Old Gold untied his necklace and plucked a bead from one of the ends. He held it in front of him between his finger and thumb. ‘This is your first assignment,’ he said. He took the bead and tossed it directly at Charlotte, who caught it right away. The bead gave off a light purple shimmer and was about the size of an acorn. Old Gold smiled as he pulled another bead from his necklace and tossed it to Dylan, who fumbled it between two open hands before letting it fall to the ground.
‘Does this mean I fail the first assignment?’ asked Dylan, looking morose.
Old Gold let out a deep laugh. ‘No need to worry, Dylan. A little dirt won’t hurt.’ Old Gold continued to pull beads from his necklace and toss them around until everyone was holding one. ‘Each of your journeys here at Camp Dragon will be a personal one,’ he said. ‘I want you to close your eyes, open your minds and your hearts, and think about what you want most from your time here.’
Billy held the bead in his hand and closed his eyes, feeling a bit silly. He opened them again and saw that everyone else’s eyes were shut, their expressions earnest. He sighed and closed his eyes again. He was here now. He might as well try. He rolled the bead in his palm and thought about how far he was from home. How different everything felt here. Nothing was familiar. Even the air smelled different from the salt-scented ocean breeze he was used to. As the wind rustled his hair, he listened to the insects and birds chirping around him, the distant rushing water and the occasional howl of the monkeys. He thought about how far from home he was, and it gave him a pang in his chest.
Focus, he told himself. What did he want from his time at camp?
On the journey here, Billy’s only thought had been how much he was dreading the summer at this camp and all the things he would miss at home. And now as he stood, listening to the new sounds and breathing in the mountain air, a tiny trickle of excitement crept in. If he had to be here, he might as well have a bit of an adventure. This felt like the kind of place for that.
The bead sparked unexpectedly in his hand and his eyes flew open. Old Gold was staring straight at him. Billy shut his eyes quickly, feeling as if he’d been caught doing something he shouldn’t. Billy shook his head, trying to refocus, but before he could gather his thoughts Old Gold clapped. ‘Very good, very good. I hope that helped centre everyone.’ He walked round and collected the beads, stringing them back onto his necklace. For a moment, Billy thought his bead was glimmering. And were some of the other beads too? He blinked. Perhaps it was just a trick of the light.
‘Now, what would you think if I told you that these beads are going to help me divide you into groups for the summer?’ asked Old Gold with a grin.
‘I’d say that you are absolutely off your rocker,’ Dylan said cheerfully.
Old Gold laughed. ‘I like your honesty,’ he said. ‘Even so, that is what I’m going to do. You might have noticed I’m just a bit old…’ He paused and winked, as if letting them in on a secret. ‘Over the years I’ve learned that some things can’t be explained, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t let them guide you.’
Old Gold ran the necklace through his fingers and closed his eyes, humming to himself and rocking back and forth.
‘This does not seem like a legitimate way to group us at all,’ said Charlotte, crossing her arms. ‘Surely we should be divided into groups based on our skills?’
Billy couldn’t help agreeing. Now, not only was he stuck on a mountain in the middle of China with no mobile-phone service, he was also at a camp run by an old man who believed in magic beads.
‘Billy Chan!’ Old Gold thundered, and Billy jumped.
‘Dylan O’Donnell!’
‘Charlotte Bell!’
‘Liu Ling-Fei!’
Old Gold opened his eyes. ‘The beads tell me you four belong together,’ he said. ‘And who am I to disagree?’
Old Gold divided the remaining eight campers into two more groups, and beamed at everyone. ‘I think we are off to a very good start, don’t you?’
The campers eyed each other warily.
‘Now,’ Old Gold continued, ‘I’m sure you’d all like to get to know each other, and you can do that over lunch. But first I want to introduce you to the other camp counsellors.’ He gestured to three adults standing on the edge of the group – two women and a man. ‘This is Lee laoshi, Feng laoshi and Wu laoshi,’ he said, putting the Mandarin word for ‘teacher’ after their surnames. The other camp counsellors waved. ‘If you have any questions, or need anything at all, you can find us in the main cabins in the centre of camp. Now off you go to the canteen!’
‘Well,’ said Charlotte when they reached the canteen, ‘we should probably sit together, shouldn’t we? If we’re going to be part of a team. I’ll admit all my pageant training has made me fiercely competitive – I’m going to want to win all the activities we do.’
‘It isn’t about winning,’ said Ling-Fei earnestly. ‘It’s about the experience.’
‘That’s what people say who don’t usually win,’ said Charlotte. ‘Now that you’re on my team, Ling-Fei, you can get used to winning.’ She winked and flounced off to get her tray.
The food was plentiful and delicious. Billy devoured mountains of fried rice and all the dumplings he could eat. So far, the food was the best
