Before Minx could respond, the ears of both twins were being pulled. They had no idea where she appeared from, but Mrs. Kaniption clearly snuck up on them.
She pulled them into her office, which, they were grateful, was on the opposite side of the building from their sleeping chamber. The woman was 5'1" and agile as a cat. Her eyes were sharp and never missed a thing. They couldn't say the same about her hearing, which was another thing to be grateful for.
"What did you monsters do to my gate!" she bellowed with a fury that didn't match her facial expression. They knew she couldn't prove it was them. That didn't matter to her.
"It's been broken for years by all your little Dears. They'd have fixed it but for their fears." Lana smirked. She wasn't angry or uncomfortable. Mrs. Kaniption, herself, was a paper tiger. However, she hated rhyming. She banned all poetry books and any children's books that had such nonsense, as she called it. She decided to continue, "detached it has been since who knows when. The culprit is unknown, the seeds have been sewn to play the blame game caring not for the maimed. Lies bestowed on others for failure to have mothers. Ho…"
Mrs. Kaniption's face had been turning redder and redder then as Minx continued to rhyme, going so far as to cover her ears.
Finally, it was like steam exploded from her ears as she screamed, "Get out! No dinner! Straight to your room! Leave before I get my broom!" She pointed to her door with a thin, pointy finger.
When she realized what she did, she screamed.
The minute the sounds started to leave her mouth, the twins looked at the floor and tried hard not to show any form of merriment. When they heard the rhyme, thankfully they were already out of her line of sight. They couldn't contain the shaking of their shoulders and had to cover their mouths to prevent any sound escaping. They reached the stairs and carefully held the handrail on the first three steps then released the handrail for the next five. They held it once again until they were almost to the top then leaned on it, swung their legs up two steps and leaned in that direction. They had safely arrived at their… room.
Once safely in their quarters, they allowed themselves to laugh; after locking their door, of course. Once they wiped away their tears, they grabbed their school bags, climbed out the window, scaled down the drainpipe and headed off to the woods to have dinner.
They lose dinner at least three times a week. It was a standard punishment any time someone pointed a finger in their direction. There were always witnesses to whatever happened even if they weren't in the building. They allowed it to roll off their shoulders at this point, though Minx really missed having friends like she did when she was younger. Midas didn't seem affected by the negative events in this shop of horrors. She feared she would be scarred for life.
As the pair approached the stand of trees that stood at the border of the property and the forest beyond, Minx felt the familiar welcome feeling from her wooden friends. She didn't know why she always had an ability and the other didn't. It wasn't normal and she was called freak from an early age. Most children were at least 8 years old before even being offered an ability book by their family. Of course, orphans were denied this privilege.
Sometimes children would arrive having already learned one. The bullying was so bad, they quickly learned not to show it around their new home. Some brainchild decided having an ability made the other children feel bad when what they should have been thinking was, can the children learn from each other? But no. Not in the Black Rock Orphanage.Here it was about keeping the children down. Destroying hope. And that was just the stuff on the surface. Minx was lost in her thoughts.
Deep enough into the woods that they wouldn't be followed or heard, Minx placed her hand on a tree. "This is our last night together Lovey. Let's not disappoint."
The branches of a weeping willow wrapped around her arms and threw her high into the air. Minx had the biggest smile on her face she'd had all day.
Thirty minutes later, a frustrated Minx returned to terra firma. She placed her forehead on the branches and thanked loving tree for all its efforts to help her improve and keep her safe while doing so.
She turned to her brother, "are you hungry, Midas?"
He laughed, "Ravenous!! Watching you get tossed around like a ragdoll like that always makes me hungry." He smiled at his sister.
Kneeling under the tree, Minx began to grow plants while Midas leaned against the trunk chewing on grass. There were huge tomatoes, foot-long cucumbers, potatoes that could feed two and much more. Her bag contained cooking gear she "borrowed" from the kitchen years ago. She began removing them as her brother came to her side to build the fire. It was his only job. He tended the fire while she prepared the food. She prepared the vegetables for cooking and put them in the pot. Next, a salad was prepared so they would each have their fill. The pot was put on to cook while they began to eat their salads, enjoying the tranquility the trees offered them.
Once the soup was done, they sat there eating and pondered how their lives were getting ready to change, knowing nothing could be worse than what they currently had.
Upon returning to the orphanage, she returned all the kitchenware. Before returning to her room, Minx decided to leave a surprise. Very slowly she grew a thick sentient vine with instructions that only those who spoke kindly could enter the kitchen, then she went to her room and slept.
The next morning, they packed their spare outfit and toiletries into their school bag and headed out earlier than usual by way of the drainpipe instead of the stairwell. They wanted to scout out where they needed to go to get picked up. Their school files had been altered.
When Sed came to work at the orphanage, he regaled Military Base 2. Fearing what could happen, he altered their file stating they had been adopted by a local family and had been moved there. Some of their peers at the school celebrated. Normally this would indicate that Midas would finally get an ability. Twins should have been able to go shopping and get some clothes which were desperately needed, that didn't have holes and matched. Neither of these things happened.
Despite her strong ability, they still talked about Minx, often in front of her. Her clothing was crazy. Nothing matched or fit her as her meager wardrobed changed over the years. At first, it bothered her, but she got used to it.
As they walked down the road, Minx handed Midas some rolls and fruit she stole from the kitchen the night before. She hated doing it. She felt her brother's growth was impeded by orphanage food despite his height.
They arrived at their destination to see a 10-foot wrought iron fence surrounding a manicured landscape. In the center, surrounded by wisteria trees, was the biggest house they had ever seen. They stood there gaping at the sight when they heard footsteps behind them and started to run and hide when they heard a throat clear.
"This is probably the last time I'll see the two of you," they heard the sound of Sed's voice and quickly turned around and hugged him. In each hand was a shopping bag which he promptly handed one to each of them.
"Put these on before coming here to catch the military bus. I hope it's enough but it's the best I can do. I will miss the two of you. Stay safe." He hugged them once again and headed in the direction of the orphanage.
They thanked him profusely as he headed off. They were only provided "new" clothing on their birthday. This year, the practice was skipped since it was a few days ago and they will be going to the military academy on Sunday. The military provided a 10-credit stipend per day so they would be able to get something decent to wear.
The pair raced off to school and never looked back once that final bell of the day rang. They joined hands and went back to the fancy house they would be picked up at. From there, they looked for a place where they could have shelter for the next two nights.
Down the street, about 5 minutes away, they found a rather large park. They discovered
na clearing big enough to do what they wanted. Minx then asked the trees if there was anyone nearby. She smiled broadly at the answer then touched the ground, placing her palm flat against it. Soon a sapling emerged from the soil. Then it grew into a tree. A platform was formed as the tree matured. Soon, they were standing under a thick canopy. This would be their home until Sunday morning.