YOU'RE ON TOTAL DRAMA ISLAND, CHARLIE BROWN: REWRITE!
A/N – Here we go again! Time for me to return to the roots that brought me to the dance on here For those of you that didn't read my Fan Fiction Aftermath IV, I made the announcement that due to not liking where it as headed and how cringe-worthy I found it, I have decided to scrap the original version of this story (I will still keep it up here just so people can compare and see what I'm talking about After all, our past works shouldn't be shamed. But rather reflected on so we can see how we've grown).
Disclaimer – This rewrite is more than just a story that corrects errors and plot holes. It will be a new experience with different outcomes. While many elements will change, such as the addition of Sierra and Alejandro, there will be a couple from the original that I will keep. The only one I will mention is that Snoopy and Woodstock will return as cameramen.
Plot – This is a Total Drama AU fan fiction that asks the question: What if Charlie Brown was the hero of Total Drama Island?
Pairings – (You'll see when they happen, but there will be some canon and fanon pairings)
Chapter One – Welcome To Camp Wawanakwa, Charlie Brown
A yacht traveled across Lake Wawanakwa It's destination was a small island located at the center of the lake. It was one of twenty-five headed for the same destination. Each one carrying a teenage contestant that would compete against one another in a battle of wits, strength, and social skills to be crowned the first ever winner of the new reality show "Total Drama Island".
Or rather, each yacht carried a teenage contestant... except for one.
On this particular yacht, a bald-headed eight year old boy stood at the front of the yacht, waiting to reach his destination. He sighed longingly for home. At that moment, little Charlie Brown began to reflect on how he got in this wild mess.
Charlie Brown and Linus watched Lucy as she paced back and forth impatiently by the front door of her home.
"Pacing won't make anyone come with the news any faster Lucy," Linus spoke after thirty minutes of watching her pace.
"How do you know?!" she cried out. "Have you ever tried it?!"
Linus took a step back as his sister snapped at him. "Well... no..." he nervously admitted.
"Then I'm not convinced it won't!" she retorted. She then returned to her pacing.
"I guess there is something to be said about having facts ready before trying to defend a stance in an argument," Linus whispered to Charlie Brown.
"Do you really think someone from the network will actually show up?" Charlie Brown asked his best friend?
"I'm not going to hold my breath," Linus admitted. "The application said they were looking for contestants that were around the age of sixteen."
"I am around that age!" Lucy retorted, having overheard her brother."
"Lucy... you're only eight," Charlie Brown pointed out.
"Exactly! I'm half way there!" she reasoned. "They're sure to consider my application!"
"Statistically Lucy," her brother spoke up, "These types of shows have thousands upon thousands of applicants. Not only are the odds against you already, but they're more likely to pick a bigger kid that's actually closer to the age group they're looking for."
"Are you kidding me?!" Lucy had stopped pacing and faced the two boys. "Billions of years ago, all of earth was an uninhabitable ball of gas! Life didn't begin until at least one billion years after that! And that was just single-cell organisms! It took another billion years just for fish to come about. And another billion years for dinosaurs. And even more time after that for humanity! Compared to all of that, eight years is nothing!"
Linus and Charlie Brown glanced at one another. It was certainly hard to argue with her logic.
"And besides, look at me!" she continued. "I'm practically a star as is! With my beauty and charming personality, who could say no to someone like me being on their television show?" To emphasize her point, she puffed her black hair and posed like a superstar as she smiled at the vision of being a famous star.
"You forgot modest," Linus replied hoping his sister wouldn't catch on.
Before they could find out if she would, a van with a network logo on the side pulled up to the house. As it stopped, cameramen and an intern exited the van. The blonde-haired intern, who was probably in his early twenties, had the letters TDI on a pin that was pinned to his light blue shirt.
When Lucy saw the pin, she squealed in excitement and raced over to the said intern.
"Hey there kid," he greeted her. "My name's Billy and I'm from the RTN (Reality Teenage Network) Maybe you can help us out here. We're looking for someone who submitted an application to be on this new reality contest Total Drama Island and our paperwork says that they're from this town and on this street."
"Well, you've come to the right place!" Lucy greeted as she struck her superstar pose again. "Just tell me what I need to bring and send the limo!"
Billy chuckled and patted Lucy's head. "Cute, kid. But no. Actually the person we're looking for is a boy."
Lucy's eyes wend wide as the smile from her face quickly changed to one of shock.
"What?! But I'm the one that submitted the audition tape!" she exclaimed.
"Um..." Billy seemed somewhat confused. He then looked down at his clipboard again.
"Nope... no I'm looking for a boy. A boy named... Charlie Brown. He's the one that we're here for. See, he's been selected to be one of the twenty-five contestant to compete on the very first season of Total Drama Island."
"Say WHAT?!" all three kids cried out at once.
"Yup. The host saw the audition tape and absolutely loved it," Billy explained.
To show what he was talking about, he pulled out his phone, hit a couple buttons on it, and brought up the mentioned video. The three kids gathered around to see what Billy was talking about.
On his screen, the video began to play. And much to their surprise, especially Charlie Brown's, they saw the bald headed eight year old staring directly at them. It appeared that he was fiddling with a camera that was recording him.
'Hurry up and get that camera focused! Time is money! Or it would be if I were paying you!' came Lucy's voice off camera.
'I'm trying!' Charlie Brown replied meekly, seeming somewhat nervous at the thought of Lucy becoming impatient. The screen continued to go in and out of focus as the boy tried to adjust the camera.
Finally, the camera was focused and Charlie Brown could see his face staring back at him from the phone perfectly. The video continued.
'There!' Charlie Brown said, staring into the camera. 'That should do it. Now I can finally record your audition Lucy.'
'About time! Now turn it toward me! We've got to get this submitted by tonight!'
'Okay, okay. Good grief,' Charlie Brown muttered. Everyone watched as Charlie Brown on video then proceeded to pick up the recording camera. But as he tried to lift it up, he found himself struggling as it was much heavier than he had thought. Grunting, he managed to hoist the camera as the image on the phone began to move around.
Everyone could hear Charlie Brown, now off screen, grunt as he struggled to get the camera on his shoulder. Seconds later, the image camera began to move uncontrollably as the sound of Charlie Brown struggling could be heard.
'Hold it still!' came Lucy's voice.
'I can't!" Charlie Brown replied. 'It's too heavy! I-UGH!'
The vision on the camera was shown to be rising toward the ceiling rapidly. Then, in an instant, he began to fall toward the ground. When it hit the floor, the screen cracked and the camera rolled over to show Charlie Brown laying on the floor, looking to be in pain as he stared at the ceiling.
'You blockhead!' came Lucy's voice off screen. 'Can't you do ANYTHING right?!'
'...good grief...' Charlie Brown muttered before the screen changed to static.
The kids stared at the now static screen in shock. (Though maybe it would be more accurate to say Charlie Brown was mortified).
As Billy put his phone away, he suddenly noticed that the bald headed boy in front of him was the same as the boy in the audition tape.
"Wait... you're Charlie Brown?" he asked, seeming shocked.
"Um... yes sir," he answered.
Billy scratched his blonde hair as he glanced back and forth from his clipboard to Charlie Brown.
"Uh... well, this is a situation," Billy said aloud. "See, kid. We were under the impression that you were a teenager and not... uh..."
"Eight?"
"Eight?!" Billy exclaimed. "You're only eight?! Oh man, this is a problem indeed. Excuse me a minute, I need to make a phone call."
Billy left the three startled kids behind as he began to punch some buttons on his phone. All Charlie Brown could do was wonder what all this meant.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, Lucy grabbed hold of Linus by the collar of his shirt.
"YOU BLOCKHEAD!" she exclaimed as she shook him. "You submitted the wrong tape! They want Charlie Brown on the show! That was supposed to be my spot! But instead, it's going to him! HIM! THAT Charlie Brown! The one who hasn't won anything in his life! The epitome of failure incarnate! They're going to waste a spot on that show on Charlie Brown of all people!"
Lucy finally released her brother from her shaking, who fell to the ground now feeling dizzy and somewhat woozy.
"I've been robbed!" Lucy continued to rant. "Get me a lawyer! I demand justice!"
Before Linus could even get back to his feet, Lucy grabbed hold of Linus by the collar once again.
"You owe me restitution!" she yelled before finally releasing him for good and stomping off, leaving behind her very startled and (literally) shaken brother.
When he knew it was safe, Charlie Brown approached his friend.
"Have you ever heard of the wrath of a woman's scorn?" Linus asked as he regained his balance.
"I suppose I have," Charlie Brown replied.
"Well, that's nothing compared to the wrath of a woman who's been cheated out of her spot on a reality television show," Linus informed his friend, hoping his wisdom would prevent him from ever having to share the fate he just suffered.
"Dude. No. Way! I've gotta see this!"
The two boys heard a new voice that came from Billy's phone. The blonde intern then approached the two boys again and pointed the screen of his phone to them. On the screen was a man who appeared to be in his early thirties and black hair that appeared to have been overly gelled.
"Holy cow! It's true! It is an eight year old kid!" the man cried out in amazement... and a hint of excitement.
"To be honest sir, I'm kind of surprised you didn't pick up on it earlier," Billy spoke. "After re-watching that tape, I can't understand how you would mistake him for a teenager."
"You know any other eight year old kids that are bald?"
Billy opened his mouth to answer, but stammered when he had no retort.
"Regardless, he's under age Chris," Billy continued. "We can't have him on the show. We'll just have to find someone else for the final spot."
"Oh, ho ho! Don't! You! Dare!"
"Pardon?" Billy questioned, somewhat disturbed by Chris's response.
"Think about it, dude! This is a twist that most reality show hosts can only dream of having on their show! Among a group of teenagers, an eight year old boy is selected to compete among them! How will he fare against them? How will the others react? Will they take him lightly or show no mercy? Will they welcome him or shun him? The possibilities! The suspense! The ratings!
As he heard the man continue to describe his vision, Charlie Brown found himself shaking and becoming weaker and weaker in the knees. This morning, he was making plans to go play some baseball and try to fly a kite. And now, he was being chosen to compete on a reality show he didn't even sign up for.
"What about the fact that he didn't even submit his audition tape intentionally?" Billy questioned.
"That was an accident?!" Chris laughed. "Oh man, that makes it even better! This is like a gift on a silver platter dude! Opportunity has knocked and I was there to answer it!"
"Chris. He didn't even fill out the application to-"
Application, Schmapplication!" Chris interrupted. "His audition tape is the application as far as I'm concerned. I am not passing up this opportunity."
"Chris! The network executives would never allow-"
"You let me handle them!" Chris assured Billy. "They won't care if he's sixteen, eight, five! As long as it draws in the viewers, they will not care! Trust me on this one."
Billy rolled his eyes. The host's obsession with this new turn of events and what it meant for his career was clearly blocking his better judgment.
"That sounds very assuring Chris," Billy sarcastically replied. "But there's still one big problem."
"Sheesh, always looking on the dark side," Chris groaned. "It's a gold mine waiting to happen! This is my career about to take off! What problem could there ;possibly be?!"
Billy took a deep breath and cleared his throat. He then calmly informed Chris of the problem.
"He hasn't agreed to do the show. Legally, we need his consent."
Chris's face went blank and lost color. He realized that his intern was correct. But with this opportunity in front of him, he was not about to let it go so easily.
"Ahem... Charlie Brown is it?" Chris spoke to the boy.
"Yes sir."
"Hey there, Chris McLean. Host of the upcoming new reality show Total Drama Island. Nice to meet you. What do you say? How would you like to be contestant on the show?"
"Well... truthfully, sir. I don't think it sounds like something I would like to do," Charlie Brown admitted.
Chris's eye twitched, but he managed to keep his smile.
"Come on, kid. Think about it," he calmly and politely said. "This is the chance of a life time! You'll be on television! With that comes fame! Fortune! The good life! Don't you want that?"
"Not really," the eight year old answered.
The host gritted his teeth in frustration. But he collected himself quickly and took another deep breath.
"What about meeting new people. This is your chance to make some new friends! Some friends that are older! You'd be the kid with older friends. Doesn't that sound neat?"
"Sounds kind of scary actually."
The frustration could clearly be seen on Chris's face as he grumbled.
"I'll be honest, sir," Charlie Brown continued. "It was my friend's sister who signed up for the show, not me. I didn't even know what your show was until then."
"You mean that girl that was yelling at you just now? Yeah, don't care about her. We've already got someone nastier than her to-"
Chris stopped mid sentence. He suddenly got an idea.
"Tell me something, kid. Does that girl yell at you like that all the time?"
Upon hearing this question, a look of depression overcame Charlie Brown's face. He then sighed as his gaze became focused on the ground. Chris has his lead.
"Yeah, I overheard that little dude," he continued, sounding as sympathetic as possible. "'My spot going to a failure'? Man, that is whack."
Charlie Brown sighed as he reflected on Lucy's words.
"I'll bet she calls you that all the time, doesn't she?"
Charlie Brown sadly nodded in silence.
"I'll bet that a bunch of the other kids pick on you too, don't they?"
Again, the eight year old nodded.
Chris smirked. He had him right where he wanted him.
"You know," he innocently continued, "if I were in your shoes and my friends called me loser and failure, I'd look for any opportunity I could find to prove them all wrong."
Charlie Brown's gaze returned from the ground to Chris on the phone.
"I mean, think about it. What better way to prove them all wrong than by doing it on national television?"
Now Charlie Brown was listening with interest.
"I can see it now! Eight year old boy, teased by the other kids constantly wins first ever season of Total Drama Island! Becomes international hero to all other kids who have been belittled and bullied by their friends all their lives! And those that teased him mercilessly were forced to admit they were wrong to the whole world! Charlie Brown, former failure, is now 'Charlie Brown The Winner!'"
The picture Chris painted in his head was so detailed that Charlie Brown could see it. Standing before all the other kids. No longer would they tease him and call him failure. They would admit they were wrong after he proved to them and the world that he was finally a winner! The thought of it put such a joyous smile on the eight year old's face.
"What do you say, kid?! Are you ready to become 'Charlie Brown The Winner'"
"Yes! Yes! Yes!"
'Why do I get the feeling I've been manipulated?' Charlie Brown thought to himself.
Regardless, it was too late. He had agreed to appear on the show and now he had to go through with his word. The yacht was now pulling up to the dock of Camp Wawanakwa. Though unsure of his chances, it was time for him to put away any thoughts of doubt. The contest was just about to begin and there was no turning back now.
The yacht came to a stop. As Charlie Brown climbed out of the yacht, he reflected on Chris's speech.
'I can see it now. Charlie Brown, former failure, is now Charlie Brown The Winner!'
'This is it,' Charlie Brown thought to himself as he grabbed his duffel bag and rolled up sleeping bag and approached the twenty-two older contestants that were waiting at the end of the dock. 'My big chance. For one, ol' Charlie Brown is going to be be a winner.'
"Hey. What's with the kid?" called out one of the contestants.
The voice caused Charlie Brown to cease in his tracks. As he glanced at the contestants and saw how much older they were and how much bigger all of them, his confidence dispersed quite quickly.
"Yo! Chris! I asked a question!" called the same voice, which belonged to a scary looking guy with a nose piercing, spiked dog collar, and a green Mohawk. His arms were folded as he stared directly at the eight year old boy. "What's up with the kid?" he asked again, looking unimpressed. "What's he doing here?"
'Charlie Brown The Winner?' Charlie Brown gulped as he gazed nervously at the older contestants standing in front of him. 'Yeah right! More like Charlie Brown The Doomed! Good grief, what have I gotten myself into?!'
"I'm glad you asked Duncan," Chris McLean spoke as he stood by Charlie Brown's side. "Remember that little twist that we've been teasing? Well, this little guy is it!"
"You cannot be serious," called out one the girls. Charlie Brown saw that this girl was a little more petite compared to the other girls present. Her pale skin and teal colored hair intimidated Charlie Brown a little more.
'My goodness, she doesn't look very friendly,' he shivered as her piercing gaze was shifting back and forth between him and Chris.
"That is totally messed up Chris!" the pale skinned girl continued. "How in the world could the producers allow this kid to compete and live in this dumpster fire of a campground?!"
"Simple Gwen. Producers like money. High ratings produce said money. This little kid is going to bring in the high ratings. It's an easy formula to understand really." Chris answered.
To this, Gwen rolled her eyes. "For some reason, I'm not surprised the leeches of the network would value money more than morality."
"Anyways campers," Chris continued, ignoring Gwen's last comment. "This little guy is Charlie Brown and he's the final contestant for the first ever season of Total Drama Island!"
"Okay, but why though?" called out another voice. This time it was a boy with tan colored skin and wearing a red and teal vest questioning the host's decision to bring an eight year old onto the show. "I mean, what's the point? What does it add?"
"Well Noah, it brings up a whole bunch of new scenarios. It now brings up the question: whom among you would be willing to take advantage of a little kid just for the chance to win one hundred grand. Will you be the moral one who becomes the older sibling? Or will you be the heartless jerk that will do whatever it takes... including taking advantage of a small kid? The number of possibilities! The number of viewers that will tune in to see who values morality and who values greed!"
"Uh huh," Noah retorted, not sounding convinced. "Sounds more like a desperate attempt to just be different."
"Not to mention to see which of you is scared of competing against an eight year old," Chris teased.
"Wait!" called out the taller girl with raven hair. "He's not going to be getting any special treatment just because he's younger, is he?! Like he's not going to be exempt from challenges or eliminations, is he?!"
"Why Heather, I'm appalled!" Chris exclaimed, holding a hand to his chest. "Me? Showing favoritism?As far as I'm concerned, he's fair game. Just the same as the rest of you!"
Heather folded her arms and sneered at the host's sarcastic response. But as long as Charlie Brown was on the same playing ground as her and wouldn't receive special treatment on account of his age, that was all she needed to hear.
"Enough questions! We're behind schedule as is! Charlie Brown, so say hello to your fellow campers for the next eight weeks."
With a gulp, the eight year old gathered his belonging and approached the others. The first contestant he approached was the one called Duncan, who just continued to stare down at Charlie Brown with his arms folded, looking unimpressed.
"...uh... n-nice to meet you," Charlie Brown nervously greeted him.
"You sure about that?" Duncan asked, keeping his arms crossed. "Cause I think you'll be singing a different tune once things get going."
Duncan's intimidation tactic worked. Charlie Brown felt his knees grow rapidly weak.
"Heh... you better muster up your courage real soon, kid. You're playing with the big kids now." Duncan continued to taunt the visibly shaken Charlie Brown.
"Oh, stop trying to sound so tough!" called out a new voice (sounding much scarier than Duncan could ever dream of sounding). Both Charlie Brown and Duncan looked back among the contestants, who were parting as one of them marched her way up to the delinquent.
"You talk tough with a kid," a larger black girl snapped as she approached Duncan, her face coming within two inches from his. The delinquent was now the one who felt his knees become weak.
"Yeah, that's what I thought," she continued to yell. "You feel tough intimidating an eight year old? Well, I dare ya to try that to do that to me!"
"Easy Leshawna!" Chris called over. "Save it for the contest!"
"Tch," Leshawna grunted. She kept her intimidating glare on Duncan for a few seconds longer before backing off. Then, when she knew Duncan had been put in his place, she turned her attention to the eight year old and smiled.
"Charlie Brown is it? Nice to meet ya, sugar. Name's Leshawna. You come with me."
Leshawna held her hand out to the bald child. Though a little apprehensive at first, he took her hand and she led him away from the delinquent and to the other contestants. Each one waved and greeted the eight year old. Charlie Brown felt a little better after this.
"All right campers!" Chris called out! "Before we do anything else, we've got one more important matter to attend to: The traditional pre game group picture!"
Chris pulled out a camera from his backpack. "All campers to the end of the dock!"
As instructed, all twenty-five contestants gathered at the end of the dock. After a few moments of re-arranging themselves to create the perfect group photo, the group pose was all set.
Charlie Brown found himself in the front of the group, sitting next to a red-headed girl wearing a green skirt. (He had wanted to stand next to Leshawna as she was the only one he felt comfortable around at the time, but Chris had him move to the front on account he was so short)
As Chris hopped onto the yacht and began to fiddle with the camera, the red haired girl whispered to Charlie Brown.
"So what's the real story? Are you really a midget pretending to be an eight year old?"
"Pardon?!" Charlie Brown asked, sounding shocked at this question.
"It's okay, I can keep a secret," she continued. "You can be honest with me. Are you some midget who's using his small size to try and fool us into thinking you're younger than you actually are?"
Charlie Brown just stared at her in utter confusion. "Why would I do something like that?" he asked.
"Oh, it's cool. I get it. Keeping it low key to try and get an advantage in the game. Kinda smart, actually. Oh, name's Izzy by the way!"
"Um, Charlie Brown," the boy replied, not sure what to make of this red-haired girl accusing him of being a midget in disguise.
"Okay campers!" Chris called from the front of the yacht! "Give me your best smiles!"
Charlie Brown, as well as the rest of the campers, did as instructed.
"One... two..."
The camera clicked. Everyone thought that was it, but...
"Oops! Sorry! Lens was shut! Hang on a second."
As a few more minutes passed while Chris fidgeted with the camera. Charlie Brown could hear some of the campers began to grumble among themselves.
"All right! One... whoops! Memory card is full! Hang on one second!"
"Come on, Chris! My face is beginning to freeze," Leshawna grumbled.
'Man, she sounds scary when she's angry,' Charlie Brown shuddered. 'I'm glad I'm not on her bad side.'
"There we go! All right campers! For real this time! Now everybody say 'Wawanakwa!'!
"WAWANAKWA!"
It was at the exact moment, Charlie Brown heard a loud cracking noise coming from the dock. Before he or anyone else had time to react, the dock gave way and everyone fell into the lake. It was at that exact moment Chris had taken the picture (which later on would show all the campers struggling to catch their breath as the resurfaced from the lake for air).
Charlie Brown emerged from the lake, coughing and hacking. Being an eight year old, he found himself struggling to stay afloat more than the teenagers that were around him.
"Not cool!" he heard someone cry out.
"My hair!" someone else exclaimed.
"Chris! When I get my hands on you-!"
But to Charlie Brown, all he cared about was finding something to grab onto to stay above water. Unfortunately, there was nothing nearby. He continued to struggle keeping his head above water. Until...
"Hang on little guy! I've got you!"
Charlie Brown could feel someone grab hold of him from behind, keeping him from going under for a third time.
"Good grief!" he hacked, coughing up a little water. He caught his breath before continuing. "Thanks a lot. I wasn't ready for-"
He paused mid sentence as he turned to his rescuer. He wasn't prepared to see the lovely blonde-haired girl that had saved him. Though it was her green eyes that stood out the most to him.
"Don't mention it," she assured as she began to help him swim ashore. "I'm Bridgette by the way."
"C-Charlie Brown," the boy stuttered.
"Yeah, I know," Bridgette chuckled. "You're kind of the stand out contestant here. Being eight and all."
A minute later, Bridgette and Charlie Brown reached the shore along with the other contestants. Some who were still fuming over what had happened.
"All right contestants! That's a wrap! Get dried off and meet me by the campfire grounds in ten minutes!" Chris called out.
"Apology accepted," Charlie Brown heard the teal haired girl mutter under her breath as she squeezed the water out of her skirt.
Some interns has passed out towels to all the contestants. Bridgette helped dry off Charlie Brown first before she started to dry herself off.
"Thank goodness out stuff was at the other end of the dock and didn't get wet," Bridgette mumbled as she ruffled the towel on her hair. "It'll feel good to get some dry clothes on after all that.
"It sure does," Charlie Brown agreed as he slipped on one of his dry shirts from his duffel bag.
Bridgette noticed that the shirt that he had slipped on looked exactly the same as the one he had just changed out of: a yellow shirt with a black zigzag pattern going across the middle. Her eye then caught sight of the contents inside his bag.
"Um, excuse me, but... do all of your shirts look exactly the same?"
Charlie Brown looked down at his shirt. Then he looked at the shirts in his bag. Indeed they were all the exact same.
"I guess they are," he replied, going back to tying his shoes.
Bridgette quirked an eyebrow at this. Granted, she didn't bring a large variety of clothing with her for this contest either. But it wasn't often she cam across someone that had a large quantity of the same exact clothing. 'Must be what he's comfortable wearing,' she thought to herself.
Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt a tap on her shoulder. Turning around, she saw the taller blonde teen that had the cowboy hat.
"Hey again," he greeted her with a smile.
"Oh, hey," she greeted in return. "Geoff, right?"
"That's right," Geoff confirmed. "Anyways, I just finished drying off. I've got an extra towel here if you want it."
He held out the towel to her, trying his best to hide the blush he could feel coming to his cheeks.
"Thanks," Bridgette thanked as she accepted to towel. "I'm gonna be a couple minutes longer than the others I think. I swear, this hair of mine absorbed more water than my clothes did."
Nearby, Charlie Brown noticed the scene talking place. He could see that Geoff was trying his best to play it cool in front of the lovely Bridgette, but a very faint shade of pink began to come across his face. Not that he could blame him. She was very pretty.
'She kind of reminds me of that little red-haired girl back home,' he smiled to himself, his face now turning somewhat pink at the thought of the said girl.
"So... I'll see you at the campfire pit later then?"
"I guess so," she chuckled. "Not like we have much a choice to go elsewhere."
"'Cha. Totally," he chuckled.
"Hey, could you do me a favor?"
"Sure! What's up?"
"Could you take Charlie Brown here with you to the campfire pit?" Bridgette asked, gesturing at Charlie Brown.
"Oh! Totally!" Immediately, Geoff approached Charlie Brown and gave the little boy a thumbs up and a smile.
"Thanks. I guess I'll see you both later then." Bridgette said. She then waved goodbye to both boys and resumed drying out her hair.
"Right. Later then." Geoff then turned to Charlie Brown. "Nice to meet you Charlie Brown, dude. Name's-"
"Geoff, I heard," Charlie Brown replied. He held out his hand to greet the teenager in the cowboy hat. However, Geoff had misinterpreted Charlie Brown's gesture and instead have him a high five. (He also unknowingly slapped Charlie Brown's hand a little too hard, causing him to wince a little)
"Welp, come on little dude! Let's get going. We don't want to keep Chris waiting. Let's get going!"
Geoff and Charlie Brown then began to make their way to the campfire pits. Some of the other campers were headed toward there as well, but they were walking by themselves. Charlie Brown could see Duncan and Izzy among those headed for the pits. But there were still a number of other teens he had not been formerly introduced to yet. There were so many strange new faces. At that moment, he began to miss home a little.
"So, eight years old, huh?" Geoff spoke, making conversation. "I gotta admit, you're a much braver little dude than I was at eight years old! Heck! When I was eight, all I ever did was jump off my parent's garage roof into the swimming pool and ride my skateboard down the steepest street back home. Those dudes that swerved to miss me were so angry!"
Charlie Brown glanced up at Geoff, somewhat shocked at his idea of not being as brave at only eight years of age.
"But you? You're on a reality show competing against kids twice your age! THAT takes guts. I'll bet all your friends back home are totally proud of you!"
"Um, well..." Charlie Brown's voice trailed off at the thought of his friends back home. He then hung his head low as he reflected on later that fateful day when he had agreed to appear on Total Drama Island.
"...and then the blockhead accepted the offer!" Lucy ranted to the other kids who had gathered around Charlie Brown when they had heard the news. "Him! Why him when they could have had someone like me?!"
"They said that they had already picked someone who had your personality traits already," Linus reminded her. "And that the one they had chosen was of the actual required age for the contest."
"But they let Charlie Brown on! And he's not the required age!" Lucy retorted. "I just don't understand it!"
"My dear sister," Linus spoke, "trying to understand the reasoning and mindset of network executives is like trying to melt a glacier with a ice cream cone. It will never happen I'm afraid."
"But why HIM?" Lucy's friend Violet asked. "It's not like he stands a chance at actually winning."
"That's exactly my point!" Lucy exclaimed. "Let's face it! Charlie Brown has never won anything in his life!"
"He can't even win a baseball game," Patty agreed.
"I've never seen him successfully fly a kite," Shermy added.
"Not to mention he's never kicked a football," Violet said.
Linus opened his mouth to defend his friend. But alas, he could find no argument. Everything that the other kids had said about his friend was true. In fact, the more he tried to think of Charlie Brown's successes, the more his failures came flooding to his mind.
"Face it Linus. A failure like Charlie Brown is going to get crushed in that contest," Violet said. "You know what they say: once a failure, always a failure."
Unknown to the five young kids, the very one they were talking about had overheard everything they had said. Charlie Brown was hiding behind a nearby tree listening to them talk about his past failures. Like his friend, the more he tried to think of something he actually succeeded at, the more his failures came back to haunt him.
'But... maybe this time it will be different,' he whispered to himself with a hopeful smile.
"This time won't be any different," Shermy said. "We just have to accept facts. Charlie Brown is destined to be a failure."
His head hung low, Charlie Brown sneaked away from the other kids and headed home. He had some packing to do. Despite the lack of support of encouragement from the other kids, there was no getting out of this ordeal now. But as long as he had to partake in this venture, he decided that he might as well win it and prove them all wrong once and for all.
Geoff noticed Charlie Brown's expression turn somewhat distraught when he brought up friends back home. Not wanting to bring his spirits down, he quickly changed the subject and talked about some of the parties that he had back home with his buddies.
"I'm telling ya, Charlie Brown. Once we get settled in here, I'm going to get everyone together and we're going to have a rad party! Doesn't that sound like fun?"
"I suppose so," Charlie Brown shrugged. "To be honest, I haven't been to too many parties. The last one I was invited to was a Halloween party and the other kids used the back of my head to model a design for a pumpkin face they wanted to carve."
"Woah... bummer," Geoff cringed. But he lightly patted Charlie Brown on the back. "Well that's gonna change here, dude!" He stopped walking and stood in front of Charlie Brown and pumped a fist into the air. "Charlie Brown! I, Geoff, hereby promise you that during this contest, you will get to experience at least one radical party where you and everyone here will have an excellent time!"
Geoff's determination was beginning to overtake him and the idea of giving Charlie Brown his first every real party began to excite him. His excitement began to rub off on Charlie Brown too as the eight year old smiled greatly at the idea of this.
"Woah... dude..." Geoff's face then became blank as though he had just discovered something. He then looked down at Charlie Brown. "Have you ever noticed little dude that whenever someone talks to you, they always say your full name?"
"Huh?"
"I mean no one here can say just your first name. Watch! ….Charlie Brown... see what I mean? I can't just say your first name! I can address everyone else by just their first name. But why can't I with you? Or why can't anyone else for that matter? Weird, huh?"
Geoff and Charlie Brown continued to walk toward the campfire pit, the former raising a hand to his chin and had gone deep into thought pondering the mystery of why everyone always addressed Charlie Brown by his full name. (Something Charlie Brown himself began to wonder).
Not too far behind the two, a latin teenager wearing a red shirt and dark blue jeans followed. He stroke the small bear that was growing on the front of his chin as he studied the eight year old boy.
'My, my,' he thought to himself. 'This certainly is an interesting turn of events, isn't it? The question is 'How do I use this to my advantage?' Interesting... very interesting indeed.'
A/N – I'll end it there. Sorry if I didn't get to every contestant in this chapter. But this time I want Charlie Brown to be the main focus of this story (Though that's not to say other characters and arcs won't take the limelight every now and then). And I do want to assure you that all the contestants will have a moment in the first part of this story. Just baby steps this time. Anyways, see you in the next chapter!