THE GAME: TIME IS UP
Schroeder and 5 helped Samantha, Neil and Henrietta limp back to the benches at 3rd quarter time, where the team were again seated.
"We found 5" the pianist proclaimed.
"Finally" Patty was relieved, but then realised everyone but Schroeder sported injuries. "Wait, what happened".
"Ambush by remaining clique members" Neil explained, "saw us with 5, and attacked".
Edward fumed angrily, while Marcie noticeably looked dejected.
"What's wrong?" Patty asked her.
Marcie explained the problem. Even with 5 back as referee to restore order, the scores were too low for Birchwood to catch up and win against Rochester.
"She's right" Linus admitted, looking to Charlie Brown. The duo looked concerned, they now had very few options.
"5" Edward muttered from his throne, "change the score, you must give us free points".
"What!. You mean we cheat?"
"The games been muddled with already. We can adjust the score, and decide this with a kickoff"
5 was standing his ground in objection, but noticed Edwards clenched fist, reminding him what that would lead to.
The boy agreed. And Sally Brown, sitting next to him, suddenly became angry.
"You're the one who threatened 5", she accused, standing up and pointing.
"Excuse me", Edward raised his eyebrows.
"5 said to me, that someone threatened him on Monday afternoon" the young girl revealed.
"…I'd thought it was Lucy" Charlie Brown added, pointing at Edward "but it was you".
"Only so I would be holding the ball you'd kick, rather than Lucy" Edward rose from his throne, "You should be thankful".
But Charlie Brown wasn't thankful. Not to someone who'd criticised his morals constantly.
"You are…this has gotten out of hand" Charlie Brown stated, "you, Emperor Kingmaker, have changed everything".
"And you'd rather I kept the status quo" Edward shot back, "Linus, tell him I'm on his side".
Linus put his hand behind his head. He knew Edward was flawed, but did want to help. And he was Janice's cousin.
He immediately pulled back his sore arm, remembering relatives weren't always allies.
"You know I don't like constantly losing" Charlie Brown claimed, "but is your alternative better. You threaten, scare, act with no mercy towards others. You're too nasty".
"You could argue you're too nice", Edward rebutted. Some team members nodded their heads, while Linus, Marcie and Franklin visibly disagreed.
Charlie Brown continued protesting, "I walked past your house earlier, and the psychiatry booth was right out there. Did Lucy give you her football as well?".
"Actually, she did".
Edward leant back, and reached for a plastic bag. He laid it down between him and Charlie Brown…
…and emptied it of the pieces of burnt leather football.
"Still think I'm not an improvement Charlie", he asked, awaiting a response.
Charlie Brown, breathing fast and heavily, stared silently at burnt leather.
"Is that her football Linus?" he asked his best friend.
Staring himself, Linus nodded.
"I've been trying to kick that for YEARS" Charlie suddenly became very angry, "YEARS, and you destroy it…..…just to make a point"
"You could say that", Edward replied.
"You can also say, that I MIGHT'VE ONE DAY ACTUALLY KICKED IT".
"AND THERE IT IS" Edward called "this blind foolishness, it's lead you to fail repeatedly. This is why I kept my plan a secret, your involvement could easily have doomed it to failure".
He walked down the benches.
"But I do not accept failure, I do not accept your failure. IT IS THAT MINDSET, which is why we will now win this game".
Edward exhaled, he felt Charlie Brown's rising anger. Good. As he'd told Linus, power is what lead to success. Not kindness and morals.
"And do you accept your own failure?", Charlie Brown blurted out, "Have you ever failed?".
Linus and Charlie Brown looked at him, as Edward froze in his tracks.
"You already know my answer" he said, his voice filled with emotion.
As the team had left the benches, Charlie Brown turned to Linus.
"Did you know?", he hissed to his best friend.
"About him threatening 5, holding your failure against you", Linus put his hands up "No, I didn't. I'll speak to him afterwards, if it helps…".
Charlie Brown continued glaring. He had a different idea.
"Me and you, after the game, we're going to have a good talk about who you let help us", he stated coldly, "Understand".
Linus opened his mouth to explain himself, but was too stunned over his friend's aggressive attitude.
"Yes Charlie Brown", he agreed.
Charlie nodded. This new attitude wasn't like him. But it felt good, it felt good to be the one tough and harsh to someone. Surely, he could try it for once.
A horn blasted, signalling the last quarter.
"You're up Charlie Brown" Linus told him.
"Yeah" he replied "I guess I am".
He rose from the benches. The final kickoff was now taking place.
Walking onto the field, Charlie Brown looked around, and saw Edward also getting up.
They both began to stagger onto the field, their torso's were riddled with bruises and Edward stumbled as he reached the kickoff. But he didn't care, he was going to see this through if it killed him.
And, what he didn't see was a football that flew towards him, striking him in the back.
"OKAY WHOS THE IDIOT", Edward looked around, before seeing them, "OH THATS IT"
"YOU CANT REPLACE ME" Lucy yelled as she pulled her hand from a football bag "That job's mine"
"NOT ANYMORE, LITTLE GIRL" Edward yelled, and started toward her, only to be held back by Maddison.
"You are being irrational" she protested "you need to hold that ball. I'll handle this".
And she ran toward Lucy herself.
"Okay Freeman" Lucy snarled "We both know you want to do this".
Lucy attacked her, and at first, she looked to be winning. Maddison gave ground as she blocked her punches, but Lucy landed a crucial blow on her shoulder.
But now, Edward knelt down and placed the football on the ground.
"You've done this dozens of times Charlie, now, kick the football".
Charlie looked around uncertainty, while Linus was fretting about the rapidly decreasing game time. The crowd began chanting.
"KICK THE GOAL"
"KICK THE GOAL"
"KICK THE GOAL"
"WAIT" Lucy hollered, as Maddison held her back, "I can't lose".
"Tough Luck Blockhead", Edward laughed tauntingly.
Charlie Brown, wiping sweat from his brow, standing a fair distance away, began running towards the ball.
And, as he approached at the last second…moments away from success.
The boy skidded to a halt, barely an inch from the ball.
.
.
.
.
"I can't do this" he sighed, and backed away.
The nearby players became confused.
"What" Edward exclaimed.
"I can't kick that ball", Charlie Brown told him.
"You can't?", Marcie exclaimed "Charles it's fine".
"Cmon Charlie Brown" Schroeder encouraged, "kick that football".
But it was no use. Kicking the ball, winning this rigged and cheating game, would stand against every moral he stood for.
"I'm sorry everyone", Charlie told them "I can't".
There was silence, the surrounding crowd was muttering. Suddenly someone spoke.
"Ha, I knew you'd still fail Charlie Brown", Lucy butted in.
"SHUT. UP", Edward and Maddison both roared at her.
Edward turned back to Charlie Brown. But by then it was too late. A siren rang out, it was full time.
They'd lost.
"AAAAUUUUGGGGHHHH"
The crowd was devastated.
"Chuck YOU BLOCKHEAD" Peppermint Patty yelled.
"We were so close" Schroeder lamented.
"Why Charlie, why just throw the game like that?" Edward exclaimed.
But Charlie Brown had no answer.
Edward became furious at him, "I knew somehow you'd mess up. Our entire plan was perfect, and you still failed. You're a failure".
But all Charlie Brown did was slowly trudge towards the battened and weakened boy.
One part of his mind was telling him to reason with him…but it was drowned out by a louder voice telling him…to make Kingmaker pay for his actions, and his intolerance.
And now, he was all ears.
Without warning, Charlie punched Edward in the stomach. And he hissed angrily.
"Don't call me, a failure".
And as Edward fell to the ground, beaten, Charlie walked off the field, toward where everyone was seated.
But the former said one more thing before Maddison helped him trudge off the field.
"Are you damn kidding me".
Meanwhile Lucy was still standing on the field, shocked and angry at her predicament. She had claimed at best, a bittersweet victory. Simply because Charlie Brown chose to fail even more substantially than she had.
And then, Lucy reconsidered, their failure, was still by proxy, her success.
Kind-off, or maybe not.
Either way, someone, was going to answer for these actions against her.
The team surrounded Charlie Brown
"Chuck, we know you're upset, but I'd like to know what the problem was out there".
"I'm sorry" he told Patty "the game was ruined for me already".
"Oh, ruined for YOU", a team member called out.
"YES, It'd become a disaster. I couldn't win it honestly, or sportsman like, or fairly. So I settled for, for another failure".
Charlie Brown was distraught. "And that's it, my last attempt at winning GONE. Shouldn't have even joined the team, should I".
And he stormed into the locker room, leaving the team surprised at his aggressive behaviour.
Franklin broke the silence, "Maybe logically, he should've quit" he stated, "Was it even his idea to join in, Linus?".
But Linus shook his head, now going quite pale.
As a moment later the locker room door burst open, and Charlie Brown roared out his name.