Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“I don’t like this,” Violet said, kicking a piece of ice on the sidewalk.

Klaus wiped the snow off of his glasses as he walked. “Going to school or leaving Sunny and Beatrice?”

“Leaving Sunny and Bea, of course.” They had reached the piece of ice and Violet kicked it again. “Sunny’s only three. She shouldn’t have to take care of herself and Beatrice for eight hours.”

“Sunny can take care of herself and she knows how to take care of Beatrice. They’ll be fine. Besides,” Klaus said, avoiding a rather slippery spot on the sidewalk, “She’s had to do worse.”

“I know. It’s just,” Violet met her younger brother’s eyes. “It’s not fair.”

“None of this is fair,” The pair reached a crosswalk and waited. “It’s not fair that our parents died, it’s not fair that Beatrice will never know Kit or Dewey, and it’s not fair that we have to go to school.”

Violet contemplated her brother’s words for a moment. “You’re angry that we have to go to school?”

Klaus hesitated. “I didn’t say that.” The light turned green and Klaus walked briskly across the crosswalk. Violet trailed behind him, a grin plastered on her face.

“I forgot how much you hated school.”

“I don’t hate school,” Klaus mumbled through his scarf, which he had pulled up to hide his face. Violet pulled it back down. “I actually enjoy school, to an extent. I just think there are better ways to learn a much better assortment of knowledge.”

“Well, you can think that, but you still have to go.”

“Do we?” Klaus countered. “The semester’s almost over. We could just wait another couple of weeks and start school at the beginning of the new semester.”

Violet rolled her eyes. “We could do that, but we won’t. We’ve already enrolled. We’re going to school.”

“I know.” They continued walking. “I don’t want to, though.”

Violet smiled. “C’mon. We’re almost there."

The school was large, taking up a good portion of the city block. The building itself was a dark shade of forest green, the paint peeling in many places. Klaus could count seven rows of windows and Violet tried her best to read the terribly rusted and illegible plaque above the small, front entrance.

“Evergreen Secondary School,” Klaus read.

“Show-off.” Violet looked up at the building. “It looks larger than I remember.”

“How are we supposed to find our classes in such an enormous building?” Klaus wondered aloud.

“I can help with that,” a voice said from behind the two. They turned to see a thin boy about Klaus’ age. “You must be the Baudelaires.”

“Yes, I’m Violet and this is my brother, Klaus.” She held her hand out. “How do you do?”

The boy shook it. “Good, Violet Baudelaire. My name is Neil Washington. I’ll be showing you around today. Do you have your schedules?”

Klaus pulled his schedule out of his pocket. “Yes, um-”

“Perfect. Shall we?” Neil walked past Klaus and Violet and into the school's small, single entrance. Klaus gave Violet a worried look. Violet shrugged and followed Neil into the building.

A flight of stairs greeted the children as they entered the building, one flight going up and one going down. Neil waved the Baudelaires down the stairs, revealing a narrow hallway identical to the one above it, the only differences being the poor lighting and the lockers propped against the walls.

Klaus’s eyes were immediately drawn to the end of the hallway, where a large, wooden door stood. The hallway was not long, but he could tell that there were designs carved into the wood, making the door appear ornate. The hallway was rather long, but he feared that if he were to move farther down, towards the door, he would find the door carved with eyes. 

Neil’s voice took Klaus out of his thoughts. “This is the locker hallway. The rooms have lockers in them too. The lockers are assigned alphabetically. What are your locker numbers?” he asked, turning to Violet and Klaus.

Klaus opened his folded schedule. “Um, 271.”

“272,” Violet read from hers.

“You guys are in luck. Your lockers are right here, in room 003.” He pointed to the third door on the left. “Mine’s right across the hall.”

“Excuse me,” Klaus asked, “But what’s at the end of the hall?” He pointed to the carved door.

Neil glanced at the door before replying, “Oh, that? It’s the elevator. You don’t need to worry about that. You won’t use it.”

“Why wouldn’t we use the elevator?” questioned Violet, “This building is seven stories.”

“Because students aren’t allowed to use the elevator unless given permission and a special pass from a teacher.”

“Why have an elevator if no one can use it?” asked Klaus.

“Money, probably. This building was an apartment building before it was converted into a school. The elevator probably cost more money to take out than to keep it, so they left it. Also, the teachers use it all the time.” Neil looked at his watch. “Why don’t you get your books and I’ll take you to your first classes? I’ll meet you out here when you're done.” Violet nodded in response, and both Klaus and she went into room 103.

Klaus’s legs carried him to his locker, fueled by a desire to get away from that door as fast as possible. He felt sick. He wanted to go back and be with Sunny and Beatrice. He wanted to leave this building and never return. He toyed with his combination lock and took a deep breath to try and compose himself before his sister caught onto his distress. He was a bit too late. Violet had already watched her brother fail to open his combination lock once, and upon his second failure, she spoke. “Klaus? Is everything okay?”

Klaus immediately gave up any pretenses. “No, everything is not okay,” he said, failing yet again to open his locker, “There’s another mysterious elevator just like at-”

“667 Dark Avenue,” Violet finished. She gently pulled Klaus’s hands away from the lock. “Here, let me. But this isn’t 667 Dark Avenue,” she said, opening his locker, “This is just a school.”

Klaus didn’t bother looking at the contents of his locker, instead electing to focus on his sister, who had now moved onto her own combination lock. “Prufrock Preparatory School was just a school too, and remember what happened there?” 

Violet sighed as she opened her locker. She started grabbing her textbooks. “This is different. Count Olaf-”

“Is dead. I know.” He looked away.

Violet stopped at this. She set the book she had just grabbed down. She grabbed his hand. “Hey,” He turned to face her. “I know you’re worried. I am too. But everything will be okay. I promise.”

Klaus gave a weak smile. “You shouldn’t make promises you can’t keep.”

Violet smiled in return. “I know. That’s why I intend to keep it.”

Chapter Text

Three days prior to the Baudelaires’ first day at Evergreen Secondary School, they found themselves walking that same path to the school. The two walks were very similar, with only some small differences. The sidewalk was not slick with ice, as it would snow the next day. Klaus was not bundled in a large scarf that he would find later that night in the small closet of his and Violet’s shared room and Violet clutched in her hand a small slip of paper with two pieces of information: the phone number to the Baudelaires’ new residence, written in her own handwriting, and the address to Evergreen Secondary School, written by a man who neither Baudelaire could stop thinking about.

Although this walk to Evergreen Secondary School was silent, both Baudelaires’ minds were fixated on the same topic: the man who had given them a place to live, the man who had directed them to Evergreen in the first place, a man by the name of Lemony Snicket.

Both children were thinking of the conversation before their walk to the school, before the man, Snicket, left the four children in the apartment with the key.

“This apartment is the only truly safe place I’ve been able to find.” The man’s deep voice seemed to fill the room. “You shouldn’t be bothered here.”

“Are you certain it’s safe?” Klaus asked shakily. Sunny’s grip tightened in his hand.

The man glanced over the apartment. “Yes.” He nodded his head towards the table, where a note sat, pinned down by the key to the apartment. “That’s the school’s address. You should be able to enroll without issue.” He turned to leave.

“Wait!” Violet said. The man stopped and faced the children. “Once you leave,” Violet couldn’t help but notice how small her voice sounded in comparison to the man’s booming one, “V.F.D. won’t involve us?” Even Beatrice, little baby Beatrice, looked to the man for his answer, as though she understood the significance of it.

The man seemed to hesitate for a moment and after what seemed like forever, he answered. “I promise.” He turned the doorknob and shut the door behind him.

Lemony Snicket was gone.

Violet clutched the paper tighter as she thought of the man and his relationship with her family. Her parents had known him. Violet herself had almost been named after him. The man’s siblings had helped them in the past. He was a part of the organization that had been following them ever since their parents’ deaths. He was Beatrice’s uncle. Violet wasn’t sure if she trusted him, but she hoped that he had been right when he said that the apartment was safe.

Klaus, on the other hand, thought of the man’s promise to his sister. He wasn’t sure if he quite believed that V.F.D. would leave him and his sisters alone. A part of him also didn’t want to be left in the dark when it came to V.F.D. Although the more rational part of his brain understood that it was safer for both him and his sisters, a part of him wanted to know anything and everything about the organization that had shaped their lives for the past two years.

Klaus was thrust out of his thoughts by Violet tapping his shoulder. “We’re here.”

The office of Evergreen Secondary School was on the first floor. Like every other floor in the building, there were originally twenty rooms, ten on either side of the hallway. Although this structure was maintained, the walls separating the rooms on the left side of the hallway had been taken down, leaving one, long room.

Standing in this odd room, Klaus thought it reminded him of optical illusions that he had read about. Violet thought of funhouse mirrors and wondered if one could use them to make a room appear longer. 

“Can I help you?” The receptionist’s voice brought the children out of their thoughts.

“Yes. I’m Violet and this is my brother, Klaus. We’re looking to enroll.”

The receptionist pulled two forms from a file and handed each of the children a pen. “Sit there,” she said gesturing to a few chairs sat against the wall, “And fill out these forms. Once you’ve finished, a counselor will help you with course selection.”

“Thank you,” Violet said. She handed one of the two forms to Klaus and they went to sit.

Although Violet had never enrolled in a school herself, she had assumed that it would require plenty of paperwork and long, repetitive forms. However, the form the receptionist had handed her was only one page long. She glanced at the form in her brother’s hand, which was also a page long. Klaus looked back at her, also seemingly confused at the simple enrollment form. She shrugged in response. Perhaps this is what Lemony Snicket meant when he said it would be easy to enroll.

Violet filled in her name and date of birth easily, but hesitated at the contact number. She fished the slip of paper out of her pocket and copied down the number. She then passed the paper to Klaus, who had, at that point, also reached that part of the form. The home address was a bit more difficult. The Baudelaires had only just begun residing in the apartment, so Violet didn’t yet have its address committed to memory. Klaus must’ve noticed her dilemma, as he quietly whispered, “1017 Autumn Avenue, apartment number four.”

“Thank you,” she whispered back, scribbling the address into its blank. Her eyes drifted down to the next question and she stopped.

From the corner of her eye, she saw her brother stiffen as he read the next question. “Violet?” he asked, a slight tremor in his voice. “Vi?”

5. Does the student have a legal parent or guardian? Next to the question were two boxes: one labeled “yes”, one labeled “no.”

“Violet?” Klaus asked again, “What do we do?”

Lemony Snicket’s voice echoed in her mind. You should be able to enroll.

Wordlessly, Violet crossed the “no” box.

“Hello, I’m Ms. Pulur. I’m a counselor here at Evergreen and I’ll be helping you children select your courses.”

Violet and Klaus were sat across from the woman in her small office, a desk separating her from them. A stack of papers sat on the desk next to the woman, the forms that the two had just filled out in her hand. She skimmed over the forms, glancing back up at the children periodically. Violet felt Klaus fidget next to her. She shared his discomfort. The counselor’s gaze seemed threatening to the children.

After a few moments of sizing the Baudelaires up, Ms. Pulur spoke. “So, Violet,” she said, giving a pointed look to the young girl, “You are sixteen and Klaus, you are fourteen.” Both children nodded. “And it says here that you both missed over a year of school?”

Violet saw Klaus play with his glasses, a nervous tic of his. She hesitated before answering, “Yes.”

Ms. Pulur focused on the forms as if they were the answer to a very difficult question. “Okay, here’s what we’re going to do,” she said, placing the forms down on the desk. “I’m going to put you two in your correct grades. There are only two weeks left of the semester, so we should be able to get a feel for what level you two need to be in. So, Klaus, you will be in year one, and Violet, you will be in year three.”

The counselor walked the two children through the course selection process. She helped them select a Language Arts class, Math class, History class, and Science class. They were told that they needed to take a language class, so the two decided to take Sign Language. They were even able to convince Ms. Pulur to let them take advanced classes.

“The only thing left,” Ms. Pulur said, double-checking the schedules, “Is to select your electives. Now, you both have two periods to fill, so I suggest you look over this course catalog.” She tapped the catalog next to her. “I’ll give you some time.” She then got up and left, closing the door behind her.

The catalog was only two pages long, but what it lacked in pages, it made up for in words. The font was so amazingly small that both Klaus and Violet had to squint to read the course names. The catalog seemed to have every course under the sun, from Agriculture to Hebrew, from Marine Biology to World Music.

Klaus found himself quite excited skimming through the catalog. He could count sixteen courses of interest, which were only the classes that caught his eye. He was certain that he would be happy taking any of these classes.

Violet, on the other hand, had a bit of a dilemma. Like Klaus, she had found a number of classes that she would be interested in, most notably a Robotics class. However, there were two courses that she had found: Personal Finance and Family Studies. Despite her interest in Robotics, she thought that she should take these classes. At the moment, she was in charge of three children and their safety, and she felt way in over her head. She was only sixteen and she had her fourteen-year-old brother, three-year-old sister, and baby Beatrice to take care of. If Lemony Snicket hadn’t found them, they wouldn’t even have a place to live. As is, she already knew that she would have to find a job just to support her family until she came of age.

“Have you found any classes of interest yet?” Klaus asked.

“Yes.” She hesitated before continuing, “Personal Finance and Family Studies.”

“Personal Finance?” he repeated, wrinkling his nose, “Wouldn’t you rather take Robotics?”

I would much rather take Robotics, she thought but kept to herself. “No,” she lied, “I’d rather take Personal Finance. Besides, I’ve always been interested in finance.”

“You’re such a liar. You’ve never been interested in finance. One time, Mr. Poe came over for dinner and you almost fell asleep because you were so bored with hearing about the bank.” Violet smiled to herself at the memory. “What’s wrong?”

“You’re right. I don’t want to take these classes, but I should. I have to take care of you, Sunny and Bea.”

“Well, I can help!” he said quickly, looking back over the catalog, “Why don’t I take Family Studies and you take Personal Finance?”

“But what about your classes?”

“I’m only in year one. I have plenty of time to take other classes. I can just take Political Studies this year.”

She thought for a moment, then nodded. “Okay.”

They waited for a bit until, finally, Ms. Pulur came back into the office. “Sorry about that. Now, do we have our classes?”

Violet took a glance at her brother before responding. “Yeah, I think we do.”

Chapter Text

Ten minutes before class, the two eldest Baudelaires sat side by side on the stairs leading to the fourth floor. At first, Violet had been worried that people would be annoyed by this, but so far, people had just ignored them. The two had mostly sat in silence since they had reached the fourth floor. Violet was staring at a poster advertising the end of term dance when next to her, Klaus spoke. "Are you nervous?"

"Of course," she replied, "Are you?"

"Yeah." Of course, we're nervous. For almost two years, Violet, Klaus, and Sunny had relied on each other, with very little time apart. Beatrice's birth had added a fourth to that dynamic, but overall it had remained largely unchanged. Until now, that is. The last time the children had even been to a school had been Prufrock Prep, an experience which, despite being miserable, was at least partially eased by the friendship of the Quagmire triplets.

Violet played with her fingernails. "Well, we should be fine. At least we have third period together."

"And lunch," Klaus added. His sister paused at this. "What?"

"I just remembered," she started, "I'm not going to be able to meet you for lunch today."

Klaus furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "Why not?"

"I'm going to the office during lunch. Neil said that they had information about employment options." She shrugged. "I have to get a job, so I thought I'd take advantage of it."

"Well, then I'm going with you. I'm getting a job too."

Now, it was Violet's turn to be confused. "You are?"

"I'm fourteen," he replied, a bit impatiently, "I'm old enough."

"I know you're old enough," Violet said, frowning, "But you don't have to get a job."

Klaus looked at her. "Yes, I do. Remember what we agreed, right before we left the island?"

The island. Many things were said before they left the island, but Violet knew at once what her brother was referring to. Klaus had been adamant about it, although, at the time, Violet did not really understand why. We're not leaving anyone alone.

She nodded. With a sigh, she continued. "Okay. So, I guess we'll go to the office during lunch."

"Sounds good," Klaus said grinning.

Violet opened her mouth to say something when a bell rang. She jumped to her feet. "Was that the bell? Are we late?"

Klaus stood up, much less frantically than his sister. "No, I think that was the warning bell." He grabbed their bags, handing Violet's to her. "But we should probably get to class."

"Yeah," Violet said, slinging her bag over her shoulder. The two siblings stood there awkwardly. Around them, students ran up and down the stairs. "Well, good luck."

Her brother gave a nervous smile. "See you third period."

With that, the Baudelaires began their first day of school.

Despite being in the same classroom, Violet and Klaus did not get to "see" each other during the third period. In fact, if Klaus wanted to see his sister, he would have to turn his head to the back row, an action that would no doubt incur the wrath of their teacher. Mr. Troshani must have realized that his two new students were siblings and sat the Baudelaires as far away from each other as possible. Regardless of his intent, the two were not able to communicate until the bell signaling the end of the period rang.

Violet gathered her books and met her brother in the hallway. The seating chart had placed her in the very back of the room, forcing her to wait for most of the classroom to clear out. Klaus, on the other hand, was placed in the middle and was waiting for his sister to file out. At last, she exited the classroom. 

"There you are," Violet said as Klaus started walking with her. "I figured you were already in the hallway."

Klaus spoke up once they reached the stairwell, "Where are we headed again?"

"The office," Violet said, her hand sliding down the banister as she started descending the stairs, "They're supposed to have 'employment information,' whatever that means."

"Right," Klaus said, following his sister.

Despite starting on the sixth floor, the two were quick to get to the office. The area seemed just as odd as it did the day they enrolled, but Violet spent no time gawking and instead marched straight to the receptionist's desk. "Excuse me, ma'am," The woman looked up from the book she was reading, "We were told that there was information about student employment. Where might we learn about this?"

The receptionist leaned on her desk a bit to point to the far end of the room. "You see that bulletin board over there?" Violet turned her head in the direction the receptionist was pointing and squinted at something on the wall. From this distance, it didn't quite look like a bulletin board. "That board lists jobs in the area available for students. You should be able to find a few of interest."

"Thank you," Violet said, and she and her brother walked off to the other end of the room. The odd shape on the wall was a bulletin board and as they got closer, she could start to make out the different pamphlets and newspaper clippings, undoubtedly advertising various job posts. The two stopped in front of the board and stared at the papers littering the board's surface. Klaus sighed and plucked a listing from the board. Violet soon followed.

Most of the listings were for cashiers or waiters. There were a few receptionist positions and even an open barista at a coffee shop. Although none of these options necessarily thrilled her, Violet was sure that the two of them could find something to do together. She was brought out of her thoughts by Klaus tapping her shoulder. "Hey, Vi." He showed her the listing in his hand.

Library Assistants Needed

Green Tree Community Library

No Experience Required

For More Information Visit

1223 Sycamore Street

"Sycamore?" Violet looked at her brother. "Isn't this Sycamore Street?"

Klaus squinted in concentration. "Yeah. 1225 Sycamore. It should be close."

The two looked at each other. "Well," Violet said finally, "I guess we know where we're going after school."

Both Klaus and Violet had the earliest lunch period, leaving the second half of their day much longer than the first. Despite this, as soon as the final bell of the day rang, both Baudelaires dashed out of their respective classrooms. Klaus's classroom was three floors lower than Violet's, so he was the first to reach their lockers. Violet quickly reached the room as well. The two did not speak, but they both felt the other's excitement.

As they walked down the stairs out onto the sidewalk, Klaus read over the listing they took from the bulletin board. "So, the library's somewhere on this street, but I don't know which direction."

"Hey, Klaus?"

"Yeah?" He looked up from the paper at his sister.

She pointed across the street. "Is that it?"

Klaus followed his sister's gesture to the building across the street. The bricks on the structure were faded, but a sign over the door was visible from where the Baudelaires stood.

Green Tree Community Library

They looked at each other. "Yeah, I guess," Klaus said, shrugging. Violet walked to the edge of the sidewalk, peering at either side of the road. She then grabbed Klaus's hand, dragging him quickly across the street. Klaus sputtered, "Wha- Violet!"

Even though he couldn't see her face, he was certain she rolled her eyes. "We're fine, Klaus. Nothing's coming."

The two reached the other side of the road and Klaus pulled his hand from his sister's grasp. "I know we're fine. You just scared me."

"C'mon," Violet said, walking up the stairs to the building. Klaus sighed and followed his sister inside.

It had been over a year since the Baudelaire children had visited a library. Their home on the island held plenty of books to entertain the children, but it was fairly different from the area that the children now stood in. Shelves of books were spread throughout the initial room. In the distance, the two could see even more rooms of books near the back of the library.

Klaus wanted more than anything to just pull as many books as he could carry from the shelves, but Violet nudged him with her elbow. We're not here for that. Klaus nodded and walked with his sister to the checkout desk.

A woman sat at the desk, stamping away at books. She was so engrossed in her work, that she didn't notice the Baudelaires at first. The pin on her shirt read "Mrs. Ardman."

"Excuse me?" Violet asked, a slight tremor in her voice. The woman, Mrs. Ardman, looked up, a twinkle in her eye. Klaus couldn't help but remember something the woman at the carnival, Olivia, had said. A certain gleam in the eye, indicating a sharp, erudite, acumen. Klaus pushed the thought away. "We read about some open assisting positions." Klaus placed the listing on the desk. "We were hoping to apply."

The librarian glanced at the listing, then at the two children standing before her. "Do you two have any experience with libraries?"

That's a bit complicated, Violet thought. She, Klaus, and Sunny were extremely comfortable in libraries, especially after the events of the past two years. Before the fire, libraries were kind of Klaus's "thing," just as inventing was Violet's, or biting was Sunny's. Sure, Violet would read and pick books out from the library, but it was never something special to her. After the fire, however, things changed. Justice Strauss's library had been a sort of safe haven during their initial stay with Count Olaf, which would not change after the three were taken out of his home. Even as every adult and institution would fail the Baudelaires, there was always a library ready to help them. The three had even been briefly employed at the Library of Records at Heimlich Hospital. And Hal, she thought with a twinge of guilt.

Klaus answered the question. "We're both very familiar with library sciences."

Mrs. Ardman walked out from behind her desk, gesturing for the Baudelaires to follow. "We have a few open positions, but there are two main tasks that we need help with: sorting books and helping with the bookmobile." She stopped in front of a cart full of books.

"The bookmobile?" Violet asked, excitement creeping into her voice.

Mrs. Ardman nodded. "Yes. We're the only library in the area, and as such, try to cater to as many people in the community as possible. My husband runs the bookmobile to some of the outer neighborhoods, while I run the library here in the city." She bent down and plucked a folder from the bottom of the cart. She pulled two papers out from the folder and handed them to the children. "Sorry about that, here are your forms. You can fill them out tonight, then turn them in and start tomorrow after school."

"Really?" Klaus asked, glancing up from the form.

Violet elbowed him. "Thank you, ma'am. We'll see you tomorrow."

"I hope so," Mrs. Ardman said with a smile.

Violet waited until the two had crossed the street and began walking home before speaking. "'Really?'" she said, imitating her brother, "Real professional, Klaus."

"Shut up," he said, pulling up his scarf, much in the way he had that morning. Violet merely laughed in response.

For once, it felt like everything was okay.

Chapter Text

During their first week at Evergreen, the Baudelaire orphans developed a bit of a routine.

Violet and Klaus would wake up at 6:45 in the morning, courtesy of an alarm clock that had been shoved in the closet of Sunny and Beatrice's room. They would get dressed, grab something for lunch, give Sunny and Beatrice a kiss goodbye, then be out the door at around 7:15. The Baudelaire residence was six blocks away from Evergreen Secondary School, meaning Violet and Klaus took about ten minutes to walk to school. Once they arrived at school, the siblings would go to their lockers, then spend the rest of their time before class sitting on the stairs to the fourth floor, much in the way they had their first day of school. The warning bell would ring at 7:44 AM, dismissing Violet and Klaus to their respective classrooms.

Although Sunny and Beatrice did not need to wake up at a specific time, their older siblings' routine did have a bearing on the two youngest Baudelaires. Sunny would usually wake up at around seven, allowing her to actually see her siblings off. Beatrice would wake up sometime before eight, and the younger two children would start their day. 

Violet and Klaus may have shared the third period, but lunch would be the only time during the school day that the two would have to talk. Of course, they would pass each other in the hallways and would acknowledge the other with a wave, but the focus would be to get to class. They would again sit on the stairs of the fourth floor for lunch. But after that, they had non-stop classes until 3:10, when the final bell of the day rang.

Sunny would let Beatrice play in the living room in the mornings while she would read picture books that Violet and Klaus had brought from the library. Their days would be very uneventful. After lunch, both Beatrice and Sunny would take a nap, however, Sunny would not sleep for long. She would only lay down for an hour or two, then would excuse herself to begin making dinner, using cookbooks, again from the library.

The two eldest Baudelaires would spend their afternoons at Green Tree Community Library every day after school. Just as Mrs. Ardman had promised, running the bookmobile would require one of the two, and Violet was happy to volunteer. The vehicle would leave at approximately 3:30, bringing Violet and Mr. Ardman to the surrounding neighborhoods and leaving Klaus and Mrs. Ardman at the library. Klaus, of course, did not mind this. In fact, he was quite happy with placing the returned books back on their shelves. Both children rather enjoyed their jobs at the library. Violet and the bookmobile would return around the same time that Klaus would finish with the books. Sometimes, on the rather slow days at the library, the Ardmans would allow the two to work on their homework before their shift ended at 6:00. After that, Violet and Klaus would head home.

Sunny would take her older siblings' schedules into account when preparing supper, making sure not to finish before the two would return. The four children would eat together and after the meal was over, would get ready for bed. At around 7:30, the four would gather in Sunny and Beatrice's shared room for storytime. Sunny would read one of her picture books aloud, then either Violet or Klaus would read a chapter of a book picked out from the library for the two younger children. Sunny and Beatrice would be in bed by eight. Violet and Klaus, on the other hand, would stay up, working on their homework until they finished. The morning would come, and it would all repeat.

That was the cycle. That was the routine.

Except, there was a part of the routine that was unexpected, and even worse, unwanted.

Nightmares.

Honestly, it had been a miracle that the three eldest Baudelaires had gone this long without nightmares. 

It wasn't as if they didn't have nightmares before. The nightmares just came more often after they left the island.

Violet and Klaus would have them more often. Due to their shared room, it was rare that the nightmares of one wouldn't affect the other. Despite this, they didn't talk about it and would merely attempt to go back to sleep.

All four of the Baudelaire children were forced to confront the problem one night when Sunny cried out in the middle of the night. Both Violet and Klaus jumped out of bed and went to the younger girls' room. Sunny was sitting up in her bed, tears beginning to form in her eyes, while Beatrice, awakened by Sunny's cry, had begun bawling as well. Violet pulled the crying Beatrice out of her crib and Klaus sat down next to Sunny in her bed.

The next thirty minutes were spent calming down both Sunny and Beatrice, as after the baby had stopped crying initially, she saw that Sunny was upset and started up again.

Needless to say, no one slept soundly in the Baudelaire household that night.

The next night, the children dreaded going to sleep, but all four children eventually caved into their exhaustion. Although none of the children slept through the night, they were all pleased to find that they each slept fairly soundly. To them, it seemed as though the worst of the dreams might have been behind them.

Two nights after Sunny's nightmare, Klaus woke up with a start. A mild confusion came over him, as the room was about as silent as it should be during the night. Must've been a bad dream. He turned on his side, closing his eyes...

He stopped. He swore he heard something, but figured it was just the sound of him shifting in his bed.

A sniffle sounded from the other side of the room.

Klaus sat up, squinting. "Violet?" His hands fumbled for the switch on the lamp.

"Shit," Violet whispered.

The light came on and he pushed his glasses onto his face.

Violet was sitting up in her bed, her face buried in her knees. She looked over at her brother, wiping her face with her sleeve as she did so. She sniffled again. "Sorry. I didn't mean to wake you."

"It's okay," Klaus lied, "I was already awake."

The two Baudelaires sat in silence for a few moments, one trying desperately to stop crying and the other trying to determine what to do.

"Do you," Klaus stopped before continuing, "Want me to come over there?"

Violet paused, then slowly nodded. Klaus shoved his blankets off of him and walked over to his sister's bed. She scooted over, leaving room for him to sit next to her. As soon as he sat down, she rested her head on his shoulder and pulled him into a hug. He wrapped his arms around her too and they sat there together.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No."

"Okay."

Violet stayed quiet for a while. "Hey, Klaus?"

"Yeah?"

She sat up and leaned against the wall. "Y'know, I realized something the other day." She looked at her brother. "About Sunny. She's going to forget."

Klaus furrowed his eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, Sunny was a baby when the fire happened. She was a baby when we were with Count Olaf and everything after that. She's going to grow up and forget everything. Mom and Dad, Count Olaf, everything. She's going to get to forget. But you and me, we're never going to forget. We're going to grow up, but we'll always remember, and that," she trembled, "That scares me."

Klaus didn't quite know what to say to that, so he just hugged his sister tighter. After a moment of hesitation, he felt her squeeze back. 

As the night wore on, both children fell asleep, still tight in their embrace.

Both Violet and Klaus felt groggy on their walk to school the next morning. They had felt groggy when they woke up, they felt groggy then, and, Klaus realized, they would probably be groggy for the rest of the day.

Neither one of them had really spoken that morning, which was what tended to happen when they were tired.

Klaus was trying to remember whether or not he finished his homework the night before when Violet spoke up. "Hey, Klaus?" she asked quietly.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks," she paused, "For last night, I mean."

He shrugged. "It's no problem." They stopped at a traffic light. "Besides, you're my sister. You'd do the same for me."

The light changed and the two walked forward. Violet linked her arm with her brother's. "Yeah, but still. Thanks."

Together, they made their way to school.

Chapter Text

It didn't seem like a bad idea when it started. In fact, bringing the spyglass to school sounded like a great idea, at least in Klaus's mind.

It had started about halfway through their first week at Evergreen. The nightmares had begun for the Baudelaires, and Klaus was no exception. Sure, he felt safe at the apartment and when he was with Violet at school, but that still left quite a lot of the day. So, he brought the spyglass with him. He didn't do anything with it, he just kept it in his pocket. It was kind of comforting to have it with him. He didn't tell anyone and it didn't bother anyone. It wasn't a problem.

Until it was.

It was the Wednesday of the last week of the semester. All in all, it had been a pretty unremarkable day. The most interesting thing to have happened was that Violet had choked while laughing during lunch. As he sat in Mr. Moreno's class with only two periods left in the day, Klaus was rather bored. At this point, the Advanced Language Arts 1 class was reading The Great Gatsby. Klaus didn't mind this, even though he had previously read the book. However, listening to his teacher explain the novel did become rather tiresome.

The subject of that particular class time was of the symbolism present in the book. Klaus wasn't really listening to Mr. Moreno's lecture, as he was well aware of the symbolism in The Great Gatsby.

"Can anyone," Mr. Moreno said, scanning the classroom, "Tell me what the sign with the eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg represents?"

It represents the eyes of God staring down and judging society as a moral wasteland. Klaus stiffened at the thought of his own words, spoken over a year ago at Lucky Smells Lumbermill. All at once, the events of the lumbermill came back to him, lodging deep inside his brain. Aren't you a lucky boy? Without thinking, he reached into his pocket, gripping the spyglass in his hand. The action seemed to calm him down a bit.

"Klaus Baudelaire, what does the sign represent?"

Klaus began to sputter out an answer. "Um, it represents-" He hastily pulled his hand out of his pocket, dropping the spyglass on the ground. It landed with a loud clang.

Mr. Moreno strode towards Klaus's desk and picked the spyglass up from the floor. He glanced at it, then at Klaus. "Next time, pay more attention to the discussion than to what's in your pocket." Snickers sounded throughout the classroom. Klaus felt his face burn red with embarrassment. "Does anyone else know the answer to my question?" The teacher said, opening the center drawer of his desk and placing the spyglass in it.

Klaus spent the rest of the period trying to calm the string of worries that had formed and mentally berating himself for his carelessness. Once the bell rang, he picked up his things and slowly walked up to Mr. Moreno's desk, where the teacher had begun grading homework.

"Sir?" The teacher grunted in response. "May I have what you confiscated back?"

Mr. Moreno flipped the paper he was holding over. "No, you may not."

Klaus was taken aback. "Why not?"

The teacher looked up from his papers at the child. "When I confiscate something during class, the guilty party does not get it back. That's the rule. All of my students know it. I run a distraction-free classroom." He focused back on his papers. "Now, go ahead to your next class before you're late."

"But-"

"Go!"

Klaus obeyed the teacher's order, gripping the strap of his bag tightly. 

I lost the spyglass.

He almost couldn't believe it. The events of the period didn't seem real. He stopped in his tracks as another thought struck him.

What am I going to tell Violet?

He walked to the stairwell and began descending the stairs. He turned onto the next flight, where he could see Violet, talking to someone on the next floor. As he came into view, she saw him, smiled, and gave him a wave.

Klaus didn't wave back.

"What's wrong?" Violet asked, plopping down onto her bed.

Shit. Klaus placed his school-issued copy of The Great Gatsby down on the bed beside him. "What are you talking about?"

"You've been avoiding me ever since school ended. Something's bothering you. What's wrong?"

He picked his book back up. "Nothing's wrong. I'm not avoiding you."

"Yes, you are!" she insisted, "I'm not stupid, Klaus."

"I didn't say you were stupid," he said, annoyance creeping into his voice.

Violet sighed. "Look, you don't have to tell me what's wrong, but will you at least acknowledge that something is wrong?"

He sat up, throwing his book back down. "Fine! Something's wrong!" He looked over at his sister. "Happy?"

She shrugged. "Yeah, kind of." She stood up to leave the room.

"Wait, Violet." She stopped. "I'm sorry. I guess I'm kind of," he searched for the right word, "Ashamed."

She looked back at her brother, then sat down next to him. "I meant what I said. You don't have to tell me. But," her voice was gentle, "I can't help you if you don't tell me what's wrong."

Klaus sighed. "Do you promise you won't be mad?"

She smiled. "Promise."

He stood up. "Okay. I, I've been bringing the spyglass to school." At this, Violet made a face. "And I know that sounds dumb, but it, it made me feel better. Safer." He ran a hand through his hair. "Sorry, that didn't make much sense."

Violet shook her head. "No, it did. Go on."

Klaus nodded. "Okay. Um, and I was in class and, and it fell out of my pocket." He could feel his face growing red as he recounted the events. "Mister, Mr. Moreno saw and confiscated it and he, he doesn't give confiscated items back." He sat back down next to his sister.

He could feel Violet's gaze on him. "It's okay, Klaus."

"No, it's not!" he said angrily, tears starting to form in his eyes. "I lost it! I lost the spyglass! That was the only thing we had left of the Quagmires and-" He hesitated. "And of-"

"Mom and Dad," Violet finished quietly.

After a moment, he nodded. "Yeah." The two sat in silence until Violet pulled her ribbon out of her pocket and began tying her hair back. "What are you doing?"

There was a determined gleam in Violet's eye as she spoke. "We're going to get it back."

"How?"

"I don't know." She stood up, finishing with her ribbon as she did so. "That's why I'm going to spend tonight brainstorming."

"Violet, what about your homework?"

She waved him off, clearly paying it no mind. "I finished it earlier."

"Violet-" He stood up.

"Klaus." She was now totally focused, eye to eye with her brother. "It's fine."

Let me do this.

He nodded. "Okay."

Violet turned towards the door. "I'm going to make some tea. Do you want anything?"

Klaus shook his head. "No." She began to walk out the door. "Hey, Violet?"

She turned back to look at him. "Yeah?"

"Thanks," he said.

She smiled. "Don't mention it."

At 11:02, Klaus had finished his required reading, math worksheet, and history essay. Violet had spent the time that he spent on his homework brainstorming, trying to think of any way that they could retrieve the spyglass from Mr. Moreno's desk. At 10:59, she had taken her mug back to the kitchen to clean it. She was still there when Klaus completed his homework at 11:02.

At 11:03, Klaus had put his schoolwork away and was getting settled into his bed, considering whether or not he should turn the light off.

At 11:03, Violet burst into their shared bedroom, eyes alight with excitement, her hair still tied in her ribbon.

"I know how to get it back."

Chapter Text

Klaus had not been particularly thrilled when Violet had told him that the plan involved attending the winter end-of-term dance, but he wasn't exactly in a position to make complaints.

Violet's plan was quite simple. The two would attend the dance, wait until it reached its peak, then would go down to Mr. Moreno's classroom and retrieve the spyglass. Nothing too involved or glamorous, but it would get the job done.

But regardless of Klaus's opinions on school dances, he agreed that it was the best time to get the spyglass. So, after work the Thursday before the dance, Klaus purchased a shirt and tie, while Violet purchased a dress and shoes.

The dance began at eight, which meant the two had to leave the apartment at around 7:45. Although it was not that late, the day's snow made the sidewalk slick with ice and the winter air chilly. Violet's dress had long sleeves, and she had worn tights to try and keep her legs warm. Klaus, on the other hand, was not as lucky. The thin jacket he had managed to find did little to protect against the cold. The two were silent as they walked, with Klaus's hands shoved in his pockets and Violet desperately trying not to trip in her heels. It wasn't until the two reached a crosswalk and were waiting for the light to change that Violet spoke. “You know, I think I'm taller than you again.”

“What?” Klaus asked, turning towards her.

“Because of my shoes, I mean,” she said.

Klaus narrowed his eyes. Violet's heels were not very high, but he wasn't that much taller than her ordinarily. But, looking at her standing there on the sidewalk, she didn't seem to have gained a significant advantage on him. He shook his head. “I don't think so.”

“No, I think I'm right. It feels like I'm looking down at you.” She gestured with her hands. “Turn around and we'll go back-to-back.”

“What? Violet, no.”

“Yes! Turn around!”

Klaus sighed and complied with her request. A second later, he felt his sister's back press up against his own. He reached his hand up to touch the top of his head, then slid it behind him, hitting the back of Violet's head.

“I hate you.” Violet only laughed in response.

The light turned green and Klaus began crossing the street, his sister following after a moment, her shoes rapidly tapping across the street to catch up with him. “Maybe I should start wearing these more oft-” At that moment, Violet stepped on a particularly slick patch of ice, almost sending her flying off of her feet. Although she was able to regain her balance, it was her brother's turn to laugh. “Never mind,” she said, playfully hitting Klaus on the shoulder, “I'm never wearing these stupid shoes again.”

The only large, open area in Evergreen Secondary School was the roof, mostly due to the building previously standing as an apartment complex. During an average school day, the roof would function as the school's cafeteria, with picnic benches being set up for students to use, although it was not required to eat there, and in fact, older students were encouraged to eat their lunches off-campus. However, for the dance the tables had been pushed to the edges, leaving the vast majority of the space available for dancing.

Most of the attending students had taken advantage of this space and were all crowded in the middle of the area. Klaus Baudelaire, on the other hand, was positioned near the southwestern corner of the roof, as far away as he could possibly get from the crowd. He was pretty sure they had been at the dance for nearly two hours. He wanted to have gotten the spyglass already and leave, but it wasn't until quite recently that most of the attendees had arrived. Violet had left to go to the bathroom, partly because she had to and partly so that she could check that there weren't teachers monitoring the school hallways. He wished she would hurry up. He wanted to leave as soon as possible.

“Klaus Baudelaire?” He turned to see his classmate, Felicia Demitriades. Felicia was a kind girl with rosy cheeks and freckles dotting every inch of her face. Her bright orange hair was done up in some sort of elaborate bun, some of her unruly curls springing out from it. Her dress was almost the same color as her hair, the skirt covered with red and yellow ruffles. “I didn't expect to see you here!”

He vaguely recalled her asking whether or not he was going to the dance earlier in the week. “Oh, um, yeah. Violet convinced me to go.” Not a complete lie.

She furrowed her eyebrows. “Violet Baudelaire?”

“Uh, yeah,” he replied, failing to hide his confusion. “What about her?”

“Oh, nothing. I just heard she wasn't going, that's all.”

Klaus wasn't completely sure why this conversation made him uncomfortable, but his curiosity got the better of him. “Do you know her?”

Felicia shook her head. “No, but I have lunch with Suranne Sinclair, who has Robotics with her, and she said that, like, four guys asked Violet to the dance, and she turned them all down.”

“What?”

Felicia didn't seem to notice Klaus's distress. “Yeah, like Raoul D'Entremont, Tristan Pichard, Henry McCallum, and I think Michael Jantzi all asked her out.” She shrugged. “I guess she didn't say she wasn't going, but most people assumed so.”

“Oh.” He wasn't sure why this revelation surprised him. Violet was sixteen years old. Not only that, but she was pretty and smart, and Klaus knew this. People asking her to dances and on dates at that age was completely normal.

Felicia seemed to finally detect his discomfort. “Well, it was nice talking to you. Have a good break!”

“Yeah, you too.” She smiled back at him, then turned and walked back into the swarm of people. Klaus shoved his hands back into his pockets, feeling even more uncomfortable than he previously had.

A few moments later, Violet came up to him. “Hey, we're good to go. Is something wrong?” she asked, taking note of his expression.

He shook his head. “No, nothing. Let's go.”

Mr. Moreno's classroom was in room 712, only one floor below the roof. The two Baudelaires were quick to get to it. Klaus reached for the doorknob and turned it. “It's locked,” he said, frustrated. “What do we do now?”

Violet pulled her ribbon out of her pocket and began tying her hair up. “You wouldn't happen to have something to pick it, would you? Like a paper clip or bobby pin or something?”

“Why would I have a bobby pin?”

“I was just asking.” She finished with the ribbon and closed her eyes, concentrating on the problem at hand. For a few moments, they stood there, Violet focusing and Klaus worrying that any moment, a teacher would appear and get them in trouble. Finally, Violet opened her eyes. “The fire escape.”

“What?”

Violet nodded her head, confident in her idea. “The fire escape connects all rooms on this side of the building. If we can get onto the fire escape, we can get into Mr. Moreno's room.”

Klaus nodded his head. “Ok, but how are we going to get on the fire escape?”

She hesitated for a moment, before replying, “Mrs. Goosen. My language arts teacher. Room 615. She never locks her door. Remember, that's where kids-”

“Go to smoke during lunch,” Klaus finished. “So, it's probably unlocked now. Brilliant, Violet.”

She smiled. “Thanks. Let's go.” The two ran back towards the staircase, flying down each step. They reached room 615 and, much like before, Klaus turned the knob and opened the door.

As expected, the room was filled with a handful of teenagers, each holding their own cigarette. A few of them gave the two a passing glance as they came in, but no one paid the Baudelaires much mind. Klaus shut the door behind them and the two siblings walked up to one of the open windows. Violet peeked her head out of the window to take a look at the fire escape. A couple more kids were standing there smoking on the metal-grated floor. To their left hung the ladder leading to the next floor. Violet leaned back into the room, kicked off her shoes, then climbed through the window.

“C'mon,” she whispered to her brother and holding out her hands to him. He took them and too made it onto the fire escape. The two kids on the fire escape stared at them. “Hi,” Violet said awkwardly as Klaus pulled the ladder down and began ascending it, his sister behind him. Once they made it to the seventh floor, Violet counted her way down the row of windows until they made it to room 712. For a split second, Klaus worried that the window was locked, but was relieved as Violet hoisted it up, finally giving them access to the room.

Violet slid out from the window and into the dark classroom, the only light coming from the dim moonlight. She tightened the ribbon in her hair and asked, “Which drawer did you say he put it in?”

“The middle one,” Klaus said, dropping out from the open window. He walked over to Mr. Moreno's desk and pointed. “There.”

The girl tugged at the drawer. “Locked. Figures.” She plucked a paperclip from the teacher's desk and began twisting it into a useable lock pick.

Klaus leaned against the desk, his mind now wandering to the conversation he had with Felicia earlier. He knew he should just let it go, that it was none of his business and that even if it was, it didn't matter. But his mind kept persisting and reminding him. Finally, after Violet had begun fiddling with the lock itself, he spoke, “So, you got asked to the dance?”

“What?” Violet cursed as she dropped the paperclip. Picking it back up, she replied, “Um, yeah. Look, Klaus, this is not a good time.”

“Sorry, I just-” Klaus stopped at the sound of the classroom door being unlocked. At the desk, Violet stopped too. They looked at each other. “Shit,” Klaus whispered. The two dove under Mr. Moreno's desk just as the door to the classroom opened. They heard someone stride into the room towards the desk, then stop. The footsteps picked back up, moving towards the other side of the classroom. After a moment, the sound of the window shutting filled the room. The footsteps came closer and closer to the Baudelaires until the feet in question stood in front of the desk. Mr. Moreno sat down in his desk chair, mere inches away from the hidden children.

The two scooted as far back from the teacher as they could, but the small area was already cramped enough. Violet bundled her dress in her arms while Klaus pressed his legs as close to her as he could. If Moreno was to push in his chair anymore or kick his legs farther, they would be discovered. Moreno was silent, so silent that Klaus felt that even his breathing was too loud. They couldn't tell what the teacher was doing. It occurred to the boy that they could be stuck under this desk for a long time, maybe until after the dance ended. How long would it take for Moreno to find them?

After what felt like hours, but was more than likely only ten minutes, the Baudelaires heard the sound of the door opening. “Mr. Moreno?” the voice of an adult woman asked. Moreno's chair turned in the direction of the sound. “Lynne Stevens just found some students, erm, screwing in her classroom. I was wondering if you could come help.”

Above them, Moreno sighed. “Yeah, just a minute.” He began putting whatever it was he was doing away. “Damn kids.” He pushed in his chair, just barely missing Violet and Klaus, and walked towards the door, shutting it behind him. A second later, they heard the click of the lock.

Slowly, the two emerged from underneath the desk, staring at the door as if he would come back at any moment. After a moment, Violet spoke, “That was close.”

“Too close,” Klaus agreed. Violet shook her head and continued working on the lock. A couple tries later, the drawer was opened. She pulled the handle, and they both began rummaging through it. “Found it,” Klaus said, pulling the familiar item from the drawer. It seemed to be fine and it looked as though Mr. Moreno hadn't touched it since he had first confiscated it. Klaus examined the spyglass for a second, then put it in his pocket.

“Great.” Violet shut the drawer and after a moment of fiddling, locked it yet again. “Let's go.”

Klaus re-opened the window and climbed through, helping his sister onto the fire escape. Violet shut the window and together, the two walked back to the ladder.

Violet nudged Klaus to get his attention. “So, you were,” she searched for the right word, “Bothered to find I was asked to the dance?”

He gave a short laugh. “I don't know. Someone said something about it while you were in the bathroom and I guess it freaked me out.”

“Why?” They reached the ladder and stopped.

He shrugged. “I guess I just forget sometimes that we're growing up. It feels like we were kids not that long ago.”

Violet frowned. “We're still kids.”

“No,” Klaus asserted. “Sunny and Bea are kids. We're not.” He shook his head. “Either way, you know what I meant. I meant little kids. Like, before Sunny was even born. I've known you my entire life, Vi. It's just weird to think about you dating, that's all.”

“You know,” Violet started, a mischievous grin plastering itself on her face, “You're old enough to date.”

Klaus made a face. “Ew. I don't want to think about that.”

Violet laughed. “So, no one's caught your fancy?”

“No. You?”

“No.”

Klaus put his hands in his pockets. “Violet, I'm sorry. I was being stupid.”

“It's okay,” she said, playfully nudging him, “Everyone's stupid sometimes.” She began descending the ladder. “Let's get out of here.”

Chapter Text

At 5:29 PM, Green Tree Community Library was silent save for the thump of books on the shelf as Klaus returned them to their places. Outside of the few days during which the library would be closed, Violet and Klaus would be working through their winter break. Of course, Klaus didn’t mind, not really. They needed the money, and truthfully, Klaus enjoyed working at the library. He liked helping people navigate the shelves or suggesting books based on the thousands he had read in his lifetime. Most of all, he liked slow days, much like this day, when he could page through the books he was shelving for no purpose other than his own amusement.

The sound of footsteps approaching pulled him out of his thoughts, and he watched as Mrs. Ardman turned into his section. “Oh, there you are. You haven’t seen any visitors recently, have you?”

Klaus shook his head. “Not for the past hour or so.”

“That’s what I thought.” She came to a stop in front of his cart. “I’m not sure there’s a single soul in here, outside of us two, right now.”

Klaus pushed a book into place. “It has been pretty slow today.”

Mrs. Ardman tapped her foot on the ground. "It must be the weather," she said finally. "The bookmobile isn't back yet, so clearly there's still a demand for books. We haven't had a check out for over an hour." She stopped. "Did you have anything to check out?"

"Uh, yeah," he said, "And a return too."

She pointed at the cart. "Well, finish that stack and I can help you out at the front. Hopefully, your sister and Mr. Ardman will be back soon."

A few minutes later, Klaus returned the cart back to its place beside the front desk and grabbed his small pile of saved books, as well as his return, and placed them in front of the waiting librarian. He slid the copy of Charlotte's Web over to Mrs. Ardman and said, "I need to return this." She nodded and stamped the date onto the book's card, placing it in the return bin. "And then I need to check out the rest of these."

Mrs. Ardman smiled at the first book. "The Busy Bee," she read, pulling its card out of the sleeve. "One of your sisters is learning how to read, isn't she?"

"Yeah, Sunny," Klaus confirmed. "She has the alphabet down pretty well now, so she's trying to get better at sounding out words. But I'm pretty sure she's already memorized the picture book we have at home, so I figured a new one would do her some good."

The librarian laughed as she finished stamping the second book. She narrowed her eyes at the final book. "I would've thought you had already read this one, Klaus," she said, holding up the copy of The Hobbit.

"Oh, I- I have. It isn't for me, not exactly," he stuttered out. "Violet and I try to read to Sunny and Beatrice before bed."

"That's nice of you."

"Yeah," he said, shifting uncomfortably in place. "It's, uh, something our dad used to do. For Violet and me when we were little."

Mrs. Ardman glanced up, concern lacing her gaze. "He doesn't do it for your sisters?"

A pit lodged itself in Klaus' stomach and he could feel his face turning red. "Um." His tongue suddenly felt heavy in his mouth. "He, uh-" He let out a shaky breath. "Our parents died. A while ago," he added.

The librarian's eyes widened. "I'm so sorry. I had no idea." Klaus merely shrugged, looking down. Mrs. Ardman opened her mouth to say something else, but a noise from the alley behind them stopped her. "That must be the bookmobile."

Klaus nodded and avoiding eye contact, took his books.

"Are you alright?" Violet asked, her arms crossed to protect from the wind as they walked home.

"I'm fine," Klaus said curtly.

She peered back at him. "Are you sure? You look like you're about to get sick."

Admittedly, Klaus felt like he was a few seconds away from puking his guts up on the sidewalk, but instead what came out was, "I'm fine, Violet. It's just cold."

The excuse seemed to placate his sister, at least for the time being. "Tell me about it," she said, puffs of cold air escaping from her lips. "It almost feels colder than it was on the Mortmain Mountains!"

Klaus was most certainly going to hurl now.

Before he could, Violet continued. "Maybe we should pick up some warmer clothes tomorrow, since the library's closed. I don't know about you, but this is the warmest outfit I own and I feel like it's doing nothing. We still have plenty of winter to get through."

Klaus swallowed down his nausea. "Sure, sounds like a plan."

Luckily, Klaus was saved from continuing the conversation by their arrival at the steps of 1017 Autumn Avenue. The two entered the building, making their way to the fourth door in the hallway. "Sunny, Bea," Violet called. "We're home!"

Both of the younger two Baudelaires were in the living room. Sunny was sitting on the couch, a picture book in her lap. "Hello!" she said, pushing the book to the side at the sight of her siblings.

Baby Beatrice, on the other hand, was sitting on the floor, her arms in front keeping her upright. "'Lo!" she babbled, mimicking her sister.

Sunny hopped off the couch. "Look," she grinned, holding her arm out, "Bea bit me!"

"Oh dear! Are you alright, Sunny?" Violet asked. There was a visible red mark on Sunny's arm, although it didn't seem like the baby had done too much damage. Judging by the smile on Sunny's face, it seemed that her pride had been unharmed as well. Violet instead turned her attention to the culprit, who was currently beaming up at her with a toothless smile, drool running down her face. Violet scooped the infant up. "Looks like someone's teeth are finally coming in."

Sunny, who was in the process of showing off her bite to Klaus, said, "I don't mind. It means she's just like me!"

"It's awfully cold in here," Violet commented as she began to carry Beatrice over towards the kitchen.

"I'll start the fireplace," Klaus volunteered.

"Thanks." Violet poked at Beatrice's nose, making the baby giggle. "Let's get you something to bite on instead of your sister."

Klaus pulled his scarf off. "It is pretty cold in here." He looked pointedly at Sunny as he knelt down beside the fireplace. "Were you and Bea alright?"

Sunny shrugged. "We had blankets." She sat down cross-legged next to her brother. "Besides, Violet said we couldn't start the fireplace without one of you two."

"She's right," he said, the fireplace coming to life. "It's good fire safety to have an adult present." He sat back and watched the flames grow within the confines of the fireplace, the room slowly heating up.

Sunny scrunched her nose at him. "You and Violet aren't adults."

Klaus sighed, his eyes not leaving the flames. "No, we aren't."

"There we are," Violet said, returning to the living room. Beatrice was still in her arms and was in the process of gnawing on a silicone spatula. "That ought to feel a bit better."

"Violet!" Sunny cried, jumping to her feet. "That's for the kitchen!"

"There were plenty of other spatulas in there, Sunny," Violet said calmly. "Her mouth hurts and she needs something to chew that isn't your arm."

Sunny stamped her foot. "I already told you I didn't mind."

Violet gave Sunny a pointed look. "You'll mind once she gets teeth." Sunny merely huffed in response. "Besides, we'll pick up a proper teething toy when we go shopping tomorrow."

The toddler perked up at that, a curious smile slowly spreading on her face. "Shopping?"

Fern's Second Chance Store was located just a few blocks away from the Baudelaire residence. Due to their commitment to saving as much money as possible, it had been Violet and Klaus's establishment of choice when it came time to find outfits for the school dance. Their visit that day had been rather brief, but Klaus had found the place cluttered, dingy, and overall overstimulating. He would have been quite content to never return to the store; however, it seemed none of his sisters shared that opinion.

It was hard to fault Beatrice for looking around curiously as soon as they entered the store. She was so tiny in his arms, her eyes wide open with wonder. She had only experienced a few environments in her very short life. It was no wonder she found the small space full of people's previous belongings so fascinating.

But Sunny, just like Violet, seemed to have inherited their father's love for "knick-knacks," or as their mother had called it, "junk." The two had started wandering the store immediately, with Sunny picking up almost every piece of kitchenware she could find and showing it to her older sister. Violet followed closely behind with her hair tied with her ribbon, no doubt dreaming up an endless number of inventions she could make with the contents of each shelf. The four children roamed the store until finally, they reached the clothing section.

There are many different ways to sort clothing. One of the easiest, and thus the chosen method of most retail establishments, is to sort by size, from smallest to largest. This allows customers to find clothing that will fit them, rather than digging through a large quantity of ill-fitting garments.

Fern's Second Chance Store, however, was not like most retail establishments. Rather than multiple racks to divide different pieces of clothing, there was one long rack situated against the store's entire back wall. But the rack's excessive length was not what caught the children's eyes. Instead, it was the rainbow gradient of clothes hanging along the rack. Garments of all different sizes were crammed onto the rack, starting with the deepest red on one end and ending with the brightest purple on the other.

"I can't even tell if they have coats," Klaus said.

Violet sighed. "We'll just have to work our way through the rack. If you take the left end, I can take the right, and we can meet in the middle."

Sunny tugged on Violet's sleeve. "What should I do?"

"You can go look for a teething toy for Bea," Klaus said, setting the baby in question down on a chair in the nearby furniture section.

Sunny skipped up to Beatrice and patted her on the head, causing the infant to squeal with delight. "I'll pick the best toy for you to bite on, Bea. Just you wait."

"Wait!" Beatrice repeated, clapping her chubby little hands together with vigor. Being a baby, Beatrice had a rather limited vocabulary, but that didn't stop her from repeating the few words she did know.

"Oh, you little thing," Sunny said fondly, before turning and marching towards the toy section.

Meanwhile, Violet and Klaus had already begun sorting through the overfilled clothing rack. Although they had only been at the task for a few minutes, some obstacles had already become apparent. Despite Klaus's skepticism, Fern's Second Chance Store did have coats. In fact, it seemed to Violet and Klaus that Fern's Second Chance Store had a wide variety of coats in a wide range of sizes. The problem, of course, was that none of those sizes fit any of the four Baudelaires. Klaus found himself wrestling with some sort of tangerine fabric that seemed more likely to be a tent than a piece of clothing, while Violet found herself examining a garish plum colored coat that seemed too small for even a doll to wear, let alone a human being. But after many minutes of digging, the two Baudelaires were able to come up with suitable coats for them and their sisters:  a practical navy coat for Violet, an extremely warm maroon sweater for Klaus, a goldenrod coat with ruffled trim for Sunny, and even a pale blue coat with bees embroidered on it for little Beatrice.

After making their purchases, the Baudelaires opted to wear their new coats out of the store. As they made their way onto the sidewalk, Sunny made a grab for the bag containing Beatrice's newly purchased teething rings. "Can I give them to her now?"

Violet pulled the bag up out of her sister's reach. "Sunny, no. These should at least be rinsed off before we let Bea put them in her mouth." Sunny merely groaned in response.

"Do you remember," Klaus asked suddenly, "When Dad bought that broken record player from a yard sale?"

"Oh, yes!" Violet said, "He had been gifted an album on vinyl, and it bothered him that we didn't have a record player to listen to it."

Klaus shook his head. "I'd never seen Mom so angry."

"She was pretty angry," Violet agreed. "She thought it was ridiculous to buy a broken machine. But she changed her tune once he got it working. Whatever made you think of that?"

"That store," Klaus said with a shrug. "Mom would've hated that place."

"You're just saying that because you hate it."

Klaus laughed. In his arms, Beatrice, who of course understood almost none of what was being said, laughed as well. "Maybe," he agreed. "But she always hated when Dad took us to yard sales."

"Well, of course she did," Violet said. "Last time we went to one, Sunny chewed the leg off of one of the tables. It made an awful mess. Don't you remember, Sunny?"

"No," Sunny said glumly, "I don't remember that at all."

Klaus frowned. Just a few moments ago, Sunny had been jumping with excitement over her new coat and Bea's teething rings. Now, she was holding Violet's hand and walking quietly, an indiscernible expression on her face. He looked over at his older sister to see his same concern mirrored on her face.

But whatever was bothering Sunny didn't last for very long, as they walked past a cooking store. In an instant, the toddler perked up and skipped over to the window, chattering about the various dishes she could make with each tool. Although the brief bout of tension had eased, Klaus wondered what could be troubling his younger sister.

Bedtime was always a bit of an event in the Baudelaire household. Sunny and Beatrice were rather well-behaved for a toddler and a baby, but that didn't make them any less adverse to settling in for the night. At seven PM sharp each night, Sunny would get a boost of energy that would carry into the scheduled seven-thirty bedtime. Beatrice, of course, was thoroughly entertained by her older sister's antics and would be very alert when it came time to go to bed. Through a lot of trial and error, Violet and Klaus determined that by one of them reading to Sunny while the other rocked Beatrice, the two youngest Baudelaires would quiet down in a relatively short span of time.

On this particular night, however, Sunny seemed rather subdued. There was no playful argument about pushing bedtime back just a few minutes. There was no contorting her face to try to make baby Beatrice laugh. And there was no squirming around in her bed while Klaus read the second chapter of The Hobbit aloud. Instead, Sunny got into bed without a fuss, listened to the chapter quietly, and, upon the lights being turned out, simply muttered, "Good night," to her brother and sister.

Violet and Klaus were silent as they closed the door to their younger sisters' room. Clearly, something was upsetting Sunny, but Klaus didn't have the faintest idea what it could be. Judging by the distant look in Violet's eyes, she had no clue either.

Finally, Violet said, "I'm going to go brush my teeth." As she made her way down the hall, Klaus noticed her tying her hair back with her ribbon. He hoped that with her hair out of her face, his older sister would be able to solve this mysterious Sunny problem.

With Sunny and Beatrice in bed, the Baudelaire apartment was eerily quiet, save for the running water in the sink coming from the bathroom. Klaus made his way to the living room and sat on the small sofa, grabbing his book from underneath the coffee table. Lemony Snicket had left a strange assortment of items in the apartment, one of them being The Vigorously Full Directory of Cryptanalysis. Klaus had started to read the book in the hopes that it would tell him more about VFD, but so far, it just seemed to be an incredibly dense guide to cryptanalysis, which, while very interesting, did not fully satisfy Klaus's curiosity. 

Klaus had just finished up a chapter discussing the Playfair cipher when he heard a door open in the hallway. He assumed it was just Violet, finished with brushing her teeth, until he saw his younger sister step into the room. "Sunny?" he asked, "Do you need some water or something?"

"No," Sunny said. She continued to stand in the hallway, seemingly unsure of her next move. But whatever caused her initial hesitation dissipated within a few moments, as she sat down next to Klaus on the sofa.

"Is something wrong?" Klaus asked, setting his book down. Sunny merely shrugged in response and snuggled up closer to her brother. "Are you not feeling well?"

"'M not sick," Sunny grumbled. "I just can't sleep."

Klaus glanced at the clock on the mantle. Given that they had tucked Sunny in less than ten minutes prior, he didn't quite believe that trouble sleeping was the only thing that brought his younger sister to the living room. But he stayed silent, hoping Sunny would tell him the truth in her own time.

It turned out, Klaus would not have to wait long. After a minute or so, Sunny spoke again. "I had a question."

"What's your question, Sunny?"

Sunny sat up, then said, "Can you tell me about Mom and Dad?"

Klaus froze. "Wh- What do you want to know?"

Sunny tugged at her pajama sleeve. "Anything," she pleaded. "What were they like?"

"They were..." Klaus wracked his brain, trying to come up with an acceptable answer to his sister's question. Truthfully, he found himself coming up blank on how to describe their parents, despite knowing them for twelve years. Finally, he settled on, "They were kind. They loved us a lot." Even as he spoke, Klaus couldn't help but feel that his words were inadequate. It wasn't wrong; they were kind and loved them a lot. It just felt incomplete, like he had given Sunny a mere silhouette instead of a portrait of the complete people that the Baudelaire parents had been. "Do you remember them at all?"

Sunny shook her head. "I remember feeling safe and warm." Her voice was barely above a whisper. "But I don't remember anything about them. I don't even remember what they looked like."

Admittedly, Klaus's own memories of their parents had certainly blurred over time, but he felt he owed Sunny at least one concrete answer. "Violet looks a lot like Mom. Dad had glasses like I do."

"Do you think they would've liked Beatrice?"

"Of course. They would've loved her." He hugged Sunny a little tighter. "They'd be so proud of you."

Sunny didn't say anything for a good long while. Klaus was almost certain she had fallen asleep and was preparing to take the toddler back to bed when he heard her mumble, almost to herself, "I wish I could remember them."

"Sunny asked about Mom and Dad."

Violet stopped brushing her hair at her brother's words. "What did you say?"

"I didn't know what to say," Klaus said, sitting down on his bed. "I told her they loved her a lot."

"They did," Violet agreed, setting her brush down on the dresser carefully.

Klaus frowned. Violet seemed a lot calmer than he felt about Sunny's line of questioning, but nonetheless, he continued, "She wanted to know what they looked like."

"And?"

"You don't seem surprised," Klaus said bluntly.

Violet furrowed her brow. "Why should I be surprised?"

"I dunno," Klaus said with a shrug. "I was." He paused. "I guess I didn't think Sunny would forget Mom and Dad."

"She was a baby when they died, Klaus."

"I know that," he snapped. "But it's Sunny."

"And Sunny's only three years old," Violet explained patiently. "Yes, she's more capable than most toddlers, but she's still a small child. I doubt you remember much from when you were a baby."

Klaus tried to recall his earliest memory. He knew that when he was a baby, he learned to roll before he could crawl. He would roll until he hit an obstacle, at which point he would cry until he was freed. But that wasn't really a memory. That was a story his parents had told him. His earliest memory had to be later, when he was about three or four. He remembered Violet showing him how to properly use a swing set by himself.

Then Klaus remembered something else, something Violet had said only a few nights ago.

She's going to get to forget.

"I knew she'd forget," he said quietly, "I just- I didn't think she'd forget the good, too."

Violet looked down. Klaus forgot sometimes that Violet wasn't really that much older than him. When they were younger, the contrast was so stark. Violet was always taller than he was. Violet learned things in school before he did. And Violet was responsible in ways that Klaus had never felt pressured to be. Of course, that gap had shrunk over the past few years. Sunny's birth was the first time they had felt close in age, to Klaus, at least. The two years between him and Violet felt inconsequential in the face of the eleven years between Sunny and him. Their parents' death, as well as the series of unfortunate events that followed, had truly cemented the two of them as a team to protect Sunny and each other, and later, Beatrice, from whatever misfortunes fell their way. In practice, Klaus and Violet had been on equal footing for a long time.

But it was hard for Klaus to dismiss those eleven years of looking up at Violet and seeing her as so much smarter and more capable than him, with all of the accompanying awe and envy. And if he knew Violet (which he did, likely better than anyone else), he knew that she had trouble ignoring the little kid he used to be. But the truth was that Violet was only sixteen years old. And while yes, sixteen was older than fourteen, Klaus was acutely aware in this moment that Violet wasn't much older than him. Violet was no more equipped to handle this situation they had been thrust into than he was. Neither one of them had any idea how to navigate telling Sunny about their parents, two people that Klaus wasn't sure he had ever stopped grieving.

"We'll just..." Violet trailed off, her voice laced with uncertainty, "--have to try and help her remember."

"How?" Klaus asked. "I could barely string together a sentence about them when she asked me. Saying, ‘Mom and Dad loved you,’ doesn’t tell her anything.”

"What else did you tell her?"

Klaus thought about his conversation with Sunny. Truly, he thought he had said nothing of substance, but it seemed best to be fully transparent with Violet, even when it came to seemingly unimportant details. "I said you looked like Mom."

Violet looked back up at him. "Klaus, that isn't true."

"Yes, it is, Vi. You probably look even more like her now. If I had a photo, I could prove it," he argued.

His older sister looked lost in thought for a moment, then said, "I always thought you looked more like Mom."

Klaus wrinkled his nose. "No, I don't."

"Yes, you do. You have the same eyes as Mom," she said matter-of-factly.

He shook his head. "Okay, sure, but you have her nose."

"We have the same nose, dumbass."

Klaus threw his hands up. "Well, it doesn't matter 'cause I already said you looked like Mom!" He knew it wasn't really fair to snap at Violet. They were on the same team, after all. But if Violet minded his outburst, she certainly didn't show it, at least not visibly. She continued to sit silently, arms crossed uncomfortably. "What?" Klaus asked finally.

"Nothing." She shrugged unconvincingly. "I just- I wish there was a way to share them with her, outside of what we remember."

Klaus remembered how useless he felt, trying to tell Sunny anything about their parents. A small part of him had hoped that Violet would know how to explain them to her. When they were younger, it felt like Violet could fix anything. Klaus liked to think he had grown up a little since then, but that didn't stop him from wishful thinking every once in a while. "I don't remember what their voices sounded like," he admitted. "I listened to them for twelve years, and it only took one for me to forget."

"Mom always sounded so certain when she talked," Violet said, expressionless. "Her voice would fill the room when she spoke. Dad's voice was softer, quieter. It felt like he was sharing a secret whenever you talked to him. He was hardly ever loud."

All at once, Klaus could hear the sound of their parents talking in another room, the sound of their mother's laughter echoing throughout the halls of the Baudelaire mansion. It was as though his mental image of their parents became clearer, even if just for a brief, shimmering moment. But it did not take long for that moment to pass. As that glimpse of their parents faded, it almost felt like he had lost them once again.

But Klaus wasn't in the Baudelaire mansion. He was in his shared bedroom with Violet in their small apartment at 1017 Autumn Avenue. The Baudelaire mansion had burned down over a year ago, taking their parents from them forever. And now, it was up to Violet and him to figure out how to keep their parents' memories alive for Sunny. There were a great many things that could be said, as well as a great many things the two of them needed to solve. But in this moment, all Klaus could say was, "I miss them so much, Violet."

But no matter how tightly she tied her hair back, there was nothing Violet could do to fix that. So, instead, she gave a sad smile and said, "I do too."