Disclaimer: The story thou art about to read, while containing ideas and themes I would like to believe are somewhat original, does not use any original characters or settings of mine own. They are the property of Telle-a-toon.
Rating: I probably should have said this at the beginning, but if it isn't obvious now, you can expect some mild swearing, cartoon violence, and potentially some suggestive scenes further down the road but nothing to crazy. Highly unlikely to go further than that.
Author's Notes: After the interlude in the last chapter, we can finally move on to the second challenge. I understand last chapter was a bit different, but I am just as eager to hear what you didn't like as what you did like. Both help me improve as a writer. Thanks to all those who left a review.
Originally I was going to release the entire challenge as a single chapter, but instead of making you guys wait another week or more for the whole thing, I decided to release the first part now (which is probably 40-45% of the total length). The second part should be up much sooner accordingly.
Chapter 4: Sleep is for the Sleepy - Part 1
The screen fades in from black and we see Chris hunched over a panel covered in buttons.
"And we're back. It's time to get on with what your all here for, today's challenge. Through the valiant, self-sacrificing effort of our interns we were able to come up with some of the most obnoxious and painful wake up calls possible."
The host presses one of the buttons, grinning wickedly all the while. The screen shifts to one of the cabin interiors. Nothing can be heard and none of the campers are moving. Without warning, a loud cymbal crash reverberates through the speakers hidden in the walls, sending the teens inside tumbling out of their bends, clasping their ears in agony.
"Damn your Chris Mclean!" Came a chorus of shouts in reply from the occupants transmitted to the speakers in the host's command center.
"I love my job." Chris rubbed his hands together and let out an evil chuckle before picking up a nearby microphone.
"Attention campers, you are to report front and center outside the cabins in five minutes. If you're late your team automatically loses today's challenge." The host's voice was carried to the four cabin rooms which immediately erupted in flurries of activity. Clothes flew around the rooms, some contestants nearly trampled in the scuffle; the dull roar of voices pumped into Chris' command center was almost loud enough to send him flying backwards. The host was in heaven.
Four minutes and fifty-five seconds later all the campers were standing in with their teams in front of the cabins. While all of them had managed to put on their characteristic outfits in time, that was about all. Hair was uncombed, makeup was unapplied, shoes were untied. Mr. Maclean could barely keep himself from laughing.
"Glad none of you were late or this would have been one short challenge." Chris called over the camp's omnipresent megaphone system. "You're going to start today's activities off with a run to the dining hall..."
The campers all turned their heads as one to look at their goal only a couple hundred meters away.
"Via the scenic route! Also known as the rest of the island."
With a chorus of groans and quick glares at the host, the campers headed off on their run.
Confessional:
Noah: *His arms are crossed* "I don't run."
Noah and Owen were walking at a slow, steady pace as neither particularly felt like running. The bookworm looked around for Cody and noticed his friend was shadowing Gwen. He wasn't the only one.
"The dweeb thinks she's going to pay any attention to him?" Duncan snarled as he passed by. "He went after Malibu first and now he's hitting on Pasty. Next he'll be hitting on the Princess."
"So good to hear the opinion of the greatest ladies' man here. Feeling threatened, Duncan? Feel like less of a man?" Noah jeered.
The punk did an about face and lunged at the bookworm. "Try saying that to my face, nerd!"
Before Duncan could lay a finger on Noah, he was encircled by two giant arms.
"Calm down, dude. Don't hurt my little buddy!" Owen's cried out.
"Fine...Fine!" The punk gasped from within his teammate's bear hug.
"No hard feelings, right?" The large teen asked sheepishly as he let go.
"No." Duncan could barely contain his annoyance. When Owen walked on, he turned to Noah and muttered "Just wait till you don't have that lard ball to save you."
"You sure are good at the 'make lots of enemies' game and even with the stiff competition in our team, I think you will come out on top."
"I know what I'm doing, just stay out of my way." Duncan took off at a run, determined to make it back to the mess hall quickly.
"Right..." Noah stared after the punk with suspicion. He chuckled when he noticed that Cody had just started making moves on Gwen.
l*-*-*-*ll*-*-*-*ll*-*-*-*ll*-*-*-*l
Gwen walked off to the side of the slower group, trying to avoid talking to anyone. The goth had hoped to chat with Bridgette who seemed to Gwen to be one of the few other sane people on the team, but the surfer, along with Trent, had run after Courtney when she took off at breakneck speed the second Chris said go. In fact, Bridgette had been hanging almost exclusively with the shrill CIT the past couple days when she wasn't teaching Cody how to surf, much to Gwen's annoyance.
"Hey Gwen, what ya doing?"
"What do you want, Cody?" Gwen replied with a snarl.
"Um..." The geek was taken aback by her tone, but only for a moment. "Just saying hi. If we're on the same team we should get to know each other, right?"
"Only if absolutely necessary."
"O come on, it will be fun! I'll start. Let's see, I'm a single child, I love technology, I have quite the sweet tooth, I..."
"Would you just shut up?"
"But...I..."
"I don't want to talk to you. Just beat it."
Without another word, Gwen stormed off down the trail and quickly disappeared from sight.
"Good job, Casanova. How you don't have five girls on each arm is beyond me." Noah walked up behind Cody, chuckling all the way, and put his hand on the geek's shoulder.
"Thanks for the moral support." Cody shot his friend a quick glare.
"Always good to see another learn the joys of sarcasm. That said, you're never going to get to her that way."
What makes you the expert anyways?" Cody sighed, a hint of indignation in his voice.
"A family of textbook psychology cases."
Cody couldn't help but chuckle. "Whatever, I guess I will catch up with Gwen later."
"Cody," Noah suddenly became serious, "if you're ever going to have a chance with her, then don't push it. You gave a bad first impression and hanging on her now will not help you."
"But what did I do wrong?"
"Believe it or not, not everyone likes an excessively eager puppy."
"Ok, if you say so."
"I do. Don't worry, if you're lucky you will have weeks on end to woo the fair maiden."
"Yay, verily, yay?"
The pair laughed heartily at the movie reference.
"Thanks for the advice, man."
"Always willing to help a friend floundering in the morass of affection."
"Any particular reason you're waxing eloquent today?"
Noah merely shrugged in response, then looked around to see that everyone else save Owen was out of sight. The large teen had clearly lost his will to continue already.
"Cody, what do you bet I can get us a free ride to the mess hall, guaranteed to beat the other team?"
"That seems unlikely." Cody raised an eyebrow.
"Then, just do as I do young padawan..."
l*-*-*-*ll*-*-*-*ll*-*-*-*ll*-*-*-*l
Tyler had started off slowly, holding himself back to keep pace with Lindsay and her friends in an attempt to show off his running skills, and so far he managed to avoid tripping over his own feet. After several minutes of being ignored, though, he decided to take off on his own down the path. Shortly thereafter, he heard a voice.
"Hey, Tyler!" The voice came from just off the trail from what looked like an alcove shielded from view by convenient bushes.
"What?" The jock walked towards the sound and suddenly found himself surrounded by strong arms which pulled him into the alcove.
"Shhhhh!" Hissed Leshawna. "Sorry bout that Tyler, but we can't risk being seen."
As soon as he was released from the bear hug, the red suited teen turned to see his former captor DJ on his knees behind him, an apologetic smile on his face.
"Yeah, sorry, we probably could have done that better." The brickhouse confided.
"Anyways," The sister continued before Tyler could speak, "We are worried that Justin is using the other girls on the team to vote out everyone else one by one." She paused a moment to let what she said sink in. "DJ and I agree that we have to get rid of him before he gets rid of someone else not under his sway. Cause if he gets rid of one more of us then we are all goners."
"Sounds good to me." The jock responded without hesitation.
"I know you may...what? You agreed that easily?" Leshawna's incredulity was written all over her face.
"Yep. I am never going to get Lindsay to notice me while the perfect model is around."
The other's both grinned at this response.
"Well, here's to your success after we get rid of the man candy." She poked her head through the leaves and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw nobody.
"I am going to need you to speak to Ezekiel about this. I don't think he trusts me for some reason and I don't want to ruin our chances because of it."
"Uh, sure, I guess. I am not good at this sort of thing though."
"Don't sweat it, man." DJ gave Tyler a reassuring pat on the back. "I am sure you can do it."
Leshawna risked another glance at the trail. "We better get going while the coast is clear; this is a race after all."
Confessional:
Leshawna: That went better than expected. I wish Tyler's support wasn't due to jealousy, but at this point I will take what I can get.
A little ways back along the trail, Duncan was jogging at a quick pace when he heard a loud hiss come from the bushes nearby. When he went to investigate, he was pulled behind the bushes.
When he saw who it was he couldn't help but smirk and wiggle his uni-brow. "I would love to make out too, gorgeous, but there is a challenge to win."
"In your dreams." Heather's disgust was plainly written across her face.
"Got you covered there." Another wiggle of the uni-brow.
"Ugh. Control your hormones. There are some more important things to worry about." She rolled her eyes and glanced back at the road. "We need to get a third member in this alliance pronto which will never happen if you antagonize everyone on the team. There will be plenty of time to bring pain to these losers when our position is more secure."
"Eh, I don't usually go for that kind of action, but if you can get another girl as pretty as you then I might go for it. What about that hot CIT?"
One could all but see the steam coming out of the queen bee's ears.
"Relax, hot stuff. I know what you mean. But the look on your face is too much to pass up."
"Just don't make me regret working with you. Cause if you do I will make sure you leave the island."
"I'm scared now."
"You should be." The queen bee let out a long, condescending sigh. "I doubt you have any good ideas, but who would you get to join the alliance if it were up to you?"
"Definitely..."
"And don't say Courtney, she already has two losers following her everywhere."
"Aww. As a second choice I would go with...hmm." The punk stroked his chin thoughtfully but didn't say anything for half a minute.
"Don't hurt yourself." The queen bee wore a large smirk of her own. "Leave the thinking to me. The only people who aren't in a tight group already are..." She looked like she was mentally reviewing everyone on the team. "Weird Goth Girl and that dweeb Harold."
"I wouldn't mind working with Pasty."
"Well I cannot stand her, so no way am I working with her."
"And I cannot stand Harold either."
"You're impossible. Do you really think Gwen would want to work with me?"
"I doubt dork face will be thrilled to work with me."
"Gah, I need time to think."
Without another word, Heather pushed through the bushes hiding them from view and stormed off down the path. Duncan trailed close behind taking great pleasure from watching her walk.
Confessional:
Duncan: "I love it when girls act tough. She better not think I'm gonna work with that loser nerd, though."
Heather: "I will be sure to depose of that tool as soon as he is of no further use." *She pounds her fist into the palm of her other hand* "I still need to get someone else in this alliance, someone who is easier to control and has unshakable loyalty to moi." *She rubs her hands together and smirks then a light-bulb goes off over her head* "Duncan doesn't need to know if I'm working with Harold at the same time. Not that I look forward to working with that loser either, but he has to be easier to deal with than the hormone driven punk." *She stares directly at the camera* "And for anyone wondering, don't think I've forgotten the freak who tossed me over the cliff last challenge. She will pay."
Chris sat in the dining hall, checking his watch every couple minutes while Chef prepared a meal for the campers. A large red curtain had been hung from the ceiling which hid half the room from those entering.
"Wanna bet on which team is going to get here first?" The host asked.
"Hmm. Are we definen 'first team' as the first team with a member here or first team with all their members here? "
Before Chris could reply, the two men were interrupted by the sound of footsteps. They were shocked considering it was less than an hour into the 20k jog. The door nearly flew off its hinges when it was opened.
"Impressive, Eva. Most Impressive." The host congratulated, just managing to hide his surprise with his cheesy smile.
The athlete did not acknowledge the compliment. She simply walked to the end of her teams table and continued listening to her headset.
"Well Chef, I guess it's whichever team gets all its members here first. Ten dollars says The Screaming Gophers arrive first."
"You only said that cause they got someone here already. That said, if the Gopher's didn't have the fatso and scrawny kids, I wouldn't take you up on the bet. But I am willen ta bet ten dollars that the Bass get here first."
About fifteen minutes later, more steps could be heard accompanied by loud panting.
"You...certainly...tripped...allot, Bridgette. Why...are...you...so...damn...clumsy? Ugh!" Came an all too familiar high pitched whine.
"That...isn't...fair, Courtney. I only tripped...four times." The surfer sounded quite hurt.
"You really need...to chill, Court." Trent held the door open for the girls, taking a quick peek inside while doing so. "See, only Eva's here. I guess we didn't need to run so fast after all."
"We cannot give the other team a chance to catch up!"
The musician cocked his eyebrow and gestured at the nearly empty room. "Yeah...I think we could have taken it a bit easier."
"Whatever. Let's hope the rest of the team shows up soon. I wonder where the water is..." While the CIT set off on her search, Bridgette and Trent took up seats in the middle of the Gopher table.
Trent looked at the surfer with mild concern. "Are you ok? Courtney seemed rather annoyed."
"I'm fine." She let out a sigh before continuing. "I keep telling myself that she has to be a nice person on the inside. She probably has been through a lot."
"Even if you're right that is no excuse for her to treat you badly. I have met girls like her back at school and they tend to burn themselves out. And make few friends."
The conversation quickly ended when their friend returned, 3 water bottles in hand.
Confessional:
Courtney: *She is rubbing the back of her neck* "Considering we arrived before anyone on the other team, I should have been a little less hard on Bridgette. I need her on my side after all. That doesn't excuse her clumsiness though."
Bridgette: "I hope I'm right about Courtney..."
Trent: "I hope Bridgette knows what she's getting into. But I suppose if anyone could get through to Courtney, she could. All the same..." *He sighs and starts to massage his forehead* "I hope that I get a real chance to talk to Gwen today. I have been keeping my distance so far, giving her time to adjust and hopefully forget our rough start the other day, but I have a feeling this challenge will present a good opportunity to finally chat."
Less than a minute later, a red suited teen tripped on the steps of the dining hall and crashed through the door, taking it off its hinges. Tyler picked himself up and crawled to his team's empty table.
"Bout time one of you guys showed up." Chef growled. He picked up the door and leaned it against the wall then returned to the kitchen.
Without warning, a loud thud came from the roof. The poor roof, however, was designed with the absolute smallest budget possible and was unable to support anything heavier than leaves, twigs, and the occasional squirrel. Two forms came crashing through the ceiling, one still holding a vine.
"Hi guys! Ooo, whatever your making Chef, it smells divine." The red-headed dervish called out.
"Finely I get some respect for all my hard work." The man muttered.
"Why didn't we just use the door, eh?" The prairie teen grimaced in pain while rubbing his foot.
"Come on Zekey, where's the fun in that?"
"I don't think Chris appreciates us destroying part of the roof."
"You worry too much. That kind of entrance can only boost ratings!" The pair sat at the end of their teams table
The next two contestants to enter were Leshawna and DJ who took a quick scan of the room noting the absence of a certain model and the state of Tyler.
Confessional:
Leshawna: "Maybe depending on Tyler to be a diplomat was a bad idea. I really should do this myself."
Drawing herself up, the sister sat down next to Izzy and Ezekiel.
"Look guys, I'm not exactly sure what has happened between us..." She began.
"But for the moment we have to work together to get rid of the man candy before he gets rid of us. Sounds like a plan to me, right Zeke?" Izzy interrupted. The prairie boy nodded in agreement.
"Yeah...wait, howd you know?"
"Izzy hears all." The red haired girl exclaimed, waving her hands in the air and making vaguely spooky ghost sounds. She froze when she heard a new voice.
"Did I hear shouting?" Justin looked at his team with a raised eyebrow, receiving only glares and silence in reply, before sitting down, closely trailed by Lindsay and Beth. Tyler looked like he wanted to move closer to Lindsay but he couldn't muster the courage with the model sitting so close by.
"Might as well pay up now, pretty boy!" Chef hollered from the kitchen. "No way the Bass come in second now."
"Patience, Chef, patience. I have faith the Gopher's will show up soon" The host called back unable to hide a slight quiver in his voice.
"Ughh. Would you just shut up! Why are you following me anyways?" Another all too familiar high pitched voice floated in from outside.
"Last time I checked, you could have walked away at any time. Yet you did not." Someone wheezed.
A third voice added itself to the mix. "Whoops!" Moments later a loud thud could be heard.
"Not funny, Duncan. Not funny!"
"Oh, on the contrary, it was quite funny."
A fourth voice joined the fray, this one from inside the cabin.
"What took you guys so long; the other team has almost won the challenge."
"Calm down, princess, we're here now."
"Don't talk to me like that you ogre!" The CIT rose out of her seat and looked ready to pummel Duncan. The punk did not seem at all worried.
"Courtney, you're just playing along if you respond like that." Bridgette pulled her friend back into her seat.
"I...suppose." The mocha skinned girl growled. She continued to stare balefully at Duncan who still seemed unfazed.
The contestants made small talk while they waited and it was another several minutes before the next camper arrived. Gwen strolled up the steps and into the dining hall, sketchbook in hand. The goth found a bit up her team's table where she could still be somewhat separated from the other, causing Trent to quietly sigh. Courtney was still too annoyed at Duncan to call out Gwen for her slow pace.
Chris and Chef's eyes were glued to the door, ears pealed, hoping to hear the sound of approaching campers.
Without warning, the earth began to shake as if a giant was out for a stroll nearby. Most could guess, and a handful smell, who was coming.
Despite the distance, through the windows one could see two small, slumped forms draped over Owen's shoulders.
"Clear a table, stat!" Owen yelled as soon as he barged into the dining hall. He ran over to his team's now vacated table and place Noah and Cody on it. The two were only slightly breathing.
"What happened?" Bridgette cried out as she ran over.
"I don't know." Owen sobbed. "We were walking here when Noah called out it pain and both he and Cody fell over. So I grabbed them and ran here as fast as I could." He gasped for lack of air then continued to sob. "My little buddies. WHY!"
"We'll let Chef take them to the medical tent." Chris pocketed a ten dollar bill he had just snatched from Chef's limp hand while he spoke. "The rest of you are about to be treated to a meal unlike any seen before...or any seen here at least."
The host pulled a rope and the curtain which had hidden half the room parted to reveal a vast turkey buffet.
"Wait a thecond. We still have two people mithing."
"So?"
"What if they got lotht or thomthing?"
Before the host could come up with another way of expressing his lack of regard for the pink twins, the missing pair entered the cabin, arms covered in red rashes.
"Sorry we're late guys, we figured while we on the other side of the island we should try again to find some of those plants Justin mentioned." Katie began.
"But we still couldn't find any and we got these itchy rashes instead." Sadie finished.
"Just sit down girls; we already have two campers in the medical tent. You will need to wait your turn." Chris sighed.
Confessional:
Gwen: After three days of eating Chef's brown sludge, I almost cried when I saw that buffet. It seemed almost too good to be true.
Owen: *His mouth is hanging open allowing a small trickle of drool to escape. This doesn't stop him from letting out a small sob.*
Chef had grumbled the whole way to the medical tent, whispering threats to 'pretty boy' and making promises of retribution.
After wheeling the two stretchers in, he realized some supplies were missing so he set off towards to store room.
The moment he left, Noah opened an eye. "Well, that went according to plan."
"I guess, though I feel bad about deceiving Owen. He sounded very worried." Cody's eyebrows were furrowed.
"How long do you think it would have taken us, let alone Owen, to walk here? You saw the pace we were going. We got a free ride and Owen got motivation." The bookworm twisted his neck to get out a crick.
"But when he finds out we faked it, won't everyone be mad at us?"
"Not if they don't figure it out." Noah began rubbing his chin. "We just have to hang here long enough to make our recovery time look realistic. And we will want excuses for collapsing that don't make us seem less valuable to the team in the future."
"How long did it take you to plan this?" Cody inquired with raised eyebrow.
"It was actually fairly spur of the moment for me. Maybe ten seconds give or take." The bookworm's tone was very matter of fact. His ear twitched. "I think I hear chef coming back. We should 'come to' in another half an hour or so. We need to make sure he's around to witness our 'recovery'."
Confessional:
Chris: "Of course we have a camera in the medical tent. Most devious Noah, most devious."
Cody: "I have to admit, sometimes Noah scares me. I don't know if I can go through with this plan."
Back in the dining hall, the famished campers were having their fill of turkey, blissfully unaware of Chris' evil grin and fiendish chuckles.
Nearly half an hour later, Noah and Cody stumbled back to their team's table. Their return went unnoticed for several minutes due to the glory of the turkey dinner.
"Aw, my buddies are back." Owen, who of all people was the first to notice, wrapped one of his arms around each of them. "I was soooooo worried."
"We couldn't have made it without your help Owen." Noah gave his large friend a pat on the back before redirecting the conversation. "Now let's get back to eating this delicious looking buffet."
But there entrance would not go unquestioned.
"So, what happened to you losers?" Heather called down the table much too loud for the boy's liking. "We cannot have weaklings holding the team back."
"Lay off them, Heather." Bridgette retorted. "I doubt they want to talk about such a traumatic experience right now."
The queen bee glared at the surfer then back at the boys. "Fine, but don't think you're getting off the hook that easy."
Confessional:
Heather: "No way did those two happen to 'pass out' at the exact same time and then conveniently get a free ride from Owen. At least one of them is more devious than I realize and I cannot help but applaud such manipulation. Doesn't mean I won't find a way to draw the ire of the team down on them. So nice of them to set themselves up as easy targets. Thanks boys." *She gives a little wave to the camera*
Cody: "Even if this doesn't backfire, I still feel bad about using Owen like that."
Noah: "Cody worries too much. We did what we had to."
The rest of lunch passed without indecent and soon the campers were lined up just outside the dining hall, the majority holding their stomachs and giving sighs of contentment and assorted gurgles (though all of the later were from Owen).
"Well I hope you enjoyed the activities this morning because it's time for today's challenge." Chris chuckled at the chorus of groans he received in reply. "Luckily for you guys, this is another easy one. I call it: THE AWAKEATHON!"
"The what now?" Leshawna asked.
"The rules are simple, last team with a camper still awake wins. Losers get to send someone home. So let's head over to the campfire pit."
"You mean the run followed by the turkey dinner was all a set up to make it harder for us to stay awake?" Gwen inquired incredulously.
"Yep."
"Damn he's good."
End Notes:
I know this chapter was shorter than usual but hopefully the knowledge that the next part should come sooner will provide some small consolation.
A virtual cookie if someone knows what Danny Kay movie the line is from. That man is a comedy genius.
Will Heather's alliance plans pan out? Will the truth of Noah and Cody's hitchhiking come to light? Will Trent get a chance to finally talk to Gwen and why has he been hanging with Bridgette and Courtney? Will Leshawna's master plan to counter Justin work? Will X and Y have a meaningful conversation about Z? Stay tuned for the next chapter to find out. And please please please please leave reviews. Pretty please.