A/N: sorry about it taking so long. Been really busy. Hope you enjoy! And to anyone who wishes to know where my genius came from while writing this chapter… I ate pretzels the whole time I was typing it up. :) Don't forget to review.
Violet slid into her seat in the middle of the classroom. The room was already halfway full and more students with books in their arms were still arriving, laughing and joking with their friends and classmates. Violet had chosen that particular seat so as not to be noticed. She slumped further down in her chair as the seats around her began to lose their emptiness. She clutched her brand new notebook and pencil to her chest and closed her eyes. She hated this, not knowing anyone around her. Suddenly, images of the time at Prufrock Prep flashed behind her closed eyelids. She frowned. At least, she could have had a class with Klaus. But, like her, he had been sent to different classes that Mr. McCain had fervently claimed that they needed since they had missed so much. That's what missing four years of school will do to you. They were lucky they were only making them make up certain classes and not whole grades.
Violet opened her eyes in time to see her new teacher close the door as she entered the classroom. She seemed to be in her mid thirties with short black hair and soft green eyes. She was tall with a body that most girls would kill for. The eyes of all the teenage boys in the room seemed glued to her frame. She walked over to her desk and sat down. She picked up on of the many sheets of paper that lay on her desk and began reading off names.
"Jenny Abel."
"Here." the girl in front of Violet replied.
"Lionel Adan."
"Here." stated a boy in the back of the room.
"Joey Arnet."
"Here." this one came from the first seat in the last row.
"Linsey Bancroft."
"Here" came the bored reply from the middle row.
"Violet-" the woman blinked her eyes rapidly the stared at the list. Suddenly, a smile broke across her once straight face, displaying her white teeth. She looked up, her bright eyes scanning the room.
Violet sunk so low in her chair she feared she'd slip right off and onto the floor right under her desk. But, nonetheless, the woman's eyes landed on her; and her smile grew.
"Well, it seems that we have a new student."
Instantly, everyone's heads turned, looking for a face they hadn't seen before. The ones sitting closest to Violet picked her out almost immediately, and the boys seemed to drool while most of the girls looked as if they would burst from the joy of a possible new gossip girl; but other girls, who must have noticed the boys reaction, glared daggers at her.
Violet swallowed. 'Oh boy.' she groaned to herself.
"Why don't you introduce yourself?" the woman said leaning against her desk and motioning for Violet to stand up. All of a sudden, Violet felt like she was four again as the butterflies fluttered in her stomach. She slowly stood up and kept her eyes on the woman at the front of the room. Violet opened her mouth, but her tongue seemed to be sleeping.
"Umm… I…uhh… I'm…. well.." Violet stuttered. She silently scolded herself. This was ridiculous. They were just people. She took a deep breath.
"You know, you usually say your name when you're introducing yourself." Violet turned her head as she ignored the snickering of some of the other kids and looked at the smirking blond sitting a couple of seats away. Violet frowned at the girl.
"Linsey!" Violet's attention was drawn back to the front of the room. "Maybe we should introduce ourselves first. I'm Miss Jefferson." The woman then looked to the first student sitting closest to the door. He quickly stood up. He was a tall skinny boy with black hair and glasses.
"Simon Loyle." he stated smiling at Violet.
He sat down and almost immediately the girl behind him stood up.
"Emily Riker."
And so on it went until they got to Linsey. She stood up slowly, looking Violet up and down as if sizing her up.
"Linsey Bancroft." she said sticking her nose slightly skyward before sitting back down as if she were a queen.
After her, things went okay. The last girl, Amy Vickings, smiled largely at Violet.
"Well, now that we've all been introduced, I do believe it to be your turn." Miss Jefferson said turning back to Violet.
"Maybe she'll be able to get it out this time." Linsey muttered and the class erupted into giggling. Amy shot a glare at Linsey as she smiled smugly. Miss Jefferson didn't seem very happy with her either.
"I believe that's enough from you. Miss Bancroft." she said frowning at the girl.
Linsey's mouth grew into a tight line as she mumbled a barely audible "yes, ma'am."
Before anyone else could make another unnecessary comment, Violet spoke.
"Violet Baudelaire." she said simply. The room suddenly grew very quiet. Violet became nervous and began shifting from foot to foot. Suddenly, Linsey started laughing. She grabbed her stomach and, with the other hand, pointed at Violet.
"You're… Violet.. Baudelaire?" she asked incredulously in between laughs. "The… Violet Baudelaire?" At this, she began to laugh even harder and looked as if she would faint.
Violet felt her anger rise in her chest. This girl was mocking her! Violet felt her cheeks burn, and she clenched her teeth. Uh-uh. Not going to happen.
"Yes, as a matter of fact, I am Violet Baudelaire and I don't find it the least bit funny so I don't see why you're laughing, Linsey." Violet said through her teeth.
The girl's laughter abruptly stopped and she stared at Violet, who was now glaring at her. She cleared her throat and looked away from Violet's intense gaze.
"Sorry." she mumbled. Again, the class stared at Violet as if she had done something miraculous. Violet, not caring for all the attention, sat down. When she looked at Miss Jefferson, she noticed the woman's head was tilted slightly, and she wore a smile as if she knew something Violet didn't.
"Well, since we're all acquainted, why don't we turn to page 165? Here is your book Violet." she said handing Violet a thick math book. Violet opened it to the correct page and buried herself into the book.
The rest of the day went by without any other incident. She met her history teacher, Mr. Sherwood; her science teacher, Roger Fulton; and her DSC (Disguise and Secret Coding) teacher, Mrs. Ferris. Then came lunch.
/
Violet sat down at an empty table near a window and stared at her food. Well, it looked good. She picked up her fork and slowly took a bite.
"The food here is actually pretty good. And it's usually good for you too."
Violet looked up from her food to see who had offered their opinion.
"Isadora!" Violet exclaimed leaping up so fast she nearly knocked over her tray.
Isadora grinned and pulled Violet into a tight hug.
"We've missed you so much, Violet." Isadora practically squealed.
"Isadora… can't… breathe…. Need… air." Violet choked.
"Oops. Sorry. I'm just a little excited to see you." Isadora apologized letting go of Violet.
"I'm happy to see you too." Violet replied smiling at her friend.
"Where are Klaus and Sunny?" Isadora's eyebrows knitted together as she looked around the rather large lunchroom.
"I don't think Sunny's class has lunch with the upper classes. As for Klaus, I have no idea where he is." Violet craned her neck to look for Klaus.
"There he is. Over there by Duncan." Violet smiled and pointed out her friend and her brother.
Isadora looked at her. "How'd you know that is Duncan and not Quigley?"
Violet stopped. She had a vague idea, but she decided not to share it with Isadora. "I don't know, I just do." she said shrugging.
Before Isadora could say anything in response, Duncan had his arms wrapped around Violet and was spinning her. Klaus was not far behind hugging Isadora although a little less vigorously than Duncan was currently hugging Violet. When Violet's feet once again touched the floor, Duncan began pelting her with questions.
"How've you been? Where have you been? How'd you get here? When did you get here? Have you-" Isadora put a hand on her brother's shoulder. "Wooh there, cowboy. Why don't we sit down and eat and then you can ask questions." Duncan grinned and nodded.
"Where's Quigley?" Violet asked looking at the long line of people waiting to choose their food.
"Right here. Had trouble finding you in the crowd."
Violet turned to see Quigley striding toward them with a tray in his hands.
"Hello there, Quigley. It's nice to see you again. Sleep well?"
Quigley smiled. "Very well, actually. It was nice to have nothing to worry about for once.
Violet was just about to ask him what he worried about when Duncan interrupted.
"What are you two talking about? This is the first time we've seen Violet in forever."
"Actually, I saw Violet when she arrived yesterday."
"You did? And you didn't tell us?" Isadora punched Quigley's arm.
"Sorry. Long day, I guess." Quigley said rubbing his arm.
They sat down to eat. The Quagmires sat across from the Baudelaires, and both sides told their stories and answered the questions asked by each other. Violet found out that her next class was with Duncan while Klaus had his with Isadora and Quigley. Violet's last class was with Isadora since the boys were separated from the guys during P.E. Violet thought about the morning she'd had and presented another question.
"Who is Linsey Bancroft?"
"Linsey? Oh, she is just the most snobbish person in the entire school. She thinks she's perfect since her father is a leader of V.F.D." Isadora spat. "I've never really liked her and probably never will."
Violet looked down at her tray and muttered, "Yeah, I got that impression this morning too. But maybe she won't be so bad. Maybe she'll just get used to us."
Isadora shrugged. "Probably not, but you can give her a chance if you like. If anyone can take her, it's the Baudelaires."
Violet's head shot up. "Okay. What is all that about?"
The Quagmires' eyebrows shot up in confusion. "What?" they asked in unison.
"Everyone seems… I don't know.. awed by me. When I introduced myself in class today, it got quiet and everyone stared at me like I had just appeared from thin air and told them all I was a fairy princess."
Klaus nodded. "Same thing with me. I stated my name and you'd think I had just risen from the dead."
"Well, you're kind of famous around here. No, I should say, especially around here. You're famous all throughout the V.F.D. Everybody knows your names and what you've done." Quigley interjected leaning back in his chair.
Violet would have smacked her head on the table if her tray hadn't been in the way, although she was still considering it.
Klaus groaned and rubbed his eyes under his glasses. "Well, that's fabulous."
Duncan laughed. "Are you kidding? You Baudelaires are like heroes. Everyone thinks you're awesome. Even Linsey has said that she thinks you're cool. And she's never said that about anyone…. Well, except herself, of course."
Violet looked at Klaus and could tell he was thinking the same thing. "We really don't want to be noticed. Attention isn't really our thing."
"Well, there's no helping it now. What's done is done. The Baudelaires and the Snickets have always been big in the V.F.D."
"Violet?" Isadora spoke suddenly.
"Yes?"
"Who's that little girl that arrived with you? I've been hearing rumors abut her."
"Oh, that's Beatrice. Beatrice Baudelaire."
Duncan and Quigley looked at each other then back at Violet. Isadora just stared at Violet waiting for further information.
"She's Kit's Snicket's daughter. We adopted her when Kit…" for some reason, the last word just wouldn't come out.
"Oh." the triplets replied as comprehension appeared on their faces.
Suddenly, the table was quiet. They each finished their lunch then said good-bye when they split up to make their way to they classes. Before they parted, Quigley slipped something into Violet's hand.
A/N: Chapter 7 and 8 are split into two chapters because they'd be too long together. It took me forever to finish this and I wanted to get it posted as soon as possible so I went ahead and separated them. Also, if anyone has any ideas that they would like me to write about, let me know and I'll see what I can do. Chapter 8 will be up soon just not as long as this one.
