BXBX NOVEL Chapter 121 New Teacher
Xzavier was a bit moved. The one chance Quaid had to ask him of anything, and he used it to try to secure a better future for his kids. Xzavier had assumed that the governor would try to get him to be his hitman or assassin. It wasn\'t entirely inconceivable because in the past, Quaid had expressed his interest overtly in his assassination skills and killing abilities.
Truth is, Xzavier had already made up his mind not to do anything offish for the governor. But now that he had heard his request, he had to deliberate a bit to see how this arrangement could favor him. He didn\'t see anything wrong with making the most of it. So after a lengthy pause, he finally agreed.
"Your request is not a problem.. I see where you are coming from and I understand perfectly…"
A grateful smile and an appreciative nod were the only response he got from the governor.
"However, I have just one condition, I need to have my own private time to myself, because I may need to perform some tasks in the future."
Xzavier was referring to the spontaneous missions that could be handed down to him by the military system at any given point in time. There was no schedule. So he needed a loophole in the arrangement that could give him the freedom to up and leave at any moment.
Quaid was as a happy as a duck. We didn\'t care about Xzavier\'s condition. He was just glad that his kids would get the mentorship they deserved. On the long run, it was an investment that would benefit him greatly. Also, it was the best he could do for his children since he couldn\'t provide them with the time and nurturing they needed. All things considered, it was a sweet deal.
So, he happily agreed.
"Excellent! Glad to have you on board Xzavier, very glad indeed."
With no further official issue to attend to, one hundred and twenty seconds later, after the two men shook hands on their new arrangement, Xzavier walked out of the door of the city hall to a nice surprise.
Xzavier could never miss that distinct shade of blonde hair. Even in a stadium filled with people, Xzavier knew that he would always recognize that golden mane anywhere.
"Adalia!"
Standing on the sidewalk, facing the street like someone who was waiting was the blonde blue eyed beauty with whom Xzavier had gone on several adventures in the past. She had been waiting for quite some time now after being bounced by the guard as she had no official duty or appointment other than simply \'waiting for her friend.\' Not allowing herself to be deterred, she stood and waited patiently outside, in front the building. It was her hope that Xzavier would come out soon and be the first person he would see whenever he was done.
"Hello Xzavier…"
Mischievously, she corrected herself immediately and curtsied in a low bow saying;
"Oh pardon my impudence o great and mighty Baron Xzavier Mace."
Adalia was truly a sight for sore eyes. Xzavier sure was glad that she was there.
"Oh come off it. What are you doing here?"
"Well, I just thought I should surprise you on your first day since you\'re now a big shot noble who has no time for me anymore."
Xzavier decided that two could play this game. If she was going to be naughty, then he was going to indulge her and turn the joke around.
"Hmm, I think you\'re right…since I am now a Baron, I can now command you to stop teasing me."
He stamped his foot, straightened his posture pretended to be a serious commanding noble.
"I hereby command you Miss Adalia to sto---"
Adalia rolled her eyes with as much disrespect as she could muster, and interrupted him in an even louder voice;
"Yeah keep dreaming buddy, that\'s never going to work!"
"Hey, you\'re not supposed to talk to your Baron like that!"
The two of them joked around for a minute, before the carriage pulled up and whisked them away, back to the governor\'s mansion. Halfway there, after Xzavier listened to how her day went, he casually dropped in a little nugget that practically summarized his own day.
With a mischievous grin on his face, Xzavier told Adalia;
"Oh, did I tell you? I am now Earlene\'s official tutor."
If Adalia had been eating or munching something, she would have definitely spit it out in shock.
"WHAT?!!!!"
Adalia was surprised when she received the news, but compared to Earlene\'s reaction to the news, Adalia\'s was as gentle as a lamb. With her eyes as dark as the black storm clouds that covered the deep waters, Earlene raged like a deep sea gale. Looking like she was about to go crazy, she echoed the same thing Adalia had screamed when she also heard the news;
"WHATTTTTT!!!!!!!"
Adalia had already anticipated what her reaction was going to be.
"Shushh, don\'t you think you\'re overreacting a little?"
Earlene had inherited her father\'s temper. Only without the restraint. She glared at Adalia;
"WHAT. DO. YOU. MEAN. I. AM. OVERREACTING?!!! AM I NOT CALMM ENOUGH???!!!! HUH?!"
Truly, it looked like Earlene was having a mental breakdown. And that was saying a lot since she was almost always going over the top with her reactions. Much like her father, the governor\'s daughter began to pace up and down as she bit down on her nails and go spoke to herself like a mentally unstable person, muttering inaudible words, and incoherent sentences.
Earlene was the active type. There was nothing subtle or passive about her. Hence, her hatred for institutional discipline. This hatred for dogmatic correctional measures, as well as all kind restraints ran really deep. As it stood, Earlene was barely tolerating the old man\'s unending ramblings and stereotypical serious face. She felt mentally and physically trapped, like a wild bird that was incarcerated in a bird cage. And now, she had to deal with Xzavier, a tutor who was practically her age? All these thoughts jumbled about in her brain. In her head, she felt like there was like a thousand sugar crazed toddlers just jumping around, bouncing steadily on the crevices of her skull and talking all at the same time, making her feel like she was insane.
Of the hundreds of thoughts scrolling through her mind in that hour, Earlene felt like her student life was about to be jeopardized. She finally sat on her bed, placed her head between her two legs, and clasped the back of her head with both hands as she tried to come up with a way to escape her predicament. Adalia saw her and pitied her mistress turned sister.
"Don\'t you worry your little head Earlene, I\'m sure everything will work out fine. Trust me okay?"
Earlene didn\'t lift up her head. But if it were another person asides from Adalia who was trying to comfort her with such empty words, she would have vented her pent up anger on the unfortunate soul.
In a paradoxical twist of fate, the younger sibling\'s reaction was the exact opposite of that of the elder sister\'s. Cadence received the news the way a thirsty parched land received the first rains- with glee, and an open heart that gave way to a refreshed feeling. Unable to restrain himself from grinning ear to ear, Cadence looked like an animation that had come to life.
Knowing just how much this news would mean to his son, Quaid personally delivered the good news to him that night upon his return. Just as he had expected, the young man took the news happily. His excitement was written all over him. Cadence wasn\'t making any move to hide it.
"Wow! Thank you father! Thank you so much!"
Quaid smiled. Making his son happy was one of the greatest fulfillment he could ever attain.
"It\'s all right Cadence. Just make sure you study hard and make the best of it. As you know, Xzavier is one a kind. I don\'t have to tell you that you will also stand out if you gain all you need."
Cadence appreciated the pep talk and all, but he really wished his father could shut up and leave so he could properly express his joy on his own terms. He couldn\'t wait to start his classes and learn extraordinary, powerful techniques from his new mentor.
Still smiling excitedly, he asssured his father that he would do his best. With that, Quaid tapped him on his head and left his son to his own devices.
The structure of Earlene and Cadence\'s schooling was in line with the educational system that was reserved for the children of the nobles. Theirs was a posh, flamboyant, aristocratic school that saw to all the needs of the rich kids. Their school reflected the class of the parents of the students who gained entrance there. In schools like this, social classes was everything. No matter how brilliant or talented a child was, if he or she happened to have a drop of peasant blood in them, they would have better chances killing a dragon than gaining entrance into this exclusive institution.
Classes which traditionally lasted all through the early productive hours of the morning, and run late into afternoon wasn\'t the case here. Posh culture dictated that the privileged minds of these young aristocrats were to be shielded from this intense draconian learning process. So, students had classes only in the mornings. And by noon, they were expected to be dismissed and be back home to pursue other aspects of knowledge outside of the school environment. But of course, their afternoons often ended up being free.