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Disclaimer: Richelle Mead owns all of Vampire Academy

Guilty. That's how I felt.

I could not believe that I'd lied to a guardian, technically my boss. What was wrong with me?

Well, I guess I couldn't dwell on the past. I had to focus on the present. And the present now involved this Rose girl.

As I sat alone in my van, staring out the window at her dorm building, I pondered the recent events that I had witnessed.

Rose. Training. And being amazing. How had it all began? And when? She must have had to have trained hard to have become so good.

I knew that Vasilisa was being well taken care of. I was sure of that. The guardians didn't need to worry. Not at all. Jared was even there.

Speaking of Jared, what was that all about? Rose and Jared had looked to be so close. I, personally, didn't comprehend the relationship there. I wanted to know when and how they'd met. I thought I already knew the answers to my questions though. He'd mentioned something about teaching her and her being late for class a lot- figures. He must have been her math teacher of some sort.

I thought it would be best to put my interrogations aside and sleep before the next busy day found me. I had a sure feeling that tomorrow would be another discovery class altogether.

Unfortunately, yet understandingly, I could not fall asleep. After all, my whole life I had been living on a vampiric schedule. A human's nighttime was a vampire's daytime, if that made any sense.

So, here I was, thinking over the day's events again, while trying to fall asleep. Basically to say that I could not fall asleep all night, and therefore had my head wrapped around everything- Rose.

I wondered about Rose and her training, why the two of them had left the Academy in the first place, Jared, Rose and Jared together, this school that they were attending. My mind buzzed with thoughts all night. Day. Whatever you want to call it.

The hours passed slowly, and I was in the desperate need of anything to distract myself. I even contemplated punching myself in the face just so I could black out and have time to rest. I didn't, of course.

Finally, I could see the sun rising. I knew it would still be a little while before the girls were out and heading to classes. But, I was surprised yet again for the second time in two days. And I was barely caught by surprise as I was always aware of my surroundings.

Even though it was still early, I saw Rose and Vasilisa walk out of their dorm building, onto the green grass. Vasilisa looked nicely dressed, while Rose was wearing black sweatpants and a gray T. They both seemed to look in the direction of building "B". They looked satisfied and started walking in that direction.

I hadn't noticed, but Jared was outside walking halfway to meet them. He was all smiles for both of them. Especially for Rose. He reached his hand across the distance that separated him from Rose, and squeezed her hand gently before pulling back. It was a quick gesture, but still very affectionate.

I watched as they walked, happily making their way over to their clearing. I was really surprised that Rose would be training this early in the morning. From what I'd heard, she wasn't really a morning person.

It was my turn to get out of my van and follow behind on their walk to the clearing, as well. I did the same as I had done the day before, keeping a big enough gap between us.

Once we made it to the clearing, Rose began her training straight away. She was as flawless as ever, like she'd been the previous day. Superb, really.

I was bedazzled by her amazing control and use of every technique and move. She was ahead of her game and knew how to stay focused. She was focused. In that moment, the fight and the learning of protection for moroi were all that mattered to her. It was extremely breathtaking.

I was so caught off guard, even though I'd already known what she could do because of her training the previous day, that I hadn't even noticed the two hard-workers, Jared and Rose, packing up. Luckily though, I still had enough time to retrieve to my van before they could see me.

They each entered their individual dorm buildings. Jared in one, and Rose and Vasilisa in the other. I barely had ten minutes to myself to think things over, because they were already coming out of their dorm buildings and running to the classes that they needed to be.

Jared needed to be in building "G", where he would teach his math classes. The girls obviously had first period class in building "A". Naturally, I punched in "A" on my computer screen. That was what mattered- not what Jared was doing. I was then seeing twelve different places in the interior part of the building.

And one of those places consisted of being Rose and Vasilisa's class. I watched as they both entered the class- late- and took their already-assigned seats beside each other. The teacher hadn't even seemed to notice or care about their tardiness. Probably due to habit.

After the teacher was finished taking attendance, she began teaching the class. It was English. Though, she didn't teach for long as it seemed to me that the students were being given a test. That would be quite fun to watch. Maybe boring, but still interesting.

All students were concentrated on their test. The class was quiet. This teacher must have normally been good at controlling her class.

However, halfway through the test, Vasilisa's pencil lead broke. The only odd movement in the classroom. Due to this, nobody seemed to notice. Or so I thought.

I was mistaken once again, when Rose, without looking anywhere else but at her test paper, grabbed the pencil sharpener off her desk and placed it over on Vasilisa's desk.

That gesture didn't seem right. It looked out of place. I was sure that Rose had been focused on her test paper the whole entire time and couldn't have possibly noticed Vasilisa's problem.

Yet, she had.

I questioned this newly-discovered information, still not finding an answer. There could only be so many possibilities.

After a few minutes, I decided to put this away in the back of my head, and carry on to more accomplishing things.

I was almost certain there would be nothing new to learn from Rose and Vasilisa as they were writing a test, and decided it was time to check out the school.

I quickly thought of my story, and then got out of the van and headed towards the administration building. Building "C".

As I walked in, I noticed different hallways filled with classes, but I noticed right to the left of the entrance doors, a medium-sized office.

I took a deep breath and walked up to the closed door of the office, and knocked. I heard from the other side of the door a, "Just a second." and waited patiently.

A few seconds later, the door opened and a woman in her thirties stood before me. She was pretty, but not as gorgeous as Rose. I mentally slapped myself for even thinking that. I know what that must have sounded like, but that was not what I'd meant. I admit, Rose was good-looking. But that's all I could say about her. I didn't even know her. Not personally, anyways.

This woman spoke, "Hello, how may I help you?" She seemed intrigued by the little features I possessed that were different from a human's, but didn't interrogate me.

I replied back, "Hi. Actually, my friend is planning on moving somewhere in the area. We're not sure where yet exactly. But he has a son, seventeen, and we're splitting up to check out the schools around here. So maybe you could explain and give a brief explanation and all." Hopefully that would settle okay with her.

"Oh, of course! Come in." She gestured me in her office. "Have a seat," she said, pointing at the two chairs facing her desk. I took the one on the right.

"Thank you," was my simple reply. I hoped that I wouldn't have to give too much information out in order to proceed with this interview.

"Let me introduce myself. I'm Francesca Renderson, the Principal's secretary here at Portland City High. And you are?" I panicked as she asked her question. I didn't know what to tell her.

Lying seemed like the best option. Ugh- dishonesty again. What kind of man was I turning into? Nonetheless, I did what I thought was best, though not the most respectable. "My name is uh… Jason Senec," I lied through my teeth. Lying did not come naturally to me.

"It's very nice to meet you, Mr. Jason Senec. Now, as you have requested, let me share a bit about our school with you. First of all, what exactly would you like to know? Anything specific?" she asked very formally.

"Actually, I do believe so," I tried to say just as formally. "I'm more so interested in the classes and the schedule. Like I said earlier, my friend's son is seventeen, and perhaps you would happen to have a schedule for his grade level."

She smiled at me. "Yes, perhaps. We do indeed. Of course, there are different schedules for each grade as there are many students attending this school. It truly is a fantastic, healthy and caring environment for teenagers." I chuckled at her sales pitch.

"I can image. Tell me, what different classes would seventeen-year-olds be attending right now?" I decided to take a new angle at this- getting the information I needed to facilitate my life.

She turned her chair slightly so that she was facing the computer screen on her desk. After a few clicks and typed words, she recited a list, "Well, you see, there are four groups per grade level. So the students are with the same kids every period, every day. Right now, students in that grade are either in biology, physical education, English or math." English. That was the one I needed.

"Thank you. I know…," I quickly thought of a name for my so called friend's son to be called, "Jonathan's favourite subject is English. He would probably want to start his day out with that on at least one of the days in his schedule cycle. Could you please print that one out for me so I can show it to him?"

"Of course," she answered kindly. "I'll do that right away."

Once the schedule was printed, I did a quick run-through with her. She explained all of the classes along with a description of the teachers. I was particularly interested in what she had to say for Jared.

"Mr. Willington is an excellent math teacher. Very kind and wise. The students really like having him as a teacher." Jared Willington. I now knew his full name. I felt kind of bad for using this nice lady. She didn't even know that she'd given me more information.

After she'd given me all of the information I felt I needed, I told her that it was time for me to go. However, she asked if I wanted a tour, which I had to decline. "Sorry. I really have to go now. Maybe next time. Great school you have here though." I saw that bright smile creep across her face.

I walked out of her office, then out of the building. As I left, I was thrilled to have gotten Rose's and Vasilisa's schedule. It would simplify my life immensely.

Back in my van, I regarded the schedule carefully. I hadn't noticed before, but Rose and Vasilisa would already be in their third period class by now. My information session had taken more time than I had thought.

I looked at the schedule and found out that their third period class was math! Now that would be amusing to watch. Math with Mr. Willington. I chuckled to myself.

I set up the screen, zoning in on Rose, Vasilisa and Jared in his classroom. Almost the whole time Jared was teaching, Rose was smiling. Nobody else noticed as they were too busy concentrating on the lecture.

Suddenly, Jared asked a question and called on Rose, only to get a dumb reply. "Uh… what?" she asked, coming out of her reverie.

In that moment, the smile on Jared's face matched the previous smile on Rose's face. He spoke, "Miss Hathaway, I do believe I asked you to answer this math question for me. Were you not following?" He said this in a way a teacher would, therefore making the students think he was disappointed in her. But I could hear the playfulness in his tone and see it in his eyes. No way would any other teacher let Rose's slacking off pass without a further outburst.

Rose smiled innocently at Jared. "Please excuse my lack of concentration and my disruptive behaviour. I'll try not to let it happen again." She was grinning from ear to ear, while Jared was trying to hide his content with a lot of force.

Now this was pure entertainment. They were definitely putting on a good show. I smiled to myself just thinking about it.

All too soon, my fun ended. Math class was finished for Rose and Vasilisa.

The day passed by both quickly and slowly at the same time. Quickly, because I always wanted to know new things about Rose. And by watching her in class, I was really able to see her class personality. Slowly, because it was like as if I was actually in class, listening to lectures. All day.

I was quite happy when the final bell at the end of the day rang. Both girls rushed out of their classes to their dorm room screaming, "T.G.I.F." and, "Yay, it's Friday!"

As Rose exited her dorm building a few minutes later with a new outfit, I knew it was time for her training. Vasilisa followed in the same outfit as she'd worn all day though.

Jared met up with them soon after, all ready to train as well. I, myself, was all ready to watch.

I went through with the same procedure as I had the day before and early this morning.

Their training was routine. I could see that now. Of course, in the beginning when they were just starting to train together, I'm sure they switched things up a bit, in order to learn every fighting technique and all. But when you were so well-trained- like Rose- what did you really have left to learn? It was only normal to touchup on everything important.

Rose finished her laps, and Jared and Rose began doing their stretches together on the mats. Rose spoke first, "So, by the way, when is that guy coming to give me my third molnija mark?" Molnija mark? Her third? What was she talking about?

Then suddenly, as she switched stretches and her tied-up hair moved around a bit, I saw them. Two already-tattooed molnija marks adorned her back.

I was shocked because I hadn't noticed before. I guess that this was either due to the fact that her hair had always been in the way, as she didn't want anyone to see so she could avoid questions from her peers, or because I had just been too focused on other things, such as her fighting abilities. Either way, to say that I was impressed was an understatement.

Jared stared at her for a few seconds and replied with a grin plastered across his face, "You're so impatient. I just called a couple of days ago and you're already pestering me?" He shook his head and laughed. Huh. They personally knew a molnija tattooist.

Rose, of course, already had a reply in mind. "Le duh! Of course I'm impatient- I'm Rose Hathaway! And just get to the point already." At this, they both burst into a new set of laughs and smiles.

I sort of felt like a third wheel. I guess I would have been lucky to have even been that.

Before giving the long-awaited answer to her question, Jared looked around the clearing a bit and let his eyes stop on Vasilisa. She was sitting to the side of the clearing, earphones in her ears as she listened to the music on her iPod. At the same time, she was reading a book that she seemed to be really in to. I was sure she wasn't even paying attention to the conversation passing between Rose and Jared.

Jared seemed to notice this too, and answered, "Actually, he's coming tomorrow afternoon. And you know, since this tattooist is a guardian, I know without a doubt that Vasilisa would be in safe hands without our company. And it's not a school night, so I was thinking that maybe you and I could go out to dinner and a movie. An hour and a half away from campus."

Rose was ecstatic. "Yeah, that would be great! Although Lissa might not be happy about my not being there with her on a Saturday night, she'll understand. It doesn't happen that often where we're alone, just the two of us."

"Great! I was hoping you could break it to Lissa gently. I'm really happy that we have this opportunity to go out together," he said excitedly.

As the two of them beamed and chattered about their date, I had time to contemplate. A somewhat twenty-four year old going out with a seventeen year old? Pathetic.

I hadn't really given much thought about their relationship. Until now.

How could he? She was only seventeen. Still a minor. So young.

I had nothing personal against Jared. But I disapproved of this relationship that he was accepting. Being friends was okay, but dating? And in secret. Rose deserved someone who wouldn't want to nor have to hide her.

Poor Rose and Jared. They had no idea that they weren't actually going to be alone on their date. Not if I was still alive.