Do you trust that this chapter will be okay? I trust that you will read and review this chapter. Thanks for your reviews, Ali6132 and EvilAngel666.

After that unexciting study of the male anatomy, we all had to go and get breakfast. It was just leftovers from the last challenge, but hey, it was better than what we usually got from Chef.

Heather had caught cold from her time stuck in the fridge, and it didn't look like she was going to get over it any time soon. "I am going to make you sorry you ever met me."

"Too late." Gwen said, exchanging grins with Leshawna and I

The challenge (or challenges) for today instantly made me worry when they were announced.. Chris was making us do trust building exercises. "Yesterday's challenge exposed a few Gopher issues, and I'm sensing a little something funky floating in the Bass pond too."

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Duncan nudging Courtney. She gave him such a powerful shove he fell over.

"Little problem." I said. "If I trust the wrong people, they'll kill me in these challenges." I trusted most of my teammates. In fact, I trusted quite a few of the Bass, too – not Courtney (that goody-goody mask can not be real), or Duncan for that matter (he's fun and all, but he must've done something to end up in juvie), but pretty much all the others. Heather was the only one of my teammates I had any problem with at all.

"That's exactly what I'm talking about, Elle!" Chris said brightly. "You have to learn to trust your team."

At that moment, I realized how cynical my comment had been. It was weird. I think the island was changing me a bit...or was it my friends? At home, my friends called me "the social butterfly" because I got along with almost everyone and was instantly friendly to most people. Those I didn't like, I didn't think about or talk about. Sure, I could be cynical about things, rolling my eyes at Izzy's stories and asking Courtney if she was scared of intimacy (Geoff used to call me "acidic sweetness" due to being "sweet on the outside, cynical on the inside"), but that was the first time I'd really said anything that mean, and the idea to lock Heather in the fridge was something I'd never think about doing at home. Then again, I'd never met anyone like Heather. Maybe sharing a cabin with her was making me crazy.

Each challenge would be done by two members of each team. But this time, Chris decided to pick who would partner up with who.

The first challenge wasn't one I had to do. It was a freehand rock climbing challenge. Chris paired up Duncan and DJ, and Gwen and Heather. Basically, all the non-climber had to do was hold on to their rope so the climber wouldn't fall if they let go, and harness the climber, of course.

Oh yeah, and the climber would have to avoid the nails, explosives and other things Chris had put on the rocks to make things harder for them.

Gwen asked if she could switch partners, but Heather replied that she was safe. "I'm not gonna throw a challenge just to kill you. Yet."

So on our team, Gwen would climb. On the other team, DJ would (he got Geoff to look after Bunny while he was climbing).

Heather harnessed Gwen up, seemingly serious about the whole thing.

"What's the extra rope for?" Gwen asked.

"It's a back-up line." Heather said.

Gwen narrowed her eyes. "What are you smiling about?"

"Nothing." Heather said sweetly. "I'm just really happy we got on this challenge together."

I didn't trust her, so I decided to stand close, just in case she did try to let go of the rope. As it was, she did at one point, but that was because Chris distracted her by squirting hot sauce at her, and Gwen survived.

However, what Heather did do was pull the extra line. She'd promised to make us sorry we'd met her.

However, there was no reason for her to make up some stuff about a back-up line just so she could pull it to rip Gwen's skirt off in the process. Yes, you heard me. The rope was there to pull Gwen's skirt off.

"Well," Duncan remarked, taking off his sunglasses, "You don't see that every day." I grimaced.

But she kept going, and won the first challenge for us.

Next, most of us took a break while the next challenge took place. For our team, Lindsay and Trent got paired up, while for the Bass, Bridgette and Geoff were teamed up.

I decided to hang out with DJ again for a bit. "So, sucks that you lost the last challenge. Personally, I can't believe Gwen still won it after Heather ripped her skirt."

DJ shrugged. "Win some, lose some. 'Least I survived."

We mostly didn't really talk about important stuff. Just random kind of things. "So...were you involved in pranking Harold yesterday?" I asked.

"It was Duncan's idea." DJ answered. "We all had a hand in it, so yeah, I guess I was involved. I don't do that stuff regularly or anything. I reckon Harold's suffered enough, now." It wasn't just leaving Harold's bunk outside. The boys had also taken most of his clothes after breakfast and purposely spilled water on him so he had nothing dry to wear. He'd ended up wearing his pyjamas.

"Somehow, it doesn't surprise me that Duncan thought of it." I grinned. "I know you're not the type to do it all the time, and while Geoff does do stupid stuff a lot, someone else usually has the idea when it involves a victim."

Trent had to go back to the medical tent after the challenge. It turned out the challenge had been one person making fugu for the other. Geoff had let Bridgette make it, and it was absolutely fine. Lindsay, on the other hand, sliced the blowfish a bit more carelessly, and it was a miracle that Trent survived eating the toxic organs. That was one win for us, and one for the Bass.

The last three challenges were all blind ones. First, one person would have an arrow on their head, and the blindfolded person would try to knock the arrow off with apples, like reversing William Tell.

This time, the partners were Leshawna and Owen for our team, and Courtney and Sadie for the other team.

We won, but Sadie continued shooting several times after we'd won.

"Sadie, it's over, man!" Chris yelled at her. "Let it go!"

Sadie took off her blindfold. "Oopsie! Sorry!"

"You're going down..." Courtney managed before falling unconscious. She was taken to the medical tent.

The next challenge was one I had to compete in, since I was the only Gopher left who hadn't competed. I had to stand on a ledge, while Lindsay swung on a trapeze. She would tell me when to jump, and then catch me before I fell into the jellyfish pond below.

"Okay!" I heard Lindsay calling. "One...two...three...jump! No, no, not yet!"

I only just managed to stop myself from jumping when she called out no. "When, then?" I called. "Don't count, just say 'now' when it's safe!"

"Now!"

I jumped, and scrabbled in thin air, only just able to grab Lindsay's hands. But they slipped from my grasp, and I fell into the jellyfish pond, so the Bass won that one again.

I should mention here that something happened to Bunny while Geoff was looking after him. I didn't know what, but Geoff told DJ that Bunny "hopped away". Of course, I knew something else had happened, but I didn't say so, because DJ was upset enough.

Why do I mention this? Because I was sent to the medical tent with Courtney. She was still unconscious when I first got there, but we both saw something very interesting.

We saw Duncan holding a carrot and walking away, with a rabbit following him.

"What's Duncan doing with a rabbit?" Courtney muttered to herself.

I shrugged. "Geoff lost DJ's rabbit. Maybe Duncan's going to replace it." Then I laughed. "Nah, probably not. I can't see that happening, but what else would he do with it?"

Courtney shrugged. "Who knows what he's up to?"

As it was, during the toboggan blind challenge, it turned out I was right. The last challenge had a blindfolded driver and a passenger calling out directions. Leshawna and DJ drove, while Gwen and Geoff directed.

That was the problem. DJ was still very depressed about losing Bunny. But that all changed. While Gwen and Leshawna kind of went off track, DJ was barely doing a thing.

"Hey, DJ! Look who I found!" Duncan yelled out. In his hands was the rabbit he'd been luring out of the woods earlier. Maybe it was Bunny, maybe it was a second rabbit. But it looked like Bunny, and that's what mattered.

So DJ took off his blindfold for one minute, saw the rabbit, and then put the blindfold back on and won.

Except, because he took the blindfold off, we won the overall challenge.

I went up to Duncan afterwards. "I never thought I'd see the day. Finding a Bunny replacement for DJ? That's pretty amazing for a guy like you."

Duncan sighed when I said it. "Seriously? First Courtney saw me do it, and now you?"

I grinned. "We were both in the medical tent, so we saw everything. Look, if you don't want me to tell anyone, I won't. You don't have to threaten me. Although I'd like to know what Courtney said when she talked to you."

Duncan shrugged. "For some reason, she thinks I'm nice, now. I don't know. And you better not tell anyone!" he added fiercely.

I shrugged. "I said, don't threaten me. I can keep a secret."

That night, Sadie was voted off. I was sitting on the dock as she walked pastl, tears in her eyes, so I saw the boat of losers arrive, and a voice squeal "Eeee! Oh, yay!"

Sadie looked up, and started squealing too. This was a first. The Boat of Losers was usually empty. But for Sadie, the Boat of Losers was the first step to a joyful reunion with her best friend. Yes, Katie was on the boat!

I watched as Sadie ran up to the boat, jumped in, and hugged Katie as the boat sped away.

I was glad the next day was a break. We had one more week until the halfway point of the competition – four weeks. Wow, the first three had gone quickly. We'd had ten eliminations so far, so I guessed that we'd have two more before the end of the week, which probably meant at least one challenge lasting longer than one day, but also at least one break.

I talked to Bridgette a bit more. "So...how are things with Geoff?" I asked eagerly. In spite of it being my brother, I liked hearing about him as just this guy with a crush.

"Well, he did say something pretty dumb during the cooking challenge." Bridgette said. "Something about looking like his friend's mom. But we went for a swim after the trust challenge with the blowfish sashimi, and things were really cool. As long as things stay how they were then..." she let her voice trail off.

I giggled. "What he said was a compliment. He has this one friend, and according to him, his mom looks like a model. Unfortunately, context isn't exactly Geoff's strong point."

Bridgette laughed. "Well, I understand it a bit better, then. Still. Anyway, enough about my love life, what about you and DJ?"

I sighed. "I don't know. We're friends, and I heard he does like me, but neither of us have said anything."

Bridgette smiled kindly. "Elle, do you want me to say anything to him?"

"Like...what would you say?" I asked.
"I"m not going to say anything embarrassing." she assured me. "I'll just talk to him, mention you just really casually, and if I can get it out of him that he likes you in that way, I'll try to encourage him to make a move."

I smiled. "You do not know how much I appreciate this."

"Hey, you're helping me understand where Geoff's going with everything he says. I'm just returning the favour."

But the next day began the next challenge, which lasted three days, and it was going to be a nightmare.

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