Dinner was uneventful and soon it was time for Vice Principal Nero's dreaded recital. I sat between the Baudelaires and, of course, Klaus and I had to go for the same arm rest. My hand shot back into my lap and I tried my best not to huff at the series of awkward events that were occuring today.
Violet gave me a strange look but I ignored it, even when she raised an eyebrow and glanced between Klaus and I, both of us blushing messes. I wrung my hands and pretended not to notice.
Finally the lights dimmed and Nero took to the stage, grinning smugly before announcing his usual warning about giving him bags of candy if we left or weren't clapping loud enough. All I could do was roll my eyes; where were we even meant to get bags of candy from?
I always hated Nero's recital, as most Prufrock students did, but today I couldn't have asked for a better distraction. It was dark in the auditorium, no one was allowed to talk, and the piercing sound of a distressed violin was the perfect way to get me to stop thinking about things. The phrase "so loud I can't hear myself think" only, truly applied to situations like this.
About an hour later, the last note was painfully played and Nero bowed and giggled to himself before leaving the stage. The crowd of students once sitting silently, turned into a stampede and I took the opportunity to slip away before anything else awkward could happen today. Duncan rushed after me but we didn't speak until we had reached the door to the supply cupboard. Thats where Nero had moved us into ever since the Baudelaires started living in the Orphan Shack. It wasn't great having to sleep on the bare concrete floor with only a moth eaten blanket each to fight off the cold, but anything was an improvement to the dripping fungus and crabs.
The thought of the Baudelaires heading back to that horrid place made me feel bad: I hadn't even wished them goodnight. But before I could get too deep into my thoughts, Duncan spoke up.
"What's going on with you, Iz, you've been...different today."
I offered him a small, reassuring smile and told him I was fine. I appreciated his concern but this whole issue I was having wasn't even worth being discussed. I'd had a weird dream, it'd made me see things differently, it'd sent today into mayhem, but it was about to be over. Our mother always told us that things seem better once you sleep on them, and that's exactly what I was going to do. Sleep got me into this mess of emotions, and sleep would be the one to get me out again.
I said goodnight to Duncan (not forgetting to remind him to wake me up the next morning if the alarm failed to do so) and laid beneath my singular blanket. Soon everything dissolved around me as I closed my eyes and drifted off into sleep.
Suddenly, someone cleared their throat and my eyes shot open. I was back in Miss Bass' class, room 202, an array of items scattered on my desk, waiting to be bound by the metric system. But that's not what my eyes were focused on. Stood at the front of the room was none other than Carmelita Spats, her prufrock uniform bedazzled. She was holding a hot pink, sequined clipboard and hit it on Miss Bass' desk a couple of times to gather everyone's attention.
"Right cakesniffers, I have extremely good news," she announced, looking around the room with that maniacal smile of hers, "for me, I mean. Why would it be good news for you?"
Carmelita paused for a second, possibly to make sure we were all listening, possibly so she could check her reflection in her shiny clipboard.
"We're having a play!" she squealed with enough enthusiasm to make up for the lack of it in the room, "I'm directing it of course and playing the main role."
I rolled my eyes. Of course she would take all the main jobs. She wouldn't be Carmelita otherwise. Deciding this had nothing to do with me, I rested my head on my desk. For some reason I was extremely tired all of a sudden.
