Reaction to Frostbite

Chapter 7 -Janine

After Abe had returned from a short break in the garden outside their current quarters, they tucked in to read some more, hoping for a few more chapters before lunch. Feeling more than a little guilty over everything so far, especially the black eye, Janine asked to read this chapter and collected the book from the table.

I ANGRILY PUSHED THROUGH THE double doors that led into the Moroi dorm. Snow swirled in behind me, and a few people lingering on the main floor glanced up upon my entrance. Not surprisingly, several of them did double takes. Swallowing, I forced myself not to react. It would be okay. No need to freak out. Novices got injured all the time. It was actually rarer not to get injured. Admittedly, this was a more noticeable injury than most, but I could live with it until it healed, right? And it wasn't like anyone would know how I'd received it. "Hey Rose, is it true your own mother punched you?" I froze. I'd know that taunting soprano voice anywhere. Turning slowly, I looked into the deep blue eyes of Mia Rinaldi. Curly blond hair framed a face that might have been cute if not for the malicious smirk on it.

"That orospu(bitch) really needs to back off of my little girl" Abe growled. Kirova wasn't happy about her student being called such names and would have voiced it, if it were anyone but Zmey. No, she valued her life and so remained silent.

A year younger than us, Mia'd taken on Lissa (and me by default) in a war to see who could tear apart the other's life most quickly a war, I should add, that she started. It had involved her stealing Lissa's ex-boyfriend despite the fact Lissa had decided in the end she didn't want him and the spreading of all sorts of rumors.

Adrian smiled to himself, imagining a cat fight between the girls as well as wondering what rumours got spread about Rose. He is becoming increasingly curious about the girl and now that he knows the school is going to the ski lodge, he only hopes it is one of the rare years that he attends also. Likely as it explains why he's here. 

Admittedly, Mia's hatred hadn't been entirely unjustified. Lissa's older brother, Andre who had been killed in the same car accident that technically "killed" me had used Mia pretty badly when she was a freshman. If she weren't such a bitch now, I would have felt sorry for her. It had been wrong of him, and while I could understand her anger, I don't know that it was fair of her to take that out on Lissa in the way she did. Lissa and I had technically won the war in the end, but Mia had inexplicably bounced back. She didn't run with the same elite that she once had, but she had rebuilt a small contingent of friends. Malicious or not, strong leaders always attract followers.

Everyone nodded thoughtfully in agreement, believing Rose was such a leader that she could convince people to follow her into a Strigoi nest in the belief they'd come out on top.

I'd found that about 90 percent of the time, the most effective response was to ignore her. But we had just crossed over to the other 10 percent, because it's impossible to ignore someone announcing to the world that your mother just punched you even if it was true. I stopped walking and turned around. Mia stood near a vending machine, knowing she'd drawn me out. I didn't bother asking how she'd found out about my mother giving me the black eye. Things rarely stayed secret around here. When she caught full sight of my face, her eyes widened in unabashed delight. "Wow. Talk about a face only a mother could love."

"Cute" Abe snarled in sarcasm, he is really getting tired of this bitch tormenting his daughter and he just wants Rose to hurry up and fight back, consequences be damned.

Ha. Cute. From anyone else, I would have applauded the joke. "Well, you're the expert on face injury," I said. "How's your nose?" 

Mia's icy smile twitched a little, but she didn't back down. I'd broken her nose about a month ago at a school dance of all places and while the nose had since healed, it now sat just the tiniest bit askew. Plastic surgery could probably fix it up, but from my understanding of her family's finances, that wasn't possible just now.