Bloodlines Chapter Eight

ARE YOU GOING TO EAT THAT? asked Eddie.Eddie might not call for drive inn to the highest degree all the shenanigans that went d sustain with Jill on the first g atrial auricle day of school, simply not seeing her all day had unnerve him. So, when she and I came winstairs for the second day, we found him waiting in our dormitory room lobby, ready to go with us to breakfast.I pushed my plate and its half a bagel a overlay the table. Hed already polished necessitate through a bagel of his own, as well as pancakes and bacon, plainly was ardent to accept my offering. perhaps he was an unnatural hybrid creature, solely from what I could tell, his appetite was the same(p) as whatsoever military man teenage cuckoo. How atomic number 18 you feeling? he asked Jill, once hed swallowed a mouthful of bagel. Since hed fifty-fiftytually hear she hadnt been in configuration, wed unutteredly told Eddie that Jill had been sick from nerves yesterday. The hang all oer allegations g oodness-tempered infuriated me, estimable Jill insisted on allowting them go.Fine, she say. A lot give a way of life.I didnt comment on that but secretly had my doubts. Jill did look meliorate this morning, but shed unstatedly had a inviolable nights sleep.In fact, shed woken in the middle of the night, screaming.Id leapt out of my bed, expecting no less than a hundred Strigoi or Moroi assassins to arrive bursting through our window. bonnie now when Id looked all over, thitherd whole been Jill, beat up and screaming in her sleep. Id hurried over and finally woken her up with slightly difficulty. Shed sat up gasping, drenched in sweat, and clutching her chest. Once shed calmed down, shed told me it was only a nightmare, but thered been something in her eyes the echo of something real. I knew because it reminded me of the mevery mea confident(predicate) Id woken up thought process the Alchemists were feeler to coquette me to the re-education centers.Shed insisted s he was fine, and when morning came, the only vindication she gave of her nightmare was to insist that we not mention it to Eddie. Its only going to engage him, she tell. And besides, its not a big deal.I conceded that point, but when I try to ask what had happened, she brushed me off and wouldnt pour forth about it.Now, at breakfast, there was a definite edge to her, but for all I knew, it had more(prenominal) to do with finally facing her first day in a human school. I dummy up cant get over how different I am from e very(prenominal) unitary, she verbalise in a low verbalize. I call sand, for one thing, Im taller than almost every girl here It was true. It wasnt uncommon for Moroi women to push sixsome feet in height. Jill wasnt quite there, but her long, slim build gave the illusion of creation taller than she was. And Im truly bony.You are not, I said.Im too skinny compared to them, Jill argued.Everyones got something, countered Eddie. That girl over there has a to n of freckles. That guy s feedd his head. Theres no such thing as normal. Jill still looked dubious but doggedly went off to class when the first warning bell shape rang, promising to contact Eddie for luncheon and me in PE. I made it to my history class a hardly a(prenominal) minutes early. Ms. Terwilliger stood at her desk, shuffling some papers around, and I hesitantly approached.Maam?She glanced up at me, pushing her glasses up her thump as she did. Hmm? Oh, I remember you. point Melbourne.Melrose, I corrected.Are you legitimate? I couldve sworn you were reveald afterwards someplace in Australia.Well, my first name is Sydney, I said, not sure if I should be encouraging her.Ah. therefore Im not crazy. Not yet, at least. What can I do for you, run away Melrose?I wanted to ask you well, you see, I have a interruption in my schedule because I passed out of the language requirement. I wondered if p eradventure you needed opposite teacher aide interchangeable tercet. The aforementioned trey was already there, academic session at a desk allotted to him and collating papers. He glanced up at the mention of his name and eyed me warily. Its keepder period, maam. So, if there was any extra work you neededHer eyes studied me for several moments in the lead she answered. Id made sure to cover up my tattoo today, but it matte up like she was staring right through to it. I dont need an otherwise(prenominal) teacher aide, she said bluntly. terce smirked. Mr. Juarez, despite his many limitations, is more than undefendable of var.ing all my stacks of paper. His smirk disappeared at the derrierehanded compliment.I nodded and started to turn away, disappointed. Okay. I understand.No, no. I dont hypothesise you do. You see, Im writing a book. She pa apply, and I cognise she was waiting for me to look impressed. On heretical godliness and magic in the Greco-Roman world. Ive lectured on it at Carlton College before. Fascinating subject. triple st ifled a cough.Now, I could really use a look assistant to help me track down certain information, run errands for me, that sort of thing. Would you be interested in that?I gaped. Yes, maam. I would be.For you to get acknowledgment for an independent theater, youd have to do some project alongside it research and a paper of your own. Not virtually the length of my book, of course. Is there anything from that era that interests you?Er, yes. I could hardly believe it. Classical art and architecture. Id love to study it more.Now she looked impressed. Really? Then it awaits were a perfect match. Or, well, nearly. Pity you dont know Latin.Well I averted my eyes. I, um, actually I can read Latin. I dared a glance back at her. Rather than impressed, she mostly looked stunned. Well, then. How about that. She gave a rueful head shake. Im afraid to ask about Greek. The bell rang. Go ahead and take your seat, then come find me at the end of the day. Last period is also my planning period, so well have plenty of time to verbalise and fill out the appropriate paperwork.I returned to my desk and received an approving fist bump from Eddie. Nice work. You dont have to take a real class. Of course, if shes got you reading Latin, by chance itll be worse than a real class.I like Latin, I said with absolute seriousness. Its fun.Eddie move his head and said in a very, very low voice I cant believe you think were the strange ones.Treys comments for me in my next class were less complimentary. Wow, you sure have Terwilliger wrapped around your finger. He nodded toward our alchemy instructor. Are you going to go tell her that you split atoms in your salvage time? Do you have a reactor back in your room?Theres nothing wrong with I cut myself off, unsure what to say. Id nearly said being smart, but that sounded egotistical. Theres nothing wrong with intimate things, I said at furthest.Sure, he agreed. When its legitimate knowledge.I remembered the crazy dialogue with Kri stin and Julia yesterday. Because Id had to take Jill to Adrian, Id missed the study session and couldnt follow up on my tattoo questions. Still, I at least now knew where Treys disdain was advent from even so though it seemed absurd. No one else at school had specifically mentioned my tattoo being special, but a number of people had approached me already, petition where Id gotten it. Theyd been disappointed when I said South Dakota.Look, I dont know where this ideas coming from about my tattoo making me smart, but if thats what you think, well dont. Its just a tattoo.Its gold, he argued.So? I asked. Its just special ink. I dont get why people would believe it has some mystical properties. Who believes in that obstruct? He snorted. Half this school does. How are you so smart, then?Was I really that much of a freak when it came to academics that people had to turn to miraculous explanations? I went with my stock answer. I was homeschooled.Oh, said Trey thoughtfully. That would explain it.I sighed.I bet your homeschooling didnt do much in the way of PE, though, he added. What are you going to do about your sport requirement?I dont know I hadnt thought about it, I said, feeling a little uneasy. I could handle Amberwoods academics in my sleep. exactly its athletics? Unclear. Well, you better decide soon the deadlines coming up. Dont look so worried, he added. mayhap theyll let you start a Latin club instead.Whats that supposed to mean? I asked, not liking the tone. Ive played sports.He shrugged. If you say so. You dont seem like the athletic type. You seem too neat.I wasnt entirely sure if that was a compliment or not. Whats your sport?Trey held his chin up, looking very pleased with himself. Foot dinner dress. A real mans sport.A guy sitting nearby overheard him and glanced back. Too bad you wont understand quarterback, Juarez. You came so close last category. Looks like youre going to graduate without fulfilling yet another dream.Id thought Trey didnt like me but as he turned his attention to the other guy, it was like the temperature dropped ten degrees. I realized in that moment that Trey just liked giving me a hard time. But this other guy? Trey completely despised him.I dont remember you even being in the running, Slade, returned Trey, eyes hard. What makes you think youre going to take it this year? Slade it wasnt clear to me if that was his first or last name exchanged knowing glances with a couple friends. Just a feeling. They turned away, and Trey scowled.Great, he muttered. Slade finally got the money for one. You want to know about tattoos? Go tittle-tattle to him.My thirty-second impression told me Slade was no one I wanted to smatter to, but Trey provided no additional explanation. Class soon started, but as I tried to focus on the lesson, all I could think about was Amberwoods apparent obsession with tattoos. What did it mean?When PE came, I was alleviated to see Jill in the locker room. The Moroi girl gave me a weary grimace as we walked removed. Hows your day been? I asked.Fine, Jill said. Not great. Not terrible. I havent really gotten to know many people. She didnt say it, but Jills tone implied, See? I told you I would stand out.Yet as the class started, I realized that the fuss was that Jill didnt stand out. She avoided eye contact, letting her nerves get the surmount of her, and made no effort to talk to people. No one openly shunned her, but with the vibes she gave off, no one went out of their way to talk to her either. I certainly wasnt the most social person in the world, but I still grind and tried to chat with my classmates as we did more volleyball game drills. It was enough to foster the sparks of friendship. I also soon observed another problem. The class had been divided into four teams, playing two concurrent matches. Jill was in the other game, but I still occasionally caught sight of her. She looked low-spirited and tired within ten minutes, without even having done much in the game. Her reaction time was bad too. A number of balls went past her, and those she did notice were met with clumsy maneuvers. Some of her teammates exchanged frustrated looks behind her back.I returned to my own game, worried for her, just as the opposing team plaitd the ball into a zone that wasnt well guarded by my team. I didnt have the reaction time that, say, a dhampir had, but in that split second, my whiz knew I could block the ball if I made a hard and fast move. Doing so went against my natural instincts, the ones that said, Dont do anything that will hurt or get you dirty. Id always carefully reasoned through my actions, neer performing on impulse. Not this time. I was going to stop that ball. I dove for it, hitting it into range of another teammate who was able to then spike it back over the net and out of danger. The volley pushed me to a hard landing on my knees. It was ungraceful and jarred my teeth, but Id stopped the opposition from scoring. My teammates cheered, and I was surprised to find myself laughing. Id always been trained that everything I did had to have a greater, practical purpose. Sports were sort of antithetical to the Alchemist way of life, because they were just for fun. But maybe fun wasnt so bad once in a while. Nice, Melrose, said look out over Carson, st peal by. If you want to defer your sport until winter and be on the volleyball team, come talk to me later.Well done, said Micah, and offered me his hand. I move my head and stood up on my own. I was dismayed to see a scrape on one of my legs but was still grinning from ear to ear. If anyone had told me two weeks ago that Id be so happy about rolling around in the dirt, I wouldnt have believed it. She doesnt give out want very often.It was true. Miss Carson had already been on Jill a number of time and was now halting our game to correct a teammates sloppy form. I took advantage of the break to watch Jill, whose game was still in action. Micah follow ed my gaze.Doesnt run in the family, huh? he asked sympathetically.No, I murmured. My smile faded. I felt a pang of guilt in my chest over exalting so much in my own triumph when Jill was obviously struggling. It didnt seem fair.Jill still looked exhausted, and her curly hair was drenched in sweat. Pink spots had appeared on her cheeks, giving her a feverish look, and it seemed to take all her effort to remain upright. It was strange that Jill would have so much difficulty. Id overheard a brief conversation in which she and Eddie had discussed combat and defensive moves, giving me the impression that Jill was fairly athletic. She and Eddie had even talked about practicing later that night and The cheerfulness, I groaned.Huh? asked Micah.Id mentioned my concerns about the sun to Stanton, but shed dismissed them. Shed just advised that Jill be careful to stay inner(a) which Jill did. Except, of course, when school requirements made her take a class that kept her outside. Forcing he r to play sports out in the full blaze of the Palm Springs sun was cruel. It was a wonder she was still standing.I sighed, making a mental put down to call the Alchemists later. Were going to have to get her a doctors note.What are you public lecture about? asked Micah. The game was back on, and he shifted into position beside me.Oh. Jill. Shes shes sensitive to the sun. physical body of like an allergic thing.As though on cue, we heard Miss Carson exclaim from the other court Melrose Junior Are you blind? Did you not see that coming right toward you? Jill swayed on her feet but took the criticism meekly.Micah watched them with a frown, and as soon as Miss Carson was off picking on someone else, he darted out of formation and ran over to Jills game. I hastily tried to cover both his and my own positions. Micah ran up to a guy beside Jill, whispered something, and pointed back at me. A moment later, the guy ran over to my team and Micah took the spot beside Jill.As class go on, I realized what was happening. Micah was good at volleyball very good. So much so that he was able to defend his spot and Jills. Without seeing any blatant blunders, Miss Carson kept her attention elsewhere, and Jills team grew a little less irrelevant toward her. When the game ended, Micah caught hold of Jills arm and quickly walked her over to a shaded spot. From the way she staggered, he seemed to be all that was holding her upright.I was about to amount them when I heard loud voices beside me.Im getting it tonight. The guy I talked to swears its gonna be badass. It was Slade, the guy whod sparred with Trey earlier. I hadnt realized it out in the sun in the middle of the game, but he was the player Micah had swapped places with. It better be, continued Slade, for how much hes charging me.Two of Slades friends joined him as they began heading toward the locker room. When are tryouts, Slade? one of his friends asked. In chemistry, Id learned Slades first name was Greg, but everyo ne seemed to list to him by his last name, even teachers.Friday, Slade said. Im going to kill. Like totally undo them. Im gonna rip Juarezs spine out and make him eat it.Charming, I thought, watching them go. My initial assessment of Slade had been correct. I turned toward Jill and Micah and saw that hed gotten ahold of a water bottle for her. They seemed pass for the moment, so I caught Miss Carsons attention as she walked by.My sister gets sick in the sun, I said. This is really hard on her.Lots of kids have trouble in the heat at first, said Miss Carson knowingly. They just need to strengthen up. You handled yourself okay.Yeah, well, she and I are fair different, I said dryly. If only she knew. I dont think shes going to toughen up.Nothing I can do, said Miss Carson. If I let her sit out, do you have any idea how many other kids would suddenly feel tired in the sun? Unless shes got a doctors note, shes got to stick it out.I thanked her and went to join Jill and Micah. As I approached, I heard Micah saying, Get cleaned up, and Ill walk you to your next class. We cant have you fainting in the halls. He paused and considered. Of course, Im totally happy to gravel you if you do faint.Jill was understandably dazed but was with it enough to thank him. She told him shed meet him soon and walked to the girls locker room with me. I eyed the grin on Micahs incline, and a troubling thought occurred to me. Jill seemed stressed enough so I decided not to say anything, but my concern grew when we left for last period. Micah walked with Jill, as promised, and told her that later, when evening came, hed tutor her in volleyball if she wanted. As we stood outside the classroom, a girl with long red hair and a arrogant attitude walked by, trailed by an entourage of other girls. She paused when she saw Micah and tossed her hair over one shoulder, flashing him a big smile. Hey, Micah.Micah was engrossed with Jill and barely glanced in the other girls direction. Oh, he y, Laurel. He walked away, and Laurel watched him go, her expression turning dark. She shot a dangerous look at Jill, whipped her long hair over her shoulder, and stormed off.Uh-oh, I thought as I watched her stalk down the hall. Is that going to come back and haunt us? It was one of those moments when I could have used a lesson in social cues.I went to Ms. Terwilligers classroom afterward and fatigued most of that initial meeting setting up the semesters goals and outlining what Id be doing for her. I was in store for a lot of reading and translation, which suited me just fine. It also appeared as though half of my job would be safekeeping her organized something else I excelled at. The time flew by, and as soon as I was free, I hurried off to find Eddie. He was waiting with a group of other boys at the shuttle stop to go back to their dorm.When he saw me, his response was the usual Is Jill okay?Fine well, good-natured of. Can we talk somewhere?Eddies face darkened, no doubt th inking there was a legion of Strigoi on their way to hunt Jill. We stepped back inside one of the academic buildings, finding chairs in a orphic corner that enjoyed the full force of air conditioning. I gave him a quick update on Jill and her sunny PE misadventures. I didnt think it would be this bad, said Eddie grimly, echoing my thoughts. Thank God Micah was there. Is there anything you can do?Yeah, we should be able to get something from our parents or a doctor. As much as I hated to, I added, Keith might be able to drive it.Good, said Eddie fiercely. We cant have her getting beat up out there. Ill go talk to that teacher myself, if thats what it takes.I hid a smile. Well, hopefully it wont come to that. But there is something else nothing dangerous, I amended quickly, seeing that warrior look cross his face again. Just something I tried not to say the voice communication that were popping into my mind. Horrifying. Wrong. Concerning. I think I think Micah likes Jill.Eddies fac e went very still. Of course he likes her. Shes nice. Hes nice. He likes everyone.Thats not what I mean, and you know it. He likes her. In the more-than-friends way. What are we going to do about that?Eddie stared off crossways the hall for a few moments before turning back to me. wherefore do we have to do anything?How can you ask that? I exclaimed, floor by the response. You know why. Humans and vampires cant be together Its disgusting and wrong. The speech flew out of my mouth before I could stop them. even out a dhampir like you should know that.He smiled ruefully. Even a dhampir like me?I supposed Id been a little insulting, but it couldnt be helped. Alchemists myself included never believed dhampirs and Moroi worried enough about the same problems we did. They might acknowledge a taboo like this, but years of training said that only we humans really took it seriously. That was why the Alchemist job was so important. If we didnt look after these takes, who would?I mean it, I told him. This is something all of us agree on.His smile faded. Yeah, it is.Even Rose and Dimitri, who had a high tolerance for craziness, had been shocked at meeting the Keepers, rogue Moroi who intermingled freely with dhampirs and humans. It was a taboo the three of us shared, and wed worked hard to tolerate the custom while with the Keepers. They lived hidden in the Appalachian Mountains and had provided excellent refuge when Rose was on the run. Ignoring their savage ways had been an delightful price for the security theyd offered us.Can you talk to him? I asked. I dont think Jill has any strong feelings. Shes got too many other things going on. She believably knows better anyway but itd still be best if you could deter him. We can stop this before she gets involved.What do you expect me to say? Eddie asked. He sounded at a loss, which struck me as funny, considering hed been ready to go make all sorts of demands to Miss Carson on Jills behalf.I dont know. Play the big crony card. Act protective. Say shes too young.I expected Eddie to agree, but he once more averted his eyes. I dont know if we should say anything.What? Are you screw-loose? Do you think its okay to No, no. He sighed. Im not advocating it. But look at it this way. Jills stuck in a school full of humans. Its not fair that she be banned from hanging out with any guys.I think Micah wants to do more than hang out.Well, why shouldnt she get to go on a date now and then? Or go to a dance? She should get to do all the normal things a girl her age does. Shes already had her life radically changed. We shouldnt make it any harder.I eyed him in disbelief, trying to figure out why he was so laid back about this. Admittedly, he didnt face the same consequences I did. If my superiors found out I was encouraging human and vampire dating, itd be more evidence against me and my alleged bias. After all, my account wasnt yet restored with the Alchemists. Still, I knew Eddies people didnt like the idea of dating, either. So what was the problem? A strange answer suddenly came to me. I feel like you just dont want to confront Micah.Eddie looked right at me. Its complicated, he said. Something in his face told me Id hit the mark. Why dont you talk to Jill? She knows the rules. Shell understand that she can be with him without getting serious.I think its a bad idea, I said, still unable to believe he was taking this stance. Were creating a gray flying field here thats eventually going to cause confusion. We should keep it black and uninfected and ban her from dating while shes here.That wry smile returned. Everythings black and lily-white with you Alchemists, isnt it? Do you think you can really stop her from doing anything? You should know better. Even your childhood couldnt have been that abnormal.With that slap in the face, Eddie stalked off, leaving me aghast. What had just happened? How could Eddie who was so adamant about doing the right thing for Jill be okay with h er casually dating Micah? There was something weird going on here, something committed to Micah, though I couldnt figure out what. Well, I refused to let this matter go. It was too important. Id talk to Jill and make sure she knew right from wrong. If necessary, Id also talk to Micah though I still felt that conversation would be better coming from Eddie.And, I realized, thinking of how I had to go hunt down a doctors note, there was one more source I could magical spell to, one that had a lot of influence over Jill.Adrian.Looked like Id be paying him another visit.