Miss Janae Smith, their close friend and neighbour who was about to move to Alaska, was driving as if she had no license … that's because she didn't. The police were right on her tail as she turned the SUV to the Lefebvre children's school. It crashed into the cafeteria but it didn't lose any energy. All of the middle schoolers stared at her in shock. The Lefebvre children turned to face Janae.
" Lefebvre's!" Janae escaped her car and ran to the trio. " Your parents are in the hospital as I speak!" All of the kids turned to face the four as Amber, the oldest, Conner, the middle child, and Charles, the youngest, awkwardly climbed into the vehicle as Janae drove away from the cops. Sirens were heard as Janae turned the wheel, making the police cars crash into each other. Amber shrieked.
" Um, Miss Smith," Amber unbuckled her seatbelt and sat in the passenger seat, " probably I could show you where the hospital is. After all, I have studied all of them." Amber Alma Lefebvre, a.k.a. Amber, was the oldest of the three. Like Quigley Quagmire, Amber had a knack for cartography but loved to study more of the places then draw maps. She had studied this part of the road and also knew all of the hospitals in all of Oklahoma City. Whenever she was thinking of these things, she would tie her hair up high with a clear elastic ponytail holder. Amber looked like her father with the same olive skin, lime green eyes, and amber hair ( which is why they called her Amber). She was twelve years old and was very tall for her age ( not taller than her teacher though). Amber looked like she had false eyelashes but she really didn't. The preteen wore a black short Suede jacket with a white shirt under. Around her neck was her grandmother's valued pendant with a pale blue topaz in the middle. Her thin black jeans weren't shiny and she wore white shiny flats with laces. Being twelve, she didn't know how to drive but she was in the front seat long enough to know the pros' and cons'. " I think you should let Amber show you where the hospital is," Conner said. Constance Robinson Lefebvre, a.k.a Conner or Con was the middle child. Knowing that he could make brakes out of wood, Conner searched the back seat but didn't have any luck. You see, Conner here had a knack for making things from wood and it all started when he was just three years old. You could say he was a great wood inventor or better, a carpenter. Conner had fair skin, auburn hair ( unlike his parents), and bright amber eyes. His hairstyle was very similar to the Faux Hawk haircut but it was more up into the air like his younger brothers. The eleven-year-old-boy wore a yellow shirt with a printed hammer on it with a plaid green T-shirt on top, black shorts, and green tennis shoes. Conner looked at Amber. Amber looked at Miss Smith. Miss Smith wasn't looking on the road let alone stopping the car.
" Miss Smith," Charles began, " maybe you should let Conner make brakes." Charles Roderick Lefebvre, a.k.a Charlie or Chaz was the last born of the Lefebvres. He was the younger twin of Conner and knew what was on his mind most of the time. Charlie had a knack for graphology but studied the handwriting more than he did symbols. Every day, Charlie would type on the computer in different fonts and he has been doing this since he was in kindergarten. Because this was about six years ago, Charlie had the ability to type on the computer without looking at the keyboard and knew 56% of the fonts. He even studied his own handwriting and his brother's. All in all, it was completely different. Charlie had the same hairstyle as Conner, but his hair was redder than his older brothers. But there was another difference; Charlie wore glasses and Conner didn't. That day, Charlie wore a white T-shirt on the first layer, an open green plaid T-shirt on the second, and an open grey hoodie on the third. His khaki shorts were below his knees slightly and for footwear, he wore white Chuck Taylor's. " Are you wearing a blindfold?" Amber blurted out.
" No. But it feels like it." Miss Smith drove off the highway and they landed safely at the hospital. After checking in at the front desk and waiting for the boys to use the toilet room, the Lefebvre children and their bubbly neighbour made it to Mr and Mrs Lefebvre's hospital room. " I'll leave you kids alone." Miss Smith smiled sadly. The Lefebvre did the same and walked into the room. For a couple of moments, it was silent. " You guys go to Peru to do an awesome expedition and all they give you is juice boxes and some dumb TV show?" Conner joked, slightly laughing. The Lefebvres laughed at Conner's joke. It was a very happy moment. The end. These are the words I wish to say for this sombre story but I'm being loyal to my word. In fact, this is how the dilemma began. " I guess so, Con." His father, Cornelius Roderick Lefebvre smiled in his hospital bed.
" What happened?" Charlie asked suddenly. The whole room became quiet again as ( Alma Lefebvre ) looked at her youngest child. She then made a small smile.
" While examining the deadly Viper, we got bit but it's all okay." Their mother was obviously lying. She had fair skin like her sons and dark brown eyes, unlike them. Her shoulder-length brown hair wasn't ironed like it was when the left a couple of weeks ago. In fact, her side bangs were messed up and frizzy. Her tender salmon lips didn't have it's rosy sheen. Her top eyelids, blanketed purple, looked like she was punched in the eye. The Lefebvres walked towards their parents as Mr Lefebvre began to say something. " Listen, children," He began, " we may not live long but we need to tell you that keep each other safe. No matter what." Alma turned to face her children. " Amber, I want you to protect your siblings for they're your family. Conner, if anything happens to your little brother-"
" Always be selfless and protect him." Conner finished.
" Right and Charlie," Alma brushed Charlie's cheek, " Charlie, I want you to be true to yourself and your siblings. They're all you have." Alma's voice grew small.
" Mommy?" Charlie noticed when her eyes had closed. So has his father's.
The next morning, Mr and Mrs Lefebvre didn't wake up. Translation: they had lost their will to live. Chapter 2: Darkness is in Dilemma ( Not really!)
The Lefebvres mourned quietly two days after their parents funeral. Tears streaked down their young faces as they climbed into the car belonging to Miss Smith. " It's okay." Miss Smith patted their backs as the Lefebvres sat with their luggage in hand. Miss Smith had finally driven nicely to the Lefebvre mansion, the home of the children. Amber, Conner, and Charlie exited the car only to get a few things from the contemporary home. Amber searched her grey and purple bedroom for some extras and then went into the panic room or in the children's perspective, The Child Sanctuary; a place where the children expressed their thoughts. Conner wiped tears from his eyes as the two went up the stairs. Charlie let a quiet sob escape from his body when they reached to their bedroom. Two days ago, Charlie and Conner had just gotten back from a three-week-trip at Washington D.C. making them miss almost everything at home. The reason why the brothers had left is because it was a grade trip and they were studying about politics. It was the day they came back when Miss Smith had informed them about their parents trip to Peru. Charlie dropped to his knees and cried, taking his round glasses off. Conner wiped his tears once more and went to Charlie's eye level. " Are you okay?" Conner asked sadly. Charlie whimpered and hugged Conner, who told him to take deep breaths. " Now let's find our stuff." Conner made a small smile. Charlie grinned, putting his glasses on and got a few useful features. When the Lefebvre brothers were done, they met Amber in The Child Sanctuary. " This is all we have." Conner placed all the materials he and his brother picked. Suddenly, there was a loud BOOM! The windows burst open and the floors shook.
" WHAT'S HAPPENING?!" Amber screamed. The doors began to break and the children grew petrified. A couple of seconds later, all they saw was black.
Explosions are not present unless you make one. Being the girl I am, I have witnessed many explosions in my life … on television that is. But I have never seen an explosion that came from a cardboard box. The mailman had placed a cardboard box on the porch of the mansion and it blew up in explosions. Neighbours of the Lefebvre called the fire department and they hurried outside of their houses to see them. Even a journalist came to get in on the action.
" So what happened?" The journalist, Spencer Moore, asked excitedly to Miss Smith.
" I let the Lefebvre orphans go inside of the house to retrieve some things and then some mailman comes, places a cardboard box on the porch, and the whole mansion blows up!" Miss Smith frowned.
" You hear that, Oklahoma?" Spencer turned to the cameraman. She smiled like she had won a million dollars. " First, the Lefebvre parents die, second the house blows up, and third the children die too! What a series of unfortunate events!" Spencer turned to Miss Smith. " And that would make a great book title!"
But little did the adults and neighbours know, the children didn't die. In fact, I desperately want to tell you that the story would definitely end here. I know it's dark and cruel, but their good days in heaven would be much better than knowing what would happen to them as soon as they get into Miss Smith's van.
" Are you two okay?" Amber brushed the dirt from her clothes. Charles and Conner had huddled with their big sister and they broke apart.
" What happened?" Charles asked, noticing his glasses were broken. " And where's Miss Smith?"
" Have you forgotten?" Conner grabbed his backpack. " She's in the car." The Lefebvre children walked out of their panic room and gasped. Their glorious mansion was burned to ashes and the windows were broken. In front of the house, was a crowd of neighbours with cameras and absurd questions.
" It's the Lefebvres!" A little girl screamed. The youngsters weaved their way through the tough crowd and sat into Miss Smith's van.
" Children, how did you survive?" Miss Smith touched their cheeks. " Never mind that. The point is, you're alive."
" You heard that, Oklahoma?" Spencer smiled at the cameraman. " The Lefebvre orphans have survived the explosion to their houses. What luck to such unfortunate youngsters. I think an author had said that before." " Children, your mother is good friend's with a woman who lives in Harlem and that woman would be taking care of you." Miss Smith grinned, starting up the car.
" Harlem?" Amber's face fell. " Harlem, New York?" " Yes!" Miss Smith grinned. " See you guys in three weeks." " Wait," Amber hopped out of the car, " you're not dropping us off?"