How did I even get myself into this? "Marlene? Blythe?" I called out among the crowd, earning a few looks. I gently tapped on someone's arm, trying to grab their attention. "Excuse me?" The teenage girl turned to me with an annoyed look. "I'm sorry, but have you seen two giant teens? Marlene, blonde, aggressive fangirl-"

"Girlie, look around. There are teenagers everywhere. Especially blonde and aggressive." The girl walked away in a huff.

"Okay. Thanks for the help," I muttered under my breath sarcastically. I gently patted myself, checking if my phone had somehow miraculously appeared. I sighed, knowing that I didn't have my phone for the umpteenth time, and looked around at the crowd of teenagers. I crossed my arms and leaned against a pole. "Why did I agree to this? I don't even want to be here."

Why, oh, why?~ Am I not at home? I ponder~

My headphones were suddenly yanked out from my ears, now stopping the song that I was listening to from continuing. I scoffed and turned around. "Seriously?!"

Blythe held up his hands in defense. "Hey, hey, hey, calm down, it's me."

I sighed and turned off the music coming from my phone. "Sorry, Marlene has me on edge." I shook my head, thinking about my best friend.

"Let me guess," He put his arm around my shoulders and turned us around to keep walking towards where we lived. "She keeps on bothering you about the Total Dramaauditions."

" Yes ! She's been all over the whole fiasco ever since they announced that they were going to allow international auditions."

Blythe chuckled and unwrapped his arm from me. "Can you blame her? You know that she's been a part of the Total Drama fandom ever since the show first started."

"Yeah, but erasing all my songs from my phone to replace them with the songs from Total Drama World Tour ?"

"That's a little too far." Blythe suddenly stopped and grabbed my backpack, forcing me to stop. "The light's green, Lucy."

"A little? Blythe, you know that I can't live without my music!" The pedestrian light turned into the walking signal and I quickly looked both ways before crossing the street.

"Oh, come on. I think you're overreacting." I looked at him, feeling another angry comment on the tip of my tongue. "Before you get angry, how about we get a milkshake? Sweets always cheer you up."

I averted my gaze in thought before looking back at him. "Fine, but you're buying," I said before speeding up my pace so we can reach our signature hangout place, Sugar Bliss, quicker. "Now, hurry up. I want the strawberry milkshake."

I heard Blythe laugh from behind me. "That won't be a problem."

We reached the small bakery and I walked up to the walk-up window. I lightly drummed on the window with my nails before stepping back. The window opened, revealing the familiar teen with newly dyed hair. "Well, well, well, Lucillia and Blythe. Rough day today?"

I smiled. "Oh, Chelsea, you know us too well, but today is more of a milkshake day. Right, Blythe?" He hummed in agreement. Chelsea started to tap on the register screen and I looked at her silver-coloured hair. "Silver? Nice. My school won't allow anyone to have their hair dyed unless it's a "natural" color."

She shrugged. "Damn, that sucks. I think a mix of blue and purple would look good on you."

I smiled. "Thanks. You know, that's exactly what I had wanted to do."

She smiled. "That's funny. It's like our minds are synced or something." She held out her hand and Blythe handed her his card. She swiped his card and handed it back, along with the receipt. Chelsea turned and looked at her coworker. "Julian, start on a medium strawberry milkshake. I'll get the blackberry one." She closed the window and Blythe and I moved away from the counter.

Blythe nudged my arm and pointed at the outdoor TV. "Look, it's about the Total Drama auditions."

"Oh, god, this again. I've heard this so many times that I bet I could say the entire commercial without making a mistake."

He rolled his eyes at me and reached up to raise the volume of the TV so we could hear the host. I started to mouth the exact words that were said and did the exact hand movements that the host would do, making Blythe laugh. "Hello, future generations of Total Drama ! I am your host, Chris McLean, and I want you all to get ready for the most intense, gruesome, and painful season ever ." He laughs. "But, of course, we need our victims- I mean, contestants. Unfortunately, we have already chosen our one hundred lucky teens from around the world who will be lucky enough to compete in our audition race with our original cast members up here in Canada. But this fact shouldn't stop you from watching our new season, Total Drama Knockout . Our first episode should be out by this Sunday." He rubbed his hands together. "I can't wait to see what will happen, and I'm sure you can't either. Remember to tune in!" The TV flashed to a screen that showed the times that the episode should air.

I looked over the screen and pointed at the time that it would air for us. "Marlene will probably invite us over to watch the episode this Sunday."

"Good thing I don't have practice on Sunday. I would have been so tired that I wouldn't be able to keep my eyes open."

I heard the window open and I quickly turned to grab our milkshakes from Chelsea. I nodded as a thanks and I took a sip of Blythe's blackberry milkshake before handing it to him and starting on my own.

"Thanks." He took a sip. "Come on," He said as he started to walk away from me. I adjusted the straps of my backpack before following Blythe. "Your place or mine?"

"Mine. Marlene told me that she had a surprise for us at my house." I paused to take another sip. "She told me during lunch before she had left."

"Oh, yeah. She does leave early on 'A' Days." We both stopped at the corner of the street and looked at all directions before crossing the street diagonally to reach my house quicker. "Lucy?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you even like Total Drama anymore?"

"Of course I do. Why do you ask?"

"You just seem like you hate it nowadays. Like, whenever something comes up that relates to it, you just get so mad at it."

"I'm not mad at it. I will say that sometimes the show can annoy me, but I don't hate it." I took a long sip. "I'm still a big fan, just not as much as Marlene is." A car honked and I looked at the source to see some of my other friends who were waving at me. I smiled and waved back as I continued to drink my milkshake.

"Oh, yeah. I remember your "Cody Phase.""

I almost choked on my drink. I coughed into my elbow and shook my head. "We don't talk about that anymore, Blythe."

"Oh my God, he's so cute!" He started to "mimic" my voice. "He's just so dorky and he's super nice! Oh, my god , and the gap in his teeth-" I pushed his arm before he could say anything else, making im laugh.

"Oh, shut it. As if you didn't have it that bad for Bridgette."

He laughed. "Okay, you're right. We've both definitely have been a Marlene at least once."

I smiled, but then I frowned, pausing. "I think… maybe I just thought realistically about the show."

"What do you mean?"

"What if those people are just faking it for the money, for the fame? What if I'm lucky enough to meet one of them and my whole world comes crumbling down because it was all an act and I was just naïve? That's what I kept asking myself."

"Lucy, you always do this."

"Do what?"

"Don't get me wrong, I like it. It's one of the many things that makes you unique."

"Do what ?"

"Does it matter if they're just acting? It's just a show, and even if you do meet any of them and they don't end up being who you expect them to be, who cares? They aren't going to be in your life forever if you meet them, so you shouldn't be so hung up about it."

I sighed. "Yeah, I know." I saw my house come up and I started to speed up my pace so I could reach it quicker.

"Don't let it stop you from being a fan, though," He said as we started to make our way up the steps to the front door of my house.

"Of course, I won't." I pulled out my key from my pocket and started to unlock the door. "Trust me, I'm still a big fan." I pulled the door open and moved aside to let Blythe enter first, while I pulled my key back out from the door.

" Whoa , you were not kidding."

"What do you mean?" I walked in and immediately gasped. My living room was covered with posters and merchandise from the Total Drama franchise. "What… What the hell happened to the living room!"

"I don't know. You tell me." He placed his things down and headed to the kitchen, but stopped short when a poster caught his eye. He turned to me and pointed at the Cody poster. "Are you sure your phase isn't over?"

I punched his arm, making him laugh. "It's probably Marlene." I threw out the styrofoam cup before tossing my bag on the floor and calling out for her. "Marlene? Marlene !"

"Coming, coming!" I heard footsteps come from upstairs and my best friend finally revealed herself. "Hi, Luce! Hi, Bly! Sorry about the mess. I had gotten some stuff and I was too excited to wait until I got home."

"It's fine. Just make sure you pick it up before my parents come home."

"Okay!" She started to carefully pick up the assortment of button pins and place them in a box.

I shook my head as I looked at all the things she had bought. I sat down on the couch and picked up a small plush of Gwen, Marlene's favorite contestant. I smiled and placed it back down. I looked at her and I noticed that her face was red and her lips were pressed together, trying to hide a small smile. "What are you hiding?"

She jumped and her face brightened in color. "What? I-I'm not hiding anything."

I scoffed. "Yeah, right."

She groaned. "You always do this, Luce. You can't let anything be a surprise." She sighed. "Blythe, come here! It's a surprise for you too."

"A surprise?"

She turned her body to face me. "Yes, and I really think you two will love it." Blythe came out of the kitchen with a bag of chips. "Okay, are you two ready?"

Blythe sat down next to me. "Yeah, whatcha got?"

"Okay, so, first off, there are two surprises. The first is technically for all of us. Here's a hint; It has to do with Canada." She bit her lip in anticipation and her eyes flashed between us.

"Okay, Canada," Blythe mumbled.

I feigned a gasp. "Canada, maple!"

Blythe caught on immediately and went along with my act. "Maple, um," He clasped his hands together. "Syrup!"

"Pancakes!" We both concluded together.

"You're going to take us somewhere to eat pancakes!" Blythe exclaimed and we high fived each other.

Marlene rolled her eyes. "You two are ridiculous. No, it's not that."

"Then spit it out," I told her.

She smiled brightly. "I got us tickets to the Total Drama auditions!"

"You what!?" I exclaimed. "How? We didn't even send in an audition video."

"You didn't have to. I did it for you both."

"That's awesome!" Blythe pulled Marlene in for a hug.

I tugged on her shirt to get her attention. "What did you send them?"

"For you, it was a video that I knew that the judges would love."

"Which is ?"

Blythe gave an irritable sigh. "Does it matter, Lucy? We have a chance to be in Total Drama !"

"I know that, Blythe, but I want to know why they want someone like me has the opportunity to be in their show."

"It was probably the video about your Cody phase," he muttered under his breath.

I grabbed one of the throw pillows and hit him with it. "Stop bringing that up! That was just a phase !"

"That doesn't mean that it didn't happen." I threw the pillow at his face as an attempt to make him shut up.

"Guys, stop!" Marlene placed her hand on my sternum and gently pushed me away from Blythe. "I didn't send them that video, Luce. It was very tempting though, but Ipromise it wasn't that video."

I furrowed my eyebrows. "You swear."

She smiled "I swear."

I returned her smile. "Thank you, Marlene. That would have been the end of me."

"No problem." She stood up and her smile brightened. "Before I forget, I have another surprise for you."

"For me?"

She nodded and grabbed her bag. She unzipped it and pulled out a small box. "Now, I don't mean to get your hopes up, but I got you something to help you if you make it in the show."

She handed me the box and I looked at the box before looking back at her to see her with the same dorky smile. I carefully opened the box and my eyes widened. "An mp3 player?"

"Surprise! They don't allow phones in the show, but mp3 players are allowed and knowing you, I doubt you would last a day without music. I was able to put all your songs on there and I packed some new batteries, just in case it dies on you."

"Oh, wow, thank you, Marlene." I closed the box and placed it down on the coffee table to save it for later.

"I'm glad you like it." She clasped your hands together. "Well, we better get ready. We have to leave for our flight in a few hours."

"A few hours?" Blythe asked.

"Yup! The auditions are tomorrow. I packed everything for Luce, and I called your mom and asked her to pack some things for you. My dad is going to pick us up when he gets out of work to drop us off." She told us as she continued to pick up her things. "Oh, and your parents already know, Luce. They've actually known for a while."

Blythe stood up. "Well, I better make sure I have everything." He picked up his stuff from the floor. "See you guys later." He waved at us and left.

"So, Marlene, I gotta know," I slid down from the couch to sit beside her and started to help her pick up her things. "What did you send in for Blythe?"

"Remember that video he made when he first made it on the basketball team?"

I broke out in a small burst of laughter. "You did not!"

"I did, and, surprisingly, it was enough for him to get in."

"Oh geez, if he found out, he would probably kill you."

"And that was a chance I was willing to take. I mean, what else was I supposed to send them? Blythe rarely takes pictures or videos of himself."

I shook my head, laughing to myself as I started to roll up one of the posters. "How long ago did you get the tickets?" I placed a rubber band around it and handed it to Marlene, who put it in a pile of the posters she hadn't opened yet.

"A few weeks ago." She stood up and started to gently take down the posters she put on the wall. "Are you excited to go?"

I shrugged. "I don't know." I grabbed another poster, this one of the cast from Total Drama: The Ridonculous Race . I scanned the poster and my eyes landed on Noah and Owen. I held it up and smiled at the two. Owen was cheering with an arm tightly around Noah, possibly hurting the smaller teen, while the latter had an annoyed look on his face. Their friendship was always my favorite out of anything I've seen. A hand came into my field of vision and I blinked before looking at Marlene. "Earth to Lucillia!"

"Huh? Oh, sorry, what were you saying?"

"I asked you what makes you so unsure about it?" She looked at the poster I was holding and smirked at me. "Oh? Is someone else starting to catch your eye?"

I scoffed. "No. He has a girlfriend, anyway." She looked back at the poster and I started to roll up the poster before she could find out who I was talking about. "And, I'm unsure because I don't think I'm fit for the entire Total Drama thing, y'know? I'm not a person who is surrounded by drama, day in and day out and I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be able to hold a smile after a day of dealing with Chris and his antics." I placed the poster down with the others and went to grab another one.

Marlene rolled her eyes. "You are one of the most dramatic people that I know, Luce. Plus, it'll be kinda fun to see what it's really like when you finally snap."

I paused and looked at her, my eyebrows furrowed. " Fun ?"

"Yeah! You're always so calm and sweet. I want to see what it's like when you get angry, and if you make it into the show, I'm sure everybody would want to know."

I shook my head and continued to roll the poster. "It may be fun for you and everybody else, but it won't be fun for me."

"Right. Sorry." She immediately looked upset with herself.

I sighed and picked up the last poster she took down. "You're right, though. It would be a very interesting and dramatic thing to do and see."

Marlene's cell phone started to ring and she quickly picked it up. "It's my dad." She started to make her way outside for privacy. "Hi, dad-" She shut the door and her voice became muffled.

I finished rolling the last poster and I made my way to the couch. I sat down and picked up Marlene's Gwen plushie. I smiled at it and turned her around in my hands to see how detailed it really was. I stopped and looked at its black button eyes. It would be awesome to meet her.

The front door opened and I placed "Gwen" down. Marlene came back inside and placed her phone back on the table. "My dad says that he's stuck at work, so my aunt is going to take us to the airport and she's on her way here. She should be here in a few minutes You can go upstairs and see if I packed all the things you need for our trip. I can finish up the rest down here."

"Alright." I stood up and quickly went upstairs to my room. I entered my room and saw a light purple duffel bag on my bed. I grabbed my sleeping mask on my desk and placed it on my bed before opening the duffel bag. I moved a few things around to see what she had gotten for me. A few outfits, toothbrush, hairbrush, underwear, socks, and a small bottle of soap. I walked over to my closet and grabbed a few extra pairs of underwear and bras, just in case, and placed it in the bag. I also grabbed some razors and I shoved them in the bag before putting my sleeping mask on top and zipping it closed. I grabbed a light jacket and shrugged it on. I grabbed the duffel bag and headed back downstairs where Marlene was placing the rest of her things in a box. "I'm done," I told her as I placed the bag back down.

"Great!" She closed the box and picked it up. "My dad said that he would pick these up later." She said, referring to the many boxes of merchandise. "I hope your parents won't mind."

"No, they love you, so they won't care." I sat down on the couch and placed my new MP3 player in my bag and then made myself comfortable on my couch and watched as Marlene moved some things around in one of the boxes. I smiled at my best friend and chuckled to myself, thinking about the many times where she would always think of me before anybody else, even herself. How did I get such a good best friend? Maybe I shouldn't be too hard on her for this. She probably risked a lot to do this for us. I'll do my best just for her.

There was a sound of a car honking and Marlene ran over to one of the living room windows and slightly pulled back the curtain. "It's my aunt." She turned to look at me. "Are you ready?"

I nodded and stood up. "As ready as I'll ever be."

I furrowed my eyebrows and pushed myself off the pole that I was leaning on. Oh, yeah. Marlene finally got herself nudged into the nice part of my brain. I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose. "You know what? I'm just going to find a way home." I started to slip through the crowd towards, from what I remembered, where we entered the event.

"Lucillia?!" I was suddenly engulfed in a tight hug.

I pushed Marlene away from me and looked up at her angrily. "Where did you go?! You left me alone with no phone or map."

"I'm sorry. I thought you were still following us and when we got to the bag drop off, we noticed you weren't behind anymore and we went to go look for you. I promise it won't happen again." She patted her pants and pulled out my phone from my pocket. "I'm sorry, Lucillia. Will you forgive me?"

I grabbed my phone from her hands. "Only if it doesn't happen again."

The sound of feedback was heard and a majority of us in the crowd, including myself, covered our ears to try to block out the horrible sound. "Hello, teens!" A familiar voice spoke through the speakers. "The Race to Compete is going to start soon. If you are one of our special participants, make your way to your numbered area and good luck." Feedback sounded again before it cut off.

Marlene gave a big smile and grabbed my hand. "O-M-G! It's really happening! C'mon, let's go!" She started to tug me through the large crowd.

I tried to keep up with her as best as I could and only one thought ran through my mind. Why did I get myself into this mess?