Dishonorable Conduct

Chapter Three

The day seemed to drag on slower then a Wisconsin winter, only it was worse, with the brilliant sun shining in his eyes the entire day. Latrelle hadn't gotten any sleep the previous night, as evident by the bags under his eyes.

"Is his snoring really that bad?" Kevin asked during math. Latrelle could only nod as he tried to keep himself from nodding off. At this point, the teacher's voice was just a dull droning sound, doing nothing to help his stay awake. Neither did the sound of people writing vigorously. Before he knew it, the teacher was poking him, while the rest of the class laughed.

"I didn't think math was that boring for you," a girl said. The others around her chuckled. Latrelle ignored them and turned to Kevin.

"It was really bad, Kev," Latrelle said, rubbing his eyes. He yawned, then left for ninth period, which, for him, was German. On the way there, he missed a step and fell, but grabbed the hand railing before he could crush anyone in front or behind himself. He managed to get to his class without any more mishaps.

As he sat down in the back of the room, he noticed that the whiteboard had "guest speaker" written in sprawling, symmetrical letters.. Considering that not a lot of people can speak much German, he couldn't help but mentally tick off all the people he knew that could. It couldn't be Simon Smith, because if it was, he would've come to greet Latrelle before German.

Who else could it be then? Latrelle thought. His question was answered when the classroom door opened and the German teacher walked in. There was a man behind her, a man all too familiar.

"Goddammit." It was Mitch.

* * *

"So, how was your day?" Latrelle's and Rosa's adoptive father, Michael, asked when they got home. Latrelle just dragged his feet up the stairs and into his room before crashing on his bed.

"I can't believe he knows German," he grumbled to himself, recalling what happened in his last class. Mitch had been the guest speaker, and, as much as he hates to admit it, Mitch had spoken with perfect and eloquent words. Meanwhile, Latrelle couldn't get some of the words to come out right. By the end of the class, he hated his uncle with renewed vigor.

"What?" he said when there was a knock at his door. Not bothering to sit up, he shifted on his bed so that he could see whoever was at the door. "What is it, Mom?"

"From your attitude, I gather Mitch didn't tell you he'd be speaking to your class, did he?" Tina said. Latrelle nodded. "Well, that's just how he is. He likes surprising people. More than he likes talking to them, anyway."

You would know. You've been with him your entire life, Latrelle thought as he rolled over.

"Tacos for dinner tonight," Tina said, leaving his room. Latrelle remembered all the homework he had, and, despite not having any motivation to move what-so-ever, he sat up and began on the math, then finishing with English almost twenty minutes later. Just in time for dinner.

* * *

"Your cooking is as good as always, Tina," Mitch complimented his sister, while Tina pretended to be pleased.

"You know, I've been wondering," Latrelle began, directing his sentence at his uncle. "Why are you staying here if you have all the money in the world and could stay in some innocuous five-star hotel?"

"Because I want to spend time with my sister, niece and nephew, and my brother-in-law," Mitch said. As he smiled, Latrelle tried to figure out if Mitch's smile was real or not. And, judging by the way he looked like he was straining, he thought it was fake.

"We're glad to have you, Mitch," Michael said hastily. Mitch smiled slightly before going back to eating his taco.