The Fourth Baudelaire

THE AUSTERE ACADEMY: part 4

Sometimes as you probably already did in this book, you can find a phrase, "meanwhile back at the ranch" which tries to represent two storylines that are happening in the same moment in different places, so when now I'll type, meanwhile back at the ranch, you'll know what I mean.
Violet and Klaus were studying with Camille's help and Sunny was practicing some secretarial duties as using a stapler, which her older sister had to improvise giving her one of the crabs from the shack. But meanwhile back at the ranch, the Quagmires were running and running around that luminous circle that Klaus once described as giant glowing zero as he knew nothing about Count Olaf's plan.
"I know we are doing this for serious reasons but is really fun." Duncan whispered to Isadora who was behind him.
"It may not be particularly wise but it's a thrill to be disguised" Isadora recited and kept running along with her brother.
Sadly even the best of plans not always end well, and while the Quagmires kept running around the luminous circle, the string to the flour baby, was starting to broke and the triplets didn't even notice when it happened, and Count Olaf kicked the fake Sunny, which led to a lot of flour around and to two triplets running and hiding in the library, where they luckily found what all the orphans had been looking for: The Incomplete History of Secret Organizations.
Isadora used the spyglass to create some light an be able to read, but outside the library was the hook-handed man guarding the door, and it makes me sad to say that the Baudelaires would not see the Quagmires when they had to do the comprehensive exams and profesional reappraisal.
It was morning and the Baudelaires had just arrived to the auditorium where they found a familiar face, Mr Poe. He expressed his disappointment and told the Baudelaires that he had brought all that was necessary for Coach Ghenghis to be in charge of their 'homeschooling'.
The exams started right after everyone took place and watched as the Baudelaires answered everything right, as I expected.
"You all passed" Vice Principal Nero said glumly as he disliked orphans, "Mr Poe I'll let them stay here for the rest of the semester."
"Wait!" Coach Ghenghis shouted standing up from his chair. "There's still one more thing to do. This is a comprehensive exam right? Well I have not done my evaluation and as the Prufrock Prep handbook states, 51% of the evaluation is made by the gym teacher."
"Yes, that's right!?" Nero said surprised. "But how did you know?"
"Let me tell you a story..." he said walking toward the Baudelaires growing closer and closer with each step. "A long time ago a handsome young man attended this very school, and was expelled in this very stage by that very reason."
"We'll be more than happy to run laps." Klaus said firmly. "We're in extremely good shape." Finished Violet.
"There's a better way to test your physical princess."
He said obviously mistaken.
"I think you mean "prowess"" Klaus corrected as always.
"I think I mean arms." He stated. "Arm wrestling. No holds barred. Against an opponent that is as heavy and as slow as a bag of flour." He shouted to everyone in the auditorium. "Sunny Baudelaire!"
"Five bucks on Ghenghis" Nero said pointing at the Coach.
"This isn't fair." Shouted Camille from below the stage and going up to be with her siblings.
"You're a full-grown adult. Sunny's practically a baby" Klaus said to Ghenghis.
"That hardly seems sporting." Shouted Mr Poe from his seat.
"Fine, I'll take on the bookworm." He said annoyed.
"Yeah, That seems fair." Nero interrupted.
"You can take the both of us." Camille told him.
"Uh, I'll pass." He said as he was stating the obvious.
"What's wrong coach Ghenghis? Afraid you're not strong enough?" Violet asked.
"A real gym teacher could do it." Klaus said surely.
"Yes, Coach Ghenghis. Surely you're stronger than two simple schoolchildren." Nero reassured him.
"Of course I am!" He said sitting in the table and he never lost the chance to go around saying how amazing he is.
Klaus and Camille sat in front of him and locked hands on top of his greasy one.
"This reminds me of a story. Some time ago four orphans came to me needing my help." He said pushing the twins' hands. " 'Coach' they said to me, 'we're failures, we have an enormous fortune and we're keeping it all to ourselves out of our own selfishness. How do we learn to share? How do we learn to give up in the face of all-powerful very good-looking physical strength' " he said pushing and pushing. "And- do- you- know- what- I- told- them?"
"You can never give up." Camille said pushing his hand to the opposite side.
"You can never give up if you find yourself in terrible circumstances." Klaus continued while he and his sister pushed the greasy hand. "You must keep struggling" he continued. "You must struggle until you find a safe place to live." Camille completed. "You must struggle until you find noble and reliable friends." Kept saying Klaus as they continued to gain land over Ghenghis strength. "You must struggle..." Camille said grunting trying to push harder. "And struggle..." said Klaus every time nearer to defeating Count Olaf. "Until the world can see who you really are." Added Violet walking closer to her siblings.
In the meantime all of this happened, the smart Sunny Baudelaire was crawling under the table and untied Olaf's left shoe. Which when Violet joined her siblings defeating Count Olaf, his left shoe jumped in the air, leaving his ankle able to be seen.
"Holly Beethoven. I see what you mean Baudelaires." Said Vice Principal Nero certainly not seeing what the Baudelaires meant.
"Finally" Three of them shouted.
"What you mean... is that I should keep on struggling, and then perhaps I'll be invited to join a legitimate orchestra."
"No, that's not what we mean at all." Klaus and Camille said in unison.
"Your shoe sir." He said picking up the white shoe from the floor.
"Look at the tattoo on his ankle." Violet screamed.
"Egad! I'd known that ankle anywhere!" Mr Poe said standing from his seat.
"You flatter me kind sir!" Olaf said with his normal voice.
"Don't call me 'kind sir' kind sir" He told him back. "You're Count Olaf and that tattoo proves it. There's no matter in trying to cover it up."
"I'm not covering up anything." Olaf told them putting on his shoe again. "I need these."
"Why would a notorious criminal need running shoes?" Mr Poe asked confused.
"Umm, for running." He said running out of the auditorium.
"Mr Poe! Go after him!" Violet yelled. Obviously he did not move.
The Baudelaires looked at each other and Violet asked, "Camille? Sunny?"
"Go! We'll catch up." Answered Camille picking up Sunny while Klaus and Violet sprinted out of the auditorium.
It is no needed to say that they were too late, as they reached the entrance Count Olaf's car with his henchpeople and the Quagmire triplets was already in movement.
"Duncan!" Violet yelled.
"Isadora!" Klaus repeated. "What do we do now?"
"Keep running." Violet told him as the both of them started to go after the car.
"Klaus!" Isadora yelled from the car. "We found the book, you have to remember..."
"VFD!!!" Continued Duncan.
"VFD!" Screamed the both of them.
"Remember VFD!" Isadora repeated as the car was too far behind but from the spyglass Isadora was holding fell from the car and landed directly at Klaus' feet.
"Isadora!" He said softly.
"Duncan!" Violet said imitating his tone.
Right after Camille and Sunny showed up and Sunny held Violet's hand while Camille hugged Klaus, that was trying not to cry.
And as the four Baudelaires saw how the car was leaving, I think you already know that as the motto of Prufrock Prep, not all stories can have a happy ending, because Memento Mori means, "Remember you will die..."

Authors Note:
Hi guys! I'm so happy and thankful that the book reached 100 reads. Thank you so much, it motivates me a lot to know that someone is reading my work.
I wanted to ask you, what do you think about the story? If you think I can improve something please let me know!