The Christmas and New Year break was over, and it was time for every student to return to school. Among the students at Sparkyville Middle School was Thibault Reid, the kid who thought Charlie Brown was a stuck up and took his baseball glove, only for Charlie Brown to allow him to keep it, and even berated Peppermint Patty for allowing a girl on their baseball team, fully unaware that Peppermint Patty was a girl herself. Thibault seemed to have some sort of issue with girls and women, but why is that? Well…
One day, in their Gym class, it was time for the class to play baseball. Thibault was assigned to play on Peppermint Patty's team…. as usual. And much to Thibault's dismay, Polly was on their team. He was shocked to see Charlie Brown's team with Heather Wold, Frieda, and reluctantly, Emerald.
"How come there are girls on these teams?!" Thibault asked.
"Whatsit to you, Thibault?" Peppermint Patty said angrily.
"If a team has girls on it, then I refuse to play!" grumbled Thibault.
"What do you think I am, you blockhead?!" Peppermint Patty asked, still angry that Thibault doesn't realise she's a girl herself.
"Gee! And I thought Emerald's temper was awful." thought Tommy.
"Er….." Thibault stammered. He had no answer to that question. "I guess I'll play anyway."
"Everyone!" Charlie Brown called. "Take your places!"
And everyone did. Charlie Brown was in the middle of the field, while Thibault was first up to bat.
"Ready, Charlie Brown." Charlie Brown said to himself. "Steady and….."
Charlie Brown swung his arm, and it flew right past Thibault.
"Strike!" shouted Peppermint Patty.
"Yes!" Charlie Brown cheered.
And as Charlie Brown pitched the second…. Thibault hit it, sending Charlie Brown out of his clothes.
"Good grief!" groaned Charlie Brown.
Thibault watched Charlie Brown and stuck his tongue out.
"Not bad, Punk!" Thibault smirked. "Your pitching has improved, but you still don't have enough pitching power to….."
Unfortunately, Thibault had his eyes so focused on Charlie Brown, that he wasn't even looking ahead. But when he did face forward, it was too late. He had bumped into one of his opponents.
"Aaugh! Alright! Who let this…..?"
As Thibault stepped back, he saw who he had bumped into.
"Uh oh." Tommy whimpered, looking towards Frieda.
"This isn't gonna be pretty." Frieda agreed.
As it turns out, the opponent Thibault had bumped into was Emerald Green.
"Er…. hey." Thibault said innocently.
"Why don't you watch where you're going, you bogan?" Emerald shouted.
"But you were in my way, you cow!" Thibault shouted back.
"I was not! I was on the base!" Emerald shouted back.
"You weren't supposed to stand right on the base!" Thibault quipped. "You were supposed to stand beside the base to catch the ball!"
While Thibault and Emerald argued, Tommy found the ball, and snuck up on Emerald. He placed the ball right in Emerald's glove.
"You're out, Thibault!" called Tommy.
"I'm….. out?" quizzed Thibault.
Emerald looked down at her left glove and saw a white and red ball in it.
"Yes! You're out, Thibault!" Emerald teased.
"Oh, come on!" Thibault groaned. "I didn't see anyone catch it!"
"Well I did." said Emerald. "So rack off and let your next team mate bat!"
Thibault reluctantly did as he was told, knowing that was the rule of baseball.
"Oh, good grief!" groaned Thibault.
"Next up….." Peppermint Patty announced. "Polly!"
"Hope I get a good shot!" Polly said to herself. "All that time performing in the circuses….."
Thibault looked on at Polly, and grumbled about how Peppermint Patty allowed her on their team, but he was grumbling more about how he bumped into Emerald.
When gym class was over, Thibault was grumbling over getting out.
"There's another reason girls shouldn't play baseball!" Thibault grumbled. "They're always getting in the way! They should stick to their priorities!"
Thibault had made it to his next class, which happened to be English. He was still grumbling about his gym class.
"Thibault Reid. Are you alright there?" asked Mr. Steele.
"It's the opposing baseball team!" grumbled Thibault. "One of their team mates got in my way!"
"You should've watched where you were going, Thibault." said a blond boy named Max.
"Oh, don't you start!" Thibault groaned. "If there's another reason girls shouldn't be on the baseball field, it's because they're always getting in their way."
"Easy there, Tee." said Max.
During lunch, there was Thibault, too frustrated to have his lunch.
"Imagine! A cow in my way of my baseball game, just standing on the diamond!" grumbled Thibault.
As Thibault grumbled this again, who should sit on his bench but Emerald, who'd gotten a large cheeseburger.
"Speak of the devil!" Thibault said to himself.
"You!" Emerald demanded. "This is my bench, now rack off!"
"No!" said Thibault. "I was here first, so you hop off!"
As Thibault and Emerald argued, Linus and Janice walked by.
"Do you see that, Linus?" asked Janice.
"Thibault's arguing with Emerald of all people!" said Linus.
"Better stay out of this one." said Janice. "Especially after what he'd said on the cruise we had a few years ago."
"No. We'd better tell Charlie Brown about this." said Linus.
So Linus and Janice walked over to the cafeteria where Charlie Brown and Heather sat with Mary Stewart and Mary Jo.
"Charlie Brown." said Linus. "Heather. Marys. You'll never believe what Janice and I just witnessed."
"It would've have to do with Thibault, would it?" asked Heather.
"I believe it…. Wait! How did you know?" asked Linus.
"He acted like this in gym." said Charlie Brown. "He'd bumped into Emerald after batting, as he wasn't watching where he was going."
"Or Emerald was standing on the base." said Heather.
"Heather told me all about it." said Mary Stewart.
"Right now," said Linus. "They're on a bench, arguing."
"This we'd better witness." said Charlie Brown.
So Charlie Brown, Linus, Heather, Janice, and the Marys got off and walked over to where Thibault and Emerald were arguing.
"Good grief! It's starting to get worse!" Charlie Brown said.
"We'd better leave them before things get worse." said Mary Stewart.
"I tell you, I was here first!" Thibault argued to Emerald.
"And I tell you, it's mine for the keeping!" Emerald argued back. "So rack off and leave this bench to me!"
And Emerald picked up Thibault, and tossed him off. While her weight had slowed her down, they'd somehow strengthened Emerald's arms.
"I'll get that girl to see sense if it's the last thing I do!" Thibault vowed. But he wasn't sure how.
When school was over for the day, Thibault decided to tell on Emerald.
"If there's anything girls shouldn't do, it's gaining muscle." Thibault said to himself.
Thibault had just passed the Browns' house, where Charlie Brown had just arrived home. Charlie Brown looked at him.
"What seems to be the problem, Big Brother?" asked Sally.
"It's Thibault." said Charlie Brown. "He seems to have had such a bad day."
"How?" asked Sally.
"You know Emerald?" Charlie Brown started. "He'd gotten into a heated argument with her, especially in gym and at lunch time."
"Good grief." Sally said.
The next day, Thibault had just gotten to school.
"I hope that cow isn't here today." he said to himself. "I'd hate to get into another feud with her, especially when it comes to learning her priorities."
But much to Thibault's shock, there, walking into her homeroom, was Emerald.
"Good grief, she's here!" thought Thibault. "Why did she have to come? Why?"
Thibault decided not to worry about Emerald, and went over to his homeroom.
When it was last class that day, Charlie Brown's gym class were to do baseball once again.
"I hope that cow doesn't mess this up like yesterday." Thibault said to himself.
But when it was time for Thibault to bat, he made sure Emerald wasn't standing on the base. Charlie Brown looked around and noticed.
"Emerald, step off the base." said Charlie Brown.
"If you say so, Charlie Brown." sighed Emerald, doing as Charlie Brown said.
"Good!" said Thibault. "Now pitch to me, Brown!"
Charlie Brown got ready to pitch, and threw the ball, only for Thibault to swing the bat, hitting the ball.
"Now's my chance!" Thibault said as he ran along the diamond.
But what Thibault didn't realise was that he'd hit the ball, right towards Emerald. She tried to catch it, only for it to hit her square on the nose.
"Ow!" Emerald cried. "My nose!"
Emerald, seeing Thibault come her way, moved her leg out, causing Thibault to trip over.
"Aaugh! Hey! What where you're going!" shouted Thibault.
"Emerald!" shouted Charlie Brown.
"Oh. I'm sorry, Thibault." said Emerald. "It was just…. er…. what you would call a malicious stunt."
"Excuse me?!" quizzed Heather. "You mean to tell me you did that deliberately?!"
"Emerald, you're out!" Charlie Brown shouted.
"Me?! Out?! But I'm not even batting!" Emerald tried to reason.
"Sorry, you don't trip your opponents who are batting." said Charlie Brown.
"Fine!" sighed Emerald, as she stepped off the diamond.
When it was time to go home, Emerald was walking with her former best friend Scarlet.
"Can you believe that Thibault?" Emerald ranted. "He just hit the ball straight on my nose!"
"Gee, I wonder why he did that." sighed Scarlet.
"And what's next, he called me a cow four times today!" Emerald continued. "And when it was time for me to bat, I complained it was too hard to run! Fortunately, Mr. Legstrong let me off with a warning."
"I don't know why they did that." thought Scarlet. "Maybe it's because you really need the exercise."
Emerald rambled on and on, while Scarlet processed everything through her mind.
"And therefore," Emerald finished. "I ought to teach that prawn a lesson!"
"Yeah, good for you." sighed Scarlet.
When Charlie Brown arrived home, he saw Snoopy and Woodstock with their own little boxing ring. They were having their own little boxing match. Snoopy, being the larger one, was able to win the fights easily. However, at that point, Woodstock threw his boxing glove at Snoopy, knocking him out cold.
"Why can't I have a normal dog like everyone else?" sighed Charlie Brown. "This particular fight is reminding me of Thibault and Emerald."
Over at his house, Thibault rambled to his father about what had happened that day at school.
"That cow Emerald caused trouble for me again!" Thibault ranted. "She tripped me over when I was playing baseball! Not once, but twice!"
"Thibault." said Theodore, his father. "You've been rambling about this Emerald babe since yesterday. Can't you think of something else for a change?"
"Hmm…. yes. I guess so." said Thibault.
So Thibault went to his room to think of something else.
"How can I pay that cow out for harming me?" wondered Thibault. "If only I could see what are in those boxes I've been getting lately….."
Then it hit him.
"Box… yes! Boxing!" Thibault announced.
The next day, Thibault had arrived at school, and saw Emerald, who had also just arrived.
"I've got it all figured out!" said Thibault. "We'll settle our differences with….. a boxing match!"
"Boxing match?!" Emerald pondered.
Then Emerald took it all into her head. She could get the chance to show the boys who is boss.
"It's a deal!" said Emerald.
"This Saturday at 2:00 pm. Deal?" Thibault decided.
"Deal." Emerald said.
Thibault went into his homeroom, and was thinking about the big boxing match he was about to have that weekend.
"Once I won that fight," Thibault said to himself. "I'll show that cow just how women should know their priorities."
In Charlie Brown's homeroom, Emerald was sitting at her seat, talking about the fight she was going to have with Thibault.
"So Thibault has challenged me to a fight." said Emerald.
"A fight?!" Violet quizzed. "Now this I'm willing to see."
"I'll be watching too!" said Tommy.
"And Scarlet," said Emerald. "I need a trainer."
"I'll be your trainer, Emerald." said Scarlet.
"Actually, Scarlet." said Emerald. "I want Tommy to be my trainer."
"What?! Me?!" cried Tommy. "But…"
Then Tommy thought and thought.
"Yes. I will." Tommy smirked.
"Tommy?! You're agreeing to train Emerald?!" cried Frieda.
"Shush." said Tommy. "I have a plan."
News about the fight between Thibault and Emerald spread like wildfire.
"This gives me a great opportunity." said Lucy.
"What are you thinking about, Lucy?" asked Linus.
"Oh, you'll see, Little Brother. You'll see." said Lucy.
Marcie was surprised to see that Thibault would be putting up a boxing fight with Emerald. She remembered the time she slugged Thibault for the bad stuff he said about girls. Marcie decided to ask Peppermint Patty about the fight.
"Sir, is it true that Mr. Thibault will be fighting Emerald?" asked Marcie.
"By the looks of it, yes." said Peppermint Patty. "He seems to have no respect for girls at all. He doesn't even realise I'm a girl!"
"Hope this fight with Emerald will prove Mr. Thibault that girls can play sports, though I'm not that big on sports myself." said Marcie.
"We'll just have to wait until Saturday, Marcie." said Peppermint Patty.
So when it was time for Thibault to go home, he decided to train for his big fight with Emerald.
"What are you doing, Son?" asked Theodore.
"I'm training for the big fight on Saturday." said Thibault. "If I wanna show that cow something, it's that only boys can play sports better than girls!"
"If you say so, Son." said Theodore. "Fight? What sort of fight?"
"A boxing match, Dad." said Thibault. "The cow even agreed on the fight."
"I'll go down to the store and get you some boxing gloves." said Theodore.
"While my pop is gone, I'll just train my punches." Thibault decided.
And Thibault got out a punching bag, ready to practise his fight.
Emerald, who had agreed to fight Thibault, was getting ready herself.
"If I wanna show that prawn something, I'm a going to show that I, Emerald Green, will be the winner. Tommy, bring me a punching bag."
"Okay, Emerald." sighed Tommy.
Saturday had arrived. Charlie Brown was getting himself ready to go to Thibault's house to see him duke it out with Emerald.
"Where are you going, Big Brother?" asked Sally.
"Thibault is in a boxing match with Emerald." said Charlie Brown.
"May I come, Big Brother?" asked Sally.
"I guess so." said Charlie Brown.
Snoopy had overheard what was going on, so he went into his doghouse, and picked out a referee outfit. He wanted to count down the seconds when either fighter had gotten knocked down.
Lucy went over to where her old psychiatry booth was. Thibault's fight with Emerald had gotten her an idea.
"Yes. I'll just move my old psychiatry booth to Thibault's, and turn it into a ticket booth." Lucy decided.
Lucy tried to pick the booth up, but then….
"Need a hand, Lucy?" asked Linus.
"Yes please, Little Brother." said Lucy. "I need help taking this booth to Thibault's."
"Yes, Sis." said Linus, as he helped Lucy pick up her old psychiatry booth.
Tommy was leaving his house, only to see Katie the Little Pigtailed Girl coming out too.
"Where are you going, Cuz?" asked Katie.
"You know Emerald, my old archnemesis?" asked Tommy. "She's in a boxing match with Thibault, who is rather an aggressive boy."
"Mind if I come?" asked Katie.
"Sure." said Tommy.
"Count me in, Cuz." said Katie.
"Except…." Tommy continued. "I'm the one helping Emerald. She forced me into it."
"Okay, Cuz." said Katie.
So the two Halverson cousins made their way to Thibault's house.
Over at Thibault's house, Lucy was at her repainted booth, which she wrote "Tickets" on the sign.
"One dollar to get in!" Lucy announced. "Thibault Reid vs. Emerald Green! Just one dollar to get in!"
Inside the Reid place, Thibault had changed into a blue singlet, while Emerald changed into a green singlet. Thibault had blue gloves, while Emerald had green gloves.
"I'll be ready to take down this cow." said Thibault. "If I wanna show the girls something!"
"This prawn can't beat me!" Emerald smirked. "Especially with my large figure! Tommy! Bring me the punching bag!"
"I guess so, Emerald." sighed Tommy.
It was almost time for Thibault and Emerald to fight. Marcie and Peppermint Patty had paid to get in.
"So, who do you want to win, Marcie?" asked Peppermint Patty.
"Don't tell anyone else, Sir." said Marcie. "But despite the horrid stuff he said to me, I want Mr. Thibault to win."
"Really?" quizzed Peppermint Patty.
"Because Emerald likes to frame others for her own wrong doings." said Marcie. "Remember when Emerald framed Thomas by puncturing Lucille's football?"
"I remember." said Peppermint Patty. "She even framed me by wrecking Lucille's psychiatry booth, telling Frieda to blame me."
"Now that was proof Thomas was innocent, Sir." said Marcie. "Now let's watch the fight whenever it's ready."
"I wonder who'll win the fight?" wondered Violet.
"I'm putting my money that Thibault will win." said Patty Swanson.
"After that fire she unintentionally started, I secretly want Emerald to lose." said Scarlet.
"Let's just wait until the fight begins." said Pig-Pen.
"I can't wait to see where this goes." said Shermy.
"This is sure to be exciting!" said Rerun.
"I don't know about exciting." said Linus. "These two fighters argue just as much, probably more, than our sister."
Over at the booth, Lucy looked at all her currency she'd received.
"Looks like everyone in Sparkyville wants to see this fight." said Lucy to herself. "Anyway, I'll pop this money away, and worry about it once the fight is over."
It was now time for the fight to begin. Franklin stood out for attention.
"Ladies and jellybeans!" Franklin announced. "Welcome to the big event! We bring you three amazing rounds of the undisputed championship! Brought to you this afternoon by Sparkyworld, Mendelson and Melendez Removals, New Wold Supermarket, the newest supermarket in town, and Tapioca Pudding's Tapioca Puddings!
"Oh, good grief!" sighed Linus.
"Good grief indeed!" agreed Sally.
"In the blue corner," Franklin continued. "the one who's not afraid to speak his mind nor deal with the ladies…. Mr. Thibault Reid!"
And there was Thibault, stepping towards his corner of the ring.
"And in the green corner, tipping the scales at a mighty 310 pounds, originating from Australia," Franklin continued. "… Miss Emerald Anya Green!"
Emerald, along with Tommy, walked towards her corner.
"Oh no! My sweeteridoo helping Emerald?" Frieda worried.
"I'd better get myself out of here." Tommy said. "I'll just watch the fight, and see how Emerald goes….."
Tommy put a mouth guard in Emerald's mouth, and then one in Thibault's.
"Now that both fighters are here….." Franklin announced. "Let's get ready to crumble!"
Ding!
Thibault and Emerald punched their fists together, ready to deliver a punch to each other.
"Alright, Cow! You're going down!" Thibault said angrily.
"You wanna bet?" Emerald said back.
"I'll show you!" Thibault said. "Here comes the Mighty Thibau…."
But before Mr. Thibault could finish his line, he was punched, square on the cheek. Everyone gasped.
"What did I miss?" asked Max.
"Thibault just got punched, Big Brother." said Zoey.
"Wow! That was hard hit for Thibault!" exclaimed Peggy Jean.
"This girl's not so tough." scoffed Melody-Melody.
Thibault looked dazed and confused as he watched Emerald prepare the next punch.
"Sock em to me!" Thibault commanded. "Now, here comes….."
Then Thibault had a think.
"Aim for the gut." he thought.
"Yes." Thibault said to himself.
Thibault, with his right arm, punched Emerald's large gut.
"You think my gut is my biggest weakness, Prawn?" Emerald scoffed. "You'll have to try…."
But as it turns out, Emerald had not had a bite to eat that day. After remembering this, she started to fall to the ground, and she collapsed.
"Ha!" Thibault chuckled.
Snoopy walked up to the ring, and started the countdown. But just before he could reach ten…..
"Psych!" Emerald shouted evilly. "You thought you could beat me that easily, did you?"
"Uh oh." Thibault whimpered. "Little help?"
Thibault felt the ropes and realised…..
"Yes." Thibault smirked. "I will."
Thibault got right onto the ropes he was feeling and…..
"What does Mr. Thibault think he's doing, Sir?" asked Marcie.
"I don't know, Marcie." said Peppermint Patty. "By the looks of it, he wants to fly. But we know we can't fly."
Thibault suddenly felt the rope send him flying, right into the air.
"Whoa! Look at me! I'm king of the world!" Thibault shouted.
Thibault then remembered why he let the rope send him into the air.
"Of course! Eat hay, Cow!"
Thibault turned to let his head face the ground, and allowed his right fist to come crashing towards Emerald.
"Huh?!" Emerald quizzed.
And, with a loud crash, Thibault's fist crashed right onto Emerald's face, sending her down. Snoopy walked up, and counted the number of seconds Emerald would stay down, and as Snoopy reached ten…
"We have our winner!" Franklin cried.
"I don't believe it!" Charlie Brown exclaimed. "Thibault won the match like that?!"
"Leave it up to Mr. Thibault to surprise you like that, huh, Sir?" Marcie asked, elbowing Peppermint Patty.
"I won! I won!" cheered Thibault. "I beat the cow!"
And then, Thibault looked at all the girls in the crowd, and was ready to confess why he was the way he was about girls.
"Attention, any girl who is watching!" Thibault called.
"Huh?" Heather quizzed.
"Any girl who's listening?" Mary Stewart added.
"If any of you remember the cruise I'd been on some years ago….." Thibault added. "Saying that nasty remark about girls, let me say…"
"Yes?" asked Franklin.
"I'm sorry." said Thibault. "I shouldn't have said what I said there. It's just….."
"Just what, Thibault?" asked Peppermint Patty.
"My uncle told me to be that way, which prompted my mom to divorce my dad." Thibault continued.
Everyone was surprised. As it turned out, Thibault wasn't evil incarnate after all. His mind had been warped by an extended family member.
"That was surprising to hear." said Truffles.
"No wonder Mr. Thibault was like that." Marcie said.
"And to you girls, after fighting Emerald here, it taught me that girls really can play sports." Thibault finished. "Anyway, thank you."
Thibault got out of the ring, and both Peppermint Patty and Marcie wrapped him in a towel.
"I'm glad you're not evil incarnate, Mr. Thibault." said Marcie.
"At least now you know that girls can play sports." said Peppermint Patty.
"Thanks, Patty. Thanks…. er….." Thibault stammered.
"Marcie." said Marcie.
"Thanks, Marcie." said Thibault.
Then Thibault went inside where his dad was, watching TV.
"Who won the fight, Son?" asked Theodore.
"I won." said Thibault. "And I even admitted why I was the way I was to girls. It was because of my uncle."
"That twisted brother of mine?" Theodore grunted.
Back in the boxing ring, there was Emerald, laying cold on the ground, even after everybody had gone. Tommy and Scarlet came up to her.
"Come on." said Emerald. "Give me a hand if you will."
"Sorry, Emerald." said Tommy. "You weren't playing fair in our games, you started a fire some months ago, and you forced me to do the stuff you could so easily do on your own."
"I'll take you home, I suppose." sighed Scarlet. "You go on home, Tommy."
"Thanks." said Tommy. "I think I hear Frieda calling."
So Tommy went out of Thibault's house, while Scarlet tried to pull Emerald.
"Good grief!" Scarlet groaned. "What have you been eating lately?"
"Er….." Emerald stammered. "A whole cheesecake."
"Good grief, Emerald!" groaned Scarlet. "You'd better lay off the desserts!"
Tommy got back out, where Frieda was waiting.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Frieda." said Tommy. "Emerald forced me to help her, but after the stuff she had done, I decided to leave her."
"That's the best news I've heard all day." said Frieda. "Now how about some ice cream?"
"I'd like that." said Tommy.
Tommy and Frieda left the Reid house, while Thibault watched.
"Yuck! Too mushy for my liking!" he retched.