Alive. Everything was alive.

That is, the fire was alive. The people in the front seat were dead. The child in the back, bloodied and burned, screamed as she was removed from the car. Her breaths were fast and she was horrified, even the trees all around her seemed like they were on fire as well. She screamed until her throat was raw.
She never forgot that gruesome scene, ever. Day and night she had flashbacks and nightmares, each more vivid than the last.

Claudia woke up with a start, and a sharp inhale as she looked around frantically.
Right, right. She was home. She was safe, that day was at least eighteen years ago.
She had a new family now, she had for years, and they were very kind to her. She had an older brother who, while he drank often, genuinely cared for her. She had a mom who shopped with her and taught her to cook and sew. She had a father who showed her off with pride, however that would never replace them. She loved her family, but it'd never replace her biological parents, even if they had only raised her for six years of her life. She was twenty-five now, and she still lived with her parents. Not that she minded - it meant free food and good company.

Also, it was a place to stay while she went to college. Dorms were such a drag, and she didn't want to live alone. So she stayed home, ate well, and went to classes on Mondays and Wednesdays. Today was a Tuesday, which made her groan. It was only eight in the morning, but there was no chance she was getting back to sleep now. Everyone was still asleep, the news was full of terror and regret, and she was much too tired to cook for herself.
She was confined to her bed for the time being, it seemed. She grabbed her phone from the bedside table and checked her email. She'd applied for an internship at a film lot where a TV show was being filmed. It was a requirement for one of her classes to have internship experience, and nobody seemed to be taking intern positions for this particular show, which made her a shoe-in! She didn't think twice about why people might not be signing up.

No email, though, to her dismay. She'd sent the application a week ago, surely they'd have accepted her by now! The waiting was anxiety-inducing and tedious. Claudia just locked her phone and stretched her arms out, yawning before running some fingers through her hair. Usually, she put in in braids, but while asleep it was always down, which proved to be challenging when she had to brush it out in the mornings. At least she didn't have to do that today, seeing as she had nowhere to go unless Ross wanted her to go on a beer run with him.
Ah, yes. Ross Daughtry, her adoptive older brother and probably the best friend she could ask for. He hated her when she was first adopted, but after a bit of crying and talking, the two were inseparable and spent their time together playing Pokemon on the couch. Recently, though, after some failed jobs as a writer, he'd been turning to alcohol for most of this inspiration.

Claudia climbed out of bed and slid on some slippers. She needed coffee, and she needed it badly. She didn't mind getting out of bed to start a pot as much as she minded getting out of bed to make something to eat. That probably wasn't the best mindset. She drug herself down the stairs and headed into the kitchen to brew some coffee. Packets of sugar, a ton of milk, and the coffee was perfect - as sweet as possible. She had a sweet tooth, and more often than not it got her sick, but she didn't mind much. She started a pot of coffee, getting out her sugar and milk so it was ready before she went searching in the fridge.
Ah, Lunchables. The breakfast of champions, or in her case, an extremely lazy college student. Not that she cared about the quality of her breakfast, it was processed meat and crackers and yet she adored it. After sufficiently sweetening her coffee and finishing her food, she headed back upstairs, checking her email once more. This time, a tiny notification alerted her that she had a new email - one from the Total Drama company, and her heart leapt as she opened it.

Dear Miss Klein-Daughtry -
Congratulations! You have been selected to be a part of the Total Drama interning crew. Your job will consist of testing out various challenges, doing errands for your higher-ups, and filling out some paperwork, among other things.
You will need to bring a few forms to the island when you arrive, that have been attached and can be printed off. Among these are mostly medical forms, consent forms, and a few contracts warning you of the dangers of your position.
Your plane ticket will arrive in the mail shortly, and your trip here is scheduled for June 3rd. Please contact us with any questions or concerns.
- The Total Drama Team
...Well. She had some work to do. She set her coffee down and flopped down on her covers, heart soaring with excitement.