Chapter Text
Hunter glared at the offending brochure. “Mom,” he started, “I am perfectly sane. I don’t need any reality check! Have you seen my report card? Of course you did, and I have an A plus in everything—”
“—Except for that A minus in Spanish,” Camila interjected. She flashed an apologetic smile toward Principal Hal, which looked more like a grimace.
Hunter rolled his eyes and continued his defense. “I’m not obsessed with Star Wars, Cosmic Frontier—”
Principal Hal coughed. “This is the third time you brought dangerous equipment to school.”
“W-well.” Hunter crossed his arms, a defiant expression on his face. “It was in the name of science!”
“Mijo.” Camila’s voice was gentle. “I admire your efforts, but it’s…getting a little out of hand.” Her voice took on a pleading edge. “Do you know how many parents complained about your…’Frankenstein-ish experiments’?”
Hunter’s cheeks flushed red. “It worked. For approximately five minutes. I deserve a medal for that.” He stared at Principal Hal, expecting him to dish another medal for his collection.
“No.” Principal Hal narrowed his eyes. He leaned back on his chair. He sighed. “Hunter, you’re a good student.”
Said student beamed.
“But in all my years of teaching, never had there been a self-sabotaging student like you.”
Said student winced. He tightened the drawstrings of his hoodie.
“Hunter.” Camila looked away before gazing at her son in the eye. “Challenging people to fencing duels, sabotaging competitors, going overboard in projects like the frog one…” Her eyes focused on the notebook on Hunter’s lap. “Trying to prove your conspiracy theories…it’s all too much. And that’s just some of them.”
Hunter tapped the brochure. “Think inside the box?” he read out loud. “That’s practically me in every way!”
Camila didn’t say anything; she looked sadder. She tapped the brochure. “If you read the inside of the brochure , the camp isn’t only for daydreamers.”
Principal Hal coughed. “You’re a good kid, Hunter. Your mother doesn’t want your potential to be wasted—hence to summer camp you go.”
“Really.” Hunter squinted as he read the other contents of the brochure. “How will mortgages help?”
Camila smiled a little. “One day it’ll help you get a house!”
Hunter forced himself to not look skeptical. “Mom, I appreciate it, but later I promise to present you a one hundred slide presentation on why I shouldn’t go to that camp.”
~~~
“I still stand by what I said.”
Camila laughed, Hunter pouted.
“Mom,” he whined.
Camila patted his head, her worry wrinkles appearing less prominent. “Mijo, it’s only for three months, okay? And you might make some friends there!” She winked. “You might get a boyfriend or a girlfriend,” she added in a sing-song way.
Hunter turned into a tomato. Technically, he dyed his hair brown. So no, he didn't turn into a tomato. “Not yet, Mom,” he hissed. “Once I’m in college—Mom!” His mortification started rising. “No! No! Mom, stop laughing!”
“Aye, Hunter, you’re funny like that.” Camila wiped tears of laughter off her face. She smiled at Hunter. “But I promise, you’re going to like it there.”
Camila’s gaze darted toward something behind Hunter. Her smile dropped and her body stiffened.
Hunter turned around.
There was a poster on the tree behind him. The upper half was torn apart, but the bottom half was intact. Most of it. On that portion, letters were displayed.
///
Have you seen this girl?
LUZ NOCEDA
Age: 5
Height: 3’6
Last seen wearing a purple T-shirt and blue shorts on October 31, 2012
If you have seen her please contact—
///
The number beside contact was blurry and faded. Hunter couldn’t remember it.
But he remembered helping Dad out in spreading the posters. Even though this poster lacked the photo, Hunter knew what it would’ve looked like. A grinning Luz in an Azura-themed T’shirt, a unicorn headband, and a sparkle in her eyes.
“You two would have gotten along,” Camila mumbled, eyes downcast.
Hunter held her hands. “Mom, are you sure you don’t need me to help you out?”
Camila let out a watery chuckle. “You’re so dutiful, but I’ll hold down the fort for now.”
“I believe—”
“Hunter.” Camila sent him a warning look.
He removed his hoodie. “I didn’t come from here!” He pointed at his ears. “We both know it’s not some sort of genetic defect! And I…” He rubbed his head, trying to make the memories clearer. “I came here through something—a portal? Anyway, like I said, it’s no coincidence I appeared when Luz disappeared! She might have—”
Hunter groaned and covered his face.”She—she might have gone through a different portal! And if giraffes do have magic, then I can—”
“Hunter.” Camila snapped. “That’s enough .”
He hunched his shoulders, looking down.
Camila sighed and put her hands on his shoulders. “I know that you might be from, as you said, a different world.” She pulled on his hoodie so it covered his ears again. “But this is a big world, too.” She looked him in the eye. “I know you don’t want to, but can you go to camp? For me?”
It was rare for Hunter’s adoptive mother to ask something. His shoulders slumped and he kicked a stray pebble. “Fine.” He puffed out his cheeks.
Camila pressed a kiss on his forehead. “You’re going to like it there, I promise.” She turned around to grab something. “Just wait for the bus, okay?”
~~~
It wasn’t even a minute yet but Hunter had enough of his Rubik's cube. Aside from the poster and the creepy old house, there wasn’t anything interesting to note. The trees were all carbon copies of another; each individual blade of grass was equal in height. Heck, the garbage can had the average pieces of junk expected. Aside from a ripped page of a coloring book.
Hunter readjusted the straps of his backpack. He began whistling a tune he can’t quite recall where he heard it from. A soft wind began to pick up, making the leaves rustle.
Hoot, hoot, hoot.
Hunter stopped whistling. He scanned the branches. Most owls aren’t active around this time. Or was this some kind of weird owl?
Wait.
Why were the sounds coming from the ground?
It’s coming from his right. Hunter looked down toward the garbage can. The hairs on his neck began to rise. The ripped page was missing. But why would anyone steal trash?
“Show yourself!” Hunter cupped his hands together as he yelled. He turned around in a slow circle, fists out. “I know self-defense!” All he saw were the trees and bushes.
Crunch, crunch, crunch.
It’s coming from the ground again!
He stared at the creepy old house.
There!
Hunter dropped his fists. His eyes widened in confusion.
He was right. The perpetrator of the hooting was a weird one. A perplexing one. On the ground the owl was dragging a sack that’s got to be several times heavier than it was. On top of the sack was the missing page alongside a mixture of different items.
Hold on.
He thought his rival in trigonometry stole his Cosmic Frontier comic book and kept denying when questioned. Even in the fistfight on the school roof.
“Hey.” Hunter glared at the owl, fury rising. “Stealing. Is. Illegal.” He rolled up his sleeves and sprinted toward the bird. In surprising speed the bird took off toward the house.
“Get back here!” Hunter followed it inside, only to be—
Hunter hissed and covered his eyes as he was bombarded by a sudden flash of light. No. He wasn’t going to be defeated by the light of all things. His comic book was at stake.
Hunter snapped his eyes open. In front of him was a door with an eye at the top. It was left ajar. He grinned. He pretended to roll up his sleeves a second time. “I got you now.”
Like a bull he charged face first into the door.
In retrospect, there was a high probability this house was supernatural. The videos on Mewtube proved it.
All traces of confidence in Hunter melted away like ice cream. He expected a ghost-ridden room, not a weird-collectible-ridden one. There was a curtain leading to what he assumed led outside, but he chose to examine the place.
He looked backwards, reassuring himself the door was still there.
The collectibles themselves were items Hunter swore his neighbors wailed as missing. Mystery solved. Hunter was disappointed, knowing his theory about the talking rats being the culprits had been debunked. Hard.
But there it was.
His beloved comic book was on the ground.
Hunter squealed as silent as he could as he picked it up. Confidence to confront the thieving bird surged in him again.
Without thinking he yanked the curtain open.