A Series of Unfortunate Events (A FANFIC based off the Netflix series)

The Miserable Mill [3]

"Well, sounds like he may have had a bad experience with one. I wonder who she was. Or if she ever practiced optometry again...after the heartbreak, and the lawsuit and the plastic surgery to assume a new identity in a faraway town,"

"What did you say?"

"I said try not to blink," Dr. Orwell grabbed a magnifying glass "You're a smart boy. Do you know what bedside manner means?"

"It's when..."

"It's when a doctor speaks in a calm and reassuring voice to make sure his patients trust him. And how are we feeling, Klaus?"

"Not good,"

"Because you broke your glasses,"

"Because of this town. Everyone thinks our parents did this bad thing, but they never even met them,"

"Well, I'm not like everyone else,"

"You don't believe it,"

"I met your parents,"

Klaus looked at her in confusion, only to find himself restrained to the chair.

"Standard procedure for nervous little boys," Dr. Orwell moved the eye lens in front of him "That's standard, too." she pointed her can to the screen "Now focus here, Klaus, and tell me what you see. An E or an A?"

"An..."

"An E or an A?"

"An A,"

"An A or a C?"

"A-C,"

"A sea or a lake?"

"Wait, what?"

"A reptile or an amphibian? Fire or accident? A blonde or a bottle blonde? A parent or an arsonist? Tell me what you see, Klaus,"

Count Olaf pushed the lense away "Yes, you little bookworm, tell us what you see,"

***

Violet kept glancing at the door.

Phil noticed as well "I'm sure he'll be back soon. Why don't you play a game of solitaire to pass the time?"

Violet only continued to stare out the fake window.

"Violet?" Phil called out.

"Hmm?"

"That's not a window." Phil stood up causing Violet to look up at him. "Lights out," he blew out the candles on the table.

Violet brushed Sunny's hair, looking up when the door creaked open "Klaus? We were worried. You were gone so long. You're not wearing your glasses. Are they still being fixed?"

Klaus ignored Violet and walked past her.

"What was it like inside the eye? Klaus?" Violet continued to question.

Klaus turned to Violet with a smile.

"You're smiling," Violet noted.

"I'm happy to be here, sir," Klaus said.

"What? I'm not Sir. I'm your sister. While you were gone, I heard Sir talking to Charles. He said he made a deal to cover something up. There's something bigger going on here,"

"Shh. Quiet," Jimmy grunted.

"Did you hear what I said?" Violet noticed Klaus was already asleep "I guess it's been a long day. Would you like to go to sleep?"

"Yes, sir," Klaus replied.

"Your shoes are still on. Klaus?" Violet took off Klaus's shoes and went to lay next to Sunny. "I promised our parents I'd always look out for Klaus. But I didn't. He wanted to leave and I made him stay. Except now he's acting strange. And it's all my fault," she sniffled "There's no one else to fix it,"

***

"Get up lumber laborers," The Foreman ordered on the PA "Lucky Smells has no time for dawdling. Klaus Baude-liar, would you like to get out of bed this instant?"

"Yes, sir," Klaus said as he sat up in bed.

"Would you like to bring your baby sister?"

Klaus picked Sunny up and walked out of the dorm, not wearing any shoes.

"Klaus?" Violet called out before following after her brother.

"Lucky boy," The Foreman called out in the mill. "It's wood chipper day. Would you like to make some mulch?"

Klaus walked up to the wood chipper and began tossing wood into the machine.

Sunny babbled uncomfortably as Violet walked up to them.

"What are you doing?" Violet demanded, but Klaus did not reply "You're frightening Sunny and you're frightening me. What's going on?" she asked as she took Sunny away from him. "Stop it and we can leave,"

"Lucky Smells is our life. Lucky Smells is our home," Klaus said

"No, it's not. A home is where people take care of you, not make you work in a mill for gum. I should've listened to you when you wanted to go. If you're still in there, I want you to know I miss you an inordinate amount,"

"Inordinate?" Phil asked "What..." he chuckled "What the heck does that mean?"

"It can mean many things. Immoderate, irregular. But in this case, I think it means you missed me a lot," Klaus explained.

"Klaus, you're back!" Violet cheered

"Where was I?" Klaus looked down "Why am I not wearing any shoes?"

"I don't know what's going on here, but we need to...."

"Baude-liars!" The Foreman called out on the PA.

"We need to..."

"I'm talking to you, lumber brats. Go to the very fancy door. You have visitors.

***

Charles stood in front of a door as the Baudelaires came up to him. "Ah, there you are, children. Now, I know your time here hasn't been peachy, but your luck is about to change. Because I brought you...this peach," he chuckled as he handed Violet the peach.

"But who's visiting us?" Klaus asked

"Oh, I don't know. But they can't come inside, because that would be trespassing, and then they'd be put to work. But I can tell you they are just on the other side of that very fancy door,"

I beg you, to turn this screen off now, or choose a different book.

Imagine this story has a happy ending.

You can pretend the woman at the door is me, finally being reunited with the Baudelaires, and I've come to tell them that Count Olaf is dead.

Or you can pretend that there's a butler with a tray of blueberry pancakes, or a loving parent that you thought you'd never see again. But if you choose to read on, let me warn you, the misery does not end here. In fact, I revisited Paltryville myself many years later. It was long after the Lucky Smells Lumbermill had closed its doors...and Dr. Orwell's office had fallen into disrepair. Of course, the building wasn't originally an optometrist office at all, but the headquarters of a secret organization. Poor, Poor Klaus Baudelaire. It's enough to make you want to abandon civilization and live by a pond. But if you choose to look this misery in the eye, you should be asking one question. It's the same question that the Baudelaires should've asked. And that question is...where is Count Olaf?

"My, my, my, my, my!" Shirley proclaimed as she put the glasses on Klaus. 

Dr. Orwell stood behind Shirley, Fia standing to her left. 

"Aren't you a lucky boy?"

"Yes, sir," Klaus said.