Charlie Brown kicked the winning field goal once again at his first playoff game. The small crowd roared with applause when the buzzer blared across the stadium. It was a faraway game, and Charlie was ready to go home. They would have a long cheerful bus ride, and Charlie could call Marcie with the good news. She had to finish a report tonight, she told him so at lunch. He did wish she was there, but she promised to come to the next game.
On the edge of the field, a group of students waited for him. He smiled as he took the compliments and comments from him. At this point, this was all typical after every football game, but then he saw Heather. She was on the outskirts of the group, but she met his eyes. He maneuvered through the crowd to find her. "Congratulations, Charlie," Heather offered.
"Thanks, Heather," Charlie gushed. "I didn't do too much."
"I think you do more than you know," Heather told him. His face was hot like a stove. She began to walk with him towards the bus. "Marcie is surely proud. Where is she?"
"She's not here tonight," Charlie answered. "She had an essay." She told him this over lunch, and he completely understood. He wouldn't want to take her away from her schoolwork.
"Oh, that's shocking."
"Not really," Charlie shook his head. "I mean, she's taking some pretty tough classes."
"No," Heather giggled as she shook her head. "I meant it's shocking she's not here to support her boyfriend."
"Oh...oh?" Charlie raised a hopeful brow.
"Yeah," Heather stopped walking. "If you were my boyfriend...I would never miss a game." She reached forward, patting his arm. She let her palm linger on his bare skin for a few moments, staring deep into his eyes. "Well," she collected herself. "I suppose I better get going. I'll see you at school tomorrow, Charlie."
"Bye," was all Charlie could manage to say as he watched her walk back to Violet and Patricia, who were watching him. He turned back to the bus, absolutely shocked and ecstatic. He could've skipped the rest of the way home.
Marcie was reading when Charlie called. She had been waiting up for him under the living room lamp. She grabbed the phone so quickly that it barely even rang once. "Hello?" she whispered.
"Marcie! Oh! I've been wanting to call you so badly." He sounded like he had just run a marathon. Perhaps he ran right to the phone to call her. Her heart lept at the thought.
"Well, here we are," she chuckled, setting her book on the coffee table. "How was the game?"
"Oh, you should've seen it!" Charlie wasn't quite yelling in her ear, but she didn't mind one bit. "It was fantastic. I kicked the winning goal. It was a really close one. I really think we'll get a shot at state if Travis comes back next week. It's too bad he was suspended. We could've really used him on defense tonight."
"Well, at least you won," Marcie finally got a word in as he was catching his breath. "I wish I could've been there."
"I wish you were too. I looked for you in the stands in case you changed your mind." She allowed herself to smile. "But guess what."
"What, Charles?" she didn't have a clue what he was going to reveal. Many possibilities went through her mind.
"Heather talked to me."
Marcie felt the blood drain from her face. "Oh?"
"And you want to know what she said?" Charlie kept up his excited tone.
"Sure," Marcie licked her lips, hoping it would bring her spirits back up. It probably didn't even matter, he had enough energy for the both of them.
"She said that if she was my girlfriend, she would go to every game," Charlie gushed. "I can't believe it."
That was a bit bold in Marcie's mind. "Me either."
"What do you mean?" Charlie seemed to have picked up on her cold voice.
"Well, I wouldn't suspect her to be the jab type," she justified herself. It was a low blow for Heather to make.
"Are you mad?" he asked after a small pause. If this were a real relationship, she would have told him the truth, but she had to remember the truth of this phone call.
"No," she lied. "What did you say?"
"Nothing, that was where I left it," Charlie's enthusiasm dwindled. "Should I have said something different?"
"No," Marcie lied. "The plan is working pretty well."
There was a long silence. "How was your night?" he finally asked. It wasn't unusual for him to ask. He called her almost every day, just to check in with her. She found it rather sweet, but not tonight.
"Fine. I finished my report essay and I read six chapters."
"Sounds like it's been a good night for the both of us."
"Yes," Marcie shifted the phone to her other ear. "Are you still going to walk me to school tomorrow?"
"I was planning on it," Charlie answered. "Why wouldn't I?"
"I don't know, I'm just...tired." Marcie glanced at the clock. "I'll see you tomorrow then."
"Oh, okay," Charlie cleared his throat. "Goodnight Marcie."
She hung up without another word.
Schroeder played right-handed only for the rest of the week. He was actually getting used to it by Friday. It didn't even sound bad. Sometimes he would even manage to play part of the left hand along with the right. It was a good challenge, forced or not. In his left hand, however, he would hold Lucy's necklace. It helped him resist the urge to use his left hand.
He was just finishing a piece when there was a knock at the door. His heart raced as his eyes darted to the door. "Come in," he answered the knock. It slowly opened, and he watched it with hope. His hope turned into surprise as Frieda poked her head in.
"I thought I heard you in here," Frieda stepped in. "Do you mind...if I listen?" She pointed to the piano. He had never been asked this before. Lucy always just assumed her place and that was that.
"Uh...sure," Schroeder tried to look down at his piano, but he couldn't feel but watch as Frieda jumped up onto the piano without the same grace as Lucy had. He silently cringed as the piano slightly swayed.
"There we go," Frieda twisted until she was comfortable. She then waved her hand. "You can play now." He did so with a busy mind. She never spoke while he played, just sat there and listened. When he was finished, he looked up at her, expecting commentary. She filled the void. "That was very nice."
"Thank you," Schroeder gave her a grateful nod. He played another, and she gave him another compliment. This pattern went on until his practice was over. "I'm going home now," he said, gathering his backpack and putting Lucy's necklace in his pocket.
"Oh," Frieda sat up. She hopped off, stumbling as her feet hit the ground. When she neared Schroeder, he studied her. "Sorry," she held onto his arms as she straightened. "I'm not used to that. You've got strong arms," she let go of him, holding her hands behind her back.
"Right," he opened the door. "Have a good night."
"You too!" she followed him out of the school, where they went their own ways down the sidewalks. Schroeder couldn't help but look back once or twice.
"What the heck?" he whispered to no one as he headed home.
Lucy had spent the last week in silence, and it was killing her. She had been taking her cracker lunches into the library in order to avoid Schroeder. Anytime she saw him, she wasn't sure if she wanted to hit him or cry. Either option was horrible. She hated that he acted like he was fine. Better even. It only fueled her rage. He was supposed to be miserable without her, just as she was without him. She missed him. Sure, he was a liar, but she missed him. Even if he didn't always listen, he would let her babble on and on about whatever. Then he would contribute, which would usually send her into another monologue. They worked perfectly like that.
By the weekend, however, her anger against her brother had subsided. He really hadn't done anything wrong. He was in love, just as she used to be. So, on Saturday, she opened her bedroom door in the middle of the day. She wasn't used to the shine of direct sunlight. She squinted as she made her way down the hall to his room. The upstairs phone line had been pulled into his room. She put her ear against the door.
"I don't know if you can come over here, Sally," Linus said. "I want to see you too, but I don't want to make Lucy upset." This was when she chose to knock. "I gotta go. I'll call you back...I love you too." She heard the click of the receiver. "Rerun, I don't know where your sweater went it's not in my laundry." He opened the door and jumped back. "Lucy?"
"Uh...hey," she wasn't expecting his sudden response to her appearance.
"Hi," he responded.
"Can I come in?" Lucy asked.
"Uh...yeah," Linus snapped out of a daze. "Of course, you can." She stepped inside his room. It was clean and tidy, always has been. "Who were you talking to?" Lucy played dumb, pointing to the phone on his bed.
"Sally," Linus told truthfully.
"How's she?" Lucy had to admit that she missed Sally this last week. They had strangely become good friends these last few years. Lucy had never realized it before.
"Good...good," Linus nodded.
"Is it true, Linus?" Lucy asked. "Do you really love her?"
Her brother stared at Lucy, silently questioning her notice behind the question. She had to know for sure. She didn't know if she could go on with this conversation if she didn't know for certain. Linus wouldn't lie to her again. She hoped he had learned from last weekend. "I do," Linus confirmed. "I'm really in love with her. She loves me just the same."
"Well, that's a given," Lucy shrugged. Sally had been obsessing over Linus ever since her birth.
"Was there something else?" her brother questioned.
There was no use in beating around the bush any longer. "I'm sorry," she said. When he didn't answer she clarified, "About what I said last week."
"I know what you meant."
"Oh," Lucy went to play with her necklace, but it was gone. She still didn't know where she had left it. "Well, I just wanted you to know that I had overreacted about you and Sally." She was about to leave the room when Linus cleared his throat.
"Franklin told me what happened before you had discovered us."
"He did?" Lucy turned back. She tried to block the image of Travis from her mind. For the most part, it had worked. But sometimes, she still felt where his hand had caressed her.
"Yes...and I would've punched Travis out too." Linus sat on his bed.
"Thanks," Lucy managed a small grin.
"I forgive you, Lucy. I understand you were already at an emotional peak."
"I suppose you could say that," Lucy shuffled her socked feet. "All I saw was my little brother sucking the face off of a girl who was like a little sister of my own." Linus's face twitched at the statement. "I'm still getting used to the fact that you're no longer little. Both of you."
"It's alright. I know it is a shocker. I mean...I'm in love with Sally Brown," he chuckled, then laughed. "The girl that I used to despise the most in the world is now my girlfriend." Lucy shared her brother's laughter. It felt good to laugh again. "I don't know why I ever kept it a secret."
Lucy's smile faded. "I think we both know why." Linus matched her expression quickly. "He still doesn't know, does he?"
"Charlie has always been oblivious," Linus said truthfully. "With this whole deal with Marcie, we've managed to slip under the radar."
"Do you think she'll tell him?"
"She knows about us, but she said she would never tell."
"Well, who knows if he'll ever find out then," Lucy shook her head. "Unless you can patch things up."
"I don't know," Linus shook his head. "He's going down a strange path."
"Come on," Lucy sat down on his bed. "Even though he's a blockhead who needed way too much therapy from me, he's been your best friend forever."
"If I make things up with Charlie, will you make up with Schroeder?" Linus raised a brow. Lucy bit her lip. She didn't know what to say to that.
"I can't," she finally decided. "He lied to me."
"But you know we made him do it," Linus offered. "He wanted to tell you. Honest, but I told him not to. I was going to tell you myself, and you know how that went."
"He was going to tell me?" Lucy asked.
"He would have the minute he saw you if Sally and I hadn't begged him to stay quiet."
"Her blue eyes are weapons," Lucy admitted.
"Tell me about it," Linus agreed. Lucy was rattled. She couldn't believe it. Schroeder was going to tell her. He was going to be truthful. What if he wasn't distracting her? What if he was telling the truth? What if he really liked her and really wanted to help her?
"Lucy?" Linus called her back from her own mind. "Are you alright?"
"I'm a fool," Lucy shook her head. "Schroeder..."
"He didn't want to hurt you, Lucy," Linus confirmed her thoughts. "Otherwise he would've never fought for you."
"Linus," Lucy put a hand to her mouth. "I've thrown away the best thing that's ever happened to me."
"It's not your fault entirely," Linus consoled her as a tear rolled down her cheek. "I should've told you before the dance. I just wanted to stand off since you were hiding Schroeder from me."
"I only hid him because I don't know what the heck was going on," Lucy ran her fingers through her raven hair. "I was confused because he took me out, kissed me, and went to the dance, but I didn't know if we were actually together together or if this was just a casual thing or if he was my boyfriend—"
"Whoa," Linus stopped her. "I think you're thinking about it too much."
"It doesn't matter now," Lucy wiped her tears. "We're not together at all anymore."
"Oh, come on. You can still fix this."
"I can't," Lucy sobbed, she couldn't help it. "I don't know how."
"Lucy," Linus tapped his sister's forehead. She glared at him. "Schroeder was worried about you all day Monday. If he didn't want to fix this, he wouldn't have come over."
"You think?" Lucy asked.
"I know," Linus confirmed. For the first time in a long time, Lucy pulled her brother to her and hugged him. He hugged her right back.
Lucy had gotten the courage to go to Schroeder after school. With a pep talk from both Linus and Sally, she walked to the music room. She was going to go to the practice room when she saw Frieda standing there. Lucy stopped dead in her tracks. Frieda looked up from her mirror, fluffing her hair once more before tucking her mirror away into the purse that was strapped around her body. "Hi, Lucy."
"Frieda," Lucy tried to keep her composure. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm waiting for Schroeder," she said simply. "What about you?"
Lucy felt her mind go blank. She didn't think a broken heart could break again, but it did. "I-I," she stuttered, unsure of how she could recover from this. She went to play with her necklace, but it was still gone. Perfect. "I was going to look for my necklace."
"Oh," Frieda stepped aside. "Feel free. I can help you look if you want."
"Okay," Lucy said mindlessly as she entered the practice room. Her stomach ached as she gazed upon the big piano. Frieda's bag was already perched on top of it. Lucy got down on her knees, pretending to look for the necklace.
"What does it look like?" Frieda asked.
"Silver," she managed to say. Why was Frieda here? What did she listen to Schroeder for? "With a blue stone."
"I can't see it," Frieda said from atop the piano. "Maybe I'll ask Schroeder about it when he comes."
"Okay," Lucy said mindlessly once again as she crawled out from under the piano. She was up on her feet when another dizzy spell hit her. She forgot to eat today, she remembered. She was too nervous to eat.
Frieda eyed her, "Is there something else?"
Lucy tried her best to act normal. "No," she muttered, feeling for the door.
"Bye, then," Frieda called after her.
"Yeah," Lucy stumbled out of the room. She leaned against the nearest wall, regaining her strength. She had to get out of here before Schroeder found her.
Schroeder couldn't help but notice Frieda all day on Monday. After her random appearance on Friday, he wondered what exactly she was doing. Perhaps he had been blind before, but he believed she was sitting closer to him in every class they had together. She was in the same grade as him, but they never had conversed outside of school. If his suspicions were correct, she would come to the practice room again today after school.
He was correct. She was there at the piano fixing her red curly hair when he came after school on Monday. Frieda smiled brightly when she noticed him, putting her folding mirror away. "I was wondering when you would show up."
"It's only five after three," Schroeder shrugged. He had taken his time, hoping that she would perhaps leave before he got there.
"Well, I got things ready for you," Frieda gestured to the keys. She had uncovered them. Schroeder sat down, glancing from the keys to her a few times. "Is everything alright?"
"Before I play," Schroeder didn't know exactly how to word this. "What exactly are you doing here?"
"To listen," Frieda said like it was obvious.
"I know but...why?"
She grinned, "I noticed the spot was open. That's all."
Open. The word made Schroeder's heart sink. "How long have you been waiting for it to be open?"
"A while," Frieda shrugged. "I mean, you're so talented. Even with only one hand." He glanced down at the stabilizer on his left hand. "I'm sorry about that, by the way. I heard that it was wrongly done so."
"I wouldn't say that," Schroeder mumbled.
Frieda kicked her legs up, resting her chin on her palms, "It was very brave of you. Fighting Travis like that."
"But it wasn't enough," Schroeder said without thinking. His eyes widened, hoping she hadn't heard it, but she did.
"No, she wasn't enough," Frieda shook her head. "You shouldn't have to hurt yourself for someone's affection."
"I wasn't doing it for attention," Schroeder defended. He was doing it to protect Lucy. The girl he...well, he wasn't sure what he had ever felt for her. it was over too quickly for him to know.
"Either way," Frieda shrugged. "I'm just saying there are other options."
"Right," Schroeder answered, hoping the conversation was over. Before she could get another word in, he began to play, and she was silent.