“Well,” replied Klaus, “I guess I’ll have to tell you my story. You see, to know who I really am, you have to know my story. Well, I am the middle child of 3 children. My older sister, Violet and my younger sister, Sunny. My mom and dad died in a fire.”
FLASHBACK
The Baudelaire children woke up. “Rise and shine!” cried Mr Poe. “We’re going to your new guardian, Count Olaf.”
“How come we have never heard of them?” asked Violet Baudelaire, throwing her long, chocolate brown hair over her shoulder.
Violet was 14 years old and the oldest of them all. She loved inventing and you knew when she was because she always tied up her hair in a ribbon. Klaus was the middle child and was a little older than 12 years old. He wore glasses. People assumed he was clever. Boy, he was smart. Klaus loved to read and had read half the books in his parents’ rather extensive library. But being only 12, he hadn’t read all of them. YET. Sunny was the youngest, at 2 years old, and could only talk in gibberish, or baby talk, as most young children of that age. They had stayed with Mr Poe and his family until he had found a guardian.
Violet sighed, packing up her stuff. Her brother threw in his stuff moodily while Sunny chewed on everything to make her mark that they had been there.
The 3 children got in the car and Mr Poe drove off into the city. Deeper and deeper, into the heart, then out on the other side. They stopped outside a lovely, clean, shining house. A woman with light brown hair waved at them.
“Hello!” she called out. “You must be the children Count Olaf must be adopting!”
Violet laughed. “We are,” she said in a warm, friendly, light tone. “I’m Violet, this is my brother Klaus and my sister, Sunny,”
“Count Olaf lives over there,” she said, pointing to the grimy, dirty house opposite.
“Oh,” said Klaus. “That’s different from yours.”
“Indeed,” babbled Sunny.
“Children,” said Mr Poe. “Come.”
The woman smiled.”I’m Justice Strauss. Count Olaf’s neighbour.”