Patreon Story: The Tutor, Part Three

Part Three

Red hair.

That’s the first thing that drew my eye, especially amidst all the neutral colors that made up the spacious living room. She was wearing a black skirt and an emerald satin top; the classy outfit immediately answered my recent question. Rich teenagers don’t dress down, not even on a Saturday. 

With just one look, I could see that Annabelle Alodia was the kind of girl that made pretty much every other girl jealous. Myself included. She was tall, but not too tall. Slender, with curves that gave her a perfect hourglass figure. Perfect skin, perfect hair; perfect everything, and an outfit to accentuate those features. It was difficult to believe that she was only eighteen years old, as her posture alone would have been enough to make me believe otherwise if I hadn’t known who I was there to see. 

For the most part, I had only been with guys, save for one or two drunken girl kisses over my first few years of university. Annabelle was the first girl, however, to make me consider a more open-minded sexuality on the spot. She was drop dead gorgeous, which made me feel guilty, confused, and a ton of other emotions as I remembered that she was still in high school. Eighteen, sure. But still a teenager, a daughter of my employers; the last girl I should ever be interested in. And yet, she caught my attention in seconds.

“You must be Meredith.” 

No uptick in her voice, no questioning tone that so many younger girls tended to use when they spoke. Hell, how people in college still tended to talk sometimes. I was nervous enough just from the pressure of a first tutoring session, and off balance from the servant-like way Trixie had me enter the impressive house. The last thing I expected was for Annabelle herself to fluster me even more. And she hadn’t even done anything.

“Umm, yes,” I said. Feeling a blush coming on, I tried my very best to will it away before totally screwing up this first impression, “Meredith Moore. It’s nice to meet you, Annabelle. Or is it ‘Ms. Annabelle?’” I asked, glancing towards Trixie for a moment. Does being an employee mean all of the blonde maid’s rules apply to me as well?

To my relief, the red haired girl spoke up first and let me off the hook. “‘Annabelle’ is fine,” she said, “Come on in; get settled. Trixie, bring us some refreshments. Have you asked our guest what she would like?”

“No, Ms. Annabelle. I’m sorry,” Trixie said, then turned to me, “May I offer you a drink, Ms. Moore?”

“Anything at all,” Annabelle added.

I didn’t even know what to say. I’m sure Annabelle meant it, but I already had a thermos of coffee with me. This wasn’t like being a guest at some friend’s apartment, however, so I still felt compelled to ask for something. “Ice water?” I asked. Normally I wasn’t the type to specify something like that, but I felt self conscious enough to act like my tastes were more picky than usual.

“Yes, Ms. Moore.”

With a nod, Trixie walked back down the hallway from which we just came. For a moment, I wondered why she didn’t ask Annabelle what she wanted as well. Then it dawned on me that a Saturday morning routine was probably already established for the girl. 

I had fantasized about being rich before, but I don’t know if I would be interested in this level of wealth. Taking care of myself was perfectly manageable without someone to get my drinks, for example. It was also strange seeing a girl like Trixie in a subservient role like this. Perhaps I was biased from seeing older women as maids in shows and movies. It was probably what I thought earlier; that Trixie was doing it for the paycheck, rather than actually being interested in a career like that.

A moment of silence lingered as Annabelle and I were left alone. Trying my best to slip back into tutor mode after all the curveballs of the morning, I spoke up. “Well, shall we get started?” I asked. Noting the lack of notebooks or pretty much anything but furniture in the room, I added, “Where do you like to study?” 

“We can go to my room,” Annabelle said, “Come, Meredith.” 

She strode right past me, and I was definitely shorter than her once she closed the distance and I could see for sure. Not by much, but it made the difference when I already felt somewhat small in the huge house. I had no idea how to handle her straightforward and mildly patronizing order. It sounded like the way you’d address a dog, but everything Annabelle said so far had a proper and entitled edge to it. Maybe that was just how she spoke.

Thankfully, she calmed my swirling thoughts right then and there. “Relax, Mere,” she giggled. Turning to me with a friendly smile, “I’m not actually like that. But it was worth it. Your face was priceless!”

Oh. She was . . . kidding? About which part? “Oh, umm,” I began, internally cursing about the filler word I normally never used. But here, it had already happened a few times.

“I’m just a normal girl; just like you,” she said, “And don’t mind Trixie. She’s just following the rules.”

“Good to know,” I replied, still feeling fairly awkward about pretty much everything I said. Annabelle had just been joking, apparently, but this new dynamic was just as confusing. Maybe I wasn’t cut out for tutoring after all. 

“I know, I know,” Annabelle said. She gestured to the room behind me. “It’s a fucking mansion or whatever. If it helps, we can just go to a coffee shop or something.”

Hmm, maybe she was a normal girl after all. “No, it’s fine,” I said. Faking a small smile of my own, I decided as the tutor that staying here was better. Maybe a coffee shop would make me feel more comfortable, but the commute would waste time that I was being severely overpaid for. “We can just study in your room. I don’t mind.”

“Suit yourself,” she said. With one last glance towards me before turning to lead the way, Annabelle repeated her earlier phrase. “Come, Meredith.”

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