"Fresh from Canada"
Episode Ten (Part One)
Story Written by Freedom Fighter
Disclaimer: All characters are the property of Fresh TV, Inc. The 2010 Winter Olympic Games and all mentioned licensed characters, places, and other related material are the property of the International Olympic Committee. Oh, and this fanfic is not officially endorsed by either the IOC, Fresh TV, or anyone else involved with the Olympics.
Previously...
"Now now," redirected Wyatt. "Guys pay attention to you too. You have a cute smile..."
Lo gasped. "You think... my smile is cute?"
Wyatt is unsure of whether Lo has feelings for him...
"You don't want this opportunity to pass you by!"
"You make it sound so easy."
"I mean, we work well together," he heard Lo said. "And I do like his hair..."
Wyatt smiled as he ran his hand through his locks.
"But... he's not exactly a hottie..."
"Ohhhhhhhhh..." Wyatt mumbled as he lied face-down into the pillows on his bed.
"That bad?" Harold asked, dumbfounded.
"Exactly! I feel like, if I wanted to, I could share my deepest, darkest secrets with him. That's how friendly I feel about him."
Reef begins to panic when he realizes he's the odd man out...
"Once he's gone, it'll just be the four of us. Then, it's everyone for themselves."
"I can't believe you'd do this to me, Lo!"
"It's not like you didn't know! Besides, that's what alliances do!"
"Then let me join the alliance."
"I'm pretty, pretty sure it doesn't count as an alliance if everyone is in it."
The five remaining competitors love the prize they're playing for...
"A car?" Reef freaked out.
"You're giving us a car?" squealed Lo.
"This is the happiest day of my life," said Wyatt.
Lindsay learns the meaning of slalom the hard way...
"Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow..."
The others winced as they heard Lindsay's cries of agony and pain.
"She does know she's supposed to go around those, right?" Lo asked the other competitors.
And both Mother Nature and Lady Luck were in Reef's corner...
"YEAH!" Reef yelled from the stands. "I win! I win!"
Reef then threw the two girls into the Elimination Challenge...
"I can't believe Reef would do something like that," Lindsay shook her head.
"This has just got to be the stupidest thing he's ever done," groaned Lo.
But how much did the decision affect Lo and Lindsay on the course...
"Your left ski passed by the outside of that gate," Allen explained. "Unfortunately, that means that you've been disqualified."
There's only four competitors left. Which one of them will claim the grand prize? The answer might be revealed here, on the finale of... 'Fresh from Canada!'
Twenty teens
Two weeks
One grand prize
For some, it's another chance at glory
For others, they're newbies on the reality scene
They lived through tons of total drama
They've experienced what it's like to be 6teen
They know how it feels to be stoked
But none of them has had the chance to be an Olympic athlete
Until now
Skiing, snowboarding, hockey, and yes, even curling
That's because they're all from Canada
They'll experience them all
While living like bonafide Olympic athletes
But they're not from all over the world...
They're just... FRESH FROM CANADA!
[presented in HD print where available]
Harold, Lo, Reef, and Wyatt were sitting inside the van, which was heading back to the Olympic Village. They were already thinking about how to spend their last night in Vancouver. Well, three of them were, anyway.
"I can't believe you did that, Reef!"
Lo was still upset about Reef's decision to throw her into the Elimination Challenge, and it showed on her face.
"I was doing what I thought was best for the competition," Reef said in his defense.
"By trying to get rid of me or Lindsay? Who do you think should have won that competition, huh? Me!"
"She's right, man," Wyatt sided with her. "She was the best skier out of all of us."
"I concur," nodded Harold. "If the weather had cooperated, she would've smoked us all!"
"What does it matter?" Reef said in response, unconcerned. "You're still here, right? Besides, if anyone should be upset, it should be me! I sent Lindsay home! LINDSAY! I made a sacrifice for the greater good here!"
"Ugh!" Lo growled as she turned away from Reef. "You're worse than Heather!"
"What? No way am I worse than that witch!"
"Heather was pretty witchy," Wyatt added as he put a hand on Lo's shoulder. "Let's not say things we can't take back."
"I think we need to all just calm down," Harold cut in. "Reef's decision was clearly sexist and wrong..."
"Hey!"
"But, what's done is done. There's only one challenge left! By this time tomorrow, one of us is going to be $250,000 richer!"
"Finally! Something we can all agree on!"
"I wonder what having that kind of money feels like," Wyatt dreamed.
"Meh," shrugged Lo, "it's not as much as you think."
"Says you," Wyatt looked back at her. "Your family's loaded."
"Still, to have my own money... to spend however I want! The possibilities... they're endless!"
"I hear ya," Reef agreed. "I don't even know what I'd buy first!"
"Why spend it all?" Harold asked him, leading into a suggestion. "You could just save it for college tuition."
"I never thought of that," Wyatt said in response. "I might do that too."
"Killjoys," grumbled Reef.
"Yeah," added Lo. "Why would you need to go to college?"
Wyatt gasped in shock.
====== [Confessional Booth] ======
"I like Lo," Wyatt admitted. "I really, really, really like her. But her whole attitude about thinking everything she needs in life is going to be handed to her on a silver platter makes me worried."
======= [End Confessionals] ======
"Sure, you could go to college and meet a bunch of hotties and go partying every night..."
"Really?" Reef brightened up. "College doesn't sound so bad after all..."
"But I don't see why it's necessary for me. I'm going to inherit the resort at some point. I already know what I'm doing for the rest of my life."
"But what if that doesn't happen?" Wyatt told her. "Didn't you say you're not even the oldest child in your family?"
"Oh, come on... Ty? Daddy's not gonna pick him over me. I'm his sweet little angel!"
"But what if he does? Lo, you've got to have a back-up plan just in case! You can't just sit back and hope everything falls into place!"
Lo looked at Wyatt, not pleased at Wyatt's tone of voice.
"Since when did you start caring so much about my future?"
"What?" Wyatt did a double-take.
"Well?"
"Um..."
"Just say it, bro!" Reef shouted. "Tell her you're in love with her!"
"Ha!" Lo jumped out of her seat, pointing at Wyatt. "I knew it! You do like me!"
"Me? No... I mean yes... I mean, that is to say is that I care about you. As a friend! Care about you as a friend!"
"So smooth," Reef rolled his eyes sarcastically.
"As a friend? Friends don't think about the future as if they're going to spend it together."
"I wasn't even thinking about that! I just wanted to be sure you had a future to look forward to!"
"Sure... and I can imagine being waited on day and night, and hear the pitter-patter of three beautiful, adorable kids. No, wait, scratch that... kids are so bratty..."
Reef laughed. "Kids? You barely know the guy and you're thinking about kids?"
"Never thought you'd be already looking forward to parenthood at such an early age," Harold added in surprise.
Lo blushed. "What? When I said I was thinking about kids, I mean in general! Not necessarily with Wyatt!"
"I'm so confused," Wyatt scratched his head. "You're thinking about our kids, and I'm not even sure you like me like I like you?"
"How can there be kids when we haven't even gone on a date yet?"
====== [Confessional Booth] ======
"It's like the song goes," Lo explained. "First comes love, then marriage, and THEN the baby carriage! We have to get to marriage first!"
"Do girls seriously send mixed messages just to screw with guys?" Wyatt asked aloud. "Do they all really want to get in a relationship with me just so they can relish the day they stomp on my heart?"
"Wait," Lo waved her hands around, "can we scratch the last confession thingy? I meant to say that we have to get to love first! I have to admit that Wyatt is a sweet guy that I love to be around..."
"I bet Lo's just messing with me," Wyatt predicted, "we'll be all lovey-dovey, we'll get to a point where we're so in love I'll propose to her, and then... and then she'll say no! And she'll like saying no! She dreams of the day when she can shoot me down!"
"As a friend, as a friend! I'm really not even in love with him! Really! You believe me, right camera dude?"
The camera stood still for a few seconds, and then it moved up and down in a nodding motion.
"Really? Hey... you hesitated!"
======= [End Confessionals] ======
"So you're insisting we should go on a date?" questioned Wyatt.
"So you're asking me out on a date?" countered Lo.
"Can you just say yes," a frustrated Reef interrupted them. "Both of you! It's not gonna kill either of you!"
Suddenly, everyone heard the iPhone in Harold's pocket ring. As Harold pulled it out, the phone automatically answered the call... and Allen's face appeared on it.
"Allow me to help with the arrangements," Allen slyly suggested.
"Eh?" Lo glared at him. "Were you spying on us?"
"You're on a reality show," Allen responded. "We're taping you all the time, remember?"
All four of them looked up from the iPhone and at the two cameramen in the car, both with their cameras trained on the group.
"If it makes you feel any better, it's not a date for two. More like a farewell dinner for five... my treat!"
"Wicked awesome!" Harold exclaimed in gratitude.
"Freshen up and make yourselves look spectacular!" Allen told them. "The limo will pick you up from the apartment at a quarter past six!"
====== [Confessional Booth] ======
"Chris should really take hosting lessons from this guy," stated Harold. "He knows how to treat people right."
======= [End Confessionals] ======
A couple hours later, after showering and putting on their best clothes, the four teenagers were whisked away via limo to the northwest border of the city. After a 25-minute drive, their vehicle pulled up to The Boathouse Restaurant, which had great outdoor patio seating overlooking the Burrard Inlet and Horseshoe Bay.
Wyatt, Lo, Reef, and Harold were escorted to their table, in a section of outdoor patio tables facing the waterfront. Allen got up from his seat and greeted them as they approached the table.
"You guys sure you were skiing in the rain earlier?" Allen joked. "You all look great!"
He shook hands with each of the guys and hugged Lo before ushering them to take seats. Allen sat at the head of the table, with Harold to his immediate left and Reef next to him, while Lo and Wyatt were to his right.
After looking at the menus and ordering whatever they wanted, Allen began to chat with them as a group while they waited for their food.
"You've all been here in Vancouver for 15 days," he said to them. "It will be 16 tomorrow... the day one of you will be declared the winner of this competition. How do you guys feel about making it all the way to the end?"
"Incredible!" Reef quickly answered. "There were a few times when I got worried that I wouldn't make it. But I'm here, baby!"
"I was pretty determined to get here, despite everyone thinking I wasn't worthy," Harold admitted as he cracked a smile. "But what do they know? They've all been sent home, and I'm still here! Ha!"
"I probably wouldn't have been able to live with myself," stated Lo. "I'm practically in my backyard here. I don't know if I'd be able to face my friends if I was one of the first ones sent home. But I'm still here, and I feel like I can win this! I'm so stoked!"
"Personally," Wyatt said aloud, "this all feels like a dream to me. I was thinking Jen or Jonesy would be sitting here instead of me. I'm just glad I've made it this far."
"You've participated in eight different Winter Olympic events in this competition, guys. No sane person, honestly, would even attempt to do that."
All four of the teenagers chuckled at the thought.
"What was the hardest part about doing all these different sports over the course of these two weeks?"
"It was all of the training," replied Harold. "We had so much to learn and yet so little time."
"So, so little time," Wyatt added.
"How we did some of the things we've done and still looked half-decent at them... it's just unbelievable. These Olympic athletes train for one or two events for years. Years! And we had to do the same in hours... for eight different events!"
"For me," Lo explained, "it's definitely been the toll on my bodies. You wouldn't know it by looking at me, but every part of my body has been aching, especially the last few days!
The boys nodded in agreement, feeling the same way to different extents.
"We've had so little down time between events! You guys really should have thought of hiring a few full-time massagers to help us recover faster. I mean... I'm glad this is over tomorrow, because I'm totally spent!"
"I know I'm still sore from my crashes today," winced Wyatt.
"I'm gonna need a week full of spa days before I even begin to start feeling like myself!"
"Hypothetical question here," Allen moved on, "and I'm going to give you a few seconds to think about it. What if I were to tell you that the competition was over right now. By that, I mean there is no final challenge tomorrow, and a winner is going to be declared tonight."
"Are you serious?" Lo brightened up. "It's really over?"
"Um," Wyatt calmed her down, "hypothetical doesn't mean for real. He just means 'what if.'"
"Awww..."
"Anyway," Allen continued, "and here's the actual question... if you had to vote for the overall winner instead of deciding it in competition, who would you choose?"
Reef opened his mouth to answer, but Allen held up a hand to stop him.
"Hold on... let me just say that you can pick whomever you want, even yourself if you're so inclined, for whatever reason. Understand?"
The four of them nodded.
"Okay... now, I want you to point to your choice. On the count of three... one, two, three!"
Allen observed as Reef pointed at himself, as did Lo and Harold. Wyatt was the only one whose finger was directed away from him... and it was pointed at Lo.
"Wyatt... why?"
"What?" Wyatt nearly jumped out of his seat. "You never said we had to explain our pick!"
"You're the only who didn't pick themselves," Reef pointed out.
"I think it's sweet," Lo said as she looked at Wyatt. "Though I hope that you're not picking me just because you're in love with me!"
"Of course not! I picked you because you're an amazing person! You're great on skis, you rocked at snowboarding, you stood up to Heather... how many people can say they've done all three of those?"
"Not Reef," chuckled Harold.
"Hey now! I would've stood up to Heather if I wanted to!"
"You would have, but you were too busy sucking your thumb like a baby after you ended up paired with her!"
Lo laughed as Reef tried to deny Harold's claim.
"Oh, come on! I wasn't that upset!"
"You SO were," Lo said with a smirk.
"Okay, fine, I was. But you'd all be too if you got stuck with her!"
"No kidding," Wyatt said, sighing in relief.
An hour later, after getting their fill of delicious seafood, the four teens were ready to head back to the apartment. But Allen had one last thing for them to do, as he passed out envelopes to each of them. Without being prompted, they opened them easily, since none of them had been sealed, and they pulled out a page of paper with a bunch of names on it.
"There's one small detail about one portion of the grand prize that I've omitted to tell you guys about," Allen said to them. "And that is in regards to the attendance to the Opening Ceremonies."
The four had their full attention on Allen as he continued his explanation.
"We're not giving the winner of the competition just one ticket to the Opening Ceremonies... we're giving him or her two. That means that the winner will get to share that portion of the grand prize with someone else."
"Whoa!" Reef gasped. "For real?"
"When the winner is declared tomorrow, that person is responsible for declaring right then and there the one person they will be taking to the Opening Ceremonies with them. Here's the catch... you may only invite one of the 16 competitors who have already been eliminated. In other words, whomever wins tomorrow cannot pick anyone sitting at this table with them right now."
"That's so unfair!" complained Lo. "What if we really want to go with someone here?"
"Sorry, but that's the rules. Now, what you have in front of you is a ballot with the names of the 16 eliminated competitors. I want each of you to pick one and only one person, circle their name, fold the ballot back up, put it back in the envelope, and seal it. The person you pick is the one you will take with you to the Opening Ceremonies if you win tomorrow."
They all looked at the ballot and started to think about who they would choose, as Allen continued to talk.
"No collaboration... everyone must choose who they want by themselves. This is a secret ballot."
They went to work. Lo only needed a few seconds to decide before circling a name and folding up her ballot. Harold followed shortly thereafter, then Reef, and finally Wyatt, who took the longest. Once they were done and the envelopes were sealed, they were passed over to Allen.
"As this is a secret ballot, you guys are not allowed to talk about whom you chose. So... you're going to have to think of something else to speculate on back at your apartment tonight."
The four looked at each other, disappointed over having to keep their selections to themselves. Allen got up from his seat and bid them a good night.
"Until tomorrow... I suggest you get as much sleep as you can tonight. You're going to need all the energy you can muster tomorrow."
With that, Allen departed. Soon after, Reef, Wyatt, Harold, and Lo were escorted out to their limousine, to be taken back to their apartment so they could pack their things and get some sleep.
"Night, guys!"
Lo yawned as she unlocked the door into the girls' apartment, which she had all to herself for their last night in Vancouver. Once she disappeared inside and closed the door behind her, the boys unlocked theirs and went in as well.
"I guess we should start packing," suggested Wyatt.
"I ate so much," Harold admitted. "I'm so tired."
"Yeah," agreed Reef, as he hopped onto the couch and reached for the TV remote. "I just feel like lounging..."
But before they knew it, all four of them had fallen asleep, as the combination of heavy exhaustion and the filling of the stomachs had knocked them out. With clean and dirty clothes still littered about the two apartments, it seemed as if no one had done any actual packing.
Too bad, because as the clocks on the microwave read 4:30 am, the four remaining competitors were about to get a rude awakening.
"Wake up, wake up, wake up!" someone yelled, charging into the apartment.
Three people raced into the boys' apartment, one going over to the light switch by the entrance door and flicking it on and off, while the other two found some pots under the sink and started banging them against the counter.
That was enough to wake up Harold, who had been snoring on the floor, and Reef, who had drifted off still wearing the nice clothes he had worn to dinner the previous night, from their slumbers.
"What's going on here?" Reef yelled in a panic.
(End Act One)
Reef and Harold woke up to the sound of pots being banged and the lights flickering on and off, and as they forced their eyes open, they saw a few familiar faces.
"Fin and Lindsay?"
Upon being recognized, the two girls put the pots down and ran over to the couch.
"Time to wake up, knucklehead!" Fin exclaimed, pulling Reef off of the couch.
"I'm up, I'm up!"
"What's going on?" Harold asked as he pointed for Lindsay to hand him his glasses, which were on the table.
"I forget... oh, wait, now I remember! You have to get up, now!"
Lindsay pulled Harold to his feet. It was then that the guys noticed that the one who had been playing with the lights was Jude. And they also saw an annoyed Wyatt standing next to him, having come out of his room.
"Jude..." Wyatt squinted at his friend, "what are you doing?"
"Explain later, dude... just follow me downstairs!"
Meanwhile, in the girls' apartment, Lo was fast asleep as well... until someone ran into her bedroom, turned on the lights, and started shaking her.
"Lo, wake up! Wake up!"
She had a sleeping mask over her eyes, so as Lo opened her eyes, she couldn't see who was trying to wake her. Thinking she was at home, she responded.
"Just five more minutes... ugh..."
"Oh, come on, wake up!"
It was actually Emma attempting to get her friend out of bed. But she saw that shaking her wasn't going to awaken her, she had to change tactics...
"Did I mention that I've got a brand new credit card here with your name on it?"
Lo sat up as if she was catapulted awake. She tossed aside the mask and turned to grab the card... when she saw Emma standing there.
"Emma?"
"That worked! Alright... we need to get downstairs, now! And I'm not taking no for an answer!"
Emma grabbed Lo by the arms, pulled her out of bed, and then tugged her towards the kitchen and out of the apartment.
Five minutes later, everyone was downstairs in the lobby. Allen was waiting for them... but he couldn't contain his laughter after seeing the state the four competitors were in. Each of them had the person who had woken them up standing to their left... and all of them were awake and ready to go despite the pre-dawn start.
"Oh, man!" he chuckled. "Talk about going from beauties to beasts overnight!"
"That's so unfair," argued Harold. "We didn't get a chance to put on deodorant..."
"Or do our hair," Lo said as she twirled her messy hair with her fingers.
"Or eat breakfast," Reef complained, holding his growling stomach.
"Need... coffee..." grumbled Wyatt.
"You'll get to do all of that shortly," Allen assured them.
"How about we go back to bed first?" all four asked.
"Nope! You've got a long, long, long day ahead of you all! First order of business... the people who had to drag you down here."
"Yeah..." Lo raised her hand as if to ask a question, "what was up with that?"
"You tell me... do they look familiar?"
"They're the losers we sent home already," commented Reef.
Fin punched Reef in the side of his left arm.
"Ow!" he shouted. "What was that for?"
"Easy, Fin," Allen told her. "I should explain why he deserved that."
"Please do, bro," grimaced Reef as he rubbed where he had been hit.
"Remember, last night at dinner, when I had you fill out those secret ballots?"
Harold quickly figured it out. "You brought in the people we picked, didn't you?"
"Correct! But sorry, you don't get a prize for that. Anyway, we took your ballots and paired you up with the person you selected."
"Hold on!" Reef objected. "But I chose Lind..."
Before he could finish, Fin punched him in the other arm.
"I'd take it easy on him," Allen warned her. "If you hurt him too badly, he won't be able to compete, and he can't win and take you to the Opening Ceremonies. And yes, I know you chose Lindsay. But so did Harold."
"But how did you decide Lindsay would be paired with me?" Harold asked.
"Simple. We made Lindsay decide."
"Partners at the beginning," Lindsay proclaimed, "partners to the end."
"And Fin?" Reef pointed at her.
"He asked all of us 'losers' if any of us wanted to be your partner. Not surprisingly, I was the only one who volunteered."
"Just you? None of the guys, none of the gals?"
"'Fraid not. Looks like you're stuck with me!"
"But not completely," Allen interrupted. "The ballots you filled out last night were non-binding. That means whomever is declared the winner can change the person they take with them to the Opening Ceremonies. And, yes, that person can also be one of the other finalists."
Wyatt smiled upon hearing this. He turned to look at Lo, but she was looking the other way, as Emma was using her hands to try and make her friend look somewhat presentable on camera.
"But these four aren't here to convince you that they should be the person you take. They are here to serve as both coach and cheerleader for you today. I have not told them what's in store for you four finalists... they're just as clueless as you are. But their job is to get you through the final day of competition.
"They'll start by getting you ready to go. Take care of your business, eat breakfast, pack your bags. Dress for the outdoors, and maybe put on an extra layer. Van departs at 6:45. Now... off with ya! Looking at you all makes people think we left you stranded in a jungle for 39 days!"
====== [Confessional Booth] ======
"Okay, I know I didn't do well at all in the competition," Emma confessed, "but it's a whole new day! All I have to do today is to get Lo to finish strong! Besides, if I help her win, then Ty will be so impressed that he'll just have to ask me out! I'm getting goosebumps just thinking about our future date together!"
"Gotta go with my man," Jude said, giving a thumbs up to the camera. "He made it this far all by himself, and now I'm gonna help him make that final push. He has to win so he can take me to the Opening Ceremonies! There's some sick dudes and dudettes I wanna meet!"
"Reef's gonna win this," bet Fin. "He's got everyone covered physically. All he's got to do is stop trying to steal glances at Lindsay's gazongas every five minutes and he's got this in the bag. That's why he's got me... so I can keep him focused!"
"Go, go, go... Harold!" Lindsay cheered as she danced in the booth, shaking her gazongas and her pom-poms.
======= [End Confessionals] ======
At exactly 6:45, the four competitors and their coaches walked out of the building with their bags and headed out to the main street, where two vans were waiting to transport them to the challenge. The street lights were still on as it was still dark, even though the moon had disappeared behind the buildings of the city skyline.
Lo, Harold, Emma, and Lindsay got into the first van, while Wyatt, Jude, Reef, and Fin climbed into the second. Once they and their bags were settled they were off.
Off to Whistler, that is.
The competitors seemed happy and eager to compete in the final challenge, as day finally arrived and sunlight made the route to Whistler easy to see. But their hearts sunk when they realized where they were when they got out of the vans.
"Oh no!" Lo freaked. "Oh no no no no no no!"
"I think I'm gonna be sick," Harold stated as he become nauseated.
"I thought we were done with this place!" exclaimed Reef.
"This has to be a dream," Wyatt said, covering his eyes.
Fin and Lindsay also weren't happy, Jude was laughing with insanity, and Emma... didn't seem to see what the big fuss was about.
====== [Confessional Booth] ======
"The place is called the 'Whistler Sliding Centre,'" quoted Emma. "People love to slide! I don't get why everyone's so afraid!"
======= [End Confessionals] ======
Emma was speechless as she watched someone do a training run on the course on the big screen. She watched as the individual cameras struggled to keep up as the rider made his way down the course.
Finally, he made it to the finish line, and his time and speed were flashed for all to see.
"Is that accurate?" Reef winced as he saw '150 kph' on the screen.
"ARE YOU PEOPLE INSANE?" Emma asked.
"Heh heh," laughed Jude. "Jen said the same thing."
"Welcome, competitors, to the final day of competition!"
They all turned to see Allen walking towards them, with a grin on his face.
"Why are we back here?" questioned Wyatt, panicked. "You said we were doing different events! We already did the luge here... and we all barely survived!"
"True and true. But you aren't here today to do the luge again. You're all here to participate in a different sliding event. The death-defying discipline known... as the Skeleton!"
"Sounds chilling," Reef remarked.
"Yeah," added Lindsay. "Riding skeletons down that thing won't be fun at all!"
"Skeleton differs from the luge in several ways," explained Allen. "They are no brakes built into the sleds used for the event. The only way to slow down on the course is to dig into the ice with spiked shoes, which we will be providing to you for the event. The other major difference is a biggie... instead of riding down the course feet-first, you'll be going head-first!"
"What?" all four competitors shouted.
"Is $250,000 really worth risking our lives?" Harold asked Allen. "Again?"
"Don't worry... you'll be provided adequate safety gear."
"All the safety gear in the world doesn't matter if you can't make it to the finish line!" shouted Lo.
"Point taken... which is why..."
The couple that trained the competitors for the luge competition walked up to the group.
"All competitors are going to be required to take a refresher course on safety and get some quick-fire lessons on how to succeed in skeleton. Once that's done, you'll be given your gear and you can hit the course for practice."
"Well..." Harold commented. "At least we know whomever wins this is walking away with the grand prize."
"Your assumption is wrong, for this is not the final event!"
"What? But yesterday, you said today was the final day of competition!"
"It is, it is. But this isn't the final event! There's a second waiting for you tonight once you've completed this one! And, before you complain, you don't have to worry about fighting to win this one."
"Really?" Reef asked.
"Because the only thing that matters in the skeleton competition is not coming in last place! The person who finishes this event in last place will be eliminated from the competition, therefore withdrawing his or her chance to compete in the finale tonight or win the grand prize!"
"No Elimination Challenge?"
"No Elimination Challenge! You're last, you're gone!"
====== [Confessional Booth] ======
"Neither Lo or I made it the whole way down the course the last time we were here," recalled Wyatt. "I've got a bad feeling about this."
======= [End Confessionals] ======
(End Act Two)
After taking the required instructional courses, the four competitors started making their way to the top to attempt a couple practice runs. Lo and Emma reached the starting platform just in time to see Harold push off from the starting area.
"BANZAI!" he yelled as he rolled himself away.
"I don't think I can do this!" Lo shook in fear.
"Yes, you can!" Emma encouraged her. "Just think of it like you're boogie boarding! You know, surfing except for the fact that you're lying on your stomach the entire time."
"Yeah, but the waves aren't hurtling you towards shore at 90 miles an hour..."
Meanwhile, at the bottom, Jude watched as Wyatt collapsed on the ground in front of him. Wyatt had attempted to his first run, and of course, he had crashed.
"That tough, dude?"
"It's impossible!" Wyatt threw his hands up, frustrated. "I can't seem to get through that turn, no matter what!"
"You just have to take control!" advised Jude. "Don't let the track dictate what you must do... make it do what you want it to do!"
"Um... I guess I understand..."
Jude helped Wyatt off of the ground, then patted him on the back. Wyatt then started heading back up to the starting line.
"But how does the track move?" Wyatt thought aloud.
Challenge time had arrived, and the four competitors and their coaches/cheerleaders were up at the top with Allen.
"Okay, are we ready to go?" Allen asked. "Oh, who cares... we're on a tight schedule here."
"Nice to see you care about their lives," chided Fin.
"We do care! You were all required to sign medical waivers before you could even compete on this show, right?"
"Well, yeah, but..."
"The challenge works like this!" Allen explained as he cut her off. "Each of the competitors will be given three runs. The good news is that only two will count for this competition, as we will throw out your worst time and combined the remaining two for your overall time. That gives each of you a mulligan in case you want to replace one of your runs... for whatever reason.
"As in the luge competition, anyone who starts a run and does not get to the finish line will be credited with the time of the slowest rider who did complete the course in that round, plus a 30-second penalty. Person who has the worst two-run combined time is eliminated from the competition and will not compete in tonight's final event!"
"So we get one chance to have a do-over," Wyatt pulled out. "Whew... that's good to know..."
"I hope so... because you're up first!"
Wyatt placed his sled on the ice. Lo, Reef, and Harold watched nervously as he got focused, while the four coaches left, heading back down to cheer on their athletes from the finish line.
"I still can't believe we're doing this," Harold remarked.
"You should be counting your lucky stars," responded Allen. "Skeleton riders are supposed to start all the way at the top of the course! We couldn't get you enough training time to certify you guys to start from there. From here, your speed will probably top off in the low 80's."
Wyatt got the signal to go. He took a deep breath and then started running down the ramp. Once his sled had gotten going, he lied down on it, his helmet just sticking out over the end of the board and only a few inches above the ice track.
Shifting his body weight to guide him, Wyatt proceeded down the course. At first, he was firmly in control. But as he picked up speed, it got tougher for him to keep centered. By the time he got to Turn 12, he couldn't hang on anymore. Upon the left side of his sled hitting the wall on his left exiting the turn, Wyatt's left hand slipped off the handle, and his right quickly followed. He slid off the back, and he glided on the ice on his stomach as his sled continued on without him.
Wyatt pushed himself up off of the ice and onto his feet, getting into a standing position just as track officials arrived to help him off of the track.
At the finish line, the coaches were watching the replay from a monitor across from their seats in the stands. Emma was concerned about Wyatt, but Fin quickly pointed out Wyatt easily getting up. Lindsay shook her head as Jude wondered what had gone wrong.
Getting used to the skeleton in such a short amount of time proved to be troublesome, as Harold, Reef, and Lo all took shots at their first attempts, and all three also crashed out. Harold had managed to get the farthest, hanging on until losing control in the final banked turn, when he leaned too far inward and ended up tumbling twice down the bank. A bit bruised, Harold managed to walk off the course and to the finish line under his own power.
The competitors made their way back to the top for the second round, still hoping someone could get all the way to the finish. Unfazed by his first crash, Wyatt was determined to succeed this time. Sadly, the results were the same... crash out coming out of Turn 12.
Harold finally broke through, learning his lesson from the first run, surviving the harrowing Turn 16, coming up the hill, and crossing the finish line in a time of 55.33 seconds. The four coaches applauded as Harold dragged his spiked shoes into the ice to come to a stop.
"Yeah, Harold!" Lindsay cheered loudest of all. "That a way!"
Harold stood up and raised a clenched fist in triumph before bending down to pick up his sled. As he left the area, he ran into Wyatt, who was favoring his wrist as he was got checked out by the medical staff.
"You actually made it?" Wyatt asked, surprised. "Look... you've gotta help me figure it out!"
"I guess it wouldn't hurt," Harold decided, as he walked over to give Wyatt some pointers.
It would turn out that Reef wouldn't need those same pointers, as he too found a way to get all the way down to the finish line. He had to do it much slower, though, just managing to clear Turn 16 without tipping over or exiting off the racing line, coming in with a time of 57.90 seconds.
"Way to go, Reef!" shouted Emma.
"The goof made it after all," smirked Fin.
Reef got up from his sled and gave the girls a thumbs up before turning to exit the finish area.
"Now I just have to figure out how to get down here faster without crashing," he commented to himself.
"Hopefully Lo can make it too!" wished Emma as her attention turned back to the monitor.
Unfortunately, Emma would be disappointed when minutes later, despite making it past Turn 12 successfully for the first time ever, Lo would lose it exiting Turn 15, hitting the inside wall so hard she was knocked off. She rolled a couple times before coming to a stop, as her sled barreled into Turn 16, went straight up the banking, and eventually flipped over and tumbled back down after going too high.
Emma and Fin held their breath as Lo was slow to get up. The track officials ran over to her as she sat up on the ice, to the girls' relief. She bit her lip as she grabbed her left arm, between her shoulder and her elbow.
A few minutes later, Lo was sitting off the track at the medical tent, her left sleeve rolled up as one of the doctors was examining a big bruise where she had been holding her arm. Fin and Emma had come over to see how she was.
"That was a nasty crash!" Fin remarked. "You alright?"
"I was so close!" Lo shouted. "One more turn, just one more turn!"
The doctor then interrupted to clear Lo to continue to compete if she wished, and then handed her an ice pack to hold over her bruise. Emma took it and pushed against Lo's bruise.
"You can't be serious about going back up there!" cried Emma. "You're going to hurt yourself!"
"I can't quit now, Emma! I just have to figure out how to get to the end. If only I could just get to that point going a little slower..."
"You can do what Reef did," Fin exclaimed.
"Huh?"
Fin whispered what Reef had done, and upon hearing his strategy, Lo beamed with confidence.
"Of course!" she shouted as she lifted her legs up to show off her spiked shoes. "That's what these are for!"
It was down to the final run, and Wyatt was facing do-or-die time. He had to figure a way to stay on his sled all the way to the end, or he risked being sent home. He tried to visualize himself getting there, and then he pushed off from the starting line and headed out.
Again speeding down the track, everything went swell until he reached Turn 12. He took the sharp left-hander at near-full speed, and could not hang on as his sled bore quickly towards the inside wall again. Just like his first run, he slid stomach-first on the ice a short distance as he watched his sled continue on without him.
"Not once," Wyatt grumbled as he stood up and looked back at Turn 12, "not even once could I get past you!"
The officials helped walked Wyatt off of the track.
Back at the top, upon hearing Wyatt had failed to get to the finish for the third time, he came to a decision as he picked up his sled from the starting area.
"What are you doing, dude?" Reef asked as he and Lo looked at him.
"The idea is to not come in last, not try to be first," Harold explained. "Why should I risk causing injury to myself? There's still another challenge tonight!"
"Come on, man! It's still a competition!"
Harold shrugged and walked off the starting platform, heading back down the slow way.
"His loss," commented Reef as he placed his sled down onto the ice. "I'm here to compete!"
Lo was beginning to have second thoughts, but she knew she didn't have the benefit of completing a run like Harold or Reef. She had to make a third attempt if she wanted to stick around for the finale.
The next time she looked up, she discovered Reef had already taken the 'go' signal and was on his way down the track. Hoping to achieve a faster time, Reef went back to his strategy from the first run and tried to use his feet to brake as little as possible. That turned out to be a bad decision, as he lost complete control of the sled in the transition between Turns 14 and 15. He let go and his back collided with that outer wall just as the sled entered the second-to-last turn.
Reef was visibly grimacing in pain as he tried to push himself up off the ground. The officials got him to stop, encouraging him to not strain himself in case he had torn or broken something, and a medic came out to check on him.
Everyone, except for Lo, who was still at the top and hadn't been told by the start official nothing more than Reef had crashed, waited with baited breath as the doctor worked on Reef as he sat right on the track, fiddling carefully with his arms and back.
(End Act Three)
Ten minutes had passed, and Reef was still being checked out on the track. But then, finally, he let Reef stand up and walk off, believing he hadn't suffered any serious injuries. Sighs of relief and thankful applause was heard from the other competitors and the cheerleaders as he was led by the doctor to the medical tent to perform a few other checks.
Fin ran out of the stands to see how he was, while Emma stayed behind, crossing her fingers as she saw Lo on the monitor, putting down her sled on the track.
====== [Confessional Booth] ======
"If it's going to take breaking every bone in my body to win," Lo declared. "Then I'll willingly break every bone in my body!"
======= [End Confessionals] ======
Lo remembered what Fin had told her, and then she took off, heading out on the course and thinking of nothing but what she wanted her body and her feet to do as she lied down on her sled.
She slowly made her way through the upper half of the course, and after every turn, she tried to drag her feet into the ice for just a second, hoping to slow down her acceleration. She was still in control as she descended into the lower portion. Turn 11, then the tricky 12 passed, and Lo was hanging on. She was going a bit slower than even Reef's run, but still fast enough that it was near impossible to dig her feet into the ground more than a split second.
She didn't dare close her eyes as she escaped 14 and 15, and then into the high-banked right-hander leading to the finish. She gritted her teeth and bared the pain as she gripped her handlebars with all of her strength.
Lo's sled came out of Turn 16, sliding hard right into the inner wall. She bounced off and somehow hung on as she the sled climbed up the small hill and across the finish line. She lowered her feet to slow herself down. Emma hollered with glee as she ran out of the stands and met Lo as she came to a complete stop.
"You did it!" Emma screamed as Lo got up.
"I did? I did!"
Lo wrapped her arms around Emma and the two jumped up and down in celebration. Lo didn't care that her final time was a slow 60.16 seconds. All she cared about was that she made it to the finish... and that was going to be enough to stay in the competition.
The four competitors and their cheerleaders had gathered by the big screen, where Allen officially announced the results.
"It was a rough competition," Allen told them, "and there were only three successful runs out of twelve! Not a good ratio."
"I'd like to see you try it!" dared Reef.
"Snippy comeback. But who knows, maybe later! Anyway, the good news is that three people made one successful run apiece, so we know who is going on to the final challenge! Unfortunately, one of you never reached the finish line here, so that means you won't be reaching the real finish line tonight. Wyatt?"
Wyatt lowered his head sadly as Jude patted him on the back.
"It's okay, dude. Top four's still pretty good."
"Yeah," Wyatt bucked up. "I guess it is."
Lindsay began to applaud for Wyatt, and soon afterward everyone else joined her. Wyatt smiled at his fellow contenders' admiration.
"I have something I want to say!" announced Wyatt, before looking at Allen to make sure it was okay.
"Okay, but we don't have all day."
Wyatt walked over to Lo and clasped his hands over hers. Lo blushed and Emma gasped in shock as he began to speak.
"Lo, I'm so glad that I've had the chance to work with you this whole competition. And I have to say, you're an incredible person to work with. I hope we get the chance to see each other again someday."
"Well, Wyatt..." giggled Lo, "if you're still up for a date..."
"I think we should just be friends."
Wyatt let go of Lo's hands and started walking away, heading back to the van for the trip to the airport. Lo stood there, stunned, as Emma waved her hand in front of her friend's face, and Jude ran off after Wyatt.
"Hey, dude, wait up!"
====== [Confessional Booth] ======
"I think my luck just ran out today," confessed Wyatt. "If you told me that I'd get the farthest out of the people from my series... farther than Jude, Jen, Jonesy, or even Nikki... I would've thought you were crazy! Just goes to show that I dodged a couple of bullets that were probably meant for me.
"I definitely have to thank Lauren as well. I didn't think much of her when we were forced to pair up together, but she's impressed me these past couple weeks. She was strong enough for the both of us in the competition when she had to be, like in the Biathlon, and I was strong enough for the both of us when he she had to deal with Heather. If I had the chance to do this all over again, she'd definitely be my first choice to be my partner.
"Reef probably will win, but I hope it's Lo. She's doing this for all the right reasons, and I hope win or lose, her father will see that she can doing things on her own and she no longer has to completely rely on others to make sure she's happy. She's a great girl... I'm sure whatever guy is lucky enough to be with her will be a good guy.
"It's just not going to be me. I thought about it, and I realized I'm not quite ready to be in a relationship again."
======= [End Confessionals] ======
"Wow," gasped Allen. "I didn't even get to formally announce his exit. Oh well... Wyatt's gone, which means we've got our final trio! Reef, Harold, and Lo!"
Reef and Harold high-fived each other. They turned to do the same with Lo, but Emma was still trying to snap her out of her stunned nature.
"I've never seen a guy do that before," Fin commented. "Man."
"I see she can barely contain her excitement," chuckled Allen. "You got ten minutes, then the van leaves to head for the final challenge! Don't be late!"
Allen walked off, leaving the six teenagers by themselves.
"That's not how I envisioned their separation," commented Harold.
"I know, right?" added Lindsay. "Just when I was starting to think they were meant for each other, too!"
"Did... did..." Lo finally snapped out of it, regaining consciousness. "Did he just tell me he just wants to be friends?"
"Um," Emma hesitated, not sure how to answer. "I didn't even know you liked him."
"I did," Fin told Emma, "and they were looked as if they were going to hit it off yesterday."
"He... just wants to be friends?"
====== [Confessional Booth] ======
"Ooh!" Lo growled. "Boys are so complicated!"
======= [End Confessionals] ======
"Eh, don't worry about him!" Reef tried to cheer Lo up. "He's gone, we're in the final three! Only one more challenge to go!"
"You know what? You're right, Reef! If Wyatt doesn't want me, then so be it! I've got a grand prize to win!"
"That's what I'm talking about. Only I'm the one who's gonna win that grand prize!"
"I think you're both sorely mistaken," corrected Harold. "It will be mine! Mwa ha ha ha!"
Lindsay mindlessly applauded Harold's declaration, while Reef, Lo, Fin, and Emma all just oddly looked at each other.
With Wyatt and Jude gone, the three remaining competitors and coaches filed themselves and their luggage into one van.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Emma asked as she sat down next to Lo.
"Definitely," Lo replied. "We were never totally serious, so it feels like we just harmlessly flirted. That's all."
"Wyatt didn't seem like he was just flirting," smirked Reef.
Fin elbowed Reef in the gut. "Not helping!"
"It's alright," Lo assured them. "I'm over it. I just have to get focused once again."
Lo took a deep breath... and then winced in pain as she remembered the bruise on her left arm.
"Ow... ow!"
Emma produced the ice pack from earlier and switched seats with Lo so she could directly place it against her bruise.
"So cold! Why does it have to be so cold?"
The group took a short trip to Cypress Mountain, in particular the Cypress Bowl Ski Area, where their final challenge was going to be held. There Allen waited for them in the stands, along with a young man in his 20s, already in his skis.
"You're all here... good!" Allen greeted. "Well, it's been 16 long days, this being the longest of them all. But the end is finally in sight, guys! You only have to survive one... more... event!"
"Are you sure about that?" Harold asked.
"Positive. Now, instead of telling you what your final challenge is, I'm just going to show you..."
Allen and the man with him stepped aside, and pointed up the hill, where there were three ramps of various heights positioned at the top. Suddenly, they reacted as someone came leaping off the middle one, the highest of them all, and did three back flips in mid-air before coming down and landing on his feet on the slope, with his momentum carrying him down into the bowl, where he turned his skis hard in order to bring himself to a stop.
"That was amazing!" Reef shouted.
"How did he do that?" Lo asked.
"You're going to find out," Allen said to them, "because your final Olympic event is Freestyle Skiing Aerials!"
"We have to duplicate that?" Harold pointed at what had just transpired.
"Nope... unless you really want to. Hopefully, you'll do routines you're comfortable with... and that's where my friend here comes in. Introducing Stan Olerud... professional freestyle skier. He will be your teacher. Thankfully, this shouldn't be too difficult... you've all already been on skis twice, and the tricks performed are similar in form to those you did way back in the figure skating challenge. The key here is figuring out how to put those two together.
"Like figure skating, freestyle skiing aerials is a judged event. Each of your jumps, you'll make three in total, will be scored in the following way. Air, which is 20 percent of your score, Form, which is a whopping 50 percent, and Landings, which is the remaining 30 percent. Your totals there will then be multiplied by the degree of difficulty of your jump, predetermined by the judges prior to each attempt.
"We will drop your lowest score out of your three jumps, and the other two will be combined to give us your final score. This event is winner takes all! That means that whomever wins this event will also be declared the overall winner of 'Fresh from Canada!'"
"Finally!" Harold declared triumphantly.
"Coaches, you will be sitting in on the training session, because you will be instrumental in helping your partners decide what tricks to use in their jumps, which each pair will figure out together. Your decisions factor just as much into who wins tonight as do the jumpers' ability to execute that trick package. Do you play it safe and go with jumps you know that you can land? Or do you go for the most difficult tricks and hope your landings are just good enough? Or somewhere down the middle? What you decide in the next few hours could decide if your life is about to change for the better."
All six nodded, understanding all that was at stake here.
In training, they all listened as Stan talked about the three types of tricks that could be employed: flips, twists, and turns. He described and demonstrated them as best he could, being on the ground, the proper form of executing them.
====== [Confessional Booth] ======
"Learning all of this is one thing," Harold stated, "but executing it in the middle of a jump with your heart pounding and fear running through you mind that if you don't time it properly, you could land on your head? Yeah, that's another."
======= [End Confessionals] ======
Next, the three competitors had to feel what it was like to go off of the kicker, the name for the curved jump ramp used in this discipline.
"Now, it's called the kicker because when you come off the end of it, you'll literally fell like you've been kicked into the air. The easiest trick to pull off is the back flip, since your body will already be pushing you into that motion. You have to learn to naturally progress through that motion, and doing it so that you do a complete back flip and your skis land flat against the slope when you hit the ground."
"Sounds easy enough," Reef said as he aimed his skis towards the shortest of the three kickers.
The group watched as Reef put on his goggles and then skied down the inrun slope, heading for the smallest kicker. He hit and he immediately felt himself being flipped end over end without his help. As he tried to complete the flip, Reef disappeared over the edge of the hill.
Everyone turned their attention to the nearby big screen, whose camera was trained on Reef as he completed the back flip, landed perfectly level with the slope, and skied his way down into the bowl, where he came to a stop.
"Woo hoo!" Reef rejoiced as he lifted his goggles and unstrapped his helmet. "That was really fun! Man, I can't wait to do it again!"
Up at the top...
"Ooh," Emma squealed. "That looks fun! I'm so jealous of you guys right now!"
"Huh... this might not be as scary as I thought," commented Lo.
Lo slipped on her goggles and raced down to make her first ski jump. She hit the kicker fast and started her back flip. But because she was lighter, her rotation went faster than she thought. She ended up over-rotating, thus when she landed, her skis weren't flat and instead, she was leaning heavily backwards. Too much so that once her skis hit the ground, she fell back, and her backside hit the ground. She felt herself run along the hard, icy ground and she slid to the bottom.
Reef laughed and pointed at her as she rubbed her butt.
"Oh, man... you got seriously worked!"
"Maybe this isn't as fun as I thought it would be."
Reef extended a hand to help pull Lo off of the ground. They then cleared the landing area so Harold could get a try.
"Righteous!" Harold yelled as he came off of the kicker.
Harold attempted his back flip, and he too over-rotated. But only slightly, resulting him being a bit off-balance upon hitting the ground. He bobbled a little before straightening out, and continuing down to the bottom.
"Way to go, man!" Reef came out, congratulating Harold.
"Thanks," Harold replied, shaking hands with Reef.
"You both stuck the landing?" Lo observed. "Man, I've got my work cut out for me."
"Nonsense!" Harold told her. "All that happened was that you rotated faster because you're lighter than either of us. You have to compensate for that in mid-air, because you don't have to work as hard as either Reef or I have to."
"In other words, lean back less?"
"Precisely!"
Lo followed Harold's advice, and on the second try she succeeded in doing the back flip and coming out so that her skis hit the landing slope almost completely flat.
"Now that's what I'm talking about!" Lo yelled as she came to a stop at the bottom. "Yeah... I got it!"
After a little more practice for the trio to try out a single twist in a jump and then a single turn as well, Stan dismissed them so that they could meet with their coaches/cheerleaders and figure out their plan.
First, we look in on Harold and Lindsay...
"So, I was thinking," Lindsay said aloud, "I think it would look great if you could connect a double back flip with a twist or two going on."
"Combination sets are good," Harold told her, "but we have to be careful because it doesn't matter much if I can't hit the landings.
====== [Confessional Booth] ======
"Our plan is try to go heavy on the medium-sized tricks," Harold explained, "which are enough to give the judges that 'wow' factor, and also allow me to have a better chance to come out of them so that I can hit the landings. I heard there's a big difference in scoring between someone who lands perfectly and someone who comes down on their tails. I have to make sure I'm the former every time!"
======= [End Confessionals] ======
Next are Reef and Fin...
"I say I just hit the ramp hard," motioned Reef, "and then just try to throw in as many tricks as I can!"
"You can't do that," scolded Fin. "The judges have to know what you're attempting so that they can score you properly!"
"So, let's make it so they know. I'll do a flip, a couple twists, a 360, another flip..."
"You really gonna be able to pull all of that off in two or three seconds, really?"
====== [Confessional Booth] ======
"I've seen these competitions on TV," Reef shouted, "and judges respond really well the longer you hang in the air, because that gives you more time to do tricks! I think if I can figure out how to tear it up and give those judges a show they'll never forget, I'll win this thing without breaking a sweat!"
======= [End Confessionals] ======
Finally, a peek in on Lo and Emma's planning session.
"I dunno," Emma questioned after hearing Lo's plan, "I think you should throw a couple of twists in there."
"But I'm not quite sure if I can learn how to do both at the same time in such a short time," a worried Lo stated.
"You can't afford to be conservative," warned Emma. "You know Reef's gonna bring it and throw doubles and triples. Harold too, probably."
====== [Confessional Booth] ======
"Emma's kinda right," Lo stated, "but all the tricks in the world don't matter if you don't look good or you don't stick the landing! My strategy is to emphasize form. I heard the judges take points off if your legs come apart at any point in mid-air, or your arms aren't in the right place. I have to quickly figure out what I can do, and do well. Maybe it's not good to rely on the boys putting too much on their plate and screwing it up somehow, but I think the only way I'm gonna win is to finesse it... and get a little help from Lady Luck."
======= [End Confessionals] ======
(End Act Four) / (End Part One)
