Greetings! And welcome to the sixth chapter.
Second challenge tested competition's schedule so were about dive into the third challenge already in this one. No time for rest if those campers are giving their all to win this show.
Hopefully you, dear readers, find this as a good one. And perhaps if you've been enjoying your time with this story... why not marking it as your Favorite or Follow it? Or maybe even drop a review? It's totally free and it helps me see how this story is being received and how I'm doing as a budding fanfiction writer in English.
Let's get going with the story.
Dodgy Business, Pt. 1
"Last time on Total Drama Island: The Screaming Gophers kicked butt in the Awake-A-Thon when Duncan took a snooze on can and thus crowned Gwen as the winner of challenge. Killer Bass took their second loss in a row, sending them to elimination ceremony once again. Harsh! Heather orchestrated the first Total Drama Island alliances by convincing Lindsay and Beth to join forces with her. And another deal was made between her and Noah. Then she pocketed Eva's MP3 player and sat back to watch the fireworks. Nicely played, Heather. Nicely played. Even though Eva could have pretty much kick anyone's butt here, in the end it was her temper that got her kicked off. She became the second camper to rock the Boat of Losers. Who will break the rules of their new alliance and who gets backstabbed first? Will Gwen and Duncan be able to stay awake until the end of the episode? And who will take the next humiliating walk down the Dock of Shame? Stay tuned for the most dramatic campfire ceremony yet on Total… Drama… Island!"
Yet again it was going to be a beautiful, serene day on island. Having enjoyed nice weather for a week already, some doubts started to seep in when they might experience first bigger downpour. There had been some showers of rain during the course of one night but anything bigger than that was yet to present itself. Noah though did not mind if summer was going to be all sunny and hot that year since it made being stuck on Wawanakwa a bit more tolerable.
He felt unusually refreshed after that night's sleep. It would have been magnificent feeling to stay between the covers little longer but once he had woken up that morning he could not fall asleep anymore. Due to this development, he had decided to head for an early morning shower.
Crossing over the grass field on his way to communal, he took in deep breath of cool, moist morning air. Remnants of morning dew watered his bare toes in shower sandals, and slight breeze cooled him down and filled up his nostrils. It was a nice feeling since it helped him get rid of that musty smell which lingered within the cabin after night.
On his way there were some monochromatic birds raking through grass in search of some seeds and bugs but once he got closer they jumped into air and wafted away. He watched as they went and wondered what that day might have had in storage for him.
Other boys in his cabin were still asleep except Jeremy who already had gone somewhere and neither Owen was present due to his stay at medical tent after his sleepwalking excursions.
To be honest with himself, Noah had been worrying about Owen's whereabouts and well-being during those three plus days which big guy had been lost. Owen was so far the only camper of he trusted to be his ally if he only would say a word. Losing him would be a hit for his plans so he hoped to see him getting released from medical attention that day.
While he pushed the door to shower room open, he was half awaiting to hear water rushing in one shower but much to his surprise he found himself alone there. If Jeremy was not there and not in the cabin sleeping, perhaps the guy had gone for morning run but that felt little far-fetched. That helpful introvert did not give a vibe of being too much into sports but who knew. Even though Noah believed his assumptions about the guy being quite solid, Jeremy still was a little bit of a mystery to him due to the fact that he had not had a chance to talk with him one on one and confirm his suspicions. But as he thought about it, it did not matter right then if he could have a talk with Jeremy. Instead he needed to get his shower so he could head for breakfast afterwards. Chef's food was not the best but at least it filled up the stomach if one was willing to stomach enough of it. And who knew. Chicken soup during the Awake-A-Thon actually had not been too bad so maybe there still was hope for food getting better, though he did not really believe that.
He hanged his blue towel on rack, undressed and picked the shower stall where the nozzle was most intact.
After running the water for a while for it to warm up, he stepped in and started right away washing his hair.
Even if he felt rather refreshed after night's sleep, there still were some lingering feelings of muscle fatigue after last challenge's messing with his inner clock. Therefore it was soothing to have warm water running on him and massaging his body.
He took his time washing his hair and standing under the rushing water, letting all the thoughts in his head get put away for a moment.
When he mentally started to prepare to leave the shower, he heard the door opening and someone coming in. He closed the shower and headed to fetch his towel. As he glanced towards the door, he identified the comer to be shirtless Justin.
"Morning", Noah greeted absentmindedly and picked up the towel.
"Morning", Justin answered as absentmindedly as the first greeter and walked straight away to opened up shower stall. That specific stall had quickly come the one where everybody headed if possible.
Noah moved closer to sinks to brush his teeth and give Justin the room to shower privately.
Instead of hanging up his shorts, underwear and towel on rack, Justin just flung them over the shower wall and began his own shower.
As Noah slowly brushed his teeth and listened water rushing in shower, he kept thinking if he should seize the moment and open up conversation. It did not please him as an idea to associate with Justin because they were cut out of completely different molds as persons. But he was in competition and staying on top of the game sometimes required bold moves and leaving one's comfort zone.
He dried his skin little bit more before he walked over to pick up his clothes.
"You seem to be walking just fine again. All's good now?" Noah surreptitiously said.
"Yeah. Some laying down and muscle massage worked just fine", Justin answered without really looking at Noah.
"Done anything like that before? It was pretty hardcore to pull up such stunt. I can't imagine doing anything like that without serious practice", Noah kept talking. Inconspicuous small talk and slight brushing on hunk's ego should be enough to get his tongue loosen up.
"No. But it's only state of mind. Concentrating on task at hand all the while looking fabulous is a talent of mine", Justin answered with voice oozing complacency.
"I see", Noah said. He withdrew back to sinks and pulled out some dental floss from his sanitary baggie. He let the silence sit in for couple seconds but once the channel was open he could let it get closed.
"So, what do you think about the competition so far? It's already our seventh day here", Noah asked while flossing his teeth.
"So far so good. It's a hellhole for sure but weather's been nice", Justin was not willing to elaborate on further.
"Right", Noah was disappointed Justin did not give more than that to latch into. "And Gophers been dominating so that's plus."
"Mm-hmmm", Justin gave approving, surprisingly smooth-sounding guttural sound.
Noah could sense he was quickly losing Justin's interest so there was no time to beat around the bush. He needed to state his business to get it done. Their winning streak could end any day and he needed to be able to present his allies to Heather when the time for their first elimination ceremony came.
"Tell me, Justin…" Noah continued. It was time for him to take the dive. "Have you been thinking about the game?"
Justin did not answer. Noah could hear how the shower closed and as he turned to look, he could see how towel disappeared from the top of shower wall.
After having wrapped up the towel to cover his lower body, Justin stepped out of the stall to face Noah.
"What do you mean?" hunk asked.
"Well, it's been one week so far but we still have, what, seven to eight weeks ahead of us with this game. Have you been thinking about how to get to the end?"
"What there is to think about? It's not like I'm going home anytime soon."
"You think so?" Noah tried to sound as indifferent as possible, struggling to not raise his eyebrow.
"Definitely. Cameras love me, viewers definitely gonna love me, girls love me and I'm a nice person. I'm an asset for this show."
"You think… showrunners gonna interfere the game to keep you in?" Noah had to confirm what Justin might have been implicating.
"My friend, this is reality TV. Not everything's gonna be real. So maybe. And if not, I think I'm safe to cruise through this game. I have the looks to get through this", Justin answered. He had not looked at Noah since that first glance when he came out of the shower.
"Well, just in case that's not gonna happen, have you thought about teaming up? To make sure you have a backup plan?" Noah noted. He already hated the direction where this conversation was going but he had to properly follow through.
"Why bother? I already have the support I need", Justin said. He still kept ignoring direct contact with Noah and instead of that he next focused on salving his face in front of mirror.
"Well, ignorance can be an insidious killer so it's good to have an idea of the options."
In Noah's opinion there was a huge flaw in Justin's train of thought. Hunk might have been good-looking but it did not directly equal with drama which word was even in the show name. If showrunners were to interfere with the game, they needed the drama to boost those ratings. Not tanned skin and chiseled abs.
Justin did not give an answer so Noah was forced to keep going.
"So I've been thinking what if we team up. With your… looks and my brain we could easily make double sure neither of us is going to walk that Dock anytime soon."
Now topic was completely out and all Noah could do was to pray for the best answer. It was not his best talking game. It had begun strong but because Justin was not presenting much interest in him, he had to keep improvising. He hoped Justin was as stupid as he looked to think that this conversation was only about an idea of an alliance, not an actual suggestion right then and there to seal the deal.
Justin chuckled.
"Noah, my friend, I don't need to have an alliance with you. Your tactics are too slimy."
Noah's expression turned dead.
"Scuse me?"
"Take for instance the run on day three. I don't know if you made Owen carry you to main lodge to motivate him or to have a free ride, but you did not have a medical emergency. One way or another, it tells us you have a deceitful nature", Justin told. He gave only one quick glance on Noah via the mirror.
"I beg to differ! It was a tactical choice to ensure our team got the win. We had every reason to assume last man left running was going to lose it for the team", Noah defended his actions. "And it indeed worked. Harold was the last one."
"Whatever you say", Justin said but did not sound at all like he believed it.
Noah was pissed. Who the heck Justin considered himself to be to have a right mocking him.
"And I don't think you're that better either. Considering your cheating with that cheap paint, you're not that honest guy yourself. I don't see any problem here", Noah laid it on Justin.
"You see, my friend, maybe not. But the way I see this, is that my unorthodox methods are for the best interest of team. You come across as a guy whose best interests are self-serving."
"You don't think you're biased to state that?"
Noah had forgotten to dress up. Hands on hips, he kept staring down Justin who still was not paying the courtesy of even looking at him.
"Like I said, I already have this figured out so I'm passing your offer. I'd say Beth, Leshawna and Owen are already on my side so I don't need to complicate this with your tactics", Justin dodged the actual question.
"'You'd say' is not exactly the same as 'I know'."
"Look. If you want to try play this your way, maybe ask Heather. You seem to be infatuated by her. Maybe she reciprocates", Justin attempted to pacify Noah.
It had been obvious for a while already for Noah that Justin was actively looking down on him. He hated the fact that the boy would not look directly at him like he was not worthy of attention. And he could only guess where the hunk had learnt such fancy words. But it definitely was noteworthy how Justin mentioned how Noah's interest on Heather had not gone unnoticed. Reason was wrong, yes, and it looked like he did not know about already existing pact but the statement indicated something worrisome about eye candy's character.
Justin might have been vain and clueless but he was observant.
Noah would have wanted to keep arguing but he realized it was not going anywhere. To be better than Justin, he decided it was in his best interest to leave boy without an answer. He grabbed his clothes and sanitary baggie and marched out of the communal. Only towel around his waist and shower sandals on his feet covered him when he made the walk back to the cabin.
As he went and thought the disastrous interaction he just had, he knew for a fact that Justin was a menace and had to go the second Screaming Gophers lost their first challenge.
It was a wonderful morning, and a single swan couple was drifting on the lake. Those waterbirds were enough far away to not feel threatened by human presence but still close enough so Jeremy could made details out of them. It was imperative that he saw those details because it helped him to highly improve his sketch of them.
He was at the end of that lonely dock around which he had been spending some time during their first day-off. Back then he had climbed into a tree close by but now he had seated himself on the dock and was gazing over the lake.
It was a most wonderful daybreak and on those kinds of moments Jeremy was grateful for being a man who slept heavily and but could also rise up early to witness such marvels of earth. He already had spent a good chunk of the passing hour drawing small little details from the nature. He was not feeling that morning like trying to capture the whole landscape in a sketch so that was the reason why he focused on that swan couple at the moment.
Moment perhaps could have been improved if there would have been some soft ambiance music on background to give him the sensation of having a soundtrack on his life. It was a silly idea but maybe it was something to look into once he was back home and had access to proper equipment and music library. He smirked at the idea and took yet another look at swans.
"Oh… I didn't expect to meet anyone here."
Jeremy got thoroughly startled when someone suddenly spoke behind him. Out of surprise he almost cast his pen and sketchbook into water.
He turned around and staggered to his feet.
"Oh… sorry… I… certainly didn't expect to meet anyone either", Jeremy stuttered apologetically like he would have been the one intruding.
Bridgette looked at him confused. She was dressed in her wet suit and was carrying her surfboard. Jeremy could not fathom how he had not heard girl arriving.
"No, no. Sit down. I'm sorry. Did I startle you?" Bridgette apologized in turn and urged Jeremy to settle back down.
"I mean… it's no big deal. I was already about to leave", Jeremy mumbled. He crammed his pen and eraser to his pockets and swung the sketchbook close. He could not rationalize it but it felt to him like he was intruding Bridgette's place and the least he could do now, when the girl had showed up, was to move away – no matter that other swan's sketch was still missing its beak.
Bridgette looked still confused due to the sheer coincidence how she had run into someone on such an early hour at such a remote place. But when Jeremy started to make apologies and hastily prepare to leave, she also experienced guilt like she had popped into someone's personal space. It would have been possible to keep insisting it was all her fault to show up unannounced, but Jeremy did not seem to be in headspace to listen such argument. She had to think on her feet so she could turn the situation around and alleviate the awkwardness she had caused.
"Were you drawing something? I see you have a sketchbook with you", Bridgette blurted out and pointed Jeremy's sketchbook with the tip of her surfboard.
It did seem to calm startled Jeremy a little bit but not stop him dead on his tracks.
"No! Or no! I mean… Yeah! I sketch", Jeremy answered. He was too much of an introvert to find it comfortable to have a spontaneous conversation with someone when he had not been expecting even the possibility of someone's presence.
"That's so cool! Can I see them?" Bridgette asked.
That finally stopped Jeremy completely. When someone asked if they could admire his handiwork, that little voice in his mind which yearns recognition and praise got interested. It is a strong voice but not always strong enough to completely drown the voice of reasoning and humility.
"Well, I'm not that good. I just… enjoy sketching thing or two every now and then", Jeremy tried to downplay his abilities and convince Bridgette she did not want to see his drawings. He was highly critical of his own work. And mixed into that there was fear for feedback which could slander his work.
Bridgette put down her surfboard and walked closer to Jeremy.
"Nonsense. We saw you doodling on sand at loser zone. If you can make such a convincing Donald Duck, I'm sure you must be a wizard with actual equipment", Bridgette claimed. Inside she felt highly awkward about this interaction but she was willing to fake it till she made it since she had already started. She gestured Jeremy to hand over the sketchbook which the boy did but only after some more hesitation.
"I'm… really not that good", Jeremy insisted and took a step back. He could not take many more because he would have ended up falling into the water. His stress was surging sky-high heights but somehow he managed to roll with it.
Bridgette flashed him a warm smile and flipped the sketchbook open. Immediately even on the first page she could tell Jeremy was either full of lies or way too humble for his own good.
"You're kidding me, right? These are amazing!" she said. She kept leafing through more pages just to come to the same conclusion all over again: Jeremy's drawing skills were phenomenal.
"Well…" embarrassed Jeremy did not find words to dispute the statement. He kept shifting his weight from one leg to another.
"How long have you been drawing? It must have taken years to reach this level", Bridgette praised the artwork little more when she took time to look some pictures closer. There was this one fantasy style drawing, in which some shortish creatures (maybe gnomes or halflings) were riding on old elks on a misty mire, which really caught her attention with the level of detail.
"Well… since when I was in kindergarten I guess. I… really cannot recall time when I would have stopped drawing", Jeremy thought back and kept fidgeting. That fidgeting however was simmering down the more Bridgette kept marveling his art.
"You're really talented. Really. Have a humble brag", Bridgette said while she handed the sketchbook back. Jeremy looked it for a sec before he quickly snatched it.
"Thanks..."
It was impossible for him to deny that it did not warm his heart to hear some praise for his work. But it did not make him feel any less awkward about showing his work to the world.
Bridgette kept smiling warmly. She went over to pick up her surfboard.
"I'm sorry I interrupted your morning peace. I'll go back to the cabins", she said while she lifted her sport equipment.
"NO!" Jeremy was as startled as Bridgette when he suddenly raised his voice. "I mean…" he turned sideways and gestured with raised arm Bridgette to move forward to the water. "Go ahead. I'm not a jerk to claim this place my own."
With some confusion but mostly happiness in her look, Bridgette went forward after taking a second to compose herself.
"Thanks", she said when she put the surfboard on water and slipped on it. She paddled few meters away from the dock before diverting the surfboard sideways so she could better see Jeremy. Boy was still standing and he was looking at her.
"Please, sit down. Don't let me bother you if you want to keep drawing", Bridgette urged Jeremy to settle down and not make the situation any more awkward when they had managed to ease that tension already noticeably.
"Okay", Jeremy answered but took his sweet time before venturing to actually go down.
Swans had moved on so he could not finish their drawing. He did not go back sketching but instead he leafed through some pages examining his old artwork.
Bridgette paddled on surfboard in close vicinity. Water temperature could not have been over twenty degrees. Cool nights kept cooling down the lake but her wet suit should protect her from the harshest sting of cold. She stood up on board and after finding her balance jumped headfirst into the water. She swum few small circles before heading back to the board which had drifted aside when she had used it as her springboard. She reached the board and climbed back on it. Wet tresses stuck in front her eyes so she brushed them aside. She steadied her breathing and looked back again at Jeremy, debating in her mind if she should strike up further conversation with the Gopher boy.
"So…", Bridgette made her decision. Boy might have felt shy around new people and Bridgette got it. She was not the most outgoing person even herself and felt sometimes nervous with new acquaintances. But it could not hurt to make new friends. "How come you are here? I really thought I'd be the only one."
Jeremy raised his eyes from his drawings when Bridgette called out for him.
"Why? Well… we passed this place during the first challenge and I thought the scenery looked neat. So I came back. To have peace and quiet."
"Makes sense. Kinda the same reason for me."
"Sorry? What you mean?"
"I looked up different spots to bring out my surfboard since I brought it. Main docks are nice but not the most private place. I like private swims every now and then. And water here is way much cleaner than around main docks!"
"Oh, so you were scouting for swim spots on first day-off?" It made much more sense now for Jeremy why he had seen Bridgette passing by this place some days ago.
"Right!"
"Well, this is a nice spot", Jeremy admitted nodding his head.
They kept chatting up a bit, and little by little the remaining feeling of awkwardness created by the first interaction melted away.
"Dude. This is ridiculous. Why of all nights it was only the first when he didn't snore like a lumberjack?" beaten Geoff rubbed his eyes while sitting on the edge of his bunk.
"I get you, brother", DJ sympathized from upper bunk. "First I couldn't fall asleep because of it and now when it's all quiet I find myself unable to fall asleep."
Geoff gave out a huge sigh and stared into opposite wall.
Harold had had yet another one-man orchestra going on during the night. His snoring had kept waking the rest of the cabin and now when dweeb himself had woken up and had gone to take a shower, both Geoff and DJ struggled falling asleep anymore. Only still highly sleep-deprived Duncan was asleep in cabin since Tyler had left even before Harold. Jock also was unable to sleep and had mumbled something incoherent about eating breakfast cereal in confessional.
"What you think we should do? We simply can't go into each night hoping for a silent cabin", Geoff inquired DJ.
DJ kept switching his position under the blanket, trying to find a comfortable position but it was all in vain. Admitting the defeat, he cast the blanket aside and swung his feet over the edge of the bunk and rose to sit.
"Don't know, man. Maybe we can look if we can find some earplugs. Or ask them from Chris", DJ suggested.
"I kinda doubt he'd give those to us. Maybe we should ask them from an intern instead", said Geoff. He fell sideways and laid down his head on pillow. He gave out another big sigh.
"We need to be sneaky about that. I'm not sure we're allowed to interact with them unless it's something challenge-related", DJ commented.
"I'm…", Geoff yawned. "I'm willing to see one more night if that Harold is capable of not snoring. Otherwise, we really must do something. This lack of sleep puts whole team in jeopardy."
DJ agreed with that but did not bother to say it out loud. He was too tired to keep up with this conversation.
The solution could have been as simple as voting off Harold next time they found themselves around elimination campfire, DJ considered, but on the other hand it might have been stupid move from them in long game. In the end, although his appearance did not suggest an idea of strong player, Harold had actually proven himself to some extent. He had reached the third night in the Awake-A-Thon, putting him that way in top third of enduring team members. And he had been of an actual use also in the first challenge. Bass had voted off Eva last night which definitely was something what could come bite them back rather soon so their team needed every capable member on board who could benefit them in challenges. So far Harold had proven he was not dead weight competition-wise and perhaps that counted more than the fact that he was causing one major trouble outside challenges.
DJ sat there on the edge of his bunk staring at the opposite wall and mustered enough strength and willpower to start the day. After a minute or two he heard Geoff giving out some heavy breaths, indicating boy might actually have fallen into light sleep.
Hearing those sounds rising from lower bunk, DJ himself gave one big sigh and as silently as possible dropped down to the floor so not to wake Geoff or Duncan. He pulled on clothes over his undergarments so he felt modest enough to go outside and walk over to have his own morning shower.
Once he had done so and also double-checked that he had not disturbed Geoff and Duncan's sleep, he slipped into his shower sandals, snatched the towel from the rack next to the door and went his way.
As he walked over the short distance to the communal, he came across short brunette Gopher boy who was walking from the communal back to cabins. He recalled boy's name to be Cody as he had finally memorized and associated all the names and faces of fellow campers. Time spent in loser zone during the second challenge had been good time to do so.
"Morning", DJ muttered out of courtesy.
"Morning", Cody answered as they passed each other. He turned to look DJ over his shoulder and gave this questioning look. "Rough night, huh?"
"You could say that", DJ admitted. Toll created by fragmented sleep must have really been showing on his face if Cody was able to tell it.
"Well, take a cold shower. It definitely should wake you up", Cody called out his tip as the distance between them started to mount.
"Alright!" DJ called back but did not turn to look the guy. He simply raised his hand high and gave thumbs-up as a thanks for the tip.
It was not just DJ's tired face which snitched guy's bad night. Cody noticed first of all how heavily DJ's posture was slouching compared to any other given day. Usually brickhouse stood tall and straight above any other camper but now there was collapse in his stature.
Cody glanced over his shoulder one more time, looking how DJ disappeared into boys' side of communal. He himself felt rather invigorated after good night sleep so he did not mind too much. He walked the last length back to his cabin and considered the options how he could spend his Sabbath and their second day-off.
Taped on the cabin door he however found a note which slightly spoiled his mood. Note was handwritten and cursive was in places hard to decipher but the gist of the message was simple enough: they were going to have a new challenge already on that day and they were expected to gather up on breakfast.
Cody lamented their luck. With further consideration, it kind of made sense to have a new challenge already. Top five had really pushed the duration of the previous one so this was probably production's way to adjust the schedule. He checked if the girls' door also had a similar note taped to it. Sure enough, he could see an identical white piece of paper on it.
He gave out a dispirited sigh. He concluded it was for the best if he already woke Trent, who was the last boy in the cabin sleeping, and informed him to get ready due to this development in day's schedule. And girls probably needed a knock on the door since it did not appear like any of them had risen yet or at least noticed the note.
He opened the door and went in, ready to delight Trent's morning with glad tidings.
"Now these are some excellent numbers I like to see!"
"Indeed, mister McLean."
Norman covered his mouth to hide a yawn, while Chris took another sip of his morning coffee and ran his gaze over the report concerning initial viewership numbers of the pilot episode.
They were in control trailer and beside them there was only one intern who was fidgeting close to the door, ready as a representative of interns to receive any special orders for the day from McLean.
Chris and Norman were well rested even if the latter still had some morning lethargy going. Intern on the other hand seemed like he was nearing the death's gates. His eyes had turned red around the edges and he had some serious eyebags. His whole posture lacked strength and nothing could have pleased him more than getting a permission to hit the bed.
Chris took his sweet time marveling the phenomenal viewership numbers before he handed the report over to Norman whose job was to archive it properly.
"So, what about the second episode? How's the editing going?" Chris asked and took yet another sip of that black gold in merch mug.
Norman stood up and already eyed the correct binder row in bookcases at the back of trailer.
"Smoothly", Norman answered. He moved towards the bookcases. "We pretty much only need to edit in the elimination footage, add confessional clips, and run the whole thing through final polish but otherwise it's all done."
"Seems like you guys made use of that extra time given by the campers", Chris could understand why only some minor issues needed to be solved before the second episode was ready for airing.
"You could say that. Group starts the shift in an hour and we'll finish the work then", Norman stated. He ran his finger over the backs of binders and when he found the correct one, he took it from the shelf.
"Good! Have it done by the dinnertime and I'll take a look at it before the elimination ceremony", Chris requested. He gulped down remaining liquid leaving only some dregs behind and put the cup down on desk.
Intern was getting frustrated so he gathered up his courage and cleared his throat to indicate he was also present.
Chris turned to face the intern.
"And what might you want?" host asked.
"Sir. We'd like to receive our orders if there are any. Otherwise we'd like to know if we're dismissed so we can go sleep. Most of us have stayed up all night", intern stated his business.
It had taken half night for them to locate and retrieve Owen. Another half had been spent relocating some camera equipment so the island had more consistent web of video surveillance which would make it easier in the future to locate missing people. Interns were physically exhausted and mentally beaten. The night before they had received lashing from both Chris and Chef due to presented failures to fulfill duties properly and in timely manner. And they had only slept a handful of hours all combined during the night. Lowest members on production totem pole were close to collapse.
"You should take an example from the campers. Five of them stayed up three nights straight", Chris teased, but intern was not amused.
"Sir…", he urged in defeated voice.
"Okay, fine. You're dismissed for the day. I can run the day's challenge only with Chef's help anyway."
"So we're all allowed to go sleep, sir?" intern wanted to get an explicit permission.
"Heck no! I still need one of you on-call for any sudden occurrences. But the rest of you can go sleep. Figure it out between yourselves how you organize it but one remains on-call", Chris demanded.
"Thank you, sir. It will be done", intern bowed his head. He was consciously extra polite. That way he hoped to stay on host's good side so this would not backtrack his words.
"But inform them that we shall have a staff-wide meeting tomorrow. On item list, we shall go through all the blunders we've had and how we will avoid them in the future", Chris informed and pointed intern with finger for a good measure to surely run the point home.
"Yes, sir!" intern confirmed that he understood. Before host could change his mind and find some insignificant tasks for them, that intern got out of the trailer like a skittish animal would disappear into hideout at the first hint of danger.
Chris looked how the intern disappeared out of the door.
"Why can't I find an underling willing to show such energy in performing duty?" Chris lamented the perceived poor quality of labor force under his control.
Norman did not bother to defend interns. He knew it probably was going to be a lost match against McLean's views.
"Well, like they say. When duty calls, they react. When bunk calls, they relax. Reactions vary", Norman was rather pacific in his answer and unwilling to pick a side.
Atmosphere around the Screaming Gophers table in main lodge was convivial while on the Killer Bass table it felt like there was a cloud of common gloom hanging over it.
One by one more campers arrived when the word of upcoming challenge spread and they got ready for the day.
Despite of jovial mood in Gophers table, some team members started doubting if they would see Owen at all that day. Among them, last sighting of the big guy was over three days prior. While they had heard Owen got found, boy was yet to return among them.
Their worries turned short-lived when Owen slammed the main lodge's door open, stepped in and made a victory stance.
"I'M BACK!" he shouted with all the might coming out of his lungs.
Some Gophers looked him surprised. Some gave lighthearted laughs at boy's enthusiasm. Killer Bass did not really care in the first place.
"Now who are you? And why they suddenly bring out new contestants here?" Noah joked but patted an empty stool next to him, urging Owen to take a seat on it.
"Hahaha! Silly you. How could you forget me?" Owen asked laughing but moved to take the offered seat. Noah was not always sure if his jokes got lost in Owen or if the guy actually tried to send jabs back at him.
"Good to see you, man!" Trent greeted Owen as the "fresh arrival" moved past him. They changed high-fives.
Lindsay actually looked like she might have forgotten who Owen was since she looked at him confused like she was trying to remember if she had seen the boy before. She did not say anything about it and shrugged it off eventually, returning to her breakfast, a big bowl of suspicious looking barley porridge.
When asked, Owen shed some light on his disappearance. He could not reveal any juicy details, granted, he was sleepwalking after all. Most of his information was second-hand knowledge which he had managed to get from interns who had described his odyssey in some detail. He was quite sure he had come across with salmon and beavers at some point. There also was this really vague memory – which very well could have been just a dream – that he might have met a Sasquatch somewhere. Or maybe even several.
As Owen recalled those tales of mysterious ventures, Chris walked into the dining area. Seeing not all the campers were there yet, he was willing to give max ten more minutes. Gophers were missing three girls and Harold was absent from Killer Bass table.
Host approached Killer Bass table. He was mildly amused by the sheer contrast between the moods of tables. Gophers chattered away while Bass were still half asleep.
"Duncan!" Chris greeted the delinquent who was sitting closest to his position and was resting the head next to morning meal.
Duncan lifted his head just enough so he could twist it and glare host menacingly. He still had heavy eyebags under his eyes and was obviously not yet recovered from the ordeal he had gone through in the second challenge.
"You look like crap, dude", Chris stated snickering.
"Stuff it", Duncan made it clear that he was not about to humor host with a conversation.
"Harold snored all night", Courtney was the one to enlighten Chris, why the majority of Killer Bass was either napping or fighting against drowsiness. It had been quite extraordinary snoring that night since it not only had kept boys but also some girls awake.
"Wow, four nights with no sleep?" laughing Chris made it a question. He combed his hair with free hand and was impressed how Killer Bass could not catch a break. "How much are you hurting, dude?"
"Wanna find out?"
Instantly, others snapped wide awake and took cover when Duncan uttered the question which honestly sounded more like a serious threat against health and well-being.
Courtney, Geoff, Bridgette and Sadie took cover under the table. Katie jumped behind Sadie and hugged her best friend tightly, making herself small behind her. DJ, Tyler and Mackenzie crouched behind the other end of table, ready to face the fireworks in the best position due to being the furthest away from the delinquent.
"No, no. It's cool. It's cool", Chris calmed down. He raised his hands in front of him as a sign of no ill will intended. He knew not to push it.
Like a heaven-send miracle, right on that very second when Chris finished his sentence, door creaked open once again. Easing the risen tension, pretty much everyone turned to look, who was the one to walk in.
It turned out to be Harold who made the entrance. Jamming head to the beat of a song going in his head and looking like a million bucks, he walked with steady steps to the Killer Bass table.
What dweeb missed was that nobody was looking at him because he was some cool dude making his super entrance. Instead, snickers and stifled laughs started to rise when they noticed how someone had gone and drawn mustache with permanent marker on him.
Harold got more alerted something was going on when he got closer to his seat. When he sat down and took a look at his teammates, they finally totally lost it and started outright laughing with the exceptions of Duncan, who had returned to sleep, and Mackenzie, who felt little bad for Harold even though ink mustache was rather harmless practical joke.
"Okay what?" Harold burst out and had to know what was so funny about him.
Geoff reached over the table and muttered the answer to him. "Someone messed with your face, dude."
Harold raised his eyebrow and picked an unused spoon to get a reflective surface. Using that improvised mirror, he was able discern the mustache drawn to his upper lip area.
"Hey, sweet stache", Harold admired the fake hair. Even though he was hurt how someone had played a joke on him, he admitted that perhaps it was a good idea for him to look if he could grow a full blown proper mustache in the future. In principle, he liked the way it looked.
It was hard to say how he could have missed noticing it before, considering he even had taken a shower. Maybe he just had not been paying attention on his face when he had passed mirrors. And since it was drawn with permanent marker, it was plausible it got not washed off during the shower.
"Hey, everyone, it's Gwen!" Chris announced when he noticed the winning camper of second challenge shuffling slowly in. Host incited a round of claps which Screaming Gophers joyfully joined. Shouts of hurrah accompanied the clapping.
Killer Bass looked the sight mostly indifferently. But especially Courtney's look was full of venom when she watched how worn-out Gwen collapsed on a seat between Lindsay and Justin.
"I'm so tired", Gwen moaned fatigued. "I can't… feel my face."
She let her head drop on the table, shuffling her hair in a mess.
Confessional: Courtney
"We are so sucking right now. Okay, yes: Eva was a psycho. But at least she was an athletic psycho."
Confessional: Mackenzie
"Okay. Now in the light of new day I'm really starting to worry about what sort of consequences we're about to reap since we don't have Eva around anymore."
Confessional: Owen
"I'd like to apologize one more time for my sleepwalking incident. But…", Owen paused and considered something deeply. "Now that I really think about it… Was there really a Sasquatch? Or could you say Sasquatchanakwa? Do you have that footage? Did I encounter a Sasquatchanakwa?"
Heather had noticed how gloomy and tired people in another table were. When the applause for Gwen petered out, queen bee could not resist the urge to get under Killer Bass skins even more.
"Hey, wanna have some fun?" she got the attention of Lindsay and Beth who sat with her. The former looked highly intrigued by the idea while the latter raised her eyebrow questioningly.
Two girls did not make any refusals known but then again, why would they. If Heather was throwing them a bone, of course they should be grateful even for the prospect of such an offer.
"Watch this", Heather told and stood up to face Killer Bass. "Hey, fish heads! Way to kick out your strongest player. Why don't you just give up now?" she mocked Killer Bass and even cupped hands around her mouth to make that hand megaphone in hopes of just riling Bass even more.
Courtney fell for the bait. She scooped a big spoonful of porridge and swung it towards Heather who however dodged the projectile in a nick of time.
Projectile hit Gwen square in the face. She was unlucky enough to have raised her head to see what Heather was yelling about. Even though the projectile was big and bits of it dripped from her face, she did not have sufficient energy to bother wiping it off right away.
"Miss me", Heather ridiculed Courtney's poor execution of plan. Bass girl crossed her arms sulking and frowned.
When it became apparent Courtney was not about to chase the matter further, Mackenzie had to open up her mouth. And she was not having any of it.
"Quite idiotic trash coming out of that mouth of yours considering you've done close to zero if even that yourself for those wins of your own team", Mackenzie challenged Heather.
Leshawna, who had arrived at Gwen's heels to main lodge, gave really audible laugh. Some Gopher boys stifled their laughs and even Lindsay and Beth tried really hard not to smile.
"What did you say?" instantly angered Heather dared Mackenzie to repeat herself.
"I'm sure you heard me. Talk smack, get smacked. This is a two-way street", Mackenzie provoked. She could not stand the bullying which Heather was executing.
"Amen to that. Can't argue with her", Leshawna said and gave a giggle.
Heather glared Leshawna. Before queen bee could turn to face Mackenzie again to fire something back, Chris chimed in. Host wanted to carry that tension to the challenge so not letting everyone blow their steam right there was the safest bet in his opinion in securing that.
"Okay, campers, listen up!" host raised his voice so everyone could hear him loud and clear. "Your next challenge starts in fifteen minutes. Finish your breakfast. Afterwards follow me and be prepared to bring it!"
Heather felt bitter about the humiliation she felt she had experienced when Mackenzie had bad-mouthed her. Her mocking had backfired but she would get back at Bass girl by showing everyone during this challenge she was the most valuable player there was. No one got the right to say she was useless. She was the one who had the control.
To psych herself up and prove she really was a leader, she decided it was a good idea for her to have a chat with Lindsay and Beth before they reached the challenge ground.
Campers were already marching towards the area where the challenge would take place so it was easy to delay her steps a bit and get that way distance from the main bulk of campers. Lindsay and Beth were walking with her anyway so they just adjusted their speed to match that of Heather's.
"So, let's go over the rules one more time, okay?" Heather opened her mouth to gain the attention of girls. "Number one, I am the captain of this alliance so I get to make the rules. Number two…", she paused to give either girl room to fill in the blank.
"Breaking the rules can result in getting kicked out of the alliance?" Lindsay recited but was uncertain in her tone because she feared she might not get it all right.
"Good", Heather confirmed that it was the right answer. "Number three, I can borrow any of your stuff without asking, but my stuff is strictly off limits."
"I don't know about that last rule", Lindsay said, finally making her concerns known about some of the aspects surrounding the nature of three girl alliance.
"That's cool. I can change it", Heather noted it was easy enough to modify the rules. "I can also find someone else to take to the final three with me", she however added and with that kept enforcing the idea how she was the one doing two girls a favor by having this alliance. And to pay back they had to do her favors.
Lindsay shook her head as a sign how she did not want to get excluded.
"Good. Everyone agrees so let's not argue about this anymore", Heather concluded.
Confessional: Beth
"Augh!" Beth groaned but her pain was more emotional although it caused her also physical discomfort. She kept tapping her kneecaps and could not sit still. "I love how I have friends here. Lindsay is a wonderful gal and Heather is fine enough. But seriously, what's up with these rules? Does it really require of me to share my shampoo and other things that we secure the spots in final three? How does it help it? I mean, I'm not saying Heather doesn't know what she's doing but… aren't these rules kinda pointless?"
Trent had remarked how Gwen was falling behind the main group. He knelt down to retie his shoelaces in order to buy time for Gwen to catch up with them (or more precisely he got the opportunity to fall behind in an inconspicuous manner so he had better excuse to catch up with Gwen).
Heather, Lindsay and Beth walked past him as he finished up retying the laces. He stood up and gazed behind to check if Gwen was coming or not.
Goth girl was coming but kept dragging her feet. Further behind her, Duncan from Killer Bass was marching towards challenge ground even slower.
"Hey, Gwen!" Trent greeted the girl when she came to his close proximity. He backtracked few steps to get next to the girl. "How are you doing? We're falling behind."
"Trent… please, let's talk later… I'm too tired right now", as much as Gwen enjoyed her time spent with Trent, she was not in mood or on energy levels to talk with anybody at the moment.
"No probs", Trent was fine if Gwen did not want to talk. "But let me walk with you so at least it's two of us who Chris can chew out for being late."
If she had had the energy Gwen would have probably smiled. It was a sweet gesture from Trent to walk with her even if she would not be much of a company.
It was weird how fresh Trent was compared to Gwen or Duncan. All three of them had reached over eighty hours spent awake during the Awake-A-Thon and even though Trent had been the first one of them to fall asleep, neither Gwen nor Duncan had stayed up noticeably longer after that. Maybe Trent's body just needed less time to recuperate from the ordeal.
"By the way, you don't need to speak, but maybe I can use this moment to thank you", Trent leaned little bit toward Gwen so he could lower his voice closer to whisper. "Thanks to you our team won the challenge yesterday. So thank you. I'm sorry I couldn't make it till the end with you."
That comment really melted Gwen's heart and gave her warm and fuzzy feeling inside, no matter how tired she might have felt and how tempted she would have been to just ignore everything around her.
"Thanks… that's… so nice of you", Gwen had to thank but her answer got disturbed by a serious yawn. Once the yawn settled down, she shortly continued. "I wouldn't been able to do that… if you wouldn't been there talking to me."
It was true how with all that chatting Trent had helped her immensely to stay awake. So she had to return the credit where credit was due. The thanks came out sounding a bit cheesy but Gwen did not care.
"I'm glad to hear that", gently smiling Trent was honored to receive some praise as well.
They finished the rest of the way in silence and eventually arrived to the challenge ground.
There was a plexiglass-walled playing court built on a remote part of beach. Each corner of the wall structure was supported by big oak pillar outside, basically pushing and forcing the walls to stay together and not fall outwards. Court floor was like that of school gyms'. Field boundaries were marked with red tape which formed two sizable squares next to each other. There was also a thinner line cutting horizontally each of those squares.
It was impressive in the eyes of the campers how such a structure could have been erected so close to water and on sand from all the places. On one side of the court there was a double-deck bench and behind it, taped on the plexiglass, hung the team flag of the Killer Bass. On the other side of the court there was an identical bench but behind that one hung the team flag of the Screaming Gophers.
Seeing Chef there waiting them dressed up in referee's black-and-white-stripes shirt and seeing some red balls laying on the floor behind him, it quickly came to the campers what sort of challenge they would be facing.
A classic game of good old dodgeball.
Campers gathered around the umpire chair between team benches and faced up Chris and Chef. They waited for the instructions.
Duncan was the last person to arrive. He pushed open the door leading to his team's side of the court and walked in. Right when he reached the team bench, he collapsed to lay down on it.
"Wake me up and it'll be the last thing you do", Duncan lifted his head just enough so he could stare down his teammates and threaten them. After he got said what he wanted, he rested his head back down and closed his eyes.
Tyler gulped, many other Bass (and even few Gophers) looked soon-to-be-sleeping Duncan uncertain how to feel and react. Courtney rolled her eyes, but instead of the delinquent, she targeted Harold.
"This is all your fault you know. You and your snoring face!" she said frowning and almost jabbed dweeb's chin several times with her finger.
"It's called a medical condition. Gosh!" Harold defended himself. He already had told about it. From his perspective, everyone was blowing this issue out of proportion.
Chris had finished up discussing some business with Chef. It was in this moment, when displeased Courtney took cover from the spit flying from Harold's mouth as a result of strongly pronounced gosh, that Chef blew a high-pitched whistle so the campers got quiet and Chris could take the reins.
"Today's challenge is the classic game of dodgeball. Or as we like to call it here at Camp Wawanakwa: dodgebrawl", Chris introduced the challenge and with that confirmed everyone's guesses. "The first rule of dodgeball is…"
"Do not talk about dodgeball?" Noah quickly threw in a snarky guess.
Owen snickered at Noah's comment.
"As I was saying, if you get hit with the ball…", Chris continued, paused and threw the ball from his hand with a sharp pass to Courtney.
"Ooh! Ow!" breath escaped Courtney's lungs when the ball hit her straight to the diaphragm area. Yet she somehow managed to get a grip of the ball so it did not drop.
"…you're out", Chris finished his sentence.
"You can't do that!" Courtney did not appreciate getting hit in such a manner without warning. She served the ball back to Chris who in turn also caught it.
"If you catch the ball, the thrower gets sent out and the catcher gets to bring in another team member out on the court", Chris explained the second rule.
"Throwing balls? Another mentally challenging test", Noah threw in another sarcastic comment.
Lindsay flipped on her heels to face Noah and made this lively wide swing sideways and upwards with her left arm which gesture had this nature of conveying in itself how she agreed and could not understand the possibility either.
"I know right", she said. And as quickly as she had turned to face Noah, she turned again to face Chris.
Noah was taken aback by Lindsay's act and he changed confused looks with Owen. Neither of them really understood what was going on with Lindsay in general.
But what those two boys did not realize was that it was not yet another burst of oddity but actually a deliberate act to silence Noah. Lindsay did not want to listen Noah's constant interjections so to silence the blabbering boy, she made that unexpected comment and gesture just to hush the smart guy with sheer confusion factor.
The blondie might not have been the sharpest person around by a long shot, but even she knew few tricks and how to execute them in a way that benefited her.
"Okay. Now, Geoff, try to hit me", Chris already passed the ball to the called out boy while Noah wondered why Lindsay did what she did. Geoff caught the ball thrown at him with ease.
Chris lifted his finger to signal Geoff to hold up just a second so he could get another ball for the explanation of the next rule.
Chef passed the host a new ball. Chris slammed it between his hands.
"If you're holding a ball, you can use it to deflect the ball", Chris told and next deliberately let it fall from his hands. "But if the ball knocks out of your hands, you're out."
"So…", Lindsay tried to follow. Instructions were simple enough but just to be sure, she could have benefited from having them explained one more time even in greater layman's terms. "What do we do again when the ball comes at me?"
"You dodge", Chris answered. While Lindsay made her question, host had picked up the ball and now he signaled Geoff to make the throw.
Boy did as requested. It was a good throw, and Chris blocked it handily with his ball. Geoff, however, put his back to the throw so when Chris ultimately blocked it, the ball went plunging hard toward Lindsay. She got hit square in the forehead and was knocked over.
Collective gasp rose, and Chris winced at second-hand pain.
"Ooh, you were supposed to dodge", Chris told Lindsay.
"Ow. Right", Lindsay said while she clumsily stood up holding her forehead.
"You have one minute until game time. Gophers, you'll have to sit one person out each game. I'll be narrating and Chef here will be the referee."
Teams moved to their benches to consider their tactics. Especially Gophers had that pressing matter to consider, who was going to get a free ride on first match.
"Okay, we can't get lazy. The Killer Bass are gonna be trying extra hard to catch up", Heather assumed the leadership position and gave her pep talk. "Who wants to sit the first one out with Sleeping Beauty?"
Looks were changed all ways. Exhausted Gwen would have obvious candidate but hunching girl was staring into distance and not really listening what was happening.
"Come on now. Volunteer?" Heather was bewildered why it was so hard to find a volunteer for this.
Jeremy and Noah's eyes met. Noah made this silent small gesture with his hand and expression, asking if Jeremy wanted to sit out the first one. Jeremy hesitated and his look gave away how he felt not comfortable about the idea.
"All right, I'll volunteer", Noah raised his hand when he got that implied confirmation from Jeremy. He went over to take a seat on the bench. "Now let's see you all keeners get out in there and dodge."
After prep time ran out, first line-ups stepped into their respective boxes and prepared for the whistle. It was going to be five on five.
Killer Bass' first line-up consisted of Harold, Tyler, DJ, Courtney, and Katie. Geoff, Bridgette, Mackenzie and Sadie took a seat on sidelines, and especially Mackenzie seemed really hyped up about the challenge, fidgeting at the edge of her seat, ready to jump into action.
From the Screaming Gophers Owen, Cody, Heather, Lindsay and Leshawna stepped forward to start their team's game while the rest joined Noah.
"Bring it on, fishes. Otherwise winning three in a row just won't be satisfying", said Heather and gave the beckoning finger as a provocation.
"Oh, you're going down!" shouted Tyler and jiggled up and down and from side to side. "We're gonna bring the dinner to the table. And then we're gonna eat it!"
Jock's poorly worded smack talk was accompanied by exaggerated arm spreading like Tyler was provoking Gophers to come at him.
Courtney slapped her forehead out of vicarious embarrassment.
"Just pull your own weight and don't you worry about us!" Mackenzie shouted at Heather.
Comment greatly angered queen bee, but she kept her composure. She would show everyone. She would coach her team to victory that day.
"Both teams ready? Best of five games wins. Now let's dodge some baaalllsss!" Chris shouted and moved aside after organizing the balls on the middle line.
Audience gave out shouts of encouragement and whistles, while Chef from the top of the umpire chair blew the referee's whistle to signal the commencement of the Dodgebrawl.
The third challenge had begun.
A/N: And so is the third challenge on its way. Not gonna lie, I didn't expect this chapter to turn out to be of this length considering how it really only describes the span of couple morning hours. But here we are. Morning was filled with few nice character interactions and now Dodgebrawl will determine which team is sending yet another camper home, come the evening time.
And to quickly answer here to a review which was submitted by Guest: Good to hear you like the story. And when it comes to that question concerning the word 'the', I don't know what you mean. If it has something to do with how I might be misusing it/not using it properly, rest assured I don't feel any animosity towards it. Since I'm not a native speaker and this is my first time writing stuff of this length in English, it's more than likely that I'm not getting the grammar or vocabulary always right. Articles especially can be the bane of my existence. I try proofreading every chapter I publish but it's possible some mistakes slip by my non-native eyes.
As always, I hope you all have enjoyed your time reading it this far and we'll meet again in the next one.