My name is Molly Starfield. I am 13 years old and live in a big mansion with my mother and father. I am an only child but I'm not as lonely as you may think. My best friends, the Baudelaires, live right next door to me. Our parents where close friends so we grew up always being together. We became a team and each of us had something to offer.
Violet Baudelaire was the eldest Baudelaire child. She was 15 years old and had a real knack for inventing and building unusual devices. When Violet Baudelaire tied her hair up it was a sure sign that the pulleys, levers and gears of her inventing mind were working at top speed.
Then there was Klaus Baudelaire. He was the middle child and only boy. He was the same age as me,13, and wore glasses, which made him look intelligent. He was intelligent. Sometimes so intelligent I have to explain what he means to other people.
You can always tell when he is seriously thinking because he will adjust his glass.
The youngest was Sunny Baudelaire. She was so young that most people had trouble understanding what she says. Well everyone but her siblings and I. We can always understand what she says. But what Sunny lacked in communication skills she makes up for with the size and sharpness of her four teeth.
Finally there was me. I specialize in the medical field and I am an excellent driver. Klaus likes to tell me I can drive any vehicle known to man. My father taught me how to drive. He always tells me that you never know what situation you may be in and what skills you might need. My mom taught me about medicine. She also always taught me you keep your hair tied back and neat. It means you mean business. So I always wear my hair back.
We make a great team. On this particular day we where on a rickety old trolley on the way to the beach. Violet had a light pink collard dress on with a blue sweater. Klaus had on khakis, a burgundy sweater and a brown jacket on. Sunny had a light pink dress on with a matching bonnet and had a yellow sweater on. I was wearing a white and purple striped dress with a purple sweater tied over my shoulders. My hair was braided and pinned back into hoops with purple ribbon hanging down.
"I wonder why Mother and Father didn't want to come with us." Klaus asks his sister and friend.
"Maybe they don't like this rickety trolley." Violet says as the four kids step off of the trolley.
Klaus carries a picnic basket and reaches back to help Me off the trolley. Violet stepped off the trolly carrying Sunny.
When Briny Beach was hot and sunny, the seashore was crowded with tourists and it was impossible to find a good place to lay one's blanket. On gray and cloudy days, we had the beach more or less to ourselves, so we could work together on our projects and experiments.
"Are you ready?" Violet asked her brother and her close friend.
"Let's get to work." I said with a smile on my face.
"Do you think this will be as good as the mailbox?" Violet asked looking back at past experiments the group had made.
"I think this will be even better than the mailbox." Klaus replies back.
"Klaus, at what angle are the prevailing currents?" Violet asks her brother as she tied her hair back.
"The angle of the prevailing currents..." Klaus began to explain."Of course, we still need the right projectile." He finished closing the book he was using to help his research.
He was intelligent
"Sunny, do we have the right projectile?" Violet asked the little baby. The small girl babbles in response.
(Babbles) "Can you find a rock that's not sandstone?" She asked the older children.
I find a rock and hand it to the baby. She starts biting the rock until it is smooth.
"That's perfect, Sunny. Thank you." Violet says taking the rock and marking it with a piece of chalk. She gets ready to throw it with her left hand.
"Excuse me, Violet, but why are you using your left hand?" I ask inquisitively.
"I'm curious to see if I can skip the rock as far with my left as I can with my right." Violet says matter of factly.
"I don't mean to criticize, but standard scientific method calls for stable systematics." Klaus tells his older sister. However Violet looked at him confused.
"You should use your standard right-handedness." I explains.
"That does seem reasonable." Violet response fixing her stance.
(Babbles) "I agree" Sunny agrees. Violet then threw the rock and we watched it skip across the water and eventually fell in with a plunk.
" Klaus, what's that thing Einstein said?" I asked looking at the young genius.
"The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science." Klaus says still looking out on the ocean.
" And what's that thing James Brown said?" Violet asked looking at her friend amused at her brother.
"I got something that makes me want to shout." Klaus says almost oblivious to the silent conversation happening between the older girls. We rolled our eyes and got back to the task at hand.
"You ready Molly?" Violet asked handing the younger girl a remote.
"Ready" I reply. Violet opens the picnic basket and a robotic hand pops out of it. I carefully maneuver the hand using the route control and lower it to grab the rock that Violet threw. The hand brought it back to land and placed it in Violet's hand.
"I'm super bad!" The three older kids say at the same time.
"It worked!" Violet said excited.
"I never expected other wise." Klaus says with glee.
"Good maneuvering Molly!" Violet says giving me a hug.
"Well it's all thanks to the inventor!" I laugh.
"I just wish mother and father could be here to see it. It was unlike them to send us off like this." Klaus says with sadness in his eyes. I put my hand on his shoulder to comfort him.
Suddenly I see a figure walking towards us out of the mist. He had a hat and a briefcase and kept coughing into a hanky. When he got closer he looked slightly familiar.
"He looks kinda scary." I say looking at the man.
"It only seems scary because of the mist." Klaus reassures me and squeezes my hand on his shoulder. I drop my hand and grab Sunny as we approach the figure.
"It's Mr. Poe." Violet says and lets out a breath.
"From the bank?" I wonder.
"What's he's doing here?" Klaus adds.
When he finally reaches us we say.
"How do you do?"
"I'm fine. thank you."he responds. It was awkwardly silent for a minute.
"It's a nice day." Violet adds awkwardly.
"It's a very nice day." Then spoke very quick. "I have some very bad news for you children. Your parents have perished in a terrible fire. They perished in a fire that destroyed both of your homes."
Violet drop the rock she was still holding and it took all of my might to not drop Sunny.