Don't even think about sneaking out because that will get you expelled, and I won't be able to save you again."
"Still," she said, practically skipping, "this was all pretty easy." I came to a halt in front of her, forcing her to face me. "It was not easy. You got off on a technicality. You've continually resisted efforts to follow the rules around here, and today - well, that was off the charts. You aren't back home. The only time you should even think about fighting here is if Jill is attacked. That's why you're here. Not to do whatever you want. You said you were up to the challenge of protecting her. If you get expelled - and it's a miracle you weren't - she's at risk. So get in line or start packing for home. And for God's sake, leave Eddie alone."
Her face had been kindling with anger as I spoke, but that last bit caught her off guard.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, you constantly throwing yourself at him."
She sniffed. "That's how you show a guy you like him."
"Maybe among the uncivilized! Here you need to back off and start acting like a responsible human being - er, dhampir. Whatever. You're making him miserable! Besides, you're supposed to be cousins. You're screwing up our cover." Angeline's jaw dropped. "I... I'm making him miserable?" I almost felt bad for her. The look of shock on her face was so great that it was obvious she really hadn't known what she was doing to Eddie was wrong. I was too worked up to feel much sympathy right then, though. Jill had acted out when we'd first arrived, and that had been just as frustrating. I'd come to enjoy our peace, and now Angeline was threatening all of that. Unlike Jill, she didn't seem to realize it, and I didn't know if that made things better or worse.
I left an upset and frustrated Angeline off at her dorm room and also verified with Jill that Adrian had indeed been drinking. That and my agitation were more than enough to make me want to leave campus, if only for the escape. Brayden had asked earlier if I wanted to go out, but I wasn't up to that. I sent a quick text: Can't go out tonight. Family stuff. Then I headed off to Clarence's.
I'd called ahead to make sure Dimitri and Sonya were there since I had no interest in having a one-on-one visit with the ancient Moroi. He wasn't around when I arrived. I found Dimitri and Sonya huddled over some cards with blots of dried blood, speculating on how to proceed.
"It'd be interesting to get Strigoi blood and see if anything happened when I applied spirit," she was saying. "Do you think you could manage that?"
"Gladly," said Dimitri.
They noticed me. As soon as she looked up, Sonya asked, "What's wrong?" I didn't even bother asking how she knew. My face probably said more than my aura did.
"Angeline got into a brawl with a motivational group at school." Dimitri and Sonya exchanged looks. "Maybe we should go get some dinner," he said. He grabbed a set of keys from the table. "Let's go downtown." I never would've imagined that I'd look forward to going out with a Moroi and a dhampir. It was yet another sign of how far I'd advanced - or regressed, by Alchemist standards. Compared to most of the other people in my life, Dimitri and Sonya were grounded and stable. It was refreshing.
I gave them a rundown of Angeline's behavior, as well as my thinly veiled legal threat.
That part seemed to amuse Sonya.
"Smart," she said, twirling spaghetti on a fork. "Maybe you should be in law school instead of the Alchemists."
Dimitri found it less funny. "Angeline came here to do a job. She wanted out of the Keepers and swore she'd devote every waking minute to protecting Jill."
"There has been a bit of a culture shock," I admitted, unsure as to why I was defending Angeline. "And those guys today... I mean, if they'd tried to get me to join their sing-along, I probably would've punched them too."
"Unacceptable," said Dimitri. He used to be a combat instructor, and I could understand why. "She's here on a mission. What she did was reckless and irresponsible." Sonya gave him a sly smile. "And here I thought you had a soft spot for reckless young girls."
"Rose never would have done anything like that," he countered. He paused to reconsider, and I could've sworn there was the hint of a smile there. "Well, at least not in such a public setting."
Once the Angeline topic was put to rest, I brought up the reason I'd come here. "So... no experiments today?"
Even Sonya's good nature faltered. "Ah. No, not exactly. We've gone over some notes on our own, but Adrian hasn't been... he hasn't been quite up to the research this week. Or up to going to class."