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Alone again.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
I got back to the dorm, my mood even worse than it was before. My roommate hadn’t turned to say hello as I’d come in, of course. She just nodded and made a hmph sound. “Hello, Frost,” I said to her back, enunciating the words.
What was her problem? In class, she practically did backflips to get attention, but when it was just t
he two of us, she treated me like I was contagious. Why would she want to shut me out so thoroughly? I mean, she clearly had a lot of problems—that stuff she told us in class was seriously messed up.
I decided to take a risk and said, “That was some intense story you told in class. I was sorry to hear you went through all that. ”
Her shoulders stiffened, but she didn’t stop me, which I took as a good sign, so I continued. “I’ve had some issues, too. With Rob. ” For an instant, I even considered telling her about the fang incident, but I feared it’d be too much. I was curious to hear her story, but it didn’t mean I trusted her yet. “Some of those guys are such jerks,” I said, because that was obvious, right? Safe territory. “And I don’t get what the rules are,” I added. Her silence emboldened me, and I decided to go a little further. “Like, can we fight back? What happens if we do? I think I’m going to try. ”
She still hadn’t turned around, but I could tell she was considering my every word, and just when I thought she was going to confide in me, she said instead, “I’m working on my dialects project. I bet you forgot yours. It’s due tomorrow. ”
Jeez, we couldn’t even talk about getting mauled by a couple of asshole boys? Was everyone on this island so completely and irrevocably damaged?
“Right,” I said flatly. We were in the same Old Norse Dialects class, which, if you’re Frost, is clearly more important than the completely screwed-up gender conflicts happening in this place. “The project. ” I had completely forgotten, but there was no way I was telling her that.
My panicked mind was fumbling for some explanation—and a solution, too, because crap! I needed to devise and complete a project by tomorrow—when she announced, “I saw the runes on your desk. ”
Double crap. I’d returned the rubbing to its hiding spot with my mom’s picture, but in my dumb wallowing state, I’d forgotten about my scratch sheet of paper.
I dropped into my desk chair to look at those runes, my mind racing for an explanation. It couldn’t be so bad, right? There wasn’t anything wrong with having some random runes on my desk. It wasn’t illegal, not like having a photo of my mother. And thank God I’d stowed that away.
“Is that your assignment?” she asked.
Brilliant. Thank you, Frosty. “Yep. That’s my project. ” We had to do an unusual translation of our choosing. Most girls probably weren’t even thinking about runes yet, so ironically, this might even get me some much-needed brownie points with Master Dagursson. “I’m just finishing it up now. ”
Finally, she turned to face me, presenting me with the snottiest expression. “Well, I’m glad to hear you’re still working on it. ”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means, I should hope you’re not done yet. ” She was speaking slowly, like I was hard of hearing or something. “Because you’ve gotten it all wrong. ”
“Wrong?” My jaw clenched as I snatched the paper to study it. How had I gotten the runes wrong when I hadn’t even been the one to write them in the first place?
“Yes, wrong. Those runes you wrote…they’re ridiculous. ”
“What do you mean ridiculous?” I’d copied them from a fricking cliffside, for chrissake. Not that I could tell her that.
“Well, I’ve done several of these translations now. ”
“How awesome for you. ”
“Thanks,” she said with a prim smile. She hadn’t caught my sarcasm. Apparently, irony wasn’t in Frost’s little toolbox. “I hate to tell you, but what you’ve written there is gibberish. ”
“Gibberish?” I’d just translated it before the gym. Vampíru drottinn Sonja. Seemed simple enough.
“Yes. You know, gibberish. Nonsense. ” Her eyes lit, like she was about to win some game I hadn’t realized we were playing. She adjusted herself in her chair, looking eager to rub my face in something. “What do you think you wrote?”
Screw roommate bonding. This girl was a freak, and I didn’t like her messing in my private business. All I wanted was to blow her off and get back into my own head. I turned, pretending to busy myself with some papers. “It says ‘Sonja, ruled by vampires. ’”
“Just like I thought. ” She scooted from her desk and headed over to mine. “Don’t worry. It’s to be expected you’d make some mistakes if you’re using this thing. ” She ran a finger down the spine of the special book/hiding place Carden had given me. “This edition has been out of print since the forties. Where’d you even get it?”
“It was a gift. ” I stared at her stubby fingers with their chewed-off nails. “Don’t touch it. ”
She recoiled like I’d accused her of intellectual slumming. “As if. ”
