"Eugene Davis!" Luella called as she walked down the hallway to Eugene's bedroom door. She'd walked in, expecting to find her son working on the 'super important essay' that he just 'had to finish'. However, the room was empty, notebook papers covered in chicken scratch unapologetically strewn across his desk next to his open laptop. She huffed and shut the door before sweeping across the hall to Oliver's room, where the younger twin sat reading at his own desk, as usual.
"Do you know where your brother is?" she asked, her voice admirably steady despite the righteous motherly rage she felt.
"Back yard," Oliver answered without bothering to look up.
Luella nodded dutifully and marched back down the stairs.
"Gene!" She opened the back door, stepping out onto the whitewashed back porch.
"Yes, Mum?" A grinning face poked through the flower-covered support beams of the patio.
Luella fought to keep her anger restrained. "What are you doing out here when you have such an important essay?"
Eugene chuckled nervously, swiping his dark hair out of his face.
"I'm evaluating the garden," he said as if it were obvious, leaning forward onto the railing, trying to appear at ease.
"And what might you be evaluating our back garden for?"
"Bees," Eugene replied nonchalantly, glancing about as if attempting to calculate something.
"Bees?" she repeated, not amused in the least, hands finding their natural place on her hips.
"Mum," he straightened, suddenly intense. He emphasized the single syllable with a terse motion of his hands. "Imagine this. A beehive in our own yard."
She blinked, then shook her head. Who could ever tell what was going through Eugene's mind?
"This already doesn't sound appealing."
"Listen!" he pleaded, blue eyes widening into a sweet look that always helped him to persuade his mother.
She heaved an exasperated sigh, but allowed him to continue.
"Imagine the preservation of nature. The beauty of nature. The flowers will triple, no, quintuple in beauty." His entire face lit up with excitement, as it usually did when he got to talking about his latest project, going right along with his wild gesticulations. "And the best part? All of your pastries, pancakes, and teas sweetened with free, organic honey!" He stopped there, waiting for her to be impressed.
She sighed again, "Where, exactly, did this idea come from?"
"Mum, the bees are dying at an alarming rate!" And there was Eugene, the white knight, ready to champion the cause.
"Eugene, if today is any indication, I reckon your GPA is dropping at an alarming rate."
"Do you know how important bees are to our world? They pollinate about eighty percent of all plants! Just one colony can pollinate three hundred flowers a day. The bees are important and they're dying."
She watched him for another moment. That perfected pleading gaze of his.
"Get that essay done and then we will talk about the bees," she finally conceded.
"Deal." he grinned, all traces of pain from bearing the bad news of the bee decline gone from his expression.
He immediately raced back inside and up the stairs into his room, flopping into his desk chair, and excitedly completing an entire paragraph of his draft before losing his resolve due to utter boredom.
He began rhythmically tapping his pencil against the top of the desk, hoping to annoy his brother, and subsequently summon said brother from the depths of hell—more commonly known as his bedroom.
The voice of his twin came into his head via their shared psychic connection.
Would you quit that? I'm trying to read.
Eugene ignored him, and the tapping persisted, taking the form of one of Eugene's favorite songs. He added humming to amplify the effect.
EUGENE.
The voice in Eugene's head exuded anger and annoyance.
Not a chance, Noll!
He just raised the volume of the humming and grabbed another pencil, so he could have drumsticks. Right as he was getting to the good part, a cold presence entered the room. Bingo.
Eugene tilted his head back so he could see his irate twin without having to turn around.
"What's wrong with Vampire Weekend?" he asked innocently.
"Plenty of things, idiot," Oliver said blandly as he leaned against the doorframe, though his glare was as frosty as ever.
Eugene shrugged. Best to choose his battles.
"The tapping is helping me concentrate."
Oliver's glare deepened.
"How in the hell could you possibly-?" Then it hit him. "You want my help, don't you?"
Of all the things Oliver was, he certainly wasn't stupid.
Instead of answering, Eugene set his makeshift drumsticks down, turning to face his brother.
"Have a seat." He indicated his bed, as the only chair in his room was the desk chair was currently sitting in.
Oliver kept glaring, but nonetheless walked into the room, silently taking a seat on the edge of Eugene's bed. His expression quickly turned to one of mock interest.
"Noll, you enjoy eating, don't you?" Eugene folded his arms.
His response was a raised eyebrow.
"Food is a necessity of life," Oliver said slowly, obviously overworking that big brain of his trying to figure out what Eugene was up to. "But I can't say I always enjoy it."
"But you do enjoy tea," Eugene had picked up one of the pencils again, and used it to point at his twin. He had him there.
"Obviously." Oliver folded his own arms, eyes narrowing a little.
"Tea is made from plants," Eugene continued. "Plants that are kept alive by pollen, which is spread by insects."
"Really?" Oliver's voice dripped sarcasm. "Please, continue. Enlighten me."
"Bees, Noll. So much of your life is furnished by bees."
"And what on earth does any of this have to do with you making so much noise? Or the term essay you're supposed to be writing?"
"Okay, I'll get right down to it."
"Please do."
"Noll," Eugene began, giving his brother a serious look. "I want you to do my essay so that I can save the bees." He said this as if the connection between the two things were obvious.
Oliver, however, raised one challenging eyebrow, and got to his feet.
"Imagine how your tea would taste sweetened with free, organic honey!" Eugene quickly wheeled his chair in front of his door, blocking Oliver's escape route.
Oliver's eyes closed in annoyance, and he sighed.
"I'll also require you to attend a few of my lectures for me."
"You're the best!" Eugene beamed, sliding back over to his desk to collect the stack of his outlines and notes for the essay.
"I'm aware," Oliver smirked, taking the papers. "You owe me." With that, he slunk back to his own room.
Having his insufferable genius brother do his homework wasn't something Eugene did often. Usually Noll was so annoying, it was easier to do it himself.
Oliver made errors on purpose, and would barely do Eugene's writing style any justice. However, this situation called for sacrifice. He could deal with his brother's smugness this time. It wasn't about him. It was about the bees. The bees were counting on him.
Now, with that loose end tied up, Eugene had to focus his attention on convincing the final boss level family member. If he could convince Martin his new hobby was a necessity, he'd be golden.
He crept out of his room, back down the stairs to Martin's study, where the door was closed. He cracked it open with a smile.
"Afternoon, Dad!"
Martin looked up from his reading, peering at his son over the top of his reading glasses.
"I hate to turn you away, Gene, but I'm quite busy."
Eugene's eyes widened, eyelashes fluttering.
For the second time that day, he used the cute look that tended to get him what he wanted. This look worked better on Luella, but he hoped Martin would be at least a little swayed by it. He needed this.
Martin sighed, "Is it important?"
Eugene nodded vigorously, stepping in and closing the door behind him.
"I'll be quick, promise. But I wanted to ask you about something regarding my training."
Martin perked up at this, immediately interested. Usually, when the twins wanted something from their father, they could get it by appealing to issues related to parapsychology.
"I think it might be beneficial for me to have some kind of calming hobby," Eugene continued, watching Martin's face closely.
Taking off his glasses, Martin asked, "Like meditation?"
"More like beekeeping." This was accompanied with an innocent smile.
After regarding Eugene for a moment, Martin said, "Sure."
While Eugene had been anticipating a bigger struggle, or at least a longer conversation, he figured he had better take it while he could.
"Thanks!" He was out the door before his father could think twice.
Martin returned to his reading, paused for a moment, and looked at the door his son had just left through.
"Beekeeping?"
Eugene, meanwhile, now that he had permission, had to formulate a plan to actually acquire the bees, and a place to put them.
He snuck back up to his room, tiptoeing past the kitchen, where Luella was preparing dinner. Once in his room, he got to work searching online.
There was a full kit of the supplies he needed for less than a hundred pounds. After getting the supplies squared away, he purchased two guidebooks, and turned to articles that debated the pros and cons of different types of beehives.
A langstroth hive looked good. It seemed to be the most popular, and best for keeping bees in frequent rain.
Once he was satisfied with his research, he ordered all the items and leaned back in his chair.
I'm doing a good thing, he thought. I'm saving the bees.
X~X~X
"Afternoon, Gene. A package came for you." Luella nodded towards a box sitting in the front entryway as Eugene stepped through the door.
"My beehive!" Eugene squatted down, lifting the large box.
Luella put a hand to her face.
"Careful, dear, she sighed.
It had been a few days since Eugene had decided to save the bees and Luella had forgotten her son's fixation until that moment. It seemed he had been quite serious.
Eugene wobbled out towards the back garden with the box, barely able to see over the large package.
He had already planned where he would place the hive, and managed to get the box to the spot he had chosen, despite the fact that his vision was limited by the height of the package.
The hive was to sit in a nice corner of the yard, near the bird-feeder, so the bees had quick access to water, and shaded by a tall tree. Once the hive was unpacked and placed, he looked it over, grinning triumphantly.
"Not bad." Said a voice behind him. Eugene jumped, turning quickly to locate the voice. It was Lin, standing with his arms crossed, quietly appraising the bee hive.
"Like it?" Eugene asked excitedly, standing proudly with his hands on his hips.
Before Lin had the opportunity to respond, Madoka came out the front door and rushed towards them.
"Ah! It's cute!" She smiled widely, shading her face from the sun as she looked on.
"I think it's a bit bland looking after all the hype over it," Lin said, still staring at the hive, which was really nothing more than a glorified wooden box.
"You should paint it!" Madoka grinned, imagining a bright pink hive, covered in silvery glitter paint in the Davis' backyard, standing out amongst the greenery and plain patio. "Can you do that?"
Eugene nodded, "Bees don't like overly dark colors much, so I couldn't let Noll near it to paint it all black or anything." He paused to think. "And I don't believe bees appreciate glitter much, but I may be wrong."
Madoka deflated as her paint scheme had already been shot down.
"I think yellow would be appropriate." Eugene decided, looking over his unpainted hive.
"Could you paint designs?" Madoka asked, perking up again. "Like flowers? I think since most of the bees are female, your girls might appreciate a stylish home. Don't you think, Koujo?"
She batted her eyelashes at her stoic boyfriend, seeking his approval.
"I think the bees would like that," he deadpanned, looking down at her.
"Actually," Eugene glanced from his mentors to his beehive. "I agree. The bees, and my mother, would appreciate that."
Madoka grinned wildly.
"Do you need a ride to the store?"
"Sure! This is going to be great!"
hi this is future!Bee, coming from the year 2017. I edited this story because I was unhappy with it and didn't want to finish it in its former state. so, if it looks different to you, that's because it is! the editing is mostly for my peace of mind so that I will feel proud of the chapter(s?) to come! I have just started university and I love it so much because I have a ton of time to write! I am hoping to finish this story soon! If you haven't yet, please read the other stories I have published now, especially The Town of Cats because it's seriously one of the better things I think I've written. hope to have a new chapter out soon! thank you to Hannah for original editing!
Love, Bee
Edited 1/9/17