THE MOMENT
"...I expect you to be on your best behavior," Matron Silver reminded the twins. But, she focused on the brown-haired girl on the left. Her hair was cut short and framed her face with straight chestnut strands. They were easy to tell apart; the other one wore a long chestnut ponytail pulled behind her head. "...Especially you, Six," she said. "...Ms. Sharp has the power to close this orphanage on a whim. Please, for one day, we don't need a magical girl to save us."
"Why is someone that important coming here?" the ponytail twin asked.
"I don't-," Matron Silver interrupted herself by glancing at the clock. Then, she looked back at the twins with softer eyes. "I won't lie to you," she replied. She'd grown to favor the twins over time. "But, Ms. Sharp is very punctual and we don't have much time," she sighed.
"I do not know the precise reason she is coming today; but, I have no doubt it's about you two," she replied. "Because she is the one that personally left you both in my care."
"Is she our mom?" Six asked.
"Or maybe she killed our real parents," the other twin added. Matron Silver shook her head.
"Ms. Sharp is neither your parent nor the killer of your parents," she replied. "She has a genuine concern for your wellbeing."
"As far as you know," the second twin added. Matron Silver sighed and nodded.
"Yes, 23," she said. "As far as I know. That's all any of us can say."
"Hello, girls," Ms. Sharp was suddenly in the room. Her assistant, Melody, stood close behind in a black suit that matched Ms. Sharp's perfect, crisp white suit. The austere woman in white glanced at Matron Silver. "Thank you for taking care of them," Ms. Sharp said. "You may leave now."
"Good luck, girls," the burly woman with silver hair patted each of them on the shoulder as she walked out of her own office. Ms. Sharp walked around the small wooden desk to address the girls head-on.
"I'm sure you girls have plenty of questions for me," Ms. Sharp smiled. "I can't guarantee all the answers right now. Unfortunately, we don't have time to answer them all. For now, I will answer one question for each of you."
"Are you our mom?!" Six asked as 23 turned to try and coordinate with her. The pony-tail twin was stuck sighing heavily while she waited for the answer. Ms. Sharp smiled and shook her head.
"I played a part in your creation," she said. "But, we are not biologically related."
"What do you mean our creation?" 23 asked. Ms. Sharp focused on the teen for a moment, then smiled.
"That is a complicated answer that will only give you more questions right now. Unfortunately, I am on a schedule. But, that question will be answered later when we have more time. Would you like to ask another question?" 23 nodded; but, she didn't trust herself to speak without asking a question.
23 ran through the hundreds of questions in her mind. If she helped, did that mean Dana knew their parents? Where were their parents now? Why didn't they have real names? It was easy to see each answer would leave her with even more questions. And, they were apparently all questions she would get answers to later. She froze for a moment trying to figure out which question was the most important. Luckily, 23 had faced that particular problem before. Over the years, she perfected a method that let her get unstuck when she couldn't make a decision.
"Go ahead," 23 nudged Six with her elbow. Her sister turned and looked at her to double-check. 23 nodded. Six turned back to Dana Sharp with a broad grin. She gestured at 23 with her thumb.
"I'm asking her question too," she said. Ms. Sharp nodded.
"Where are you taking us?" Six asked without a second thought. 23 couldn't help but giggle to herself. Out of all the questions they were going to get answered, that one would be the most obvious. But, 23 wasn't sure she would have come up with a better question.
"First, I'll take you to your new home so that you may get accustomed to it and learn about everything you want. Then, when you're ready, we're going shopping,"
"Shopping?" 23 asked. "Like, for clothes?" Dana Sharp nodded.
"Among other things. There's a lot to do before Friday. Are you ready then?"
"What's Friday?" Six asked the question as both girls indicated they were ready.
"We're all going to a wedding," Dana looked down at the twins and smiled. "And, I especially want to make sure that you two look very sharp."