Secrets

Chapter 30

A plan is seen as an intention or decision about what one is going to do. It is also known as a plot, scheme or perhaps an idea. It can be a simple decision such as how you might choose to spend your evening. You could spend your night in the comfiest pyjamas, reading the greatest novels written and allow your mind to wander into the world of adventure and drama. Perhaps this is what you prefer as the danger is only imagined and cannot hurt you. Or you could spend the night at the opera, listening to a beautiful woman dressed in a long flowing gown with wings before offering tea to somebody who would soon become your mortal enemy and frame you for a great many crimes. The rest of that evening might become completely unplanned after the stealing of a sugar bowl and the throwing of a dart. I would recommend the first plan as it is much less dangerous and does not force you to flee from the person you love most or live with terrible regrets for the rest of your days. A plan can also be rather complex and requires multiple steps, decisions and procedures in order to achieve your intentions. It is unfortunate that one must live with the reality if one step of your plan goes wrong, it unravels and quite a number of new problems arise. I have come across many more complicated plans or plots, specifically in the Baudelaire's case and from both sides of the schism. For example, when the siblings attempted to prove that their Uncle Monty's death was murder performed by a disguised Count Olaf, it took all the siblings completing multiple steps at once for it to succeed and the end result was somewhat satisfactory. The villain's plot was exposed, and the children were saved from being taken out of the country by the man, but he still managed to getaway. On the other side, the most recent scheme of Count Olaf's had multiple steps that included him disguising himself as a gym teacher and forcing the Baudelaire siblings to run laps in order to exhaust them and have them flunk out of school was also somewhat successful. However, unlike the Baudelaire plan before, it took the determination of those three siblings to cause it all to unravel, literally and figuratively. Sadly, with the failure of the villain's plot, new problems arose, particularly for the sibling's friends who were now being held prisoner by Count Olaf in a rather dark place.

When it comes to the plan of Holly Snicton, it was not as simple as deciding how she was going to spend her evening, though that was a key component. It was complex and required multiple steps which caused her a great amount of anxiety for if anything went wrong, she'd lose her hope and the intention of this whole thing. While she had spent much time planning, there were still many factors that could interfere with the execution of everything.

After returning to the car with the groceries, the young girl's mind was a whirlwind of thoughts and ideas, trying to get them all to fit together into a full plan. She informed Mr. Caliban about what she had said to the store clerk and who he was now considered in the eyes of the small town. The agent accepted it and was pleased with the child's quick and resourceful thinking. Little did the man know that her thinking was going to cause the girl to leave his protection.

Holly had asked to go to another specific spot, a store that specialized in seafood, to pick a few more things, but again it was a cover for her to scope out Mr. Telltone's home. As she shopped, she could see the older man's home from the window. It was a yellow house with white shudders, a white picket fence with a gate, and a beautifully manicured garden, the idyllic home for any elderly couple. When exiting, the girl spotted Mr. Telltone's wife and daughter sitting out on the front porch. She waved at them with a smile but knew that if she spoke to them now, it would be suspicious because seafood never lasts very long away from cold temperatures.

Once they'd returned home and the groceries were put away, Holly retreated into her bedroom to finish the final parts of her plan and to get away from Thursday Caliban's watchful gaze.

The girl mapped out the route that Mr. Telltone's daughter would likely take to get to the city and where she should get out. She also needed to find a place to stay... a safe place. She also needed money.