Chapter 10: All Fun and Games
Team Neon
After the rather time-consuming talent show had concluded, the 20 remaining campers were eager to get rest and prepare for a new day. As promised, Team Neon members were spending the night inside the opulent employee resort. Rowena and Shayli were relaxing in the spa area with facemasks on. They were having their nails painted while sipping on iced tea.
"This is what winning feels like, huh?" Rowena said happily to Shayli as she took a sip of the iced tea. "I almost forgot the feeling."
"Yep. It feels just s good as it did last time," Shayli agreed. "It's great and all to be competing in this show, but if an intern gets to experience this all of the time, then I should have reconsidered my options."
"It's nice, but the $500,000 dollars will feel better than this," Rowena said. "What would you spend the money on if you won?"
"I haven't thought much about that, but a new car would be up there. Probably a Lexus or something else that's nice. I'd put a lot toward college, too," Shayli detailed. "What about you?"
"I want to spend a summer touring Europe, so that's definitely one of the find things that I would pay for. And, yeah, a new car would be cool too, but my parents are buying me one after high school ends, so I don't necessarily need one," Rowena stated.
A moment later, the intern painting their nails finished and left the spa, leaving just the two by themselves.
"Well, I guess we should probably be heading to bed pretty soon," Shayli said. "As much as I'd like to spend more time in here, we really shouldn't be up much longer."
"You're right," Rowena agreed. "We'll go to bed after we finish our tea."
In one of the suites, Otto was laying on one of the beds with a box of tissues to his side. On the floor to the side of his bed was a pile of tear stained tissues. On the wall-mounted TV, a soap opera was playing.
"I'm sorry, Diane," a man said as he looked a woman in her eyes. They were standing on a dock with a ship ready to depart just behind them. "I love you, very much so, but I have to go back to England. You know that I would stay if I could, but I can't. My mother needs me at her side."
The woman looked heartbroken and tearful. "Edward…" she stuttered. "You… you don't mean that. I know you don't. What we have is real and you can't leave me like this. You… you can't!" At this point, the woman was sobbing and the man reached out to her.
"I will remember you forever. I promise. I'll be back someday," the man said as he picked up his suitcase and boarded the boat. The boat took off, leaving the woman by herself on the dock. The camera zoomed in on her tearful expression and eventually turned to a black screen.
Otto turned the TV off and grabbed handful of tissues and sobbed endlessly into them. His crying was so loud that it caught Jaime's attention and prompted him to enter Otto's room.
"Otto, are you good?" Jaime asked with a concerned look. I could hear you crying from down the hall."
Otto sniffed and rubbed his eyes. "Yeah, I'm alright. I just get emotional with shows like that and even though they make me a wreck, I can't help myself."
"Oh, well it's good to know that you're okay," Jaime said. "I was a little worried."
"Thanks, Jaime," Otto said with a happy tone. "Thanks for the attention."
Jaime left Otto by himself and returned to his own room.
"Should I watch the season finale now or later?" Otto thought to himself. "Maybe tomorrow."
Confessional:
Otto: I'm sure most people wouldn't expect me to get so emotional over such a cheesy soap opera meant for middle-aged women. Sure it's pretty embarrassing, but I can't help myself. I mean, who doesn't like "A Forbidden Affair." People who say that it's stupid are just naïve.
After leaving Otto's room, Jaime promptly went to sleep and was essentially out cold. Within a few minutes, Rowena, Shayli, and Otto had fallen asleep as well, leaving just Helena and Adrian awake. Coincidentally, they were both in the café/lounge area, although there was a stray ant atmosphere between them.
Helena was enjoying a warm cinnamon roll to herself at a booth adjacent to a window while Adrian sat at the bar table by the counter eating soup. An awkward silence still hung in the air while the two enjoyed their meals until Adrian decided to walk over and sat across from Helena.
"Well, since we're both sitting here eating, I figured we could at least pass the time by talking," Adrian began.
"Sure. Whatever," Helena responded nonchalantly. "What exactly is there to talk about?"
"I don't know," Adrian shrugged. "I guess i enjoyed our performance today, so there's that. Your talent genuinely surprised me."
Helena smiled faintly. "Thanks, I can say the same for you. It was a convenient thing that we could pair our skills. So, on a different note, how's Daniella? You seem to be pretty close with her."
"Oh, she's great," Adrian laughed. "We aren't anything now, but I can make that change if I wanted."
"You think she would say yes to a relationship?" Helena inquired. "You've only know each other for a few days."
"Maybe it's love at first sight," Adrian said with a chuckle. "What about you? Do you have your eyes on anyone here?"
"No," Helena answered bluntly. "Finding someone isn't necessarily my concern for this summer."
"That can all change in an instant, you know," Adrian said suggestively.
"Perhaps," Helena said as she stood up and put her plate on the counter. "It's not likely," she said as she left the lounge and headed to her room.
"Interesting personality," Adrian thought to himself curiously.
Confessional:
Helena: I guess Adrian is fine to talk to, but he is one of those people that almost seem too friendly. He isn't a bad person to talk to, but since he is so sociable, I have to watch what I say around him.
Team Krypton
The next morning, the 20 remaining campers all awoke to an overcast day. The moderate drop in temperature and the reasonable winds were welcomed, especially by Team Krypton, all of whom were outside.
On the beach, Lotus and Xavier were bonding over the departure of Liv the night before.
"So, I heard you and Liv had a pretty good send off last night, huh?" Lotus asked with a smile.
"As good as saying goodbye to someone you care about can feel," Xavier said with a laugh. "I would've felt terribly if I didn't tell her how I felt right then and there."
"Trust me, she feels the same," Lotus said. "I had a sick feeling yesterday because I told her I wouldn't let her down and I did, but I guess it all turned out fine."
"I mean obviously having her here would be better, but that just wasn't meant to happen," Xavier shrugged. "I just want to talk to her. It's only been a day but I've never really been in a relationship before and I don't want to ruin it."
"You'll be fine. As someone who has been in a few long-term relationships before, a few days won't hurt," Lotus assured. "It's a shame that I lost my closest friend an ally so early though."
"We could always form an alliance, you know," Xavier suggested. "We're both in a similar position right now and I think it would be good to have someone to trust."
"Deal," Lotus said firmly.
At the waterfall, like before, Devin, Henrique, and Sebastian were relaxing and enjoying the cool weather, knowing that it wouldn't last for long.
"Losing really blows," Henrique said. "Granted, we would lose eventually but it still is a disappointment."
"It's better to have it happen early, so we'll have the motivation to avoid it from happening again," Devin added. "Besides, voting someone off can be a good thing."
"I like everyone here, though," Sebastian said nicely. "It'll be hard to find someone to vote for because I think that we all get along pretty well."
"I think voting can be fun. You have to watch your back and everyone has their own motives," Henrique said.
"Do you really think that everyone just plays the game selfishly?" Devin inquired. "You have to be careful with the way you act here."
"That's true, but you can get thrown under the bus real quick if you don't think for yourself," Henrique stated.
"All of this hypothetical stuff is a bit much at this point in the game, honestly. Our goal should be working as a team so we can all stay together," Sebastian said.
Devin and Henrique both nodded in response.
Confessional:
Devin: It seems like every time that I'm not doing anything else I find myself back at the waterfall. Sure, it's nice and all, but it's almost like I'm wasting my time on the island doing the same thing everyday.
Angelica and Emily were spending their pre-challenge time atop the cliff overlooking the vast seascape. Since Bram got voted off, the area was untouched.
"Wow this island's beauty is impressive," Angelica stated. "We're in the Caribbean, so it makes sense, but still."
"Yeah it really is beautiful," Emily agreed. "This might be a new spot for us to come. There is a weird smell here, though."
Angelica sniffed the air and found the same scent. "It smells like… marijuana? That doesn't seem right. Why would it be here?"
"My guess would be Bram. He was always high and disappearing, and this might be where he always came," Emily suggested.
"Interesting how no one questioned the fact that he brought an illegal substance onto the set of a national TV show," Angelica said curiously.
"Maybe they knew that and thought they could somehow exploit that for some drama boost," Emily said. "On that note, I really hope the ratings are good for this show so the producers don't need to make everything worse for us."
"Don't give them any ideas," Angelica laughed, although with a sense of seriousness.
Confessional:
Emily: So there's just weed here on the island? Interesting. I've never done anything like that since I'm really trying to keep myself as good as a student as possible for scholarships, but it would be interesting to try once.
Angelica: After having that conversation with Emily, I realized that we, being the contestants, have no idea how the viewers feel about anything that has happened. I hope I'm a fan-favorite, but I won't know until I'm off the show or I win. Hopefully the latter.
Team Xenon
Team Xenon's members were enjoying their morning relaxing in their cabins, safe from loss but withheld from victory. Michelle, Landon, Monique, and Felix were in the girls' side of the cabin.
"You know, I used to think these beds were really nice, but after a couple of days, they really stopped giving my back support," Felix said.
"I've noticed the same thing," Monique added. "I still feel pretty exhausted even though I was asleep as soon as the challenge ended. This sucks."
"It would have been really nice to have won last night since the reward was a night at the resort," Michelle said. "The pool was nice, but I would've liked to have seen the rest of the place."
"Maybe they'll offer that as a reward again," Landon suggested. "I wouldn't want to miss out on it."
"Well, we just need to make sure we win so we won't miss anything worthwhile," Felix said. "Speaking of winning, I wonder what the challenge will be today."
"Hopefully something easy," Michelle wished. "If there's something based on intelligence, I think we'll be able to get a win. We're pretty smart as a team. At least, I think we are."
"Is that our team's biggest strength? Krypton is probably the most athletic and Neon's is… something," Monique questioned. "I suppose we're the smartest, but has that really made a difference so far?"
"The most strategic thinking comes after the merge, and by that point we won't be a team anymore," Landon said. "Sticking together as a team post-merge isn't a bad idea."
Landon's teammates agreed to this statement.
Confessional:
Landon: When the merge happens, although it won't be for a while, what will I do? I haven't thought much about that, but I should always be trying to plan ahead so it doesn't come back to hurt me in the end. I wonder if any other teams have some alliance that I don't know about…
Felix: Why do all of my conversations always have to turn into something more serious? I just wanted to have a talk about mattresses and how shitty these are, but somehow we ended up talking about merge strategy. Maybe my biggest advantage in the game is that I don't over-complicate everything.
On the roof of the boys' side of the cabin, Carson was relaxing with Lara and Daniella.
"Even though I was all negative when I came to the show, I feel like I'm really starting to enjoy it," Carson said. "This kind of opportunity isn't going to happen again."
"Unless they do an all-star season," Lara noted. "That all depends on how much you stand out. I'd say I have a pretty decent chance."
"Well, you're certainly… unique," Daniella said in a surprisingly polite tone. "I'd rather be with people who have really strange personalities than really boring ones."
"This show definitely has plenty of those kinds of people," Carson said. "We have Helena and the like."
"Helena might be weird, but I think you two would be really cute together," Lara said. "I mean, not cute, but as cute as someone like you will ever get."
"Yeah, that's not happening," Carson scoffed.
"C'mon, I think the same as Lara," Daniella said. "Maybe you don't like her or anything but that doesn't mean you wouldn't be cute together."
"This conversation is beginning to be uncomfortable," Carson said nonchalantly.
"Ugh, just admit it," Lara said with a roll of her eyes.
"Never."
Confessional:
Lara: Climbing on top of the cabin isn't a bad place to sit, but I almost fell getting up there. I don't have much balance apparently and I could've gotten hurt. Good thing the camera weren't on.
At around 10:00, Lance called the most of the campers into the Mess Hall for breakfast. Team Xenon and Krypton had a basic meal, while Team Neon got treated to a fancier meal in the resort. By 10:30, all 20 campers were at the Mess Hall awaiting Lance's arrival.
Minutes later, Lance burst through the door of the Mess Hall carrying a small red water balloon. He turned around and faced a chef and pelted him with the balloon which exploded with paint, not water.
"What the-" the chef exclaimed in anger as he wiped the paint off of his face. He stormed out of the Mess Hall, seething with rage.
"What was that for?" Daniella asked, irritated.
"I'm just introducing the challenge for today: a prank war. The rules are simple. One, this will be an all-day challenge and I will be determining the winning team based on their cumulative performance. That means that every team is for themselves. Second and lastly, you must only prank using thinks on the island. This excludes the employee resort. This challenge will test your teamwork and ingenuity," Lance stated proudly with bountiful energy.
The campers looked curiously around at their teams and began to match Lance's excitement.
"You get a half-hour to plan and gather. Good luck!" Lance exclaimed as the campers all hurried out of the Mess Hall.
Lance stood outside the Mess Hall as a cameraman filmed his mid-episode statement.
"With all of these rather unpredictable teens we have on this show, I can't wait to see what kind of mayhem they'll create. You most definitely will not want to miss any of the action. Stay tuned after the break on Total Drama Tropic," Lance stated.
"Cut!"
Lance walked away from the Mess Hall and started to head back to the employee resort. As he trekked through the woods, he began to hear footsteps behind him.
"Hmm. The wind sure is strong today. It's even causing me to hear things. I wonder if that will affect the challenge at all. We'll find out," Lance thought to himself.
"Take this!" a voice called out as a pie smacked into his face, leaving filling dripping down his torso.
Lance turned around and saw the chef who, while still covered in paint, was laughing so hard he wheezed.
"It's on!" Lance exclaimed as he ran away from the scene. "No one ever said the hosts couldn't do what the contestants do."
A/N: It's been a while... I apologize for my inactivity especially since I touted that my updates would be weekly, but a substantial list of inconveniences came to fruition and my writing became an afterthought. That being said, I think that I found a way to work around these difficulties and be able to write in a timely manner. If there's one thing I can guarantee, it's that another pause like this won't be random. Enough of that, let's talk about the chapter itself. I wanted a challenge that would be fun to write and essentially unpredictable so I could avoid any writer's block if possible. I promise to bring an action-packed challenge that will kick off my return to writing. That being said, if you enjoyed this chapter, please tell me your feedback! Until next time!