richellemead-vampireacademy01-vampireacademy-110824015328-phpapp02
I'd been climbing out of my dorm window to go hang out with some people. It was after hours, and we were all supposed to be in our rooms, fast asleep. Such escape tactics were a regular practice for me. I was good at them. But I fell that time. I had a second-floor room, and I lost my grip about halfway down. Sensing the ground rush up toward me, I tried desperately to grab hold of something and slow my fall. The building's rough stone tore into my skin, causing cuts I was too preoccupied to feel. I slammed into the grassy earth, back first, getting the wind knocked out of me. "Bad form, Rosemarie. You should be more careful. Your instructors would be disappointed.” Peering through the tangle of my hair, I saw Ms. Karp looking down at me, a bemused look on her face. Pain, in the meantime, shot through every part of my body. Ignoring it as best I could, I clambered to my feet. Being in class with Crazy Karp while surrounded by other students was one thing. Standing outside alone with her was an entirely different matter. She always had an eerie, distracted gleam in her eye that made my skin break out in goose bumps. There was also now a high likelihood she'd drag me off to Kirova for a detention. Scarier still. Instead, she just smiled and reached for my hands. I flinched but let her take them. She tsked when she saw the scrapes. Tightening her grip on them, she frowned slightly. A tingle burned my skin, laced with a sort of pleasant buzz, and then the wounds closed up. I had a brief sense of dizziness. My temperature spiked. The blood disappeared, as did the pain in my hip and leg. Gasping, I jerked my hands away. I'd seen a lot of Moroi magic, but never anything like that. "What…what did you do?” She gave me that weird smile again. "Go back to your dorm, Rose. There are bad things out here. You never know what's following you.” I was still staring at my hands. "But…” I looked back up at her and for the first time noticed scars on the sides of her forehead. Like nails had dug into them. She winked. "I won't tell on you if you don't tell on me.”
I jumped back to the present, unsettled by the memory of that bizarre night. Jesse, in the meantime, was telling me about a party. "You've got to slip your leash tonight. We're going up to that spot in the woods around eight thirty. Mark got some weed.” I sighed wistfully, regret replacing the chill I'd felt over the memory of Ms. Karp. "Can't slip that leash. I'm with my Russian jailer.” He let go of my arm, looking disappointed, and ran a hand through his bronze-colored hair. Yeah. Not being able to hang out with him was a damned shame. I really would have to fix that someday. "Can't you ever get off for good behavior?" he joked. I gave him what I hoped was a seductive smile as I found my seat. "Sure," I called over my shoulder. "If I was ever good."
- Page 6 and 7: He looked back and forth between us
- Page 8 and 9: It took every ounce of my willpower
- Page 10 and 11: Two MY HATRED NOTWITHSTANDING, I HA
- Page 12 and 13: and there. After living on a colleg
- Page 14 and 15: "Vasilisa.” Startled, I realized
- Page 16 and 17: My cockiness dried up. "I…what?
- Page 18 and 19: he might very well keep me here wit
- Page 20 and 21: Three SENDING US STRAIGHT TO CLASS
- Page 22 and 23: "Oh yeah?" I retorted. "Huh. Well,
- Page 24 and 25: Our instructor was Stan Alto, whom
- Page 26 and 27: He walked back up to me and leaned
- Page 28 and 29: "Sure," I shrugged. "Now and then.
- Page 30 and 31: "Lucky, I think. It turns out I'm r
- Page 32 and 33: She didn't see me, though. Neither
- Page 34 and 35: "Hey, Aaron," I said cheerfully, re
- Page 36 and 37: "No—it's fine." The emotions comi
- Page 38 and 39: Natalie's friends eyed us with a qu
- Page 40 and 41: "Yes," I said, smiling. "It certain
- Page 42 and 43: "Huh? Nothing. Just thinking." I si
- Page 44 and 45: She nodded. "Rose?” We both looke
- Page 46 and 47: Five OR RATHER, THEY HAD BEEN Strig
- Page 48 and 49: "Sure," he said. "Why else go? For
- Page 50 and 51: dark side. But the feelings humming
- Page 52 and 53: "Hey," I said, suddenly wanting to
- Page 54 and 55: She laughed. "Mia would claw my eye
- Page 58 and 59: Six AS MUCH AS LISSA AND Christian'
- Page 60 and 61: "Yeah…you too," I said. "I heard
- Page 62 and 63: although those guys usually went on
- Page 64 and 65: "Nothing to me. But Ms. Kirova will
- Page 66 and 67: "I'm sick of it too. We missed you
- Page 68 and 69: She wandered off, still eyeing us.
- Page 70 and 71: Mason had noticed my startled react
- Page 72 and 73: Three weeks after my return to the
- Page 74 and 75: Something about that bothered me; I
- Page 76 and 77: stared upward, glazed, over with a
- Page 78 and 79: I spun around, taking my anger over
- Page 80 and 81: "And it was just there," she explai
- Page 82 and 83: "Wolves, like many other species, d
- Page 84 and 85: Ms. Meissner changed from red to de
- Page 86 and 87: Nine I SNAPPED INTO HER MIND, once
- Page 88 and 89: "You're right," she admitted softly
- Page 90 and 91: space between them. "And I sure as
- Page 92 and 93: Sitting up, I moved closer to him a
- Page 94 and 95: "No, sir.” "Do you know the rules
- Page 96 and 97: "Is that your subtle way of calling
- Page 98 and 99: He studied me hard, like he was sti
- Page 100 and 101: More snickers ensued. Straightening
- Page 102 and 103: We had been out in the woods near c
- Page 104 and 105: "Is it dead?" asked Lissa. I peered
I jumped back to the present, unsettled by the memory of that bizarre night. Jesse, in the<br />
meantime, was telling me about a party.<br />
"You've got to slip your leash tonight. We're going up to that spot in the woods around eight<br />
thirty. Mark got some weed.”<br />
I sighed wistfully, regret replacing the chill I'd felt over the memory of Ms. Karp. "Can't slip<br />
that leash. I'm with my Russian jailer.”<br />
He let go of my arm, looking disappointed, and ran a hand through his bronze-colored hair.<br />
Yeah. Not being able to hang out with him was a damned shame. I really would have to fix that<br />
someday. "Can't you ever get off for good behavior?" he joked.<br />
I gave him what I hoped was a seductive smile as I found my seat. "Sure," I called over my<br />
shoulder. "If I was ever good."
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