Disclaimer: I do not own Total Drama or Kid Nation. All rights go to their respective owners.
Hey, it's insertnamehere21, dropping a brand new fanfic - Drama Nation, a crossover between Total Drama and Kid Nation.
For those of you who don't know, Kid Nation was a reality show made in 2007 (the same year as Total Drama Island), where 40 kids from across the United States were dumped in a desert in New Mexico to build a functioning town. It was highly controversial as the kids lived in sub-par conditions, working long hours without fresh fruit or toothpaste, and several incidents occurred such as children drinking bleach, and one girl burning her face with grease. It's actually an entertaining watch and I'd highly recommend it (I promise I'm not a sociopath).
Anyway, I thought it would be interesting to place Total Drama characters in the same concept, and that's what I did. Since the participants of the original show were aged 8 to 15, the ages of the contestants were adjusted accordingly.
Characters from Gen 1 (Island/Action/World Tour) are aged 12 to 15
Characters from Gen 2 (ROTI) are aged 10 to 12
And Characters from Gen 3 (Pahkitew Island) are age 8 to 10
40 of the 52 Total Drama contestants star in this fic (and at the end of this chapter I'll explain why I didn't include the other 12)
It goes without saying that this is set in an alternate universe and the Total Drama series doesn't happen (nor does the real-life series of Kid Nation)
Hope you enjoy :)
Drama Nation - Episode 1, Part 1 - Platitude Cliche Cliche
A man in his early 30's with fluffy black hair and a baggy blue shirt stepped out of a run-down grocery store.
"Yo, we're coming at you live from the town of Gemini, in the middle of nowhere, southern Alberta. I'm your host, Chris McLean, dropping season one of 'Drama Nation'. Here's the deal, 40 kids aged 8 to 15 have signed up to spend 40 days right here at this crappy old ghost town. Together, they'll make like pioneers and rebuild this town from scratch. All with no adult supervision."
He chuckled devilishly, "Aren't you already excited?"
There was a brief flash and then the camera changed to the inside of an old school bus, where children of all ages filled every seat.
"We handpicked children from all across the country to take part in this epic event. Everything from rich kids…"
The camera focused on a slender Asian teenager. She wore a brown tank top and khaki shorts, and she was busy looking at her compact mirror.
…to poor kids."
Shown next were two red-headed boys, who both looked to be around 10. One was thin and wearing a white t-shirt and blue jeans, while the other was chubby and wearing dungarees.
"From cheerleaders and jocks…"
A boy and girl sat next to each other. The boy had long brown hair and wore a red headband and tracksuit, while the girl had blonde hair and wore a red t-shirt and orange skirt.
"…to nerds and goths."
Near the front of the bus was a boy with short brown hair and a beige polo shirt, who was flicking his hair and trying to get the attention of a pale girl with blue hair and dark-coloured clothing. But she was busy looking out the window and fanning herself with her hand.
"And freaks who have never encountered another kid in their life."
Ezekiel, 13, Manitoba: I've been home-schooled my whole life, eh. I live down in the prairies – it's just Mom, Pop and our wide open spaces. But the doctor said I needed some fresh air, so…
[he pressed his arms against the window] Is that a gas station? Fascinating.
Katie, 13, Newfoundland: OMG! No adults for 40 days! I'm so excited…and terrified. Like, I might be sick. But I'm doing this with my BFF, Sadie, so what could go wrong?
Sadie, 14, Newfoundland: This is so cool! It'll be just like summer-camp. Eeeeiiii!
The two girls squealed together, and then a deep female voice behind them yelled, "Shut up!"
Jasmine, 10, British Columbia: I moved to Canada from the Australian outback last year, and it's been hard settling in. But then I heard about this show and it sounds like my kind of game
The scene skipped ahead to the bus stopping a few metres in front of Chris. The doors opened and the kids came pouring out.
"That's it! That's it! Off the bus!" Chris exclaimed, clapping his hands.
"This looked very different on the applications," the tracksuit clad teen said as he looked around.
"I thought this was a here pageant. Where's the stage?" a chubby young girl with poofy blonde hair complained.
"I did not sign up for this," the goth girl groaned.
"You cannot make me stay here. I'm going back home," the tall Asian girl frowned. She picked up her suitcases and turned around, only to see the bus drive off.
"You can wave that school bus goodbye, and say hello to the town of Gemini," Chris announced.
A cicada chirped as everyone looked around.
Jo, 10, Alberta: [arms folded] I don't get it. What are we supposed to be looking at?
Geoff, 13, British Columbia: [scratches under his cowboy hat] Uh, isn't a town supposed to be, like, a town?
"You guys will be living here for the next forty days. Together you will bare every challenge that's thrown your way. And to get you started, let me introduce your leaders…"
The thirty-six kids watched in awe as a helicopter flew in above them.
"These four will make up the town council. They're in charge…for now at least."
"What are you doing? No, no, you're not pushing me off!" a shrill female voice screamed. Everyone watched in shock as a girl fell from the helicopter and landed in a nearby lake. When she and her luggage re-emerged, she was revealed to be a Hispanic girl with short brown hair and neat clothing.
"That was so not cool!" she screamed. She grabbed her suitcases and pulled herself out.
"Here's our first council member," Chris announced. "Respected student leader, Courtney."
Still soaking wet, Courtney took her time to flash a grin and wave to the rest of the pioneers. "Hi, it's so nice to meet you all. I look forward to working with you."
Courtney, 14, Alberta: I'm a born leader. My proudest achievement so far is becoming my school's youngest Vice-President. Just one stepping stone towards becoming Prime Minister of Canada
The next kid to jump off the helicopter was a scrawny boy with red hair. He let out a triumphant cry as he fell, only to land balls first and cry in pain. Several of the kids started laughing at him.
"Our next council member, boy scout leader and…world-class keyboard player?" Chris had a look of confusion as he looked at his notes. "Harold."
"Hello fellow pioneers. I will be one of your leaders. I believe I have the skills necessary to carry this out," he said almost monotonously.
Harold, 13, Newfoundland: I've got badges in bass fishing, basketry, stamp collecting, rabbit raising and a master badge in compass reading.
The camera showed another soaking wet boy of Indian descent with dark brown hair and a preppy appearance.
"Two time Canada-Wide Science Fair champ, Noah!" Chris announced.
Noah cleared his throat, "Platitude, platitude, cliché, cliché, and all that."
A few of the contestants laughed at this.
"I like this guy," the thin red-head said, nudging his cousin.
Noah, 12, Alberta: I've been class president all throughout elementary. I know the best method is to just cut the crap and get to the point.
"And finally, our youngest council member, gold medallist at the Ontario Under 10's Gymnastic Championship, it's Sky."
A short figure leapt out of the plane and somersaulted through the air, and barely made a splash as she landed in the lake. Many of the other kids cheered, and the camera focused on Jasmine letting out a whistle.
Lightning, 11, Manitoba: After the first three nerds, that was the last thing Lightning expected
Dave, 8, Ontario: Sky. She's cool.
Sky, 9, Ontario: I know I'm a bit younger than the other leaders, but I've got what it takes. I know all about team-work from doing gymnastics, and I'm from a reservation so I have a strong sense of community.
"These four will be leading you…for now," Chris said. "So, without further ado, it's time to build your town. As you can see, stacked nearby are over 100 crates worth of supplies. Everything you need to build cabins, stores, a kitchen, etc. All in there. You better make it count, because this will be your home for the next 40 days. Though…some of you may not make it that far. Every three days, there will be a town hall meeting, and if any of you miss mommy and daddy too much, you can give up and go home."
Katie and Sadie looked at each other uncertainly.
"So what are you waiting for? Go! Go! Go!" Chris shouted, clapping his hands.
The 40 kids immediately ran for the crates, but Chris grabbed the shoulders of Noah and Sky. "Council, stay back for a little bit."
Katie and Sadie sat at the top of the pile of crates and tossed one down to a large Jamaican boy who had a skull cap and stubble.
"Thanks, girls," he said, ripping the crate.
"What's inside, DJ?" Sadie asked excitedly.
"Um, some wood and nails," DJ told them.
"Sadie, pass me the next one!" Geoff exclaimed, standing near DJ.
The chubbier BFF nodded and threw the cowboy hat wearer the next crate.
Geoff let out a grunt as he tore it open, "There's some hammers, screwdrivers, all sorts of tools."
"Nice one, Geoff," DJ complimented. He turned around to see a stocky black boy with a trench coat pick up the crate and carry it away. "Hey, where are you taking that?"
The boy stopped and pointed ahead.
"Do you know what you're doing?"
The boy nodded and walked off.
Katie, 13, and Sadie, 14, Newfoundland –
Katie: Oh my gosh, DJ is so strong.
Sadie: I know. He stepped up, and he delivered.
[the two girls squeal in unison]
The four council members remained behind with Chris.
"Okay, two things you need to know. First, once you're done with all the building, you four should head to the chapel. There's an old book that was left by the pioneers long ago. I dunno, it could be useful. More importantly, you four will be in charge of giving out this…"
Chris reached into his pocket and pulled out a gold star.
"Every three days, you guys get to choose one kid to win a gold star worth 50,000 dollars."
The four of them were open-mouthed in awe
"Woah!" Sky exclaimed.
"We could really change someone's life with this," Courtney said.
"Question. Are we eligible for these?" Noah asked, raising his hand.
"Yes," Chris nodded, then he put the star back in his pocket and walked off. "Choose wisely."
"But we're not going to. That would look conceited," Courtney stated, hands on her hips.
"I have to agree with Courtney," Harold said, putting a hand on Courtney's shoulder.
"Don't touch me," Courtney hissed, shoving him away.
"We can figure this out later. Right now we have a town to build," Sky reminded them. "Let's do this!"
She held out her hand, and Harold high-fived her, followed by Noah and Courtney.
"To Gemini!" Harold cheered.
Harold, 13, Town Council: Sky might only be 9, but she really knows what she's doing. I'm looking forward to working with her.
"You know the plan. Let me do the talking," a small blonde girl hissed at her identical twin sister as they walked up to Jasmine, who was busy unpacking crates with a small Asian girl who was dressed as a princess and whistling while she worked.
"Hi. I'm Amy, and this is my sister, Samey," she said with a smile.
"Nice to meet you," Jasmine grinned. "I'm Jasmine and this is Ella."
"Do you guys need any help?" Amy asked sweetly.
"Yes, we need all the help we can get. Unpack away," Jasmine told her.
"Good. Samey here is very good at unpacking," Amy said, shoving her sister. "I'll be…um…I'm finding something else to do."
With that, she ran off.
Jasmine had a confused look, but she shook it off.
"How old are you, Samey?" Jasmine asked.
"9. It's Sammy, not Samey," Sammy corrected.
"But didn't your sister call you that?" Ella asked as she pulled out some pillows.
"Yes but…my name is Sammy."
"Sammy it is," Jasmine smiled. "I'm Jasmine, and I'm 10."
"I thought you were older," Ella said.
"Yeah, I get that a lot. I'm the tallest in my class. Even taller than the teacher," Jasmine said.
Jasmine, 10, British Columbia: Things are going well. Sammy and Ella are nice. I've found it hard to make friends since I've moved. I think they're a little scared of me to be henest.
Samey, 9, New Brunswick: [groans] I signed up for this show to get away from Amy. She is so mean. Once she ripped off my…no, I don't want to talk about it.
Noah swung his arms as he walked past the stack of crates.
"Great job, guys. Keep it up," he grinned at DJ and Geoff, who looked at each other in confusion.
"Good work, you guys," he said, pointing at the two red-headed boys, who were carrying planks of wood over their shoulders.
He then turned his attention to a muscular girl with black hair tied in a pony-tail. She was busy hammering nails into planks.
"Good job. Maybe pick up the pace," he said, firing a finger pistol.
The girl glared at him with a deathly expression. "What did you say?"
"Uh…um…" Noah stammered. "I said, great work, don't change anything?"
"If you think I could do better, maybe you'd like to have a go," she snapped at him.
"Haha, pass. I'll just get going," Noah said, beginning to back away.
"No!" She grabbed him by his shirt collar. "You don't get to act all high and mighty just because you're a council member. You mess with me…"
"What's going on here?" Sky asked as she walked over.
"I was just minding my own business, and iron maiden here starts shouting at me…"
"Hey, are you First Nation?" Sky asked.
"No. I'm Sami," the girl replied.
"The tribes in Europe?" Sky asked.
"Yeah, those ones."
Noah decided this was a good time to back away.
"Wow, that is so cool!" Sky exclaimed. She picked up an old fashioned drill and started to help out. "What's your name?"
"Eva."
"Nice to meet you," Sky smiled. "My name is…"
"Sky, I know," Eva said.
"I'm part of the Moose Cree First Nation. In Ontario," Sky told her.
"Oh nice. Do you live there all the time?" Eva asked.
"No. I live in Niagara. But we go up during the holidays to visit my grandparents," Sky told her. "Can you speak any Sami?"
"Yes. I speak it at home. With my mom at least. I speak Norwegian with my dad," Eva said.
"Can you speak some now?"
Eva cleared her throat, "Bures, mu namma lea Eva. Steerh daam ovtsem."
"That's so awesome," Sky said, continuing with the drill.
Eva, 13, British Columbia: For a council member, Sky is really down to earth and fun to talk to. She's a nice balance to…
While Eva and Sky continued to chat, a boy and a girl came running over, both holding a crate. The girl had short golden brown hair and wore a grey tracksuit, while the boy had black hair and wore cadet attire.
"And…touchdown!" the girl cheered as she plonked the crate on the ground. "I win! I win!"
"Careful, Jo," Eva hissed at her.
"I brought more nails, ma'am," the boy saluted, standing up straight.
Eva rolled her eyes, "Brick, I've told you not to call me that. It's weird."
He turned to Sky and his eyes went wide, "Excuse me, Sky, I didn't see you there."
He stood up straight and saluted, "Brick Macarthur reporting for duty, council member."
Sky giggled at this, "You're funny."
Eva, 13, British Columbia: …Jo and Brick. Those two have been following me around all day. It's so annoying.
An overweight blonde boy whistled to himself as pushed a wheelbarrow, only to stop when he heard a yell.
"Ouch!" the voice screamed.
"Holy cheese, what did I hit?" the fat boy gasped. He looked over and saw that he had knocked over the brown-haired nerd from earlier.
"Are you alright? I am so sorry," he said, helping the other boy up.
"It's okay, ouch," the boy groaned. "I was just…distracted."
The camera briefly showed the blue-haired goth girl, who was carrying a mattress along with a blonde girl wearing a blue hoody.
"No it's my fault. I wasn't looking where I was going. I'm Owen, by the way."
"Cody," the shorter guy replied, and they shook hands.
"I am so psyched to be here, man," Owen said. "This doesn't feel real."
"I hear you, man," Cody nodded as he put stuff back into Owen's wheelbarrow.
"No school, no parents. We'll make tons of friends," Owen continued.
"You said it," Cody grinned. "I'm looking for something more than friends though."
"Ooh, anyone you've got your eye on?" Owen asked, wiggling his eyebrows.
"I might. What are your thoughts on Miss Mysterious over there?" Cody asked, gesturing at the girl.
"You mean Gwen? Isn't she a little old for you?"
"What are you talking about? I'm 15."
"You're 15?" Owen said in surprise. "I mean, you're 15. Cool."
Owen, 13, Prince Edward Island: [slaps himself in the face several times]
Gwen, 14, British Columbia: So far this place sucks. And this one boy keeps staring at me. It's creepy.
"Mattress! We got another mattress, eh!" Ezekiel called out as he and Harold brought one over to an almost finished cabin.
"Woah. How did this get built so quickly?" Harold asked in awe as they walked inside.
"It's mostly him. He's a master builder," said a small boy with a green beanie and long brown hair, pointing at the kid with the trench-coat.
"Cool. What's his name?" Harold asked.
"We don't know. He doesn't say anything," the small boy shrugged.
"Huh," Harold said. "We have seven mattresses here. Do we need any more?"
"I don't need a mattress. I'm sleeping in a tree," the small boy said, pointing at himself.
Harold raised an eyebrow, "Shawn, that sounds really dangerous."
"It's where I sleep back home," Shawn replied, folding his arms.
"Why?" Ezekiel asked, scratching his neck.
"In case of a zombie apocalypse. The undead can't climb," Shawn said, hands on his hips.
Harold did his best not to laugh. "Shawn, you are not sleeping in a tree. You could fall and break your neck."
"No I won't. I'll have a rope tied to my legs," Shawn protested.
Harold shook his head, "We'll talk about this later."
Harold, 13, Town Council: Shawn is cute, and he has such a great imagination. But there's no grown-ups here and someone has to keep him under control
Shawn, 9, Alberta: A zombie invasion could happen any day now. I'm not taking any chances.
"Abracadabra, abracadouse, build me up a brand new house!"
A black boy dressed in a green cloak waved a wooden wand around in the air.
Katie and Sadie were assembling lanterns nearby when a stout African Canadian girl with a tight weave came over.
"Hi," Katie and Sadie asked in unison.
"I'm Katie and this is Sadie," Katie said.
"Leshawna," the black girl replied. "What's that kid over there doing?"
"Hm?" Katie asked, turning her head. "I didn't notice him before."
"He's been jumping around for, like, twenty minutes," Sadie told her.
"Huh," Leshawna nodded, and she went to approach the boy.
"Hi there," she said, getting down on her knees.
"Greetings, fair maiden," the boy said, putting his hands behind his back. He spoke with a slight lisp.
"My name's Leshawna. What's yours?" she asked.
"Leonard," he replied.
"And, uh, what are you doing right now?" Leshawna asked.
"Casting spells to build houses," Leonard told her. "I'm a wizard, you see."
"Has it been working?"
"Just look around. There's cabins all over the place!" Leonard exclaimed, doing a twirl.
Leshawna laughed a little, "Well yes. But that's because everyone has been working hard building them."
"And I have been using a time-twist spell to make them build faster!" Leonard proclaimed.
Leshawna shook her head, "Well that's great, sweetie, but maybe you'd like to help in some other way."
"Ooh, I know. I can do a weather charm to keep the rain away."
"Do you want to help me fit some windows?" Leshawna asked.
Leonard thought about it for a moment, "Okay."
Leshawna, 14, Manitoba: I love working with the little kids. I have four younger siblings back home, so I know how to speak to them.
Courtney walked up to one of the crates and grabbed a banister, only for another hand to grab it at the same time.
She looked up and saw a teen sporting piercings and a green mohawk.
"Excuse me, that's mine," she frowned at him.
"If you want it, then fight for it, princess," the guy chuckled. A guy behind him with an oblong head and black hair also laughed.
"I will!" Courtney yelled at him. She yanked the banister and managed to pull him forward, but he kept his grip.
"Hey, Trent, give me a hand here."
"Sure thing, Duncan," said the boy behind him, and he also grabbed onto it.
"Just give up now, Court," Duncan said. "Because you have no…"
Courtney let out a yelp as she yanked the banister away, making the two boys fall over.
"Whatever," Duncan shrugged, then he and Trent ran off.
Two girls nearby burst out laughing – the Asian girl and the blonde girl from the bus.
"Have they been bothering you?" the Asian girl asked. "Green-hair tried flirting with me, so I punched him in the face."
"It was awesome!" the blonde girl exclaimed.
"Sit down. You're Courtney, right?" the Asian girl said.
"That's me," Courtney replied, sitting down.
"My name is Heather," said the Asian girl.
"And I'm Lindsay," the blonde girl added.
"It's nice to meet you," Courtney grinned. "Some of these kids are a pain in the neck."
"I hear you," Heather agreed.
Heather, 15, Ontario: I am furious that I didn't get chosen to be a council member. I'm student body president, and the leader of four clubs at my school. And my daddy's the mayor. I'm much more qualified than the losers they actually chose.
Chris said the council won't last forever, but until then, I'll let Miss Know-it-all think that we're buddy-buddy.
"Help! Help! I can't swim!" a small black boy cried as he flailed around in the lake. "Someone help me, I'm about to drown!"
"What the…" said a larger black kid when he noticed him. "Don't worry, little girl. Lightning will save you!"
He dived into the water, and pulled the smaller boy out.
'Lightning' shook the water out of his hair and put him down.
"Now what were you doing in the water if you can't swim?" he asked, hands on his hips.
"Some crazy red-haired girl threw me in," the smaller boy wailed.
"Ooh, that is not cool. Lightning better get…"
"SURPRISE!" a girl with curly red hair yelled as she pushed the two of them back into the water.
"No! No!" the smaller boy cried as he began to flail about again.
Cameron, 11, Manitoba: I'm what's known as a bubble boy. My mom's really over-protective, so I've never been swimming before. I've never really done anything before except read and sigh a lot
Bridgette, 13, British Columbia: That girl Izzy is really getting under my skin. I've had to pull three people out of the water thanks to her. I don't think it's safe to have the lake here. None of us are old enough to have lifeguard training.
Leonard was busy nailing a window-frame into the wall while Leshawna gave a hug to a sobbing boy with curly auburn hair and round glasses.
"It's okay, Sam. You'll be fine. I promise," Leshawna assured him. She let go and put her hands on his shoulders. "Do you feel better?"
Sam sniffed, "A bit."
"Good. Now help Leonard with the window while I go up front," Leshawna told him.
She walked over to Gwen and Bridgette, who were using a saw to cut out another window.
"What's going on? We heard crying," Bridgette asked.
"Oh yeah, Sam over there got upset because Chris took away his video games," Leshawna told them. "But I think he's feeling better now."
"You're really good with kids," Gwen complimented.
"Thanks," Leshawna smiled. "I have four younger brothers and sisters so I have some experience."
"I have one younger brother," Gwen sighed, brushing her hair out of her face. "He's such a pest. He made me audition for this show as a dare."
"Oof," Bridgette laughed. "I have one little sister, Mitzi. We get along pretty well but she's always taking my stuff without asking."
"I feel your pain. My lil' sis is always borrowing my makeup," Leshawna sighed.
"Actually, I have an older half-sister too," Bridgette added. "But I don't know her that well because she lives in California with her dad."
"I barely knew my dad. He died when I was 4," Gwen said.
"I'm sorry," Bridgette said.
"It's okay. My…"
Gwen was interrupted by a scream from the side of the cabin.
"Uh-oh," Leshawna said, rushing off. "Leonard!"
"I know First-Aid!" Bridgette said brightly, going after her.
Gwen, 13, British Columbia: It's just me, my mom, and my brother. We get by, but not easily.
Heather and Lindsay sat under one of the porches, joined by the boy with the red tracksuit.
"…so Brandi got the last tube of lipstick, and I didn't get any of that lipstick," Lindsay concluded.
"Great story, Lindsay," Heather said in a bored tone.
"I bet you still look way better than Brandi, even without lipstick," the boy scoffed.
"Aw that's so sweet. Thanks Tyson," Lindsay smiled, giving him a hug.
"It's Tyler," the boy corrected.
Just then a 10 year old girl with red hair in pigtails with a flower walked over.
"Hi," she said.
"Can we help you?" Heather asked, lowering her sunglasses.
"Uh…I was wondering if you wanted to be friends," the girl said nervously, touching her fingers together.
"Find someone your own age," Heather scoffed. "Come on, move along little girl."
The girl hung her head and walked off.
She spotted Amy lounging on one of the mattresses and sat down beside her.
"Hi, I'm Zoey," she greeted.
"Get away from me!" Amy snapped.
"Okay…sorry…" Zoey said, and she walked off. She let out a sigh as she sat on her own beside the crates.
"I like your flower," a voice said.
Zoey looked up and saw a stout girl with thick glasses, braces and hair tied in a side ponytail.
"Thanks. I…I like your glasses," Zoey said, stuttering a little.
She stood up, "My name is Zoey."
"I'm Beth, and this is…" Beth turned her head, only to raise her eyebrow. "She was right here a second ago."
"Who?" Zoey asked.
"Dawn."
"Who's Dawn?"
"My friend. She was right next to me."
"I see," Zoey nodded slowly. "She's a real friend."
"Yes. At least I think she is," Beth said, turning around his circles. "Oh well, we'll find her later."
The two started to walk off, then a voice beside them said, "Hi."
The two girls screamed, then turned to see a very small girl with platinum blonde hair and pale skin.
"Dawn, you startled us!" Beth exclaimed.
"Oh, I'm sorry. It's very nice to meet you, Zoey," Dawn said, doing a curtsey.
"How do you know my name?" Zoey asked.
"I heard you say it to Beth," Dawn pointed out.
"Oh," Zoey nodded uncertainly. "Well, it's nice to meet you too."
"I'll say. Your aura tells me you're a strong, loyal girl and we're going to be great friends."
"That's what she said about me!" Beth squealed. "She used 'smart' instead of 'strong' but other than that."
Zoey, 10, Manitoba: I hope I make some friends here, and find people interested in the same things as me. I come from a small town, and everyone my age only cares about football and the Disney Channel
Sky walked into a cabin where several of the boys were hanging out.
"Wow, this looks really great!" she complimented as she looked around. She noticed the two red-headed boys hanging lanterns from the ceiling. "You're doing an awesome job."
"Almost done. Hold still, Rodney," the thinner one said.
"Okay, Scott," the larger one replied. "Finished!"
The two of them leapt down and landed in front of Sky.
"Impressive," Sky said.
"I'm Scott, and this is my cousin, Rodney," Scott said.
"And how are you finding the show so far?" Sky asked.
Scott shrugged, "We're country boys, so we're used to the hard work. Right, Rodney?"
"Huh?" Rodney said, shaking his head. "Oh, the sky…and birds and butterflies, sunshine."
"What?" Sky said, raising her eyebrows.
"Sorry about him. He can be a bit…" Scott did a 'cuckoo' sign with his finger.
"I see," Sky nodded slowly.
Scott, 11, British Columbia: Rodney thinks that every girl he talks to magically becomes his girlfriend. It's really annoying.
Rodney, 10, British Columbia: [swoons] It really was love at first sight for me and Sky.
Sky cleared her throat, "Anyway, I came to say that we're gathering everyone in the dining hall. So finish what you're doing and report there now."
"Sounds good to me," Scott shrugged, and he and Scott left, along with Sam, Leonard and Shawn who were playing in the background.
That left one boy, who was busy scrubbing the floor with a rag and a metal spray bottle.
"Did you hear what I said?" Sky asked.
The boy looked up.
"Sky!" he exclaimed standing up. He was a small south Asian boy with neat black hair. He was wearing a face mask which he pulled off and put in his pocket. "I'm just busy cleaning. This place is really dirty."
"We're gathering everyone in the dining hall," Sky told him.
"Oh. Where is that?" he asked.
"I'll show you," Sky smiled at him.
"Okay," he replied, and they walked out. "My name is Dave. What's your name?"
"I thought you knew my name," Sky said, bemused.
"That's right. I do. Sorry."
Dave, 8, Ontario: Everything in this town is filthy. I don't know if I can live here
Dave and Sky arrived in the hall, where most of the kids sat at wooden tables.
Courtney, Noah and Harold stood in front of them, but they couldn't get out a word because everyone was yelling at them.
"Everyone be quiet!" Courtney yelled.
"We should be quiet? All we've heard today is you guys bossing us around!" Duncan yelled back.
"We're getting nowhere by arguing!" shouted Harold.
"Shut up, dweeb!" Duncan shouted back.
"I won't take that tone. I am your leader," Harold frowned, pointing a finger at him.
"The leader in wedgies maybe," Duncan said, standing up.
"Putting fingers down a guy's pants. So manly," Noah remarked, folding his arms.
"Do you wanna be next, buddy?" Duncan snapped, holding up his fist.
"I'm not putting up with this," Sky sighed. She walked forward, while Dave rushed to the nearest table.
She stood between Duncan and Noah, and screamed at the delinquent, "BACK OFF DUNCAN!"
The whole room went quiet. Duncan put his arms up in surrender and went back to his seat next to Trent.
Sky cleared her throat, "Thank you everyone for your hard work today. All of you pitched in and did your best, and I can tell you that I'm looking forward to living here for the next 40 days."
Dave started to clap, and it wasn't long before the others joined in.
Courtney, 14, Town Council: I have to admit it. Sky is really holding this town together. She can make a whole room go silent [clicks her finger] like that
Duncan, 14, Manitoba: I wasn't scared of Sky. I just wasn't going to fight a 9 year old girl.
Sky stood back and gestured for Courtney to step forward.
"A few select pioneers have been working hard at the stove to provide all of you with a meal for tonight," she told them. "Time to serve up, guys!"
The kitchen door opened and out stepped DJ with a huge pot of mac 'n' cheese, followed by Bridgette and Gwen armed with bowls and plates, Zoey and Beth with knives and forks, and Dawn pulling a wagon of mugs.
Tyler, 13, New Brunswick: After a whole day of building cabins, I was pretty starving
Shawn, 9, Alberta: [fidgets about in his seat] I looooove mac 'n' cheese.
"You guys can get up table by table…" Courtney instructed, but was interrupted when Bridgette tripped over a nail and fell, bumping into DJ who dropped the pot of mac 'n' cheese and spilled it all over the ground.
A few of the plates that Bridgette was carrying smashed to bits.
Bridgette, 13, British Columbia: [groans] It's only the first day and I already screwed up
DJ, 14, British Columbia: It wasn't a big deal. We made way too much anyway so everyone still got fed.
The camera did a pan shot of several of the pioneers enjoying the food.
"Mmm," Ella said as she took a huge mouthful.
"This is so good," Jasmine added.
"Nice job, DJ," Geoff said, giving his friend a pat on the back.
Harold, 13, Town Council: DJ really pulled through today. He's a star [winks at the camera].
Several of the girls settled down for the night in one of the cabins.
"So uncomfortable," the chubby blonde girl griped. "Thought we were staying at a five star hotel at this here pageant."
"I know," Amy griped. "It's like we're pigs or something."
"Hey, there ain't nothing wrong with bein' a pig," the girl objected.
"I have a pig at home. Her name is Big Bertha," Beth said.
"No kiddin'? We got five on our farm. The biggest one is named Sugar, after me."
Beth turned her head to the side, "What's Zoey doing over there?"
They looked up and Zoey was lying on a mattress at the other end of the cabin.
"She seems troubled. I'll go talk to her," Dawn said, pulling off her blanket and walking over.
The other girls saw her walk over, then Sugar cleared her throat, "So anyway…"
"Amy?" Dawn asked, suddenly re-appearing on her mattress.
"Bah!" Amy yelped at her name being called.
"Did you yell at Zoey?"
"Uh…no."
"Zoey says you yelled at her, and it's why she's too scared to come over," Dawn informed her.
"Oh!" Amy shook her head. "This is so crazy. It must have been my twin sister, Samey. She has a bad temper sometimes. I'm sorry about her."
"I see," Dawn nodded suspiciously.
Dawn, 11, Newfoundland: I don't trust Amy. Her aura is a pool of swirling rage and bitterness. I sense that she and Samey have a troubled relationship.
Amy, 9, New Brunswick: [laughs] This is great! I can always count on Samey to get the blame.
Noah burst out laughing as he lay beside Cody in one of the boys' cabins.
"It's true," Cody protested.
"Dude, I don't believe for a second that you're fifteen," Noah laughed. "I'm twelve and you're shorter than me."
"Well I am. And Gwen is going to get the grown-up stud she deserves," Cody boasted, patting his chest.
"I wish you good luck, man. I'd love to see couples get together here," Owen added. "My big brother's girlfriend makes the most amazing creme brulees."
"I'm so glad I'm an only child," Cody sighed.
"Lucky. I'm the youngest out of nine," Noah groaned.
"Nine?" gasped Trent from the other side of the room.
"Yeah, and it's as nightmarish as it sounds. Once…"
Noah was interrupted by a knock on the door.
Courtney stepped in and whispered, "Hey, can we talk to Noah for a minute?"
"Sure," Noah said, getting out of bed. He was dressed in dark red pyjamas with matching slippers.
He shut the door behind him, and his eyes went wide when he saw Courtney and Sky frowning at him.
"Eva told me what you said to her," Sky hissed. "That was so rude."
"What? She was getting in my face," Noah shrugged.
"I don't blame her," Courtney remarked. "You barely did any work today. I only saw you walking around giving people orders."
"Isn't that what I'm supposed to do, as a leader?"
Courtney shook her head, "We're supposed to set an example. Get your act together."
"Guys! Guys! That's not why we called this meeting," Harold reminded them.
"Oh yeah," Sky nodded. "We're discussing who should get the gold star."
"Okay. I stand by myself getting it," Noah stated.
"Noah, we've been over this," Courtney hissed.
"I nominate Eva. She's a really hard worker, and I love talking to her," Sky said.
"Yeah, a real friend she is," Noah scoffed.
"Well, who would you pick?" Sky scowled.
"That kid…I forget his name, but he had that huge coat. He was amazing at building," Noah replied.
"He can't be that great if you forget his name," Courtney said.
"No, I know who he's talking about. No one knows his name. He doesn't talk," Harold interjected.
"Well, it would be kind of hard to give it out to him then," Courtney pointed out. "I was thinking either Leshawna or DJ."
"Leshawna, yes!" Harold exclaimed. "She's so good with the younger kids. I saw her comforting Sam earlier."
"I like DJ," Sky said. "He did a brilliant job with the cooking."
"Yes, I suppose not starving to death has been nice," Noah mused.
"There's still a couple more days to decide," Harold said. "We'll sleep on it."
Courtney, 14, Town Council: I think the first star is going to be the hardest. I mean, this person will have to set the example for the rest of them.
And that's part 1 of episode 1.
Here are my explanations on why I didn't include certain characters (please keep in my mind that these are my opinions and you may not agree) -
Justin - Having an eye candy in a cast of 8 to 15 year olds would just be weird. Justin is the only Island contestant not included in this fic
Alejandro - His personality revolves around being a villain, which I don't think really works in a 'Kid Nation' setting. At least with Heather, her stereotype is being the mean, popular girl and I can work with that
Blaineley - Self-explanatory
Sierra - She can't be obsessed with the show when it's only season 1, and since Chris has minimal involvement in this show, having a character obsessed with him would just get in the way.
Anne Maria - I was actually going to include Anne Maria until the last minute, but I decided to replace her with Trent because I wanted to balance the genders. And the more I thought about it, I don't think Anne Maria would work as a 10 to 12 year old character
(I originally wasn't going to include Trent because I didn't think he had much character outside of being Gwen's love interest, but I figured he had some potential to be developed on his own)
Dakota - The whole point of Kid Nation is that it's meant to be a bunch of seemingly normal kids building a town, and it wouldn't make sense for there to be someone who is already famous in-universe.
Mike - Mike is a pretty controversial character due to how his DID is portrayed, and I just didn't want to deal with that.
Staci - She's a pretty annoying, one-note character. I suppose she has some potential to develop and I might have included her if there had been a couple more spots, but there were just so many better characters to use.
Beardo - I feel like his character is hard to work with on paper, not that other writers haven't been able to develop him. And I think having him be aged 8 to 10 would make it harder (he couldn't be nicknamed Beardo for starters).
Scarlett - Similar reason to Alejandro. This fic doesn't need a big bad villain. And I don't think there would really be an opportunity to make her grand reveal.
Max - Even if he's not really a villain, being obsessed with being a villain is his main motive. And like I said, the fic doesn't need that.
Topher - Similar reason to Sierra. Chris doesn't appear as much compared with canon so it doesn't really make sense to have a character who's obsessed with him and trying to replace him.
I also thought about including Dwayne Jr from RR, but I don't think he has much character outside of being a kid.
Join us next time when the council splits everyone into 4 districts, the participants face off against each other in the first showdown, and the first gold star is awarded.
Let me know about your thoughts on the current interactions (Duncan and Trent are friends!?) and any speculations you might have. And don't forget to fav and follow.
I've already completed the first 10 chapters (5 episodes) so there should be weekly updates to last through lockdown.
