Heather and Franklin began to pack up as the class came to an end, while Charlie Brown let out a deep sigh as he closed his notebook.
"Good grief, I can't believe we already have a writing assignment on the second day of class," Charlie Brown remarked.
"Hey, look on the bright side; it's only a couple of paragraphs, and it's due next week," Franklin replied. Charlie Brown wasn't convinced that it wouldn't still be an annoyance.
"I was hoping to have one weekend of light work, but now I have to write about some book I've never read or cared to read," Charlie Brown grumbled; Franklin rolled his eyes, knowing that Charlie Brown's strong suit had never been English.
"Careful there; you're starting to sound like Lucy after math class yesterday," Franklin joked.
"I've read it before; I can help you if you like," Heather offered. The thought made Charlie Brown's face turn a bit red. He noticed Franklin giggle from the corner of his eye.
"Uh, yeah, sure, that would be great," Charlie Brown replied. The bell rang, and the three stood up from their desks and shuffled towards the door. Franklin dragged his feet down the hall, knowing he would have to deal with an irritated Peppermint Patty at lunch.
"Are you okay, Franklin?" Heather asked.
"Well, after hearing about gym class yesterday, I know Peppermint Patty's going to be a mess today. I'm probably going to spend all of lunch and recess calming her down," Franklin replied. Charlie Brown flinched, still feeling that what had happened in gym was his fault.
"Well, we asked Schroeder to talk to her in his band class today, so I'm sure she won't be too bad," Heather explained.
"I don't know if that'll make a difference; Schroeder and Peppermint Patty have never really been that close. I don't think I've ever seen her successfully play an instrument before, and it's band class. Do you think Schroeder will take his focus off the piano to help out Peppermint Patty?" Franklin countered, and Charlie Brown raised an eyebrow at Franklin's doubt in Schroeder; he opened his mouth to speak, but Heather responded before he got the chance.
"Schroeder said he would, and I believe him; you should have a bit more confidence in him," Heather said.
"I know, but out of everyone to talk to her, he wouldn't be my tenth pick, much less my first," Franklin argued. Charlie Brown was puzzled by Franklin's lack of confidence in Schroeder.
"What do you have against Schroeder?" Charlie Brown asked.
"I just don't think he can look past his piano for a few moments to do something like that. I mean, have you seen him and Lucy? I know Lucy can be out of line sometimes, but I think he should pay attention to what's in front of him more often," Franklin explained. Charlie Brown recoiled at the comment, but after a moment, he understood what Franklin meant.
"Well, we're about to find out," Heather said as the three arrived in the lunchroom and headed towards the table where Lucy, Linus, and Janice were sitting.
"All I'm saying is that if he likes Beethoven and thinks he's so great, how come he doesn't have a bubble gum card of him? All the greats have bubble gum cards, and Beethoven doesn't have one; therefore, maybe Beethoven wasn't that great," Lucy stated, explaining her logic to the pair. Linus rolled his eyes and put his face in his palm, while Janice laughed.
"Hey guys, how's it going?" Janice greeted the three of them as they arrived at the table.
"It's going okay, except we already have an English paper due next week," Charlie Brown said as they took their seats.
"That's outrageous! First, math homework on the first day, now a paper next week; you're just bad luck, Charlie Brown. If they try to pull that in my English class, I'll see the principal about it," Lucy remarked. Franklin chuckled at her comments while Linus grew more embarrassed by his sister every moment.
"Where are Schroeder and Peppermint Patty?" Charlie Brown asked as he opened his lunchbox, shrugging off Lucy's remarks.
"Don't know; hopefully, they're just running behind," Linus answered
"Maybe I should go looking for them," Franklin proposed, still worried that Schroeder hadn't helped Peppermint Patty calm down. Charlie Brown shook his head at the idea.
"Look, they're right there." Heather pointed behind Franklin as the pair walked over to the table. Franklin turned to see Peppermint Patty smiling, amazed that Schroeder went out of his way to help her.
"Hey, how did band class go?" Charlie Brown asked.
"It went great; we even found Peppermint Patty an instrument!" Schroeder answered, and everyone leaned in, amazed that Schroeder had achieved such a feat.
"Yeah, they're these giant gold metal disks called clambles," Peppermint Patty excitedly said.
"Cymbals—clash cymbals, to be specific," Schroeder corrected her.
"Yeah, that tracks," Lucy joked, and Linus shot his sister a look of disapproval. "But good for you, Patricia. Glad you found something in the class you like."
The group broke off into their discussions as usual, with Franklin wondering how Peppermint Patty was feeling. Linus and Charlie Brown talked about their teachers and compared them, while Janice and Heather discussed the books they were currently reading.
"So, did you get bumped up to the primary piano player yet?" Lucy asked Schroeder.
"No, not yet; I had an opportunity to play the piano in front of the teacher, but more important things were happening," Schroeder responded, still a bit disappointed he didn't get to show off.
"Well, if I were you, I would march right up to that teacher and give him a piece of your mind, even offer a demonstration. I'm sure if he heard the symphony of the great Beethoven you can play, he would change his mind," Lucy said, making Schroeder laugh. While he thought he was a better piano player, he didn't know if the teacher felt the same.
"Didn't you say a couple of minutes ago that Beethoven wasn't one of the greats because he doesn't have a bubble gum card?" Linus chimed in. Lucy stared him directly in the eyes with anger.
"I said no such thing," she argued.
"But you did; you said word for word-" Linus tried to argue back, but Janice put her hand on Linus's shoulder, signaling him to stop.
The bell rang as they filtered out of the lunchroom and outside. Charlie Brown went to the left of the school, which overlooked the baseball field, and looked around for any signs of Marcie, hoping to talk to her before she met up with her new "friends." But as soon as he spotted her, she was heading toward the baseball field with Joe Agate. Heather and Franklin walked up beside him after he spotted Marcie.
"What are you looking for?" Heather asked. Charlie Brown sighed.
"I was hoping to find Marcie to talk to her, but she's already with Joe Agate; it'll have to wait. I don't really know when I'll have time, though; she's in all advanced classes." Charlie Brown explained, disappointed he couldn't even talk to one of his best friends.
"Well, there has to be a way, or someone has to have a class with her," Franklin commented.
"I do," Heather chimed in. Franklin and Charlie Brown both turned to her in confusion.
"What class do you have with her?" Charlie Brown asked, bewildered, as he had almost every class with Heather.
"In my 4th-period class, advanced social studies, she sits just a couple of desks down from me. I'm sure I could swap seats and sit next to her, though she seems enthralled in her work usually." Heather explained, and Charlie Brown's eyes lit up with ideas as he devised a plan.
"Alright, so here's what we're going to do. I need you to go in there and ask her to meet me just to talk on Saturday. I'll see what I can do to smooth things between the two," Charlie Brown explained. "And also, don't tell Peppermint Patty; if she finds out, she'll just want to help."
"Sounds like a good plan," Franklin agreed.
The rest of the recess went as normal, with the gang getting together to play basketball on the court. Charlie Brown was glad for the change of pace, not having to deal with drama for once. Though he did catch Peppermint Patty glancing over at the baseball field often, it was clear that she wanted the field and Marcie back. Charlie Brown wanted to tell her the plan but was scared of what could happen if she tried to help.
The bell rang, and Charlie Brown and Heather filtered into the school with the rest of the students. They made it quickly to their third-period class, where she sat down and tried her best to focus on class, but the weight of what she was going to say and how Marcie, someone she didn't know that well, would react was heavy. Charlie Brown looked over at her and could tell it was bothering her.
"Hey, if you don't think you can talk to Marcie or feel uncomfortable doing it, we can try to figure something else out." He proposed, but she shook her head.
"No, it's fine. I just don't know her as well as you do. I just feel like I may be overstepping my boundaries." She explained while staring at her worksheet, having been chewing on her pencil out of stress.
"You really don't have to, but you're not overstepping; you're just telling her that I want to meet so I can understand her perspective better," Charlie Brown said, trying to comfort her.
"Yeah, right, I can do that just fine," Heather said, trying to convince herself.
"Marcie is usually a very calm and logical person; she won't give you any trouble at all," Charlie Brown commented. Heather nodded and then bubbled in an option on her worksheet, blocking it out of her mind and just focusing on her worksheet.
The bell signaled for students to go to their next class; she waved Charlie Brown goodbye as she headed to social studies. She made her way over to the classroom, took a deep breath, and entered the room. Marcie sat by herself, engrossed in a book while she waited for class to start; Heather made her way over to the open desk.
"Hi, Marcie, mind if I sit next to you?" Heather asked. Marcie looked up at her and pushed up her glasses.
"That's fine, Heather," Marcie responded, looking back down at her book, and Heather took her seat next to her. An awkward silence settled as Marcie buried her head behind her book.
"So how are you liking your classes?" Heather asked, breaking the silence.
"They're fine so far, a bit boring if I'm being honest," Marcie replied, not looking up from her book. "How about you?"
"Oh, they're going well. Finally, after all these years, I'm getting to know the people around me better," Heather said, and Marcie nodded in response. Another few moments of silence followed; Heather was unsure what to do as she picked at her pencil eraser.
"Is there something you would like to ask me, Heather?" Marcie asked, putting her book down and looking Heather in the eyes. Heather gulped.
"Charlie Brown asked me to ask you if you would want to meet him on Saturday to talk." Heather blurted out, prompting Marcie to smile and laugh.
"That's what you were scared of proposing?" Marcie asked, still laughing, "You can tell Charles I'll contact him later today to set up a time."
"Great, thanks so much!" Heather replied, embarrassed that it was even that difficult to ask.
The next few class periods flew by. Despite feeling embarrassed about how the situation unfolded, Heather was excited to see Charlie Brown and tell him the good news. She made her way to the bus and spotted him sitting towards the back, waving to her. She sat down and explained what Marcie said, and the two talked all the way home.
"Think this is my stop. I'll see you tomorrow in math," she said as she waved goodbye, happy she was able to help Charlie Brown.