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Post by melon head. on Apr 20, 2008 0:19:45 GMT -5
A Tale of Three Friends Kit, Esme and Beatrice are three best friends attending Prufrock Preparatory, facing the hardships of school, love and life. Cast List Emma Squalor: Esme, Jerome, Bertrand and Beatrice. May: Kit, Lemony, Jacques and Dewey. Both will play the occasional Geraldine Julienne, or Ernest and Frank. ** It was the start of another year, and all of the students at Prufrock Preparatory were not eager to return to the dreariness of school. High school, funnily enough, seems to be the best time in one's life, but one will never know until it is long over. So it was for the Snicket and Denouement siblings, each set of triplets giving each other miserable looks all morning. The individual children, Beatrice, Esme and Bertrand, were hardly allowed to give a look to their guardians, and were forced to suppress any emotion as their caretakers watched over them like they were in a freak-show. The sky was drizzly despite the month, and Jerome and his younger brother Andrew were moving to public school against their father's most profuse wishes. It was a new take, a new beginning, a new year. And what a year it would be.
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Post by Emma “Emmz” Squalor on Apr 20, 2008 12:51:36 GMT -5
As usual, Esmé Squalor was having a difficult time keeping up with one of her two best friends, Beatrice Taylor. It was not because Esmé was smaller or slower than her friend, but because the strap of her book-bag had snapped and she was now being forced to drag it across the grounds of the school. It was a humiliating sight, but what choice did Esmé have? She had so many books that she could not have carried them all if she had wanted to, and Beatrice already had her own arms full with her own books.
“Beatrice,” Esmé called. “Wait up!”
The other fifteen-year-old stopped short and spun around. “Esmé, what happened?” Beatrice asked, and dashed over to her friend’s side to help her.
“This happened!” Esmé picked up her book-bag by its broken strap to indicate, only to have the entire bag detach itself and fall to the ground with a thump.
She looked ready to burst into tears at that, and Beatrice hugged her.
“It’s not fair!” Esmé wailed. “Why is it that I’m always forced to wear the rattiest clothes, and still carry around the same book-bag that I’ve had since the sixth grade?”
Both she and Beatrice knew that the answer to the question was because Esmé’s family had always been very poor, but neither of them was going to say so.
“Come on,” Beatrice said kindly, drawing one arm out from around Esmé and handing her her back-pack. “Let’s get going. Kit’s waiting for us in the dormitory.”
Esmé nodded, sniffling back the last of her tears. “Okay,” she said, and the two friends started off once more.
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Post by melon head. on Apr 21, 2008 3:46:30 GMT -5
'Stay still, Lemony,' Kit hissed at her brother. Lemony, who had not stopped moving for the last quarter of an hour. He was watching the school yard from over his sister's shoulder, occasionally colliding with her neck.
'I'm sorry,' he said for what must have been the twentieth time. 'But seriously, where are they?'
Kit shrugged, knowing that her own best friends would not be appearing by her side for another ten minutes, judging by Esme's uncanny ability to take three hours to prepare herself for school. She waded past tall, intimidating students, who glared down at her with their usual air of superiority. She reached dorm number 667, her own, and found three heavily cushioned bunk beds. There was a bookshelf, piled high with tehir school books (The proper libary was further down the hall) and a large wardrobe that would store her, Beatrice and Esme's clothing. Kit silently thanked the principal for the largest wardrobe the school had to offer, knowing Esme Salinger would need it.
She returned to Lemony, who was peering desperately out the window. Kit could see Esme and Beatrice, Beatrice with her arms around Esme. Kit barely had a second to wonder what was wrong, because at that moment, three identical young men entered the hall. One wore a frown, one wore a smile, but Kit paid naught attention to either of these boys. She stared solely at one of them, the young man standing between them, and kissed him on the mouth.
'Dewey,' she said.
Lemony cleared his throat, and Dewey went for his "Manly" hand-shake with a best friend. Behind him, Esme and Beatrice emerged from the stairwell, and Kit sighed happily to herself.
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Post by Emma “Emmz” Squalor on Apr 21, 2008 12:08:42 GMT -5
“I’m sorry if we’re a little late,” Beatrice apologized. “But we had a minor holdup.”
Esmé held up her broken book-bag to indicate.
“Maybe we can find you another one somewhere. The lost-and-found is bound to have some book-bags left over from last semester that no one ever claimed.”
Esmé rolled her eyes. “Oh, great,” she scoffed. “Just what I need: more hand-me-downs!”
“I was only saying—” Beatrice started, right before the door of the room burst open and a boy around their own age appeared.
His face was a perfect illustration of worry, and his green eyes were fearful. He appeared to have been doing a lot of running around, considering how out of breath he was. “Excuse me,” the boy said. “But you haven’t seen a boy around nine years old, have you?”
Everyone shook their heads.
“What does he look like?” Beatrice asked.
“Like me,” explained the boy, “only shorter.” He sighed, pulling halfway out the door and looking out into the hall. “He’s my brother, and is probably running around lost somewhere. I was supposed to be keeping an eye on him.”He sighed again. “My father is going to kill me.”
“Well, maybe your brother’s not lost,” Esmé offered. “Maybe he just met up with a few of his friends and wandered off.”
The boy shook his head and stepped back into the room. “That’s impossible,” he said. “This is our first semester at Prufrock Prep. Neither of us knows anyone. By the way,” he added, “my name is Jerome Squalor.” He reached out to shake Esmé’s hand, and as he did Beatrice noticed the bright red blush as it seeped into Esmé’s cheeks.
“Esmé Salinger,” she replied in a soft, sort of dazed tone.
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Post by melon head. on Apr 22, 2008 4:50:13 GMT -5
'What was that about?' Kit muttered to Beatrice. She felt the soft brush of a finger on her shoulder, and saw her brother. The other one.
'Jacques!' she said. 'Thank goodness you're alright! You mustn't wander of like that when we're walking to school!'
'Kit,' Jacques said, 'Don't patronise me. I'm older than you by eight minutes.' But he was smiling. 'Who was that guy?'
'Jerome Squalor,' Kit said automatically. 'He's new, looking for his nine-year-old brother and' -she lowered her voice to a whisper- 'Has decidedly got the hots for Esme.'
Esme slapped Kit on the shoulder. 'A nine-year-old brother?' Jacques repeated. 'I saw a little kid when I was walking to school, I bet that was him. They looked identical.' He disappeared down the hall after Jerome.
'Let's find our room,' Lemony said to Dewey. 'Bert can meet up with us there.'
At the sound of Bertrand Baudelaire's name, Kit had to step in front of Esme, Being accustom to her friend's reaction to the name, Kit knew that Esme would go considerably redder, having always nursed a soft spot for Bertrand. Once Lemony and Dewey had turned, however, Kit had a thought.
'A word, Lemon-head?'
Lemony followed Kit into the corner. 'Now, this year, you have a lot of responsibility.'
Lemony rolled his eyes. 'Go on,' he sighed.
'You have to look after your little brother-'
'He's three minutes younger than me!'
'Get a job in the cafeteria-'
'I already work for V.F.D.!'
'And get a girlfriend.'
'What?' Lemony asked, taken aback.
'You heard me,' Kit said. 'You're fifteen, it's about time.' She skipped off to her friends. 'Have a good term!'
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Post by Emma “Emmz” Squalor on Apr 22, 2008 12:35:32 GMT -5
“So,” Beatrice said as she and Esmé strolled across the grounds once more, this time toward the main building occupying the classrooms. “Would you mind very much if I were to ask you about that display back there?”
“What display?” Esmé asked, hiking up the single strap of her book-bag to keep it from slipping off her shoulder.
“Oh, don’t play dumb with me, Esmé Salinger! We’ve known each other since we were twelve— I know when you’ve got a crush on someone.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about, Beatrice.”
“Look,” Beatrice said. “I was there when you met Bertrand, so I know the drill. You were blushing when you met him, and you did it again just now when you met Jerome.”
“Oh, Beatrice, don’t be absurd!” Esmé said, so loudly that a few heads turned in their direction. She lowered her voice to a whisper. “I’ve only just met Jerome. I— I barely know him. And besides—” She smiled. “I already have my eye on someone.”
Beatrice wasn’t going to bother pointing out to her friend that Esmé had had “her eye” on that particular someone for nearly two years, someone who had never treated her more than a very good friend. Beatrice knew there was a slim to no chance that Bertrand Baudelaire would ever return Esmé’s feelings. It made Beatrice feel bad knowing that Esmé had offered her heart to someone who could never make her happy.
Beatrice was silent as she tried to figure out a way to explain this to Esmé in a way that would not end in her losing her temper and accusing Beatrice of being jealous, as Esmé had a tendency to do whenever she knew she was wrong about something but did not want to admit it.
However, Beatrice was let off the hook a minute later as she and Esmé each felt a hand clamp down on their shoulder. They turned their heads to see Kit, who was smiling at them.
“There you are!” Beatrice said. “We were wondering when you’d show up. Come on, girls. We don’t want to be late on our first day of classes.”
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Post by melon head. on Apr 24, 2008 17:10:25 GMT -5
'Sorry,' Kit said gruffly. 'Just had to take care of a few things with Lemony.' She was watching Beatrice as she spoke, thoughtfully contimplating as to whether or not she could date her brother.
They passed Jacques, who was steering a crying young boy towards the dorms. Kit smiled, wondering if Jacques was only doing this to make friends with Jerome. What was she thinking? Of course he was, considering he'd never had a proper friend due to his one, long eyebrow. Dewey and Bertrand were so kind to him, but you could tell that in their hearts (and this had nothing to do with Jacques's eyebrow) they just weren't meant to be friends.
'Excuse me,' came a familiar voice, and Kit grimly turned her head. Standing before the three girls was a tall girl with short, mousy-brown hair and shiny blue eyes. She was smiling through her glossed lips, which were a bright shade of pink, and in her hands sat some kind of microphone.
'Hello, Geraldine,' Kit sighed, attempting to walk past the irksome girl, but Geraldine stuck her arm out to block Kit's path.
'Hi, Kit!' she craned her neck to the side so she could see Beatrice and Esme. 'Hello, you two!' Evidently she had forgotten their names.
'Look,' she said to them, 'I just got some new equiptment and was wondering if you guys wouldn't mind conducting a short interview with me?' When she got no response, she added, 'Pretty please? With cherries and sparkles?'
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Post by Emma “Emmz” Squalor on Apr 24, 2008 18:02:38 GMT -5
“Oh, go away, Geraldine,” Esmé said impatiently. She was never one to be afraid of sticking up for herself, and Geraldine Julienne was the most irritating person in the entire school.
Beatrice, however, did her best to be polite— even though she could stand the aspiring reporter as much as one can possibly stand someone who insists on cornering you and forcing you to answer a number of ridiculous questions.
“Excuse us, Geraldine,” Beatrice said, “but we’re on our way to class at the moment. Would you mind very much if we met up with you later?”
It wasn’t until Geraldine held out her microphone to Kit that Esmé decided she had finally had all she could take. Seizing the microphone out of Geraldine’s hand, Esmé tossed it aside where it landed on the grass. “Run!” she ordered, and the three of them took off running in the direction of the main building.
Geraldine snapped her head over her shoulder and glared after the three girls, who she had been trying for years to fit in with. “That’s very expensive equipment!” she called after them. “You can’t just…” She sighed as she watched them disappear through the front doors of the school, then leaned down to pick up her microphone.
“Oh, boy,” Esmé said as she and her two friends burst through the front doors and into the main hallway of the school. “That was close, wasn’t it? I was afraid Geraldine would come after us for sure!”
“I’ll admit that certainly was quick thinking, Esmé,” Beatrice said. “If not a little foolish.”
“Foolish? It got rid of her, didn’t it?”
“Sure it did. But what if the microphone had been damaged? Who do you think was going to pay for it?”
“Oh,” Esmé said, realizing what Beatrice was getting at.
“Come on,” Beatrice said. “It’s almost time for class. Let’s just—” She was interrupted by the ringing of the first bell.
“Hurry up before we’re late,” Esmé said, and everyone agreed.
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Post by melon head. on Apr 24, 2008 23:28:36 GMT -5
'Please be seated,' a voice sounded from seemingly nowhere as the girls placidly entered the classroom. Kit smiled at Dewey, who was already at his desk across the room, watching Bertrand and Lemony have an arm wrestle. Jacques’s usual desk at the back of the room was empty, as was the desk at the front that always remained unoccupied.
Kit took a seat between Esme and Beatrice, just as their new homeroom teacher entered the classroom- from the broom cupboard to the left of the room. He shook a mop off his arm and strode to his desk.
‘My name,’ he said in a grand voice, ‘Is Professor Pertwee, and I’ll be your homeroom teacher for the term.’
‘Good morning, Professor Pertwee,’ the class responded drearily. Professor Pertwee raised his eyebrows.
‘Could you be a bit more depressed?’ he asked. ‘Cheer up! Just because you’re back at school for another miserable year, doesn’t mean there’s nothing to look forward to!’ He cleared his throat, and said in a deep voice, ‘There’s the school production of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing this Fall.’
Kit could sense both Beatrice and Esme smile on either side of her. They both adored drama.
‘We’re writing our own, aren’t we?’ Kit asked. ‘At the end of term?’
‘Correct, girl with blonde hair,’ Professor Pertwee said, and everybody laughed. ‘Sorry, I’ll learn your names sometime when I’m more or less sober.’
The bell for first period went, and the children all stood up, laughing in a perplexed manner. Dewey made his way to the exit, and greeted Kit by sliding his arm around her neck.
‘He’s a bit of a character, eh?’ Kit muttered to him.
‘He is, Girl with blonde hair.’
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Post by Emma “Emmz” Squalor on Apr 25, 2008 12:41:47 GMT -5
“So,” Esmé said to Beatrice as the two of them headed in the opposite direction as Kit and Dewey. “What’s your first class?”
“Algebra with Ms. Marshall,” Beatrice replied. “What about you?”
Esmé smiled. “Same.”
“Oh, good. I was afraid we might be split up again like we were last year.”
“And what an awful year it was,” Esmé said. “I had no one to copy homework from.”
“You never copied my homework.”
“Yeah, I know. But I did ask you, remember?”
“And I offered to help you,” Beatrice said.
“I sure do hate algebra,” Esmé scoffed. “I mean, think about it. Since when are we ever going to need to know what ‘y’ equals?”
“Do you know what it equals?”
“No.”
“Well,” Beatrice said as they entered Ms. Marshall’s classroom, “I guess that’s why we’re here.”
Esmé and Beatrice were in the process of taking their seats when Jerome Squalor, the boy claiming to have misplaced his brother, entered the room. The girls lifted their heads just in time to see Jerome approach them.
“Hello, again,” he said, and it would have been obvious to anyone who was watching that he was clearly speaking directly to Esmé. “Is this seat taken?” He motioned with his hand to the desk to her right.
“N— no,” she replied, shaking her head. “You can sit next to— I mean you can sit there, if you like.”
“Thank you.” Smiling, Jerome sat down beside Esmé, while Beatrice took the seat to Esmé’s left.
“So, did you… uh… ever find your brother?”
“Yes,” Jerome replied. “A boy named Jacques Snicket found him wandering around and alerted me. We just came from homeroom and have science together next period.”
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Post by melon head. on Apr 25, 2008 16:35:36 GMT -5
Kit sat down next to Dewey for their class. Both Bertrand and Lemony, as well as Beatrice and Esme, had gone to Algebra, whereas Kit and Dewey (Who were both in Advanced Algebra, a stupid excuse if you asked Kit) had been shunned into Business/Economics.
'Good morning,' said the teacher, a dreary looking man with blond hair and forgettable features. 'I'm Mr. Rouge, and I'll be your Business and Economics teacher for the term.'
He turned to write his name on the black board. Dewey lent over to Kt.
'What's the story with Esme?' he asked her.
'What story?' Kit replied uncomfortably, her eyes on her desk.
'Who's she in love with? Bertrand or the new guy?'
Kit turned to Dewey so quickly that her neck cracked. 'How do you-- ?'
'I've seen how she behaves around Bert. She's been like that for about two years, right? But after this morning's display, I'm not so sure anymore.'
'You are too observant for your own good,' Kit said, smiling. 'It'll kill you eventually.'
'Probably,' Dewey whispered, and kissed Kit.
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Post by Emma “Emmz” Squalor on Apr 25, 2008 19:24:10 GMT -5
[Sorry this post is so long. I just can't seem to write short ones. ] “So, what school did you attend before transferring here to Prufrock Prep?” Esmé asked Jerome. “Blue Melody,” he told her. “It's a private school, and not one I would recommend.” “What makes you say that?” Beatrice inquired. “Well, most of the students who attend Blue Melody are all snobs. They think that they’re better than everyone else simply because of who their parents are.” “What about you?” Esmé said. “What are your parents like?” “My father is a stockholder,” explained Jerome. “And my mother is a retired ice skater.” “Really?” Jerome smiled modestly. “Yes. She was actually the one who insisted to father that Andrew and I attend Prufrock Prep, since we were both so unhappy at Blue Melody.” Esmé was just about to ask Jerome to thank his mother for her when Bertrand entered the classroom, followed by Ms. Marshall. “Good morning, everyone,” she said. “Welcome to Basic Algebra. My name is Ms. Marshall, and I shall be your teacher for the semester. Now, you are here for one of two reasons: either you’re a sophomore and have been instructed to take this course like everyone else in your grade. Or you failed it last year, in which case you are being forced to take it over again.” As Bertrand approached his three friends, Esmé seemed to lose all interest in Jerome Squalor. “H— hello, Bertrand,” Esmé said, her cheeks reddening. “Hello, Esmé,” Bertrand replied, “Beatrice.” He took the seat beside her and then turned to Jerome. “So, how are you enjoying your first day as a student at Prufrock Prep, Jerome?” “Very well, thank you,” Jerome answered. “Everyone’s been very kind.” Bertrand smiled. “I heard your little brother accidentally walked into the girl’s locker room thinking it was a classroom.” Jerome’s face went bright red. “Wha— he did?!” “Relax,” Bertrand assured him. “He’s just a kid. It was an honest mistake.” Jerome looked uncomfortably down at his hands.
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Post by melon head. on Apr 27, 2008 2:26:56 GMT -5
[Don't worry about it. Look, I'll do a long one too.] 'Way to go,' Lemony hissed into Bertrand's ear, sitting directly behind him. 'Make the new kid even more embaressed.' When Bertrand did not respond, but merely grinned sheepishly, Lemony went on, 'Kit told me I should get a girlfriend this year. Who should-' 'Mr. Snicket?' Ms. Marshall interrupted, peering at Lemony from behind her spectacles. 'You're here again? There's only so many times a student can fail Algebra.' Lemony blushed, and looked down at his open book. *** Kit ran through the scenarios on the board in her head. They were all so easy... why was everybody except Dewey in Basic Algebra? Dewey was struggling to keep up, having no experience with business at all, so had no time to pay even the smallest amount of attention to Kit. Kit knew that Lemony should have been here, but of course, he had been flunked by the idiotic teacher. Nero, was that his name? He'd taken a great disliking to Lemony after their first lesson, and had never graded him fairly. And now Kit was alone in her dullest and easiest subject. Closing her book, she handed her notes to Mr. Rouge, returned to her seat, and pulled out Much Ado About Nothing from her book bag. There was no way she would be auditioning for the play, not when her two best friends were so dedicated to the arts, but she wanted to do something, for once. 'Finished already?' Dewey said in disbelief. 'I'm only up to part C!' 'There's nothing wrong with that,' Kit said, smiling. She then turned her attention back to the book. 'Two lead female roles,' she muttered. 'Perfect.' 'There had never once been a play where Esme or Beatrice weren't main parts. Beatrice had even played a boy in the year four play, she was that devoted. Kit found a lead female character called Beatrice, who she immdeiantly pictured as Beatrice, no surprises. She pictured the character Benedict, who she knew for a fact Character Beatrice ended up with, as Lemony. 'Beatrice,' she breathed excitedly, desperate to tell her brother of his (According to Kit) new girlfriend.
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Post by Emma “Emmz” Squalor on Apr 27, 2008 12:18:50 GMT -5
[Yay! I enjoyed your long post. ] Ms. Marshall had assigned everyone to complete problems one through fifteen on page ten of their textbooks. While everyone else worked quietly, Esmé and Beatrice decided to take a risk and engage in a conversation with the three young gentlemen. “So, Bertrand,” Esmé asked, “did you hear about this year’s theatrical production of Much Ado About Nothing? It was written by William Shakespeare, and I was thinking that you and I— and Beatrice too, of course —could try out for the two lead roles.” “I know who wrote Much Ado About Nothing,” Bertrand replied. “And as for trying out, I’m game.” He glanced over at Lemony. “As long as Lemony agrees to try out along with me.” Lemony gave Bertrand a look of uncertainty. “Oh, come on, Lem! It’s only fair, what with both Esmé and Beatrice trying out for the same part. This way if you and I don’t get the part we tried out for and the other two do, we’ll have someone to be disappointed with. What do you say?” “Ah hem!” Up until this point, Jerome had been sitting silently along with the rest of the class, leaning over his textbook and working on the Algebra problems. He hardly noticed Ms. Marshall approach the other four, hands on her hips, looking none too pleased. “Well, I take it from Mr. Baudelaire’s enthusiasm that you three are enjoying your little conversation?” she said. [And it’s fine that you changed the name. I’m glad there are ways to get around the automatic swear changer. ]
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Post by melon head. on Apr 28, 2008 2:41:30 GMT -5
'You'd think so,' Lemony said quickly, 'but they were all telling me to be quiet. I was talking about our school production.' 'I see,' Ms. Marshall said, scowling. 'Well, Mr. Snicket, you can stay behind after class to see me, alright?' 'Of course,' Lemony said, in his usual charming tone of voice. Ms. Marshall walked away. *** When the bell went, it felt as though it had been a million light years since Kit had stood. She swayed, grabbing the table for support, but quickly regained her balance. She bolted out the door, blowing Dewey a kiss, and leaving most of the class still packing away their things. Ignoring the growing pains creeping up her legs, Kit sped down the corridor, and skidded to a halt outside the Basic Algebra classroom. Students started to emerge, starting with the obvious, Esme. Behind her was Bertrand, looking oddly guilty. She and Esme walked silently back to their dorm, Beatrice joining them seconds later. 'So, I saw there were two lead roles in Much Ado About Nothing. Beatrice, I pictured you as Beatrice, and for some reason, Lemony and a Benedict.' She smiled slyly. 'And Esme, I imagined you as Hero, and none other than Bertrand as Claudio.' Kit judged by their expressions that they were yet to read the book. She sighed. 'You guys haven't seen Lemony, have you?' Kit asked hopefully. Both Esme and Beatrice shrugged. 'Where is he?' Kit asked, recognising the expressions her friends were wearing. They still said nothing. 'Guys, where is-' Her knees buckled, pain seized her body, and the next thing Kit knew, she was falling backwards, the world a blur, about to hit the ground. That was, until, Bertrand Baudelaire extended his arms out and caught Kit mere millimetres away from the concrete floor.
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