A Series of Fortunate Events

Chapter 5

Have you ever gone shopping? Unless you were born yesterday, I will assume you have. However, I highly doubt that you clearly remember the excitement of entering the shopping mall for the first time. Baudelaires, who were separated from civilization for a very long time now, have been able to finally experience that excitement again.

Isadora and Violet waved to Quigley and Klaus whom they saw in the distance. The girls have already finished their shopping. Among all the clothes, they also bought the new iPhone for Violet, who didn't have a phone before.

"But I still don't understand, why do I need Snapchat" asked Violet for the thousandth time. As a person who hasn't used social media before, she was quite confused by the concept.

"It's awesome! You can chat with people, send photos, make your own bitmoji, etc. Trust me, it's awesome" explained Isadora again.

The boys walked up to them. Klaus looked really different. For the first time in the last years, he finally got a haircut. His glasses now had a small silver frame. He was wearing a black hoodie which looked really good on him.

"Wow Klaus. You look really handso... I mean your outfit looks really good" Isadora said, blushing slightly

"Thanks Isadora!" answered Klaus, luckily not noticing her mistake.

"Wow Violet, your outfit also looks very good!" complemented her Quigley

Violet blushed, but only Isadora noticed that. She was wearing jeans and a white crop top. She also bought some new earrings.

"Thanks Quigley. I was not sure if this type of clothing suited me, but it looks like you like it" answered Violet, obviously flattered.

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While the four of them were enjoying their time at the mall, Duncan was walking to the park. He and Carmelita planned to meet up at 2 PM. They really enjoyed hanging out together. After the events that have occurred at the Last Safe Place, they have gotten really close. Duncan was the one who convinced his siblings that she deserved a second chance.

Duncan looked at Carmelita, who was sitting beside him on the bench. It seemed that she was thinking about something. Duncan found it cute how she would randomly zone out.

"Hey Carmelita," he nudged her playfully "what are you thinking about?"

"Nothing really," quickly answered Carmelita, looking back at Duncan. She loved looking at his eyes, it seemed like they were infinite and she could easily get lost in them. She especially liked how blue his eyes were.

"So, what do you think about the Baudelaire's, now that they're in town?" asked Duncan, trying to find a topic for a conversation.

"I mean, I don't think they're really happy to see me" answered Carmelita, visibly sad.

"Don't worry, I'm sure they'll like you, you just need to wait for a bit, you know? Let them get used to you, get to know you better.." he took her hands into his and looked in her eyes. Both of them blushed at this interaction, and quickly let go.

"I mean... maybe you are right," sighed Carmelita "I'm still not so sure though."

"I can speak to them if you want to," proposed Duncan. He looked at Carmelita. He wanted his best friends to get along with her, he really did. "Wanna walk for a bit? The weather's really nice for us to be sitting at this bench."

They stood up and started walking. The weather was indeed nice. The park was almost empty, and the cool wind was blowing on their hair. It was still pretty hot, but it was noticeable that autumn was coming soon. Their hands brushed against each other, both of them noticing it but not saying anything. 

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The Baudelaire's and the Quagmire's walked out of the shopping mall, their hands filled with different bags. Most of them were filled new clothing for the Baudelaire's, since the Quagmire's already had lots of clothes back at the dorm in Prufrock Prep.

"So Violet, what do you think?" asked Quigley, turning to her.

"Uhm... I mean, I'm kind of overwhelmed, not gonna lie," confessed Violet "but I liked everything overall. The new clothes are really nice, and the phone and laptop I bought will help me a lot in studies and texting you all!" she said excitedly.

"I'm glad you liked it," Quigley smiled warmly, looking at Violet.

The group went to a trolley station and waited for a trolley. After around 5 minutes, it has arrived. Even though it was only 8 PM, the sun was already setting. The street lights turned on, illuminating everything with a warm light.

Violet was looking around the city, amazed by how beautiful it looked now. After everything that had occurred over the last two years, this did feel like a breath of fresh air. She looked at the sun slowly hiding behind the horizon and the sky getting darker each minute. Finally they arrived at Prufrock Prep. As they got of the trolley Quigley approached Violet.

"Violet... I was wondering if you wanted to go to a cafe in the city...you know, I wanted to maybe show you around the city..." he asked Violet, trying his best not to stutter.

Violet's mind went blank.

"Is he asking me on a date?" she thought. Isadora looked at her and smirked. Violet tried to ignore her and turned her head back to Quigley.

"You don't have to go if you don't want to, I just..." quickly added Quigley, noticing that Violet hasn't responded.

"I do," she cut him off, looking in his eyes "what time?"

"At 8:30," he said, visibly relieved "so in half an hour"

"Okay" Violet responded, smiling slightly.

Everyone went to their rooms. Even though the dorm had 4 bedrooms, they decided to only use two - for the boys and the girls. Doing it in another way would be weird. Violet entered her room, with Isadora and Carmelita following behind.

"Okay, this is crazy!" exclaimed Isadora excitedly, dropping the bags from the shopping mall on the bed.

"Shh, the door is open!" Violet stood up and shut the door closed, in case there was someone curios enough to listen.

"Quigley just asked you out on a date!" continued Isadora, seemingly ignoring her.

"It's not a date, alright?" Violet blushed "he just wants to show me around the town"

"Sure..." smirked Isadora "than why did he invite only you, without Klaus?"

"Okay, maybe it is kind of a date..." accepted Violet "but I'm not really sure, I mean, it's only our second day here, it feels too rushed. I don't even know if the 'waterfall' meant something"

"You are right," Isadora's face softened "but tell me one thing. Do you love him?"

Violet was about to answer, but than she glanced at Carmelita who hasn't said anything yet, but was listening. Isadora noticed Violet's look.

"Don't worry, we can trust her. If we couldn't, she wouldn't be in this room in the first place" reassured her Isadora.

"I guess... I was thinking about him all the time back on the island. And I really did miss him," said Violet slowly. Isadora and Carmelita exchanged knowing glances.

"If you want I can talk to him, you know, say that he's going too fast. I'm his sister after all" asked her Isadora

"I would like that" smiled Violet.

"But first, let's get you ready for this date!" exclaimed Isadora excitedly.

"It's not a date!" Violet shouted back playfully.