Like little hatchlings, the two girls lay under a thick nest of blankets together. They were all tangled up in each other’s arms and legs and were so very comfortable, until the blinds started to lift. As the morning sun flooded into the living room the girls groaned and were quickly roused awake. They felt groggy and still half asleep but pushed themselves to untangle their limbs all the same.
Ruby sat up first, the blankets slipping down to her waist as she did so. She let out a long yawn and then rubbed her eyes to find herself still in front of the fireplace. Their studies from last night had run so long that they ended up falling asleep on the spot.
“Good morning…” Their father, Gerald, spoke up suddenly from the kitchen entrance.
Suddenly aware of her nudity, Ruby let out an embarrassed squawk which caused their father to spin a 180 on his heel and head back into the kitchen before he saw anything more than her back.
“Less than an hour until school!” He called out as he gave them space.
Rubi sat up as well and stretched out her sore arms. She shook her head back and two before clicking her beak together. She groaned and looked towards the sunny garden with disdain.
“We studied too much.” Ruby spoke.
“It’s too sunny…” Rubi muttered back.
Peeling themselves off the floor, they stood shoulder to shoulder and wrapped the long blanket around themselves for cover. Slowly they marched on to the stairs and then up to their room before finally making it to the bathroom. Dropping the blanket at the door they stepped into the shower and braced themselves as they turned up the water to cold, and high pressure.
Many squawks rang out and a few swearing caws but they were now very much awake. Turning up the heat and lowering the pressure by a bit they took a minute to relax and let the heat soak back into themselves before cleaning each other. They knew that they did not have as much time as normal to get ready but they did not want to rush what they deemed important either. And so after a slightly quicker clean than normal they left the shower, dried off as quickly as they could, and got to sorting out their hair. This alone took some minutes but once the two girls were sparkling again they sprayed on a little bit of perfume and started to get dressed.
They found that their uniforms from yesterday folded up neatly on the foot of their bed. Freshly cleaned and still slightly warm from drying, they threw the comfortable fabric over their naked bodies and gave themselves a once over in the mirror to make sure everything was in place. This too, costing them some minutes.
Skipping downstairs they headed into the kitchen to find breakfast already waiting for them. A mixture of seeds, toasted grains and cut berries with a mixture of milk and cream on the side. Sitting down on the tall stools they looked to each other and let out a small laugh.
“That was not too hard.” Ruby spoke.
“Indeed, plenty of time.” Rubi added.
As they took a spoonful of their breakfast however, their father poked his head into the kitchen.
“Better hurry, Limo leaves in 10 minutes.” He said before vanishing.
“What?” The two girls called out together.
Now in a rush again, the twins ate their breakfast as fast as they could before hopping up and getting their school bags. From the stack of heavy books near the fireplace they took two that had bookmarks sticking out and shoved them into their bags. They checked over their pens and supplies as well as their other textbooks before finally hopping to the door and skipping down to the limo where their father was waiting with the door.
“Good job, you made it with two minutes to spare.” He said as he showed them his pocket watch. The girls grinned and felt proud but then Ruby noticed something about his watch…
“It’s not moving.” Ruby said.
“You didn’t wind it!” Rubi added.
“Are we even late?” Ruby then called out.
“Oops, must have forgot.” Gerald said as he slammed the limo shut. Tapping on the roof the car started up and began to leave but he made sure to stand and wave them off until it was out of sight.
The twins arrived at school with a good 40 minutes to spare before the first bell rang. With so much free time they decided to take the long way around to their home room, and along the way take note of anything lacking with the school.
They stopped by the lockers and gave them a quick inspection. They were solid metal and quite clean, however there was plenty of space on either side for twice as many lockers, or twice as wide if they did not need anymore.
Next they headed up to a sitting area and looked over the vending machines but did not find much out of the ordinary. The machines were well stocked, recently cleaned, and had some good variety outside of unhealthier snacks.
As they entered their home room they found most of the students had already arrived although they could have sworn there were a few missing… Including Tommy. They could not see his antlers anywhere. Not wanting to pass up the opportunity for some quiet study, they took their seats and brought out one of the heavy books from Ruby’s bag. The twins opened it up and began to read over the page they had stopped at last night together. Their reading speed and motions with their eyes so in sync that they always finished the current page at the same time.
Tommy came in just before the bell rang.
“Morning.” He said nicely as he sat down. But the girls paid him little attention.
They continued to read and study all the way through the free period without so much as a moment’s distraction and it was only as the second bell rang that they finally pulled their heads up from the pages. They put the book back into their bag and went on with the school’s lessons.
The usual classes, be it mathematics or science, went by quickly.
Soon enough the lunch bell rang and the pair once more was given some free time to return to their studies. They did not jump straight back into it however and instead went wandering around the school for a short while first. In their wandering they soon found a quiet picnic table on the grass next to where a group of boys were playing football.
“Wanna have some fun?” Ruby asked her sister.
“I have just the thing in mind.” Rubi replied.
After making themselves comfortable, Ruby fished out the heavy book from her bag once more while her sister took her phone and began to type away on one of their applications.
“Hello again, you two sure adapt quickly.” Tommy said as he also appeared.
“Well thank you, we do try our best.” Ruby replied.
“Do you want to join us for lunch?” Rubi added as her phone beeped.
“Sure, did you two bring your own this time?” Tommy asked.
“Something like that.” Ruby said with a smirk.
“We got extra if you want some too.” Rubi added.
“That would be nice of you. Less grey and green for me.” Tommy chuckled.
The twins sat smirking at him, so much so that he could tell that they knew something he did not. And then he heard it. The whirring of machinery and the buzz of propellers like an oversized bumble bee. Turning his gaze upwards he shielded himself from the sun with his arm and caught sight of a large drone flying it over the school’s sizable steel fence. His jaw dropped and the footballers behind them had all stopped to stare as well.
The drone, easily as big as one of the twins themselves, hovered over to the table where the phone had been laid. It lined up directly above and the phone beeped once more. Rubi picked it up and pressed a button which caused the drone to descend. Once it got closer to the table, the bottom of it unfolded and it elegantly lowered down a large metal tray with a spread of food. Cheese, biscuits, fruit, even a punch bowl with a glass lid on it. It disconnected from the tray and then buzzed upwards at speed before flying off.
“Holy shit.” A boy called out in surprise.
Ruby turned her head to him and nodded for them to come closer to the table.
“Do you want some cheese?” She asked.
“We got biscuits and pate too if you prefer.” Rubi added with a glance.
The boys did not need anymore than that to forget their game and come get a free lunch. The twins sat smugly with their liver pate and whole wheat biscuits as a dozen boys surrounded them and showered them in sweet words. Some complimented the food, others could not stop talking about how cool the drone was, and a few brave souls even complimented the girls directly on how pretty their eyes were or how amazing their uniforms looked.
Through it all the girls sat elegantly. One leg crossed over the other, their tail feathers shining in the sun. And their eyes set squarely on Tommy the entire time. It did not take him too long to notice that while the girls politely accepted the praise from the other boys, they paid them no real attention.
Tommy and the two girls did manage to eat all they could want between the footballers and as the food ran low, The girls both uncrossed their legs and stood up. They clapped their hands to gather attention to themselves and then addressed the boys.
“Do hope you all enjoyed our gift but we have studies to do.” Ruby spoke loudly.
“Maybe go clean up before the next classes start?” Rubi added politely.
The boys were sad to leave the pretty girls and their delicious crackers but they did exactly what they were told all the same and quickly left the pair in peace. Now that they were all alone with Tommy they sat themselves back down. Ruby leaned on her right arm, while Rubi leaned on her left. The two like mirror reflections of each other in front of him.
“You two seem different today.” He spoke nervously.
“That a bad kind of difference?” Ruby asked.
“N-no…” Tommy said with a blush.
“Good. Remember to come over to ours today, 6pm sharp, near the treehouse like how we first talked a few days back. We have something important to show you.” Rubi explained.
“Sounds exciting.” Tommy said as the bell rang.
“Cya later, Tommy.” Ruby said softly.
“We will be waiting for you.” Rubi added with a click of her beak.
“Uhuh, cya.” He said before trotting away.
The girls looked at each other softly and then giggled.
“Boys are a lot of fun.” Rubi said to her sister.
“And the internet was not wrong either. They do love cheese.” Ruby replied.
They continued to gaze at each other for a moment more before sighing.
“We should also get to class.” Ruby said.
“Yeah, save all the fun stuff for later.” Rubi added.
Getting up from the table they stretched their arms, dusted off their skirts and then pressed a button on their phone to tell the drone to come pick up the tray again. They did not look back and marched on to whatever studies they had next with new found vigour.
The rest of the school day went by quicker than yesterday and much easier as well. Even as the final bell rang the two still had an abundance of energy going. Heading to their limo they took their time with slow steps so that they could appreciate the looks of amazement that every passerby was giving them. Stepping inside they sat down on the comfortable seats and stretched out. It was fun being the centre of attention.
Once the girls had gotten back home they found that their father was waiting for them for once although he did not have much to say. He bid them a warm welcome and asked if anything of note happened but he quickly picked up on the girls' haste to get to other things and let them be.
The twins stripped off their school uniform and replaced it with their favourite pink dresses. Now more comfortable, they brought their uniforms down to the laundry room and took a small detour for some cold lemon water before grabbing all of the heavy books near the fireplace and moving down to the treehouse. They loaded up the basket elevator at the base of the tree and then after climbing up the ladder, began to winch all the heavy books up to the first floor.
Inside of the treehouse they found a canine contractor waiting for them.
“Ah there you two are, I just finished the work.” He spoke surprisingly softly.
“Excellent, is it fully automatic and discrete as we said?” Ruby asked.
“Indeed it is.” He replied.
“Perfect, you will find your ‘tip’ for being quick and quiet in your bank already.” Rubi added as she pressed a few buttons on her phone and completed the transactions between them.
“Always a pleasure.” He said with a tip of his hard hat.
The girls stepped out of the way for him to leave and gave him a wave as he climbed down the treehouse’s ladder. Closing the front door, they locked it, and then brought in all the heavy books to the living room’s coffee table. They placed the stack down on the floor next to the table before sitting themselves down the sofa for a breather.
“Tommy won’t be here for a few hours yet.” Ruby said.
“We have plenty of time.” Rubi replied as she stretched out.
“Shall I order some tea before we get to work?” Ruby asked.
“Excellent idea.” Rubi chirped as she grabbed her phone.
The hours passed by.
And as the sun began to droop low in the sky, Tommy arrived.
He walked around the trees and approached the treehouse from below like he had done before but the windows were not open.
“Hello?” He called out but there was no response.
Looking down he noticed something different with the wall the treehouse leaned over. Stepping closer he found a small intercom-like device. He pressed the button once before holding it down.
“Hello?” He asked, talking into it.
“Hello! Please step back.” Ruby’ voice came out.
Tommy stepped back and looked up to the treehouse. He heard a loud click and suddenly a panel of the treehouse’s floor shifted out of the way and a ladder unfolded itself all the way down. At the top was Ruby, who gave him a wave. Tommy waved back and then began to climb up the metal ladder. Once he had gotten to the top the twins hit a button in the treehouse that caused the ladder to fold all the way back up and the hatch to seamlessly close.
“That’s really cool. Is it new?” Tommy asked.
“Yeah, we thought it easier than you going through security.” Ruby replied from the sofa.
“Do you want some tea? We got a fresh pot.” Rubi asked.
“Yeah, that would be nice.” Tommy replied.
Sitting himself down on the plush sofa he looked around the room while Rubi poured him a cup of tea. The treehouse was nicer than his own bedroom by a mile. And the sofa was better than the one in his living room as well.
“Is that a working bathroom?” Tommy asked, surprised.
“It is indeed.” Ruby replied back.
“And real glass with the windows?” Tommy then asked.
“Double glazed to keep us cosy.” Rubi replied.
“This is kind of amazing. You have your own house up here.” Tommy remarked.
“It’s just a little place we like to study in.” Ruby said with a shrug.
“But we do wanna use it for a lot more than just reading.” Rubi added.
“Quite.” Ruby said as she moved closer to Tommy. “We have a proposition for you Tommy. Something we are sure you would be a… Perfect fit for.” She said as she leaned even closer to the boy.
“Oh?” Tommy replied as he sipped his tea awkwardly.
Suddenly the lights dimmed as Rubi turned down a switch on the wall.
And soft music started to play just a moment later.
But then a bright light cut through the darkness above his head.
And Tommy found himself sitting in front of a projector screen with Rubi standing at attention with some kind of military looking red and black hat adorning her head.
“As of today, my sister and I have founded a small company called Hivally Solutions.” Rubi spoke up. She swished her extendable pointer stick around and then snapped it onto the projector, to which Ruby clicked her phone and the next slide moved into place to show a basic logo with the name. “The point of this is to locate any short falls, problems or oversights and to fix them. Our goal being simple, help people, get paid, put that money towards helping more people. And so on and so forth until there are no more problems to sort.” She explained as her sister clicked through slides with some basic explanations of their ideas. “The first proper goal of ours would be to improve the cafeteria at school. Beyond that, we will see.” Rubi added.
“Any questions?” Ruby asked as she sat close to Tommy.
“Hmm… Why do you need me exactly?”
“Excellent question!” Rubi spoke with a click of her pointer stick. “The simple reason is that we already have a relationship that works between the three of us, and you can serve to be the ‘in man’ to help get the community to trust us faster..”
“It’s mostly a PR role, you get us info on the local area, and help us look good.”
Ruby whispered to him.
“Oh, I could do that.” Tommy replied.
“Perfect, but we do need others as well. Namely, we are in need of at least three other experts.” Rubi spoke up as the slide changed. “First of all. We need a computer guy, someone who can make us apps or websites or handle social media. Secondly we need an artist to help us with our image, our logos and any designs we need. And thirdly, we need someone who has a knack with finances and maths.” She explained.
“A temporary forth could also be good as an adviser on specific projects.” Ruby added.
“Indeed. We are thinking of trying to locate these at school tomorrow.” Rubi said.
“Tomorrow is a free day, so that would help us.” Tommy spoke casually.
“What’s free day?” Rubi asked.
“School is kind of closed but it stays open so anyone can use facilities like the library and workshops. All the clubs get to use the classrooms as their own club houses as well.” Tommy explained.
“That’s perfect, see Tommy, you are helping already.” Ruby said warmly.
“We have our plan then. During this Free Day we shall locate our team.” Rubi nodded.
Rubi turned up the lights again and Ruby suddenly took Tommy’s empty cup of tea from him. She placed it onto the coffee table before getting her phone out and holding it out to Tommy.
“Here is the contract for our company.” Ruby said.
“You just sign it with your thumb print.” Rubi added.
“Like this?” Tommy said as he touched the screen and the phone made a beep.
“Ooo how daring.” Ruby remarked.
“We did not know you were so brave.” Rubi smirked.
Tommy grinned and gave a shrug. In truth he did not think the twins were being serious with the whole talk of contracts and companies. He had known them just long enough that they were rich, strange, and lonely. The idea of playing pretend with a company as a way to make friends easier made more sense to Tommy than the idea that two eleven year old girls actually founded a business.
“So what now?” Tommy asked.
The two girls were stopped in their tracks by such a simple question.
They had planned for the meeting with Tommy and the founding of the company but past that they did not actually know what they would do once Tommy accepted. Rubi tossed her hat onto the bookcase and then sat herself down on the other side of Tommy.
“I don’t know.” Ruby spoke up.
“Tommy, you are the expert. What do good friends do after school when they don’t have homework or other business matters to work on?” Rubi asked as she leaned close to him.
“Uhh… We could watch a movie? You do have a projector.” Tommy suggested.
“Oh that sounds brilliant. What should we get, popcorn? Candy?” Ruby said.
“I want a hot dog.” Rubi spoke up suddenly with a glint in her eye.
“Big foot long hotdogs like on that advert!” Ruby chirped.
Tommy could not help but smirk as the twins worked themselves into a flurry of what and where and how. He could not help but love that energy with them. They were strange for sure, but had such a genuine interest in things that it was infectious.
Jumping to his feet, Tommy clapped his hands together to gain the attention of the girls.
“There is a take out place that serves chilli-cheese dogs?” Tommy asked.
The two girl’s lit up like fireworks at the suggestion.
Before he knew it he had Rubi and Ruby all but throwing their phones at him.
That night would be one that none of them would soon forget.
