Chapter 15 – FRAMED!
The play ended. It was a decent play. There was only one thing terribly wrong with it, and that was a singer in the chorus who sang off key just enough to be irritating, but not bad enough to be unbearable.
Lemony thought about this as he sat on the same wall as he had earlier and took out his little typewriter and began to write out his review. He sat outside, typing his review underneath a streetlight. The person who was supposed to take Lemony's review to the Daily Punctilio was late, so Lemony sat on that wall for a long time, typing out a letter to Beatrice to thank her for the bracelet. "He must've just forgotten about me," Lemony thought. "I'll just walk back to the dairy and send in the review from there." He was a bit annoyed as he put his typewriter in his bag, but he enjoyed having a chance to take a walk by himself. He stood up, finished packing his stuff, and threw his bag over his shoulder.
Just as he was about to walk on, he heard footsteps behind him in the direction of the theater. He turned around to see what was going on, since he hadn't seen anyone else around so late. What he saw was about to change his life.
In the darkness of the night was the figure of a person covered in shadow. It was hard to tell what the person was doing, but soon Lemony found out.
The mysterious person was brandishing a torch. To Lemony's horror, the stranger took the torch and thrust it into a window of the theater. Smoke immediately began to stream out of the window as the theater ignited like a tinderbox. Although the fire was distracting him, Lemony noticed the person sneaking away.
"Stop right there!" Lemony cried, chasing after the mysterious person. Unfortunately, the person had a head start and Lemony was only able to jog a few yards before he realized that he would never be able to catch up. He stopped next to the burning theater and wondered what he could do. Unlike the last fire he witnessed, Lemony had nothing to help put out the fire. All he had with him was paper and a small typewriter. He didn't even have access to a pay phone. Yet he stayed, racking his brain for was to help, since he felt that it was his duty to help. He was, after all, a volunteer fire fighter, even if he was just a researcher.
Amid the flickering light caused by the flames, Lemony saw a flash. He turned around and saw that since the mysterious person had left, a small group of people had gathered near the street. These people were whispering amongst themselves and pointing in the direction of the theater and Lemony who, by now, was standing right next to the burning building. The only person who was not whispering was holding a camera, which was pointed right at the stunned Lemony Snicket.
Lemony realized what these people were thinking, and he didn't know what to do. So, as the sirens of the fire trucks came into hearing range, Lemony could think of only one thing to do. He ran.
He ran through the dark, stumbling around until he reached the dairy. He realized that there would be much more trouble over this fire than the last one. People had been willing to admit that Lemony was not to blame for the previous fire, but this new evidence against him would surely be too much. Since the schism between Olaf's supporters and the volunteers, V.F.D. had been strained. With so many members leaving, the volunteers had to do many things that they were not used to doing, like going undercover and using civilian transportation. Lemony was afraid that the suspicion would just be too much for the struggling organization. It might cause them to do something rash, like firing Lemony.
Lemony reached the dairy and managed to sneak into his room without waking anybody. He quickly packed his clothes in a small bag, along with his typewriter, his green commonplace book, and a few smaller belongings. He sent a message to his friends, siblings, and to Beatrice. He was about to leave the dairy behind when he remembered the young neophyte who had brought him his mail that morning.
"She'll wake up," he thought to himself. "And think that I'm responsible for arson." He decided to leave a note on the dairy refrigerator.
I'm sorry for the short notice, but I'll be gone for a little while. I have some research that I need to do. Thanks for everything.
-L.S.
He put the note underneath a cow-shaped magnet, put on his hat, and walked out the door.
What's going to happen to poor Lemony? I know and you don't! Haha! (You'll find out soon enough, don't worry!)