corbinace: -shrugs- I have different plans, what can I say? If you want a copy of the old story, I saved the whole thing in a Word file. Everything up to the last chapter that I wrote, which was the music video challenge.
Reading10: Thank you; I have NO idea where the renewed interest came from, but I'm just gonna roll with it for now. Oh don't worry, I have plans for all four of those crazy teenagers.
General shizz: Phew, no more full-time! I'm hoping part-time will be much more manageable. Anyway, time to get this show on the road!
Gathered in front of the Mess Hall, 22 teenagers stared at the egomaniac that had brought them all together again. Some didn't mind being back, while the majority would rather have been anywhere else but here.
"So," Noah began, staring at Chris. "Can we expect more torturous challenges and sneaky rules from you this time around?"
"Of course!" the host confirmed. Everyone rolled their eyes.
"I swear, if I get booted off for some dumb reason again…" Leshawna muttered, shaking her head.
"We're really sorry about that, by the way," Bridgette apologized, her arm wrapped around Geoff's waist. The party animal nodded, though he wasn't sure what his girlfriend was referring to.
"At least none of you were unfairly voted off because of some scheming creep," Courtney grumbled, glaring at Harold. The lanky nerd merely shot an annoyed look towards the C.I.T. and turned his attention back to Chris, who had begun explaining how things were gonna go down this season.
"You all remember how this works – you will be divided into two teams, which we will get to in a little bit! Each team will compete against each other in various challenges. The winning team will gain immunity, while the losing team must face the dreaded Marshmallow Ceremony and vote off one of their teammates!
"And because I know some of you are real smart-alecks," Chris looked towards Noah and Gwen as he spoke. "I'm gonna say this right away. There will be absolutely NO returning to the island once you've been voted off, like Eva and Izzy did last time. All vote-offs are final, dudes."
"He says now," Noah muttered. The handsome host continued.
"As you know, the stakes are raised this time! You will all be competing for a grand prize of one million dollars!"
Several campers brightened up at the mention of the prize money. There were so many possibilities with that amount of money: college, entertainment, food (okay, only Owen was thinking of that last one).
"Now, you all know that the Final Ten is where the teams dissolve and individual immunity will be up for grabs. However, we still gotta get rid of twelve of you before that happens; so, it's time to split everyone up into two teams!"
"If I call your name, come stand to my left: Leshawna… Bridgette… Harold… Justin… Gwen… Ezekiel… Izzy… Courtney ("WHAT?! I'm with Harold again?! This is unaccepta-!") Duncan… Cody… and Heather!"
Between Courtney snarling at Harold, Bridgette giving Ezekiel a harsh look, and Leshawna looking ready to tear off Heather's head, Cody couldn't help but comment.
"You know, it seems like Chris is really looking to cause some big blow-ups."
"That's because he's a prick," Gwen replied, crossing her arms and also glaring at Heather. The former queen bee was trying to ignore the anger directed at her from her old cabin mates, but she clearly looked distressed by it. The tech geek scratched his head.
"I just don't get what's up with Heather, ya know?"
"Cody, she's just being quiet because she knows that we all know better than to give her the benefit of the doubt."
"I don't know; even when she was at a disadvantage, Heather always had something to say. She didn't even protest when Chris said that she'd be with you and Leshawna again. It just doesn't make sense to me…"
Gwen shrugged, looking down at Cody. "It doesn't matter anyway; we'll vote her off before she has a chance to try and manipulate us again."
Cody frowned at this, but said nothing to argue the point further. Meanwhile, Chris was looking at the remaining eleven contestants who still stood on his right.
"The rest of you - Tyler… Owen… Geoff… Noah… Lindsay… Katie and Sadie… Beth… Eva… Trent… and DJ – will make up the rival team!"
Tyler had already snuggled up to Lindsay with a huge grin, glad that he wouldn't have to worry about his girlfriend being on the opposing team this time. Geoff, on the other hand, frowned as he looked over at Bridgette. DJ patted his back in sympathy.
"Don't worry, man," the gentle giant spoke. "You'll get to spend some time with her."
"I hope so…"
"Yo, Chris! Here're those flags you wanted!"
The teenagers were surprised by the new voice, which had come from behind them. Another teenager, about their age, walked into view from the forest. He wore glasses, a black T-shirt with a red skull on it, jeans, and black boots. On top of his head was a mess of thick, brunet hair. He walked up to the handsome host, who took the two flags from the new teenager.
"Perfect timing!" Chris exclaimed. "Oh yeah. Everyone, this is Sciggs! He's the only intern that was willing to stick around after we did orientation."
Sciggs waved at the others, who waved back (except for Noah, Gwen, and Duncan).
"You must be suicidal," quipped Noah. The intern shrugged.
"This counts as community service, apparently," he revealed. "Plus, I'm sure any college that sees what I end up doing here will take enough pity on me to just let me go to it."
"Touché."
"Anyway," Chris interrupted, bringing all the attention back on him so that everything would be right in his world. "There is no longer the Screaming Gophers or the Killer Bass! From this day onward, you are now…"
He tossed one flag to Ezekiel, who was taken by surprise but still managed to catch and unravel the flag. The design was that of a fierce, gray shark that had blood-stained teeth.
"The Bloody Sharks!"
"Wow… That's kinda moo'rbid, eh," the homeschooled teen noted, but was still impressed by the design.
"I don't know, I think it describes our team pretty well!" Izzy chirped. The teammates all looked at each other and realized that the crazy redhead made a pretty good point.
"And you guys shall be known as," Chris continued, tossing the other flag to Geoff, who easily caught it. When the party animal opened it, the flag bore the symbol of a raccoon in mid-swipe, as if it were attacking something.
"The Fighting Raccoons!"
Geoff beamed proudly.
"Awesome!"
"I like their flag better," Eva admitted, eyeing the other team's design with a bit of jealousy.
Chris clapped his hands together, grinning widely. "Now then, I think Chef Hatchet should have lunch prepared for you guys by now! And I know how everyone's missed his cooking, heh heh!"
"I don't think you can call what that man makes 'cooking,'" Gwen retorted, doing air quotes to emphasize our point.
"Hey, maybe he's gotten better over the past year!" Cody suggested hopefully.
"Or not," the tech geek muttered a few minutes later as Chef plopped some unidentifiable substance onto his lunch tray. It looked like a cross between oatmeal and a sandwich, except duller in color and pulsating slightly. He then sat with Gwen, Bridgette, Leshawna, and Justin. Courtney and Duncan were nearby, but the delinquent seemed intent on resuming his taunting of the C.I.T. while she continued to shoot him down each time. A few people noticed that Izzy had disappeared, but they felt it was better not to question where she was.
At the other side of the Mess Hall, the Fighting Raccoons were much more unified – though Noah and Eva showed no interest in interacting with their fellow teammates.
"But then," Tyler continued, telling the others about his school's baseball team winning the playoffs out of all the high schools. "The pitcher accidentally pegged Casey with the ball, so it came down to me – bases loaded, two outs, bottom of the ninth. We only needed one point to win it, man!"
"Did you score the winning point, then?" Geoff asked, subtly moving his plate closer to Owen so that the large teen would eat it.
"What? Oh, uhh… Sort of." The jock scratched the back of his head, but flashed a grin at Lindsay, whose baby blue eyes still amazed him. "See, Chang was dead set on stealing home plate. I kept telling him that I had everything under control… But then when I swung at the first pitch, I lost my balance and fell on the catcher and ump. So while they were distracted, Chang stole home and scored the winning run; but, he wouldn't have done it without my help!"
"Wow," Beth murmured. Noah smiled to himself.
"Congrats, you were the equivalent of Shaggy and Scooby in every episode of 'Scooby-Doo,'" he quipped. A couple people chuckled at the comparison, but Tyler looked downright offended.
"Hey man, at least I tried, unlike you during the dodge ball game last season! How'd that end for you again? Oh yeaaaaaaah."
The bookworm didn't look up, so the conversation at the table quickly resumed before Tyler pursued the subject further. Little did anyone know, Noah's mind was reeling with worry about facing a similar fate as last season.
Meanwhile, Harold was the last one in line to receive his "meal."
"You made sure I'm not allergic to any of this stuff, right?" he asked Chef politely. The ex-military man simply growled in response.
"You doubting my culinary skills, Scrawny?!"
"Sir, no, sir!"
"Good, now GET OUTTA MY FACE!" Chef belted, shouting loud enough to blow back some of Harold's auburn hair. The lanky nerd turned to look at his team's table. Maybe he could try to sit with Leshawna and Cody, since they were further away from Courtney. Before Harold took a single step, however, he noticed Ezekiel simply standing at the end of the lunch line. He had been ahead of Harold in line, but the lanky nerd hadn't noticed the shy prairie boy freeze up.
"Zeke?"
The redneck teen jumped, but sighed in relief when he saw that it was just Harold.
"Whew, hey there."
"What are you doing?"
"Oh, uhh… Standing, I guess, eh." Ezekiel shrugged. Harold then noticed something else – off in the corner, Heather was sitting alone. She seemed resigned to her fate as an outcast. Harold could tell because she looked very much like how he felt whenever he was at school.
"Well, why don't we go sit down and eat?" he suggested nonchalantly. Ezekiel slowly nodded.
"Oo'kay… Are you sure?"
"Sure about what? Eating? This stuff doesn't look quite digestible, I'll admit, but that doesn't mean-"
"No no no," the homeschooled teen interrupted, waving his hand. He stared down at his own food tray and muttered.
"What I mean is… Are you sure you want to eat with me?"
Harold blinked. Then, he nodded. Finally, he scratched his side.
All of these reactions confused Ezekiel (except the scratching – that one seemed self-explanatory). Who would want to be seen with such an outcast? Sure, the prairie boy had more than learned his lesson about sexist attitudes and ideas. He no longer believed that guys were stronger and smarter than girls, but that didn't mean that Eva knew that. And that thought was more than enough to terrify Ezekiel.
And then here was Harold, just talking and interacting with him as if he wasn't some sexist twerp like the others seemed to view him. It was… nice.
"Can I ask why?" Ezekiel continued, his voice still low. "I'm not exactly a pop star around here, eh."
Harold raised an eyebrow. "It's 'rock star,' not 'pop star.' Gosh! And, to answer your question, I'm not Mr. Popular either. Besides, I didn't get to talk to you at all last season and now's my chance. Maybe we'll end up being friends or something."
"Friends?" the prairie boy cocked his head to the side. "But… You doo'n't hate me for what I said last season?"
"Dude, you were ignorant about the ways of the world. I get it. Besides, I think Eva showed you the error of your ways preeeeetty clearly last season. Am I right?"
Ezekiel unconsciously rubbed the back of his neck before answering. "Oh definitely, eh."
"So let's go sit down then," Harold suggested, shrugging and heading towards the tables. Ezekiel nodded and followed after him, smiling slightly at the gesture. Maybe not everyone hated him after all. The prairie boy was so distracted by this thought, he bumped into the lanky nerd, who had stopped in front of one of the tables.
"Watch it, idiot!"
"Soo'ry, soo'ry!"
"Umm…"
Ezekiel then noticed that he and Harold were near the table that Heather had been sitting at, alone. The homeschooled teen thought that this was a bit odd, considering the fact that he was convinced everyone on the show agreed Heather was the anti-Christ. But, given the fact that Harold had just proven him wrong about everyone hating the prairie boy, he decided that he must've been mistaken again.
"If you two are here to make fun of me," Heather began calmly, stirring her meal absentmindedly. "Go right ahead. I'm sure it's nothing I won't hear from the others by the end of the day…"
"Actually," Harold replied. "I was just wondering if these seats are taken."
There was a brief silence. Heather stared at the lanky nerd, dumbfounded.
"Well… Not really. I guess those seats are free for anyone who actually wants to be around me, which is no o-"
"Cool!"
Before Heather could finish her sentence, Harold took a seat directly across from her with a beaming grin. Despite displaying a strange gusto in eating Chef's cooking, he soon spit it back out on the floor nearby to protect his health. Following suite, Ezekiel sat next to Harold and didn't even attempt to consume what the psychotic chef had given him. The former queen bee just stared at the two teens in astonishment, but said nothing more and returned her focus to her lunch. Still, she kept glancing up at Harold and Ezekiel every couple minutes to make sure they were still there.
The others took note, and the gossip was already spreading like a wildfire.
"Wonder what Harold's doing with Ezekiel?" Bridgette wondered aloud, tapping her chin.
"Hopefully he's teaching that white boy how to properly respect a lady," Leshawna asserted, crossing her arms.
"There's a better question," Gwen brought up sourly, not even looking at the trio of outcasts. "Why the hell is he with Heather?" she hissed. "We all know and agree that she's nothing but a snake. Is Harold just too naïve to believe she'll just use him and dump him like trash?"
"Now Gwen," Cody began, patting her shoulder. She shook his hand away, so he stopped. However, the tech geek offered a friendly grin. "I'm sure Harold knows what he's doing – he's not stupid, after all. He's just… odd. In a lot of ways. Like me!"
"Except you're not a cheating freak," Courtney retorted suddenly, bumping into the conversation. Duncan had been distracted by battling Chef's food, which had stolen his fork and threatened to stab him in the kidneys.
"Plus, you're a Shorty McShortsman Shortstack of Geek Pancakes!" The crazy redhead, Izzy, had suddenly popped up from under the Bloody Shark table. Understandably, everyone yelled in surprise (even the homicidal meal that Duncan quickly subdued with a punch to its metaphorical face).
"Umm… Thanks?" Cody replied, tilting his head to the side. Izzy beamed proudly and then looked back at Harold, Ezekiel, and Heather.
"Izzy thinks Harold just wanted to avoid Crazy in Training over here ("Why, you little-!") and Zeke is probably afraid of us gals ripping him to shreds!"
Bridgette flinched at the description.
"I don't think any of us would go that far… right, Gwen? Gwen?"
The surfer girl looked at her Goth friend to see that she was glaring daggers at Trent as he shared another story about his band. She seemed to hiss as she breathed through clenched teeth, unaware of anything else in the world but her ex-boyfriend.
"Earth to Gwen, come in!" Leshawna called, shaking her with one arm. Gwen shook her head and looked around, noticing her teammates looking at her with genuine concern. However, this only seemed to piss her off more as she suddenly stood up.
"Excuse me," she growled, shooting one last glare at Trent. "I need a moment." With that, she headed towards the exit without looking back. Bridgette, Leshawna, Izzy, and Cody frowned after her.
"Man, she's been hurt real deep," Cody noted, shaking his head.
"I know she's usually in a bad mood," Leshawna voice, her hands on her hips. "But I've never seen my girl so high and tight just by lookin' at someone. Except Heather, of course."
"Do you think Trent said or did something to hurt her?" Bridgette theorized, staring uneasily at the musician. He seemed innocent enough – a successful band, no disparaging comments to or about Gwen (that they had heard yet), and a general positive attitude. Was it all a ruse?
"Whatever it is," Izzy spoke lowly, in a rare moment for her. "It's something that's deeply bothering her, so we need to be supportive and find out just what it is so that we can help her through it."
"Sweetie," Leshawna sighed. "It's not that easy…"
"Gwen has some pretty bad trust issues," Bridgette confirmed, nodding slowly. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say those issues have only worsened since we saw her last."
"But we can make them better!" Izzy affirmed, pointing for emphasis. She grinned crazily, back to her old self. "There's never been a problem that Izzy hasn't been able to fix yet!"
"What about the RCMP hunting you down?" Cody asked.
"All taken care of," the wild child retorted, laughing maniacally. "Those guys are horrible at negotiating; I actually got them to give me a pet squirrel and some bubblegum in exchange for taking me off the Most Wanted List!"
Cody merely stared. He was experiencing a combination of amusement and horror since Izzy was describing the police who had agreed to an obviously poor deal. Bridgette recovered first and frowned at Izzy.
"Hon, I just don't think it's gonna be as easy as you think." She then grabbed Izzy's hand and gave it a few light pats. The psycho hose beast didn't look away from Bridgette's hand the entire time, and then she stared into the surfer girl's honest, green eyes. Those almost motherly eyes that softened when they saw that Izzy still looked determined.
"I appreciate your concern for her, though," Bridgette admitted with a light grin. "I'll do what I can to help out, Izzy." Izzy stared blankly at the surfer girl's raw honesty, and then her mouth spread into a grin that threatened to split her face in half.
"Awesome! We totally got this, okaa-san!"
Before Bridgette could ask what that word was, the door to the Mess Hall opened to reveal one of the slimiest, grimiest pieces of filth on the island. He flashed his trademark grin.
"Hey there, campers!" Chris McLean greeted, his cheekbones seeming to glisten as he looked into the camera. Lindsay looked down at her cheat sheet before waving.
"Hi Chris!" Tyler gave his girlfriend a proud peck on the cheek while everyone else stared warily at the handsome host.
"Who's ready for the first challenge?"
"Is a soldier ever ready for a war?" Noah asked half-heartedly, putting down his book.
"Is a death row inmate ever ready for his execution?" Gwen quipped, bumping Chris as she passed by to go back to her teammates. She didn't look any better than when she had stormed off, so Leshawna patted her back. Sciggs stood next to Chris in an American football outfit, complete with pads and a helmet. Though no one could see his face, his voice expressed his annoyance.
"Is an intern ever paid for humiliation and exploitation?"
"Nope," Duncan answered, sneering at the get-up. "So what's the occasion? Got a hot date tonight?"
"Heh heh, nice one!" Chris walked over and high-fived the delinquent while Sciggs flipped off his boss behind his back.
"I'm guessing we're gonna play football?" Harold asked groggily, looking paler than usual. Upon closer inspection, the others saw that Chef's meal had traveled from his plate onto the ground.
"Ewww," Lindsay commented.
"Thaaaaaat's right!" Chris interrupted, bringing the focus back on him. He walked over to Sciggs and knocked on his helmet. "While it probably won't live up to the awesome cliff diving challenge that we started off with last time, I have a good feeling about this one!"
"So what're we playing? 4 quarters?" Tyler asked, already looking pumped for this sports-themed challenge. The handsome host shook his finger.
"In due time, brah. Before we get going to the field, how's about you all revisit the Confession Cam and let the folks at home know what's going on in those crazy heads of yours?"
"I know I'll regret asking this," Trent started, looking hesitant. "But… did you clean that outhouse at all since last year?" The other campers' eyes widened in worry when the handsome host broke down into hysterical laughter, falling to the ground with his legs flailing around in the air.
Confession Cam
Trent – "/holding his nose and slightly green/ I should've known what a dumb question that was… /coughs a few times before gagging/ Oh man, why did I come in after Owen?"
Owen – "It's so AWESOME to be back! It's like I'm at my second home. /he farts and then giggles/ Whoops!"
Gwen – "/crossing her arms and scowling at the camera/ I really, really hate Chris McLean. It's bad enough he introduced me to Heather last season, but now I'm on that harpy's team again! /she blows a strand of hair out of her face and glares off to the side/ At least she can't use Trent against me since I hate him and he's on the other team anyway.
"It doesn't even matter. This whole contest doesn't matter; I don't want to be here! /she throws her arms up and lets out a frustrated yell/"
Ezekiel – "/adjusts his tuque/ I'm hoo'ping to redeem myself, eh. It was really nice of Harold to include me, even though I doo'n't knoo' why we sat with Heather. He didn't say anything a'boot it. /shrugs/ She's the oo'nly person whose hated moo'r than me, I think.
"'Boot maybe, just maybe, we can shoo' the others that we're noo't so bad, eh?"
Eva – "Since it was my temper that did me in last time… /sighs/ twice… I'm gonna try to keep it under control. My mom paid for anger management classes over the past year, and I only got kicked out of five of them. To be fair, one of those times involved the other guy throwing the first punch. /she smirks proudly/ That poor moron, heh heh."
Geoff – It does kind of suck that I'm not on Bridge's team this time /he looks down and frowns, but then can't contain an excited smile/ But this season? I'm gonna rock this island till it sinks, dudes! WOOOOO!"
Izzy – "/scribbling something down on a small notebook, muttering to herself/ No no no, there's no fireworks for miles… Maybe if…? No, NO! God, where would I find that much glitter glue, even? Hmm… probably could… just need to add salt… What if…? Yes, perfect!
/she then looks at the camera and flashes a wild grin/ Sorry, top secret stuff, folks! Much like my super secret crush on…
… Hah! Like I'd actually say it out loud, you silly, silly people! /she winks at the camera/"
Bridgette – "New season, new teammates… I'm excited, but also really nervous. /she starts counting off on her hand/ We've got Justin, who's mute. Cody seems innocent enough. Gwen's ready to tear Trent's head off for some reason… What happened with those two? Anyway, with Gwen and Leshawna on the same team as Heather again, I can only imagine how that will go /sighs/ And then throw in Courtney and Harold still at each other's throats on top of that along with Ezekiel… I'm not looking forward to working with him. /she crosses her arms firmly, frowning/
"Izzy was trying to tell me that Ezekiel has probably changed his views by now, and I doubt she would be defending him unless she actually believed it herself… I don't know, she might be right. I'll keep an eye on him. Him and Duncan. /she scoffs, looking to the side/ I wasn't a big fan of Duncan to begin with after he got the guys to vote me off last season, but I found out that he's already back to pranking Harold! He thought it'd be "hilarious" to fill Harold's duffel bag with lake water. /sighs and covers her face with her hands/
"This is gonna be a long season…"
Noah – "/looks unamused/ So I've got a talentless jock and his airheaded girlfriend who literally needs a cheat sheet to remember everyone's names, two more airheads whose squeals could break the sound barrier, an Iron Woman and a gasbag, a guy who's obsession is partying, a wannabe who essentially let Heather walk all over her last time, a giant who's afraid of his own shadow, and a young Elvis. Hmm…
/he sighs and shakes his head, but then looks somewhat determined/ I refuse to be the first one voted off my team this time; it's gonna take more than wit and intellect to make it in this contest, if Owen is any indication. /looks down at his book and begins reading, but continues speaking/ Can't count on these people to keep me around, so I'll just have to prove my worth."
Chef – "/in a skimpy cheerleader's costume, growling lowly/ Damn that Chris McLean… I said B-cups, dammit! This A-cup bra is an insult! I will get him back, mark my words!"
Chris – "/grinning widely/ Stick around, and you'll get to see these crazy teenagers knock the wind out of each other! Which team will win: the Bloody Sharks or the Fighting Raccoons? Will our less athletically-gifted contestants surprise us, or will they just stand around like a bunch of trees? And what other surprises do I have in store for them, heh heh? /an evil glint flashes in his eyes before the camera cuts to static/"
End Part 2
Wow, that ended up being longer than I anticipated. My main goal was to try and set up the interactions and friendships to look for in the future, as well as the conflicts. Next chapter will be the main challenge. I'm not sure how I'll incorporate the follow-up challenge (yes, I'm still doing those for the most part) and the marshmallow ceremony yet, but this first chapter will be 5 parts at the most.
I realize it's taken me a long while to get this chapter out. Frankly, I've been busy with school and work, which has left me tired and uninterested in this project most days (hell, I'm putting off a bunch of homework at this moment just to get this chapter finished .). But I'm not abandoning this thing, don't worry. I just can't promise a consistent update schedule; I may or may not have more time for writing once the semester ends in December. It depends on work, since the holiday season means it'll be busier.
Oh yeah, Izzy's secret crush will be revealed in the future, by the way. Guess all you want, I'm not confirming nor denying anything until then.
