Series of Unfortunate Events One-shots, What-ifs, and Drabbles

What If? Book the Seventh

"Where will you live, children?" Mr. Poe asked them.

"Anywhere Olaf isn't," Violet said firmly.

"Da!" Sunny shrieked. 

"You can say that again, Sunny." Klaus agreed. "She said that we don't care where we live as long we're together."

"I know a place, then," Mr. Poe said. "Have you ever heard the saying, 'It takes a village to raise a child?'"

------------------------------------------------

"When Mr. Poe said that idiom, I didn't think he meant literally," Klaus told Violet.

"I know. Now we're here in the middle of Suburbia." Violet said.

"VFD!" Sunny shrieked. She meant something along the lines of, 'I wish we had gone to that town VFD. Maybe we could find the Quagmires.'

"I know, Sunny." Violet comforted her sister. Then she looked around. They were sitting on three comfortable chairs before a bench with five seats. There were a few people sitting behind their chairs. When the last person took their seat, the one in the middle of the bench banged the gavel.

"The meeting of Suburbia's council will come to order. Today, we discuss the placement of these three youngsters in our village. I move to give the children the floor. Any seconds?"

"I second it," A woman said. "All in favor?" All the adults raised their hands.

"Motion passed," The one with the gavel said. "Children?"

Violet stood up. She held Sunny. Klaus put an arm around his sister. "If I may ask, who are you?"

"Oh, how rude of me!" The middle one said. "I'm Mayor Jay Hawkins. To my immediate right is Councilor Henrietta Walsch, and to her right is Councilor Boris Utgard. To my immediate left is Councilor Tom Hesler, and to his right is Councilor Mae Chen."

"Thank you, Mayor Hawkins," Violet said.

"Of course. Children, do tell us about yourselves."

"I'm Violet," Violet said. "I enjoy engineering and inventing mechanical devices."

"My name is Klaus and I enjoy reading and research."

"Sun!" Sunny shrieked. "Bite!"

"Our sister means," Klaus said, "That she enjoys biting hard objects like rocks or carrots. She doesn't bite people. Her name is Sunny Baudelaire."

A murmur passed through the watching crowd. Violet could pick out words like 'precious' and 'special' from the hubbub.

"Order!" Mayor Hawkins said, banging the gavel. "Thank you, Violet. Children, you may be seated. The floor is open."

A young woman got up. She came up to the bench but instead of addressing the council, she addressed the children. "Hello, Baudelaires," She said. "My name is Charlotte Mayes, and I was wondering if you would like to live with me and my wife. We've wanted children for a long time, you see, and Lynn and I would really love to take care of you."