Mount Asteria

Chapter Twenty Three

Dinner that evening was an exciting affair. The dining hall was opened up and connected to the room beside to accommodate the additional thirty five people. The girls, finally, were given an opportunity to talk to the Knightsbridge students.

Alexandra and Hestia arrived and sat tentatively in their usual seats, wondering who would be beside them. Ebony and Bláth, both determined that there was nothing out of the ordinary, sat opposite them. The hall filled quickly, but the boys all seemed to sit together at one end of the table. All, except for Damien.

"You look like you're in pain," Alexandra said to Ebony as the starters were brought out. A beautifully presented salade Landaise was placed in front of her. She smiled. Though the food from the Mount Asteria kitchens was always excellent, it seemed the cooks were pulling out all the stops to impress their guests.

"It's the noise," Ebony replied in a sour tone. "Why did they have to stay for dinner?"

Alexandra laughed, but before she could reply, somebody swapped seats with Thea, who was next to Bláth. That somebody  happened to be a boy.

"Hey, Louis!" Bláth broke into a wide grin.

Alexandra turned to Hestia. "I thought Bláth was just as annoyed with the current situation as Ebony?"

Hestia shook her head, gesturing to Thea, now beside Damien. "It's just Damien she really hates. The rest of them she either doesn't know or actually likes. Like Louis there; he's a really good friend of hers. I think they used to play tennis together or something."

"Ah. Well, I don't mind it. The food just seems to get better!"

Hestia laughed. "True. Hey, Daniel told me he has to go back to London next weekend for something or other and I'm going to go with him to see Mum and Dad. Do you want to fly over with us?"

"Oh, yeah, maybe. Though I do have my flights booked for mid-term so I'll have to see what my parents say. Are they expensive?"

She shook her head, giggling. "Sorry, Alexandra, I should have said. We get a private plane."

Alexandra's mouth opened. "Oh." A private plane? And there she was asking whether flights were expensive. She was sure Hestia's idea of expensive would not quite match her own.

"Yeah, courtesy of the British government."

"What?"

"Well, as long as I'm here and Daniel's in Knightsbridge, MI6 is happy to pay."

Alexandra stopped for a moment and stared at Hestia. Hestia, the girl who had arrived down to breakfast the previous day having forgotten her shirt under her jumper and who had once accidentally set her hair on fire in one of the chemistry labs, was flown in and out of the country on a private jet owned by one of the most famous spying agencies in the world.

"What?" she said. "Hestia, where is all of this coming from? Why does MI6 pay for you?"

Hestia shrugged nonchalantly. "My parents work there. Bláth, could you pass me the water please? Thanks."

***

"Hestia told me her parents work for MI6. Did you know that?" Alexandra said to Bláth incredulously as they walked back to the south wing that evening.

Bláth looked confused. "Yeah, everyone knows that. Her dad's in the scientific research department and her mum's the head of the whole thing."

"The head of MI6?"

"Stop looking so worried!" she exclaimed, seeing Alexandra's forehead scrunch up.

"Sorry, it's just... crazy. Do everyone's parents here have similar jobs?"

Bláth laughed as if she had said something ridiculous. "Hardly. My mum's a primary school teacher."

"Oh, okay."

"But my dad's head of the Irish Defence Forces."

"You guys are crazy."

"Hestia's brother was something of a child prodigy, you know. He's already been offered places at pretty much all the training programmes available to us here."

"I had no idea Hestia even had a brother." Alexandra shook her head in wonder.

Her companion smiled. "He's gorgeous, isn't he? And he's so nice, too. And intelligent. That's rare, you know."

"I know," Alexandra repeated sadly.

"Pity he's in sixth year."

She nodded. "Though the fourth years aren't too bad either. Especially that one... Damien, was it?"

Bláth snorted. "Damien Dempsey is such an idiot. He just gets on my nerves," she added in response to Alexandra's questioning look. "And he can't be serious for more than thirty seconds. Can't keep a girl for much longer either. He's had about four girlfriends already this year."

"Four?"

"Okay. Maybe a small exaggeration. One or two."

"How do you know, anyway?" Alexandra asked slyly.

Bláth rolled her eyes. "Damien doesn't exactly keep these things a secret. You know Louis, though?"

Alexandra frowned. "Which one was he?"

"Tall. Clumsy. Not very good looking. He sat next to us at dinner."

"Oh yeah."

"Well, he's really nice. And the rest will be too, I think, once we get to know them a little better."

"All to look forward to. Are you going to audition?"

Bláth wrinkled her nose. "No. Not really my thing."

"Oh."

"Are you?"

"I think so. I love the Importance of Being Earnest. It's my favourite."

Bláth suppressed a smile. "Oh, you communications majors."