In the very early morning, when Cameron would take his usual shower, he quietly turned off the shower head and began to get ready for the day. He was startled when he heard the washroom doors slowly creak open.
"Someone else in here?" He called out nervously as he froze in the shower stall, hearing the footsteps echo off the walls.
"Cameron, I need you to help me with something…"
CONFESSION
Mordecai: Since Cameron is the easiest to manipulate, I need to get him to help me vote out Zarra. Best way to intimidate somebody… get them alone. Luckily, Cameron likes to brag about getting up early.
END
"Mordecai you couldn't pick any other time?" Cameron complained as he stepped out of the stall where Mordecai was standing.
Mordecai rolled his eyes, "Next time we lose, Zarra needs to go. Can I count on you for that?"
"I want to vote off Malik next…"
Mordecai sighed, "Yes I know Malik can be infuriating… and I'll gladly help you vote him off after we vote out Zarra. I'm counting on you." Mordecai patted his teammate on the back and left him alone again in the washroom.
CONFESSION
Cameron: Maybe I've never seen the show before but I'm not an idiot. I know Mordecai thinks he can get me to join his little team but I'm just going to go my own way for now. I mean come on, have I ever looked like a people-person?
Mordecai: That tree-hugger is the best chance I have at finally getting rid of Zarra. Her and Jacey are the only two left with single advantages and I'll make sure they don't get to use them. If Cam wants to be stubborn… fine. I can play that game too.
END
As the rest of the campers started to rise in the late morning, they met with Bobby by the lake.
"Morning campers." Bobby exclaimed as the groups surrounded him, "Hope you're excited to get your paddle on. But first, we have a decision to make. Petunia... you can use your advantage now, or you can save it for hunting season, your choice."
Petunia paused as she looked at her team for encouragement; she grinned as an idea popped in her head, "Can I save it until the end?"
"Interesting idea...," Bobby explained, "Unfortunately, there will be no advantages in the finale."
Petunia sighed in disappointment, "I guess I'll use it now." The host handed her a heavy dust covered backpack.
"You might find something useful in there along the way," He instructed, "As for today's challenge you'll have to canoe over to the treacherous and possibly still mutated Boney Island."
Malik laughed as he pointed at the haunting island in the distance, "Hey maybe we'll run past Cameron's house!"
Cameron raised an eyebrow as Jacey grabbed his arm, "Cameron you live over there?"
"Not that I'm aware..."
"Anyway," Bobby continued, "pick a paddle buddy and I'll see you on the other side of the woods for further instructions."
As the teams started to walk towards the shore, Mordecai grabbed Ike by the shoulder, "I need you to buddy up with pasty… he's going to need some more encouragement." Ike nodded at him nervously before Mordecai let him go.
CONFESSION
Ike: Maybe making friends with Cam would be good for me. I've only really been hanging out with Mordecai. Also, I've been feeling kinda… out of myself lately.
END
Out in the distance, Zarra and Mavis watched as Malik tumbled his way down the steps.
"Hey Mavis!" He shouted across the beach, "Let's swim baby!"
Mavis put her head in her hands and Zarra put her hand on her shoulder, "That guy just loves embarrassing you, doesn't he?"
"On one hand I'd love to smash his face in but on the other hand… he's my brother. Or he's like a brother."
Zarra laughed "Well, my step-brother's kinda the same way, that's just what brothers do, eh?" Mavis watched as she waved Malik over to join them in their canoe. Mordecai, who was still in the grass, noticed the rest of his team getting ready when he realized the inevitable.
"Please tell me I'm not stuck with…"
"Mordecai," Jacey called out from the beach, "Help me paddle this boat-thing." He rolled his eyes and looked down at her regrettably before joining her on the beach.
The gopher team walked over to their four canoes when Petunia immediately jumped into one.
"Juliette, come on!" She chuckled as her friend walked over to the canoe carefully.
"Hey Landon," Addison joked as he nudged him, "Bet you the two of us can beat Junior over there." Junior laughed hearing the conversation but turned as he heard his name in the distance.
"Junior," Ivonne called as she trotted towards him, "Let's go sailing!"
"Well technically it's a paddle boat but I catch your drift… sure."
Sophie then turned to Rosie, "Guess that leaves us."
"Obviously…" Rosie laughed, "Let's just get going."
CONFESSION
Rosie: Am I being nice to the cute preppy girl for alliance reasons? Maybe. But It's weird that Sophie… pretty much all the girls have been super nice, especially since I boss them around a bit. Maybe they all agree that the boys on our team are a bunch of numbskulls.
Junior: This might actually be good. I spent all this time being scared of her when I should've just tried being nice to her. Maybe I'll learn something today.
END
The two teams took off and headed towards the neighboring island. Junior and Ivonne stayed relatively silent as she looked nervously over at him.
"Hey Junior…" she asked, "Do you know who Bobby is? Like what happened to Chris?"
He laughed, "Chris? After everything that happened? He got black-listed. When they revived the show, I'm assuming Chris got to pick the new host since there was no way they'd ever let him back here..."
"Is Bobby… ya know…"
Junior speculated, "I'm not sure actually. It's weird… I mostly know him because of his mom. I think Chris picked him as a protégé of sorts."
"It's funny…" Ivonne said as she looked down at the water, "Liam asked me about it but now that I remembered to ask, he's gone."
"Liam?"
"Yeah! We used to be really close friends!" Ivonne confirmed, "At least when he was around that is."
CONFESSION
Junior: Sometimes I forget how many of us know each other. I mean… It makes sense that Ivonne was friends with him. I've only really heard of the guy in passing and sometimes in the fan groups.
Cameron: I've been getting some vibes from Ike lately. That dude's hiding something. As a dude who also likes to hide stuff… I can tell.
END
"Hey Ike…" Cameron asked in an attempt to break the ice, "Why do you keep kissing Mordecai's butt? That guy's a real loser."
Ike blushed nervously, "What? No, Mordecai's actually pretty nice when you get to know him, I think so at least."
"What do you guys even talk about?" Cameron joked.
He hesitated, "Ya know… I mean we mostly talk about family stuff. He has all little brothers and I have all little sisters. He also tells me about his school… I don't know. It's just nice conversation."
Cameron raised an eyebrow and looked over at Mordecai who was in another canoe not too far away. Trying to get Jacey to put her paddle back into the water. He noticed Ike looking in their direction. Then he looked over at Rosie and Sophie's canoe and made eye contact with Sophie by accident. She grinned at him and he chuckled and waved back at the awkward interaction.
"Ike…" Cameron questioned, "What do you think of that green-eyed girl on the other team? She's cute right?"
Ike hesitated without looking over, "Yeah… sure, you should go for it."
CONFESSION
Cameron: I could be way off here but… I think Ike likes Mordecai. I hope that's not the case though. Mordecai is… Mordecai, And Ike could do way better.
END
Junior pondered for a moment after listening to Ivonne, "If you were so close with Liam, why'd you help Rosie vote him out?"
She chuckled, "You'll think I'm crazy but… I overheard some of our parents talking about staying at the loser resort during the competition. I think it'd be good for Liam."
"Oh, because he doesn't get along well with his mom."
"It wasn't always like that…" She clarified, "Up until maybe four years ago everything was great. I'm assuming it has something to do with his step-dad."
Junior turned around and saw Landon and Addison behind them as he thought back to Landon voting out his twin. He also noticed Rosie and remembered how important it was to her to win the talent contest. And Sophie with how desperately she wants to make amends with her sister.
"I always feel bad when people tell me about their sibling issues or family issues. I can't really relate but I think it's interesting how it works like that. You gotta appreciate what you got ya know?"
Ivonne looked over at her older brother canoeing with Cam on the other side of the lake, "Ike and I are very close and I'm happy about that. He's just…" She hesitated as she noticed the smoke that started to surround them as they approached the island.
"Damn…" Ike noted from his canoe over the others, "It looks like Callum's backyard out here." The teens laughed as they reached the shore of the haunting island. Both groups grabbed hold of their canoes and took off into the heavy woods.
As the gopher team walked with their canoes down the foggy trail, they heard a soft grumble in the bushes surrounding them.
"Uhh…" Juliette hesitated, "Hey Petunia, please tell me there's something in your bag that could lure away creatures"
Petunia started to quickly dig through her bag until she found a pink plastic bag and gasped in excitement, "A staple of its time!"
"You found… cookies?" Landon asked.
"Better," she exclaimed, "They're Total Drama Yum Yum Happy Go-time Candied Fishtails!"
Junior laughed, "Well I guess poisoning them would work too."
"I bet that bag is older than us…" Ivonne noted.
"Just throw them already!" Rosie ordered. Petunia grabbed a handful out of the bag and threw them behind her as they continued to run with the canoes.
"You're gonna give me one later right?" Addison asked as she put the bag away. She snapped her finger at him and the group continued down the path.
As the Bass reached a fork in the road, Jacey inspected the two paths.
"Do the paths connect later?" She asked her team.
"They both reach the beach," Mordecai pointed out, "Ike which path should we take?"
"I, uhh…"
"The right path looks brighter," Cameron interrupted, "So there should be less trees right."
"Sounds good to me. Let's go." Mordecai ordered and the team went right on the path. The Gopher team followed behind and watched as the Bass went down the trail.
"Should we go left then?" Sophie pondered.
"Unless we want to bump heads with them." Petunia commented before leading ahead down the left side of the path. They ran for a while until Ivonne got tripped up by a dent in the path and tumbled into the dirt.
"Ivonne!" Juliette ran over to her aid and picked her up off the path, "Please be careful!"
"I'm okay…" She sighed as she looked back at Junior who was still holding their canoe.
He noticed her and hesitated, "Uh… I can carry it the rest of the way."
"But can you walk?" Juliette asked turning back to Ivonne.
She chuckled, "Yeah I'm alright I promise."
CONFESSION
Junior: Ivonne is actually a nice person. And you know what… she hasn't said anything flirtatious to me all day. And I'm not sure if I should be relieved or suspicious.
END
The Bass made their way down the opposite path. Cameron led the way and halted the group abruptly.
"Please tell me you heard that?" Cameron whispered as the sound of a grumbling lurked over them.
"Maybe bears?" Jacey wondered.
"We'll let them eat Malik then," Mavis offered, "It's the only way…"
"Hey!"
The sound of the roars was then matched with bright beady eyes looking at them through the bushes.
Mordecai shouted, "Counter argument… let's run!"
The team took off down the path and made their way to the beach. They took time to catch their breath while the other team appeared not too long after. Both groups were startled as they noticed Bobby who was flying above them.
"Hope you guys like burning stuff." He instructed through a megaphone over the beach, "Team that builds the best fire gets a 30 second head start back to camp. First team back wins. Get smokin'."
The teams dispersed to gather materials to build their fires. While Ike gathered sticks alone, he was quickly joined by his canoe partner.
"Let the others collect sticks," Cameron suggested as he bent over to grab leaves off the ground, "These dead pine needles should help make the fire blow up."
"Wow… thanks for the tip." Ike helped Cameron gather up the pine by lifting up his shirt to use as a makeshift bag while Cameron collected them from the ground.
Cameron chuckled, "Yeah my hockey team used to have bonfires after home games. We used to burn barrels of this stuff. Perks of living in the woods I guess..."
Ike paused, "Wait you play hockey? That's awesome! I wonder if we've ever competed."
"Maybe…"
CONFESSION
Cameron: So… I'm realizing that Ike is actually pretty cool. I know he's mostly just trying to get me to vote off Zarra for Mordecai but beside that he's been super nice.
Ike: Cameron is… nice. I kinda feel bad that Mordecai is trying to lure him in. Maybe we can still be friends besides that.
END
Back on the beach, Landon inched towards Juliette who was throwing sticks into their campfire.
"Hey Juliette," He flirted, "Anyone ever told you you're the prettiest one here?"
She stuttered, "Umm… th-thank you."
"Yeah… If you didn't have those glasses, I bet you'd look even better."
She dropped her jaw before breaking into laughter, "You know… your brother said he liked my glasses. Maybe you could learn from him."
He sighed, "Well I guess Aiden wins this round then…"
In case the altercation wasn't embarrassing enough for Landon, Addison, who witnessed the whole thing from a distance, points over to his friend.
"Ha, Landon sucks at women even more than Junior does." He shouted over the entire beach.
"Thanks for announcing that buddy." Landon muttered as he looked over at Juliette who was beet red.
"Hey where is Mr. Octavius Rex," Addison pondered, "He would've loved this."
Junior was a few meters into the woods gathering sticks when Ivonne spotted him in the distance. She peaked at him cautiously before running up to him.
"Hey Ivonne," Junior greeted her awkwardly, "Thanks for picking me as your paddle buddy. I wasn't sure if-"
"Junior I have to tell you something," She interrupted, "I haven't been super honest with you." Junior gulped nervously and waited for what he thought was inevitable.
"I... I have a boyfriend."
CONFESSION
Zarra: I know that Mordecai is using Ike to play Cam, I'm not dumb. But I have a better plan in mind. I got Mavis already promising to vote with me. Taking Cameron from Mordecai will be too easy.
END
Zarra walked over to Cameron and Ike who started to throw the pine into the fire.
"Cameron," Zarra motioned to him, "Do you mind if we talk in private?" Ike shrugged and Cameron walked off with his other teammate.
"Here's the deal," Zarra compromised, "I wanna get rid of Mordecai and I need your help. I'll help you vote out Malik next if you vote with me to get rid of Mordecai after."
Cameron laughed, "I'm not 'joining forces' with anybody okay? If you wanna get rid of Malik… fine. But I'm not here to play sneaky."
CONFESSION
Cameron: I just want us to be a team at this point. Am I asking for too much? I don't know why Zarra and Mordecai have this secret rivalry but I want no part in it.
END
While Cameron turned around to head back to the fire, he noticed Ike dumping the pine needles in the fire creating a large popping explosion.
Juliette and Petunia looked at each other and back at the fire. Rosie squatted beside them as she attempted to get a light.
"You have a fire starter in that bag, right?" Juliette asked nervously.
"Umm…" Petunia buried her arm back into the bag, "All that was in there was the fishtails."
"That's seriously all the stupid producers wanted to give you?" Rosie complained while continuing to attempt to start the fire.
"And it looks like the Bass get their 30 second head start." Bobby announced, "Meet you on the dock."
"Great job Ike." Mordecai mentioned as he ran towards his canoe, "Let's get going!" Cameron patted him on the back and followed him to their canoe. The three red canoes quickly took off into the lake as the Gophers started to pack up themselves. Petunia looked down at her watch and stared at the second hand.
"30 seconds is up, come on let's get going!" Petunia announced and the gophers started to run to the shore.
"Wait," Landon said, "Aren't we missing Junior and that one chick?"
"Where are those idiots?" Rosie complained looking back at the sand.
Junior stared blankly back at her while they stood alone in the quiet woods.
"I'm sorry, what?"
Ivonne sighed, "I want to break up with him but... I- I just can't face him to tell him. I thought if he saw me with you on TV, he'd break up with me instead."
"You thought being flirty on TV was going to make it better? What if he gets upset with you?"
"If I don't have to see him again yeah," She mumbled, "I want to switch schools anyway so I won't have to see him anymore."
CONFESSION
Junior: It's crazy cause I always felt like I knew not to take people at face value. I guess I just didn't know enough.
END
"Ivonne…" Junior paused, "I-"
"Junior! Ivonne!" Rosie called out from the sandy shore, "Hurry up the Bass are getting ahead!" The two of them reacted by running towards her voice. Junior stopped short in front of her right before they got to the shore.
"Wait…"
She halted as he turned to face her. Before she could say anything, he leaned down and kissed her unexpectedly. She had no time to react but became dazed after the fact. He pulled her out of the woods and they ran to their canoe.
"Hurry up and let's go!" Rosie shouted as the final two gopher canoes took off from the shore. They paddled twice the speed in order to catch up to the rest of their team. Juliette and Petunia were straddled with the Bass team while Addison and Landon slowly pushed up against the camp shore.
"Landon, we beat them!" Addison exclaimed before noticing the entire Bass team behind him.
"Too bad the rest of your team isn't here." Zarra gibed as she walked past the lone Gopher canoe. Addison stayed quiet and just stared back at her.
"Where is our stupid team?" Landon complained while he looked back at the lake.
Bobby stood on the dock and inspected the scene. He waited patiently for the rest of the Gophers to pull up to shore.
"Looks like I'll see the Gophers by the campfire tonight… you guys are sending someone home."
"I wish we could send two people home!" Rosie scoffed while looking over at Junior and Ivonne.
Addison overheard the conversation and shouted, "Ha, Junior's going home today."
"Ah shit."
Later into the night, right after dinner, Junior found Ivonne standing outside the dining hall.
"Hey Ivonne." He greeted her.
"Listen," She sighed, "I'm sorry I dragged you into all this… and made us lose the challenge. Honestly you can probably just vote me off-"
"No, don't apologize." He interrupted her, "Look when we first met, I was a little intimidated by you but I was really only thinking about myself and how I felt. You don't deserve to be with somebody that makes you feel afraid." She stared back at him in the moonlight blank-faced.
"One of us is probably going home tonight…" She muttered.
"Here," Junior held up his fist, "count me as a friend okay. I can't make all the problems go away. Actually, your plan was extremely flawed. But… you can count on me for anything." She bumped her fist against his lightly before leaning over to hug him. It was the only sight seen by Rosie as she exited the dining hall herself. She ran to the washroom where Addison and Landon were sitting outside together.
"Don't you bother us enough during the day?" Landon mumbled as he looked up at her.
"Neither of you will be voting for Junior okay?"
CONFESSION
Rosie: While Junior reminds me of a smartass little brother… we'd be genuinely insane to vote him off tonight. I messed up before, letting Liam go has been bothering me for a while. I'd never be able to get over letting CJ off the hook right before he gets his advantage. The boys are dumb but they'll agree.
END
The gophers sat quietly around the campfire with Bobby standing above them holding the marshmallow tray. Seven marshmallows were placed neatly on the shiny platter.
"You guys were lucky last time," Bobby noted, "But… unfortunately one of you won't be so lucky tonight. If I call your name come up and get a marshmallow." The team sat anxiously in anticipation.
"Addison… Landon… Rosie... Petunia… Sophie… Juliette…"
One by one the team got up and claimed their security leaving Ivonne and Junior. They looked at each other nervously then back at the host holding the nearly empty tray.
Bobby continued, "Well this is interesting. Junior weren't you in the bottom two last time?"
"Is this really the right time to be giving me shit?" Junior laughed.
"And the final marshmallow goes to…. Junior."
Junior sighed in relief and grabbed his symbol of safety before looking back at Ivonne.
"Sorry Ivonne."
She stood up and grinned, "It's okay guys. It's not really goodbye but… see you later right?" She went around and hugged the seven others on her team before heading to the dock. Junior watched from the campfire as he remembered something important.
"Wait just one second." He requested before running off. She paused and stood awkwardly on the dock before he came back with someone who meant a lot to her.
"Aw Ivonne," Ike called out jokingly as he walked over to her, "You got eliminated already…"
"Oh, shut up." She said and ran over to hug her brother before saying goodbye one more time and leaving the island.
Back in the Bass cabin, Ike walked in to see Cameron sitting alone.
"Where's Mordecai?"
Cameron looked out the window, "he's out with Malik, Mavis and Jacey. They're playing Cornhole or… something."
Ike sat on his bed across from Cameron, "I guess you were right, having my sister get eliminated tonight… I already miss her." Cameron stared out the window again before looking back at him. He remembered being on the canoe and the conversation they had earlier in the day.
"Hey Ike," he asked quietly, "Do you… like Mordecai?"
He widened his eyes and chuckled, "Wait… we're just friends. Why would you even think that?"
"Oh, come on Ike," Cameron laughed, "I'm not stupid."
Ike's face turned red and he started to stammer, "Oh well you've… you've probably already been gossiping about me to the others, right? Then you can all have a big laugh at just some, some dumb rumor!" Cameron's mood shifted when he looked back at his friend.
"Hey listen, I'd never do something like that. Actually… Can you keep a secret…?"