After the challenge, all 14 teens retreated to their rooms and changed into cleaner clothes. The general designs were the same, as sticking to a specific style of clothing was a rule in each player's contract; there were a few differences compared to their dirty clothes, but not enough for them to truly be noticeable.
Shortly after, lunch was served, and it was just as tense as it had been the last two times. This time, like yesterday, all the apprehension had shifted from one table and back to the other. The Bears ate in relative silence, and no one was daring enough to try and start a conversation in the thick of it. On the other hand, the Salmons were grinning eagerly as they chatted amongst themselves, even though they still had to stomach over-and-undercooked bread patties.
"So pumped about getting actual food again tonight," Amy said through a mouthful of touton. "I have no idea what I want this time. Maybe I'll go for something foreign…"
"It's a surprisingly robust menu given where the food is being made," Scarlett observed. "I'm curious as to where they get the ingredients…"
"Maybe they grow them on the other side of the island?" Sammy suggested as she reached for another.
"Unlikely," Scarlett answered. "They would need a lot of land for something like that, and given what this island's purpose is, I doubt they'd use it for something as mundane as farming."
"Yeah," Rodney agreed. "Plus, not all plants and crops grow well in the same type of soil. So they'd have to import the soil they want and get it all set up and then start growing the crops. And that takes a lot of time."
"You'd know all about that, wouldn't you?" Topher asked him. "Being from a farm and all."
Rodney beamed and puffed his chest out in pride. "I am, and I do."
Without anyone noticing, Jasmine rolled her eyes, but kept to herself.
"What probably happens is that they import their products and ingredients," Scarlett explained. "Though with such a diverse menu, there must be ingredients from several different locations and cultures here."
"Whoa," Sammy said in awe. "That's pretty cool."
"Indeed it is."
While the Salmons (plus Max) had an amicable meal, the Bears had gone back to giving each other disappointed looks and worried glances. The person who received the most of the former and sent out the most of the latter was, of course, Shawn, and he drummed his fingers on the table nervously every time he felt eyes on him.
-SHAWN-
"Okay, okay, I admit it," Shawn says with a dejected frown. "I messed up! I told them the sleeping wouldn't hurt us, and it did. This is something I gotta own up to. But… just because I own up to it doesn't mean I can't try to keep myself in the game. It might not work, but I should at least give it a shot. No main character ever survived a zombie apocalypse by giving up!" He pauses. "That… kind of sounds conceited of me."
-END-
Shawn took a moment to glance at the rest of his teammates, internally trying to figure out who best to talk to. As he did that, Sugar took the opportunity to speak. "I dunno why everyone's so down in the dumps," she said in between shoveling toutons into her mouth. "Is it 'cuz of the food? 'Cuz this stuff ain't all that bad. Y'all just need stronger stomachs."
Several pairs of eyes looked at her in bafflement. "It's because we lost," Dave told her. "Obviously."
"Well, yeah, sure we lost, which sucks," Sugar agreed. "But I mean, tonight's probably just gonna be another one'a them non-elimination things. So we're still gonna be seven people strong. Again."
"How can you be so sure?" Leonard asked curiously. "Chris said there wasn't any pattern to what rule happens each night."
"Yep, he did," Sugar agreed, "but these sorts'a competitions always wanna show off their newfangled rules and gimmicks as much as they can, especially in the early episodes. And after actually kickin' someone off last night, they're gonna wanna go back to the other rule, of not kickin' anyone off."
The others stared at her in surprise, and then at each other. "She makes a good point," Beardo said after a moment.
"Yeah," Sky said, her eyes flicking back to the southerner. "She does."
Sugar glared at her. "Why d'ya look so shocked?"
"Uh, no reason!"
Lunch continued on. Out of all present, Max was actually the first to finish his plate of toutons. He picked up his empty dish, brought it over to the kitchen partition, and knocked on the window sill when he didn't see a bell. "Excuse me," he called to Chef Hatchet, "I'm ready to place my order for dinner tonight."
Chef, who was standing over a frying pan at the stove, turned to look at him and scoffed. "Boy, you're a Wildcard now. You don't get the fancy dinner!"
With a loud and dramatic gasp, Max clutched his cheeks and stepped backwards. "No dinner?! What?!"
"You tellin' me you didn't think about that 'til now?" Chef asked him, flipping a touton into the air and catching it perfectly on his spatula without even looking at it. "You got voted out by your team, which means you lost. And losers don't get rewards!"
"But- But that's-" Despite his sputtering, Max ultimately sighed and lowered his head dejectedly. "That's fair."
He slowly and sadly left the mess hall at that, though unknown to him he had garnered a bit of an audience. The twins watched him go, and shared a glance with each other. "I feel kinda bad for him," Amy said to her sister.
"Me too," Sammy nodded. "I wonder if we're allowed to share some of our own meals with him…"
Suddenly Chef Hatchet slammed his hands onto the window, startling the girls and several of the other contestants. "No one is allowed to feed the losers anything!" he bellowed out to them. "Do I make myself clear, maggots?!"
"Sir, yes sir!" shouted practically everyone in terror.
A few minutes later, some of the campers began to file out of the lodge, with the twins making themselves scarce first. As they walked back to the cabins, Amy laid a hand on Sammy's shoulder. "You doing okay?"
"Yep," Sammy replied, smiling somewhat. "I am now, after winning."
"That's good," Amy said happily, and then winced. "Sorry I wasn't there to help you out. Chris wouldn't let any of us leave the area once we were tagged, the jerk."
Sammy shrugged. "It's fine. It ended up working out in the end."
Amy smiled at that. "It so did. We're lucky Ella was the first person to find you. And that she gave you a fair chance to play. Though, it probably doesn't look too good for her…"
Sammy grumbled at that. "Yeah, I guess that's true. I just hope it doesn't happen." Quietly, she added, "The last thing I want is for her to get voted out because of me."
Hearing this, Amy quickly tried to change the topic. "Um… Oh! Hey, listen, Topher told me on our way to lunch that he was thinking of having us celebrate winning again!"
Sammy's frown remained at the mention of him, but she pressed on anyway. "Yeah? How so?"
"So," Topher started, descending the stairs to the lodge with the remaining members of his team, "another day, another victory. What say we find some way to celebrate this, huh?"
"Celebrate how?" Rodney asked. "There aren't any snacks or anythin' else here to eat, is there?"
"Doubtful, the tuck shop doesn't seem to have made the cut for this season. But I wasn't talking about that," Topher replied. "Amy and I discovered that the beach we washed up at is actually a pretty good relaxation spot. And what better way to destress after a long, drawn-out balloon battle than to unwind in the sun and soak up a few UV rays?"
Jasmine, at the head of their group, rubbed her chin at the thought of it. "Doesn't sound like a bad idea, honestly. Sam and I've been exploring the last two days, it'd probably be nice to just sit down for once."
"I'll join as well," Scarlett offered, causing Topher to turn to her in surprise. "Reading in the natural light of the sun is better on my eyes than using anything artificial."
"You have bad eyes?" Topher asked. "Huh. Never would've thought."
"I'm nearsighted," she replied. "Objects or people at far enough distances look like blurs to me, but things that are close to my face I can easily discern. Thankfully I was right to send my glasses here ahead of the zeppelin, though I haven't exactly had use for them yet."
"That's probably a good thing, seeing as how they could still get broken at any turn," Jasmine said.
Back inside the lodge, the Bears were beginning to leave as well. The majority of the teammates were at the very least beginning to feel better about the vote tonight, as what Sugar had said earlier made sense to them. However, the pageant queen herself wore a pout as she walked at the back of their group, her glaring eyes trained fully on one athlete in particular.
-SUGAR-
"I saw that look Sky gave me!" Sugar yells, pointing an accusing finger at the camera. "And the looks everyone was givin' each other! I know what they're thinkin', that I'm just some cute li'l dumb girl from out in the country who don't know nothin'! Well, just because I haven't been doin' well in school don't mean I'm not stupid! I mean-" She blinks in confusion. "Wait, hold up, did I say that right?"
-END-
Sugar stepped onto the deck with the rest of her team, and seemed to be the only one not in any sort of conversation. Ahead of her, Sky spoke with Dave, Ella and Beardo chatted lightly, and Shawn walked in front of them as he listened to Leonard talk about a game he once DM'd. Sugar noticed how three of those six lined up perfectly with one another, and a vicious idea formed in her head.
Purposefully hooking her foot into her other heel, Sugar tripped forward, caught herself before she fell, and used that forward momentum to push Sky.
"WHOA!" the athlete cried as she flew into Ella's back. That impact caused the two girls to go careening into Shawn, and all three of them screeched as they fell down the stairs in a pile of loud, groaning bodies.
"Holy crap!" Dave shouted in shock, and he, Beardo and Leonard raced down the stairs to help them.
All the while, Sugar giggled like a manic child. "Bullseye." However, she too hustled down the steps to help. "Oh my god, are you guys okay?"
"Oww," Shawn groaned from the bottom of the pile. "My ribs hurt."
"My everything hurts," Ella whined painfully.
Sky, having been on top and in the least pain, pushed herself off the impromptu human dog pile and turned right around. "Sugar! What the heck was that?!" she angrily shouted at her.
"I-I know what it looks like, but it was an accident, I swear!" she lied. "My shoe must'a hooked onto somethin' on the deck and I went flyin'! Honest!"
Sky searched her face hard, looking for any signs of untruth. But Sugar, used to being in these situations, betrayed nothing and looked and acted absolutely genuine.
So genuine, that Sky reluctantly believed her. "Well… okay. But please, be more careful! We could've been seriously hurt!"
Dave helped Shawn to his feet, while Beardo offered a hand to Ella who accepted. "I think I might try to leave the building on my own from now on," Shawn muttered, rubbing his chest in pain.
"Aww, darn it!" Ella suddenly cried out, and everyone looked to her to see her holding the hem of her dress, which was partially covered in dirt. "I just put this on and now it's dirty! Ugh, lame!"
"You should try and wash that off, before it stains," Beardo suggested.
"Yeah, I will," Ella said, and took off for the bathroom.
"Not really sure what the problem is," Shawn said, whose shirt was completely drenched in mud. "It's just clothes."
"At least she seems fine," Leonard said, and he wiped his brow of sweat. "Still though, that gave me a fright! You sure you're both okay?"
"I'm alright," Sky told him. "I've suffered worse."
"I haven't," Shawn said. "But I'll be fine."
"Well, thank goodness." Sugar sighed heavily in relief. "I am so sorry that happened, y'all. I'll be more careful from now on, promise."
While Sky slowly nodded her head at that, Shawn continued to stare at her in agitation, clearly not believing her. But no other words were said, and most of the team dispersed for the time being.
Once the coast was clear, however, Shawn found himself hastily seeking Dave out, who hadn't gotten very far yet. "Hey, hold up a sec."
"What's wrong?" Dave asked him, making sure to stay at least six feet away from his filthy clothes.
Shawn gave an awkward laugh, and pointed to the forest. "Can, uh… you and me talk for a bit? About… tonight?"
Somewhat startled, Dave looked around to see if anyone else was in sight. "I… guess we can, yeah," he said once he confirmed they were alone.
Sighing in relief, Shawn nodded and led them away into the woods.
Back with the twins, they exited their shared room and descended the stairs. They both had an assortment of items in their hands, including their beachwear, and in Sammy's case her toiletry bag. "I kinda want to freshen up, after earlier, y'know?" she said to her older sister.
"Oh, believe me, I get that," Amy said. "But hey, from the looks of it, a lot of our team seemed pretty accepting of it. No one really complained."
"I know! Which is so awesome! And they even promised not to purposefully trigger it. Which is… uh." At that, she turned away and sighed. "Better than back home, at least."
"Y… Yeah." Amy, for a currently unknown reason, wore a guilty expression. But she put it away and breathed sharply. "Well, they're not here right now, so let's forget about those idiots and try to have a nice time!"
There was a pause where Sammy didn't reply right away. Amy looked like she was about to begin panicking, but after a few moments Sammy nodded at her sister and put on a smile. "Okay. Let's do that."
"Alright!" Amy said happily, her expression instantly shifting. "You go and freshen up, and I'll-" The sound of a door opening interrupted her, and the two of them looked back at their cabin to see Max coming out of the boy's room. He didn't even register their presence, and he sat down on the steps in a slump. "I'll… I'll meet up with you later."
Sammy looked between her and Max, and tilted her head in confusion. "Huh? Why? What's going on?"
"Oh, nothing important! No need to worry about it!"
Between Amy's too-wide smile and the fact that Max of all people was involved in this, Sammy had plenty of reasons to worry. But in the end the only thing she did about it was shrug. "Well… okay then. See you."
"Yep!" The two waved goodbye to each other, and Sammy took her leave. When she was out of earshot, Amy sighed heavily, and put on as much of a confident smile as she could before heading over to Max.
-AMY-
Amy begins her confessional with her arms crossed and her back slouched. "Uh… So when I voted for Max last night, I didn't expect to feel this crappy about it. At first I thought it would be fine, get rid of the guy who'd been bugging one of my teammates, right? But… with the way he's been acting since then, I get the feeling that had never been his intention, and now I feel like crud because maybe I did the wrong thing? I… I don't really know if I did or not, but… I think I should do something about it." She chuckled humorlessly. "Wouldn't be the first time I had this feeling."
-END-
"Hi Max," Amy said as pleasantly as she could, stopping just in front of him. "You doing okay?"
The smaller boy looked up at her in surprise. "Oh… Uh, yeah, I'm fine. I guess."
"Sorry about the whole dinner thing," Amy said sympathetically. "That must totally suck."
"It does totally suck," Max bemoaned. "I'll forever be a loser in the eyes of this show… And because of that, I'll have to survive off of gruel and spoiled meat and who knows what else, while the rest of you get a chance at a balanced meal. It's a cruel, cruel world…"
Amy let out a nervous chuckle. "W-Well, maybe a trip to the beach'll help get your mind off of it?" When Max looked at her questioningly, she quickly continued, "The team's going to the beach to celebrate. I know like, technically you're not part of the team anymore, but it'll be weird if you're not there, y'know?"
"I… Really?" Max asked with a tilt of his head. "But… you heard Chef. I lost. I'm not in the game anymore."
"But you're still on the island, right? Just because you're not 'in the game' doesn't mean you're not here. So, y'know, c'mon!" She pointed a finger right into his face, causing his eyes to cross in order to look at it. "Quit being so down in the dumps and come have fun with us! It'll so be worth it!"
Max was at a complete loss for words, but one thing was for certain - Amy's commanding tone was sincerely making him consider going. She wasn't being mean about it, but the authority in her voice was present and had taken its effect on him.
"Oh," he said simply, and thought it over for a moment. And with a large sigh, he nodded in the end. "Okay, sure. I'll join you all."
Amy broke out into a grin. "Seriously? That's great! We're gonna go in like, an hour, so you can get ready if you need to. You also like, don't have to go swimming if you don't want to. You can just come and hang with us! It'll be great!"
"Right," Max said with a nod. "Thank you for the invitation."
Amy snorted. "Dude, loosen up a bit! We're going to the beach, not to school! You should be excited!"
"Loosen up?" Max asked, to which Amy nodded. "Hmm. I'm not exactly in the mood to be excited, but if it's what's expected of me…"
"Whoa, whoa whoa," Amy interrupted, waving her hands. "Nothing's expected of you. We're just going out to have fun. So forget about the game for a bit and, you know… have fun!"
"I… think I can do that."
"Then say it! Get pumped! Because we're going to the beach and who knows when we'll do it again!"
Inspired, Max stood to his feet and suddenly declared, "Well in that case, we shall have the best, most exciting, most relaxing trip to the beach possible!"
"That's the spirit!" Amy joined in with her own fist pump. "Let's go get some R&R!"
"I must put on my trunks!" Max ran back up to his room, and turned back just before going in. "And I shall see you soon!"
"You bet!" And with that, Amy raced off for the bathroom.
She wasn't the only one; Ella hurried through the trees until she finally came to the communal bathroom. Seeing no one outside, she cared not for who was inside and threw open the door.
Which prompted Sammy to whirl around in surprise, and start coughing heavily when the toothpaste in her mouth went down the wrong pipe.
"Oh, hi again, my frenemy!" Ella greeted, but her smile fell as soon as it appeared. "Also, oh my gosh, are you okay?"
Sammy nodded and spat out everything in her mouth into the sink, and coughed heavily into it. After a few moments she found her voice again. "S-Sorry, I get startled easily," she apologized.
Ella blinked in surprise and took her spot at the mirror next to Sammy. "What are you sorry for? I should be the one apologizing. So I will! I'm very sorry about startling you!"
Sammy seemed genuinely at a loss at that. "Oh. You're forgiven?"
"Thank you!" Ella laughed, causing Sammy to do the same, if a bit more subdued. "How're the sneezes going?"
"Oh, they're all gone now. They majorly sucked though… How're your eyes?"
Ella squinted into the mirror, to see that while still pinkish, they weren't as bad as before. "Getting better, apparently. By the way, you have awesome aim. I wouldn't have been able to dodge if I wanted to!"
"Aw, thank you. I-" Sammy paused. "Wait. You didn't want to dodge the balloon?"
Ella faltered. "Uh-"
-ELLA-
"Okay, uh, I might have let her purposefully hit me," Ella admits awkwardly. "I just… can't help but feel bad for her, y'know? So I figured, I'd give her a bit of a confidence boost. Let her get someone out and help contribute to her team." She frowns. "That's not too much, is it? Gosh, I hope not…"
-END-
The singer laughed sheepishly for a second. "Ahaha, sorry, slip of the tongue! If I was able to, is what I meant to say."
Sammy nodded slowly. "Ohh, okay. Gotcha."
-SAMMY-
Sammy sits on the toilet seat, arms crossed and finger tapping against them. With a sigh she looks at the camera. "Okay, look. It's no surprise that my self-esteem issues are obvious to the others. And now everyone knows about my dissociation episodes, too. Put them together, and I'm worried that people are going to start treating me like a child that needs babying. Which I don't. I just need to be respected and treated like anyone else. I know Amy wants to make sure I'm well taken care of, which is understandable. But now I'm starting to get the feeling Ella's trying to coddle me as well…" She considers that for a moment. "I might have to say something if it gets to be a bit too much."
-END-
"Ugh, this staaaiiinnn," Ella whined as she rubbed at the dirt on her dress. "I don't want to have to change so soon! Lousy falling down the stairs and into the mud…"
"Wait, you fell down the stairs?" Sammy asked in shock. "OMG, are you okay?"
"Oh, yeah, totally," Ella answered. "Shawn got the worst of it, when Sky and I landed on him."
"All three of you?" the blonde exclaimed, even more horrified. "How'd that even happen?"
Ella frowned. "Sugar said she accidentally tripped and pushed us down. But…"
Sammy waited for her to continue, but she did not. "But…?"
After a few moments of thought, Ella sighed and shook her head. "Eh, it's… probably nothing. But it's fine, no one got hurt!"
"Well, if you say so," Sammy said after a moment's hesitation.
"I do say so! And I also say, I am now officially giving up on this stain." With a sigh she let the damp dress hang. "Say, what're you doing after this?"
Now that Sammy had finished freshening up, the two girls began to leave. "Oh, my team's going to the beach! As a sort of celebration for winning, apparently."
"Oooh, lucky! My team should do that next time we win!"
Sammy laughed behind a hand. "That's assuming there's a next time you win!"
Ella burst into laughter as well, just as she opened the door. "Oh ho, them's fightin' words!"
Then Amy almost came barreling into her. "Whoa!"
"Ah- Careful!" Ella backed up a bit from the door. "Don't want my dress muddying up your skirt."
Amy, still holding her bathing supplies, cringed at the dirt. "Oh, jeez, you're right," she said. "I already had trouble with one stain today, I don't want to deal with another."
The older twin let the other two exit, first Ella and then Sammy. She gave her sister a questioning look, motioning to Ella at the same time, and Sammy's only response was to blink in confusion and tilt her head. Amy just shrugged and waved it off in the end.
"Hey, wait a sec, weren't you getting dressed for the beach?" Amy suddenly asked her, pointing to her regular clothes.
"OMG! I totally forgot, didn't I?" Sammy groaned, but then she leveled a jokingly angry pout at the singer. "You distracted me from getting ready! How dare you!"
Picking up on the sarcasm, Ella over-excitedly pumped her fists. "Yes! All according to plan."
Sammy stuck her tongue out at her enemy, and Ella returned it in kind. They devolved into childish laughter, and once it passed Sammy turned back for the door. Over her shoulder she said to Ella, "I'll see you later, 'kay?"
"You got it!" Ella replied. "You guys have fun!"
Sammy entered, and Ella turned to leave, but Amy wasn't done yet, and stopped the singer with a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, hang on."
Ella raised a brow at her. "What's up?"
"Thank you, for earlier," she said to her, grinning widely. "You literally saved her butt back there."
Ella mimicked the grin. "My pleasure! I was happy to help where I could."
"I dunno if what happened today is gonna happen again," Amy said, taking a quick glance to the bathroom, "but you never know. Can… Can I ask you to keep an eye out, just in case it does happen again?"
Nodding without any hesitation, Ella said, "You can count on me! Whatever I can do to make Sammy feel safe, I'll do it."
"Thanks! You rock." She let Ella go and the two split off.
Once a good distance away, Ella looked back and smiled warmly, but that smile slowly fell away as she remembered what was expected of her for that night, and she continued on.
Meanwhile, in the woods not too far from the lodge, Shawn was pacing in front of a large tree, which Dave was standing in front of and not leaning against. "Okay," Shawn started, doing everything in his power to not rub the sleep from his eyes. "I know I messed up. I know I technically caused us to lose when I should have been awake. I'm going to learn from my mistakes." He stopped and looked Dave straight in the eye. "But I can't back out of the game yet! It's way too early!"
Dave scratched the back of his neck. "Well, I… I guess you're not wrong."
"Right? And in order to do that… I'm gonna need help," Shawn said. "Your help."
-DAVE-
"Yeah, can't say I didn't see this coming," Dave confides to the camera. "I guess I'm the closest thing to a friend Shawn has at the moment, so it's no wonder he's coming to me with this over anyone else."
-END-
"What I need is a recap of what went down while I was asleep," Shawn told him. "Don't leave out any details!"
Though he seemed a touch uncomfortable, Dave nodded anyway. "Alright, I'll try."
And so Dave recounted everything he knew about the challenge, from knocking out Scarlett and then getting knocked out by Topher, to Sky and Jasmine's game of cat and mouse, from Sugar attempting to chase down Sammy, to Ella helping the younger twin recover from her episode. He tried not to leave out any details, but of course he wasn't privy to everything.
For Shawn however, this seemed to be enough. "I see…" he mused, rubbing at his stubble. "So you, Beardo, Sugar and Ella got someone out…"
"Yeah," Dave answered, "though Sugar and Ella got knocked out at about the same time they did that."
"Hmm."
Shawn was deep in thought, for long enough that Dave began contemplating just leaving. But when the movie nut sighed deeply, Dave instead asked, "What are you thinking?"
Regarding him for a moment, Shawn adjusted his toque. "I… might be able to spin something. But I need your input."
"O…kay?"
Shawn turned back to him again. "I'm thinking we vote off Ella."
Dave's reaction was immediate. "What?! Why E-"
"Shh!" Shawn quickly covered Dave's mouth before he spoke too loudly. "Be quiet! What, you want the whole island to know?!"
Dave attempted to make a reply, but it only came out in muffles. When Shawn finally let him speak, he said in a much quieter voice, "Why her? She didn't do anything wrong!"
Shawn sighed. "Technically… no. But from a certain angle, one could think she did."
"Dude," Dave said, "she helped one of the others when she was having an episode. You can't go picking Ella off for that reason!"
"What other choice do I have, though?" Shawn moved away from Dave and began pacing again. "Sugar would be the next target, but she's proven herself both today and yesterday. Same with Sky, and I'm not about to try and go for her when she's one of the most capable of us." He paused for a moment. "Leonard… maybe. But at the very least he sounded like he was waiting for the right opportunity to strike. Ella, though? She had so much opportunity. And she botched it all."
Dave sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Okay, that's true, I guess. But it's not gonna win you any favors with the team. Or Ella herself."
Shawn didn't reply right away. "I know," he said after a few moments, "but I mean… I wasn't exactly friends with her from the start, so…"
An awkward silence sat between them for a few moments, until Dave spoke again. "Well… I'm not gonna try and stop you. Do whatever you think'll help you stay in."
Shawn turned to look at him, a hopeful glint in his eyes. "Will you… help me? Vote for her, I mean."
Dave searched for an answer for a good while, before finally settling on, "I'll… consider it."
The movie nut kept his gaze on his friend, likely hoping that he would change his answer, but that change did not come, and he huffed out a breath of air. "'Spose that's the best I'm gonna get."
"Sorry, man," Dave said apologetically.
"Nah, I brought this on myself." Shawn shoved his hands into his pockets and walked off. "So Dave's a 'maybe', at the very least," he continued to himself. "Now all I need is two more votes." He chuckled sarcastically. "No big deal, right?"
A few moments later, in Maskwak's boy's room…
"And that's when the portal blew wide open, drawing in every living thing around it into its green glow! And on the other side was a world unlike any of them had seen…" Leonard stood in the middle of his room, dramatically retelling a tale of adventure he had once watched over at the table. His only listener was Beardo, sitting on his bed and enraptured by the whole thing, though a single audience member was more than enough for the Dungeon Master. "There was no land, only floating islands! Above them was a vast open sky, littered with clouds and in an unnatural shade of violet. Below, the same sky, only now it held a massive, all-consuming black hole at the very bottom…"
"Dang, man," Beardo said in total awe. "That's incredible. I can see all that!"
"Oh, but there's more," Leonard said with a grin. "For clouds were not the only thing above them. Hiding amongst the debris of destroyed islands were none other than the most feared predators to ever hunt in this dream-like world… sky sharks!"
Beardo actually gasped at that. "Whoa! And here I thought land sharks were bad news."
"A raging battle ensued! With the party already exhausted from their previous encounters, it was starting to seem like they were never going to reach the Darkest of Lords in his Castle of Pure Evil! But the Crystal of Power they had acquired from the shady cat merchant all of a sudden started glowing with a mystical power…"
As Leonard continued to narrate and Beardo kept on listening, Shawn watched the two of them through the door's window. He turned away from them and inhaled deeply. "Okay, man," he said, "this shouldn't be too hard. They seem like pretty understanding guys. So just go in there and convince them that they should target someone else and that the sleeping thing isn't going to be a prob… lem…" He said this last word as a giant yawn escaped his lips, however he immediately stifled it. "Ack! No!" Shawn slapped himself sharply across the cheeks. "Yawning will only make things worse! C'mon, focus!"
Composing himself, he pushed open the door and looked in.
"As the sky shark ripped his arm off and blood spewed everywhere, he-" Leonard stopped mid-sentence as both he and Beardo glanced over to him. "Oh, Shawn! Are you here to continue listening to me regale the epic tale of how my players collapsed an entire pocket dimension?"
Beardo gasped and covered his ears. "Hey, hey, spoiler alert! Next time warn a brother!"
"Oops," Leonard slapped his hands across his mouth, but he couldn't help but laugh regardless. "Sorry!"
"Uhh, maybe later," Shawn answered. He slipped inside and closed the door behind him. "I kinda wanted to talk to you guys about… the vote tonight."
With that out in the open, both Leonard and Beardo grew serious and paid full attention to Shawn. "The vote, huh," Beardo said quietly, his hands dropping from his ears. "What about it?"
"Well," Shawn started, "I was hoping I'd be able to convince you guys to vote for someone else, other than me."
The two guys were clearly not expecting that, and looked at each other in surprise. Leonard backed up and took a seat on Dave's bed. "Who… did you have in mind?" he asked carefully.
Shawn took another deep breath, as if expecting the worst from his answer. "I was, uh. Thinking of voting out…" He paused, and forced himself to speak. "Ella."
Leonard was taken aback, while Beardo sat up straight in shock. "Yo, what? Why her? She's cool, man."
"Yeah, and really nice," Leonard added. "Honestly I thought you were gonna say we should vote for Sugar again, but… why Ella?"
"I know she's a weird pick, but just let me explain," Shawn hastily said. "You guys saw on the screen how she didn't get Sammy out when she had the opportunity, and only did it when they got each other out. And I'm sure I'm not the only one who's noticed they've been getting pretty chummy over the last few days… So my question is, what if she keeps making compromises like that in the future? If she's willing to do that so early in the game, then it would just be better to take her out now than to risk it again later, isn't it?"
When he finished, he was met with silence. Beardo and Leonard were in deep thought, both openly struggling to come up with a response to that. After a moment, Beardo steepled his hands together and leaned on his knees. His brow had furrowed, and the air around him noticeably tensed. "I'm… really not sure what to think about this."
Leonard nodded solemnly in agreement. "I mean, I can see where you're coming from, but… It just doesn't feel right, you know?"
"Especially when she helped her come out of a dissociation episode," Beardo added. He leveled a look at Shawn that could almost be interpreted as a glare. "You're wanting her gone because of that…?"
Shawn winced, but doubled down nonetheless. "I know how it sounds, but the dissociation part isn't the main concern. In a competition like this, you need to focus on getting the enemy eliminated first, and then ask questions after. But Ella didn't do that, did she? She went right in without even looking to see if she was being set up."
"How do you know this, anyway?" Beardo asked with narrowed eyes. "You weren't there to see it happen. You weren't able to see anything."
"Dave brought me up to speed," Shawn answered before wincing. "And… listen. I openly admit that I messed up today. To make up for it, I'm gonna force myself into a… well, 'normal' sleep schedule, I guess you guys would call it. I'm willing to change up my habits for my team. But Ella… She doesn't exactly seem like the kind of person who'd drop a new friend because someone told her to. And a friend would go out of their way to make sure the other one wouldn't lose."
"I see why you'd think that, but Ella did give Sammy a fair chance afterwards," Beardo interrupted. "She didn't just let her hit her."
Shawn frowned. "While that may be true… how long will it be before it becomes more than that? When will it go from 'giving her a fair chance' to 'handing her the win on a silver platter'?"
"If it comes to that," Beardo said, standing up off the bed, "we'd vote her off then. But she hasn't done that, has she?" Despite most of his time on the island was spent quaking under people's gazes and generally being a rather shy guy, Beardo actually looked somewhat miffed this time around.
"Well, no," Shawn stammered. "But she could-"
"A'ight, look, man," Beardo interrupted again. He ran a hand through his afro. "I get what you're doing. You don't wanna be voted off, and I can respect that. But attempting to shift the blame from you to Ella of all people just ain't gonna work. You can't be trying to win us over by saying 'what if she does this or that in the future', when you've already caused us to lose. If you'd have come out the gate gunning for Sugar, maybe I'd have sided with you. But Ella? Not cool, man, especially when you're targeting her for what she chose to do today."
With that he made to leave the room. Shawn, still standing in front of the door, sidestepped quickly. "Uh, okay, let's go for Sugar then! She's still an-" Shawn quickly attempted, but the door loudly slammed in his face as Beardo made his exit. "…option." He groaned loudly and hung his head.
-SHAWN-
"In my defense," he begins, "I don't have much experience in dealing with… well, people. Mainly because I don't get out a lot, but still. So convincing some of the others to vote someone else off instead of me isn't exactly a skill I have."
-LEONARD-
"Shawn did make some good points," Leonard says in thought, "but Beardo was also right in saying it was him who hurt us the most in the challenge. I also kinda don't want to vote for Ella, since she's a fellow role-player and also, you know, a good person, but I can also see her doing something that might make us lose…"
-END-
"You'll help vote with me, though, right?" Shawn said all of a sudden, turning to Leonard.
The taller boy let out a terrified meep. "I- Uh- Um- Well- Y'see-"
-LEONARD-
"Yeah, uh… I was really hoping Shawn wasn't going to ask me to vote for her, because I really don't have much of a backbone."
-END-
"You do see where I'm coming from though, right?" Shawn continued, walking up to him. "She could compromise us when we least expect it. I mean, obviously if it has to do with the dissociation thing I guess it can be excused, but there's more of a chance of it not being about that. And unlike her, I'm actually aware of my problems and am trying to fix them!"
Shawn was beginning to sound a little desperate, but Leonard didn't seem to be able to call him out on it. "Uhhh. Well…" Wringing his hands nervously, Leonard stewed for several seconds, the sweat dripping off his forehead. Shawn was about to continue, but then the Dungeon Master let out a flustered groan and quickly stood up. "I gotta go to the bathroom but I'll think about it okay see ya!"
With that, he raced out the door, leaving the stunned Shawn to stand all alone. "That… could have gone worse?" he said to himself.
-SHAWN-
"Oh who am I kidding? That went terribly!" Shawn whines, rubbing his hands down his face. "I actually did the opposite of what I wanted to do and got someone to guarantee they'll vote for me! Maybe I should've planned this out for longer than I did… And yeah, sure, there's always the chance I won't actually get booted off, but I really can't afford that! Chris is known to be unpredictable!" That said, he sighs and puts on a look of hesitant determination. "There is still one avenue left for me to go down. It's not gonna be pretty, and I don't think I can fully trust her, but it's the last chance I have…"
-END-
"So what you're sayin'," Sugar started. Leaning against a tree, she eyed the desperate Shawn with a neutral expression, "is that you… want me… to vote for Ella… instead of you."
Shawn swallowed thickly and nodded. "That's right. I think I have Leonard and Dave on my side, so with you, that'd get us over half."
Sugar's eyes narrowed. "You think?"
He tensed. "Uh, I mean, I know for certain! Yep. Absolutely."
The pageant queen stared at the movie nut for a while longer, which caused him to sweat even more than he was already.
-SUGAR-
"Now, see here," Sugar says. "I ain't got a problem with votin' Ella off. In fact, I think I want her gone just as much as Sky, maybe even more. 'Cause while Sky's trouble, at least she's up front with ya. Ella, on the other hand, she's got this vibe that just don't sit right with me, like she's just leadin' everyone on with her goody-two-shoes act'a hers. Then she'll come up behind ya and stab ya in the back when you least expect it. I see them types all the time, so it ain't nothin' I'm not used to dealin' with, but when she went against me during the first vote, she made it personal.
"So, the way I see it, I got two choices: I can side with Shawn and get her gone now… or I can wait this out and get her when she thinks she's in the clear. I want to do that last one, 'cuz the look on her face when she loses it all will be priceless! But… Shawn's desperate. And after all the bullcrap he'd been giving me the last few days…" Sugar grins wickedly. "I wanna see just how far I can push that."
-END-
"I dunno," Sugar said with a huff, throwing her head to the side and looking off in the distance. "I mean if we wanna get all technical-like, you were what caused us to lose, right?"
Shawn grimaced. "Yes, I'm fully aware of that."
"So you must be gettin' pretty nervous, what with sundown comin' up so soon and all."
He scratched the back of his head. "You could say that, I guess."
She glanced his way again, and there was a dangerous glint in her eye. "Almost nervous enough to… strike a deal, maybe?"
Shawn's eyes grew to saucers, and he looked around them as if searching for anyone listening in. When no one revealed themselves, Shawn gulped audibly and leaned in closer. "What… What do you want?"
At that, Sugar grinned devilishly.
The sun was briefly shown shifting positions in the sky, indicating a change in time to later that afternoon. On the beach from the first episode, Topher and Amy set their things down and sighed in happy relief. "And here we are," Topher announced to his entourage, motioning his hands outwards towards the ocean. "A beautiful spot for some well-deserved rest and relaxation." Unlike yesterday, where he wore a pair of briefs purely as a way to influence Amy, today he wore a much more casual set of swim clothes. A white, open-buttoned shirt allowed his hard-earned abs to be on full display, while a pair of dark green trunks with pockets adorned his waist and a similarly colored pair of sandals protected his feet. Additionally, in place of his usual pair of star-shaped sunglasses sat a completely normal pair, though it was obvious they were incredibly expensive and designer.
"Yeah, it would be," Jasmine said, clearly irked, "if it hadn't taken us two hours to get here." She and the remaining members of Kinosewak (and also Max) were in their swimsuits and carrying towels, sunscreen, and other beach materials. Jasmine now wore a plain white t-shirt, tied just under the ribs. She wore a black bikini top under the shirt, though it was hardly visible, and a pair of bikini bottoms of the same shade of black. She also lacked her hat and allowed her shoulder-length hair to flow free of its ponytail.
Despite all present looking ready for some fun in the sun, they were also all mildly tired and sweaty from the long walk it took them to get there.
"I am so sorry about that," Amy quickly and genuinely said once she finished laying out her towel. "I thought I remembered the path from yesterday but I must have gotten it wrong!" Like Topher, she had chosen to wear a different set of swim clothes. Her bikini was purely red this time around, though the top had a single strap keeping it in place and going over her left shoulder. The sarong remained, but she had ditched the sun hat and glasses and instead wore a pair of fancy red sandals that looped around her ankles.
The only truly annoyed one was Jasmine; Sammy, Rodney, Max and Topher were otherwise content, while Scarlett was eyeing the path in with suspicion. "Well," Sammy said, wearing a hopeful smile. She wore a simple indigo bikini top, along with a pair of short cyan swim shorts and a pair of flip-flops of the same color. "We're here now, and that's what matters. So let's have some fun while we can, okay?"
"I'm up for that," Rodney agreed happily. The pair of trunks he wore were rather old-fashioned looking, as they were striped in light blue vertically and, oddly enough, had a large belt fashioned at the top. It looked like it was pulled from the 1960s, and definitely screamed hand-me-down. "The only body of water big enough for me back home is the river near the farm, and the bathtub I guess. I haven't been to the ocean before, so I think I'm gonna enjoy myself here."
Scarlett turned back to the group. "I've never been, either," she said. She wore a dark green one-piece swimsuit, had a pair of goggles hanging around her neck and, unlike everyone else, was wearing a black swimming cap over her long red hair. "It'll be good to experience something as publicly well-received as the beach."
"Well, let's not waste any more time," Jasmine said, her ire vanishing, and stuck a rather large umbrella into the sand. "Our reward dinner's not gonna wait for us to get back after all."
After setting all of their things down, the Salmons (and still also Max) immediately set out to enjoy themselves. Jasmine and Sammy stepped into the water, the latter slowly testing out the temperature with her feet, and when she deemed it acceptable and started wading into it, Jasmine quite literally picked her up and threw her farther out. Amy, after witnessing her sister go flying, laughed heartily and chose to join them rather than suntan next to Topher again. Rodney was taking his time before entering, and was only dipping his toes in before going too far out. And Scarlett laid down on her stomach, reading her book from underneath the umbrella, while Max, wearing a pair of light gray and purple trunks, was about to join the girls in the water.
"Max," the brainiac said to him.
Max visibly jumped. "Y-Yes?"
Without looking away from the book, Scarlett patted the spot next to her. "Sit."
He visibly gulped, and did as was told.
There was an awkward silence between them, as their conversation from last night was still fresh on their minds. And, of course, that was exactly what Scarlett wanted to talk about. "Have you given any thought to the offer from last night?" she asked after he settled in.
He paused for a few moments. "I… did, but I'm still not sure I've come to a conclusion."
Scarlett paused as well, but then sighed, closed her book and sat up. "Tell me what you're thinking."
Max's eyes widened at that. "What I'm thinking? Oh…" He scratched his head awkwardly. "I know I said that we could, you know, run this game, but I dunno… It seems kind of… mean."
"Mean?" she repeated, somewhat incredulous.
"Y-Yeah. I guess I'm just having second thoughts about it, is all."
Scarlett stared at him for a moment… and furrowed her brow. "So that's it? You're just going to give up?"
"I- What?" Max asked, squirming.
"Max," Scarlett said, and stepped up her game. "You should try and think bigger. You can do so much more than just help both sides in a challenge now. You have the opportunity to decide who wins and who doesn't." She gripped his shoulders and looked square into his wide eyes. "You have the power to do this, Max. You just need to have the courage to use it."
Max had stopped squirming by this point, and was adamantly listening to the brainiac. As she let go of him, he stared at his hands in wonder, as if the power he had was literally in them. "I have… the power?"
"To decide the fate of the teams, yes." Quietly, Scarlett added, "To an extent, I suppose…"
Max didn't hear that part. "Whoa… Maybe…" He frowned, and clenched his fists. "But… It still sounds rather rude to do it."
Scarlett had to keep from rolling her eyes. "The goal of this game isn't to be nice. It's to win. And I know you've already lost, but think back to what McLean said last night. He said sticking around as a Wildcard will win you prizes! Though it may not be a million dollars, there's a chance you could get something worthwhile out of this." A thought occurred to her then and there. "Actually… the prize for the Wildcard could very well be re-admission into the game!"
"Wait, seriously?!" Max asked loudly, which caused Scarlett to slap her hand over his mouth.
"Quiet!" she hissed. When it was obvious no one was listening, she removed the hand and continued in a softer tone. "I hadn't thought about it too hard until now, but that seems like the most likely scenario." Scarlett nodded as she thought aloud. "So if you work as a Wildcard in a way that catches the host's attention, you could find yourself back in the running. And you know McLean. It's doubtful he'd take to anything less than 'mean and overly dramatic'."
Max took some more time to think that all over, which gave Scarlett the chance to keep talking. "Besides," she said, and took a deep breath. "If you need it, I would be… willing to assist you."
Max's head shot up. "Really?"
"Yes," she answered. "As long as we're both in agreement of how we want to use this power."
Max looked back down at his hands. Adopting a look of determination, he nodded and stuck his hand out. "Okay. I'll… I'll take you up on your offer."
At this, Scarlett grinned, but kept it at a civil level, and shook Max's extended hand. "Excellent decision."
-SCARLETT-
"Phew," Scarlett sighs as she sits down. "I don't readily admit this but… To borrow the slang of my peers, I had been winging that so hard. People are weird, and Max even more so. I feel that he has the potential for mayhem and destruction, he just needs to have the right motivation to do so." Unlike the majority of time, Scarlett actually smiles pleasantly. "It's simple psychology, really. The more a person receives positive feedback after performing a task, the more likely they are to perform that task to receive said feedback. Just a little bit of operant conditioning, nothing all that complicated."
-END-
As Topher laid in the sun and soaked up its rays, he cast a curious glance to Scarlett and Max under the umbrella, shaking hands and grinning at each other. He chuckled at the display, and sat up to survey the area. Jasmine, Sammy and Amy were still farther out in the water, while Rodney, deeming the ocean too cold for his liking, had sat down nearby and began building a sandcastle. Topher raised an eyebrow at that, but didn't question it.
That said, his eyes did linger on Rodney for a moment. With another glance out to the girls in the water, he smirked and walked over to the farm boy.
"Hey Rod," he said, coming to a stop not too far away. "Making a castle, are we?"
"Uh, yeah," Rodney replied, patting down the walls happily. "Though it's not very good. I've never actually been on so much sand before now, I'm not really sure how this works."
"Different from soil I take it?"
"Ehh, enough for me to notice a difference, but not a big one, I guess."
"Fascinating," Topher said with disinterest. "Hey, I have a question for you, big guy."
Rodney looked up at him. "What's that?"
"Which one of these ladies are you most interested in?"
And without any warning, the farm boy's face lit up like a beacon. "I- Huh? What? What're you talkin' about?"
"Exactly what I asked! But lemme put it simpler, just in case." Topher sat himself down next to Rodney, his legs crossed and his chin resting on his hands. "Are you crushing on anyone right now?"
"I… uh…" Rodney glanced out at the girls, which caused him to turn even redder. "N-Not anyone in particular…"
"Really?" Topher asked, not believing in the slightest. "You're sure about that?"
"I-I mean, I haven't given it all that much thought, is all," he clarified, rubbing the back of his head. Sweat was already beginning to pour off him, and it wasn't only from the sun.
"But you do like someone?" Topher continued to press. He had been steadily leaning closer to Rodney, looking at him with a purposefully piercing gaze.
Rodney grimaced, and then met Topher half way and leaned closer to him. "It's… I think it's kinda more complicated than that."
That wasn't something Topher was expecting. Topher sat straight up and looked at Rodney with a tilt to his head. "Complicated? What's complicated about it? You either like one of the girls or not. And I've seen your face turn as red as a tomato talking to them, and I'm pretty sure I don't need to tell you what that means."
"I just… I don't know if I do or not."
Topher's eyes squinted as he tried to comprehend what he was hearing. After a moment, he gave up and shook his head. "Uh… Yeah, you lost me there, buddy."
Rodney huffed in embarrassed agitation.
-RODNEY-
Rodney sits on the outhouse seat with the same expression on. He fidgets on the spot for a few moments, before letting out a groan with his head thrown back. "Alright, I admit it! I don't know how to talk to girls!" He lets out a sigh then clears his throat. "Or, I mean… not when it comes to me l-liking them? I don't exactly see many girls outside of places like the farmers' market. And since Mom's been gone since I was young, I don't really have much experience talking with them. Dad told me to treat 'em with respect and dignity, and I have been! It's just… whenever a girl gets close to me I get all hot and bothered and a part of me thinks, 'Hey, maybe she's the girl of my dreams!' But I mean… that can't be right. I don't even know her! So I've been tryin' to avoid thinkin' like that since I got here. And… it hasn't been exactly working out for me."
-END-
"You know what, never mind. I kinda don't want to talk about it," Rodney said to Topher, returning to the pitiful attempt of a sandcastle in front of him.
Such a quiet and ashamed tone in his voice was not something Topher was expecting. He stared at Rodney a little while longer, then up at the girls, then back at Rodney.
And then his eyes widened in realization.
-TOPHER-
"The dude's never been on a date in his life!" Topher yells in realization. "I mean, it's so obvious! It took me a bit to figure it out, I admit, but I think it's because he's been trying to downplay it." He scratches his chin in thought. "This isn't exactly what I had in mind for him… But maybe I can still swing this in my favor."
-END-
"So that's how it is…" Topher opted to say.
"That's how what is?" Rodney replied, looking back up questioningly.
"Rodney my guy," the gossipmonger suddenly leaned down and wrapped an arm around the farm boy's shoulder. "My friend, my pal, my amigo. I get it. I really do."
"You… do?" Rodney asked suspiciously.
"'Course I do! You're crushing on one of the girls and have no idea how to approach her! Am I right, or am I right?"
Visibly tensing, Rodney shrank into himself. "I mean, I guess you're half right…"
"Hey, you don't need to be embarrassed about anything," Topher said. "I was like you too, once."
Rodney raised an eyebrow at that. "Wait, really? But you seem so… confident whenever you hang out with Amy…"
"I do now because I gained that confidence. Starting off, I was a total nervous wreck! Couldn't say a pick-up line to save my life, and I've had drinks thrown at me more times than I can count."
"Drinks? But, we're not old enough to-"
"What I'm saying is," he interrupted, patting Rodney on the shoulder, "I can help you out. You're a big, buff guy with a chiseled jaw and a friendly attitude - I'm sure with a bit of advice and a bit of practice, whoever you set your sights on'll fall head over heels for you!"
Rodney remained speechless at that, and his eyes drifted back out over the ocean. "You… You really think so?"
"I don't just think so, I know so. Have I led you astray so far?"
"I don't think you've led me anywhere so far."
"And what better time to start than now?!" Topher's enthusiasm was not exactly rubbing off on Rodney. "How about tomorrow, after the challenge, I'll give you some pointers and tips to start you off, and then we'll have you try it out on one of the girls!"
Rodney, slowly but surely, was beginning to look more and more uncomfortable. "Gee, Topher, I'm not sure I wanna-"
"Glad you agree with me, bud," the superstar interrupted once again, giving him a big slap on the back. Rodney didn't move an inch from it. "Let's meet up after lunch and I can give you a rundown. Cool? Cool." And without taking any more time on him, Topher started making his way into the ocean. "Hey, you ladies got room for one more? I haven't been swimming in years!"
Rodney could only watch him leave with a confused frown on his face.
-RODNEY-
"I don't think I like where this is going," Rodney said. "It's not that I don't want a girlfriend, it's that I want to have one… naturally? And not force myself to go out and, I dunno, flirt with everyone 'til I find the girl of my dreams." He spends a few moments thinking everything over. "But… I mean… I guess it wouldn't help to get some pointers, at the very least. 'Cuz man, if I try to hit on someone it's just gonna end poorly for everyone involved."
-TOPHER-
"Yeah, I know I was being pushy in the end there," Topher explains, "but if this works out as I intend for it to, not only can I cause more drama within the team, I also get to keep working my magic without possible interruption." He looks like he's about to continue, but then shakes his head. "Ah-ah, I won't be going any further than that. I'm not one for spoiling my big plans so early."
-SAMMY-
"While we were swimming, I saw Topher talking to Rodney," Sammy says slowly. "He had the same look on his face that I've seen him wear when hanging out with Amy…" Her eyes are full of mistrust by this point. "I know I said I'd wait things out, but I dunno if I can. I seriously think this guy's bad news, and if I leave Amy to him it might make things worse for us. I don't… think I'll confront Topher himself. But Amy needs to know what's going on." She frowns further. "I just hope she'll listen to me."
-END-
The day continued on, and eventually dinner time came around. The beach-goers managed to find their way back without any fuss, thankfully, and everyone eligible for the special dinner made it in time to claim it.
Unlike previous days, nothing too eventful happened during dinner. The Salmons happily ate while gushing about the beach, while the Bears kept to themselves and barely said a word. Each camper left on their own terms, minus one or two groups, and within a half an hour the lodge was cleared out.
One of those groups, however, quickly yet quietly made their way to a familiar cave…
"If you're bringing me all the way out here, I have a feeling I know what you want to talk about," Sky said lightly as she sat down on a rock outcropping.
"Yeah, I guess somewhere like this is the spot to talk about these things," Dave chuckled, once again choosing not to sit anywhere or touch anything. He then cleared his throat. "So I'll just get straight to the point. I was wondering who you were going to vote for tonight. If you don't mind sharing that is."
Sky shook her head. "I don't mind," she said, and took a moment to think over her answer. "I'll be honest, I spent a lot of time trying to pick between Sugar and Shawn. And while it's true that I don't exactly trust Sugar at the moment… she also hasn't technically made us lose any challenge." Dave glanced to the side, clearly recalling his talk with Shawn earlier, and Sky continued to fill the silence. "We voted for her on the first day because she was the biggest target, but since then she's actually proven to be kind of reliable. Winning for us yesterday, getting someone out today… I know she was also the first out for us, but… I mean…" She sighed, and looked away with a forlorn expression. "She still did better than some of us."
Dave hastily raised his hands to stop that line of thinking. "Whoa, hang on. Just because you didn't tag anyone out doesn't mean you didn't contribute. You took Jasmine's attention away from the rest of us - if you hadn't, we probably wouldn't have gotten as many Salmons out as we did."
Sky smiled at him. "Aw, thanks. I have been pretty hard on myself… I guess there's more that I can do to help my team than just win."
"Yeah, exactly!" Dave said with a nod.
But Sky's smile quickly vanished. "And with that being the case… I don't think I have a choice but to vote for Shawn."
Dave's mouth quickly shut when he realized what he'd brought on.
Sky saw this change of expression. "I'm sorry, Dave. But I really don't think there's any excuse that can be made. Shawn fell asleep during the challenge, and didn't wake up until we lost. And this was after he promised us it wouldn't be a problem."
"I… I get that," Dave said, "but I mean… if you were able to be taken out, I don't think Shawn would've had much of a fighting chance either…"
"A fighting chance would have been better than none," Sky countered. "Like we just said, there's more to helping out a team than simply winning. And Shawn… did nothing. From what we've seen of everyone so far, I can't think of anyone else who might be our weakest link."
Dave sighed and stuck his hands in his pockets. "And we have to get rid of our slowest player to move as fast as we can, right?"
Sky smiled sympathetically and stood up from her perch. "That's right. I know you two are kinda sorta friends, but this is the way the game is played. Shawn said so himself." She began walking towards the cave's entrance. "Besides, even if he does become a Wildcard, he won't leave the island. You two can still hang out."
"Yeah, I guess," Dave said quietly, following his teammate out.
Sky looked back at him sadly. "Who were you thinking about voting for, then?"
Dave's eyes widened in brief panic.
-DAVE-
"I have two choices," Dave says. "I could side with Sky and vote for Shawn. Or, I could side with Shawn and vote for… Ella." He groans into his hands. "I don't want to vote for Shawn, because he's been pretty cool since we got here. Mannerisms and sleeping habits aside, he's pretty down to earth. And he gave me advice for hopefully, maybe dating Sky at some point, so I kind of owe it to him not to vote for him.
"That said… If I vote for Ella, that's going against what Sky wants, and who knows how she'd react to that if she found out. Plus, you know, Ella's just a weird pick in general, when you consider what kind of person she is. So I have to decide between voting for a friend, and voting for someone who doesn't deserve it." He lets out another groan. "This… kind of sucks, not gonna lie."
-END-
"I'm… uh… undecided," Dave admitted.
Sky stared at Dave for a moment, then hummed. "I see. There's only a few hours left, you know."
"I know. I'll choose by then."
She nodded, and continued out of the cave. "Alright. I'll see you later, okay?"
Dave followed her to the cave mouth, and watched her go. "Yeah… See you later." Without realizing it, he leaned up against the rock wall to sigh, but he quickly backed away with a bark of surprise and wiped himself down.
-SKY-
"It really just comes down to who helped us lose, I suppose," Sky says to the confessional. "If Shawn's not going to take this game seriously enough to fix his sleep schedule, then he has to leave the team. It's as simple as that." She pauses in thought. "Which I guess is why I've sort of stepped away from going after Sugar. After the first day, she's changed her attitude, aside from one or two bumps here or there. I wouldn't say I fully, 100% trust her, but I mean… I think I'd rather have someone on my team who's willing to play the game, instead of someone who isn't."
-END-
The time had finally come. The sun had set and the campers were instructed to move out. 14 teens made the trek across the rock bridge and up to the ceremony area: seven sat on the various seats next to the campfire, six in one peanut gallery box in the back, and one all by his lonesome in the other.
One by one the campers on trial moved out to make their vote. Though he appeared nervous throughout the process, Shawn's lack of sleep was beginning to catch up with him as he struggled to stay awake. As such, he missed several of the varying looks his teammates were sending his way.
"Welcome back for round two, Maskwak," Chris said to them once the votes had been cast and tallied. "Must be nice, taking center stage again."
"Normally it is," Sugar said, arms crossed. "But not this time."
Chef came up and handed him the plate of marshmallows. As expected, there were only six.
"You know the drill. Whoever doesn't get a marshmallow may or may not get eliminated and become a Wildcard. And if that happens, no million dollars for you.
"The following people are safe, for tonight: Dave."
The hypochondriac sighed quietly in relief, but said nothing else as he caught his marshmallow.
"Beardo."
He caught his marshmallow wordlessly, and popped it right in his mouth.
"Sky."
As did she, though she took her time eating hers.
"Leonard."
He sighed louder than anyone, and caught his treat.
"And… Sugar."
She opened her grinning mouth and let the marshmallow fall in.
At that point, Ella's eyes and frown both grew in size. "Wait, what?"
From the peanut gallery, Sammy gasped and she bolted up out of her seat. "Oh no…!"
"Ella!" Chris exclaimed, startling her. "According to some voters, you wasted your shot to get someone on the opposing team taken out. And if we're being honest, you kinda did."
"Seriously?!" Ella shouted, standing up as well. She turned and met Sammy's incensed eyes, and then eyed each of her teammates warily, before they fell onto one in particular. "No way… Shawn?"
He had been nodding off, but that got his attention. "Huhwhat?" he said in a daze.
"What the heck, man?" Ella asked him heatedly, ignoring his sleepiness. "I defended you earlier! And now you're voting me out for doing the right thing?! What's wrong with you?!"
Shawn tried to stammer something out, but didn't even get a chance to start.
"Shawn!" Chris hollered, startling him as well. "I don't think I need to explain this one to ya, dude."
With a sigh, Shawn lowered his head in shame. "No, you don't."
"But I will anyway!" Chris cackled as Shawn buried his face in his hands. "Not only do you fall asleep during today's challenge, and thus lose it all for them, but you also figured targeting perhaps the nicest person on your team was the correct route to take. Clearly something didn't go right here today."
As several glares locked on to Shawn, he took a second to look up from his hands. "I… uh…"
"Got something to say?" Chris asked him.
Shawn considered his options, but lowered his head again. "…No."
The host chuckled lightly. "Smart choice, honestly. So then, this is it! It's time to find out who received the most votes."
Ella breathed sharply, and though still clearly angry also looked incredibly scared.
Shawn didn't bother looking up from his hands, and groaned under his breath in regret.
Dave, seated between them, looked back and forth and swallowed heavily.
Chris soaked up as much of the tension and drama as he could. Eventually, he continued. "And that person is…"
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"Shawn."
Ella released her held breath (as did Sammy at the same time) while Shawn slowly took his in. He watched as Ella caught the final marshmallow, and then glared at him as she took a bite.
She wasn't the only one glaring at Shawn, though; Sugar did the same, but for completely different reasons. Shawn didn't need to look back to know she was doing it, either.
"Tsk tsk," Chris tutted, drawing their attention back to him. "Shawn, Shawn, Shawn! What a shameful way to go. And all because you insisted on keeping up the sleep schedule no one else was sticking to. You really didn't think that one through, did you?"
Shawn refused to answer, and couldn't look anyone in the eye.
Chris chuckled. "And that's what I thought. But hey, I'm feeling generous, so I'll let you all in on a secret."
Not expecting this, everyone leaned in with their full attention.
He did the same, and put a hand to his mouth in a conspiratory manner. "According to my sources - AKA me - the vote count tonight was four to three, in favor of booting out Shawn." He leaned back and shrugged. "Do with this information what you will."
Murmurs erupted from the campers; some of them started counting out the members of Maskwak to see who voted for who, while others thought this information through in silence. Though he didn't move, Dave glanced at Shawn with wide eyes, and silently fretted with the collar of his shirt.
"So," Shawn said after a moment of contemplation. "What's the verdict? Am I still in? Or am I going over there?" He pointed to the booth Max was sitting in.
"That's the question of the night, isn't it? And the answer is…"
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"You're safe for today, my dude."
Another collective sigh rang out - from Shawn, it was one of relief, but from mostly everyone else it was one in agitation.
"Y'see?" Sugar said to the team. "I told ya. No Wildcard for anyone tonight." Everyone pretty much ignored her however.
"Man, all that buildup for nothing," Beardo complained quietly, earning him a few head nods in agreement. "What am I supposed to do with all this pent up energy now?"
"Dang it," Rodney said from Kinosewak's booth. His arms were crossed and he seemed somewhat miffed. "They're still at seven while we still only have six."
"Ehh, don't worry about it so much," Topher said to him. "We managed to win tonight, right? We'll definitely be able to do it again."
"While it's true the team composition doesn't change tonight," Chris said, "at the very least you're all a little more knowledgeable than before…" His gaze fell to Ella, whose arms were crossed and her finger tapping the side of one in thought.
"So that's it?" Jasmine asked him. "No sneaky new rules to throw at us from nowhere?"
"Not anymore! With the non-elimination rule and the Wildcard system out in the open, we've shown our entire hand!" Snidely he added, "Well… almost."
"'Almost', he says," Jasmine echoed disdainfully.
Though no one was privy to it, Max's eyes widened a fraction, and he nervously cast his gaze to the ground…
"But that's for another episode, brah!" He turned fully to the camera. "Maskwak's still seven people strong, yet tensions couldn't be stronger! Are they regretting their decisions? By the look of it, some people certainly are! Tune in next time for more satisfying backstabs on Total… Drama… Paaahkitew Island!"
VOTES
Beardo: Shawn
Dave: Shawn
Ella: Shawn
Leonard: Ella
Shawn: Ella
Sky: Shawn
Sugar: Ella
Shawn (4), Ella (3)
TEAMS AND MEMBERS
Waneyihtam Maskwak: Beardo, Dave, Ella, Leonard, Shawn, Sky, Sugar
Pimâpotew Kinosewak: Amy, Jasmine, Rodney, Sammy, Scarlett, Topher
Wildcards: Max
Epilogue
Kinosewak left the elimination area ahead of Maskwak, which was fine for them as the losing team took their time returning to the cabins. Shawn walked the fastest of his team, not only because his bed was calling to him, but also because he couldn't dare face the inevitable wrath of the others that night, especially Sugar. Meanwhile, Ella trudged behind everyone at the back, lost in her thoughts and needing to be guided by Sky every now and then lest she run into something.
"You're sure you're okay?" Sky asked. "It's fine not to be, y'know?"
"I know, yeah," Ella answered. "I'm just… wondering. Did you vote for me?"
"No, absolutely not." She paused. "Okay… It's true that you did have that opportunity to get Sammy out, but I totally get why you chose to help her instead."
"Not everyone seems to see it that way," Ella mumbled. "Especially Shawn. What on earth made him choose to vote for me? And get other people to help him?"
Sky paused. "I… couldn't tell you."
After a moment Ella stopped walking. "You go on back. I'll catch up later."
"You sure?" Sky asked, to which Ella nodded. "Well, okay. I'm here to help, if you need it. Remember that."
"I will, thanks." As Sky kept going down the proper path, Ella walked up to a nearby tree, slid down to its base and let out a shaky breath. "That was… so totally unfair… and way too close for comfort…"
Elsewhere, Shawn continued on his own, he himself lost in thought as well. It was then that a hand reached out from behind a tree and grabbed him by the collar, pulling him in and pressing him against it by the throat. He panicked when it happened, and when he saw Sugar's glare he panicked harder. "Ack, don't kill me!" he screamed.
"I thought you had four votes," Sugar said, ignoring his outcry.
"Huh? Oh, I-I thought I did too!" Shawn hastily said. "I guess one of the others backed out without saying anything."
"Feh," Sugar scoffed. "Figures it'd be one'a them. My guess is Dave, since Leonard's more reliable."
Shawn frowned and looked away. "I… hope not, but maybe. I dunno."
"Well, whatever," Sugar sighed, and let go of the movie nut. He stepped a few feet away and rubbed at his throat in agitation. "Not like she would'a been gone anyways. I totally called it bein' one'a them non-eliminations, too, by the way."
Shawn sighed and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, you really did…"
"But anyway," Sugar began walking away, "you're free to go now. Just remember our deal."
Shawn's eyes widened at that. "But… But Ella didn't get the most votes!"
"We never said anythin' 'bout her gettin' the most votes, just that I'd vote for her instead of for you." Sugar turned back and grinned widely. "So you owe me now."
Shawn gulped loudly and sprinted off.
-SHAWN-
Sitting with his head in his hands, Shawn moans, "I'm pretty sure I just made the biggest mistake of my life. Sugar clearly can't be trusted, but what did I do? I tried to strike a deal with her anyways. And for what? For nothing! Now I owe her and who knows what she's gonna have me do.
"And the worst thing is… I'm pretty sure I know who didn't vote with us. I could tell from Dave's reaction this afternoon that he wasn't really into it. If it really is him, that would majorly suck. If I can't count on him, who can I count on?"
-END-
Left alone in the darkness, with nothing but the light of the moon to grant her visibility, Ella sat against the tree with her knees curled up to her chest and her head resting on them. She was in deep, serious thought, and the rims of her eyes were specked with unshed tears.
She spent a while just sitting there, until there was a light thunk thunk thunk above her. Startled out of her daze, Ella looked up to see…
"Sammy?" Ella asked, sitting up further than before.
"Hi," the blonde said, leaning out from behind the tree, her knuckles pressed against it in a knock. Unlike their previous encounters, there was no subdued joy behind her eyes. "Is it alright if I sit with you?"
Ella took no time to think about it and shimmied to the side. "By all means," she said.
Sammy smiled lightly in thanks and slid down next to her. They sat in silence for a moment, before the younger twin sighed in agitation. "I'm… sorry."
"Don't you dare start," Ella quickly admonished. "This was not your fault."
"Technically it was," Sammy replied, almost automatically. "Shawn voted for you because of something that happened to me. He used my disability as an excuse to try and shift the blame off of him. Which is… all sorts of messed up. But it still only happened because of me. So… I'm sorry."
Ella turned to look her in the eye. "Stop. Stop it right now. You did not purposefully have an episode during the challenge. And like heck was I going to just ignore you when I realized what was going on. This isn't your fault. And… this isn't mine either. It's Shawn's for choosing to go down this route."
It took a few moments, but after digesting those words Sammy slowly nodded. "Okay. I believe you."
"Good," Ella said with a smile.
"But," Sammy continued, "regardless of if I had any intention to do it or not, something that happened to me is now being used against you. And that really doesn't sit well with me." Ella opened her mouth, but Sammy cut her off, "And I know, this isn't my fault, and I agree with that now. But my brain isn't going to switch over to that so easily, it's going to keep telling me that I'm the one responsible for this mess. That's just how I work."
"Oh. Well… okay. That's fair," Ella said with a shrug and a nod.
"So… I want to make this right," Sammy said. "And to do that, I'm going to talk with Shawn. I need to make sure he knows what he did was not okay. I don't know whether he targeted you for that because he was desperate, or some other reason. But he has to know."
"You sure about this?" Ella asked after a moment.
"I am," Sammy replied resolutely.
"Well… alright then." The songstress then gave her a warm smile. "You know, I don't think I've seen you this serious before."
Sammy shrugged. "My dissociations are personal, so I take them seriously. Besides…" She smiled at her as well. "There's a lot you don't know about me."
They spent a few moments longer under the tree, until Ella asked, "Would it be rude of me to say that… I want to get to know you better?"
In the dark of the night, it was difficult to make out Sammy's flushed face. Nonetheless, she did her best to ignore it. "I… I think I'd like that, honestly."
Disclaimer: The actions and decisions performed by one individual in particular (Shawn) are something the author would not commit or condone. Dissociation, and mental illnesses in general, are serious issues that must be handled with care, so if you're going to start blaming someone for stopping to help someone come out of an episode, don't.
Shawn, however, is a bit too socially awkward to find any other alternative in his given situation, or to even realize when he's probably digging his own grave deeper and deeper. Not to mention that despite not believing in the zombie apocalypse, he's still rather withdrawn from most of the others, making it that much more difficult to gain support. Coupled with his disastrous sleeping habits, he ends up... not doing too hot.
That being said however, the consequences of losing this challenge might come back to haunt Maskwak at some point in the near future... But that's for another time. Thanks for reading :)
04/07/2022: Gave Topher and Amy new swimsuits that match up with artwork drawn by Tumblr user unenthusiastictdmember, mainly because I really like her versions and also, who says they can't have more than one set of swimming clothes? You can check the artwork out on her blog :D
