Pearla—

       Today, you smiled at me, you'd set me on fire. With a gaze so chilling at that. Then you spoke to me, and it sounded like a harp. A cold symphony.

                                       — Ira.

The most sacred place in the entire world is the room of a teenage girl. You may enter at your own risk, but caution as you may perish at the removal of valuables. Valuables such as the little inheritance of money her parents send her while she's away at boarding school, sapphire earrings that she absolutely loves, or a mysterious book by a mystery author that mysteriously ended up on her bed when she entered after her afternoon classes.

It may be odd to say but yes, when I returned from my afternoon classes to get ready for lunch the book I had been trying to decipher the author's name of was on my bed. I don't know when, how, or why; but something told me that this was important. No one could know either, not the Quagmires nor Baudelaires. They'd think I was a thief, how crazy does that story seem, they wouldn't trust me again. Nothing this strange could happen to them.

That is why I still haven't gone to lunch yet, even though lunch doesn't start for fifteen more minutes, I've been up to my neck in words, phrases, and things only I would ever know. If only I knew who Pearla Rose was and why she spoke so much of this Ira Morano.

I suppose it doesn't matter at the moment as there was a knock on my already cracked door. "Come in!" I yelled to reveal a stunning Violet Baudelaire pushing open my door and now on my bed along side me.

"Hello, Iridesa." She greeted me kindly. I sat up so I could speak to her without sounding like I was sick or like the air was suffocating me. "How do you do, Violet?" I smiled at my new close friend. This past week and a half have taught me who you can trust and who you can't, this girl is someone I can appreciate greatly.

"Well, how was your night?" She seemed genuinely interested in my enjoyments here. I sighed at the remembrance of last night, "it would've been better if it weren't for that Quigley Quagmire." I huffed.

She gasped and put her hand on my arm, shaking me excitedly, "you met him?" Her mouth was agape. I laughed at her expression and pushed her a bit friendly.

"We had sort of a run it," and I meant a literal run in but that was a story for a different time, "yeah we really butt heads." Her face turned into one of confusion with her eyebrows scrunched and her mouth quirked, "there was an argument?"

"If you want to call it that," I shrugged, but it was now my turn to shake her, "enough of me, what about your night?"

She smiled like a doof at her lap, blood ran across her cheeks, "it was well." She shrugged. I gave her an odd look at her sad attempt of hiding her secret. "You're smiling an awful lot for it to be 'well', what I can't know?"

She looked behind her at the open door, got up to close it and rushed to sit back down next to me, "okay but you cannot tell a soul." She asked of me seriously.

"Cross my heart and hope to die; if I lie, I may go back to my home planet." This is more satire that Klaus would enjoy, but Violet seemed to this it was amusing as well. I wonder what Klaus is doing anyways, probably bookworm things.

She took a breath, trying to calm herself, but fail a she screamed, "Duncan and I broke curfew and went out. It was such a rush, so much fun!" She began bouncing up and down as she held my arm, jostling me as well.

I crossed my eyes as I got dizzy, I settled her down, "Alright, Violet, calm down. Sheesh, what kind of love bug is going around here?" She helped me up off the bed as we got our bags together, ready to go eat. "You don't know the half of it..."

On our way to the cafeteria, that was more of a mess hall if you ask me, she explained to me the romances that were between Isadora, Klaus, Duncan, and herself. "So let me get this straight: Duncan, Isadora, Klaus, and yourself all got into relationships with one another around the same time?" What a story to tell.

"Well, Klaus made it more obvious that he felt something for Isadora before I knew of Duncan's crush on me." We heard many voices scattering about as we drew closer to the cafeteria.

"Vi, your life is like a television show. Who else could this have happened to?" I laughed, it'd probably be my favorite show if it were one.

"You apparently, once you come in contact with a Baudelaire your life intertwined with ours." She told me as we went to find our table.

"I'll take your word for it."

When we got to the table greetings and conversations flew through the air. We laughed and joked, growing a bond with one another. Then a cloud of misery walked over to our table heavily. The missing Quagmire brother himself stalked over to us looking tired, sad, and looked down until he got to the table. I never realized how tall he and his brother were. I guess that is what happens when you're a junior.

He sat in front of me without even knowing and let his head hit the table tiredly. Duncan and Isadora looked at each other strangely and then at there brother. "Hey?" The two spoke to him.

"Hey." He croaked.

"Woah," Klaus chuckled from beside me, "You alright?" He looked at me with the same expression we all shared.

"Yeah, just a bit tired." He yawned, "but I'll survive." He then adjusted his arms so that they were like a cushion between the table and his forehead.

"Well what happened?" Sunny asked curiously. He'd happened to lean his head up and open his eyes at the same time, making immediate eye contact with me. He raised his brow.

"You?" He asked it in a way of 'why the fuck are you sitting here?' Instead of a happy greeting.

"How ya doin?" I smiled.

"When you said you know my friends I didn't think you actually hung out with them." He propped his arm up and rested his head on his hand. Awh he's sleepy, maybe he should've watched where he was going and wouldn't waste his time running into people in the middle of the night.

"Miscommunication?" Sunny had added at her place between her two older siblings.

"What she means is maybe we should take a step back?" Isadora said in between her brothers. The tension between Quigley and I was comfortable yet cold and thin. Like we knew each other and have argued over idiotic things like this, but we were still friends. Though, I'm not his friend cause I don't know him.

"Yeah, back up all the way to last night when you ran into me." I brought up with a slight frown in my lips.

He scoffed at me, "Hey, that was an accident and so not my fa-" I held my finger up to him, cutting him off, "If it was an accident then maybe you should've apologized." I told him sternly. Why does it feel like I've done this before?

"How about, we start over, maybe a fresh start will clean the air?" Isadora suggested. I took a deep breath and so did we. We looked at each other for a moment before nodding and grinning slightly.

"Iridesa Timbers."

"Quigley Quagmire."

After that things seemed to be getting stranger by the second. I kept seeing Quigley everywhere. It was like I hadn't noticed him before. Which made sense, I mean I was the only colored person I've seen; or at least in my grade. He kinda just blended with the crowd. I didn't have to time to think of that as us girls were all hanging about in the Baudelaires room. Everyone here was placed in a room by last name, if you had siblings then you bunked with them.

       There are no gender rules or regulations considering anything of the sort. They just shoved you in a room. I stayed in a room by myself at the end of a hallway in the same dormitory as my friends. The only difference is was one f the last spots here on campus, so I am forced to make ends meet all by myself. This thought had made me feel alone, but Duncan had told me the story of how they each got the rooms they currently had. It took the help of Miss Caliban, a tussle against the principle and Carmelita, and a threat to call the FDA and CPS for several infractions.

      They sure are close to that librarian, I would think it was weird but I feel as if everyone has at least one teacher they like most. That is besides the point, right now I would just like to enjoy some time with my girls.

       "So, Iridesa how do you like it here so far?" Isadora asked me. I shrugged and looked to the ceiling.

       "I don't, it almost makes me regret doing what I did. I wanna go home. Maybe I should?" I said remembering the series of events that lead to me coming here.

         "Well, what'd you do?" Violet began to ask, "I mean you don't seem so bad to me." I was sitting on the bed to the far right whilst they sat on the bed in the middle. The room was big enough so that all three of the triplets had some of their own space. I liked it, it felt homey in here.

      "What didn't I do?" I began as I laid down and looked to the ceiling, "if there was a party I was there and coming home late, my friends and I used to just never be at school, stealing cars was a specialty of mine, fights were came about like appointments, and it seemed like I was running away every Saturday." Maybe I should've just chilled out.

       "So, why do all of those things, did you enjoy doing them?" Isadora asked me as she glanced at Violet.

        "No, but I mean, it gave me something to do, it saved my family a bit," I turned on my side to look at them, "my real parents are like, madly in love with each other but would never do a thing about it. Now they all live together and sometimes the four of them never talk, the only time they did talk was to figure out 'what the hell we are going to do with her'. It also made it seem like they cared." They looked at me sadly, "I mean, they do care and they really do love me. I love them and they aren't horrible parents, but when you're an only child in a smaller house with four adults who have never raise a teenager before the term 'misunderstood' is an understatement."

        I took a breath and remembered a thing that Duncan had told me towards the beginning of the week. I jumped up and began apologizing profusely, "oh my god, what the fuck is wrong with me? I'm so so so sorry. Look at me complaining about my two sets of parents and you guys—, oh look at what I've done I—"

       "Iridesa, it's okay really." Violet reassured me, making me stop my rambling.

       "Yeah, you get used to different scenarios like these when you're an orphan." Isadora dismissed my awful-ugh- why do I always do that?

      "I really didn't mean anything by it, you know I'd never-" I shook my head at myself, here I go, how do you mess up boarding school this much on a week?

       "We know, which is why it's okay." Violet trie to make me feel better, but the look on my reddening face told her all she had to, "we've got each other anyways, we're each other's family." She said giving Issy a side hug, I smiled at the pair, the emotion and care these kids had for one another was entrancing.

     "Get in here, Iridesa, group-family hug." Isadora made room for me as I sat with them. Why does this family feel more normal than my actual one?

"Ugh, emotions, should we leave?"

"Shut up, Quigley!"

"You ruined it!"

      Us girls looked at one another and rolled our eyes, hearing the boys come in. "Hello, boys." I said.

      "What are you guys doing here, I thought you wanted to go somewhere to hide from violin recitals tonight?" Violet said as Duncan came up behind her and kissed the top of her head.

       "Yeah, what happened, got cold feet?" Isadora asked before Klaus came over to kiss her cheek. With Sunny in his arms, putting her down so she sat on the bed with us.

       "Egh, Love." Me and Quigley both said in mock disgust at the same time. We liked at each other before smiling at the moment, "anyways, yes and no." He walked over to where I was just sitting, searching the surrounding area. That must be his bed.

       "And what exactly does that mean?" I asked him, I pushed my hair behind my ears. I loved the feeling of having my hair straight, but I'm beginning to miss my natural hair. I've decided to wait until this hair becomes too difficult to maintain.

       "No, we didn't get cold feet, Quigley just forgot his wallet." Klaus explained first.

       "And yes, we got literally cold feet, it's snowing outside." He said, "January is the worst." He dragged gloomily.

      "If only there was something we could do with some people we know." Quigley said fishing for an answer from us, but still looking for his wallet. He then stood up and next to me and Sunny.

"Fishing!" Sunny called his tactics.

      I looked at the two girls who sat with me then back at the "Yes, you can stay and hang out with us."

      "You guys are the best, but have any of you seen my wallet?" Quigley asked " and who was on my bed?" He observed the three of us.

       "That would be me, but in all fairness I didn't know it was yours so don't yell at me." I said putting my hands up in defense.

        "Then you're helping me look." He demanded. I scrunched my face up and slyly pushed him gently, which he retaliated by pushing me back. I let it go and kneeled onto my knees, "check in the covers and I'll check under the bed." I suggested.

I could t even see anything when I was looking but I heard the others telling me to 'look here', 'look there', 'maybe this would work'. "I need a flashlight, that'll help." I said.

"Here I got you."

      "Thanks, Quigley." I thanked the boy as he laid down with me and looked as well. I smiled at him with appreciation, "yeah, well it is my wallet. Thanks for helping."

"Well, I was the one on your bed."

      "Yeah, well I was the one who forgot it."

       "Are we really arguing over who should be grateful?"

"Well may-"

       "Oh look, here it is." Klaus said as we all looked, it was right by the door on a stand. You've got to be fucking kidding me.

Quigley looked at me, I just realized how close we are, lying on the floor, "thanks for looking anyways?" He grinned goofily at me.

"Anytime, if you ever loose your head, I'm your girl to find it."

So he's annoying, but he's kinda okay.

Finished: Saturday, February 2, 2019. 1:20am.

Published: Sunday, March 10, 2019. 1:54pn