Day Three
It rained last night, but we stayed remarkably dry in our shelter. I find out that it's mostly thanks to Geoff, the oldest member of Miti Matai at 49 and an architect by trade. The other fellow in our group, who I hadn't been able to speak with much yet, sits next to me at breakfast so we can get to know each other. He's a nice enough chap with average looks, a bartender named Chet. What a surprise. Seems like there's at least one bartender on every season of this show. Fortunately, he's not a bartender who wants to be an actor. This one's a bartender who wants to be an artist.
We know it's a challenge day, so Kiki and Ellen head to the end of the beach to inspect the tiny "mailbox" for our first clue. They return with a rolled-up document containing a rhyme with a double-entendre about balance; basically, those who don't keep their balance will upset the balance between the tribes. Not very witty, but it puts across a harsh truth. One tribe, after tonight, will be down to seven players. During my morning chores, I have to put some serious thought into how I want to play the challenge. Most likely, I can subtly influence the play of the game to bring my tribe out on top. But I know that Anna is still sick and acting miserable, so it might be a mercy to allow her to get off the island. I know that once we lose six players total, the two tribes will merge into one tribe of ten. Usually, it's a fair split of 5-5. Do I even want to try influencing the games at all? Would it help me to meet five other people, or would it help to keep my tribe intact and enter the merge with a stunning 8-2 lead?
I decide that the less magic, the better. To keep all suspicion away, I'll merely make an attempt to go into the merge at an even 5-5. I'm even going to let today's game play out naturally, just to gauge both teams' strengths without magical interference. After a morning of gathering fruits, leaves and roots and an exciting lunch of rice, one of the cameramen indicate it's time to go to the challenge. It's about a half-hour walk through the jungle, then we emerge onto another beach with some strange wood-and-rope apparatus and the ever-plastic Marcus Nash.
We gather on what looks like a green carpet with the show's logo. The opposing team emerges from the trees across the beach and make their way to their orange carpet. Marcus welcomes us both to the challenge and talks briefly about the first two days on the island.
"So, we have Miti Matai, which in Tahitian means 'sea wind,' and Fetia Rai, which means 'starry sky.' I'm sure you two tribes have had a good couple of days getting to know each other. Unfortunately, tonight, one of your tribes will lose a member. Today's challenge is a combination of a ropes course and an obstacle course." Marcus continues to describe the game; it involves climbing and crossing ropes, and has to be done one person at a time. The first team to have all players cross the finish line wins.
We line up, and I'm third from the end. I'll be able to watch the first five members of my tribe cross the course, and learn from their mistakes. This also gives me a chance to check out the members of the opposing team. Overall, they look like a similar age range as ours -- early 20s to perhaps early 50s. There are a couple of nice looking men. I tell myself that I can look to my heart's content, but I'm certainly not allowed to feel anything for any of these people. I have no idea which ones will make it to the merge, so it's best to not pick any of them to like. We begin the race, and I watch from the rear of the line as our team slowly loses ground to Fetia Rai. Anna falls off the course and has to go back to the beginning, thus cementing my feeling that she's definitely going home early. Marcus is calling out a running commentary as the race continues, praising the successful players while bringing sharp attention to mistakes like Anna's.
My turn comes up, but I can already tell we're going to lose this one. I'm number five in line, and Fetia Rai's sixth player is just ahead of me on the course. He's a well-built, handsome blond man wearing no shirt and already sporting a decent tan, which makes it easy for me to follow him quickly along the course. Thankfully, I make it off the end of the course before I hear Marcus praise the man.
"Good speed, Draco! Fetia Rai is still one player ahead, with only two left to cross!"
I feel like the wind has been knocked out of me. That's a name I haven't heard since I left school, and I figured I'd be able to live a long, healthy life without ever hearing it again. I make my way closer to the Fetia Rai group, while keeping an eye on my own team's progress and shouting encouragement to our last players. The mysterious Draco keeps his back to me as he cheers his own team. Damn! Turn around, man!
The race ends with a Fetia Rai victory. They let out a cheer and rush over to Marcus to claim the immunity idol. As they congratulate each other, I manage to catch a glimpse of the blond man. Aquiline nose, silver eyes, a hint of a smirk in his victorious smile.
It can't be.
But it is.
I have no clue what Malfoy is doing among these Muggles. After seven years of being called "Mudblood" and worse, I figured he wouldn't touch a Muggle with a ten-foot pole. And yet, here he is, hugging them and cheering them. And playing my game. And obviously planning on winning my game. And looking incredibly good, but that's neither here nor there.
My formerly good chances of winning definitely need to be recalculated.
As we trek back through the trees to our beach, I realize that Marcus never called me out by name for anything. I know I look different, and Malfoy didn't look at me with any recognition. For now, I have the upper hand. But I can't count on Marcus complimenting everybody but me. I'll have to assume my name will be mentioned at the reward challenge, two days away, and then Malfoy will know I'm here on the island. That gives me two days to go over my options and perhaps change my strategy. I have to assume he's using magic just as I am, but I also have to assume he can't use it much MORE than I can. With the cameras always watching, it would be too dangerous to let something slip. If I survive the Tribal Council tonight, I'm going to have a hard couple of days of thinking.
We barely have time for dinner before it's time to head back out. The Tribal Council beach is a good hour's walk away, and thankfully everyone is chattering so I don't obsess over Malfoy's presence here on Unknown Island. I hold up my end of the conversation, trying my best to appear friendly, witty and sparkling. Pete catches my eye, grins and winks at me. At least I don't have to worry about a vote from him; he's been trying to flirt with me most of the day. I'm not terribly worried -- watching Anna trudge slowly along, I'm pretty sure how tonight's vote is going to turn out.
Marcus is waiting for us at Tribal Council, wearing a fresh khaki shirt and shorts. It cracks me up that he wears that safari getup, when he's probably spending every night in a luxurious room with no bugs, creepy critters, or snoring Bobs. As we enter, we all take a torch and light them as he recites his standard spiel about fire representing life on the island. Blah, blah, blah, Marcus. Let's get on with it. Then comes the question-and-answer session, which shows he's been watching the daily footage to find out what's going on in camp. He asks several tribe members about their first three days, then it's my turn.
"Hermione, how have you felt about the tribe these three days? Is everyone pitching in, or are there some people who are slacking?" I can feel the cameramen staring down their lenses at me.
"Well," I pause to look thoughtful, "I think everyone's putting as much effort as they can into the chores around camp. But probably some people aren't able to do as much as others." I see a couple of heads nod out of the corner of my eye, and I'm fairly certain we're all on the same page.
We head up to vote, one by one. I write Anna's name on my paper, and hold it up to the camera. "You've been nothing but nice, but you seem really tired, and I worry that you're going to hold the team back. I really hope we can meet up again in the outside world." I fold and stuff, and head back to my seat. After the last vote, Marcus heads over and grabs the container full of votes. He brings them back and lets us know that the results of the vote are final, and the person voted out will have to leave the Tribal Council area immediately. Even though I'm mostly sure about the vote, I still feel a little nervous.
Anna. Bob. Anna. Anna. Anna. Anna. Five votes out of eight are all she needed, and Anna's torch is snuffed out. She may well be the one who voted for Bob. Or the other two votes in the container may have both been for him, too. I doubt it, though. I've always suspected that a producer goes through the votes and arranges them in the most dramatic way possible. If Bob had earned three votes, the count would have gone 3-3, then the last two Anna votes would have been called.
On the way back to our beach, Bob seems a little tense. I can understand why; he'll probably be gone fairly soon, just because of the snoring. He could be the nicest guy in the world, but when you keep the rest of the group awake at night, nice just isn't enough. He's probably also wondering about who voted for him. We're all very tired when we get back, and most of the tribe falls asleep quickly. I can't help but wonder what I'm going to do about Malfoy, but I need my sleep too. I silently mouth a sleeping spell, and drift off.
It rained last night, but we stayed remarkably dry in our shelter. I find out that it's mostly thanks to Geoff, the oldest member of Miti Matai at 49 and an architect by trade. The other fellow in our group, who I hadn't been able to speak with much yet, sits next to me at breakfast so we can get to know each other. He's a nice enough chap with average looks, a bartender named Chet. What a surprise. Seems like there's at least one bartender on every season of this show. Fortunately, he's not a bartender who wants to be an actor. This one's a bartender who wants to be an artist.
We know it's a challenge day, so Kiki and Ellen head to the end of the beach to inspect the tiny "mailbox" for our first clue. They return with a rolled-up document containing a rhyme with a double-entendre about balance; basically, those who don't keep their balance will upset the balance between the tribes. Not very witty, but it puts across a harsh truth. One tribe, after tonight, will be down to seven players. During my morning chores, I have to put some serious thought into how I want to play the challenge. Most likely, I can subtly influence the play of the game to bring my tribe out on top. But I know that Anna is still sick and acting miserable, so it might be a mercy to allow her to get off the island. I know that once we lose six players total, the two tribes will merge into one tribe of ten. Usually, it's a fair split of 5-5. Do I even want to try influencing the games at all? Would it help me to meet five other people, or would it help to keep my tribe intact and enter the merge with a stunning 8-2 lead?
I decide that the less magic, the better. To keep all suspicion away, I'll merely make an attempt to go into the merge at an even 5-5. I'm even going to let today's game play out naturally, just to gauge both teams' strengths without magical interference. After a morning of gathering fruits, leaves and roots and an exciting lunch of rice, one of the cameramen indicate it's time to go to the challenge. It's about a half-hour walk through the jungle, then we emerge onto another beach with some strange wood-and-rope apparatus and the ever-plastic Marcus Nash.
We gather on what looks like a green carpet with the show's logo. The opposing team emerges from the trees across the beach and make their way to their orange carpet. Marcus welcomes us both to the challenge and talks briefly about the first two days on the island.
"So, we have Miti Matai, which in Tahitian means 'sea wind,' and Fetia Rai, which means 'starry sky.' I'm sure you two tribes have had a good couple of days getting to know each other. Unfortunately, tonight, one of your tribes will lose a member. Today's challenge is a combination of a ropes course and an obstacle course." Marcus continues to describe the game; it involves climbing and crossing ropes, and has to be done one person at a time. The first team to have all players cross the finish line wins.
We line up, and I'm third from the end. I'll be able to watch the first five members of my tribe cross the course, and learn from their mistakes. This also gives me a chance to check out the members of the opposing team. Overall, they look like a similar age range as ours -- early 20s to perhaps early 50s. There are a couple of nice looking men. I tell myself that I can look to my heart's content, but I'm certainly not allowed to feel anything for any of these people. I have no idea which ones will make it to the merge, so it's best to not pick any of them to like. We begin the race, and I watch from the rear of the line as our team slowly loses ground to Fetia Rai. Anna falls off the course and has to go back to the beginning, thus cementing my feeling that she's definitely going home early. Marcus is calling out a running commentary as the race continues, praising the successful players while bringing sharp attention to mistakes like Anna's.
My turn comes up, but I can already tell we're going to lose this one. I'm number five in line, and Fetia Rai's sixth player is just ahead of me on the course. He's a well-built, handsome blond man wearing no shirt and already sporting a decent tan, which makes it easy for me to follow him quickly along the course. Thankfully, I make it off the end of the course before I hear Marcus praise the man.
"Good speed, Draco! Fetia Rai is still one player ahead, with only two left to cross!"
I feel like the wind has been knocked out of me. That's a name I haven't heard since I left school, and I figured I'd be able to live a long, healthy life without ever hearing it again. I make my way closer to the Fetia Rai group, while keeping an eye on my own team's progress and shouting encouragement to our last players. The mysterious Draco keeps his back to me as he cheers his own team. Damn! Turn around, man!
The race ends with a Fetia Rai victory. They let out a cheer and rush over to Marcus to claim the immunity idol. As they congratulate each other, I manage to catch a glimpse of the blond man. Aquiline nose, silver eyes, a hint of a smirk in his victorious smile.
It can't be.
But it is.
I have no clue what Malfoy is doing among these Muggles. After seven years of being called "Mudblood" and worse, I figured he wouldn't touch a Muggle with a ten-foot pole. And yet, here he is, hugging them and cheering them. And playing my game. And obviously planning on winning my game. And looking incredibly good, but that's neither here nor there.
My formerly good chances of winning definitely need to be recalculated.
As we trek back through the trees to our beach, I realize that Marcus never called me out by name for anything. I know I look different, and Malfoy didn't look at me with any recognition. For now, I have the upper hand. But I can't count on Marcus complimenting everybody but me. I'll have to assume my name will be mentioned at the reward challenge, two days away, and then Malfoy will know I'm here on the island. That gives me two days to go over my options and perhaps change my strategy. I have to assume he's using magic just as I am, but I also have to assume he can't use it much MORE than I can. With the cameras always watching, it would be too dangerous to let something slip. If I survive the Tribal Council tonight, I'm going to have a hard couple of days of thinking.
We barely have time for dinner before it's time to head back out. The Tribal Council beach is a good hour's walk away, and thankfully everyone is chattering so I don't obsess over Malfoy's presence here on Unknown Island. I hold up my end of the conversation, trying my best to appear friendly, witty and sparkling. Pete catches my eye, grins and winks at me. At least I don't have to worry about a vote from him; he's been trying to flirt with me most of the day. I'm not terribly worried -- watching Anna trudge slowly along, I'm pretty sure how tonight's vote is going to turn out.
Marcus is waiting for us at Tribal Council, wearing a fresh khaki shirt and shorts. It cracks me up that he wears that safari getup, when he's probably spending every night in a luxurious room with no bugs, creepy critters, or snoring Bobs. As we enter, we all take a torch and light them as he recites his standard spiel about fire representing life on the island. Blah, blah, blah, Marcus. Let's get on with it. Then comes the question-and-answer session, which shows he's been watching the daily footage to find out what's going on in camp. He asks several tribe members about their first three days, then it's my turn.
"Hermione, how have you felt about the tribe these three days? Is everyone pitching in, or are there some people who are slacking?" I can feel the cameramen staring down their lenses at me.
"Well," I pause to look thoughtful, "I think everyone's putting as much effort as they can into the chores around camp. But probably some people aren't able to do as much as others." I see a couple of heads nod out of the corner of my eye, and I'm fairly certain we're all on the same page.
We head up to vote, one by one. I write Anna's name on my paper, and hold it up to the camera. "You've been nothing but nice, but you seem really tired, and I worry that you're going to hold the team back. I really hope we can meet up again in the outside world." I fold and stuff, and head back to my seat. After the last vote, Marcus heads over and grabs the container full of votes. He brings them back and lets us know that the results of the vote are final, and the person voted out will have to leave the Tribal Council area immediately. Even though I'm mostly sure about the vote, I still feel a little nervous.
Anna. Bob. Anna. Anna. Anna. Anna. Five votes out of eight are all she needed, and Anna's torch is snuffed out. She may well be the one who voted for Bob. Or the other two votes in the container may have both been for him, too. I doubt it, though. I've always suspected that a producer goes through the votes and arranges them in the most dramatic way possible. If Bob had earned three votes, the count would have gone 3-3, then the last two Anna votes would have been called.
On the way back to our beach, Bob seems a little tense. I can understand why; he'll probably be gone fairly soon, just because of the snoring. He could be the nicest guy in the world, but when you keep the rest of the group awake at night, nice just isn't enough. He's probably also wondering about who voted for him. We're all very tired when we get back, and most of the tribe falls asleep quickly. I can't help but wonder what I'm going to do about Malfoy, but I need my sleep too. I silently mouth a sleeping spell, and drift off.