Memento Mori {A Series of Unfortunate Events}

•TEN• In Which We Ride a Rickety Trolley

Word Count: 970

You woke up the next morning at 5:30 because you were used to Prufrock's time schedule. You climbed out of bed and found a simple dress in the closet, light blue with a skirt that extended a few inches past your knees. You tied the sash and tiptoed down the stairs so as not to wake Quigley. You opened the tiny fridge and found two cans of peaches, a jar of cream, half a container of blackberry jam, some bread slices, and a carton of orange juice. You got to work, keeping in mind you had to cook two meals, not one.

You opened the can of peaches, emptying out the corn syrup into the sink. You poured the peaches into two bowls, and the cream into a third, larger one. You whipped the cream by hand until it was fluffy, then scraped it out onto the peaches. You took out two slices of bread and stuck them in the toaster, then set the table while they were cooking. You poured the orange juice into two cups and set the peaches and cream on the table. Then toaster dinged if on cue, and you popped the toast out onto two plates. You spread the remaining jam on each slice and set both plates on the table.

You went upstairs to wait for Quigley to wake up; it seemed rude to eat without him. You ran into him in the hallway. "Morning." He yawned, and you smiled. "I made breakfast, if you want anything left for you to eat, you'd better get there before I do." He nodded, then raced down the hallway, almost tripping on the carpet as it ended abruptly at the top of the stairs. "Hey, no fair!" you shouted, racing after him, skirt billowing behind you. You burst into the kitchen and sat down across from him at the table. "Thanks for breakfast." Quigley grinned.

"No problem, I was up early. How did you sleep?" He shrugged, taking a bite of his toast. "Okay. Learn anything from that book?" You nodded. "I didn't realize how connected everything is."

"Yeah, It's kinda crazy. Want to see something cool I found?" After breakfast, you cleared the dishes and followed the boy into the reptile room. He showed you a map that he had tacked up on the wall. "Maps are my speciality, my dream is to become a cartographer," Quigley told you. "So I was messing around with one of the maps, and I saw this." He pointed to a list of all the V.F.D 'Safe Places' you'd read about last night. "If I put a pin in the spot every V.F.D Safe Place is, it forms the eye insignia." he placed the pins, and was absolutely correct. "But, it's not complete." He pointed to where the corner of the eye insignia should be. There was no pin there, only a dark coffee stain. "This has got to be where the V.F.D headquarters is located. The coffee stain is probably a coded mark."

You nodded. "Do you think we should go there? They probably have information about our parents and why our houses burned down. When the fire happened, my mom told be it wasn't an accident. We could find out who's starting fires, and we can stop them from starting more." Quigley laughed. "That's a great idea. Only one problem. It's in the Mortmain Mountains. Which is a twenty-hour drive from here. For the first thirteen hours, we can take the town trolley, which will bring us to the bottom of the mountain. We can walk from there, if we bring enough warm clothes. It's supposed to be freezing up in the mountains."

"Wow, you've really thought this out." You told Quigley. He smiled. "I think it's the best bet we've got right now." You agreed.

"If we leave tomorrow morning, we'll be there by Wednesday. Pack warm clothes, a bottle of water, some snacks, and maybe a book." He listed off each item as if they were memorised, and you followed him up the stairs.  You stepped into your room, took out a backpack, and started to pack.

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Twenty minutes later, you were done packing, and you set your bag by the front door, next to Quigley's. You found him in the Reptile Room, sitting on a table in the corner.  "The trolley leaves in three hours, what do you want to do until then?" He asked as you crossed the room to talk to him. "Well, I've only known you for two days, so maybe we can ask each other some questions." You shrugged, climbing up onto the table next to him.
"Oh, I've got one," Quigley raised his hand like it was school or something. "Hmmmmm." You scanned the room with your eyes as if looking for other raised hands before pointing at Quigley. "Yes, Quigley?" You pretended to be a Teacher, asking him what his question was. "How old are you?"
"I'm thirteen. You?"
"My fourteenth birthday is in a month." He answered.
"Oh, um... what's your favourite pastime?" You asked
"Cartography, remember?"
"Oh, yeah."
"What's your favourite book?"
"To Kill a Mockingbird. What's your favourite colour?"
"Green, what's yours?"
"Teal. Favourite flavour of ice cream?"
"Vanilla, always. Favourite author?"
"Emily Dickinson!"
"She's a poet, that doesn't count!"
"Are you kidding me, she totally counts!"

You guys talked for a while until the alarm Quigley'd set went off. You took your bags and walked to the trolley stop to wait for the trolley to arrive.
"I feel like I've known you all my life. Is that weird?" You asked, sitting next to Quigley on the bench. "Nah, I feel like you're my best friend now." You nodded and smiled, and sat in the comfortable silence until the trolley arrived.