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“I understand. ” And I guess I did. I mean, danger was involved, and that was kind of exciting.
But then dread churned my belly. Because I knew who on this island spoke perfect German: Tracer Otto. “Who will tutor me?” I asked, while in my head I was devising ways I might respectfully protest the answer.
Only he didn’t say Tracer Otto. It was worse.
“One of the vampire Trainees will assist you. The Australian. Joshua. ”
CHAPTER NINE
Josh? Former Lilac-flirt-buddy Josh? As in the guy who looked like a blond Aussie surfer boy but really was a Harvard smarty-pants and winner of my Most Likely to Be an Evil Supergenius Award? That Josh? Tutoring me, in German? What was with the boys’ club?
The news made me peevish and testy. Not in the mood to talk to anyone, I ended up avoiding the dining hall that night. Besides, after my lunchtime brawl, I wasn’t exactly eager to bump into any of the Initiates. I didn’t know if Alcántara had disciplined Masha yet or not, but I wasn’t about to be anywhere nearby when it went down. Put simply, unlike the intrepid Watcher I hoped one day to be, I chickened out and hid in my room for the rest of the day.
And so I went to bed feeling hungry. And angry. And vulnerable. And with a lot on my mind.
A lethal cocktail.
By the time I ran into the boys the next day, I’d worked myself into a lather, with a thing or two to get off my chest.
Alcántara had told me to meet Josh in the languages building, which, ironically, was the one building I hadn’t spent much time in. Seeing as I was already fluent. In several languages. Including German.
Scowling, I heaved open the door. I wanted to slam it, but the stupid, heavy wood didn’t cooperate.
I heard them from all the way down the hall. Predictable. I stormed toward the sound of goofball boys, goofing in the lounge area.
I glowered at the lot of them, and it just made me surlier. I estimated they ranged in age from seventeen to nineteen, each good-looking in a clean-faced, strong-boned sort of way. It was as if I’d stumbled into the varsity soccer team on their break.
I’d come rehearsing the piece of my mind I was going to foist on Josh, but it was Yasuo I saw first. And I was angrier with him, anyway—I had a feeling he’d been there to witness yesterday’s dining hall debacle yet hadn’t come to my aid. It’d nagged me all night.
He glanced at me, and I could tell by the hesitant look in his eye that my suspicions were correct.
I crossed my arms at my chest. “You saw it all, didn’t you?”
His deer-in-headlights expression told me his mind was racing for a reply.
“Dude,” I said, not giving him a chance, “what is your problem?”
Yasuo flinched. “Yo, D. And hello to you, too. ”
“Don’t Yo D. me. You left me hanging yesterday. ”
A couple of the Trainees laughed and backed off in an exaggeratedly I’m-outta-here sort of way.
“What was I supposed to do?” Yasuo ignored his departing friends and focused only on me. It mollified me—a little.
I exhaled heavily, realizing it wasn’t so much that I was angry; it was that I’d felt betrayed. “I don’t know. You could’ve done more than just stand there, maybe. ”
He stood and came closer, pleading his case. “You have no idea. It was killing me, watching those girls go after you and Em. ”
Emma. I’d thought for sure he had a crush on her, but he hadn’t spoken up for her, either. I was ready to throw that bomb in his face, but a quick glance told me too many Trainees had hung around to watch our spat. And although I’d have thought nothing of embarrassing Yasuo, I wasn’t about to throw Emma under the bus.
My stomach dropped just thinking of her. “She could’ve used your help, too. For all we know, she’s out there right now, becoming the main ingredient in some vampire cocktail. ”
“Emma’s fine,” Yas said. “I just saw her. They had her clean toilets and do push-ups and stuff. But that’s all. Seriously. ”
He knew how Emma was. My shoulders sagged—from relief but from some other thing, too. Something that should’ve known my friend was okay before Yas did. It took the wind out of my sails, and my tone was petering out when I said, “I just…I’d have liked being able to—I don’t know—see you in the crowd at least. ”
But then I wondered, what would I have done if our roles had been reversed? Would I have risked everything to stand by his side? The way that question gave me pause bummed me out even more.
