A/N: Well, I have to eat my words once again. Total Drama Island is still one of the best seasons of the whole Total Drama series, very close to besting World Tour, which probably still had lower lows and higher highs. TDI was the most consistent. But I've been thinking about this ever since my BFF brought up the fact that just about all lesbian love stories make the lesbian thing a central issue, coming out, worrying over telling people, homophobia…well, come on. It's still a love story, at its core. Who cares if it's between a guy and a girl, or two guys, or two girls? So that's what I'm doing now. As you may know, Total Drama's reboot is planning to introduce two LGBTQ+ characters too, so I'm going to try my hand at this. And while I won't name them, it's dedicated to my BFF.
Also, as you've guessed, it's part romance between a TD character and my OC, and it's same-sex, so don't like, don't read. You've been warned. I have no patience for homophobia. Also, I have intentionally left one of the previous characters out of this story with my OC, so there's still 22 contestants, 11 on each team. Please don't hate me, fans of the character I replaced, I don't hate her, but she just wasn't important enough to the overall story to not be easily replaced.
Plot: Peyton Lace chose to be on Total Drama because she had nothing to do the summer after sophomore year, and she's never been to a real summer camp. She just wishes she'd remembered the part about mandatory challenges, disgusting food, betraying everyone else, and most of all, sharing the space with a bunch of strangers her age. And of course, she didn't expect to fall for someone she barely knows…
Disclaimer: Peyton Kimberley Lace belongs to me. Everything you recognize is owned by Fresh TV, and I don't own any of it. That goes for the whole story.
Oh, and one more thing: For those of you who are reading "Total Not Cousins Revenge Of The Island", I am still working on that, too (I'm in the process of writing Episode 10), so don't worry, that's still coming.
I set up the automatic camera before I got started. It was set up on my tiny desk in the corner of my bedroom, just in front of my bed (I had a biggish room, but very little furniture – I wanted room to do all my stretches and practices.
Finally, as soon as the red light went on, I summoned a smile and sat down in lotus position. "Hi! So you need contestants on Total Drama Island? Well, let me show you why I think I could take it." I immediately stood up and turned a long-time practised cartwheel, then kicked myself up into a handstand, before looking at the camera and smiling again, before I sank back into lotus position.
"Balance," I finished. "That's why I could take it. I'm balanced in mind, body and soul, and I can totally take on whatever you throw at me to get the hundred grand. Just remember to invite me!"
I switched the camera off, downloaded it onto my laptop, cut and edited until I'd taken out the part where I'd walked up to switch off the camera, and then sent it off to the producers with the audition sheet I'd downloaded online.
Yeah, I'd been pretty nervous when I'd done my audition, but I'd at least gotten through it, managed my cartwheel and handstand well (to be fair, I'd practised them enough for half my life) and kept smiling. I mean, yeah, I was used to smiling for performing jazz or hip hop routines, but it wasn't always easy to remember when you were still learning the steps. Still, eight years of dance classes and four years of yoga (I started beginner classes when I was twelve) kept me in shape and I did have good balance and flexibility. I'd even taken ballet classes for six months when I was ten, just because I'd been told it would make me more flexible for other dance styles. I'd hated it so much I couldn't stick it out the whole year, but I had to admit it seemed to have worked, considering I did start getting better in my hip hop and jazz classes, which were the ones I actually liked. I just had to hope dancing, some minor acrobatics and twisting myself into positions would get me through. I mean, I hadn't admitted how shy I was on the audition sheet. And I hadn't come off as shy in my audition…had I?
Well, it didn't even matter, because I got a letter soon after saying that they accepted me! I had made it in! Along with a sheet with all the usual rules about not bringing contact with the outside world (luckily it said we were allowed music players, so I could bring an iPod and charger) and wearing whatever we wore in our audition tape as it was our "signature outfit" (which I knew about and had chosen carefully – a hot pink tank top to match my pixie cut, cropped leggings that went to just below the knee and black canvas shoes). It also told me exactly where to go on July 8th (in just two weeks – lucky school ended next week and I'd already finished jazz classes for the year) to get the boat to the location, which was named Camp Wawanakwa.
According to the sheet, I was also given a label, which it said was the "Quiet Yogi". I'd admitted to being quiet on the audition sheet, not shy, but they'd taken notice of my handstand being based on the scorpion handstand, one of the hardest yoga positions to get right.
As it was, I was super excited to be on Total Drama Island. I didn't know much about it, just that Chris McLean, a young up-and-comer who'd mostly starred in non-theatrical movies and TV shows, was going to host at least the first season, and that I would be one of twenty-two contestants, with the only thing that we all had in common being that we were teenagers, and that it was sort of going to be similar to Survivor, just with a summer camp theme. I'd never been to a real summer camp, being shy, so I wasn't sure what that was going to mean. The sheet said we were staying in a five-star resort, so that was better than roughing it like they did in other reality shows.
I was looking forward to the challenges more than the people. I'd seen Survivor, and so I knew the formula – two teams and then a merge where everyone stuck together but only played for themselves when around half were gone. So I'd have to get along with several other teenagers. Well, maybe it would help me get over my shyness. I could make friends if I really tried – I mean, I had friends at school. And bullies didn't really get to me – they thought they could push me around because I was quiet, but the second I giggled at one of their comments or just gave them a sweet smile and started walking off, they looked so surprised and they eventually learned they didn't wind me up. It was lucky they didn't know what would really get to me. I mean, yeah, that didn't work in elementary school. Mostly it was boys, and if they couldn't push me around by talking, they'd start actually pushing me around. I still had nightmares about being circled by boys and being a little girl again. Still, the worst part was that when I started standing up for myself, they actually started turning everyone against me. For almost a month when I was eight, if I got near anyone, they'd turn their back and walk away. That's why I started dance classes – I made new friends there, and there were only girls in the hip-hop class, and the boys in the jazz class left me alone. And then a new term started, and people seemed to have forgotten the campaign against me for the most part. But it still made me afraid of confrontations and even more afraid of being ostracized completely.
It was a relief to get to middle school, and then high school, since I barely saw any of the boys that even went to the same one as me. They seemed to forget about it, and I put it behind me. Some girls tried it on, but it was all just words, and as I said, anyone who tried getting to me just received a giggle or a smile. Dumb words about my hair or my makeup or the way I acted never really did a thing to me.
I decided to bring Dracula with me anyway, just in case I couldn't make friends. I could always hide behind the cover, and it was the one book on my summer reading list I hadn't bothered to start yet.
I made a vow to myself, then and now, that from July 8 and for the eight weeks afterwards, I, Peyton Kimberley Lace, would not show myself up in front of the entire viewing world. No way.
And if I was lucky, and did my best on everything, maybe I could win that hundred grand for the one person who made it all the way to the end.
A short introductory chapter out of the way. Now, before Peyton meets the campers and starts the show, here's a few questions for you.
How do you think Peyton will do?
Which team do you think Peyton will be on?
Which character do you think Peyton replaced?
Who do you imagine will be Peyton's friends/enemies, and
I have stated that Peyton will fall for someone. Who's your guess?
