CHAPTER TEN

"I keep thinking that hubris is eventually going to bring Aphrodite down," Damien said.

"Hubris," Stevie Rae explained, "having godlike arrogance.”

I kind of like it when things get explained to Zoey like the idiot she actually is. I also like that Stevie Rae apparently doesn’t have enough faith in Zoey’s so-called ‘intelligence’ that she automatically explains something without pausing to wonder if an explanation is truly needed.

Unless PCK are the ones who don’t have enough faith in us, the readers, and think that we’re the ones who needed the explanation. I’m going to go with the former, for the sake of my blood pressure.

"I actually know that one," I said, still staring after Aphrodite and her mob.

I’m not sure that two people can accurately be called a mob, but I suppose we have to do something to make her look threatening, since I still don’t know why everyone is so afraid of her.

“We just finished reading Medea in English class. It’s what brought Jason down.”

“I’d love to knock the hubris right out of her bobble head,” Erin said.

‘Bobble head’? What? If that was meant to be an insult, you missed the mark.

"I'll hold her for you, Twin," Shaunee said.

"No! Y'all know we've talked about this before. The penalty for fighting is bad. Really bad. It's not worth it.”

So why are you so afraid of her? My first guess would have been that she beat you up at some point, but clearly that’s not the case. What, are you that scared of her just looking at you? She’s not a basilisk; nothing will actually happen to you if you make eye contact with her.

I watched Erin and Shaunee pale at the same time and wanted to ask what could be so bad, but Stevie Rae went on talking, this time to me.

All of you are cowards.

"Just be careful, Zoey. The Dark Daughters, and especially Aphrodite, can seem almost okay at times, and that's when they're most dangerous.”

HOW ARE THEY DANGEROUS?! You just said fighting isn’t tolerated, so what can they do? Short-sheet your bed? Put Nair in your shampoo? Set an angry skunk loose in your room?

I shook my head. "Oh, nu uh. I'm not going to their full moon thing.”

"I think you have to," Damien said softly.

"Neferet okayed it.” Stevie Rae said as Erin and Shaunee nodded in agreement. "That means she'll expect you to go. You can't tell your mentor no.”

"Especially when your mentor is Neferet, High Priestess of Nyx," Damien said.

Speshul Snowflake: 71

You just couldn’t resist, could you?

"Can't I just say that I'm not ready for…for…whatever it is they want me to do,

Please let it be a human sacrifice, with you as the offering.

and ask Neferet if I can be—I dunno, what would you call it—excused from their full moon thingy this time?”

"Well, you could, but then Neferet would tell the Dark Daughters and they'd think that you're scared of them.”

I thought about the major crap that had already passed between Aphrodite and me in such a short time.

‘Major crap’ being she mocked you a little and threatened you once, without actually doing anything to back up that threat, or even gave you any kind of indication that she was capable of doing anything, especially since you know now that fighting is forbidden.

All of you are ridiculously pathetic. This is just like Bella Swan being terrified of Rosalie at first, just because Rosalie didn’t like her, and then later, being terrified of Leah Clearwater, also because Leah didn’t like her. Neither of them actually did anything to make her be so afraid, but for some reason, just hearing their names was enough to nearly make Bella wet herself.

"Uh, Stevie Rae, I might already be scared of them.”

WHY?!

"Don't ever let them know." Stevie Rae looked down at her plate, trying to hide her embarrassment. "That's worse than standing up to them.”

Well, yeah, that’s typically how it works. Bullies feed on your fear of them. Standing up to them is usually what makes them lose interest in you, because you prove you aren’t an easy target.

"Honey," Damien said, patting Stevie Rae's hand, "stop beating yourself up about that.”

Stevie Rae gave Damien a sweet, thank-you smile. Then she said to me, "Just go. Be strong and go. They won't do anything too awful at the ritual. It's here on campus; they wouldn't dare.”

"Yeah, they do all their bad bullshit away from here, where it's harder for the vamps to catch them," Shaunee said.

*pinches the bridge of her nose* I’m getting really tired of everyone talking about all the terrible things Aphrodite and her cronies do, but never actually giving us a single example of what those so-called terrible things actually are.

"Around here they pretend to be all sickeningly sweet so no one knows what they're really like.”

"No one except us," Erin said, sweeping out her hand so that she included not just our little group, but everyone else in the room, too.

Bold of you to assume that everyone else in the school is as yellow-bellied as all of you are. For all you know, they might like the Dark Daughters just fine, and you’re the only ones who have a problem with them.

And I just realized, those two paragraphs make no sense at all. If everyone in the school knows what they’re really like, then why pretend to be good at all? If the students are aware, then I’m fairly sure the teachers would have caught on at some point, too. Unless they’re all absolute idiots, and too stupid to see what’s right in front of their noses.

"I don't know, y'all, maybe Zoey will actually get along with some of them okay," Stevie Rae said without any touch of sarcasm or jealousy.

Okay, I can understand why there might be some sarcasm, but jealousy? What would Stevie Rae have to be jealous about? She’s made it more than clear that she hates Aphrodite, so I highly doubt she secretly wants to be her friend. Which leads me to one very off-pissing conclusion. Stevie Rae would be jealous not of Zoey’s potential ability to be friends with Aphrodite, but of Aphrodite’s potential to be friends with Zoey. She wants Zoey all to herself, dammit!

I know you think the universe revolves around you, Zoey, but it doesn’t. You’re not so awesome that everyone would be jealous of you being friends with other people, instead of just them.

Gods, I hate you…

I shook my head. "Nope. I won't get along with them. I don't like their kind— the kind of people who try to control others and make them look bad just to feel better about themselves.

This is all hearsay! You have absolutely no proof that they behave like this! What if Stevie Rae and the other three are just lying? You’ve known them for all of an hour, and you believe everything they say without waiting and making your own opinions? I’m not saying that you can’t automatically dislike someone the instant you meet them, but given how judgemental Zoey has proven herself to be, it really feels like she’s jumping the gun here.

And I don't want to go to their Full Moon Ritual!"

“I don’t wanna, I don’t wanna!” Are you going to stomp your feet and throw a little tantrum, too, Zoey? How old are you, three?

I said firmly, thinking about my stepfather and his buddies, and how ironic it was that they seemed to have so much in common with a group of teenagers who called themselves the daughters of a goddess.

Like what? I see a grand total of two similarities: one, they’re both part of a group, and two, they both worship a deity. That’s seriously it. Which really isn’t all that unique; there are millions of groups in the world who get together to worship their chosen deity.

And I know you made that comparison in a denigrating manner. I can practically hear it in the tone of the words. So by extension, you just insulted all of those other groups, too. Well done.

Don’t think I missed that little bit of sneering condescension there at the end, either. “A group of teenagers who called themselves the daughters of a goddess.” You make it sound like—to borrow a vocabulary word that really isn’t as impressive as you want us to think it is—they have an unimaginable amount of hubris to dare think they’re special enough to associate themselves with a goddess. Except for three things. One: I’m pretty sure they’re not the ones who gave themselves the title of Dark Daughters; I’m willing to bet this little club existed long before Aphrodite and her friends took up the mantle. Two: Nyx calls vampires her children. She is the mother of all vampires, so a group of girls calling themselves the Dark Daughters and worship Nyx is actually an accurate title. And three, Zoey eventually becomes the leader of the Dark Daughters, which means that she is calling herself the child of a goddess, and, funnily enough, if you go with her logic up there, she’s the one who is sharing things in common with her ‘stepfather and his buddies.’

Didn’t think of that, did you, Zoey? Or should I say, PCK?

"I'd go with you if I could—any of us would—but unless you're one of the Dark Daughters you can only get in if you're invited," Stevie Rae said sadly.

Given how terrified all of you seem to be of Aphrodite, I have a hard time believing you’d be so gung-ho to go to this little meeting.

"That's okay. just deal with it."

…what? Did I miss something here? Who is telling who to ‘just deal with it’? Just deal with what? The way this is set up, it makes it sound like Zoey is telling Stevie Rae to deal with not being invited to go.

Suddenly I wasn't hungry anymore. I was just very, very tired, and I really wanted to change the subject. "So explain to me about the different symbols you wear here. You told me about ours—Nyx's spiral.

It’s supposed to be Nyx’s labyrinth, you braindead twit.

Damien has a spiral, too, so that must mean he's a…” I paused to remember what Stevie Rae had called freshmen, "a third former.

Are you ever going to explain why we skipped numbers one and two and jumped right to three? Because I would really like to know why. You can’t just arbitrarily stick names on things and expect your readers not to question them, especially when the names make no sense, like ‘third-formers’.

But Erin and Shaunee have wings, and Aphrodite had something else.”

"You mean besides that cob stuck straight up her skinny anus?" Erin muttered.

Who the hell calls it an anus? Yes, that’s technically correct, but wouldn’t a snide teenager say ‘ass’? Or is that too serious of a bad word for your delicate sensibilities, PCK?

"She means the three Fates," Damien interjected, beating Shaunee to whatever she was going to add.

Wow, Damien. Do you really think Erin is so stupid that she didn’t understand what Zoey was talking about? Maybe I was too hasty in saying that Zoey was the braindead twit. Clearly it’s a trait that you have, too.

"The three Fates are children of Nyx. The sixth formers all wear the emblem of the Fates, with Atropos holding scissors to symbolize the end of school.”

I really don’t know how to feel about this. On the one hand, while the Fates are sometimes thought of as the children of Ananke, the deity of inevitability, sometimes as the children of Themis, the goddess of justice and divine order, still other times, they actually are believed to be the daughters of Nyx.

The problem with that is that none of those have anything to do with vampires. In fact, in all three interpretations, the Fates preside over humans. PCK, it’s bad enough that you’ve taken real people and turned them into vampires, insinuating that they were only successful because of that vampirism, but in one fell swoop, you’ve taken one of the most well-known myths in the world and stolen them away from humanity. Forget annoyance, I’m starting to get disgusted with you.

I’m not against reinterpreting myths on principle, but when vampires are supposed to be so much better than humans, and you take away three deities whose entire existence is tied to humanity…well, then I start getting pissed off.

"And for some of us, the end of life," Erin added gloomily.

Now, see, this could have been an interesting spin on things. With the Fates ruling over life and death, having Atropos be directly linked to some fledglings rejecting the change and dying not only would have tied their myth into the universe of this story, but it also might have opened up the possibility of other deities existing. We know for a fact that Nyx exists in this universe, and by extension, her children, the Fates, might exist, as well. And if they’re real, a thousand other deities might be real, too.

That shut everyone up. When I couldn't stand the uncomfortable silence anymore I cleared my throat and said, "So what about Erin and Shaunee's wings?”

"The wings of Eros, who is the child of Nyx's seed—”

"The love god," Shaunee said, adding a seated gyration of her hips.

Oh, grow up. Jesus Christ, why do all of these characters have to be so infantile? I’m pretty sure high schoolers are past the age where anything to do with sex makes them giggle.

Damien frowned at her and kept talking. "The golden wings of Eros are the fourth formers' symbol.”

"'Cause we're the love class," Erin sang, raising her arms over her head and shimmying her hips.

What? What does that even mean? Are you all supposed to be horny nymphomaniacs or something?

"Actually, it's because we're supposed to be reminded of Nyx's capacity to love, and the wings symbolize our continuous movement forward.”

"What's the symbol for fifth formers?" I asked.

"Nyx's golden chariot pulling a trail of stars," Damien said.

"I think it's the prettiest of the four symbols," Stevie Rae said. "Those stars sparkle like crazy.”

"The chariot shows that we continue on Nyx's journey. The stars represent the magic of the two years that have already passed."

Okay, credit where credit is due, these symbols and their meanings are actually pretty decent. The Fates and Eros are believed by some to be tied to Nyx, even though I’m salty that PCK decided that the Fates shouldn’t be associated with humans, but with vampires, instead.

"Damien, you are a good little student," Erin said.

Is it just me, or does that sound really condescending?

"I told you we should have gotten him to help us study for the human mythology test," Shaunee said.

You just had to throw in the ‘human’ modifier, didn’t you? Maybe I’ve just been scarred by Stephenie Meyer, and her clear hatred for all things human, so now every time I see a vampire talk about humanity, I automatically think they’re looking down their snoots at us, whether they actually are or not. I just keep getting this air of superiority, and it makes me uncomfortable. It doesn’t help that Zoey was lording her vampire-ness over those boys and their puny humanity in an earlier chapter, either.

"I thought I told you we needed his help, and—”

"Anyway," Damien shouted over their bickering, "that's about all there is to the four symbols of the classes. Easy-peasy, really," he looked pointedly at the now silent Twins. "That is, if you pay attention in class instead of writing notes and staring at guys you think are cute.”

"You're really prudey, Damien," Shaunee said.

"Especially for a gay boy.” Erin added.

How does him scolding you for not paying attention to your lessons make him a prude? I’m seriously not following your logic here. And what does him being gay have to do with anything? Are you insinuating that all gay guys should be drooling over boys they think are cute?

~~Also, did you remember that Damien is supposed to be gay? Because he is. Gay, I mean. Just making sure you remember he’s gay.~~

"Erin, your hair's looking kinda frizzy today. Not to be mean or anything, but maybe you should think about switching products. You can't be too careful about those kinds of things. The next thing you know you'll be getting split ends.”

Erin's blue eyes got huge and her hand went automatically to her hair.

"Oh, no no no. I do not believe you just said that, Damien. You know how crazy she is about her hair." Shaunee started to puff up like a mocha-colored blowfish.

STOP IT WITH THE COFFEE ANALOGIES. IT’S ANNOYING AND OVERUSED.

And why is Shaunee puffing up when Erin was the one Damien was talking to? What, are they supposed to be so close that when one of them gets insulted, the other gets angry on their behalf? Yes, it’s completely normal for people to get offended when their friends are insulted, but given how much their supposed ‘twin-ness’ is shoved in our faces, I feel like that’s what’s going on here. It’s not one friend getting upset when someone insults someone they care for, it’s ‘look how close they are, guys; they’re so alike that offending one means offending both of them!’

Except that Shaunee should not be getting upset. Damien wasn’t actually insulting Erin. It’s clear he’s only retaliating because they fired first. ~~Although really, Shaunee is the one he should have said that to, since she was the one who called him a prude. Erin agreed with her, yes, but Shaunee threw the first punch.~~

Damien, meanwhile, just smiled and returned to his spaghetti— the perfect picture of innocence.

"Uh, y'all," Stevie Rae said quickly, standing up and pulling me with her by the elbow. "Zoey looks beat. Y'all remember what it was like when you first got here. We're going to go back to our room. I have to study for that vamp sociology test, so I probably won't see you until tomorrow.”

Okay, look. I’m from the south. I was born and raised in Georgia, where I still live to this day. I HAVE NEVER HEARD ANYONE SAY ‘Y’ALL’ THIS MUCH. WE GET IT, PCK. LAY OFF THE ‘Y’ALL’s.

Also, Zoey is (ostensibly) a big girl. I really don’t think she needs you to tell her when it’s beddy-bye time, Stevie Rae. Are you going to tuck her in and read her a story, too?

"Okay, see ya," Damien said. "Zoey, it was really nice to meet you.”

"Yeah, welcome to Hell High.” Erin and Shaunee said together before Stevie Rae pulled me out of the room.

"Thanks. I really am tired," I told Stevie Rae as we backtracked through a hall that I was happy to recognize as the one that would lead to the main entrance to the central school building.

So why did you wait for her to be the one to speak up? What was stopping you from telling them that you were done eating and ready to go to bed? Would you have just sat there like a stump all night if she hadn’t taken your hand and led you away?

One might argue that she needed Stevie Rae to show her the way back to their room, but it just makes me think she’s so useless that she can’t even make the choice to leave the dinner table by herself.

We paused while a sleek, silver-gray cat chased a smaller, harassed-looking tabby across the hall in front of us.

"Beelzebub! Leave Cammy alone! Damien is going to rip your fur out!”

Excuse me? Are you trying to tell me that out of what is probably dozens of cats on this campus, they just so happened to run into the two that belong to their little posse? I don’t buy it.

Stevie Rae made a grab for the gray cat and missed, but he did stop chasing the tabby and instead streaked back down the hall the way we had just come. Stevie Rae was frowning after him.

"Shaunee and Erin need to teach that cat of theirs some manners; he's always up to something.” She glanced at me as we left the building and walked out into the soft, pre-dawn darkness. "That cute little Cameron is Damien's cat. Beelzebub belongs to Erin and Shaunee; he chose both of them—together. Yep. It's as strange as it sounds, but after a little while you'll be like the rest of us and start thinking that they must really be twins.”

No, I guarantee that I won’t, no matter how much you keep trying to shove it down my throat.

"They seem nice, though.”

They’re not nice, they’re annoying as all hell.

"Oh, they're great. They bicker a lot, but they're totally loyal and will never let anyone talk about you."

Loyal, huh? This is going to be hilarious in another book or two.

She grinned. "Okay, they might talk about you, but that's different, and it won't be behind your back.”

"And I really like Damien.”

I don’t. I don’t like any of you. Aphrodite is literally the only person in this book I can tolerate, and she’s the villain.

"Damien's sweet, and really smart.

Using pretentious vocabulary words does not a smart person make. It just makes them pretentious.

I just feel bad for him sometimes, though.”

"How come?”

"Well, he had a roommate when he first got here about six months ago, but as soon as the guy found out Damien was gay— hello, it's not like the boy tries to hide it—he complained to Neferet and said he wasn't going to room with a fag.”

I grimaced. I can't stand homophobes.

Or people who drink, or people who like to play chess, or people who like to wear black, or people who wear a lot of eyeliner, or cheerleaders, or video games…

Seriously, Zoey, this doesn’t make you a paragon of virtue because you say someone’s sexual preferences don’t bother you. You still suck giant sweaty donkey balls, and you always will. We’re nine chapters into the first book, and you’re already an irredeemable mega-bitch.

"And Neferet actually put up with that attitude?”

"No, she made it clear that the kid—oh, he changed his name to Thor after he got here"—she shook her head and rolled her eyes—"doesn't that just figure?

What does his name have to do with anything? Unless you’re trying to start a trend and say that people who name themselves after mythological figures are evil by default. First Aphrodite, and now Thor. What about kids whose parents give them those names, rather than ones they’ve picked for themselves? Are they evil, too?

…actually, now that I think about it, out of the main five, Zoey is the only one who’s changed her name, and that was just her surname. As far as I know, Stevie Rae, Shaunee, Erin, and Damien all have the names their parents gave them. But Aphrodite, Thor, and Neferet (I’m 95% sure that’s not the name she was born with) are all evil. Is that just a random coincidence, or was that on purpose?

Hmm…I’m going to have to keep an eye on that; I might be onto something.

Anyway, Neferet let it be known that Thor was way out of line, and she gave Damien the option of moving into another room by himself or staying with Thor. Damien chose to move. I mean, wouldn't you?”

Well…yeah! Why the hell would anyone choose to stay in a room with someone who bullies them? Why was staying even an option?

I nodded. "Yep. No way would I room with Thor the Homophobe.”

“I only room with people who kneel before me and kiss my shoes when I demand it. Lowly peons need to learn their place.”

"That's what we all think, too. So Damien has been in a room by himself since then.”

"Aren't there any other gay kids here?”

Because Damien can only room with another gay guy, I guess? And Zoey, stop referring to them as kids. You are the lowest grade—excuse me, form—so a good seventy-five percent of them are older than you!

Stevie Rae shrugged. "There're a few girls who are lesbians and totally out, but even though a couple of them are cool and hang with the rest of us they mostly stick together. They're way into the religious aspect of Goddess worship and spend most of their time in Nyx's Temple.

Maybe I’m reading too much into this, but for some reason, this makes me think that PCK has turned being gay into some kind of a clique. Are they trying to say that no hetero kids are into worshiping Nyx? I don’t know; the way that’s phrased is just…weird. I don’t like it.

And, of course, there are the moronic party girls who think it's cool to make out with each other, but usually only if some cute guys are watching.”

You Judgemental Bastards: 47

‘Moronic party girls’, huh?

I shook my head. "You know, I've never understood why girls think making out with each other is the way to catch a boyfriend. You'd think it would be counterproductive.”

Who says they’re trying to catch a boyfriend? Exhibitionism is a real kink, you know.

"Like I want a boyfriend who only thinks I'm hot when I'm kissing some girl? Blech.”

"What about gay guys?”

Stevie sighed. "There are a few besides Damien, but they're mostly too weird and girly for him.

ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS?! WHY THE EVER-LOVING FUCK DO YOU TWO SEEM TO THINK THAT ALL GAY GUYS ARE FEMININE?! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW GODDAMN OFFENSIVE THAT IS?! I HOPE YOU GET EATEN BY A PACK OF RABID HONEY BADGERS, YOU PAIR OF ADDLE-PATED, MAGGOT-BRAINED SNOT GOBLINS!

I feel bad for him. I think he gets pretty lonely. His parents don't write or anything.”

"The whole vampyre thing freaked them out?”

"No, they didn't really care about that. Actually, don't say anything to Damien because it hurts his feelings, but I think they were relieved when he was Marked. They didn't know what to do with a son who is gay.”

I’m starting to think PCK can’t go more than a page without reminding us Damien is gay…

"Why did they have to do anything? He's still their son. He just likes guys.”

"Well, they live in Dallas, and his dad is big into the People of Faith. I think he's some kind of minister or something—”

Is that the only religion that exists in these books? Not that I’m complaining, really; seeing as how PCK has serious negative points in the tact and delicacy departments, they have absolutely no right to attempt to write about religion, but good lord. Even just a mention that other religions exist would be nice.

I held up my hand. "Stop. You don't have to say another word. I totally get it.” And I did. I was way too acquainted with the narrow- minded, "our way is the only right way" ideas of the People of Faith. Even thinking about it made me feel exhausted and depressed.

Stevie Rae opened the door to the dorm. The living-room area was empty except for a few girls who were watching That '70s Show reruns. Stevie Rae waved absently at them.

Name Drop: 36

"Hey, do you want a pop or something to take upstairs with us?" I nodded and followed her through the living room and into a smaller room off to the side that had four refrigerators, a big sink, two microwaves, lots of cabinets, and a pretty white wooden table that sat in the middle of it—just like a regular kitchen, only this one was weirdly refrigerator-friendly.

How many people live in this dorm? If you have a dining hall, surely a single dorm doesn’t need four refrigerators. Who keeps them stocked? The students? Where do they get the money? I’m not sure that there’s ever any mention of part-time jobs, and I doubt everyone gets allowance from their parents. Does the school staff buy everything? Why? They’re not obligated to buy things for the students, especially when there’s a dining hall where they can all apparently eat for free.

Everything was neat and clean. Stevie Rae opened one of the fridges. I peeked over her shoulder to see that it was filled with all kinds of drinks— everything from pop to lots of juices and that fizzy water that tastes nasty.

What, you mean seltzer water? In this case, I actually agree with Zoey; that stuff is gross.

"What do you want?”

"Any brown pop is fine.” I said.

Get used to this phrase. Zoey is obsessed with ‘brown pop’. And that’s what she calls it, too. For all the Name Drops in this series, that is the phrase she almost always uses.

"This stuff is for all of us," she said as she handed me two Diet Cokes

Name Drop: 37

and grabbed two Frescas

Name Drop: 38

for herself. "There're fruit and veggies and stuff like that in those two fridges, and lean meat for sandwiches in the other one. They're kept full all the time, but the vamps are pretty obsessed with us eating healthy, so you won't find bags of chips or Twinkies or stuff like that.”

Name Drop: 39

But apparently full-calorie sodas are perfectly fine. Seriously, PCK, do you know how much sugar is in a single can of that stuff? And that’s not all; they also stuff their faces with sugary cereals. I don’t think PCK fully grasps the definition of ‘healthy foods’. Besides that, they apparently don’t realize that there are actually healthy versions of chips. Twinkies…not so much, so I’ll let that one slide. But this place is full of junk food, and there’s really no restrictions on what or how much the kids eat, despite the fact that being overweight is clearly the Worst Thing Ever, and actively contributes to whether a fledgling survives the change into vampirism. You’d think the adults would be a little stricter about what the students consume, to ensure that they have the best chance of growing up.

"No chocolate?”

"Yeah, there's some really expensive chocolate in the cabinets. The vamps say chocolate in moderation is good for us.”

So why expensive chocolate, then? Are they saying that the more expensive chocolate is, the healthier it is for you? Or is PCK like Stephenie Meyer, and just wants to rub it in our faces how their vampires get to have lots of expensive things?

Okay, so who the hell wants to eat chocolate in moderation? I kept the thought to myself as we walked back through the living room and headed upstairs to our room.

Oh, I dunno, most people would lose their taste for something if they ate large quantities of it. Especially something as rich as chocolate.

"So the, uh, vamps"—I kinda stumbled over the word—

Why? ‘Vampire’ isn’t a bad word.

"are big on healthy eating?”

"Well, yeah, but I think basically just fledglings eating healthy. I mean, you don't see fat vamps,

God forbid a vampire ever be fat. Sorry, everyone, unless you’re skinny and beautiful, you’re destined to die a gruesome, early death.

but you also don't see them chewing on celery and carrots and picking at salads. Mostly they eat together in their own dining room, and rumor has it that they eat well.”

This insinuates that the students don’t eat well, yet their dining hall didn’t seem like anything to sneeze at to me. If their food is so good, the adults’ food must be five-star restaurant quality.

She glanced at me and lowered her voice. "I heard that they eat a lot of red meat. A lot of rare red meat.”

So now they’re werewolves?

"Eeesh," I said, not liking the bizarre visual image I suddenly got of Neferet gnawing on a bloody steak.

Stevie Rae shivered, and went on: "Sometimes someone's mentor will sit with a fledgling at dinner, but they usually have just a glass or two of wine and don't eat with us.”

What’s the point of going to dinner with them, then?

Stevie Rae opened the door and with a sigh I sat on my bed and pulled off my shoes. God, I was tired. Rubbing my feet I wondered about why the adult vamps didn't eat with us, and then I decided I didn't really want to think about that long. I mean, it brought to mind too many questions like what are they really eating? And what will I have to eat when/if I become an adult vamp? Ugh.

Zoey, are you one of those people who live in perpetual denial? One of those ‘if I don’t think about it, it won’t happen’ kinds? I understand that some topics will make you uncomfortable, but avoiding those topics aren’t going to make them go away. It’ll just leave you unprepared when they do happen.

And, part of my brain whispered that it also made me remember my reaction to Heath's blood yesterday.

Wait, what? Your brain had to remind you to remember something? How does that even work?

Had that been only yesterday? And also my more recent response to the blood of that guy in the hall. No. I definitely didn't want to think about either of them—at all. So I quickly refocused on the healthy-diet issue.

The healthy diet issue that doesn’t exist. If this is such a steadfast rule, actually showing it in the text would be helpful.

"Okay, they don't particularly care about eating healthy, so what's the big obsession with us eating healthy?" I asked Stevie Rae.

She met my eyes, looking worried and more than a little scared.

"They want us to eat healthy for the same reason they make us exercise every day

WHICH NO ONE EVER DOES.

—so that our bodies are as strong as possible, because if you start getting weak or fat or sick, that's the first sign that your body is rejecting the Change.”

You know…if they said that vampires had a high metabolism that prevented them from ever gaining weight, and when they do start putting on the pounds, it means that their systems have stopped properly metabolizing the food they eat, leading to organ shutdowns and death, I would buy that. But I’m not sure that they ever do. It’s always just fat = death. It’s PCK showing their asses again. While it’s not as offensive as their insistence that being gay means you have to be girly, it still makes me want to smack them.

"And then you die," I said quietly.

"And then you die," she agreed.

Speshul Snowflake: 71
Name Drop: 39
You Judgemental Bastards: 47