Chapter 2
An alarm for 7:15 buzzed on the bedside table, next to a Bible and reading glasses. It was quickly turned off as Linus Van Pelt slowly got up from his bed.
Getting changed into casual clothing, he went downstairs to eat breakfast.
His younger brother Rylan "Rerun", was eating his cereal, and not exactly in a clean manner. Linus joined him.
Once finishing breakfast, he opened up his Bible and began to read. Rerun looked up.
"I've got art class for school" he said.
"Uh huh" Linus replied unenthusiastically.
"What classes have you got today. Linus" Rerun continued.
Linus looked up from his Bible. "I've got invested in this passage" he told him
Rerun chuckled.
Linus continued "As for school, I've got Maths and Science".
"And I've got good reason to pound you for waking up late" a new voice bellowed.
Their older sister Lucy had entered the room, and she looked displeased.
"Late" questioned Linus "What do you mean by late, I set my alarm".
"We're leaving early" she declared "I've got some important catching up to do with Violet and Patty before school".
Linus frowned, he had good reason to dislike Lucy's friends.
"I'm sorry this wasn't on your timetable" Lucy told him "but if you'll excuse me, it seems you've finished breakfast".
She pushed him and his seat out of the way and sat down herself, thrusting his Bible into his hands.
Linus sighed as he put it in his schoolbag.
As the Van Pelts approached the bus stop, they were surprised to see Charlie Brown and his sister Sally, already there. Linus waved at his best friend, while Lucy retained her frown and Rerun was too distracted.
"Hi Charlie Brown" he greeted
"Hey Linus" Charlie Brown replied offhandedly
Linus noticed his demeanour "What's wrong"
"Nothing"
"No, it's something"
"It's that baseball game yesterday" Charlie said "I was playing lousy. A 36-4 loss, how is it even possible to be that rubbish"
"No one on our team's perfect Charlie Brown".
"Peppermint Patty certainly made it clear I wasn't" he told Linus, and she wasn't even playing, thankfully.
Charlie Brown sighed "And if that's how one of my friends feels"
"The keyword there would be one" Linus explained
"Is it, I'm sure everyone else knows I'm definitely imperfect"
The bus pulled up and everyone else got on the bus except for them.
"your sister, Violet, both Patty's, the lot of them all think I'm a blockhead" Charlie Brown continued "I've finally figured it out Linus, I'm weak, insignificant, pathetic and an all around failure, and everyone thinks that of me"
"But I"
"EVERYONE thinks that of me Linus" Charlie Brown told him, trying to drive home the point "And that, is why nobody likes me".
Feeling hurt, Linus chose to keep quiet after that remark.
They both got on the bus.
From a couple of seats back from the two boys, Lucy had stopped her grumpy demeanour.
She had heard her brothers and Charlie Brown's conversation, and found it amusingly interesting.
Of course Charlie Brown was considering himself a failure, why wouldn't he, that's exactly what he is.
And the ever naive Linus was ever so willing to throw all his eggs in that broken basket.
Well it was about time, Lucy thought, that they finally accepted it, she had almost won.
But there was still a uncertainty, she remembered, as she looked down on the school newsletter.
An annual inter-school football game was the news off the day. Scheduled for two weeks time, kids were all discussing whether to enter, get that shot at sporting glory, do themselves proud, and be a hero.
Lucy knew one kid who would jump at the chance. After all, he'd done it before.
And she must make him fail.
This time, it wouldn't be a stroke of genius instinct like that Homecoming Game.
This time, it would be a plot, conducted by her and her allies, her clique.
To make this larger game, the largest slap to the face of that 12 year old Blockhead.
And, she would end her crusade against Charlie Brown the same way it began. A final definitive victory.
A failure he finally couldn't get up from.
Because when there was a clear loser, there would then be a clear winner.
Lucy smiled, as she texted Violet and Patty.
It wasn't as if there was no reason to Charlie Brown's depression, Linus thought. His poor friend had the worst luck imaginable, not to mention some awful so called friends.
But that hadn't made his outburst that everyone thought he was worthless sting any less.
He doubted Sally thought so, he doubted friends like Schroeder and Marcie did either.
He certainly didn't think it was true.
He stopped as he walked towards the lockers, Charlie Brown was looking at a poster on the wall.
Stopping, Linus read it "Birchwood vs Rochester Elementary, the game of the year, players sign up now open"
"Sure will be a interesting game" Charlie Brown said, almost longingly "even though we're bound to lose"
Linus had an idea.
"Why don't you join in the game Charlie Brown, they could always use another player"
"to screw it up for them" Charlie Brown interrupted.
"I wasn't saying" Linus tried to explain, but was cut off.
"You might as well, it's what the team will say"
"But they might not if you're good at the game" Linus implied as they got to the locker room.
The only other one there was a kid who looked to be in 8th Grade. He was busy wiring a battery.
"Honestly Linus I doubt it, something can and will happen to mess it up" Charlie Brown lamented
He went to his class, and Linus followed him.
From across the locker room, Neil Olson, the kid with the battery, looked on in curiosity. He then noticed a familiar face walking towards him.
"Would that possibly be the lying cheating despot himself".
The person laughed, "You talking to me, you low budget Einstein".
Walking toward each other, Neil and Edward smiled and embraced.
"Good to see you Edward"
"You too Neil. Maddison's looking for the others, we're meeting up after school."
Neil smiled, "You know I'll be there".
"Wow Lucy" Violet said "are you serious"
Lucy was busy catching up with her friends, and had wasted no time in bragging to them.
"Yeah, this hopscotch kid took one look at my fist, and did a curtesy on the spot"
"Those third graders are all the same" Patty said "Blockheads"
"And speaking of Blockheads", and here Violet grinned "rumour has it you've got a very special plan for a certain someone".
"If he falls for it again, then he falls for it again" Lucy snickered "and I mean that literally".
They all laughed and continued talking.
From a nearby bench, Maddison Freeman had briefly overheard them, and was looking over.
"Hmmmm, that's not suspicious at all, is it" she sarcastically mumbled.
"Hi"
Maddison almost jumped in surprise.
"So we're getting together after school eh" her friend Henrietta Corden asked her.
"That's what I said" Maddison replied, she sounded uptight
"Another rough day?" Henrietta asked curiously
"Yep"
"At this point, why don't you just try recording your rough days in a journal?" she joked "Do the Mondays in advance"
Maddison rolled her eyes "I actually like Mondays".
As school finished, Samantha Lesley left her last music class of the day, and was about to head home for some more music practice. Her phone buzzed with a new message. Looking down, she saw a text from Neil.
"We're meeting up at the park at 3:30"
She smiled, music would have to wait.
Arriving at the park, she saw Maddison, Henrietta and Neil sitting at the table.
"You're all here" she said happily, then blushed as she realised her mistake.
Neil patted her on the back "How was your day Sam. Anything interesting"
Samantha looked at him.
"I saw a dog dressed as a fighter pilot".
Neil was taken aback.
"Don't look so shocked" Henrietta told him "You've seen a six year old play with a tame tiger"
"Well well well, it appears Kingmaker has come to join the common folk" Maddison teased.
Edward Black had walked up to them.
"I suppose I have" he said with a smile "Now, what's this about a fighter pilot"
Linus was sitting at the wall at the park, and Charlie Brown came up to him.
He didn't know he was there until he passed him a sheet of paper.
Linus picked it up, and smiled.
"Yes, I did decide to do your idea" Charlie Brown told him.
"That's really good Charlie Brown"
"But this is the last try"
"Sorry"
"If I don't succeed this time, then I'm a failure at everything, and I'll accept it, once and for all."
Linus stared at him. He knew this was concerning. But if this was the last chance, he would support him.
After all, he didn't think his best friend was a failure.
"So, Samantha" Edward asked "how's our song coming along"
"I worried you'd ask" Samantha said frowning "I've got no inspiration"
"Don't worry" Neil said "It's only a social club anthem". "Which is trying to incorporate six different people" he continued "And their different styles"
He paused "actually that is pretty worrying".
"Everything I've played's been bad" Samantha sighed.
Neil reached into his bag.
"Do we all have our club sashes on us" he asked out off curiosity.
They all showed their respective sashes
Henrietta had a mustard yellow sash.
Neil had a forest green colour
Samantha had cyan blue
Maddison had amethyst purple
And Edward just had black.
"Can we go back to the "everything I've played's been bad". Edward addressed Samantha "we regularly use your music for SOJAS and it all doesn't disappoint, so why would the anthem".
The typically shy Samantha beamed.
Maddison also smiled
"I told him yesterday Birchwood could use someone like us" she said and bent down "The atmosphere, it's tense, it's, like people will be victim to a tirade of bullying and cruelty at a moments notice".
"She paused "I should let you know I saw some Grade 6 girls laughing"
"Uh oh" Samantha joked.
"Girls laughing, that's gotta be something Maddison will make illegal" Neil joined in.
"I'm serious guys" Maddison told them "this definitely wasn't gossip or anything".
They all began to listen.
"They were saying that they "had a plan for a certain Blockhead" and "he'd fall for it again".
"That is kinda suspicious" Neil said.
"No wonder everyone walks on thin ice if that's the conversations that go on" Henrietta added.
"It sounds like they do it often" Samantha told them.
They then all turned to Edward for his input. He was both the eldest and the leader of their social club. Each of them were passionate about change. But even Maddison's courage could not come close to Edwards raw ambition, ambition that had led him to many a victory.
"If we are to be a positive force for change here" he stated "then this sort of antagonistic behaviour must be quelled".
"Hear, hear" Henrietta said
"So who is this "certain Blockhead", cause it's something we need to find out" Edward asked.
"HEY CHARLIE BROWN, YOU BLOCKHEAD" a kid called out, as he and Linus were leaving the park.
"Well, that was easy" Edward said.
But he had a trace of anger in his voice.
As they were leaving the park, Linus briefly paused and looked at Edwards table. He could kinda make out what they were saying.
"So with that out of the way, are we all in agreement to renew the club" Henrietta said.
The rest all agreed.
"You know we're in, Henrietta" Samantha spoke up.
"Well, I guess(after 2 days on the road) that SOJAS is back" Edward enthusiastically declared, brief anger gone. They all quietly cheered.
"SOJAS?" Linus thought, he had no idea what that even meant, let alone what that new group used it for.
He followed Charlie Brown outside the park. Whatever it was, it probably didn't concern him.