One of Few Who Are

One of Few Who Are One of Few Who Are One of Few Who Are By Maeve Maddox Each of the following quotations contains a grammatical error: 1. This process is one of several that is required to maintain nuclear SREBP1-c at very low levels –Yeshiva University website 2. A study designed by Drs. Liu and Clarke is one of several that is slated to be included in the pilot run. –Georgetown University website 3. Steve Wozniak Is One Of The Few People Who Has Met The Kimye Baby –Business Insider 4. Henry [Kissinger] is one of the few who has the trust of the keepers of the secrets. –William Safire The error is using a singular verb with a relative pronoun whose antecedent is plural. Explanations 1. The antecedent of that is not one, but several. â€Å"This process† is only one of several processes required to maintain the protein described: â€Å"several that are required.† 2. The antecedent of that is not one, but several. The pilot run will include several studies: â€Å"several that are slated.† 3. The antecedent of who is not one, but few: â€Å"one the few people who have met.† 4. The antecedent of who is not one, but few. â€Å"one of the few who have the trust of the keepers of the secrets.† Agreement errors are often the result of â€Å"the law of attraction†: the tendency to make a verb agree with the nearest noun or pronoun that precedes it. Here is an error created by the law of attraction: Incorrect: She is the only one of the board members who are in favor of more money for the arts. Correct : She is the only one of the board members who is in favor of more money for the arts. She is the antecedent of who. â€Å"She† is the only one in the group who holds that opinion. More often than not, agreement errors with â€Å"one of x† go unnoticed in speech. A perusal of many reputable sites will show that they often go unnoticed in writing as well. Professor Paul Brians (Common Errors in English Usage) acknowledges that the following sentence is incorrect according to formal grammar: â€Å"Pistachio is one of the few flavors that appeals to me.† But he feels that the only context in which one needs to worry about getting it right is when â€Å"taking a test on English grammar.† Otherwise, â€Å"sophisticated speakers† may trust to their native inner ear for what â€Å"sounds right.† The Chicago Manual of Style is more decisive, declaring that â€Å"A relative pronoun takes its number from its antecedent.† Chicago offers these examples of correct usage: [It is] one of the few countries that cultivate farm-raised fish as a staple. She is one of those people who are famous just for being famous. [BUT] He is the one among them who is trustworthy. Careful writers will pay attention to the difference. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:50 Idioms About Legs, Feet, and Toes34 Writing Tips That Will Make You a Better WriterThe Difference Between "Un-" and "Dis-"

Definitions of Indexes and Scales in Research

Definitions of Indexes and Scales in Research Indexes and scales are important and useful tools in social science research. They have both similarities and differences among them. An index is a way of compiling one score from a variety of questions or statements that represents a belief, feeling, or attitude. Scales, on the other hand, measure levels of intensity at the variable level, like how much a person agrees or disagrees with a particular statement. If you are conducting a social science research project, chances are good that you will encounter indexes and scales. If you are creating your own survey or using secondary data from another researcher’s survey, indexes and scales are almost guaranteed to be included in the data. Indexes in Research Indexes are very useful in quantitative social science research because they provide a researcher a way to create a  composite measure  that summarizes responses for multiple rank-ordered related questions or statements. In doing so, this composite measure gives the researcher data about a research participants view on a certain belief, attitude, or experience. For example, let’s say a researcher is  interested in measuring job satisfaction and one of the key variables is job-related depression. This might be difficult to measure with simply one question. Instead, the researcher can create several different questions that deal with job-related depression and create an index of the included variables. To do this, one could use four questions to measure job-related depression, each with the response choices of yes or no: When I think about myself and my job, I feel downhearted and blue.When I’m at work, I often get tired for no reason.When I’m at work, I often find myself restless and can’t keep still.When at work, I am more irritable than usual. To create an  index of job-related depression, the researcher would simply add up the number of yes responses for the four questions above. For example, if a respondent answered yes to three of the four questions, his or her index score would be three, meaning that job-related depression is high. If a respondent answered no to all four questions, his or her job-related depression score would be 0, indicating that he or she is not depressed in relation to work. Scales in Research A scale is a type of composite measure that is composed of several items that have a logical or empirical structure among them. In other words, scales take advantage of differences in intensity among the indicators of a variable. The most commonly used scale is the Likert scale, which contains response categories such as strongly agree, agree, disagree, and strongly disagree. Other scales used in social science research include the Thurstone scale, Guttman scale, Bogardus social distance scale, and the semantic differential scale. For example, a researcher interested in measuring prejudice against women could use a Likert scale to do so. The researcher would first create a series of statements reflecting prejudiced ideas, each with the response categories of strongly agree, agree, neither agree nor disagree, disagree, and strongly disagree. One of the items might be women shouldn’t be allowed to vote, while another might be women can’t drive as well as men. We would then assign each of the response categories a score of 0 to 4 (0 for strongly disagree, 1 for disagree, 2 for neither agree or disagree, etc.). The scores for each of the statements would then be added for each respondent to create an overall score of prejudice. If a respondent answered strongly agree to five statements expressing prejudiced ideas, his or her overall prejudice score would be 20, indicating a very high degree of prejudice against women. Compare and Contrast Scales and indexes have several similarities. First, they are both ordinal measures of variables. That is, they both rank-order the units of analysis in terms of specific variables. For example, a person’s score on either a scale or index of religiosity gives an indication of his or her religiosity relative to other people. Both scales and indexes are composite measures of variables, meaning that the measurements are based on more than one data item. For instance, a person’s IQ score is determined by his or her responses to many test questions, not simply one question. Even though scales and indexes are similar in many ways, they also have several differences. First, they are constructed differently. An index is constructed simply by accumulating the scores assigned to individual items. For example, we might measure religiosity by adding up the number of religious events the respondent engages in during an average  month. A scale, on the other hand, is constructed by assigning scores to patterns of responses with the idea that some items suggest a weak degree of the variable while other items reflect stronger degrees of the variable. For example, if we are constructing a scale of political activism, we might score running for office higher than simply voting in the last election. Contributing money to a political campaign and working on a political campaign would likely score in between. We would then add up the scores for each individual based on how many items they participated in and then assign them an overall score for the scale. Updated by Nicki Lisa Cole, Ph.D.

New Media communication class Final Project Essay

New Media communication class Final Project - Essay Example As such, I will analyze my notes and classify them into various categories that define their significance. Consequently, I will conduct relevant research on other examples of online ethnography and theories of computer-mediated communication prior to interpreting my notes. The research will help me to develop an opinion on the importance of online ethnography and theories of computer-mediated communication (Walther 443) and define communication in online communities (Garcia et al. 54-55). Ideally, we can refer to the online community as a virtual community that infiltrates our real life (Rheingold 1). Student room is an online community established in 2001 that promotes community and social learning among students and institutions. The online community connects students across the globe, allows young people to present their views, and helps them to prosper and make effective career and education choices. With over 500,000 posts per month and over 1.5 million members, the student room is the most dominant and diverse student community in the globe (Autism Education Trust 1). Indeed, the members of the student room online community originate from different cultures and address academic, health, and social issues (Autism Education Trust 1). Subject to the adopted simple platform, student room encourages new members to join and fosters interactions between members of different cultures. With the growth in mobile telephony, online ethnography and theories of computer-medi ated communication will continue to define communication in online communities. Notably, online ethnography will define the customs of the student room online community. Ideally, ethnography refers to a detailed analysis of the social and cultural aspects of a specific group (Koning and Ooi 19). As such, online ethnography involves the adoption of relevant online research methods that

Economic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Economic - Essay Example How does unemployment affect government revenues, furthermore how are these revenues significant in the government benefit payments (such as pensions)?† Body In some circumstances, a country’s labour market maybe impacted upon by externalities. By the term externalities it refers to the factors not emanating from inside the economy. The UK labour market in the 1970s, according to Erickson and others, was inflexible, caused by economy’s lack of being competitive in the world market and it led to escalating levels of inflation. This caused an uphill task for the incoming government of year 1979, which was a conservative government. The new government aimed at changing this by way of deregulation. This resultant situation after the employers faced lesser regulation was aimed at their offering new employment opportunities. Despite this bold move by the government, unemployment levels still remained high. In the 1980s through 1990s decades, the labour market of the UK ensured that the employers’ needs were fully satiated since skilled labour would be applied cheaply. However, the levels of unemployment fixedly remained at approximately 2 million due to the fact that most of the workers could not still find jobs.

Comparison between Creon and Antigone in Oedipus the King Essay Example for Free

Comparison between Creon and Antigone in Oedipus the King Essay In the Oedipus plays, two of the major characters include Creon, the brother in law of Oedipus and Antigone, the daughter of Oedipus. Although these two characters play different roles in the plays Oedipus the King and Antigone, they share a lot of similarities. Basically, one of the similarities that Creon and Antigone have is that the burdens that they carried throughout the plays were passed down to them by Oedipus following his downfall and exile. After Oedupis’s exile, Creon assumed the throne of Thebes and took control of the city. Although his intentions in ruling Thebes are pure, like Oedipus who refused to listen to the blind prophet when he told him that he was the one who murdered his father, Creon’s judgment was blinded when he initially refused to give proper burial rites to his enemy, Polynices, Oedipus son. As a result, Antigone, hanged herself, causing her lover Haemon, Creon’s son, to kill himself as well. Likewise, Antigone inherited the stubbornness of his father when she defied Creon’s order deny the corpse of Polynices, her brother, a proper burial. For her defiance, Creon had her thrown into a tomb, where she committed suicide through hanging. In short, both Creon and Antigone were affected by Oedipus’s tragic downfall as he apparently passed down his misfortunes to those who succeeded him and to his family members. Antigone herself said this in her conversation with her sister, in which she said â€Å"My own flesh and blood—dear sister, dear Ismene, how many griefs our father Oedipus handed down! Do you know one, I ask you, one grief that Zeus will not perfect for the two of us while we still live and breathe? There’s nothing, no pain—our lives are pain—no private shame, no public disgrace, nothing I haven’t seen in your grief and mine. † In other words, Antigone spoke as if tragedies are passed down in Oedipus’s family like they were family heirlooms. Moreover, both Creon and Antigone exemplified also suffered the same losses. Creon lost his son, Haemon, and his wife, Eurydice who both committed suicide while Antigone lost her father, Oedipus, and her two brothers, Polynices and Eteocles, who killed each other while fighting over who would rule over Thebes. In other words, both characters were left alone in their personal battles. However, while the two characters share several similarities, they also have various differences. For one, Antigone acknowledges the past tragedies as shown in the quote above and uses them as a motivation to move forward. Moreover, she is more bold and prudent than Creon as shown during their confrontation in which he asked her why she was defying him and she answered, â€Å"I didnt say yes. I can say no to anything I say vile, and I dont have to count the cost. But because you said yes, all that you can do, for all you’re crown and your trappings, and your guards—all that your can do is to have me killed. † On the other hand, Creon is a manipulative and narrow-minded person as shown in his initial refusal to believe in the blind prophet’s prediction. His personality is best shown in his description of Thebes wherein he said, â€Å"Anarchy—show me a greater crime in all the earth! She, she destroys cities, rips up houses, breaks the ranks of spearmen into headlong rout. But the ones who last it out, the great mass of them owe their lives to discipline. Therefore we must defend the men who live by law, never let some woman triumph over us. Better to fall from power, if fall we must, at the hands of a man—never be rated inferior to a woman, never. † In sum, while both characters share similarities due to their close relationship with Oedipus, they also have differences that distinguish their characters. Antigone is a realistic, decisive yet stubborn character while Creon is a person who holds himself in high esteem but later realizes he is human as well. Works Cited â€Å"Oedipus the King. † 2008. The Internet Classics Archive. 3 April 2008 http://classics. mit. edu/Sophocles/oedipus. html. â€Å"Antigone. † 2008. 2008. The Internet Classics Archive. 3 April 2008 http://classics. mit. edu/Sophocles/antigone. html.

Chinese Footbinding Essay -- China Culture Cultural Essays

Chinese Footbinding In addressing the subject of footbinding, one primary difficulty becomes apparent - that much remains within the realm of the unknowable. Any factual knowledge about the practice may only be drawn from 19th- and 20th-century writings, drawings or photographs. In addition, many of these documents represent a distinctly Western point of view, as they are primarily composed of missionary accounts and the literature of the various anti -footbinding societies.[1] The historical origins of footbinding are frustratingly vague, although brief textual references suggest that small feet for women were preferred as early as the Han dynasty. The first documented reference to the actual binding of a foot is from the court of the Southern Tang dynasty in Nanjing, which celebrates the fame of its dancing girls renowned for their tiny feet and beautiful bow shoes.[2] The practice apparently became the standard for feminine beauty in the imperial court, spreading downward socially and geographically as the lower classes strove to imitate the style of the elite. [3] In its most extreme form, footbinding was the act of wrapping a three- to five-year old girl's feet with binding so as to bend the toes under, break the bones and force the back of the foot together. Its purpose was to produce a tiny foot, the "golden lotus", which was three inches long and thought to be both lovely and alluring.[4] It is believed that the origin of the term "golden lotus" emerged in the Southern Tang dynasty around 920 A.D., where the emperor Li Yu ordered his favorite concubine, Fragrant Girl, to bind her feet with silk bands and dance on a golden lotus platform encrusted with pearls and gems. Thereafter, women inside and outside the court ... ...ive (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990). Jaschok, Maria. Concubines and Bondservants (London: Oxford University Press, 1988). Ko, Dorothy. "The Body As Attire: The Shifting Meanings of Footbinding in Seventeenth-Century China". Journal of Women's History. Winter 1997, Vol.8:4. Levy, Howard S. The Lotus Lovers: The Complete History of the Curious Erotic Custom of Footbinding in China (Buffalo, NY: Prometheus Books, 1992). Llewellyn, Bernard. China's Courts and Concubines (London: George Allen & Unwin, 1966). Lloyd, Carol. "These Shoes Pinch". New York Times Magazine. Oct. 27, 1996. p. 25. Mackie, Gerry. "Ending Footbinding and Infibulation: A Convention Account". American Sociological Review. December 1996, Vol.61, Issue 6. Paulshock, MD, Bernadine Z.. "Chinese Footbinding". Journal of the American Medical Association. August 12, 1992.

Blood Promise Chapter Twenty-Nine

The flight was more like thirty hours. Getting from the middle of Siberia to the middle of Montana wasn't easy. I flew from Novosibirsk to Moscow to Amsterdam to Seattle to Missoula. Four different flights. Five different airports. A lot of running around. It was exhausting, yet when I handed over my passport to get back into the U.S. in Seattle, I felt a strange surge of emotion in me†¦ joy and relief. Before leaving Russia, I had thought Abe might come back with me and finish his task himself, hand-delivering me to whomever had hired him. â€Å"You really are going back now, aren't you?† he asked at the airport. â€Å"To the school? You aren't going to get off at one of your stops and disappear?† I smiled. â€Å"No. I'm going back to St. Vladimir's.† â€Å"And you'll stay there?† he pressed. He didn't quite look as dangerous as he had in Baia, but I could see a glint of hardness in his eyes. My smile slipped. â€Å"I don't know what's going to happen. I don't have a place there anymore.† â€Å"Rose-â€Å" I held up a hand to stop him, surprised at my own determination. â€Å"Enough. No after-school specials. You said you were hired to get me back there. It isn't your job to say what I do after that.† At least, I hoped not. Whoever wanted me back had to be someone at the Academy. I'd be there soon. They had won. Abe's services were no longer required. Despite his victory, he didn't look happy about relinquishing me. Glancing up at one of the departure boards, he sighed. â€Å"You need to go through security, or you'll miss your flight.† I nodded. â€Å"Thanks for†¦Ã¢â‚¬  What exactly? His help? â€Å"†¦ For everything.† I started to turn away, but he touched my shoulder. â€Å"Is that all you're wearing?† Most of my clothing had been scattered around Russia. One of the other Alchemists had located shoes, jeans, and a sweater, but otherwise, I was winging it until I got back to the U.S. â€Å"I don't really need anything else,† I told him. Abe arched an eyebrow. Turning to one of his guardians, he made a small gesture toward me. Immediately, the guardian took off his coat and handed it over. The guy was lanky, but the coat was still too big for me. â€Å"No, I don't need-â€Å" â€Å"Take it,† ordered Abe. I took it, and then to my further shock, Abe began unwinding the scarf from around his neck. It was one of his nicer ones, too: cashmere, woven with an array of brilliant colors, more suited to the Caribbean than here or Montana. I started to protest this as well, but the look on his face silenced me. I put the scarf around my neck and thanked him, wondering if I'd ever see him again. I didn't bother asking because I had a feeling he wouldn't tell me anyway. When I finally landed in Missoula thirty hours later, I was pretty sure I didn't want to fly in a plane anytime soon-as in, like, the next five years. Maybe ten. Without any luggage, getting out of the airport was easy. Abe had sent word ahead of my arrival, but I had no idea who they'd send to get me. Alberta, who ran the guardians at St. Vladimir's, seemed a likely choice. Or maybe it would be my mother. I never knew where she was at any given moment, and suddenly, I really, really wanted to see her. She would be a logical choice too. So it was with some surprise that I saw that the person waiting for me at the airport's exit was Adrian. A grin spread over my face, and I picked up the pace. I threw my arms around him, astonishing both of us. â€Å"I have never been happier to see you in my life,† I said. He squeezed me tightly and then let me go, regarding me admiringly. â€Å"The dreams never do justice to real life, little dhampir. You look amazing.† I'd cleaned up after the ordeal with the Strigoi, and Oksana had continued healing me in spite of my protests-even the bruises on my neck, which she had never asked about. I didn't want anyone else to know about those. â€Å"And you look†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I studied him. He was dressed as nicely as always, with a three-quarter-length wool coat and green scarf that matched his eyes. His dark brown hair had that crafted messiness he liked, but his face-ah, well. As I'd noted before, Simon had gotten a few good punches on him. One of Adrian's eyes was swollen and ringed with bruises. Nonetheless, thinking about him and everything he'd done†¦ well, none of the flaws mattered. â€Å"†¦ Gorgeous.† â€Å"Liar,† he said. â€Å"Couldn't Lissa have healed that black eye away?† â€Å"It's a badge of honor. Makes me seem manly. Come on, your carriage awaits.† â€Å"Why'd they send you?† I asked as we walked toward the parking lot. â€Å"You are sober, aren't you?† Adrian didn't dignify that with an answer. â€Å"Well, the school has no official responsibility to you, seeing as you're a dropout and everything. So they weren't really obligated to come get you. None of your other friends can leave campus†¦ but me? I'm just a free spirit, hanging out. So I borrowed a car, and here I am.† His words sparked mixed reactions in me. I was touched that he'd taken the trouble to come out here but was bothered by the part about the school having no responsibility to me. Throughout all my travels, I'd gone back and forth in thinking of St. Vladimir's as home†¦ yet, in the most technical terms, it truly wasn't anymore. I would just be a visitor. As we settled into the drive, Adrian caught me up on the aftermath at the school. After the big psychic showdown, I hadn't delved much into Lissa's mind. Oksana had healed my body, but mentally, I was still exhausted and grieving. Even though I'd accomplished what I set out to do, that image of Dimitri falling and falling still haunted me. â€Å"It turns out you were right about Avery bonding Simon and Reed,† Adrian said. â€Å"From what information we could gather, it sounds like Simon was killed in a fight that Avery witnessed years ago. Everyone thought it was a miracle he survived, not actually realizing the truth.† â€Å"She kept her powers hidden like the rest of you,† I mused. â€Å"And then Reed died later?† â€Å"Well, that's the weird thing,† said Adrian, frowning. â€Å"No one can really tell when he died. I mean, he's royal. He's been pampered his whole life, right? But based on what we could get out of him-which wasn't much, since they're all pretty messed up now-it sounds like Avery may have intentionally killed him and then brought him back.† â€Å"Just like with Lissa,† I said, recalling Simon's words during the fight. â€Å"Avery wanted to kill her, bring her back, and bond her. But why Lissa of all people?† â€Å"My guess? Because she's a spirit user. Now that spirit's not a secret anymore, it was only a matter of time before Avery heard about Lissa and me. I think Avery thought bonding Lissa would increase her own power. As it was, she was sucking up a lot of energy from those other two.† Adrian shook his head. â€Å"I wasn't kidding about sensing that spirit all the way across campus. The amounts Avery had to wield to compel so many people, mask her aura, and who knows what else†¦ well, it was staggering.† I stared off at the freeway ahead of us, considering the consequences of Avery's actions. â€Å"And that's why Reed was so messed up-why he was so angry and ready for a fight. He and Simon were absorbing all that darkness she was producing by using spirit. Just like I do with Lissa.† â€Å"Yeah, except you were nothing like these guys. It wasn't so obvious with Simon-he was better at keeping a straight face-but both of them were totally on the edge. And now? They're over the edge. All three of them are.† I recalled Simon staring at nothing and Avery screaming. I shivered. â€Å"When you say over the edge†¦?† â€Å"I mean totally and completely insane. Those three are going to be institutionalized for the rest of their lives.† â€Å"From what you†¦ we all did?† I asked, aghast. â€Å"Partly,† he agreed. â€Å"Avery was throwing all that power at us, and when we threw it back and then some†¦ well, I think it was like an overload to their minds. And to be honest, considering how Reed and Simon already were, the stage was probably set for this. With Avery too.† â€Å"Mark was right,† I murmured. â€Å"Who?† â€Å"The other shadow-kissed guy I met. He was talking about how Lissa and I might be able to heal the darkness away from each other someday. It takes a careful balance of power between the spirit user and the shadow-kissed. I still don't fully get it, but I'm guessing Avery's little circle of three wouldn't have been able to handle that kind of balancing act. I don't think bonding to more than one person is healthy.† â€Å"Huh.† Adrian didn't say anything for a while and simply pondered all this. Finally, he laughed. â€Å"Man, I can't believe you found another spirit user and shadow-kissed person. It's like finding a needle in a haystack, but that kind of thing always happens to you. I can't wait to hear the rest of what you've been doing.† I looked away and rested my cheek against the glass. â€Å"It's actually not very interesting.† None of the Academy officials knew about my role in the showdown with Avery. So it wasn't like anyone questioned me when we got back. They were still doing cleanup and asking Adrian and Lissa a lot of questions. Spirit was still such a new phenomenon that no one knew what to think of what had happened. Avery and her bondmates had been taken away for help, and her father had already gone on a temporary leave of absence. Adrian signed me in as his guest, which got me a campus pass. Like all visitors, I was also given a list of where I'd stay and what I could and couldn't do. I promptly ignored it. â€Å"I have to go,† I told Adrian immediately. He gave me a knowing smile. â€Å"I figured.† â€Å"Thank you†¦ for coming to get me. I'm sorry I've got to leave you-â€Å" He waved off my worries. â€Å"You aren't leaving me. You're back; that's what counts. I've been patient this long-I can hold out a little longer.† I held his eyes for a moment, startled at the warm feelings that suddenly bubbled up within me. I kept them to myself, though, only giving Adrian a quick smile before I set off across campus. I got a lot of strange looks when I went to Lissa's dorm. It was right after classes had ended, so student traffic was pretty busy with people rushing in or out to get somewhere. Yet, when I passed by, silence fell and people stopped moving and talking. It reminded me of when Lissa and I had been returned to school after running away. We'd been marched through the cafeteria and had received similar treatment from our peers. Maybe it was just my imagination, but it seemed worse this time. The looks more shocked. The silence heavier. Last time, I think people had believed we'd run off as some sort of prank. This time, no one really knew why I'd left. I'd come out of the school's attack a hero, only to drop out and disappear. I think some of Lissa's dorm mates thought they were seeing a ghost. Ignoring the gossip and opinions of others was something I had a lot of practice with, and I sprinted past the onlookers without a backward glance, taking the stairs two at a time. I shut myself off to Lissa's feelings as I walked down her hall. It seemed silly, but I wanted to be surprised. I just wanted to open my eyes and see her in person, with no warnings as to how she was feeling or what she was thinking. I knocked on the door. Adrian had said seeing me in dreams couldn't compare to seeing me in person. The same was true with Lissa. Being in her head was nothing like being near her in reality. The door opened, and it was like an apparition materializing before me, some sort of heavenly messenger descended from above. I'd never been away from her for this long, and after all this time, part of me wondered if I was imagining this. Her hand went to her mouth, and she stared at me wide-eyed. I think she felt the same way-and she hadn't even had warning of my visit. She'd just been told I was coming â€Å"soon.† No doubt I seemed like a phantom to her, too. And with that reunion†¦ it was like I was emerging from a cave-one I'd been in for almost five weeks-into the bright light of day. When Dimitri had turned, I'd felt like I'd lost part of my soul. When I'd left Lissa, another piece had gone. Now, seeing her†¦ I began to think maybe my soul might be able to heal. Maybe I could go on after all. I didn't feel 100 percent whole yet, but her presence filled up that missing part of me. I felt more like myself than I had in ages. A world of questions and confusion hung in the silence between us. In spite of everything we'd been through with Avery, there was still a lot of unresolved business from when I had first left the school. For the first time since I'd set foot on the Academy's grounds, I felt afraid. Afraid that Lissa would reject me or scream at me for what I'd done. Instead, she drew me into a giant hug. â€Å"I knew it,† she said. She was already choking on her sobs. â€Å"I knew you'd come back.† â€Å"Of course,† I murmured into her shoulder. â€Å"I said I would.† My best friend. I had my best friend back. If I had her, I could recover from what had happened in Siberia. I could go on with my life. â€Å"I'm sorry,† she said. â€Å"So sorry for what I did.† I pulled away in surprise. Stepping into the room, I shut the door behind us. â€Å"Sorry? What do you have to be sorry for?† Despite my joy at seeing her, I'd come here expecting her to still be angry at me for leaving. None of that mess with Avery would have happened if I'd stayed around. I blamed myself. She sat down on her bed, eyes wet. â€Å"For what I said†¦ when you left. I had no right to say the things I did. I have no right to control you. And I feel horrible because†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She ran a hand over her eyes, trying to dry the worst of the tears. â€Å"I feel horrible because I told you I wouldn't bring back Dimitri. I mean, I know it didn't matter, but I should have still offered to-â€Å" â€Å"No, no!† I sank down in front of her and grabbed her hands, still awed to be with her again. â€Å"Look at me. You have nothing to be sorry for. I said things I shouldn't have, too. It happens when people are upset. Neither of us should beat ourselves up over it. And as for bringing him back†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I sighed. â€Å"You did the right thing in refusing. Even if we had found him before he'd been turned, it wouldn't have mattered. You can't safely bond more than one person. That's what went wrong with Avery.† Well, that was part of what had gone wrong with Avery. Manipulation and abuse of power had played a huge role too. Lissa's sobs quieted. â€Å"How did you do that, Rose? How were you there at the end when I needed you? How did you know?† â€Å"I was with another spirit user. I met her in Siberia. She can actively reach into people's minds-anyone's, not just those she's bonded to-and communicate. Like Avery could, actually. Oksana reached into me while I connected to you. It's really strange how it all went down.† To say the least. â€Å"Another power I don't have,† said Lissa ruefully. I grinned. â€Å"Hey, I have yet to meet any spirit user who can throw a punch like you can. That was poetry in motion, Liss.† She groaned, but I sensed her pleasure at my use of the old nickname. â€Å"I hope I don't ever have to do that again. I'm not meant to be a fighter, Rose. You're the one who charges out there. I'm the one who waits with moral support and post-battle healing.† She held up her hands and looked at them. â€Å"Ugh. No. I definitely don't want to do any more hitting or punching.† â€Å"But at least now you know you can. If you ever want to practice†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"No!† She laughed. â€Å"I've got too many things to practice with Adrian now-especially after you keep telling me about more and more things that everyone else can do with spirit.† â€Å"Fine. Maybe it's best if things go back to how they were.† Her face sobered. â€Å"God, I hope so. Rose†¦ I did so many stupid things while Avery was around.† Through the bond, I felt her greatest regret: Christian. Her heart ached for him, and she'd shed a lot of tears. After having Dimitri ripped away from me, I knew how it felt to lose that kind of love, and I swore to myself that I'd do something to help her. But now wasn't the time. She and I need to reconnect first. â€Å"You couldn't help it, though,† I pointed out. â€Å"She was too strong with her compulsion-especially when she got you to drink and killed your defenses.† â€Å"Yeah, but not everyone knows that or will understand it.† â€Å"They'll forget,† I said. â€Å"They always do.† I understood her angst over her reputation, but I doubted there would be any truly permanent damage-aside from Christian. Adrian and I had analyzed Avery's manipulation and figured things out once we'd paired it with Simon's comment about Lissa having an unfortunate accident. Avery had wanted to make Lissa look unstable in the event Avery somehow didn't have the strength to resurrect her. If Lissa actually died, no one would investigate much. After weeks of crazy, drunken behavior, her losing control and accidentally falling out of a window would be tragic but not completely out of the realm of possibility. â€Å"Spirit's a pain in the ass,† Lissa declared. â€Å"Everyone wants to take advantage of you-non-users like Victor and users like Avery. I swear, I'd go back on my medication if I wasn't paranoid now about protecting myself from other Avery-type people. Why'd she want to kill me and not Adrian? Why am I always the target?† I couldn't help a smile in spite of the grim topic. â€Å"Because she wanted you for a minion and him for a boyfriend. She probably wanted a guy who could help escalate her rise in society and couldn't risk killing him in a bonding attempt. Or who knows? Maybe she would have eventually tried him, too. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if she felt threatened by you and wanted to make sure she had the only other known female spirit user under her control. Face it, Liss. We could spend hours trying to figure out how Avery Lazar thinks and get nowhere.† â€Å"True, true.† She slid off the bed and sat next to me on the floor. â€Å"But you know what? I feel like we could talk about anything for hours. You've been here ten minutes, and it's like†¦ well, it's like you never left.† â€Å"Yeah,† I agreed. Before he was a Strigoi, being with Dimitri had always felt natural and right. Being with Lissa also felt natural and right-though it was a different kind of rightness. In my grief over Dimitri, I'd nearly forgotten what I had with her. They were two sides of me. In that uncanny way she had of guessing thoughts, Lissa said, â€Å"I meant what I said earlier. I'm sorry for what I said-about acting like I have some right to dictate your life. I don't. If you decide to stay or guard me, you do that by your choice and your kindness. I want to make sure you live and choose your own life.† â€Å"There's nothing ? ®kind' about it. I've always wanted to protect you. I still do.† I sighed. â€Å"I just†¦ I just had things to take care of. I had to get myself together-and I'm sorry I didn't handle it with you very well.† There was a lot of apologizing going on, but I realized that was how it was with people you cared about. You forgave each other and moved on. Lissa hesitated before asking her next question, but I'd known it was coming. â€Å"So†¦ what happened? Did you†¦ did you find him†¦?† At first, I didn't think I wanted to talk about it, but then I realized that I needed to. And the thing was, a few different things had gone wrong with Lissa and me before. One had been that she'd taken me for granted. The other had been that I wouldn't tell her the truth-and then I'd resent her for it later. If we were going to patch up this friendship and forgive each other, we had to make sure we didn't repeat the past. â€Å"I did find him,† I said at last. And I launched into the story, telling her everything that had happened to me: my travels, the Belikovs, the Alchemists, Oksana and Mark, the unpromised, and of course, Dimitri. Just as Lissa had joked earlier, we talked for hours. I poured out my heart to her, and she listened without judgment. Her face was compassionate the whole time, and when I reached the end, I was sobbing, all the love and rage and anguish I'd been holding onto since that night on the bridge exploding out of me. I hadn't told anyone else in Novosibirsk exactly where I'd been during my time with Dimitri. I hadn't dared tell anyone I'd been a blood whore for a Strigoi. I had stayed vague, hoping if I didn't talk about it, then maybe it wouldn't be real. Now, with Lissa, I had to accept the reality of everything and truly feel it: I had killed the man I loved. A knock at the door jolted us out of a world that contained only her and me. I glanced at the clock and was startled to see it was almost curfew time. I wondered if I was being thrown out. But when Lissa opened the door-after I'd hastily dried my eyes-the waiting dorm worker had a message of a different sort. â€Å"Alberta wants to see you,† the woman told me. â€Å"She thought you might be here.† Lissa and I exchanged glances. â€Å"When? Now?† I asked. The woman shrugged. â€Å"From the way she sounded? Yeah, I'd say now. Or sooner.† She shut the door. Alberta was the captain of the guardians on campus, and when she spoke, people acted. â€Å"I wonder what this is about?† asked Lissa. I stood up, hating to leave. â€Å"Any number of things, I imagine. I'll go see her and then head back to guest housing. Not that I'll sleep. I have no clue what time zone I'm in anymore.† Lissa gave me a parting hug, one we both had a hard time letting go of. â€Å"Good luck.† I started to turn the door's handle and then thought of something. I slipped the silver ring off of my finger and handed it to Lissa. â€Å"Is this the ring you-oh!† She wrapped her hand around it, her face growing enraptured. â€Å"Can you feel the magic in it?† I asked. â€Å"Yeah†¦ it's weak, but it's in there.† She held the ring up to the light and stared at it. She probably wasn't going to notice when I left because I had a feeling she'd be studying the ring all night. â€Å"It's so strange. I can almost immediately feel how she did this.† â€Å"Mark said we probably had a while to go before we could do the healing they do†¦ but maybe you could figure out how to make charms while we wait?† Her jade green eyes were still on the ring. â€Å"Yeah†¦ I think I might.† I smiled at her excitement and tried to leave again, but she caught my arm. â€Å"Hey†¦ Rose†¦ I know I'll see you tomorrow, but†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"But what?† â€Å"I just wanted to say, after everything that's happened†¦ well, I don't want us to ever have this kind of separation again. I mean, I know we can't be together every single second-and that's kind of creepy anyway-but we're bonded for a reason. We're meant to look out for each other and be there for each other.† Her words sent a shiver through me, like we were wrapped in powers greater than ourselves. â€Å"We will be.† â€Å"No, I mean†¦ you're always there for me. Every time, I'm in danger, and you come rushing in to save me. Not anymore.† â€Å"You don't want me to save you anymore?† â€Å"That's not what I meant! I want to be there for you too, Rose. If I can throw a punch, I can do anything. Even though that really hurt.† She exhaled in frustration. â€Å"God, I'm not making any sense. Look, the point is, if you ever have to go off alone, take me with you. Don't leave me behind.† â€Å"Liss-â€Å" â€Å"I'm serious.† Her luminous beauty burned with determination and purpose. â€Å"Whatever obstacles you have to go against, I'm going to be there for you. Don't go alone. Swear to me that if you ever decide to take off again, you'll bring me. We'll do it together.† I started to protest as a million fears came to my mind. How could I risk her life? Yet looking at her, I knew she was right. For better or worse, we had a bond we couldn't escape. Lissa was indeed tied to that piece of my soul, and we were stronger fighting together than apart. â€Å"Okay,† I said, clasping her hand. â€Å"I swear it. The next time I go do something stupid that might get me killed, you can come along.†