Everyone had arrived in their homeroom to start the school day. Peppermint Patty was in her chair. She was still thinking about her biological mother, and how she finally got to meet her before she'd passed on.
"Are you okay, Sir?" asked Marcie.
"Feeling a little better." said Peppermint Patty. "I'm glad I got to meet my mom before she passed on. Still getting over it, but I will admit it still feels weird she's gone."
"All in good time, Patty." Said Franklin. "All in good time."
"Alright! Simmer down, folks!" came a voice.
The voice belonged to Lucy van Pelt, and she had an important announcement.
"As you all may or may not know, my birthday is coming on Friday! And I'm throwing a party."
"Here we go!" sighed Schroeder.
"And I will be handing out invitations to all of you." added Lucy.
As Lucy handed one to Adrienne, Adrienne read it with a puzzled look on her face.
"Ruzvip?" quizzed Adrienne.
"It's an invitation, Addy." said Spearmint Sammy.
"Oh, good grief!" sighed Adrienne.
"Ignore him, Adrienne." said Tommy. "But in all seriousness, Sammy's right. It's an invitation."
"But what does 'Ruzvip' mean?" asked Adrienne.
"It's not 'Ruzvip'!" Tommy explained. "It's RSVP."
"RSVP? What's that?" Adrienne asked again.
"I'll explain." said Janice. "RSVP stands for 'Répondez s'il vous plaît', which is French for 'Please give me a reply'."
"The French have a word for everything." Adrienne said.
"You need to tell Lucy whether or not you're going to her party." added Tommy.
"Okay." said Adrienne.
"And I'd better get lots of presents this year!" said Lucy. "Then I'll feel like queen of the world!"
"You and your 'Queen of the world'." sighed Charlie Brown.
"I wonder what I should get for Lucy?" pondered Tommy.
Later, Lucy and Linus had arrived home, thinking about who would be coming to her birthday party at the end of that week.
"I hope they can all come." said Lucy.
"I'm sure they will." said Linus. "And Lucy, since your special day is coming, you can take the TV."
"Thanks, Little Brother." said Lucy. "Because there's someone important I'd like to show you on TV."
Lucy switched on the TV and the titles showed…
"Gimme Cash!"
"Gimme Cash?" quizzed Linus.
"It's a quiz show where you answer questions for money." said Lucy. "Check out who's playing."
"Okay." said Linus.
Linus got on the couch with Lucy when Rerun came over.
"Hey, Linus, Lucy." said Rerun. "Whatcha watchin'?"
"We're watching Gimme Cash." said Lucy. "You can watch it with us."
"Okay." said Rerun.
Rerun joined his big siblings and much to the brothers' surprise…..
"Welcome to Gimme Cash!" said the host. "Our first contestant for the day is….. Lionel van Pelt!"
"Good grief! It's Dad!" cried Linus.
"Dad? In a game show?" said Rerun.
"What did I tell you?" said Lucy.
Some minutes later, after getting many questions right, Lionel was up for a question where the prize was two hundred and fifty-thousand dollars if he got it right.
"Dad sure is smart." said Linus.
"Lionel," the host said. "For 250,000 dollars, here is the question! Which of the following animated characters from the 1980s or 1990s had a spotty alien for a sidekick?
SuperTed?
Denver the Last Dinosaur?
Captain Planet?
The Magic School Bus?"
"This looks to be a tough one." said Lionel. "Let's see….. my kids might have wa….. I'll phone a friend."
Lucy heard the phone ring and went to answer it.
"Hello? Oh, Hi, Pop. We're watching you on TV." said Lucy.
"Hi. Lucy, do you know the answer to the question I'm about to answer?" asked Lionel.
"Well….. I think I do recall seeing Magic School Bus, no alien….."
Linus walked up and took the phone off of Lucy.
"The answer is SuperTed." Linus answered.
"I'm going to go with SuperTed." Lionel answered.
"SuperTed? Is that your answer?" asked the host.
"Yes." said Lionel.
"If you answered SuperTed…. you… are….. CORRECT!"
Everyone cheered, especially the van Pelt siblings.
"You did it, Linus!" cheered Lucy.
"And now, Lionel. Are you ready to try for 500,000 dollars, or are you willing to stop?" asked the host.
"As much as I love currency," said Lionel. "I think 250,000 is good enough for me."
"Very well." said the host.
Lionel shook hands with the host and left the game show with his 250,000 dollars.
Later, Tommy went over to Lucy's house to ask her what she'd like for her birthday. As he rang the bell, Lucy came out in delight.
"Tommy! Did you see my dad on TV?" asked Lucy.
"I sure did." said Tommy.
"Linus answered Dad's final question right!" said Lucy. "Do you know any sidekicks of the shows listed in the question?"
"Well… SuperTed, yeah he did have a spotty alien for a sidekick." Tommy said.
Scarlet had just arrived to ask Lucy what she wanted for her birthday.
"And Denver the Last Dinosaur," continued Tommy. "He…. had four teenage boys for sidekicks. Magic School Bus has a teacher and a lizard for its sidekick, and Captain Planet, if I remember correctly…. he had a little floating head for his sidekick."
"Hold on, Tommy!" said Scarlet. "I remember Captain Planet all too well. He had a spirit and a quartet of teenagers and a preteen for his sidekicks! I know, it would air a decent number of times in our country throughout the 90s."
"Huh?!" quizzed Tommy.
"And as for floating head for a sidekick," added Scarlet. "That's Widget you're thinking of, not Captain Planet!"
Tommy felt dumbfounded then. Scarlet then turned to Lucy as this was the reason she'd come over.
"Anyway, Lucy." said Scarlet. "I've come to ask you all the things you would like for your special day."
Meanwhile, at Schroeder's place, Mary Stewart was asking him about the things he would get Lucy for her birthday.
"Schroeder." said Mary Stewart. "As much as I enjoy your company, I do think you should get Lucy a gift for her birthday."
"I've been planning on doing so anyway." said Schroeder. "As much as I avoided her in the past, now's my chance to think of what she'd like for her special day."
"Since Lucy now has a new boyfriend and she isn't usually in your company these days," said Mary Stewart. "I think I might have the solution."
Mary Stewart explained all about her idea to Schroeder.
"Why didn't I think of it before?" said Schroeder. "I shall!"
"Great!" said Mary Stewart. "Then it's settled."
"Look out, Lucy, I'm gonna get you a very special gift for your special day." said Schroeder.
Back at the van Pelt place, Lucy had finished explaining to Scarlet what kind of presents she would like for her birthday when the telephone rang.
"Hello?" Lucy answered.
"Lucy, it's Adrienne."
"Did you call to say you'll be coming to my party on Friday?"
"Yes. So Ruzvip."
"Ruzvip?" quizzed Lucy.
Adrienne didn't reply. She'd hung up after letting Lucy know she would be coming to her party.
"Ah well." said Lucy. "At least she'll be coming to my party."
"Who was it?" asked Linus.
"It was Adrienne." said Lucy. "She said 'Ruzvip'. Letting me know she'll be coming."
"Reminds me of Sally when she told me she'd be coming to my party one year." said Linus.
Friday had arrived, and Lucy looked at everyone with gifts on their desks.
"That's what I like to see." thought Lucy. "Lots of gifts for today!"
"What time do we have to go to your party, Lucy?" asked Marty.
"At 3:30 sharp, when school finishes for the week." said Lucy. "Remember?"
"Oh yeah." said Marty.
"Whatever my friends have on their desks, I'm sure they'll be a delight!" said Lucy.
"Lucy will definitely love my gift!" said Schroeder.
"Charlie Brown." said Lucy. "Usually I don't say this, but I need your dog."
"You want Snoopy to come to your party?" asked Charlie Brown.
"Yes." said Lucy. "So bring him if you will."
"You're the boss." said Charlie Brown.
When the school day had ended, Lucy and Linus went home, with Linus carrying all the gifts.
"Good grief, Lucy! I never thought you'd be getting this many gifts!" cried Linus.
"They're to prove I'll be queen of the world one day." said Lucy.
"Here we go again!" sighed Linus.
Charlie Brown went over to Snoopy's big house to pick up Snoopy.
"Snoopy!" said Charlie Brown. "I need you."
"Oh?" said Snoopy.
"Fifi! I need you!" said Heather Wold.
"Heather?"
"Oh, hi, Charlie Brown." said Heather. "Come to pick up my dog."
"So have I." said Charlie Brown.
"Fifi, come with me to Lucy's place." Heather said.
"Snoopy, Fifi's going too." said Charlie Brown.
Snoopy cheered, and he whistled for the Woodstocks to fly with him.
"Where are you going, Big Brother?" asked Sally.
"To Lucy's party." said Charlie Brown. "You can come if you like."
"No." said Sally. "I wasn't invited, so instead, I'll play with Wally."
Later, everyone had arrived at Lucy's place. Violet and Patty Swanson had only just arrived at the door.
"Hello, Violet, Patty." said Lucy.
"Many happy returns, Lucy." said Violet.
"Thank you, Violet." said Lucy.
"Sorry we arrived late." said Patty Swanson.
"Yeah, we had to get Pig-Pen cleaned up for your party!" sighed Violet.
"Hi!" said Pig-Pen, all clean.
"Do I know you?" quizzed Lucy.
Suddenly, Pig-Pen quickly poofed back to being dirty.
"Good grief!" sighed Violet.
"Never mind." said Lucy. "Come on in! Fun and games!"
Violet, Pig-Pen and Patty Swanson walked inside.
"Hello, Charlie Brown, Heather." said Lucy.
"Hello, Lucy." said Charlie Brown.
"Sorry we arrived late." said Heather. "We were doing our best to get our dogs to come here."
"Never mind." said Lucy. "At least you four got here. Come on in."
Charlie Brown, Heather, Snoopy and Fifi walked in. Following behind were Tommy, Katie and Frieda.
"Hello, Tommy, Frieda, Katie." said Lucy.
"Sorry we're late." said Tommy. "Frieda was too busy primping her naturally curly hair, and Katie, well, she was playing with Cousin Fred."
"Don't worry about it." said Lucy. "Come on in! Plenty of fun for all of you! And Katie, you're in the right place too."
"Right place?" quizzed Katie.
"Hi, Katie!" called Rerun.
"Rerun!" cheered Katie.
Rerun and Katie ran up to each other and hugged.
"Aw, you know, Lucy, your brother and my cousin make an ideal couple." said Tommy.
"Probably as ideal as you two." said Lucy.
Tommy blushed, while Frieda grabbed Tommy's left hand.
"Come on, Tommykins! Lucy did say there were fun and games!"
As Frieda pulled Tommy in, Janice, Britney and Lindsey arrived.
"Hello, Janice, Britney, Lindsey." said Lucy.
"Hello, Lucy. Many happy returns!" said Janice.
"Thank you." said Lucy. "Come on in!"
"Couldn't have come for any other reason!" said Lindsey.
Lila had arrived with Belle by her side.
"Hello, Lila." said Lucy.
"Hi, Lucy!" said Lila. "Happy birthday!"
"Thank you." said Lucy. "Fun and games for you too."
As Lila walked in, in came…..
"Sebastian!"
"Hi, Lucy!" said Sebastian. "I brought you something."
Sebastian presented a little present.
"You can open it when the time comes to open the rest."
"Oh, thank you, Sebastian." said Lucy.
Lucy walked over to her other presents, placed the little gift with the rest, and after Sebastian walked in, two more people came.
"Hello, Patty, Marcie." said Lucy.
"Hiya, Lucille!" said Peppermint Patty. "Happy birthday!"
"Thanks, Patty!" said Lucy.
"Ditto." said Marcie.
As soon as everyone had arrived, Lucy looked admiringly at her pile of gifts.
"Wow!" said Lucy.
"Cake time!" called Lianne, Lucy's mother.
"Oh boy! I'm starved!" Lucy said.
Everyone gathered round the table to watch Lucy. She had an enormous cake covered in blue icing as blue was her favourite colour, a little figuring of her on the top layer, and on each layer, fourteen red candles to show Lucy was turning 14.
After everyone sand 'Happy Birthday' to her, Lucy was getting ready to blow out her candles.
"Wait!" called Marty. "Lucy, you need to make a wish first!"
"I don't need to make a wish." Lucy said smugly. "I already have some loving friends as well as a loving family."
Everyone was pleased.
"But then again….." Lucy said, and then muttered under her breath…. "I wish to be queen of the world."
Lucy blew out all her candles, and everyone cheered.
"Alright, give me a slice of that yummy cake!" said Floyd.
"Not yet." said Lianne. "Presents now."
Lucy got on the couch, and opened up her gifts one by one.
"Now what did Charlie Brown get me?" thought Lucy as she opened his gift. "A miniature psychiatry booth?"
"Just to remind you of the good old days when you gave me silly psychiatry." said Charlie Brown. "Back when I couldn't do anything right."
"You blockhead, Charlie Brown!" giggled Lucy.
"Now open mine!" said Schroeder.
Lucy got Schroeder's gift, and as she opened it…
"A locket!" Lucy cried. "Oh, Schroeder! You shouldn't have!"
"It wasn't my idea." said Schroeder. "Mary."
"I suggested Schroeder get that locket for you." said Mary Stewart.
"Thank you, Guys." said Lucy. "Finally, Schroeder bought me something!"
Lucy placed the locket around her neck and went to open Sebastian's present.
"What did my Sebastian get me?" Lucy wondered.
Lucy opened Sebastian's present and…
"I don't believe it!" cried Lucy. "It's a picture of you!"
"It's to remind you of me when I'm not here." said Sebastian.
"Thank you, Sebastian!" said Lucy.
And Lucy hugged Sebastian.
"Aw!" Everyone said in adoration.
"Open mine next." said Mary Jo.
Lucy did just that and…..
"A blanket?!" cried Lucy. "You've gotta be kidding me!"
Mary Jo shot a sheepish look. Linus looked away, as he had only just gotten over his blanket being burned.
"Well, it's the thought that counts." sighed Lucy.
Lucy carried on opening the rest of her gifts until…..
"Whose gift is this?" asked Lucy, holding out a purple gift with gold wrapping paper.
"It's from me, Lucy." said Frieda.
Lucy untied the curly ribbon, and out came…
"Hair curlers?!" said Lucy.
"Just in case you want your hair to be naturally curly like mine." said Frieda.
"It's the thought that counts." said Lucy. "Anyway, it's time for party games now!"
Everyone went out the backyard, and on the fence was a picture of Snoopy without a tail.
"Lucille." said Marty. "What's this game all about?"
"That's easy, Marty." said Lucy. "You have to Pin the Tail on Snoopy."
Snoopy looked and quivered with fear, remembering Charlie Brown's birthday party, and how Lucy actually pinned the tail on him.
"You may have played this game before," said Lucy. "So you may know all the rules."
"Me first!" said Katie.
Katie grabbed her tail, and placed it on Snoopy's back end.
"It's not that simple, Katie." said Tommy as he approached his cousin. "You need a blindfold."
Tommy picked out a blue blindfold, wrapped it around Katie's eyes so she wouldn't see a thing, and then Tommy spun his cousin round.
"I can't see a thing!" said Katie.
Katie walked in a wobbly fashion towards Snoopy and….
"Did I win?"
"Oh, Katie!" said Lucy, pulling the blindfold off of Katie's eyes. "You pinned the tail on Snoopy's nose!"
Snoopy looked at it and chuckled. Katie made him look like his brother Spike.
Lucy looked down at her locket, and when she opened it…..
"Huh? But….. there's nothing inside! I'll have to see Mom about this." said Lucy.
"I'll go next." said Emerald.
"Emerald?!" cried Lucy. "Oh yeah. I invited her in fear she'd threaten me again."
Lucy walked up to Emerald and placed the blindfold around her eyes.
"No peaking, Emerald." said Lucy as she spun her round.
"I can't see a thing!" Emerald cried.
"I'll go and see Mom about my locket."
Lucy went inside…..
"Sebastian, you look after the game until I get back!" called Lucy.
"Okay!" said Sebastian.
Emerald waddled over to Snoopy's picture with her tail. She pulled the blindfold off of her left eye, looked around for Snoopy. Upon seeing his back end…..
"No peeking, Emerald!" called Sebastian.
"Wasn't peeking." said Emerald.
Emerald snuck up on Snoopy and as she pinned the tail…..
"AAAAAAAUUUUUUGH!" cried Snoopy out loud.
"Snoopy?" said Charlie Brown.
"Did I do it?" asked Emerald as she pulled off her blindfold.
"You sure did." said Charlie Brown angrily. "You pinned the tail on Snoopy alright! You really did!"
Snoopy was rubbing his back end quite a lot.
"So? I pinned the tail on Sniffy, that's the rule of the game, isn't it?" Emerald asked.
Meanwhile, Lucy was inside with Lianne, as they were looking for a photo of Lucy to put in her locket.
"This one looks nice." said Lianne. "I'll go and shrink it down."
When Lianne went to photocopy the picture Lucy picked, Snoopy ran in, rubbing his back.
"Snoopy?" said Lucy. "What's wrong, Beagle?"
Snoopy showed Lucy his sore back end.
"Who did this?" asked Lucy.
Snoopy brought Lucy back outside and pointed to Emerald.
"Emerald?" said Lucy. "Sebastian, is this true?"
"Yes." said Sebastian.
"That's what Sniffy gets for getting me expelled all those years ago!" Emerald smirked.
"Emerald, you were supposed to pin the tail on the picture, not the actual beagle!" Lucy said angrily.
"But….." Emerald stammered.
"No buts, Green!" said Lucy. "I'm going to have to ask you to leave!"
Lucy escorted Emerald out of her backyard.
"Didn't wanna come to this dumb party anyway!" muttered Emerald.
"Now that that unpleasantness is out of here," said Lucy. "who's next?"
"Me!" said Charlie Brown.
Lucy placed the blindfold around Charlie Brown's eyes, spun him round, and he walked dizzily towards the Snoopy picture.
"I can't see a thing!" cried Charlie Brown.
When Charlie Brown reached the picture, he pinned the tail on….
"Snoopy's head?!"
"You blockhead, Charlie Brown!" everyone called, and burst into laughter.
"Oh, good grief!" sighed Charlie Brown.
"Enough of this Pinning the Tail, given what Emerald had done to Snoopy." said Lucy. "Let's have some more dogs performing!"
"Oh?" said Snoopy.
"Presenting….. Miss Polly!" Lucy announced.
Into the backyard walked Polly with her three poodles, a baton in her right hand, and a hoop in her left.
"Hi, Lambcake!" called Floyd. "No, let her concentrate."
"Lucy!" called Lianne. "I've copied your photo!"
"Coming, Mom!" called Lucy.
"Lucy?" quizzed Sebastian.
Lucy went inside to see her mother with a small photo of her.
"Give me your locket." said Lianne.
Lucy handed her locket to her mother, and in went the photo.
"Wow!" said Lucy. "Thanks, Mom!"
And Lucy went outside again to see Polly's poodles walking on their front feet.
"What did I miss?" asked Lucy.
"Poodles walking on their hind legs like Snoopy." said Linus.
"Oh." said Lucy. "Anyway, look what Mom put in my locket."
Lucy opened her locket and showed Linus her locket with a picture of her.
"Wow!" said Linus. "But who are you going to put on the other side?"
"You know, Linus, I'm not sure." said Lucy.
Soon, Polly had finished her performance, and walked out of the backyard.
"Well done, Lambcake!" called Floyd.
"Hey, everyone!" said Lucy. "Check out what's in my locket!"
Lucy opened her locket and showed a picture of herself.
"Wow!" said Charlie Brown.
"I knew you'd like that locket." said Schroeder.
"So did I." said Mary Stewart.
"Anyway, I'm thinking about who else to put in the locket with me." said Lucy.
"Well, I have Mary." said Schroeder. "So I'm out of the question.
"I've got Mallory." said Wayne King. "So not me."
"Why add me when I've got my one and only Little Red-Haired Girl?" asked Charlie Brown.
"You know." said Lucy. "I'm going to have to think about it."
Lucy went inside and saw her mother.
"Hey, Mom." said Lianne. "Did everyone like your locket?
"They sure do, Mom." said Lucy. "However, I have one problem."
"What's that?" asked Lianne.
"I don't know which boy to put in my locket too!" cried Lucy.
"Oh, Lucy!" said Lianne. "Who's a boy you love most?"
"Well, Schroeder's now with Mary Stewart, so I won't add him."
"But which boy have you been out with recently?"
"There's Sebastian." said Lucy. "So….. yes! Sebastian! Say, Mom. Any good photos of Sebastian in the album?"
"Not any of himself alone." said Lianne. "Just photos of him with you."
"That's no good." said Lucy. "Where…"
Suddenly, Lucy remembered.
"The photo Sebastian gave me!"
Lucy went up to her room and got a picture of Sebastian. Then, she went back downstairs.
"This one!" said Lucy.
"I'll copy this one too." said Lianne as she carefully removed Sebastian's photo from the frame.
"Folks!" said Lucy. "I've decided which boy to put in my locket!"
"Who?" everyone wondered.
"You'll see…" smirked Lucy.
Lianne came back outside a few minutes later with Lucy's locket.
"Thanks, Mom." said Lucy as Lianne handed back her locket. "Presenting, the boy in my locket….."
Lucy opened up her locket, and inside was…
"Snoopy?!"
Snoopy looked sheepishly and giggled.
"No, not him." said Lucy, removing Snoopy's picture. "I'll pass it round."
Everyone looked inside Lucy's locket, and were impressed by who it was.
"Lucy!" said Sebastian. "You put a picture of me!"
"Well, you've been the ideal boyfriend lately." said Lucy. "So only you could go into my locket."
"Oh, Lucy!" said Sebastian.
And Sebastian hugged Lucy.
At last, it was time for the party to end.
"Such good grub you had, Lucy!" said Floyd, who was holding a piece of cake. "And my lambcake performed so well!"
"I'm glad you enjoyed it." said Lucy.
"It was a fun one indeed, Lucille." said Peppermint Patty. "And the grub was good too."
"Come on, Sir. Let's get you home." said Marcie.
"I'm glad everyone enjoyed my party." said Lucy as she opened her locket once again.
"Hey, Lucy." said Sebastian. "Looking at your locket again?"
"I sure am." said Lucy. "It might be the best gift Schroeder has ever given to me!"
"And you even have a picture of me." said Sebastian. "Anyway, I have to go home now."
"Oh, Sebastian." said Lucy. "Thank you for coming over to my party."
Lucy pulled Sebastian in for a kiss, causing him to blush.
"Oh… Lucy!" Sebastian said happily. "Well, happy birthday!"
As Sebastian left, Lucy went up to her room to admire her locket some more.
"I'll always treasure this locket." said Lucy. "For being a present from a boy who I used to pine for, and for containing a picture of a boy who just might be my true love for good!"
Lucy put the locket on her desk, and she went to change into her sleepwear for bed, thinking this to be the best birthday she had so far, even gaining some of the money her father won in the quiz show.