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Chapter Text

Luz stood in the driveway, her arms crossed tightly over her chest, glaring at the old run-down car that would take her to the camp. The sun was already blazing, and the scent of pine trees and lake water that had once seemed inviting now felt like a cruel reminder of where she was. She couldn’t believe her mom was doing this to her. Summer camp? Really?
“This is going to be so much fun!” her mom had said earlier, practically bouncing with excitement as she loaded the car. Luz hadn’t even bothered to argue. There was no point anymore. Her mom was on a mission to make this summer the “best one ever,” and in her eyes, summer camp was a non-negotiable part of that plan.
“I’m not going,” Luz muttered to herself, her voice barely audible over the sounds of the birds chirping and the car engine revving up. But she knew it didn’t matter. Her mom had made up her mind, and she didn’t seem to care that her idea of a “fun adventure” was luz’s personal version of a nightmare.
With a resigned sigh, she grabbed her duffel bag and trudged toward the car, her sneakers scuffing the ground and she walked. As she opened the door and slid into the back seat, she noticed the book she had left there- The good witch Azura- her favourite. Her mom seeing her look at It grabbed it and placed it on the front seat.
“You won’t need that at summer camp, you’ll be having too much fun” she said as if it were a statement.
Luz didn’t even grace him with an answer. She just stared out the window, already imagining the worst.

Chapter Text

I stood at the edge of the bus stop, staring at the pavement, trying to ignore the knot in my stomach. The sound of chirping birds and the distant hum of cars on the road did nothing to ease the anxious buzz in my mind. The bus to camp was late—just enough time for me to overthink everything. I wasn’t sure what I was dreading more: the idea of spending a month away from home or the thought of trying to fit in with a bunch of strangers.
I see a girl to my right. She has a soft round face with gentle features, her big expressive eyes are a pale green and framed by large round glasses. Her chestnut brown hair-thick and curly- fell at her shoulders.
Another girl strode up to her- She had teal coloured hair up in a half ponytail it cascaded like silk, tumbling over her shoulders in waves. When the sunlight hit it, it shimmered with subtle hints of colours as if dancing to an unheard melody. The girl had a sleek but athletic build, which she carried in a graceful but commanding impression. She strode past others as if they were all beneath her till, she arrived next to the brunette girl.
“Hi Willow!!” said the green-haired girl like she had known her for years.
The girl (who I guess must be called Willow) with uneasiness said hi back.
“You know that this camp is supposed to be for talented people, so what are you doing here?” She said in such an innocent way that you would think it were a completely normal sentence.
She points to a star on her shoulder- with some text on it but I’m not close enough to see- then grabs Willow by the hand, takes a pen out of her pocket and draws a star on her hand.
“That’s about the best thing you’ll ever get” Laughing, she strides off again.
Willow watches her leave then turns and tries to step away, she wasn’t watching where she was going and plows straight into me and my bags.
In a second my body hits the concrete, and I let out a groan.
“Omg I’m so sorry” she says as a hand reaches out to help me up.
“Don’t worry about it” I answer, then before I can stop myself “I saw what that girl said over there, are you ok?”
“I’m fine, That’s amity she’s top of my class in school, top of everything basically. My parents put me in for this art class, but I would rather be with plants, I’m not very good at it”
“It doesn’t matter, she shouldn’t talk like that to anyone” I reply, and I see willow smile at me, its warm and inviting so I can’t help but smile back.
“I can help you with some art tips if you want” I mention to her.
“That would be awesome!”
The bus appeared in the distance, its headlights blinking in the morning sun. As it rolled up to the stop with a hiss of air brakes, I found myself a little more eager to board than I had been before.
"Do you want to sit next to me on the bus?" Willow asked shyly
I nodded, my nervousness about the summer easing as we stepped through the doors.

Chapter Text

The bus pulled in at the entrance to the camp.
CAMP BOILING ISLES
Strange name, I wonder why it's called that.
Everyone piles off the bus, then the camp directors that were waiting for us, try to make order as we shuffle to find our bags, suitcases and friends.
“Quiet!” One of them shouted.
“You will each be sorted into a bunk with four or five of your fellow campers” another stated, “These cabins you share shall each have a small living area, two rooms where you will sleep and an extra room where a camp director will be supervising you during the evenings!”
Everyone groaned. No midnight adventures I suppose.
“Now when you hear your name, come meet your cabin members and supervisors!”
With my luck I will be put straight with that “Amity” girl from earlier. The supervisors continue to read out names and take their respective groups down to their cabins until.
“Luz Noceda”
I start to walk up to the front, already dreading who I’m going to be put with when…
“Willow Park”
I turn to look, it’s the girl whom I sat with earlier, I smile at her. At least I’ll have one person who’s ok in my cabin.
“Gus Porter”
“King Clawthorne”
Two boys step up next to us, the first is medium height with dark brown spiky hair, He has a round face and bright brown eyes. He has a blue hoodie and beige trousers.
Willow runs towards him and hugs him,
“Luz, this is my friend Gus from school”
Gus reaches out to shake my hand, it’s nice to meet you, uh…
“Luz”
“Luz, nice to meet you” and smiles at me
Our attention turns to the other boy stood next to us; this must be king. King, I wonder if that’s really his name, what a strange name to have. He is much shorter than all of us in the group, he wears dark clothes and a black jacket. On his jacket I notice a pin, the shape of a crown saying, “burger king”. Around his neck is a large gold charm attached to a red chain.
He introduces himself and we start talking about all the things we brought- or forgot to bring in some cases- until we are quickly interrupted with a shout.
“Hello there and welcome to Team Owl!” She says staring at us all. She has thick long bright orange hair that seems to stand up on its own, large gold earrings that creep out from her nest of hair. She wears a jacket with the initial E stitched into it on one side, and a small grey skirt under her jacket. I guess that she must be around 2/3 years older than the rest of us in the group.
“My name is Eda, and I will be your director, before we start the tour are there any questions?”
We all raise our hands.
She ignores them and says “Good. Let’s get going!”
She hurries off before anyone of us can begin to protest, I start talking with Gus as he tells me all about this new video game that he can’t play whilst we’re here. King hearing our conversation interjects and tells us about all the shows and tv we can’t watch here because all devices other than phones are banned-There was no signal out here so it wouldn’t matter anyway.
The camp is in the middle of the Forrest, so buildings are built around the trees and it’s a maze to find your way through. The main area of the camp is cleared of woods so that you can see all the main buildings. The main three: Arts, Dining and The common area, they are all large wooden buildings facing each other. In the middle of them is a large seating area that was centred around a campfire.
“I really hope we don’t have to sing campfire songs together in the evenings!” Gus stated.
We all agreed with him.
“Although I wouldn’t mind some marshmallows” King said.
We all murmur are agreements towards getting some food.
As we hurry across the camp there are loads of signposts pointing towards different areas with things like “archery” and “track”
“I feel like I’m at camp-half blood” I said quietly to Gus.
He laughs and whispers back “Hopefully without the monsters though”
We pass the main staple of the camp- the lake. The sun shone on the water causing it to shine, the water rippled as if it were alive. Boats on the shore seemed to smile at us as we wondered. Sand covered the entire area of the lake.
“Dare you to Jump in“ Willow said to Gus.
“Absolutely no chance” He replied.
We continue following behind Eda, the four of us huddled together in whispers.
“How much further could it possibly be?”
“Maybe she’s lost?”
“My feet hurt”
Till we rounded around a corner and there our cabin was. Eda turned around to stare at us, smiling she shouted:
“Welcome to the Owl house”

Chapter Text

The cabin looks like it’s one gust of wind away from falling apart, the roof is sloped around a large stained-glass window. It’s much bigger than I would have expected. The entryway has a small canopy with a large wooden door to enter. The house has a dark appearance, with wooden beams, moss, and vines covering the cabin giving it an overgrown, enchanted look. Crooked windows are placed all along the front of the cabin. Brick wall sticks out from the side and a chimney almost the size of the cabin points out from the opposite side. Next to the left side are steps leading upwards and round to the back of the cabin.
“Ok, now I really feel like I’m at camp-half blood” Gus says to me.
Eda beckons us to follow her in. We enter what must be the living room/common area of the cabin. A large red sofa to the left with a small rectangular coffee table in front of it, opposite that is a blazing fire inside of an old fireplace with candles littering every surface of the cabin. On top of the fireplace is a giant mirror with an elegant design across its borders. A small bookcase stands next to the fireplace filled with games and books for us.
“Please tell me we have electricity” Willow asked.
“Sorry kiddo” Eda replies “We make do with the candles”
We all share a glance. This is certainly going to be an interesting summer. Posters of random activities and companies are sprayed across the walls. At the end of the common room is a small doorway, to the left is a set of spiral stairs upwards, but to the front is the kitchen.
Into the kitchen there is a large semi-circle glass window on the far-facing wall, it shows the forest behind filled with trees and wood life. In front of the window is a long table filled with enough chairs for all of us to sit at. There is a wooden door against the wall and next to it a pile of logs – probably for the fireplace- stacked up neatly. Against the right wall there is counters and cupboards, we open a few to find some old pans and pots. The fridge is stocked with fresh food and Eda tells us we can replenish it in the dining hall when we need. We are expected to make our own lunches, but they provide breakfast and dinner in the dining hall every day.
We head up the spiral stairs between the common area and the kitchen to our bunks, the first floor has two bedrooms- one for me and willow to share and one for King and Gus to share- Eda runs off to the second floor (where her room is) and tells us to settle in for an hour then we will all head to the dining room.
Me and Willow claim the room to the left and head over to our new room, there is a small window opposite the door allowing a small amount of light into the room, two identical beds are in opposite corners of the room- I take the right, willow takes the left. Fairy lights decorate the ceiling hanging from the beams (after a long search we find they are battery operated from the corner) Random chests are stacked on each side, covered in so much dust that we are coughing as we open them to empty our stuff into them.
Willow gently taps me on the shoulder holding an old polaroid camera.
“Smile” she says putting her arm around me and taking a picture with it.
We hang it on one of the empty walls- first day of camp.
After a hard hour of moving boxes, cleaning off dust and unpacking our stuff our room is finally done. Not the nicest room I’ve ever had by far, but for now its cozy and warm so it will do.
An ear-piercing yell from outside gets our attention. We go into the hall and Eda’s there, she’s got a megaphone to scream at us with now, great!
“Sorry kids, checking its working for activities tomorrow” she laughs “Ready for some food?”
We all agree and head out of the cabin. A long walk past the lake and back to the main area where the dining hall is.
It is a vibrant, bustling space filled with sounds and activity. The air is filled with the clinking of cutlery against plates, the soft scrape of benches being pulled out and pushed in, and the hum of chatter from groups of people talking at once. The sounds of food being served add to the noise—trays clattering as they’re set down, the sizzling of hot food, and the occasional loud thunk of a drink being placed on the table.
We head across the dining hall to grab our trays of food and whilst standing in line I notice Eda wave to another counsellor. They had long, silvery- green hair that flowed smoothly, with some strands falling forward- framing their face. Their hair has a slight gradient, starting darker at the roots and fading into a pale silver towards the ends, their eyes were a deep green and framed with similar glasses to willows. As they saw Eda their face went a bright red, and their eyes suddenly became very interested in looking down at the floor.
Brought back into reality I am handed a tray of food, and I frantically search for were the other three have sat. Willow waves me over so I start walking across and sit at the table with them.
I look over to my right, the green-haired girl is sat with her posse of friends acting like she owned the place. I was so grateful in that moment for who my cabinmates were- even if they did seem a bit strange to begin with.
We continue with our food and once most of the room has finished a man steps up to the front of the room- the hall goes silent.
He has an old, withered face, wearing a bright red hat on his head and holding a cane in his right hand. He introduces himself as Professor Bump.

“Welcome to camp isles, here you will learn to excel in your chosen area whilst hopefully having fun along the way” He starts “You have already met those you will be living with for the next two months. This is mainly an arts and sports camp but lots of other opportunities are available; you will start off with a crash course in all the different opportunities for the next week. Then you will all be expected to choose a certain group to confine yourselves too.”
“For now, finish your meals, rest up and we shall begin explaining in more detail tomorrow” He motions to us to continue chatting and slowly hushed whispers turns back into the chaotic bustling space we walked into earlier.
“What groups are you going to choose?” I ask the others.
“I want to choose the Illusions and magic course!” Gus piped up from across the table.
“I’m not sure yet” Willow stated “I guess we’ll see how this week goes”
“King?” I ask
He stares at me and states “Drawing bugs and animals!”
“How many groups are there?” I ask
“Loads, all different types, you’ll find one that you like!” Gus states.
We finish our meal and head back to our cabin. After a few rounds of an old connect four (the only game on the bookshelf that had something inside of the box) we decide to head to bed.
“I’ll come wake you up at 8 am, for breakfast at 8:30” Eda told us right before we all headed upstairs. I guess there’s not going to be any lie ins this summer!. As I get into bed, I reach for my phone in my back pocket – which I hadn’t touched since the bus ride earlier. One message from my Mum:
“How’s summer camp?”
I look around at my cramped tiny room filled with dust and dirt, but then my mind looks over at Willow and the people I’ve already met after being here a day. It may not be perfect but..
“I think I’m gonna like it here”
I reply.