After the campfire ceremony was over, the 7 remaining Bass stayed by the campfire for a moment. They sat in an awkward silence until the Gopher team came by to visit.
"Oh, looky here," Mordecai mocked, "Here to rub your victory in our faces?"
"We just wanted to sit with you guys for a bit." Petunia mumbled as they started to fill in the empty spaces around the campfire.
"What, is this the part where we just spill our deepest fears to each other," Zarra deadpanned, "Just play along with Chris' stupid game."
Landon added, "There's no point because Bobby has all our folks on speed dial anyway. He'll get that information easily."
"Let's confess to something else then!" Sophie suggested, "We all kinda know each other from our parents, right? I'm sure we all have some nasty stories."
"I'll confess!" Jacey interrupted, "I got banned from a Rexall. I stole a lot of lip-gloss." The mood around the campfire lightened as they started to laugh together.
"I got you beat," Rosie chuckled, "I had my phone taken away when I was like 9 so I cut up a bunch of clothes in my parents' closet. I didn't get that phone back for another 2 years."
Junior pointed at his rival from the other side of the circle, "Addison's an expert at getting in trouble."
He huffed, "Yeah, I'm sure you were a saint!"
Junior shook his head, "Nah, I have you all beat. I found a stash of medical ID tags when I was like 7 and I'd wear them to school. One day I fell asleep in class and the teacher thought it was a medical emergency. I ended up in the ER and then I got suspended after they found out what happened."
"How does a school even fall for something like that?" Ivonne questioned, "I couldn't even fake a cough without them being suspicious."
"I mean… They probably had his name on them anyway. There wouldn't have been a way for the school to know." her brother responded.
Addison laughed, "That's kinda genius. I think the most annoying thing I did was I'd hide egg timers around the house and make them all go off at once. There are probably 50 or 60 smashed timers buried in the backyard. I don't know if that can beat a field trip to the hospital though."
Zarra smiled and looked at her younger sister, "Sophie used to put stickers on the walls."
Sophie laughed, "Getting in trouble for that was probably the scariest moment of my life!"
CONFESSION
Sophie: I really hope Zarra warms up to me a little more. It feels good to be able to sit with her in a big group.
Juliette: I gotta say… sitting in a group where we're all talking about our childhoods doesn't feel great. I've only really been in Canada for maybe 20 months so it's hard to fit in with the others.
END
As another couple days pass another challenge day arrives. The two teams are all sitting in the dining area when Bobby walks in to announce today's challenge.
"Greetings campers," He announced, "As you know today is phobia factor day. I feel kinda bad for you kids, your parents are pretty brutal. I hop-"
"Ahem," Rosie interrupted, "What's the advantage?"
Mordecai stood up, "Um… no. This is our advantage, sweetheart."
"Will ya let me finish?" Bobby continued, "So fears put us in our most embarrassing vulnerable state, right? So, my team and I decided to make it more embarrassing by letting your parents watch you guys squirm today."
"You're joking right?" Zarra quipped.
"They had so much fun last time, I invited them back. Now as for the advantage… only Ike will be getting the advantage today. Ike you don't have to participate and the Bass team will start with one point."
Rosie shouted, "That's completely unfair!"
"Well we are short one player." Cameron added.
"Right…" Bobby finished his spiel, "Finish up breaky and meet me in the theater."
As he left the teams started to chatter amongst themselves.
CONFESSION
Rosie: Ivonne could have had some use today. If I knew we weren't going to get an advantage from her she'd probably be gone. All she's been doing since she's gotten here is throwing Junior off his game.
END
As the teams headed to the theater, they noticed Bobby standing on stage next to a collapsible gate.
He began to explain the day as the teams filled the bleachers, "Today we're going to start small and work our way up to the more fun stuff. Now as you all know; you'll see some original campers today. They'll mostly stick around where they're needed."
Rosie interrupted, "Why exactly are they here? Do they have any purpose other than to bother us?"
"Good question," Bobby answered, "Unlike last time, they will not be playing a part. So… yes. They are here just to 'bother' you. Well without further ado… welcome back to camp some of the original campers." All the contestants stared at the crowd of familiar faces as they filled in the bleachers.
"I'm sure we all can skip the introductions," Bobby proceeded, "We're going to start with two campers who share a very similar fear. Mavis… Landon… come up on stage if you could please." Addison jokingly nudged Landon as he followed Mavis onto the stage.
"Now what?" Mavis complained while waiting on stage.
"I hope the two of you are ready to gain some responsibility today." Bobby goaded, "For your challenge you'll have to watch over these five 3-year-olds for the rest of the day." He walked backstage and unleashed the stampede of unhinged toddlers onto the stage. Mavis and Landon stood shocked on the stage.
"Landon you're scared of babies?" Addison teased from the bleachers.
He yelled back, "No! Just being in charge of them."
Katie and Sadie cheered from the bleaches, "You can do it Mavis!" She glanced over at them and rolled her eyes.
Junior looked over at Addison, "I think babysitting is kinda fun."
"Oh well you're not going to think the next challenge is fun," Bobby intervened, "You're up."
CONFESSION
Addison: I'm so excited to watch Junior cower in fear. This is truly my moment of revenge. I hope I get to push him into something. Sure, we're still cool… but I get my moments.
Landon: I've been feeling kinda safe because of the fact that Bobby can call our parents and my dad knows nothing about me. But now I'm getting the suspicion that he's been either in contact with Aiden or my mother. Either way one of them is gonna pay after this.
END
While some of the constants stayed at the theatre, a handful of Gophers, with the accompaniment of their parents, followed Bobby to the edge of camp where there was some sort of trailer parked.
"You're scared of mobile homes?" Petunia teased as they walked towards the camper.
"I guess." Junior responded, "I honestly have no idea what it's for."
As they reached the trailer's location Bobby started to explain, "Big-mouth, for your challenge all you have to do is spend 30 minutes alone inside this trailer."
Junior laughed in concern and looked over at Cody, "I'm so confused! What's going to happen to me if I get in that trailer?"
Bobby intervened, "Ah but this isn't an ordinary trailer. This is a 3500 front command Scotty fire safety house."
"A-what?"
"Oh yeah," Ivonne remembered, "They fill up with smoke and get all warm. We used to have to crawl through them in school." Junior laughed and put his head in his hands.
CONFESSION
Junior: I felt like someone was going to light me on fire this season… I just didn't expect it to be my own father.
END
Bobby flipped a switch on the outside of the trailer and started giving out instructions, "Cody's gonna stay here with a timer, the rest of you can follow me to the beach."
Addison perked up, "Can I stay and watch?"
"Sorry dude, we don't have time." Bobby explained as Addison sighed and followed the group.
At the beach, the crowd of contestants gathered around a heavily broken-down car wedged in the sand.
"You're kidding?" Mordecai fretted.
"Mordecai for your challenge you'll have to get this car working again and out of the sand."
"How is that even scary?" Zarra complained.
Bobby chuckled, "Don't worry. We'll make you feel a little more stranded because for your challenge you'll stay tethered to the car… unless you chicken out of course. But then you'll have to try to get the key from Courtney." He locked the tether around Mordecai's ankle and the other end to the car before handing him a toolbox. "Good luck!"
"Aww, is little Mordecai scared of getting stuck on the freeway?" Malik teased as he watched him dig through the toolbox. Mordecai glared at him and tugged on the tether at Malik, who hurried away.
CONFESSION
Mordecai: Malik is lucky my mom was standing right there. He'll get his.
END
At the top of a large ladder stood Ivonne. She was wearing a helmet and holding onto a cardboard box.
"Just one quick ride down the slope to get the point"
Petunia shouted as Ivonne started trembling, "Come on Ivonne! You got this!"
"I don't know if I can do it..." Ivonne fretted and she looked down at the steep slope. As she started to turn around to come back down the ladder, she lost her balance and tumbled backwards down the hill and landed in the dirt at the bottom. The crowd gasped and Tyler ran over to her aid.
"Ivonne... are you okay?" He asked as her blurred vision straightened out.
"Good going Ivonne," Rosie nagged, "you lost us a point."
"At least tell me Junior was watching…"
Juliette chuckled, "Sorry he's still in the smokehouse. Hopefully he's doing better than we are."
Back in the trailer, Junior sat alone in the processed smoke, letting out a cough every so often.
"This is miserable," he mumbled to himself, "I know it's not a real fire so it's not even scary." He let out a large puff of smoke as he opened the window to the trailer and saw Cody sitting in the grass.
"Please tell me it's been 30 minutes."
He looked down at the timer, "It's been… about 5 minutes." Junior screamed in frustration and shut the window.
Back at camp, the Bass team made their way back to the beach. Mordecai was able to see them in the distance.
"Alright Jacey," Bobby explained, "All you have to do is go in the cage and pet an owl."
She laughed awkwardly, "Ohh that's what those big birds are called." She trembled as she got into the cage with the owl. She put on the glove and reached out to let the owl land on her. As it did, she screamed loudly and startled it.
"Come on Jacey! You got this!" Cameron encouraged her as she made a second attempt. As the owl landed on her she flinched, but was able to pet the large bird.
Bobby announced, "The Bass have two points on the board!" Mordecai audibly sighed in annoyance as his team headed away from the beach without him.
"You better hurry up or your team's going to forget about you." Courtney provoked as she sat inside the car.
"You try digging a car out of the sand!" Mordecai complained.
She scoffed, "I don't have to."
CONFESSION
Mordecai: Well I definitely learned something from this, if I do ever get stranded in my car, I know who not to get stranded with. Also… Jacey. I can't wait for a reason to eliminate her. If she keeps winning challenges, I won't be able to get my team to agree.
Jacey: When I got to touch the big bird… it was so thrilling. Also, it was kinda nice to see Mordecai squirm in the dirt for a minute.
END
Back at the trailer, Junior abruptly kicked open the door and collapsed in the grass with a coughing fit.
"That HAD to be 30 minutes..."
Cody looked at the timer, "You did 13 minutes. Sorry."
CONFESSION
Junior: I feel like I would've died if I went any longer. So, thanks to the producers for that. Also… I'm not sharing secrets with anyone for a while.
END
Bobby brought the Gophers over to the theater where Mavis and Landon were watching the toddlers. Ivonne tugged on Petunia's shoulder as they noticed Junior rejoin their group.
"How's it going Landon?" Petunia gibed as the team reached the theatre area.
"Why are kids such gremlins? This is awful." Landon complained as he looked over at Mavis who was laying down, "You're not even helping anymore!"
"I'm just taking 5…" She mumbled as she closed her eyes and started to drift off.
"Well I guess Mavis is out." Bobby started, "Anyway, Juliette is next… I'm sure she knows why we are over here." He grabbed a plastic doll from the stage and revealed it to the Gophers.
"You're scared of barbies?" Ivonne chuckled as she looked at her worrying friend.
"I- I just don't like kids' toys. They're all rubbery and dirt covered and they have this… smell to them."
Bobby continued, "All you have to do is kiss it."
Rosie rolled her eyes, "Oh come on Jules that's so easy. Junior had to sit in an easy bake oven for 30 minutes, you only have to kiss it once. It'll only take a second!"
Juliette frowned as Bobby handed her the doll, "This was probably in some kid's mouth!"
"Just pretend it's something else!" Petunia encouraged her from the back of the group. Juliette grimaced as she quickly kissed the doll before throwing it back onto the stage.
"The Gophers have their first point on the board!" Bobby announced as the team started to follow him to the next location.
Rosie ran over to Junior, "You didn't even complete your challenge?"
"Uhh…"
CONFESSION
Rosie: Junior is about as useless as Ivonne at this point. Looking back, it all makes sense. Failure is kinda in his blood.
END
Back at the beach, Mordecai took a deep breath before trying to start the car. After hours the engine kicked on and he laughed in relief.
"Ha! I did it!" He exclaimed, "Give me the key."
As he tried to snatched the key from Courtney, she held it away from him, "He said you had to get the car out of the sand first. We're still in the sand!"
Mordecai rolled his eyes and very slowly drove the car into the grass.
CONFESSION
Mordecai: Bobby's gonna pay for this. Maybe I'll start calling him Aubrey too.
END
The Gophers met with Bobby where he had a chair set up on a pedestal.
"Addison, if you don't mind sitting down." Bobby suggested.
Addison complied and he started to wonder out loud, "What is Junior going to sit on me?"
"That sounds right." Junior responded jokingly.
Bobby interrupted, "How about we stick to the bees instead?" He revealed a jar full of bees before starting to cover Addison with honey.
"Bee stings can become toxic in large quantities though," Juliette cautioned, "He could get really sick or his heart will just stop beating."
"A blessing in disguise." Rosie said sarcastically.
Addison yelled at them from the chair, "That's not helping!" His team laughed as they watched him tense up at the sight of Bobby unscrewing the container of bees.
Junior shouted jokingly from the audience, "If your heart stops beating let me know I'll suck out the poison."
"You stay the hell away from me!"
CONFESSION
Addison: It's so unfair that Junior gets to fail his challenge and watch me face my fear when I could've stayed over there and watched him! Maybe later I'll get to lock him back in the smokehouse.
END
As the Gophers watched Addison get surrounded by the buzzing insects, Juliette noticed a shoddy plane fly overhead.
"Whose challenge was that?" Juliette wondered as she looked over and noticed an 'X' painted in the grass some distance away.
Out on the beach the Bass team watched over as the plane made circles around the island. Ike looked over his shoulder and noticed Mordecai running up to them.
"Who's next?" Mordecai asked him as he looked up at the plane. Ike stayed silent as the motor of the plane became increasingly louder as it landed next to the team. The hatch opened slowly Zarra made her way out of the plane.
"No dice?" Malik asked.
"Yeah, like I'm jumping out of that deathtrap, with one of Chris' shoddy parachutes." Zarra rolled her eyes.
CONFESSION
Mordecai: I am SO sick of Zarra acting like she doesn't care. I seriously could do without that. I've already got to deal with the insufferable behavior from Malik, Jacey's ditziness and Mavis half-assing through every challenge. Why'd I have to be the one stuck on the annoying team?
Zarra: I don't think me not jumping from a plane is going to hold us back any. I mean… I wasn't the only one that saw Ivonne take that dive. Also, there's only 15 people left. Merge will come early and I won't have to deal with Mordecai anymore.
END
The Gophers watched Addison as he grimaced from all the bees surrounding him.
"Addison gives the Gophers their second point." Bobby announced while the team started to cheer.
"Wow Addie, you're finally good for something." Rosie mocked as he got out of the chair.
Bobby instructed, "Gophers you have three challenges left to complete. Petunia, Sophie, I'm sure you'll both enjoy this next one." They both poked their heads nervously past the crowd and saw their parents carrying pet cages.
"You both will have to spend three minutes with these animals." Bobby continued as he grabbed one of the cages, "Petunia, this little one's for you." She yelped as a small dog jumped out of the cage and ran over to her leg.
"So- there's a…" Sophie hesitated as she looked into the other cage to see a pair of cats staring back at her. She looked over at Petunia who froze up as the dog licked her leg.
"I'm not touching a cat," Sophie fretted as she backed away and latched onto Trent, "I won't do it."
"Sophie you have to if we're going to win!" Rosie ordered.
Junior looked over at Ivonne, "Aww I have a cat at home; I think they're cute."
"Oh, shut it!" Sophie snapped. Petunia continued to let the dog bark and lick her until she gathered the courage to kneel beside it.
"Hey little fella. You're supposed to be cute right." She chuckled nervously as she reached over and pet the dog.
As the timer went off, Bobby made his announcement, "Petunia gets one, Sophie... Zip. Meet me at the beach Gophers. Also, Rosie you might want to put on a swimsuit." Rosie gulped as Bobby walked away from the group.
CONFESSION
Petunia: I feel like being on this show, I've gotten to know the other girls quite a bit. I can say confidently that I can't imagine Rosie being scared of anything.
END
The Bass team watched with concern as Malik laid shirtless on a table bed. Bobby approached them carrying a small duffle bag.
"I have been extremely deserving of a massage," Malik joked as he kept his head facing the grass.
"We're doomed." Mordecai sighed in annoyance.
"Sure," Bobby reached in his bag and held up a thin needle, "Malik for your challenge you'll have to sit through 30 rounds of acupuncture." Malik turned up to look at the host and shook his head nervously.
"Poke him wear it hurts, Bobby!" Cameron encouraged Bobby from the crowd as he looked carefully at the needle.
He wondered, "Ya know, I think you're supposed to go through training or something… ah well." Malik grimaced as the host approached him with the needle. His body rejected his fate and he swatted the needle away.
"I'm not letting you take over my body with your witchcraft!" Malik whined as he stepped off the table.
"What, we have three points?" Mordecai complained, "We're through."
"Oh, zip it!" Zarra argued, "We're still doing okay. Cam still needs to go anyway."
"Whatever." Mordecai rolled his eyes.
CONFESSION
Zarra: Being around a bunch of 16-year olds is honestly exhausting. Mordecai is probably the worst of them. I blame genetics on this one.
END
Rosie and the Gophers stood at the edge of the beach waiting for Bobby when Addison made a reappearance in the group.
"Addison, you didn't have to put on a swimsuit too." Juliette chuckled as he walked over.
"What, I can't swim?" He deflected.
"Just don't bother me when I have to go in!" Rosie snapped.
"If you go in." Heather ribbed, causing Rosie to fret.
CONFESSION
Rosie: Listen, I don't care if Bobby ties to a boulder to my leg and lets me drown. I'm completing this challenge. I kinda have to.
END
"Okay Gophers, if you can get this point, you'll be up for four against the Bass." Bobby mentioned as he walked over.
"What about Landon?" Ivonne reminded him.
"We'll check with Landon later," Bobby explained, "Rosie, for your challenge all you have to do is keep your head underwater for one minute." She hesitated as she looked around at her team before getting into the water to prepare.
"Rosie, we can make it a contest!" Addison suggested jokingly.
"Don't distract me!" Rosie yelled back. She nervously looked down into the foggy lake, then up at her team before completely submerging into the water.
The group watched in silence until Addison spoke up, "She knows I'd win."
"You can't go 5 minutes without saying something annoying, can't you?" Junior joked.
"Guys, come on." Petunia interrupted to silence them. In a short moment, Bobby's timer went off breaking the silence again. Rosie ascended out of the water and her team cheered for her.
"The Gophers get their fourth point of the day!" Bobby announced, "Meet me by the theatre for the final challenge of the day."
CONFESSION
Sophie: It's great that Rosie was able to conquer her fear. I hope she still sees me as a reliable teammate. She did tell me I was her favorite, but if I keep letting the team down, she'll probably stop being so nice to me.
END
As the sun started to set on the day, the two teams and their parents filled the bleachers at the theatre. Landon watched from the stage as they started to sit facing him.
"Was I supposed to put on a show with the kids too?" Landon complained.
Bobby walked up onto the stage and set his hand on his shoulder, "Landon you are relieved of duty. And the Gophers end the day with 5 points."
"So, we win, right? Final score is 5 to 3 yeah." Junior pointed out.
"If Cameron is able to complete his challenge, I'll give the Bass tonight's victory." Bobby announced.
"That is not fair." Rosie complained as the Bass cheered for the gesture.
Bobby ignored the complaints and set up a microphone among the toys and food stains that still covered the stage, "Cameron, I'm sure you've been dying to come on stage and say your piece." Cameron's jaw dropped as he sat frozen in the bleachers.
CONFESSION
Cameron: If Bobby's planning on having me out myself in front of 33 idiots... I'm speechless. Camp's been casual until now. And I'm not dumb either, I know Mordecai and Malik are going to give me a hell of a time for being trans, but that's just how dumb teens are. And if I don't go through with it, I'll be eliminated… damned if I do damned if I don't, I suppose.
END
"You're a son of a bitch Bobby." Cameron yelled from the bleachers as he slowly started to get up.
"I haven't even told you what you have to do yet."
Mordecai interrupted, "Just do it Cameron it's not a big deal." Cameron looked back at him nervously. He padded his way up the theatre steps and stood awkwardly next to the host.
"Are you sticking through?" Bobby asked him quietly away from the mic.
"... maybe"
The host then turned back to the mic and announced, "For the final challenge of the night, Cameron here has prepared a one-minute speech for you all that I'm going to give him about three seconds to think of."
CONFESSION
Cameron: I can't tell if this was set up or not. While, yes, I am afraid of public speaking I am relieved that I don't have to out myself. The bad part of this is… I have to improvise a speech and now the only thing on my mind is… that. Credit where credit's due… they got me.
END
Cameron stepped in front of the mic and hesitated before clearing his throat. He stared into the audience and felt unease by the silence as they awaited his monologue.
He started, "Uh… so I didn't really have anything prepared since I found out about this just now. I'm just going to tell you guys about my time at camp so far. First of all, Malik you kinda remind me of my little brother but that's not a compliment because I don't like him."
"Rude." Malik mumbled to himself as Mavis chuckled beside him.
"I never watched the show before, mostly because I hate going on the internet, so I don't really know what to expect. I thought everyone would be kinda chill and that it'd be fun but… I've just been getting bad vibes the whole time. And after Sara left, I've just been feeling… out of place. I think-"
"And- that's time." Bobby interrupted, "And the Bass are the winners for tonight. For your reward, you'll get to stay here at the theatre with your parents as the Gopher team cleans the stage"
The Bass team cheered as the Gophers groaned in disappointment.
"Well I hope Junior or Ivonne don't get sea sick easily." Rosie mocked threateningly as Ivonne latched onto Junior in fear.
"Oh, I wouldn't worry too much about that," Bobby announced, "There will be no elimination tonight, as there were only 20 of you when we started."
The Gophers shifted into a small celebration as Zarra looked at them worryingly.
CONFESSION
Zarra: I thought Bobby or the producers would just cut two challenges out. I want to merge as soon as possible!
Junior: Bobby kinda saved my bacon. Maybe he doesn't hold a grudge anymore. Then again, he still calls me Big-Mouth so I could be overthinking it.
Mordecai: Cameron proved himself to be a good person to have in an alliance. If he knows absolutely nothing about this game, then he isn't too familiar with the rules and tricks. I'm sure he wouldn't think too much of it either… unless he actually can read people.
Cameron: I'm still extremely relieved. I honestly thought it would go a lot worse. I hope I'm able to get along better with the others still.
END
"Will the teams be able to handle what comes next time? Stay tuned to Total Drama Island."