Chapter 2
We left for the café after changing. Rei came down dressed in the same kind of garb I saw him wore when we first met, a pair of jeans and a tee shirt with a slightly oversized hoodie. The hoodie bare my division's emblem on it and was originally mine. I gave it to him five months ago when we went back to one of our bases. His own hoodie was all battered and coming apart after the island, so I took one of the many I owned and pass it to him. "At least you don't look like you are gonna beg at the café." He slipped his paws into the pockets of the hoodie and walk down the street towards the café. It had not been an hour and I wanted to ship this kid back to boarding school. How am I going to last three months? I always pride myself on my tolerance and patience, the amount of bullshit I deal with daily is astounding, from small issues like a lapse in paper work to big issues like idiots trying to blow up cities. But this kid, he is testing every ounce of self-control I have. The best part, I don't know why I have yet to form any verbal reaction to his insults. I am in no means a shy person; I verbalized my thoughts and opinions very often. So it bugs me that I am letting him insult me like that without any retort. I should analyze this further when I have the time. We took a seat at the café and the usual waitress came up with a huge smile and two menus. "Coffee and some scrambled eggs Lev?" she asked while handing the menu to us. "Yes, please." I smiled at her. Even though she served me when I come by here in the mornings, and obviously knows me by name, I can't however for the life of me, remember hers. "And this young man would be?" she asked smiling at Rei. "This is.." I started but was interrupted by Rei who beamed a bright smile at the waitress and in an oddly sweet voice, introduced himself. "I am Rei. Lev adopted me five months ago. I've been in school since but came by for summer vacations." I can feel the irritation throbbing and pushing at the back of my mind. "Ah! I never knew
Lev had a son. Well, nice to meet you Rei. What would you like to have today? I would recommend our house special, Blueberry pancakes with a huge sausage on the side. Top it off with honey maple syrup and you're golden." "She shipped me off to school after adopting me." His tone dropped a little, eyes casted downwards and that bright smile faded momentarily. Dammit, that kid was playing the pity card! "But I guess its cause she's a busy person and her job is very demanding. I will have the special and a milkshake please! Oh and bacon and eggs on the side. Oh oh and a plate of hashbrowns please." His smile returned and he was eagerly looking at the menu while ordering pretty much the whole dam thing. That little bubble of irritation was growing as every minute ticks by. "That's a lot of food for someone your size. Well wait a while and I will ring your order up!" the waitress walked off with the menus. I checked my communicator for emails and messages as we waited for our food. "Work?" I heard came from across the table. "Yah" I replied without looking up. "No wonder you have no life" came the reply with a snort. "This kid is testing my patience." I fired a text to Bouski, knowing he would reply quickly. "Everything tests your patience. Everything. You should try and get to know him more. He is your son after all" I frowned. Looking up from my communicator, I noticed Rei was looking at me, his fingers interlaced and on the table in front of him. Ok lets get to know my son more shall we? "So what do you want to do this holiday?" I asked as casually as I could muster, without letting slip any signs of my blooming irritation. "Oh nothing much, write a few programs, hack a few places...""You cannot hack any place""Why not?""Its illegal" I said as he snorted at my reply and leans back into the seat. "You hack stuff too." "They are for work reasons" little bubble of irritation blooming into a balloon. "I have work.""No you do not.""I could freelance.""No you cannot." Why is this kid so difficult?"You cannot tell me what to do.""Yes I can. Ok how about this, you promise not to do anything illegal, and I will get you something you want." I exhaled before I let my temper get the better of me. Rare has anyone been able to spark my temper but this kid seems to have a
knack at making me want to lose it. "Fine." The waitress came back and put down our drinks and left us a basket of utensils. "I want the new tablet that came out last month." He sipped his milkshake and eyed me. I knew which one he was talking about. Technology is always changing and evolving, depending on which planet you were on, technological advancement may vary significantly and sometimes, it's hard to keep up with the changes that are taking place. But given that Rei had been on this planet for most of his life, I knew that he was referring to the new dual screen tablet that came out last month. I personally think it's a stupid invention but there are many that sees the wonder in that piece of metal. "Ok. We can go pick it up after breakfast. But you have to promise not to do any illegal things." I got a nod from the kid. "I don't break promises" he looked at me with a very serious look. "I do not like it when people break theirs either" he took another sip of his milkshake as the waitress put our food down.