richellemead-vampireacademy01-vampireacademy-110824015328-phpapp02

"Without your clothes?" She handed me a bag, and I swung it around happily. "I can't wait to
see the dress.”
"Me either. If they let me go. Kirova's still deciding if I've been good enough.”
"Show her those boring shirts you bought. She'll go into a coma. I'm about ready to.”
I laughed and hopped up onto one of the wooden benches, pacing her as I walked along it. I
jumped back down when I reached the end. "They aren't that boring.”
"I don't know what to think of this new, responsible Rose.”
I hopped up onto another bench. "I'm not that responsible.”
"Hey," called Spiridon. He and the rest of the group trailed behind us. "You're still on duty. No
fun allowed up there.”
"No fun here," I called back, hearing the laughter in his voice. "I swear—shit.”
I was up on a third bench, near the end of it. My muscles tensed, ready to jump back down.
Only when I tried to, my foot didn't go with me. The wood, at one moment seemingly hard and
solid, gave way beneath me, almost as though made of paper. It disintegrated. My foot went
through, my ankle getting caught in the hole while the rest of my body tried to go in another
direction. The bench held me, swinging my body to the ground while still seizing my foot. My
ankle bent in an unnatural direction. I crashed down. I heard a cracking sound that wasn't the
wood. The worst pain of my life shot through my body.
And then I blacked out.