Ardent Cure: Lennox and Mielo

AN: thanks for the 24 5 star ratings, and we breached over 1000 hits O: 

Now all we need is a review to top the cake of with a cherry.

Chapter 9 -

 

1

                It was late October, the air had cooled, and Mielo finally had his cast taken off. It took him a bit longer to heal than expected, but at least he healed completely. An x-ray taken of his arm revealed it to be good as new with a strong bond in the bone. Mielo tread with extreme caution after this, he didn’t want to sustain another bone fracture … though if Lennox was going to be the one to set it and send him to the hospital, it wouldn’t be so bad.

                This morning was an odd one in Mielo’s life. Lennox had approached him a couple weeks prior about going on a field trip with him to the National Gallery in the capitol. It sounded fun and it didn’t cost anything, plus Mielo would be able to spend a whole day under the protective eye of Lennox far away from any trouble. Learning about art and some of the history of the states would be alright too, but it was only secondary for a chance to get out of his routine. The boy showed up on campus at 5Am sharp, he didn’t sleep a wink for fear of sleeping in, which wasn’t getting much better.

                He saw Lennox’s car pull up only five minutes after he sat down on the steps of the main entrance to wait. The man didn’t even turn off the car and stepped out of it with a big smile on his face.

                “You made it!” He declared in his usual stage voice, though it was muffled the way people restrain their voices at such a dead hour in the morning, “I thought I was going to have to track you down if you didn’t get here on time.”

                “Hmm, I should haff had you do zat instead,” the boy yawned out as he walked up to Lennox, “zat vould have been much more fun,” he added with a wink.

                The teacher cast a satisfied grin at the boy as he rested his arm on the roof of his car, “I would have given you that option, but I’m sure your father would not have appreciated me showing up at your house, not with the impression I have him last month.”

                “Hah,” Mielo shook his head, “who said I vould haff been hiding in mein hause? I sink having you chase after mein tail like a big dog all over ze city vould be far more amusing.”

                “Haha! Mielo don’t be ridiculous,” Lennox hooted as he descended back into his car and rolled down the windows so he could still talk to the boy, “I know you don’t get out, you would get lost before you could make it to the post office. Now let’s get a move on, we need to make good time.”

                Mielo nodded, then looked passed the car to see that there weren’t any school busses, which was strange for a field-trip day.

                “Ze busses, wo es...?” he looked back at the English teacher with a raised eyebrow. “Is it late, or vhat?”

                “What?” Lennox furrowed his brow in confusion for a moment, but then understood what Mielo was saying, “ohh, nope! Bus is right on time, right here!” He revved the engine of his own car and beckoned to the boy to get in.

                “Oh, vhat about ze ozzer students?” the boy had a weird flicker of suspicion cross his mind, but he trusted Lennox more than he trusted anybody right now, so he only wanted to ask questions of caution instead of instantly becoming accusatory.

                “Car pooling with another chaperone, it’s less expensive.” The teacher explained promptly, “jesus, did you sleep last night?” He narrowed his eyes at the boy, noticing the dark circles that must have encompassed them.

                “Eh, I vas too excited to spend ein WHOLE day vis you, I couldn’t sleep,” the boy said, trying to sound more excited than he actually was. He didn’t want the teacher to think he wouldn’t appreciate the trip, especially since Mielo had been looking forward to this all week.

                “Don’t be fresh with me, kid.” Lennox smirked, seeing right through the false tone, “you don’t want to be tired for this, good thing I packed pillows and a blanket for you in the back.” He rolled up the windows again and unlocked the doors.

                It was too hard to resist, and the boy crawled right into the back of the car. He didn’t care for anything right now except for curling around a pillow and catching up with his much needed sleep. The German really did want to enjoy the entire day away from home AND away from school. It’d be nice to finally have something entirely different to focus on for once. Lennox pulled out of the parking lot without a word, probably knowing how much the boy just needed to relax. It was nice to be in the car, he had five whole hours of peace of mind, no fitful dreams, no father, no worrying about waking up on time … even the small bumps in the road and the whirr of the engine were pleasant. It was almost like being rocked to sleep in the large heated leather arms of some migrating creature.

 

2

                What was it about a sleeping Mielo in the back seat that made Lennox tick? He liked the situation he made for himself. The boy was in his car, in his control, asleep; he was taking him somewhere far away from any of his troubles, his father, and Allan; and his very presence just calmed Lennox as he had a good think about things.

                He could hear the boy’s every inhale, exhale, and unconscious shift to a more comfortable position. Mielo slept peacefully, which was more than he ever was able to get in sleep wise, Lennox knew. Since the first day of school, Mielo had come into the class in varying states of fatigue and disheveledness. Five undisturbed hours of sleep was probably more than enough, for he was used to so less, and Lennox could give this to him. Besides some dozing off in class, which the man could not blame him for, this was the first time Mielo had truly slept in his presence. It was a gesture of trust, it symbolized progress, especially with the readiness Mielo displayed to get comfy in the back.

                The sun came up and Lennox pulled down the visor and put on some sunglasses, he didn’t feel like the look quite suited him, but he was a practical demon. At this thought, his mind returned to the original intent of the field trip. The three Dardexian kids: Shay, Tony, and Frank, would be attending this excursion. They usually didn’t go on actual field trips because of their conditions. The sun was always too blaring, they never got to eat the food that they needed, and they always felt left out. Lennox knew all of their parents and made himself known to them, and they loved him for going out of his way to take their kids on educational trips that they could enjoy. It was a sort of challenge to Shayla, who had confronted Lennox about his pursuit of Mielo. The teacher had actually grown impatient waiting for her to carry out her threat, so he forced her to face it, confident that she wouldn’t be able to succeed. There might have been some protest on behalf of the other kids, but Lennox didn’t mind that, he could make up some excuse to them based on a part of the truth.

               

                Five hours later they reached the parking lot of the complex and Lennox concocted a plan to wake up Mielo from his sleep. He put on some classical music to start off the kid’s day and gently shook him.

                “Wake up Mielo Herz!” He hummed melodiously, “we’re here! We are going to get some breakfast brain food and then rendezvous with our caravan!”

                The boy woke up slowly, seeming hesitant to stir as his eyes darted in all directions until he remembered that he was in the back of Lennox’s car safe and sound from all that ailed him.

                “Oh …,” the boy mumbled in a tired groan, rubbing his eyes. He stood up on his knees and reached passed the passenger seat to pull down the mirror. It was funny to watch, for the boy was checking to see if his hair looked okay, moving the misplaced locks and brushing himself with his fingers. When he was satisfied, he opened the car door and winced at the bright sun.

                “So who else is joining us?” he asked Lennox.

                The teacher chuckled to himself at Mielo’s first impulse to check his hair, he seemed to be similarly vain to Lennox, only the man was more discrete about it, “three kids, you don’t know any of them … unless you’ve met Shayla Gomez. She may have approached you.”

                Mielo looked up in thought for a moment and shook his head.

                “Same height as you, dark brown hair, dress’ modestly.”

                “Nein, who is she?” the boy asked, his eyes now wide with a curiosity unmatched.

                “She’s just part of the group of students that I’ve been charged with advising.” Lennox stated simply as he circled the car to pull his bag out of his popped trunk.

                “Und only ze drei of zem?” the boy now cocked an eyebrow suspiciously.

                “It’s a very isolated group, they have … uh … special needs.” Lennox sensed the boy’s suspicion and attempted to redeem himself, he wouldn’t want Mielo thinking that there was anyone else receiving his attention.

                “Und you are including me vis zem?” He seemed offended now, though Lennox only laughed for he’d set up the perfect comeback.

                “Haha! Oh Mielo, no. I just wanted to bring you with me because I felt like it.” The teacher cooed with utmost sincerity, much to the pleasure that manifested on the European’s face in the form of a pink blush and a coy grin.

                “Besides!” Lennox continues congenially, “what better place is there for me to take you than to our National Gallery? I know how you feel about this country, it’s inevitable for Europeans, but it isn’t all bad here. Especially not in an intellectual setting celebrating the incredible minds that this nation was born of, not to mention the splendid collection of works from countless places! We have a DaVinci in there.” He pointed out with excitement as he gestured to the building.

                The kid’s eyes widened even more now, “really? I can’t vait to see, I have only seen his art in books.” Then the boy put his hands to his sides and looked around, “So vhere are ze ozzer kids? I vould like to meet zem, I guess? Zey are … nice? Zey don’t … drool, ja?”

                “Drool …?” Lennox raised his eyebrows in disbelief, but then burst out in hearty laughter, the kind that comes from the diaphragm and commands the attention of everyone in earshot. Mielo looked slightly uncomfortable at this eruption, but Lennox enlightened the boy when he calmed down, “they don’t drool, trust me. I think we’ve had a slight miscommunication. They’re not … special ed kids, if that’s what you’re thinking. They’re just … different, you know?” He put his arm over Mielo’s shoulders, as he had grown accustomed to doing over the past month, “it’s difficult for them to play nice with other students sometimes. They’re more of the wolf pack type. You know wolves don’t change packs often, right?”

                Mielo looked down with a finger to his chin, trying to understand the odd description that the teacher was giving him. He then lit up when he thought he got the answer, “so zey are ... how you say, ‘troubled teens’, zen?” He nodded his head in understanding before Lennox even confirmed this or not, “I see, I see....”

                “Mmm … yeah,” Lennox nodded his own head in a cogitative bounce, “troubled teens with a UV allergy more or less.” He knew he sounded completely bizarre to the boy, but it didn’t matter so much as long as it gave even a remote air of mystery about his affairs. “They like me! That is the point, there aren’t many adults that can see eye to eye with them, you know what I mean? Now come on, I know a great bagel joint around the corner.”

 

3

Lunch was nice. Lennox had found them a nice bakery that had all sorts of bagels that Mielo had never seen before. The smells of the place weren’t at all like the smells in the school or the streets back in NY, they were pungently fragrant and fresh, like flower and and baked goodies just out of the oven. He and Lennox didn’t talk very much, especially since Mielo was rather sedate from having just woke up and was extremely hungry, he’d somehow managed to eat two full bagels when he felt Lennox wasn’t paying attention. When they were done, Lennox spared no time in getting back to the museum to meet with his other students.

                The building was large in every dimension, and reminded Mielo of Rome with all the large pillars that guarded the doors at the top of the stairs. He was so fascinated that he wanted to walk around one of them to see how many steps it’d take him to orbit the large leg of marble.

                “Woaah, I vish I came to ze galleries oder museums more often. Zey are leuchtend, amazing!” he touched the pillar one more time before he made it back to the teacher’s side.

“I still can’t believe your father never took you anywhere. Germany has a wealth of closely packed museums, not to mention all of the other places you could simply train to in a day.” Lennox scoffed.

“Ja,” the boy sighed, wishing that Lennox hadn’t brought up his old man. He didn’t want to think about him at all, so he just dismissed it. “I can’t vait to see all ze paintings und vhatever else.” He motioned to grab Lennox’s hand, touching the top of the man’s forefinger, but then thought twice about it. He almost acted as though this teacher was his own father, in public, and so he pulled his hand back instantly. “Eh...sch-sorry.”

Lennox looked down at Mielo slyly, “what?” he asked in a slightly teasing manner.

“Schuldigen, forget about it,” the boy shook his head, hoping the man would just let it go. He was already embarrassed enough, so it took him by great surprise when Lennox took his hand anyway. Mielo grew stiff and felt uncomfortably warm as he craned his head up at his teacher.

“It’s alright, Mielo,” the man reassured in a deep charismatic voice, “don’t be so coy.”

“B-but vhat vould people sink?” Mielo asked in a slightly worried tone, “I don’t vant you to get gefuert, fired.” He put his free hand over his mouth as he looked around at everyone, becoming paranoid. If they were caught, he knew only Lennox would suffer a punishment and Mielo would only be viewed as a naive, innocent boy. He didn’t want to risk anything for the only guy that cared about him.

“Fired?? Don’t make me laugh boy! There’s nobody here that will even recognize us. And hey, you want to be let in on a secret?” Lennox seemed to be at complete ease as he leaned in to whisper something to Mielo, “this field trip isn’t even on the books, there is no faculty around. Also, I’m old enough to be your father, I think it’s a more likely assumption for the people around us to make.” He stood upright again and stared straight ahead as they walked, “you’re a strange kid in an even stranger place now, it’s alright to feel a bit … insecure without guidance.”

Mielo exhaled, relaxing a bit. Lennox was right, he shouldn’t get so paranoid about these things. He let Lennox hold his hand as they entered the building. He felt giddy inside, holding this man’s hand. Was it strange? Well, he hadn’t held anyone’s hand since his mother had passed, not even Allan’s. It was a nice feeling, and he gave the elder an affectionate but quick squeeze, but kept his face down as it heated up.

It didn’t last very long, however, for they’d reached what seemed to be the main lobby in the center of the building. It had a large fountain made of equally exquisite marble as the rest of the interior, and there were throngs of people all around despite the fact that opening was but an hour ago. There was a shrill voice that resonated over the rest of the crowd.

“MR. LENNOX!”

The man’s hand suddenly jerked out of Mielo’s as he became the English teacher again in the presence of other students.

“Hello, Shayla Gomez.” He chirped in an intentionally annoying voice at the girl, his freshly released hand slipping into his pocket, “I say, did you smell me approaching?”

“No, I saw you.” She furrowed her brow and scowled up at the man, then her eyes fell on Mielo, “you brought him? But he’s not--”

“Mielo Herz is new to this country, and I wouldn’t pass up the opportunity to show him a more positive side of the States than he’s been seeing.” Lennox silenced Shay with his superior reasoning, and she lowered her head in defeat, but lifted it again with resolve in her eyes.

“Hi!” She offered out her hand to the boy, “nice to meet you, Mielo.” After her confident outburst, now she seemed shy and her mannerisms were forced.

                The boy wasn’t expecting such a friendly hand, but he took it all the same. He nodded his head with equal, if not more, shyness.

“T-tag, Ich bin Mielo Herz,” he introduced himself. He wasn’t really afraid of this group, for he had seen them before, now that he thought about it. They really did keep to themselves, so he didn’t really have much of an opinion on them, which was sure to change today.

Shayla blushed a bit, “you can just call me Shay.”

“Where are the others?” Lennox asked flatly.

“They’re on the other side of the fountain,” Shay gestured behind her and made a swift turn to make her way back to them before Lennox and Mielo could.

The boy looked over at the group, which appeared to be threatening and tough. But Shay seemed to be pretty timid in her nature, and she was friends with the other kids, so they couldn’t be that bad. He was feeling a bit of apprehension about introducing himself to the other two boys, Tony and Frank. Would they make fun of him like most of the kids at the school did because he was a dandyish fop that would never in a million years kiss a girl? He looked up at Lennox, wondering if it was okay to catch up with them, to hang out with kids his own age. The man only smiled down at him.

“Come on, don’t be shy.” He said smoothly, walking after the girl finally.

They reached the other side of the fountain where Shay was deliberating something of great importance to Tony and Frank, who looked up as they sensed Mielo approaching. One of them had bleached white hair and seemed to favour a punk style of clothing, he grinned and snorted as his eyes landed on Mielo.

“This is Frank O’Saun,” Lennox addressed the kid, “and this is Tony Garrett,” he addressed the other one, who was of African American descent. He was tall and thickly built, dressed simply, and had a shy face. He turned his head down at the sight of Mielo timidly, “meet Mielo Herz, he’s my exchange student this year.”

                “Nice to meet the teacher’s pet,” Frank teased Mielo, giving the kid a firm handshake and almost causing the kid to fall forward. “Cute.” He leaned in to smell the boy, and Mielo stepped back with an unimpressed scowl.

“Eh, nice to meet you too, I sink?”

“Course it is,” Frank chuckled.

Lennox snorted now, obviously amused at Frank’s obscene greeting. Mielo took some form of comfort in this, knowing that his teacher wasn’t concerned about it, “don’t let him get to you, Mielo, he treats everyone like this.”

“Yeah,” Shay added, giving Frank a nudge in the side, “he bites too. Bleh!”

“Let’s get a move on, then!” Lennox hastened the process of introduction and took out a map of the museum that he’d pulled from the information desk and unfolded it swiftly, “I think we should start with the portrait gallery, unless there are any objections. We’ll see what we see until one and then we’ll take lunch and then I’ll cut you loose for a few hours and then we’ll go have movie night.”

When Mielo, Shay, Tony, and Frank were finally on their free time, they decided to sit and hang around the fountain where they originally met. Mielo sat next to Shay, who was in the middle with Tony, and Frank sat at the other end.

                “So, you from the Netherlands?” Frank asked Mielo with both his brows raised in obnoxious curiosity.

                Mielo shook his head, “Nein, Deutschland,” he answered simply.

                “Douche-land?” Frank asked with a snicker.

“No, zat ist how ve say ‘Germany’ in Deutsch.”

                “In Dutch?”

                “In German,” Mielo shook his head.

                “I know! I was just messing with ya,” Frank cackled, then stopped when he almost fell back into the pool of water. “Eh, I know a few German words myself.”

                “Like vhat?”

                “Like … ‘ja’ and uh … Guten Tag?”

                Shay snorted, “your accent is horrible!” Then she turned to Mielo, “what’s it like there anyway? I bet it’s got real big cool old castles and stuff.” She made very animated gestures with her hands, seeming excited yet intentionally exaggerated at the same time.

“Ja vell,” the boy blushed. He wasn’t really expecting them to ask him so many questions, especially since he hadn’t really met anyone else yet who had taken the same interest. “Es ist ein sehr alt place, so zer are many sings to visit. Each province varies. I find zat ze people zer at least more friendly zen ze people here-- not zat you guys aren’t nett-- er, nice. I guess ze majority of Germans are quite cultural. Also, ze standard of living I guess ist more … how you say? Vell, I vould say more, but it vould insult your country.”

                “Awe, c’mon. We know our country sucks-- but that’s what is so great about it!” Frank interjected with a laugh.

                “I dunno,” Mielo shrugged his shoulders, “I feel uncomfortable living in a country in debt. At least mein hast ze best economy in Europe.”

                “Really?” Shay beamed with an intense curiosity, “I wish they’d teach us this stuff in history, all I even knew about Germany is the old stuff! Like … everything between Ostrogoths and Nazis. That’s it!”

“Vell I guess you can go tell everyone you know zat Germany has ze four’s biggest economy in ze vorld,” Mielo stated proudly. “Eh, I really miss home sometimes.” He sighed and drooped his head sadly, his eyes glimmering with longing.

“Aww,” Shay frowned and looked down at her knees. There was the distant sound of Lennox’s hearty laughter as he chatted with a security guard over a map of the gallery. He was just Mr. Social wasn’t he? Mielo noticed that Shay was glaring at the man suspiciously.

“Why don’t we go walk around until we have to leave?” She proposed, standing up and looking rather monumental in her resolve, “let’s buddy up. I’ll take Mielo.”

“Kay,” Frank hooted, looping his arm around Tony’s. “C’mon big guy, where do you want to go?”

Mielo looked over at Shay and gave her a kind smile, “okay, so uh, vhere to first?”

“Doesn’t matter,” Shay shrugged her shoulders, suddenly becoming bashful again, “we haven’t explored the East wing yet? Let’s go there.” She grabbed Mielo’s arm firmly and tugged him away.

They walked a bit in silence to a branch of the building with hardwood walls and miscellaneous paintings from the 19th and 20th centuries. The two were fairly lost in the labyrinth of fine art and in a secluded area where not many visitors passed them by before Shay started talking.

“So … what do you think about Mr. Lennox?” Her tone was strange, almost unreadable, though it seemed to have a mix of skepticism and concern in it. Her expression endorsed this theory; her head was turned down slightly and she cocked an eyebrow towards Mielo.

The boy wasn’t sure how to answer, especially with the feelings that he was developing for the teacher. He didn’t want to mention that, but he was afraid it may even become obvious if he lost his composure.

“He ist … sehr nett,” Mielo began slowly, “he hast helped me vis a lot of sings, I guess? Und he ist very animated vhen he teaches, ja?”

“Yeah, I guess.” Shay perked up a bit and lifted her head, though her face only grew more suspicious of whatever, “I’ve never had him as a teacher, I only know him through this group. Isn’t he … weird though?”

“I cannot deny zat,” the boy giggled, “vhy you asking? Does somevon have ein crush on ze English Lehrer?” he certainly hoped not, he didn’t want to become competitive with his new friend already.

Shay gagged as an automatic response. It was genuine and not exaggerated at all like many of her other gestures were, “NO! GROSS!” She slapped a hand over mouth as she realized that she was yelling. The quiet echoed after the outburst and she looked around, and finally relaxed when she found that no one was going to apprehend her, “Mr. Lennox is gross. He’s a creeper.”

“Huh? No vay,” Mielo gasped in what he hoped sounded like honest disbelief. He knew Lennox was … a creeper, to an extent. Unless there were other kids he treated this way, which would be impossible. If there were, how would it not be known to the public? What if Lennox only targetted kids like him? Kids that wouldn’t dare speak of the instances between themselves and Lennox to any other soul?

“Yeeahhh, don’t you think he’s a bit … feely?” Shay narrowed her eyes in all seriousness, “I’ve seen him following you and stuff.”

“I vould like to sink he ist just ... being protective of ze new kid?” Mielo replied with a morsel of worry in his accent. “Ist zer somesing you need to tell me about Herr Lennox?” the boy asked, feigning his innocence. “Did he do somesing to you zat he shouldn’t haff?”

“No,” Shay spat back defensively, “and I’d bite his face off if he did!”

There was a loud wholesome laughter ringing faintly from a few rooms down, the sound bouncing off the walls until it reached Shay and Mielo’s ears as a distorted echo.

4

                The teacher knew that Shay would be aware of his uncanny hearing, but even despite his demonstrations of it in class, he knew Mielo couldn’t possibly jump to the conclusion that he could be heard from as far away as he was. Shay growled, he could hear her, and he rushed over to them, pretending to be in a hurry to see something else.

                “Oh hey,” he chanted in his low respectful museum voice, a great change from his laughter just moments before, “you kids on your way to the sculpture garden?”

                “No, why would we? It’s outside,” Shay grumbled.

                “Well, it’s a shame you won’t embrace the fashion of old. I think you kids would look rather dashing with parasols.” Lennox taunted.

                “Ew! No thanks, I like the fashion of new just fine.” Shay retorted in repulsion.

                “Vell I vouldn’t mind von as long as I haff an outfit to go vis it,” Mielo joked, becoming more excited now that Lennox was back in his vicinity. “Zis place is amaaazing, I vant to come here again sometime.”

                “Well, talk to your History teacher, you usually have an array of museums trips throughout the year through that class. I try not to repeat my own field trips, there is too much to see!” The teacher pat Mielo on the shoulder, and motioned to pat Shay, but she jerked away. Lennox cast a smug grin at her, but she snarled back.

                “You’d better pick a good movie tonight!” Shay spat before she ran off by herself to find the rest of her companions, leaving Mielo alone with Lennox.

                “Haha! So, how do you like Shayla so far?” The man asked the boy, thankful to be alone with him once more.

                “She vas nice, zo … I fear she ist onto vhatever … vhatever ve have,” the boy looked down at his feet with his fists at his sides. “I tried to play it off as zo I didn’t know vhat she vas talking about.”

                “You really don’t know what she’s talking about though, that’s why.” Lennox became serious and looked down at Mielo with a dire look on his face. He was practicing the art of his success, keeping true to what he’d learned last month when he instilled fear and adoration in the boy pinned up against the blackboard. It was almost threatening, the way he talked, though he knew what he meant. He meant to honestly say you have no idea, you ignorant child, because he didn’t.

                Mielo looked up at Lennox now with a pinch of fright in his eyes, but then he nodded his head. “I guess ve all have our secrets, but I vould like to know eventually.”

                “As long as you remember where your place is here,” the man hummed in a low rich voice, brushing his palm against Mielo’s back gently. The boy looked back at the man with a small grin, almost shuddering at the older man’s touch.