Alright! Time to get this Rest Day underway. This will not be like the previous Rest Days. I won't say why as you'll understand soon enough, but I hope you guys like it!
THIS IS THE FINAL CHAPTER TO VOTE IN THE POLL! By the time the next chapter is posted, the poll will be closed!
This chapter will likely be a bit shorter than the others. There are less contestants so as time goes on, so expect the chapters to be a little shorter!
It was still the night of Beardo's elimination. The episode opened to a drained Duncan heading towards the guys trailer. With a loud yawn, he entered the trailer and stepped inside.
"Sha-whassup, dude?" Lightning greeted. The jock was currently in his pajamas, which was a plain white tank-top and gym shorts. He was seated at the wooden table, playing cards against Shawn, who was still fully dressed.
Duncan just grunted and walked over to his bed, shoulders hunched. He plopped down onto his bed, face first.
Noah, who was on his top bunk reading, looked down at the delinquent's dramatic acts with a raised eyebrow.
"Everything okay, Duncan?" Owen asked his friend, walking up to the prone delinquent. "You seem kinda glum."
"I'm just tired," Duncan responded, his voice muffled by the pillow. "It's been a long day."
"Where's Beardo?" Shawn asked, not taking his eyes off his cards.
"On the Boat," Duncan said simply.
That got Noah to put down his book, and he leaned over the side of his bunk to get Duncan's attention. "Wait, really?" The bookworm asked. "Why?"
"None of your business, dork," Duncan told him, though it lacked his usual venom.
Noah chuckled, "guess the ladies on your team decided to band together, eh? Now who could have seen that one coming?"
Duncan grabbed his pillow and whirled it at Noah, who caught it with his face.
"Nice shot," Shawn smirked.
"Aw, I'm gonna miss Beardo," Owen said sadly. "He was a pretty swell guy…"
(Confessional: Duncan.)
"I can't just tell everyone that I took a deal with Bridgette to help me with Gwen," Duncan explains, annoyed. "So I gotta act like I got one-upped or something, which totally bites."
(End Confessional: Duncan.)
Bridgette and Gwen entered the girls trailer, and were immediately met with a gasp.
"Whoa, both of you bimbos are here?" Jo exclaimed. She was on her bed lying on her back, but had propped herself up on her elbows when she heard the door to the trailer open.
"Good to see you too, Jo." Bridgette rolled her eyes.
"Did you guys oust Duncan?" Jasmine said, her tone a little hopeful. "Because if you got back at him for eliminating Sammy, I'd really owe ya one."
"I wish," Gwen said darkly, "no, we voted Beardo out. Duncan wanted to keep Bridgette, for whatever reason."
"Man, you really are his slave, ain'tcha?" Jo mused, plopping back onto the bed. "And of course you had to vote out the nicest person on your team."
"I am not!" Gwen retorted angrily. "I'm just being a respectable person and upholding my word, but I wouldn't expect you to understand that."
"It's hilarious that you think that insults me in any way, shape or form," Jo smirked. "But go ahead! I'm sure your strong moral compass will do wonders for you in this game!"
Gwen just growled at her, but Jasmine interrupted before things could escalate anything any further. "Take it easy, shielias! I get it's been a rough day but everyone needs to settle down."
"I'm settled as heck, Pain-in-the-Amazon!"
"The Amazon is in a different continent than where I'm from!" Jasmine retorted, slightly offended.
"Whatever, you're still a pain."
(Confessional: Jo.)
"These people I'm stuck with are all a bunch of whiny sissies," Jo says dismissively, "and it sucks that Gwen is kowtowing to Duncan! They kicked off Beardo, who definitely would've been a vote in my corner come the merge!" She pinches the bridge of her nose, "and I'll need all the votes I can get. I just know once the teams merge everyone's gonna target me because I'm 'mean', and 'abrasive'." She hocks up a loogie and spits it on the ground. "Well that's what I think of them!"
(End Confessional: Jo.)
"At least tomorrow is a Rest Day," Bridgette said, trying to turn the conversation towards sunnier subjects. "Maybe we can all hang by the beach or something?"
"I hate the beach," Gwen said flatly.
Jasmine shot Bridgette a guilty look, "Me too, sorry."
"I could take it or leave it, but I'll say no just so you get a one-hundred percent rejection rate on your crummy idea," Jo said happily.
An instant annoyed scowl formed on Bridgette's face. "Whatever, if you guys wanna be downers, go for it." She walked over to her bed, climbed onto the top bunk, and got under her covers.
While Gwen would normally comfort her now-grumpy friend, she herself was still annoyed, so she just hopped on her lovely solo bed and remained quiet.
Jasmine and Jo shot each other a look, and Jo rolled her eyes. Jasmine hid an amused snicker behind her hand.
Since it was due as a Rest Day, everyone slept in the next morning. The weather was shiny and sunny and just all kinds of lovely, and the camera entered the Boys Trailer to observe it's sleeping members.
On his top bunk, Duncan slept on his back, with his arms behind his head. An annoyed sneer adorned his face and every once in a while he would scowl, or his unibrow would rise in fear.
Shawn was sleeping with his eyes open, not an uncommon occurrence for him. Despite his wide, bloodshot eyes staring up at his ceiling, he seemed to be sleeping peacefully.
Owen giggled to himself, twisting and turning in his bottom bunk. He grunted out words like "Izzy" and "marshmallows", and sucked some drool back into his mouth.
Noah's face was typically apathetic and expressionless, but his body betrayed his fretful slumber. He twisted and turned, restless.
Lightning seemed to be the only one in a truly peaceful sleep. The big jock was on his side, a puddle of drool on his pillow and a light snore escaping his lips.
All five were quickly woken up by a sharp blast of a megaphone. Needless to say, none were too happy.
"Gah!" Owen rolled out of bed and landed on the ground with a huge thud. The force of the thud was enough to bump Noah out of bed, and he landed on top of Owen with a pained grunt.
"Oops, sorry Noah," Owen apologized, still half-asleep.
"All good," Noah groaned, "at least the landing was soft."
Ever the quick riser, Shawn already had his shoes on and was heading towards the trailer door. "What the heck are we getting woken up for? Isn't today supposed to be a Rest Day?"
Noah pried himself off Owen and brushed dust off his pajama shirt. "That is weird," he conceded. "Who knows what that madman has planned for us."
"Man, the one time Lightning wanted to sleep in," Lightning complained. The jock had lifted his head off his pillow, but the drool kept it stuck to his face. The jock tried to pry it off, but it was sticking to his face like glue.
"Need some help with that, bro?" Duncan asked, a little incredulous as he watched Lightning struggle.
"Nah, Lightning's…ugh…got it," Lightning grunted. With a mighty pull, the pillow became unstuck, but the noise and sight was so horrendous that the camera panned away, showing the other four boys looking on in horror as Lightning screamed in pain.
The shot cut to the girls trailer next.
Jasmine was awake and rested, but remained relaxing in her bed. She had some earbuds in, and was nodding along to some music.
Gwen's mood was hardly improved in her sleep. Her stormy expression remained, and every once in a while she grunted.
Jo was sprawled out messily, her covers long hurled off the bed. She had her usual mean grin on her face as she snoozed, and every once in while her fingers flexed.
Bridgette's sheets were damp with sweat. Stressful dreams had plagued the blonde surfer all night, and she had lost her covers and her sleeping sweatshirt.
All four were unpleasantly jarred by Chris's wake up call, much like the boy's had been. Since Jasmine was already awake, she was quick to drop onto the floor of the trailer and head towards the door.
"I wonder what the meaning of this is," Jasmine mused, opening the door to fresh air and sunshine.
"Yeah!" Jo griped, "today's supposed to be a Rest Day! What gives?!"
"With Chris, who knows," Gwen said darkly. "Let's just go get it over with…"
"Let's have a little more positivity, Gwen!" Jasmine chided. "I highly doubt there's any kind of real challenge going on today. Chris just might've felt like being a jerk and waking us up.'
Bridgette let out a loud yawn. Gwen noticed her friend's half-nakedness and raised an eyebrow.
"You okay, Bridgette?"
Bridgette nodded, though she seemed a little worn-out. "Yeah, had some stressful dreams, though. I woke up in a cold sweat a couple times." Even though her arms were dry, she shook them out as if trying to rid them of sweat. "Ugh, I need a shower. I feel gross."
"We should probably see what Chris wants first," Gwen sighed.
All nine campers trudged in a group towards the Mess Hall. The mood of the group was rather subdued, as everyone felt varying degrees of trepidation of this unexpected announcement.
Owen was the first to notice something out of the norm, about fifty yards away from the Mess Hall. He perked up, sniffing excitedly, and gasped. "That smells like…bacon!" Without further warning, he pulled ahead of the group, sprinting for the Mess Hall.
"Bacon!?" Lightning repeated, also excited by the prospect, "heck yeah!" He too jogged ahead of the group.
The two boys were the first to enter the Mess Hall, and both gasped in shock.
There, laid out at the chefs counter, was an absolutely glorious breakfast buffet. Waffles, eggs, bacon, hash browns, toast, sausage, fresh fruit, bagel and lox, cinnamon rolls. You name it, it was there.
"Oh, mama." Owen gasped. He rubbed his eyes roughly with his chubby knuckles. "Pinch me…I must be dreaming."
Lightning reached out and pinched Owen roughly on the elbow, making him yelp and rub his elbow.
"Great Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater, that smarts!" Owen yelped.
"You asked for it, dude." Lightning shrugged, walking past the fat boy and deeper into the Mess Hall. "Sha-dayum! It smells gooooood in here!"
The rest of the contestants walked in, and all looked completely shocked at the delicious spread in front of them.
Chef poked his head out of his window, "A breakfast buffet, fit for All-Stars like yourselves. Consider it a congratulations for making it to the top half of the competition."
"Ooh, the top half!" Owen cheered, "awe-haw-some!" He turned to the nearest person, which happened to be Jo, and offered them a high five. "Gimme five!"
Jo rolled her eyes, and smacked Owen's palm as hard as she could. She grinned as Owen yelped and held his stinging palm.
"Alright you suckas, get eating." Chef told them, ducking his head back into the kitchen.
"What's the rush?" Duncan asked, walking up to the window to see Chef cleaning up. "Is there a challenge or something today?"
"Don't know, don't care, Prison Rat." Chef grunted, not even bothering to turn around to look at Duncan. "I just want you maggots to finish eating so I can clean up and get on with my day!"
Duncan scowled and opened his mouth to retort angrily, but he felt a tug on his arm. He turned around to see Bridgette holding his sleeve, giving him a disapproving look. He held her gaze for a second. Eventually he relented, and rolled his eyes. "Whatever."
Bridgette smiled at him, and the two went to go grab some breakfast.
"What's up with those two?" Gwen asked suspiciously, her eyes following Duncan and Bridgette as they began to fill their plates.
Noah, the closest person to her, followed Gwen's gaze and shrugged. "Who knows. Maybe they're cozying up?" he smirked at her, "you know how Duncan is."
Gwen shot him an annoyed look. "As if. Why would you even say that?"
"Relax, Morticia Adams," Noah rolled his eyes. "I meant in the game." He walked off to grab a plate, and a curious Gwen followed him.
"What do you mean?" She asked him. "Bridgette and Duncan are not friends."
"Really?" Noah drawled.
"Yeah, really." Gwen put her hands on her hips, continuing to follow Noah as he pursued the buffet table. "You never came to any of the parties or hangouts so you wouldn't know. You're not exactly a social butterfly, in case you haven't noticed."
Noah actually placed his half-full food tray on the table to clasp his cheeks with his hands in mock shock. "I'm not? Say it ain't so."
Gwen snarled at him. "I am not in the mood for your crap right now, Noah."
The bookworm responded with yet another roll of his eyes, but he picked up his tray and headed for one of the empty tables. He sat down to eat, but was annoyed to hear Gwen scrape the floor as she pulled a chair out. She sat across from him, glaring.
Noah sighed. "I'm not gonna be able to eat in peace, am I?"
"Tell me what you meant about Duncan and Bridgette," Gwen persisted.
"Why Gwen, do I sense a note of jealousy in your voice?" Noah tutted, bringing a forkful of scrambled eggs to his mouth. "I didn't think you cared about Duncan like that anymore."
HIs fork was almost to his mouth when he found himself being grabbed by his sweater vest and yanked forward. His hands, brought up to brace himself, landed in his food and squished his eggs and pancakes all over his face and chest. He found himself staring into onyx eyes, narrowed into slits.
Gwen didn't even say anything, just continued to glare at Noah.
"Uh, message received," Noah said sheepishly.
Gwen let go, and Noah thudded back into his seat. He looked around and noticed several of the other campers looking at them in surprise.
"Just another person unappreciative of my quick wit. Nothing to see here, people," he told the room. When everyone went back to their business, he turned to look at Gwen.
"Look, I just meant that with how things are between you and Duncan right now, he's probably not putting all his eggs in your basket." Noah began to explain. "He probably thinks you're gonna be gunning for him right when the merge hits."
"Uh yeah, I will be." Gwen confirmed.
"Side note, I'd be down to help you with that," Noah offered quickly. "But Duncan's one of the best players this game has ever seen. He is, Gwen," He added at her disgusted scoff. "So he's buddying up with Bridgette to either a), get on your good side, or b), pull her away from you so she doesn't want to vote him out."
"Sounds like something he would do," Gwen grunted.
"What doesn't make sense though," he continued, "is why he would vote Beardo out last night. Him and Beardo were way closer than he'll ever be with you two. It just doesn't make sense."
Gwen crossed her arms, "it's probably just a ploy to get me to let my guard down, so he can blindside me later." She said sourly.
Noah gave her an incredulous look, "that doesn't really sound like Duncan's style. He's usually more upfront about this kind of stuff, isn't he?"
Gwen was about to retort when a new voice interrupted them.
"Uh, hey Gwen. Everything okay?"
Gwen and Noah looked up to see Bridgette and Duncan, ready with their food trays.
"Yeah, everything's fine," Gwen said sourly. "What are you doing here?" This was directed at Duncan.
"Uh, eating at our team's table," Duncan told Gwen, "you know, like we've been doing for the entire competition?"
"Speaking of, did we get a new teammate or something?" Bridgette asked, plunking down next to Noah.
Noah scoffed. "Uh, newsflash, guys. I sat down here first."
"Egghead!" Jo snapped from the adjacent table. "Get your butt over here. Team meeting!"
The three members of Team Nuclear smirked at the bookworm, who hunched over in annoyance at Jo's obnoxious voice.
"Have fun," Gwen told him sweetly as Noah grabbed his ruined tray and headed over to Jo and Lightning.
"What were you two talking about?" Bridgette asked.
Gwen shot Duncan a dirty look. "I'll tell you later."
Duncan rolled his eyes. "Look, Gwen, can we at least try to be civil?"
Gwen shook her head, "I'm done giving you chances, Duncan. Just leave me alone."
"C'mon, guys, can't you two try to get along?" Bridgette asked them.
"I'm trying to be civil here," Duncan defended himself. "Look, I'm sorry I was a jerk about the Sammy thing, okay? Really, I am. I don't regret it, but I could've handled it a lot better."
"Oh, you're sorry," Gwen rolled her eyes, "just like you were sorry for blackmailing me in the first place, or calling me a selfish bitch!" She held up her hands and began to tick down her fingers, "or when you wrecked your car into my mom's garden, or flirted with Courtney all through All-Stars! If you say sorry enough, Duncan, it loses it's meaning."
Duncan gnashed his teeth, and looked to Bridgette for help. She just shrugged helplessly at him.
(Confessional: Bridgette.)
"Man, getting these two to patch things up is gonna be way harder than I thought!" Bridgette says tiredly. "I need to get Gwen alone and talk to her without Duncan there."
(End Confessional: Bridgette.)
Over at Team Alpha, Noah thumped into a seat across from Jo. "What's up with this team meeting?"
"We need to talk strategy about once the merge hits," Jo said. "I think the three of us should stick together."
Noah and Lightning glanced at each other, then burst out laughing.
Jo glared at the two as they doubled over.
Noah went from laughing to stone-faced in a split second. "Yeah. No thanks."
"I'm serious!" Jo protested. "We've been kicking butt! We can keep it up!"
"Save it, Jo!" Lightning told her, "We ain't interested in workin' with you any longer than we have to."
Jo growled at the two, "fine! Forget I said anything! Jeez!" She began to eat her pancakes.
Noah and Lightning exchanged a smirk.
"Sweet MAMA this is good!"
The camera panned over to the shouter, which happened to be Owen. He currently had maple syrup all over his face and shirt, and bits of egg in his hair. "This is the best meal I've ever eaten!"
"Didn't you say that last night at dinner?" Shawn said with a chuckle.
"And lunch?" Jasmine added.
"Ah whatever, it's still delicious!" Owen exclaimed. "Woohoo!"
Shawn took a bite of his own breakfast, a thoughtful expression coming over his face as he chewed. "Say, babe," he said to Jasmine, "when do you think the merge will be?"
Jasmine tapped her chin. "Good question," she's said. "Half of us are gone already, and that's when they did the merge on Pahkitew Island."
"Maybe that's why Chris woke us up early?" Owen said through a mouthful of food. "To tell us about it?"
"A solid guess," Shawn told his bigger bud, "I guess we'll just have to wait and see." His eyes darted around, "hopefully he's not telling us about an undead outbreak on the mainland…"
Jasmine smiled fondly at her boyfriend. "Something tells me that's not the case…"
"Let's hope not," Shawn nodded sagely.
As if on cue, the man himself waltzed into the Hall, looking suave as usual. "Greetings, camperinos! A quick congrats to all you groovy cats for making it to the top hizzle," he shot them finger guns, "of the compe-tizzle!"
"Thanks-izzle!" Owen replied, giving Chris finger guns back.
"So what's the deal?" Jasmine asked the host. "What's with the wake-up call?"
"I'll get right to explaining, Jasmine!" Chris told her happily. "But first, I just want to clarify: No one is going to be eliminated today!"
That announcement definitely eased the tension that the Final 9 had been holding.
"However, there will be a challenge of sorts, today," Chris continued, "It's time for another round of Post Challenge Prizes!"
"Let's go, Lightning loves PCP!" Lightning cheered, unknowingly drawing some snickers and strange looks, "He can't get enough of it! You could just inject it into his veins 24/7!" He continued.
"Lightning, shut up before we have to dub over you with some crappy alternative line of dialogue because American TV viewers are too sensitive," Chris told Lightning flatly.
Lightning looked confused, but piped down.
"Now, here's how the PCP is going to work," Chris continued. "There are two prizes up for grabs: A luxury reward that you will receive after the competition, and an advantage that will help you immensely in the game!"
That got Gwen, Duncan and Jo's attention.
"An invincibility statue?" Jo asked sharply.
"I'm not telling what it is," Chris said cryptically. "It could be, it could not be. Just know that it'll help your game out!"
"So how do we win these?" Shawn asked, a little excited.
Chris's grin grew a little more evil. "Well that's the fun part. We'll be taking a page out of our great governments handbook, and be letting democracy decide!"
The campers digested those words and their meaning for a second.
"Wait, so that means we decide who gets it?" Bridgette clarified.
"Correctamundo, Bridgette!" Chris confirmed, "but there's a couple of restrictions, of course! Restriction number one is-"
"Let me guess," Noah interrupted, "we can't vote for ourselves."
Chris glared at the know-it-all. "Noah, if you interrupt me again like that I'm going to personally clean the toilets with your toothbrush."
Noah rolled his eyes, but shut his mouth.
"However, annoyingly, you are correct. You are unable to vote for yourself to receive either prize. You also each get a separate vote, one for the luxury prize and one for the advantage." He clasped his hands behind his back and surveyed the nine campers at the tables. "Buti! You cannot put your luxury vote and advantage vote on the same person! Each vote must be for someone different! Also, not only can you not vote for yourself, you all have to vote for someone on the other team, too!"
"What!?" Lightning exclaimed, looking at Team Nuclear and Team Oddball, "but Lightning doesn't want any of these sha-losers to get anything!"
"Gee, thanks," Shawn rolled his eyes.
"Them's the rules, Sparky," Chris cackled, "voting will take place tonight and be anonymous, but you can discuss with whoever you want about who gets the votes. The winners will be told in secret. It will be up to them if they wish to share that information. Does anyone have any questions?"
Jasmine raised her hand. "Do we get any hints on what either prize is?"
Chris rolled his eyes. "Yeah. One is luxurious, and one gives you an advantage in the game." He turned on his heel and headed for the exit. "Catch ya nerds later, I'm gonna go chillax."
The Mess Hall was silent after he left. In the kitchen, Chef grinned darkly to himself. "Not bad, pretty boy. You got 'em stumped."
(Confessional: Noah.)
"This is certainly an interesting twist," Noah sighs. "I know for sure one of my votes is going to Owen, to at least try and make up for what I've done…but which one would he enjoy more? He does enjoy luxuries, and I don't know how much he really cares about the game. On the other hand…I don't know if I want anyone else getting a game advantage." He groans, "damn, why couldn't Beardo still be here? He probably wouldn't do anything useful with an advantage…
(End Confessional: Noah.)
(Confessional: Duncan.)
"This bites," Duncan rolls his eyes. "No way any of the other losers are gonna vote for me to win anything."
(End Confessional: Duncan.)
After breakfast, Team Oddball were chilling in a forest clearing. Shawn was resting on the lower branch of one of the trees at the edge of the clearing, lounging in the sun as he ate an apple. Jasmine was sprawled in the shaggy grass, relaxing. Owen was sat in the grass too, staring at Shawn's apple with barely-concealed longing.
"So, I think it's pretty obvious who we give our votes to," Jasmine said, drawing the attention of the two boys.
Shawn nodded in agreement, but Owen looked a little confused.
"Bridgette, mate. It's the least we can do after having to vote her off." The Aussie explained.
"Oh!" Owen smacked his forehead. "Right! Of course!" The tubby guy wiggled his feet in the grass, "but which vote do we give her? We can only choose one."
"I say we give her the advantage," Shawn said, finishing with his apple core and tossing it behind him into the woods. "Poor girl needs a break from always stressing about being on the bottom."
"Sounds good to me," Owen nodded, "I'm glad we get to give her something!"
"I dunno, babe. Don't you think Bridgette might enjoy a luxury prize more than a game advantage? She's not a super serious game player." Jasmine shot Shawn a knowing look.
Shawn, ever perceptive, caught on and shrugged. "I mean I guess it doesn't really matter which one we do. We don't have to decide right now." After a few seconds silence, he coughed into his fist. "Man, that bacon was really good at breakfast. Did you see how much was leftover, too? I hope Chef doesn't just toss it!"
Immediately, Owen's stomach let out a loud rumble. He clutched it and gasped. "There was leftover bacon!? I thought I got it all! Hold on, tummy! We're fixing that blunder right now!" He gave a short wave and giggle to Shawn and Jasmine before sprinting back towards camp.
The power couple watched Owen disappear from view.
"Nice work," Jasmine smirked.
Shawn looked a little guilty. "Yeah, well, I could tell you wanted to talk about something. What's up?"
"I'll tell you what's up!" Came a new voice from the bushes. Both Shawn and Jasmine jumped, and looked over to see Jo's head pop out, scowling. "How come it took you guys so long to ditch the fatty?"
"Jeez, were you just stalking us in a bush?!" Shawn exclaimed.
"Uh, duh," Jo retorted. She extricated herself from the bush and approached the two. "We need to talk about these votes."
"I was just about to talk to Shawn," Jasmine explained, "Jo wants to form an alliance with us come the merge."
"You do?" Shawn asked Jo before turning to Jasmine, "she does? Why?"
"I'll tell you why," Jo smacked her fist down into her palm. "I don't trust those first generation losers not to band together once the merge hits, and in case you haven't noticed, they have majority over us right now."
"…you're right!" Shawn realized, holding up his hands. "Bridgette, Duncan, Gwen, Owen and Noah," he wiggled all fingers on one hand, "that's five, compared to us and Lightning, which is only four." He smacked his forehead. "Oh crap!"
"Don't get your knickers in a twist, it's not all doom and gloom," Jo told him harshly. "The way I see it, Duncan and Gwen aren't exactly working together."
"True, and there was some weirdness going on with Owen and Noah," Jasmine added.
Jo nodded. "Exactly. But still, all it takes is Owen and Noah patching stuff up and Duncan putting his feelings aside for the game for us together steamrolled once the teams merge."
"So what do you want to do about it?" Shawn asked.
"Vote for me to get the power tonight. I'll make sure my team splits the votes across others. If you can get Owen to vote for me too, that should hopefully be enough. I don't think the mess that is Team Nuclear will vote together."
"Why should we give you the power, though?" Shawn asked. "Uh, no offense."
Jo pinched the bridge of her nose. "Because Einstein, if it is something like an invincibility statue, I can use it on you in the even that the first gen people band together! Because let's face it, who do you think the big targets will be come the merge?" She eyed Shawn and Jasmine, "grumpy ol me and Lightning the doofus? Or the super tight, super athletic survivalist couple that have dominated all season?"
Shawn and Jasmine eyed each other and gulped.
"She does make a good point," Jasmine sighed.
"Alright, we'll do it." Shawn nodded.
"Only if you vote for Bridgette to win the luxury prize!" Jasmine added.
Jo gave the taller girl a strange look. "Uh, okay then. Whatever. I could give a crap who wins the stupid luxury prize."
Jasmine extended a hand. "Then we have a deal, then."
Jo clasped the darker hand with her own pale one. "Music to my ears."
(Confessional: Jo.)
Jo pumps a fist. "Alright, baby! That's how you secure yourself some power!
(End Confessional: Jo.)
Lightning and Noah were lounging on the beach. Noah was on a towel under an umbrella, book in hand. Lightning was building 'the most epic sandcastle ever seen by anyone, like, ever!'.
"So," Noah drawled, "who do you think we should vote for?"
Lightning was too focused on his sandcastle to listen to Noah, something that annoyed the bookworm.
"Hey! Lightning!"
That got the jocks attention, and he turned to look at Noah. "Whassap?"
"Who do you think we should vote for to get the advantages?"
Lightning shrugged. "Don't care, dude. Nobody winning anything would be best for Lightning if it can't be you or him. Maybe he just won't vote."
"I doubt Chris will let that slide." Noah tapped his chin. "Would you consider voting for Owen to win the power?"
"Tubby? I guess so," Lightning shrugged. "He needs all the help he can get."
"Cool," Noah shrugged. "Because there's a chance it can help us once I apologize to him."
"Why haven't you apologized yet anyways?" Lightning asked him curiously. "Like, Lightning don't really think you did much wrong in the first place. You were just playing the game and keeping him over Izzy, so he ain't mad at all…" He scooped some sand in his shovel, "but if you feel so guilty over it, why don't you just sha-pologize?"
Noah sighed, putting his book on his lap and staring out over the water. "I'm not exactly the best with apologies. I'm afraid I'll do something to make it worse."
Lightning just snorted. He got up from his kneeling position and dusted the sand off his knees. "Sha-dude, this is Owen you're talking about. Lightning didn't even know Owen could get mad." He walked over to the bookworm. "Besides, if you think it might secure us another ally, you should get your butt in gear."
Noah squinted up at Lighting. "That's…surprisingly insightful advice, Lightning." He sounded surprised, "thanks."
Lightning smirked, bending down to kiss his bicep. "Yeah, Lightning is pretty darn great."
This action got Noah to roll his eyes and look at the camera. "Aaaaand back to our regularly schedule programming," he deadpanned.
"So what the heck happened at breakfast this morning, Gwen?"
Gwen sighed. She and Bridgette were in the girl's trailer. Gwen was resting on her bed, while Bridgette had just finished changing into her wetsuit.
"Nothing. Noah was just being a little jerk."
"How so?"
Gwen rubbed her face, "he was trying to plant seeds like you and Duncan have some sort of deal going on, and that's why you stayed last night over Beardo."
Gwen couldn't see it since she was lying down in bed, but Bridgette blanched and gulped.
"Uhh…well, hypothetically that wouldn't be the worst thing in the world, right?" She offered meekly, "I mean, I'm still here, right?"
"Oh yeah, one of my closest friends striking a deal with the one guy who's made my life miserable these past few years," Gwen joked, "no big deal at all!" She gave a morbid chuckle. "Good one, Bridgette."
"Eh-heh-heh…err…" Bridgette suddenly felt very hot and uncomfortable, "well, this might sound like bad timing, but I did confront Duncan about the vote last night."
Gwen's head sharply jerked up from the bed, an interested look on her face despite herself. "Oh? What'd he say?"
"Well, I was actually right," Bridgette chose her words carefully. "He said he felt bad about forcing you to vote out Sammy, and knew voting for me would be even worse. So he decided to cut Beardo loose."
Gwen just rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I'm sure that's what he wants us to think. C'mon, Bridgette…don't tell me you actually believe him?"
Bridgette was quiet for a few seconds. "Uhh, I kinda do, Gwen. It just doesn't make sense for him to have an ulterior motive here if he was doing this for game purposes. Beardo would always be a safer option for him then us two. Always."
"Then he's just trying to pull one over on me, so he can backstab me later!"
Bridgette actually let out a huff of frustration, "Look at me, Gwen. Does Duncan seem like the type to jeaprodize his game for the sake of 'getting one over' on you?" She looked sharply at her friend. "You gotta cut it out with this Duncan hate. It's fine to not like him, but you're being irrational."
"Maybe I am irrational!" Gwen exclaimed, pushing herself into a sitting position. "So what?"
"So what?" Bridgette smacked her forehead. "Gwen, you said it yourself on our first day back! We're not teenagers anymore! Duncan's done some shitty things, but he's not a bad person. You know this. Stop trying to vilify him! I mean for God's sake, back in Total Drama Action you-"
"Careful, Bridgette." Gwen warned, her tone low and dangerous. "Do not throw Trent in my face. That was different. We were both stupid kids back then."
"So that gives you a free pass?" Bridgette retorted hotly. Gwen looked surprised that her friend hadn't backed off, and Bridgette addressed the surprised look. "I'm serious about this, Gwen. It's my duty as a friend to tell you when I think you're being wack. And you are being totally wack!"
Silence blanketed them for a few moments.
"Wack?" Gwen finally said, a dry grin threatening to crack her stony face. "Okay, Geoff."
Bridgette covered her mouth with her hand. "Damn it, I gotta stop doing that!" She removed her hand and grinned at Gwen.
"No, it's actually kinda adorable," Gwen told her, before letting out a hearty sigh. "Alright, maybe I am being a bit harsh on Duncan. I'm just…I'm just scared he's gonna hurt me again."
"And that if you never give him the chance to get close it can't happen again?" Bridgette asked, her tone full of sympathy.
Gwen nodded. The corner's of her eyes burned, and she looked up at the ceiling. "I know I hide it well, but the whole thing with Duncan really fucked me up, Bridgette. The way we got together was so wrong, but he was just…everything I thought I wanted. I didn't care at first…but the guilt ate away at me over time, and I resented him for not caring about what we had done to Courtney. No one deserves what we did. No one."
Bridgette looked a little teary herself. "Oh, honey," she whispered.
"And it just sucks, okay?" Gwen continued, annoyed with herself as she felt tears threatening to spill over her lashes. "Because I still care about him as a friend. But I'm so jaded from our past that I take everything he says and does so personally. I know it's unfair to him…but I can't help but feel this way!"
"It doesn't help that he's one of the most stubborn people I've ever met," Bridgette added sagely, and Gwen let out a watery chuckle.
"Yeah, that certainly doesn't help. Deep down, I know he didn't have me vote out Sammy just to spite me or anything…" she rubbed at her eyes, smearing her mascara. "But…part of me wishes he still cared enough about me to not have me do that." She sighed, "which is totally unfair because I can't see myself ever getting back together with him."
"Sounds like you want to have your cake and eat too," Bridgette tutted, a smile on her face as she sat down next to her friend and gave her a big hug.
Gwen smirked and sniffled, "yeah, maybe I do. But I need to grow up and realize that he's not gonna treat me the same way he did when he had feelings for me. This is a game after all. People have done worse for less."
"Now that sounds like the reasonable Gwen I know," Bridgette smiled, "I missed you!"
Gwen chuckled again and lightly punched Bridgette's arm. "Ha-ha," she said sarcastically. "Ugh, I hate crying."
"Technically you didn't spill a tear, even if you did ruin your make-up." Bridgette said optimistically.
"True, I guess…" Gwen leaned her head on Bridgette's shoulder. "Thanks for making me talk about this…but don't expect me to ever be buddy-buddy with Duncan. It just wouldn't be healthy for me."
"How about frosty civility instead of open hostility?" Bridgette said, only half joking.
"I guess I can swing for that," Gwen sighed.
"Good, I'm glad," Bridgette smiled. "Now, what do you think we should do about these votes?"
"I dunno, I'll probably just give one of mine to Owen and pick randomly who to give the other one to."
"Aw, let's give him the luxury. He's so sweet, he deserves a prize!"
Gwen nodded, "sounds good to me."
(Confessional: Bridgette.)
"Man, poor Gwen," Bridgette looks glum, "she's had it rough. I really hope they can repair their friendship, I think it'll be really good for both of them."
(End Confessional: Bridgette.)
Owen exited the Mess Hall, a sad look in his eyes as he pat his stomach. "Sorry, tummy. Looks like we missed the bacon."
"You talking to yourself again, dude?"
Owen looked up to see Duncan leaning against a tree, smirking at his blonde friend.
"Aw, he Duncan! What's up, dude?" Owen said, his hunger temporarily forgotten at the sight of his long-time friend.
"Just chilling," Duncan shrugged, "wanna play some pool?"
"Yeah, sure!"
Duncan fell in step with Owen as the two walked towards the Rec Center. He elbowed Owen in the side, "so, I never got to bust your balls over getting back together with Izzy. Nice work, you sly dog."
Owen chuckled, "yeah, I'm pretty stoked."
"You two work well for each other, dude," Duncan complimented. He gave a lewd grin, "and I bet she's freaky in the sheets, too."
Owen flushed and gulped. "You think?"
"Oh yeah, she's gonna toss you around like a rag doll, man," Duncan smirked.
The two finally arrived at the Rec Center and entered the worn-out, yet cozy building.
"A-heuheueh," Owen giggled, "man, that would be so fun…"
"Easy, big guy," the punk joked. He began to set up the balls on the pool table. "So who do you think you're gonna vote for for these stupid prizes?"
"I dunno," Owen said, grabbing two pool cues and tossing one to Duncan. "Probably Bridgette for one of them. I'll slide you the other one if you want, though!"
Duncan laughed, "I don't care about the stupid prizes, man. I know I'm not getting enough votes to get anything."
"Why d'you think that?"
"Just trust me, man," Duncan said, a note of bitterness in his voice. "Let's play some pool."
(Confessional: Duncan.)
"Owen's dope," Duncan confesses, "it's great to be able to just hang out with him. He and I go way back, and we're tight as hell." He stretches his arms over his head. "It's why I'm voting for him to win that advantage."
(End Confessional: Duncan.)
The rest of the day passed in relative peace. Shawn and Jasmine got in Owen's ear to talk about voting for Jo, and Noah began to work on what he wanted to say to Owen when he finally apologized.
Eventually, it was time to vote. One by one, everyone went into the Confessional Can to cast their votes for who they wanted to win their prizes.
The shot cut to Chris, in his fancy airstream trailer. The two boxes of vote ballots lay on the table in front of him, and he unlocked the padlocks that kept them closed.
"Alright," Chris said to himself, "let's see who gets what!"
First, he opened the luxury ballots. "Let's see…vote for Bridgette, Bridgette, Owen, Owen, Shawn, Bridgette…" he counted through the remaining ballots. "Welp, guess Bridgette wins the luxury prize! Lucky her…"
Next, he turned to the advantage ballot. After a quick look through, his eyes widened. "Whoa…I did not see that coming. Alright, time to let the contestants know." He got up from his trailer, grabbed his trusty megaphone, and stuck his head out the trailer door. He turned the megaphone on, "CAMPERS!" He bellowed in the general direction of the cabins, "EACH OF YOU WILL BE CALLED TO THE CONFESSIONAL, ONE AT A TIME. THIS IS TO HIDE THE WINNERS. IF YOU WON ONE OF THE PRIZES, THERE WILL BE A LETTER DETAILING YOUR PRIZE BEHIND THE TOILET. THAT IS ALL!" He turned off the megaphone, tossed it behind him, and sighed contentedly. "I love my job."
(Confessional: Bridgette.)
Bridgette opens the door to the Confessional, her normal laid-back expression on her face. She checked behind the toilet and gasped, pulling out a white envelope. "No way!" She squeals, eagerly tearing into it. "Oh my gosh, I wonder what I got?"
"Bridgette," she read aloud, "congratulations! You have won the luxury prize! Upon the completion of Total Drama Generations, you will revive a check for," she stopped and gasped, "TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS?! Oh my god!" She crunched up the letter and jumps up and down, nearly hitting her head on the roof of the Confessional. "Nowaynowaynoway!"
(End Confessional: Bridgette.)
(Confessional: Jo.)
Jo eagerly enters the Confessional, and there is genuine hope on her face as she reaches behind the toilet. With a triumphant shout, she yanks a white envelope out from behind the toilet and viciously tears into it. She looks at the camera before she reads it.
"Oh yeah, baby," she boasts, "who's the best?" She unfolds the paper. "Jo, congratulations! You have won the advantage in this game. You have won a clue to an invincibility statue!" Her face falls a bit, "just a clue? Aw man, why can't it have been the real thing?" She continues to read, "the clue is 'This immunity statues location is quite the high bar to reach. First-class fermented corn and rye." Her eyes squint as she re-read the clue. "What the heck does that mean?" Her posture deflates and she scowls. "Man, this advantage SUCKS!"
(End Confessional: Jo.)
Chris, back in his bed in his trailer, had a sleeping cap on as he snuggled under his covers. "And thus ends another rest day. Back to the grindstone tomorrow for our campers, as another one walks the Dock of Shame! Who will it be? Find out, next time, on Total! Drama! Generations!"
Another chapter in the books. Hope you guys enjoyed! This Rest Day was definitely more of a strategic one, and way less fluffy than the previous ones. It's to be expected as time goes on, people leave, and the competition heats up!
Got some questions for ya before I sign off:
- When do you think the merge will be?
- Jo's clue is also a hint to the merge twist that was also hinted at in the first Aftermath! Any guesses to what it means?
- If you had to pick one person right now that you're most confident will make the Final Five, who would you pick? No judgement for potentially wrong answers, swearzies!
I hope to have the next chapter out within a week or two. I really want to get to the latter half of this story soon so I'll be cranking this out...hopefully!
Happy New Year everyone!
-Ciao