Noah woke up to the sun shining right through the gap in the curtains and onto his face. He blinked, expecting to see the dingy wooden walls and manky bunks of the Screaming Gophers cabin, but was instead greeted by crisp white walls and soft, clean bedsheets.

He sat up and rubbed his eyes. This room was a far cry from anything at Wawanakwa. It was simple in its decor, but everything that was there was luxurious. Bed, dresser, shelf, what looked like a mini-fridge in the corner, and a painting of a sunny seashore on the wall above him.

Noah got up and threw back the curtains, and that was when he realised where he was: Playa des Losers. He thought back to last night, when Chef had dumped him and his luggage aboard the Boat of Losers and took him to paradise. He hadn't even had time to be mad at being eliminated, because he was just in awe at how such a heavenly place could be right around the corner from the shithole that was Wawanakwa.

He'd wandered around the poolside at night. They were empty. The lights and the stars reflected off of the surface of the water and dazzled him. He felt completely at peace.

He almost didn't mind getting voted off.

Almost.

Noah got dressed for the day - in his swimwear - and headed outside, his favourite book in hand. It was still fairly early in the morning - only seven-thirty - so he had the poolside to himself. A buffet table had already been set up, so he helped himself to a plate of fresh fruit and toast and took it over to one of the sun loungers. There, he lay back and sighed deeply, watching the sky light up far above him.

Okay, he knew he should be more upset at losing out on a hundred thousand dollars and being ditched by his teammates, but he couldn't find it within himself to care very much. After all, it meant that he got to come here, to actual civilization, while everyone else had to suffer with cockroaches, Chris's shenanigans, and Chef's "food".

The other Gophers basically just did him a huge favour, and they didn't even realise it!

Noah relaxed, cracked open his book, and prepared for a long day of laziness.

It wasn't long before he heard a door slam somewhere nearby, followed by footsteps on the concrete. Then, "Hey, dude! Fancy seeing you here, eh?"

Oh. Of course. The other losers would be here too. How could he have forgotten?

Ezekiel came over and sat on the lounger next to him. "So they finally gave you the boot, eh? How'd that happen?"

Noah's eyes flicked up to meet his. "Let's just say that sports aren't my forte."

"What's a forte?" Ezekiel scratched his head.

"Means I'm not good at sports."

"Oh. So they kicked you cuz you can't play sports? That's a shame. I bet you still tried your best though, eh?"

Well…

Then the door slammed shut again. Ezekiel's eyes widened.

"Uh oh, Eva's up! She's scary, eh? Take my advice and don't get on her bad side!" Ezekiel left then, presumably to go hide somewhere lest he face Eva's ire again.

Sure. As if Noah needed to be told that. And as if he was going to take advice from some homeschooled weirdo anyway.

Noah's attention quickly returned to his book. He lost himself in the words once again, blocking out all noises from the outside world. Even though he's read this book many times already, it still enthralled him. He sped through the pages, making good progress, until a large shadow fell over him. One that he couldn't ignore.

"So they booted you next, huh?"

Eva stood over him, hands on her hips. She too was in her swimwear, looking just as intimidating as ever. Not that Noah was intimidated. He simply flicked to the next page in his book with a simple, "Yep".

"What did you do to piss them off?"

"Trying not to get in the way of their success."

Eva raised an eyebrow. "You obviously didn't do a good enough job, cause you wouldn't be here otherwise." She sat down where Ezekiel had been sitting earlier.

Noah shot her a glare. "At least I didn't trash my team's cabin like some out-of-control ape."

Eva moved shockingly fast, reaching over and snatching Noah's book right out of his hands. She stood up, towering over him ominously, as she reared her arm back.

"Hey!" Noah made a grab for his book, but Eva avoided him easily.

"Calling me an ape, are you?" she growled. "Insolent little shrimp!"

She shoved Noah away and made to throw the book into the pool, but she stopped short. She brought the book back down and studied it intensely. Noah saw his chance and tore it from her grasp, hugging it protectively to his chest. But Eva didn't get angry at him again. In fact, she looked a little… excited?

"That's a Peter Sands book, isn't it?"

"Yeah?" Noah fixed her with a withering glare. "What of it? You know him?"

"Yeah." Eva looked quite abashed now, rubbing the back of her neck with her hand. "Quite a big fan of his work. Haven't read that one, though." She motioned to the book in Noah's grasp.

Noah looked down at it. The cover was a deep, ominous black, with a grey jar containing a single flower petal. Above the picture was the title in a messy white scrawl: Portrait of a Man in Peril.

"This?" He gazed at it lovingly. "It-It's my favourite. He's my favourite author."

Eva nodded in a respectful manner. "He's my favourite author, as well." She sat back down on the lounger, a lot calmer and - dare Noah think - kinder as well? "The Lighthouse Dance is my favourite of his."

"Oh, that's a good one. I did my book report on it for school last year. I was the only one in my class who got an A+." Noah let slip a slightly smug smile.

Eva turned to face him, surprise in her eyes. "So did I! I only got a B for mine though. The stupid teacher marked me down for "poor spelling and grammar". Bullshit, if you ask me."

Noah was struggling to comprehend what was happening. Only a minute ago Eva was seconds away from throwing his book into the pool, and now they were sitting together having a conversation about his favourite author? He certainly never would have pegged Eva as being a fan of Peter Sands. Sands wrote about a lot of complex topics that most of the other campers would probably never understand. But now he was realising that maybe Eva wasn't just some dumb meathead after all.

"So, you said you never read this one?" Noah held up his book.

"Nope. Could never find it in any of the bookstores or libraries back home. Is it any good?"

Noah smiled again, more genuinely this time. "Yeah. It's really good."

"What's it about?"

"A man going through a mid-life crisis which slowly turns into a mental breakdown."

A shimmer of glee flashed across Eva's eyes. "I really want to read that, now. Can I borrow it after you're done with it?"

Noah gave her the side eye. "Only if you promise not to throw it in the pool like you were trying to do only a few minutes ago."

"I won't. You have my word on that." Eva placed one hand over her heart. "Sorry about that, by the way." She flushed in embarrassment. "I've been trying to work on my anger issues, if it's any consolation."

"Oh yeah, I'm totally reassured," Noah said, with only a slight hint of sarcasm. "Now, if you want to read this book any time soon, you'll have to leave me alone so I can finish it."

"Sure. I'm gonna go lift weights in the meantime." And with that, Eva got up and left.

Noah turned back to his beloved book, but now he couldn't quite focus on the words. His mind was still reeling over what had just happened.

He'd just had a perfectly civil conversation with Eva and didn't get hurt.

Hell, they'd even managed to bond over something! A shared interest! With Eva, of all people!

Noah never saw this coming. Not in a million years. He'd fully expected to have to fish his book out of the pool. But no, Eva wanted to borrow it from him! He didn't think she'd associate with stringbean nerds like him.

But that was exactly what had just happened.

A sudden thought crossed his mind.

Was this what making friends was like?