Back with another update! I'm sorry for being a bit lazy - just had trouble finding motivation to edit the chapters.
The election is here! Aren't you all excited? Which council members will stay, and which will go? Read on to find out...
Drama Nation - Episode 5, Part 1 - May The Best Candidates Win
"Last time on Drama Nation," Chris narrated. "The town council got everyone together to have a discussion about heritage."
The screen showed everyone sitting in the bar, while Cody stood in front of them.
"But this topic wasn't to everyone's taste."
Next they showed Duncan getting up and walking out, followed by Trent and Tyler.
"However, Gwen stepped up to the mark and lead the town in decorating a world map, complete with drawings and glitter."
Sugar was shown throwing glue and glitter at Brazil.
"Meanwhile, Sam's mental state deteriorated. He missed his video games so much that he started having hallucinations where he was playing them." Chris took a moment to laugh, "I'm sorry, but is that good TV or what?"
"B tried to cheer him up with a real-life makeshift video game, but it didn't stop him from being the second person to go home," Chris continued. "B's efforts didn't go unrecognised though, and he became the next pioneer to get the $50,000 gold star."
"Who will get it next? Who will win the next showdown? And how is Sadie coping after getting her stomach pumped?" Chris concluded. "Find out tonight on Drama…Nation!"
Gwen sat a tree, sketching away in a pad with a ton of colouring pencils by her side.
"Hey, whatcha drawing there?" Cody asked as he side-stepped over to her.
"Beat it," Gwen frowned at him.
"Oh, I get it. It's private, huh?" Cody shrugged. "I'm down with that. Yeah, it's cool bra."
Gwen rolled her eyes and got back to what she was doing.
"You're an awesome drawer," he said, peering over her shoulder. "Could you draw me sometime?"
"What part of 'beat it' don't you understand?" Gwen asked angrily.
She got back to her drawing once again, but Cody leaned over and smelled her.
"What are you? Some kind of freak?" Gwen got up and backed away.
"Y-you just smell…really…pretty," Cody said awkwardly, rubbing his arm.
Gwen rolled her eyes and stomped off, leaving most of the colouring pencils behind.
Gwen, 14, British Columbia: Cody is getting on my last nerve. He smelled my hair!
Cody, 15, Ontario: [smirks] She wants me.
"Oh, Sadie, I'm so glad you're back," Katie squealed as the two of them shared a hug on the porch of the yellow cabin. Heather, Trent, Tyler and Lindsay sat on either side of them.
"Me too. I missed you sooo much," Sadie replied.
"What was it like at the hospital?" Katie asked.
"It was so scary," Sadie shuddered. "They pumped my stomach, and I always felt like I was gonna throw up. And I couldn't stop crying."
"You poor thing," Heather said unenthusiastically.
"But after I'd recovered, one of the producers took me out for food. I had a huge bowl of spaghetti and meatballs," Sadie continued.
"Aw, that's my favourite," Katie said.
"Lucky. I wish I had my stomach pumped," Lindsay sighed.
"So what did I miss?" Sadie asked, looking at the others.
"Well, I was really sad that you left, but Trent cheered me up a bit," Katie told her.
"Ooh," Sadie said excitedly, winking back.
Trent noticed this and his eyes went wide.
"It's so great that we're all together again!" Lindsay said excitedly. "We can try and get another gold star."
"Sorry?" Trent said, confused.
"Oh, me, Katie and-OW!"
Heather pinched Lindsay's arm.
"I also hope the yellow district gets another star. If I can get one, anyone can," Heather smiled.
Trent raised an eyebrow at her, but he shrugged it off.
"Haha, yeah, that's what I meant," Lindsay giggled nervously.
Heather, 15, Ontario: When will Lindsay learn to shut her mouth? My image depends on it.
Leonard sat against the back of the blue cabin bawling his eyes out. He had taken off his robes and was down to a white t-shirt and underwear.
"Leonard!" Leshawna gasped as she and Bridgette ran over and sat on either side.
Leonard didn't respond. He just cried even harder.
"This is about Sam, isn't it?" Leshawna said, putting her arm around him.
"He was my best friend here, and now he's gone," Leonard sobbed. "I couldn't do anything about it."
"Well all did our best. Sam just couldn't handle it anymore," Leshawna told him.
"I-I-I…" Leonard stuttered. His head fell into his hands and he mumbled, "I'm not a real wizard."
"What?" Bridgette said in fake surprise.
"I really believed I was, but none of my spells work. I've just been pretending," Leonard said. "I can't bring Sam back. I can't do anything."
"Yes you can," Bridgette told him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "The world can be cruel sometimes, but we can make it better."
She handed him a tissue, and he blew his nose.
"Did you bring any other clothes with you?" Leshawna asked when she noticed the robes lying on the ground.
Leonard shook his head.
"Well, we'll find something for you to wear," Leshawna said. She took his hand and brought him to his feet.
Bridgette, 13, British Columbia: Leshawna is the mom of this district. I don't know how she hasn't won the gold star yet.
[narrows eyes] I don't think it's a coincidence that we're the only district that hasn't got any.
Gwen sighed to herself as she finished putting on her boots.
"Come on, guys!" she shouted as she got to her feet. "Time to get up."
"You heard her, Samey. There's work to be done," Amy said, giving her sister a dig in the head.
"I don't just mean Sammy. All of you, out of bed!" Gwen added.
"Oh heck no. Pageant girl needs her beauty sleep," Sugar groaned, pulling her pillow over her head.
"And I'm allergic to morning," Izzy said. "It gives me explosive diarrhoea."
Gwen scowled, then she had a thoughtful look on her face. "Okay, fine. I only need one other person for this job anyway."
"Yeah, Samey. She needs you," Amy said.
Sammy stood up and started getting dressed. "What do you want me to do?"
"You'll see," Gwen smirked, winking at her.
…
The four council members gathered in the chapel for the fifth time.
"Oh, great journal," Noah said in mock awe as he got to his chair. "How do you plan to mess up the town this week?"
Courtney started to read, "The guys that founded this town just continued to stay in charge forever. Those leaders had too much power, and there's nothing we common folk could do to stop them."
Sky continued, "Don't make the same mistake. Hold council members accountable with district elections."
Noah's head dropped to the table.
"Bring it on!" Harold exclaimed. "This is our chance to prove ourselves."
Courtney, 15, Town Council: I don't feel 100% confident about this. Trent has been criticising everything that I do. I'm worried he might run against me.
Gwen and Sammy re-entered the cabin. This time they were armed with a large bucket of water.
Sammy started giggling, and Gwen put her finger to her lips to remind her to stay quiet.
They tip-toed over to Amy, and dumped about half the contents on her head.
Amy let out a high-pitched scream, and got to her feet, shaking her hands frantically. "What was that for!?"
"Just something to wake you up," Gwen smirked as she threw some water on Izzy.
"Ahhhh! I'm melting!" Izzy cried as she also got up.
"No! Not my hair!" Sugar screamed as she scrambled out of bed. "I'm up! Look, I'm up!"
"Good," Gwen grinned devilishly. "Get dressed, and I'll be back later to give you some work."
She walked out of the cabin, and the other three girls looked at Sammy angrily.
"I-It wasn't…" Sammy stammered.
"You are really pushing it now!" Amy roared at her. "You think you can do what you want when she's around."
"Yeah!" Sugar exclaimed in agreement.
"Your eyes don't match. I can sort that out," Izzy giggled, holding up her fist.
Sammy gasped as she put her hand to her fading black eye.
"Okay, that's enough!" Gwen yelled, stomping back into the cabin. "You three should be ashamed of yourselves."
"At least we don't throw water at people," Amy remarked, crossing her arms.
"Seriously, Amy. What did Sammy ever do to you?" Gwen frowned.
"Lots of things!" Amy yelled back. "Once she pushed me down the stairs and blamed it on the dog."
"And again, that was you," Sammy mumbled. She looked like she was about to cry.
Gwen's pale face started to go red with fury.
"Come on, Sammy," she said with grit teeth. "Let's get some breakfast."
Gwen, 14, British Columbia: Between Cody creeping on me, all the girls bullying Sammy, and Noah doing nothing, I don't know how much longer I can handle this district.
The council made their way into the mess hall, where most of the other kids were eating breakfast.
The camera pointed at several of the blue district members looking up at them. Leonard was wearing his white t-shirt as well as a pair of Shawn's jeans. Since he was a bit taller than Shawn, they only came down to his ankles.
Sky whistled to get everyone's attention, and they all faced her.
"Let's get this over with!" Duncan remarked.
"We read the journal again, and it talked about leadership," Courtney announced. "It said we should hold district re-elections."
Most of the pioneers cheered over this.
Beth, 12, Alberta: Finally! Some of us might actually get a say in how things are run
Gwen raised her hand.
"Yes?" Noah said, pointing at her.
"Do we get to vote for every district?" she asked.
"No, just your own," Harold replied.
Gwen scowled at this.
Heather raised her hand next.
"How many people can run in each district?" she asked.
"Uh…I don't think there's a limit," Courtney replied.
Heather just nodded in response.
Heather, 15, Ontario: Finally things are looking up. Courtney doesn't stand a chance. There's just one thing I'm worried about though…
Heather walked up to Duncan and Trent, who were laughing amongst themselves.
"Hey guys," she said.
"Oh, hey Heather," Trent replied with a smile.
"So, an election coming up, huh?" she said.
"Yeah," Trent nodded. "I'm thinking of running."
"You are?" Heather said. "What about you, Duncan?"
"Not happening. Being a cop is enough responsibility," Duncan sighed.
"I might run too," Heather added. "Courtney is my good friend, but I think she's let the power go to her head."
"You can say that again," Trent chuckled. "Good luck, I guess."
"So I assume you have some experience with leadership," Heather said.
"Me? Nah, not really," Trent shrugged.
"What? Surely you've been on student council or something," Heather said in 'concern'.
"I'd rather bite my arm than show up to those meetings," Trent said snarkily, crossing his arms.
"Trent," Heather said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "I don't think you know what you're into. Politics is no walk in the park. I'm student body president, so I know all about it."
Duncan raised an eyebrow at her.
"I don't think it's a good idea if more than one person runs. It might split the vote," Heather said.
"What do you mean?" Trent asked.
"Let's say all of three of us ran," Heather explained. "Then Courtney might get four votes, and we might get three each, and Courtney would stay in power even though most people didn't vote for her."
"Huh. I never thought about that," Trent shrugged.
"So I think it would be best if only one of us ran against her, don't you think?" Heather asked.
"Yeah, totally," Trent nodded.
Duncan looked even more suspicious.
"Why does Trent have to drop out, though?" Duncan asked. "Courtney's experienced with leadership too, but that doesn't mean she's good at it."
Heather froze. She didn't have an answer to this.
"I mean, I know I'd rather vote for Trent," Duncan said, patting his friend on the back.
"Is that so?" Heather mused. "Because I already have five votes on my side. And you guys would make seven."
"She's right," Trent agreed. "Heather would be much closer with the other girls in the district. I won't bother running."
"Awesome," Heather smiled, and she gave Trent a hug.
Trent had a smile on her face as he saw her walk off, while Duncan stood behind him, digusted.
Duncan, 14, Manitoba: Trent's my bud, but he can be so gullible sometimes [facepalms]
The blue district girls gathered in their bunkhouse.
"Okay, guys, this is serious. We need to get Harold out," Beth said.
"Why?" Zoey asked, scratching her head.
"What do you mean, why?" Bridgette answered. "He never listens to us. It's like he just sees us as a bunch of followers."
"Oh, is that bad?" Zoey asked, but nobody responded.
"He tried to stop us from saving the chickens," Beth said.
"And I heard from DJ that Harold was against Shawn getting a gold star," Bridgette added.
"So which one of us should run?" Beth asked. "I'm thinking either Bridgette or Leshawna."
"I'd definitely be up for it," Bridgette said.
"Bridgette can do it. I don't want nothing to do with politics," Leshawna said, making a 'no' signal with her hands.
"This is brilliant," Dawn squealed.
"And you'll definitely get in," Beth said. "I mean, we'll all vote for you, and we know that Shawn hates Harold."
"And I can put in a good word to Leonard," Leshawna added. "That just leaves Ezekiel."
"Oh, Ezekiel's a lost cause. He hates girls," Beth frowned.
"The best thing we can do is keep things quiet," Dawn stated.
The other four girls looked at her.
"What do you mean?" Bridgette asked.
"Harold – he has a very grandiose view of himself," Dawn explained.
"A what?" Zoey asked.
"He's pretty much certain that he'll still be in the council after the election, and we should just let him think that," Dawn said. "The less of a fight he puts up, the better."
Leshawna, 14, Manitoba: I don't think Harold's a bad leader, but he can be pretty self-righteous sometimes. It's time for a change.
Jo sat on the steps of the green bunkhouse with an angry look on her face.
"How's it goin', Joe?" Lightning asked as he came by with a football. "We gonna play football?"
"Not now," Jo sighed.
"Woah, Joe. What's sha-goin' on?" Lightning asked, sitting down beside her.
"I want Sky gone. I want her out of the council," Jo said.
"You're running against her?"
"I'd love to," Jo groaned. "But it wouldn't work. I ran for class president in third grade and nobody voted for me."
"Mm-hmm," Lightning nodded. "No offence, but you don't seem like someone who'd be, you know, popular."
Jo shook her head. "But you are, right?"
"Uh-huh," Lightning said. "In Lightning's school, he's number one!"
"You might just be onto something," Jo mused.
The kids stood before the four council members who were standing outside on a wooden deck.
Harold, 13, Newfoundland: Every council member has to make a speech about why they should stay in power.
Noah stepped forward and cleared his throat.
"I think your leader should be the person who best serves the interests of the district," he said. "I'm not a man of many rules. Heck, I'm the one trying to stop the rest of the council from following the crap in the journal."
He pointed at Courtney and Harold, who both frowned.
"Anyone want to run against me?"
The rest of the district looked around for a bit, then Gwen raised her hand.
"Alright then," Noah shrugged, beckoning for her to come up.
Most of the other three districts cheered. Other than Cody, the rest of the reds just clapped politely.
Gwen stood on the platform and began her speech.
"A leader is someone who should lead. It's in the name," she said. "A leader shouldn't sit around and let everything go over their head. Like Courtney said, the red district has not been doing their jobs properly. And why should they, when there's nothing motivating them? Heck, Noah hasn't even noticed that there's bullying in the team."
"What bullying?" Noah mouthed.
"If you want a leader who will be a leader, vote for me!" Gwen exclaimed.
The green, blue and yellow districts once again cheered their heads off. None of the red district girls clapped.
"Gwe-en! Gwe-en!" Bridgette, Leshawna and Beth started chanting her name.
Amy, 9, New Brunswick: Gwen? How about nuh-uh?
Harold was next.
"I believe I'm the most qualified to lead you," Harold said. "I am a scout leader with badges covering a wide range of skills, and I've been to General Steve's Worldbuilding Camp. But if anyone thinks they can do better, I welcome friendly competition."
Bridgette raised her hand immediately.
Harold looked taken aback.
"Oh," he said. "Well, come on up, Bridgette."
Bridgette nodded and leapt onto the platform. The rest of her district cheered.
"Thank you," she smiled. "I've really loved being here, and being part of the blue district. You're all my close friends, and I'd hate to see any more of you go home."
Ezekiel had a questioning look on his face.
"I've also had experience in leadership – I'm a representative on my school student council, but I've also had a lot of experience with teamwork. I'm part of a surfing team back home, and we represented our town in the provincial championships. As a council member, I'd hope to bring a lot of positivity, and also make sure everyone on the district feels like they have a voice."
She took a bow and leapt back off. The whole town was cheering now.
Harold, 13, Town Council: Bridgette's okay. She just doesn't have the necessary skills to lead. I think I'm safe.
Now it was Courtney's turn.
"Okay," she said, taking a deep breath. "I know I've had my disagreements with some district members, but I'm just trying to do what's best for the town. Always keep that in mind. Would anyone like to run against me?"
Heather raised her hand, and Courtney' mouth dropped open.
Courtney, 15, Town Council: Heather? Heather!? I expected Trent or Duncan or anyone else…Heather!?
Courtney still looked bewildered as Heather took to the stage.
"Hi guys," Heather said. "I'd like to take a moment to thank Courtney for leading the team up to this point. She's been doing a great job, but I think we can agree that she's a little high-maintenance. I'd like to offer some more down-to-earth leadership – I'm not just your leader, I'm your friend too."
Most of the town cheered. Courtney clapped too though her face had gone pale.
Heather exchanged handshakes with Lindsay and Katie when she got back to the crowd.
And finally Sky stepped forward.
"Hi," she said nervously. "Being the leader of the green district…I've loved it, and also hated it sometimes. I've loved getting to know all of you, but I have made mistakes. Throwing the showdown was a really bad decision."
"Yeah," DJ and Geoff nodded in agreement.
"I think some other people on this district would also make great leaders, so if you want to run too, go ahead."
The rest of the team looked at each other to see if anyone would take the offer.
Someone raised their hand.
"Lightning," Sky said, sounding disappointed.
Noah, 12, Town Council: Lightning? The guy who wakes me up from my naps to beg for the gold star? At least give Sky a challenge.
Lightning stood right in front of Sky on the deck.
"Aw yeah," he said as he flexed his arms. "Lightning is a winner. He can lead the district way better than the pipsqueak over there."
Sky gasped at this. There were murmurs in the crowd.
"He's stronger, faster, smarter-er…just vote for Lightning."
He hopped back off the stage. Nobody clapped.
"Yeah! Go Lightning!" Jo cheered.
Eva looked like she was going to steam up.
Eva, 13, British Columbia: He had the balls to go up there and insult Sky like that! I could freaking club him to death!
"May the best candidates win!" Noah exclaimed, holding up two peace signs.
Courtney bolted it off the stage and ran for the yellow bunkhouse. The other three looked at each other in confusion before they also got down.
…
Courtney was sitting against the back of the bunkhouse and crying into her hands when Duncan suddenly appeared.
"How's it hanging, princess?" he asked snarkily.
"Go away, Duncan," she muttered.
"Woah, you got me all wrong," Duncan said, putting up his hands in surrender. "I came here to help you."
"What?" Courtney looked up. "Why would you want to do that?"
"Because I don't want Heather in power," Duncan replied, jerking his thumb behind himself.
"Why not? She's popular. You guys all love her and you hate me."
"Cus she's a fake. You know she convinced Trent not to run?"
"What?" Courtney said with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah, she came up to us and she went on about how if both of them ran it would split the vote, and the most important thing was to get rid of you."
"She did not!" Courtney screamed, then she shook her head. "Why should I trust you?"
"You can ask Trent too. He went right along with it," Duncan shrugged.
"Oh, he's also in on your plan?" Courtney remarked.
"What plan!?" Duncan exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air. "You think Heather needs my help to get in power?"
"Just leave me alone," Courtney snapped, dropping her head back on her lap.
"Fine," Duncan said with grit teeth. "You cry like a baby, and I'll try to actually save your political career."
He stomped off.
They didn't know Heather had been listening from the side of the cabin.
Duncan, 14, Manitoba: Courtney is a suckish leader, don't get me wrong. But at least you know what you're getting.
Heather, 15, Ontario: So punk-boy thinks he can outsmart me? Yeah, as if.
Gwen sat in a circle on the grass with Sammy, Leshawna and Bridgette.
"I can't believe you actually threw water on her," Leshawna laughed.
"I'm telling you. That girl is the biggest brat I have ever met," Gwen replied as she scribbled on a pad. "We need more ideas. What are you doing for your campaign?"
"Nothing," Bridgette replied with a smile.
Gwen raised an eyebrow. "What?"
"It was Dawn's idea," Bridgette said. "She said it would give Harold a false sense of security or something."
"She's the one who could talk to sheep, right?" Gwen asked.
"Yeah," Bridgette replied.
"Okay," Gwen shrugged, scribbling some more.
"Hello, ladies," Cody greeted as she showed up with Owen beside him.
Gwen's accidentally broke her pencil in frustration.
"Can I help you?" she asked snarkily.
"We just wanted to say that we fully support you in this election," Cody said.
"Yeah, Noah's cool but you're right. He is too lazy to be the leader," Owen added.
"We're gonna have a chat with B and Cameron. Try and sway them to your side," Cody said smoothly, doing a hand motion.
"That will be six votes. You could win!" Sammy said excitedly.
"Yeah, that would be awesome. Thanks guys," Gwen replied, doing her best to smile.
"Do you need help with anything else?" Cody asked, once again peering at her sketch-book.
"Not at the moment," Gwen said, her smile becoming more forced.
"Come on, Cody. We've no time to lose!" Owen exclaimed, and he dragged the scrawny boy off.
Gwen, 14, British Columbia: Working with Cody isn't my favourite thing in the world, but I guess it has to be done.
Lindsay and Tyler were sitting together on a blanket in front of the yellow cabin.
"Hey, have you ever noticed how Heather…" Lindsay whispered, only to be interrupted when Heather strutted over.
"Sorry to interrupt you two, but I need to talk to Lindsay," she said.
"Yeah sure," Tyler shrugged as Lindsay got up and Heather lead her away.
"I need you to do something. Can you keep a secret?" Heather asked.
"Oh my gosh. Yes!" Lindsay exclaimed. "Once my best friend got stuck in the changing room in the school gym because someone stole all her clothes and I had to bring her stuff from the lost and found and I've never told a soul."
Her eyes went wide. "Oops…sorry Marissa."
"Duncan's planning on sabotaging my campaign. I want you to follow him and report back to me."
She shoved Lindsay away and walked off.
"What did she want?" Tyler asked, coming up behind her.
"Who's Duncan?" Lindsay asked, scratching her head.
"Ah, there they are," Owen said as he and Cody approached Cameron and B in the dry goods store.
"Hello," Cameron replied, and B gave them an acknowledging nod.
"So, election coming up. Who are you guys gonna vote for?" Cody asked, leaning his arm against one of the shelves.
"Noah," Cameron replied, sounding quite confident. B pointed at him and nodded in agreement.
Oh. Because we're thinking of voting for Gwen," Owen replied, pointing between himself and Cody.
Cameron looked surprised by this. "Why?"
"I just think Gwen has a point. This district could do a better job at…well…their jobs," Owen shrugged.
"Yeah, but Noah won us so many showdowns," Cameron pointed out. "I don't want to take the chance."
"I mean, were any of them really because of him?" Cody asked. "Noah only did the ziplining in the obstacle course, it was me and B who found the correct pipe in the second showdown, and the bungee jumping was mostly Izzy."
Cameron thought about this, but he shook his head. "No, Noah's my friend, and I thought he was your friend too. We should all be supporting him."
"I don't think you understand…" Owen began to reply but he was cut off when Noah walked in, casually swinging his arms.
"Hey guys," he said. "What are you talking about?"
"The election," Cameron replied. "Owen and Cody said they will be voting for Gwen."
Noah jumped a little at this, but he tried to play it cool.
"Really?" he asked. "I guess you don't care about the showdowns. About getting to buy all that candy."
"Cameron already tried that one on us," Owen scowled.
"Oh," Noah said. "Cody, I'm surprised you don't want to vote for me."
"Well…you see…" Cody replied nervously.
"I think we need a little talk. Private 1 on 1," Noah said, putting an arm on Cody's shoulder and leading him away.
Once Cody and Noah had exited the dry goods store, Noah stopped and crossed his arms.
"I think you've forgotten something," he said.
"What?" Cody asked.
"Who is it that made this team again?" Noah said.
"You?" Cody answered with a raised eyebrow.
"That's right, Cody. I put you and Gwen in the same district because I knew you had a crush on her," Noah stated. "And you know Gwen's been trying to leave this district."
"But that's because of the girls, not me," Cody insisted.
"Not the point," Noah responded. "Sky is the only current council member who supports swapping, and we all know Harold ain't getting re-elected. So if Bridgette, Gwen and Sky are all on the council, there'd be swapping madness."
Cody's mouth was agape. "So this is the only reason she's running for council?"
"That's not what I said, but you may be right," Noah shrugged. "Just think about it."
He gave Cody a pat on the shoulder, then he walked off.
Cody let out a deep sigh.
Noah, 12, Town Council: Looks like this election is harder than I thought it would be. I'm handling it pretty well, though.
Cody, 15, Ontario: I really want to support Gwen, but I don't want her to leave this district either. I'm really not sure what to do.
Ella and DJ were doing laundry together when Jo and Lightning came over to them.
"Oh boy," DJ said with rolled eyes.
"Hi there!" Jo greeted with a wave. "We want to talk to you about the…"
"I'm gonna stop you right there," DJ interrupted, getting up and marching over to Lightning. "How could you say those things about Sky? That was totally disrespectful."
"What did Lightning say?" Lightning snapped.
"Calling Sky a pipsqueak."
"But she is," Lightning shrugged. "You want a big macho man leading you, not some scrawny 9 year old."
"I don't need you to tell me what I want," DJ frowned. He took a big step forward and made Jo and Lightning step back in fright. "I suggest you two leave before your embarrass yourselves even more."
"But we're…" Jo protested.
"NOW!" DJ roared. The two of immediately ran for it.
"We'll get Ella when she's alone," Jo whispered to Lightning.
DJ, 14, British Columbia: I really tried to reach out to Jo and Lightning, but the things they said about Sky are just unacceptable.
Lindsay and Tyler made out behind a tree while Duncan talked to Trent nearby.
"Why do you wanna vote for Courtney?" Trent asked in disbelief.
"I don't. I just don't want Heather," Duncan replied. "She's a snake."
"How? How's she a snake?" Trent frowned.
"She claims to be Courtney's friend, but she so badly wanted her gone that she convinced you to drop out."
"Can you blame her?" Trent asked with his arms crossed. "I have nothing against Courtney as a person but she's not fit to lead."
"Well no…but…"
"I think I know what this is really about," Trent smirked.
"Huh?" Duncan said.
"You like Courtney."
"Dude!" Duncan started to look panicked.
"You do. You're always staring at her in the town halls, and I've seen you carve 'C&D' into the wall of the cabin," Trent said.
Duncan looked freaked out, but he shook his head. "Okay, maybe I like her. But that's not the point. Look, I've already convinced Scott and Rodney. Your vote would make five."
"That's a tie," Trent pointed out. "Look, I just don't see a good reason not to vote Heather. I'm sorry."
Trent walked off, while Duncan started to groan in frustration. He was interrupted by a sneeze from nearby.
"Tyler," he said in a low tone. "Get out of here or I will punch you in the face."
Two high-pitched screams were heard followed by running footsteps.
Duncan, 14, Manitoba: You don't just go from being Courtney's number one kiss-ass to running against her. What else is there to say?
"Pioneers, gather up!" Chris announced as the kids gathered in a field once again.
"Here's how things work this time," he continued. "Out in this field are over 300 pinatas. Each district will send one district member at a time to bust open a pinata and hopefully find a picture and caption of a major historical event. Then you run back and hand it to your council leader. But there's a catch – only some of the pinatas have a picture inside of them. If you bust open a pinata and find nothing, race back to your council leader so someone else can have a try. Your district's goal is to collect eight different pictures."
"Now here's where the council leader's job gets tough. It is up to you guys to put them in historical order."
There were many groans over this, though Sky groaned the loudest.
Sky, 9, Town Council: I'm not really good at school stuff. Usually I just doodle myself winning the Olympics.
"And don't bother copying off the team next to you, because there are tons of cards out there, so you'll all end up with a different mix."
"Yes," Harold said, pumping his fist.
"Excellent," Noah grinned, rubbing his hands together.
"Council members must lead, organise and listen to your district. It's up to you to decide the final order. If you think you have them right, race to this bell."
He gestured towards a bell attached to the side of a barrel.
"The first district to ring the bell and have the events in the correct order becomes the upper class. Last place are the labourers, getting only two nickels."
Courtney, 15, Town Council: History's not my strongest subject, but I know it well enough. The yellow district is winning!
"I am setting this stopwatch for 30 minutes. If you all complete the showdown before the clock runs out, you will win a huge reward. The time starts…now!"
The first four runners were off – Katie, Zoey, Amy and Brick, and they whacked at the pinatas closest to their teams.
Brick was the first to bust his open.
"Nothing!" he shouted. The green district sighed as Brick ran back and passed the stick to Eva, who bolted it to the other side of the field.
By this time the other three girls had also beaten down their pinatas, but they had no luck either.
Duncan was up next for yellow, and he beat down a pinata in two swings.
"Yes!" he cheered as he picked up a card. "I got one!"
He ran back, tossed the stick to Lindsay, and handed Courtney the card.
"The collapse of the Twin Towers," Courtney read, her eyes going a little wide. "Well that's…uh…2001."
She placed it at the end of their work-space.
Courtney, 15, Town Council: My dad was on a flight from New York during 9/11, and when we heard saw the news I actually thought he was dead. His plane had to land in Montreal and he was stranded for two weeks.
"Got one! Got one!" Sadie squealed as she ran back to her team.
"Yellow district have now got two cards!" Chris announced.
"The collapse of the USSR," Courtney read. "That was 1989 I think."
Shawn and Sugar hit their pinatas at the time and both cheered.
"We did it! We done did it!" Sugar cheered.
"Red and blue district have both found their first cards!" Chris announced.
"Canada achieves self-government," Noah read as he held a card with the Canadian flag. "I have no idea."
"1867 – I read about it in History of Canada: A Pop-up Book," Cameron told him.
"India gains independence from the UK," Harold read. "Well, I know Gandhi died in 1948."
"Sounds about right, eh," Ezekiel replied, scratching under his hat.
Ezekiel, 13, Manitoba: I'm pretty well-versed on the history of North America and Europe, but I'm a little fuzzy beyond that.
"Lightning gets green their first card!" Chris announced.
"Sha-yeah!" Lightning cheered as dropped it on the green's stand. "No need to thank me."
"Okay," Eva shrugged.
"The American Civil War," Sky read. The card depicted a drawing of the Battle of Gettysburg. "I know it's something to do with slavery."
"Yeah. It was sometime in the 1800s, but I'm not sure exactly when," DJ told her.
"Yellow have found their fourth card. They're halfway there!" Chris announced. "Blue has three, while red and green have two each."
"Come on," Noah said impatiently, tapping his foot.
"Well that's easy," Courtney grinned, placing 'The birth of Jesus' at the start of the yellow workspace.
"Here you go, No-no!" Izzy exclaimed as she crawled over to Noah with a card in her teeth.
"I ain't touching that," Noah said dryly. He snapped his finger and Owen took the card from Izzy's mouth.
"The Wall Street Crash," Owen read.
"1929. Everyone knows that," Noah shrugged.
"Martin Luther starts the Protest…protest…" Sky couldn't pronounce the word.
"…the Protestant reformation," Geoff finished. "Wasn't Martin Luther the black rights guy?"
"Yeah, but this is a drawing of a white man," DJ said, scratching his head." And he's nailing a sheet of paper into a door."
"Probably after Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet," Geoff shrugged, placing the card accordingly.
Cameron, 11, Manitoba: We got off to a slow start, but pretty soon the teams were neck in neck
Bridgette handed Harold another card.
"Card number five! We're in the lead!" Beth cheered.
"No idea," Ezekiel shrugged after looking over it.
"Argentina invades the Falklands," Harold said excitedly. "It was in 1982. Infamous for all its misleading tabloid headlines."
He put it to the left of a photo of Nelson Mandela.
Join us next time to see who wins the showdown, and the revelation of the new Town Council. See you then :)