SHIELD Agent Rhapsodos: A Part That Remains

:: Ignore ::

The old man lost count how many times the redhead teen had ignored him. He even didn't kept count on how many times the teen had dropped in on him.

Taunting the kid to get a reaction was like kicking a wall—he didn't budge at all—and replies were simply non-existent.

The former CIA agent had given up all semblance of hope in getting rid of the teen from his room. While there was still the option to call the nurses in, the old man still had an ego he preferred to have intact. On the other hand, most of the nurses or caretakers in the hospice were wary of him thanks to his infamous temper. He had a reputation of being a rather 'unstable' patient just to avoid the worst of noises that resided the place.

It was quite a feat—ignoring a still sharp retired agent—for a brat like him. The elder man was certain he exhausted every type of glare that would have Nazi spies run for their lives in World War II. Not to forget, he was quite certain even the nurses weren't as resilient as the red head teen. Most of them wouldn't dare stay in the room any longer, but the kid? The kid dismissively ignored him in any attempts of starting a conversation, only giving him a moment's notice before going back to what seemed like homework.

Well, it wasn't like the teen had bothered him in any way (besides being present in the room). However, the more time he spent with the teen, the sooner the former CIA agent realized he wasn't a troubled kid. He had caught glimpses of the teen's school grades and scholarship papers from a good distance. The flying colors would easily have made his peers envious, and not to mention forms that he was taking his end of high school exams early.

'So, the kid's a genius or prodigy of some sort,' he thought with bemusement.

With flaming medium length red hair, fair complexion, and slightly lean yet athletic features, the teen didn't seem to look like geek material. Especially the way he now wore ragged jeans and a faded red t-shirt would fool most people he was the average Joe on the street. After another half an hour of non-stop writing an essay, the red head cleaned up his things. He inclined with respect to the old man, swiftly made his way out the window, jumped, and disappeared.

The old man swore out loud as he forgot to ask the kid's name again.