A Series of Fortunate Events

The Subordinate Sequel | Chapter 4

We were all set to leave for our little adventure. We were all packed. We had on comfortable clothes and jackets in case we would get cold. We ate a lot of food before we left so that we wouldn't be hungry while we were traveling. It was the perfect situation. We had everything we needed. The weather was beautiful. What could go wrong? There we stood in the doorway, happily, about to leave to find the Baudelaires. However, as you all know, as said by Lemony Snicket, this story has no happy beginning, very little happy things in the middle, but maybe, just maybe, there could be a happy ending. I was too excited to finally escape my life of doing absolutely nothing to think about what could go wrong. At the time, everything seemed to be going perfectly, but as you know, all good things must come to an end.

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I was just about to open my front door when I heard a familiar sound. I heard the sound of a car rolling over the cobblestone driveway and an engine becoming louder as the car came close to the house. Suddenly, the noise stopped and I heard two car doors slam shut. My parents were home.

"Oh no," I muttered.

"Elle, what's going on?" Isadora whispered.

"My parents are back early. They weren't supposed to be home until Monday night," I whispered back.

"What should we do?" Isadora asked.

"I'm going to have to hide you guys until we can sneak out. I promise we'll get out of here tonight. My parents don't pay attention to me, we'll make a clean escape once they settle in," I promised.

"Where should we hide?" Quigley asked.

"Isadora, do you remember where my bedroom is?" I asked her.

"Of course," she replied.

"You, Duncan, and Quigley go into my bedroom and hide in my closet. My parents won't go into my bedroom and they certainly won't look at my closet. Just shut the door just in case. There's a light switch on the left side of the wall and it's big enough where you should be able to stay in there until it's safe to escape,"

"Alright. Thank you, Elle," Quigley said with a very sincere look on his face, before he, Duncan, and Isadora ran up the stairs to go find my bedroom.

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"Hello mother, hello father," I said as my parents came in the door, "What brings you home so early?"

"Hello, Elle, dear," my mother said. It was odd, my parents hardly ever called me names like "dear" or "honey."

"Scarlett, there's something we'd like to talk to you about," My mom began.

"What is it?" I asked, puzzled.

"Well, while your father and I were away this weekend, we saw something that made us rethink how we've been living our lives since your brothers and sister left home. We realized that we know hardly anything about you. We don't want you to leave the same way your siblings did. When your other sister gets home from school we are going to try and get to know her better, too." My mom told me to my dismay. The one time I was trying to get away, they wanted me to stay.

"Okay, mother. What would you like to know about me?" I asked, becoming annoyed.

"Anything, really. We barely know you! What are your interests? What do you like to do?" she questioned me.

"Um, let's see, I like to read. I've been teaching myself how to braid hair," I told my mom.

"That's wonderful! Someday I can show you how to braid hair, too!" My mom said through a big, shiny smile.

"Uh, yeah, yeah we'll have to do that sometime," I tried to smile genuinely, "Can I please be excused to my bedroom now?" I begged.

"Yes, sweetheart, but don't think you're getting out of this that easily!" My dad laughed.

I gave a fake little giggle and began to head upstairs to my room. One part of me was full of joy that my parents were finally beginning to notice me and I felt loved for the first time in a while. That part of me wanted to stay. The other part of me was angry that they hadn't tried to get to know me for the past 15 years of my life. That part of me knew the sensible thing to do. I still had to leave, I still had to go, no matter what they said. I needed to help my friends. My parents had told me that they didn't want me to end up the same day my brothers and sister did and leave, but now I understood why my siblings had left. They had gone to help people and care for people the way that my parents never had.

Hi guys. I'm so so sorry for not posting in a few days. This was due to my WiFi shutting down during a snow storm, but I promise that I will try to be more active.