Disclaimer - The rights of Total Drama Island and its characters belong to Teletoon, Cartoon Network, and all those associated with the show. No profit is being made by this fanfiction. No words, numbers, symbols, and/or htmls were harmed in the making of this fanfic.

Author's Quite Unnecessary Note That You More Than Likely Are Skipping Over - Thank you all for the reviews! Your suggestions, ideas, encouragement, and positive feedback fuel my fire for writing! So... GAME ON!

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(narrated by Chris Maclean)

Last time on Total Drama Comeback... the twenty-two campers from our highly-successful TDI were brought back to enjoy Camp Wawanakwa one more time, with the hopes that two of them would walk away with ten-thousand dollars and a spot on Total Drama Action.

Some campers, like Courtney and Geoff, were happy to be back. Some, like Heather and Ezekiel, looked like they would've prefered to stay home and sulk. Not while we have lawyers, dudes!

The campers were placed back in their original teams, and our second talent night began. Ezekiel won with a smart parody about TDI, and the Killer Bass were safe for the night. After facing the Pit of 100 Screams, more campers were safe, but poor Owen couldn't escape his fate, and became the first to walk the Dock of Shame.

But now that Owen is back as an intern, we'll have all of the big guy that we can take! So now what will happen on TDC? Will the couples continue to date, will the odd guys out be crushing on the girls for all the world to see, and who is going to ask who to the prom?

All this, and more on Total! Drama! Comeback!

(cue the theme song, and we're good to go!)

Chapter 05 (Day 02, Part 1) - Popularity verses Smarts

A couple days after the first challenge, tension was high between the campers. The combination of not wanting to be at Camp Wawanakwa, being with people they detested, and the returning irks of the horrid conditions put everyone's nerves on the edge.

Everything blew up the morning Chris used an air horn over the loudspeaker to wake the campers.

"Attention, campers," the host's overly cheerful voice boomed across the camp, "today is the day of your second challenge. You will be pleased to know your teams will also be changed. Now everyone in the center of camp, I'll be over there shortly.

"Oh, and watch the ground, it's a little muddy from a quick rain last night."

The campers, grumpy and half-asleep, shambled out of their cabins. With uncombed hair, ruffled clothes, and bad morning breath, they were not a pleasant sight to behold.

"I... hate him... so much," Heather snarled as she exited the girls' side of the Screaming Gophers.

"Who wakes up this early?" Duncan growled as he threw open the door. "Only freaks would get up when the sun is still on the horizon."

Sadie and Katie helped tweak each other's hair as Sadie said, "I couldn't sleep at all. Something was right outside my window, and I think it was trying to get in.
Bridgette rubbed at her eyes, then tied her hair into a ponytail. "Yeah, I cannot imagine how someone could bring themselves to get up this-"

She stopped short when she saw Ezekiel and Beth standing in the center of the campgrounds, looking far better than anyone else.

"And then the clouds parted and God thaid from above, 'Buy a ticket,'" Beth finished the joke. Ezekiel laughed and clapped.

"That's a good one, eh," the prairie boy replied. "Never heard it before."

"It's a favorite at school. We used to...," Beth started, then noticed the other campers staggering towards them. She giggled and nudged Ezekiel. "Hey look, Ethekiel, dawn of the living dead."

"Naw, zombies couldn't look as bad as they do," he replied, and the two burst out laughing.

Heather scowled, her unmade face grim and hideous to behold. "How typical. The pig farmers are first awake to wallow in the mud."

Beth stopped laughing and scowled at Heather immediately. "You'd know about mud, you sling it at everyone."

The queen bee snarled, then noticed the moist mud around her shoes. Smirking, she scooped up some and threw it at Beth. It splattered all over the farm girl's face and clothes.

The campers gasped in horror. The shorter girl wiped the mud from the front of her glasses, stared down Heather, and shouted, "That tears it!"

She leapt at the ravenhaired girl, knocking her to the wet, muddy ground. The splash of mud sprayed on several others.

"Whoa, chill out, ladies," Geoff shouted to them. "No need to get hostile-"

"Screw that, it's on," Courtney yelled as loud as she could, then jumped on Harold.

The campers began an all-out wrestle-fest, chaos and mud and limbs flying everywhere.

As Geoff tried to pull Courtney off Harold, Duncan ran at the lanky teenager before being knocked to the side by Izzy, who was dressed in a tight black jumpsuit. Gwen found herself throttling Cody, who had accidentally touched the side of her breast when he was shoved by Bridgette.

Noah was held back by one of Justin's strong arms as the egghead swung at thin air to get at him. DJ was dragged into the fight by an bloodthirsty Eva, who also had Tyler in a headlock. Ezekiel gave Trent a wet-willie, Lindsay was shoved into the mud by Katie and Sadie, and Leshawna was helping Beth smear mud over Heather's face.

"GUYS! STOP THIS, YOU'RE FRIENDS!"

"CAMPERS!"

The booming megaphone caught everyone's attention as they were locked in place, halfway through wrestling or throttling or smearing mud on someone. A very large teenager pulled Gwen away from a gagging Cody and lifted her in the air.

Chris stood there, the megaphone in one hand and the other on his hip. He was staring at the mud-stained campers with a raised eyebrow.

"People pay a lot of money to see mud wrestling, but as fun as that would be, I think the water bill for cleanup showers would be too much."

As the campers grumbled and released their opponents, some of them noticed who was holding Gwen up in the air.

"Owen?" Trent looked shocked as he approached the giant guy. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh," Owen said as he dropped Gwen in the mud with a wet splash, "I'm an intern now!" He proudly thrust out his chest, covered by a white shirt that said 'Intern' in big bold letters.

"You see," Chris said into his megaphone as Trent helped a mud-soaked Gwen up, "there wasn't enough interns for this bonus season, so we had to hire Owen here. He's been really good at helping prepare for our second challenge!"

Noah scoffed aloud at this. "So when you said 'and you can't come back, ever,' you basically meant 'see you tomorrow'?"
"No! Now go shower and meet me at the stage that we used for the talent show, you guys are filthy!"

Heather shoved Beth as she got up, only for the farm girl to throw mud at the back of the queen bee's head.

(Confession Cam - Have any doubts it would return?)

Heather - \coated in mud\ "I want to know just why the producers chose to have these... these... calling them nerds would be insulting, even to nerds. Who's interested in seeing these sad degenerates? Ugly pig-girls like Beth and the early Halloween costume known as Gwen are not worthy to be seen in public, much less on TV."

Trent - \coated in mud\ "This camp feels ready to blow. And yick, whoever gave me that wet-willie sure got his fingers in deep."

Izzy - \still in a tight black jumpsuit\ "After a close examination of Sadie's room by viewing through the window, I'm pretty sure it's not her who's smuggling illegal jellybeans. Then it hit me this morning! Duncan is a career criminal! I will hound him down and expose him like the jellybean smuggler he is!"

After everyone had showered, the twenty-one campers were standing on the talent show's stage. Chris stood up at them, looking over as if they were under a heavy inspection.

"I have a confession to make to you all," Chris said, grinning once more. "I planned for a fight to break out there, with the mud. And the sides that were taken merely proved a great theory of mine!"

"That those raised with pigs like the mud as much?" Heather remarked, smirking at Beth. The shorter girl stuck her tongue out at her in reply.

"Nope! That these teams aren't going to work because you have too many cool kids with the social outcasts," Chris announced.

Owen, who was standing next to him, laughed out loud. "You mean you're going with the first idea, Chris?"

"Indeed, Owen! Henceforth, cool people like Courtney and Heather will no longer be on the same team as nerds like Noah and Harold!"

"Good," Courtney and Heather shouted. Noah crossed his arms and scowled.

(Confession Cam - Have any doubts it would return?)

Noah - "So, Chris thinks the smart people aren't good enough to sit with the popular girls like Heather? Well, my feelings aren't hurt, if he thinks that is a huge insult. Because I know we're better."

\He gets mad and points at the camera.\ "You hear that, popular girls of the world? Without smart people, you wouldn't have your cell phones or your sleek cars! You think the jock you made out with underneath the bleachers came up with that stuff?"

Chris chuckled as scowls and smirks were shot from all angles. "The two teams are going to be divided by yours truly into a popular kids' team and a nerds' team. The nerds will be know as..."

He gestured to Owen, who whipped out a small remote and pressed the first button on it. A rolled-up banner on the right side of the stage unrolled with a burst of confetti.

"... The Freaks 'n Geeks!" The banner proudly displayed the name, as well as a drawing of a pair of glasses.

"Oh, that old cliché?" Noah said, shaking his head and rubbing his forehead with a finger. "Why do you have to stereotype intelligence with glasses? Could you be more offensive?"

"And for the popular kids," Chris continued, ignoring Noah, "we have the Cool Kids' Club! And to prove how cool they are, we coolly replaced the C's with K's!"

When the second banner was revealed, the campers gasped in collective horror.

"CHRIS MACLEAN," Leshawna roared, rolling up her sleeves and heading towards the stage.

The host seemed confused until he looked up at the banner. "Oh sweet crap," he whimpered. "Owen, take it down! Take it down!"

The big guy leapt up and grabbed it, tearing down the offensive banner and half of the stage's curtain with it.

"That's going to provoke a LOT of angry e-mails," Chris muttered to himself. He then felt Leshawna hissing behind his back.

"And a couple of angry fe-males," the large sister snapped.

(Confession Cam - We aren't as offensive.)

Leshawna - "Truth be told, I wasn't really that mad. I just hate how that man doesn't plan ahead."

Geoff - "That can only be described with the most offensive word I know: uncool."

Gwen rolled her eyes as Chris nervously chuckled at them. "You filmed it, buster, you only have yourself to blame."

"Ehehe, right you are, Gwen. Anyway," Chris said, grinning but his face still etched with worry. "Let's start splitting you up.

"For the Cool Kids' Club, we are going to have, and this should shock no one, the hot chicks known as Heather and Lindsay!"

The two girls walked over to the left side of the stage where Owen was gathering up the ripped banner and curtain. "Thank you, Chris," Heather said with an upturned nose. "It's nice to see you know where someone like me truly belongs,"
and Owen farted right behind her.

"Sorry!" Heather gagged and Lindsay pinched her nose.

"And who's more popular than the athletes," Chris continued. "Tyler, DJ, and Bridgette, you three are with the Cool Kids' Club! Trent and Geoff, you ooze popularity. Justin, you're too hot not to be in the spotlight. Courtney and Leshawna, you ladies in charge are so Cool Kids' Club material too."

The campers all headed over to the left side, Leshawna casting Chris one more furious look. Trent looked happy until he realized Gwen wasn't with him.

"Wait, Chris," he called out to the host. "What about Gwen?"

"You actually think a goth girl would be with the popular kids?" Chris asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Unbelievable," Trent said, crossing his arms in a huff. "He cannot just split us up like that."
He turned to his teammates for some assurance, but the first people he saw were Tyler and Lindsay making out. Leshawna patted the musician's shoulder in comfort.

"And now the Freaks 'n Geeks," Chris turned to the others. "And you know who you are!

"Cody, Noah, Harold and Ezekiel, need I say more? Beth and Gwen, you're social rejects. Duncan, you're socially unacceptable. Izzy, you're Izzy. Eva, you're Eva. Katie and Sadie, you're in your own world."

None of the campers sent to the right side of the stage looked happy with what Chris was saying about them. Beth looked devastated, Gwen and Eva were glaring at the host, and Izzy could burn a hole in the back of Duncan's head with the intense stare she was giving him.

(Confession Cam - Would more than likely be in the Freak 'n Geek team.)

Heather - "I'd like to say now, Chris's taste and judgment have vastly improved since the first season."

Duncan - "What's with putting me with the nerds, Chris? I'd be popular at high school, do you doubt that? DO YOU?!"

Ezekiel - "I don't see how I can be considered a nerd when I've never even been to school, eh." \stares down at the ground for a few seconds, then sighs\

Gwen - "Who gives a damn about popularity except rich, spoiled brats like Heather and Lindsay? I'll show that pack of stuck-up snobs!"

"We'll show that pack of stuck-up snobs," Gwen shouted, throwing her fists in the air, "and you know who you are!"

"The first contest will be an Opposite Profession challenge," Chris announced. "The Cool Kids' Club will be performing the all-time nerd-favorite activity: bottle rockets!"

While Heather and Courtney started shouting protests, Cody and Harold looked very upset.

"I wanted to do that," Cody complained. "I once made one that was seen from a passenger window on an airplane!"

"Really?" Beth asked, impressed. "How did you know they thaw it?"

"My mom said she got my message after her plane landed."

Chris headed over to the Freaks 'n Geeks. "Since the Cool Kids' will have to make three impressive enough bottle rockets, the nerds will have to do something they won't be able to do normally: three of you will have to pull off the popular kid look!"

The Freaks 'n Geeks looked at each other, and shrugged. "We can do that, easy," Noah replied.

"Oh, big nerd thinks he's good enough to pass off the look?" Heather called out to him. "You all look like Halloween costume leftovers!"

"Careful not to explode those bottle rockets in your face," Cody launched back at her.

"Nerds," Chris called out over the shouting, "you'll find all kinds of clothing and make-up in the communal washroom! Popular kids, you'll find the supplies for bottle rockets by the boathouse. Now go out there and make it happen!"

Beth shuffled through the clothes on the rack inside the communal washroom. "Thome of these clothes are really neat! I bet anyone could wear them, and they'd be popular within a day!"

"Yeah, keep dreaming, kid," Duncan replied as he leaned against a wall, smirking at the little girl. "We aren't going to be sending just anyone up there."

"I know I'm not, eh," said Ezekiel, who was busy looking at the make-up kits that were around the sinks. "I could have clothes that would make Quasimodo popular, but I couldn't pass the look."

He stopped when he came upon a curling iron, and picked it up in curiosity. "Is this a branding iron? When did branding become popular?"

"That's a curling iron, you redneck," Gwen said to him, snatching the object away from him. "You use it to curl your hair."

"Oh. I just thought with piercings and tattoos being popular, branding couldn't be that far off."

Gwen actually smiled at this. "Hmm, now that I think about it, I love the thought of the cool kids burning themselves to prove how cool they are. Good job, Ezekiel, you started up a killer fad!"

"Emphasis on 'killer,' I'd say," Noah remarked. He was reading his book once again, not very interested in the contest. Eva, already pissed about being put with the nerds, snatched the book from him and tossed it away. "Hey!"

"Listen, Shakespeare," she snapped at Noah, jabbing him in the nose with her finger, "you are going to help us win this thing. I don't want to lose to Heather and the rest of those spotlight junkies!"

"How rude," Katie said, diverting her attention from the clothes. "Not everyone in the Cool Kids' Club is a jerk, you know."

"Yeah, like Justin," Sadie remarked, then swooned at the thought of him. "He can be such a sweet guy. Did you know he volunteers to help at an elderly house?"

"Thrills," Eva replied, unimpressed. "Now who's going on that stage?"

"Why not you, eh?" Ezekiel suggested. Most of the teenagers in the communal washroom gasped in horror.

"WHAT?" the weightlifter bellowed, then grabbed Ezekiel by the collar and shook him. "You making fun of me, buddy?"

"I-yi-yi-yi-yi," was all Ezekiel could say in reply as the muscular girl shook him.

"I'm sure it was just a random thing to say," Izzy said. She was painting little spirals on her fingernails. "After all, girls can pull off popularity better than boys can. Girls merely need less cloth on their bodies, it's what my mom says makes popularity. This one girl wore, like, three kleenex to school, and she became Prom Queen."

Eva dropped Ezekiel, and simply walked away in disgust. "Well, whatever, I'm not dressing up like some popular brat. I'm not Heather."

"I've been studying popularity for some time," Beth said, smiling proudly and revealing her braces. "I know what the popular girls wear, and I think I can really get a good luck going."

"Me too," Cody spoke up, and he high-fived Beth. "Beth and I can win this thing."

"Oh sure, the guy who became an internet sensation overnight and didn't know it for six months is going to tell us on how to be popular," Duncan remarked, rolling his eyes.

"Well, you're not exactly in that department, unless popular equals Canada's Most Wanted," Noah replied.

"People," Gwen shouted, standing in the center and holding up her hands. "We're losing focus, and getting ready for another fight. Now let's stay focused! We all have one goal in common here, let's keep to that!"

"What's that goal?" Sadie asked.

"We want to show we can look more popular than Heather!"

The eleven campers let out a cheer and raised their fist in the air.

"We are not going to lose that pack of nerds, rejects, and freak-shows," Heather shouted to the others. "So we are going to win this first contest, no matter how childish and immature it is to make these third-grade science projects!"

"Heather is right," Courtney spoke up, crossing her arms and looking as important as possible. "Now, do any of you know how to make these?"

While most of the members of the Cool Kids' Club shook their heads, Trent's hand went up immediately. "Made a lot of them when I was a kid," he said. "I'm sure I can make one now."

"Good," said Heather. "Make three, and we're set!"

"No no no!"

Chris popped in, startling the campers. "I forgot to mention! The rules are that the three bottle rockets must be made three different people! So Trent makes his own, and he cannot help the other two!"

And with that, the host ducked out again, leaving Heather and Courtney flabbergasted. The ravenhaired queen bee growled and threw her hands up in the air.

"Fine then! Anyone else make these stupid things?" she shouted.

Leshawna raised her hand, though she looked very uninspired. "I've made quite a few with my siblings, but I see no reason to help you out."

Heather gnashed her teeth while Courtney approached the large sister. "Look, I know you're still mad and all about that banner," the C.I.T. said, "but we should act as a team. Heaven only knows what might happen if we lose, Chris always has nasty surprises in store."

"Courtney's right," Heather said, patting the tan-skinned girl's shoulder, "so, Leshawna, what do you say? Help the team, or let us lose?"

"I say," Leshawna replied, glaring resentfully at the queen bee, "who's going to be the third person to make a bottle rocket?"

"Geoff," Courtney turned to the party animal, who almost flinched when he heard his name, "you must have launched a few of those! Don't they have that kind of stuff at your wild parties?"

"You kidding?" Geoff laughed and smiled good-naturedly at Courtney. "Parties are about music and soda and pools and stuff, not about bottle rockets."

Courtney let out an angry cry and stomped her foot. "How can you not? I thought a party gag was about exploding liters of soda!"

"That's the breath mint trick, Court," Geoff replied, "but we don't have any of those. I think it was Harold who could do that trick best."

The blond cowboy nudged Bridgette and said, "He did it with this liter at one of Peter's parties, and I swear, the foam spurted all over the room! Everyone was drenched in root beer, and it was so hilario-"

"Wait, what?!" Courtney shouted, stomping over to Geoff. "Harold? What does that dweeb have anything to do with your parties?"

Geoff looked like he had been trapped. "Um, didn't you know? It turns out Harold only lives an hour from me."

"And I suppose you invite him to your parties?" the C.I.T. looked ready to pounce.

"Oh yeah. He's been so cool and he's changed a lo-"

Courtney pounced. Bridgette and Justin had to pull the brunette off Geoff while she was yelling, "Traitor! Worm! Backstabber!"

(Confession Cam - Safe from communist attacks.)

Courtney - "Okay, so I overreacted. A little. But can you blame me? He was inviting Harold to his parties, Harold! He knew that slimy geek cheated to kick me off the island, and he was being buddies with him? Geoff is now on my unofficial enemies list."

Bridgette - "Courtney has been going berserk with every mention with Harold, but I didn't think she'd go at Geoff." \She looks around nervously.\ "Don't anyone tell her this, but I actually think she's overreacting and being unfair to Harold. He is not a bad guy."

Heather - "I think I'll go for Courtney to be one of my allies. There's no reason for her to hate me, and if I play my cards right, she'll be by my side."

"Kill him later, hon," Heather said as she patted Courtney's shoulder. The brunette girl was panting and glaring at Geoff after the rest of the group had pulled her away.

"Well, about... the contest...," Courtney said between pants, "we still need to decide who the third person is going to be."

After asking all of the members of Cool Kids' Club, it turned out that only DJ had had previous experience with bottle rockets. The big guy was a little nervous as he was handed the props.

"Did you not hear me?" he whimpered. "I said the last time I made one, it blew up in my face!"

"Oh, grow a backbone. You're the only one who can do this, DJ," Courtney snapped at him. "We won't lose this challenge anyway, but please, do your best! That's all we ask."

DJ nodded and looked over Geoff, who gave him a thumbs-up. "Alright," the gentle giant said after a deep breath, "I'll try not to let anyone down."

The Cool Kids' Club team let out a loud cheer for morale, then watched as Trent, Leshawna, and DJ began working on their bottle rockets.

"So, who is going to be going on-stage then?" Duncan asked aloud after the Freaks 'n Geeks spent about fifteen minutes going through the clothes and make-up.

"Actually, Sadie and I have been dithcuthing that," Beth, who popped up under a pile of discarded clothing. "We think it would be best for two girls and one guy to go on thtage."

"A guy?" Duncan asked, raising his eyebrows. Before he could say more, Izzy was in front of him, wiggling her spiral-painted fingernails right in his face.

"You're getting sleepy," she cooed, "very very sleepy..."

The criminal smacked her hand away, and looked over at Beth. "Why a guy? Wouldn't it be easier to get three girls to dress up hot?"

"Beth and I think that would be a bad idea," Sadie replied, helping Beth out from the pile of discarded clothing. "If we do that, Chris might mark us down because he'll see us as not trying."

"What's your twin think of that?" Duncan asked with a smirk.

"Katie's busy checking the clothes," Sadie replied, jerking her thumb behind one of the clothes racks, where a flimsy blouse came flying from. "She's the clothes expert, she'll pick out the best clothes."

"Whatever," Duncan started to clean his nails with his pocket knife. "Who's the guy going to be? Me?"

"I don't think eyebrow piercings and mohawks are what the dreamy guy of high school have," Noah remarked.

"No, they aren't," said Cody.

"Definitely not," said Gwen

"Mohawks are what headhunters have," Izzy remarked, shooting Duncan a nasty look. "And they also have piercings!"

"Fine, fine," Duncan shouted, glaring at his teammates. "Then who? Homeschool boy? Harold?"

"I was thinking," Katie said, popping out from being the clothes rack, "Noah."

The others, especially Noah, looked surprised by this. "Why him?" Eva asked, crossing her arms.

"Yeah, why me?"

"Because only you can pass off the look that you know you're better than anyone else but still be acting cool," Katie said, then she grinned and held up a red, faux leather jacket. "Plus, you would look really good in this!"

Noah raised an eyebrow at the jacket. "Oh, well, if you insist," he replied, shrugging and looking nonchalant.

"Who will the girls be, eh?" Ezekiel asked, taking a careful step away from Eva.

"How about Sadie?" Katie asked, grinning at her friend.

"Awww, thank you," Sadie cooed back.

Eva cleared her throat loudly. "Look, I'm going to be blunt here," she said, then poked Sadie's hip. "This plus-sized girl is not going to pass if she tries strutting on the stage."

Katie and Sadie glared at Eva, who scowled right back.

"This is getting us nowhere," Gwen shouted. "Stop arguing, and pick two girls!"

"How about you, Gwen?" Ezekiel asked, smiling politely. Cody almost leapt in the air as he seconded the option.

"Thanks, guys," she said, not really sounding grateful, "but I'm not popular, and never will be."

"That leaves us Katie, Beth, and Izzy," Cody listed, looking crestfallen. "Gwen, you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure! I hate trends, you know that," the goth girl replied, leaning against the counter. "Just pick two of those girls."

"Well, I think Katie could pass it," Harold said, smiling at the tan-skinned girl, "and she knows so much about clothes, she knows what looks good on her."
Sadie and Katie let out cheers, and started to dance. Eva barked at them to get back to work, and they quickly did.

"Who else then? Beth or," Duncan started, but stopped when a certain girl pulled on his spiked collar and breathed directly on his neck as she looked in. "IZZY!!"

"You'd like Izzy?" Cody asked, who was distracted as he was helping Katie picked stuff out for Noah.

"I don't think that'd be a bad choice," said Ezekiel.

"Wait, are you kidding?" Eva shouted, pointing at the redhead who was now whistling innocently and walking away from Duncan. "Crazy girl?"

"Just because we know thee acts crazy doesn't mean thee cannot look this part," Beth said, taking Izzy by the wrist.

"Wait, wha wha wha?" Izzy looked startled as Beth started holding different shirts in front of her. "You want me to dress up and pretend to be a popular girl?"

"Why not?" Gwen asked, now grinning despite herself. "You're cute, Izzy."

"You've got great green eyes," Harold said.

"Beautiful reddish-orange hair," Katie remarked.

"You sure can pass off the attitude that no one will ever get you," Duncan replied, smirking.

"I don't want to do this if the evil criminal thinks it's a good idea," Izzy said suddenly, stepping away from Beth. "He has bad ideas."

"I have bad ideas?" the criminal shouted, taking umbrage. "You're the wanted one, girl!"

Izzy was about to storm out of the washroom before Cody stepped in front of her. The geek placed her hands on her bare shoulders, and gave her that sly (he was really hoping it looked sly) grin.

"Izzy Lizzy," he said, rolling out the words, "if any girl can pass off this look, it's you. You have the mysterious element, that sense of wildness that makes you fun, and a self-reliant nature that shows guys you are in charge!"

The redhead looked around, unsure. The geek bit his lower lip, then grinned again. "And," he continued, "we all know how the lady secret agents are the hottest and most successful women on the planet."

" 'Secret agents'?" Gwen repeated, looking rather confused.

Izzy now grinned that face-wide grin of hers and cackled. "Secret agent! That's me! I'm the baddest of the bad! Woohoo!"

She bolted over to Katie, and lifted the thin BFFF up. "Let's make me a sexy woman, girls and girls!"

--

A few hours later, the two teams were in front of the stage again. DJ, Trent, and Leshawna were on-stage with Chris, while Izzy, Katie, and Noah were hidden backstage.

"Welcome to the first battle of the nerds against the popular kids," Chris shouted, throwing his hands up in the air. "Let's get it up for the Cool Kids' Club, and their bottle rockets!"

The members of the Cool Kids' Club applauded, though Tyler was had his hands full, what with Lindsay being in his lap.

"First off with the bottle rocket presentation, Trent!"

The musician grinned, then pulled the string on his bottle rocket. With a powerful blast, the plastic bottle shot high into the sky. Right after the bottle rocket was out of human sight, it smacked a chubby blue bird and then fell back to earth.

"Well done, Trent," Chris said as he applauded. "That went up really high! One point for the Cool Kids' Club!"

Leshawna then released hers; however, it didn't go upwards. With a sudden jolt to the side, the rocket nearly hit Chris in the head, if he hadn't ducked in time. The bottle smacked Owen in the side of the head, and the jolly giant fell down like a ton of bricks (weighing almost as much).

"Oops," Leshawna squeaked.

"That thing almost killed me," Chris shouted. "Not cool! DJ, you're up next!"

"What about Owen?" Bridgette called out, looking concerned.

"He'll be fine, he gets hit in the head a lot."

"Yeah, I do," Owen spoke up, rubbing his sore head.

DJ nodded, looking very nervous. He pulled the cord on his bottle rocket, and it exploded in his face. With a high-pitched scream, the football player leapt away and landed on Owen's large stomach.

After Chris stopped laughing, he replied, "Well, Cool Kids, I'm sorry to say that you only earn one point from Trent!"

Trent sighed and slapped his forehead, then went to go help a shaky DJ off of the stage.

--

(Confession Cam - You'll never find a platypus in here.)

Owen - \with a bruise on the side of his face\ "That was pretty awesome, regardless of the bottle rocket to my face! Actually, that was cool too! I love this job! Woohoo!" \He pauses, then looks nervously at the camera.\ "Um, am I allowed to use this too?"

Chef Hatchet - "So the fatso gets to be an intern? Where's that leave me? Mark my words, there will be war. Oh yes, there will be war."

--

"Now," Chris shouted as Owen walked off the stage, a little woozy still, "it is time for the nerds to show off their talents! Can they pass off the cool look? What do you think, Cool Kids?"

The team members of the Cool Kids' Club let out loud boos and jeers. As the Freaks 'n Geeks try to cheer over them, Eva lost her temper and chucked one of the spare high heels from the communal washroom's clothes; it smacked Geoff on the side of the head.

"First up is Noah," the handsome host said before walking off the stage.

The egghead walked onto the stage, smirking slyly. He was wearing that red, faux leather jacket with a low-collar shirt. His jeans were loose-fitting, dark brown boots, and a couple silver rings.

"Ladies," he said, tapping his fingers on his crossed arms, "who's coming to the party at Geoff's house? Might be boring, but I'm sure we can find other ways to enjoy ourselves."

With a flip of his hair, he pointed at the audience and walked off without looking back.

"Okay," Chris said at the side, failing to hold back suppressed laughter, "forgetting that that was Noah, I think he looked pretty good. I think I'll to see the next person: Katie!"

The thin BFFF walked onto the stage, strutting a little too much. Her pigtails were down, and her hair was elegantly draped around her hair. She applied a fine trace of eyeliner, blush, and lipstick. Her clothes were the biggest difference, since it was no longer the twin set she wore with Sadie.

Katie's sleeveless white shirt was tight on her thin frame. Her pink bubblegum pants (which, to the fashion-challenged like Ezekiel, looked like vinyl) shone in the light, and she tapped her slim, black heels.

"Why hello," she purred, stroking her collarbone with a sly sense that no one had ever seen on Katie. "Did you hear that Sadie is taking Justin to the prom? Rather big surprise, seeing as how they've only been going out for, like three weeks."

She strutted off-stage, waving good-bye over her shoulder with extra drama. After she left, Chris looked around the curtain onto the stage.

"Was that Katie?" he asked the audience. "Seriously... wow.

"Okay, I still want to see how you nerds did up Izzy! If I'm impressed, the nerds take the first challenge! Izzy, you're up!"

The redhead walked out on the stage, slow but graceful. She smirked, ever so sly, shiny from the pink lip gloss. Izzy ran a finger through her hair, which was no longer frizzy and instead has a silken shine.

Her green shirt was four diamonds, covering her breasts (barely) and creating a bare diamond over her stomach. Her aoi cache pants, exposing her legs where the pockets should have been, were tight on her lithe frame. Clicking her light green heels, she bat her emerald eyes.

"Hey boys," she purred, then winked at Owen. He swooned and fainted, causing a small tremor. "Ah, same reaction as always."

She curled a strand around her finger, blew a kiss to the crowd, then turned around and walked away, saying, "Sorry I cannot stay, but I have more important business elsewhere. Until we meet again, Mr. Bond."

Chris blinked, then forcefully closed his jaw. "An impressive sight, if only for the incredulous fact that that was Izzy! Though I don't know what she meant by Bond, the nerds win! Victory for round one goes to Noah, Katie, and Izzy!"

The Freaks 'n Geeks cheered, jumping and whooping. The Cool Kids' Club slumped in defeat.

(Confession Camera - Do you think we're sexy? Please say yes.)

Heather - "Now I'm really mad. Chris handed the nerds that win because they could put fancy clothes on that egghead and the psycho hosebeast. They wouldn't know good fashion if it smacked them in their ugly faces."

Izzy - \still in her popular get-up\ "Now that Cody has given me inspiration, I can continue to search Duncan for those illegal jellybeans! That man is going down! Wheee!"

Duncan - "I know I should be happy that we won the first round, but I have this really creepy feeling that things are going to get difficult for me. ... I mean us!"
Lindsay - "I think Jonah looked rather nice, Katlyn was okay, but Fizzy looked really good! I just wish I could have been up there! Or tried the bottle rocket thing, and..." \rubs her hands together mischievously\ "... maybe I could hit Heather in the head with one!"

Chris Maclean - "Be sure to stick around! Part two of Nerds vs. Popular Kids will be coming soon!

Part 2 coming soon!

--

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Fashion for TDI is rather popular, so I gave it a whirl. You may feel free to laugh at me, because I have as much fashion as Ezekiel does.

For a quick reference, here are the current teams:

Cool Kids' Club - Heather, Lindsay, Trent, Justin, Geoff, Bridgette, Courtney, Tyler, Leshawna, DJ

Freaks 'n Geeks - Cody, Noah, Harold, Beth, Izzy, Gwen, Duncan, Ezekiel, Katie, Sadie, Eva