Chapter Text
--KLAUS POV--
The small suitcase has no weight to it. I didn't even get a chance to unpack it after our stay at Uncle Monty's house. I try to think. What's even in there? Some clothes, books maybe? It doesn't matter.
"Klaus you ready to go?"
Violet's words wake me from my trance. I realize that everyone but Violet and I had gotten in the van while I was zoned out. My face goes red.
"Hmm oh yeah." I hear Violet laugh lightly and I swear I see the Quagmire boys do the same. Isadora's playing a game with Sunny, blessedly unaware of how much I'm embarrassing myself. I smile. Isadora's sooo.....
"Klausssssssssss."
"Oh my gosh Vi I'm coming!" I'm met with more laughter and I briskly jog over to Violet, who's waiting just outside the open van door with a hand outstretched for my suitcase. I hand it to her. As I'm getting in, she grabs my shoulder and whispers something.
"You know you could move a lot quicker if you weren't always staring at your girlfriend." My mouth drops open incredulously.
"She is not-"
Violet slams the door in my face with another smug snicker. I roll my eyes fondly. Sisters. I head towards my empty seat in the back and find both Quigley and Duncan staring at me with stony expressions.
"Who is not what Klaus?" Quigley asks coldly.
"Oh- um... don't worry about it. Inside joke."
"Righhhhttt." Duncan says, clearly not believing a word I say. I turn towards the window praying the boys would drop the subject. Duncan and Quigley are lovely people, but they could be downright terrifying when they wanted to be. The door clicks and Violet comes in with Bea, sliding the door shut behind her. Jacqueline leans back from the drivers seat?
"Are we all here?"
"Yes!" Violet answers.
"Perfect! Violet, please take a seat then we can get going." Both Quagmire boys move over as if saying "Here! Come sit here! PLEASE." If Violet notices she doesn't say anything, instead electing to sit in the empty sit next to Isadora and Sunny. The boys are noticeably upset. I give them a look and they get themselves in order. The whole thing gives me a bit of deja vu.
The car starts moving and I pull out a book, Jane Eyre. I've already read it twice but something about the story always resonates with me. An orphaned girl who finds her way. Finds love. It kind of reminds me of Isadora. Only Isadora is probably much cooler than Jane. Isadora’s intelligent and kind and Jane doesn’t quite compare when it comes to those qualities. Jane is always described as plain, while Isadora... Isadora's beauty is comparable to the moon and stars. To the first note of a song or to the first line of a Shakespeare sonnet. She-
Klaus. Get yourself together. You're starting to sound like the poet. I go back to my book, suddenly a little embarrassed by the fact I'm reading a romance novel, when-
"Pstt. Psttt. PSSST." I look over. Duncan. I raise an eyebrow. Him and Quigley quickly confer. I hear whispers of "Should we really ask?" "Won't he be mad?" before the conversation is too muffled for me to hear. The whole thing is kind of amusing.
"Yes...?" That rouses the boys, and they both sit up like a teacher has called them to attention. They give each other one last nervous look before Quigley turns to me, speaking very quietly.
"Ok. We have to ask you something."
"And you can't be mad!" Duncan quickly adds on. I'm suspicious and have a lingering feeling that I know exactly what they're going to ask. Still, they're my friends, so I oblige.
"Go ahead." I respond. Another uneasy look is passed between them.
"Did um.." Duncan starts but he's clearly too nervous. Quigley finally spits it out.
"Did Violet ever mention either of us? You know while we were separated?" I bite my lip, trying not to smile. I'll have fun with this.
"Sure she did. All the time. When we weren't running from treachery we would talk all the time about how much we missed our dear friends the Quagmires. That is what you meant right?" I can't help the smug smile that blooms on my face. Duncan looks at me with a sour expression.
"Klaus." I laugh at his response , holding my hands up in surrender.
"Okay okay...Honestly? I'm not sure. I don't really keep track of that kind of that stuff. It would be a little weird if I knew every detail of Violet's love life. But, if it makes you feel better we did talk about you guys a lot as a group. We all really missed you." Duncan smiles at that, but Quigley is clearly not pleased.
"To think we were going to tell you what Isadora said about you on the SSHAMH...."
"Shetalkedaboutme??" I say the words so quickly they slur together, and my face is lit up like a child’s on Christmas morning. I fake cough trying to correct myself. "I mean err- oh that's cool. Isadora's really cool. cool." I just said the word 'cool' 3 times in the same phrase. Oh Klaus how far you have fallen. This time, its the Quagmire boy's turn to smugly smile.
Duncan shrugs, feigning nonchalantness. "Oh I don't know. Maybe. But it'd be a little weird if we knew all the details of our sister’s love life, right?" I want to slap him. My face clearly shows that because the boy’s grins only widen.
"I'm going back to my book."
"You do that. And please tell us if you suddenly recover your memories, maybe we'll do the same!" Quigley adds on for good measure. Yet again, I fondly roll my eyes and rebury my nose in Jane Eyre. I don't know how long has passed but eventually Jacqueline pulls into a small lot with a few other cars dispersed throughout. I look out the window and see an airport with a giant 'VFD Eye' Window. It kind of reminds me of Doctor Orwell's office. I shake off the thought of that miserable mill and hop out of the van with the rest of my friends, grabbing my suitcase. Jacqueline goes down the line handing each of us a passport, boarding pass, and $100. She gives Sunny and Beas to Violet.
"Children, once you get inside I want you to check in immediately and find your gate. Even though this airport is privately owned by VFD you can never be too careful." She gives us all one last proud smile. "I know you all will do amazing things at the academy. I can't wait to hear about them. Although it is not safe at the moment, please know you will always be welcome in my home. Best of luck Quagmires and Baudelaires." I can't but feel a tug at my heart as I watch Jacqueline walk back towards the car. She may have never been our official, or even legal guardian, but she was an adult who had tried to help us. Who had shown us kindness. She had done more than most.
"Goodbye Jacqueline. Thank you." The others let out a chorus of similar sentiments, except for Bea, who lets out a small coo. I smile fondly, ruffling the babies hair. We all walk in.
It is the most empty airport any of us have every seen. There are few people lingering in corners but they all seem secretive and closed off. We go to the check in agent.
"I presume you are the Quagmires and Baudelaires?" We all nod. The agent smiles.
"Jacquelyn Scieszka called ahead to make arrangements. You can head in." As we walk, I can't help but feel like we're being watched. I mean, we probably are. We're a group of 5 teens, a toddler, and a baby. It's kind of an odd thing to see in a secret societies secret airport. We eventually find our gate and realize that we have about an hour to kill before out flight.
"I think I saw some shops on the way over here. Does anyone want to go with me?" Isadora inquires.
"Yeah sure. Sounds fun." I respond. She smiles at me and I feel like my stomach is about to do a flip. Calm down Klaus. Violet watches the exchange before carefully turning to Sunny and Bea. "No thanks Iz. I think I'll just stay here."
"Yeah me too!"
"Me too!"
I quirk an eyebrow at Duncan and Quigley’s speedy responses. I turn towards violet and see her face is flushed red.
"So just us?" Isadora asks.
"Yeah, I think so."
"Awesome! Let's go!"
Quigley, ever the jokester, shouts at us, "Have fun out there you two! And no funny business!"
Isadora, casting a sympathetic look to Violet says, "Good luck being alone with those two Vi."
"Pray for me." The girls exchange a laugh while the boys do their best to look offended. I laugh as well, trying not to feel nervous about being alone with Isadora. I mean, we have been before but I still can’t help how fast my heart is beating. Isadora and I walk down the halls, brushing against one another every so often. I look around and see a bakery, a restaurant, and a plethora of other seemingly random stores. I note that there quite a lot for a private airport.
"I think I saw a book store further down?" Isadora supplies.
"Perfect, let's go." The bookstore is small and has a rustic sign out front reading "The Story House."
"I'm gonna go check out the poetry section. Meet back in 10?" I look down at her. She looks very excited. I suppose neither of us has really been able to shop for books since our parents passed. I smile back.
"Awesome. See you then." Isadora disappears around the corner and I begin to browse the shelves. I'm a little tired of fiction so I saunter over to the history section. After a moment or two, I pick out two books, one on the American revolution, and one on the entire history of the Romanov dynasty. I'm thrilled. I go to look for Isadora and find her sitting on the floor in the poetry section next to a pile of at least 10 books. She's reading the back of another and softly murmuring to herself. I clear my throat to get her attention. She looks up and grins when she sees me. She places the book she was looking at on top of her pile and tries to pick up the whole thing. She is almost immediately off balance and I rush over to catch the books (and possibly her).
"Woah there. Be careful," I laugh, helping stabilize her. I glance at the books she picked out, "The Complete Works of Emily Dickinson?"
She nods enthusiastically. "Emily Dickinson is on of my favorite authors. She was basically the blue print for female poets! She was one of the first, and yet no one has even come close to topping her work or impact, in my opinion at least."
"Have you read Hope is the thing with feathers?" Her face lights up.
"Of course I have! It's one of my favorites. Klaus, you've read Emily Dickinson?" I nod.
"I read as much as I can as often as I can. That extends to poetry." I say as we walk to the register, still carrying some of her books.
"What's your favorite?"
"Poem?" She nods. I pause to think for a moment.
"Well you know I like Ogden Nash," she laughs a bit, recalling the conversation we had at Prufrock, "but if I had to pick an all time favorite it's probably Snowball by Shel Silverstein. I know he's a children's poet, but I don't know, something about his work always stuck with me." She nods again.
"I loved him when I was younger. My favorite is probably Lord Byron. He's a little more niche but I think his work is profound."
"Maybe you could introduce me to him sometime? I would love to learn."
"I would like that very much. Poetry is a beautiful art form and I would be honored to introduce you to more of it." She puts on a bit of a 'fake royal' voice with the last part.
"Poetry is beautiful when it's written by beautiful people." I'm staring at her as I say it, speaking without really thinking. As soon as I register what I’ve just said, I’m mortified. When did I get good at flirting? Her face goes pink and we both look away, almost in synch. There's a long pause. It's not quite awkward, but well, actually yes. It is awkward. Very awkward. My heart is beating out of my chest. We finally reach the cashier and pay for the books. We have $200 collectively and Isadora ends up putting a few things back so that we can give the cashier a proper tip. We're slowly walking back to the gate, excitedly chatting about anything and everything (and pretending we don't notice when our hands brush together every 10 seconds), when we hear the intercom go off:
"Final boarding call for flight 461 to Peru!" We exchange a look. We took too long.
"Run!" We run as fast we can to the gate. The agent is moving to close the door.
"Wait!!" I'm waving our boarding passes in the air. "Wait please!" The woman stops and looks both of us up and down.
"You just made it. Barely. Try to be more punctual next time." I have to stop myself from scowling. Why is she being so rude? "Passes please." We hand over our boarding passes and she scans them before ushering us through. We search the cramped plane for our friends and find them somewhere around the middle. We give them a quick nod before realizing that the only two seats left are right next to each other. I gulp back my anxiety and let Isadora sit in the window seat. I sit right next to her.
"That gate agent was so rude! Also who only does a final warning for boarding? Aren't there supposed to be warnings about boarding before the last one? What's the point of a "last warning" if there's not even a first one? Honestly!" Isadora whispers to me, somewhat annoyed. I relax. It's just Isadora. Your friend. No need to be worried.
"I know. She was out of line. Maybe just having a bad day?"
"Your parents died in a fire and you're still perfectly lovely. A bad day is no excuse. I think she was just being cruel for the fun of it." She picks up the Emily Dickinson book and begins reading. I'm left shocked. I'm not sure what to be more shocked by, her bluntness about my parents or the fact Isadora Quagmire just paid me a compliment. I decide to focus on the compliment and let my brain go to that woozy place it always does when she says nice things about me. To distract myself, I start reading the Russian history book.
The flight is 7 hours long. About 3/4 of the way through, when I am coincidentally 3/4 of the way done with my book, I feel something heavy rest on my shoulder. I glance over to Isadora and- where's Isadora? Oh. She's fallen asleep on my shoulder. I bite my lip trying not to smile. I glance to my other side and see Duncan staring at me. Quigley is passed out against the window. Duncan motions for me to look at him and mouths "try anything and die." I slowly turn my head back towards my book. Don't think about it Klaus. Just Read. It's just Isadora. She's just a friend. I try to read. Catherine the Great bla bla bla bla. I feel my eyelids begin to droop. Oh no. Don't fall asleep. Not now. Please? My body doesn't listen, and moments later I'm asleep as well with my head resting on top of Isadora's.
"Klaus! Iz! Get up! We're here!" I blink my eyes drearily. What's happening? Right, the school!
"Klaus! C'mon!" Violet is shaking me now.
" 'm up I'm up!" I sit up straight and see that Isadora is still on my shoulder. Oh! Oh. She starts to wake up too, and when she realizes her positioning practically jumps off of me. I can't help but be a little hurt. She sends me an apologetic glance before grabbing her books and standing up to follow Violet and the others off the plane. I do the same. Once all 7 of us have collected our bags from baggage claim we start to discuss our next move.
"How do we get to the school from here?" Isadora asks, pointedly not looking at me (for the sake of my own mental health I decide she's probably just embarrassed she fell asleep. Yup that's it. Makes perfect sense.)
"Does anyone have a map?" Quigley poses. Before we can worry too much more we hear someone shout the name "Jacqueline Sciezska?" We follow the shouting to find a taxi driver with a large sign.
"Are you Jacqueline's party? The Baudelaires and Quagmires? I'm here to take you to the academy." We nod and follow the taxi driver. He brings us to an abnormally large taxi. We all pile in and the driver cycles through the radio until an artist named 'Olivia Rodrigo' starts playing. I kind of tune it out, but Isadora seems to really be enjoying the music. I smile at the sight.
"Dude." Quigley. I look at him innocently.
"What?" He gives me a look. I try to not to roll my eyes.
"Y'know I could say the same thing about how you were looking at Violet." Quigley takes in a breath as if about to speak before seemingly giving up. He pats me on the back good-naturedly.
"Fair enough." I smile and finally roll my eyes. Quigley and Duncan are so protective of Isadora. Of course I'm protective of Violet, Sunny, and Bea, but I like to think not to that extent. Also, I really wouldn't be upset if one of the Quagmire boys started dating Violet. They're good people. They're my friends. As long as Violet and whoever she chooses are happy then I'm happy.
"We're here." The taxi driver announces. We all look through the windows at the academy. It's a massive building that looks more like a castle than a school. It reminds me of some of the buildings mentioned in the book I was reading on the plane. I smile as the driver pulls into the driveway of the school. This'll be fun.