"Yeah! Aw, this is gonna be so much better'n usin' Coody's ol' wheelchair for a race car, eh. It's real great that Chris agreed ta let us use 'em!"

"What?" Kevin asked like this was news to him, shoving the third jet ski out into the lake. "Oh, oh. Yeah. That's right, man. He said that."

Ezekiel paused from buckling his life jacket and looked up at the intern. "Uh… Chris did say we could use 'em, di'n't he?"

"Heh. So what if he didn't?" Courtney cannonballed into the water and came up spluttering, but she caught her breath quickly and announced, "So I'm going to enjoy this whole race twice as much. And my team is going to win!"

Noah elbowed Ezekiel in the ribs. "Courtney chasing us 'traitors' down with a paintball gun on a jet ski. Nice work, Homeschool. You couldn't have given her a better set-up if you tried."

"It… sounded like it might be fun at the time, homes. Y'know, three days ago, 'fore I saw her shoot ya off the roof and all."

Noah merely shook his head.

There were footsteps on the dock behind them. Cody called out, "I finally found the rest of the guys! Can we start the race now?"

"Race?" Beth took a step away from the edge of the dock. "Oh… I changed my mind. That doesn't sound very safe at all. We don't even know these waters. Not all of the sharks seem to like us."

"Take that up with the Z-Man," Tyler grumbled, waving his hand in Ezekiel's direction. "Ever since Noah beat us all at that silly video game, he's been wanting to get back at him for ages."

"That's right. Prepare to lose to The Zeke!"

"Because he's in it to win it, word," Justin finished, strapping his own life jacket on. "We know already. Don't you ever get tired of saying that?"

Beth nibbled on her lip and twisted her hands, and so Ezekiel offered her a few hesitant but reassuring pats on the shoulder. "S'okay, homes. Kevin a'ready paired e'erone up so that each team'd have someone on it who could drive the boat thing, eh. S'long as ya wear your floating vest, you'll be perfectly fine."

"So I guess I'll be on paintball duty then, huh? You'd better watch out, Zeke, 'cuz I'm the sharpest shooter in the wild west."

Ezekiel didn't really understand that last part, but he got the implication. He gave Beth a few more pats before she ran off to get her gear from Kevin. Once he'd helped her in, the intern removed a sticky note from his back pocket and began directing the ex-campers to their jet skis.

"Cody, you're with Courtney. Eva, Beth. Trent and Tyler, Ezekiel and Bridgette, Katie and Sadie, and Harold and Justin. Noah dude, that means you're going to be flying solo."

"What, are you kidding me?"

"We have an uneven amount of people, man, and according to our little buddy Zeke, your mad video game skills render you enough of a threat on your own. So unless someone else wants to drop out…"

No one did. The jet-skis had been off-limits ever since they'd arrived, and they were all itching to have a go on them. With a mutter of annoyance, Noah strapped on his life jacket and took a running start along the dock before reaching the water. Apparently his plan had been to splash as many people as possible, but due to his small size and the distance his leap had put between him and everybody else, the only thing that did get splattered was his jet ski.

"So… Erm, Ezekiel, wasn't it?"

"Th-that's me, homes. Oh."

It was her. He hadn't seen her since Camp Wawanakwa, but he recognized her instantly. Aside from Eva, she was the other girl who had wanted to strangle him. He scratched at the back of his neck, and after she finished the last bite of her sandwich she started rubbing at the sleeve of her wetsuit. Apparently she felt just as awkward with the whole situation.

"I don't suppose you know how to drive a jet ski, do you?"

"Uh, well… Yeah, I sp got this, yo. I've driven the tractor 'round back on my farm loads a' times, and this can't be much different'n that, eh. You'll be safe with The Zeke. Word."

"Reassuring," she said, and now she was smiling. "but I've been driving these things practically half my life. You'd better take this."

"Uh… Yeah. Okay, homes."

Bridgette dropped the paintball gun into his arms and went for the jet ski much in the same way Noah had. Ezekiel joined her a moment later, and she helped pull him out of the water and onto their little craft.

"You do know how to use the paintball gun though, right?"

He nodded. "Been usin' these kinds a' things practically half my life, eh."

She nodded back, revved the engine of their jet ski a bit, then raised one hand to her face. "Nothing personal, Court, but Zeke and I are going to wipe you out!"

"Ha! Don't count your chickens before they hatch, Bridge! After all, I was a C.I.T.!"

"Chicken is right," Eva muttered from their other side. Ezekiel glanced over to see her hunched over the front of her jet ski, Beth clinging one-handedly to her from behind. A quick survey showed that Tyler was in charge of his team's gun, so he and Trent wouldn't be much of a threat, and hopefully the same could be said of Harold. Ezekiel was more concerned about Sadie- she was grinning deviously at him, miming shooting him from two jet skis away. Directly in the middle of them all sat Noah, alone, anxiously examining his steering controls.

"This," Ezekiel murmured, "is gonna be for the dresses, homie."

"Did you say something, Zeke?" Bridgette asked, casting a glance back over her shoulder.

"I said, uh, 'Let's lick their butts, eh'!"

"You mean kick… right?"

"Racer dudes, listen up!" Kevin stood at the end of the dock, hands cupped around his mouth. "The area you cover won't be a very large one. What you're gonna do is take your jet skis and drive right around the main island. Continue past it and you'll reach Boney Island- it's on a pretty straight course, so you shouldn't miss it. Right on the shore you'll find seven flags, one for each team. Take one flag and then drive back here. The first team to drop their flag into this bucket is the winner."

"Heh- Is that all?" Tyler teased, hefting his gun.

"Oh yeah. As you have all noticed, each team has one driver and one sniper- except for our buddy Noah. So sad for him. Snipers can shoot at other snipers and other drivers, but please try to avoid hitting each other's goggles, 'cuz then you could crash and Chris will pro'lly kill me. And you guys too."

"Then, um… Like, what's the point of the guns?" Katie asked, severely disappointed.

"Distractions. And pelting the sharks, if Chris left any of them around. Faces are still fair game, technically, and no one likes being shot in the cheek or ear, am I right? Same goes for hands. Hit your opponent's hands or nail the 'Off' button on their jet ski and you could slow them down considerably. Just remember what I said about crashing, all right? Eva?"

Eva made a scoffing noise and Beth's eyes widened in fear behind her goggles.

"That's about it. I'd make a really great host for the show, wouldn't I? Comes from so much time around Chris, I guess. Okay, okay, dudes. On my mark… Now get set… And go!"

Ezekiel cried out as the jet ski hurtled forward beneath him. The paintball gun lifted from his hands at the momentum, and only a quick fumble for it kept it from tumbling into the waves.

"Woo-hoo!" Bridgette cheered, gunning their ride even more. They pulled out in front of Katie and Sadie and then Courtney and Cody. A few seconds more and they passed Noah so close that his jet ski nearly capsized in their wake.

"Not so tough are ya now, eh homes?"

"Shut it, Homeschool! Ow! Ow, hey! No fair!" Sadie had just plugged him on the arm with a round of blue paint. She exchanged an air-five with Cody, who had blasted Noah's other side at the same time.

"All right Zeke, we're coming up on Harold and Justin now. Show them what for!"

"With much of a pleasure doin' business, eh." Ezekiel had hunted deer in the woods before and once or twice a moose, sort of, but sniping from the cover of tree branches or undergrowth was completely different than trying to aim in, well, this kind of situation. His first two shots missed entirely. The third hit Harold in a splatter of orange.

"Traitor!" Harold shouted back, firing his own gun. He hit their jet ski twice, and then Bridgette pulled ahead of them. Ezekiel twisted awkwardly, aimed, and shot Justin right in the crook of his elbow. He jerked their ride to the side, wailing and shaking out his injured limb while behind him Harold shouted, "Correct, correct! You have to correct before we tip! Gosh!"

"Tyler next. See if you can blind him in the goggles before he shoots back."

"On it. I'll just need a closer shot first, yo."

Bridgette adjusted their course, leaning forward and practically standing as they hit the wake of Trent's jet ski; Ezekiel was nearly thrown from the seat in the process. "Hey Trent!" Bridgette shouted. She twisted out of the wake as they turned the corner of the island, flinging a spray of water over both boys as she continued with, "You drive a jet ski like a guy!"

"Oh-ho! I don't think so!" Tyler unleashed rapid and random fire upon them. Even from this distance most missed completely, and Ezekiel took advantage of the close range to decorate Trent's hands and dashboard in orange patches. His next shot took Tyler between the eyes. The jock lurched backwards, tipping their jet ski dangerously, and though Trent's quick reflexes kept them from capsizing, Bridgette and Ezekiel managed to pass them by.

"You're really good at this, homes!" he gasped out to her.

"What can I say? I practically grew up out on the water. You're not a bad shot yourself. Now let's catch up with Eva."

They were coming up on the front of Camp Wawanakwa now. Two girls lay on the main dock apparently sunning themselves, and as the jet ski ripped past one of them cried, "What the heck was that?" Then they were in the open water again.

"I think we might be gainin' on 'em, homes!"

"We'd better be! I'm drafting!"

Ezekiel wasn't sure what that meant, but he readied himself to shoot anyway. He liked Beth, but Eva was, well, Eva, and he also liked living. But a race was a race, and really, everyone was fair game in a free-for-all. They couldn't hold that against him.

"Almost… there…"

A sudden engine roar behind them made Bridgette gasp and flinch. Ezekiel twisted, paintball gun held high, just in time to get smacked in the face with a wall of water. "Wha-?"

"Noah! Argh! I thought we lost you! Darn single-riders. Zeke, take him down like he's hot!"

Both of Noah's arms were coated in blue and orange paint, but most of his face had gone unscathed. He risked one quick glance back over his shoulder, then gasped and swerved as Ezekiel opened fire on him.

"Pick on the loner, why don't you!"

"Boney Island is just ahead now. Come on, Zeke! We can do this!"

Beth sprang onto the sand, ran across the shore, tripped once, then snatched up a flag and scurried back to Eva. Noah was gaining speed fast despite his swerving; he'd reach it in a moment more. Ezekiel clutched Bridgette's shoulder tightly with his left hand, holding and shooting the paintball gun with only his right. He was standing too, standing a bit and leaning forward, aiming, giving all he had to get his chance at plugging Noah…

"Zeke! Get down!"

"I got this, eh!" But he lowered himself slightly. Pointing the barrel carefully…

Eva and Beth shot by them, heading the other way, and the force of their passing sent Bridgette and Ezekiel jerking to the right, crashing hard into the wake of Noah's jet ski with a great whoosh! Ezekiel toppled into the lake. His life vest kept him floating, but he was coughing water when he surfaced.

"Bri'gette! Yo, Bri'gette! Where are ya, homes? I can't… I can't swim, eh! Bri'gette?"

"Zeke, look out!"

Something unreasonably heavy crashed into the back of the head, and the world turned black. The next thing he knew he was lying face-up in the warm sand. Bridgette was crouched over him and his lips were tingling something fierce.

"Ezekiel?"

He blinked once, then screwed up his eyes against the sunlight. It filtered through her hair, turning it a shimmery gold, and little blonde locks fell past her face.

"… Bri'gette?"

"Oh, thank goodness," she murmured, sitting back on her heels. "For a moment there I was really worried for you. But none of your limbs are broken and now you're awake, so… so yeah. Everything's fine. Thank goodness for that."

Ezekiel sat up slowly and pressed his fingers to his lips. "Yo, didya… didya just kiss me?"

Her cheeks turned a slight shade of pink at the accusation. "You remember that? I thought you were- I mean… No, it wasn't a kiss. It was just CPR. For your breathing." She glanced away, folded her arms, and blew strands of wet hair from her eyes. "It's a surfer thing. We all know how to do it."

"I've ne'er kissed a girl afore. It feels pretty funny, eh. Not really like I thought it'd be."

"Again, it was not a-" Bridgette's eyes were Granny-Smith-green, and they suddenly widened as she turned back to him and broke off mid-protest. "Zeke? Are you okay? You look a little…"

Ezekiel frowned, his gaze locked on distant puffy clouds. "Peanut butter."

"What?"

He ran his fingers beneath his dripping hair, rubbing at his scalp, closing his eyes. "Yo, dawg, The Zeke… The Zeke don't feel so great anymore." When he glanced up again a moment later he weakly added, "Y'know, Bri'gette… ya look just like Noah when ya get scared. He does that same thing with his arms and his eyes and… but when you do it ya make it look really… pretty."

"Hold on- peanut butter? You don't mean- that sandwich I ate- CPR- Oh, please don't tell me that you're allergic to- Argh! Ezekiel!" Bridgette locked her arms beneath his own and proceeded to drag him along the beach, slipping in the sand as they went along. "Stupid, stupid, stupid! We have to get you back to camp right now! Noah! Tyler! Trent! We're leaving!"

Ezekiel glanced to his right to see Noah, dripping wet, spring up from the ground with Ezekiel's hoody and life jacket in his arms. Ezekiel didn't have much memory of the trip back to Playa Des Losers, only that his fellow ex-campers were already there and that someone - Kevin? - had some sort of thing to treat him with. Tylenol? An EpiPen? He couldn't even remember, only that sometime later he fell asleep, and when he woke again he heard Noah and Bridgette talking in soft voices.

"… They're not exactly waterproof," Noah was protesting, "and besides, my swim trunks don't have pockets. Of course I didn't have one on me."

"He could have died. I almost killed him!" Into the blankets she mumbled, "I am a horrible person."

"Okay, first of all, if anyone here is a horrible person, it would be Courtney. I hate to say so to your face, but you saw her back there. Seriously, she hardly spared him a glance. She literally dragged Cody back to their jet-ski and took off. Second of all, Homeschool didn't come anywhere close to dying. He's got a sensitivity and that's it. I'm the one with the life-threatening peanut allergy."

"Which I suppose is why you haven't come within three feet of me."

"That would be the reason, yes."

"I still can't believe I actually almost- Oh, I think he's awake now."

At her words, Ezekiel lifted his arms and pushed down his fluffy sheets. Once Mount Comforter had been obliterated he was able to see Noah and a very anxious Bridgette staring back at him.

"Zeke? How you feeling?"

"Mm… pretty good, eh. 'Course The Zeke's been better afore, but…"

Bridgette embraced him with warm arms before he could finish, still in her wetsuit. "Oh Zeke, I am so sorry about what happened back there on the island. I can't even imagine what you must have been thinking."

"'I should brain myself with jet skis more often if it means the pretty girl will kiss me again'," Noah offered; Bridgette only chuckled and released Ezekiel's neck.

"Seriously, if there's anything I can do to make it up to you…"

He smiled, his eyes wandering down her arms. "Ya a'ready brought me back to the infirma-whatsit, homes. You saved me."

"Anyone would have done the same," she replied, and elbowed Noah harshly in the stomach when he started false-coughing Courtney's name. "But seriously, if you come up with something, let me know, okay? I so owe you big time."

Ezekiel finally nodded, knowing that it was better to simply go along with what she said than try to argue with her, and she picked up a bundle from the foot of his bed.

"You got tossed on the rocks after you went unconscious. Your arm got scratched - thank goodness that intern was wrong about the sharks - and the sleeve of your jacket got a little torn. I, um… I sewed up the hole while we were waiting for you to wake up here, so if you were wondering about that… It was the least I could do after the allergy issue."

"Ya fixed it?"

Her face turned pink around her ears and neck. "Is that weird?"

"Nope, nope." Ezekiel refolded his hoody and set it down on his lap before giving her his best smile. "Thanks a lot, Bri'gette. For e'erythin'."

She smiled back, then stood. "I really am glad that you're okay, you know, and I've bothered you enough for one day. Get a little more rest, Zeke, and I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

"Tonight," he promised. "The Zeke'll be up again by then, eh. Word!"

"Oh, all right. Tonight. See you then, Zeke. Come on, Noah. Say good-bye to him."

"Good-bye, Homeschool."

Bridgette gave one last wave before she turned out the lights and softly shut the door. After she had gone, Ezekiel slowly leaned back into his pillow and spent several long moments staring up at the faint swirl patterns that decorated the ceiling.

"Wow…"