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. If you are allergic to raccoons, I apologize for any rashes you got in the last chapter.
Author's Semi-Serious Note - This episode of TDI brings up Leshawna and Harold's interracial relationship (though they are both human, being into fantasy as much as I am makes that word seem silly IRL). Please do not take this story as a serious analysis of a cultural study; this is meant to be humorous, dramatic, and a little weird.
Author's Not-As-Serious Note - I have shamelessly plugged myself in this episode. I hope you all forgive me.
And now, on with the show!!
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(narrated by Chris Maclean)
Last time on Total Drama Comeback... the twenty campers were forced to take part in a five-part race across both Wawanakwa and Boney Island. In a strange turn of events, Cody managed to win for his team with such skill, even Courtney and Eva were congratulating him!
Ezekiel was attacked by beavers, razorbacks, snakes, seagulls, a shark, and a crab. We luckily got it all on film and are sending it to the nature channel, we're sure they'll love it. I don't think Ezekiel will, but at least he survived with all his limbs.
Tyler, though brave in saving Ezekiel, lost for his team; however, during the follow-up challenge, where the contestants had to dress up like their fellow campers and act like them, Tyler managed to win himself immunity.
The marshmallow ceremony ended on a sad note when Geoff, our favorite party animal, was voted off. There were tears in Bridgette's eyes, and, from what we've seen, some scheming done by Courtney.
Why would Courtney want Geoff voted off? What does Heather want from her since she knows the truth? Will Izzy stop asking the couples if they've reached second base? And most importantly, after all this drama and tension and good old-fashioned teenage angst, how much can they stand being close to each other?
Stay linked to this episode of Total... Drama... COMEBACK!
(cue the theme song, and we're good to go!)
Chapter 12 (Day 03, Part 1) - A Cufflink to the Past
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Bridgette waded back onto the beach shore, her surfboard under her right arm. The waves had been incredible today, and she had managed to perform some awesome stunts. Geoff was standing there, clapping, saying things like, "You're, like, the best surfer in the world, Bridgette! Were you born in California or something?"
Except that he wasn't there to say those things. She had to imagine him as she stared at the empty place where he would have been.
"I miss you," she said to Geoff, who wasn't there.
"Don't act like this," Bridgette thought, being harsh to herself. "He isn't dead, he isn't gone forever. You're overreacting by carrying on like this."
She sighed, feeling cold in her wetsuit. The blond surfer wiped the water and her golden bangs from her eyes, then went to the communal washrooms to change.
At dinner, she was just as depressed. Normally, she could force herself to eat Chef's horrible food, but ever since Geoff had been voted off two nights ago, she couldn't bring herself to make her taste buds suffer like her heart was.
Her friends were growing concerned of her lack of eating. Izzy and Duncan had been brave enough to steal food from Chris and Chef's private stash for the campers, because Bridgette's inability to gag herself required actual food.
"Still thinking about him?" Gwen asked her as they sat at dinner. The campers were all sitting near whoever they wanted now, so the tables were no longer restricted to Killer Bass and Screaming Gophers.
"Hard to think of anything else," the blond surfer replied. "I suppose I look like a big mope for carrying on like this."
"I don't think so, eh," Ezekiel replied, shaking his finger. "The fact that you miss him only shows how much you care about him. And we all need someone here to endure these life-threatening challenges."
"And because women need a man's hand to hold?" Bridgette asked, smiling for the first time in two days.
The prairie boy flushed and began stammering. "Gah! No no no, that's not what I meant, eh! I mean, we all like to hold hands with someone... err, I mean-"
Bridgette was now laughing, and she slapped her stuttering friend on the back. "Relax, I was giving you a hard time for my own cruel desire. Sorry, but I couldn't resist."
Letting out a relieved sign, Ezekiel chuckled too.
Gwen rubbed her surfer friend's shoulder. "Good to see you smiling again."
Meanwhile, at the other table, two of the campers who had never spoken to each other before were making up for lost time.
"No way," Noah cried out, grinning at DJ, "you have a nature magess, and you actually specialize in healing? All the nature magi I know are obsessed with spell damage."
"I prefer to save lives than take them," the gentle giant replied. "It does make grinding hard, but luckily, my girlfriend plays too."
"What's she play?"
"A cyan succubus jester. She likes using explosives."
"My man DJ, who doesn't? It's why I love using Corpse Eruption with my kobold necromancer."
"He was your third character to eighty, right?"
"Yes, and my main right now," Noah said, his grin becoming wicked. "I love raising the dead to my beck and call, and using making giants and dragons topple before a three-foot pip-squeak."
Courtney couldn't take it anymore. "Okay, I demand you two shut up," she shouted, catching everyone's attention. "You've talked about that stupid game ever since you sat down, and it's less pleasant than the food I'm trying to eat!"
"What was that?!" Chef bellowed from the kitchen, slamming his fist on the counter.
"Errrk. I mean, it's making it hard for me to concentrate on eating," Courtney replied. She shrunk down to avoid Chef's vicious stare.
"What's up with you, Courtney?" DJ asked her. "You've been snappish all day."
"Moreso than usual," Noah muttered under his breath.
"I don't feel that well," Courtney said, glaring at Noah for the remark. "I didn't sleep well last night."
(Last Night Flashback)
Courtney came in the cabin, yawning and eager to climb into bed. The new sheets and pillow that she had won from the third contest were making sleep quite comfortable.
Then she saw it. That humanoid bulge under her sheets. She felt her frustration, which was high of late, rise to the boiling point. It must have been Duncan in his underwear again, trying to seduce her in that revolting, over-the-top forward method he thought was charming.
Grabbing a pillow from another bunk, she started hitting the humanoid lump under her covers. "Get out of here, Duncan! Do you hear me? OUT!"
The lump let out a high-pitched shout, then a voice not at all like Duncan's started shouting, "Hey, cut that out! Stop it, I say, or I'll unleash my fury on you!"
Izzy popped up from the covers, swatting at Courtney in defense. The brunette stopped her assault, gaping at the grinning redhead. "What... what the... IZZY! What are you doing here?"
"I have three questions, and I want straight answers from you, Miss Freckles," Izzy hissed, still grinning as if there was a hidden joke behind this though her tone was serious. "One, did you vote for Geoff in yesterday's ceremony? Two, did you encourage anyone else to vote for Geoff? And three, has Duncan seen your boobs yet?"
"Izzy was bothering me with all these weird questions," she muttered as she shoveled more awful food that Chef 'cooked' into her mouth.
"Yeah, me too," Katie, sitting at the same table, replied. "She seems really intent on finding out who voted off Geoff."
Courtney rolled her eyes. "It's none of her business, anyway. Especially when she's sneaking in my room at night."
"Don't worry about crazy girl, Courtney," Heather, sitting next to the CIT, said. She pat the brunette's shoulder and added, "That nutcase likes to come up with a new weird thing to do every day. Be glad this one isn't lethal."
"Unless she decides her interrogations need thumb screws and hot wax," Noah remarked.
"You're one cynical nerd, you know that?" Courtney shot at the egghead, who merely smirked in reply.
"So, do you think we'll be doing a challenge tonight?" Katie cut in, trying to stop a fight.
"Beats me, sugar," Leshawna said as she poked her food with her fork. "I think that Chris is planning for something soon, because he's looking at us with that evil grin more often now."
"Could be he's just planning something, but hasn't mapped it out yet," Harold suggested. "Though I have a feeling I know what it is."
"What's that, honey?" Leshawna said, smiling at her man.
Harold held up a pair of handcuffs.
Some of the campers at his table screamed, the others gasped. "Ewwww," Lindsay squealed, "and there's old carpet on the inside!"
"That's gratitude for ya!"
Chris, standing in front of the tables, crossed his arms in a huff. "I put nice carpet on the insides of the handcuffs, and all I get is complaints? I may just have the cold, barren, steel ones for you all then!"
"That will chafe something awful," Lindsay whined more.
"Handcuffs, Chris? Again?" Heather protested. "You did something like this in the first season!"
"First season I only had six people to do it with. And I don't remember how it ended," he said, rubbing the left side of his head subconsciously.
Leshawna had to hold back a wicked laugh as Harold wrapped his arm around her waist. "Nice shot, by the way," he whispered into her ear, and the large sister accidentally let out a hissing giggle. Courtney had to hold back a gag reflex.
(Confession Cam - Where angry campers come to.)
Courtney - "Yee-uck! Watching Harold flirt with Leshawna is more retched than Chef's food! What can she possibly see in him? I know she has better taste than that!"
Harold - "Leshawna is the best person I know. She really stands up for herself, and she keeps others in line, even Chris. I almost swoon whenever I think about the time she brained Chris with that wooden head for the totem pole. Then, if I can hold back my swooning, I have to hold back laughing."
Leshawna - "I never really met a guy like Harold. He seems to adore me, even the faults I know I have. When we spent some time together during the six months between this and first season, he was really getting into the hobbies I have. And I never thought I'd say this, but I am really getting into D&D."
Chris shook his head, then smiled. "By the way, has anyone found anything interesting in their food?"
The campers immediately stopped eating, in true horror of what that might mean.
"I found a toe nail," Eva grumbled.
"I found part of the packaging wrap in my dinner," Noah said, holding said object up with his spoon.
"I found... I actually don't know what it is," Gwen said, looking at her dinner, "but please, don't tell me, I don't want to know why something purple is in my dinner."
Chris shook his head. "You picky eaters. Anyway, I am asking if you found a tok-"
A pained cry rang out in the cafeteria, as Tyler screamed and spat out what he was eating. He pulled a small, blue, metal token out of his mouth while wincing. There was a very small picture a shattered pair of handcuffs on it.
"What is this?" he whimpered as he stared at it.
"Ah, Tyler, you lucky man, you," Chris shouted, clapping. "Note the picture, it means you not only do not have to compete in today's challenge, but you are also immune for tonight's marshmallow ceremony!
"Which is the Cufflink To The Last challenge! You are all going to be divided into three teams of six, and in pairs of two you will be..."
He snatched the pair of handcuffs from Harold. "Handcuffed! Let's see how well you do when hooked to your teammates!"
The host let this sink in, then he leaned over to Harold and whispered, "By the way, where'd you get this?"
"Owen dropped it while he was having dinner earlier. I was pretty certain it was for the challenge, since I don't think the big guy is training to be a police officer."
"I'll have to talk to him about that," grumbled the host before he smiled again. "So, after everyone is done eating, head out to the middle of the campgrounds so we can divide you up in teams! Tyler, if you want to watch and laugh with me, you're more than welcome to!"
(Confession Cam - Built into the ground, stuck with that fate.)
Heather - "Handcuffed to one of these freaks, again! I swear, Chris just loves to push our buttons, then laugh. I wonder if he lives off that. Like a vampire that siphons the cruelty out of the air. ... Ewww, did I just come up with a nerd metaphor? I've been around these weirdos too long!"
Tyler - "Not having to do this challenge is great. I really don't like getting that physical any more." \He sighs, then looks at the camera.\ "You're all probably wondering why I'm not the same as when I was on TDI. Well, maybe later on, I'll tell ya. Because it looks like I'll be around for at least one more challenge."
Owen - "I think I lost a pair of those handcuffs Chris gave me. Maybe Duncan pickpocketed me, I know he can do that. Still... I hope he isn't getting any ideas that I'm an undercover cop and here to arrest him."
"Dude, I seriously wonder what Chris's childhood was like," Duncan said to Courtney, who shrugged.
The host with the questionable childhood was standing in the center of the campgrounds, eyeing the nineteen campers. "Okay then! Now, I remember from Total Drama Island, our queen bee Heather once said that the point of joining the show was not to make friends or have fun, but to win and become celebrities."
Heather nodded, crossing her arms as if to dare someone to disagree with her. Lindsay looked away, the painful memory of that day when she realized that Heather had been using her was not a pleasant one.
"Well, Owen and I have decided to put that theory into place," Chris said, patting the jolly giant's shoulder. "Our big guy here suggested we split the teams into three categories: those who want to win, those who want to have fun, and those who want to test their skills!"
Owen nodded, then let out a cheer. "I'm rooting for the ones who want to have fun! Because that's why I joined, and I had loads of fun!"
(Confession Cam - We have fun too.)
Leshawna - "Sometimes I wish the world could be a bit more like Owen, but only in the sense that we could see the bright side of everything, not on the smell side."
Gwen - "Owen is like that friendly dog that wants to be your friend no matter how many times you shoo him away. Eventually...," \she smiles and shrugs\ "you come to love the guy."
Owen - "I actually bet Chris twenty-five bucks that the fun-loving team would win, he thinks it'll be the win-hungry team. Chef's betting on the third team! If I win, I'm blowing the money on chocolate! White chocolate, hehe! Because white is always best! ... Gah! I mean chocolate! Oh crap, I hope people don't take that the wrong way."
"Okay, the team for win-determined people," Chris said, looking at Heather directly, "are going to be Heather, Duncan, Courtney, Eva, Leshawna, and Justin. Now you all want to stand over here on the left side."
Five of the six campers moved over to the left side as told, only Leshawna was standing still, looking bitter. "Again, he sticks me with that stuck-up, spoiled, daddy's girl. Can't you ever put me with someone else, Chris?"
"Leshawna, you said so yourself the first day of TDI that you came to win," Chris replied, shrugging. "I didn't think you'd have a problem with it."
"Fine, so long as I'm not cuffed to that white girl, I'm fine."
Harold let out a disappointed exhale. "Fourth challenge and I still don't get to be on the same team as you, Leshawna. It seems the fates have decided we are to test our hearts by tearing at them."
"Say wha'?" Leshawna asked, confused.
"We have to fight each other to prove we can care about each other in the end."
"Aw, sugar," Leshawna grabbed Harold and gave him a big kiss. Bridgette, Lindsay, and Gwen cheered, while Courtney and Heather gagged. "You should know that even if I end up messing you up, I still got it bad for you."
"That means so much to me!"
Leshawna strutted over to her team, ignoring the snide look on Heather's face.
"Okay, you six are going to be called the Epic Ownage team," Chris shouted, clapping. Most of the members of the team looked quite unpleased with such a nerdy title for their team.
"The next team will be the team that came here to have a good time and make friends. Now originally," he frowned, "Geoff was going to be my first pick, but you, and you know who you are, voted him off!
"Not cool in my book. That made this place a little more less of a party. Anyway, Bridgette, you and the others will be in the middle of the campgrounds. You'll be joined by Cody, Beth, Lindsay, Ezekiel, and Trent." The six campers walked over to the center and said hello to each other. Bridgette looked a little upset by Chris bringing up Geoff, but a comforting pat on the shoulder from Ezekiel cheered her up.
"You six will be called the 2 Gs," Chris said, pointing at them with both hands.
"What does that mean?" Lindsay asked, her normal look of confusion on her face.
"2 Gs, as in GG. Good game," Chris said. Lindsay still looked lost. "Oh forget it, Lindsay, it's nerd talk."
"Ain't nothing wrong with that," Cody said, standing proud. He thumped his chest, then coughed against his will.
"The final team is going to be those who joined for their skills, or for other reasons," Chris said. "The six remaining campers, please go over to the right. That means Noah, Katie, Izzy, DJ, Harold, and Gwen."
As the six stood next to each other, it was almost comical how much bigger DJ was compared to all of them. He patted Harold and Katie on the shoulders for encouragement.
"You guys are going to be the Mad Crazy Skillz," Chris said. "Chef put money on you guys, by the way."
"Nice to see we have a fanbase already," Gwen remarked with a frown.
"Okay, everyone! Time for the handcuffing!" Chris said, holding up several pairs of handcuffs. "Here's how I've decided your cruel fates:
"On the Epic Ownage team, I'm going to pair up leadership-obsessed Courtney and Heather together, Duncan and Leshawna for old times sake, and Eva with Justin; let's see you get mad at our handsome man, Eva.
"On the 2 Gs, Ezekiel and (hehe) Bridgette are going to be handcuffed, because some people voted off Geoff! Not cool, I repeat! Also, Cody and Trent are going to have to deal with each other, and Lindsay and Beth will be handcuffed too.
"Lastly, on the Mad Crazy Skillz, we will have Noah and DJ, Izzy and Katie, and Harold with Gwen. Let's see how long you people last before you tear each other apart!"
(Confession Cam - The "Weird Can" Experience.)
Katie - "Okay, I may be warming up to Izzy, but handcuffed to her? Why not just duct tape me to the side of the train and let me pray I don't hit too many objects before my arrival at the station?"
Gwen - "Handcuffed to Harold? I cannot imagine how much of a horror this is going to be. He'll be wheezing and exhaling down my neck, and I am more than positive he hasn't conquered his nose picking habit. He'd better not use the hand that will be handcuffed to mine."
Courtney - "Why is Chris obsessing over Geoff being voted off? He never did that for anyone else, is he trying to make me look like a bad person? This is a survival contest, people, there are going to be people voted off!"
Ezekiel - \looking suspicious\ "... Why was Chris laughing when he said I'd be with Bridgette?"
Chris Maclean - "Okay, I got this another bet with Chef. If Ezekiel hits on Bridgette while he's handcuffed to her, I win fifty bucks. He seems to think Zeke is a cool guy, but that's only because the prairie boy helps him with dishes."
"How many times do I have to be chained to the white criminal, huh?" Leshawna shouted as she lifted up her cufflinked hand. "I am not his parole officer!"
"No, my parole officer is nicer," Duncan said, smirking.
Ezekiel and Bridgette exchanged looks after they were handcuffed by Owen. The prairie boy looked at the cuffs and said, "Wow. These make me want to obey the law just wearing them."
"I know, they're really uncomfortable," Bridgette said with a nod.
Cody was grinning nervously at Trent, who didn't understand his worry. Gwen was pouting and casting sharp side glances at Harold, who seemed oblivious to the anger because he was smiling at her. Izzy was already trying to see if she could chew through the chain of the cuffs, while Katie tried to tell her she'd ruin her teeth doing that.
"I'd like to point out the victory conditions for the overall challenge," Chris said. "The game is over when the team is reduced to one or no teammates, the entire challenge is over. The team with the most members left gets a special prize, while the losing team sends someone home."
"Does the winning team get to vote for the losing team this time too, like the last challenge?" Tyler asked from the sidelines.
"Nope! This time, the losing team has only themselves to vote for! There will be a short challenge follow-up for one person to win immunity, then the six team members will be voting one of the losing five off!"
"Why the change for this challenge?" Cody asked.
"I think twelve people will be too many votes. Also, since we have an odd-man out, I wanted to play a bit fair, since he cannot win, lose, or vote."
Tyler shrugged, though he and many of the other campers doubted Chris wanted to play fair.
"Next challenge, which will also be three teams of six, will have the winners voting for the losers. But we digress! Campers, time for your first part of your challenge," Chris announced.
"Owen is laying out three circles on the campgrounds. Two of your cufflinked couples are going to be standing in those circles, while the third couple is going to try and scare or force the encircled couples out of the circle!
"I should also note that Chef and Owen are passing out handcuff keys. You may use yours at any time to unlock your side of the handcuffs. However, once you do, you're not going to be able to hook back up and are out of the challenge."
"Why give us the key then?" Katie asked, pushing back on Izzy's head to prevent her from chewing on the chain.
"Well, if you're sick of your cuff buddy, if you're certain they're going to get you killed, or if you just don't want to be in the challenge anymore. Though I'm sure other reasons will come up. They always seem to."
Chris watched as the teams headed towards their circles. "Oh, and for this challenge, you get to pick which couple is going to be doing the scaring or shoving."
(The 2 Gs)
The six members of the 2 Gs exchanged looks, wondering what to say or what to ask.
"So, who's going to do the scaring, people?" Trent asked. His charismatic attitude got his teammates out of their funk.
"Well, why don't you and Colin do it?" Lindsay suggested, shrugging and accidentally yanking Beth's arm up in the process. "I don't think I can scare people, I'm too pretty for scaring."
"Right," Bridgette said, raising an eyebrow. "Well, I was hoping you could use the old-school tactic of promising the boys a kiss if they step out of the ring."
"I don't think Tyler would approve," Ezekiel said, though he chuckled. "Anyway, that won't work for any girls, and Epic Ownage has four girls."
"Which makes them weaker, huh?" the surfer girl asked, looking at her cuff buddy.
Ezekiel flushed, then chuckled nervously. "Um, you're joking again, aren't you?"
"Yes, I am," Bridgette said. "Better get used to it, because teasing you can be my pastime for here while Geoff is gone."
"Thrills."
"There are worthe things than a pretty girl talking to you," Beth said, grinning at Ezekiel. The prairie boy smiled back, then his face suddenly lit up.
"Wait a minute, I just got a crazy idea," the toque-wearing boy exclaimed. "Guys, do you trust Bridgette and I to be the ones scaring the others out of the circles?"
The four exchanged glances. Cody was the first to speak. "Sure, dude. We don't have anything planned, so what have you got?"
"I just gotta go get something from my cabin when the challenge starts," Ezekiel said, "something I asked be sent from home. Bridgette," he grinned wickedly at her, "feeling brave enough to enter the boys cabin?"
"I've been in a boy's locker room before, no prob'," the surfer girl said, grinning back.
(Mad Crazy Skills)
"Okay, I think it's more than obvious who is most qualified for pushing people out of a circle here," Noah said, nudging DJ.
"Except it'll be four against him," Gwen pointed out. "And while I like you, DJ, you're not Mr. Aggressive."
"How about us, then?" Harold asked her. She rolled her eyes as he pulled a pair of numchucks out of seemingly nowhere. "I can threaten them with my numchuck skills!"
"I doubt you're allowed to hit them with those, Harold," Katie said, looking nervous.
"Oh! Oh oh oh! Pick me," Izzy shouted. "I could scare them!"
"That I have no doubt about," Gwen remarked, raising one of her dark eyebrows.
"There was this one time where I was being chased by an emu, and they're real big and nasty birds when riled," the redhead blabbered. She began to imitate an emu walking. "And so I turned around and gave that bird my nastiest face and loudest growl, and it took off running so fast that it actually tripped! It was so funny, it went like..."
Izzy performed a spinning fall, dragging Katie to the ground with her. The BFFF, lying on top of a cackling Izzy, looked to her teammates for help, but they could only give her sympathizing looks.
"Yep, Izzy will definitely be enough," Gwen said. "And Harold, put those away."
"Okay, okay, gosh."
(Epic Ownage)
Eva stared at her teammates. She loathed Heather a great deal, but being chained to Justin was a tranquilizer to her normally furious, bear-like fury.
"Justin and I can handle the people in the circles," she said, elbowing the model. "Think you're up for stunning people with your good looks, handsome?" Though Justin was nervous about being cuffed with Eva, he didn't show it as he grinned and nodded. The fitness buff swooned a little, then glared back at her teammates. "Any problems?"
"Girl, I ain't got any," Leshawna said as the others shook their heads.
"Courtney and I are going to be just fine, aren't we Courtney?" Heather said, grinning at the CIT. The brunette looked away and muttered her affirmation.
"Somethin' wrong, Courtney?" Duncan asked.
"Nothing, Duncan," she replied, a bit harsher than she meant to.
Something was wrong, and that something was what happened two nights ago.
(Two nights ago Flashback)
"I think you should pay close attention to what I have to say to you, Courtney."
The brunette glared at the queen bee for a few seconds before finally speaking. "I suppose you're going to blackmail me, aren't you? Unless I do as you say, you'll tell everyone I planned it."
Heather laughed. "Sure, I'm going to do something illegal while cameras are filming every action I make. And even if I wanted to, who would believe me over you?"
"Then what do you want? Why are you following me?"
"Because I want what you want. I want Harold off this island too, and I want those I hate the despise to be kicked off too."
Courtney blinked and rubbed her arm. "That's all you want?"
"I need someone to help me survive all the hate that the losers generated over me. But I want someone smart this time, someone I know isn't going to be a bumbling fool like Lindsay and Beth.
"You're smart. You've figured out a way to take out Harold on challenges he isn't the loser in. That's why you got rid of Geoff, right?"
Courtney only replied with a nod. Heather approached her, standing inches from the brunette CIT. "I thought it was, at first, merely because you were sick of hearing him talk about parties. But then I remembered he was saying how Harold partied with him. It clicked after the marshmallow ceremony.
"You wanted all of Harold's friends off of the island so that he wouldn't have any allies. Therefore, anyone who wouldn't vote for him would be gone or help him during challenges, right?"
"Right," Courtney admitted.
"Harold's friends are my enemies too, but I have other enemies," Heather explained. She snaked her left arm around Courtney's shoulder and pulled her close. "I know you don't approve of Gwen, and I want her off. So this is my proposal...
"I help you vote off Harold and any of his allies that we can, and you help me vote off Gwen and any of her pitiful friends. Deal?"
Courtney's mind and heart were screaming. Her heart was pleading with her that this was a very bad idea, but her mind was saying how this was perfect for her revenge. Courtney had relied on her mind for decisions almost all her life.
"Okay, deal," Courtney replied. "But," she shrugged off Heather's arm, "don't think for one second that you can tell me what to do. I'm not stupid like Lindsay or naive like Beth. I will be able to see if you're trying to use me."
"As I said, you're too smart for that, Courtney," the ravenhair smirked. "Just one question before I leave you be. Duncan stays here, right?" "Yes," Courtney replied faster than she meant to. She looked away and repeated herself. "Yes, I'd like for Duncan to stay."
"If you'd like. He's not my type, but if you have that inner bad girl, it's none of my business," she turned away, but said one last thing before strutting away. "Shame that Bridgette was so upset when Geoff left. Not part of your plan, was it?"
Courtney waited until the ravenhair was too far away to hear her whisper to herself, "No... no, it wasn't."
Courtney shook the memories away for now. "So, Eva and Justin, right?"
"Yes," Eva replied, getting impatient.
"Alright, everyone looks ready," Chris announced. "Ready... set... go!"
Ezekiel and Bridgette made a beeline for the boys' side of the Killer Bass cabin. Izzy, almost dragging Katie behind her, ran over to the Epic Ownage's circle. Eva and Justin passed by her as they headed for the Mad Crazy Skillz.
"Boo," Izzy shouted, snarling and swiping at Leshawna and Duncan. "You'd better worry, I got my license to kill renewed before I came here!"
Leshawna raised an unimpressed eyebrow.
Eva and Justin were now wrestling with all of the Mad Crazy Skillz, struggling most with DJ. With a mighty shove, Eva managed to knock the football player out of the circle, along with Noah.
One couple out, Eva and Justin rounded on the remaining Mad Crazy Skillz. Harold frowned, and pulled out his numchucks. Eva scoffed and reached for him when he spun the numchucks in front of him. The fitness buff backed off, not willing to be hit by the whirling weapon.
"I'll be back for you," Eva snarled before walking away. Harold tucked the numchucks in his back pocket.
"Nice one," said Gwen. The brunette nerd beamed with pride.
Ezekiel and Bridgette were heading back, the prairie boy holding his bow and an arrow in his hands. The two stood facing the Major Ownage circle, Ezekiel with a wicked grin.
"Okay, Bridgette," he said as he held up his bow, notching the arrow, "watch this! I'm gonna hit the tree behind those guys!"
"Aren't you worried about hitting them?" she asked, covering her mouth with her free hand; her other hand was helping hold the arrow.
"Naw, I practiced my archery a couple months ago, I shouldn't be that rusty!"
Heather and Courtney screamed and ran as fast as they could. Duncan tried to run but Leshawna was holding him back. "He's bluffing, you fool!"
"He's trying to impress a girl, he ain't bluffing," Duncan shouted, pulling furiously at her arm.
Izzy and Katie took this to their advantage, and shoved Leshawna hard from behind, sending her and Duncan out of the circle. The punk was quite uncomfortable with the large sister on top of him.
"Could you move your overly plush body off me?"
"Could you refrain from saying things that make me want to strangle you?"
Ezekiel and Bridgette began laughing, while Chris approached them. "Dudes, that was a little risky..."
"There was no danger," Bridgette said between laughs, "Ezekiel never strung the bow."
Meanwhile, Eva and Justin were busy struggling with the 2 Gs. 'Struggle' might have been the wrong word, because Cody and Trent had been shoved out in a couple seconds. Beth and Lindsay whimpered as Eva approached them, hands outstretched.
"You wouldn't kill us, would you, Serena?" Lindsay cried.
Eva's eye twitch. The other campers watched as Beth and Lindsay were sent flying into the air, falling into a tree and getting caught by the branches.
"Ouch," Lindsay said as she tried to comb her hair with her fingers, "she is strong. And ewww, this tree is sappy! Sap is yucky, yucky, yucky!"
"It's not tho bad," Beth replied. "It's a lot less painful than the trees near my school, where the kids throw my book bags up in."
"Awww, that's so mean," Lindsay said. "You'd have to shake the tree really hard to bring them down."
"Naw, I climb them, quite good at it by now," Beth said. "Just follow my lead."
"But I'm not a climber," Lindsay protested.
"Well, with the Major Ownage and 2 Gs being eliminated from this team, that means they have to remove a member of the team," Chris announced after Beth and Lindsay, very sticky and scratched and (in Lindsay's case) whiny, were down from the tree.
Owen was pushing a large display, which had a large spinner on the face. He smiled as he posed at the side. "This is the Random Loser Generator," he said to the campers. "Or the Random Winner Generator, depending on the situation."
"We could have used this at the beginning, actually," Chris said, grinning. "Just set it for all twenty-two of you, select two winners, and give away the prizes that way."
"You joker, Chris," Owen chuckled. "If we did that, we wouldn't have as much fun!"
The campers who were still in the contest rolled their eyes. Though they knew what Owen meant, they knew Chris's definition of "fun" was something far worse.
"Well, let's just set it for the members of Major Ownage," Chris said, pushing some buttons on the side. The faces of Justin, Heather, Courtney, Duncan, Eva, and Leshawna appeared on six divisions on the circle.
"Owen, give it a spin," Chris said.
The big guy grabbed the arrow and threw it down as hard it could. It spun around, shot off the peg, and nearly took off Trent's head if he hadn't ducked fast enough. Chris started laughing as Owen apologized profusely.
(Confession Cam - What an 'arrowing experience.)
Trent - "I almost became a stop sign there!"
Eva - "When Chris said they were running low on interns because of the dangerous challenges, I didn't think he'd hire dangerous interns for extra challenges."
After returning the pointer back on the peg, Chris spun the arrow around this time. The arrow went round and round, like a record, until it rested on Justin's section.
"Awww, shucks," Chris said. "Justin, you're out. Eva, you'll have to wait until someone else on your team has been eliminated before you're re-cuffed."
Eva looked like her birthday had been canceled when she was unchained from Justin.
Chris pushed more buttons, and the faces of the members of 2 Gs appeared on the spinner. With a third spin of the arrow, the second non-lethal spin, it landed on Lindsay.
"You're out, beautiful," Chris said. "Go take a shower and get all that sap off."
With a happy squeal, Lindsay ran off to the communal washrooms. Justin shrugged, and went to stand next to Tyler, who had been watching the whole deal.
"Now, we still have a great deal of you left, so we have a great deal of challenges left," Chris announced, turning back to the teams. "And this next one is going to be a little different."
"I notice you always say that when you have a particularly evil idea on your mind," Leshawna said, her hands on her hips. "Why don't you come out and say it? 'This one is going to hurt some of you'."
" 'Some'?" Chris replied, raising an eyebrow. Leshawna's eyes bugged, and she slapped her forehead, almost pulling Duncan off his feet.
Owen tapped his fingers together. "Um, Chris? Are you going to set up the suspense for the break, or can I do it?"
"Oh... why don't you, Owen? I had that great line."
The jolly giant grinned at the campers, wiggling a key. "Get ready to move your handcuffs, guys!"
"What?" Gwen asked. "To where?"
"Your ankles!"
--
Part 2 approaching, pending, forthcoming, nearing, impending, and on it's way!
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Here are the teams, in case you need a cheat sheet:
Major Ownage - Heather, Courtney, Duncan, Leshawna, Eva, Justin
The 2 Gs - Bridgette, Ezekiel, Cody, Trent, Beth, Lindsay
Mad Crazy Skillz - Harold, Gwen, Noah, DJ, Izzy, Katie
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PS - I took a criminology class where I got to try on handcuffs. They are very uncomfortable and unnerving to wear. Obey the law, my friends, you don't want to wear those.