Welcome back! Thank you for returning to this story :)

And also thank you to everyone who has fav'd and followed so far.

As a reminder, the council is about to split the town into 4 districts.

Hope you enjoy!


Drama Nation - Episode 1, Part 2 - Totally A Real Journal

Noah, 12, Town Council: I'm enjoying being a council member, except we have to get up early to go to the chapel

It was early in the morning. The four council members were sitting in a room with an old-looking journal on the table.

"If you reading this, you are in my hometown, Gemini," Noah read. "Things aren't looking good. People are leaving in droves for other opportunities. But maybe you can make this town work."

Noah, 12, Town Council: [rolls his eyes] Yeah, totally a real journal and not something the producers made to cause drama.

"I advise you to organise your town. Divide it into four equal districts. Each of you should lead one," Courtney continued.

"Ah yes, segregation. Great idea," Noah said sarcastically.

"No, I think it's a good idea," Courtney said. "It will be easier to manage the town if we each have our own group."

"Divide and conquer. I've read about that," Harold stated.

"I don't think that's what they mean, Harold," Courtney said, a little concerned. "The districts are blue, red, green and yellow."

Sky opened a box next to them and pulled out the contents, "Bandanas. Who wants each colour, because I don't mind."

"Blue!" Harold exclaimed.

"I'll take red," Noah added.

"Yellow for me," said Courtney.

"And that leaves me with green," Sky nodded. "So how do we decide who gets who?"


The scene transitioned to the four of them, each with their own chalkboard.

"Courtney, do you wanna go first?" Sky asked.

"Okay. I'll choose Heather," Courtney said.

"Ezekiel is my right hand man," Harold added, writing down his name.

"You mean home-school? Fine by me," Noah shrugged. "I pick Cody."

Courtney, 14, Town Council: I tried to get as many older kids in my district as I could. I think I'll be more comfortable leading people my age.

Sky, 9, Town Council: I chose Eva first because she's strong and brave. And I kind of tried to go with the most athletic people. Lightning, Jasmine, Jo…

Noah, 12, Town Council: Things actually went well when we were picking districts. But we had some arguments toward the end

Courtney sighed, "Who wants to take Duncan?"

"No way. He's a bully," Harold frowned, holding out his palms.

"I'm already taking crazy Izzy. Cut me some slack," Noah scowled.

"My team is full, and I'm happy with it," Sky said, holding up her chalkboard.

"I'll trade Dave if you want," Courtney offered.

"No," Sky said sharply. "Dave is going to stay here."

Courtney sighed, "Okay fine, I'll take Duncan."

Courtney, 14, Town Council: Duncan is the worst! He's always trying to pick a fight, and he's so obnoxious.

Having him in my district will definitely be a test of my leadership skills. But if I can straighten him out, I can run a medium-sized country.

The other thirty-six kids gathered outside before the four council members.

"Hey guys," Courtney said. "We read this book that was written by the pioneers in Gemini a long time ago. It suggested that we split this town into four districts. Each district will live together and work together."

"I have to live with Sadie, or I'll die!" Katie cried, clinging to her best friend.

"And I'll break out in hives. It's true," Sadie added.

"Don't worry. You two are in the same district," Courtney assured them. "Which makes a nice transition. If I call your name, stand behind me and take a yellow bandana. Katie and Sadie."

The two girls squealed, then they rushed over to Courtney and she handed them their bandanas.

Katie, 13, and Sadie, 14, Newfoundland

[both sporting their head bandanas]

Katie: Oh my gosh, you look so cute.

Sadie: You do too!

Katie: Yeah, but you look cuter

Sadie: No, you look cuter!

Katie: You! [gives Sadie a punch on the arm]

Sadie: You! [punches back]

Katie: [rubs her arm] Ow.

"Lindsay, Heather, Tyler," Courtney continued.

Lindsay jumped for joy as the three of them made their way over.

Heather, 15, Ontario: [swings her bandana around] So, looks like I have Courtney's trust. That's fine by me. But there's a lot of things I can do with that trust [she cracks the bandana on her palm like it's a whip]

"Scott and Rodney."

Scott, 11, British Columbia: Courtney is very bossy. [smiles] Good thing I like taking orders.

"Trent…" Courtney let out a long sigh, "…and Duncan."

Duncan looked surprised by this, but he grinned as he followed behind his friend.

"Awesome team," Trent complimented, giving Courtney a pat on the shoulder.

"Yeah," Duncan agreed, swaggering up to her. "I see you came around."

"If you must know, you're only in this district because nobody else would take you. Is that clear?" Courtney hissed.

"Crystal," Duncan smirked. "Hey, Crystal. That could be your new nickname."

"Just…get to the back of the pack," Courtney growled.

Duncan, 14, Manitoba: [smirks] She wants me.

"Alright, the blue district next!" Harold announced, clapping his hands. "Ezekiel, Leshawna, Sam, Leonard, Bridgette."

Sam and Leonard both jumped with joy. Leshawna took their hands and smiled as she walked over.

Leshawna, 14, Manitoba: I'm happy with my district. Sam and Leonard are already like brothers to me, and of course I got Bridgette for the big girl stuff.

"Beth, Dawn, Zoey…"

The three girls shared a group hug and squealed when their names were called out.

"…and Shawn."

The small zombie enthusiast had a troubled look on his face, but he walked over anyway.

Shawn, 9, Alberta: [folds his arms tightly] Great, I'm stuck with Mr Bossy-pants. If he tries to stop me from sleeping in my tree, I'll douse him with gravy.

[laughs to himself] The smell is great bait during a zombie outbreak.

"Now for the red district. I will call you out in alphabetical order," Noah said, then he cleared his throat. "Amy, Cameron, Cody, Gwen, Izzy, Owen, Samey, Sugar."

'No,' Sammy mouthed to herself. She looked back at Jasmine and Ella, who looked just as concerned.

"Come on, Samey," Amy sighed, grabbing her sister by the arm. She brought her over to Noah and grabbed two of the bandanas, "Sorry about her. She's a bad listener."

"That's okay. I'm more of a sight guy myself," Noah shrugged, then he pointed ahead. "And you! I don't know your name. Quiet kid with the big coat."

The kid in question looked up and pointed at himself.

"Yes, you. You're in the red district too. Get over here."

He shrugged and walked over.

"What is your name, anyway?" Noah asked.

The boy was about to open his mouth when Noah sighed, "I'll just call you Quiet Kid."

Samey, 9, New Brunswick: [head in her hands] No. This wasn't meant to happen. It's bad enough Amy's here, but she's in my district, and I'm not with Jasmine and Ella. [she bursts into tears]

Gwen, 14, British Columbia: This team sucks. Everyone is way younger than me, and I do not plan to babysit.

Cameron, 11, Manitoba: [curled into a ball] I'm in the same district…as Izzy…

"And that leaves the rest of you with me. In the green district," Sky told the remaining pioneers. "Eva, Jo, Brick, Jasmine, Lightning, DJ, Geoff, Dave and Ella."

"Awesome!" Geoff exclaimed, and he and DJ double high-fived.

Jo, 10, Alberta: Now this is what I call a team. Sky made some great choices. Well, except fairy princess and the tidy-freak, but we can straighten them out.

Wearing her green bandana, Ella danced around singing, "We are the green team. An unstoppable machine. We'll be the best district. With the pioneers that Sky picked."

Several of the green district members cheered for her, but Chris smirked, "Yeah, enjoy yourselves while you can. I still haven't told you about the showdown!"

"The what now?" Leshawna asked as Leonard sat on her shoulders.


The forty kids stood in a huge field, in front of Chris who was standing next to a large wooden board.

"In every good society, there are winners and there are losers. This provides the incentive to work harder. We wouldn't everyone to be equal, would we?"

"Actually," Harold said, raising his hand. "Western education is very misleading when it comes to…"

"Nobody cares, Harold," Chris snapped, hands on his hips. "Anywho…your place in Gemini will be decided every three days by the grand showdowns!"

He used a hydraulic platform to point to the top of the board.

"First place district is the upper class. They have no assigned jobs, and can do as they please. They also get paid 1 dollar worth of old-timey nickels. Can't use real money or we'd be sued for child labour."

"What can this money be used for?" Courtney asked, raising her hand.

"I'm glad you asked. That brings me to second place," Chris continued, lowering the platform. "The merchants. You guys will run the stores of the town. There's a grocery, a general store, and a bar."

"A bar?" Duncan's interest peaked. "We can buy alcohol?"

"Haha. I wish," Chris laughed. "They serve pop and energy drinks. Each merchant will get paid 50 cents."

He lowered the platform a little more, "Third place are the cooks. Pretty self-explanatory – for 25 cents, they cook your meals, and are in charge of milking the cows and collecting the eggs."

"Eggs? Like, from chickens?" Tyler gasped.

"Yes," Chris nodded.

"What's wrong with chickens?" Duncan asked him.

"They…they creep me out," Tyler sighed, which made Duncan and Trent laugh.

"And lastly, the labourers," Chris concluded, stepping off the platform. "They fetch the water, do the laundry, take out the trash, and clean the outhouse."

"Ew!" many of the kids cried in unison.

"And all for a pay of 10 cents," Chris chuckled. "To decide who gets each class, you will take part in…a grand relay race."

There was a pan shot of the obstacle course from the sky as Chris continued, "Each district must choose one member to tackle each obstacle – there's a balance beam, a climbing rope, pillars, etc. Only exception is the wheelbarrow, where one pioneer must crawl across while the other holds up their legs. And to make things a little trickier, each obstacle is covered in slippery grease."

Once again the contestants let out disgusted groans.

"The object is to get your team's baton from person to person. The last person goes down a zip-line and rings a bell on a mattress, signifying their completion," Chris explained. "And one more thing, if every district completes the course in under half an hour, you get a surprise reward for the town."

"Wo-hoo!" Owen cheered from within the crowd.

"Choose who does each section, and then we'll get started!" Chris announced. "Move it! Move it!"

Jo, 10, Alberta: Yeah! We've got this in the bag

Harold, 13, Town Council: Aw man. If I'd known we were taking part in physical challenges, there's no way I would have let Sky take all the strong people.

Oh well, who doesn't love an underdog?

The first set of runners stood before their balance beams. Heather for the yellows, Dawn for the blues, Gwen for the reds, and Sky for the greens. Each one was armed with a wooden baton in their district's colour.

"On your marks, get set, go!"

The four girls immediately took off, though even in the first few seconds it was clear who was leading.

Heather, an expert ballet dancer, made it to the front of the pack. Sky may have been a gymnastics champion, but Heather had five more years of experience on her side.

While they were almost at the end, Dawn took her time in the middle. She didn't care much for speed, just making sure she didn't lose her balance and fall.

And while Gwen wasn't bad, she couldn't keep up with the skills of the other three, and she fell over at the halfway point.

Gwen, 13, British Columbia: Just when I think this place can't get any worse, I fall head-first into a pit of grease.

"Get moving, kid," Heather hissed, tossing her baton to Scott, who headed into a maze of metal pipes.

"Go Geoff! Go!" Sky exclaimed, showing up a second later. The cowboy-hat clad teen also made a dash for it.

"You did great back there," Sky complimented Heather.

"Well duh," Heather said, rolling her eyes.

Dawn was next to arrive, and without a word she handed her baton to Leshawna.

"Let's do this!" Leshawna exclaimed.

That left Cameron, who was eyeing the pipes nervously.

Heather burst out laughing as she watched Gwen slip about the beam.

"Oh just give up, Weird Goth Girl. You're never gonna get it!" Heather taunted.

After falling off yet again, Gwen took a deep breath, strode halfway across the beam, stumbled a little in the middle, then she took a couple leaps at the end.

"You were saying?" she smirked, handing the baton to Cameron.

Heather, 14, Ontario: Nobody talks back at me like that. Screw that girl!

Geoff and Scott exited the pipes at the same time (both covered in grease from head to toe), and handed their batons to Brick and Tyler respectively.

"Let's do this!" Tyler cheered as he approached a line of tyres. He leapt for the first one, but tripped and fell over.

"Thanks for the head start," Brick taunted. He got through several of the tyres at a swift pace, only for a punching glove on a metal stick to pop out of one of them and get him right in the kiwis.

The cadet let out a high pitched scream and fell to the ground.

Leshawna showed up next. "You got this baby," she said, handing the baton to Harold.

"Time to unleash my wicked skills," Harold said. He made a leap for the first tyre, and gracefully skipped across, stopping when any obstacles popped out.

Leshawna, 14, Manitoba: I gotta say it, string bean's got moves.

Tyler sighed as he crawled his way through the tyres. Meanwhile, Brick got back up, only to be walloped by one of Owen's swinging arms.

"Ouch!" he shouted.

"Oops, sorry dude," Owen said, then he looked forward again.

Brick rubbed his head in pain, but as soon as Tyler crawled past him, he sighed and got back to his feet.


"Just get in a good position. I'll take the stick from Harold," Sam said as he held onto Leonard's legs.

"Okey dokey," Leonard grinned.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Amy snapped at Sammy beside them. "Get on the ground."

"Yes, Amy," Sammy sighed as Amy grabbed hold of her legs.

Harold rushed over and handed Sam the baton, "Go! Go!"

A panting Owen arrived a few seconds later and collapsed in front of Amy.

"There…" Owen gasped between breaths as he held up the baton. "Take it."

Amy swiped it from him and used it to whip Sammy, "Move it, Samey!"

Leonard panted as he and Sam made their way across.

"That's it," Sam said. "Keep it steady."

"Yes, yes," Leonard said, only to lose his balance and fall over.

"Haha, losers!" Amy called out as she and Sammy sped past them.

They swiftly made it to the end, and Amy dropped Sammy's legs and quickly passed their baton onto Quiet Kid.

"Owww!" Sammy cried, lying on the ground with tears pouring out of her eyes.

"Shut up. You're embarrassing me," Amy groaned, rolling her eyes.

"That was not nice!" Jasmine frowned at Amy. "You just hurt her."

"Mind your own business, giraffe girl!" Amy snapped at her.

"Oh, you do not talk to me that way!" Jasmine yelled, pointing a finger at the twin. "I ought to…"

"Jasmine, your turn!" Jo interrupted, stuffing the green baton into her hand.

Jasmine sighed and ran for the climbing rope. She sped past Quiet Kid without much trouble and leapt onto the top.

"Hang in there, mate!" she called out, and the boy smiled back at her.

"Haha, pathetic," Duncan chuckled as he too passed Quiet Kid out. Bridgette wasn't far behind, but she lost her balance and fell on the mattress below.

Duncan, 14, Manitoba: I freakin' ruled that challenge. Got a lot of practice from my many attempts to escape juvie.

"You're up, DJ!" Jasmine exclaimed as she threw the baton to the brickhouse.

"Thanks, Jazz," DJ replied, and he leapt onto the monkey-bars, stepping across quickly and delicately.

Jasmine, 10, British Columbia: DJ is quite light on his feet for such a big man

"Here, hot-stuff, take my sausage," Duncan grinned as he gave the baton to Lindsay.

"You're gross," Lindsay said bluntly before carrying on.

Quiet Kid arrived with Bridgette right behind, and they handed their batons to Sugar and Shawn.

Sugar immediately ran for it and leapt for the rungs.

"Made it!" she exclaimed. "Woah! Woah!"

She lost her balance, but she kept holding onto the frame and ended up toppling it over, also knocking down Lindsay.

"Eeek! This is so gross!" Lindsay screamed as she sat covered in grease.

"I got it," Shawn said, and with seemingly little effort, the small boy got the monkey bars back in place, then he swung across in a few swift motions.

Shawn, 9, Alberta: Jumping and swinging are an important part of my zombie survival exercises. I can jump between the two big oak trees in our backyard.

As Courtney and Cody waited for their batons, Ella was almost finished crossing the pillars, and Ezekiel was at the halfway point.

"Look at that guy. He's as steady as a rock," Cody commented.

"It's his work boots. They must be like cement," Courtney replied.

"Made it!" Lindsay squealed, handing Courtney the yellow baton.

Cody sighed as he watched Sugar continue to struggle with the monkey bars.

"I'm finished," Ella sang as she reached the end, and the camera followed her as she passed her baton to Eva, who went up a few steps and grabbed onto a swinging rope – the first of five.

"Hoof," she grunted as she grabbed onto the second one.

By the time Zoey arrived, Eva was already on the fourth.

Zoey, 10, Manitoba: I think I did okay at the challenge, but that green district girl was an animal. They're so lucky to have her.

Dave was shaking with fear when Eva approached him.

"Here you go," she said, handing him the baton.

"O-okay," Dave stuttered.

"Are you okay, buddy?" Eva asked.

"I…I'm nervous," Dave admitted.

"Don't be. The zip-line has a mattress at the bottom. You won't get hurt at all," Eva assured him. "Now go."

Dave took a deep breath as he climbed up the ladder.

Dave, 8, Ontario: I'm too young to be doing this. It's just…so much going on

Zoey reached the fifth rope, and was about to leap to the end when Izzy suddenly swung past and shoved her, making her lose her grip and fall into the grease.

"Whoops. What an unfortunate thing to happen. Time to start again, Zoey!" Chris announced.

"Darn it," she groaned as she pulled herself out of the pit.

"That wasn't very fair," Rodney said as he held onto his fourth rope.

Dave looked down in fear as he stood at the top of the zipline. He wore a helmet and his harness was attached.

"You can do it!" Geoff cheered from below.

"Yeah! Go Dave!" DJ added.

"Uhh…uhh…" Dave stammered.

"Dave, get down here now!" Jo yelled at him.

"Yeah, Sha-Lightning's not losin' this," Lightning added.

"Shut up, you two. You're not helping!" Jasmine snapped at them.

"Come on, Dave!" Sky called from the bunch. "I believe in you!"

This made Dave's face light up. The boy took one last deep breath, then he let his feet leave the platform, and he glided down the wire.

The green district burst into applause, when Lightning tapped Jo's shoulder, "Hey, where did he come from?"

The two of gasped in horror when they saw Noah hit his district's mattress right before Dave.

"The red district is the upper class!" Chris announced. "Green district, you are the merchants."

The green district gathered around Dave and continued to cheer for him.

"You did it!" Sky cheered.

"Yes, Dave!" Ella squealed, giving the boy a tight hug. "I am so proud of my prince!"

Almost all of the green district cheered. Two kids stayed at the back of the pack and scowled.

Jo, 10, Alberta: We would have won if it wasn't for that stupid Dave! He is going to pay for this!

"Let's do this!" Trent exclaimed as he sailed down his team's zip-line, making a soft landing on the mattress.

"The yellow district are the chefs!" Chris announced. "Which means the blue district are the labourers. And they have one minute, twenty seconds left to finish the challenge."


Zoey finally leapt back onto the ground, and flung the baton at Beth. "Come on, Beth! We don't have much time."

Beth immediately ran for the steps, and was panting by the time she reached the zip-line.

"Thirty seconds!" Chris shouted from the ground.

Beth's fingers shook as she attached her harness to the line.

"Go without the helmet!" Shawn roared.

"No, she has to wear it! Health and safety, or she'll be disqualified!" Chris added.

With the baton tucked under her arm, Beth quickly grabbed the helmet and put it on her head, clicking the strap as she made a jump from the platform.

"Fifteen seconds!" Chris called out. "Ten…nine…eight…"

Chris' counting was interrupted by the ring of a bell. Beth had reached the bottom.

"The blue district finishes with seven seconds to spare!" Chris announced. "They've won the reward!"

All of the pioneers cheered their heads off at this prospect.

Beth, 12, Alberta: Oh my gosh! I did it! I did it! We may have lost but we got something for the whole town!

The forty contestants gathered in front of Chris, who was standing between two large crates.

"Today's reward will a choice," Chris told them. "On my right we have…seven outhouses."

The kids exploded with applause.

Heather, 15, Ontario: Right now we have one toilet for forty people. It's revolting

Especially if you come in right after Owen.

Noah, 12, Town Council: You think you've hit rock bottom? There's nothing sadder than a group of kids cheering over extra toilets

Dear the network, I hope the ad revenue from this show is worth the weight on your conscience.

"And on my left…" Chris continued. "A TV for you to watch whenever you want."

Even more cheering ensued, though not as much as the first time.

"Council, I'll give you a minute to make your decision," Chris said.

"Are you for real?" Courtney said in disbelief. "It's kind of a no-brainer."

"Yeah, between having to share a bathroom with thirty-nine people and not…tough choice," Noah said sarcastically.

"He could have phrased it better, but I agree," Harold added.

"I also pick the toilets," Sky said.

"Okay, way to ruin to tension," Chris scowled. "Toilets it is!"

Ella, 8, Ontario: Hooray! I thought I'd have to go 40 days without doing a poo.

Even after winning the outhouses, the blue district walked back grumbling about their loss.

"Three days of taking out garbage and cleaning toilets. Ain't that a kick in the pants?" Leshawna groaned.

"My first challenge as leader and I've come last. I've failed you guys," Harold sighed.

"It's not your fault, Harold. You did great at the tyres," Leshawna assured him.

"Yeah, the girls just couldn't keep up," Ezekiel added.

The entire district stopped in their tracks.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Bridgette snapped.

"Yeah, home-school, I want an explanation," Leshawna added.

"Well, guys are much stronger and better at sports than girls are," Ezekiel shrugged.

"You think you're stronger than me? Let's put it to the test!" Leshawna yelled, holding up her fist.

"No. Not in front of the kids!" Harold cried as he and Bridgette held her back.

Shawn, 9, Alberta: Ezekiel is right. Girls are stinky.

Harold, 13, Town Council: [head in his hands] Ezekiel… you idiot!

Beth, 12, Alberta: Ezekiel is wrong! We would have won if Izzy hadn't pushed Zoey off the rope. I saw it myself.

"This is unbelievable!" Lightning exclaimed as he and Jo walked over to the green cabin. "Sha-second? Lightning doesn't come second. Lightning's a winner."

"I can't believe it either," Jo agreed. "We would have come first if it wasn't for Dave being chicken on the zip-line."

"Oh, Lightning hears you. That Dave is holdin' us back big time. I wish he'd just go home."

"Go home," Jo repeated, when her face lit up. "Hey, what if we made him go home?"

"Ooh, I like that!" Lightning grinned. "Lightning could send little Dave home in a body cast. Then his team would be better."

"Good idea, but no," Jo smirked. "I was more thinking…"

She spotted Dave scrubbing the porch with a sponge.

"…watch and learn," she said, then she ran over to the boy. Lightning remained standing with his arms folded.

"Hi there, Dave," Jo said sweetly as she sat beside him.

"Hi Jo," Dave replied, getting up off his knees. "I'm just getting the cabin nice and clean."

"That sounds pretty impossible," Jo stated. "I mean, there's so many germs. Millions and billions."

"Million and…billions?" Dave squeaked.

"Yeah. They're everywhere in a dirty old town like this. In the cabins, in the kitchen, on the toilet…

"Ahh!" Dave gasped, his hands shaking.

"Are you alright?" Jo asked him.

"Germs. I-I'm scared of germs," he whimpered.

"You are?" Jo asked in fake shock. "How will you survive in this town?"

"I d-don't…I don't know," Dave whispered, tears starting to form.

"Dave, if you're really scared of germs, I think you should go home," Jo said.

"R-really? B-but, my district…"

"I'm sure nobody will mind. It's for the best," Jo assured him. "Do you need a hug?"

"N-no thanks," Dave replied, still sobbing.

"Okay. I'll see you later," Jo nodded. She got up, and grinned as she gave Lightning a thumbs' up.

Lightning, 11, Manitoba: Joe is a genius! His plan will get green to victory. Sha-yeah!

The four council members sat together at a table at the end of a large empty room.

"Okay, this is it," Harold told them.

"I'm so nervous about this," Sky said, shaking a little.

"It's time to make our final decision," Courtney said.

"I'm voting for Leshawna," Harold said.

"DJ is my choice," Sky added.

"Voting for people in your own district. How unbiased," Noah remarked.

"I think these two are excellent choices. I'm happy for either of them to win," said Courtney. "Noah, looks like you're the deciding vote."

Noah sighed, "Alright, if I must. We will give the gold star to…"


The screen faded to black, and then faded back to the entire town sitting in the room opposite them. Chris stood to the side with a pile of notecards.

"Welcome pioneers!" Chris announced. "Every three days, Gemini will hold a town hall meeting. Here we will discuss important orders of business, and…dish out some surprises. First things first, raise your hand if you're happy with the job your council is doing."

Most of the townspeople raised their hand.

"If you're not happy with the council, raise your hand."

Two hands went up – Gwen and Shawn.

"The floor is yours, Gwen," Chris said.

Gwen stood up, "I'm just gonna be blunt – I don't like my district."

There were many gasps and 'oohs' at this statement.

"I've been separated from my friends, thrown in with a bunch of younger girls, I'm not happy," Gwen said.

Sammy was about to also raise her hand, but Amy gave her a dig in the arm.

"And what do you expect us to do about it?" Courtney asked.

"Ooh, what about a district swap!" Shawn suggested, also standing up. "I'll switch with her."

"Fine by me," Gwen smiled.

"Nobody is switching districts!" Harold shouted. "We did our best when making the districts, but in the end there's no pleasing everyone."

"Yeah, what he said. I'm also against this," Noah added.

"I think they should be allowed to switch. If they want," Sky said, turning to the others.

"No!" Courtney yelled, which made the whole room go silent. "Gwen, I'm sorry you aren't happy, but whining and moaning isn't going to get you anywhere. Grow up!"

The rest of the kids clapped for Courtney. Gwen rolled her eyes and sat back down.

Gwen, 14, British Columbia: [sighs] It was worth a shot

Shawn, 9, Alberta: I'd love to be on the red district. Noah seems like a much more chill leader.

Leshawna, 14, Manitoba: I like Gwen, but that was pretty childish.

Cody, 15, Ontario: [sly grin] I love it when girls play hard to get.

Heather, 15, Ontario: I kind of respect Weird Goth Girl for being so honest. But don't tell her I said that.

"Next order of business," Chris continued. "The life of a pioneer can be hard. The back-breaking work, the not-so-standard conditions, yada-yada-yada. Raise your hand if you would like to go home. And you can't come back. Ever."

A few seconds of tense silence passed, and then Dave raised his hand.

"Dave," Ella gasped, her hands over her mouth.

"Any reason why?" Chris asked.

"I-I can't stay here," Dave sighed. "I miss my mom and dad, I miss my friends, and…the germs. They're everywhere."

"Come on, Dave. You're doin' great," DJ said from behind.

"Yeah, it won't be the same without you," Jasmine added.

"This place…it's just too much for me," Dave muttered, tears pouring out.

"Then it's settled," Chris shrugged. "Dave, your journey in Gemini ends here. We'll call your parents and get you home."

"I'll miss you, my prince," Ella said, giving Dave a tight hug.

"Be safe out there, man," DJ added, and the two shared a fist-bump.

"See you, Dave," Geoff said.

Dave walked across the hall, dodging all the high-fives and fist-bumps that came his way.

Sky remained seated. Her jaw was wide open and there was a look of shock and hurt in her eyes.

Sky, 9, Town Council: [blank] He…he left. I…didn't expect that [a tear falls down her cheek]

"And finally…the most exciting part!" Chris announced. "Every three days the council will select one member of Gemini who they deem to be the best. Most hard-working, most caring, most likely to have parents with connections that will get them a good job in the future, any criteria works."

"Yeah, and?" Duncan said snarkily, folding his arms.

"That person will win this," Chris said, taking the gold star out of his pocket. "A star worth its weight in gold – 50,000 dollars!"

Literally everyone in the room gasped at this.

"Woah!" Shawn exclaimed in disbelief.

"That's pretty," said Katie.

"Council, have you made your decision?" Chris asked.

Courtney looked at Harold, who looked to Noah and Sky. They all nodded in agreement.

"Yes," Harold said into his microphone.

"Well fire away. Who do you give it to?"

Harold cleared his throat, "This person has been working hard non-stop for the last three days – opening crates, building houses, preparing delicious bowls of mac 'n' cheese. The gold star goes to DJ."

The room burst into applause. DJ stood up with his palms to his cheeks and his mouth open wide.

"I-I don't believe it!" he gasped as he made his way to the council's table. "Thank you."

"It's all yours, man," Harold said to him, handing him the star.

"Congratulations, DJ. How do you feel right now?" Chris asked him.

"I'm just…so happy," DJ said. "I'm honoured that the council would recognise me in this way, and I hope will it encourage everyone to work harder."

"How would your parents feel about this?" Chris asked.

"My momma would be so proud!" DJ exclaimed. "She's always wanted money to move back to Jamaica."

"That's sweet," Chris said. "Now, what if I told you that you could call her right now?"

"I can do that?" DJ gasped, his voice getting more high pitched.

"Here," Chris said, handing DJ a key. "It's a key to the only phone in Gemini."

DJ shook his head at this, "This is amazing."

He turned around, went up to Courtney, and held out his arms for a hug.

"You're welcome, DJ," she said as he held her tight.

He moved onto Harold next, "Well done. You deserve it."

"You're welcome, big guy," Noah said as he accepted his hug.

"DJ, you are awesome!" Sky exclaimed when it was her turn.

Geoff, 13, British Columbia: So proud of my man, DJ. 50,000 dollars is a lot of money. That's enough for, like, a thousand parties.

Duncan, 14, Manitoba: So, there's cash prizes in this game. Maybe I'll work hard from now on…or maybe I won't. Whatever I feel like.

DJ unlocked the door of a small building, ran in and picked up the receiver.

"Hello?" said a female voice on the other end.

"Momma, it's me, DJ!"

"DJ? Hi! It's so good to hear you!" she squealed.

"Momma, I need to say something," DJ said, tearing up again. "I just won 50,000 dollars!"

"What!?" she screamed. "DJ, that's unbelievable! How did this happen?"

"We're in this abandoned town called Gemini," DJ told her. "I've been buildin' houses, cookin' food, doin' challenges, and the council said I worked the hardest."

"I am so proud of you. That's so much money. Why we could…we could…"

"…go home," DJ began to tear up. "We'll go back to Jamaica, and re-open Grampa's bakery."

"It's always been my dream," Momma DJ sniffed.


The camera cut to Chris standing in front of the town hall.

"So DJ gets the first gold star. What a touching moment," he narrated, pretending to wipe a tear from his eye. "But who will get the next one? Will anyone else go home? Could anyone die? Because according to their contracts it's outside of our responsibility. Find out next time on Drama…Nation!"


And that's the first episode. Dave goes home and DJ gets the gold star. Reds are the winners and blue are the losers, but all that is subject to change.

As a reminder, here are the members of each district (age in brackets)

Yellow district -
Courtney (14), Duncan (14), Heather (15), Katie (13), Lindsay (14), Rodney (10), Sadie (14), Scott (11), Trent (14), Tyler (13)

Blue district -
Harold (13), Beth (12), Bridgette (13), Dawn (11), Ezekiel (13), Leonard (10), Leshawna (14), Sam (11), Shawn (9), Zoey (10)

Red district -
Noah (12), Amy (9), Cameron (11), Cody (15), Gwen (14), Izzy (12), Owen (13), Quiet Kid (12), Sammy (9), Sugar (10)

Green district -
Sky (9), Brick (12), DJ (14), Ella (8), Eva (13), Geoff (13), Jasmine (10), Jo (10), Lightning (11), Dave (8)

Let me know your thoughts in the reviews, and fav and follow if you haven't already. New chapter next Saturday.