CHAPTER 4: HOW DO YOU LOVE AN OX?

The next day at school during recess, Charlie Brown and Linus were walking through the playground when they spotted Ox with a weird look on his face. Charlie Brown recognized it right away. Ox had fallen in love. It was the same look Charlie always had whenever he saw the little red-haired girl when she still lived in town. But who did Ox fall for? They decided to do some digging.

"Hey, Ox," said Linus.

"You look happy about something," Charlie Brown observed.

"Yeah," sighed Ox. "I've fallen in love with a very pretty girl. But I don't know how I'll approach her."

"Well it shouldn't be too hard," Linus said. "Who is the girl in question?"

"It's her." He pointed towards Patty, who was with Violet, naturally.

"Oh brother!" Charlie Brown moaned. "Why did he have to fall for one of the members of the 'Snob Squad'?"

"What is a 'Snob Squad'?" asked Ox.

"You see that dark-haired girl next to her?" said Charlie Brown. "That's Violet. The girl you like is Patty, her best friend. Those two girls had made my life a living nightmare as far as I can remember. They always made fun of my shortcomings, called me names, and went out of their way to exclude me in parties that they have thrown. Patty is marginally nicer, but there's nothing nice about Violet. In fact, Violet is cruel toward everyone. She puts down Pig Pen for being too dirty, Linus for carrying his blanket, even Lucy isn't safe from her, though to be fair, Lucy can hold her own against Violet as she's the only one who can be even meaner than her. But she's worse to me, and I don't know why. Though lately, she has left me alone because I started developing more of a spine and not dealing with her taunts. Plus being with Frieda has helped a little as well."

"Charlie Brown's right, Ox," Linus added. "Plus Shermy dates Violet. He's the only person she treats with respect, besides Patty. As Charlie Brown said, they eased up on their taunts on him, but they're still the meanest girls around. Sure Lucy can be crabby and she always tries to take my blanket from me, but I'll take Lucy on her worse day over Violet anytime. As far as Patty goes, she can be a little nice, especially when Violet's not around. Even Charlie Brown's been able to approach Patty when Violet isn't in the vicinity. But when those two get together, look out! They take no prisoners!"

"Frieda has told me not to even listen to them, no matter how hurtful they get," Charlie Brown continued. "I learned they do it mainly to get a rise out of me. They get a thrill out of seeing me depressed. It's sick, to be truthful. It's almost like they have no soul. Take my advice, Ox. Stay as far away from Patty as possible, unless you want to feel Violet's wrath."

"I don't get it," said Ox. "How can someone so pretty be so mean?"

"It's because they know they're pretty and can get away with it," said Schroeder, who joined up with the boys. "And unless you're Shermy, they will go out their way to humiliate you. I'm sure Charlie Brown's filled you in on their endless torment of him. And I barely tolerate Lucy, so you know I can't stand either one of them."

"It still baffles me how someone as nice as Shermy could date someone as mean as Violet, though," said Linus. "Maybe Shermy to Violet is like you to Lucy, Schroeder. But unlike you who's smart not to go after my sister, Shermy caught the bait and is now hooked by her."

"Listen to us, Ox," Schroeder continued. "Dealing with Patty is more trouble than it's worth. All those girls know is divide and conquer. Nothing good will come out of it. Shermy's been lucky so far, but who know how long that luck will last."

Ox listened to his friends. They never steered him wrong so far. But he wondered was the lure of Patty too much of a temptation. He decided to seek out some advice after school. He decided to take Lucy up on her offer for some "Friendly Advice".

Lucy was seated at her Psychiatric booth with her feet up as she usually was. Ox walked up to her. "Hello, Lucy," he greeted.

"Hello, Ox," she said with a smile. "Have a seat. What's on your mind?"

"Well, I have a crush on a girl at school, but I heard some bad things about her. Pretty much everyone said the same thing about this girl and her friend, who was worse, and that I should stay as far away from her as possible. But I can't stop thinking about her. She's so pretty I can't stand it. But should I talk to someone with such a bad reputation?"

"Who is this girl?" Lucy asked with suspicion.

"Her name is Patty," Ox said. Lucy breathed a sigh of relief, as she thought folks were talking about her. "And her friend's name is Violet, I think. From what I heard, they can be quite cruel."

"Yeah, pretty much what they said was right," Lucy stated. "But may I ask, what's in your heart, Oxie? Do you want to go out on a date with Patty, just to see if she's interested?"

"I would love that!" Ox said eagerly.

"So what's stopping you? Go for it. What have you got to lose? The worse that could happen is she says no."

"You're right, Lucy. I will ask her tomorrow during recess. Thanks for your help."

"Not a problem, Ox. Five cents, please."

Ox paid Lucy a nickel and went on his way. Lucy turned the "IN" sign around to "OUT" and went back inside her house. She immediately looked around to see if she was alone. When she didn't see either Linus or Rerun, she grabbed the phone and dialed a number. She waited for a second and someone answered.

"Hello, Violet? This is Lucy. You are not going to believe this. You know that big kid who's Linus and Charlie Brown's class? Yes. That's him. Anyway he has a huge crush on Patty. I know right? Anyway tomorrow he's going to ask her on a date. What I need you to do is give Patty a call and give her the details. We can humiliate this big oaf big time. He seems like a bigger patsy than Charlie Brown! No pun intended, of course. You're right. No one, not even Ox, can surpass Charlie Brown as far as patsies go. But it'll still be funny to embarrass this guy. Okay I gotta go. I'll give you more details later. I'll see you tomorrow when everything hits the fan. Okay, bye!"

Lucy snickered about her latest prank at poor Ox's expense. What she didn't know was someone was in fact listening. A little snoop she knew as her baby brother. As soon as she was out of sight, Rerun ran towards Charlie Brown's house to warn him about Lucy's latest prank against Ox.

NEXT CHAPTER: FORGET THE WHALES; SAVE THE OX!