Prufrock Prepatory School ✓

day one at prufrock

Bree sat down at her lunch table and watched as her sister Carmelita made fun of the Baudelaires, just for being orphans. Bree couldn't take it anymore! She walked up to her sister.

"Carmelita, stop. It's not their fault they're orphans. Leave them alone." Bree told her sister.

Carmelita ignored her. She started a chant. "Cakesniffing orphans in the orphan shack!"

Bree sent the Baudelaires a sad look, as if she were apologizing for her sister's actions. The Baudelaires sent her a sad look in return, as if to say it was okay. Bree just wanted her sister to stop. Luckily, Pheonix came to save them.

"Leave them alone, Carmelita." Pheonix told the evil Spats sister. "They didn't do anything wrong. And if you were to ask me, you're the cakesniffer. Takes one to know one."

Everyone in the cafeteria gasped. Bree tried to hold back a laugh. Nobody had the nerve to stand up to Carmelita before. Pheonix was walking into uncharted territory.

To Bree's surprise, Carmelita just flipped her hair and pouted. Pheonix turned to the Baudelaires.

"Come sit with me. I won't make fun of you for being orphans."

The Baudelaires followed Pheonix to a table. At that table also sat a boy and two girls. The four sat down at the table, sitting across from the three.

"Baudelaires, this is Jenny Taytum, Isadora Quagmire, and Duncan Quagmire."

The kids introduced each other and discussed interests.

"You like reading, too?" Jenny asked Klaus.

"Yes. Do you?" Klaus asked the small blonde.

"Of course. We're all book nerds." Jenny answered. "Usually people don't brag about that, but we take pride in it."

"We being us two." Isadora added, placing her arm around Jenny.

"You two write, correct?" Violet asked the two friends.

"Not just any writing." Isadora answered Violet. "I write couplets, and Jenny writes songs. She used to write them alone, but now we co-write songs."

"Me and Isadora are the rhyming dream team." Jenny giggled.

"Isadora and I." Duncan corrected. Jenny stuck her tongue out at him jokingly.

"That's cool." Klaus told the two girls.

Isadora smiled and removed her arm from around Jenny. "Thanks."

The six kids continued chatting, making sure Sunny was involved as well. They got along surprisingly well. They learned many things about these four kids at the table. Isadora had made friends with Jenny, while Duncan befriended Pheonix. Pheonix and Jenny were outsiders, mainly hanging out by themselves. However, the Quagmire triplets formed them into an unbreakable friend group, despite them only knowing each other for a short while. The Baudelaires felt very comfortable around these four. So comfortable in fact, that they told everyone about their experiences with Count Olaf. Isadora and Duncan then told everyone of their weird experiences since their parents died as well.

"You wouldn't happen to have a half of a spyglass, would you?" Pheonix asked the Baudelaires, remembering the Quagmires showing him and Jenny half of a spyglass just last week.

Klaus pulled out something from his pocket, at the same time Isadora pulled the half of the spyglass from her pocket. The kids realized they connected.

"You five should go talk." Jenny told the Baudelaires and Quagmires.

Pheonix and Jenny let the two sets of siblings walk to the Orphan Shack. They both knew it wasn't their place to get involved with such things that didn't involve them.

×××××××

Meanwhile, Francine sat in the window looking out at the Orphan Shack, eating an apple while reading a book. It was peaceful, and she was content.

"To Kill a Mockingbird?" a voice asked her.

Francine glanced up from her book to see Wyatt standing before her, sketching pad in one hand, a pencil in the other.

"What?" Francine asked him.

"To Kill a Mockingbird. The book you're reading?"

"Oh, right." Now Francine felt stupid. "You're Wyatt, right?"

"Yup." Wyatt answered. "The kid who skips class to draw."

Francine nodded. That was what Wyatt was known for. "Among other things I've heard."

Wyatt snickered. "What other things? That I killed my parents in a fire?"

Francine's eyes grew wide. That was a rumor she had heard before. She just wasn't aware Wyatt knew it was a rumor in the first place.

"Relax, it's not true." Wyatt assured her. Francine let out a nervous, yet forced chuckled. "What people who share that rumor don't know is that I was inside the house when it burned down. I barely made it out alive. I was in the hospital for a week. Then I was brought here. To rot."

"I'm sure if people knew that, they wouldn't continue spreading that rumor." Francine assured Wyatt.

Wyatt shrugged. "I don't think so. Kids are jerks. Even if they knew the truth, that would rumor would continue to grow. People need the drama in their lives. Why do you think people like drama shows so much?"

Francine was in awe. "I never thought of it that way before."

Wyatt shrugged. "I have. Well, bye Francine."

"Bye." Francine watched Wyatt walk away. One thought was on her mind: Why would he want to talk to me?

Word Count: 837 words