Disclaimer: I don't own Total Drama, nor do I think I ever will. Oh well.
Author's Note: Worry not, I am not dead! This chapter took forever because school's a bitch, Pokemon Black is awesome, and I had a slight case of writer's block. The next chapter is here now though, isn't that important? There's a lot of action and less dialogue, so if you like character interaction, sorry.
Chris McLean was, surprise, surprise, standing in front of the high school. He had a whistle around his neck and was wearing a baseball cap with black and white stripes, similar to a referee. He blew the whistle and said, "I love this thing! Anyways, last time on Total Drama High School, the students were forced to mix volatile chemicals. Most had something blow up in their face, and it was hilarious!"
The host laughed at the misfortune of the contestants. He regained his composure and said, "We also learned that Mikey hates the class, as he had a bad experience with it. On a tenderer note, Nicholas and Jessie almost kissed, until Ezekiel ran by and ruined their work. Ha! Speaking of the home schooled prairie boy, he was forced to walk the hall of shame by the losers. Last episode presented us with several questions. Will Nicholas and Jessie rekindle the relationship they had started? Will Heather remain bitter at Izzy for knocking her out with chloroform? Will Joseph use underhanded plotting to take down his next target? Find out the answers to all these questions right now on Total Drama High School!" The host blew the whistle again and said, "Boy, do I have some plans for this."
The bus ride was fairly calm, as usual. Geoff and Bridgette were talking to Gwen, Mikey, Megan, Cody, and Emily about topics that don't move the plot along. Every once and awhile, somebody would say a joke or a funny story, causing the others to laugh. This laughter would cause a certain queen bee to glare over at the group. Heather would not glare at the group for long, as she was busy boring holes into the back of Izzy's head.
Bus Confessional
Heather: Izzy and I were never on good terms to begin with. The fact that the psycho hose beast keeps inhibiting my progress this season is not making her any better in my book. If she's on my team again, I might just scream.
Heather continued glaring until someone said, "You know, glaring at someone isn't going to help you at all."
Heather, surprised, turned around and noticed that Joseph was the one who had commented on her actions. Heather sneered and said, "Maybe I don't like her. What do you care?"
"Just trying to help a fellow contestant from being eliminated. You have the potential to go far, just like in season one," Joseph said, an odd smile on his face.
"I already know I can go far. Why would you risk talking to me? I'm not miss popularity around here," Heather said, glaring momentarily at the large group nearby, as they had laughed again.
Joseph smirked and said, "Oh Heather, you and I are more alike than you think." The overachiever then walked off, leaving a confused Heather behind.
Bus Confessional
Heather: What did that nerdy kid mean when he said we were alike? I'm suspicious of him and I won't stop until I find out who he really is.
Izzy meanwhile, was chatting with Trent, Jennifer, and Julie. Izzy was ending a story of hers, "And so that was how I was able to escape that RCMP officer chasing me through the woods with only a piece of string, a stick of gum, two nickels, and three sticks that were lying on the ground."
"Wow, I gotta admit, that sounds impressive," Trent commented.
Julie nodded and said, "It does sound impressive. I bet it was cooler to see in person."
Heather overheard this and began to narrow her eyes. "If you think anything that psycho hose beast says is true, then you have got to be stupider than you look," Heather angrily shouted, glaring at Izzy.
Julie balled her hands into fists and started to grumble angrily until Jennifer patted her shoulder, saying, "Don't pay any attention to Heather; she's just an angry person. Plus I'm pretty certain that she meant for that to hurt Izzy, she did knock Heather out yesterday."
Julie took a deep breath and said, "You're right. I should learn to ignore her. It's just snooty queen bee type girls make me angry. They're one of the only things that can make me angry." Heather heard this and grinned evilly.
Bus Confessional
Heather: So Julie can't stand someone like me, this could work to my advantage. All I have to do is make sure she loses the challenge, and then I have to upset her. She'll get angry at me and the others will vote her off for acting so out of character. It's perfect. (The queen bee smirks evilly for a moment until she realizes something.) I just realized, I'm the only one to use this confessional today. What's up with that?
Julie: (The optimist is sitting in a yoga position, meditating) I need to not let Heather get on my nerves so often. If I take deep breaths, I can ignore her.
Elsewhere on the bus, Nicholas and Jessie were sitting by the windows, on opposite sides of the bus. They were in the same row, but each teen was looking out the window, trying to think about what had occurred the day before.
Nicholas went over what happened in his head, thinking, "Well, I think it's safe to say she likes me. Still, she hasn't talked to me since. Maybe she's embarrassed over what happened. Regardless, Zeke interrupted the kiss, and for that, I voted him off."
Jessie, on the other hand, was thinking, "I wonder why Nicholas hasn't talked to me since yesterday. I hope I didn't scare him off by almost kissing him. If he got scared because of me, I don't know what I would do." Every once and awhile, one of the teens would glance at the other, and then look away.
Eventually, Nicholas gathered the courage to talk to Jessie. "Um, Jessie? Can I talk to you for a second," the mechanic asked.
Jessie turned around and said, "Um, sure."
Nicholas sighed and said, "Look, about yesterday, I-."
Jessie cut him off, saying, "I understand. I freaked you out. I'll stop."
With that the slightly shy girl got up and sat down somewhere else. Nicholas looked forward for a moment before cursing, "Damn it! What just happened?"
Bus Confessional
Nicholas: (The mechanic looks downcast, as he's looking down) Why does she think I don't like her? I do, a lot actually. I just wish she hadn't interrupted me. I was going to ask her out.
Noah and Courtney were sitting near the front of the bus. Noah, as usual, was reading one of his novels, while Courtney looked out the window nervously. Noah picked this up and, without looking up from his book, asked, "What are you so worried about? You haven't done anything yet."
"I'm nervous about being in an alliance. They've been in a negative light since Heather's alliance on TDI," Courtney whispered.
"Yeah, keep whispering, that'll get rid of any suspicion," Noah sarcastically retorted with a roll of his eyes.
"Hello, my friends," Joseph said as he returned from the back of the bus.
Noah asked from behind his book, "So, any plans for today Joseph?"
The overachiever shook his head and said, "Nope. I'm going to let today's events transpire, then get rid of somebody appropriate."
Courtney, who was nervous still, asked, "So what makes you so much better than Heather?"
"Well, if you would like to know, I am not trying to separate any couples, unlike Heather. I will target somebody who seems appropriate. That separates the weak from those who I deem as worthy rivals. Worry not Courtney, I have a plan to get rid of Gwen for you. It will be my way of thanking you for supporting me. You just have to wait a little bit longer. If she leaves now, people will become suspicious, and suspicion gives rise to people learning the truth. If that happens, we all go home," Joseph said comfortingly.
"Okay, if you say so," Courtney said, unsure.
The bus then came to a screeching halt and people flew in different directions. Megan, who was going to use the confessional, fell down on top of Mikey, causing both teens to blush. Trent steadied Jennifer, who had stumbled slightly. Izzy laughed like a maniac as she hit her head on the ceiling of the vehicle. Geoff caught Bridgette, who had flown into the air like Izzy. Noah, Joseph and Courtney steadied themselves by holding their seats. Cody held onto Emily's hand while Gwen grabbed the windowsill. Danny stood through all this, as his meditative state allowed him to ignore chaos. Heather face planted on the floor of the bus, and nobody cared that much. Heather was even angrier when Julie fell on top of her. Jessie, who left the confessional, was thrown from her feet. Nicholas saw this and jumped into the aisle and caught the shy girl.
She looked up at the mechanic and blushed before tightly hugging him, saying, "Thank you! Thank you!"
Nicholas chuckled and said, "Don't mention it."
Jessie looked back into Nicholas' eyes. They stared at each other for a moment and then leaned their faces close together, preparing for another kiss.
Their lips were mere millimeters apart when Chef yelled, "Get off my bus maggots! I don't want to see you on here after I count to ten!" Everybody scrambled to get out when the large, intimidating chef started to count, "One! Two! Three! Four! Five! Um, uh, si, no wait, um, uh."
While Chef contemplated what number came after five, everyone had a chance to leave the vehicle. The teens were immediately met by Chris, who was wearing a black and white referee uniform. He smiled and said, "Welcome to another day of Total Drama High School! In case my attire did not give it away, today's challenge is a physical education challenge!" Some contestants looked ecstatic, while others looked as if they wanted to shoot themselves.
Restroom Confessional
Noah: PE? Seriously? Did Chris pick that just to get on my nerves because let me tell you it worked! If I've said it once, I've said it a million times, sports aren't my forte.
Joseph: (The overachiever is pumping his arms in victory) Yes! Yet another thing that I excel at! I have utter confidence that my team will win, because given the number of people, the challenge is probably baseball.
Mikey: Meh, I'm okay at sports. I'm by no means a star athlete, but at least I try my hardest. I've got high hopes for my team.
Courtney: I think I'm pretty good at sports. Some people would wish Tyler was here, but to be honest, that would only be true if I wanted to lose.
Bridgette: I'm pretty athletic, but I excel at water sports. I can hope for a swimming challenge, right?
Megan: P.E.? That shouldn't be too hard. I mean, I play field hockey and lacrosse, so I'm pretty fit.
Chris smiled at the contestants and said, "Today's challenge will be comprised of 3 mini challenges. There will be two teams, rookies vs. veterans. Whichever team wins two of the three challenges wins invincibility! Follow me to the venue for the first event."
Chris led the eighteen teens to a field with a baseball diamond. It looked like it was cheaply set up, as the bases were empty sacks of flour, the dugouts were just rusty benches, and the pitchers mound was a sheet over a pile of phone books. Joseph looked horrified and said, "Dude, what the hell! Are you seriously that cheap?"
"No, but my hair gel is expensive," Chris replied, his sadistic smirk present. Joseph groaned while Chris said, "So, you get five minutes to strategize for the game. This game will be three innings, more if need be."
Restroom Confessional
Joseph: As lucky as we are that it's baseball, I can't believe the condition of the field.
Noah: Does anybody on our team actually know how to play baseball?
Rookies
Joseph stood in front of his teammates and said, "Okay, I know many of you have probably never played baseball, but that's okay. I have played it for years and I know the positions. Now I need three people who are fast."
Danny, Nicholas, and Megan stepped forward. "Okay, you three will be outfielders. That means you go to the area farthest from home plate. The reason you need to be fast is because you have more ground you need to cover," Joseph explained. The three teens nodded. "Okay, now I need four people who would be good, all-around players. Decent speed, hand-eye coordination, etc," Joseph announced.
Mikey, Jessie, Jennifer, and Emily stood forward. Joseph nodded and said, "Okay, you play infield. You need to watch the bases and be ready to tag the others out if they come close." The infielders nodded.
Joseph turned to Julie and said, "Julie, I need you to be catcher. You will be behind home and catch the balls I throw at you. You will also be needed if somebody runs home."
Julie nodded and asked, "Okay, but what will you be doing?"
"I'm going to be the pitcher," Joseph said, a victorious smile on his face. The team then did a victory cheer and waited for Chris to start the game.
Veterans
The veteran team was in chaos. Heather and Courtney kept arguing over who gets to be the captain while shooting glares at Izzy and Gwen (Heather glared at both, but Courtney only glared at Gwen). Noah sat around reading as Izzy tried to tell him a story, ignoring his comments of, "I don't care" and "Somebody kill me." Bridgette and Geoff were making out, not helping their teammates in the slightest. Trent and Cody were standing next to each other, unsure of what they should do.
Pandemonium was abound until Noah shouted, "Izzy, will you leave me alone already!" Everybody stopped what they were doing when the somewhat quiet know-it-all shouted. Noah looked around sighed and said, "Okay, we have two minutes until the game starts. We need a captain. So who has played this game before?"
It was quiet for a moment until Trent and Geoff raised their hands. "Dude, we could totally be co-captains! This will be awesome," Geoff exuberantly announced.
Noah raised an eyebrow and said, "I suppose co-captains could work. Any objections?"
"Yes, I am more qualified to be leader," Courtney said, "I was a C.I.T. after all."
"And do you know how to play baseball," Noah asked, a smug look on his face.
Courtney stammered, "Um, well, uh, no."
Noah turned to the two co-captains and said, "I know I'm going to regret this, but what do you want us to do?"
Trent tapped his chin and said, "Noah I think you should be catcher, that way you don't have to run that much."
"Good, because I believe I've mentioned that sports aren't my forte," Noah replied.
Heather rolled her eyes and said, "We know."
Geoff then tapped his chin and said, "Well, I would be good in the outfield, as well as Bridgette and Trent. Izzy should be pitcher, because I think she can throw fast, right?"
Izzy nodded and said, "Yep! Once, I threw a marble 88 miles an hour in a thunderstorm! This lightning bolt struck the ground near me and then I couldn't find the marble. So yeah, I can throw fast!"
Trent nodded and said, "Good, so this leaves Courtney, Heather, Gwen, and Cody as our infield.
Just as both teams finished strategizing, Chris used his air horn. He said, "Okay students who are not as handsome as me, I need one representative from each team for the coin toss."
"What is this, American football," Mikey asked, slightly confused.
Joseph walked up for the rookies while Trent stepped forward for the veterans. The two shook hands and Trent said, "You can call it, if you want."
"Fair enough. Heads," Joseph called as the coin was tossed in the air. It landed heads up.
"Joseph, do you want to go first, or should the veterans be first," Chris asked.
Joseph smiled and said, "The veterans can have the first at bat." Chris flashed a thumbs up to Duncan and Owen in the Press Box, the only nice part of the field.
Inside the press box, Duncan said, "Hello Total Drama fans! I'm Duncan and my pal Owen and I are going to be commenting on the baseball game that's part of today's challenge. That's right, if you are listening to this, you are the first people to know the result of today's challenge! The rookies have taken their positions and first at bat for the veterans is Heather. This is going to be fun."
"You said it! This is gonna be awesome," Owen enthusiastically cheered.
Joseph stood at the plate, a baseball cap upon his head. Before the game started, he showed Julie a few signs for different pitches. She showed him a sign and he nodded before throwing a fastball. Heather missed it, but Julie didn't catch it either.
Heather scoffed, "You aren't cut out for this, stupid happy girl." Julie scowled and threw the ball back to Joseph. Heather rolled her eyes and said, "C'mon nerdy boy! Show me what you got."
Joseph smirked before throwing another fastball. This one hit her helmet, and despite it protecting her, she fell over. Chef blew his whistle and said, "She gets to walk to first!"
"Fine by me, it was satisfying just to hit her in the head," Joseph said, smirking at the queen bee. Heather angrily stomped over to first base and waited.
Next up for the veterans was Cody. The scrawny tech geek stood near home plate and waited. Joseph threw a fastball and it flew past Cody's face. The overachiever threw another fastball, this time curving it so that it moved to his left as it flew. Another strike against Cody was tallied as Joseph threw one final ball. Cody hit it and only sent it toward second base.
Heather started to run but noticed Mikey, the second baseman, catch the ball, getting Cody out. He threw the ball back to first and Chef called Heather out as well. Heather grumbled as she went back to her team's bench.
Up next was Trent, who approached the plate. He looked prepared, and Joseph smirked. The overachiever threw a curveball. Trent saw this and smirked in return. Trent hit the ball between left and middle field. Danny, who was the left fielder, ran toward the falling ball. Nicholas, who was the middle fielder, also ran toward the ball. The two collided, and the ball hit the ground.
Nicholas quickly threw the ball to Mikey, which kept Trent at second. "Dude," Nicholas shouted, "What the hell was that?"
Danny raised an eyebrow and said, "Um, I was trying to catch the ball, you know, the goal of the game."
Nicholas gripped his head and frustration and said, "Let me rephrase. Why did you crash into me?"
"I didn't crash into you. Rather, you crashed into me. The ball was more in my territory than yours," Danny responded.
"Fine, just try not to get in the way so often," Nicholas said, rather annoyed.
Back at the plate, it was Gwen's turn. The goth hit the baseball at an odd angle, causing it to pop up into the air. It sailed right to Jennifer, the first baseman, or basewoman, if that's what you want to call the position. Chef, who was dressed as an umpire said, "Three outs! Rookies are up in two minutes!"
In the press box, Duncan and Owen were watching the game eagerly, a tray of hot dogs in front of them. Duncan took a bite of the baseball food and said, "Well, this game's been pretty uneventful so far."
"Yeah, but I think the rookies will have a good lineup, with a baseball player on their team," Owen commented before saying, "These hot dogs are pretty good."
"Yeah, they are. I don't really care that it's like 10 in the morning, these hot dogs are too good," Duncan agreed, his unibrow raised in excitement.
Julie led off for the rookies. Izzy pitched a curveball to which Julie hit, but it popped up into the air and was caught by Heather, who shouted, "Ha! There's no way you can beat me fatty!"
Everybody's eyes widened. Julie started to tear up before running away, sobbing. Everyone, rookie and veteran alike, glared at the queen bee. Heather looked at all the glaring teens and said, "What? You can't tell me that she's skinny, because it's not true."
Everyone continued to glare until Chris said, "Um, I know what she said was major harshness, but this is a half hour show." Every teen, including Heather, rolled their eyes at Chris' remark.
Jessie was up next. Izzy threw another curveball and Jessie hit it up into the air, toward Heather again. Gwen smirked when she saw this. She ran full speed into Heather, knocking the queen bee over and causing the ball to fall on the ground, allowing Jessie to get to first base.
After Heather dusted herself off, she shrieked, "What the hell, Weird Goth Girl?"
Gwen simply shrugged and said, "It's not my fault you got in my way."
Heather huffed and turned around, only to notice Joseph hit the baseball. She watched the ball fly into the outfield, past the fence used to determine home runs. Duncan excitedly announced, "And the nerdy Joseph scores two runs for the rookies! The score is now 2 – 0! Next in the rookie lineup is Megan!"
The nice girl approached the plate and quickly hit the ball into the outfield. It landed just outside Trent's reach, allowing her to make it to first. Mikey, like Megan before him, hit the ball into the outfield. This time, it was heading toward Bridgette. She ran to catch the ball, but tripped over her own feet, allowing the ball to hit the ground and allowing the gamer to make it to second, while Megan made it to third.
Megan called to the gamer, "Nice hit!"
"Thanks! I didn't think it would've been that good," Mikey admitted, scratching the back of his head.
Megan shrugged her shoulders and said, "Well, that's okay, it worked after all!"
Heather, who was between the two, shouted, "Will you shut up lovebirds? I'm trying to focus here!"
The two teens blushed and looked away from each other for a moment. A crack of the bat alerted them to what was going on. Jennifer hit a line drive at Heather, who dove to the ground in fright. Megan and Mikey ran, the gamer stepping on Heather in the process, and scored two more runs, at the expense of Jennifer getting tagged out.
Danny was the next to step up to the plate. The honorable warrior glanced at Heather as he hit the ball. It flew straight at Heather, who held up her glove in defense. The queen bee got knocked over as the ball hit her.
Everyone cheered until they saw the ball resting in the glove on her chest. The rookies then groaned as the veterans cheered for two reasons. Chef walked onto the field and said, "Veterans are back up in five minutes!"
Restroom Confessional
Heather: Why the hell is everyone out to get me all of a sudden? Okay, so maybe I've been a bitch, but I've been that way all season! Why do they now gang up on me?
Julie: (Her eyes are red from sobbing) Heather's such a bitch! I hope her team loses so they vote her off!
Geoff: Man, what Heather said to Julie is so not cool. That was like, major harshness. I know who I'm voting for if we lose.
Mikey: I like Heather less with every passing day, and I didn't like her that much to begin with!
Up in the press box, Owen and Duncan were discussing the game as well as the competitors. "So," Duncan asked, "Who do you think are four people who won't make it to the merge?"
Owen tapped his chin and said, "Well, Heather's definitely not making it. I don't really know who else besides Heather. Who do you think are four people that will make it to the merge?"
"Simple. Noah, Courtney, Joseph and Jessie will all make it to the merge, only because they are smart," Duncan replied with a shrug.
Chris peeked his head into the room and said, "Hey, just so you guys know, there's a minute until the second inning."
Duncan leaned back and said, "Cool."
Owen said, "Yeah!" After he said this, he farted.
"Ugh, way to go Owen," Duncan angrily said while pinching his nostrils.
Owen chuckled and said, "Sorry, hot dogs give me gas."
Izzy was up for the veterans, who were behind 4 – 0. She quickly hit the ball with all her strength, causing it to sail out of the park. "Yeah, I need to thank my friend E-Scope for that," Izzy cheered as she ran the bases.
The cheering would continue from Geoff, who cheered as he made his way to the plate, "All right dudes and dudettes, let's do this!" The party boy hit the curveball sent his way, but was only able to make it to first base.
Courtney approached home plate next and hit the ball with decent strength, but it went right to Megan, who was waiting in the outfield.
"Better luck next time Courtney," Joseph said, partially taunting, partially sincere.
Bridgette was next for the veteran lineup, and she hit a single, putting Geoff on second base. In the 'dugout' for the veterans, Noah was reading a book on baseball.
"Hurry up Noah! Get out there before Chris disqualifies us," Heather huffed indignantly.
Noah replied without looking up from his book, "Why? I'm clearly the worst player on the team and I wouldn't do much besides give us an out."
"Noah, the way this game works is that nine people go up before repeating. It's one of the rules," Trent explained.
Noah quirked an eyebrow before sighing and saying, "Fine, I'll go up, but if we lose, I don't want anyone holding this against me."
The smart teen approached the plate, where Joseph quickly threw two strikes. Joseph threw a fastball, which Noah actually hit. As many stared in shock that the least athletic person hit the ball, it sailed into the outfield. Megan saw it approach the wall that determines a home run and ran full speed. She jumped off of the wall so that she was able to catch the ball.
By the time it made it back to the infield, Geoff and Bridgette had scored two more runs. Just when it appeared like the veterans would catch up, Joseph quickly struck out Heather.
In the press box, Duncan still looked impressed. "Man, who knew bookworm had it in him," Duncan said, impressed with Noah's play.
Owen nodded and said, "Yeah I know. I bet he didn't even know he had it in him."
Chris entered and said, "Hey guys, you wanna be the MC for part two?"
Duncan raised an eyebrow and said, "Depends, what is it?"
Chris leaned near the two male interns and whispered something to them. When he was finished, Duncan scoffed and said, "No way. I don't mind baseball, since there are commentators for that all the time, but that sport doesn't even have commentators. I don't even know if it counts as a sport!"
"Suit yourself. Just don't say I didn't ask," Chris said as he left.
The veterans were in the field, ready for the next batter, which happened to be Emily. The dancer twirled the bat in her hands before looking at Izzy, a determined look on her face.
Restroom Confessional
Emily: My thinking was that if I could do well in the game, Cody would be impressed. If I could do that, then I would be happy.
Izzy threw a fastball at the dancer, who then hit the ball with all her might, causing it to fly out to the outfield. It approached the home run boundary, and the outfielders tried their hardest to reach the ball, but to no avail as the ball landed outside the park. The rookies cheered as Emily ran the bases. Unbeknownst to her however, Cody was staring at something as she ran.
Restroom Confessional
Cody: Wow, when Emily runs, her boobs bounce around a lot. (He thinks about this for a moment more before he gets a nosebleed. When he notices this, he holds his hands to his face. He then remembers the camera is recording) What? Anyone who likes girls was probably thinking that right then.
The last member of the rookie lineup, Nicholas, took the plate. Izzy narrowed her eyes and said, "No more getting past me!"
"We shall see," was the mechanic's reply. Izzy threw a curveball which resulted in a strike. She repeated this to get another strike. When she threw the ball a third time, Nicholas swung and hit the ball to deep center, where Trent was waiting. The musician caught the ball and Nicholas was out.
Julie took the plate again, glaring daggers, swords, knives, and other sharp weapons at Heather. Heather noticed the sharp glare that was directed at her and shuddered. She was then met with a baseball to the stomach.
However, it had not resulted in a physical catch for the queen bee, so Julie was able to make it to second base.
Jessie was up yet again. Izzy threw a fastball that the slightly shy girl hit. The ball however went right to Izzy, who caught it. The crazy red head then threw the ball back to second, where Julie was tagged out.
Nicholas sat down next to Jessie, who looked sad for getting out so easily. Nicholas pat his crush's shoulder and said, "Jessie, don't feel bad about what happened. It happens to everyone who plays this game."
"Yeah, okay," Jessie said as she got up to leave.
Nicholas looked puzzled and asked, "Wait, where are you going?"
Jessie sighed and said, "I'm going to leave you alone. I know I probably freaked you out, what with almost kissing you and everything."
"But, what if I don't want you to leave me alone," Nicholas asked.
Jessie gasped slightly, her heart racing. She turned to face the mechanic and said, "Wait what?"
Nicholas shrugged and said, "I don't want you to leave me alone."
"But, what if I almost kiss you again? I don't want to make you uncomfortable," Jessie said, looking away.
Nicholas raised an eyebrow and asked, "Kiss me? You mean like this?"
The mechanic wrapped his arms around the semi-shy girl and slowly brought her head to his. As her head approached his, Jessie's heart began to race even faster than before. She felt elated when Nicholas touched her lips with his. The kiss was tender and only lasted a few seconds, but that was enough to make Jessie feel happy.
Jessie sighed in pure delight and said, "Wow that was amazing."
Nicholas smiled and said, "I agree. That was fantastic."
"So does this mean you like me," Jessie nervously asked as she turned back to the boy who just kissed her.
"I wouldn't do anything if I didn't mean it," Nicholas said, smiling as he put his arm around Jessie's shoulder.
Jessie giggled happily and said, "Okay, now for the important question. Are you going to go out with me?"
Nicholas chuckled and said, "Like I said before, I don't do anything unless I mean it. Of course Jess."
Jessie raised an eyebrow and asked, "Jess? Is that your nickname for me?"
"Only if you like it," Nicholas said as he smiled.
"I like it," Jessie said as she leaned in for another kiss.
Restroom Confessional
Nicholas: Yes! I got a girlfriend! Now if I happen to lose this, I won't feel bad about signing up, because I got a girlfriend.
Jessie: (She is staring dreamily out toward the wall.) I'm so happy right now. Nicholas likes me back, and better yet, he and I are together! (She taps her chin in thought before looking back at the camera) Jess. Hmm. I actually like it a lot. Maybe I could change my name to Jess. Or Jessica.
Back on the field, since Duncan and Owen did nothing of interest, the veterans were up one last time. Chef shouted, "The veterans have to score at least two to tie! Three to pull ahead!"
Cody stood nervously home plate. His team winning this challenge relied in no small part to how well he performed right now. If he screwed up, it was highly likely that the veterans would lose the first part of the challenge.
Joseph grinned maliciously as he quickly threw a curveball that resulted in a strike. Another curveball, this time in the opposite direction, resulted in a second strike. Joseph finally sent Cody packing when he threw a fastball right down the middle, resulting in a third and final strike.
Joseph wiped his forehead with the back of his hand as Trent came up to the plate. Determined to win this, the overachiever threw a fastball, which blew past Trent. A few seconds later, a second fastball went past the musician. Joseph smirked as he threw a third fastball. Trent hit the ball, but popped it almost straight up into the air.
Julie hurriedly positioned herself underneath the ball and caught it as it fell back down to the ground. Trent walked back to the dugout, thinking that while Gwen was good, their team was pretty much screwed.
Gwen, meanwhile, thought that she was a fairly decent ball player, and she would be able to turn the game into a win for the veterans. While she didn't like Heather, she disliked eliminations even more. Gwen accepted the first strike that was thrown as it was out of her comfort zone.
The second ball, a curveball, was perfect to her and the Goth hit the baseball into the outfield. Nicholas, with a newfound energy, ran under the falling ball and caught it, ending the game.
Chris walked onto the field and said, "All right! Rookies win the first event, but will they win the second? Everybody follow me!" The host led the students back into the school, into the gym, where several red rubber balls were sitting on a line.
"You wouldn't," Heather said.
Gwen rolled her eyes and said, "He would."
Noah angrily said, "Seriously? I mean, seriously?"
Cody smiled and said, "Please, we have a good shot at this."
Izzy cheered, "Yeah! It'll be like that time when we did this on TDI!"
"Yes kiddies," Chris said, patting an annoyed Noah on the head, "We're doing a challenge from season 1, right now! It's dodgeball! How it's going to work is there will be six people per team up at a time. It's best two out of three, so ideally each person goes up twice. I'll give you guys five minutes to get ready for the second part of the challenge."
Restroom Confessional
Noah: Why did it have to be dodgeball? Doesn't Chris remember what happened the last time this was a challenge? (Noah's eyes widen in acknowledgement) That bastard Chris wants me to be eliminated. I see what he did there.
Heather: Way to go Chris. I bet you want us to lose so I can get eliminated right? I didn't forget how much of a "help" Noah was during this challenge the first time.
Nicholas: Come on, we got this in the bag. Most of their team is ex-Screaming Gophers, who lost this challenge during TDI.
Chef was sitting in a referee chair and blew a whistle, signaling the beginning of the first match. For the veterans were Geoff, Bridgette, Trent, Heather, Courtney, and Gwen. The rookies sent up Nicholas, Jessie, Mikey, Jennifer, Joseph, and Julie.
At the start of the match, Heather dove onto the ground a flung a ball at Julie, getting her out. However, due to her sliding maneuver, Joseph easily knocked her out. Chef blew his whistle and told the two girls to leave the field.
Geoff and Bridgette were staring down Nicholas and Jessie. Each of the teens had a ball. The four tensed up and threw the balls at the same time. Nicholas managed to duck and Bridgette tripped when she threw the ball, but Geoff and Jessie were not so lucky. The two teens were hit by the rubber balls and were eliminated.
Mikey threw a ball at Courtney, but the CIT dodged and threw a ball at the distracted Nicholas, eliminating him. Joseph quickly hit Courtney with a ball, eliminating her as well.
Jennifer flung a ball at Gwen, yelling, "Nothing personal!" Gwen got hit and was out, but not before Trent threw a ball at Mikey. The gamer and Goth left the court at the same time.
Joseph threw a ball at Trent, who used a different ball to block. Joseph's ricochet shot hit Bridgette on the shoulder, eliminating her. Jennifer winked at Trent causing him to smile. While he was distracted, Joseph lightly threw a ball at the musician, earning the rookies a win.
As the teens departed the court, Jennifer said, "Sorry I tricked you like that Trent. It was Joseph's idea."
"No worries. You're my girlfriend and I'm not letting this contest get between us," Trent replied a smile on his face.
Restroom Confessional
Joseph: Even though my specialty is getting people eliminated, that doesn't mean I know a good strategy when I see it.
Trent: I really think I have a good shot with Jennifer, and I'm not letting this contest screw up another relationship of mine.
The veterans were getting their lineup ready for the second match. Cody, Izzy, Trent, Gwen, and Geoff were ready to go, but they were waiting for a certain bookworm.
"Look, I know you guys would be better without me, so I don't see a reason as to why I should go out there," Noah drawled.
Heather rolled her eyes and said, "If you don't go out there, I can personally guarantee your elimination should we lose."
Noah stared down the queen bee for a moment, until he finally sighed and said, "Fine. Put me in the line of fire." Noah reluctantly got up and went onto the court.
The second match was set to begin. Cody, Izzy, Trent, Gwen, Geoff, and Noah were waiting for the match to start. The rookie lineup then stepped onto the court. In addition to the returning Jessie, Nicholas, and Joseph there was Megan, Danny, and Emily. The two teams stared each other down. Emily winked at Cody and he nervously waved back. Trent noticed this and pointed it out to Gwen, who smiled briefly. Chef blew his whistle to signify the start of the match.
Jessie and Nicholas, at Joseph's suggestion, stayed near the back and waited for the right time. Emily threw a ball at Gwen, who was promptly eliminated. Joseph traded rubber with Trent, resulting in both males being eliminated.
Megan threw three balls at Izzy, but the crazy psycho would not be hit. A well-timed throw from Emily eliminated Izzy, who was too busy with Megan to pay proper attention. Geoff threw a ball at Emily and got the dancer eliminated, while Cody threw a ball at Megan.
Nicholas and Jessie, each armed with a ball, stepped forward. They threw their projectiles in an 'X' like formation, confusing Geoff and eliminating the party boy. The new couple then tried a different strategy.
Jessie threw a ball high into the air. Cody positioned himself underneath it, attempting to catch the rubber ball. Nicholas got lined up for another throw while this happened. Danny noticed what they were doing and reacted. The honorable warrior dove across where Nicholas' thrown ball was aimed and caught it. Jessie looked on in horror as Cody, no longer in danger, easily caught Jessie's thrown ball.
Chef blew his whistle and said, "Jessie and Nicholas are out! Veterans, who do you want back?"
"We'll take Izzy," Cody replied.
Nicholas glared at Danny and said, "What the hell dude? We could've won this!"
Danny cast a side glance at Nicholas before saying, "While many types of tactics are acceptable, leading someone on is not, at least in my book."
Nicholas just glared at Danny as he left the court and Izzy took to the court again. Needless to say, Danny got destroyed by Izzy and Cody. (Not so much Noah, who was in the back of the court.)
Restroom Confessional
Nicholas: You know, I thought that was a one-time thing. Danny made it so that I couldn't win the woodshop challenge. Once, I'm okay with. But now that he's screwed me over again, the gloves are coming off!
The stage for the final round was set. For the veterans stood Heather, Courtney, Bridgette, Cody, Izzy, and Noah. Meanwhile, the rookies had Mikey, Jennifer, Julie, Megan, Danny, and Emily. Several people were glaring at each other. Heather, for example, had her gaze set on Mikey and Julie. The tension in the air was thick as the teams waited for Chef to start the match.
When they heard the whistle, they dashed forward. Heather pushed Julie down in order to get a ball, which was promptly thrown at Danny, who dodged. Emily picked one up and used it to deflect a ball thrown by Courtney.
Cody used his static ball to hunt down Megan. She jumped off of the wall in a bid to escape being hit by the red rubber. The ball bounced off of the wall and hit the ground, where Julie picked it up and flung it at Heather, nailing her in the head.
As the queen bee hit the ground, every teen on and off the court cheered loudly. Heather grumbled angrily as she got up and shouted, "You got lucky! You hear that fatty! I'm going to make sure you get eliminated! Nobody likes you!"
Julie's eye twitched until she threw herself at Heather. Chef blew his whistle to signal that Julie crossed the line, but she clearly wasn't paying attention. The optimist was punching Heather numerous times, saying, "I've had enough of you Heather! Why don't you just go die in a hole you bitch! How did you possibly make it so far into the game?"
It took the combined efforts of Geoff, Joseph, Trent and Nicholas to separate the two teens. Heather moaned as an intern entered the court and picked up the queen bee, taking her to the infirmary.
Once Chef signaled the game could recommence, all hell broke loose. Mikey picked up a ball and threw it at Courtney, who was busy trying to knock out Danny. Courtney was eliminated as she hit Danny with a ball. The honorable teen bowed at his teammates as he departed.
Jennifer threw a ball at Izzy, which was deflected with a ball that the crazy girl held. The three remaining girls all threw balls at Izzy in an attempt to get her out, and luckily for them, they eliminated her.
Cody retaliated by throwing a curving ball that eliminated Jennifer. Mikey realized this threat and threw a ball at Cody, taking the tech geek out, but not before he threw a statically charged ball at Megan.
Bridgette threw a ball at Mikey, which hit its mark. Bridgette celebrated for a moment before she was hit by Emily. Emily stared down Noah, who realized he was the last one left on the court.
His teammates started to tell him to throw a ball at the dancer, but he knew this would be futile. Like Harold in TDI, the only way Noah could win this was if he caught a ball. Emily smirked, with a ball in each of her hands and two on the ground. She threw the two in her hands at the bookworm.
Noah panicked and dove onto the ground, causing both balls to sail over him. "Come on Noah! Don't lose this," Courtney shouted.
Emily threw the other two balls at Noah. Noah ducked under the first one, and was then pegged in the chest by the second. He fell to the ground and the rookies cheered. That is, until people looked at Noah more closely. Like Harold before him, Noah caught a ball as he was hit by it. This caused the veterans to erupt into cheering.
Chris walked in and clapped his hands before saying, "Well done Noah. I had no idea you would actually win this. Anyways, we have a bus to board and a tie to break!"
Noah, who was on the ground still, said, "What the hell does that mean?"
"In due time," Chris said before walking outside, where a bus was located. The teens boarded the bus and watched as they pulled away from the high school.
Bus Confessional
Gwen: (She is clearly angry, as her arms are crossed and she is glaring) Heather's days are numbered. All this crap she keeps putting Julie through is unwarranted and I think I speak for everyone when I say Heather has to go.
Joseph: To be honest, I like Julie. She's nice and a friendly face is always good to have in a competition like this. But keeping her around Heather isn't going to do her any good. If we lose, I think it will be for the best if Julie leaves.
The bus ride into the city was short and soon the competitors (and Chris) were on top of the largest building in the city. It was well over 25 stories tall and oddly enough, was on the outskirts of the city. Looking over the roof, some people noticed a target on the ground and others noticed Chef flying the crappy broken plane from season one.
Chris cleared his throat to get everyone's attention and said, "Well everyone, this is the tiebreaking challenge!"
"Which you have neglected to tell us yet," Nicholas responded with a roll of his eyes.
Chris stomped his foot and said, "I was getting to that! Anyways, I have here parachutes. Anyone who gets a parachute and jumps down to the ground gets their team points. The amount of points depends on where in the target you land. For extra fun, Chef is flying a plane. Try not to get hit, ha!"
Everyone murmured amongst themselves, discussing the rules. "So, who's going first," Chris asked the group of teens.
Izzy dashed forward and jumped off the edge, without putting her parachute on. "Wait Izzy! You didn't put your parachute on," Trent yelled.
Izzy cackled happily as she landed on top of Chef's plane. She slipped inside the cockpit, but then the teens lost sight of their crazy friend. Sounds of a fight could be heard coming from the plane, but nobody could see what was going on.
When they finally saw what happened, they saw Chef parachuting down to the ground. Many people had their mouths open in shock until they heard the intercom on the plane crackling.
"Attention people in the city, on the roofs of buildings, and in my imagination! This is pilot Izzy telling you we're going to have fun with this now that mean old Chef Hatchet has been thrown overboard! Woohoo," Izzy's voice said through the loudspeaker.
Chris looked over the edge, shrugged his shoulders, and said, "Well, I guess that counts for the veterans. Who's going next?"
When the teens considered jumping off a building while Izzy was piloting a plane nearby, they all immediately took a step backward. Chris looked puzzled and said, "What, nobody is going to jump?"
Joseph said, "There are some things more important than winning a challenge, and living is one of them!"
"Well, I can't force you guys to jump and possibly die, no matter how good for ratings it would be. Regardless, I declare the winners of invincibility are the veterans! Rookies, think about your vote on the bus ride back because voting and elimination will occur immediately after we return to the school," Chris said as he headed back to the elevator.
The rest of the teens started to leave, except for Gwen, who yelled down, "Izzy! The challenge is over, we won!"
Through the loudspeaker, Izzy responded, "Okay! I'm gonna take this thing in for a landing!" The Goth girl smiled to herself before heading to the elevator.
On the bus ride back, several rookies were discussing a vote. Nicholas said, "I don't really know who to vote for. Part of me wants to vote for Danny, just due to how he virtually sabotaged us."
Megan nodded before saying, "Yeah I see what you mean. I don't think there's another person who we could vote for."
Mikey walked over, sighing before saying, "So did you guys reach a verdict?"
Jessie spoke up, "We were considering voting for Danny, why?"
"Joseph told me that, psychologically, Julie's not doing real well. Apparently her mental health will decline as long as she's here with Heather. I think we should vote for Julie, just out of pity," Mikey said, his head in his hands.
Jennifer, who was sitting nearby with Trent, said, "That's not a bad idea. I like Julie when she's not angry. I think we should go through with it."
"Unfortunately, yeah," Mikey said with a pained smile on his face.
Restroom Confessional
Mikey: I'm sorry for this, but it's for your best interest. I vote Julie. (He gets up and walks out, looking sad.)
Joseph: Alas, Julie was the only logical choice. I'm actually sorry, but it'll do you some good.
Nicholas: I thought about it, and I'm voting for Danny. Can't believe he cost us a win!
Emily: Nicholas asked me to vote for Danny. I can see why, though. He did cost us the win earlier and he wasn't necessarily nice about it.
Chris was standing at the podium in the auditorium. He grinned as he watched the teens sit down and proceeded to start his monologue. He said, "So rookies, looks like you couldn't beat the veterans, now could you? Well, you cast your votes and I've tallied them up. Whoever your favorite loser is will have to walk the hall of shame and catch the bus of losers. And you won't ever be able to come back ever! And the first hall passes go to Nicholas, Emily, Jessie, Jennifer, Megan, Joseph and Mikey!" The seven teens got up to claim their passes. Chris eyed the last two and said, "Well, one of you two is going home. The question is who? The final hall pass of the day goes too…"
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"Danny."
As the honorable teen got up to collect his hall pass, Julie jumped up. "What? Why me," she asked, confused as to why she was eliminated.
"Well," Mikey said while scratching the back of his head, "After your outburst at Heather, we decided to eliminate you so you wouldn't have to put up with her crap anymore. It was more out of pity than anything."
Julie looked downtrodden but then looked up and smiled before saying, "Well, if that's why you eliminated me, then I'm okay with it. I mean, it wasn't because I screwed up or anything, so at least I'm leaving with confidence. I'll never forget this, bye!" The optimist then got up and left the room, a smile on her face.
After the elimination, Gwen was seen talking to Mikey. "So of the four of us from the first challenge, only the two of us are left," Mikey solemnly said.
Gwen nodded and said, "True, but look at it this way. We both are pretty well liked and after today, I doubt anyone is going to snap at Heather any time soon."
Mikey smiled and said, "You know what? You're absolutely right. By the way, I was meaning to ask, do you want help in finding out who arranged Leshawna's elimination?"
"Arranged? You think somebody targeted her? What makes you think that," Gwen asked.
"Think about it. It was too early for it to be just dumb luck. Somebody was behind it," Mikey replied.
Gwen's eyes widened in realization before she said, "You're right. Sure, I'd love the help."
Chris sat in the office in a large chair. He chuckled and said, "Hopefully Gwen doesn't learn the truth too soon. Joseph is fantastic for ratings! Anyways, another day, another eliminated contestant. Today it happened to be Julie. Now I leave you, faithful viewers, with these questions: Who will Joseph target next in his quest for victory? Will Gwen get any closer to learning the truth? Who will Heather direct her anger toward next? Find out the answers to all these questions, plus the most dramatic elimination yet on Total Drama High School!"
Votes
Julie – 6 (Danny, Jessie, Jennifer, Mikey, Megan, Joseph)
Danny – 3 (Nicholas, Emily, Julie)
Fun Fact!
I liked Julie's character before I added her 'berserk button.' The only reason I added her extreme reaction toward Heather was so I could find a way to eliminate her. Otherwise, she would make it to the finals, and I already have that planned out. Also, a completely unrelated fact, I have made every elimination happen because of something. It was never random.
Author's Note (Again!): Phew! Another chapter is finally done! I promise the next will not take any longer. Please review and let me know what could be done better. Also feel free to read my other fics and give feedback on them. On a different note, I didn't really like this chapter too much. I'm not sure why, but it just seemed off. Except for the third challenge, I liked that. Anyways, review and such. Until next time!