The Fourth Quagmire

Chapter 2

After a long, long day of measuring things and eating with all my silverware, cups, and full use of my hands thank you very much, I was able to go to the dormitory. However, I very quickly saw that it was anything but quiet in there. I asked one of the other girls who was wearing a very not-at-all-uniform outfit about the library. She was wearing a pink froufrou dress. I wouldn't wear it for $100. 

"Excuse me, but do you know where the library is?" I asked.

"Um, who are you, you cakesniffer?" she replied.

"My name is-um... What's a cakesniffer?" I focus-shifted the answer.

"A cakesniffer is a cakesniffer. And the library is where cakesniffers go, but it's down the hall to the right." she said, finally giving me some information.

"Thanks. And my name is Charlotte." I said, before leaving for the library. I hurried into the library and sat next to one of the shelves. I took out my commonplace book and started writing. I wrote for so long that when I woke up the next morning I was still leaned up against a shelf. I stood up and straightened myself, and almost walked into the librarian! 

"Oh my! Sorry about that, I didn't see you." she said. She had brown hair up in a bun, and glasses. "My name is Olivia Caliban."

"I'm the new one here. Charlotte Quagmire." I said.

"Ah, yes well, you should probably leave. Vice Principal Nero is very strict about students being in the library. He'll be here very soon." she said, and then the doors burst open.

"Vice Principal Nero is very strict about students being in the library! He'll be here very soon!" he said in a horrible mocking voice. "I'm already here and this library is meant to be closed!" 

Olivia made her hands do a weird flicking thing and said, "It is closed. There's nobody in here. You're having a bad dream."

"Oh. Yes. Well then, have a horrible morning." he said, before leaving. 

"You should go to breakfast. Hurry, hurry." Olivia said, ushering me out. I hurried down to the cafeteria. That day's breakfast was very soggy cereal. Ugh. I choked it down and got up and headed to Mrs. Bass's room early. 

"Early student? Well, you can do extra measurements as extra work. No extra credit, though." she said. Oi. I reached for a turkey drumstick and start measuring. When class began, I was already in my 'measuring trance'. That's where I'd been measuring things for so long I was measuring on autopilot. Measuring, writing down measurements, reaching for the next objects. 

BBBBBBRRRRRRRIINNNGGGGGG!!!!!!!!! the bell went crazy. "Class dismissed!" Mrs. Bass shouted. Every day I did the same thing. Wake up (sometimes in the library), hurry to breakfast, get to class early, do the class thing, go to lunch, more class, dinner, library, then sometimes end up back at the dorms. After a while, I didn't even know what day it was or how long I'd been there.

Eventually, I saw two new kids in the cafeteria, and I just waited for Carmelita to go crazy. Carmelita Spats, the most horribly spoiled girl there. She was the one wearing the pink froufrou dress. She started chanting, "Cakesniffing orphans in the Orphan's Shack! Cakesniffing orphans in the Orphan's Shack!"

I'd wanted to stand up and shout at her, but knowing that she's Vice Principal Nero's favorite kept me quiet and seated. I barely glanced at the two kids and then hurried to class. But. When the rest of the kids flooded in, I saw the new girl in my class. She was wearing a sweater instead of a uniform. I looked closely at her face and- hang on. She had my face. What?

"Class, we have a new orphan today. Girl, what's your name?" Mrs. Bass asked the girl.

"Um... Isadora. Isadora Quagmire." she said. Quagmire? What? My face, my last name, could I  have a twin sister? And what about that boy she was with? I was just so confused. I tried to hit my measuring trance to get out of this confusion. But I just couldn't. I was too shocked. As soon as the bell rang, I ran out to the library. I didn't care about missing dinner. Then I remembered. Isadora and the boy were in the Orphan's Shack.

The Orphan's Shack is where the kids who didn't have a permission slip went. I walked to the Shack, waiting. After some time, the two kids came back. "Hey! Isadora!" I yelled at them. They looked at me strangely, wondering who I am. When they got close enough to hear me without me yelling I said, "My name is Charlotte Quagmire. I'm in Mrs. Bass's class with you." quick and easy.

"What?" they both said in unison. "But-but how? We're the Quagmire triplets. If you're telling the truth, then we're quadruplets." the boy said. He was also wearing a sweater instead of a uniform. "My name is Duncan Quagmire. And I guess you've already met Isadora."

"You said triplets. There are only two of you. Doesn't that make you twins?" I asked. Their faces fell. They suddenly seemed much sadder. "What is it?"

"Twins..." Duncan said. "Our..." he trailed off.

"Our... our brother Quigley died in the fire that killed our parents and destroyed our home. We're orphans, but we're still triplets." Isadora said. I was sort of surprised. I decided to ask about something. 

"What are those notebooks?" Isadora had a black book in her sweater pocket. Duncan had a dark green notebook in his sweater pocket. They looked similar to my red notebook.

"Huh? Oh, these are commonplace books. I write poetry in mine." Isadora said.

"And I write bits of information in mine. I'm an amateur journalist." Duncan said. "What about yours?" he asked about mine.

"I write stories. Lately I've been using it more like a measurement record, from all of Mrs. Bass's classes." I replied. "Um, so. Are we really siblings? Am I really... your sister?" I asked them.

"I think so." Isadora said. Duncan looked at her funny. "Oh, come on, Duncan. She has our face, she claims to have our name, she has a matching commonplace book, she's clearly related to us. We have to accept her."

"Are you sure? What if she's lying?" Duncan said.

"Oh, please. You've been amazingly paranoid since we escaped the fire. Charlotte, we accept you as our sister." Isadora said.

Nothing really changed, but everything changed. I felt accepted instead of just alone and in books. I felt changed. I felt... happy.