Here's a new chapter finally! It's also the last chapter of this part of my story...
Also Happy Fourth of July to all you Americans! (Though it's a little late since it's already midnight) :) And Happy Belated Canadian Independence Day! And whatever other holiday has occured over the past week! :)
Enjoy! R&R please!
Chapter 11: V.F.D.
"Take them," Coach Genghis ordered the white-faced women. They took the Quagmires off of his hands and tied them to two chairs. They struggled against their powdery hands but it was of no use.
We were in the cafeteria now. After Coach Genghis discovered the bag of flour he pretty much put the rest together on his own. The Quagmires tried to get away but Coach Genghis had chased them until he caught both of them. I had tried my best to free them, but Coach Genghis had grabbed me too.
"Let go of them," I said, firmly, stepping forward.
Coach Genghis' hand reached out and halted me by grabbing the back of my shirt.
"I thought I told you to be quiet," Coach Genghis said, "just be glad that I'm not tying you up or worse."
I pouted but remained silent.
"Keep them here," he told the white faced women, "I don't want them messing up my plan. The Baudelaire's can still end up in my clutches and I'll have their fortune." The white-faced women removed Violet's hair ribbon and Klaus' glasses, giving them to Coach Genghis.
"You'll never get their fortune," Duncan said, fiercely as he struggled against the white-faced women's grasp. "They're going to pass their exams and then we're going to reveal who you really are to Vice Principal Nero and help Jane."
Isadora nodded in agreement as she used all her effort to untie herself.
At Duncan's retort, Coach Genghis sneered at the Quagmires. "And who's going to listen to troublesome orphans who lie, steal, and cheat?"
Duncan and Isadora glared angrily up at the villain but didn't say much else.
"And you," he growled, looking down at me. He leaned down so his face was level with mine. His eyes gleamed with that horrifying look he always wore when he was trying to be intimidating. I started to take a step back but Coach Genghis yanked on my arm, pulling me back. "You'd better not mess this up. If I hear one word out of your mouth while we're having our nice chat, you'll be very, very sorry." He grabbed the wig from the white-faced women who had removed it from Isadora's head. "And this better be kept on the entire time." Roughly, he shoved the wig on my head. "Understand?"
I moved my head slightly to nod yes since I was too scared to do much else.
"Good." Coach Genghis turned for the cafeteria doors and started pulling me along with him
"One of you get the car ready so we can make our escape when we need to," Coach Genghis said to the white-faced women over his shoulder. "I'll return soon."
"What are you going to do with them?" I managed as Coach Genghis pulled me out of the cafeteria and onto the front lawn. I could spot the luminous circle; its glow wasn't nearly as bright now that the sun was above the horizon. But now that I stared at the circle it began to resemble a big zero. It reminded me of how useless I was to help the Baudelaire's now that we'd been caught.
Coach Genghis sneered. "I know all about the Quagmire fortune as much as I know about the Baudelaire fortune and your fortune. It wouldn't be a problem to snatch those twins. No one seems to have a use for them here, anyways."
"You can't take them," I said, "I won't let you. And they're not technically twins, they're triplets."
"You can't take them. I won't let you," he laughed mockingly. "What are you going to do about it? Did you not just understand our agreement?"
I was silent. We were approaching the Baudelaire's who were standing with Nero, Mr. Remora, and Mrs. Bass in the Orphans Shack.
Nero looked at us expectantly while the Baudelaires shared a look of extreme distress. I gave them an apologetic look.
"Where are they?" Violet cried as we stepped inside. "What have you done with them?"
Coach Genghis appeared calm and nice, but his eyes were still shining brightly.
"They-" I started but Coach Genghis tightened his grip on my wrist so I knew to keep quiet.
"They're right here," Coach Genghis said, producing the hair ribbon and the glasses from his pocket. "I thought you might be worried about them, so I brought them over first thing in the morning."
"We don't mean these them!" Klaus said, taking the items from Coach Genghis, "We mean them them!
"I'm afraid I don't understand all those thems," Coach Genghis said. He shrugged at the adults innocently. "The orphans ran laps last night as apart of my S.O.R.E. program, but they had to dash off in the morning to take their exams. In their haste, Violet dropped her hair ribbon and Klaus dropped his glasses. But the baby-"
"You know very well that's not what happened," Violet interrupted. "Where are the Quagmire triplets? What have you done with our friends?"
I opened my mouth to speak again but was silenced yet again by Coach Genghis' restraining hand.
"What have you done with our friends?" Nero repeated mockingly, "Stop talking nonsense, orphans."
"I'm afraid it's not nonsense," Coach Genghis said. He shook his head. "As I was saying before the little girl interrupted me, the baby didn't dash off with the other orphans. She just sat there like a sack of flour. So, I walked over to her and gave her a kick to get her moving."
"Excellent idea!" Nero said, "What a wonderful story this is! And then what happened?"
"Well, at first it seemed like I had kicked a big hole in the baby," Coach Genghis said, "which seemed lucky, because Sunny was a terrible athlete and it would have been a blessing to put her out of her misery." I glowered at Genghis.
Nero applauded him. "I know just what you mean, Genghis," he said, "she's a terrible secretary as well."
"But she did all of that stapling," Mr. Remora protested.
"Shut up and let Genghis finish his story," Nero said.
"But when I looked down," Coach Genghis continued, "I saw that I hadn't kicked a hole in the baby at all. It had been a bag of flour! I'd been tricked!"
"That's terrible!" Nero cried.
"My daughter, Maya was there too," Coach Genghis went on, "she was just as surprised. She had been good friends with the orphans but they tricked her too."
"That's why she missed my concert," Nero said, "I'll excuse it this time since she was horribly mistreated."
I tried not to roll my eyes.
"So I ran after Violet and Klaus until I discovered they were those two other orphans—the twins."
"They're not twins!" Violet cried, "they're triplets!"
"They're triplets!" Nero mocked. "Don't be an idiot. Triplets are when four babies born at the same time, there are two Quagmire's."
I felt like clapping my hand to my forehead because he was so wrong.
"And these two Quagmire's were pretending to be the Baudelaire's to give them extra time to study."
"Extra time to study?" Nero said, grinning. "Hee Hee Hee! Why, that's cheating!"
"That's not cheating," Mrs. Bass said.
"Skipping gym class to study is cheating," Nero insisted.
"No, it's just good time management," Mr. Remora argued. "There's nothing wrong with athletics, but they shouldn't get in the way of schoolwork."
"Look, I'm the vice principal," Nero said, "I say the Baudelaires were cheating and therefore—hooray!—I can expel them. You two are merely teachers, so if you disagree with me, I can expel you, too."
The teachers looked at each other and shrugged. "You're the boss, Nero," Mr. Remora said, finally, "If you say they're expelled, they're expelled."
"Well, I say they're expelled," Nero said, "and Sunny loses her job too."
"Rantaw!" Sunny shrieked which was her way of saying, "I never wanted to work as a secretary, anyway!"
"We don't care about being expelled," Violet said, "We want to know what happened to our friends."
"Well, the Quagmire's had to be punished for their part in the cheating," Coach Genghis said, " so I brought them over to the cafeteria and put those two workers in charge of them. They'll be whisking eggs all day long."
"Very sensible," Nero agreed.
"That's all they're doing?" Klaus said, surprised. "Whisking eggs?"
He looked from Coach Genghis to me. I did my best to show him that it was not the case with my eyes and I shook my head slightly but not enough so Coach Genghis would notice.
"That's what I said," Genghis said. He leaned close to the Baudelaires. "Those two Quagmires will whisk and whisk until they are simply whisked away."
"You're a liar," Violet said. She had also noticed the expression on my face.
"Insulting your coach," Nero said. He shook his head so his pigtails moved. "Now you're doubly expelled."
"What's this?" said a voice from the doorway, "Doubly expelled?"
We turned to see Mr. Poe coughing into his white handkerchief. He was holding a large paper sack and looked busy yet perplexed. "What are all of you doing here?" he asked, "This doesn't look like a proper place to have a conversation. It's just an old shack."
"What are you doing here?" Nero asked, "We don't allow strangers to wander around Prufrock Preparatory School."
"Poe's the name," Mr. Poe said. He shook Nero's hand. "You must be Nero. We've talked on the phone. I received your telegram about the twenty-eight bags of candy and nine earrings with precious stones. My associates at Mulctuary Money Management advised me to deliver this to you in person, so here I am. But what's this about expelled?"
"These orphans you foisted on me," Nero said, "have proven to be terrible cheaters, and I'm forced to expel them."
"Cheaters?" Mr. Poe said, frowning at the three Baudelaires. "Violet, Klaus, and Sunn, I'm very disappointed in you. You promised me that you'd be excellent students."
"Well, actually only Violet and Klaus were students," Nero said, "Sunny was an administrative assistant, but she was terrible as well."
Mr. Poe looked surprised and his eyes widened. He paused to cough into his handkerchief. "An administrative assistant?" he repeated, "Why, Sunny's only a baby. She should be in preschool, not an office environment."
"Well, it doesn't matter now," Nero said. "They're all expelled. Give me that candy."
"We don't have time to argue about candy!" Klaus cried. "Count Olaf has done something terrible to our friends!"
"Count Olaf?" Mr. Poe said, as he handed Nero the paper sack. "Don't tell me he's found you here!"
"No, of course not," Nero said, "My advanced computer system has kept him away, of course. But the children have this bizarre notion that Coach Genghis is actually Olaf in disguise."
"Count Olaf?" Coach Genghis said, "Yes, I've heard of him. He's supposed to be the best actor in the whole world. I'm the best gym teacher in the whole world, so we couldn't possibly be the same person. Oh, and let me introduce you to my little orphan daughter, Maya Laurri."
Mr. Poe looked Coach Genghis up and down before turning his gaze on me.
"A pleasure to meet both of you," Mr. Poe said, "Children, I'm surprised at you. Even without an advanced computer system, you should be able to that this man is not Count Olaf. Count Olaf has only one eyebrow and this man is wearing a turban. And Olaf has a tattoo of an eye on his ankle, and this man is wearing expensive running shoes. They are quite handsome by the way."
"Oh, thank you," Coach Genghis said. "Unfortunately, thanks to these children, they have flour all over them, but I'm sure it'll wash off."
"Ugh," I said, stepping forward and out of Genghis' reach, "I am so tired of this. Mr. Poe, look!"
With one hand I pulled my wig off of my head and tossed it to the ground. I looked around at everyone. Genghis looked absolutely livid, Mr. Poe looked startled, the Baudelaires looked relieved, and the teachers just looked confused.
"It's me," I said, "Jane Rumary."
"O-of course," Mr. Poe managed, "what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be with Count Olaf?"
"I am with Count Olaf," I said, "he's standing right in this shack disguised as Coach Genghis."
"Who is this Jane Rumary?" Nero asked wrinkling his nose at me.
"She's a friend of the Baudelaires," Mr. Poe explained, "She's an orphan who I am in charge of as well but, recently she was kidnapped by Count Olaf. But how could this be, Jane? Coach Genghis looks nothing like Count Olaf."
"That's because—"
"Because I'm not Count Olaf," Coach Genghis interrupted stepping towards me. He put one hand on my shoulder, grasping it tighter than he needed to. "I admit, this orphan is in fact the Jane Rumary who was kidnapped by that horrid man. When I found that article in the newspaper, my heart broke and I knew I had to do everything I could to help this little girl. So I took her away from that awful man. I brought her to live with me and to come to this school so I could make a nice living while Jane got to attend this great school. But I knew if anyone knew who she was, Count Olaf might find her again. I couldn't allow that so I changed her name and gave her this wig to disguise herself."
"Then why did Jane just say you were Count Olaf?" Klaus said, angrily.
"Because," Coach Genghis continued, "while she lived with Count Olaf, she went through awful things. More horrible things than any of you could describe."
He looked at me with shiny, shiny eyes. I felt my heart beat faster and my hands shook.
"So, she's been going through some trauma," he went on with his lie. His arm wrapped around my shoulders and he pulled me closer, "sometimes she freaks out and thinks he's everywhere. But I can assure you that I am not Count Olaf. I would never hurt a child, especially, this orphan who I care about with all my heart." He leaned down, speaking so only I could hear. "Just wait until we're alone."
I shuddered.
"Well, I must say that was very generous of you," Mr. Poe said, "Though I would have preferred to be contacted beforehand. I was very worried."
"You're a liar!" Klaus cried, "You're Count Olaf and you're trying to take away Jane again!"
"How could I?" Coach Genghis said, looking appalled, "Would this Count Olaf save a poor orphan from a criminal like I did? I have no intention of kidnapping this orphan." He leaned down so the adults couldn't hear. "Yet." His eyes shone brightly as he stared at Klaus. He glowered back at Genghis.
"You're wearing a disguise!" Klaus shouted angrily. He reached out and grabbed my arm to pull me away from Coach Genghis. "You're wearing a turban to cover up your one eyebrow and you're wearing those running shoes to cover up your tattoo!" Klaus tried to pull me away again but Genghis gripped my shoulders tighter than what was necessary. I was afraid of doing much but staying where I was. I knew I'd already be in a lot of trouble for removing my wig like I did. I didn't see a very good way out of this. Just like always, the adults were unhelpful.
"For the last time, he's wearing a turban for religious reasons," Nero cried, exasperatedly, "And he can't take his shoes off because his feet will be smelly."
"Please Mr. Poe!" Klaus cried desperately, "Please make him take them off!"
"Now, Klaus," Mr. Poe said, "You have to learn to be accepting of other cultures. I'm sorry, Coach Genghis. The children aren't usually prejudiced."
"That's alright," Coach Genghis said. "I'm used to religious persecution."
"However, maybe we could at least have you remove your fine looking running shoes," Mr. Poe continued, "We can all bear a little smelliness if it's in the case of criminal justice."
"Smelly feet!" Mrs. Bass wrinkled her nose. "Ew, gross."
"I'm afraid I can't remove my running shoes," Coach Genghis said. His bony hands moved to my arms and tightened even more. He took a step toward the door, bringing me with him. I glanced up at his shiny eyes and knew this was it. "I need them."
"Need them?" Nero asked, "For what?"
"For running of course," Coach Genghis said, finally. He took one last step out of the shack and began sprinting out the door. He dragged me along with him and Klaus was forced to let go of my arm.
"Jane!" I heard him cry as he and his siblings stepped out of the shack.
"I'll be back for you Baudelaires!" Coach Genghis hollered over his shoulder. "But in the meantime I've got three little prisoners with two very large fortunes of their own."
Up ahead, the white-faced women were dragging the struggling Quagmires from the cafeteria and towards Olaf's car.
"Put them in the backseat!" Olaf hollered to them, "I'll drive! Hurry!"
The adults were staring in confusion at what was happening. The Baudelaires were staring in horror at me and the struggling Quagmire triplets.
"After them!" Violet cried and without hesitating, they broke into a run.
Mr. Poe was startled and started running after them. Then, Nero and the two other teachers began running after Mr. Poe.
I guess all those S.O.R.E. sessions paid off because they were gaining on us. Violet reached us quicker than I expected.
"Don't worry, Jane," she said, "we'll get you out of this."
She reached up with one hand to grab hold of Coach Genghis' turban. We looked up hoping it would make Coach Genghis stop but it was tied very simply. The turban fell into Violet's hands revealing Count Olaf's one eyebrow. It was shining with sweat, making me cringe. I struggled in his tight grip.
"Look!" Mr. Poe shouted, "Coach Genghis has only one eyebrow just like Count Olaf!"
Sunny reached us next.
"Grofa!" She shrieked. I wasn't sure what that one meant but I think it meant something along the lines of. "I'll save you!" Then she grabbed hold of Coach Genghis' shoes and bit a hole in his shoelaces so they came undone. I smiled hopefully at Sunny but Coach Genghis merely just stepped out of the shoes and began running barefoot, still dragging me along with him.
"Look!" Mr. Poe exclaimed again, "Coach Genghis has a tattoo of an eye on his ankle just like Count Olaf!"
"That's because he is Count Olaf!" Violet cried, exasperatedly. Sunny shrieked something too.
Klaus was silent though. He appeared to be using all of his energy to try and catch up to us. He was looking from me to the Quagmire triplets who were being shoved into the backseat. He kept running towards me though. He was closer now. I knew it would be a useless attempt for him to try and help me when Count Olaf seemed to be unstoppable. I looked around, trying to find a way to escape. My legs were growing very tired and it took all my strength to keep going. I felt as if I was going to collapse with exhaustion any minute now. My foot was falling asleep but as I stared down at my aching feet, still in my noisy shoes, I realized what I could do.
With all my strength I stomped down on Count Olaf's barefoot. It didn't have a huge affect but it was enough that Count Olaf fell to his knees. His grip on my arms loosened so that I could push his filthy hands off of me. I was stepping away when he caught my ankle with his hand.
"No, you don't," he growled. I struggled to get my foot out of his grasp. I was startled when Olaf cried out in pain. He let go of my ankle and I toppled over to the ground. Above me was Klaus who had a determined look on his face. He grabbed my hand and helped me up.
"Thanks. Let's go save the Quagmires now," I told him. I started for the car when Klaus stopped me.
"No," he said.
I gave him an odd look. Didn't he want to help our friends?
"I'll go," he said, "you go back to Violet and Sunny. I don't want you to risk getting taken away from us again."
He didn't pause to let me protest so I started back towards Violet and Sunny. Count Olaf had gotten up from the ground. He looked at me, his was jaw clenched and his eyes were filled with fury. He looked about ready to come after me again but then he turned and started for the car.
"Don't think you've gotten away from me for good!" he shouted back at me, "Mark my words, I will be back for you and your fortune. Just wait until I get my hands on you, you'll be sorry—very, very sorry."
I shivered but my attention was on Klaus as he attempted to pull open the car door. The white-faced woman, who had grabbed Isadora, was trying to pull the door close. The Quagmires were shouting something to him but I couldn't hear.
"We should help him," Violet said.
"We won't reach them in time," I pointed out, "look."
I pointed to Count Olaf who reached them now. He let out a roar and pushed Klaus to the ground near the Quagmire's notebooks. Then he kicked him in the stomach before snatching the notebooks and getting into the driver's seat.
I frowned and hurried over to his side. Violet and Sunny followed. As I predicted, we reached the car just as it was pulling out of the drive. The Quagmires had climbed over the white-faced women and were pounding on the windows. They shouted something inaudible. I helped Klaus to his feet and we chased after the car, hoping we could reach them.
It was a useless attempt and the car disappeared around the corner. Klaus stopped, he was the furthest ahead, and knelt down. He was crying softly into his hands.
I stopped when I reached him and knelt down beside him. I put a hand on his shoulder.
"I'm sorry," I said, softly. I swallowed hard against the lump in my throat. "We'll get them back."
"How can you know that?" Klaus said, his shoulders shook as he wept.
"Well, for one thing, I came back," I said, giving him a tired smile. Klaus smiled sadly in return and wiped his eyes with the back of his hands.
"That's true," he said, "I couldn't let Count Olaf hurt you after my siblings and I dragged you into this life."
"It's not all that bad," I said, "because if you think about it, if you never came along, I'd still be that lonely orphan girl. Now I have you, Violet, and Sunny. That's all that matters to me now. And no matter what happens to the Quagmires, they'll be okay."
"Really?" Klaus asked.
"They know all about Monty Kensicle," I said, quietly so only the two of us could hear, "so they'll be okay."
Klaus looked towards the place where the Quagmires had vanished. "While you were busy running laps last night," he said, "I glanced at your notebook." His cheeks turned a little pink and he looked at me uneasily. I nodded my approval. "Although, I'm still uncertain on whether to trust Monty Kensicle, I thought your journal entries were brilliant."
"Thanks," I said, smiling softly. "Maybe someday, when we're all safe, we can get them published. Then everyone will know all about Count Olaf and his treachery."
"And we can rescue the Quagmire triplets," Klaus added. He closed his eyes then. "Do you think we'll ever be safe from Count Olaf?"
I hesitated. I wanted to say yes. 'Yes we would be safe from Count Olaf' but what if I was wrong? What if we never escaped Count Olaf? So I just tightened my arm around his shoulder and gave him another small smile.
"I don't know for sure," I said, "but I hope, someday we'll be safe. Maybe not today or tomorrow or a month from now but…someday."
Violet and Sunny joined us then. Tears streaked their cheeks.
I put my other arm around Violet's shoulder and she held Sunny closely. We held each other and cried for our lost friends, but smiled for our reunion.
"What was Duncan shouting to you?" Violet asked Klaus after a moment.
"V.F.D." Klaus said, "but I don't know what it means."
"It's a good organization," I said, "that's all I know."
"Ceju," Sunny said which meant, "Then we'll have to find out what it is for sure."
We nodded knowing she was right. We needed to find out the secret of V.F.D. and whether it would eventually help us rescue our friends or put a stop to Count Olaf for good.
I stared out at the sun, which still sat low on the horizon. A soft breeze lifted up a few tendrils of my hair. As I watched the rising sun I was reminded that this was only the beginning and just because I'd escaped Olaf this time, it wasn't over yet. But I knew just like the sun, our misfortune would have to end and maybe V.F.D. would be just what we needed to make all of this end once and for all.
So this is the end of this part but there will be more so make sure to check for my next story on my profile :)
The next story will probably combine TEE, TVV, and THH since it might not be as long as these past stories. Have a nice summer everyone! I'll try to update as soon as i can! :)