PART 2

Perry Lets the Cat Out of the Bag

Lucy was in her cell on Death Row. She was running out of appeals at a rapid pace. It was as if the judicial system was trying to rid themselves of her. Her case was a different one from others on Death Row. The other inmates at least maintained their innocence and denied their crimes that they were convicted of, but in Lucy's case, not only did she freely admit to murdering the two women, she didn't think she did anything wrong. Her own admittance to the crimes she committed was why her appeals were being denied one by the other.

She was in her cell when a guard came up and told her she had a visitor. She figured it was her lawyer, who was appointed to deal with her appeals, letting her know the status of the latest one. She also hoped that it was her parents finally coming to visit her, but they stayed as far away from their daughter as they could. They were ashamed of their own crimes that they were purposely distancing themselves from her. Linus and Rerun flat out refused to see her, so she knew they wouldn't come at all. The visitor she got though, was a surprise to her.

Sitting behind the plexiglass window was none other than Perry "Pig Pen" Wiggins.

Lucy was confused to why he was visiting her. She halfway expected Charlie to come, even if it were to kick her while she was down, or for her to hate him one last time, so to say she was intrigued by his presence was an understatement. She sat down at her chair and picked up the receiver.

"Perry," she began. "What brings you, of all people, here?"

Perry looked at the woman who once called herself a "Wisdom Goddess" with unreadable eyes. Finally, he spoke, "Have you ever asked yourself, 'How did they find out'? Have you ever wondered how the police were able to stop you and your hoods from attacking Charlie and his family so fast?"

"The fuck are you talking about, Perry?"

"Graduation Day. 'Operation: Blockhead'. Have you ever wondered how the cops were able to thwart your attack before it ever began?"

"Of course! That blockhead and his parents must've called them! How else would they have known what was happening?!"

"No, Charlie DIDN'T call the police, nor did his parents. Even if they did, the cops would have never gotten there in time before you and your congregation seriously hurt them. Someone had called AS all of you were leaving for the Brown home!"

"You know this?!" Lucy's interest was peaked. Perry had some vital information that could solve what had happened and possibly get her back on track, in a way, to apotheosis. Perry nodded.

"I do know," he began, "but before I reveal who it is, I have some words for you, 'Goddess'. You see, there's a reason you're here on Death Row for murder. That reason is you couldn't leave well enough alone. You just HAD to go after Charlie one last time, and for what? To keep him miserable?! Charlie never goaded you into killing those two women! He never goaded you into trying to murder his girlfriend! You did that all your own! The reason why you're here now is because unlike you, everyone else, Principal Wayler, Violet's old man, the staff, the students, their parents, even your own good for nothing parents, they all took the hint that MAYBE beating up a kid for the hell of it MIGHT NOT look good to society at large and may make you a pariah! You couldn't learn that, Lucy!"

"Are you finished?!" asked an annoyed Lucy.

"Yeah, pretty much. That leads me to who called the cops the day of 'Operation: Blockhead'…"

"WHO WAS IT?!"

Perry gave a slight smirk. "You've been talking to him the whole time."

Lucy's pudgy mouth dropped open in shock. All this time she thought Charlie Brown was the one who ended her mission, but it was dirty old Pig Pen the whole time.

"YOU?!"

"One last thing," Perry finished. "When you get the needle and descend down to Hell, give Violet my regards." And he hung up his receiver and proceeded to leave. Lucy's frantic demands for him to come back and feel her fury fell on deaf ears, as the guards dragged her back to her cell. Lucy had it all wrong for all these years. Charlie Brown, being successful, able to get past what she and the others did to him, was all because of Perry Wiggins, Pig Pen, the boy who kicked up dust in a rainstorm. Lucy spent the rest of her day in a restraint room until she was calm enough to go back to her cell.

An Unlikely and Uneasy Reunion

Charlie Brown was in his office downtown. It had been a week since the melee on Opposing Views where he was attacked by Andrew Baker, who he heard was arrested and facing multiple charges, the least of which was Endangerment of the Welfare of Multiple Children and Abuse. He was facing over a thousand years in prison, the most severe sentence outside of the Death Penalty. He had gotten off the phone with his publisher where he discussed the movie plans for "Blockhead", when there was a knock on his door.

"Come in," he said. His secretary, a brunette beauty with curves that could make a lot of men do double takes, walked up to her boss.

"Mr. Brown, you have a visitor," she announced.

"I don't have any appointments today, do I?"

"No, sir. She says she's a former classmate of yours."

Charlie got a little nervous. He hoped Lucy wasn't paroled and gotten out early, or that Violet resurrected from her grave.

"What's the name of the classmate?"

"A Patty Swanson, sir."

Charlie was taken aback. He hadn't heard that name in years. Patty was Violet's childhood best friend. They in tandem used to tease Charlie mercilessly. But, she had moved away before the abuse started getting worse, and he never saw her again until now.

"Should I send her in, sir?" asked the secretary.

"Go ahead, Janelle." And soon afterwards, he saw a nun walk in. Charlie could not believe what he was seeing. Patty, the girl who used to relish in teasing him with Violet, and sometimes Lucy joining in, had become a nun. He had to look again and see if he was seeing things.

"Patty?!" he gasped, seeing one of his antagonists now looking like Mother Teresa.

"I know, shocking right?" said Patty, breaking the ice. "How have you been, Charlie?"

"You're kidding, right? You know what happened after you left, right? Your bestie became a drug-addicted psycho who made my life a living hell, all of the kids beat me up, Lucy made my abuse a religion, the staff and parents joined in on said abuse, I was demoralized, humiliated, and shat on! And had you stayed, I almost GUARANTEE that you would have been in the thick of it all!"

"You're right, Charlie," said Patty, looking down. "I was awful to you."

"UNDERSTATEMENT OF THE MILLENNIUM!"

"That's why I'm here. I want to make peace with you. My parents saw what was happening in the community. How everyone had started acting how we acted towards you, but worse. They started kicking you, beating you up with anything they could find, and just completely ruining your life. They figured they couldn't save you, so, at the very least, they could keep me from turning into one of those monsters. I read 'Blockhead' and I couldn't believe how demented Violet turned out! Lucy, I saw going down this route early on. How she used to talk about being queen of the world, and everything."

"Are you asking me to remove your name from my book like the others?! Because if you are-"

"NO, Charlie! On the contrary, keep my name in! I want my story to be told, as a cautionary tale of how NOT to act towards your fellow classmate. And I want to offer my most heartfelt apology to my role in all of this. While I didn't participate in the worst of the abuse, I was an early contributor. And for that, I'm so sorry."

Charlie was taken aback. Patty was repentant for what she had done in the past to him. While it was true she wasn't around when it got worse, like with "Operation: Blockhead", but she was a factor in it, as well.

"Patty," he began, "I am going to give you what I never afforded the other assholes involved in this; my forgiveness. I forgive you, Patty, for only ONE reason. Unlike the other pricks and bitches, you actually took responsibility for what you done and acknowledge that you were wrong. So, I am willing to make peace, at least with you. All the others can join Violet in Hell!"

"Thank you, Charlie."

"I am curious, though. How'd you end up being in a convent?"

"After we left Sparkyville, my parents enrolled me in catholic school. I joined up with a diocese after college."

Charlie was amazed at Patty's turnaround. "Well, I need to get back to work," he said, "but keep in touch."

"I will. And thank you again, Charlie. God be with you." And Patty left his office. Charlie shook his head.

There may be hope for at least some of them.

PART 3 IS NEXT!