! Stop the meeting!" Charlie Brown looked up to see that he had another guest, an uninvited one at that. Ironic it was that the uninvited guest turned out to be one Violet Grey; who was famous for not inviting Charlie Brown to things.

Most of the room was in shock; Violet must have had something really terrible planned for Charlie Brown, she was always going after him. Lucy immediately challenged her arrival, "Who the heck invited Princess Grey? I know it couldn't have been Charlie Brown!"

Peppermint as well was quick to take the preemptive defensive, "We don't want any of your crap Violet, get out of here!"

Pig-Pen noted sarcastically, "Guys, the Violet Grey was kind enough to grace us with her presence; we are obliged to hear her out!"

Violet snapped a Pig-Pen, "Don't you give me that tone you cesspool!"

Pig-Pen smiled, "I thought you learned by now Violet, unlike Charlie Brown, I am all but impervious to your attempts at breaking my spirit. Think of it like a +5 enchantment to will."

Violet was about to launch another scathing comment at Pig-Pen over how much of a dork he was, but was interrupted by Charlie Brown. "Not that I wish to be rude Violet, but why exactly are you in my house, uninvited?"

She turned to Lucy, "I thought you've been trying to smarten this dunce up a bit Lucy? Some therapist you are. I should think it's obvious: I want to be on your team."

Everyone in the crowd had a different reaction, but almost all of them were negative. Both Peppermint Patty and Lucy were incensed at the prospect of Violet on the team though for different reasons. Peppermint Patty knew how terrible she was to Chuck and didn't want someone like her giving him more trouble than he already had to deal with. Lucy on the other hand didn't trust Violet for a second, and was instantly suspecting sabotage. Pig-Pen was laughing, thinking it must be some joke; he was joined in by Snoopy who was howling quite jovially. Frieda was disappointed; she had hoped to get away from the typical high school politics that seemed to follow Violet everywhere. Linus sighed, bracing himself for the inevitable shouting fest that was to occur. Charlie Brown was downright confused, "Wait what?"

Lucy flat out yelled, "We aren't interested in a spoiled princess like you! Why should we let you play?"

Violet shrugged, "I play Left Fielder, a position that you guys don't have filled. By all accounts I should think that you should be begging me to play, but it seems you are all too thickheaded for that."

Charlie Brown laughed nervously, "Heh, well I suppose…but I don't know. I was kind of under the impression you hated our collective guts?"

Peppermint Patty chimed in, "Yeah Chuck! You tell that she-devil that we don't trust her!"

"Well while I certainly wouldn't out it in those words…Peppermint Patty is right. For whatever reasons you've been nothing but hostile to pretty much everyone here."

Violet stared at Lucy, "I hang out with her sometimes."

"We know that's only because of our mutual hatred of various other parties Violet."

Violet rolled her eyes, "Well what about Frieda? I'm friends with her." Frieda smiled nervously.

Peppermint Patty noted, "You and Patty only keep her around because she's almost as big a doormat as Chuck, no offense to either of you." Frieda slinked back a bit embarrassed while Charlie Brown shrugged in an 'it's true' fashion.

Before tensions could raise any higher, Linus decided to intervene, "Guys, as much as Violet has wronged all of us, I don't think we should all be ganging up on her like this. If we did than we wouldn't be any better than her or her friends."
Lucy grumbled, "I knew you still have the hots for that spoiled little bit-".

"Er hem," Linus interrupted, "I think I do speak for all of us though when I ask why in the world would you even want to play with us?"

Violet smirked, "It's simple; I want to take down Jose Peterson just as much as you guys do. That smug bastard needs to get knocked down a few pegs."

Charlie Brown muttered to Peppermint Patty, "Well, I guess that's what we are basically aiming for too right?"

"I don't know about this Chuck…"

Violet smiled, "Come on, you guys need a left fielder."
Charlie Brown sighed, "I suppose I can't argue with you there…alright Violet, you're in." Some of the other kids moaned.

Peppermint Patty glared at the contented Violet, "I'm keeping my eyes on you Grey!"

Charlie Brown took a minute to gasp a sigh of relief, at least this tense situation was averted, "Alright guys, now we need to pick a time to practice. How does 4pm sound for everyone?"

Violet grunted, "Absolutely not, I go to my masseuse at 4, you'll have to pick a better time. I'd say 6."

Lucy began fuming, "Who gives a crap about your stupid massages, 6PM is when my stories come on, and I'll kill anyone who gets in my way of watching them!" She directed the last part at a nervous Charlie Brown.

Pig-Pen spoke up, "Well I'd like to just add in that after 5PM on Fridays is out of the question; I am designated LARP host for this week's…" Charlie Brown's head began to spin. Every member of the team began to bombard him with their own scheduling issues.

"Why did I ever agree to this?" he moaned.

…

It was five in the morning. That was the only time that everybody was definitely open. They had two hours to practice each morning before heading home for a quick (much to the chagrin of Lucy, Violet, and Frieda) shower and then school. Of course, nobody on the team was thrilled at all about having to be at practice at five, except Peppermint Patty who was used to this sort of thing.

"Come on you guys, you look like zombies! Let's see a little life, huh?" she cheered.

Charlie Brown, while attempting to help her, wasn't so convincing, "Yeah…we can't go this far without…" he began to stare blankly until Patty snapped him out of it with a nudge, "…uh, sacrifice! We aren't going to win without sacrifice!"

Frieda grumbled, "I'm certainly sacrificing the quality of my naturally curly hair." Without any time to prep it, it looked like an absolute mess; it was sticking out at all angles.

"Yeah great going Charlie Brown, now we only have 15 minutes to shower before school; nobody is going to take me seriously today!" Violet complained.

Pig-Pen, who looked even more messy than usual muttered, "Showering is overrated anyway."

Linus responded to Violet, "We could have done this earlier if you guys wanted more showering time."

Peppermint Patty happily smiled, "C'mon Linus, you know that I always start my mile run at 4. Otherwise we would have done it then."

Lucy grumbled, "What a pity."

Peppermint Patty turned to Charlie Brown, "Alright Chuck, let's quit wasting time, what's your plan of action?"
Charlie Brown flinched; he hadn't done any actual preparing. "Oh…well…I was thinking…"

Peppermint Patty sighed, "Of course you didn't think anything up…"

Violet once again complained, "Oh great, thank you so much for not wasting my time Charlie Brown!"

After quit a bit more arguing, they agreed on practicing their fielding. Charlie Brown pitched to Peppermint Patty, who would easily belt all of his pitches into the outfield.

"So you wouldn't believe what Peggy Jean was wearing yesterday Lucy, someone's really got to rein that girl in." Frieda gossiped.

Lucy snorted, "I always knew she was nothing but a tramp anyway. Remember how she was two timing Charlie Brown?"

Frieda nodded, "Yeah, and she was only in fourth grade!" At that moment Peppermint Patty had belted another ball into the outfield. Lucy stared at it as it fell next to her. She grumbled annoyed, picked it up, and walked to the pitcher's mound.
"Tell Peppermint Patty to stop hitting the balls towards us! We're in a middle of a conversation here! It's rude to interrupt someone when they are in a conversation, Charlie Brown!"

Charlie Brown moaned, "We're not supposed to be talking, we're supposed to be playing baseball!"

Lucy looked surprise, "You call that playing baseball? You're allowing her to hit every ball you pitch at her!"

Charlie Brown got defensive, "Of course I am Lucy! We're practicing fielding!"

"Well it looks like you should practice your pitching." She looked over at Schroeder. "My boyfriend needs some exercise too Charlie Brown, if Peppermint Patty keeps hitting the balls he's going to get content and lazy!"

Charlie Brown grumbled, "Get back on the field Lucy!"

"Hey, don't you dare talk to me like that Charlie Brown!"

Through gritted teeth he reiterated, "Please get back on the field Lucy!"

She smiled, "That's better", and skipped off, humming to herself.

Charlie Brown muttered, "The things I put up with…" then shouted to Peppermint Patty, "Sorry about that! Perhaps it'll be better if we try for some in fielding plays!"

Peppermint Patty, who by now had written off the outfield, has hopeless responded, "You got it Chuck! Send one at me!" Charlie Brown obliged and Patty smacked a grounder between second and third. Both Snoopy and Linus rushed for it. Charlie Brown smiled at both of their dedication. Peppermint Patty began to circle the bases.

As both the shortstop and second baseman rushed towards the ball Linus yelled to Snoopy, "Don't worry about this beagle, I got it!" Snoopy however refused to yield and sprinter even farther to catch the ball. "I said move it you stupid beagle! You're too old to be pushing yourself that hard." Taking offense, Snoopy rushed past the ball and charged into Linus, knocking the wind out of him.

Too old, huh? I'll tell you what you blanket carrying wimp, I can still hit you like a ton of bricks! As Snoopy gloated over Linus, Peppermint Patty, who was moving noticeably slower than she normally would have ran disappointedly passed the boys at second…then ran past third…and finally headed home as the boy and beagle continued their fight.

"Chuck, I think we got a lot of work ahead of us…"

Charlie Brown thought to himself, Kill me now….

…

"I don't know how we're going to pull this off Peppermint Patty. None of us, save you, have any idea what we are doing." Charlie Brown moaned as he took a sip of his milkshake. Their two hour practice session got very little accomplished, especially since the last half hour consisted of a fight between Lucy and Violet after Lucy took some of Violet's compliments towards Schroeder's catching prowess to be overly flirtatious. It should be noted that Charlie Brown hadn't pitched a ball that wasn't hit so Lucy may have had a point.

After a day of school that was wrought with sore muscles and aching bones for all the team members who were all terribly out of shape (save Peppermint Patty), Chuck and Patty had decided to meet up with Marcie at the diner in order to relax. Even Peppermint Patty began to think the entire prospect futile. "I knew you guys were bad Chuck…I just forgot how bad…"

Marcie smiled, "As long as you guys have strong leadership you'll be able to whip those guys into shape. And you and Chuck are definitely the best quarterbacks I know!"

Peppermint Patty and Charlie Brown both sank their hands into their palms while Marcie cheerily continued, "I mean look at Jose Peterson, he's such a great leader that his team is on it's way too the…." Marcie then caught herself…. "oh…sorry guys…"

Charlie Brown sighed, "Thanks Marcie."

"How'd you get your team to concentrate in the past Chuck? It seems impossible..."

Charlie Brown frowned, "It seems impossible because it is! Why do you think we always lost? They have no faith that we can win, so they don't bother trying."

Marcie noted, "Charles is correct sir, I noted years ago that Charles' team only preformed well when something occurred where they legitimately believed they could win. Of course they usually ended up losing anyway, but in those rare instances they came very close."

Charlie Brown sighed, "Yeah, there were a few times when I actually got the team to frenzied. And we would have one if I hadn't messed up royally soon thereafter."

Peppermint Patty mused, "So if we can find some way to get our team to think they have a chance…"

Charlie Brown continued, "And I don't manage to screw it up anyway…"

Ignoring Charlie Brown, Peppermint Patty finished, "Then we'd have the momentum to pull this off. But how the heck can we convince these guys that we can win?"

Charlie Brown and Peppermint Patty sighed together and turned their attention back to their meals creating a joint aura of gloom and desperation. They ate awkwardly in silence for a few minutes, forgetting that Marcie even existed. Thus they were quite surprised when they heard her yell out a squeal of joy.

"Eeeek!" Marcie cried, though she quickly stifled it once she caught herself.

Surprised, Peppermint Patty almost leapt out of her seat before quickly asking, "What the heck was that Marcie? I've never heard you do that…" Peppermint Patty stopped herself when she realized what was going on: Jose Peterson had entered the diner. Peterson instantly noticed the trio and after making a quick reservation at the front desk for his party walked over.

"Looks like I'm not the only captain who's famished after a hard day's training huh? Where's the rest of the team Charlie Brown. Didn't have the budget to take the whole team out?"

Peppermint Patty sneered "Looks like now that I'm gone you haven't wasted any time using the team's funds for your own uses. I'm surprised that I'm not seeing any of those tacky fake gold chains you love so much."

Peterson laughed, "Well now I'd be able to afford real ones, eh Patty? I kid though; I'm here on a 'team building' mission. You know to build morale. You know about morale right Charlie Brown?"

Charlie Brown, avoiding eye contact, muttered, "I know of it…"

Peppermint Patty began to raise her voice, "You're letting this creep win Chuck! Don't take any crap from him!"

"I'm just asking because I heard from the grapevine that you had a less than stellar practice session. Apparently you decided to put Violet and Lucy on the same team? Interesting move, but then again, how could I question any move made by manager extraordinaire: Charlie Brown?"

Charlie Brown muttered, "We just need some time to train Peterson, I assure you that we've all gotten a lot better", Charlie Brown lied, looking down at his feet while doing so.

Peterson grinned, "Wouldn't you make an excellent politician, Charlie Brown? Unfortunately we don't have time to drag this little contest of ours on for too long. We need this all squared away at least a week before we go on to our state game."

Peppermint Patty began to yell, "But the state game is coming up in two weeks! You expect us to be able to go against us in a week?"
Peterson shrugged, "Hey, let's not forget, you guys were the ones who challenged us. This Saturday at noon at the high school's baseball field."

Peppermint Patty smugly asked, "Well then, who gets to play home?"

Peterson grinned, "While it is rightfully ours we'll be the better team and allow you to flip for it."

"Aren't we generous?"

Peterson nodded, "I hope you don't disappoint me Peppermint Patty. I'm really looking forward to this team you and Charlie Brown assembled." Peterson turned his attention to Marcie, "By the way babe, anytime you want to ditch these losers, feel free to hang out with us. Ciao."

Marcie's glasses began to fog up and her face went blush red. Peppermint Patty and Charlie Brown both gave her a look that said, "Do it and you're dead". Peterson walked back to the front of the diner, joining up with the rest of the team, which was seemingly unchanged at a glance, in order to be seated.

Charlie Brown instantly began to freak out, "One week? We can't possibly hope to win if all we have to train is one week!"

Marcie patted him on the shoulder, "I don't think any amount of training is going to make any real difference Charles. But if it makes you feel better I have complete faith in you."

Peppermint Patty rolled her eyes, "Once again thanks for your solid support Marcie. Maybe we should give you an MVP award."

"But I'm not playing sir, it wouldn't be fair to whoever on the team really earns it."

"Augh! Shut up Marcie! And for the love of God stop calling me sir!" After taking a second to cool down Peppermint Patty continued, "Alright Chuck, it looks bad, but we really got to kick that jerk's ass. It's still the same team as always, I know all their weaknesses. It's going to be rough, but I think we may be able to pull through."

Before Charlie Brown could respond, he noticed Jose Peterson standing with a strangely familiar girl next to him. "By the way, just thought I should introduce my replacement pitcher; ladies, gentlemen, Peppermint Patty, meet Royanne Hobbs!" Peppermint Patty dropped her glass of soda on the floor and Charlie Brown nearly choked on his burger.

"She has graciously agreed to take time out of her busy schedule in the woman's professional minor league to help me—". Royanne cut him off though, pushing him aside. She walked right up to Charlie Brown and pulled her scrappy bangs away from her eyes, and stared directly into Charlie Brown's.

"I hope you remember me kid. You beat me twice and more importantly: you tarnished the reputation of my great-grandfather. I'm not going to mince words: your team is going to get slaughtered." With that she walked away. Jose gave one more cocky laugh before walking off himself.

Now Patty began to freak out, "You never told me you managed to piss off the Royanne Hobbs, Chuck! Ever since I first met her I looked up to her! Oh my god! We're done. We have no chance!"

Charlie Brown sighed, so much for raising team morale. Their defeat was to be absolute.

To be continued