A Series of Unfortunate Events One Shots

Valentine's Day

The kids are all 13; begin!

Universe*

~Normal POV

"Alright settle down everyone," Miss Daniel commanded, "Now since I'm behind on my grading papers, after the rough weather we've been having, I'm going to let you have a free day today. I need to grade your homework so I'll give you a simple assignment to keep you occupied: just make a valentine and give it to someone. You'll find art supplies in these containers. Try not to make a mess and before anyone asks, no it doesn't have to be romantic. Now get to work and don't get too rowdy."

The English teacher sat down at her desk while the students scrambled about looking for supplies to make their valentines. It was pretty obvious that the students didn't really want to do such an assignment but they wouldn't pass up the opportunity to avoid normal schoolwork for the day. Three girls in particular were sitting at their table contemplating their assignment; Nikki, Lizzie, and Lily all had English class together.

"I wish we didn't have to do this," Lizzie said.

Nikki shrugged, "It's just a card."

"No I mean because we don't have anyone in this class we'd want to actually give the card to..."

"Lizzie's right," Lily spoke up with a frown, "All the guys in here with us are jerks."

Lizzie nodded solemnly. Nikki thought for a moment before getting up and walking over to their teacher's desk. Lizzie and Lily watched as she returned a minute later.

"We can make them for someone that's not in class as long as we just make one." With that permission the three girls set to work on their projects.

Nikki, being an artist, made a beautifully decorated card with flowers drawn all over the edges. She knew she would give this card to her friend Drake, but she wasn't sure what it should say just yet. Most of her time was spent drawing on it. Lily made her card for Nikki and Lizzie's cousin Sam; he was her friend and she wanted to give it to him. Though Nikki and Lizzie could tell that Lily was starting to feel more than friendship for their cousin; they chose not to comment to avoid embarrassing their friend. Lizzie thought that writing a couplet for her friend Lucas would make the perfect valentine. Her mother was a poet and she knew couplets were something important to her parents; especially on her father's birthday. After some time, the girls finished their cards and showed them off to each other.

"Of course yours looks the best, Nikki," Lily commented, "You're the one with all the talent."

"Mine isn't that great; yours looks good too, Lily," Nikki replied modestly, "I'm sure Sam will like it."

Lily blushed a shade of pink, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Nikki smirked, "Never mind... What about yours Lizzie?"

Lizzie shyly showed her card to her cousin and friend. "How does it look?"

"It looks good, I especially like the poem you put there," Lily replied with a smile.

"Auntie Isadora would be proud of that couplet," Nikki said.

After a brief pause, Lily asked, "We're just making these as friends... right?"

"Oh, yeah of course," Nikki answered hastily.

"Absolutely," Lizzie added, "Why would we make them for, ahem, any other reason?"

"You're right..." Lily nodded, "Just friend valentines..."

"Just friends..."

"Besides our dads would kill the boys if these were romantic valentines," Nikki said.

"That's true," Lizzie and Lily replied in unison.

~...

As it turned out the three boys made just friend valentines for each of them as well. The kids exchanged these cards after school let out and they had gone to the Baudelaire/Quagmire estate to do their homework. The adults were out for their own Valentine's Day plans leaving the kids alone; this wasn't a huge issue because they knew they were trustworthy.

Drake's card for Nikki was poorly drawn, but cut in the shape of a music note. It had a verse from a song written on it: "Without you there's no reason for my story, and when I'm with you I can always act the same." Nikki's card for him had no words on it, her talents were better used without words, but Drake loved it anyway. He was always happy to see her art.

Lily loved Sam's card for her. It had a picture of two messily drawn otters holding paws; otters were her favorite animals. It said, "Otters hold paws so they don't float apart, I hope you and I are like otters so we'll always be together." Her card for him had a bouquet of flowers drawn on it with the simple saying, "I'd always pick you." While rather cheesy, Sam loved it regardless.

Lizzie's card for Lucas had very few decorations on it and had a single couplet: "In my heart I want it to be true, be my valentine; would you?" Lucas blushed heavily at the poem and shyly gave her his card. It was made to look like a book and it said, "Special people are very few; who is special, Carissima that would be you." Somehow they had both thought to write a couplet. Lizzie made a mental note to research what Carissima meant later, but she loved the card all the same.

It may have been a dumb class assignment but the kids couldn't have been happier to share cards with people they cared for. Nikki and Lizzie made Sam promise not to tell their parents about the valentines, for fear of getting in trouble for possible romantic feelings for boys they weren't allowed to have yet. Sam reassured his cousins with a smile and a funny response.

"Don't worry about it, I won't rat you out. Besides they're just friend valentines... right?"

Nikki and Lizzie smiled, "Yeah just friend valentines..."

Or perhaps they were more than that... since Lizzie found a book in the Baudelaire private library that explained that Carissima was Latin for "dearest."

~The End!

I hope you liked this cutesy little story! And I hope you liked the cards I had them make! Happy Valentine's Day! (My fiancé has to work so I'm spending it alone pretty much! But that's ok!)