Total Drama High School
Chapter 2: Orientation
The seven dorm mates were all on the way to Spring Valley High School, where they'd be staying for the remainder of the school year. It was quite a large school, boasting a lot of features, including a field, track, two gyms, an auditorium, basketball and tennis courts, a library, a cafe, and dorms.
Orientation was to begin at 5 that evening, and everyone began arriving at around 2 or so. Courtney was the first of the main group to arrive, like always. Since the dorms were near the field, she came in through the student parking lot next to the track and field area, where she saw the principal guarding the entrance. He was pretty tall and sported a stubble, with a gleaming smile. Too bad he was a complete narcissist.
"Welcome back, Courtney!" he said enthusiastically.
"Hello, Dr. McLean. How was your summer?"
She tried to be nice to him, like she was with every other adult. Deep down, though, she wondered how this guy got the title, "Dr. McLean."
"It was pretty good. Gonna need to check your bags, though."
Courtney calmly handed Chris her bags, knowing she didn't have anything off in there. She packed clothes, her toothbrush, and a makeup bag in case of any occasions, though she usually kept it natural. She also included a picture of the friend group, which she loved to look at if she ever felt lonely. She didn't need schoolbooks, as they would buy them at the library before school started.
"Well, you're good to go," said Dr. McLean.
"Thanks, Dr. McLean," responded Courtney, leaving to make her way through the field and into the dormitories, where she'd cover for her friends and sign up to get a dorm together.
As she walked on the track to get through to the dorms, she bumped into a few familiar faces, like Harold. He was a skinny, awkward looking boy with glasses and freckles. Duncan would often pick on him, so Courtney tried to be friendly towards him. He was a good kid.
She made her way to the large buildings that hosted the dorms and signed her friends up to get a dorm together. The girl that was taking dorm applications was one of the sophomore kids that Courtney had once shared a class with. Her name was Dakota.
"Oh, hey Courtney! How's it hanging?" asked Dakota.
"Pretty good, you?" asked Courtney.
"Just taking dorm applications. Do you need one?"
Courtney wondered if any of her friends had arrived yet. "Well, by any chance did you talk to Gwen? Or Bridgette? Or Duncan, Geoff, Trent, or DJ?"
"Nah, they haven't gotten here yet," responded Dakota. "Want me to get you guys a dorm together?"
"Yes please," said Courtney.
Dakota punched some numbers into her computer and entered their names in. She then looked up and said, "Got it! Here's your dorm!" Dakota handed Courtney a slip of paper that pinpointed the location of the dorm."
There weren't all too many dorms. Each one held either eight or ten people, but rooms of seven or nine were also accepted, and there were about three or four dorms for each grade level. It was a fairly small school in terms of the student body, which Courtney liked. There was less competition for class president, after all.
She made her way up to the seventh floor, which was also the second to last floor. Each dorm was two stories tall. The seniors got floors one and two, the freshman got three and four, sophomores got five and six, and the juniors had seven and eight. The dorms were built quite oddly. Floor seven consisted of lounge areas for each dorm, which led into separate rooms for guys and girls on floor eight, all with doors leading into a large hallway. This was extremely convenient for Duncan and Geoff, who liked to run around the halls and cause chaos.
Since the dorms didn't have elevators, (which everyone found extremely inconvenient) Courtney walked all the way up the central stairwell and went to the very end of the hall on the left side to her dorm. She entered and went to her room to set down her stuff and unpack, then choosing to relax in the lounge and screw around on her phone after a long bus ride, waiting for the first of her friends to show up.
Down at the student parking lot, DJ was just about ready to enter, and he met up with Dr. McLean.
"Hey, DJ. How was your summer?" McLean asked.
"Good, how was yours?" asked DJ in response.
"It was good," answered the principal, searching through DJ's bags. When he finished, he told DJ, "You're good to go."
"Thanks," said DJ politely. He then went through the gate and walked across the field to get to the dorms, where he also ran into Dakota. She told him that Courtney had already spoken to her and gotten a dorm for them, which lit up DJ's face in the form of a smile.
DJ walked all the way up the central stairway and went to the end of the hall to the left, eventually coming upon his dorm. He pulled the keys out and inserted them, opening the door.
As soon as Courtney heard the door opening, she gasped with excitement, knowing one of her friends had showed up. DJ came in through the door and was greeted with a sudden hug from Courtney.
"Woah, there, Courtney," he said, hugging her back.
The two let go and DJ closed the door behind him.
"It was a long summer without you guys," he said.
"You have no idea how much I've missed you," Courtney told him.
"Are you the only one here?" DJ asked.
"Does it look like anyone else is here?" Courtney asked.
"Just making sure," said DJ.
"I can't wait for school to start," responded Courtney.
"Me neither."
"Did you see anyone else out there, by the way?"
DJ answered, "Nah. No one that's gonna live with us, anyway."
"They'd better get here soon. I wanna get to orientation as soon as possible," said Courtney.
As if right on que, Courtney and DJ heard the jingle of keys and the opening of a door and swiveled their heads to catch a glimpse of which of their friends had arrived next. As the door opened, a certain blonde-haired surfer girl walked in. Bridgette closed the door and immediately spread her arms, beckoning Courtney and DJ for a hug, which they gladly accepted.
"I missed you guys," Bridgette said softly.
"We did, too," said Courtney.
"Where's Geoff? I need to see him."
"Relax, Bridge. He's not here yet," DJ responded.
Bridgette sulked a little, but ultimately knew her boyfriend would be there soon, and the three sat in the lounge talking and catching up on things that happened over the summer.
Once again, they heard the jingle of keys and the sound of a door opening, although this time, Trent walked in, closing the door behind him and asking, "What's up?"
"Hey, dude!" said DJ excitedly.
Trent fist bumped DJ and gave Bridgette and Courtney each a hug before he set down his belongings in his room, accompanied by DJ.
"Where should I put this?" asked Trent, emphasizing his guitar.
"Near your bed, I guess," answered DJ. "I don't mind."
"That means Duncan and Geoff won't, either," said Trent as he set down his guitar next to his bed, which was the farthest one from the door, with DJ's being the second farthest.
Trent and DJ left their room and entered the lounge area. While at the top of the stairs, they spotted a pale, blue-haired goth girl talking to Courtney and Bridgette. The three girls didn't see them.
"Gwen!" Trent called loudly.
The goth girl immediately recognized Trent's voice and looked up to see him and DJ standing at the top of the stairs to the dorms. Trent and DJ ran down the stairs to hug Gwen.
"Missed you," said Trent.
"Missed you, too," responded Gwen. "Let me guess, Duncan and Geoff aren't here yet?"
"Nope," said DJ.
Courtney went on a rant, saying, "They'd better get here soon. I wanna get to orientation early."
"Relax, Court," insisted Bridgette. "They'll get here soon."
Down at the field, many more of their classmates started to arrive. The area was pretty packed, and it seemed like pretty much everyone at the school was roaming around the place.
The basketball and tennis courts were near the field, connected by a ramp that led students from the field up to the courts. Tyler, a class jock, was playing basketball with another jock, Lightning. They were both into athletics, though one was extremely self-centered and one was the opposite.
"Two firecrackers, a toilet paper gun, and explosive water balloon-sized balloons? Yeah, I'll be taking these," said Chris, searching through Geoff's bag.
"Uh, I didn't know those were in there," said Geoff, pretending to be clueless.
"That's what they all say."
Chris took the items out of Geoff's bag and threw them into a box next to his feet. The box was labeled, "Confiscated Items," and it included Geoff's items and a couple other stray knick-knacks. Geoff was bummed that he got some of his party stuff confiscated, but he let it go soon after and made his way to the dorm.
He, like the others, went through the field and entered the dorm building, going all the way up the stairs and to the far left of the hallway. He opened the door to his dorm and saw everyone but Duncan in the lounge, playing cards.
"What's up, dudes?" he asked. Everyone rushed to see him, and he fist bumped the guys and hugged the girls.
"That'd be dudettes," said Gwen, correcting him.
"Hey, dude is a gender-neutral term," Geoff reminded. "Missed you, babe," he said to Bridgette.
"Aww, I missed you, too," said Bridgette, blushing and smiling. The two then proceeded to start kissing, accompanied by a lot of complaints and grossed out chants from the others.
"By any chance did Dr. McLean take any of your stuff?" Geoff asked.
"No," Courtney answered. "What the heck did you bring?"
"I brought some firecrackers and stuff like that," Geoff said. "Maybe I can text Duncan to steal 'em back for me."
"You'd better not," said Courtney. "That'd be against the rules. Plus, if McLean saw you with those, he'd give you detention or something!"
"Relax, Court. I'll be fine."
Geoff pulled out his phone and began texting Duncan, telling him to try and steal the items back for him once he entered.
"Hey, dude. U almost here?"
"Yea, man. What's up?"
"Do u think u could pick up sum stuff for me? Chris confiscated them." "Of course, dude. What do u need?" "Two firecrackers, a TP gun, and a bucket of explosive balloons." "U got it, man. I'm pulling up now."
Duncan did indeed reach the school on his motorcycle. He took off his shades and noticed Chris checking the bags of his classmate, Justin. He snuck behind some students' cars and got behind Chris, to the attention of Justin.
Duncan looked at Justin and pressed one finger against his mouth, indicating to Justin that he shouldn't snitch. Justin responded with a thumbs up. He was no snitch. Duncan reached into the bin of illegal items, which was open, and took Geoff's items back, jumping the fence quietly right behind Chris.
Duncan ran across the field, trying not to get caught by any of the teachers, or Dr. McLean. The school had a bunch of teachers, including Mr. Hatchet, whose first name the students didn't even know. There was also Mr. Dwayne Stewart, who the students all liked, and the dorm mates have all had him. Mr. Don Hadley was also pretty well liked by the students, but everyone hated Ms. Blaineley O'Halloran. The gang hadn't had either of these two, but they had Stewart in sophomore year, and he shockingly liked all of them. There were also more teachers that the students could possibly have this year.
Duncan made it to the dorm and spoke to Dakota, who he thought was pretty hot. He then walked all the way up the central stairway and made his way to the far left of the hallway and opened the door to the dorm.
"Hey," he said smoothly as his friends rushed over, greeting him.
"Finally!" screamed Courtney. "We'd better get going soon. I don't wanna miss orientation."
"Chill, princess. We'll be fine," Duncan assured.
"Yeah, it's only 4," said DJ. "Let's chill for a little bit and get going in 45 minutes."
"Party boy, I got your stuff," said Duncan.
"Aw, yeah! Thanks, dude," Geoff responded excitedly, taking back his stuff.
"You wanna go TP some stuff?" asked Duncan.
Geoff looked up from his two firecrackers and smiled mischievously in Duncan's direction.
"No way, guys!" Courtney barked. "Who knows how much trouble you'll get into?"
"McLean's down at the field, princess. He didn't even see me come in."
"Yeah, Court," Geoff added.
"I saw Mr. Stewart down by the basketball courts talking to Zeke," Bridgette said.
"Then let's go there," Geoff insisted.
"Mr. Stewart's the chillest teacher in the school," Duncan said. "Even if he is an old man."
"Well, I don't think Mr. Stewart will like it if you two idiots ran around shooting toilet paper everywhere."
"Then we'll do it when he's not looking," Geoff said. "It's not like we want him to see us."
"Not until we're done at least," Duncan said through a slight laugh.
"Let's go, dude!"
"Gotta put my stuff upstairs first," Duncan told him. "Be right back."
"I'll go with you," said Trent. "Your bed's the closest to the door."
"Cool."
Duncan walked up the stairs with Trent to their room, with a duffel bag in one hand and a suitcase in the other, with his guitar strapped to his back.
"So, learn anything new?" Trent asked, referring to Duncan's hobby of playing the guitar.
"Yeah, you?"
"Yup, what'd you learn?" Trent knew Duncan was about to give him a giant list of classic rock and hard rock songs, but Duncan decided to stop himself before getting out of hand.
The two exchanged a conversation about the songs they'd learned over the break. Duncan said he'd learned a bunch of songs, and listed Paradise City by Guns N' Roses, Dr. Feelgood by Motley Crue, and Comfortably Numb by Pink Floyd. Trent said he'd learned Here Comes the Sun by the Beatles and Hurt by Johnny Cash, to name a couple. The two often bonded over their guitars.
Duncan and Trent walked inside, and Duncan set his stuff down next to his bed, which was the closest one to the door, with Geoff's bed next to his. Trent and DJ slept next to each other at the farther end of the room.
The two then went outside and collapsed onto some chairs in the lounge.
"First thing tomorrow morning," started Duncan. "We're starting some shit in the halls," he said nodding towards Geoff.
"You know it, brother." The two fist bumped, planning on wreaking havoc across the school for their own entertainment. "Starting shit is what I live for."
"Put me back in," said Trent, referring to the girls and DJ, and they gave him a deck of cards. They also let Duncan and Geoff join the game. The gang played and laughed in the lounge for a further 45 minutes before it was finally time to head to the orientation, which was taking place in the main auditorium.
Bridgette collected the cards and put them back in their small box, setting them down on the table in the lounge and followed after the other six to the auditorium. They peeked inside and noticed that pretty much every seat was empty.
"Where should we sit," asked Trent.
"In the balcony," suggested DJ.
"I'd rather sit in the front," argued Gwen.
"We'll split up," Bridgette said. "Whoever wants to come to the front, raise your hand. Bridgette, Gwen, Geoff, and Trent raised their hands. The four made their way to the front, while Duncan, Courtney, and DJ went upstairs to the balcony.
Everyone traveled towards their seats and saw more people come into the auditorium. Down near the front, Gwen, Trent, Bridgette, and Geoff sat next to each other against the right wall of the auditorium. Geoff sat next to Bridgette, who was next to the wall, which left Trent sitting next to them and Gwen next to him. She shot him a couple glances while he wasn't looking and felt a rush of excitement sitting next to him.
Up in the balcony, the remaining three also decided to take seats near a wall, with DJ in the seat next to it. This of course meant Courtney would be next to him with Duncan to her left (something that he very much enjoyed). They weren't so delighted when they saw Heather coming towards them with her so called "best friend" Lindsay. They didn't mind Lindsay, in fact they quite liked her since she was very sweet, but they absolutely despised Heather.
"Oh, hey guys! So nice to finally see you again!" she piped up.
"Yeah, we missed you, too, sweetheart," said Duncan. "Now get lost before I toss your ass off this balcony."
"Duncan!" cried DJ.
"Relax, I'm just kidding."
Heather intervened. "Actually, Lindsay and I will be sitting here. These seats are just so much more comfortable than the ones downstairs."
"They are?" Lindsay questioned.
"Shut it, Lindsiot."
"Okay, you've got to stop being so mean all the time," Courtney interjected.
"Says who?"
"Me," said Courtney.
"Yeah, me, too," DJ added.
"What they're trying to say is," Duncan explained, "You should leave and go somewhere else."
"Eh… no," Heather responded. Luckily, Lindsay was the one sitting next to Duncan, which he much preferred over Heather. He also thought Lindsay was pretty hot.
After the two girls took their seats, the staff began lining up against the wall near the front, directly in front of Gwen, Trent, Geoff, and Bridgette. Dr. McLean walked up on stage and tapped the microphone a couple of times.
"Uh, is this thing on?" He tapped again. Backstage, Mr. Hatchet flicked some switches and pressed a couple buttons. There was a loud ringing sound echoing through the entire auditorium, much to the dismay of the audience, who all covered their ears and groaned uncomfortably. Mr. Hatchet adjusted a few settings, and the ringing stopped with a loud, unified sigh from the audience.
"Well, that's better," said Dr. McLean into the microphone. "Good evening, students, and uh, welcome to school! Sorry about the slight technical difficulties. Someone pressed a few wrong buttons," he said, eyeing Mr. Hatchet, who had now come onto the stage.
"Tech guy didn't show up," said Hatchet, backing himself up.
"Yeah, yeah, we get it. Anyway, I'd like to thank all of you for showing up and for coming to school this evening. Classes will officially begin on Monday, so enjoy this weekend while it lasts. I'd also like to thank a couple of the teachers who came in early and helped get things ready. When I call your name, teachers, please come up. Mr. Hatchet!"
Mr. Hatchet stood on stage in the same spot he was in before, waving to the audience, before Dr. McLean started mentioning more teachers.
"I'd also like to thank Mr. Stewart and Mr. Hadley," Dr. McLean said, as the two teachers walked onto stage with thunderous applause from the students. These two were perhaps the most liked by the students, although Courtney liked every teacher and tried to get on their good side.
"And another thanks to the other staff members who didn't show up early, but still take time out of their way to teach you guys." This included Ms. O'Halloran, Mr. Josh Henderson, Mr. Gerry Waters, and Mrs. Kelly Taylor.
"Well, I expect this'll be a nice school year," said Dr. McLean. "Now, we've changed the rules quite a bit this year, so listen up." Courtney perked her ears and leaned in, eager to hear what the rules were.
"Well, princess, wake me up when this is over," said Duncan.
"Dude, you know she can't hear you, right?" said DJ over McLean, who was reciting some rules. Courtney was in a trance-like state, listening intently. Duncan tapped her shoulder to get her attention, and she turned towards him.
"What do you want?"
"You wanna ditch this place?" Duncan asked.
"No way! The rules are important!"
"Not to him, they're not," DJ reminded her.
"Eh, wake me up when this is over." Duncan leaned back and rested against the back wall of the auditorium, trying to catch a nap. Sadly, he was interrupted by Courtney, who tried waking him up.
"Hey! Duncan! Listen to Dr. McLean! These rules might be important!"
"Maybe to you. What good are the rules if you don't follow the rules?"
"He's got a point," DJ said. "He's gonna break them anyway."
Courtney brushed it off and continued listening to Dr. McLean, and DJ tried listening, too, but zoned out a couple times. Duncan tried to look for his friends in the front, but ended up getting distracted by Lindsay's breasts. She was hot and he knew it. She wasn't dating anyone, and neither was he, so he just went for it.
"Hey," he said, calling her to attention.
"Hi!" she said, smiling.
"What're you doing tonight?" Duncan asked.
Courtney immediately exited the world inside her head and listened to what was going on between the two.
"Sleeping, I guess," Lindsay responded.
"I was thinking of going out. You wanna come with?"
"Sure!" she said excitedly.
"Nuh-uh. She's staying with me," said Heather.
DJ leaned in closer to Courtney's ear and said, "This isn't gonna be good."
Lindsay argued, "Actually, I would rather go out."
"Well, too bad, then."
"Shut it, toothpick," said Duncan angrily.
"Duncan, don't do anything stupid!" cried Courtney. They gathered the attention of a few people around them, including Owen and Leshawna. Duncan acted as if he had never heard Courtney.
"Make me," Heather said.
"Whatever you say, peaches!" Duncan tackled Heather, and the two began fighting, to the notice of many people around them. Courtney gasped in her seat, and DJ got up to try and break them apart.
The two started rolling around on the floor, and Heather gave Duncan a good slap to the face. He retaliated by pulling her hair and holding it, then brandishing his knife from his pocket.
"No!" Courtney screamed.
Gwen noticed the events unfolding up top, and tugged on Trent's shirt to get his attention, "Trent, what's going on up there?"
He looked up and tried to comprehend what was going on, but the two couldn't see through the crowd of people. Eventually, everyone in the auditorium looked up to check the scene out, even the teachers and Dr. McLean.
"Woah, woah, woah! What is going on up there?"
Duncan and Heather paused and immediately sat back in their seats before anyone could say anything, and they were fortunately blocked by the crowding students. Courtney was about to speak when she was interrupted by DJ clasping his hand to her mouth. "Not a word!" he said. Everyone began taking their seats again and acted as if nothing happened.
"Good," Dr. McLean said. "Now…" McLean continued his boring rant about rules and regulations.
Duncan turned to Heather and told her, "Hey, listen. I'm sorry. I overreacted."
"I know," Heather responded. "If you gave me that haircut, though, I would've thrown you off a cliff."
"Alright, then." Duncan brought his hand out, and Heather shook it. Out of all the members of the gang, Duncan was the only one who could actually stand Heather sometimes, and he was the only one she could stand.
Courtney and DJ started listening again, and Lindsay turned towards Duncan and asked, "So, are we still going out tonight?"
"It's a date," responded Duncan. Lindsay visibly smiled, and Heather shot the two a glare, but decided not to say anything and risk a bad haircut by Duncan. Lindsay had always thought Duncan would be fun to hang out with, but never really got close to him. Duncan, of course, thought Lindsay was really hot, and was in it to get laid, but if she was fun, then he would definitely go the extra mile for her. He seemed tough, but when it came to his friends, he really cared.
Courtney, though, was jealous. She had a huge crush on Duncan, though she would never admit it to anyone, not even herself.
Down at the bottom floor, Gwen and Trent were warming up to each other.
"Is he ever gonna shut up?" Gwen asked, referring to Dr. McLean.
"Eh, probably not, but please keep talking." Gwen looked at him and gave him a questioning look. "You're a lot more interesting than him," Trent said.
Gwen smiled and said, "Right back at you. What do you think was going on up there?"
"Probably something to do with Duncan. Dude's always in trouble."
"Yeah. He's real sweet, though."
"I know," Trent said through a chuckle. "He really is a lot nicer than he seems."
"Pretty sure Courtney likes him, too."
"Pretty sure? I'm a hundred percent sure she does, and who knows? He might have something for her, too. I know for a fact that Courtney likes him."
"She'd never admit it, though."
Trent chuckled a little bit. "True that."
"You should see her when he plays his guitar. She's always listening and loves when he does it."
"Yeah? Too bad she doesn't care that much about my guitar."
"Someone else here does."
"Really? Who?" Trent asked light-heartedly.
"Here's a hint," Gwen started. "She's sitting next to you."
Trent looked to his right and saw Geoff, completely knocked out, snoring. He then looked to his left and said, "Huh, is it you?"
"Maybe," Gwen responded, blushing. "Okay, yeah, it is."
"Then I'll be sure to keep playing," he said. The two looked at each other and smiled.
"Aww," Bridgette said out of nowhere. "You guys are adorable!"
"Shut up," Gwen and Trent said in unison. Bridgette laughed it off, knowing the two were made for each other, while Dr. McLean finished up.
"Schedules are available in Mr. Stewart's room starting tomorrow morning at 9. Until then, that is the end of orientation this year, and I hope to see you all very soon," he said, concluding the night.
"Geoff," Bridgette said softly. Geoff didn't respond and just kept snoring, his large hat still draped over his eyes Bridgette called for him again. "Geoff!"
Geoff was startled awake and immediately screamed, "Dude!" Gwen, Trent, and Bridgette all giggled and stood up. They went to the lobby and met with Duncan, Courtney, and DJ.
"We all here?" asked DJ.
"Yup," answered Bridgette. "Let's get going."
"Anyone down to go for a quick walk?" asked Trent.
"I'll come," said Gwen, almost immediately.
"Me, too," said Bridgette. "Geoff?"
"Nah, I'm tired," Geoff said, knowing that was a huge lie, as he intended to cause trouble with Duncan. "I think I'll go hang with Duncan in the dorms."
"Sounds good, man," said Duncan, fist bumping Geoff.
"Then I'd better go watch them," Courtney piped up.
"Yeah, right," said Duncan. "I know the real reason you wanna go back to the dorms." He winked at Courtney, to which she responded by pushing Duncan away.
"I'll go out with them," DJ said, beckoning towards Bridgette, Trent, and Gwen.
"Cool," said Geoff. "Catch you guys later."
Duncan, Courtney, and Geoff began the long walk across campus to get back to their dorms, and Gwen, Trent, Bridgette, and DJ decided to go for a stroll off campus.
The school wasn't surrounded by many homes or anything, but it was a very nice neighborhood. The school was near many points of interest, including the park, the mall, many food options, lots of shops, the zoo, and it was only about an hour away from the beach. The four decided they would walk to the park and just have fun there, as it was the closest.
Duncan, Geoff, and Courtney decided to walk a little bit around campus since they didn't really feel like returning to the dorms just yet, and despite her uptight attitude, Courtney did love having a little fun and relaxing with her friends.
It was a pretty eventful first day for them. Everyone had unpacked and set their stuff in their rooms, and they were all pretty tired, but wanted to enjoy the company of their friends for a while. The evening still had more in store for them. Much more.