Spaghetti western Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Spaghetti western - Research Paper Example In this respect, the term ‘Spaghetti’ initially was meant to downgrade this genre of films, but later on, the films came to be appreciated due to the artistic innovativeness of the producers, despite their lean budgets. Therefore, Spaghetti westerns achieved global recognition due to their unequalled distinctness and uniqueness in style and creativity, as opposed to the traditional American Hollywood style. Most critics point out that Spaghetti Western emerged at the onset of Sergio Leone’s filmmaking style; this style is evidently depicted in Leone’s trilogy of films that have gained global acclamation ever since their release in the ‘60’s up to date. The leading role in this trilogy was played by Clint Eastwood, and the sound track was done by Ennio Morricone; after the massive success of this trilogy Leone, Eastwood and Morricone became household names in the film industry for their exceptional ability at directing, acting and composition re spectively. Leone’s Spaghetti westerns are discernible through a number of ways; firstly, even though they are based on the traditional American western film, Leon’s concept of the west is exaggerated in all its aspects. In other words, Leone portrays west that is wilder and more realistic than the usual one, and this contextual setting provides the overall tone of his films (Scherpschutter & Lindberg). From his films, it is evident that unlike traditional American westerns, the Spaghetti westerns have a strong tone that is characterized with extreme violence and ruthlessness. Spaghetti Westerns exaggerates the American lifestyle and context to highlight the conflicts in the film, a technique that makes them exceptionally forceful, unlike the American westerns. Being so much action oriented, dialogue in the spaghetti westerns is very scarce and obscure as it is accompanied with esoteric sounds tracks. For instance, Morricone’s sound tracks were characterized by unusual sounds such as rapid gunshots, cracking whips and whistles, in addition to the trumpets, the electric guitar and the harp. These unusual sound tracks played a very fundamental role in the spaghetti western film, in that they help to enhance the drama and suspense in the films. Thus, the spaghetti westerns have been likened to the classical opera that hugely relied on the musical element to explicate its storyline. Just like in the opera, the spaghetti westerns rely on the music to illustrate their storylines in detail, in order to make it comprehensible to the viewership. Spaghetti western directors infused aspects of the Italian culture (characterized by brashness and wacky tensions) into their stories; this is embodied in the violence depicted by the Mexican bandits. This Italian cultural aspect is further highlighted through close range camera visuals of the actors’ face reactions and their guns, and together with the bizarre sound tracks;  these aspects help in building up the tensions in the spaghetti western films (â€Å"Spaghetti Westerns and Italian Culture†). Spaghetti western films are also renowned for their atypical hero characters that don’t strike as sympathetic, but instead have tendencies typical to the villain of the story. In other word, the hero is more like the villain, always dirty and untidy, sometimes

Art Of The Late Ninegteenth Century Essay Example for Free

Art Of The Late Ninegteenth Century Essay Speaking about the late nineteenth century art, it is necessary to say that the transition from one century to another is always marked by the feeling of disillusionment as far as conventional themes and methods are concerned. There is an emptiness which prompts artists to search new forms, new means of expression. It is not always easy, however, which leads them to aspiration to escape from the usual reality to exotic countries and ways of life. The cultural phenomenon of fin de ciecle (end of the century) naturally manifested itself in visual arts and lead to emergence of impressionism and post-impressionism. Partially, impressionism appearance was caused by the fastening of life tempo and industrial revolution. As a result, impressionists aimed to depict the ever-changing reality; they wanted to catch the moment of the life flow, which is never the same. Impressionist painters inherited the romantic naturalist philosophy but chose different devices to reveal nature.   The term â€Å"postimpressionism† was coined by the English artist and critic Roger Fry (1866-1934) in 1910 as a name for the various movements that grew out of Impressionism, but moved away from its naturalist tendencies. In the current paper I intend to analyze some of postimpressionists’ paintings to trace the influence of traditional art and innovation. One of the most prominent painters on the brink of the centuries was Paul Gauguin. When we speak of fascination with primitive and exotic art, we primarily mean this artist’s attempt to move in this direction. Like most postimpressionists he started as impressionism and was devoted to traditional objective rendering of nature with the help of new coloring and light and shadow effects. In the course of time, when he was already a famous painter he realized inherent limitations impressionism had in itself and chose another direction. He did it not only in the figurative sense but he physically moved to Tahiti to investigate new opportunities for art progress. Let’s look closely at some of his canvasses of Tahitian period to discover what novelty they bear and how they correlate with impressionist tradition, on the one hand, and primitive art forms on the other hand. One of the most illustrative pictures of the series is called Femmes de Tahiti [Sur la plage] (Tahitian Women [On the Beach]) The name itself suggests that the conventional subject matter of impressionism – conveying fleeting states of nature – is put aside.   The painter made people his objects and applied revolutionary technique to depict them. The fist thing the eye catches is the unusual exotic coloring for the sky, the sea and the sand, which has nothing in common with the palette applied for European landscapes. The colors are rich and warm; it seems they soaked exotic sunlight. At the same time we see that the artist doesn’t aim at showing every subtle hue (if we speak of color) or every subtle bend of human body (if we speak of shape). On the contrary, he wants to make the impression of ultimate simplicity of color and form, which follows the tradition of primitive art. Despite of this primitivism, the women in the painting feel exceptionally real and palpable, not in terms of photographic similarity and anatomic precision but in terms of emotion conveyed. Natural rich colors of Pacific islands and simplicity of form make them a part of surrounding nature. As a result they feel real in a sense that they are devoid of any artificial glossiness, which civilization imposes. Another famous painting of Gauguin, which was considered to be scandalous and indecent by many of his contemporaries, is called Spirit of the Dead Watching. It depicts a nude young girl lying and mystical world surrounding her. This painting inherits the tradition of primitive art not only in terms of form but also in discovering the mythology of Tahitians. In this case Gauguin managed to do a unique thing – with the help of simple, rough, down-to-earth colors and forms he depicted an ephemeral world of spirits Edgar Degas is another famous postimpressionist of the late nineteenth century. Unlike Gauguin, he was not much into exotic themes. He inherited much from impressionist tradition, and was greatly influenced by the naturalist philosophy of romanticism. Still, if we look at his landscape paintings, it becomes plain that the emphasis is quite different, as well as the role of nature. For example, the canvass Aux courses en province (At the Races in the Country) is a perfect illustration to this dual influence. The painting is no way an ode to nature, as it was the case with impressionists and romanticists. It is rather the point, where the two worlds – rural and urban – intersect. The contrast between the picturesque scenery and the people who came to the country to enjoy themselves is really huge. This contrast is not manifested through color but through some specific details, which make the impression that the people are outsiders for the nature. Thus, a sun parasol a woman wears, her husband’s top hat, the cart among the field, and especially the horses’ eyes covered with blinders – all these details disclose the painters’ idea that people no longer belong to the nature. Degas is said to be the one who was greatly influenced by the revolutionary invention of the late nineteenth century – photography. Thus, his painting Absinthe is illustrative of the new perspective and spacing photography opened to artists. The canvass reminds of the technology of painting black and white photos, which was applied at this period of time. To sum up, the late nineteenth century was marked by the trend of transformation, transition from Romantic to Postimpressionist art and way of thinking. The painters of these periods were exposed to dual influence- on the one hand, they inherited the technique and tradition of impressionist art and naturalist philosophy, on the other hand the felt like the old principles and themes were exhausted, that’s why they resorted to new sources of inspiration like primitive exotic art and photography. Bibliography    Broude, Norma. Impressionism: A Feminist Reading: the Gendering of Art, Science, and Nature in the Nineteenth Century. Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press, 1997. Impressionism , in Painting. The Columbia Encyclopedia . 6th ed. 2004. Rewald, John. Post-Impressionism: From Van Gogh to Gauguin. New York: Museum of Modern Art, 1956.

Dress Codes :: essays research papers

It is in the middle of summer and very hot and humid. You are in complete uniform, wearing the long wool pants with the shirt, tie and sweater. Your whole body is uncontrollably sweating. Instead of paying attention in class, you wipe yourself down every second.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Uniforms are uncomfortable, cause distractions and are expensive. They serve no purpose in getting the proper knowledge that one is in school to earn. One that is not comfortable, may not concentrate in class. He/she will move around their seat impatiently trying to get comfortable. Uniforms always cause problems in the summer and winter. The girls complain about wearing short dresses in the winter, arguing that it gets too cold to have their bare legs showing outside in the freezing weather conditions. The boys complain about wearing the hot long pants in the summer.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I attended a school that required a uniform. I wear boxers longer than the girls’ skirts. Although my values were strongly set on education, my mind wondered, trying to get a glimpse of a girl bending over. Some girls deny it, they wear their dresses too short. This causes a distraction. The guys will not pay attention in class, instead they will stare at the short dresses. This causes the boys to do work at a lower level. The schools should make a rule on the skirt lengths and enforce it with severe punishments such as detentions, suspensions, and expulsions. This rule should make the lengths below the knees.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Most uniforms are very expensive. The whole uniform may cost about $250.00. This is expensive for a normal family. Since some schools require uniforms, the family is forced to buy the uniform. This puts the family back financially. This might force the family to live on bread and water due to the fact that they have spent all the food money on ties dressshoes and dress pants.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  How can uniforms change the way people act? They can not. No matter what the opposing argument may be, it can not be logically correct.

Business Management of Owning a Construction Company Essay

Owning a construction company requires good planning whereby the management puts several measures in place to ensure that a company performs well to generate enough money that aids it run its operations. Availability of surplus raw materials is one of the important factors to consider while managing a construction company. A construction firm should have enough laborers who offer services to customers and who work at the production stage. Running a construction company requires that the management come up with a good marketing strategy that allows the company to attract as many clients as possible to allow the organization generate enough income to carry out its activities effectively. Keeping records in an organized manner makes it easy for a construction company to make references and also to avoid loss of data. Managers who plan their activities wisely and accordingly in a construction company are in a better position of elevating the profit that the company generates and to impro ve the quality of goods and services that the firm offers. Definition of Important Concepts Management is a common term that this paper uses and it means to adopt effective measures as a leader that help to run an organization in an effective manner. The term construction is also common in this analysis and it means to come up with projects such as buildings, bridges and roads using qualified personnel. Counterarguments Even though raw materials are essential in the running of a construction company, some companies lack them due to poor management which in most cases leads to the fall of a business. Other construction companies lack enough laborers and this makes the available workers to strain with their work which in most cases lowers the outcome of construction companies. Lack of effective marketing strategy and lack of proper ways of record keeping also in many instances lead to the downfall of many construction companies because they are not able to generate sufficient income from different customers and they experience confusion respectively.This report makes use of an imaginary company by the name of Davis Construction firm to expound on the management of owning a construction company. As part of its activities, this construction firm produces building bricks from clay soil, produces celling boards that builders fit inside houses, and also hires professional masons and other construction desi gners to people or organizations that want to come up with buildings. To attain its goals, the management of Davis Construction firm must take into account several measure that will help it run its activities. Availability of Raw Materials First of all, the manager of this organization must ensure that there is a continuous flow of raw materials to enable the firm continue with its production. In this case, the essential raw materials that Davis Construction firm needs are clay soil to manufacture bricks, wood chips to manufacture celling board, and sufficient water to carry out the mixing process. Other raw materials that this organization needs to produce its goods include chemicals that it uses to carry out its production. A good manager will carry out a research on the best places to acquire the raw materials so that the firms does not experience delays in its production process. To ensure a steady supply of raw materials in a construction firm, managers should have more than one source of suppliers who deliver raw materials to the company. Having more than one source of supplier who supply the same product is important because this allows a company to carry out its activities continuously not to inconvenience customers. In many instances, unreliable suppliers make business managers to consider alternative ways getting raw materials to carry out an organization’s activities (Alonso, 2007, p. 3). Another way in which the manager of this company and any other construction company can ensure constant availability of raw materials is by establishing nearby sites that generate enough raw materials to run the activities of an organization. For example, to have a constant supply of water, the manager can hire professionals to come and dig boreholes that will provide surplus water to the firm at a much cheaper cost. Availability of Workers Effective management of a construction company calls for hiring enough laborers who help in running the organization’s activities. A wise manager will therefore, put measures to ensure that the laborers share work equally and that they do not strain while carrying out their activities. The laborers in a construction firm should fall into several sections where each worker partakes in the activity of his specialization. By each worker taking part in the activities of his specialization, a construction firm will attain accuracy in all the goods it produces and all the services it offers. To get laborers of sufficient knowledge to carry out their activities, the management of Davis Construction Firm should carry out a test while recruiting laborers after ascertaining their credentials. Even though it is a common occurrence in many countries that construction activities attract workers with low educational level (ILO, 2001, p. 12), it is important for managers to hire workers with high qualification to do their job perfectly so as to come up with products and services that satisfy customers’ needs. The management should ensure that workers get sufficient training to enable them carry out their duties with preciseness. As a way of improving the technical skills of their workers, managers should organize educative seminars where other professionals offer theoretical and practical knowledge to the workers. Good managers take the initiative of helping technicians who show great ability in their duties attain further training and also to serve as motivation to the co ntractors. Managers in a construction company should also take their workers to tour different construction firms because if they fail to do this, it will be impossible to compete favorably with other construction firms. Marketing Strategies A construction company should adopt effective marketing strategies that allows it to reach customers from different geographical regions. After intense research about marketing strategies, managers in construction companies such as Davies Construction Firm should come up with a suitable way of marketing the goods and services that the firm offers. To effectively reach customers from different regions, managers who run construction firms should adopt reliable channels such as the internet and publications because these two are able to carry so much information about a company and are also able to transmit information within a very short time. Enhanced technology has improved communication and marketing which has positive effect on inter-organizational relationship and communication (Avlonitis & Karayanni, 2000, p. 442). Managers in a construction firms should appoint certain people with the right qualification to manage the company’s website and to attend to customers’ n eeds. In a business organization, it is important for managers to create a customers’ department wing to improve the quality of services and to build a long-term relationship with the customers (Rust, Moorman, & Bhalla, 2010, p. 5). Record Keeping Managers who run construction companies should adopt better ways of storing vital information. Good forms of record keeping enable construction companies to make necessary reference whenever conflicts or discrepancies occur. For example, Davis Construction Firm can adopt better ways of record keeping by using computers that are able to store large amount of data for a very long time. People in charge of electronically storing data must be very keen in their activities to ensure that the information stays for a long time without getting lost (Trace, 2002, p. 138). Managers in a construction firm should also adopt a way of keeping records that is easy to retrieve information. Some of the advisable ways of keeping records in a manner that is easy to retrieve include using alphabetical orders, storing records according to the subject and keeping records in accordance to urgency. Conclusion Managers who run construction firms should take the initiative of helping the company attain its goals. As part of their management duties, managers should be able to come up with ways that ensures a constant and sufficient supply of raw materials to enable the firm carry out production of goods and services continuously. A manager should also be able to ensure that a construction firm has enough workers who help in carrying out the activities of a company in accordance to their area of specialty. Coming up with an effective marketing strategy helps to reach customers from different regions and therefore, be able to generate enough money for the construction firm. Above all, a manager in a construction firm needs to device effective methods of storing vital information about past and current operations of a construction firm. References Alonso, E., et al. (2007). Material availability and the supply chain: Risks, effects, and responses. Massachusetts Institute of Technology.Avlonitis, G., & Karayanni, D. (2000). The impact of internet use on business-to-business marketing: Examples from American and European companies. Industrial marketing management 29(4) 441-459. International Labor Organization, ILO. (2001). The construction industry in the twenty-first century: Its image, employment prospects and skill requirements. Geneva. Rust, R., Moorman, C., & Bhalla, G. (2010). Rethinking marketing. Harvard Business Review. Trace, B., C. (2002). What is recorded is never simply ‘what happened’: Record keeping in Modern organizational culture. Archival Science 2(7), 137-159.at is Recorded is Never Simply ‘What Happened’: Record Keeping in Modern Organizational Culture Source document

Shadow Kiss Chapter 4

FOUR IT BEGAN. At first, things weren't too different from any other day. Dhampirs and Moroi attended separate classes in the first half of the school day, then joined up after lunch. Christian had most of the same afternoon classes I'd had last semester, so it was almost like following my own schedule again. The difference was that I was no longer a student in these classes. I didn't sit at a desk or have to do any of the work. I was also a lot more uncomfortable since I had to stand at the back of the room the entire time, along with other novices who were guarding Moroi. Outside the school, this was what it was usually like. Moroi came first. Guardians were shadows. There was a strong temptation to talk to our fellow novices, particularly during times when the Moroi were working on their own and talking amongst themselves. None of us cracked, though. The pressure and adrenaline of the first day had us all on good behavior. After biology, Eddie and I started using a bodyguard technique called pair guarding. I was near guard and walked with Lissa and Christian for immediate defense. Eddie, being far guard, walked farther away and scanned the larger area for any potential threats. We followed this pattern for the rest of the day, up until the last class came around. Lissa gave Christian a quick kiss on the cheek, and I realized they were parting. â€Å"You guys don't have the same schedule this time?† I asked with dismay, stepping over to the side of the hall to stay out of student traffic. Eddie had already deduced that we were parting and had stopped far guard duties to come talk to us. I hadn't known how Lissa and Christian's schedules lined up for this new semester. Lissa took in my disappointed look and gave me a sympathetic smile. â€Å"Sorry. We're going to study together after school, but right now, I've got to go to creative writing.† â€Å"And I,† declared Christian loftily, â€Å"have to go to culinary science.† â€Å"Culinary science?† I cried. â€Å"You elected culinary science? That's like the most brainless class ever.† â€Å"It is not,† he countered. â€Å"And even if it was †¦ well, hey, it's my last semester, right?† I groaned. â€Å"Come on, Rose,† laughed Lissa. â€Å"It's just one class period. It won't be that – â€Å" She was cut off when a commotion broke out farther down the hall. We and everyone near us stopped and stared. One of my guardian instructors, Emil, had practically appeared out of nowhere and – playing Strigoi – reached for a Moroi girl. He swung her away, pressing her to his chest and exposing her neck as though he would bite her. I couldn't see who she was, just a tangle of brown hair, but her assigned protector was Shane Reyes. The attack had caught him by surprise – it was the first one of the day – but he fumbled only a little as he kicked Emil in the side and wrested the girl away. The two guys squared off, and everyone watched eagerly. A few even whistled and shouted, cheering Shane on. One of the catcallers was Ryan Aylesworth. He was so fixated on watching the fight – which Shane, wielding his practice stake, had just about won – that he didn't notice two other adult guardians sneaking up on him and Camille. Eddie and I realized it at the same time and stiffened, instinct readying both of us to spring forward. â€Å"Stay with them,† Eddie told me. He headed toward Ryan and Camille, who had just discovered they were being set upon. Ryan didn't react as well as Shane had, particularly since he faced two attackers. One of the guardians distracted Ryan while the other – Dimitri, I now saw – grabbed Camille. She screamed, not faking her fear. She apparently didn't find being in Dimitri's arms as thrilling as I did. Eddie headed toward them, approaching from behind, and landed a blow on the side of Dimitri's head. It hardly fazed Dimitri, but I was still amazed. I'd barely ever been able to land a hit on him in all our trainings. Eddie's attack forced Dimitri to release Camille and face this new threat. He spun around, graceful as a dancer, and advanced on Eddie. Meanwhile, Shane had â€Å"staked† his Strigoi and jumped in to help Eddie, moving around to Dimitri's other side. I watched, fists clenched in excitement, intrigued with the fighting in general and with watching Dimitri in particular. It amazed me that someone so deadly could be so beautiful. I wished I was part of the fray but knew I had to watch the area around me in case any â€Å"Strigoi† attacked here. But they didn't. Shane and Eddie successfully â€Å"finished off† Dimitri. Part of me was a little sad at this. I wanted Dimitri to be good at everything. However, Ryan had tried to help and failed. Dimitri had technically â€Å"killed† him, so I felt a twisted comfort in thinking that Dimitri had still been a badass Strigoi. He and Emil praised Shane for being fast on his feet and Eddie for realizing we had to treat this as a group endeavor rather than one-on-one trials. I got a nod for watching Eddie's back, and Ryan was chastised for not paying attention to his Moroi. Eddie and I grinned at each other, happy over getting high marks on this first test. I wouldn't have minded a slightly bigger role, but this wasn't a bad start to the field experience. We high-fived, and I saw Dimitri shake his head at us as he left. With the drama over, our foursome split up. Lissa gave me one last smile over her shoulder and spoke to me through the bond, Have fun in culinary science! I rolled my eyes, but she and Eddie had already rounded a corner. â€Å"Culinary science† sounded pretty impressive, but really, it was just a fancy term for what was essentially a cooking class. Despite my teasing Christian about it being brainless, I had some respect for it. I could barely boil water, after all. Still, it was a lot different from an elective like creative writing or debate, and I had no doubts Christian was taking it as a blow-off class and not because he wanted to be a chef someday. At least I might get some satisfaction out of watching him mix a cake or something. Maybe he'd even wear an apron. There were three other novices in the class who were guarding Moroi. Since the culinary science room was large and open, with lots of windows, the four of us worked together to come up with a plan to pool our efforts and secure the whole room. When I'd watched novices do their field experiences in past years, I'd only ever paid attention to the fights. I'd never noticed the teamwork and strategizing that must have been going on. Theoretically, the four of us were here to only protect our assigned Moroi, but we'd slipped into a role where we were protecting the whole class. My post was by a fire door that led outside of the school. Coincidentally, it was right by the station Christian was working at. The class normally cooked in pairs, but there was an odd number of students. Rather than work in a group of three, Christian had volunteered to be by himself. No one had seemed to mind. Many still regarded him and his family with the same prejudice that Jesse did. To my disappointment, Christian wasn't making a cake. â€Å"What is that?† I asked, watching him take out a bowl of some kind of raw, ground-up meat from the refrigerator. â€Å"Meat,† he said, dumping it onto a cutting board. â€Å"I know that, you idiot. What kind?† â€Å"Ground beef.† He pulled another container out and then another. â€Å"And this is veal. And this is pork.† â€Å"Do you have, like, a T.rex that you're going to feed?† â€Å"Only if you want some. This is for meatloaf.† I stared. â€Å"With three kinds of meat?† â€Å"Why eat something called meatloaf if you aren't actually going to get some meat out of it?† I shook my head. â€Å"I can't believe this is only the first day with you.† He glanced down, focusing on kneading his tri-meat creation together. â€Å"You sure are making a big deal out of this. Do you really hate me that much? I heard you were screaming at the top of your lungs back in the gym.† â€Å"No, I wasn't. And †¦ I don't hate you at all,† I admitted. â€Å"You're just taking it out on me because you didn't get paired with Lissa.† I didn't answer. He wasn't that far off. â€Å"You know,† he continued, â€Å"it might actually be a good idea for you to practice with someone different.† â€Å"I know. That's what Dimitri says too.† Christian put the meat into a bowl and started adding some other ingredients. â€Å"Then why question it? Belikov knows what he's doing. I'd trust anything he says. It sucks that they're going to lose him after we graduate, but I'd rather see him with Lissa.† â€Å"Me too.† He paused and looked up, meeting my eyes. We both smiled, amused at how shocked we were to have agreed with each other. A moment later, he returned to his work. â€Å"You're good too,† he said, not too grudgingly. â€Å"The way you handled yourself†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He didn't finish the thought, but I knew what he was talking about. Spokane. Christian hadn't been around when I killed the Strigoi, but he'd been instrumental in helping with the escape. He and I had teamed up, using his fire magic as a means of letting me subdue our captors. We'd worked well together, all of our animosity put aside. â€Å"I guess you and I have better things to do than fight all the time,† I mused. Like worry about Victor Dashkov's trial, I realized. For a moment, I considered telling Christian what I'd learned. He'd been around the night it had all gone down with Victor last fall, but I decided not to mention the news just yet. Lissa needed to hear it first. â€Å"Yup,† Christian said, unaware of my thoughts. â€Å"Brace yourself, but we aren't that different. I mean, I'm smarter and a lot funnier, but at the end of the day, we both want to keep her safe.† He hesitated. â€Å"You know†¦I'm not going to take her away from you. I can't. No one can, not as long as you guys have that bond.† I was surprised he'd brought this up. I honestly suspected that there were two reasons he and I argued a lot. One was that we both had personalities that liked to argue. The other reason – the big one – was that we were each envious of the other's relationship with Lissa. But, as he'd said, we really had the same motives. We cared about her. â€Å"And don't think the bond will keep you guys apart,† I said. I knew the link bothered him. How could you ever get romantically close to someone when they had that kind of connection with another person, even if that other person was just a friend? â€Å"She cares about you. †¦Ã¢â‚¬  I couldn't bring myself to say â€Å"loves.† â€Å"She has a whole separate place for you in her heart.† Christian put his dish in the oven. â€Å"You did not just say that. I have a feeling we're on the verge of hugging and coming up with cute nicknames for each other.† He was trying to look disgusted at my sentiment, but I could tell he liked being told that Lissa cared about him. â€Å"I already have a nickname for you, but I'll get in trouble if I say it in class.† â€Å"Ah,† he said happily. â€Å"That's the Rose I know.† He went off to talk to another friend while his meatloaf cooked, which was probably just as well. My door was a vulnerable position, and I shouldn't have been chatting away, even if the rest of the class was. Across the room, I saw Jesse and Ralf working together. Like Christian, they'd chosen a blow-off class too. No attacks occurred, but a guardian named Dustin did come in to make notes on us novices as we held our positions. He was standing near me right when Jesse chose to stroll by. At first, I thought it was a coincidence – until Jesse spoke. â€Å"I take back what I said earlier, Rose. I figured it out. You aren't upset because of Lissa or Christian. You're upset because the rules say you have to be with a student, and Adrian Ivashkov's too old. The way I hear it, you guys have already had a lot of practice watching each other's bodies.† That joke could have been so much funnier, but I'd learned not to expect too much from Jesse. I knew for a fact that he didn't care about Adrian and me. I also suspected he didn't even believe we had anything going on. But Jesse was still bitter about me threatening him earlier, and here was his chance to get back at me. Dustin, standing within earshot, had no interest in Jesse's idiotic teasing. Dustin would probably have an interest, however, if I slammed Jesse's face into the wall. That didn't mean I had to be silent, though. Guardians talked to Moroi all the time; they just tended to be respectful and still keep an eye on their surroundings. So I gave Jesse a small smile and simply said, â€Å"Your wit is always such a delight, Mr. Zeklos. I can barely contain myself around it.† I then turned away and surveyed the rest of the room. When Jesse realized I wasn't going to do anything else, he laughed and walked away, apparently thinking he'd won some great victory. Dustin left shortly thereafter. â€Å"Asshole,† muttered Christian, returning to his station. Class had about five minutes left. My eyes followed Jesse across the room. â€Å"You know something, Christian? I'm pretty happy to be guarding you.† â€Å"If you're comparing me to Zeklos, I don't really take that as much of a compliment. But here, try this. Then you'll really be glad you're with me.† His masterpiece was finished, and he gave me a piece. I hadn't realized it, but just before the meatloaf had gone in, he'd wrapped it in bacon. â€Å"Good God,† I said. â€Å"This is the most stereotypical vampire food ever.† â€Å"Only if it was raw. What do you think?† â€Å"It's good,† I said reluctantly. Who knew that bacon would make all the difference? â€Å"Really good. I think you have a promising future as a housewife while Lissa works and makes millions of dollars.† â€Å"Funny, that's exactly my dream.† We left the class in lighter moods. Things had grown more friendly between us, and I decided that I could handle the next six weeks protecting him. He and Lissa were going to meet in the library to study – or pretend to study – but he had to stop by his dorm first. So I followed him across the quad, back into the winter air that had grown chillier since sunset seven hours ago. The snow on the paths, which had turned slushy in the sun, had now frozen up and made walking treacherous. Along the way, we were joined by Brandon Lazar, a Moroi who lived in Christian's hall. Brandon could barely contain himself, recapping a fight he'd witnessed in his math class. We listened to his rendition, all of us laughing at the thought of Alberta sneaking in through the window. â€Å"Hey, she might be old, but she could take on almost any of us,† I told them. I gave Brandon a puzzled look. He had bruises and red splotches on his face. He also had a few weird welts near his ear. â€Å"What happened to you? Have you been fighting guardians too?† His smile promptly disappeared, and he looked away from me. â€Å"Nah, just fell.† â€Å"Come on,† I said. Moroi might not train to fight like dhampirs did, but they got in brawls with each other just as often as anyone else. I tried to think of any Moroi he might have a conflict with. For the most part, Brandon was pretty likeable. â€Å"That's the lamest, most unoriginal excuse in the world.† â€Å"It's true,† he said, still avoiding my eyes. â€Å"If someone's screwing with you, I can give you a few pointers.† He turned back to me, locking eyes. â€Å"Just let it go.† He wasn't hostile or anything, but there was a firm note in his voice. It was almost like he believed saying the words alone would make me obey him. I chuckled. â€Å"What are you trying to do? Compel me – â€Å" Suddenly, I saw movement on my left. A slight shadow blending in with the dark shapes of a cluster of snowy pine trees – but moving just enough to catch my attention. Stan's face emerged from the darkness as he sprang toward us. Finally, my first test. Adrenaline shot through me just as strongly as if a real Strigoi were approaching. I reacted instantly, reaching out to grab both Brandon and Christian. That was always the first move, to throw my own life before theirs. I jerked the two guys to a halt and turned toward my attacker, reaching for my stake in order to defend the Moroi – And that's when he appeared. Mason. He stood several feet in front of me, off to Stan's right, looking just as he had last night. Translucent. Shimmering. Sad. The hair on the back of my neck stood up. I froze, unable to move or finish going for my stake. I forgot about what I'd been doing and completely lost track of the people and commotion around me. The world slowed down, everything fading around me. There was only Mason – that ghostly, shimmering Mason who glowed in the dark and seemed like he so badly wanted to tell me something. The same feeling of helplessness I'd experienced in Spokane returned to me. I hadn't been able to help him then. I couldn't help him now. My stomach turned cold and hollow. I could do nothing except stand there, wondering what he was trying to say. He lifted one translucent hand and pointed off toward the other side of campus, but I didn't know what it meant. There was so much over there, and it wasn't clear what he was pointing at. I shook my head, not understanding but desperately wishing I could. The sorrow on his face seemed to grow. Suddenly, something slammed into my shoulder, and I stumbled forward. The world suddenly started up again, snapping me out of the dreamy state I'd just been in. I only barely managed to throw out my hands in time to stop myself from hitting the ground. I looked up and saw Stan standing over me. â€Å"Hathaway!† he barked. â€Å"What are you doing?† I blinked, still trying to shake off the weirdness of seeing Mason again. I felt sluggish and dazed. I looked into Stan's angry face and then glanced over at where Mason had been. He was gone. I turned my attention back to Stan and realized what had happened. In my distraction, I'd completely spaced while he'd staged his attack. He now had one arm around Christian's neck and one around Brandon's. He wasn't hurting them, but his point was made. â€Å"If I had been a Strigoi,† he growled, â€Å"these two would be dead.†