New Tutor

"He is hot," Claire whispered to Juliana as they walked out of the school building. Raymond stood beside the gate, waiting for Juliana to come over.

This only made Juliana glare at Claire and pointed out, "He is a common enemy. You can't be beguiled by him."

Claire arched her eyebrow.

"What's wrong with him? Amongst those similar looking guards in your family, he seems to appear the best. Quite pleasing to the eyes."

"Don't get me started on it. The entire weekend— he stayed inside my room. How is it appropriate for a grown ass man to sleep inside a teenage girl's room? He disrespected the privacy I deserve as a human and a girl. Most importantly, he is so rigid, following everything to the T. And too strong."

The last part was an attack on her pride, but she had to admit it. Her first instinct when it came to Raymond was to beat him up, but not only did he counter her effortlessly, he barely touched her while doing so, taking the appropriate measures.

Knowing how her friend hates being restricted, Claire raised her hand and placed it on Juliana's shoulder, patting her gently.

"Will you be showing up for the race though?"

"Of course I am. My house arrest will be over by then," Juliana responded.

"It will be hard without any practice."

Juliana smugly voiced out, "What hard? Even if I don't touch the motorbike for years, beating those losers is a cup of tea for me."

Juliana was too overconfident.

After this, they exchanged a few more words, and Juliana dragged her feet over to the car. She frowned upon scrutinizing the man from top to bottom and noticed how he attracted attention. Of course, the girls wouldn't be able to resist his allure.

He leaned against the car. His black coat was removed. The sleeves of his white shirt was folded upwards, revealing his veiny arms, and the top buttons of his shirt was undone, giving a view of his collar bones underneath. A tattoo peaked out, and Juliana was barely able to make out the entire picture.

His hair was slightly messy, and the heat got him to sweat slightly. Over all, what should have looked revolting on others made him appear as though he was a top tier model.

As she stood in front of him, he straightened himself and bend down to open the car door for her without a word. As someone who can't stay quiet, Juliana scrunched up her nose at the lack of communication.

Once she entered the car, the man started to drive, and she ordered, "From tomorrow onwards, stay inside the car."

"I am afraid that's not possible, Ms. Juliana," he responded in his usual nonchalant tone.

"Then, just hide your face or something. You are too high profile. It's embarrassing!" Juliana irritatingly expressed, turning her head to face the other way.

Amusement crossed through his eyes as he replied, "Should I wear a mask?"

"That will look weird and make you stick out more. Maybe you can do make-up or something— hold on! You are making fun of me, aren't you?"

Juliana shot the man a glare.

"I dare not, Ms. Juliana."

"As if, and don't call me that— Ms. Juliana. Too unpleasant to the ear. Call me Lia or whatever."

"I will be crossing my boundaries with that," Raymond replied.

"You are simply adamant on going against me, aren't you? Can't do this. Can't do that. What are you? A robot manufactured to obey my brother's order to perfection?"

"If you like to think about it in this manner, then sure."

"Oh dear," Juliana expressed, pressing on her forehead. "Stop in front of that shop right there. I want to buy few snacks."

"You are not allowed to, Ms. Juliana," he pointed out.

"I can't, but you can, right? Just get out, and buy a couple of snacks for me."

"That is not possible either."

Juliana hit her head against the back of the seat. Although Raymond was simply following the orders, Juliana couldn't help but have rising hatred towards this man.

°°°

Juliana had a bored expression on her face as she went through the movie selections on the television. At the same time, she ate the popcorns beside her hand. There was nothing that suited her taste.

Locking her up in the house amounted to cruel torture to her. Juliana was filled with a large amount of energy that she wished to spend outside, finding new things to do.

She sighed.

"Bored?" Lucas questioned, sitting down next to her. He grabbed a handful of popcorns.

Juliana groaned and nodded her head.

He smiled.

"Have you completed your homework?" asked Lucas.

That made Juliana fall silent. It wasn't that she didn't attempt to do the homework; it was just that the subjects made her feel all lost. After moments of confusion, she gave up, deciding to copy from Liam tomorrow. That boy was a partial genius.

"I have a hard time keeping up with the curriculum. You know, how bad I am at keeping useless things in my mind?" Juliana answered.

"Lia, that doesn't mean you should stop trying. Education is important for you and your career. Don't you want to accomplish something in life."

Juliana scoffed.

"What can I even accomplish when I am forever stuck in this place even when I am old and wrinkled? Why waste energy studying?"

"Lia, you know, we are sorry, but it can't be helped. You need to be kept safe because you are precious to us."

Juliana had nothing to say. She simply nodded and turned off the television.

"I will go and nap."

°°°

Juliana sat in front of the math problem, attempting to solve it for last ten minutes. She had nothing to do. That's why, she decided to conquer mathematics. After being on her phone for a while and seeing how everyone was having fun, she decided she had enough of being online. It will drive her off to depression.

However, upon staring at the equation for a couple minutes and the answer, she couldn't connect them at all. Searching online took her through another maze.

In order to prevent herself from losing her mind entirely and tearing off the notebook to shreds, she decided to make paper planes and fly them all over the place.

"Whoosh!" she said before releasing them into the air.

And that's how, she covered her bedroom floor with paper planes. After that, when she took a glance at the math question, she was still as clueless and pushed her chair back, about to make it swing when it lost the balance.

As it was about to fall backwards, an involuntary yelp left her mouth. However, because of Raymond acting in time and holding on to the back of the chair, she was prevented from hitting the ground.

Then, his eyes fell on the notebook, and he asked, "Need help?"

This made Juliana's eyes brighten up. She needed all the help she could get in this school. Usually, she would be embarrassed to show her weakness, but when it came to studying, it was an entirely different subject. It didn't fall into the category.

"Yeah."

Juliana then got up from her chair and indicated for Raymond to sit down.

"I will forgive you everything if you manage to do all my homework," Juliana voiced out in a tone as though she was the one doing him a favor.

"Ms. Juliana, I was suggesting helping you solve them."

Creases formed between both of her eyebrows.

"The audacity. Do I look dumb? You are supposed to be my bodyguard and not my tutor. Stay in your lane. And clean up all the mess on the floor."

"I would have to refuse. I am the bodyguard, not a cleaner."

The corner of her lips twitched.

Why did she feel like a bully?

Juliana rolled her eyes.

During the dinner time on that day, Sebastian decided to bring up once he finished eating. He voiced out, "Your class teacher called my secretary today about his concerns related to you."

This made Juliana tilt her head and look at him questioningly.

"According to him, you are failing in all subject. That too miserably. At this rate, you might not even pass the fourth year of high school."

"He is surely compassionate. Tell him to mind his own business," Juliana responded.

"What's so surprising about it? This sister of mine have been lacking in intelligence from a young age. I would be shocked if she didn't fail. You should cut her some slack, Sebastian," Alexander teased.

"Shut up. You can't question about my intelligence when you ate mud until you were ten," Juliana shot back.

At that, Alexander stood up, about to shoot something fierce back at Juliana when a glance from Sebastian got him to sit down on his chair.

"Juliana, I am not asking you to get impressive grades, but at least try to get decent marks. I will be calling Ms. Rose back."

That made Juliana feel the chills.

"Why are you calling her back? She is only here to hook up with you."

Speaking of Ms. Rose, indeed her presence gets Juliana to study hard. That's not because she is particularly good at tutoring. The reason lied in the fact that the more progress she showed, the faster she would be able to get rid of that annoying woman.

It wasn't that she didn't want her brothers to get married. It's just that having Rose as her sister-in-law would be a nightmare.

"Do you wish to get punished again?"

This was frustrating.

"I didn't even say anything wrong. Alex uses degrading language all the time yet you spare him. Shouldn't you be treating everyone the same? Then, why are there such double standards?" Juliana complained, "ah! I don't even want to eat anymore."

At that, Juliana pushed her chair back and got up, about to leave when Sebastian looked at her sternly, almost as though daring her to leave the table. Frustrated, Juliana groaned and sat back down.

She would never be valued in this family.

"Anyways, there's no need for Rose to come. You don't need to waste money or sacrifice my sanity. I have found someone better," Juliana stated.

"Oh?"

"Yeah, Raymond. He is good at it. In fact, he helped me earlier with the studies."

Actually, all she did was throw tantrums and found faults in him.

"Raymond, hmm, he is smart," Sebastian said, "but that doesn't imply would be a good tutor."

"You wouldn't know. I promise to be more attentive and create less trouble. Just let me study under Raymond. I will do better comparatively. Just don't put me with the torture known as Rose."

It was hard for Sebastian to decline when Juliana showed such desperation, and after few seconds of contemplation, he responded, "I will give you two months."

"Got it."

Of course, Juliana had no clue on how good Raymond was, but the longer she can stay away from Rose, the better it will prove to be for mental state. Juliana was usually good at getting rid of people, but Rose, that woman, was a hard nut to crack.

Juliana was about to go back to eating when she felt a kick on her leg. Not wanting to get scolded by Sebastian, Juliana made plans in her head to get revenge for it later on.

Just as she decided on it, she received the second and third kick. At this point, she would be a saint if she held back. Therefore, impulsively acting, she raised her glass of water and threw the content all over Alexander's face in revenge.

The shock on his face that later on morphed into anger made her feel pleased. She folded her arms over her chest and clicked her tongue out smugly.

"What sort of behavior is that, Juliana?"

Crap! She is dead.