Leilani Squalor- the cities sixth most important financial advisor's daughter

Part 10

The road is long, and I wake up being thrown into the air. Olaf looks defeated, and Mum has mascara running down her face. I ask, "Are we going to be okay?"
Nobody answers me, the question looming in the air. I look at the leaflet that Mum has on her lap, and pick it up. Madam Lulu, a fortune teller, who lives at a circus. It seems pretty miserable, but nothing can be worse than a hospital. Mum puts her arm round me, leaning her head on mine. She is never this quiet or reserved, so something has gone down while I've been asleep. Olaf is the first to talk. He whispers, "I think this is the first time I've genuinely thought this might go badly."
"You were crying is the village after being in a cell for eight minutes," I shrug, "I don't think you can get worse than that."
"After what he has been saying in the car while driving, I think he can," Mum is quiet, her voice barely audible. I listen as Olaf rants, "What do I do if they aren't orphans? I've done too much for this to fail. Esme, darling, I am sorry about the sugar bowl, but if there is a survivor of the fire and we manage to kill them, it'll be easy enough to get the fortune. We can even force them to change their will if we want to... here is the circus."
I look up, and groan as we pull up to the circus. Then, Olaf yells, "ALONE. DESPERATE. DEFEATED. THESE ARE WORDS I NEVER THOUGHT I WOULD USE, UNLESS TALKING ABOUT OTHER PEOPLE. DO YOU KNOW HOW THIS FEELS? MY LIFE IS RUINED."
He slams his hands on the steering wheel a few times, before whispering, "Wel-truly-come to Caligari carnival."

I stumble out the car, rubbing a new bruise on my leg. After Olaf's driving, I imagine I'd be better at it. I look up at the main tent, and then back at mum. She got my a different outfit, which is just jogging bottoms and a jumper, but I won't complain. It's pretty comfortable. Madam Lulu greets us at the beginning of the tent, and smiles, "I had vision I would receive viiiisit from handsome stranger."
I fold my arms across my chest, as Mum asks, "How can you prove this then? That you know us?"
"You... you have experienced great loss, your sister depends on you, you... there's a lot to unpack, your sister depends on you, you're not real blonde, and you, little girl, lack trust."
I scoff, "I do not. Tell me something else."
"You are like your mother, fake blonde."
I look at mum, fuming as Olaf slow claps. Mum pulls me close to her, and Olaf scoffs, "Anyone could guess all of that. Look at us. Tell me something only a real fortune teller would know."
"You were brought here by a series of unfortunate events," Madam Lulu says, "You adopted three orphans, one of whom you tried to marry. That failed miserably. Then, you followed them to the home of their uncle. Then you visited a large lake with an ill-fated romance. You burned an old flame, at an old mill, and then returned to school. You meet partner and her daughter at penthouse, and although you would never admit it, you are growing a soft spot for little girl, which is why you decided not to drink and drive, and why you spoke about things while she was asleep so she would feel a little safer than she is. Then you murder an old enemy in a murder of crows. A good man. A noble man. His words haunt you, and even hospital visit doesn't make you feel better. Correct?"
"You have a soft spot for me?" I ask. Olaf's breath is shaky as he whispers, "I see you live up to your reputation. We should've come sooner."
"And you have no proof I'm not a blonde," I stroke my hair. I turn to mum and hiss, "Am I actually obviously not a blonde? I've not bleached in a month..."
"You look blonde, darling," Mum glares at Madame Lulu, "But her? I'm going to rip that wig off her head before she can call Olaf handsome one more time."
Madame Lulu says, "Once a day, when spirits call, you may ask one question to the ball."
"That seems plausible," I roll my eyes. Olaf leans closer to Lulu, and he asks, "Did one of the Baudelaire parents survive the fire?"
"You'll find out in the morning. Day shift, night shift, you know?"
"What do we do now?" Mum scoffs. Olaf smirks, patting my head. Then he laughs, "GET OUT THE TRUNK WINE!"


                                                                             ***
I take a sip of my drink, swishing it round my mouth till it's warm. By the time I've even been bothered to take my first sip, Olaf is slurring his words and swaying. Olaf struggles to his seat, and he sighs, "Mama and I agreed by age twenty eight, I would be drowning in riches and living in a castle, with a stunning wife. We'd be so rich together."
"You hardly talk about your mother," The man with hook hands says. Olaf scoffs, "She wasn't my actual motherrr, just the woman who runned the boat house."
"Who runned?" I whisper. Madame Lulu walks in, and says, "Hello, my olaf-"
"Your Olaf?" Mum asks, raising her eyebrows. She is on the verge of doing something stupid because of the amount of wine she has drunk. Madame Lulu continues, "Stay away from the cabinet. Now it's bed time, especially for the little fake blonde."
I fold my arms over my chest, and snap, "I'll have you know I'm not a child."
"You're also not of drinking age," Madame Lulu rolls her eyes, and I snap, "And you're too old to drink without becoming black out drunk. Now, lets all learn to be nice. Olaf, come on, I'm taking you and mum back to the tent."
Mum stumbles over to me, and takes the chair I was just sat on. She smiles, saying, "Leilani, relax! It'll be..."
"What is that?" I whisper. Madame Lulu and Olaf both get up to investigate, leaving mum to hiss, "If that woman touches my boyfriend, I'll make sure she ends up being fed to that starving pack of lions."
A minute of silence goes by, before Olaf yells, "WE'VE GOT FREAKS!"