"Oh My Gods" - читать интересную книгу автора (Tera Lynn Childs)

тАЬI hope youтАЩre ready for a living nightmare, kako, because this school will chew you up, spit you out, and smite the tiny pieces of whateverтАЩs left all the way to Hades.тАЭ

Mom smiles at me.

I whisper back, тАЬIтАЩve survived beach bunny cheerleaders, a slut-hunting ex-boyfriend, and five years of cross-country camp. IтАЩm not afraid of some throwback to ancient myth with atrocious highlights and a Barbra Streisand nose.тАЭ

Catching MomтАЩs eye I smile big, even as Stella squeezes me way too tight around the ribs. One stomp on her pedicured toes and IтАЩm free.

тАЬAll ready,тАЭ I say, snatching my backpack off the deck.

As I sling my pack onto my shoulder I see a spark out of the corner of my eye, just before the strap breaks, sending the bag flying right into StellaтАЩs nose. Sure, it was an accidentтАФyou canтАЩt exactly anticipate strap failureтАФbut I couldnтАЩt have aimed better if I tried.

Too bad, though. This is a brand-new backpack.

Hand cupped over her injured nose, StellaтАЩs face turns bright red. She growls and lifts her other hand like sheтАЩs going to point at meтАФway rude, by the way.

тАЬStella,тАЭ Damian warns as he points a finger at my broken strap.

The torn fabric glows for a second before magically repairing itself.

36





I grab my backpack off the ground and check the strap. ItтАЩs perfect, like it never broke in the first place.

Stella jerks her hand back to her side before turning in a huff and stalking off the boat. I glance back and forth between DamianтАЩs steaming look and StellaтАЩs retreating back.

Wait a second. . . . Did she do that to my strap? That must have been the flash of light. Serves her right getting bonked in the nose.

Next time sheтАЩll think twice about zapping my stuff.

Dinner at the Petrolas house is unusual, to say the least.

Mom and I usually set up a pair of TV trays in the living room so we can watch the latest reality show while we eat. Not the best idea with some of the ubergross stunts they pull, but it was our nightly ritual.

Not only do we not even have TV on Serfopoula, but Damian and Stella actually eat at a dining table. In a dining room. Weird, huh?

тАЬThere is a small village on the far side of the campus,тАЭ Damian explains while a servantтАФyes, an actual servantтАФserves the food. тАЬIt mainly consists of housing for Academy staff and faculty, but there are a few commercial establishments. There is a bookstore, a small grocery that sells locally produced fruits, vegetables, and dairy items, and, a favorite among the students, an ice-cream parlor.тАЭ

ThatтАЩs it? No CVS or Foot Locker? What if I need Band-Aids or new Nikes? тАЬWhat about that other island?тАЭ I ask. тАЬWhere we caught the yacht.тАЭ

37



тАЬUnfortunately,тАЭ Damian says, тАЬonly Level 13s are permitted to visit Serifos during the semester.тАЭ