richellemead-vampireacademy01-vampireacademy-110824015328-phpapp02

Three weeks after my return to the Academy, I walked into the gym before school one day and
found him sprawled on a mat, reading a Louis L'Amour book. Someone had brought in a
portable CD player, and while that cheered me up at first, the song coming from it did not:
"When Doves Cry" by Prince. It was embarrassing to know the title, but one of our former
housemates had been obsessed with the '80s.
"Whoa, Dimitri," I said, tossing my bag on the floor. "I realize this is actually a current hit in
Eastern Europe right now, but do you think we could maybe listen to something that wasn't
recorded before I was born?”
Only his eyes flicked toward me; the rest of his posture remained the same. "What does it
matter to you? I'm the one who's going to be listening to it. You'll be outside running.”
I made a face as I set my foot up on one of the bars and stretched my hamstrings. All things
considered, Dimitri had a good-natured tolerance for my snarkiness. So long as I didn't slack in
my training, he didn't mind my running commentary.
"Hey," I asked, moving on to the next set of stretches, "what's with all the running, anyway? I
mean, I realize the importance of stamina and all that, but shouldn't I be moving on to
something with a little hitting? They're still killing me in group practice.”
"Maybe you should hit harder," he replied drily.
"I'm serious.”
"Hard to tell the difference." He set the book down but didn't move from his sprawl. "My job is
to get you ready to defend the princess and fight dark creatures, right?”
"Yup.”
"So tell me this: suppose you manage to kidnap her again and take her off to the mall. While
you're there, a Strigoi comes at you. What will you do?”
"Depends on what store we're in.”
He looked at me.