Disclaimer: I do not own Total Drama or Eurovision, and cannot be held responsible for the author's decision to stay in the closet until he was 17
Thanks man
Anyway it's been...five weeks I think? Again, not my worst update, and better now than never
Euro-Drama Scholarised - Episode 2, Part 1 - Union Suit
"Last time on Euro-Drama Scholarised…" Carla began as the twins stood in the foyer to begin the recap. "22 contestants from across Europe, Israel and Australia came together in a school outside Brussels to compete in season 3 of an international reality show in hopes of winning one million euro!"
"After everyone arrived, they were split into two teams and participated in a scavenger hunt of sorts, where they had to find one object beginning with every letter of the alphabet, and tag it with a sticker. It was close, but in the end Team Flanders got more penalties and ended up at the first elimination ceremony."
"The voting was very tight. Robert had a target on his back for generally being a creep, while Henrik and the boys went for Yoana for her perceived bullying of Stefanija. But in the end, it was Vendredi from France who became the first boot – mainly because she was constantly cranky, but her only set of 3 was from Stefanija, who made some controversial comments about her ethnicity."
"I don't know what's worse – 1,000 people making angry tweets against her, or 100 users actually coming to her side," Hanne said, holding up her smartphone.
"1 exit, 21 remain."
"Ooh, topical," Hanne giggled, giving her sister a thumb's up.
Carla rolled her eyes and shook her head, "More humor, drama and romance ahead on Euro…Drama…Scholarised!"
"I'm glad you didn't say Farmyard again."
"Shut up," Carla snorted, elbowing Hanne as the screen faded to black.
[Confessional: It's hard to break that habit after 3 years
Samson (Belgium): Phew, I made it through one episode.
I'm doing okay so far. My biggest worry was people talking to each other in crowds, but Henrik seems happy to just talk 1 on 1. I like that. I don't know how long it will last though, I hope I don't come off as clingy. I hope he doesn't realise how worried I am.
Yoana (Bulgaria): That elimination shook me up. I thought Robert was going to leave…or Stefanija if I got lucky. I never thought it would come down to me and Vendredi. For once…I feel lost for words.]
"To Team Wallonia!" Isak cheered as the eleven members of the team sat at one of the tables in the dining hall.
"Team Wallonia!" everyone exclaimed, and they clinked glasses.
"Aye, I'm just happy I wasn't out first," Calvin said before taking a sip of his water. "I was worried it runs in the family."
"What do you mean?" Isak asked.
"Well, see, my big brother Tom was in this game show called Trapped a few years ago," Calvin said.
"I think I remember that!" Maeve exclaimed. "It was on BBC, right?"
"CBBC, yea," Calvin nodded. "So, the story was they'd 'kidnap' six kids and they'd be taken to this tower where they'd have to compete in challenges and only one could escape. But each round, one kid was chosen as the saboteur and they'd have to sabotage the challenge."
"Wait, they kidnapped kids?" Ilana gasped.
"Not really. It was just pretend," Calvin said.
"This is BBC we're talkin' about though," Tomas pointed out.
Calvin burst out laughing at that, but continued nonetheless, "So my brother was chosen to be saboteur, and he was a wee bit too obvious, so when they vote for who they think the saboteur was, this other kid Sam votes for Tom, and then Tom is like 'I think the saboteur was Sam, because he thinks it was me."
Only Maeve laughed. Everyone else just looked confused.
"Everyone else realised it's Tom and he gets eliminated and 'trapped' in the tower, and he tells…oh f**k, the host is this weird old lady where you can only see her purple lips…anyway, he tells her to get lost."
Calvin's response was silence.
"Ah, f**k, I guess you have to watch it to get it," Calvin shrugged. "But yeah, didn't want to live up to that legacy. I still play the tape every now and then just to wind him up."
"That show was the s**t. They don't make them like that anymore," Maeve sighed as she had another helping of sausage.
"You said it," Calvin grinned.
[Confessional: Series 1, episode 6 for anyone who cares
Lidika (Poland): I still can't understand anything Calvin is saying. Like, it kind of sounds like English, but all the vowels are different.]
"What are you doing? Stop it!" Taras exclaimed. His hands seemed to be having a wrestling match.
"You okay?" Os asked.
"Pravo here doesn't like parsnip," Taras sighed. "He keeps knocking the fork out of my hand."
His left hand kept a tight grip on the fork, while his right hand kept trying to swipe it away.
"Do you want some help?"
"Yes. Yes, please," Taras replied.
"Okay," Os shrugged. He grabbed Taras' left hand, and dug his thumb into his funny bone.
"Ooh," Taras said aloud. His left hand shook in horror as his right hand shovelled as much parsnip into his mouth as he could. "Thanks, man."
"Anytime," Os smirked.
"That must get frustrating real fast," Tomas chuckled.
"You have no idea," Taras sighed.
[Confessional: Pravo is Russian for right btw
Taras (Russia): Once I was at a party, and this beautiful blonde girl came to my deck and starting flirting with me. Well, Pravo didn't like her so he took my drink and spilled it all over her dress.
As you can imagine, I gave him a few smacks with a ruler when we got home.]
(Team Flanders – Girls)
Yoana sighed to herself as she washed her hands in the girls' bathroom.
"Hi," Stefanija greeted as she walked inside.
Yoana shot her a dirty look. "Leave me alone."
"Okay, I just wanted to say that I'm happy you're safe for tonight. I can't imagine the voting was close though," Stefanija said. "Let's face it, Sand-girl had nothing to offer to the team."
"You are a terrible person," Yoana growled at her. "How can you say things like that?"
"Look, I know it sounds harsh, but it's the truth. People like you and me have to beware of those kinds of people," Stefanija shrugged.
Yoana looked like she was about to scream. "Her skin was a little dark. So what? You act like you know her but you don't."
"You're one to talk! I try to be nice to you and all you've done is insult me!"
"Nice?" Yoana said through gritted teeth. "You think what you're doing is nice? All you've done is follow me around and tell me how racist you are."
"How am I racist? I'm just telling the truth," Stefanija said in defense.
"Please…stop it!"
By now Yoana had her eyes clenched and was rubbing her temples.
"Alright," Stefanija shrugged. "If it makes you uncomfortable, I'll stop talking about it. You'll realise I'm right in time."
"Believe what you want."
"We can talk about something else. What's your favourite movie?"
Yoana didn't respond. She shoved Stefanija out of the way and left the bathroom, a frustrated look on her face as she stomped past Brook, Haleme and Sandrine, who stopped talking and looked at her in concern. Yoana let out a sigh and left the dormitory.
"Is she okay?" Sandrine asked when Stefanija walked over to them.
"We just had a little quarrel. She'll be fine later," Stefanija assured them. "What are you talking about?"
"Just random stuff," Haleme told her. "Sandrine was in the middle of telling a story."
"Cool," Stefanija said, sitting down on the ground.
[Confessional: I "forgot" to bring study material
Sandrine (Switzerland): Yoana kind of rubs me the wrong way. She's not completely anti-social like Vendredi, but she's really moody in general. Like she thinks she's better than us
Stefanija (Croatia): The Swiss and Azerbaijanis may not be my sisters like the South Slavs, but I can appreciate how they defeated bigger powers – the Austrians and Russians respectively.
Brook is a wildcard though – she's Australian, so chances are she's either Irish or English descent. Or a mix. I guess I'll keep an open mind, but I'm watching her.]
(Team Flanders – Boys)
Henrik had just walked out of the shower with a towel around his waist, revealing he was somewhat muscular.
Kees wolf-whistled, "Nice pecks."
"Haha, thanks," Henrik said, blushing a little. "I do a lot of hiking."
"You must get all the ladies back home," Kees added.
"No, not really," Henrik replied. "I used to do that stuff, but I've grown out of it."
"Why though?" Kees asked, folding his arms. "I'm not judging you or anything."
Henrik sat on his bed and pulled on some underwear while the towel was still wrapped around him. "It's…a long story, but I had a bit of a 'lifestyle change', so I don't really go out like I used to."
"I see," Kees nodded.
"But yes, I've kissed a few girls," Henrik confirmed, counting with his fingers. "3…4."
"Yeah, same for me," Kees said. "I've kissed 4 so far."
Robert's eyes went wide. He slowly got down from sitting on the window-sill and slipped out of the door.
Samson raised his hand, "I've kissed one girl!" he exclaimed in an unusually loud tone.
"Oh cool," Kees replied. "Was it a one-off thing or…"
"She was my girlfriend," Samson said. "But we broke up. Uh, it's not important why."
"I wasn't gonna ask, bro," Kees chuckled. "Ximo. What about you, buddy?"
"Twice," Ximo replied.
"Nice," Kees said. "Where's Robert?"
"Uh…" Ximo looked right, only to see an empty window-sill. "He was there a minute ago."
"Maybe he's in the bathroom," Samson suggested.
[Confessional: You were sort of right
Robert (Romania): Ugh, I hate when people talk about that stuff. 'Cus I always have to say 'nope, never kissed a girl. Never even been on a date.' It just makes me feel like crap, ya know?]
Robert crept down the stairs dressed only in a t-shirt and a pair of boxers.
"Nice undies," Yoana, who was sitting on the steps, commented.
"Ah!" Robert screamed, only to turn around and laugh nervously. "S**t, you get me."
"I got you," Yoana said, only to look back down sigh.
"Woah, are you okay?" Robert asked.
"Yes, I mean…ugh, I'm just kind of pissed," Yoana groaned.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Robert asked, sitting beside her.
"Why not? I have nothing better to do," Yoana shrugged. "Okay. You know Stefanija?"
"Brown hair, ponytail, follows you around," Robert nodded.
"Yes. Well…she keep talking to me in private. She has these disgusting views on other nationalities."
"Oh God…what do you mean?" Robert asked.
Yoana groaned, "She called Vendredi violent and said her kind isn't compatible with the rest of us."
"Her kind?" Robert repeated in confusion. "Vendredi is…Middle Eastern, right?"
"She's Arabic, yes," Yoana replied.
"Oh f**k," Robert gasped, his hands over his mouth.
"And then she went on some tangent on how Belgians play the victim, but I stopped her after that. I thought it was hilarious when she first said it, but…it worked. Vendredi's gone, and she's still here."
"Wow. That is horrible," Robert said, open mouthed in awe. "I've gotten a lot of crap for being Hungarian back home. It makes me sick that people get judged by their race."
"Yeah," Yoana agreed. "So, what are you doing out here?"
"Hm," Robert responded, his eyes going wide. "Oh…uh…I just needed a walk."
"In your underwear?"
"I was t-too lazy to ch-change…"
"And you were being sneaky going down the stairs," Yoana added. "Come on, I told you why I'm here."
Robert groaned, "Okay, I'll tell you. But please don't make fun of me."
"It's sort of what I do," Yoana said. Robert shot her a look. "Okay, I won't. I promise."
Robert took a deep breath, "The boys started talking about how many girls they kissed, and I wanted to get out before they asked me."
"Why? Have you never kissed a girl?" Yoana asked.
Robert didn't say anything. He bit his lip.
Yoana let out a snort.
"Hey, you said you wouldn't make fun of me," Robert frowned.
"It's not that," Yoana said. "I just find it funny. You laugh about how your parents are dead, but that bothers you?"
"I was only a baby. I don't remember them at all," Robert shrugged. "The orphanage staff could have said they were my parents and I would have believed them."
Yoana laughed, and then said, "People make such a huge deal over their first kiss. It's so stupid."
"Have you done it?"
Yoana sighed, "Yeah. It was with my best friend. After this long talk about how we'd been friends for a long time and we agreed we should take things to the next level. But as soon as we kissed, we agreed it was gross and this was a bad idea."
"Aw, sorry about that," Robert said, though he couldn't help but crack a smile.
[Confessional: #JusticeForRandall
Yoana (Bulgaria): I might have judged Robert too soon. He's actually okay. Who knew?
Robert (Romania): Was Yoana…nice? She's been replaced an alien or something!
More importantly though – what the hell? Stefanija actually said…ugh, I won't stand for that s**t.]
The other four boys of Team Flanders were still chatting amongst themselves when Robert returned to the dorm.
"Robert, where have you been?" Ximo asked.
"We thought you were taking a really big s**t," Kees added.
"Language," Henrik frowned, snapping his finger.
"I just needed some air," Robert replied, pointing back at the door. "But I talked to Yoana on the steps."
"Oh nice," Kees grinned.
"Yeah," Robert frowned. "But you won't believe this. She told me that Stefanija said all these horrible things about other people's nationalities."
"Huh?" Kees said, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah, apparently she voted off Vendredi because she was violent and her kind was incompatible with Europeans or something," Robert explained.
Kees' mouth shot open.
"And then she said Belgians play the victim," Robert continued.
"What? How?" Samson gasped.
"I don't know. Yoana said she cut her off after that part," Robert shrugged.
Ximo and Kees looked at each other in shock, but Henrik let out a scoff, "That's rubbish."
"What?" Robert said in response.
"She's just trying to save herself, now that she knows she has a target on her back," Henrik continued.
"What? No she isn't!" Robert protested.
"Robert, think about it," Henrik said sternly. "She almost gets voted off, and another girl on the team happens to tell her that she's racist. It doesn't add up."
"But…but…" Robert said hesitantly.
"It does sort of make sense," Kees added. "I'm not saying for sure that she's lying, but it would make sense."
"She didn't sound like she was lying. She sounded really upset!"
"Some people are good liars," Henrik shrugged. "I'm going to bed now."
"It's half 10," Robert pointed out.
"To each their own. Just keep it down okay?" With that, Henrik slipped in under the duvet.
Robert let out a sigh and stomped over to his own bed.
[Confessional: You shot him in the duck!
Henrik (Iceland): So, Yoana's trying to mess with Robert's head, and let Stefanija take the fall? Not cool.
Robert (Romania): [sighs] I know I don't have any real proof but…she sounded really upset. It would be pretty hard to fake.]
(Team Wallonia – Girls)
"…39…40…41…oh [Portuguese swear word]!" Raquel Maria exclaimed as she lost her balance and hit the ground.
"My turn!" Ilana announced, stepping onto the bedpost and balancing with one leg.
"Whew, that was exhausting," Raquel-Maria sighed. "How did you do that for five minutes?"
"I've been doing ballet since I was three," Maeve replied, her arms folded. "It takes forever…"
"Woah!" Ilana screamed, slipping and landing on the mattress.
"12 seconds," Ebba said, holding up a stopwatch.
"Do one of you want to have a go?" Maeve asked, point at her and Lidika.
"Nah, I wouldn't last two seconds," Ebba replied.
"I'll try it," Lidika said, kicking off her shoes and standing on the post.
"Starting…now!" Ebba said, pressing a button on the stopwatch.
"Oh, you're good," Maeve commented. Sure enough, Lidika was keeping a pretty good balance.
"So…what do you think so far? Is this show to your liking?" Maeve asked the others, rubbing her hands.
The other three girls looked in thought.
"I don't know," Raquel-Maria replied. "I mean, I like the other contestants, but the first challenge was a bit boring."
"Boring? I f**king slit my hand," Maeve objected, holding up her palm which had a plaster over it.
"Haha, well, other than that," Raquel-Maria laughed. "Meeting Zeferino was a highlight though. Of course, you already got to meet Finn."
"Yeah, that was fine," Maeve sighed. "I'm not really sure what to think of Finn. Like, he seems nice, but half the boys in my school act exactly like him."
"He does seem very typical Irish," Ilana agreed. "All 'top o' the morning to you laddy, and that."
"Nobody actually says that. It's Hollywood crap," Maeve said, laughing a little.
"Oops. Sorry. I didn't mean it," Ilana gasped.
"Haha, don't sweat it," Maeve said, then she nudged Ebba. "You're lucky you're the first German contestant. No act to follow."
"Yeah," Ebba agreed. "Though at least nobody's calling me the first black contestant."
"What's wrong with that?" Ilana asked in confusion.
"Nothing. It's just…I'm German first, and that's how I want to be remembered," Ebba explained.
"Ah, fair enough," Maeve nodded.
"I'm finished," Lidika sighed, stepping off the post.
Ebba pressed the 'stop' button. "2 minutes, 21 seconds."
"Hey, that's good!" Maeve exclaimed.
"My granddad was born in Germany," Ilana said.
"Was he?" Ebba asked uncertainly. One could tell she was worried where this conversation would lead.
"Yeah," Ilana nodded. "He was sent to England though – you know about the Kindertransport, right?"
"Yeah, we touched on that in school," Ebba said, sighing quite a bit.
"Oh no, I forgot about…ugh, I shouldn't have brought that up. I'm sorry," Ilana groaned.
"It's okay. You can keep going," Ebba assured her
"Nah, that story was over. My other granddad was way cooler anyway. He was one of the pilots in Operation Magic Carpet."
"What was that?" Maeve asked.
"It was this operation where the Americans sent planes to Yemen to bring the Jews to Israel," Ilana explained. "And one of the passengers became my grandmother."
"That's sweet," Raquel-Maria giggled. "My grandmother's from Mozambique. She was a maid at this hotel my granddad was staying in and…they had a bit of an inter-racial affair."
"Aw," Ilana cooed.
"Not really," Raquel-Maria continued. "He got her pregnant and pressured her into going back to Portugal to marry him. He ended up dying pretty young – his mid-50's I think. My grandmother's still alive though, and even today she tells stories about how he was an alcoholic who beat her up."
"Not aw," Ilana gasped. A tear welled up in her eye.
[onfessional: My '' key is a being a unt for some reason
Ilana (Israel): [hits herself in the head three times] I'm so embarrassed with myself – what was I thinking bringing up the Holocaust in front of a German person? I can be very stupid sometimes.
Ebba (Germany): Talking about anything relating to Nazis makes me really uncomfortable. I don't know what it is, but every time someone brings it up, I feel this huge weight on my shoulders.
Maeve (Ireland): That was an interesting first night. We talked about our relatives for a bit.
It got a bit dark sometimes, like Raquel-Maria and her grandma. My granddad only died at the end of last year, and I know it would have broken my heart if grandma had started telling stories like that at his funeral.
Lidika (Poland): I talked about my grandparents for a bit, but I couldn't think of that much to say.
It's my dad I'm most proud of though. He got fired from his factory job shortly after communism fell, and he built up a car showroom from scratch.
[blows a kiss] I love you, dad. I'm winning this for you.]
The boys of Team Flanders were at different stages of getting ready for bed.
Soren, who was dressed down to his light-red t-shirt and a grey pair of boxers, watched in fascination as Isak took off his clothes.
First, he undid his duffle coat and kicked off his suede shoes.
Next, he removed his headband, placed it on his bedside table and took off his sweatshirt. He wore a white t-shirt with buttons all down the front underneath.
Then he took off his jeans and socks, revealing the 't-shirt' was actually a one-piece undergarment that went down to his knees.
"Um…is that all?" Soren asked with a raised eyebrow.
Isak laughed, "Yeah, pretty much."
"How do you breathe under all those layers?" Tomas asked. He was down to a pair of 'stars and stripes' boxers.
"This is actually really light," Isak said in defense, giving the collar a shake.
"We can see that," Calvin chuckled, his head pointed down.
[Confessional: You can stop the music. It's called the pause button
Soren (Denmark): Isak is…[claps his hands together]…fascinating
Tomas (Lithuania): [laughs hysterically] This dude wears freaking long johns. If he's not gay, I'm an apache attack helicopter.
Isak (Sweden): [still wearing his union suit, he strikes a pose while sitting on the toilet] What? It's very comfy. Most of you haven't even tried it
My ex-girlfriend got me one for my 15th birthday, and I've been wearing them ever since.]
The camera panned down one of the upstairs corridors, eventually settling on the door of the staff complex.
The screen faded to Carolyn spitting toothpaste into the sink. She dried her mouth with a paper towel and left the bathroom.
She knocked on one of the bedroom doors and walked in. Alma was already in bed, reading something on what appeared to be her phone.
"Hi, Carolyn. How are you?" she greeted.
"I'm alright. You?"
"I'm fine. A little hungry though," Alma replied. She then proceeded to take a bite out of her 'phone'.
"Uh…" Carolyn stood there, confused.
"Haha, it's just fondant," Alma laughed, holding it up.
"Okay but…why are you eating fondant?" Carolyn asked with raised eyebrows.
Alma sighed, "It's way funnier when Symon does it."
Carolyn shook her head and sat on her bed. She noticed a picture on the bedside table, with Alma and a boy on a beach. The boy had white hair and had his arm around her while flashing a cheesy grin.
"Oh my God. Is that…" Carolyn mouth dropped open.
"Yes," Alma nodded gleefully. "That's Symon."
"He looks great. Bloody hell, that must have cost a fortune!"
"No. I did it for free," Alma told her.
Carolyn looked even more stunned. "You did that? Alma, you are an artist."
"Thanks," Alma said. "I did mess up a bit under the eye, but Symon thought it looked cool."
Carolyn squinted a bit, there was indeed a rather large scar under his right eye. "Alma, you're way too hard on yourself. It looks really badass."
"So…how is Petros?" Alma asked.
"Hmm?" Carolyn responded. "Oh, he's doing great. He visited Brighton a couple of weeks ago – we went to beach, and he won me this stuffed rabbit in one of those funfair games."
"Those are impossible," Alma said.
"That's what I thought. He got it on his second try," Carolyn replied.
"He was always a good shot. Do you have any pictures?"
"Yeah," Carolyn nodded, taking out her phone. "Here we go."
She showed Alma the screen. Carolyn was posing in her swimsuit, while Petros wore a black vest and a white open shirt. His hair was a bit shorter and he wasn't wearing his hat.
"We both have great taste in men," Alma giggled. "He looks like he's doing a lot better."
"Yeah, there's been some hiccups here and there, but we're still going strong. He said he's really happy he didn't win the money."
"Why?"
Carolyn's face turned white, "Oh God…you don't know."
"No."
Carolyn sighed, "It's not my story to tell."
"That's okay."
[Confessional: Get it? Because Troom-Troom is Ukrainian?
Amanda (Sweden): [squeezes the sides of her head] Why is everyone talking? Some of us need to sleep
By the way, Ilene fell out with her best friend, and had to go into home schooling, and her brother stole 10,000 euro from her to pay a bully.
I just saved you…hmm, five episodes?]
Yoana stretched out her arms and yawned as she walked to breakfast, only for Henrik to march up to her with a frown on his face.
"What do you think you're doing?" he snapped.
"Uh…walking to breakfast?" Yoana responded.
"You are despicable," Henrik continued. "Trying to manipulate Robert like that."
Yoana groaned, "Did Robert tell you?"
"Yes. How could you throw Stefanija under the bus like that?" Henrik asked, his hands in the air.
"Throw her under the…" Yoana repeated. "You think I'm lying?"
"About her being racist? Yes," Henrik nodded sharply. "Why would she say that she thinks black people are idiots?"
"She never said anything about black people. She only talked Arabs and the Belgians," Yoana said dryly. Henrik groaned and she added, "Were you trying to catch me out?"
"You have a problem with that?" Henrik shot back.
Yoana let out a scoff, "Believe what you want, Henrik. I don't care. Just don't waste my time."
Henrik shook his head as she walked off.
[Confessional: Du coca, du lait
Yoana (Bulgaria): I don't think Henrik is capable of saying five words without sounding condescending as hell.
Henrik (Iceland): I was right about her from the start.]
"2 bacon, one egg," Axel said, using tongs to put them on Isak's plate.
"Thank you," Isak smiled. He then looked to Calvin, who had just poured himself some coffee and was alternating between adding spoons of white and brown sugar.
Calvin noticed Isak staring at him and frowned, "You have no right to judge me, boy."
"I wasn't judging you," Isak shrugged. "And, hey, what do you mean I have no right to judge?"
He said this while 'casually' pulling on the collar of his sweatshirt, revealing he was still wearing his union suit underneath.
Calvin laughed and shook his head. "You are a madman."
[Confessional: Could Latvia be the televoting dark horse?
Calvin (United Kingdom): [his face has gone red with laughter] I'm never gonna unsee that, am I?]
"Good morning," Ilana greeted, sitting down opposite Soren.
"Oh, hi Ilana," Soren smiled, in the middle of buttering his croissant.
"What are you eating?" Ilana asked.
"Uh…a croissant?" Soren replied in confusion.
"Oh, cool. I like croissants," Ilana nodded.
"Not a fan of sausages, are you?" Soren grinned.
"I like sausages too. Imagine a sausage inside a croissant?" Ilana giggled.
"It's not very common, but it's a thing," Soren said, laughing.
"Yeah…oops!" Ilana exclaimed, dropping her spoon on the ground.
"Here, I'll get you a new one," Tomas offered, coming over and setting his tray down at the end of the table. He picked the spoon up off the ground.
"Oh, thank you!" Ilana beamed.
"Not a problem, m'lady," Tomas said, tipping his hat.
Ilana turned back to Soren and cleared her throat, "Now, getting back to sausages."
"Oh, there's more?" Soren asked in amusement.
"Yeah, there's…"
"Here ya go," Tomas interrupted, placing the spoon in Ilana's hand.
"Thank you, tee hee," Ilana giggled, giving her hair a flick.
"And I must say, you have lovely eyes," Tomas added, sitting down.
"Aw, thanks. I like the colour of your hair," Ilana replied. She turned back to Soren again. "So, sausages…"
"I thought Jewish people couldn't eat pork," Tomas interrupted.
"Well, yes," Ilana said. "But once me and my friends went to this Russian store and they dared me to eat 10 of them on the spot. They were actually nice at first, but I threw up an hour later."
"Aw shucks," Tomas chuckled. "Once I ate seven bananas in a minute at the county fair. I got so freaking constipated."
"Uh…I'm eating here," Soren interjected, halfway through his croissant.
"Huh? My bad," Tomas apologised, beginning to cut up his bacon.
[Confessional: I had a sausage once, but it was covered in ginger
Tomas (Lithuania): I must say, Ilana's a fine looking lady. She's really funny too – I dig that.
Soren (Denmark): Ilana's nice. She's a bit of an airhead but not in a bad way
I don't like her in that way but she'd be a good ally
Ilana (Israel): I felt bad about it at first, but it kind of felt good to face a fear.
Calvin (United Kingdom): Ilana's gettin' all the blondes I see. My Isak is still by my side, thank f**kin' Christ.
Tomas is cute, but I'm not really into the whole redneck thing.]
The twenty-one contestants made their way to the foyer. Carla and Hanne were busy trying to fix each other up – handling each other's hair, applying makeup, etc
It didn't seem to help though. They looked paler and more worn out compared to yesterday, but tried to put on smiles nonetheless.
"Hello, everyone," Carla greeted. "Congrats again to Team Wallonia for winning the last challenge, and to everyone from Team Flanders for surviving the first vote off."
"Uh-huh," Henrik grunted. Yoana folded her arms and rolled her eyes from the other end of the Flanders lump
"Now, before we forget, there's a special twist this season," Hanne informed them. "Every elimination, each member of both teams must predict who they think will get voted off that night. It doesn't necessarily have to be the person you gave three points. The first contestant to get three in a row wins immunity the first time they are voted off."
A few contestants gasped or mumbled at this turn of events.
"In the event that two or more contestants get three in a row at the same time, they will continue to battle it out until one of them has more correct answers than the other. Once someone gets immunity, the game resets and the next immunity goes to the first person to get 4 in a row, then it resets again to 5 in a row, and so on."
[Confessional: There is a New Ireland in Papua New Guinea
Yoana (Bulgaria): I'm kind of happy they didn't announce this last night, because only one person would have been correct [grits her teeth]]
"Also," Carla added. "To rile things up a bit more, there won't be a physical token of immunity – the winner will be told in secret – and we won't tell the rest of you if immunity has already been received. All immunities will be valid until the final 2. Got it?"
"Not really, but I don't think it matters," Os said, scratching his head.
"I'm down with this. I'm always good for backing the horses," Maeve said, squeezing her fists in determination.
"We'll leave the rules in the confessional, so you can check them there if you need to," Hanne told them. She sounded more worn out with every sentence.
"Anyway, on with the challenge!" Carla announced. "Today, you will be making short films."
"Woo!" Isak cheered, pumping his fist.
"Yeah, yeah, of course you're excited," Hanne sighed, which made Isak scowl. "Both teams will be given a video camera, and access to the school's prop department."
"The film must be between 3 and 5 minutes long," Carla added. "And each team will be judged by a panel of three former contestants. But you won't find out who they are until the results."
"Nice!" Isak cheered. "I have so many ideas for this."
"Hold on, Isak. I forgot to mention one more thing," Carla said. "Each team will be given three random words, and will have to incorporate them into the movie."
"A challenge. Even better," Isak grinned, adjust his headband.
"Can one member of each team please step forward?" Hanne asked, holding out a small velvet sack.
Maeve stepped forward for Team Wallonia immediately.
"May I?" Henrik asked the others.
"Knock yourself out, brother," Kees said, giving him a pat on the back.
[Confessional: Be ready to go be ready
Isak (Sweden): [sulks] That was very passive-aggressive, Hanne! I don't appreciate it.]
Henrik was first to reach into the bag and take out three slips of paper
"Aeroplane, mitten, summer," he read aloud. Kees shrugged his shoulders in response.
"My turn!" Maeve exclaimed, also reaching into the bag.
"Island, tractor and paperclip," she said.
Isak put two fingers to his chin, already in thought.
"You have until 6pm to shoot and edit, and the premiere will be at 7. Good luck," Carla said, and she and Hanne walked off.
Team Wallonia dashed to the other side of the foyer and sat down at the third table.
"So…any ideas?" Isak asked, rubbing his hands.
"A guy escapes an island using a tractor and a paperclip!" Ilana exclaimed.
"Anything else?" Maeve asked with rolled eyes.
"The first idea is usually the best," Isak said wisely. "It could be a parody of those BS prison break movies."
"Oh my God, yes!" Calvin exclaimed.
[Confessional: How the f**k did Norway win the televoting?
Calvin (United Kingdom): Take Shawshank for example. It's a quality movie, but how the f**k did nobody notice his shoes? How did he know where the pipes were? How did none of the guards notice the giant-ass hole for 20 years?]
Team Flanders sat at table 1. Nobody said a word. One could feel the tension in the air.
Samson sighed as he drummed his fingers on the table.
Robert's eyes twitched uncertainly when he noticed Yoana had her eyes locked on Stefanija.
"Any suggestions?" Henrik asked.
"It's these two words together that are putting me off," Kees said, pointing at the flash cards on the table. "Mitten and summer."
"Yeah, those things don't belong together," Sandrine agreed.
"Haha, I take it you've never been to Australia, mate," Brook chuckled.
Kees gasped, "Brook, you might have just saved our team."
"But it's not called summer over there. It's still called winter," Henrik pointed out.
"We can work around that," Ximo shrugged. "Like, it could be about someone going to Australia for a summer holiday, but he has to wear winter clothes."
"So we have to have a male lead, is that it?" Brook frowned.
Robert let out a groan and face-palmed.
[Confessional: Independence is impossible
Samson (Belgium): Team Wallonia has already gone to get equipment and here we are discussing the technicalities of 'summer' and 'mitten'
Robert (Romania): I really wanted to give Brook a chance. Hearing about how Stefanija is judging everyone…it really makes me think about how I've acted.
But ugh, lines like [puts on a squeaky voice] 'you think we should have a male actor' really grind my gears, you know?]
And that's chapter 3. Hope y'all enjoyed
As always, fav and follow if you haven't already, review whatever your opinion, and I will see everyone next time.
