Chapter 4: Angels Fall, Rose

"Nice one!" I exclaimed, approaching two of my new students. Brooke Afanasyeva, a tall dhampir with fierce green eyes that reminded me of Lissa's, had just thrown a truly impressive right hook. I guided her partner, Alexander Clay, through the proper blocking technique. Brooke and Alex hung onto my every word, nodding solemnly throughout my instruction. I was so pleased with my first class. They looked starstruck just to be around Rose Hathaway, just like my own classmates when my mother visited the Academy last year. Guiltily, I remembered giving my mother a hard time and mouthing off to her in Stan's class. Sorry, Mom, I thought to myself. I didn't know better. There I went again, sounding like I thought of myself as old and wise, which I certainly don't. At least I really am a kickass guardian. I've never denied that one.

Brooke and Alex resumed their exercise, and I started making the rounds, getting to know my students. Watching them fight gave me far more insight into their personalities than any conversation could. Justin O'Reilly, a lean, redheaded dhampir, was getting pretty beat up by Grant Ivanov. Grant was just an average fighter, but he could easily read Justin's facial expressions and anticipate his every move. I made a mental note to pair Grant with Aria Shevchenko, a small but muscular girl with a great poker face who would force him to improve his physical skills. Between her physique and her attitude, she reminded me of my mother, but her partner Elijah Kabinov was holding strong.

Having fought Dimitri countless times when I was a student, I could easily recognize sexual tension in a simple sparring exercise. I smiled at Haley Morena and Dominic Addison. As long as they weren't afraid of hurting each other—which they clearly were not—I saw no problem. Haley's twin, Heath, was perfectly matched in skill with his sparring partner, Wesley McCormick. I watched them fight, admiring the precision of their technique.

"Alright, shower time," I called out to my class. "I'm really impressed with you guys, and that means a lot coming from me." Their awestruck faces showed that they knew it to be true. "I'll see you tomorrow morning. Clay, put some ice on that shoulder soon, okay?" He nodded. "Class dismissed."

Not bad, Hathaway. I mentally patted myself on the back. Fighting, teaching, witty banter—is there anything you can't do? Little did I know, I was about to find out.

The ten students in my Advanced Guardian Combat Techniques class were only a fraction of the senior novice class. Standing in front of the thirty-two teenagers enrolled in my Bodyguard Theory and Personal Protection 3 class, I felt a lump in my throat. Luckily for me, the class quieted down quickly, eager to hear what I had to say. I was happy to see Alex Clay holding a bag of ice to his left shoulder like I had instructed him to do. Hey, I'm still in awe whenever anyone takes my advice seriously. You would think they would, seeing as I'm always right, but I do tend to take the roundabout way to truth and wisdom. Sometimes, for example, I get arrested for high treason along the way.

I took a deep breath and addressed my class. "I'm Guardian Hathaway," I began. "And I'll be taking over for Guardian Holden this semester. I know I'm not the type of instructor you're used to. Yes, I am 18 years old, just like many of you are. But—" I turned around and swept my hair away from my neck so that my class could see my molnija marks. God, I hoped they weren't just staring at my ass. Maybe this wasn't such a great idea. I pivoted to face them again. "—I've gotten around. When I was a senior novice, I thought I was as good as a guardian. I was wrong. Until you've passed your exams and your field experience, you need to listen to every bit of knowledge your instructors share with you. Everything. Be confident in your skills. I had the pleasure of meeting many of you this morning, and I think that you're a great class. But don't fool yourself into thinking you know it all. Got it?" Some of my class nodded. Some just looked terrified. Inwardly, I breathed a sign of relief.

"Yeah, you've been around," drawled a girl in the front row. I hadn't noticed her smug expression. She tossed her long, straight, blonde hair over her shoulder dramatically, fixating her steely blue eyes on my brown ones. "We've all heard the stories. You have more black marks on your record than all of us combined. Oh, and you fucked a teacher."

Many of her classmates gasped dramatically. Alex Clay dropped his bag of ice in shock and scrambled to pick it up. In the back row, Heath Morena's forehead hit his outstretched palm, as if he had expected this to happen. The girl in front of him hugged her knees to her chest. The students nearest the tinted windows took a sudden interest in whatever they were pretending to see in the pitch-black outdoors, and several pairs of eyes nervously glanced at the door as if they were ready to make a run for it.

And me? My cheeks flushed and my spine tingled. I didn't know whether to be outraged, mortified, or simply shocked. I guess I was all of the above. It's difficult to catch Rosemarie Hathaway off-guard, but this little shit had done it.

"What's your name?" I barked. It was stupid, but it was all I had.

"Polina," she said, tracing a pattern on her desk with an unacceptably long, manicured fingernail. Those nails would scratch a training partner horribly, but then again, I doubted she trained much at all. "Polina Kachusova. Was he hot, at least?"

"Detention, Kachusova," I spat. "5:00. Meet me in this classroom." Shit, I thought. I don't know what to make her do during detention, and I scheduled it during dinnertime. "In the meantime, you can go to Headmistress Kirova's office and share your pressing questions with her."

"A student can't ask a question during class?" She cocked her head and stared at me in mock astonishment. "What kind of teacher doesn't allow such things?"

True fury rose inside me.

"Miss Hathaway. Please take your things and go wait outside for the remainder of class."

"Are you serious? Since when is there anything wrong with asking questions?"

I hated my younger self for giving Stan and my mother such hell that day.

"Go! Now!" I barked, losing my cool.

Polina just shrugged. "Gladly." She picked up her purse, tossed that ridiculous hair again, and strode out of the classroom.

If anything, her absence made everything more painful. I would have almost preferred that my entire class rioted against me. The sympathetic looks they gave me were nearly unbearable. Trying to steady my shaky hands, I picked up the attendance clipboard.

"Brooke Afanasyeva?" I began.

"Here," she nearly whispered.

"Alastair Bryce?"

"Here."

By the time I got to Ian Zaleska, the last name on the list, I felt stronger. No way was I going to let some little brat from hell break me. My first lecture went smoothly. My students were eager to answer questions. I hated their pity but loved their enthusiasm. Throughout the class period, I tried to ignore the fact that I would prefer to face a roomful of Strigoi than face Polina Kachusova at 5:00. Part of me hoped she wouldn't show up.

But at 4:58, she strode in. "So, what'd I miss this morning?" she asked casually, sliding into a desk in the back row. "Seeing as you deprived me of an hour of my education and all."

"Get the notes from a classmate, if you can find one who is willing to share," I suggested. I was not about to lose my temper. "As for your education, you deprive yourself when you waste everyone's time."

She didn't acknowledge my answer at all. "So, what horrible torture do you have planned for my detention? Kirova already suspended me for the rest of the week. Really, five days of my education are gone, thanks to you."

"Then you have plenty of time for work. You'll be here at 5:00 every day this week, and you'll do whatever I want you to do. Today, you're washing desks."

She gave me an incredulous look. "Seriously? That's the best the great Rose Hathaway can do? Wow. You're really overrated, aren't you? This is kind of a letdown." But when I gestured toward the bucket of soapy water sitting on my desk, she strode over to it and began washing the desks without further argument.

Covertly, I studied her. She really was gorgeous, and not just because of the great hair, clear skin, and designer jeans. Polina was thin, but she was ripped. She hid it well, but the girl was all muscle. She was approximately my height, five foot seven, and built more like a boy. I had a good eye for potential guardians, and I could tell just by the way she washed desks that she would be beautiful in battle. She moved quickly, but with precision and certainty.

Apparently, she had some guardian instincts too. She must have caught my glances in her peripheral vision, or perhaps she just sensed my eyes on her. "Are you into me or something? I didn't know you played for both teams, seeing as your mentor or lover or whatever was a guy, but you keep staring at me."

I snapped out of it. "I'm staring at the desk, not you. You missed a spot. You're supposed to scrub the desks, not wipe them down."

"Bullshit. I am scrubbing, and you know it. I think you see something you like."

I gulped. The last time I heard those words, they were from my own mouth.

"You see something you like?"

"Get dressed."

If I didn't know better, I would say I had just met my younger self. An obnoxious, arrogant dhampir girl with raw talent and no manners? The voice was back. Sound familiar, Rose? Polina may be perfectly content to stay in detention forever, but I could hardly wait for it to end.

While she washed the desks in silence, I scribbled out a summary of the week's assignments and handed it to her before she left. "Here," I said briskly. "Read these chapters. You'll miss class discussion, but they'll be on the exam. Know them. I expect you to keep up with your other coursework too. Don't spend this week of suspension just hanging out with your friends."

She gave me a wry smile. "You assume I have friends."

If I didn't know better, I would have sworn that Polina Kachusova had just admitted to a weakness.

"But she seems like she'd be popular," I babbled to Dimitri that night, drunk off my ass. "You know, she's one of the pretty girls. Not that I'd see her like that, although she thinks I do. But really, she's more concerned about me and you. Oh god, does she picture me naked? She doesn't know what you look like. She asked if you were hot. Don't worry, I didn't answer. You are, though. You know that. I miss you." I stopped to catch my breath. "I love the other kids. Seriously. You should see them fight. Aria, she reminds me a bit of my mom. Watching Wesley and Heath is like watching me and you; they're so in sync. Well, without the sexual tension, anyway. That would be Haley and Dominic. It's a wonder they can focus on fighting instead of tearing each other's clothes off. The look in their eyes, seriously. It's kind of adorable. None of them are like us, of course, but they're good kids. They could be great ones."

"Roza," Dimitri said, patient as ever. "Listen to yourself. You love this job. Don't let one bad apple ruin the other thirty-one. You won't even have her in class again until Monday, and by then, she will have calmed down. You'll have calmed down too. It will all be okay."

I wanted to cry, but I held back. "Did I give you this much hell?" My voice cracked.

"No. Never," he said firmly. "You were my wild child, not my curse. You were my prodigy, my purpose, and my greatest blessing at that school. And now you are the greatest blessing of my entire life. You were anything, anything but a problem. You were… misunderstood, sometimes, but certainly not evil."

I thought back to Polina's suggestion that she had no friends. I still hated her, but I couldn't help but wonder if maybe she was a bit misunderstood too.

Author's Note: Thanks for sticking with me through chapter 4! If even one reader is enjoying this, I am happy to keep writing. It feels great just to play around with words and ideas again. I hope you like Polina. Well, maybe "like" is the wrong word. Next up: Remember those human novices? Training starts on Wednesday, also known as Chapter 5.

The two quotes in this chapter from Vampire Academy and Frostbite (books 1 and 2) belong to Richelle Mead. The title of the chapter is from Spirit Bound, and the title of the previous chapter ("Welcome to the Ranks") is from Frostbite.