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?" Jesse's face turned beet red, but he didn't look entirely displeased at having his exploits made known in front of his friends. He'd 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 next 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 Lissa's desk. "Miss Hathaway, it seems there's no feasible way to punish you, since you're 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 note...you know I didn't have anything to do with that. If Belikov finds out about it...you'll tell him? I mean, you'll let him know I didn't - "
"Yeah, yeah," I interrupted him. "Don't worry, you're safe."
Standing with me, Lissa watched him walk out of the room. Thinking of how easily Dimitri had thrown him around - and of his apparent cowardice - I couldn't help but remark, "You know, Jesse's suddenly not as hot as I used to think."
She only laughed. "You'd better go. I've got desks to wash."
I left her, heading 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, it's true," I heard 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 before we left, in the uneasy way two powerful forces keep an eye on each other. "They, like, clean toilets or something."
"Oh my God," her friend said. "I'd die if I was Mia."
I smiled. Apparently Jesse had spread some of the stories I'd 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 don't 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.
I'd refused to let Lissa talk about the similarities between the fox and what had happened two years ago. I didn't want to believe they were connected, and I certainly didn't want her to either.
But I hadn't been able to stop 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. I'd traded a pair of cute, rhinestone-studded sandals to Abby Badica for a bottle of peach schnapps - desperate, yes, but you did what you had to in Montana - which she'd 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 she'd 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. She'd fessed up that the two of them had had sex the weekend before, and I felt a surge of jealousy that she'd been the one to have sex first.
"So what was it like?"
She shrugged and took another drink. "I don't know. It wasn't anything."
"What do you mean it wasn't anything? Didn't the earth move or the planets align or something?"
"No," she said, smothering a laugh. "Of course not."
I didn't really get why that should be funny, but I could tell she didn't 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 don't think this stuff is working."
"That's because there's barely any alcohol in - "
The sound of something moving in the brush came from nearby. I immediately shot up, putting my body between her and the noise.
"It's some animal," she said when a minute went by in silence.
That didn't mean it wasn't dangerous. The school's 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. "Let's head back."
We hadn't 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 I'd 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 under 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.