Finished, here, and real as corn. Chapter 5!

"Here it is," Ellie said as we approached the dance shop at the mall

"What are we getting here?" I asked her

"Shoes, skirts, shorts and shirts," Ellie listed on her fingers

We walked into the shop.

"Shoes first," Ellie said and led me to the shoe section.

"What size?" Ellie asked as she leaned over to find the correct size.

"Six," I said and Ellie handed me a box.

I opened it and tried on the shoes. Us Baudelaires had learned to make the best of any situation no matter how dreadful it was. I was a cook, not a dancer, but the shoes fit and I was only feeling more confident about camp. So as Ellie and I searched around the shop, I began to feel comfortable, even excited, about day two of camp.

Later, Violet, Klaus, the Quagmires and I walked Francis and Harry through the park. Francis, who was an English springer spaniel, pulled at the leash and barked at any squirrel that she saw. She was a year old and full of energy. While Harry, a huge golden retriever slowly trotted along the path and stopped to sniff every once in awhile. He was nearly twelve years old and starting to slow down. His muzzle was graying and his eyes were dulled with age. He had been a gift from our parents to Violet on her thirteenth birthday.

Francis spotted another dog across the park and tugged the leash. She barked loudly and pulled harder. She finally freed herself from the leash and darted toward the dog. I ran after her.

"Francis!" I yelled. The owner of the little dog picked it up before Francis could reach it. He had been holding an ice cream cone and dropped it on his shirt.

"I am so sorry," I apologized, then realized the familiar face of the owner. It was Evan.

"Do I know you?" he asked cleaning the ice cream off his shirt, "You look familiar."

"Um, yeah, I'm Sunny," I said, my voice trembling, " from dance camp. We're partners."

"Oh," he said and thought for a second, " you're the weird one."

"Uh, I guess," I said struggling to get Francis back on to the leash.

"I'm Evan" he said

"I am really sorry. I'll make it up to you. How about a new shirt? Ice cream?"

"No," Evan said, "My shirt's fine. But I'll take you up on that ice cream offer. I'll pay though."

He handed over the leash to a man who appeared to be his father.

"Um," I said staring back at my siblings, "I don't think I can…"

I looked at Violet, who gave me a thumbs up and gestured for me to go.

"Okay," I said and Violet came to take Francis. She smiled at me and I rolled my eyes.

"Be back before eight," she beamed

"Okay," I smiled.

I really wanted to scream, as loud as I could.

Had he just asked me out? I asked myself, No, he probably just felt sorry for me. But there was a chance.

We walked to the ice cream parlor.

"You like dance?" he asked me

"Its okay," I said

"I hate it too," Evan said

"I never said I hated it," I laughed.

I had this weird laughing problem. It was hard to tell if I'm laughing because something is funny or if I am just nervous. That was a mixture of both.

"You do though," Evan replied

"Sort of," I said as we entered the ice cream parlor.

We sat at the bar and ordered our ice creams.
"Are you any good at dancing?" I asked Evan

"No," he said, "Are you?"

"I'm okay," I said then paused, "No, I'm pretty bad. I'm no dancer, I'm a cook."

"Me too," he said as we were severed our ice cream, "my mom forced me. Same with you?"

"No," I said glumly, "my mother died when I was a baby."

"Do you live with your father?" Evan asked

"No," I replied, taking a bite of the ice cream, "he died too."

"I'm really sorry," he said, "how did they die?"

"Fire," I said staring out the window of the parlor as a green fire truck zoomed past.

"Oh," he said and it was silent. We were the only ones in the parlor.

"My home was destroyed in a fire," I said, "We didn't know the cause of it, but it turned out someone had set the fire,"

"Did you ever find out who?" he asked

I was surprised that he was asking so many questions, but it made me feel better. No one had ever asked me about any of that. He didn't know me, unlike everyone else.

"Well," I began, "his name was Count Olaf…" I stopped and Evan put his hand on mine sympathetically. I looked at him with my watery eyes and gave him a small smile.
He kept his hand on mine as we continued talking about cooking and school and other things. We laughed and I felt like time had stopped. Unfortunately, it didn't.
"Evan, I gotta go," I said as it neared eight o'clock. I sat up from the chair.

"I'll walk you home," he said

I smiled and we walked a couple blocks towards the mansion. We passed a few restaurants and stores, and a bakery. In the window I saw some dog biscuits dipped in frosting. I stopped.

"Be right back," I said and entered the bakery. I soon came out holding a small bag.

We finally reached the mansion.

"Bye," I said heading up the stoop and towards the door, "I had a really great time."

"Me too," Evan said, "See you tomorrow."

I smiled and kept a small grin on my face as I watched Evan disappear around the corner and pushed open the front door. When I got inside Francis and Harry happily greeted me. Harry then paced back over to his bed. I opened the bag and Francis wagged her tail.

"Thank you," I whispered and fed her the biscuit. I strolled quietly up the stairs with a permanent smile on my face.

IMORTANT! If anybody has an idea about a title for this chapter, PLEASE tell me in a review, email, or IM me ( go to bio to see email address and screen name.)