A boy named Eric

The title is a riff on the classic cartoon, A Boy Named Charlie Brown. Charlie Brown is an all-time beloved comic strip character, a decent but anxious boy who is considered by his peers to be an affable loser. He unexpectedly volunteers for the class spelling bee and surprises everyone by winning, then surprises them again by winning the school spelling bee. Charlie Brown is satisfied with his achievement and basking in his peers' praise, but then discovers to his growing dismay that he has qualified for the national spelling bee and its heightened expectations. The further Charlie Brown advances in the spelling bee, the more his hopes for himself grow, but so do his fears of letting everyone down and making a fool of himself on the biggest stage. Will Charlie Brown rise in the moment or will he crumble under the pressure? [Spoiler: He makes it to the final two, then chokes on "beagle".]



"It's Sydney or the bush for Charlie Brown." I know how he feels.

Eric