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Chapter Text

Peppermint Patty and Marcie were volunteering at a soup line for the needy. They both enjoyed helping the unfortunate and destitute. Their boyfriends, Hans and Franco chipped in as well when they could, but this particular day it was just the two of them. They were serving a lot of people that day and it was almost closing time as the line started dwindling.

As Peppermint Patty served the next to last bowl of soup, a blond-haired teenager in a tattered pink coat with faux fur around the hood. She came up to the freckled-face girl.

"Do you have any more of that delicious soup, girls?" she asked.

"Yep," Patty replied. "We still have a few scoopfuls."

"Awesome!" said the teen. "I hope I didn't miss it." And the girls served the older girl some soup and bread with butter.

"This smells great!" she said, enjoying the aroma of the soup. "Though it's a long way from filet mignon."

"Filet mignon?" asked Marcie.

"YOU ate filet mignon?" Patty added.

"Yeah, once upon a time," the teen replied. "During my time in California."

"You lived in California?!" asked a bewildered Patty. "How in the world did you end up in Sparkyville?!"

"Well my family is originally from here," the teen started. "Some years ago, when I was around your age, I got the biggest gig ever. We moved to California to audition for this show. The show's name was 'Sandra on the Side'."

"I remember that show!" said an excited Patty. "Boy was that show a riot! Especially the girl who played Sandra. The actresses name was Penelope Hawkins, if memory searches me. The show was cancelled after a couple of seasons, though. I wonder what became of Penelope?"

"Well you are facing her now," said the teen.

"YOU'RE PENELOPE?!" asked a shocked Patty.

"But you were part of a successful sitcom," said Marcie.

"Well it wasn't THAT successful," lamented Penelope. "After the show was cancelled, the jerk who was supposed to be our manager robbed me blind. My parents sued him for grand larceny. Even though we won the case, we never got back even half of the money that was owed to us, as the guy filed for bankruptcy not too long afterwards."

"Boy, what a jerk!" said an angry Patty. "So how did you end up here in a soup line?"

"Well because we spent all of our money on the case we ended up with very little left," Penelope continued. "We barely had enough to get back to Sparkyville. My dad was able to find some work, but it's small peanuts compared to what we were making BEFORE we left for California. Eventually, we ended up on the streets, my dad lost his job, and we're living in the shelter. Dad keeps trying to find jobs, but no one wants to hire him, saying that we should have been raking in the dough because of the show. If only they knew our predicament." Penelope started crying at that point. Peppermint Patty also started shedding some tears.

"Thank you," said Penelope. "And I'm glad I still have a fan in the world." And Penelope grabbed her soup and left.

"We need to do something for her and her family, Marcie," said a determined Patty.

"What could we do, sir?" asked Marcie.

"We could raise funds for her family and even help her dad find a job," Patty suggested. "I'll even ask my dad if there's any openings at his job, and maybe even get Chuck and his gang to help. It's worth a shot, Marcie. Are you in?"

"For this, I'm in, sir," Marcie replied. "If it can help someone, it's worth a try." And the girls began to clean up and put any leftovers back in the kitchen cooler.

NEXT CHAPTER: A HIDDEN TALENT

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At Birchwood School, Schroeder was wrapping up the day's rehearsal. Things were finally going smoothly for the blond-haired maestro. All of the acts were finally getting in line and no longer complaining, though Sally would often find some other "issue" she may have more often than not, but that was just her personality. Other than that, things were going much better than before. And now that Snoopy and his brothers have been added as part of the show, there were no more disruptions from the beagle and his brethren.

As he was heading out of the auditorium Schroeder heard a guitar playing in the hallway. It wasn't an electric guitar, but one he could enjoy. It sounded like Mexican music and it sounded nice to Schroeder. He followed the sound and wondered where it was coming from. When he reached the room where it was, which was the music room, he was shocked to see Dolores playing the music. She was obviously playing the music her family enjoyed. He was astounded by her playing. While many of his friends, Charlie Brown included, could play instruments, he never knew Dolores could play anything. He continued to watch her play until she stopped. She was surprised to see Schroeder clapping.

"Dolores, that was great!" he said with a smile. "How come you didn't tell anyone you could play guitar?"

"I never shared this part of me with anyone before," said Dolores. "I didn't think my friends would like it."

"Well many of them like it when I play Beethoven," Schroeder responded. "So I know they will like your guitar playing. How would you like to be a part of the Christmas show?"

"Me? Aren't you booked up pretty tight?"

"Well I do have my acts already set. What I was thinking was I just made Snoopy and his brothers the hype men, or beagles, to help get the show started. You can provide some music for their dancing as the show is beginning. You can also be part of the pit orchestra that I set up for the show. I am the director of both the show itself and the music. What do you say, Dolores?"

Dolores thought about it for a second. Then she said, "I guess I can do it, Schroeder. When do you want me to start?"

"You can come to the auditorium tomorrow," said Schroeder. "We'll set up things there."

"Okay, gracias."

"You're welcome."

Sometime later, Charlie Brown was on the phone with Peppermint Patty. She was talking about finding out that Penelope Hawkins, star of "Sandra on the Side" was both in Sparkyville and homeless.

"THE Penelope Hawkins?!" asked a bewildered Charlie Brown.

"That's right, Chuck," said Peppermint Patty on the other line. "She actually used to be from here before moving out west to star on 'Sandra on the Side'. But when that show was cancelled and finding out her manager swindled her money that she made on the show, they tried to sue him. While they won their suit, they didn't get even half of what was owed back, because the manager blew it all anyway. So they ended up back here and eventually homeless."

"Wow, that's bad," said Charlie Brown. "What are the odds of a big TV star from here in Sparkyville hitting it big just to lose it all before they can do anything with it?"

"I know. I was thinking about possibly helping her and her family by maybe organizing a pledge drive to get them back on their feet a bit."

"That's a great idea, Patty. I could talk to the gang about possibly coming up with a little bit of money and even talk to our parents about chipping in to help."

"You'd do that, Chuck?"

"Absolutely. Ordinarily I couldn't do anything right, but I think I could pull this one off."

"You really are a good guy, Chuck. Frieda's one lucky girl to have you as a boyfriend."

"Thank you. You are a great girl too, Patty. And a great friend."

"Thanks, Chuck. You have become a bit more assertive in the past couple of years. Anyway, I'll talk to later, pal." And Charlie Brown hung up the phone. Sally walked in.

"Who was that, big brother?" she asked.

"It was Peppermint Patty," he responded. "You remember the show 'Sandra on the Side'?"

"Oh yeah! I loved that show!"

"Well it turns out Penelope Hawkins, the star of the show, is from here in town. A kind of like our cousin Trevor, she became famous overnight, but ended up losing it all to a greedy manager. Her family ended up moving back here and eventually became homeless."

"Oh my gosh! How did Patty know that?"

"Well you know the soup line she and Marcie were volunteering at? Penelope came in and got some soup from them. She ended up telling them about what happened to her. Anyway Patty talked about organizing a pledge drive for her and her family. I said I could talk to the gang about getting some money together and even talking to our parents about helping out."

"That's a good idea, big brother. You may not be the greatest person in the world, but even I have to admit, you do have your moments."

NEXT CHAPTER: HELPING HANDS

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The next weekend, all of the gang were out at Joe's Café organizing a car wash to raise some money for Penelope and her family. Charlie Brown and Frieda were collecting the money, Lucy, Schroeder, Violet, Shermy, Patty, and Ox were washing the cars, Sally, Michael, Linus, Eudora, Marcie, and Hans were drying the cars, and Peppermint Patty and Franco were tallying up the money raised. Also Franklin, Melanie, Dolores, Pig Pen, and Snoopy and his brothers, Andy and Olaf, along with Woodstock and the other birds were holding signs leading to the car wash at Joe's. Thankfully Joe's parking lot was big enough to accommodate a large amount of cars. Plus it helped that it was an unusually warm day in November at 70 degrees with no winds.

Penelope was beside herself with happiness at what her new friends were doing for her and her family. She never asked for any help or anything, so for them to do this for her was proof that people did care. And, as a bonus, Charlie Brown's father offered her father a job at the barber shop and even offered to pay for the testing to become a licensed barber. While she was happy about them helping out, the outpouring was bittersweet for Penelope. What she didn't tell anyone, and only her parents and close family knew, that Penelope was on borrowed time as she was terminally ill. Just like Linus's old friend, Janice Emmons, she also had leukemia. But unlike Janice, who eventually went into remission and over time disappeared, Penelope's was a rare strain of leukemia that spread throughout her body at break-neck speeds that she didn't have a chance at recovery. And with her family's financial predicament, there was no chance of any kind of treatment. But she hadn't told Peppermint Patty, Marcie, or their friends. Not yet, at least.

Later in the day, Charlie brown asked Peppermint Patty, "So how much did we raise, so far?"

"Believe it or not, we are up to $2476," announced the tomboy. "For a kid car wash, that's not bad, at all!"

"We still need to make $2524 to make our $5000 goal," Frieda stated.

"Well we're making good progress," said Franco. "We just need to keep washing cars. Lass uns weiter so machen!"

"What did he say?" asked a confused Lucy

"That's German for 'Let's keep it up'," said Schroeder.

"Ah, du kennst die deutsche Sprache, Schroeder*?" asked Hans.

"Wenn Sie etwas über Beethoven erfahren, greifen Sie etwas von der Sprache auf**," said Schroeder to Hans. "But I still like to speak in English."

"Oh good grief!" groaned Lucy. Schroeder and Hans shared a laugh.

As the day progressed, the kids had a few more cars to go before end time. They were just a few dollars away from their goal. As the last car pulled out of Joe's, Peppermint Patty and Franco tallied the rest of the money and added it to the total. "With the last few cars we washed," Patty announced, "we actually went over our goal! We made $5043!"

All of the kids cheered. Charlie Brown and Frieda kissed each other, as did Lucy and Schroeder. Linus and Eudora hugged one another. Sally and Michael danced around with Snoopy and his brothers and the birds. Peppermint Patty and Marcie walked the money up to Penelope, who was sitting in a chair with Charlie Brown and Frieda, and presented the money to her.

"Here you go, Penelope," said Peppermint Patty, with a smile. "Something to start on, just for you."

Penelope started crying. All of the kids wondered what was wrong. "Marcie," Patty whispered. "Did I say the wrong thing?"

"I think she's crying out of happiness, sir," Marcie whispered back.

The kids all of the sudden grew worried. "Penelope, are you all right?" asked Charlie Brown.

"I feel a little… dizzy, that's… all…" And before she could say anything else, Penelope collapsed on the ground.

"GOOD GRIEF!" exclaimed Charlie Brown. "SOMEONE CALL 911!" Charlie Brown, Frieda, and Peppermint Patty checked on Penelope to see if she was conscience.

"Patty, you may want to get a hold of her parents," said Frieda.

"Right!" And Peppermint Patty pulled out her cell phone and called Penelope's parents. They had received a welfare phone so they could make phone calls. Penelope had given Patty the number if she wanted to get a hold of her. The ambulance arrived and took Penelope to the hospital.

NEXT CHAPTER: WHAT WILL HAPPEN?

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A few days after the car wash pledge drive, Penelope tragically passed away succumbing to her illness. Peppermint Patty was understandably distraught, as was the rest of the gang. Franco tried his best to comfort her, to no avail. She just had to go through the grief of losing a new friend. Because of her notoriety, it didn't take long for it to hit the news, local and nationally. Sparkyville, still a small Americana town with classic values, became a hotbed for paparazzi and news folks trying to find out what happened to the Hawkins family after the cancellation of "Sandra on the Side". As a result of her death, reruns of the show were starting to air again. Penelope's former manager, who had miraculously came into some money, was a target for the authorities to make sure he honored the previous court decision to pay back what he stole from the family. And even after that, Charlie Brown's father told Penelope's father that the job at his shop was still open if he wanted it, which Mr. Hawkins took him on the offer.

As for Peppermint Patty, she just watched the reruns of "Sandra on the Side", for comfort. Even if she only knew Penelope for a short while, she felt close to her. That's why it hurt Patty so much when she passed away. It was the second tragedy that year close to her and her friends, following the killing of Serpent Sister Margaux "Python" Holt back in January. Patty's father had let Charlie Brown, Frieda, Marcie, Hans, and Franco in. They were also saddened by Penelope's sudden passing as well, but was also concerned about Patty. When they saw her, she was sitting in a chair by herself watching Penelope as Sandra in the show. Somehow it brought her a little comfort, if only for a little while.

I will remember you, will you remember me?

Don't let your life pass you by,

Weep not for the memories

Remember the good times that we had?

I let them slip away from us when things got bad.

How clearly I first saw you smilin' in the sun

Want to feel your warmth upon me

I want to be the one

I will remember you, will you remember me?

Don't let your life pass you by

Weep not for the memories

I'm so tired but I can't sleep

Standin' on the edge of something much to deep

It's funny how we feel so much but we cannot say a word

We are screaming inside, but we can't be heard

I will remember you, will you remember me?

Don't let your life pass you by

Weep not for the memories

I'm so afraid to love you

But more afraid to lose

Clinging to a past that doesn't let me choose

Once there was a darkness

Deep and endless night

You gave me everything you had, oh you gave me life

I will remember you, will you remember me?

Don't let your life pass you by

Weep not for the memories

I will remember you, will you remember me?

Don't let your life pass you by

Weep not for the memories

The kids walked up to Patty, still sitting in the chair. She turned around to see her friends standing there. She knew they were worried about her. Marcie was the first one to speak.

"Sir, we're not going to ask if you're okay," she started. "We know you're not and that you are upset about this. We all are and we understand. We just want you to know that you're not alone in this."

"We want to be here for you, hun," said Frieda. "Let us comfort you." Then, a teary-eyed Peppermint Patty looked at her friends and knew that she wasn't alone in her grief. Finally, without saying a word (a rarity for her) she hugged all of them and started bawling. Her friends and boyfriend all comforted her. It was something she needed at that time. It was then that she realized that after this, things would be all right.

NEXT CHAPTER: THE CLOUDS WILL SOON PART

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Charlie Brown and Linus were standing by the wall talking about the previous weeks and how drama-filled they were. From Linus losing his blanket to a wood chipper shredding it to bits, to Schroeder's continuing drama directing the Christmas show, to the sudden death of Penelope Hawkins, it had been a roller coaster ride of emotions as of late.

"So how about these past few weeks, huh?" said Charlie Brown.

"You ain't lying, Charlie Brown," Linus replied. "After Penelope's sudden passing, me losing my blanket don't seem as tragic anymore."

"I wonder if the drama will be over," lamented Charlie Brown.

"I don't think it's ever over, Charlie Brown. It just stops for a while and then comes back at the most inopportune time. We just learn how to deal with it. Which reminds me, how's Peppermint Patty doing? I know she was hit the hardest with Penelope's death."

"She's still in a deep funk about it. She won't even turn on the sports channel. Usually that makes her feel better. Franco is there to support her, though, so I guess that helps. Marcie is doing somewhat better, but also still mourning. While she wasn't as close to Penelope as Patty was, she still was close enough for it to affect her, as well."

"With Python getting killed, and now Penelope's passing, we better hold on to who's still here tightly."

"We may have to, Linus. Who knows what will happen next." And the boys stood at the wall for a while thinking about everything that had happened.

Around that same time, Schroeder was at Lucy's house talking about everything that had happened. They weren't as distraught over the death of Penelope, but was sad about her passing just the same.

"I still can't believe she's gone, Schroeder," said Lucy. "It's like Python all over again, and it hasn't been a year since her dying."

"I know," Schroeder agreed. "But we all agree no one is more distraught over it than Peppermint Patty. She's taken it the hardest."

"I can understand that," Lucy replied. "I'm still not completely over Python losing her life, either. So I can understand where Patricia's coming from."

"On another note, I wanted to tell you that I have someone else to add for the show."

"Did Trevor agree to perform or something?"

"No, still waiting on that. Dolores was playing some classical guitar the other day. I suggested she play for Snoopy and his brothers while they warmed up the audience at the show."

"That's not a bad idea, babe. Dolores playing guitar to those dogs would make for some entertainment."

"Yeah. At least, when it comes to the show, things are going smoothly now. I just hope Charlie Brown's cousin calls me before it's too late."

"Trevor will let you know if he'll be coming to town for the show. Whether he performs or not, he won't leave you in the dark about his decision."

"I guess you're right, Lucy. I just need to calm down about it. No matter what it'll be all right."

"Hey guys," greeted Thibault.

"Oh hey, you two," Marcie greeted back.

"Guten tag, Thibault und Rattler," greeted Hans.

"Is there something wrong?" asked Rattler, noticing the other couple's sad demeanor.

"We're just worried about Peppermint Patty," a sad Marcie replied. "You may had heard about Penelope Hawkins passing away from a rare strain of leukemia?"

"Oh yeah, the girl from 'Sandra on the Side'," said Thibault. "I heard she was from here in Sparkyville."

"Yeah well Patty and I kind of befriended her before her abrupt passing," said Marcie. "She was at a soup line we were volunteering at, because she and her family had since ran into financial difficulties due to a greedy manager. And a few days ago at Joe's all of us engineered a car wash to help raise money for her and her family so that they could have money to start on. Even Charles's father offered her father a job at his barber shop."

"I guess ol' freckles is taking her passing harder than most, eh?" said Rattler. "Well I was distraught over Python's passing, and I can tell you from that, it takes a while to get over. In fact, I still mourn her now, but it has gotten easier with time to move on. So I just keep going. I know it was what Python wanted me, Cobra, and Mamba to do."

"Mamba?" asked Hans.

"She means Lucille, Hans," said Marcie. "It was her nickname in the Serpent Sisters."

"Anyway, she'll be okay with time," Rattler continued. "She's going to hurt for a while, but it will get easier for her soon. I can promise you that. If she's anything like Mamba described her, I know she's a tough cookie."

"Thanks for the insight, Rattler," said Marcie. "You too, Thibault."

"No problem, Marce," said Thibault. "And give Patty our love."

"I will. See you around." And the two couple went on their separate ways. Marcie thought about what Rattler told her. Peppermint Patty may have been the toughest girl she knew, but she was the most vulnerable and emotional, as well. It didn't take much to hurt her emotionally. Before Franco came into her life, she beat herself up daily over why Charlie Brown wouldn't give her any "attention" and fall in love with her. So it was no surprise that she took Penelope's passing the hardest of all the kids. But Marcie knew that with time she'd be all right. And that was what Peppermint Patty needed. Time.

About a couple of days later, Peppermint Patty emerged from her funk and came outside for the first time in days. She was dressed in a black variant of her usual clothes, complete with black sandals. She was going to Penelope's memorial service, as her parents had her cremated already. It was just as well. She wouldn't be able to stand seeing her in the casket. Marcie, Hans, and Franco met up with her. Just then, Snoopy pulled up in his limo. Charlie Brown, Frieda, Linus, and Eudora were already inside. They all got in and headed for the memorial service together. Peppermint Patty was still hurting, but with her friends and Franco at her side, she would be all right in time.

THE END