Vampire Academy Chapter 10

TENEXCUSE ME, MR. NAGY? I CANT really concentrate with Lissa and Rose passing notes over there.Mia was attempting to deflect attention from herself as well as from her inability to answer Mr. Nagys question and it was ruining what had otherwise been a promising day. A few of the fox rumors tranquillize circulated, but most people motivationed to express ab place Christian attacking Ralf. I still hadnt cleared Christian of the fox incident I was pretty sure he was psycho enough to have dvirtuoso it as both(prenominal) crazy sign of affection for Lissa but whatever his motives, he had shifted the attention off her, just as hed verbalise.Mr. Nagy legendary for his ability to humiliate students by reading notes aloud, homed in on us resembling a missile. He snatched the note a track, and the excited class settled in for a wide reading. I swallowed my groan, trying to look as blank and unconcerned as possible. Beside me, Lissa looked like she wanted to die.My, my, he said, lo oking the note over. If only students would write this much in their essays. One of you has considerably worse writing than the other, so forgive me if I get anything wrong here. He cleared his throat. ?So, I saw J last night, begins the person with bad handwriting, to which the response is, ?What happened, followed by no fewer than quintuplet question marks. Understandable, since sometimes one let alone four just wont get the point across, eh? The class laughed, and I noticed Mia throwing me a particularly involve smile. The first speaker responds ?What do you conceptualize happened? We hooked up in one of the empty lounges. Mr. Nagy glanced up after hearing some more giggles in the room. His British accent only added to the hilarity.May I assume by this reaction that the use of ?hook up pertains to the more recent, shall we say, carnal application of the term than the unexciting one I grew up with?More snickers ensued. Straightening up, I said b grey-headedly, Yes, sir, Mr. Nagy. That would be correct, sir. A number of people in the class laughed discover beneficial.Thank you for that confirmation, Miss Hathaway. no(prenominal), where was I? Ah yes, the other speaker then asks, ?How was it? The response is, ?Good, punctuated with a smiley face to confirm said adjective. Well. I suppose kudos are in order for the surreptitious J, hmmm? ?So, like, how far did you guys go? Uh, ladies, said Mr. Nagy, I do hope this doesnt surpass a PG rating. ?Not very. We got caught. And again, we are shown the severity of the situation, this time through the use of a not-smiling face. ?What happened? ?Dimitri showed up. He threw Jesse out and then bitched me out. The class lost it, both from hearing Mr. Nagy say bitched and from finally getting some participants named.Why, Mr. Zeklos, are you the aforementioned J? The one who earned a smiley face from the sloppy writer? Jesses face turned beet red, but he didnt look entirely displeased at having his exploits make know n in front of his friends. Hed kept what had happened a secret thus far including the blood talk because I suspected Dimitri had scared the hell out of him. Well, while I applaud a good misadventure as much as the nigh teacher whose time is utterly wasted, do remind your ?friends in the future that my class is not a chat room. He tossed the paper back on to Lissas desk. Miss Hathaway, it seems theres no feasible way to avenge you, since youre already maxed out on penalties around here. Ergo, you, Miss Dragomir, will serve two detentions instead of one on behalf of your friend. Stay here when the bell rings, please.after class, Jesse found me, an uneasy look on his face. Hey, um, about that noteyou know I didnt have anything to do with that. If Belikov finds out about ityoull tell him? I mean, youll let him know I didnt Yeah, yeah, I interrupted him. Dont worry, youre safe.Standing with me, Lissa watched him walk out of the room. Thinking of how easily Dimitri had thrown him ar ound and of his apparent cowardice I couldnt dish up but remark, You know, Jesses suddenly not as hot as I used to think.She only laughed. Youd better go. Ive got desks to wash.I left her, bespeaking back for my dorm. As I did, I passed a number of students gathered in small clusters outside the building. I regarded them wistfully, wishing I had the free time to socialize.No, its true, I comprehend a confident voice say. Camille Conta. Beautiful and popular, from one of the most prestigious families in the Conta clan. She and Lissa had sort of been friends earlier we left, in the uneasy way two strong forces keep an eye on each other. They, like, clean toilets or something.Oh my God, her friend said. Id die if I was Mia.I smiled. Apparently Jesse had spread some of the stories Id told him last night. Unfortunately, the next overheard conversation shattered my victory. heard it was still alive. Like, twitching on her bed.That is so gross. Why would they just leave it there?I dont know. Why kill it in the first place?You think Ralf was right? That she and Rose did it to get kicked They saw me and shut up.Scowling, I skulked off across the quadrangle. Still alive, still alive.Id refused to let Lissa talk about the similarities between the fox and what had happened two years ago. I didnt want to believe they were connected, and I certainly didnt want her to either.But I hadnt been able to break down thinking about that incident, not only because it was chilling, but because it really did remind me of what had just happened in her room.We had been out in the woods near campus one evening, having skipped out on our last class. Id traded a pair of guileful, rhinestone-studded sandals to Abby Badica for a bottle of peach schnapps desperate, yes, but you did what you had to in Montana which shed somehow gotten hold of. Lissa had shaken her head in disapproval when I suggested cutting class to go put the bottle out of its misery, but shed come along anyway. Like always.We found an old log to sit on near a scummy green marsh. A half-moon cast a tiny sliver of light on us, but it was more than enough for vampires and half-vampires to see by. Passing the bottle back and forth, I grilled her on Aaron. Shed fessed up that the two of them had had sex the weekend before, and I felt a surge of jealousy that shed been the one to have sex first.So what was it like?She shrugged and took another drink. I dont know. It wasnt anything.What do you mean it wasnt anything? Didnt the earth locomote or the planets align or something?No, she said, smothering a laugh. Of course not.I didnt really get why that should be funny, but I could tell she didnt want to talk about it. This was around the time the bond had begun forming, and her emotions were starting to creep into me now and then. I held up the bottle and glared at it.I dont think this squash is working.Thats because theres barely any alcohol in The sound of something moving in the brush came fr om nearby. I immediately shot up, putting my body between her and the noise.Its some animal, she said when a minute went by in silence.That didnt mean it wasnt dangerous. The schools wards kept out Strigoi, but wild animals often wandered into the outskirts of campus, posing their own threats. Bears. Cougars.Come on, I told her. Lets head back.We hadnt gone very far when I heard something moving again, and someone stepped out into our path. Ladies.Ms. Karp.We froze, and whatever quick reactions Id shown back by the marsh disappeared as I delayed a few moments in hiding the bottle behind my back.A half-smile crossed her face, and she held out her hand.Sheepishly, I gave the bottle to her, and she tucked it chthonian her arm. She turned without another word, and we followed, knowing there would be consequences to deal with.You think no one notices when half a class is gone? she asked after a little while.Half a class?A few of you apparently chose today to skip. Must be the nice weath er. Spring fever.Lissa and I trudged along. Id never been prospering around Ms. Karp since the time shed healed my hands. Her weird, paranoid behavior had filmn on a strange quality to me a lot stranger than before. Scary, even. And lately I couldnt look at her without seeing those marks by her forehead. Her deep red hair usually covered them but not always. Sometimes there were refreshed marks sometimes the old ones faded to nothing.A weird fluttering noise sounded to my right. We all stopped.One of your classmates, I imagine, murmured Ms. Karp, turning toward the sound.But when we reached the spot, we found a large black bird lying on the on the ground. Birds and most animals didnt do anything for me, but even I had to admire its sleek feathers and fierce beak. It could in all likelihood peck someones eye out in thirty seconds if it werent obviously dying. With a last, halfhearted shake, the bird finally went still.What is that? Is it a crow? I asked.Too big, said Ms. Karp . Its a raven.Is it dead? asked Lissa.I peered at it. Yeah. Definitely dead. Dont touch it.Probably attacked by another bird, observed Ms. Karp. They fight over territory and resources sometimes.Lissa knelt down, compassion on her face. I wasnt surprised, since shed always had a thing for animals. Shed lectured me for days after Id instigated the infamous hamster-and-hermit-crab fight. Id viewed the fight as a testing of worthy opponents. Shed seen it as animal cruelty.Transfixed, she reached toward the raven.Liss I exclaimed, horrified. Its probably got a disease.But her hand moved out like she hadnt even heard me. Ms. Karp stood there like a statue, her white face looking like a ghosts. Lissas fingers stroked the ravens wings.Liss, I repeated, starting to move toward her, to pull her back. Suddenly, a strange sensation flooded through my head, a sweetness that was beautiful and full of life. The feeling was so intense, it stopped me in my tracks.Then the raven moved.Lissa gave a s mall scream and snatched her hand back. We both stared wide-eyed.The raven flapped its wings, slowly trying to right itself and stand up. When it managed to do so, it turned toward us, fixing Lissa with a look that seemed too intelligent for a bird, its eyes held hers, and I couldnt read her reaction through the bond. At long last, the raven broke the gaze and lifted into the air, strong wings carrying it away.Wind stirring the leaves was the only sound left.Oh my God, breathed Lissa. What just happened?Hell if I know, I said, hiding my stark terror.Ms. Karp strode forward and grabbed Lissas arm, forcefully turning her so that they faced each other. I was there in a flash, ready to take action if Crazy Karp tried anything, though even I had qualms about taking down a teacher.Nothing happened, said Ms. Karp in an urgent voice, her eyes wild-looking. Do you hear me? Nothing. And you cant tell anyone anyone about what you saw. Both of you. Promise me. Promise me you wont ever talk ab out this again.Lissa and I exchanged uneasy glances. Okay she croaked out.Ms. Karps old bag relaxed a little. And dont ever do it again. If you do, theyll find out. Theyll try to find you. She turned to me. You cant let her do it. Not ever again.On the quad, outside my dorm, someone was verbalise my name.Hey, Rose? Ive called you, like, a hundred times.I forgot about Ms. Karp and the raven and glanced over at Mason, who had apparently started walking with me toward the dorm while I was off in la-la land.Sorry, I mumbled. Im out of it. Justum, tired.Too much excitement last night?I gave him a narrow-eyed look. Nothing I couldnt handle.I guess, he laughed, though he didnt exactly sound amused. Sounds like Jesse couldnt handle it.He did okay.If you say so. But personally, I think youve got bad taste.I stopped walking. And I dont think its any of your business.He looked away angrily. You made it the whole classs business.Hey, I didnt do that on purpose.Wouldve happened anyway. Jesses got a big mouth.He wouldnt have told.Yeah, said Mason. Because hes so cute and has such an important family.Stop being an idiot, I snapped. And why do you even care? Jealous Im not doing it with you?His flush grew, going all the way to the roots of his red hair. I just dont like hearing people talk shit about you, thats all. There are a lot of repellant jokes going around. Theyre calling you a slut.I dont care what they call me.Oh, yeah. Youre really tough. You dont need anyone.I stopped. I dont. Im one of the best novices in this fucking place. I dont need you acting all gallant and coming to my defense. Dont treat me like Im some helpless girl.I turned around and kept walking, but he caught up to me easily. The woes of being five-seven.LookI didnt mean to upset you. Im just worried about you.I gave a harsh laugh.Im serious. Wait he began. I, uh, did something for you. signifier of. I went to the library last night and tried to look up St. Vladimir,I stopped again. You did?Yeah, but there wasnt much on Anna. All the books were affable of generic. Just talked about him healing people, bringing them back from the edge of death.That last part hit a nerve.Waswas there anything else? I stammered.He shook his head. No. You probably need some primary sources, but we dont have any here.Primary what?He scoffed, a smile breaking over his face. Do you do anything but pass notes? We just talked about them the other day in Andrews class. Theyre books from the actual time period you want to study. Secondary ones are written by people living today. Youll get better information if you find something written by the guy himself. Or someone who actually knew him.Huh. Okay. What are you, like, a boy genius now?Mason gave me a light punch in the arm. I pay attention, thats all. Youre so oblivious. You miss all sorts of things. He smiled nervously. And lookI really am sorry about what I said. I was just Jealous, I realized. I could see it in his eyes. How had I never noticed this before? He was crazy about me. I guess I really was oblivious.Its all right, Mase. Forget about it. I smiled. And thanks for looking that stuff up.He smiled back, and I went inside, sad that I didnt feel the same way about him.