Next chapter here and ready to be read! Thanks for reviewing, Elizabeth Life Stone, Ali6132, and the guest reviewer.
Losing Bridgette put our team at a disadvantage in numbers, and as if that wasn't enough, DJ was feeling down. The only thing he'd done this season was disintegrate a mummy dog, knock a bird out of the sky and kick a baby seal. He was sure the mummy dog had cursed him, no matter how many times the rest of us told him he didn't. Still, we were all pretty down. Except Lindsay.
"Enough downy talk, you guys!" she insisted. "We aren't quitters, we're fighters! And we're winners!"
"Girl's got fire in her eyes!" Leshawna said approvingly.
I grinned. "You're right, Lindsay. We can win our next challenge, I know we can." I frowned for a moment, remembering what Bridgette had told me. "By the way, did you hear what Bridgette was saying before Chris shoved her out of the plane? I'd been talking to her earlier, and I was starting to get used to deciphering what she was saying with the pole still in the way."
My team shook their heads.
"Well," I said, "Bridgette lost out, and she told me that it's because she was manipulated and drawn in by A-"
"Ladies? I took the liberty of smuggling a few things out of First Class."
Damn it! I try to warn my team about Alejandro when his team's up in First Class, only for him to appear with some of the First Class snacks for the rest of us.
"I better not." Lindsay said politely. "I might break ou – is that a Snuffers bar?" She accepted the chocolate eagerly.
Okay, fine. I didn't refuse it, either. It's not like accepting a snack from First Class was going to hurt. Besides, if I refused, Alejandro could have taken that as an indication that I didn't trust him. I needed to be a good actress.
He went to Team Amazon next. "Sierra, my former teammate." he smiled, holding out another snack. "I smuggled this one out just for you."
Heather stepped in front of Sierra. "Well, she doesn't want it!" she informed him fiercely. "We never trust the enemy, especially the excessively disgustingly flirty ones!"
"No thanks...enemy." Sierra said with a giggle after she spoke. She still sounded so perky.
At that moment, Chris called us to the common area. There was a lifeboat there, which all of us sat in.
"Sweet boat, guy!" Tyler complimented. "Right, Lindsay?"
"Um...sure." Lindsay said. "Dave, is it?" Tyler's face fell. Within the last couple of weeks, she'd so far called him three names, and none of them were right.
Chris was the only one who got a lifejacket "Because there's fourteen of you, and only one valuable me." The floor of the plane opened up, and we hurtled down into open water, driving towards...the Statue of Liberty?
"Omigosh, New York!" I squealed, just like I was Katie or Sadie. But I'd dreamed of coming to New York for years.
"I know! Do you know how many stores are in this city?" Lindsay squealed next to me.
Once we got out of the water and onto the dock, Chris explained the challenge to us. The first part, at least. We had to all climb up the Statue of Liberty. Once our whole team was up, we would grab the baby carriage tied up there that was in our team colour, and go back down.
"LOL, Chris, I think your mischievous spirit makes the game." gushed Sierra.
"Thank you, Sierra." Chris said. "It's nice to be appreciated."
"Appreciated? I love you! I always did, even waaaay back when you were making those terrible movies about talking cats." Sierra said, making us all snicker. "I was even going to call my first fan club the Christians, but that name was already taken."
Chris was starting to look uncomfortable. I glanced around, and I thought I saw Alejandro smirk. I wondered why, but as long as it wasn't anyone on my team, I was okay with it. Unless it involved shoving someone off the statue once we were at the top, but no one would be that ruthless...anyway, it was probably something to do with Sierra.
After we'd gotten the carriage and gone down, we would take a boat in our team colour to Central Park – there were buoys marking the way.
"So when do we go shopping?" Lindsay asked.
"You don't." Chris told her.
"NOOOOO!"
DJ started climbing first. "Ow!" he exclaimed. "What are these ropes made of?"
"Steel wool. Strong and rough, just like the Big Apple!" Chris answered. Because we could pull the ropes to get our team up faster, we decided to have our strongest teammate go first, then the rest of us in order of weight. DJ was our strongest team member, and Leshawna was a lot plumper than Lindsay and I, so she climbed next. I followed, while Lindsay, who was model-thin and waif like, was last.
We were the second team to get to the top, even though both teams had more people than us. Heather was just grabbing the carriage for Team Amazon, and Team CIRRRRH was still trying to pull Owen up.
"I'll get the carriage." DJ volunteered, carefully walking up Lady Liberty's crown to the edge, where our yellow carriage was hanging. Finally, we slid down a fireman's pole, and jumped into our boat.
We even passed Team Amazon, since Cody had fallen out of their boat and they had to go back for him.
"We're totally in first place!" squealed Lindsay.
"But taking a boat to Central Park doesn't make sense!" Leshawna objected.
I thought about it. "Yeah, that's true! The park's, like, right in the middle of the city!"
Maybe that's why the next buoy led into the sewer. No, I'm serious. It was disgusting, and dangerous. Ever heard the myth about giant alligators living in the sewers? Yeah, turns out it was true.
We reached the dock where Chris was waiting first, with Team CIRRRRH right behind us.
"Where's Heather's boat?" wondered Alejandro, just as an alligator coughed out Team Amazon and their boat.
Chef made the alligator sign a waiver (no, seriously), and it was time for the next part of the challenge. Except Sierra started gushing to Chris about something else before we could get into it. "You are such a brilliant commander! That's why you always stood out in your boy band!"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa – Chris was in a boy band?" Owen said.
Sierra sang a few lines to prove her point, although Chris obviously wanted to move on. Probably because all of the stuff Sierra was telling us about Chris...she made it sound amazing, but it just made Chris look ridiculous.
"I really admire the way you never let mockery get to you." Sierra went on obliviously. "I'll have to include that in your obituary. I already have a draft, wanna hear? 'Chris McLean was born in 1978'-"
"That is it!" Chris bellowed furiously. "Zip it! PERMANENTLY!" Sierra obediently went quiet.
Our next task was to pick a person to ride in the baby carriage – the "baby" – and then each team would take a different path to the pond in the middle of the park. Since we arrived at the dock first, we got the shortest path. There would be three apples in the pond, and one of us would have to dive in and grab one without using our hands. Then we'd run to the finish line. Whoever got there first won.
Lindsay volunteered to ride in the carriage. "I love it when people call me baby."
"Make a mental note of that, bro." I heard Noah muttering to Tyler.
Tyler patted his tracksuit pockets. "I don't have a pen." What did he think "mental" note meant?
Noah was Team CIRRRRH's baby, and Cody was the baby for Team Amazon.
And then, it was time for the music carriage. I think there were speakers hidden in the carriages, because as we ran, we could hear all of the other competitors singing.
Courtney began the song. "What's not to love about New York City, the taxis honk out a New York ditty
The crime is high, the pigeons fly, what's not to love about New York?"
"The lights are brighter, the fun is funner, the bagels are bagelier and the bums are bummer," Owen sang.
"The dirt and grime make every alley shine, what's not to love about New York?"
"The stores and the fashion," Lindsay sang, "Big shows where stars cash in,
It's crazy cause the city never sleeps!"
"Dance break!" DJ called out, and began dancing...at least until Leshawna started dancing. Much as I liked her, she had one delusion, that she was good at dancing. Actually, she'd been in a dance challenge last season, and only won because she was up against Trent, who pretended he twisted his ankle so Gwen's team would win.
"For the love of dance, STOP!" Lindsay and I called out together.
You wouldn't believe it, but our short path didn't give us the advantage. Our teams were neck and neck, and all we had to do was grab a giant apple and get to the finish line. We had to decide who would dive in.
Leshawna shook her head. "My hair!"
"My lip gloss!" added Lindsay.
"My shoes!" I said. They would be ruined if I swam in them. Not like jumping around on icebergs didn't ruin them, but anyway.
"Fine, but it we lose, it's not my fault." DJ told us. While he dived in, I heard a very interesting conversation going on.
"Central Park is so romantic, don't you find?" Alejandro commented to Heather.
"Whatever." she replied. "I know you've been messing with Sierra's head, so back off or you'll wish you had."
"My wish doesn't involve backing off."
"Ugh, just go play with your stupid team and leave us alone!"
"You're beautiful when you play hard to get."
Much as I hated Heather, I had to give her props for that. She didn't know what I knew, and yet, she already seemed to hate him – well, apparently he'd done something to Sierra, but she wasn't going to be eliminated.
At that moment, Alejandro went to leave Heather alone, and saw me watching. He instantly switched on a charming smile and came over. "So how are things going for your team?" he asked, as if he actually cared.
"Not great." I muttered, trying not to act suspicious. "I miss having Bridgette with us. She's one of my best friends, especially since her boyfriend is also my brother." I kept my cool, and then smiled at the other competitor. "I'm just going to have to stay strong and focus."
By this time, DJ had begun dragging our apple back, pulling at the stalk with his teeth.
Unfortunately, he was stopped by a bunch of snapping turtles, which all attacked him. But he got the apple back, although a turtle did get hurt. DJ gently picked it off his clothes and put him back in the pond...where it was eaten by a giant turtle.
Believe it or not, we were only just saved from being last. Team Amazon won, and Team CIRRRRH came last when they realized their carriage had been switched. Alejandro had to run back with the one they had and exchange it for the one with Noah in it.
"You're facing elimination for the first time." Chris told the team. "But...you won't have to go through with it! This was just a reward challenge!"
Our team frowned. "I can't believe it!" I whispered. "I get excited because I think someone on that team will get kicked off, and then no one does!"
During the plane ride, I, of course, didn't get to warn my team about Alejandro, since his team was in Economy Class with us. However, I went to the cargo hold so I could call Bridgette.
"How are you?" I asked.
I could hear Bridgette sniffling on the other end of the line. "I'm at the Aftermath studio with everyone else, but Geoff's avoiding me. I know he'll have to talk to me sooner or later, but how can I apologize when he won't even look at me?"
"Geoff tends to avoid messy situations at first." I told her. "You know he has a right to be mad at you, but he will talk to you eventually. Just be patient. You can try to get him to talk to you during the Aftermath show. Are they still doing the musical thing?"
"I think so." she answered.
"Try to get an apology song ready!" I suggested. "They might let you sing your own song if it looks like it's spontaneous, even if it isn't. You could ask Trent to help you out with the lyrics and music, he should have some ideas."
"I...I don't know, Elle." Bridgette said softly. "I know that he has a right to be mad and he might even see this as dumping me, but I...I can't see my future without him in it!"
"You'll never know until you try." I told her. "And of course it might not work – heck, I'm not sure why I'm not mad at you myself – but you have to try."
"Okay." Bridgette murmured. "Thanks, Elle."
As I rang off, I thought of something. I found Trent's number in my phone, and quickly texted something:
Help Bridgette get Geoff back for the Aftermath? Apology song. Good luck on the Aftermath.
We'll pick up on the Aftermath next chapter. Hope you enjoyed this one.