A/N: Well, this is an interesting turn of events. By that, I mean that I did not expect to get much more support on this story than I was expected. And I'm very glad for that! It's very much appreciated. But a note to KaylaLynn. It's Robert, not Richard! lol.
"The tech will be here in a few days," I told them after putting my phone in my pocket.
"You can really order anything if you call for it?" Susan asked me.
"Yup. My family is beyond rich. Throughout history, we have a history of being destined for success," I said, scratching the side of my head.
"So you're an inventor?" Mary asked me.
"A damn good one if I do say so myself," I said.
"And a colorful vocabulary if I do say so myself," Susan said.
"That's fair, I suppose. But it's not like my parents put restrictions on such a thing. I can't really talk like that around my parents or anyone prominent, but they don't mind if I speak like that to anyone else. They say it makes people take me more seriously, so I have no reason not to speak like that," I explained to them.
"Just what kind of parents do you have?" Mary asked me.
"The kind of parents that believe that almost nothing is too much of a condition to succeed. Work hard, use others to your advantages, whatever," I told them.
"That sounds like something a politician would do," Mary said.
"Close. He's a businessman. I believe the order of dirty tactics is politician, lawyer, then businessman. The game stays the same though," I said.
"Not all of them are like that," Mary said.
"While you may be right, most of them are. Politics and business bring power and money. And like it does to most people, it rots and corrupts them. Turns them into parasites rather than allies," I explained them.
"That's a very negative outlook on things," Mary said.
"How about this. When I go through an experience that changes my mind, I'll let you know," I told her. Mary frowned, but said nothing. But then her sister decided to speak up to change the subject.
"Thanks for the equipment though. I'm sure it'll help out a lot when the time comes," she said.
"No problem. Besides, I wanna be able to beat you fair and square when the science fairs start," I said with a confident smirk. Susan and Mary smirked themselves, and it got a lot more competitive in this room now.
"Bring it on rich boy," they said at the same time. My smirk turned into a wide, friendly smile.
"I look forward to an actual challenge. I hope you don't disappoint me," I said.
"We could say the same about you," they said at the same time. The twin telepathy was working like crazy with these two right now. No wonder they worked so well together.
"When the time comes, we'll see who wins," I said as I heard tires screech at the front of their house. Raising a curious eyebrow, I walked over to their window and noticed a white and gold limo. Out walked a woman with an overweight baby. I then turned back to the twin geniuses.
"Um... do you know anyone rich besides me?" I asked her.
"No. We really don't have friends cause of our intellect. We have each other, so we really don't care. Why do you ask?" Mary asked.
"Cause there is a woman with a baby coming to your front door. Do your parents have babysitting jobs, or..."
"No. Our mom's a businesswoman and our dad is a stay at home dad. This is unusual," Susan said, heading down the stairs. Me and Mary followed closely behind her, interested as to what this was going to lead to.
"I heard two wonderful, responsible girls live here and could they babysit my little toddler uh, Todd," the woman at the front door said. I frowned at the sound of her voice. It sounded weird.
"No," the two girls said simultaneously.
"How about for a ton of cash?" the woman asked, opening a briefcase full of money.
"Five hundred grand. You don't spare any expense do you?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow at the case. She didn't even acknowledge me, and I was tempted to flip her off. But I was in someone else's house, so I had to show some self restraint to my normal ways of dealing with rude people.
"I think it's about time the girls get a job. And besides, they're already babysitting their brother Johnny while I go out," their dad said.
"Great. Give him plenty of affection and feed him around noon. Oh, and he hates broccoli. NO broccoli," the mother said, wheeling the stroller on their front step. The moment she did, the baby jumped like a kangaroo on Susan and started kissing her on the cheek. That... was beyond weird.
"Boy, he sure likes Susan. I'll be back in an hour," their father said, rushing off. I shook my head before I turned to the two sisters.
"Well, looks like you're stuck with a baby," I told them. Their eyes practically pleaded, and I rolled my eyes before they even got the sentence out.
"Can you help us? We know nothing about children," Susan said.
"What makes you think I do? My parents wanted the perfect child. No more, no less," I told them.
"Please?" Mary asked. I groaned. Helping to take care of a child was the last thing I had on my list to do today.
"Ugh. Fine. Jesus. But you owe me for this," I said, before noting the child that was still latched on to Susan for dear life. "He looks like he's just satisfied latched on to your cheek. You sure he isn't sucking blood?"
"No, but after a few minutes he might be," Susan said, trying to pry the extremely grabby baby off her cheek. We walked back into the house and Susan pulled extra hard to get the child off of her and into the stroller. As soon as he was pried off, as to be expected, he immediately started crying. I groaned.
"I already regret agreeing to this," I said. Mary then started referring to a book she had seemingly pulled from mid-air.
"He's crying," she said.
"I know that!" Susan exclaimed.
"What's with the crying?!" a boy exclaimed from the living room.
"Well, what am I supposed to do? I'm a genius, not a babysitter," Susan said.
"I think when babies cry, they're hungry or something. Let's try that," I said.
"Yeah, that's what this book refers to," Mary said.
"Let's get him lunch," Susan said, before turning to me. "You wouldn't know how to cook by any chance?"
"Please. I can make a good lunch in my sleep with one hand. But I also need decent enough stuff to work with. Do you have pasta and pasta sauce?" I asked.
"We have pasta. And our dad sometimes uses the pasta sauce as substitutes for the ketchup on meatloaf," Mary asked. I shook my head.
"I'm not even going to ask how that tastes. But whatever. I can make some spaghetti. Meatless, cause the child barely has any teeth. And it saves the time of cooking the beef," I said.
"Have I told you that you are pretty doggone useful?" Mary said. I smirked.
"You could stand to mention it more. Come on. You can help me with the sauce," I said, walking into the kitchen and started looking for supplies. I laid a skillet on a separate counter and told them to mix the sauce. I went over to the pot and handled the pasta.
I took out my phone and put in my ear buds before choosing the soundtrack Clair De Lune. This tune makes me feel at peace. I love playing it when I'm cooking or inventing. I closed my eyes in relaxation as I filled the pot nearly to the brim with water. I then began to salt the water only a little before placing the pot on the stove. I then began to hum the tune that was playing in my ears while still having my eyes closed in my tranquility.
"Just what are you humming?" Mary asked me before pointing back to the pasta. "We finished mixing the pasta sauce thoroughly."
"The Clair De Lune. Claude Debussy made one of the most relaxing tunes of all time. When I listen to this, I feel like I'm at peace. Gets rid of the world's problems for a moment," I said as my shoulders leaned back from the tune.
"I've heard of that tune. You listen to it?" Mary asked.
"I listen to everything that sounds remotely pleasant to me. No matter the genre of which it belongs to," I said as I moved my hands in a harmonious way that went along with the soothing tune before I started humming again to the tune.
"Can I hear it?" Mary asked. "I mean, we could use some relaxing around here."
"I'll play it aloud," I said, placing my phone on the counter and unplugging the ear buds. The relaxing tune began to play around the entire kitchen, and I felt even more into the music than before somehow. I then closed my eyes before going into a smooth and relaxed stride around the kitchen. I then smiled and held out my hand out to Mary.
"A dance? How bout it?" I asked her.
"In case you haven't noticed, I'm a geek, not a ballroom dancer," she said.
"But I know what I'm doing. I'll guide you," I said, keeping my hand out while my smile was still in play. "Come on, you can't deny this tune is worth moving to." Mary seemed to consider it for a small moment before she grabbed my hand. I immediately pulled her close and led the dance with the peaceful music playing around this area, guiding me and my graceful movements.
"I feel like I'm skating," Mary said.
"It does give off that sensation, but I like to think of it as gliding on the ground," I said, before I looked back at Mary. I was nearly two inches taller than her, but it still didn't feel like I was guiding a doll or something. She looked at my feet and tried to mimic my movements.
"Just move with the music," I advised her. Her face relaxed and she stopped looking at our feet before she closed her eyes in concentration. Her ears bristled slightly as she perked up her hearing. Her face became completely relaxed, and her feet starting moving like they were almost being remote controlled.
"Now you've got it," I told her with a wide smile. For once, I found a situation where dancing like this wasn't required. It wasn't with someone's mother or grandmother for etiquette reasons. It was with a girl my own age with my interests. And the ballad was mutual.
"Am I doing ok?" Mary asked. I moved my hand from her shoulder to the back of her head to focus her attention at me.
"You're doing fine. Just let the music take you," I said as we continued our dance. Her expression soon turned into a relaxed smile after we continued to move across the floor. I couldn't help but keep smiling as I danced. I felt... warm. In way beyond what thermal items were like. This warmth was both internal and external. Like some sort of happiness that spreads like an infection.
The tune ended and 'A World Without Danger' cut on. I promptly cut that off and checked the water. It still hadn't been boiling, which is what I expected cause I cut it low so the three of us could talk, but this was even better than that.
"You're an accomplished dancer," Mary said. I smiled even wider while still focusing on the pot. Hopefully the steam would hide how ecstatic I looked.
"Thank you. I taught you a few things too, huh nerd?" I teased before turning back at her. She shook her head before answering.
"And you aren't?" she asked.
"Hey, I didn't say I wasn't. I'm proud to be a nerd. Nerds are some of the coolest people in this world," I said. Mary smiled.
"Well, I can't argue with that. We are also the most successful in life," she said.
"These are facts. So I can assume you're attempting to become an inventor?" I questioned.
"Exactly. It's about time women get some good credit in the world of inventing. Old dudes always get the credit," Mary said.
"That's cause we live in a world where males are 'predominant.' I'm surprised the women aren't really. A really good looking woman can get most men to do what she wants if she has the proper 'persuasion,'" I said with finger quotes.
"Exactly. Yet society is still run by pig headed males. No offense to males such as yourself," Mary said.
"Ah, it's fine. I could agree with that statement. But don't act like we don't have terrible women in this world, cause we do," I told her.
"I don't hear about any," Mary said.
"That's cause they're not put in the media as often as men. Unless the woman has really done something outlandish. And this is a fact," I told her.
"Alright. Name one woman who did something terrible," Mary said in an off handed voice.
"Maria Swanenberg. Killed over ninety people through arsenic poisoning. About a dozen of them were family members. One of the worst killers to ever live in the Netherlands. Is that satisfactory enough for you?" I asked.
"Wow. That's insane," Mary said.
"Very. We have terrible people in this world. Male and female. Just don't forget that there are two sides to that equation," I said as Susan came running in the room. I didn't even notice she had left. And for quite a while at that. I also noticed that the water on the stove started boiling.
"Hey, uh. I didn't want to interrupt your little teaching, but Todd isn't really someone named Todd," Susan said, making me raise an eyebrow as I put the pasta in the pot.
"That'll be done in about 10 minutes. Ok, explain what you meant, cause I am beyond confused right now," I said.
"Ok, turns out that the baby was not a baby, but Eugene trying to get close to me," Susan said, making me shake my head.
"Even when I was at dinner parties with that fat idiot, he wouldn't stop talking about someone named Susan. It irked me so much I ended up throwing his plate in his face and leaving," I explained, making Susan and Mary give me curious looks. "Yeah, don't ask. I'd prefer to forget most of those 'get-togethers.'"
"Well, we can kick him out, right? We already got paid, and his gig is up," Mary said.
"Well, we could except that he, Johnny and Dukey are on a high speed chase. Plus Johnny's de-aged, which doesn't make his situation easier," Susan explained. I sighed.
"God, it just never ends in this town, does it?" I asked.
"Not in the slightest," the two twins said. I sighed.
"Well, we gotta get em back. I have a motorcycle we can use to get there," I said.
"That will not fit all of us. We'll have to use some of that money Eugene gave us to catch a taxi. Extra to go really fast," Susan said.
"Well, I'll be able to get there faster. Just take the cab so you can get your brother and his dog home," I said, cutting off the stove. "That bastard owes me for this waste of pasta. But how am I going to find them?" Susan put a device the size of a Game-Boy in my hand.
"I put a tracker on Johnny cause we get into a bunch stuff. Just follow it and stop Eugene before he ends up turning Johnny into a fetus," she told me. I nodded and began to run down the street as I could to get to my motorcycle. I put on my helmet and got on while looking directly at the tracker.
"Looks like they're at a nursery," I said before revving the engine and used the device to try and speed off toward the location on the tracker. Ugh, I'm getting involved in some of the craziest crap.
I rode up to the nursery that I saw on the map and tried to keep my eye out for anything unordinary. Possibly two toddlers punching the absolute crap out of each other like it was a street fight.
When I parked in the parking lot, I looked around to see if they were anywhere around and I immediately spotted one of the most technological strollers of this century. Expensive looking, diamonds on it? Definitely belonged to Eugene.
Walking up right next to it, I could see Eugene coming out of the nursery with a kid with hair resembling flames coming out of the door, his dog closely behind him. The same kid that I saw before I got knocked out by robots. And the kid I followed into Susan and Mary's house. He looked a lot younger, but I could tell. This must be Johnny. And I believe Susan mentioned his dog's name was Dukey? What a name for a dog.
I walked up to the pair and crossed my arms in front of Eugene.
"You are one sad, sad kid Eugene," I told him. Eugene's face instantly turned even more unhappy at the sight of me.
"It's Bling Bling Boy! Robert Morgan? What are you doing here? Last time I checked, you were roaming somewhere in Europe. You know, when you threw my plate of food in my face!" Eugene exclaimed
"If you had stopped talking about Susan Test for more than 5 minutes, I wouldn't have done that. Plus as you may have noticed, I hate dinner parties cause I have no one to talk to that remotely interests me," I said, before I lifted the child-toddler by the front of his bib and my voice turned into a growl.
"Now you're going to turn these two back to their regular ages or I will turn you into a football and give you to the Pittsburgh Steelers football team as a gift. I dare you to test me," I growled at him before dropping him. Eugene's face became one of fear after I dropped him and he instantly moved to his technological stroller. I stood right next to him to make sure he did no funny business. I kept my eyes on him while I crackled my knuckles menacingly.
"Well, that was fun to watch," Johnny said. I turned toward the kid and smirked.
"I'm sure it was. My father taught me if you couldn't buy it, trade it, or scam it from someone, scare it from them. So of course he taught me to be imposing. Using my wallet and my influence or brawn. Whichever works," I explained, having to admit that some things my father taught me were pretty damn useful. Doesn't make him the best of people though.
"Sounds like your father didn't want people pushing you around. Eugene, hurry up and blast us!" Johnny suddenly said impatiently. His attention was diverted to Eugene, so he didn't see me frown from the thought of my father.
"Alright, alright," Eugene said as Susan and Mary arrived.
"You work fast," Susan said.
"I tend to do that. Anyway, I'm tired of waiting for you," I said, grabbing by the back of his neck and removing him out of the stroller before climbing on the thing myself before looking back at the two sisters.
"How old is he?" I asked.
"Eleven," Mary told me, making me change the dial to said age and blasting Johnny and his dog with it. They high fived before we all looked at Eugene with a dead serious expression that screamed punishment. He chuckled nervously.
"I-I was just kidding around. I'm a good boy. What are you gonna do to me?" Eugene asked fearfully.
"Since the things I have in mind are way too cruel, any ideas? Anyone?" I asked, looking around the group.
"Why, we're going to babysit you of course!" Mary said, making me look at her strangely. "And it's lunch time!" I simply shook my head.
"Well, whatever you plan on doing to him, I hope it's good enough to dissuade him from doing something like this again. Meet you back at the house?" I asked.
"Definitely," Mary said.
"Good to meet you Johnny!" I yelled at him as I began walking back to my motorcycle.
"You too," Johnny said. I began to climb on my bike before I spoke.
"I'll tell you girls one thing," I said, revving the engine. "I must be crazy to voluntarily stick around in this town." I then drove off back toward the Test house.
A/N: And I'm gonna call that a chapter. The ballroom dancing was a random thing, but if any of you have heard the Clair De Lune tune(rhyme scheme was unintentional), you would understand why it's such a peaceful tune and perfect to ballroom dance to. Why the Pittsburg Steelers? Cause it's my favorite football team. Also, I'm living proof that you do not have to be a rich old man to like classical music. Hope you all enjoyed the chapter.