Aymee Parker B2 - The Cursed Mark

Chapter 45 : Welcome?

Hepz POV

Hepzibah fell face down in the grass and Aymee tripped over her feet.

"There they are!"

Hepzibah rubbed her head as a girl with hair like a brown cloud jumped into Aymee's arms.

"Leslie!" exclaimed Aymee while laughing.

"Welcome to Camp Half-Blood, Hepzibah."

Hepzibah looked up to see who was holding out his hand. She recognized the calming eyes of the oldest teacher on Earth. He was on all fours and seemed to find the view very amusing. Hepzibah got up on her own, grunting.

"I'm not used to..."

"Of course," understood Chiron before turning to Aymee. "Are you giving her the tour or would you rather I do it?"

"Oh, huh, I can do it...?"

"Perfect then. Go meet your friends while I take her to the orientation film. I'll bring her to you later."

"Cool! See you!"

Aymee turned on her heels in a second and disappeared from Hepzibah's field of vision with the other girl the next.

"Who was that girl? I thought we were supposed to keep all the magic thingy a secret?"

"It's Leslie Barns, Aymee's half-sister and the only other witch in camp. She recently turned eleven and will be going to Hogwarts with you next year."

"Oh."

They walked around the big building and Hepzibah had a direct view of the camp which was...a camp. If you put aside the pegasi and nymphs and armored teenagers walking around, it was the most average summer camp she had ever seen. Chiron chuckled.

"You look disappointed."

"It's just a summer camp. I thought it would be more... more Greek."

"Yes, we are often told that."

"Where is the magic tree?"

The millennium pointed to a large conifer at the top of the nearest hill.

"Thalia's pine. It protects us all."

Hepzibah stared at the tree and her shoulders slumped.

What a boringly pitiful guardian. They should do like Hogwarts. I'm sure Sprout could send them a Whomping Willow sprout.

Chiron didn't give her time to complain about the camp's lack of coolness and opened a door for her.

"It's over here for the film."

It must have been the most boring twenty minutes of her life. An old VCR was waiting for her with nachos and Hepzibah had to force herself to stay seated. The film told the origin of the colony, the various activities and the rules to be respected, all under the artistic direction of Apollo. The most irritating rule was by far the non-sharing of tables in the refectory, especially when they clearly showed some poor teenagers of the Hermes table sitting on the floor when there were three empty tables just aside. Hepzibah almost threw the plate of nachos on the square three-foot-thick old TV when they explained that the unclaimed were staying with the Hermes.

What is this infinity of stupid rules?

The light suddenly came back on and Hepzibah slowly turned around. Chiron was waiting for her in the doorway with Aymee. They both flinched when they saw her fuming.

"When do we know who our divine parent is?" Hepzibah asked slowly.

They exchanged a look that spoke volumes. Hepzibah shot up and kicked the empty bowl of nachos.