Baudelaires and a White

Chapter Thirty-Three

After much persuasion from Klaus, Violet, Rowan, and Sunny finally agreed to let Klaus return to the so-called 'Dr. Georgia' woman, although they insisted on coming with them.

"Here we are." Klaus said, pausing in front of the eye building.

They walked in, and were met by the blonde woman that had hypnotised Klaus.

"Hello." greeted the woman with a smile.

"Will Klaus be hypnotised?" asked Violet bluntly.

"Hypnotised?" the woman asked, astonished. "Goodness, no. How would I hypnotise your brother? After all, hypnosis is only in scary movies."

"I don't trust you." Rowan said.

The woman smiled. "I know doctors seem scary." she said slowly. "But they are really your friends."

The children all looked at each other, the woman ushering them inside.

"I am Dr. Georgina Orwell, but you will call me Dr. Orwell." revealed the woman, reminding Klaus of his experience at once. "Well, come in, come in."

The four children began to walk towards the door (except Sunny, who was being carried by Violet), but Dr. Orwell practically pushed them back out.

"No, no." she said. "The nice girls and the kind boy stay out here. Someone wants to meet you."

"And who might that be?" asked Rowan.

"A lady who works as my receptionist. Her name is Shirley T. Senoit-Pécer." smiled Dr. Orwell. "You can see her name on her name tag. Well, actually, it's just gum spelling out her name, but it's how she is payed."

"I actually learnt that it's illegal to pay people in gum. I learnt it from The Paltryville Constitution." said Klaus boldly.

Dr. Orwell's face went stern but her voice was as friendly as ever. "I must say, you children are very smart. You must read a lot. Have you ever encountered, in your reading, the phrase, 'You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar'?"

"Tuzmo." said Sunny, meaning, 'I can't read.'

"I don't read." Rowan admitted sheepishly.

"I've never really read anything about flies." said Violet.

"Well, it doesn't have to with flies." said Dr. Orwell. "It just means that you are more likely to get what you want by acting in a sweet and kind way, rather than a rude and distasteful way."

Then, she gave a sinister smile and whisked Klaus into her office, locking the door behind her.

"Oh no." whispered Violet.

All of a sudden, Rowan hugged Violet, surprising himself as much as it surprised her. He pulled away quickly. 

"Yuck." said Sunny, looking from her sister to her friend.

Not long after, a person rose up from underneath their desk.

"Shirley." they said in a high-pitched voice. "Shirley T. Seniot-Pécer. Say hello to me."

The three looked at each other. 

"Say hello." said the person threateningly.

"Hello, Count Olaf." said Violet.

"I do not appreciate being called made-up names." said Count Olaf in the same high-pitched voice.

"Count Olaf," said Rowan. "is not a made up name. Count Olaf is a real person and is standing right in front of us."

Count Olaf looked around, a fake terrified expression on his face. "Count Olaf? In front of us? Where?"

Violet growled. "'Us' as in 'Rowan, Sunny, and I'."

Count Olaf 'relaxed'. "But I don't see him."

"Reflon." uttered Sunny.

"What did she say?" asked Count Olaf.

"That's none of your concern." said Violet, not wanting to translate what Sunny had said: You will if you look in the mirror.

"Anyway, I have always wanted children." sighed Count Olaf.

"You did have children." said Rowan. "Adopted children."

Count Olaf gasped. "Me? Never. As much as I would love some children, I have never had them. I would particularly like to have four of them. A wealthy girl, an observant boy, a smart boy, and a buck-toothed baby. I already have some names in mind."

"And what would those names be?" asked Violet suspiciously.

Count Olaf put his hand on his chin as if in thought. "Hm, let me think. Maybe - Violet T. Seniot-Pécer, Klaus T. Senoit-Pécer, Sunny T. Senoit-Pec-"

"Violet, Sunny, Rowan!" exclaimed Dr. Orwell, opening the door, Klaus just beside her. "Klaus is here!"

"Oh, Dr. Georgina!" exclaimed Count Olaf. "How lovely to see you! I was just having a conversation with these smart children."

"Is Klaus hypnotised?" asked Rowan.

"Hypnotised?" repeated Dr. Orwell. "No, as I told you, it is only in scary movies. Besides, even in scary movies, it requires a very complicated process."

"Don't be ab-" said Violet, pausing before 'surd' due to her uncertainty.

"Ab? Ab is not a word." The hypnotist turned to Count Olaf. "Ab! They must have low self-esteem, am I right, Shirley?"

"That is exactly how it happens with unintelligent children!" agreed Count Olaf.

"Klaus, you lucky child, go home. Go to Lucky Smells Lumbermill." commanded Dr. Orwell.

"Yes, sir."