"Hypnosis. Child labor. Count Olaf in a dress! You children certainly have lively imaginations," Mr. Poe chuckles. "But, a lumber mill is no substitute for a proper guardian. You're fortunate that my wife is such a great investigative journalist."
"How did she find us?" Violet asks.
"I heard there was an accident at the lumber mill, so I came right away," she enters, beaming.
"So you found us by accident?" Y/N raises her eyebrows.
Mr. Poe and his wife laugh, exiting the room.
"I'm sorry you never found out what caused that fire," Y/N looks at the Baudelaire's. "But I know it wasn't your parents."
"We don't know if Count Olaf will turn up again," Klaus sighs.
"He will," Y/N replies bitterly.
"Dr. Orwell won't," Violet mentions.
"Oh, children. I want to thank you for saving my life," Charles limps over. "Because of your quick thinking, I only have a small cut on my foot. You certainly are clever children," he smiles.
"Are you leaving?" Klaus asks.
Charles nods, "I'm gonna search for Sir. He may not have been a good partner, or a good boss...or a good person. But someday you children may learn that things are not always in black and white. Oh! Here you go," he hands Klaus the page from the book about the town's fire before hobbling off.
"The Baudelaire's were unequivocally responsible for putting out the fire and helping the survivors back on their feet," Klaus reads.
"See? I told you your parents weren't responsible," Y/N chuckles, nudging the boys shoulder.
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"I hope you children will have a good home here. I hope so anyway, because I have just received a promotion. Vice President of Orphan Affairs. Which means I'll be too busy to check in on you orphans," Mr. Poe proudly explains while driving the children to a new location.
Klaus shakes his head, covering his face with the palm of his hand. Y/N giggles quietly at him.
"What's our new guardian's name?" Violet asks.
"Guardian? Oh no. Good God, no. I couldn't find anyone else willing to take you in. Not after what happened with the others. Oh no, children. You are going to boarding school. Its the end of the semester, so you will have to do a lot of work to catch up. It won't be easy, but I promise it will build character," Mr. Poe explains.
Y/N stops listening once she hears the man say boarding school. Her heart flutters in her chest as she can barely contain her excitement. She leans over Klaus to peer out the window as the car drives under an archway. 'Prufrock Preparatory School' she reads in her head.
"What is it? Are you okay?" Klaus asks.
"What? Ahem, yeah yeah. I am completely fine," Y/N clears her throat, blushing slightly. She didn't want to get her hopes too high, in case her thoughts were wrong.
Klaus raises his eyebrows, opening his mouth to call Y/N out on her excitement, but Mr. Poe speaks up.
"Here is a fun bit of trivia about this school. The architect who built this school was severely depressed. I always wanted to go to boarding school," he sighs, walking them through the halls.
His voice echoes in the large, empty hallways.
"The office is over there, you can wait on that bench. Um, I do want you children to know, I hope you find comfort here," he says somberly. "Oh! This came for you in the mail. I imagine it is just junk mail. I don't believe you know anyone from South America. So long Baudelaire's, Y/N," he nods, leaving. The children listen to his coughing until they can no longer hear it.
