THE TRAINING DAY
"CHUCK, GET YOUR HEAD BACK IN THE GAME"
Charlie Brown stumbled as he got up from the latest tackle. Sunday football training was quickly turning into a nightmare, and it had only been 10 minutes.
He sighed, maybe he was out of his league. Actually, he thought, there wasn't a maybe too it. He definitely was.
He wandered back to the benches. What was he thinking, he was too much of a failure to be a competent player, let alone a good one.
Many of his friends agreed this was true, and the one who thought otherwise, was nowhere to be found since yesterday morning.
"Hi Charlie Brown"
Spoke too soon, he thought.
Linus walked up to Charlie Brown as they arrived at the benches, and with him was…
"Janice!"
"Good to see you Charlie Brown" she greeted him.
"Thanks".
Despite his despondence, Charlie Brown smiled as the three of them began to talk. "So when did you get back Janice?"
"Yesterday" she replied.
"Guess we're popular Linus" Charlie said to his best friend "just a couple days after Black arrived too".
"Was that my name I heard?"
A chill went down Charlie Brown's spine, as Edward Black walked up. Sally had told him what she saw about Edward.
"Charlie Brown"
"My reputation precedes me huh" Charlie Brown replied to him, a bit unnerved.
"It does" Edward stuck out his hand "Edward Black, pleasure to meet you".
Charlie Brown shook his hand. He was a bit intimidated by his presence.
"CHUCK, BACK HERE PLEASE"
He sighed and began to get up, "I'd better head back out there".
He ran back onto the field, where Peppermint Patty was waiting for him.
"I see the reserve players have arrived" she stated.
"Reserve players?"
"Yeah, didn't Linus tell you" Patty said "Him and Black are in reserve".
Charlie Brown looked back to the benches, where Linus gave him the thumbs up.
And, from beside him, he saw Edward put his hand on his chin.
"Now, how good is this star team of their's" he heard him question.
As it turned out, the team were not good at all.
Their first player tried to tackle a second player, only to stumble into his opponent and fall to the ground.
The second player thought it appropriate to then tackle him by pinning him to the ground.
"Oh no" Edward groaned from the benches.
The third player tried to kick a football, but missed, and in his rage, tossed it into a fourth players face.
A fifth player slipped in the mud, while bent over laughing.
"What in the…" Edward put a hand on his forehead.
And Charlie Brown, in an attempt to grab the ball, leapt into the air, missed, and fell on his hands.
BANG
BANG
BANG
BANG
BANG
Linus and Janice watched as Edward was repeatedly banging his head in frustration against the side of the benches.
"OKAY, TAKE FIVE TEAM"
Patty had also had enough, and she and Marcie walked over to the benches themselves.
"Linus, if you have any football philosophies, now's the time" she exclaimed.
Linus raised his eyebrows, "Football Philosophies?"
Patty sighed "Anyone else up for getting this team in line?"
Edward returned over "Oh, I for one wouldn't mind a few words to them" he said, still frustrated. After all, he'd pre-planned the victory celebration.
"Okay then, take a shot. TEAM, OVER HERE"
The team filed over.
"RIGHT" Patty said "Black here's a reserve player, he'd like a word with you all".
"Thank you Patty" Edward responded.
Edward glared around at the football team, who were all looking at him.
"I think… that you guys are doing good" he slowly said.
Smiles popped up on the teams faces. One player spoke up
"Well I hope…"
"I WAS BEING SARCASTIC" Edward yelled at them.
The smiles quickly disappeared.
"What do you call that performance, because it's certainly not good football. Heaps of you were acting like circus clowns, and I for one, prefer to watch the lions. So get your act tougher, start taking this seriously, or Rochester will steamroll the lot of us".
The team looked shocked.
A player angrily spoke up in response "Well, maybe we should cut off the weak links. Like kick Brown off, he's the worst".
"Oh that's uncalled for, kid"
"Shut up Van Pelt"
Edward pointed to the player "You, out here, NOW".
The player walked forward.
"Listen here kid" Edward spat "you couldn't kick a football lying still on the ground, so I'll be the one who decides who's a weak link or not. These are the cards we have to play, so deal with it, as we are GOING TO PLAY THEM, understood".
The player laughed, "Big talk from a reserve player. Could you even take me tackling you, one on one?"
To prove his point, the player tried to tackle him.
"Wait, I wouldn't do that…"
Edward beat him to the punch, tossing him to the ground first.
"…never-mind" Janice said, as Linus stared, surprised.
The player looked up, quickly changing tone, "Why on earth are you in reserve Black?. You should be a full on player"
Edward glared at them all, "it doesn't matter. This team is so bad, you'll need our mascot as a player before halftime"
The team nodded, now looking dejected, Charlie Brown especially.
"Get back out there, and work on your game" Edward instructed "and then, we may just pull through".
While all this was going down, Schroeder was back in the music room, sitting at the piano.
But he wasn't playing anything, but was sitting despondently as Samantha ran through papers.
"So maybe Hip Hop" she suggested.
Schroeder shook his head "Probably not good for a club song or anthem"
What about Rock and Roll.
"Improbable"
"What about Jazz" she suggested "Y,know, S.O.J.A.S, to SO JAZZ, get it.
Schroeder looked over.
"Yeah, they'd kill me if I did that" she realised.
Schroeder sat back "I barely play, let along compose outside of Beethoven. I'm lacking experience"
"You, lacking piano experience" Samantha laughed "Remember, once you perfect one genre…"
"…the rest are easy" Schroeder remembered.
"Besides, their's two people with experience here" she said "plus the requests from the others"
She looked at a paper and frowned, "Less is More, guys. Less. Is. More".
"That's it" Schroeder exclaimed "Less is more. All we need is to nail it down to a genre we're both good with"
The two pianists thought for a moment, and decided at once.
"Classical"
Charlie Brown stumbled to the benches and sat down. Training had improved once Edward took over, and no one was chastising him.
Then again, that was because the team had been training 5 times as hard than beforehand. Standards were definitely raised. And he already hadn't been sure of himself.
Charlie Brown looked to the right to see Linus had silently moved up next to him. He jumped, surprised, but quickly recovered himself.
"So, thats where you were yesterday"
"Huh" Linus asked
"With Edward and Janice", Charlie Brown replied. He had figured Linus must have been hanging out with this boy, that's why he had suddenly decided to join the football team.
They sat in silence.
"Edward sounds a bit like Lucy".
"What"
"He's easily irritated, loud, and a bit harsh, yeah" Charlie Brown told him.
"He's not like my sister" Linus reassured "Don't worry"
"How do you know?" Charlie Brown asked, curious, "In fact, what have you even been doing with him?"
"I…". Linus wanted to tell Charlie Brown about Lucy's plot to sabotage him, but, Edward had said it was too risky. All he could think was their betrayed disappointment if he broke their trust.
"I'm sorry Charlie Brown" Linus finally said, "It's…Classified"
"Classified?" Charlie Brown furrowed his eyebrows. He didn't know they were keeping secrets. "Alright then, James Bond" he said, briefly angered.
He then sighed.
"Are you alright Charlie Brown" Linus asked
"Yeah, fine, fine"
"You don't look it"
Charlie turned to his best friend, "that player was right, I'm a dead weight to the team"
"Cheer up Charlie Brown, that's…"
"Even if I'm not" Charlie Brown said "Edward's set the bar too high, I can't reach it".
A third person neared them, "You won't with that attitude, will you"
Edward Black walked up, standing in front of him.
Charlie Brown lowed his eyes "Sorry, but it's the truth"
"Then why are you still trying, again and again and again?. Every time, you think you can succeed, but believe that you can and will fail". Edward looked him in the eyes.
"So, are you then trying to fail?"
"What!, No" Charlie Brown spluttered
"No indeed. Then act like it. Believe you will succeed, and then strive as hard as possible to ensure you do"
"I know I could work a bit more".
"NO, a lot more, Charlie" Edward turned and began to walk away.
"I did not get to where I am with empty optimism, that I would try fly a kite the same way, in the the hope it would work on the 185th time".
He turned to the two boys.
"If you truly wish to be a success" he explained "you must adapt yourself to the best possible way to succeed."
And with that advice, he left.
Charlie Brown sat silently, pondering what he'd advised. While Linus was a bit surprised, he hadn't expected Edward to be harsh.
"Is he right" the former asked the latter.
Linus breathed, "He has a point".
"He does"
"You do need to step out of your comfort zone more" Linus explained "you end up backing out at the last second way too often. Also, you can be very pessimistic".
Charlie Brown nodded glumly, and began to walk away himself.
"But Charlie Brown"
He turned back.
"Someone told me last night there's a limit in how far you should go, and you need to promise me something" Linus asked the older boy.
"What is it?"
"Please, whatever you do. Don't lose who you are in trying to succeed".
To that, Charlie Brown could only subtly nod at him.