CHAPTER 9 MEETING MY MENTEE.

We entered the headmaster's office again. "Rose, Mr. Witte was kicked out of class earlier today and I need to deal with this. I know what was promised but I cannot allow this to continue. He spends more time outside that class then in it." Headmaster Litvak spoke to me, his words laced with venom. "Well as I see it Headmaster, he is getting punished. He is getting me as a mentor. Please believe me he will not be getting away with this. James is going to learn that every action has a reaction, and that his attitude is not acceptable and that there are going to be consequences to them. I am not going to take it easy on him, but I need to deal with this. But first perhaps you can explain to me what got him kicked out of class. I have already witnessed one of his outbursts, but I would like to know what happened this time. Then I will be able to better find an acceptable punishment. One that you may accept as well Headmaster." I replied making sure he understood that this was my responsibility now. "Well, it seems that Mr. Witte has a bit of an attitude problem with the teacher. He made an inappropriate comment and was sent out."

Knock, Knock, Knock. "Come in." Headmaster Litvak calls out. His receptionist sticks her head into the room. "Mr. Witte is here as requested. Do I show him in?" She questioned the headmaster. He looked at me. I stood and grabbed my jacket off the chair. I placed it on the coat rack and walked to the wall hiding in a darkened corner of the room, as I did all this I nodded to him to get the boy sent in. It took me only a matter of seconds. It had seemed the more strigoi I kill the faster my body is able to move. "Yes, please show him in." Is his reply to his receptionist.

James enters the room then. I can see his attitude radiating off him as he enters. Everything from the from the way he moves to his body language implies his disgust with the academy and how he thinks he is better then everyone around him. The headmaster glares at him and waits until James has taken the seat I was previously occupying. "Mr. Witte I see you were yet again kicked out of class again. You were warned that this was your last chance. But it seems you have a little luck left on your side. Consider yourself lucky! You are going to have to a mentor. You will be training with her twice a day. Once before school and once again after. They will have complete control over everything you do including your discipline." The headmaster informs James. "What the hell. I don't need a mentor, Litvak. I am the best in my class. What the hell are you talking about? Who the hell is it?" James yelled at the headmaster.

Headmaster Litvak looked over to me then. His face expressing see what I mean. He is a hopes case. I returned his look, saying I will handle this written all over my face. "James, you do not speak to the Headmaster like that. You will apologise now!" I hissed at him. James jumped in his seat. I knew that he had not realised that I was in the room. "What if I don't?" he responded to me. "Trust me James, you don't want to know. Now do as I instructed, before you make this worse for yourself then it already is." I could hear the anger radiating in my voice. I was not someone you wanted to mess with when I was in one of those moods. I think James very quickly learnt this as I slightly moved out of the shadows so he could see the anger radiating on my face as it did in my words. "Sorry, Headmaster Litvak." James said to the headmaster turning his head down slightly. I knew then that I could help him. He just needed to learn control. When to fight, when to run and when to shut the hell up. "James this is Guardian Rose Hathaway and she has accepted to be your mentor. Listen to her, you may actually learn something. Guardian Rose was the one that saved all those people in the 2 vans that arrived the other day. She has killed 47 strigoi and been in 2 great battles. She is the most experienced guardian here on campus for killing strigoi and she is far younger than any of the other guardians here. This is your absolute last chance. If Guardian Rose comes to me and says she can no longer help you, I will have no choice to expel you. Do you understand me Mr. Witte?" "Yes Sir." James replied in a deflated voice. "Well then I will turn this over to Guardian Rose and she can tell you how this is going to work. Guardian Rose, please." The headmaster finished and sat back into his chair a little more relaxed I noticed.

Now it was my turn. "James, you will be training with me twice a day every day that includes weekends. Consider that part of your punishment. We will begin every morning and evening at 5 and not once second later. You will do everything instructed to do, no arguments, be they from me or another guardian that may be there. You will control your attitude in class from now on or there are going to be more consequences. We will begin tomorrow. You afternoon session will be twice as long also. Consider it part of your punishment. I will be keeping an eye on you so I suggest you don't waste this opportunity with me. I can make you into an exceptional guardian if that is what you want. Otherwise the way you are going you are just going to be a dead one. You may be the best in your year James, but you have no control. You open your mouth without thinking and that is not acceptable. Speak to me like you did this morning ever again and there will be hell to pay. With that you are going to take a walk with me now. I need to speak to you, get to know you a little better." I was still angry but it was slowly passing. "Headmaster if you will excuse us. Guardian Tanner, I will catch up with you later." The headmaster nodded to me. I collected my jacket and waited for James to lead the way out.

Once we were out of the office James asked, "Where to Guardian Rose Hathaway?" We were walking to an outdoor eating area with tables and chairs where we would be able to talk privately as no one was out here. "James, let's go somewhere we can talk for a minute. I need to get to know you a bit before we start training tomorrow. And I want whatever I ask to be answered honestly. No lies. Otherwise I will be annoyed and refuse to help." I answered letting go of the last of my anger. I knew that by saying this I was going to be letting down a few people but I wasn't going to be wasting my time, I had another mission to complete while I was here as well. "Okay." James answered tentatively. We took seats opposite each other and I started the questions.

"James, please just call me Rose, and Guardian Rose if there are any other guardians or students around. Okay? It is what I would prefer. Now is there any particular moroi you want to guard we you graduate?" I asked. I wanted to start off a little easy, but I also knew if it was someone important he wouldn't get the job, which I something I was always a little worried about Lissa and I. "Yes Rose, there is someone I would like to guard. Her name is Holly Badica. She and I have been friends for years, and right now I am more worried about her because there is a player here just trying to get into her pants. But she keeps telling me he isn't like that, stupid Justin Sarcozy. God I hate him." He finished his little rant and I just raised my eyebrow at him. I thought Zeklos and Sarcozy same everywhere. "Well if you want to guard her when you graduate you need to learn control. She is a member of a royal family and you will not get the position of guarding her if you keep acting like you are. You don't know everything and you need to learn control." I simply stated in return. "Yeah like your control in class this morning?" James shot back a little too quickly for my liking. "That was nothing. It worked as I intended. It shot you down and got the class to focus back to what they should have been doing faster than the teacher would have been able to. I have know a lot about control so don't speak to me like that. I may not be perfect but I know when to keep my mouth shut which you still seem to be having problems with." I snapped back. I was really starting to get annoyed again. I think that James sensed this because I was stunned by the next words out of his mouth. "I apologise Rose, for what I said now and this morning. When you walked in though you looked amazing, standing there in what you are wearing. I didn't realise you where a guardian then, I thought you were just a new student." I almost did a double take. "Well I officially became a guardian this afternoon. Until then I was an unofficial guardian. I left school before graduation, I have a mission to complete before I can consider going back to the States. I made a promise a long time ago and I intend to keep it." I replied. Realising I was sharing a little too much information about myself.

"But we are not out here to talk about me. This is a conversation is about me getting to know you a little better. The more I know the better I will be able to train you. I already know you need to learn control and when to keep your mouth shut and when to be respectful. I will need to see you fight to know how well you can do that but trust me you are not a good as you think if the way you fought this morning is any indication. You wouldn't last 5 minutes with a strigoi. And believe me I know. I have killed many since I left my academy and more before I left." I ended my little rant hoping he would not ask about the mission I was on. "Rose have you really killed as many strigoi as the headmaster said? And did you really save all those people?" James asked me. "Yes and yes. I have killed all those strigoi. And tho vans that arrived the other day were full of moroi and damphires that I saved but there were also a few humans which I just took to the hospital. I am not afraid to fight when there is a reason to do it. But James you need to learn which battles to fight and which to retreat from. You need to learn the difference, we –your teachers and I, are here to help you, to teach you to make you the kind of guardian that will be able to survive a fight with a strigoi and save whoever maybe your charge. We are not here to hold you back and most defiantly not here to take your attitude and assumptions that you know everything. I am here to help so you can either accept my help and the help and teaching of your teachers or not. It is your choice, use us or don't, but don't think you can face what is out there and live if you do not." I explained to James, knowing full well I meant every single word I had said and that he needed to understand that I was here to help bit only if he showed me respect and if he wanted it.

"Rose, I want to do whatever it takes to protect Holly. She means a lot to me. We have been friends for a very long time. I don't know what I would do if anything happened to her or I was unable to protect her." James replied to me. "Well that is a start James. I don't want to hear you getting kicked out of another class for the rest of the week. If you get yourself kicked out, trust me it will be the last thing you wish you did. And no skipping either." I said and glared at James at the same time. I watched him cringe at what I had just told him. I know it was going to take him a lot of effort not to get kicked out of any of his classes for the rest of the week. But I figured he only had three days left he would just have to work very hard and try. "Yes Rose, I will try. I can't promise anything my BTPP instructor hates me. But I will try." He answered me quietly.

"What are you suppose to be doing at this minute?" I asked. "Umm.... nothing. I am meeting my friends for a movie night soon, at 7." He looked down at his watch. "Oh shit. I am suppose to be there really soon. It's already 6 and I still haven't eaten anything and the dinning room will be closing soon." "Well James, lets go and get you something to eat and then I am interested in meeting these friends of yours." "Really, you want to meet my friends? Why do you want to meet them Rose?" I rolled my eyes at James. "Do you have a problem with me meeting them James? I want to meet Holly and see the kind of people you hang out with, is there a problem with that?" I asked. "No, no. It's okay." With that I stood up and walked to the edge of the table and waited for James to follow suit. It didn't take him long to get up and meet me at the end of the table. With that we took off towards the dining hall so that James could get something to eat. I would wait until I got back to the guardian buildings to eat myself. I didn't need to be seen socialising with students on my first day as an official guardian.

We entered the dining hall a little after 6.15. I followed James as he went to get something to eat. I stood to the side and was waiting. When James realised this he came back over to me. "Guardian Rose, are you not going to get something to eat as well?" James asked me. I was stunned he had actually remembered to call me guardian as there were still students and other school guardians in the room. "No James, I will eat later, when I return to the guardian building. Now hurry up unless you want to keep your friends waiting." With that said James raced off to fill his plate with whatever they were serving for tea. I waited, and watched as he went over to a table and sat down to eat as quickly as he could by the looks of it. I walked over to talk to one of the guardians I had met earlier that day at my ceremony.

"Hi Guardian Taylor, how are things?" I asked with a playful smirk on my lips. Adair was a combat instructor here and he wanted me to come and show his class some of my impressive skills. I am also sure we just wanted to see if he could beat me. "Things are going great. I see you have met our resident trouble maker James Witte." Adair replied to me. "Yes I have. He is my personal student now, I am his mentor. I am here to straighten him out." I chuckled at that. Adair raised his eyebrows at me and asked, "What is so funny about that Rose?" "It is funny Adair, because back at my academy I had a mentor, and here I am becoming a mentor myself. I didn't expect to be mentoring someone only a few months younger then I am. My mentor was at least a few years older then me. But I must admit I have more experience –strigoi kills- then he did when he became my mentor. But he did have more life experience I suppose." I replied to Adair. "I think you have plenty of life experience Rose. More then anyone else your age and more then many people older then you. I think you will do an excellent job mentoring James. He needs someone who isn't going to take his shit and make sure he listens to them. Trust me Rose you will be able to do that. You have this presence about you, you are someone who will be listened to when it comes down to the crunch. Someone who will be able to lead those around you when the time comes. You have already proven that by saving all those people and keeping them alive and getting them to safety, even when it involved risking your own life. You will be a great mentor for James." Adair said to me with a smile on his lips. "Thanks Adair. I promise you once I am healed enough I will come and help out in your classes. How does that sound? I'm sure your students want to see my impressive moves and watch me kick your butt." I replied to him chuckling again. "We will see, we will see." Was Adair's response to that. I noticed James had gotten up to clean up his tray and dishes. "Well I'll have to catch you later Adair. I've got somewhere to go now with James. And I can see that he has finished his dinner so he will be back over here any second. Bye." "Bye Rose. I'll hold you to your promise and we will see who ends up with their butt kicked." I rolled my eyes at Adair and walked off to meet James back by the doors.

It was now 6.55 and we were walking to the dorms. The moroi dorms I believed. I knew we were going to be late to meet his friends, but that wasn't a concern of mine. I just wanted to meet them. "We better hurry Rose we are going to be late." James said to me. "Well you are going to be late not me. They are excepting you and I am coming along to meet them. That is all. It is not my fault you are going to be late. But I am sure they are not going to be that worried that you are late when you introduce me to them. I am sure there is a buzz going around the school, with so many people thinking I was a student like you did this morning." I replied. "Rose I already apologised for the way I spoke to you this morning and I meant it. I really am sorry. And I am sure my friends are going to be excited to meet the most experience guardian on campus. Hey can I see your marks. I haven't seen them." James said, looking at me with regret in his eyes for what he had said to me this morning. "James you still should not have spoken to me like that if I was a student as well. I have accepted your apology already, but that is not the point. You should respect females and not ever speak to them like that." I growled at him. James needed to learn to show respect to not just me but everyone. James looked at the ground them. I knew he felt bad for the way he acted this morning.

I stopped walking and James paused, and then looked up to me. "I really am sorry Rose." "I know James. I was stopping to grant your other request. I am going to need a little assistance if you want to see my marks, as they are covered up. They need to remain covered at the moment and for the next few days. But if you really want to see them I am going to need your help to remove and replace the covering." James face lit up then. I pulled all my hair to one side and allowed James to gently remove the covering over my marks and have a look. "Wow. Your neck is so covered I don't think you will be able to fit many more on there." James said his voice full of shock and awe. James then replaced the covering back over all my new tattoos and sealed down the tape holding the covering there. I flicked my hair back over them once he had finished, covering them back up. "Thankyou Rose." With that we continued walking to the dorm.