You're In Junior High Now, Charlie Brown!

The First Day Of School

The school bus had now arrived on the school grounds, and Charlie Brown and Linus were the first two off the bus. A few seconds later though, their attention was caught by two female voices calling out to him.

"Hiya, Chuck. Hiya, Linus," the first voice said enthusiastically.

"Good morning, Charles and Linus," a softer voice said immediately following.

The two boys turned to the source of the voices. Coming off of another bus were two somewhat close friends of theirs: Peppermint Patty, accompanied like always by her faithful companion, Marcie Carlin.

"Oh! Hi, Peppermint Patty. Hi, Marcie," Charlie Brown greeted as he and Linus waved to them both. "I see we're going to the same school now."

"You betcha, Chuck. Are you looking forward to this new school?" Peppermint Patty asked.

"As ready as I could be, I guess," Charlie Brown said.

Peppermint Patty noticed the small frown on Charlie Brown's face and gave him a firm, but not too painful, pat on the back. "C'mon, Chuck. You gotta show a little more enthusiasm than that!"

Before Charlie Brown could respond though, he and the others were caught by surprise as Schroeder rushed past them all.

"Hello, everyone. Sorry, can't stop right now. I gotta get this turned in," he said quickly. "I'll see you in homeroom, Charlie Brown!"

"Yikes, what's he in a such a hurry for?" Peppermint Patty inquired. "I don't think I've ever seen Schroeder this excited."

"He's about to turn in the application for the new club he wants to form. It's called the Beethoven Appreciation club," Linus told her.

"The Beethoven Appreciation club?" Peppermint Patty said with her brows furrowed.

"Yep," Charlie Brown confirmed with a nod.

"Interesting," Peppermint Patty mused. "Well, me and Marcie had better get going. I'll see you later, Chuck."

And so Peppermint Patty and Marcie began making their way together to their respective homerooms.

"Schroeder is really committed to his musical idol, isn't he, sir?" Marcie asked her friend, already knowing the answer.

"He sure is, Marcie. I guess I can appreciate that he'd really want more friends who shared his passion for Beethoven," Peppermint Patty said in acknowledgement

"That same commitment would really help you to stay on track with improving your grades, sir," Marcie added.

Peppermint Patty rolled her eyes. "I know that, Marcie. And I already promised you that I would resolve to get my grades up. I mean, how can I try out for the school's baseball team if I don't get better grades? Oh, and for goodness sake, Marcie, stop calling me sir."

Schroeder was eagerly making his way in the direction of the administration offices to turn in his club application. Or rather, he was anxiously trying to. As he traversed the halls, he was having difficulty finding the direction he needed to go.

"Come on, where is it?" he asked himself, beginning to panic slightly. "Oh, good grief!"

Fortunately though, he caught sight of a girl nearby. Perhaps maybe she could tell him where he needed to go.

"Hello, excuse me?" he called out to her.

The girl turned to the source of the voice. She smiled at him, recognizing him. "Oh, hey, Schroeder."

Schroeder looked surprised at who this was. "Oh, Heather, hi. I-I was just wondering if you could point me to the administration office. I need to turn this in."