Chapter 1: Back to the High School Future
"School years – the time of our lives defined by an aspiration to obtain knowledge, discover hidden talents, overcome challenges, build long-lasting friendships and experience the world in our own unique way" the unknown narrator said in a calm, pleasant, almost nostalgic-sounding manner that made it seem like a beginning of an ad for an education facility of sorts. His speech was accompanied by a classical melody and footage of the interior of a school, the scenery shifting from hallways to classrooms, the cafeteria, the gym and the library. "School is a path leading to our futures, but one we will keep looking back at as a source of many fond memories. Everything about it is incredibly stirring, moving and…"
"Booooring!" an all too familiar voice of the TD host interjected, stopping the music and the video, which was now showing the basketball court set up in the school's gym. The image then went white, and the camera panned out slightly to reveal that the footage was shown on a large portable projection screen, which was now hurriedly being wheeled away by two interns, one of whom also carried a music player. The removal of the screen revealed the one and only Chris McLean sporting his usual attire and pearly whites with a three-story building painted in mostly brown and white with a triangular roof and a Canadian flag placed on top of it in the background.
"That's what school's like until Total Drama comes to town! I am Chris McLean and this is the stage for the brand new season of your favorite reality show." Chris announced in his usual relaxed, yet excited tone of voice. "This school is where a bunch of hopefuls will compete to see which one of them has what it takes to go back home with one million dollars in their pockets. Get ready for the most unpredictable season yet, where there's only one thing we can guarantee – and that's drama! Welcome to Total Drama School Life!"
[Intro]
"Over the years of making your favorite show, we've seen a lot." Chris resumed his monologue. "We've been to and destroyed several islands, tried our hand in filmmaking and even made a quick trip around the globe. Fifty-one teenagers and one washed-up socialite have tried and mostly failed to get their hands on the grand prize. We've seen every type of competitor in the book from tough jocks to awkward nerds to cunning schemers to people, who made our producers go "Where did you find these guys?" So now, we believe it's time to start anew with a brand new location and a fresh cast of wackos! These people applied for Total Drama, despite everything that has taken place on this show over the past six seasons – that's how you know these kids are nuts!" Chris shifted his gaze from the camera to the road in front of him and looked into the distance. "And here they come now!"
A yellow school bus was rapidly approaching the school building. Inside it were sixteen teenagers – some looking out the window, some chatting up their neighbors, and others finding some other way to entertain themselves. "Time to give these guys a warm welcome! Chef?" Chris said into a walkie-talkie with a sly smile on his lips. On the other end was indeed the other half of the host duo – Chef, dressed in a dark blue uniform, was the one driving the bus and, once he heard Chris's words, he spun the wheel causing the bus to spin wildly in turn, which prompted screams of terror from the new contestants. The vehicle then came to a sudden halt less than a meter away from the host. "Terrific job, Chef! And bonus points for the parking." Chris exclaimed, as the bus stopped right in the designated spot outlined by chalk on the pavement surface. "I guess after piloting a huge jet, driving a bus is a piece of cake. Well, anyway, it is now time to meet our brand new victims, er, I mean, contestants!"
"Up first is…" before Chris was able to finish his sentence, the door of the bus swung open and a young woman in an orange t-shirt and denim overalls stumbled out with her arms around her stomach. The moment she stepped off the bus, however, she could no longer control herself and threw up right onto the pavement. "Well, I guess we have a volunteer!" Chris said, clearly amused by the whole situation. The girl took a second to collect herself and adjust the red bandana that got tangled in her short blond hair before shooting Chef a dirty glare. "Where I'm from that kind of driving would get you fired on the spot!"
"Hey Rachel, how are you doing?" Chris asked, as the girl walked up to him.
"I'm fine, Chris. It's nice to meet you" Rachel answered politely, "though I'm not really excited to go to school after I just graduated"
"That's something all of you have in common. Please, stand over there, while I introduce the other contestants" Chris motioned her to a spot a dozen or so steps away from where he was standing.
"Now, let's say hello to Gregory!" Chris greeted a rather large and tall guy with short brown hair and a noticeable stubble sporting a red shirt with a pair of drums on it and jeans.
"Just call me Greg." He corrected, "This is a dream come true, man! When I started watching the first season, I wasn't even in high school, and now I'm here! Can't wait for you to throw some of those wicked challenges at me, bro. Testing my limits is the reason I'm here!"
"Isn't a million dollars the main reason?" Rachel asked, as Greg approached her
"Nah, what I want most is to get bragging rights with the other guys in my band"
"Wait, you're in a band? What kind of music do you play?"
Just as Greg was about to answer, a loud cough could be heard from the direction of the bus. When he and Rachel turned around to find the source of the noise, they saw a tall Asian guy standing on the steps of the bus. His black hair was slicked back and he was dressed in a dark grey suit with a white shirt underneath – a sharp contrast to their more casual clothing styles.
"Finally" he muttered, before looking at the pool of vomit left by Rachel, "I see we're off to a great start". He carefully avoided stepping into it and proceeded to greet Chris.
"Damien, everybody!" Chris said cheerfully.
"Hey, man, dontcha think you're dressed a little too fancy for this?" Greg asked.
"Oh, don't worry. There is practically nothing I can't do in a suit…, man," Damien swiftly answered in a somewhat mocking fashion.
"Say hello to Molly!" Chris introduced the next contestant – a short chubby girl with dark skin, freckles and curly brown hair tied in a messy ponytail. Molly wore a dark green knee length pleated skirt and a grey t-shirt with a picture of a rocket on it. She had a small metallic device in her hands and was so invested in tinkering with it that she completely ignored Chris and walked past him. "Um, Molly? You're on TV. The viewers didn't tune in to listen to your silence" Chris remarked, but the teen still paid no mind to him. "You didn't list horrible hearing as one of your bad qualities on your application form" – the host was now visibly upset with the girl's lack of reaction.
"And voila!" Molly suddenly exclaimed, extending her open palm to the other contestants. A tiny grey robot resembling a human was now sitting on her palm and repeating her gesture. "It's my new Imitator 013 – the first robot to completely duplicate the action of the person holding it!" Greg and Rachel were clearly impressed with the invention, while Damien simply raised his eyebrow. "This robot will surely help make the world a better place!" Molly exclaimed, but as she did, she clenched the hand with the robot into a fist, which made a brief clunky sound. The girl's eyes went wide, and she quickly looked at her hand only to find that her invention was now little more than a few pieces of metal. "Whoopsie! Sorry, guys, I can be a tad clumsy" she said awkwardly.
"You don't say" Damien commented sarcastically, before giving the school bus a puzzled look. "Um, Chris?"
Everyone looked at where Damien was pointing and saw a muscular tanned boy in a dark blue sleeveless shirt and matching sports pants climb out of the bus window onto the roof of the vehicle.
"What are you doing?" Rachel shouted to the guy, visibly worried for his well-being.
The young man, who now made it to the roof, replied to her in a matter-of-fact manner "What does it look like? I'm getting footage for my brand new parkour vlog!" He then flashed the camera a shiny smile and ran his hand through his black hair, which despite the physical activity, retained its pompadour styling.
"But you're not filming anything." Molly pointed out dryly.
"Don't need to. I just knew my killer moves would catch the camera's attention"
"This is Jesse" Chris introduced the young man, before his tone changed to a more annoyed one. "who was supposed to be introduced towards the end. Seriously, you people are making this way harder than it needs to be. Now get down here!" the host ordered, which prompted Jesse to jump down and head to where his fellow contestants were standing.
"Our student number six is Rosa!" Chris said, as a young woman with dirty blond hair and green eyes approached him. Her peach-colored knee-length dress had its upper part adorned with small pieces of fabric that resembled tiny rose buds.
"Good morning, Chris. Greetings, everyone. I believe the sun peeking through the clouds reflects my enthusiasm for meeting you all."
The others were taken aback by her unfittingly formal speech. Finally, Jesse said "Chill, mamacita, we're all teens here."
"Oh, pardon me. I'm an aspiring storyteller, and I write it so often that I tend to carry my writing style over into spoken word" Rosa said, a little embarrassed, before moving to stand next to Greg, who kept looking at her even after she stopped talking, seemingly in a trance.
"Alright, Lukey-Luke, step up!" Chris said in a cheerful tone to a curly-haired ginger stepping off the bus. He sported a yellow and black plaid shirt and grey pants.
"Could you, um, please not call me that?" he asked in a meek fashion.
"So, how are you enjoying this so far?" Chris asked, completely ignoring the young man's request.
"It's fine" Luke replied courtly before adding "Except it's a bit overwhelming with all the cameras". The image panned out to reveal a cameraman standing centimeters away from his face, before panning out even more, now showcasing the entire school and revealing a dozen cameras filming from every angle and even an intern flying on a jet pack with a camera in his hand.
"Eh, you'll get used to it" the host said dismissively, before shifting his focus to the new student getting off the bus. A short tanned girl with her shoulder length black hair curled inwards toward the end got off the bus. She was wearing a purple hoodie with a picture of a cat's face on it and denim shorts.
"Hey, everyone, I'm Piper" she said cheerfully, before turning to Chris. "I thought you said we couldn't bring electronic devices, but Molly…"
"No, I said that you, specifically, cannot bring any electronic devices. I can't risk a hacker leaking spoilers into the web for some cash, so if I see you use anything electronic at any point, you will be eliminated on the spot. Capisce?" Chris said almost threateningly, to which Piper only sighed. "And it's not like an imitating robot can be any help in the competition anyway."
"Hey!" Molly shouted. "Wait, you're a hacker?"
"I thought all hackers were fat guys living in their moms' basements trying to expose government secrets" Luke added, equally surprised.
"We're not all like that," Piper said, sounding a little offended. "Though I do live with my mom, hehe. Hacking doesn't pay as much as you would think, since…" she suddenly stopped, when she realized everyone was staring at something behind her.
Coming off the bus was a tall Asian woman with wavy chocolate brown hair, wearing a pink blouse that exposed her shoulders and gave anyone looking a peak at her cleavage and a black mini skirt showcasing most of her legs. The ensemble proved popular with the male contestants, one of them even wolfwhistling as the girl approached the host whose only response to her look was a quick "wow".
"This is Kimberly - our resident prom queen." Chris announced
"Hey, boys" she said, though her words were directed more to Chris than the other campers. "And it's okay to just call me Kim."
"Actually, she is not the only prom queen here" Rachel pointed out proudly. "I was a prom queen back home in Saskatchewan, too."
"Oh, wow. How many scarecrows did you have to beat to get that title?" Kim asked, prompting a few snickers from the boys, which earned them a dirty glare from Rachel. "FYI, I was a prom queen countless times."
"How is that even…"
"Alright, ladies, let's save some of that drama for the challenges." Chris interrupted, as Kim made her way to the other students. "Let's meet our next victim – Nate!"
A tall and lanky boy stepped out of the bus dragging his feet. His short brown hair was unkempt and his long bangs almost got in the way of seeing his surroundings. He wore a baggy turquoise colored sweater and a pair of black pants that only highlighted how skinny his legs were. "Is it too late to withdraw my application?" he asked dryly.
"No can do" Chris replied. "Probably should've thought about that before getting on the bus"
"Why would you want to withdraw? The game hasn't even started yet" Molly wondered
"Plus, didn't we all submit applications to get a chance to come here?" Piper joined in.
"My folks submitted an application for me, and because the universe loves me, I was picked." Nate said with a heavy sigh. "They think I don't spend enough time outside with my peers or whatever. As if anything interesting is happening outside", he then joined the rest of the team without really looking at any of them.
"Here comes Martin!" Chris announced the latest teen to get off the bus – a tanned boy with brown shoulder length hair and brown eyes. His attire consisted of a white t-shirt with a wooden peace sign depicted on it and light blue cargo shorts.
"How is it going, everyone?" he asked cheerfully
"Um, do I know you from somewhere?" Greg asked, scratching his head.
"He's right! Your face does look familiar," Kim added. "I can't put my finger on it, though"
"Well, I…" Martin was about to respond, before getting interrupted my Damien.
"Martin Delaney" he said calmly, "He singlehandedly made his home district the cleanest part of Toronto and, after getting the attention of the media, used his newly found fame to establish the group "Youth for Green Toronto". He was even invited to work in the Town Hall, but declined"
"Oh, that's right – I saw you on the news!" Greg said in realization. "Heh, looks like you've already got fans, man" he added, glancing at Damien.
"Hardly. As someone who plans to pursue politics in the future, I pay close attention to anything happening in the field. Delaney is just someone to keep an eye on" Damien said the last sentence in an almost threatening tone.
"Alright then" Martin muttered awkwardly and walked over to the expanding group of students.
"Up next, we have Yeka… Yeka-tur" Chris read from a card he grabbed from his pocket, clearly struggling with the contestant's name.
"Katya is fine," the new student said with a slight Russian accent. She was a tall girl with her blonde hair in a braided bun sporting a white corset-like top and black leggings. "Pleasure to meet you, Chris" she said without any changes in her intonation.
"I wonder if you'll still say that a week later," Chris said with a smirk.
Ignoring the host's remark, Katya turned to her soon-to-be competition. "And it is a pleasure to meet all of you. I cannot wait for us to get to know each other". Her friendly greeting contrasted with her monotonous delivery and blank facial expression, receiving a few puzzled looks from her fellow contestants.
Chris chuckled briefly at the teens' confusion, before turning to the camera "Now it's time for the lucky student number thirteen – it's… Ahh!" the host shouted in surprise, when he realized the boy was already standing next to him. He had brown skin and black hair, combed over to the side, and wore a long-sleeved blue classical shirt and a green vest with long brown pants, all of which gave him a distinct preppy feel. Chris quickly regained his composure and scolded the teen "Dude, Kai, you're supposed to wait for your cue!"
"You were supposed to finish the introductions two minutes and twenty-seven seconds ago. Don't tell me this horrible excuse for time management will prevail for the remainder of the season," the young man said, pointing to his wristwatch.
"Um, if you don't mind me asking," Rosa politely interjected, "how do you know that?"
"The entire schedule of the first day in school was written into the contract that was mailed to us after we were chosen as contestants"
"Wait, you actually read that thing?" Nate asked. "I guess you have a lot of free time".
"I know right? I got a headache just looking through the contents list," Kim added.
Kai stepped up to the rest of the gang with his head in his hands, as a dark-skinned girl with neon blue dreadlocks stepped off the bus. Coupled with her unusual hairstyle, her bright yellow sleeveless jumpsuit made her stand out from the other contestants.
"Let's keep the ball rolling with…" Chris was about to announce, until he was interrupted by someone yet again.
"Essentia!" Piper exclaimed in joy and ran up to the new girl. "I can't believe I didn't notice you on the bus! I loved your last album, especially the one song where the beat goes bum ba-dum dum ts ts bum ba-da-bum!" she said poorly imitating the instrumental.
"Haha, that's one of my favorites, too. I didn't think there'd be any fans here, though – I don't get much radio play" the singer was clearly happy to get recognition.
"Hey, Essentia… would it be alright if I, um, maybe gave you a hug?" Piper asked bashfully.
"Sure, girl! And you can call me Vicki when I'm not on stage". She barely finished her sentence, before Piper pulled her into a bear hug, though, due to her small frame, the hacker could only reach up to Vicki's chin.
"Alright, enough with the warm greetings" Chris said, a little annoyed at the two. "Let's move on to the next contestant - Hailey!"
The moment he uttered those words, a small tanned girl with her short brown hair in a messy ponytail sprinted out of the bus, before coming to a halt next to Chris. She wore a short-sleeved white t-shirt that showed the wide red straps of the tank top she had underneath it and a pair of red loose capris. Even after stopping, the girl kept jumping from excitement. "Sup, Chris! Are you ready to throw those challenges at me?" she asked cheerfully. "I spent the entire last night honing my skills at the dojo back home and now you can't break my spirit!"
"You do martial arts? You're so tiny though" Jesse said the second sentence in a cutesy manner.
"The bigger they are, the harder they fall" Hailey said with a mischievous grin, before turning to Chris. "So, what's the goal of today's challenge? Before coming here, I had to down twenty-seven cupcakes to get this sugar rush, so I wouldn't fall asleep after my intense training!"
"Hold your pommel horses, karate kid; we still have one student to introduce. Say hello to Drew!"
A boy with short blond hair stepped off the bus, wearing a white t-shirt with a neon green jacket over it and denim pants. He looked perfectly ordinary, except for one thing – his face was covered by a plain white mask with two holes that perfectly matched the shape of his eyes and a drawn nose and lips. He greeted everyone with a simple "Hi, guys!"
The rest of the gang were unsure of what to say, until Hailey, who was still standing next to Chris, started to sporadically wave her hand at Drew and exclaimed, "Welcome aboard! What are you all about?"
"I'm Drew and I'm really interested in acting and playing different characters" he said somewhat meekly, before he swiftly shifted his mask to the side and on its place came another, wider one, this time depicting the face of a grey wolf with sharp fangs and his tongue sticking out. "Heh, that's one lame-ass introduction" he said in a much huskier voice. "La here. And get ready, cause I'm here to f*** sh** up!" he exclaimed pointing a thumb to his face. Suddenly the boy's mask shifted once more, and an even wider mask depicting a brown bear with a wide innocent smile now covered his face. "Now, that's not a very nice thing to say, La. You have to wash your mouth with soap after using these bad words!" he scolded the wolf in a high-pitched voice. "Oh, by the way, I'm Lu. It's so nice to be with you all."
The entire ordeal was met with confused looks from all the other students. Finally, Hailey threw her hands up in the air and shouted "Awesome!" clearly impressed with what had just taken place.
"Alrighty then, students! Now that you're all here, it is time for a quick tour of the school before we get to your very first challenge!" Chris said cheerfully. "Follow me." The teens followed the host into the school. They entered the large main hall that had its walls painted white and its light brown floor cleaned to such a degree that it was almost glistening beneath the students' feet. There was also a light blue staircase leading to the upper floor positioned in the back of the hall.
"Whoa, this place is huge!" Martin said in awe.
"It is so gargantuan that we could hold ballroom dances!" Rosa added in excitement.
"First things first," Chris announced before leading the contestants to an old wooden door not far from the staircase. When he opened the door, it revealed a room so cramped that two people could barely fit in there. The room had creaky wooden floors and walls sloppily painted white. To the left there was a yellow mop bucket, to the right a large black and red vacuum cleaner and a yellow sign, saying "Slippery when wet". In the back of the room there were several boxes and above them was a grey shelf that held several multicolored canisters, cans and buckets. In the middle of it all was a single wooden stool.
"A... janitor's closet?" Rachel asked in confusion.
"Formerly, a janitor's closet. We've remodeled it into our brand new confessional!" the host explained.
"And by remodeling, you mean adding a chair?" Kai asked
"Ew, it smells like paint in here!" Kim moaned in disgust. "And that stool doesn't seem comfortable at all"
"You should be grateful – most seasons our confessional smells like poop." Chris said non-chalantly, "And the stool is uncomfortable on purpose, so you don't spend hours monologuing in here. You know how much time our crew spends just editing your confessionals? Anyways, anyone wanna confess anything?"
[Confessional]
Hailey: Whoo, totally scored the first confessional of the season! I'm super pumped for this! I haven't really gotten to know anyone yet, but that Drew guy seems awesome. I wish I could do that, too – it'd help make my training in the dojo more intense. *shifts to the right, holds the end of her ponytail to her upper lip and imitated a deep voice* "Finally, we meet again, Hailey! This is I, your arch-nemesis, Zhou Feng! The hour of your downfall is upon us!", *shifts to the left and puts her ponytail down" "Don't be do sure about that, you old fartball!" *punches the air only to hit the wall* "Ow!"
Damien: This is a good opportunity to size up the competition. In the beginning of shows like this, everyone acts nice and friendly, so now's the time to be strategic and look for potential allies. Trust me, I will dominate this game, or I am not Damien Carignan!
Nate: *sighs heavily*
[End Confessional]
"Alright kiddos, let's move on" Chris said , opening the door leading to the left of the main hall, "after you".
As all the teenagers went through the door they saw a long, but otherwise unremarkable hallway that had a few doors to the right side and windows to the left. Suddenly they heard the door close behind them with Chris nowhere to be seen.
"Hey, what the heck, Chris? Get us outta here!" Vicki shouted, while banging on the door to no avail.
"This wasn't on the timetable" Kai remarked before sniffing around, "Hey, what's that smell?"
"I'm suddenly not feeling so well" Rosa said, sitting down against the wall.
"Oh, crap! They must be pumping sedatives into here or something" Martin said angrily, before losing his conciousness and falling onto the floor. In a matter of seconds, so did everyone else. The camera then showed Chef in a gas mask on an upper floor pumping some gas into the vents. In his hand was a walkie-talkie, which suddently burst to life as Chris's voice filled the room: "Awesome job, Chef! That'll show them what they're in for. You can report back to the main hall now".
The image went black for a second before showing an image of Kai, Kim, Luke and Rachel asleep at a desk, facing each other, in an ordinary classroom with blue walls in the upper-left corner of the screen. In a couple of seconds another image appeared next to it, this one showing Greg, Hailey, Martin and Rosa in a classroom just like the other one, except its walls were painted green. Below the first two images, appeared two more – a purple classroom with Damien, Katya, Molly and Nate and a yellow one with Drew, Jesse, Piper and Vicki. Suddenly a loud sound of a referee whistle reverberated through the school, waking everyone up. The students looked up to see the sound came from a loudspeaker positioned just below the ceiling in every classroom.
"Wakey-wakey, students! It's a special message from Principal McLean", Chris's voice blasted from the loudspeakers, "It's time for you to get to know the school that you will call home for the next few weeks. You know, originally, I was planning to show you all the landmarks myself, but I figured that'd be boring to watch, so now you'll explore this place as your first challenge! Excited?"
"Not really" Nate said dryly.
"Think of this as a race through the school. The team, whose member crosses the finish line first, will be the winner."
"Team?" Martin asked no one in particular.
"Yes, Martin – team. Aka the people in the same classroom as you. The teams' names correspond to the color of the walls in the classroom you're in right now. We have also tied armbands in your team colors around your arms in case any of you are especially braindead."
"Hideous" Damien remarked upon noticing his armband. He then took it off, folded it and fit it into his pocketsquare. "Better"
"Any questions so far?" Chris asked.
"Yes. Why did you put us to sleep?" Piper asked.
"To teach you to always expect the unexpected. And besides, we have to squeeze these episodes into twenty-two minutes somehow and allocating you to teams one by one would take a long time. So you could call it a time-saving measure."
"Now, it's time to begin. There is a piece of paper attached to the blackboard in every classroom, which has the map of the first floor. Find the swimming pool on the map and make your way there. You'll learn more when you get there. Don't forget that it's a race, so chop-chop! Good luck!"
In the yellow classroom, Vicki tore the paper off the blackboard. "It's just down the hall. Quick, we gotta get there first!" The team ran up to the door and Jesse threw it open by kicking it with his foot. As the teens entered the hallways, they saw the other three teams a few steps away, as the classrooms turned out to be right next to each other.
"Run!" Greg shouted and all sixteen students sprinted to the swimming pool. Mere seconds later, they saw a blue double door leading to the pool, and ran through it. After entering, the crowd couldn't stop and ran ahead, almost falling into the water, but came to a halt a step away from the edge. In front of them they saw a large pool surrounded by a narrow strip of land with a couple of beach chairs to the right and a wider one with a few rows of dark blue bleachers to the left. The walls were painted blue and white and there were a few windows to the left side. To the right, there were two doors with the standard male-female signs one might see in public bathrooms. In the middle of the pool stood a platform resembling a red and yellow surfboard. The wall in front of the teens had a large timer on it.
"Nice entrance!" Chris exclaimed through the loudspeaker. "This is the site of your first mini-challenge. You didn't seriously think you'd just run around the school, did you? There will be three mini-challenges, and if you participate in one, you can't help your team in any of the others. In order to make you feel like part of the TD family, today's challenges will be based on some of the most memorable tasks in our show's history. As you might have guessed from the surfboard, this challenge is based on the beach movie challenge from TDA" Chris said, as a flashback to the aforementioned challenge was shown before the image showed a blond male intern standing on the surfboard. "Much like the original challenge, the goal is to ride the waves for as long as possible. Your time on the board will be measured by the timer." Chris said as the intern slipped up and fell and the timer showed six seconds.
"The amount of time you spend on the surfboard is the amount of time you have under water to find one of the four Gilded Chris awards. This is a reference to the underwater scavenger hunt in Jamaica in season three and the search for the key to the spa hotel in the All-Stars season." Chris said, as flashbacks to those challenges rolled on the screen. "In order to make this a little tougher, we've decorated the bottom of the pool with fake algae and rocks" The camera showed the intern tangled in the tall yellow algae in the pool.
"Let me guess, the pool also has sharks and electric eels?" Martin asked.
"No, both of them are a pain to transport and fish out of the pool once the challenge is over" Chris said disappointedly.
"Oh goodies, what great news!" Drew said masked as the bear character Lu.
"That's why we brought piranhas instead!" Chris announced in an excited tone of voice. A redshirt with dark hair wheeled in a tank with piranhas and dumped its contents into the pool. Seconds later, the blond intern jumped out of the pool scratched up and with several piranhas still attached to him, ran out of the pool and jumped out the window, breaking the glass in the process. This left the contestants wide-eyed in horror.
"Each student will only get one try on the surfboard until all the others have their turn as well. The order, in which you get on the surfboard is determined by the order you got here. Thanks to our cameras, we know that Team Yellow was first, then Purple, Green and finally Blue. Now, you have a minute to decide which team member will try conquering the waves. Keep in mind that this person will have to stay here until the end of your race through the school and won't be able to help you any further. If you're picked as the designated surfer, change into one of the swimsuits in the changing rooms and then the real fun will begin!"
"Man, surfing is one of the most extreme things! I wanna do it!" Jesse said excitedly.
"Well, we might need your athleticism further down the road, but I don't think anyone else wants to do it" Vicki said, before looking at Drew and Piper, both of whom shaked their heads. "Guess it's your lucky day"
"Whoo-hoo!" Jesse said before running into the changing room.
Katya looked at the surfboard for a while "Quite an interesting challenge, wouldn't you agree?" she asked, before turning to her teammates. "So, who wants to do it?"
What followed was complete silence. "That's what I thought. I'll do it then" she said determinedly, turning back to look at the pool.
[Confessional]
Katya: I've never surfed before, as all seas surrounding my homeland of Russia are too cold for that. But I have been dancing ballet for the past twelve years, so my great balance should help.
[End Confessional]
The green team had a little more trouble deciding on their surfer.
"Let me do it! I have awesome balance!" Hailey insisted.
"Perhaps so, but I think we are better off saving your athletic skills for later" Martin said.
"No fair" she pouted in response.
"But who else can do it?" Greg asked
"I can do it. I used to surf in middle school" Martin volunteered. "I should still have the skills"
"So, does anyone have experience surfing or diving?" Rachel nervously asked, looking at her teammates. The blue team was taking the longest to come to a decision.
"Well, I was on the swimming team in my high school years" Kim said in an aloof manner.
"Great!" Rachel exclaimed. "And here I thought we were done for. Kim will eat this challenge up for breakfast!"
"Yeah, no. There's no way I'm doing it" Kim objected. "I'm hoping to become a model someday, and bite marks aren't a marketable look"
"Oh come on, you signed up for this show – life-threatening challenges are the norm here. This is the time to prove your worth to us" Kai interjected impatiently.
"No, there's no way I'm doing it!" Kim spat angrily. Suddenly, she changed her demeanor and wrappeed her arms around herself. "I have a phobia of piranhas or something"
"Yeah, we all have it – it's called common sense. Now get in the pool!" Kai said, now clearly angry with his teammate.
"I'm not doing it and you can't make me!" she said defensively, tearing up.
"Stop being a brat!"
"Okay, let it go, Kai" Rachel interfered. "She's scared – we can't force her. She'll be useful in some other challenge"
"I highly doubt it" Kai muttered. "Besides, if she's allowed to sit out, so am I"
"But..." Rachel was about to reason with him, when Luke suddenly volunteered "I'll do it", surprising the three.
[Confessional]
Luke: I actually haven't even touched a surfboard ever, but I can't stand bickering, so I guess I'm taking one for the team. After spending my entire free time in retirement homes for the past two years preparing for nursing school, I've really forgotten how noisy teens can be.
[End Confessional]
Jesse was already standing on the surfboard platform in black and blue swimtrunks, while Katya, Luke and Martin stood near the swimming pool, waiting their turn. Katya wore a matching black and blue one-piece swimsuit, while the two boys' swimtrunks were identical to those of Jesse. All the other contestants were sitting on the bleachers.
"And begin!" Chris's voice came over the loudspeaker, as the surfboard started moving under Jesse. At first, the movement almost threw him off-guard, but he regained his composure and started balancing on the board quite comfortably, much to the disdain of the other teams. As he passed the twenty-second mark, his team started loudly cheering from the bleachers. This noticeably boosted his confidence, as he started to show off for the cameras – first by flexing his muscles, then standing on one hand and finally comfortably lying down on the board, all of which made his team cheer even louder. He then winked at the camera, jumped up and did a sommersault in the air. However, he spread his legs a tad too wide on landing and hit the board with his privates, making him wince in pain. His teammates had similarly pained expressions on their faces.
"Talk about a nutcracker" Greg joked, before Jesse slowly slided off the board into the water, as the timer showed thirty-nine seconds.
"Jesse's time underwater begins," Chris announced, as the boy checked his surroundings underwater. The entire space was like a huge fish tank with rocks, algae and multicolored corals. "Meanwhile, it's time for Katya to try and find her footing". The surfboard started up yet again, but the current surfer had way more trouble than the previous one. Even with her remarkable balance, the moving surface made maintaining it a challenge. The screen now split into two – one showing Katya struggling to maintain balance while keeping her poker face, and the other displaying Jesee removing algae out of his way, only to find a swarm of piranhas behind it, which immediately started chasing him around the pool.
"This is getting good" Chris remarked in glee. Suddenly, Katya slipped and fell into the water with the timer showing seventeen seconds.
"Jesse, I would hurry up if I were you, your time is almost done. Martin, show us what you've got".
As Katya dived underwater, she suddenly saw Jesse swim past her as piranhas followed him. Once they spotted her, though, they redirected their attention to her. She started quickly swimming towards a coral wall, but then realized she had made a mistake, as there was now nowhere she could flee.
As the TV screen in the swimming pool showed Katya's predicament, Molly looked on in horror, while Damien who was sitting next to her asked: "Hey, do we get to move on, if our teammate dies trying to complete the challenge?"
"Hm, I guess it's a fair trade" Chris said cheerfully.
"Great" Damien remarked, before folding his hands behind his head, which earned him glares from Molly and Nate.
Underwater, Katya was still cornered by piranhas. Suddenly, she stopped looking around for a possible escape route and stared at the piranhas, slowly morphing her usual poker face into a glare. This stopped the fish in their tracks, as they were now staring back at her. She then motioned to Jesse, who was searching for the statue not too far away, with her eyes, leading the swarm of angry piranhas to go after him. As his muffled screams reverberated through the water, Katya turned around and noticed that there was something peeking out of the corals she was standing against. After pulling it out, she saw that it was a Gilded Chris with a folded piece of paper attached to it.
"And Katya finds the first statue!" Chris exclaimed, as the blonde resurfaced with the Gilded Chris in her hand, prompting cheers from her teammates. Moments later so did a battered and bruised Jesse. "And our Mr Extreme's time is also up".
[Confessional]
Katya: Those piranhas felt my determination to win. And determination is the most important quality you need in order to achieve success. When I was four years old, my mother took me to the only ballet school in our town, which was run by a 90-year-old coach Lyudmila Fyodorovna. After I performed in front of her, she told me that a giraffe like me could never become a real ballerina. But that didn't stop me. Now I teach ballet to kids here in Canada... and she's dead.
Jesse: *covered in bruises* Not sure w-what scares me more – t-the piranhas or that Russian chick!
[End Confessional]
Molly, Nate and Damien ran up to the pool to get the statue from Katya.
"There's another map here!" Molly pointed out after taking the piece of paper and unfolding it. "It's a map to the second floor"
"This room is circled, so I guess that's where we're supposed to go" Nate said, before they all rushed out of the pool.
"Forty-five seconds in and Martin is still surfing" Chris said, as the teen was keeping his balance without much discomfort. "Which is getting a little boring to watch" the host added. Martin then stopped balancing and suddenly swan dived into the pool.
"Fifty seconds!" Chris exclaimed
"Huh? Why'd he do that?" Greg asked the girls on his team, surprised by Martin's jump.
[Confessional]
Martin: I could have stayed on the board longer, but I didn't want to waste time. The purple team was already done, and based on what Chris said about the reward, we have to do our best to get it.
[End Confessional]
"As Martin begins his underwater adventure, it's time for Team Blue to finally have their turn," Chris announced as Luke stepped up to the surfboard. When it started moving, he could barely keep his balance and fell into the water in a matter of seconds. "And that was a whopping four seconds on that board!" Chris said amusedly.
"Ugh, we're dead" Kai sulked, glaring at Kim, who was sitting next to him.
"Hey, some team spirit would be appreciated" Rachel said, standing up from her seat. "You can do it, Luke!"
The ginger could only look around for a moment, until he heard the sound of a horn. "And Luke's time is up! Jesse, time for take two," Chris announced, much to Luke's dismay.
[Confessional]
Rachel: The team isn't doing so well at the moment, but we can still turn this around. The secret is never giving up!
Kai: So, what's the punishment for coming last?
[End Confessional]
Meanwhile, Martin was swimming close to the bottom of the pool, carefully avoiding piranhas. Suddenly, he noticed a bump in the otherwise flat sand covering the pool floor. He touched the bump and felt that there was something solid beneath it. After digging for a few moments, he found a statue hidden behind a layer of sand.
Greg, Hailey and Rosa were sitting on the bleachers, nervous for their teammate, until he emerged from the water near the edge of the pool closest to them with a statue in his hands.
"This should lift your spirits!" he said excitedly, prompting them to cheer and run up to him.
"And Martin puts Team Green into second place!" Chris announced.
"Oh man!" Jesse lamented in the distance, which caused him to lose his focus and fall off the board. "That's twenty seconds for Jesse!" Chris exclaimed, as Jesse resumed his underwater search.
On second floor, Team Purple approached a large orange door. "This should be the one," Molly said, looking up from the map in her hands. She opened the door and the threesome rushed in to find a large room with its walls painted orange and white. In the middle of it were two large wooden tables. Opposite of the entrance was a long counter with all kinds of food lined up in separate containers. Near the counter was a door, leading to the kitchen, which could be partially seen through the small window above the counter. Several charts related to the digestive system and nutrition hung on the walls. There was a notable shortage of seats, as there were only four chairs in the room – all set at the table that was closer to the entrance, facing the counter.
"Looks like the cafeteria" Molly remarked.
"Yeah, but it doesn't seem like a set for a challenge" Nate said. "Are you sure we're in the right room?"
"We have to be" Damien said, annoyed. "We checked the map a thousand times". He then came up to the loudspeaker in the corner of the room and shouted, "Hey, Chris! Are you going to be doing your job or what?"
The loudspeaker came to life, as Chris's voice took over the cafeteria. "I'm here! Sheesh! You know how hard it is to switch between two sets without confusing them?" He then regained composure and resumed talking, "Anyway, this challenge will require two of you to cooperate to get the map of the third and final floor of the school. First, one of you will have to take a seat at the table and down the three-course meal prepared for you by the one and only Chef Hatchet!"
As Chris said those words, Chef, now in his usual attire, walked out of the kitchen, pushing a serving trolley with a multitude of covered plates, stopping right in front of the table near the entrance. "As you might have guessed, this is a reference to the many eating challenges we had through the seasons," Chris said, while flashbacks to the eating challenges of the first, third and fourth seasons were shown to the audience.
"Wait, you said that one person from each team had to down a three-course meal," Nate interjected. "But there are 24 plates on Chef's trolley, which is twice the number needed for the challenge"
"You're quite observant, young whippersnapper!" Chris said, imitating an old man. "This is because this eating challenge has a twist! In front of every seat, there's a button. Pushing it will start a fun mini-game displayed on that monitor" Chris started explaining, as Chef wheeled in a TV screen on a stand. "The word on the screen will switch between "delicious" and "disgusting", until you push the button again. The word it lands on determines what your dish will be like. Got it?"
"Once one teammate is done with their meal, the other can start searching the kitchen for the map to the third floor. This part of the mini-challenge is obviously an homage to all the times our contestants sneaked into Chef's kitchen, both as part of a challenge and off their own free will." The flashbacks once again flashed across the screen. "The maps are drawn on the back of the wrappers to four pieces of candy hidden somewhere in Chef's lair. These wrappers correspond to the four team colors, and you can only move on, once you find your team's candy. Be careful, though – since Chef doesn't like intruders, he filled the entire place with booby traps he learned to make during his time in the military". Chef gave the three contestants a wicked smile, which made them visibly unnerved. "Also, consider yourself lucky – you're the only team that gets to hear my beautiful voice explain these rules. The rest will have to opt for my stand-in," Chris said, as the camera showed his standee in the corner of the room with a long sheet of paper in its hands.
Suddenly, the doors opened and in ran Greg, Hailey and Rosa. "What's the challenge?" Hailey asked excitedly running over to Team Purple.
"Some luck!" Damien said sarcastically. "Your babbling cost us the lead!"
"Oops, my bad! Chris out!"
[Confessional]
Chef: Ooh, this challenge is gonna be good. *snickers*
[End Confessional]
"Alright, we have to decide those who will compete in this challenge, and fast!" Damien said, as him, Nate and Molly moved away from the Green Team. "I nominate myself for part two of the challenge. I'm good at looking for things. I've been searching up dirt on my father's business rivals, since I was a toddler. Any objections?" As the other two stood in silence, he resumed. "Good. Now which of you has the stronger stomach?"
"Um, I don't think I'd be good at this" Molly said unsurely. "Maybe Nate should try"
"Oh, sure! Works for me" Nate said with uncharacteristic cheerfulness in his voice. "You know, it's so brave of you to volunteer to take on the final stretch of the race. Such confidence in your ability to withstand the pressure and fulfill everyone's expectations and willingness to take responsibility in case of failure - truly inspiring" he continued in an exasperated manner.
Molly visible tenses up at his words and muttered, "Um, now that I think about it, my stomach can definitely handle this", before hurrying over to the table.
"Heh, nice one" Damien said, smirking at Nate.
Near Chris's standee, Team Green was almost done reading through the instructions.
"Oh, I can definitely rock that eating challenge!" Hailey said excitedly. "Did I tell you how many cupcakes I had to eat to..."
"You did." Greg interrupted her, "But that's still no match for the 85 chicken wings I downed in a contest at the town fair two years ago"
Hailey huffed, before proclaiming "Well, then I will do part two. Chef's stupid traps have nothing on my signature right kick!" She demonstratively kicked the air several times.
"Um, I believe your mastery over Oriental combat styles and general athletic prowess will be more of use during the final stage of the challenge." Rosa spoke bashfully. "If I may, I volunteer to search Chef's kitchenette for the elusive confection we seek!"
"Oh, man!" Hailey pouted. "This last mini challenge better be good"
[Confessional]
Greg: I gotta admit I don't understand half the words Rosa says, but, boy, does she say them pretty!
Nate: It's not that I want to do the last part of the challenge, it's just that the first two seemed like too much of a bother! Maybe the last part is playing ball with a wall until you get bored? Cause I'm great at that.
[End Confessional]
"And Luke's nine seconds are up!" Chris announced, as the boy resurfaced with a sigh.
"Don't give up! We all believe in you!" Rachel tried to cheer him up. "Right, guys?"
Kim was busy filing her nails, until Rachel nudged her arm, prompting her to lazily look up. "Yeah, totes. You the man." Kim muttered lazily, before going back to her nails.
"Yeah, way to go, Luke!" Kai cheered, "Just another twenty or so attempts and you'll be able to see something besides the bubbles coming out of your nose". His remark was met by a glare from the ginger.
"But before Team Blue gets their fourth try, Jesse has to complete his third" Chris announced, "Twelve more seconds, dude!"
Jesse was swimming as fast as he could, until he noticed a wooden chest sitting on one of the rocks. He opened it to see that it was full of golden coins and precious stones of all colors, only to empty all of its contents, until he saw the Gilded Chris statue.
"And Jesse gets the gold to get the bronze!" Chris exclaimed, as Team Yellow ran up to their teammate.
"Looks like fish bait is good for something" Drew said as La, "Who'd have thought?"
"Ignore him" Piper said, as Vicki took the map attached to the statue, "You did great!"
"Okay, let's go!" Vicki rushed them towards the exit.
"Look on the bright side, Blues" Chris teased the remaining team, "Now you've got all the time in the world. Well, at least until the race is over".
Molly and Greg sat at the table, as Chef gave the signal to start "Push your buttons, maggots!" Both teens did as they were told and the monitor displayed Molly getting "delicious" and Greg getting "disgusting". Chef put a plate in front of each and lifted the covers. In front of the Purple teammate was a bowl of onion soup, and before the Green one was the French bunion soup with nail clippings and hair from season one's disgusting brunch.
"Yay!" Molly exclaimed, looking at the bowl in front of her. "Sorry. If I took my mini chef robot, he'd never allow this to happen," she said to Greg empathetically, to which he just shrugged. He then took the spoon out of the bowl and started pouring its contents into his mouth.
"Whoa, wait up!" Molly protested, before starting to quickly eat her own soup. In a second, her opponent set his bowl down without a drop of soup left.
"Whoo, that's how you do it!" Hailey shouted, cheering for her teammate.
[Confessional]
Greg: Nail clippings and hair are disgusting, but I've tried worse. Once, my band mates dared me to eat an entire extra-large pack of chips, and I accidentally dropped one of them. It landed in between our bass player's toes. Let's just say I have yet to fail to follow up on a dare. *smiles confidently*
[End Confessional]
"Disgusting again" Greg said, as Chef put the next dish on the table.
"Back as a fan favorite: the beef meatballs! " he said, as taking off the cover revealed a huge plate of beef testicles to the disgust of everyone in the room.
"Meh" Greg said, flinging three "meatballs" into the air and catching all of them with his mouth, which almost made Nate throw up, but he managed to regain his composure.
"How can you be like this?" Molly asked in bewilderment. She then downed the final spoon of her soup, held the bowl up in the air and said, "Done!" Pushing the button made it land on "Disgusting" and Chef gave her a plate identical to that of Greg. She took one of the meatballs and bit off a tiny piece, which made her make several disturbed faces before she managed to swallow it. She then looked at Greg's plate, which was already half empty and forced herself to take another meatball into her mouth, chewing it as fast as possible.
Suddenly, Team Yellow ran through the doors and Vicki shouted at Chef "Hey, what are y'all doing?", to which he pointed to Chris's standee.
As they ran up to the figure, Drew and Vicki started reading the text as quickly as possible. "Guys, wait!" Piper suddenly shouted. "Let me handle this", she then started quickly skimming through the text and in a matter of seconds, said, "One of us has to eat three potentially disgusting meals and the other has to search Chef's kitchen for yellow candy".
"Wow" Vicki said in awe.
[Confessional]
Piper: As a computer nerd, you need to have great visual perception in order to memorize all the complicated coding, so skimming passages is pretty easy for me.
[End Confessional]
"Well, you have to be pretty thorough, if you're a hacker, so I think you should search the kitchen" Vicki said to Piper in an almost commanding tone.
"You really think so?" Piper asked, blushing.
"I have a pretty strong stomach, so I can do the eating." Vicki said, pointing at herself. "And besides, can you even eat with your mask on?" She asked Drew. "It doesn't have space for your mouth".
"Oh goodness!" Lu exclaimed. "You're right, I can't open my mouth! But then why are all my honey pots I have at home empty? Ahhh, there are thieves stealing my honey!" he started panicking.
"Right" Vicki said dryly and walked over to the table to take a seat next to Greg, who was just finishing his second dish.
"Time for the last course!" he said confidently, and both him and Vicki pushed their buttons. "Delicious!" they said in unison. Greg now had a slice of a cake in front of him for dessert.
"This cake is made of three different types of chocolate layered on top of one another with just a touch of lemon zest," Chef announced in a faux fancy manner.
"Ugh, I hate lemons!" Greg complained, before taking a bite and making a disgusted face, eventually pushing it down his throat with visible effort.
"You're kidding, right?" Molly said weakly, still struggling with the meatballs.
Meanwhile, the mood of Team Blue still stuck at the swimming pool couldn't get any worse. Luke was clutching to the surfboard only for it to throw him into the water again.
"Sixteen seconds! Personal best." Chris said almost mockingly. "Sixth time's the charm, huh?"
Luke started quickly looking around, before spotting a swarm of piranhas and ducking behind some corals. Suddenly, he noticed something - one of the piranhas was lagging behind, and there was something attached to its fin. As the boy squinted his eyes, he saw that it was a Chris statue.
In a few moments, he resurfaced. "Guys, I have good news and bad news. The good news is I know where the statue is"
"Finally" Kim said, rolling her eyes.
"Great job!" Rachel said excitedly.
"And what's the bad news?" Kai asked.
"The bad news is I'm not sure I'll be able to get it" Luke said, panicked.
"Mmm, what a juicy steak!" Vicki said, eyeing her second dish - a huge sliced chunk of meat. "Nice job, Chef!"
Molly, meanwhile, was almost done with her second course, eating the last meatball. "Done!" she said, before burping. "Sorry" she apologized quickly and pushed her button. The arrow stopped at "Disgusting" again.
"This cake is our new special" Chef announced and opened the cover and revealing a piece of cake in a dark brown color. "It is made of the finest earth we could find in the school yard. And everything that calls it a home" Chef said, as a beetle ran from one side of the "cake" to the other.
"Lucky" Greg said, taking another piece of his cake and wrenching, as Molly was still staring at her plate with wide eyes. "At least, you don't have to eat this crap!" he spat before forcing himself to taste the last part of the cake. "Ugh, done!"
"And this is Rosa's cue to start searching Chef's kitchen" Chris said through the intercom. "Sorry, it's pretty boring at the pool with just one team". As he said that, Rosa ran into the kitchen and opened the first drawer she saw, but that triggered a booby trap, which covered her entire upper body with white powder.
"Ow, it itches." she said, itching all over. "There's no need for this kind of aggression"
"Ah, itching powder. Classic. That's one of Chef's more harmless ones" Chris announced.
Molly was still staring at her slice of cake, before mustering all the strength she had and taking a small piece with her spoon. As she moves the spoon closer to her mouth, though, she saw a small worm crawl out of the brown matter.
"Ahhh!" she screamed in disgust, throwing her spoon away. "There's no way!" she said with tears in her eyes, "I'm sorry, guys, but I just can't eat this!"
"Save your tearful apologies for someone who cares" Damien began with a glare, speaking in a calm, yet intense tone. "I never once doubted that you are a failure, an ugly stain on the canvas of the human race, but I will not allow your incompetence to hinder my progress. Surely, you realize how easily I can kick you to the curb and make you a complete outcast, leaving you with no choice, but to crawl back into whatever hole you came from. So, if you don't want me to turn your life into living hell, you'll do as I say"
Molly looked shocked for a moment, before muttering "Yes, sir" and taking a bite of the cake.
[Confessional]
Molly: I wouldn't say Damien managed to intimidate me. I decided to keep going on my own accord. *someone knocks on the door and Damien's voice fills the tiny room with an "Are you gone yet?"* Uh, yes, yes, I'm already finished!
Damien: This is how I motivate the staff in my parents' mansion. Works like a charm.
Vicki: And I thought my teammates were a little wacky.
[End Confessional]
"Delicious again!" Vicki said excitedly, as Chef brought her the chocolate lemon cake. "What are the odds?"
"Well, you got the same outcome out of two possible ones three times in a row" Molly stated, after chewing down another tiny piece of cake. "So, the probability is 12,5%. Unlikely, but not unimaginable"
"I'm not paying you to teach these imbeciles math," Damien said strictly, which promoted Molly to quickly take another bite.
At the swimming pool, Chris was clearly getting bored with the challenge. "Fifteen seconds" he pointed out without a hint of enthusiasm, as Luke tumbled into the water once again. However, he reemerged in a second, holding his trunks in one of his hands.
"Guess that's one way to make sure the audience remembers you, despite getting voted out first." Chris said dryly. Luke momentarily glared at him, before rolling up his trunks and throwing them to the other side of the pool. As he dived in again, he was happy to see that his plan worked and the fish were swimming towards his swimsuit.
[Confessional]
Luke: I'm not a veterinarian, but if there's one thing I've learned in biology class, it's that animals, especially predators, react most strongly to movement.
[End Confessional]
Just as expected, the fish burdened with the statue swam more slowly than its peers did. Luke managed to catch up to it and with one careful movement pushed the statue up and out of the knot. After getting it, he said a quiet "Yes!" before realizing that he was underwater, and so all that came out was bubbles. Unfortunately for him, the bubbles attracted the piranhas and now dozens of red eyes were glaring at him. He shouted in horror, which released even more bubbles, and rapidly swam to the surface.
As his teammates were standing at the edge of the pool, they saw Luke emerge from the water for a second to throw the statue right into Kai's hands, before getting dragged underwater again, while screaming.
"Chris, quick! Do something! Help him!" Rachel shouted in a panic.
"Don't worry, our lifeguards are on it" Chris said lazily, as a male intern in red swim trunks was trying to dive with water wings on to no success, while a female intern in a matching swimsuit threw a ring buoy into the water only for it to land on her male counterpart. "Once they fish him out, we'll take him to the nurse's office"
"They don't look very..." Rachel was going to say, but she was interrupted by Kai.
"Let's go!" he shouted, dragging her by the arm, as Kim followed.
In the kitchen, Rosa was going through pots in the drawers next to the oven. As she looked into another one, an animal paw grabbed her hair and started to pull her into the pot, before she barely wriggled out.
"Chef's evil lair is positively terrifying!" she said shaken from what had just taken place, as Team Blue finally ran into the cafeteria.
"Looks like the bus from Loserville has just arrived" Drew said as La, before snickering at his own joke.
"Ignore him, guys, we can still do this" Rachel reassured her teammates.
"Done!" Vicki said, rising from the table. Molly then held up her own empty plate, before starting to feel queasy and vomiting all over Vicki's outfit.
"Ew!" the other girl screamed in disgust. "Can I go use the bathroom?"
"Sorry, you have to stay put until the end of the challenge," Chris said over the intercom.
"... If we hustle that is" Rachel added, as Piper and Damien sprinted to the kitchen. "I think I can do well in the eating challenge. I work at a factory back home and you wouldn't believe the things they give us for lunch"
"Fascinating" Kim said dryly. "And who'll search Chef's kitchen?"
"You owe us one, since it's your fault we wasted so much time on the first challenge" Kai replied, pointing at her. A second later, several sharp utensils flew through the window, leading to the kitchen, and pierced the cafeteria wall near the entrance.
"Rosa!" Greg shouted, "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine" she said weakly. "The stars must've helped me avoid the wrath of Chef's silverware"
"Yeah, I'm not a fan of acupuncture" Kim said, "And besides, I'm still jet lagged from the trip here"
"They brought us here by bus!" Kai yelled at her, and even Rachel was starting to get annoyed with their glamorous teammate.
Suddenly, Kim changed her demeanor yet again, put her hand on Kai's shoulder and started seductively ruffling his hair. "There's no way a strong man like you will let a fragile damsel get hurt, right?" she said softly, while fluttering her eyelashes.
"Ugh, I'll do it, if you stop" he said in an annoyed tone, and walked over to the kitchen door.
[Confessional]
Kim: What's wrong with him? Normally, my feminine charm makes any guy do my bidding. It must be that I'm still tired from that bus ride.
[End Confessional]
"Delicious! Phew" Rachel said, as Chef brought her the onion soup. "It's time for Team Blue to get in this thing!"
Cheerful music started playing and a montage of the teens searching the kitchen started for the audience. Rosa opened the stove, but the moment the door opened a cloud of black pepper hit her and she started sneezing uncontrollably. Damien searched the floor under one of the cabinets with his hand, until it got stuck in a mousetrap. He winced in pain and clutched his hand, before kicking under the cabinet in frustration, triggering another mousetrap with his foot, which made him scream out.
Meanwhile, in the cafeteria, Rachel held up her empty bowl to signify that she was done, and Chef uncovered another dish, this one holding the steak.
In the kitchen, Piper opened the faucet in the sink, but no water poured out. This made her smile, as she thought that one of the sweets might be stuck in there, before the faucet started shaking and a huge surge of mud flowed out, staining the girl's clothes, which made her face muster a disgusted grimace. Rosa took the lid off one of the pots and a swarm of bees flew out, chasing her around the kitchen. At the same time, Damien was looking through various bottles in one of the drawers, finally picking one and opening its cap just as Rosa ran past him with the bees following her. Suddenly, a horrible stench poured out of the bottle incapacitating the bees, but making both teens close their noses in disgust.
"Rachel is getting ready for meal number three," Chris announced, as Chef revealed the third dish - the disgusting earth cake. "Team Blue finally has a chance to catch up to the other teams, as our seekers have so far managed to find nothing, but pain in Chef's kitchen"
"Ugh. They should've been disqualified after that pathetic showing at the pool," Damien complained, before opening yet another drawer. As he did, though, a raccoon jumped out of it and latched onto his face, scratching it. The boy started screaming and flailing his arms, slamming into the drawer the critter came from in the process, which made a few clay pots fall off the shelf and break into small pieces.
Piper calmly approached him and managed to take the raccoon off his face, putting the animal on the ground. The little guy used this chance to escape from the kitchen. The hacker then walked past Damien and towards the broken pots on the ground.
"Blasted creature," Damien angrily muttered to himself. "Thank you", he then said halfheartedly.
"No, thank *you*" Piper answered, holding up a yellow candy she picked up from a pile of shards. "This would have been much harder, if not for your overreaction", she said, before eating the candy and rushing out of the kitchen with the wrapper.
Damien groaned at Piper's success and kicked one of the shards on the ground, before turning around and seeing Chef glaring at him through the window. The large man gave him an "I'm watching you" sign, before turning back to the cafeteria.
"And Piper puts Team Yellow in the lead!" Chris announced, as she approached her teammates and showed them the map. Much like the previous map, this one had one of the areas circled in red.
"Alright, now it's all in your hands, Drew. We believe in you" Vicki encouraged, before frowning. "Now go! Go!"
"Sheesh, I'm going" La the Wolf said, "No need to get your vomit stained panties in a not", earning him a glare from the singer.
As Drew left, Rachel was struggling to down the gross dessert as fast as possible.
[Confessional]
Rachel: The number one rule on dealing with disgusting food at our factory is to stuff your face with it as fast as you can, so you don't have to feel its taste for as long and so you can focus on the eating speed and not how much you wanna throw up.
[End Confessional]
Gulping what was in her mouth with great effort, Rachel held her plate up above her head. "Done!" she said, before burping out a worm.
"And Rachel is done with the course! Which means Kai can finally start his scavenger hunt!"
"Well done!" Kai shouted to Rachel, before running into the kitchen. As he entered, he saw Damien sprayed in the face with a jet of water after opening another drawer, before Rosa got pinned to the wall by sharp utensils right next to the newcomer.
"Oh goodness" she said meekly, as Kai's eyes went wide.
On the third floor, Drew was quickly switching his focus between the map and his surroundings, coming to a halt before large brown double doors. Next to him were a bicycle, a pogo stick, a pair of wooden stilts and a pig tied to a pipe behind it.
"Before you go through these doors, pick what you'll use for the final mini challenge," Chris said through the intercom. "But choose wisely, you won't be able to abandon it halfway through the challenge"
"Come here, piggy-piggy" La said in a fake nice tone, causing the animal to back away.
"Stop it, La! Animals are friends, not food!" Lu scolded him.
"That's not what you said, when went out for sushi"
"Um, well, that's like totally different!"
"Don't argue, friends" Drew interfered in his neutral mask. "Let's pick the bicycle. It seems like the most reliable thing here" he said, taking the bike and going through the doors.
Behind the doors was a large gym with a big court in the middle and rows of bleachers to the sides. The court had two basketball hoops set up opposite of each other and a volleyball net in the middle. The edges of the court that were closer to the bleachers were closed off with a low wooden fence and covered with an orange oily liquid. Right in front of him was another Chris standee.
"So, let's begin with the challenge instructions" Chris said eagerly. "Our last mini challenge is a reference to the many obstacle courses we threw at our contestants," he cited, as the flashback showed images from seasons six, five and one in that order. "First, you'll have to race through the perimeter of the gym, currently covered entirely in grease. You go on until you reach that large window" Chris implied the window, next to which the fence ended. "Then, you'll have to grab one of the four ropes descending from the window seal and climb down into the schoolyard. Finally, you'll have to sprint through the yard to the finish line, while passing through obstacles. I'll be waiting for you there. Good luck!"
Drew climbed on his bike and started to pedal over the greasy path only for the vehicle to slip and throw him off, as he landed face first into the grease.
"Ew, now it will stick to my fur," Lu said hopelessly.
In the kitchen, Kai was quickly scanning his surroundings, before setting his sights on a refrigerator.
[Confessional]
Kai: As the last person there, I didn't have time to aimlessly search through the drawers, so I had to think. Chris said this challenge is a reference to the times contestants sneaked into Chef's kitchen, so...
[End Confessional]
Kai opened the refrigerator door, kneeled down and started looking around.
"Don't bother, we've searched it already" Damien said, standing close to Kai, "there's nothing there". As he looked up, he saw the ceiling fan and noticed something dangling on a string from one of the paddles. He squinted his eyes to see that it was a purple piece of candy and a smile formed on his face.
Ignoring Damien, Kai removed a bottle of milk from one of the shelves to reveal a fish lying behind it. He took it out and pushed his hand into the fish's mouth.
"This is repulsive," Damien said with a look of disgust on his face, as he pulled up a chair to help him reach the fan.
Kai then pulled something out of the fish, that something being blue candy.
"I knew Chris wouldn't pass up on the opportunity to reference it" he remarked proudly, and still in a kneeled down position, looked at the kitchen. His eyes widened when he noticed the last piece of candy taped to the underside of the kitchen table. The wrapper was obviously green.
Kai looked at Rosa who was searching for the sweet on the other side of the room. He then quickly ducked under the table and tore off the tape, which made the candy fall on the floor. However, he wasn't quick enough, and it rolled out from under the table into plain sight, before the boy managed to catch it.
"Dropped something?" Damien asked, standing on the chair he pulled up. "Didn't your mom teach you not to steal someone else's food?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Really?" Damien asked sarcastically. "Then I guess you won't mind if I call her over?" he inquired, motioning to Rosa.
Kai sighed. "Fine, what can I do to keep your mouth shut?"
"Funny you should ask, I can't quite reach that paddle," he said, pointing at the paddle with the dangling sweet. "But I believe our combined height should do the trick".
"Alright, then step down, so I can climb on your back" Kai offered.
"Nice try, buddy," Damien said, smirking. "But there is no way you're staining my suit. Plus, I can't give you a chance to just jump down and escape"
"Ugh, this makes no sense" Kai said, as Damien started to climb on his back. "You're taller than me. Ow!" he shouted, as the other boy clutched his head to steady himself.
Damien, standing on Kai's shoulders, was now able to reach the candy comfortably. He waited for the correct paddle to come close and pulled on the sweet. Unfortunately, he couldn't tear it off and instead was pulled by the spinning fan. Both teens screamed as they lost their balance and fell down.
"Please, tell me you got it" Kai said, lying on the ground.
Damien sat up, rubbing his neck, before saying, "It's your lucky day", as he held up the purple candy.
"Are you two injured?" Rosa ran up to them, worried. The green candy was lying on the floor, as Kai's eyes went wide, because he couldn't reach it from his lying position. Damien saw this and quickly covered the candy with his hand. "We're just fine" he said with a smile. After the girl stepped away, he took the candy and stood up.
"Hey!" Kai yelled, standing up himself.
Damien smirked and tossed it back to him. "Pleasure doing business with you"
"And teams Blue and Purple move on!" Chris exclaimed when both of them walked back into the cafeteria. Kai quickly tossed the green candy into the trashcan near the kitchen door, which didn't go unnoticed by Rachel.
As Nate and Kim ran out of the cafeteria, Kai took one of the seats at the table. Seconds later, Rachel sat next to him.
"I saw what you did and you should give them back their you know what"
"Why?" Kai asked innocently.
"Because it's wrong!" Rachel shouted.
"And what makes it wrong? Chris didn't say that hindering other teams is not allowed" Kai reasoned.
"It's unsportsmanlike! If you don't want to return it to the kitchen, I will"
"Fine. If you want to be an idiot who sabotages her team, be my guest. I wonder if you'll still have this holier than thou attitude, when we have to vote someone off" he spat angrily. Rachel huffed and crossed her arms, but remained seated nonetheless.
[Confessional]
Rachel: I wanted to do the right thing, but then Kai would paint me as a traitor to the others. Sorry, Rosa.
Kai: It was nothing personal. In fact, I prefer Team Green to the people I'm stuck with. But right now not coming last is a priority.
Damien: Yeah, I was lying to Kai back in the kitchen. I wouldn't tell Rosa anything, even if he didn't help me. It is important to stall Hailey as much as possible, since she can pretty much dominate any competition with the other three. Still, I'm glad he fell for my bluff *takes his candy in his mouth, before spitting it out* Ugh, cheap chocolate.
[End Confessional]
Kim and Nate raced through the third floor trying to find the place circled on their maps. They reached it at approximately the same time. After looking at the remaining "modes of transportation", Nate reached for the pink pogo stick only to be tackled to the ground by Kim, as she snatched it away.
"Na-na-na-na-na" Kim said in a sing-songy fashion. "Bye, loser!" After uttering these words, she went through the door.
"Real mature" Nate muttered, rolling his eyes. "Alright, rule number one: never work with children or animals, so I guess this will do" he said unsurely, before taking the wooden stilts.
After walking through the doors, he saw Drew almost halfway through the greased up track. He was riding his bike on full speed, before it slipped once again, crashing into the fence, which sent Drew flying to the center of the gym.
"Ew" Kim said, unwilling to get to the challenge. "This grease can't be good for my hair".
"Guess that's too bad, then" Nate replied, before getting on the stilts and walking onto the grease covered track. He decided to be careful and take tiny steps. "Well, at least I'm not slipping"
Just then, Kim skipped past him. "Hey, this thing is good! Go me!"
"Man!" he said disappointedly.
"Whose idea was this to get the bike again?" La asked rhetorically, as Drew sat on the bike.
"Well, I didn't think grease would be involved" he said in his defense. He then started pedaling the bicycle more slowly in hopes that it prevents the vehicle from going off course.
"It's okay, Nate, slow and steady wins the race" the teen told himself, still just a few steps away from the starting line.
"I like the version "Slow and steady makes you elimination-ready" way more" Kim taunted him, as she skipped around him.
"Don't you have better things to do? You could've already crossed the finish line, you know" Nate pointed out, clearly annoyed with the girl's antics.
"Nah" she protested, "You look adorable when you're helpless". She kept cheerfully circling Nate, until she lost her balance and slipped crashing into Nate from behind and making both of them slide across the course. As they were nearing the corner of the gym, Nate quickly took one of the stilts and rammed it into the corner, pushing Kim and himself and resuming their greasy slide.
It didn't take long for them to catch up to Drew who was just a few meters away from the open window. He turned around to see where the screaming came from and after seeing the greasy pile closing in on him, he tried to ride his bike to the side to avoid it. However, he couldn't do it in time and was swept away along with his bike. In a few seconds, the three students and their "vehicles" all crashed into the wall next to the aforementioned window.
"Great job, Kim! That's one mad equalizer!" Chris exclaimed, as the teens groaned, still lying on the ground. "Now you'll have to get down to the schoolyard using these ropes. Don't forget – you have to take your "vehicle" of choice to the finish line in the schoolyard or it doesn't count. If it breaks, or dies, before you get there, you automatically get last place, got it?"
"Wait, but I used my stilts to steer us. Do I have to go back and get them now?" Nate asked.
"I'm afraid so, my dude" Chris said. Nate groaned and started slowly walking back to avoid slipping, while the two others started their slow descent.
In the kitchen, Rosa was still looking for the coveted candy, while Greg and Hailey were getting more anxious by the minute, standing by one of the tables in the cafeteria.
"Oh man, this is so bad!" Hailey whined, lazily resting her upper body on the table.
"Meh, it's just the first challenge" Vicki reassured her from her seat at the opposite table. "How bad can this punishment be?"
"It's not that!" Hailey answered. "I might become the first TD contestant ever to not participate in the first challenge of the season!"
Just then, a zapping noise came from the kitchen, and a few seconds later, Rosa walked out of the room with her hair resembling an afro and her head down.
"What happened?!" Greg asked, running up to her.
"Attempted to look behind the oven. Received Jupiter's wrath" she said in a weak voice. "I am so sorry, team. I don't think I can complete this challenge". Tear started welling up in her eyes, as Rachel glared at Kai once again, to which he rolled his eyes.
Greg got sad for a moment, before furrowing his brows. "Rosa, I know you're tired from all the searching, but you have to dig deep and find the strength to push forward. I know you can do it! You're the nicest, smartest, most talented girl I've ever met!"
"You've met, like, an hour ago," Hailey said with a puzzled expression.
Rosa wiped her tears and gave her teammates a brief smile before getting serious again. "Thanks, Gregory. You are absolutely correct. I have to keep going for our team"
She then stepped up to the kitchen door, but before she entered, she noticed something in the trashcan, and reached her hand into the trash to get it.
"Uh, Rosa, now's not the time for lunch" Hailey said, confused, which earned her a few bewildered looks. "Rough childhood" she explained.
"No, it's the emerald treat!" the writer exclaimed, as she showed them the green candy.
"You found it!" Greg said happily, before holding Rosa up and spinning her. Behind him, Hailey coughed loudly and extended her hand. When Rosa gave her the wrapper, she looked at it briefly, jogged on the spot, while making an engine noise, and finally sprinted out of the cafeteria as fast as the wind.
"Wait, but why was the candy here? Chris said to search for it in the kitchen" Greg asked the others.
"Maybe he lied?" Molly suggested.
"Wouldn't be the first time" Piper remarked in response.
[Confessional]
Greg: Yeah, yeah, go ahead and call my speech back there cheesy, but my pep talk really cheered Rosa up. Seeing her smile from my work made me feel like a superhero!
Rosa: Chris McLean, I swear I shall seek vengeance for the dishonor you brought upon my name. *sighs and calms down* I am incredibly grateful to Gregory for his words of encouragement. If he were a character in one of my books, he would be the cheerful sidekick who always finds the right words to motivate the clearly more complex hero.
[End Confessional]
Hailey runs up to the entrance to the gym and looks at the pig standing there.
"Say hello to your partner for the last mini challenge! Make sure it makes it to the finish line without any major injuries. We don't want any more angry emails from the animal rights people," Chris says over the intercom.
"Alright then," the athlete says with little confidence, before starting to slap her knees. "Who's a good boy? You are!" she says excitedly, despite a lack of response from the animal, as it maintained its indifferent facial expression. "Hmm, what should I call you?" she pondered for a moment. "I know! Truffles! Cause I once saw on TV that you guys love them. Well, let's go!" she took the pig by the leash and went through the gym doors.
[Confessional]
Hailey: Oh, I couldn't ask for a better companion, than Truffles! I feel like we're well on our way to become true soulmates!
Truffles: *oinks angrily for a few moments, before holding up a picture of Hailey, pointing to it and rolling his eyes*
[End Confessional]
Hailey walked into the gym and saw the greased up track. After skimming through the rules provided by the Chris standee, she approached the starting line.
"There's no way I can ride this poor critter," she says, briefly looking over at Truffles. "But running will make it slip and fall, so..." she then picked up the piggy and holstered it up on her shoulders, before starting to walk as fast as she could with the massive animal on her back.
Meanwhile, Nate finally retrieved both of his stilts, approached the window and looked down. Drew and Kim were both still making their way down, the weight of their "vehicles" slowing them down considerably.
"This stupid f****** bike is too heavy" La complained, as he was climbing down slowly, using one of his hands to keep the bike resting on his shoulders, while the other one and his legs fumbled with the red colored rope. "We're only now halfway there!"
"Quit whining!" Kim shouted, her position similar to his, except she simply held the pogo stick in one of her hands. "At least your rope doesn't smell like hair balls!"
Suddenly, they both got startled by the wooden stilts plummeting to the ground below. "Well, it was nice knowin' ya!" Nate shouted, as he slid on the rope between them fire fighter-style. However, the friction was too much for his rope and it burst into flames, prompting him to scream. When he reached the ground, he took a moment, before letting go of the rope and letting his upper body fall to the ground, his palms emitting smoke.
"And Nate takes the lead!" Chris announces.
Seeing this, Drew quickly changed his mask to Lu, who started sniffing the rope. "Yum, it's candy!" he said happily, before lifting the mask slightly and taking a bite. "No, wait!" Drew shouted, but it was too late, as the rope tore and sent them falling, the bike landing on the boy.
"Drew's done with the second part of the race, and his bike is still intact! Not sure if we can say the same about his spine, though" Chris spoke over the intercom.
"Oh, come on!" Kim protested, but continued her slow descent.
[Confessional]
Drew: *as himself* Lu, don't you know how risky it was to do this? We could've been killed or disqualified! *as Lu* Caaandy!
Kim: Sure, I could jump down like the circus freak did, but let's be real for a sec, who in their right mind would risk all this beauty to win that race?
[End Confessional]
As Drew and Nate stood up, they saw an obstacle course consisting of three parts before them. First, there was a series of hanging tires, then a muddy pool with three ropes swinging above it and finally a large canopy of barbed wire with mud underneath. Just after it was the finish line.
"This one is simple - get to the finish line, which is where I am now, as fast as possible," Chris said through a loudspeaker in his hands, standing under the "Finish" sign with all the other students, bar Luke, standing next to him. "Seriously, hurry up, I'm getting bored"
Both boys started on the first part, and as Drew struggled to push his bike through the tires, Nate gained a small early lead.
In the gym, Hailey was still just making her way through the greasy trail, panting and breathing heavily. She finally turned the corner, now going along the wall leading to the window with the ropes.
The screen split into three parts, one with Hailey carrying the pig, the other with Kim climbing down the rope and the last one showing Nate and Drew fighting for frost place on the tires. "Four students, but only one winner - who will it be, I wonder?" Chris pondered.
Nate made it to the swinging ropes, latched onto one and tried to reach the next rope, but didn't time his movements properly, falling into the mud.
"Ugh, I can barely move. There's no way I can swim to the other side" he said, before turning back to get to the edge of the mud pool. Meanwhile, Drew pushed his bike through the last tire and ran up to the ropes. He started swinging on the first one, the bicycle holstered on his back, and, timing it perfectly, managed to reach the second one.
Kim, meanwhile, just made it to the tires. She carefully pushed the pogo stick through the first one, but it kicked up mud on landing, some of which stained the girl's clothing. "Ew, when will this torture end?" she whined.
"This black one looks sturdy" Hailey said as she started climbing down a thick black rope with the pig still on her back. She just began her descent, when Truffles looked at the ground below him and panicked, closing Hailey's eyes with his hooves. "Whoa, buddy, calm down!" Hailey said, trying to pacify the animal to no avail. She then switched one of her hands' position and it landed on a place, where the "rope" had a dent, exposing the wires inside. This gave both the girl and the pig a huge electric shock, forcing Hailey to let go of the rope and fall to the ground.
On the obstacle course, Nate was using his stilts to get across the sea of mud, while Drew was attempting to get through it by swinging. Both of them reached the end of part two at around the same time and climbed under the barbed wire, all the while glaring at each other.
"Oh, please, please, Truffles, don't die on me now!" Hailey said, kneeling before the pig's body. She quickly gulped and started performing mouth-to-mouth and heart massage on the animal. In a moment, Truffles opened his eyes. "Yay!" Hailey said cheerfully. "Now, let's do this!" Despite her determination, the animal was still clearly terrified and backed away from her, before running over to her other side.
"Truffles, I said let's do it now!" Hailey shouted, now impatient with the pig. His eyes went wide for a moment, before they squinted and he started sprinting towards the obstacle course, sweeping Hailey off her feet and making her land on his back, while facing the wrong way in the process.
The angered pig tore the tires off their ropes, making them circle his head like a dog cone. He then jumped into the pool of mud, passing Kim, as he ran so fast that he managed to avoid getting stuck in the mud, all the while Hailey was screaming bloody murder. Finally, he reached the barbed wire and tore through it, rapidly gaining on the boys. Drew and Nate scrambled in horror, as they saw the pig approach, but were soon trampled down by him and were left to watch as the animal crossed the finish line with Hailey on his back.
"And Team Green wins the first challenge of the season!" Chris announced, as Greg, Martin and Rosa ran up to Hailey, chanting her name. Greg lifted the still disoriented girl on his shoulders, as Martin and Rosa kept cheering for her.
"What do you mean they won?" Nate protested, as him, Drew and Kim approached the host. "That pig just trashed the entire course without actually going through the obstacles".
"Actually, the only requirement was getting to the finish line", Chris explained. "How you did this was up to you", which made Nate roll his eyes.
"Anyway, based on where the other three were, when Hailey crossed the finish line, Team Purple came second, Team Yellow third and Team Blue proved themselves the ultimate losers". This prompted the latter team to groan in disappointment.
"So, what reward are we getting?" Martin asked the host.
"And what is our punishment?" Rachel asked right after.
"Do we get to vote someone off?" Kai inquired, glaring at Kim, who glared back at him.
"Well, the truth is..." Chris said, "We are out of time!"
"Out of time?" Vicki asked, not completely understanding what the host meant.
"Yes, we have to wrap things up for today, so if you will…" the host said to the cameraman, who quickly zoomed it on him.
"This is it for the premiere of our brand new season! What awesome reward is awaiting Team Green? What horrendous punishment am I going to unleash on Team Blue? And will Hailey need a rabies shot after that wild ride? Find out next time on Total Drama School Liiiiife!"
Hey there! Thanks so much for reading the first chapter of my very first fanfic. I'm super excited to tell this story, so I'm really hoping you enjoyed! I will try to upload new chapters as regularly as possible. For now, I'd really appreciate it if you left a review and told me what you liked or didn't like about the chapter. Constructive criticism is always welcome!