"We're leaving first." Thomas and Adimas prepare to leave for Australia. They all stood in front of the house. Escorting the departure of two heads of families to develop business in the neighboring country.
"Take care, dear. Daddy will call often." Adimas hugged his daughter once again. It was very hard for him to leave Juliette. Because for him, Juliette was his most precious treasure. They had never been far apart.
Juliette nodded in understanding. "You also have to take care of your health."
"Nathan." This time it was Thomas who spoke. "You're the oldest man in the house while Dad's away. So take good care of mom and Andrew. Especially Julie, she's not familiar with this area. You have to be good, okay?"
"I will." Nathan replied half forced. He didn't agree with the part, 'look after Juliette!' Who is she that I have to spend my time looking after her?
"Alright, it's time for us to go. Take care." And finally they got into the car. Adimas reluctantly waved to his beloved daughter.
*********
Juliette sat pensively in her new room. This room used to be the Terrence family's reading room. Because Aunt Intan couldn't bear to let Juliette sleep in the first floor guest room alone, the reading room was finally transformed into a bedroom.
Juliette took a deep breath. Although she looked strong, she was actually sad to be separated from her father. Her father was the only family she had in this world. Now they had to be separated. It felt like something was forcibly taken from her heart.
"Stay safe dad." Juliette rubbed the only family photo she had. It was the only photo left. The family photo when her mother was still alive. The other photos had been burned during her father's depression after her mother's death.
"Ahh, now it's time to organize my luggage." Juliette got up from her seat and unpacked her luggage. The clothes were neatly arranged in the cupboard that had been provided. She arranged her collection of books on the small wall shelf hanging low beside the bed. Other things were arranged where she thought they would fit best. In no time at all the room had become a cozy place for Julie.
I don't know how long the Terrence family had been preparing the room. Even the wall paint had been adjusted to Juliette's favorite color. A warm color like the sun. Orange....
Juliette settled herself on the bed. Although it felt very comfortable, a new place always gave her a very unpleasant 'lumpy' feeling. The worries of the day ahead bothered her.
Knock knock knock
There was a knock at the door. Juliette was startled and immediately got up from her comfortable position. She hurriedly opened the door. Aunty Intan stood in the doorway with a tray of snacks and cold drinks.
"How's the room? Do you like it?" Aunty Intan took a seat on the chair by the window. She placed her tray on the table.
"Love it aunty. The window is wide so the room is very bright. Ah and... Did you purposely repaint this room for me?" Julie sat on the other chair beside the table. She took the snacks without hesitation. She really liked the Terrence family. Because they always considered her part of the family. Well... at least that was a while back...
"Yes. uncle Thomas and Nathan painted it themselves. We want you to feel at home here, dear." Aunt Intan spoke with a motherly smile that always graced her face. So shady...
"Uhmm... Auntie... Can Julie ask you something?" Juliette looked hesitant.
"Of course Julie. Ask anything."
"As far as Julie remembers... Nathan wasn't the cold boy he is now, was he? Back then... Nathan always took the initiative to invite Julie to play. He always entertained me every day. Thanks to Nathan... Julie doesn't get wrapped up in sadness. But why is Nathan like that now, auntie?"
Aunt Intan did not answer immediately. She let out a long sigh. Her face immediately turned sad. Julie felt guilty for asking that question.
"Julie knows that five years ago when we lived with Julie's family, it was the first time we moved to Indonesia?"
"Yes, Julie knows auntie."
"Nathan and Andrew didn't speak Indonesian very well back then. They weren't familiar with Indonesian customs either. Unfortunately... there was no international school in City C. So they had to go to a regular school." Aunt Intan let out another long sigh. Her eyes were full of pain.
"They were... bullied." Aunty Intan's tone was bitter.
Julie was shocked to hear Aunt Intan's words. She didn't expect anything like that to ever happen. Julie had stopped going to school for a few months. So she never knew about it. Besides, as far as Julie knew, they didn't go to the same school as her.
"Nathan didn't care at first. He always assumed his friends were doing naughty things because they couldn't communicate with him. Nathan tried to understand. But..." Aunt Intan's voice began to tremble. Her eyes began to fill with tears. Julie got up from her seat and kneeled in front of Aunty Intan. Holding her aunt's hands tightly.
"The longer it goes on... those kids are getting more and more outrageous. They started harassing Andrew. Even doing rude things to him. Until that day..." Aunt Intan sobbed. The memories were so bitter. Julie gently rubbed the back of Aunt Intan's hand, trying to calm her down.
"That day... Nathan accidentally saw Andrew being slapped and kicked by the kids from Nathan's class who used to bully him. Nathan was out of control when he saw his brother being treated like that. Andrew was eight years old at the time. He was so small. Why would they do that to him?" Aunt Intan tried to hold back her sobs. "Nathan ended up fighting. He was alone against four children at once. The result... Nathan and Andrew were beaten. The teachers only found out when Nathan was almost unconscious. And they were immediately taken to the hospital."
Juliette burst into tears. She hadn't expected the Nathan who used to cheer her up with his bright smile. Nathan who always reached out to her. Nathan who always radiated warmth from his eyes... had such a horrible thing happen to him...
"Since then... Nathan and Andrew became very quiet. And finally uncle and auntie decided to move here, because there is an international school here. Although it was hard for me to leave you who still needed all the affection. But what can I do... Aunty's child is also in a miserable condition..."
Juliette tightened her grip on Aunt Intan. "No, aunty. That's what you should do. For the good of Nathan and Andrew. It's Julie who feels guilty... If it wasn't for Julie, you could have stayed here directly. Because of Julie... Nathan and Andrew had to experience that terrible thing."
"Why blame yourself. This has nothing to do with you. Even if Aunty was given the opportunity to repeat time. I would still choose the same thing. I will still choose to accompany you." Juliette was touched by Aunt Intan's words. She really considered her as family...
"Thank you aunty. Thank you for loving me." Julie rushed into Aunty Intan's arms. They both shared tears. "Auntie... Julie will definitely bring back Nathan and Andrew's smiles. Julie will work hard to bring back their cheerfulness."
"Yes... You can do it, Julie. I need your help..." Aunt Intan's smile returned to her face. A very typical motherly smile.
"Of course aunty." Juliette smiled confidently.
And the evening continued with pleasant small talk. Juliette told stories of her high school days. About her friends. About her mischief. About her joyful experiences. Aunt Intan also told her about her two children. They were doing quite well in their studies. Although they became more quiet and didn't have many friends. At least they behaved normally at home. However, they still don't easily accept new people. They still feel insecure about things that are not familiar to them.
******
Juliette was getting ready for bed. She had already wrapped herself in the blankets but her eyes were still not closed. Usually her father would accompany her to chat until Juliette fell asleep. "Ah .. so miss dad. Even though we just separated this afternoon. Have you arrived yet Dad..."
Julie played with her cell phone. Checking the list of calls and messages. "No news from dad yet..."
She busied herself with her cell phone again. Hoping drowsiness would come soon. She checked social media. Exchanging comments with her friends.
Knock knock knock
There was a knock on her bedroom door. But Juliette was reluctant to get out of bed. " Just come in, it's not locked."
The door opened, and Nathan walked in without hesitation. He crossed his arms over his chest and looked at Juliette sharply.
Juliette was surprised to find Nathan in her room. She thought it was Aunt Intan who had knocked. "What's wrong?" Juliette asked. She tried to look friendly even though she got a sharp stare from Nathan.
"Don't be so friendly with me! I didn't like your attitude at dinner tonight." Nathan replied to the point.
"What's the big deal? I was just having a chat, wasn't I?" Juliette didn't think there was anything wrong with her attitude during dinner tonight. She was just trying to chat with the person sitting next to her. There's nothing wrong with that, right? Even people I don't know sometimes I chat with just to make small talk. That's basic social skills, right? What's wrong with that?
"That's called being pretentious! I don't care what you do while you live here. What's IMPORTANT is that you stay out of my business!" After saying what he wanted to say, Nathan left Juliette's room. Not giving Julie a chance to reply to his words.
"What the hell was that?! Hahh!! He's worse than I thought! That sucks!" Juliette felt anger fill her chest. She didn't feel like she did anything wrong, yet she was being scolded.
"Ahhh!!! But I promised my aunt to change it... ahhhh. How annoying!!! I didn't know he was that annoying!!!"
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to be continue..