Reaction to Frostbite

Chapter 4 - Christian cont

Alberta asked Christian to continue reading, knowing everyone else is likely to be kept occupied with a potentially raging Janine and bitching Kirova about what is likely about to happen in Stan's class. Knowing that Rose is already fuming and upset, a class with Stan, where people will be fawning over her mother, is the last thing anyone is going to want or need. I only hope that Dimitri is present and keeps her calm.

I COULDN'T BELIEVE IT. JANINE Hathaway. My mother. My insanely famous and stunningly absent mother. She was no Arthur Schoenberg, but she did have a pretty stellar reputation in the guardian world. I hadn't seen her in years because she was always off on some insane mission. And yet...here she was at the Academy right now right in front of me and she hadn't even bothered to let me know she was coming. So much for motherly love.

Janine received some glares but her lack of notice was expected from Alberta. The rare times she had turned up at the Academy over the years was always short notice and with her charge, typically only seeing Rose after she had been spotted.

What the hell was she doing here anyway? The answer came quickly. All the Moroi who came to campus would have their guardians in tow. My mother protected a noble from the Szelsky clan, and several members of that family had shown up for the holidays. Of course she'd be here with him.

"Is that the only reason you would have been there?" Abe asked. Janine just shrugged so he continued. "Have you ever just seen her, without having to follow your charge?" The silence was deafening. This time Abe was the one ready to explode so Alberta just had Christian continue reading.

I slid into my chair and felt something inside of me shrivel up. I knew she had to have seen me come in, but her attention was focused elsewhere. She had on jeans and a beige T-shirt, covered with what had to be the most boring denim jacket I'd ever seen. At only five feet tall, she was dwarfed by the other guardians, but she had a presence and way of standing that made her seem taller.

Alberta smiled fondly because she knew that Rose too had that presence and used it well. The only time she didn't was when it involved her mother, in those cases she may as well be 4 years old again.

Our instructor, Stan, introduced the guests and explained that they were going to share real-life experiences with us. He paced the front of the room, bushy eyebrows knitting together as he spoke. 

"I know this is unusual," he explained. "Visiting guardians usually don't have time to stop by our classes. Our three guests, however, have made time to come talk to you today in light of what's happened recently..." He paused a moment, and no one needed to tell us what he was referring to. The Badica attack. He cleared his throat and tried again. "In light of what's happened, we thought it might better prepare you to learn from those currently working in the field."

"That would be a good experience for the kids to learn" Janine commented. Alberta was more worried of Rose's reaction to her mother. She knew how much her 'daughter' wished she had any relationship with her mother. Unfortunately that was unlikely to change any time soon, it would take a monumental event for the shift.

The class tensed with excitement. Hearing stories particularly ones with a lot of blood and action was a hell of a lot more interesting than analyzing theory from a textbook. Apparently some of the other campus guardians thought so too. They often stopped by our classes, but they were present today in a larger-than-usual number. Dimitri stood among them in the back.

"So the kids view it as story time like in preschool?" Adrian snidely remarked thinking little better of the extra guardians turning up to watch. Alberta didn't like the way it was put but couldn't exactly argue and instead chose to comment that as long as they learn something from it she would view it a success. Adrian couldn't argue that when in the end they were still the ones putting their lives on the line for the Moroi, he respected that but didn't agree with it, it was why he had no guardian. Alberta was simply praying that Dimitri being there would calm Rose enough to not lash out.