New chapter :) Enjoy.

Vampire Academy belongs to Richelle Mead, not me. However the plot and characters for this story are my own. Any similarities to another author's work are purely coincidental.

Oh yeah, anything written in is in Russian :)

Our next class was with Stan, and I was half excited for it, and half dreading it. I mean, I was always up for a fight with the man, but the first day was a little soon for an all-out war to be declared, especially when I hadn't done anything to deserve it. I did still want to pass this class after all.

But on the plus side, the new pupil meant that the only spare seat left in the classroom would have to be filled. Stan had deliberately sat me on my own, right up the front of the classroom, but that plan had now backfired, as Aleks would have to sit next to me. And I knew that Stan didn't speak Russian, though he didn't make it common knowledge, so we could talk as much as we liked and he couldn't call us out on it without revealing what an idiot he was.

Brilliant. I always loved getting one over on Stan.

As we began to filter into the classroom, I hung back like always. I couldn't be on time for one of his lessons, especially if it was the first day of a new year. Might create a bad habit.

"Right everyone, same seats as last year". Stan droned, and there was a few sighs from those stuck next to less-than-desirable people. "And don't even think of switching. I have a desk plan right here."

I shook my head as I finally entered the room. What kind of sadass used a written desk plan as a threat?

I dropped my bag onto the ground with a thud as I slumped back in the chair, and after checking to make sure nobody else was coming, Aleks sat down next to me.

"This is the annoying guy we hate, right?" Aleks asked in Russian. I nodded in response, making him slouch a little too. Somebody else to help me torment Stan. I smiled, liking the way he included both of us in hating Stan. But that was how we were- take on one of us, and you take on both.

The teacher's squinty little eyes focussed on Aleks.

"You the new one from Russia?" Stan asked in a bored tone.

"Yes, sir." He replied, earning a kick under the table from me. "Prosti" Aleks whispered back, I guess it was just an instant reaction to address him as sir.

"You're not a relation of Hathaway's, are you?"

Belikov, Stan, my name is Belikov. If he thought he might be a relative, it would be through my dad's side. Why not address me as such? It was bad enough anyway, now he looked just plain stupid.

"No, Guardian Alto." And I was glad he wasn't a relative. That would suck.

Stan smiled tightly. "Well then, Mr. Kozlovsky. We might be able to get along after all."

My eyes widened at the blatant insult. What had I done wrong? And by saying that, he was also indirectly insulting my dad, and pretty much the whole Belikov family. What a prick.

"Is he always this offensive?" Aleks asked, frowning as Stan turned around.

"Nope. Worse." I clarified, before opening my textbook with a sigh.

"Really?"

"Yeah. And I almost always end up getting sent out."

Stan whirled around and glared at me.
"Hathaway? What are you whispering about?"

"I was helping Aleks." I replied innocently.

"And you couldn't speak English because..."

"Because she was translating for me." Aleks jumped in, quick to think up bullshit as I was.

"I wasn't aware you weren't fluent in English." Stan said, raising his eyebrow.

"I am. It's not my fault that your sentence structure and use of conjugations is so poor."

There was a general murmur of 'burn' and 'owned' around the classroom.

"My English is better than yours." Stan countered, and I had to stop myself from shaking my head in disappointment at his terrible comeback. Aleks, however, had a reply ready.

"One would expect that. Your English is better than my English. My Russian is better than your Russian. It would also appear that my English is better than your understanding of Russian. In fact, my Mandarin is probably better than your Russian."

Stan seemed to realise he couldn't take on the 2 of us.
"Fine, you may continue to use Anastasia as a translator. It appears her influence has already rubbed off on you, so there is little I have left to say."

"Brilliant, so do us a favour and shut up." I whispered.

Stan glared, and I held my hands up. "Just explaining a little of our past history, Guardian Alto."

He glared for a second longer before turning back to the board, and droning on about Guardian/threat ratios and how we had to be spatially aware at all times. Pretty much a recap session as it was the first one of the year, so I zoned out.

I watched 2 squirrels chasing each other round a tree, and after they left, saw a small brown bird strutting around on the grass. It freaked out and flew away when a huge raven landed behind it.

"Hathaway!"

I jumped, looking back at Stan, just seeing the raven fly away as I turned around. "Stop staring out the window and explain how you would rescue Moroi hostages from a series of 4 linked rooms arranged in a square where the furthest room has one entrance, and there is only one main exit. There are 12 Strigoi with 4 situated here, here, and here."

I studied the map he was pointing to on the board, analysing the exits and positions of the threats in relation to the placement of the hostages.

A minute later, I gave him my answer.

And like the supportive teacher he was, Stan snorted, shaking his head in despair. I swear he was one more word away from a facepalm.

"An... admirable effort, Hathaway. I wouldn't have expected anything less from you- or anything more. A harebrained scheme planned to perfection, but impossible to carry out."

I felt anger rising in me. "What?! That was a perfect answer."

"Oh? Based on what roundabout logic?"

"Based on the rescue mission that you were a part of almost 20 years ago. The diagram is a simplified plan of the caves, the same number of hostages, and the same number of Guardians entering, but less threats needing to be neutralised. And in your scenario, all the hostages are alive."

For a second Stan looked surprised that I had studied the attack in so much detail, but I had made it my goal to be just like my parents when I became a Guardian. To achieve that, I had to think like them, not just fight like them.

Then a sneer fell into place over Stan's lips.

"And what about those that didn't make it out of the caves alive? It was a less than perfect rescue that you have planned yours on."

I flinched at what he was implying, and felt an overwhelming urge to punch that jumped-up asshole in the face. A few people around the room mumbled something in response to what he had said, realising how bad it was. Instead of getting to and decking him like I wanted to, I balled up my fist under the table, and answered him.

"All the hostages made it out alive. They come first, remember? That was the task you set me, you said nothing about needing to get all the Guardians out. Wouldn't you call that a success?"

I should have stopped there, but I couldn't. "Actually, we already know the answer to that, and we know exactly what you would do in that situation." He paled a little. "But don't worry; it wouldn't happen like that again if I was in charge of the rescue. Because I'd go back."

Aleks put a hand over my shaking fist under the table, which helped me to control my raging temper and desire to kill the stupid prick. The bell went before Stan could breathe enough to be able to form words. Instead, he just gave me a jerky nod, before choking out "Class dismissed" a few seconds later.

I grabbed my bag, not bothering to pack my books in it, but just carrying them out of the classroom. Aleks followed close behind me, and Mason and Lily trailed after us.

"Anya, Stan was being-" I cut him off.

"Whatever. I don't want to go into it right now. He's already screwed up enough of my day, I don't want him ruining it when he's not even here."

The next 2 lessons passed pretty uneventfully, unless you count shaving off 2 seconds off my best running time in gym.

I was the last one to the lunch table, on account of having to wait for more donuts to be brought out. At at least they were still warm.

Sophia eyes the piled-up junk food on my plate.

"Stan piss you off?"

I was about to spoon a load of rice into my mouth, but put it down after she spoke. I contemplated how weird it would be to eat a donut before the main meal, and after remembering the conversation, took a bite out of it. Fortunately, Lily answered for me.

"It was awful! He kept insulting her by referring to Rose like usual, but also brought Dimitri into it."
I nodded in agreement, signalling her to carry on.
"Then he made her plan battle strategy for basically the same situation as the Cave rescue, you know, the one Eddie was a hostage in. And when Anya set up a perfect plan, he made a crack about how if they followed her plan, some Guardians wouldn't make it out alive, like last time."

Marina stabbed at her food hard enough to make the table shake. "What a prick."

"Exactly." I replied. "And I swear he was verging on blaming mom for what happened, seeing as it was her idea to go in the first place. And it was Stan that held her back." I spat.

"I know!" Mason agreed. "If your mom hadn't tried to rescue her friend, we wouldn't be here." He said, looking at Marina.

"Nor us." Lily added. "Twisted as it is, if Rose hadn't gone to Russia and needed an Alchemist, mom would never have met dad."

"Mom might never have become Queen, and probably would have waited to have kids, if she didn't go crazy first." Sophia pointed out.

"Uh, hello. If the bond hadn't broken, my mom would probably have ended up in Tarasov or something for going crazy, or maybe ended up in another continent to dad. That's assuming she still actually managed to save dad in the first place."

Aleks just sat there sort of awkwardly, seeing how he didn't have the same family ties. "Yeah, I'd probably still be alive." Then he seemed to remember something. "Though apparently I was conceived the night of the Queen's coronation."

"Eew" echoed around the table, and I cringed. "Why would you even know that?" I asked incredulously.

Aleks shuddered. "I know, it's not brilliant. But Mom said that dad visited for the first time in 3 months that night, and she didn't see him again until I was born. So it doesn't take a genius to realise it."

Well that was fair enough I guess.

Jet raised his water glass.
"Here's to unlucky turns, gross facts and unlikely miracles for bringing us together."

All with the same look of weirdness on or faces, we clinked our glasses together, and I finally got to eat.

Next chapter up soon. Please review :)