Topher took a step out of the office building. He rubbed his hands together for warmth, before reaching into his wool coat's pocket to grab a cigarette. It was his first autumn since being back. He had watched the season change with regretful eyes. Desperately, he wanted to latch onto the last remaining warmth of the summer. A part of him was not ready to be back; there was a lingering piece of his soul that clung to the distant LA sun.

He leaned against a light post as he lit the tip of a cigarette. He inhaled slowly, closing his eyes, letting the breath calm him. He loosened his tie, and closed his grey wool jacket over his body for more warmth. The crowded street pushed him off the light post, and he stumbled up against the wall of the building. He rustled his hand through his neatly parted hair, watching as people passed by him, when he recognized a face. "Hey! Samey!" He called out reaching forward and touching her arm.

Samey jumped at his touch. She wore large stereo headphones with a red leather jacket. Her hair was tied back in a ponytail. She pulled off her headphones to look at him. "Topher! Shit. What are you doing here?" She stepped next to him against the wall, out of the rush of the crowd.

"I just finished giving a presentation to a client in this building here. I came out to have a smoke." Topher spoke.

"Cool." Samey replied, a little awkward.

"What are you doing in this part of town?" Topher asked.

"Oh, I live in this neighborhood. I was just going to go pick up some things at the store."

"Ah, I don't want to keep you or anything."

"No, no it's okay. I'm not grabbing anything urgent."

"Well, if that is the case, do you want to go grab some coffee?" Topher asked.

"Like right now?"

"Yeah."

"Aren't you working?"

"Well," Topher commented. He looked up at the tall building towering over them. "My presentation's done. That's all I came here to do. They're not expecting me at the office anytime soon. Grabbing a coffee sounds like a nice break, considering how hard I've worked on it for the last couple weeks. I'd really appreciate it if you join me."

"Alright. Sure. Yeah," Samey said. She looked to her right, and then to her left. "There's a really cute place just down the block. Let's go there."

"Great." Topher spoke with a grin. Samey smiled back at him.

They walked down the street together to the corner. There was a small hole in the wall coffee shop called Tender Buttons. It had glossy windows covered in posters for acoustic shows. Samey opened the door for Topher, and they entered together. Samey walked directly up to the counter, hoping to order herself a coffee. Topher draped his coat on the back of a chair next to the window, and set his leather bag on the ground, before moving to grab a drink for himself.

Samey sat down at the table; her hands firmly grasped a large ceramic mug. She stared out onto the street through the window as she waited for Topher to join her. It took a few seconds for Topher to take his place. He set down his cup, and dipped a tea bag into it. Samey watched him with mild amusement.

"I thought you were inviting me out to coffee."

"Huh?" Topher asked, looking up at her. He did not get her point.

"That doesn't look like coffee." Samey said.

"I'm been off of coffee since moving up here. I mostly just drink green tea now. I felt I needed to cleanse my body of all that caffeine I was injecting into it. I needed a break. I guess it's more of an LA thing to go on a cleanse, isn't it? What are you drinking?"

"A triple espresso Americano." Samey said with a grin. She took a sip.

"Do you really think you need all that energy?"

"I need all the energy I can get. My job is so filled with mundane tasks, it's the only way I'm able to not pass out by the end of every shift."

"But you're not working today are you?"

Samey shrugged. "No. I guess I like the taste too." They shared an awkward silence. Topher blew on his tea to cool it down. Samey turned to stare out the window at the people walking by. "Are you feeling any more settled in Vancouver?"

Topher nodded. "Yeah, though I'm exploring the city a little less. The cold air is making me hide in my apartment more."

"I actually really like the cool air of fall. The briskness makes me feel more on my toes, if that makes any sense. And I like that I can escape it too, either hide in a little place like this and warm my hands with some coffee, or wrap myself in blankets when I get home. I like it way more than say extreme cold or heat. My family's from Winnipeg. We've got the worse of both worlds there."

"Really? You're from Winnipeg. I didn't know that." Topher admitted.

"It's not exactly a place you brag about being from. Unless you are complaining about it. Lots to complain about."

"So I guess you went west and your sister went east then."

"I guess."

"Do you still keep in contact with her? Has your relationship gotten any better?"

"It has, but it's taken a while. Our relationship hit the lowest point after the incident from the show. When we arrived home we weren't even on speaking terms. We could barely stand to be in the same building together. But after we left to go to University things got better. I think it helped that we lived thousands of kilometres away from each other."

"I never would have thought about it, but I can see how the show would have ruined that relationship, no matter how bad it was going in."

"Funny thing is, I think that the show actually saved our relationship in the long run. Before the show, it was Amy's mission to follow me my whole life and make sure everyone I ever met knew she was better than me. But, after the show, when I showed I was capable of fighting back, I think it scared her a little. She realized she did not have complete and total control over me. Whatever it was, it was enough for her to distance herself enough for me to have my own life. In that way I'm grateful for the show. It's probably the only thing I'm grateful of from it."

"Well, you met Jasmine in it right? It sounded like last time we spoke, you've stayed decent friends with her." Topher said.

"That's true. Yeah. I guess I can be grateful for meeting her there too. What about you? Did you keep in contact with anyone after the show?"

"Nope." Topher declared sipping his tea, then he shook his head. "Wait, no. I receive a Christmas card from Ella every year."

"Me too! I really liked the one from last year with that front cover collage of kitten pictures."

Topher smiled knowingly. "I liked that one too. She's really good at making those. I swear, her photoshop skills are better than the graphic design guys at my marketing firm, and they're professionals. I would kill to have someone that good to work with."

"Well, Ella was always full of surprises. Didn't she say in her card that she performed in a couple off Broadway shows last year? That's so cool, right?" Samey asked. She could see a tinge of regret in Topher's face, as he was brought back to his own failures at acting. "Oops. I'm sorry," she tried to apologize.

Topher waved it away. "Don't be." He scratched his beard, trying to compose himself a little. "You'd think that I'd be jealous about her success, but, to be truly honest, I'm just so happy that one of us has been able to move forward in the industry. I know we never had much comradery on the show, but it warms my heart to think of Chris feeling even the slightest bit of jealousy about one of us. I like to picture him on Christmas morning, reading the card, and having it put a slight damper on his day."

"That does not sound healthy," Samey said straight. "How do you even know that Chris would feel jealousy? You're the only one who had a feud with him."

"It's a bit of a fantasy, I'll admit." Topher took a sip of his tea. "Don't forget though, Chris kicked her off for singing. Every accomplishment she makes singing, I feel is a slight to him."

"Do you still care so much about Chris?"

Topher shrugged his shoulders. "I've never stopped caring about Chris, if that's what you mean. It's not like I spend every day consumed about it. It's just that whenever I think back to the show, and the other contestants, those feelings come back. What about the other contestants? Do you know where any of them are?"

"Let me think," Samey paused. She tapped her right cheek in contemplation. "Shawn emails with Dave. Last I heard, he's working on a philosophy phd at the University of Alberta. Jasmine mentioned that Sky studied in the States to play varsity soccer. I haven't heard anything about her since. That's all I can remember off the top of my head. I had a couple of them on facebook for a bit, but I deleted it after coming out here. I did not want to be connected much with my past life."

"Fair enough. I tried to separate myself as much as possible from it. For a couple of years, it felt the show was this wicked omen of failure looming around the back of my head. Thankfully, no one recognized me in LA. The show was not quite as popular south of the border. One of the few times I've been glad to be less famous."

"You ever think about going back?"

"Back where?"

"To the island." Samey reached into her purse, and pulled out a brochure. She handed it to Topher. "I found this a week or so ago. It was sitting on a rack at my grocery store. After our last conversation, I felt like I needed to grab it. I'd never thought to look it up."

The brochure was titled Pahkitew Island Park. The front cover had a full picture of the island, looking nearly identical to the way it did back on the show. Below the picture, in big blue writing was BCParks. Topher opened it up. One side of the brochure was covered in a full map of the island, pointing out hiking trails, camp grounds, picnic areas, and an information station. The other side was filled of blurbs outlining the costs of entry and a description of the trails. On the back, there was an advertisement for boat tours in the area, and a small paragraph that read: Pahkitew Island was the setting for the hit show Total Drama: Pahkitew Island. Visit a number of the original locales from the show including the elimination area, the Treehouse and the Cave.

"Is this for real?" Topher asked, looking up at Samey.

Samey nodded. "Looks like it. I did a bit of research on it myself. Apparently after the show ended, TeleReal defaulted on the land, and it went to the province. It's been a park for a number of years. I never thought to look up anything about the island before. It's not that far from here. We could probably drive up there in a day."

Topher rubbed his beard. "It's tempting. I thought that you mentioned trying to forget all about the show."

"I've tried to, sure." She took a sip of her Americano. "When you showed up though, I sort of realized something. I'm never going to completely forget about it. It played an important role in my life, that even if I try to deny it, it is a part of who I am. Maybe trying to forget about it is not the healthiest of attitudes. It might be time to try to face it head strong. You know, face that part of me I've been ignoring."

"What does this have to do with me?"

"Well, I was hoping you'd come with me. There's no one else in the city who would understand what visiting that place means better than you. At least, it would feel wrong not to offer the chance to come along. I'm not sure if you're ready to face it yet, but it might do you some good. Especially when you consider why you're back here in the first place."

Topher frowned. "You don't have to remind me."

"Look. The offer's open to you. You don't need to come."

"Would you like me to come?"

"Yes," Samey said simply.

Topher shook his head. "It'd be weird, right? It'd be weird to be there again. God, it's been over ten years. I'm not sure I'd even recognize the place."

"Even more reason to go see it. Hopefully it'll look a little less intimidating now that we're adults."

"Hopefully," Topher spoke. He took a deep breath. "Alright. I'll go with you."

"Great," Samey smiled, taking another sip. "It's a date."

…

Afterword:

Here's chapter 2. We're trying to move slowly and organically with it.

Please leave a review.

Till Next Time - Nyhlus and BJ