It is amazing how one simple thing can remind you of such horrible things.
For instance, the symbol of an eye, such as the one on Count Olaf's ankle, reminds me of a horrible society filled with corruption.
Now as the Baudelaire children stared at the statue that formed a symbol that was too familiar to them, they were reminded of horrible things such as the killing of an innocent man and a mystery that involved the possibility of one of their parents surviving the fire that consumed the entire Baudelaire mansion.
"I-I-it's V.F.D.." stammered Klaus.
"Look at the inscription..'To the hardworking men and women of the V.F.D.' It IS V.F.D." spoke Violet.
"Fallag!" cried Sunny. When Sunny said 'Fallag', she meant 'Another clue to this mystery!'
"Maybe our new guardian will explain this..We'd better get to town hall." said Violet.
She took the hands of her brother and sister, leading the way to the large marble building. They nervously knocked on the large wooden doors and a young woman answered the door.
"Hello. Would you be the Baudelaires?" she said with a kind smile.
"Er, yes. Are you our guardian?" Klaus answered.
"No. I'm Grace Locke. I'm the mayor's secretary. If you'll follow me, I'll take you to see your new guardian" she said.
The children followed her down a large hallway lined with door that had some people peering out through cracks.
"Don't mind them. They haven't ever seen any children in this office before.." she said, smiling at the children's reactions to these people.
She reached the end of the hallway at a large door that was made completely of glass. Miss Locke opened it and a few people at desks looked up. She continued on to a back office that also had a glass door. She took them through it and stopped in front of a desk. There was a large chair with it's back to them and a suited figure that also had his back to them.
"Mr Harrison. Mr Taylor." said Grace.
The chair swiveled around and the suited man turned to look at them. The man in the chair was balding and had a very businesslike look to him while the other man was much younger looking and not as businesslike.
"These are the Baudelaire children." said the secretary.
Grace turned to the children. "This is Mr. Harrison. He's the Mayor of Odysseia. And this," she gestured to the younger man," is Mr Taylor. He will be your guardian."
The younger man smiled at the children. He had a very kind look to his face, the kind that reminded them of the better of their past guardians. He then looked to Mayor Harrison.
"Sir? Could I possibly take off for the rest of the day to,erm, situate the children?" asked Mr Taylor nervously.
"Well, I suppose..Of course, you'll have to make it up in the next week.." stated the Mayor.
"Yes sir."
Their new guardian followed Miss Grace, leading the Baudelaires out of the mayor's office. Quite a few people were hurrying by the children, knocking them off balance. Most of them were carrying big red, white, and blue banners and others had huge boxes, filled with bumper stickers.
"As you can see, it's an election year. So we're very busy lately and people around the office might be a bit grouchy.."said Mr Taylor as someone yelled at the children to keep out of the way.
As they reached the front doors, Grace sat back down at her desk and Mr Taylor grabbed his coat and turned to the secretary.
"I'll see you tomorrow, Grace."
"Good-bye Kennedy."
Mr Taylor led the children out of the office building and showed them to his car. It was a bit bigger them Mr Poe's car and as the children soon found out, this car's air conditioning worked much better.
"So, Mr Taylor-" started Violet.
"Please. Call me Uncle Kennedy. And what might your names be?"
"Well, I'm Violet. He's Klaus and this is our baby sister, Sunny."
"Pleasure to meet you Violet, Klaus and Sunny."
"Anyway, Uncle Kennedy, what exactly is your occupation in the Mayor's office?" asked Klaus.
"Well, I'm the assistant mayor. It's a pretty big job because I'm also the official campaign manager but I should have more time off soon." said Uncle Kennedy.
"Eruik?" questioned Sunny.
"My sister means ' Why?'." said Violet, looking at Uncle Kennedy's expression.
"Oh, well, Mr Harrison has hired another campaign manager so I'll get more free time. He'll be here tomorrow."
They drove through town a little while longer, then turned down a road that seemed a little less active. Continuing down the road, the car pulled to a stop in front of the largest house they had seen on this road.
Uncle Kennedy turned to look at them in the back seat.
"It may not be the Baudelaire mansion," he said smiling "but it's the second biggest house in Odysseia."
He led them inside and the children gazed around at the large house. Uncle Kennedy looked at them, and could see they were very tired looking.
"You children look very tired. Are you hungry?"
The Baudelaires shook their heads but Klaus spoke up.
"We are very tired though, as you said.."
"You can go upstairs and sleep, if you'd like."
The children gave him a grateful smile and Uncle Kennedy showed them to their rooms. He then proceeded downstairs, leaving the children by themselves.
"He seems really nice." said Klaus.
"Maybe Count Olaf won't find us here.." said Violet hopefully.
"Jauch!"
The word ' Jauch' meant 'it seems that we have finally found a nice place to live!'. But it also seemed that, as usual, the Baudelaires assumptions were wrong. Except what Klaus had said about Uncle Kennedy. He really was a very kind man.
The next morning, when the Baudelaire woke up, a wonderful aroma reached their nostrils. They met in the hallway, like the night before. They stepped down the huge staircase, following the smell to the kitchen, where they found Uncle Kennedy and a table full of scrumptious things to eat for breakfast.
"Good morning children!" said Uncle Kennedy, brightly.
"Good morning.." the children answered, looking around at all the wonderful things to eat, amazed.
Filling their plates, Klaus' eyes lit up and he looked up at their guardian.
"Uncle Kennedy? I forgot last night but did Mr Poe explain about Count Olaf?"
"Actually, he did. I understand that this evil Count Olaf is after your fortune and is a master of disguises. He also has a tattoo of an eye on his left ankle and one eyebrow. Is that all?".
"Yes." they sighed, relieved.
Kennedy glanced at his watch and then turned to the Baudelaires.
"I suppose it is about time to go to the office.."
The children finished up their breakfasts and grabbed their coats, meeting Uncle Kennedy in the car. He pulled the car away from the house and they drove in silence until they reached the mayor's office. The children wondered if the office ever closed because these people were working just as hard as yesterday, when they had left. Kennedy walked down the hallway and stopped at Grace's desk.
"Morning Grace. How're you?" he said, smiling nervously.
"Fine, thank you."
Uncle Kennedy turned to the children and smiled, less nervous this time.
"So what would you like to do?"
Klaus looked puzzled. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, what would you like to do to help?"
"Oh well, I could fix any broken mechanical things you have around the office.." said Violet, trailing off, thinking about how wonderful it would be if she could do nothing but invent and fix mechanical things all day long.
"Grace, aren't most of the copiers broken?" asked Mr Taylor.
"Yes. All of them, in fact."
"Done! Violet will fix our copiers."
Klaus looked at Uncle Kennedy. " I could read up on politic victories, and then maybe I could offer some ideas for this campaign.."
"Done!"
Kennedy looked at Sunny. " Hmm..Now..What could Sunny do?"
"Well Uncle Kennedy, she is only an infant so she really couldn't help do much, but I could take her while I fix things..If that's O.K. with you.." stated Violet.
"That's fine with me." he replied, smiling.
For a few hours, the children worked in happiness, for they were able to do the things they loved the most. Violet and Sunny went from room to room, fixing copier machines and in Sunny's case, biting the hard tools. Klaus on the other hand, was sitting in the political library, reading about how past mayors had won these elections. Soon enough, Uncle Kennedy found them and told them to come meet the new campaign manager with him. They followed him, increasingly happier than they had been in a good while. They reached a large conference room and saw Mayor Harrison and the new campaign manager and all three of them felt their happy hearts drop to the pits of their stomachs. For the new campaign manager looked much too familiar to them. This man had a a hat pulled almost down over his eyes and very long pant legs but the moment that man looked up with his shiny, shiny eyes, the Baudelaires knew that their assumptions had, indeed been wrong. The man in front of them was Count Olaf.
For instance, the symbol of an eye, such as the one on Count Olaf's ankle, reminds me of a horrible society filled with corruption.
Now as the Baudelaire children stared at the statue that formed a symbol that was too familiar to them, they were reminded of horrible things such as the killing of an innocent man and a mystery that involved the possibility of one of their parents surviving the fire that consumed the entire Baudelaire mansion.
"I-I-it's V.F.D.." stammered Klaus.
"Look at the inscription..'To the hardworking men and women of the V.F.D.' It IS V.F.D." spoke Violet.
"Fallag!" cried Sunny. When Sunny said 'Fallag', she meant 'Another clue to this mystery!'
"Maybe our new guardian will explain this..We'd better get to town hall." said Violet.
She took the hands of her brother and sister, leading the way to the large marble building. They nervously knocked on the large wooden doors and a young woman answered the door.
"Hello. Would you be the Baudelaires?" she said with a kind smile.
"Er, yes. Are you our guardian?" Klaus answered.
"No. I'm Grace Locke. I'm the mayor's secretary. If you'll follow me, I'll take you to see your new guardian" she said.
The children followed her down a large hallway lined with door that had some people peering out through cracks.
"Don't mind them. They haven't ever seen any children in this office before.." she said, smiling at the children's reactions to these people.
She reached the end of the hallway at a large door that was made completely of glass. Miss Locke opened it and a few people at desks looked up. She continued on to a back office that also had a glass door. She took them through it and stopped in front of a desk. There was a large chair with it's back to them and a suited figure that also had his back to them.
"Mr Harrison. Mr Taylor." said Grace.
The chair swiveled around and the suited man turned to look at them. The man in the chair was balding and had a very businesslike look to him while the other man was much younger looking and not as businesslike.
"These are the Baudelaire children." said the secretary.
Grace turned to the children. "This is Mr. Harrison. He's the Mayor of Odysseia. And this," she gestured to the younger man," is Mr Taylor. He will be your guardian."
The younger man smiled at the children. He had a very kind look to his face, the kind that reminded them of the better of their past guardians. He then looked to Mayor Harrison.
"Sir? Could I possibly take off for the rest of the day to,erm, situate the children?" asked Mr Taylor nervously.
"Well, I suppose..Of course, you'll have to make it up in the next week.." stated the Mayor.
"Yes sir."
Their new guardian followed Miss Grace, leading the Baudelaires out of the mayor's office. Quite a few people were hurrying by the children, knocking them off balance. Most of them were carrying big red, white, and blue banners and others had huge boxes, filled with bumper stickers.
"As you can see, it's an election year. So we're very busy lately and people around the office might be a bit grouchy.."said Mr Taylor as someone yelled at the children to keep out of the way.
As they reached the front doors, Grace sat back down at her desk and Mr Taylor grabbed his coat and turned to the secretary.
"I'll see you tomorrow, Grace."
"Good-bye Kennedy."
Mr Taylor led the children out of the office building and showed them to his car. It was a bit bigger them Mr Poe's car and as the children soon found out, this car's air conditioning worked much better.
"So, Mr Taylor-" started Violet.
"Please. Call me Uncle Kennedy. And what might your names be?"
"Well, I'm Violet. He's Klaus and this is our baby sister, Sunny."
"Pleasure to meet you Violet, Klaus and Sunny."
"Anyway, Uncle Kennedy, what exactly is your occupation in the Mayor's office?" asked Klaus.
"Well, I'm the assistant mayor. It's a pretty big job because I'm also the official campaign manager but I should have more time off soon." said Uncle Kennedy.
"Eruik?" questioned Sunny.
"My sister means ' Why?'." said Violet, looking at Uncle Kennedy's expression.
"Oh, well, Mr Harrison has hired another campaign manager so I'll get more free time. He'll be here tomorrow."
They drove through town a little while longer, then turned down a road that seemed a little less active. Continuing down the road, the car pulled to a stop in front of the largest house they had seen on this road.
Uncle Kennedy turned to look at them in the back seat.
"It may not be the Baudelaire mansion," he said smiling "but it's the second biggest house in Odysseia."
He led them inside and the children gazed around at the large house. Uncle Kennedy looked at them, and could see they were very tired looking.
"You children look very tired. Are you hungry?"
The Baudelaires shook their heads but Klaus spoke up.
"We are very tired though, as you said.."
"You can go upstairs and sleep, if you'd like."
The children gave him a grateful smile and Uncle Kennedy showed them to their rooms. He then proceeded downstairs, leaving the children by themselves.
"He seems really nice." said Klaus.
"Maybe Count Olaf won't find us here.." said Violet hopefully.
"Jauch!"
The word ' Jauch' meant 'it seems that we have finally found a nice place to live!'. But it also seemed that, as usual, the Baudelaires assumptions were wrong. Except what Klaus had said about Uncle Kennedy. He really was a very kind man.
The next morning, when the Baudelaire woke up, a wonderful aroma reached their nostrils. They met in the hallway, like the night before. They stepped down the huge staircase, following the smell to the kitchen, where they found Uncle Kennedy and a table full of scrumptious things to eat for breakfast.
"Good morning children!" said Uncle Kennedy, brightly.
"Good morning.." the children answered, looking around at all the wonderful things to eat, amazed.
Filling their plates, Klaus' eyes lit up and he looked up at their guardian.
"Uncle Kennedy? I forgot last night but did Mr Poe explain about Count Olaf?"
"Actually, he did. I understand that this evil Count Olaf is after your fortune and is a master of disguises. He also has a tattoo of an eye on his left ankle and one eyebrow. Is that all?".
"Yes." they sighed, relieved.
Kennedy glanced at his watch and then turned to the Baudelaires.
"I suppose it is about time to go to the office.."
The children finished up their breakfasts and grabbed their coats, meeting Uncle Kennedy in the car. He pulled the car away from the house and they drove in silence until they reached the mayor's office. The children wondered if the office ever closed because these people were working just as hard as yesterday, when they had left. Kennedy walked down the hallway and stopped at Grace's desk.
"Morning Grace. How're you?" he said, smiling nervously.
"Fine, thank you."
Uncle Kennedy turned to the children and smiled, less nervous this time.
"So what would you like to do?"
Klaus looked puzzled. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, what would you like to do to help?"
"Oh well, I could fix any broken mechanical things you have around the office.." said Violet, trailing off, thinking about how wonderful it would be if she could do nothing but invent and fix mechanical things all day long.
"Grace, aren't most of the copiers broken?" asked Mr Taylor.
"Yes. All of them, in fact."
"Done! Violet will fix our copiers."
Klaus looked at Uncle Kennedy. " I could read up on politic victories, and then maybe I could offer some ideas for this campaign.."
"Done!"
Kennedy looked at Sunny. " Hmm..Now..What could Sunny do?"
"Well Uncle Kennedy, she is only an infant so she really couldn't help do much, but I could take her while I fix things..If that's O.K. with you.." stated Violet.
"That's fine with me." he replied, smiling.
For a few hours, the children worked in happiness, for they were able to do the things they loved the most. Violet and Sunny went from room to room, fixing copier machines and in Sunny's case, biting the hard tools. Klaus on the other hand, was sitting in the political library, reading about how past mayors had won these elections. Soon enough, Uncle Kennedy found them and told them to come meet the new campaign manager with him. They followed him, increasingly happier than they had been in a good while. They reached a large conference room and saw Mayor Harrison and the new campaign manager and all three of them felt their happy hearts drop to the pits of their stomachs. For the new campaign manager looked much too familiar to them. This man had a a hat pulled almost down over his eyes and very long pant legs but the moment that man looked up with his shiny, shiny eyes, the Baudelaires knew that their assumptions had, indeed been wrong. The man in front of them was Count Olaf.