Look away, look away.

The Bad Beginning Part 1

*Narrator POV*

If you are interested in stories with happy endings, then you would be better off somewhere else. In this story, not only is there no happy ending, there is no happy beginning and very few happy things in the middle. My name is Lemony Snicket. It is my solemn duty to bring to light the sorry history of the Baudelaire children as it happened so many years ago. But you in the audience have no such obligation, and I would advise all our viewers to turn away immediately and read something more pleasant instead. This story will be dreadful, melancholy and calamitous, a word which here means 'dreadful and melancholy.' That is because not very many happy things happened in the lives of the Baudelaires.

Livi, Violet, Klaus and Sunny were intelligent children. Charming and resourceful, they had pleasant facial features, but they were extremely unlucky. Most everything that happened to them was rife with misfortune, misery and despair. I'm sorry to tell you this... but that's how the story goes.

"Briny Beach, please."

The Baudelaire family lived in an enormous mansion at the heart of a dirty and busy city, and one day their parents rather unexpectedly asked their children to take a rickety trolley alone to the seashore.

*Livi POV*

"I wonder why Mother and Father didn't want to come with us." My brother Klaus thought aloud.

Returning from my thoughts I responded, "maybe they don't like this rickety trolley?" I slightly chuckled at that idea. I had said it in passing to put my siblings minds at ease and for the moment it seemed to have worked.

"Hey, kids! Aren't you going to the Festive Fun Fair, with all the jolly rides and games and snacks? 'Festive' means 'fun!'"

"We know what 'festive' means." My brother responded to the trolleyman

I rolled my eyes. Of course me and my siblings would know what festive means, aside from sunny, I suppose? I could never keep a straight face when my brother told an adult of his extensive knowledge.

Being polite, Violet responded "Thank you, but it's a perfect morning to go to the beach."

"It's grey and cloudy?" The trolleyman was puzzled.

"That's what makes it perfect!" Violet reinforced.

"Suit yourself." The trolleyman accepted and continued on his way.

On a hot and sunny day, the seashore was crowded with tourists and it was impossible to find a place to lay one's blanket. However, on grey and cloudy days, my siblings and I had the beach more or less to ourselves. This meant that we could work together on projects and experiments.

"Are you ready?"

"Let's get to work!" My brother enthusiastically responded to Violet.

"I'm excited to see how this goes." I added.

"Do you think it this will be as good as the mailbox?"

"I think this will be even better than the mail box." I reassured my sister.

Violet turned back to her invention. Violet Baudelaire was the eldest of my siblings- at 14 years old, like most of the population, she was right-handed. She had a real knack for inventing and building unusual devices. I considered my sister somewhat of an inventor.
As for myself, I was some months older than 16, the eldest of my siblings. I had a great passion for journalism, researching and hands-on experience both thrilled and interested me and I would often document my siblings' inventions and discoveries.

I thought back to a time at our home.

"I'm having a problem with the grandfather clock." Violet spoke.