Reaction to Frostbite

Chapter 3 - Christian

Adrian passed the book to Christian to read next. They seemed to be getting through pretty fast but Adrian was getting impatient as to why he's here; I hope it's because I meet and interact with Rose on a more 'personal' level.

THE LOBBY OF MY DORM was abuzz when I sprinted downstairs to my before-school practice. The commotion didn't surprise me. A good night's sleep had gone far to chase away the images from last night, but I knew neither I nor my classmates would easily forget what had taken place outside Billings.

Abe was unhappily grumbling about what could possibly be happening now when Alberta spoke. "I'm guessing we chose the option to leave campus for the holidays and everyone is excited about wherever we chose". Abe rolled his eyes as if that should be obvious: Of course they are Abe thought bitterly.

And yet, as I studied the faces and clusters of other novices, I noticed something weird. The fear and tension from yesterday were still around, certainly, but something new was there too: excitement. A couple of freshmen novices were practically squealing with joy as they spoke in hushed whispers. Nearby, a group of guys my own age were gesturing wildly, enthusiastic grins on their faces. I had to be missing something here unless all of yesterday had been a dream. It took every ounce of self-control I had not to go over and ask somebody what was happening. If I delayed, I'd be late for practice.

Alberta smiled at Dimitri, knowing that while Rose was dedicated to her practice sessions because they were helping her. She typically wouldn't care about tardiness.

The curiosity was killing me, though. Had the Strigoi and their humans been found and killed? That would certainly be good news, but something told me that wasn't the case.

Abe groaned and then laughed at the thought of how Alchemists would react to that.

Pushing open the front doors, I lamented that I'd just have to wait until breakfast to find out.

"Hath-away, don't run-away," a singsong voice called. I glanced behind me and grinned. Mason Ashford, another novice and a good friend of mine, jogged up and fell in step with me.

"What are you, twelve?" I asked, continuing on toward the gym.

"Nearly," he said. "I missed your smiling face yesterday. Where were you?"

Alberta looked surprised that Rose being present at the Badica house didn't go around with the rest of the gossip.

Apparently my presence at the Badica house still wasn't widely known. It wasn't a secret or anything, but I didn't want to discuss any gory details. "Had a training thing with Dimitri."

"God," muttered Mason. "That guy is always working you. Doesn't he realize he's depriving us of your beauty and charm?"

Adrian grinned evilly. "Keeping her from her friends hey cradle robber". Dimitri scowled, while not appreciating the nickname he tried to keep the venom from his voice when he replied that he was helping her to catch-up on two years of missed practice.

"Smiling face? Beauty and charm? You're laying it on a little thick this morning, aren't you?" I laughed.

"Hey, I'm just telling it like it is. Really, you're lucky to have someone as suave and brilliant as me paying this much attention to you." I kept grinning. Mason was a huge flirt, and he liked to flirt with me in particular.

"Who wouldn't" Adrian said at the same time as Christian commented that not many didn't. Both were on the receiving end of some deadly glares from Alberta and Abe.

Part of it was just because I was good at it and liked to flirt back. But I knew his feelings toward me were more than just friendly, and I was still deciding how I felt about that. He and I had the same goofy sense of humor and frequently drew attention to ourselves in class and among friends. He had gorgeous blue eyes and messy red hair that never seemed to lie flat. It was cute. But dating someone new was going to be kind of difficult when I still kept thinking about the time I was half-naked in bed with Dimitri.