Marked: Chapter 17
ZeldaQueen: In which Zoey shows terrible logic skills and I nearly have an aneurysm
Projection Room Voices: Starting Media in 3...2...1...
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Chapter 17
ZeldaQueen: We rejoin Zoey as she's stumbling around the school grounds, having just vomited up the fledgling blood she had unknowingly consumed. She pauses by a big oak tree that's growing over a wall and starts trying to figure out what's going on with her. To the book and the Suethors' credit, this bit really isn't badly written at all. It's pretty believable that she's upset and all horrified at her blood cravings. I really don't want to start praising too much though because (A) I know that it's mostly forgotten in the grand scheme of this book and (B) Zoey still goes on about how vampires are totally awesome, and never shows any regret or dislike towards them, which flushes away yet another possible interesting route the plot could take.
While pondering everything, Zoey hears a cat meowing in the tree. She describes said meowing as "me-eeh-uf-meeef-uf-snort", and I'm going to have to leave it to the cat people in the viewership to say if that's at all accurate for kitty noises. Zoey looks up and sees an orange cat and starts trying to coax it towards her. Again, I have to say that the writing is pretty nice here, and Zoey doesn't come across as overly judgmental or bitchy.
Zoey scrambles up the wall and lifts the cat over to her and it promptly takes a shine to her, purring and letting her scratch its head. She decides that because it looks like a little lioness, she'll call the cat "Nala". Okay, there's worse names she could have given it. I'm just grateful she didn't give it some uber-symbolik name. Oh, and Zoey remembers that this was the cat she had that one dream about, lo those many chapters ago, and thus it means that the cat has chosen her...or something. I don't know. We're never told why she had that dream about the cat, at least not in this book.
While sitting on the wall with Nala, Zoey remembers Neferet's instructions to sit in the moonlight. She wishes that the wind would blow away some of the clouds and...it does. Seriously. And enough to move the clouds.
Yes, this is a significant detail. Yes, it will make you want to rip your hair out.
Zoey comments to Nala that "That was a very convenient wind" (YOU DON'T SAY?) and starts to recap everything that happened thus far when she smells something musty "Like a house that had been closed up for too long, or somebody's scary old basement. It wasn't a good smell, but it also wasn't so gross that it made me want to gag. It was just wrong. Like it didn't belong out here in the open at night". She looks around and sees a girl. And not just any girl, it's Elizabeth, the girl with no last name who died offscreen after one appearance!
"It was Elizabeth! The Elizabeth No Last Name kid who was supposed to be dead. When she saw me her eyes, which were a weird, glowing red, widened and then she made an odd shrieking sound before whirling around and disappearing with inhuman speed into the night"
ZeldaQueen: Zoey and Nala both freak the heck out and Zoey starts thinking that it was just some "weird kid" who got scared and ran off. Yes, a weird kid with glowing red eyes. And while I'd be willing to chalk a reaction like that up to fear and shock, I happen to know that Zoey keeps insisting that she must be mistaken, even after this happens several more times!
Oh, but wait, were we having something interesting happen? I'm sorry, can't have that! Time for some bland idiocy! Just as Zoey starts to calm down from the sight of a dead person, she hears two people calling to her from the other side of the wall. And who could it be, but her old best friend Kayla and Heath, who is drunk as usual? It turns out that they've shown up to rescue her from the House of Night, and clearly have been searching for her for some time.
Heath clamors up on the wall, breathing his alcohol breath in Zoey's face, and shouts "I'm king of the world". Her response is to go all bitchy because cha, he's, like, totally embarrassing!
"'Okay, there's no need to forever make fun of my unfortunate ex-infatuation with Leonardo!' I glared at him, feeling more like myself than I had in hours. 'Actually, it's kinda like my unfortunate ex-infatuation with you. Only it didn't last as long, and you didn't make a bunch of cheesy but cool movies.'"
ZeldaQueen: Zoey. Darling. Weren't you bitching about how these people just abandoned you here? And now they've shown up to make sure that you're alright, and all you do is insult them.
Wait for it.
Zoey starts bitching about how they're shining their flashlights in her face, and Heath sees her Mark and notes "Check it out! It's colored in now. Wow! It's like… like…on TV or something". Zoey mentally replies with "Well, it was nice to see that some things never change. Heath was still Heath-cute, but not the brightest Crayola in the pack". Why am I supposed to like her again?
Kayla chimes in at this point to remind us that she's here, and the Casts instantly start trying to make her as unlikable as possible. All she talks about is how she doesn't want to ruin her purse or her nice shoes and how the shoes were such a fantastic sale and wasn't it a shame that Zoey missed said sale and GOOD GOD, WOULD IT KILL THE SUETHORS TO HAVE CHARACTERS THAT ARE HALFWAY PLEASANT?
So Heath leans over and yoinks up Kayla and Kayla giggles and blushes and suddenly Zoey realizes that Kayla has a thing for Heath.
What.
I'm very sorry, but didn't we already know something was going on between them? Wasn't that the reason that Zoey refused to call Kayla? And for that matter, why should we care? We've seen absolutely nothing of Heath and Zoey together, so there's no meaning when we're told about their past relationship. We've certainly seen nothing of Kayla and Heath together, so the only reason I can see for the pairing is the same reason behind Lauren and Tyler in Twilight - because the Suethors said so. Actually, didn't Kayla already have a boyfriend that she was over the moon about? What? I...I don't know what's going on? Why should I care, Suethors? WHY. SHOULD. I. CARE?????
And all of a sudden, here and now, this is when Zoey apparently starts to figure out that Kayla was messing around with Heath at that one party. Except that the implication a few chapters back was that Zoey at least suspected that something was up...oh fuck it. I don't care.
Zoey starts grilling Kayla on Jared (the guy who she used to date and who was mentioned exactly once, so I don't blame you if you can't remember him), and we get this paragraph out of left field
"She moved her shoulders and I saw that under her very cute leather jacket she was wearing the tiny little cream lace cami we used to call the Boob Shirt, because not only did it show a lot of cleavage, but it was the color of skin, so it looked like it was showing even more than it actually was"
ZeldaQueen: I have absolutely no idea why the Casts saw fit to bring that up, unless the implication is that Kayla is a horrible and immoral slut for stealing Heath and has begun to dress appropriately. If that's the case, then all I can say is that after telling us we're supposed to like Shaunee and Erin and their horrible comments about Erik, the Cast ladies have no fucking right to soapbox about promiscuous girls. NO RIGHT AT ALL.
*rubs head* I think this chapter might do me in.
So Zoey figures out that Kayla is going after Heath, and instantly gets pissy about it. Just wait for it. Zoey's immediately reaction is to wish that the night were so cold that "Kayla would freeze her over-developed boobies right off". Okay, is Zoey supposed to be a closet lesbian or something? Because she seems to have a strange obsession with talking about other people's breasts.
In any case, as soon as she wishes that, a freezing wind starts to blow from the north. Ignoring the question of how Zoey would know what direction it's from (I don't think vampires can automatically tell that stuff and I'm pretty sure she's never used a compass in her life), yes this happens for the same reason the wind moved the clouds. Yes, I will rant about it at the appropriate time.
While Kayla zips up her jacket, Zoey sniffs and realizes that Kayla and Heath are both drunk and both have also smoked a joint between them. OHES TEH NOES! Zoey instantly goes all soapbox about how only losers smoke pot and it's still not good for your health. And while it could have worked if Zoey was written as the sort of person who worried about that sort of stuff, right now it comes off as the Casts giving a legitimate reason why we're not supposed to like Heath and Kayla. Except that it doesn't work, especially because Zoey is a bitch during it, actually telling Heath to his face "Besides the fact that you really can not afford to kill any more brain cells".
Keep in mind that this is all while these people have come to help her out.
Zoey looks at Kayla and notices that Kayla is giving her a "sly, tail-twitchy cat" look, which she only gives to people that she doesn't consider a part of her group of friends. Zoey instantly gets even more hurt and pissy about this.
Yes, wait for it. I shall save the rant for the end of the chapter.
Anyway, Kayla starts rattling off a list of people who are "cool" who smoke, and we've never heard about these people before and never will hear about them again, so I don't care. Also, one of those people is a girl who had both her tongue and her clit pierced (YES, REALLY), so that doesn't really convince me that these are the sorts of people you'd want as role models.
Zoey does point this out, but loses any points she might have had by going straight back to the "Kayla is with Heath and thus betrayed me!" card. She instantly starts comparing Kayla to Stevie Rae, and how Stevie Rae certainly wouldn't steal her boyfriend "whether he was an almost-ex or not" or abandon her when she needs support. She tells Kayla to piss off and Kayla gets angry and we're supposed to think she's a bitch for it. Heath, who is ridiculously slow on the uptake, comments on how cold and windy it is and Zoey says "Yeah, it can quit now". And it does.
Again. Rant for later.
Heath doesn't follow Kayla, and instead insists that he wants to save Zoey from the vampires. She says no, he can't do that she's turning into a vampire. He says that he doesn't care and will always love her and leans in and kisses her. While she's trying to get him to be serious, she feels his pulse and starts to go all batshit over it. She accidentally cuts his wrist with her fingernail and he licks the drops of blood that leaked out.
Still all dazed, she starts gasping about what she wants and Heath, acting like he's in a trance, says he'll give her whatever she wants. She kisses his mouth and licks up the drop or so of blood there and goes all crazy over it. She then asks for more and he offers the little scratch on his wrist. As soon as she starts to lick it, more blood comes dripping out and both of them start to gasp and moan and yes, I do believe this is some sort of sex metaphor. Just as she's about to actually get chomping, Kayla comes back and starts screaming at Zoey to stop it and leave Heath alone.
Zoey orders Heath to leave and Kayla keeps telling Zoey to back away. Zoey responds with "Kayla, if you don't shut up I'll fly down there and suck every last bit of blood from your stupid cheating cow body!", before finally getting rid of Heath. Now alone, she freaks out about what happened and starts to cry. Suddenly, someone offers her a Kleenex and, le gasp, it's Erik Night! What a shocker.
Alright. My rant. How to sum things up?
ZeldaQueen: What the fuck was that? No, I'm sorry, WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT???
What was the purpose of that entire scene? To make Kayla look bad? To justify Zoey completely abandoning her? WHAT?
Ladies and gentlemen, let me give you a rough timeline of this story.
Chapter One - Zoey is Marked, right in front of Kayla. So, for whatever reason, the other kids are scared of people who are Marked. No idea why, but let's go with it. It's also established that no one has any idea what happens to kids who are Marked. They just run off to the House of Night thing and are never heard from again.
Chapter Two - Heath finds out that Zoey is Marked. Again, he knows about as much as Kayla does (even less, if he's supposed to be so stupid)
Chapter Six - Zoey shows up at the House of Night. This is the first time since Zoey ran away from home in Chapter Four that anyone knows where she's at. Keep in mind that her stepfather had called in all sorts of people from the church, which is implied to be a rather large, influential organization. Given that and Kayla's love of gossip, it's probably a safe bet that she heard something about Zoey disappearing and showing up at the House of Night, against her parents' wishes.
Chapter Eleven - Zoey thinks about Kayla briefly, for the first time since she entered the House of Night, and considers e-mailing her. She ultimately does not. In other words, she makes no effort to contact the person who's supposed to be her best friend.
Chapter Sixteen - Zoey, in what I guess is supposed to be a moment of self doubt, feels abandoned and lonesome because none of her friends or family attempted to contact her since she was there.
Now, let us look at this from Kayla and Heath's perspective. Zoey has just been Marked. She disappears not long after, while she's clearly sick. Zoey seems to know that a person dies if they don't go to the House of Night after being Marked, so that much seems to be public knowledge. So Kayla at least should also know that her friend is missing, sick, and in danger of dying.
Now, Zoey makes no effort to contact Kayla or Heath and let them know that she's alright. It's established that no one knows exactly what goes on in the House of Night. We get how the People of Faith spread around how vampires are filthy, evil heathens who worship a false goddess (because they're ridiculously evil, yeah) and how some fledglings die within four years if their bodies reject the Change. That's it. Oh, and the people who do survive come out craving blood and looking very different and, if Zoey and the adult vampires are anything to go by, act like completely arrogant cows who no longer see themselves as human and think of themselves as so much cooler than normal people.
That's it. So for all Kayla and Heath and anyone else knows, Zoey is being strapped down to a table and brainwashed. She could be chained up and tortured and forced to recite passages from the Necronomicon until she follows their way of life. She could be desperately trying to contact them and the adult vampires are burning her letters. They don't know. No one knows. Hell, for all they know, the adult vampires could be killing the fledglings themselves.
So they show up to rescue Zoey and what does she do? Does she thank them and nicely explain that she can't leave or she'll die? Does she tell them that she's allowed out on weekends and she'll explain everything then? No. She is a complete bitch and just goes on about how they're smoking pot and whatnot. She's horribly ungrateful and insults Heath to his face.
And we're supposed to think ill of Kayla for not seeing Zoey as a friend after that. We're supposed to think that Kayla's such a bad friend because she panicked at the sight of her friend turning into a vampire and has the nerve to be offended when said friend is a bitch to her on a rescue mission. Oh, and we're supposed to hate Kayla for having the gall to date Heath, even though Zoey spent all of the first chapter ignoring Kayla's pleas and saying no, no, no, she was ditching Heath and they weren't together anymore and that was that!
Oh, and we get that parting shot from Zoey, when Kayla dares to be upset that she's trying to drink Heath dry. Um no Zoey, I think Kayla is well within her rights to tell you to back away from Heath.
The crowning star of fail on this pile of shit? This is a direct quote from Chapter Twenty-One, when Zoey contacts her grandmother for the first time
"'Maybe she has tried and you just missed her call. I called your cell yesterday, but I only got your voicemail.'
I felt a twinge of guilt. I hadn't even checked my phone for messages. 'I forgot to plug my cell phone in. It's back in the room. Sorry I missed your call, Grandma.' Then, to make her feel better (and to get her to quit talking about it), I said, 'I'll check my phone when I get back to my room. Maybe Mom did call.'"
ZeldaQueen: She never checked her phone for messages. We never heard about her checking her computer for e-mails (I'm assuming that she does have access to a computer). In other words, we're supposed to also think Kayla and Heath are such bad friends because they didn't contacted her. Even though, four chapters later, she'll openly admit that she just hadn't checked for any messages since she got there.
*rubs bridge of nose*
BULLSHIT
And with that, I'm done with this chapter. Dear GOD!
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Onward to: Chapter 18
Back to: Chapter 16
Back to: Table of Contents
Projection Room Voices: Starting Media in 3...2...1...
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Chapter 17
ZeldaQueen: We rejoin Zoey as she's stumbling around the school grounds, having just vomited up the fledgling blood she had unknowingly consumed. She pauses by a big oak tree that's growing over a wall and starts trying to figure out what's going on with her. To the book and the Suethors' credit, this bit really isn't badly written at all. It's pretty believable that she's upset and all horrified at her blood cravings. I really don't want to start praising too much though because (A) I know that it's mostly forgotten in the grand scheme of this book and (B) Zoey still goes on about how vampires are totally awesome, and never shows any regret or dislike towards them, which flushes away yet another possible interesting route the plot could take.
While pondering everything, Zoey hears a cat meowing in the tree. She describes said meowing as "me-eeh-uf-meeef-uf-snort", and I'm going to have to leave it to the cat people in the viewership to say if that's at all accurate for kitty noises. Zoey looks up and sees an orange cat and starts trying to coax it towards her. Again, I have to say that the writing is pretty nice here, and Zoey doesn't come across as overly judgmental or bitchy.
Zoey scrambles up the wall and lifts the cat over to her and it promptly takes a shine to her, purring and letting her scratch its head. She decides that because it looks like a little lioness, she'll call the cat "Nala". Okay, there's worse names she could have given it. I'm just grateful she didn't give it some uber-symbolik name. Oh, and Zoey remembers that this was the cat she had that one dream about, lo those many chapters ago, and thus it means that the cat has chosen her...or something. I don't know. We're never told why she had that dream about the cat, at least not in this book.
While sitting on the wall with Nala, Zoey remembers Neferet's instructions to sit in the moonlight. She wishes that the wind would blow away some of the clouds and...it does. Seriously. And enough to move the clouds.
Yes, this is a significant detail. Yes, it will make you want to rip your hair out.
Zoey comments to Nala that "That was a very convenient wind" (YOU DON'T SAY?) and starts to recap everything that happened thus far when she smells something musty "Like a house that had been closed up for too long, or somebody's scary old basement. It wasn't a good smell, but it also wasn't so gross that it made me want to gag. It was just wrong. Like it didn't belong out here in the open at night". She looks around and sees a girl. And not just any girl, it's Elizabeth, the girl with no last name who died offscreen after one appearance!
"It was Elizabeth! The Elizabeth No Last Name kid who was supposed to be dead. When she saw me her eyes, which were a weird, glowing red, widened and then she made an odd shrieking sound before whirling around and disappearing with inhuman speed into the night"
ZeldaQueen: Zoey and Nala both freak the heck out and Zoey starts thinking that it was just some "weird kid" who got scared and ran off. Yes, a weird kid with glowing red eyes. And while I'd be willing to chalk a reaction like that up to fear and shock, I happen to know that Zoey keeps insisting that she must be mistaken, even after this happens several more times!
Oh, but wait, were we having something interesting happen? I'm sorry, can't have that! Time for some bland idiocy! Just as Zoey starts to calm down from the sight of a dead person, she hears two people calling to her from the other side of the wall. And who could it be, but her old best friend Kayla and Heath, who is drunk as usual? It turns out that they've shown up to rescue her from the House of Night, and clearly have been searching for her for some time.
Heath clamors up on the wall, breathing his alcohol breath in Zoey's face, and shouts "I'm king of the world". Her response is to go all bitchy because cha, he's, like, totally embarrassing!
"'Okay, there's no need to forever make fun of my unfortunate ex-infatuation with Leonardo!' I glared at him, feeling more like myself than I had in hours. 'Actually, it's kinda like my unfortunate ex-infatuation with you. Only it didn't last as long, and you didn't make a bunch of cheesy but cool movies.'"
ZeldaQueen: Zoey. Darling. Weren't you bitching about how these people just abandoned you here? And now they've shown up to make sure that you're alright, and all you do is insult them.
Wait for it.
Zoey starts bitching about how they're shining their flashlights in her face, and Heath sees her Mark and notes "Check it out! It's colored in now. Wow! It's like… like…on TV or something". Zoey mentally replies with "Well, it was nice to see that some things never change. Heath was still Heath-cute, but not the brightest Crayola in the pack". Why am I supposed to like her again?
Kayla chimes in at this point to remind us that she's here, and the Casts instantly start trying to make her as unlikable as possible. All she talks about is how she doesn't want to ruin her purse or her nice shoes and how the shoes were such a fantastic sale and wasn't it a shame that Zoey missed said sale and GOOD GOD, WOULD IT KILL THE SUETHORS TO HAVE CHARACTERS THAT ARE HALFWAY PLEASANT?
So Heath leans over and yoinks up Kayla and Kayla giggles and blushes and suddenly Zoey realizes that Kayla has a thing for Heath.
What.
I'm very sorry, but didn't we already know something was going on between them? Wasn't that the reason that Zoey refused to call Kayla? And for that matter, why should we care? We've seen absolutely nothing of Heath and Zoey together, so there's no meaning when we're told about their past relationship. We've certainly seen nothing of Kayla and Heath together, so the only reason I can see for the pairing is the same reason behind Lauren and Tyler in Twilight - because the Suethors said so. Actually, didn't Kayla already have a boyfriend that she was over the moon about? What? I...I don't know what's going on? Why should I care, Suethors? WHY. SHOULD. I. CARE?????
And all of a sudden, here and now, this is when Zoey apparently starts to figure out that Kayla was messing around with Heath at that one party. Except that the implication a few chapters back was that Zoey at least suspected that something was up...oh fuck it. I don't care.
Zoey starts grilling Kayla on Jared (the guy who she used to date and who was mentioned exactly once, so I don't blame you if you can't remember him), and we get this paragraph out of left field
"She moved her shoulders and I saw that under her very cute leather jacket she was wearing the tiny little cream lace cami we used to call the Boob Shirt, because not only did it show a lot of cleavage, but it was the color of skin, so it looked like it was showing even more than it actually was"
ZeldaQueen: I have absolutely no idea why the Casts saw fit to bring that up, unless the implication is that Kayla is a horrible and immoral slut for stealing Heath and has begun to dress appropriately. If that's the case, then all I can say is that after telling us we're supposed to like Shaunee and Erin and their horrible comments about Erik, the Cast ladies have no fucking right to soapbox about promiscuous girls. NO RIGHT AT ALL.
*rubs head* I think this chapter might do me in.
So Zoey figures out that Kayla is going after Heath, and instantly gets pissy about it. Just wait for it. Zoey's immediately reaction is to wish that the night were so cold that "Kayla would freeze her over-developed boobies right off". Okay, is Zoey supposed to be a closet lesbian or something? Because she seems to have a strange obsession with talking about other people's breasts.
In any case, as soon as she wishes that, a freezing wind starts to blow from the north. Ignoring the question of how Zoey would know what direction it's from (I don't think vampires can automatically tell that stuff and I'm pretty sure she's never used a compass in her life), yes this happens for the same reason the wind moved the clouds. Yes, I will rant about it at the appropriate time.
While Kayla zips up her jacket, Zoey sniffs and realizes that Kayla and Heath are both drunk and both have also smoked a joint between them. OHES TEH NOES! Zoey instantly goes all soapbox about how only losers smoke pot and it's still not good for your health. And while it could have worked if Zoey was written as the sort of person who worried about that sort of stuff, right now it comes off as the Casts giving a legitimate reason why we're not supposed to like Heath and Kayla. Except that it doesn't work, especially because Zoey is a bitch during it, actually telling Heath to his face "Besides the fact that you really can not afford to kill any more brain cells".
Keep in mind that this is all while these people have come to help her out.
Zoey looks at Kayla and notices that Kayla is giving her a "sly, tail-twitchy cat" look, which she only gives to people that she doesn't consider a part of her group of friends. Zoey instantly gets even more hurt and pissy about this.
Yes, wait for it. I shall save the rant for the end of the chapter.
Anyway, Kayla starts rattling off a list of people who are "cool" who smoke, and we've never heard about these people before and never will hear about them again, so I don't care. Also, one of those people is a girl who had both her tongue and her clit pierced (YES, REALLY), so that doesn't really convince me that these are the sorts of people you'd want as role models.
Zoey does point this out, but loses any points she might have had by going straight back to the "Kayla is with Heath and thus betrayed me!" card. She instantly starts comparing Kayla to Stevie Rae, and how Stevie Rae certainly wouldn't steal her boyfriend "whether he was an almost-ex or not" or abandon her when she needs support. She tells Kayla to piss off and Kayla gets angry and we're supposed to think she's a bitch for it. Heath, who is ridiculously slow on the uptake, comments on how cold and windy it is and Zoey says "Yeah, it can quit now". And it does.
Again. Rant for later.
Heath doesn't follow Kayla, and instead insists that he wants to save Zoey from the vampires. She says no, he can't do that she's turning into a vampire. He says that he doesn't care and will always love her and leans in and kisses her. While she's trying to get him to be serious, she feels his pulse and starts to go all batshit over it. She accidentally cuts his wrist with her fingernail and he licks the drops of blood that leaked out.
Still all dazed, she starts gasping about what she wants and Heath, acting like he's in a trance, says he'll give her whatever she wants. She kisses his mouth and licks up the drop or so of blood there and goes all crazy over it. She then asks for more and he offers the little scratch on his wrist. As soon as she starts to lick it, more blood comes dripping out and both of them start to gasp and moan and yes, I do believe this is some sort of sex metaphor. Just as she's about to actually get chomping, Kayla comes back and starts screaming at Zoey to stop it and leave Heath alone.
Zoey orders Heath to leave and Kayla keeps telling Zoey to back away. Zoey responds with "Kayla, if you don't shut up I'll fly down there and suck every last bit of blood from your stupid cheating cow body!", before finally getting rid of Heath. Now alone, she freaks out about what happened and starts to cry. Suddenly, someone offers her a Kleenex and, le gasp, it's Erik Night! What a shocker.
Alright. My rant. How to sum things up?
Click to viewZeldaQueen: What the fuck was that? No, I'm sorry, WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT???
What was the purpose of that entire scene? To make Kayla look bad? To justify Zoey completely abandoning her? WHAT?
Ladies and gentlemen, let me give you a rough timeline of this story.
Chapter One - Zoey is Marked, right in front of Kayla. So, for whatever reason, the other kids are scared of people who are Marked. No idea why, but let's go with it. It's also established that no one has any idea what happens to kids who are Marked. They just run off to the House of Night thing and are never heard from again.
Chapter Two - Heath finds out that Zoey is Marked. Again, he knows about as much as Kayla does (even less, if he's supposed to be so stupid)
Chapter Six - Zoey shows up at the House of Night. This is the first time since Zoey ran away from home in Chapter Four that anyone knows where she's at. Keep in mind that her stepfather had called in all sorts of people from the church, which is implied to be a rather large, influential organization. Given that and Kayla's love of gossip, it's probably a safe bet that she heard something about Zoey disappearing and showing up at the House of Night, against her parents' wishes.
Chapter Eleven - Zoey thinks about Kayla briefly, for the first time since she entered the House of Night, and considers e-mailing her. She ultimately does not. In other words, she makes no effort to contact the person who's supposed to be her best friend.
Chapter Sixteen - Zoey, in what I guess is supposed to be a moment of self doubt, feels abandoned and lonesome because none of her friends or family attempted to contact her since she was there.
Now, let us look at this from Kayla and Heath's perspective. Zoey has just been Marked. She disappears not long after, while she's clearly sick. Zoey seems to know that a person dies if they don't go to the House of Night after being Marked, so that much seems to be public knowledge. So Kayla at least should also know that her friend is missing, sick, and in danger of dying.
Now, Zoey makes no effort to contact Kayla or Heath and let them know that she's alright. It's established that no one knows exactly what goes on in the House of Night. We get how the People of Faith spread around how vampires are filthy, evil heathens who worship a false goddess (because they're ridiculously evil, yeah) and how some fledglings die within four years if their bodies reject the Change. That's it. Oh, and the people who do survive come out craving blood and looking very different and, if Zoey and the adult vampires are anything to go by, act like completely arrogant cows who no longer see themselves as human and think of themselves as so much cooler than normal people.
That's it. So for all Kayla and Heath and anyone else knows, Zoey is being strapped down to a table and brainwashed. She could be chained up and tortured and forced to recite passages from the Necronomicon until she follows their way of life. She could be desperately trying to contact them and the adult vampires are burning her letters. They don't know. No one knows. Hell, for all they know, the adult vampires could be killing the fledglings themselves.
So they show up to rescue Zoey and what does she do? Does she thank them and nicely explain that she can't leave or she'll die? Does she tell them that she's allowed out on weekends and she'll explain everything then? No. She is a complete bitch and just goes on about how they're smoking pot and whatnot. She's horribly ungrateful and insults Heath to his face.
And we're supposed to think ill of Kayla for not seeing Zoey as a friend after that. We're supposed to think that Kayla's such a bad friend because she panicked at the sight of her friend turning into a vampire and has the nerve to be offended when said friend is a bitch to her on a rescue mission. Oh, and we're supposed to hate Kayla for having the gall to date Heath, even though Zoey spent all of the first chapter ignoring Kayla's pleas and saying no, no, no, she was ditching Heath and they weren't together anymore and that was that!
Oh, and we get that parting shot from Zoey, when Kayla dares to be upset that she's trying to drink Heath dry. Um no Zoey, I think Kayla is well within her rights to tell you to back away from Heath.
The crowning star of fail on this pile of shit? This is a direct quote from Chapter Twenty-One, when Zoey contacts her grandmother for the first time
"'Maybe she has tried and you just missed her call. I called your cell yesterday, but I only got your voicemail.'
I felt a twinge of guilt. I hadn't even checked my phone for messages. 'I forgot to plug my cell phone in. It's back in the room. Sorry I missed your call, Grandma.' Then, to make her feel better (and to get her to quit talking about it), I said, 'I'll check my phone when I get back to my room. Maybe Mom did call.'"
ZeldaQueen: She never checked her phone for messages. We never heard about her checking her computer for e-mails (I'm assuming that she does have access to a computer). In other words, we're supposed to also think Kayla and Heath are such bad friends because they didn't contacted her. Even though, four chapters later, she'll openly admit that she just hadn't checked for any messages since she got there.
*rubs bridge of nose*
BULLSHIT
And with that, I'm done with this chapter. Dear GOD!
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Onward to: Chapter 18
Back to: Chapter 16
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