A/N: Oh yeah! Semi-finals! TWO BIG SURPRISES COMING UP! You'll be shocked. So stay put, because you're in for the final stretch! Review, disclaimer is in the first chapter.
"CAMPERS! WELCOME TO THE SEMI-FINALS! TODAY, WE'LL REWARD OUR CHALLENGERS WITH AN ALL YOU CAN EAT PANCAKE BREAKFAST! THAT'S RIGHT, GENUINE FOOD BYPRODUCT SERVED WITH FRESH INGREDIENTS RELATIVELY CLOSE TO THEIR EXPIRATION DATES!" Chris's voice screamed through the loudspeaker as I got changed. I guess I wouldn't die at today's breakfast, just as long as I stuck to pancakes. Today was the triple dog dare challenge. But I have a feeling there's a twist, something I don't know of, something made because I was here. Hopefully it wasn't bad.
I was the third one to get pancakes, after Gwen got one with dirt on it, and I had to listen to Owen jump with joy because there was all you can eat pancakes.
"Don't be shy dude. Four words: ALL YOU CAN EAT! You've got the pancakes, I've got the stomach." Owen said. Chef got angry at this and dumped the entire table of pancakes on him. Owen emerged out of the pile in a few seconds. "Oh yeah! Now you're talking baby!" Chef was utterly shocked.
He ate the rest of the pancakes, but I wasn't hungry. I only ate a few, about four. For me, that's not a lot. I must be nervous because I don't know what lies ahead for me. I had to start thinking of a way to get myself eliminated. I already decided that I wanted to eliminate myself, but after Heather's elimination. There has to be a double elimination. I can't compete against Gwen and Owen! I'll surely win! I can't afford to let them lose! I will reveal who I really am at the end, the very end of the race. I'm sure they'll ask why I chose not to compete against them. I had the ultimate reveal completely planned out. But there's a way I could still be involved…I think.
After breakfast, we all headed to the amphitheater. It was absolutely silent. No one talked to each other. They must all be thinking about how to win. Okay, maybe not Owen, but certainly Gwen and Heather.
"Campers!" Chris welcomed us. He beckoned us to desks that we promptly sat in. "Welcome to the semi-finals! The producers ran out of insane ways of torturing you, so they asked the ousted campers for ideas! Turns out they had a lot! They provided us with the sickest, most twisted and insane dares imaginable in TDI's version of SPIN THE BOTTLE!" Chris pointed to a wheel that had a huge plastic bottle with pictures of the ousted campers dotting the wheel's circumference. "Starting with Izzy, Trent, Cody, Justin, Noah, Leshawna, Lindsay, Beth, Tyler, Harold, DJ, Geoff, Bridgette, Duncan, Courtney, Eva, Katie and Sadie, and the homeschooled misogynistic country boy Ezekiel! Put 'em all together and we've got a high stakes game of I TRIPLE DOG DARE YOU!" Chef had walked in, cross dressing with a pink evening gown. Pink does not look good on him.
"What is this, grade five?" Heather asked. "Why don't we just do Seven Minutes of Heaven in a skanky basement closet?"
"Yeah haha, good call! Let's do it!" Owen was promptly slapped by Heather.
"Hold on Owen! We have one slight catch!" Here comes my fate. "Due to Julie's unbelievable ability to excel at her challenges, we want to give other campers a chance to win. So what do we do?" He looked at us. "We exempt her from this challenge. Since she is now exempted, technically, she's been eliminated."
"WHAT?!" I stood up. "What the fuck Chris?! What the fuck?!"
"Hey! I was joking about the eliminated part! No, you're still in the game, but now, you're what we call the Ghost Player. Here's how it works: the Ghost Player was created by the producers. Basically, Julie is still in this competition. Due to our under spending, we actually have about $500,000 left over, so because she has won so many challenges, but we don't want to ruin the other campers' chances of winning, we'll still reward her with the 100 G for being one of the best players we've seen. The Ghost Player does not have to participate in the semi-finals." He stopped to let everyone take it all in. "That will be all. Anyways—each player will take turns spinning the bottle. The camper you land on determines the dare you'll perform. You can take the dare yourself and win a 'Get Out of Dare' freebie OR inflict the dare upon a fellow camper in the hopes of ruling them out."
"And if we refuse to do the dare?" Heather slyly asked.
"Oh, not a good option. Anyone who chickens out of their dare will be sent directly to the Dock of Shame, board the Boat of Losers, do not go to bonfire, do not collect marshmallow, and do not win $100,000! Okay, who's ready to eliminate themselves first?"
"Oh what the hell, let's get this over with." Gwen stepped up to the wheel and gave the bottle a good spin.
"Okay, let's get this party started! Duncan's dare: lick Owen's armpit!" Chris announced. Oh wow, now this is torture. "Remember, there's a Ghost Player." He ran to me and dragged me by his side. "You can inflict your dare upon Julie if need be, ONLY IF YOU HAVE A FREEBIE!" Now it was my turn to panic. "Gwen, you can perform the dare yourself or dare one of your competitors to do it. Either way, someone's licking some armpit in the next minute." Gwen smiled wickedly.
"I triple dog dare Heather."
"You can imagine that you're licking an ice cream cone!" Owen reassured her.
"Shut up Owen!" Heather yelled.
"Minus the BO."
"I'm warning you!" She licked the armpit.
"Oh and the pit hair." She fell over, completely aghast.
"Oh man! That was so sick!" Chris and Chef went up to her. I followed. "I nearly puked! Nearly." Chef nodded. It was Heather's turn to spin the bottle. It landed on Ezekiel. "Ezekiel's dare is to chew your own toenail slowly."
"Gwen! I dare Gwen!"
"Don't choke on it honey." Heather sardonically wished her well. Gwen walked to a chair and sat on it. Chef clipped off one of her toenails and Gwen started to chew it. "He said chew it slowly." Heather chided. Gwen started to chew it slowly, and then gulped it down with one big gulp.
"There. Satisfied?"
"Very. I'm just picturing Trent watching this and something tells me he won't be eager to lock lips with you anytime soon."
"You should talk pit breath!"
Owen went up to spin the bottle and he got Beth's dare: re-chewing a wad of Harold's gum. "I WILL TAKE THE DARE!" I gasped.
"Dude, its chewed gum. HAROLD'S chewed gum."
"I know! But it must be pretty special if he's been saving it." Chef put on some gloves and used tongs to take it out of the jar. He then gave it to Owen, who chewed it and described it, much to my disgust. "Full body, delicate fruity aroma with a hint of citrus, robust yet balanced, summery, and a crunchy center." Oh God! Boogers! Harold, you are one sick ticket! Owen blew a bubble and popped it.
"Owen wins the first freebie!" Chris announced. "And a tetanus shot—if you want." Owen politely refused the shot.
"Welcome back to TDI's semi-finals in a challenge we like to call I TRIPLE DOG DARE YOU! Gwen, you're up next." Chris greeted the TV audience. Gwen spun the wheel and landed on Cody's dare: drop a tray of ice in your undies and let them melt. The dare wasn't that bad. So Gwen took the dare and got the freebie.
"My turn! And I'm taking the dare, no matter what it is!" Heather announced, and then spun the wheel. It was Tyler's dare: eat jelly from Owen's belly button. It was absolutely gruesome, and she almost collapsed, but she had to be put on life support. But then she vomited, which almost prompted me to puke as well.
I don't think I want to detail what happened through my thoughts. Better experienced one time and never to relive it again. I came close to puking a few times, especially when Chris puked when Owen ate dog food. That's when everyone started puking. After quite a few rounds, Owen had received a bunch of freebies and Gwen had only one. Heather still had none. Strangely, no one inflicted a single dare on me. I guess I should thank them for that. Then came a true twist, but I knew it already.
"Chris! I'd like to give away half my freebies!"
"Uh…well…uh…okay! Are you sure?" Chris consented.
"Uh, hello?! Ix nay on the on spriacy cay, totally unfair!" Heather used pig Latin. "Get out your rule book and do your rule checking thing! They're obviously going to gang up on me and whoop me with theirs! There has to be a rule about this kind of thing!" She yelled to Chris.
"Sorry, not a rule to be had! Nada." Chris replied. He must want Heather off the island too. Owen and Gwen inflicted their dares upon Heather, who had no freebies, and then it came to her doom: Lindsay's dare: have your head shaved by Chef.
"LINDSAY RULES!" Gwen high fived Owen. I jumped up and down with joy.
"What's it going to be Heather?" Chris asked once she was in another chair. "Are you going to do the dare or the Walk of Shame?" The razor got closer and closer to Heather, and then she kicked it out of Chef's hand. In an "unfortunate" twist of events, the razor ended up shaving most of her hair anyway. "Wow. Well that was an unfortunate accident. Looks like Heather's out."
"What are you talking about? He shaved my head!" Heather screamed.
"True, but you didn't actually accept the dare. If you had, you'd still be bald, but at least you'd be in the game!" Chris mocked.
"That was harsh! Tough break." Owen took pity on her. Tough break? Oh please! Heather deserved it! I wasn't about to voice my opinion though. Heather let out a scream that could've been heard by the ousted campers! Oh wait, it was!
"Sorry, them's the rules!" Chris said.
"I thought you said there weren't any rules!" Heather exclaimed.
"Yeah…I know, it's complicated. But here's the thing: you lose, they win."
"NO WAY!" Owen, Gwen, and I all shouted. I ran to Gwen and Owen and started cheering.
"Fine, but you'll be hearing from my lawyers!" Heather threatened.
"Yeah yeah, I know. It's going to be a long ride." Chris laxly dismissed.
"A LONG RIDE TO COURT WHEN I SUE YOU FOR EVERYTHING YOU'VE GOT!" Heather screamed when she got on the boat.
"And then there were three. Tune in next week to see who will win the check for $100,000 on TOTAL…DRAMA…ISLAND!" Chris told the TV audience.
"YOU WANT DRAMA?! YOU'LL BE PENNILESS! JOBLESS! YOUR NAME WILL BE ON EVERY BLOG FROM HERE TO GREAT BRITAIN!" Heather kept making empty threats. Owen still waved good bye.
"I'm going to do it." I whispered.
"What are you going to do?" Gwen asked.
"I'm going to become the Ghost Player. I'm going to eliminate myself from this competition."
"WHAT?! NO! WE CAN'T HAVE YOU GO!!!" Chris begged. "You're our highest rated player! We have to milk the profits while they're there! You're moral support for our two remaining competitors!"
"BUT THERE'S NO COMPETITION WHEN I'M THERE! I'LL JUST WIN LIKE I ALWAYS DO! I DON'T WANT TO DO THAT! You said that you wanted to give the other campers a chance. Well there's their chance! They can, for once, actually win! I don't want the 100 Gs anymore! I already have it! I don't want to infringe on my fellow friends' right to the prize."
"But Julie, you made a promise remember? 'I'd really like it if you could stay with me until the very end. Even if we have to fight each other, I'll be glad it's you, because I know I'm fighting someone who gives their all every day.' And you said you'd be glad too. Why are you backing down?" Gwen reminded me of that promise from long ago.
"I didn't realize the potential I could go to here. I've become good—too good. And I'd die before I'd throw a challenge. So it leaves me with only one choice." I started crying. "I'm going to have to back out. You're both great people, the nicest people I've ever met. Don't worry about me. I've gotten all I could possibly get from this experience. Don't ruin yourselves over me. Just focus on getting the money. You two have to focus."
"AW MAN! I DON'T WANT YOU TO LEAVE!" Chris whined. "Okay, whatever you want, we'll do it."
"There is nothing I want and there is nothing you can do to stop me. Also, I will require that I stay here. Don't want to give off the illusion that I'm no longer in this competition."
"No worries! The audience already knows." Chris smiled sadistically. "Weren't expecting that were you? We're running 24/7 baby! There's no such thing as breaks around here! But we've got down all of your requests, and remember: Big Brother is watching you—all of you." He laughed as he walked away.
Night fell, and Gwen and I were the only ones in the cabin.
"Your stuff is already packed." Gwen noticed. It was true. My stuff was all packed up, everything, except for what I would need for the Rejected Olympic Run tomorrow.
"Yeah, but we'll all be leaving tomorrow, so why waste time packing up?" I reasoned.
"Yeah I guess…" Gwen agreed. "Why do you have to leave? You said you'd be glad we were both fighting against each other. What happened along the way?"
"I guess I know the game too well. But hey, I won't be gone. I'll be right by your side. Hey, what if I tell you why I really didn't want to compete after the race? As a surprise?" Gwen remained silent. I elbowed her. "Come on, that's got to at least motivate you to win, make you laugh even."
"Yeah it's a good motivator. Definitely!" Her spirit picked up again.
"Good! Now, get some rest. You want to be in tip-top shape for the finals!"
"Yeah all right. You know, there was always something strange about you, but I can't quite put my finger…" she fell asleep while she was pointing at me. Her hand fell to the bed. I repositioned it.
"You have no idea Gwen." I smiled and went to sleep too.
Me: Hey. Lane here. Sorry if the sudden elimination came as a shock. I thought it'd be best to leave Julie out of the finals because she could win easily.
Gwen: But I need her as emotional support!
Me: Why do you think I didn't send her off on the Boat of Losers?
Gwen: So that's why...
Julie: Gwen...
Gwen: You! You ruined everything!
Julie: At least I still got 100 K!
Gwen: Oh right. Well, don't you want more money?
Julie: I don't. I want to let you and Owen have a chance.
Bridgette: You've got to admit, that's pretty nice of her.
Gwen: Bridgette!
Bridgette: Lane, Julie, Duncan and Courtney are totally together!
Julie, Gwen, and I: WHAT?!
Bridgette: Yeah! Duncan gave Roxas to Courtney! Everything worked just like how I thought it would!
Me: That's great!
Julie: Well, that's two happy couples: Duncan and Courtney, and Bridgette and Geoff.
Me: There's one more...coming up NEXT!
Gwen: Huh?
Me: SHIT! I have GOT to stop blabbing so much! But we're nearing the end folks, like, really nearing the end! Twists coming up NEXT!
Julie: I swear she's turning into Chris...