Matilda, Child of Fire

MMV: Chaos at Magic Camp

2 MMV: Chaos at Magic Camp

"I step on you to sip on fire/I got this feeling that I can't go back/...I gave so much to feel you rush/And in that rush, I want your touch..."

–Gin Wigmore, New Rush

1 am PDT/8 pm GMT+12, Vera Manor, Living Room

"Love you too," Matilda responded, then broke the hug to grasp Harry's arm, waving goodbye as they orbed across the hemisphere to Camp Wanaka in the Southern Alps of New Zealand.

9 pm GMT+12, Camp Wanaka, Cottage Bedroom

She was finally alone in her dorm—or was it "cottage?" Seconds after she and her father arrived at Camp Wanaka's door, two smiling counselors stepped forward to welcome them with a garland about the neck, reminding Matilda of tropical leis. Hers was a peach-apricot color whose scent reminded her of a mix of gardenias and plumerias; Harry's was made entirely of silver fern interwoven together—the symbol of New Zealand's national identity since the 1880s. Matilda's luggage had been enchanted to disappear from where they stood, then reappear in the room she would be staying in for the next several weeks.

The counselors bade them follow; a mere 200 feet from the lake itself, the camp boasted of breathtaking waterfront patio views of Lake Hawea and the surrounding Gladstone snow-capped mountains, in addition to a state-of-the-art open-air amphitheater for concerts, quaint flat-roofed one-story white cabins for the campers and separate similarly-sized cottages for junior counselors, a myriad of bohemian-chic waterproof canvas tents, and a set of micro-chic 500 square foot "tiny house" cabins with a desk, kitchen, and second floor loft via ladder, that reminded Matilda of her mother's Vera Manor laboratory (or "she-shed" as Macy affectionately called it). "Those micro-chic facilities are for returning counselors, who have certain seniority privileges," explained one of the two counselors, an older-yet-peppy witch named Paige, who had porcelain skin and dark auburn hair and claimed to have been a 1990s TV star back in the day.

Matilda retrieved her phone as if to take a picture, but instead checked the camp's accommodations website online, which corroborated what Paige said, though it also mentioned that the lofted tiny houses lacked bathrooms and that hot showers were only accessible from the director's cabin. Lovely, she thought, rolling her eyes.

Still, all things considered, Matilda mused to herself, staring at the ceiling from where she lay on her twin-size bed, the digs were pretty sweet. She looked past her fragrant flower wreath draped across the oaken nightstand, to the tiny kitchen (she could make scrambled eggs if she wanted), a bathroom with modern plumbing (thank God), clean bath towels that didn't reek of swamp monster (yet), and coffee and tea were provided for free. Requested staples (eggs, cheese, apples, carrot sticks, etc.) were already stocked in the mini fridge, along with condiments, spices, and other seasonings in the cabinet above, which had a couple of pots and pans, a teakettle, and some stainless steel utensils and recyclable paper cups.

Being a junior camp counselor wouldn't be too crazy—right?

Paige mentioned earlier that the camp grew its own fruits and vegetables, so Matilda wouldn't go vitamin deficient anytime soon (one of the first questions Harry asked the counselors before returning to Vera Manor). Plus, there was free WiFi; on her phone, Matilda played "April Sun in Cuba" by Dragon, a New Zealand Band. This rebellious 1977 hit song had been banned for decades in the U.S. due to its references to the Cuban Missile Crisis, its lyrics beginning: "I'm tired of the city life/Summer's on the run..." as she drifted off to sleep, the sound of croaking bullfrogs and humming cicadas lingering in the distance.