Kiri was glad that the school was fully accessible again. Not only did that mean she had most of her stuff back, such as her sleeping bag - whatever the Merpeople's magic had been, her possessions had not been harmed by their month-long submersion - but she was also no longer forced to use the infernal slides down into the Grounds... Especially today, carrying her sleeping bag as well as the usual school bag, she wouldn't have trusted herself to make the ride safely.

By the time she got to the camp-out site, the sun was setting over the Lake. She paused for a moment and turned to watch the water's tranquil surface. Where the sun hit it, it gleamed and glittered like gold.
Kiri saw that she was one of the first people to arrive. The Groundskeeper was piling up so much wood that it looked as if, in other circumstances, it were enough to build an entire Viking village. Kiri had brought warm clothes with her, but once a fire of that size got going, she was pretty sure she wouldn't need them. The slight breeze weaving through the Grounds only added to the idyllic scene.

Kiri dropped her stuff a few metres away from the pit's edge - close enough as to get all the benefits of the warmth of the fire, but far enough that she wouldn't look attractive to any flames looking for fuel. She thought about offering Mr Masterson her help, but he looked more than capable on his own. Kiri would only be in the way. She sat down on the grass and stretched out her legs.