AN: I wrote this for Quidditch League round 8! The prompts I used were ...
1. Frere Jaques (Nursery Rhyme)
2. Backpack (Object)
3. Owl (Animal)
Day three in Versailles, and I have a busy day ahead of me. The first thing I do is go out to the front lawn and check the box at the end of our driveway. It holds all the mail which I think is weird, no one from our town at home by the Shell Cottage have mail boxes. We use owls, of course.
Looking through about two days worth, I find the one I'm looking for addressed to a 'Ms. Weasley', so I slip a fingernail underneathe and open it. In the letter I find my acceptance, and an invite to the party tonight. I smile so wide my cheeks might pop off.
I've never been invited to a party before. Back inside my house, dad just sat to eat some breakfast, so I join him as well.
"Can you pass the syrup?"
I pass the Maple Syrup, but not before using it on my own waffles.
"Dad, can I go out tonight? I have a get together with the staff at camp." I toss him my letters.
He scans it, smiles and then replies in a snide voice, "I think this would be considered a party."
I laugh, "Well yes. Can I go?"
"I think it would be alright. You are fifteen now, so promise me one thing ... no boys."
I laugh again, but this time it's not met with a playful smile. Uh oh, dads going to get all serious on me.
"No boys, okay?" He points his fork at my face. "I think I overheard Victoire talking on the phone the other night, and she mentioned something about this boy at camp."
I shrug nonchalantly. "No boys." I add sarcastically, "Can I talk to them?"
This time Dad rolls his eyes. "Yes."
He gets up and washes his dishes. Louis and Victoire come in the room with Mom and Papa.
Victoire gives me a curious look, but doesn't say anything in the presence of our parents, so I leave into the living room.
"You're meeting Levi tonight, aren't you?"
I blush. "I'm going to the staff party."
"And Levi will be there."
I nod. "Yes."
"Okay, question. Do you want my tips, or not?"
I raise an eyebrow. "Tips? I'm curious."
Victoire almost jumps for joy. She loves being my big sister, I love her for that.
"Wear something cute tonight. Don't eat any messy foods. Please don't say the words 'uhm, and, or what' too much."
The list goes on, but for my sake I tuned out after she noted that 'if you happen to play charades, do not do anything stupid.'
"Okay! Tori, I get it!"
"-Make sure to drink from a straw ... huh? Oh. Sorry."
Between both my father and my sister, you would think that parties were a big deal.
Throughout the day I do random things like read a book or help Grandma make french bread, and I paint. Painting is my favorite. A few hours later when I'm done with my piece, I bring it down into the kitchen to show off. The french bread smells amazing!
Grandma comes over in a rush with a pot holder in hand. "Smells just perfect!"
She puts the bread down on the counter and cuts it into slices.
"Oh! Dominique is that a painting?"
"Yes."
I show it to her. It's a painting of the town, from the window on the other side of our room. It's still four o clock, so in my painting the sun is shining bright. I painted the old church buildings and some lovely museums. Not a super exciting scene, but my favorite part is the tiny little violinist I painted on the street corner.
"C'est Magnifique! You are so talented!"
I smile at her very satisfied with my work, and her praise.
"Have a slice of 'ze bread, it will calm you. There is nothing to be worried about, you will be fine. Parties are a piece of cake, I think that your family just likes to amp the pressure up."
I love my grandma, she's always baking in the kitchen. She says baked goods make your tummy very happy. I take a piece and head back up to my room.
I begin to think about the party I'm going to, and I wonder if it is a big deal. I decide that it's not. I dress up in a blue sweater, and white skirt.
I don't think Victorie's home, but I yell from the door, "Bye! I'm leaving now!"
"See ya!" Louis calls from the sofa.
I Apparate to the camp, and look around for the shindig. In the distance I hear faint music, so I head that way until it gets louder.
"Hello, may I ask who you are?"
An older lady in her forties asks me at the gate. "I'm 16, and a staff member."
"Oh! Are you now? Well then, you can come in for free! Have fun and don't try the punch!"
I look at her quizzically but go into the clearing.
I scan the crowd of thirty or so people, looking for a friendly face. I spot the mean P.E teacher and give her a small wave. I don't move towards her though.
Spotting Levi over by the refreshments, I go over and tap him on the shoulder.
"Hey."
"Hi! You made it!"
She chuckles. "Yup, I had to chop a leg off to do it though." Why did I say that? It's not true.
Levi laughs too, and I think our conversation is going well until he pours himself some punch. I almost have a panic attack.
"No! Don't drink that. Uh, a lady told me not to." Dominique slaps the plastic cup from his hand.
That was a mistake, because the punch flies right onto his shoes.
"Oh Merlin, I'm sorry! Damn."
Levi looks at me with a shocked face. "Don't worry about it. Did you just curse?"
I'm still looking around for a napkin, and find one on the table. When I pull it the worst thing happens, to top everything else that's already happened off. The napkin was stuffed under my drink which topples over onto my own white skirt.
"Damn!"
I wipe my skirt once and then hand Levi a wad of napkins, who's just staring at me the whole time.
He takes his shoes off and removes his socks, wipes his shoes a little and puts them back on.
"I am so sorry," I say with with fervor.
There is just a moment of awkward silence before Levi busts out laughing so hard, that he has to bend over with his hands on his knees.
"Don't worry about it, my shoes are old anyway. You on the other hand ..."
I dare to peer down at my new, white skirt and I feel the blush creeping to my face again. The punch was red, and the stain on the front is not attractive and looks disgusting for a number of reasons.
Putting her hands on her hips (channeling her big sister's bossy attitude) I retort, "Do not laugh at me! It was an accident!"
Levi recovers from his fit and wipes a tear. "Only you could be so clumsy. Here follow me."
The ice is officially broken and smashed, and can never be repaired.
Levi walks down a dirt path and into the campers area, we walk past cabins and a tiny, outdoor bathroom/shower room. He comes to a portable mobile home, and opens the door.
"This is the office. It's a bit small, but it also doubles as the emergency room."
There is a medical corner of the room, with ace bandages and wizards medicine. In one corner of the room isles of clothing on racks.
"Go ahead and pick something out," Levi says gently. I was just examining in the room. Lost in my own world for a bit.
I look through many clothes, and show them to Levi for fun. Finally I pick out some black skinny jeans.
Exiting the emergency room together, we head back to the clearing.
"Oh there you two are! Not up to anything suspicious, are you?"
I blush, but am thankful for the darkness. My pale skin gives me away every time.
She laughs at her own joke. "Can you see us in the Counselor's Cabin?"
We follow close behind and go inside and are met with six other people. Different ages all around, a couple middle aged, and some young adults. One old person.
The girl that brought us here moves into the middle of the circle.
"Okay teachers, I am so happy to see that everyone could make it," She smiles. "I wanted us all to introduce ourselves and say a few things. Let's first begin on this side of the room, say three things about yourself."
A boy about Levi's age speaks up. "I'm Timothy, I like to bike. I love eating, and playing the ukulele."
The old lady goes next and says, "I'm Anthea. I like pigeons."
No one pointed out that she noted only one fact, but after three more people, my turn rolls around.
I stand. "My name's Dominique. I like cats, french culture, and painting." I sit.
Levi takes his turn and then the last introduction takes place. The lady who started got up again.
"You can call me Sunny! I love the color Yellow, love kids, and can cook a mean pot roast!"
I don't really like Sunny's uh, sunny attitude, but I guess it's something I'll have to put up with. I look around at Levi, to see if he's as bored as I am. He looks absolutely sleepy.
"Okay! Now, all teachers will be receiving their schedules before they leave, but I want to go over some rules." She claps her hands to regain some attention. It's been about an hour so far.
"Rule number one! Do not smoke, drink, or consume illegal products. This includes any Weasley Wizard Weazes."
I snort. My uncle is crazy, but I love him!
"Rule number two! No love affairs may happen on campus, we do not need any drama. This is a relaxing adventure we'll be embarking on, and rule number three! You will be held accountable for the cabin I assign you. One teacher per cabin. You will be responsible for troubling students."
A couple more rules are read out and then she finally lowers her voice. "Everyone come get a copy of the schedule. Have fun, and enjoy the rest of the party!"
I get up and stretch my back, and look over to see Levi sleeping. I shake him awake before Sunny sees him. With a snort his eyes crack open. "is it over?"
"Yeah."
We both leave and continue to walk around the party. There are other people here, like friends of the teachers, and parents taking tours. Overall, I would give this party a success rating. Except for the part where I embarrassed myself.
"I'm pretty tired."
I nod at Levi. "Yeah, I am a little too. Did you have work?" It was now eight o clock at night, and I' trying to make decent small talk.
"Yup. I think I'm going to skip the rest of this and turn in. I'll be sleeping at the camp tonight since my gran wants me to help her tomorrow morning."
I nod. "You do a lot of work for this camp. I'm sure my aunt would be proud of you. I haven't seen her in so long, but I think she'll be here tomorrow for the official start."
"Really? I always liked your aunt. She's kind to me."
"I'm glad."
After a minute, Levi says goodbye and leaves.
I stay at the party for another hour mingling with other teachers. I learn that the old lady is the crafts master, and another man who's thirty six is the chef. We sit around the campfire and eat marshmallows under the stars. As a goofy gag, I suggest we sing Frère Jacques, and everyone giggles at me.
I'm really excited to see what this summer holds for me, so I load all my camp files and forms that I received into a camp backpack, that I also received and Apparate home. When I'm there, I fall right into bed and sleep.
