For Want of a Mohawk

by CeruleanSeaScorpion

What difference do our choices make? When Duncan refuses to wake up and help the Killer Bass during the Dodgeball challenge, his decision has consequences that will change the entire outcome of the game. A re-imagining of Total Drama Island where one small change leads to huge differences, and every episode takes the story further away from its original path. Updates weekly.

13. Bend or Break

Maybe it had been too much for Heather to hope for that everyone else on the Island would just vanish for the next two days. It almost seemed like that would be the case yesterday when Geoff and Courtney disappeared, only to disappoint her by showing their faces again in the morning. While she was trying to relax, they were playing two-person beach volleyball. She wondered if their absence had been part of some sort of affair.

It was a tempting thought to buy into, after all if it were true she could expose them, breaking up Bridgette and Geoff as a couple and severing the friendship between Bridgette and Courtney. They were the single biggest threat to her alliance, she needed to act first. Still, she couldn't just go accusing them yet. She had nothing substantial, just speculation and inferences, and she knew Bridgette was too loyal to both of them to accept anything less than hard evidence.

All she could do for now, was snipe, and hope they might slip, revealing something incriminating. The next time the ball bounced near her and Courtney went to get it, she took the opportunity to make a comment.

"You two are getting along so well." She feigned praise. "What's your secret? I gotta know."

"There's nothing secret about being friends." Courtney replied bluntly. "What kind of question is that?"

"Wait, we were supposed to keep it a secret?" Geoff asked, dumbfounded

"So there is a secret!:" Heather pointed at him accusingly. "Aha! You gotta spill."

"Really? There is?" Geoff asked.

"You just said there was." Heather told him.

"I did?"

Heather's brow furrowed as she realized this was going nowhere. How the hell did Bridgette tolerate him? If she ever got into dating, she would demand an intellectual equal, not some dopey party boy with no ambition and two brain cells pinballing around between his ears.

Before she could probe any further, an ear-splitting horn blast rang out across the lake. From the direction of the sound, a large white boat approached the island rapidly. Geoff dropped the volleyball and sprinted towards the dock, and Courtney wasn't far behind her. Heather followed behind them, while Gwen stayed in the water watching. It wasn't like she had anyone to look forward to.

As the boat pulled up to the dock, loud music blasted from unseen speakers and the returning contestants were out on deck dancing to it. Once the gangplank was down Bridgette bounded down it and leapt into Geoff's arms. This time he didn't have to be led into the kiss, and Heather made a gagging motion as she watched them suck face in front of everyone with no shame.

Right behind them were Lindsay and Katie, carrying a gift basket between them and bouncing like hyperactive womanchildren.

"Eeeeee that was the best spa getaway ever!"

"Heather you totally should have been there. My skin has never felt clearer!"

"And those split ends? Like, totally gone." Katie pulled at a few of her locks to show, "Awww, this humidity is making me frizzle already."

Hearing about how much they'd been enjoying themselves while she languished on the island made Heather's blood boil. "There better be something good in that basket for me, or I am going to tear that perfect hair off your scalp, one strand at a time." She snarled.

Oblivious to danger, Lindsay nodded and presented her haul. "Totally. We've got candy, ice cream, lotion-"

She hadn't even finished saying lotion before Heather was already on top of it, digging through the basket like a starving raccoon until she found it.

"Hey, it's supposed to be for everyone." Katie said.

"Fine. You guys enjoy the rest of that junk, I'm doing a full body treatment tonight."

As she turned to head down the dock, Noah grabbed her by the shoulder and turned her around. When she opened her mouth to ask how dare he, he silenced her by shoving a small orange pill bottle into her other hand.

"Don't ask how I got it." He said, his voice low. "Here's your antibiotics."

"You're more useful than you look." She said.

"Ahem." Katie cleared her throat as she stepped in behind Noah. "Shouldn't there be something about, oh thanks Noah, welcome to the alliance?"

That made Heather do a double take. Since when was Katie going to bat for the egghead nerd? Did they make a separate alliance without her? Or, was there something else going on?

"Oh my mistake. I almost forgot." Heather fake-laughed. "Good job, alliance buddy. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a skincare routine to start on."

While Heather stepped off to the side to start preening, Bridgette and Geoff stopped sucking face long enough to properly acknowledge Courtney. For her part, she at least seemed to be less outright resentful of her friend's enjoyment than Heather, only looking slightly resentful of Bridgette's refreshed disposition.

"Glad to have you back." Courtney said.

"Wish I could say was glad to be back." Bridgette laughed. "No offense. It's not you, it's this terrible summer camp."

"None taken. I wish we could have left this island, but alas, we were stuck here." Courtney said.

"But we did-"

"Shhhhh Geoff," Courtney cut him off. "Bridgette doesn't want to hear all about our boring weekend of dodging Heather. Just uh, enjoy the moment or whatever it is you say."

Sensing a bit of tension, Bridgette's tone shifted to a more concerned one. "Geoff didn't cause you too much trouble, did he?"

"No, no not at all." Courtney shook her head, "I promised I would keep him safe and I did, see? Oh, but I think there was something he wants to tell you."

"I do?" Geoff tilted his head.

"Yes, something you wanted to tell Bridgette in private. Remember?" Courtney nudged him a few times to drive the point home.

Catching Courtney's drift, Geoff tensed up a bit nervously as he realized what he had to do. They'd gone over it plenty enough times before the yacht had arrived but, it felt entirely too soon to tackle something so serious.

Bridgette didn't know what to think of all the secrecy. Out of the loop for several days, she could only guess at what they were hinting at. Alliance plans that needed to be discussed in secrets? Or, maybe Geoff had something to confess to her, about their relationship? They'd only been together three days and two of them were apart, she couldn't imagine what might have changed since then. Geoff was impulsive but she was about ninety percent sure he wouldn't propose marriage that quickly.

"We'll talk about it later." She nodded, giving Courtney a quick hug.

While Bridgette was catching up with her bestie, Gwen decided that she best finish up her swim before the boat decided to pull away. She'd already had a close call when it pulled in, and of course nobody cared enough to notice. They all had friends to look forward to seeing again. A luxury she only wished she could afford. Once out of the water and wrapped in a towel, Gwen came over to check out what was being handed out. "Got any art supplies?" She asked, not sounding very hopeful.

"Sorry Gwen." Katie frowned. "Lindsay called dibs on the foundation."

"I meant for drawing. You know, like, pens?"

"Oooooh. Yeah no. We didn't get those."

"Great." Gwen glanced around, noticing something conspicuously absent from Heather's shadow. "Hey aren't you missing one of your slaves?"

"And why should you care?"

"Just making sure you're not trying to steal my stuff again. Forget it Heather, this time I stashed my diary where you'll never find it."

"Oh please, you think I care about that anymore?" Heather asked. "I run this game now, I don't need your stupid diary to humiliate you if you get in my way."

Realizing she was outmatched, Gwen turned around to go sunk somewhere else, while Heather relished another little triumph over the weird kids.

That did get Heather thinking though. While Gwen was practically powerless, Courtney had a sizable alliance of her own, and she was looking to break that up. Maybe Gwen wasn't the only person keeping personal info written down for her to snatch up. It would be worth looking into.

Her train of thought was interrupted by the blare of the speakers as their host addressed them from afar.

"Listen up campers, all teams are officially dissolved. From here on in, it's every, camper, for, themselves!"

The news came as a shock to nobody, except maybe Lindsay who looked to Heather with the utmost concern. "Oh nooo! If there are no teams then how can we strategemize with our a lions?"

Sometimes, Heather wondered whether she would be better off trying to explain her plans to rocks. "Hopefully, without any input from you."

"Oh, but wait, there's more!"

Another horn blasted, this time from a different boat that came around the corner of the shore and made directly for the dock. They could just barely make out a single figure standing on the deck. As it came closer, the features began to resolve. Tall, dark hair, and possibly most revealing of all, a green shirt.

By the time they could see his face, the veil of mystery had been lifted. His arrival garnered attention from everyone who saw it. But especially so from one particular teal haired girl at the back of the crowd.

"Back by popular demand, Trent!"

He stepped onto the dock purposefully, approaching the crowd with eyes wandering. He was looking for someone, and it was pretty easy to guess who.

"Gwen!" He shouted as he spotted her through the crowd, pushing past the others to get to her. "I missed you so much, Cody told me all about what happened and I-"

"Yeah, uh, that sounds really great I uh…I have to pee."

She dashed away from the dock as fast as her legs would carry her. She ran until she found the confessional, which she dove into and slammed behind her. The cover story was of course a lie, she had no liquids to expel. The only thing that would flow from her, was a river of emotional turmoil.

"Why?" She groaned, burying her face in her palms. "Of everyone they could have brought back, they chose Trent?"

Taking a minute to compose herself and breathe deeply, she collected her thoughts into a less jumbled mess and started over. "I always thought it would be great to see Trent again, but now that he's actually here? Ugh, what if he hates me for being the reason he was voted off?"

"I'll just…wait. Yeah. If I don't say anything he can't get mad at me. Once I'm sure that I'm in the clear, then…well I don't know what I'll do then. But at least I'll know he doesn't hate me."

Back on the dock, a confused Trent looked to the others for any sort of explanation. They just shrugged. Noah opened his mouth to speak, but then thought better of his sly remark about what time of month it was. Any alternatives, like brain worms, just wouldn't cut it either. Best to just shut up.

"I guess Gothy doesn't think you're such hot stuff after all." Heather laughed..

"Wait, I thought Chris said once you left you could never, ever come back?" Katie scratched her head.

"Clearly, he lied." Noah said bluntly. "Shocking. Unbelievable. I feel hurt, betrayed, even backstabbed, by his rescindence of his sacred oath."

Just then Beth appeared from somewhere in the direction of the cabins, panting heavily. "I…heard Chris making…announcements. I came as…fast as I could. …what did I miss?"

Once again the conversation was brought to a halt by the sound of a boat horn. How many damn boats had been chartered for this one episode, Noah wondered. But what everyone else had on their minds as the yacht came into view, was the question of who this next new arrival would be.

"Another one?" Courtney asked.

"Looks like it." Bridgette nodded.

"You think it's the mohawk guy, back to give me that lip piercing he owes me?" Noah asked.

It took a moment for anyone to remember who Noah was talking about. Courtney shrugged apathetically. "Hopefully someone with a better attitude." She said flatly.

"Please be Sadie, please be Sadie." Katie prayed under her breath.

As the boat drew closer, either of those seemed less likely to be the case. They were a short figure, dressed in jeans that went all the way up to their waistline. If there was one thing they could remember from Duncan's brief time on the island, the saggy pants were definitely one.

What really gave the second returnee's identity away however, was the blue toque atop his head. Nobody looked excited to see him the way they had been for Trent, and as he stepped off the boat people looked more puzzled as to why they'd chosen him of everyone they could have brought back.

"Uh, yo?" Ezekiel stepped off the boat, puffing up his chest and trying to walk down the dock like he owned the place. Despite his transparent attempts to act with swagger he very much looked nervous, and when he spoke it almost sounded like he was pleading for approval with mangled slang. "What's good peeps, eh?"

"Ezekiel?" Courtney scoffed. "Who asked for him back?"

"Maybe they just couldn't deal with all the girl power going on here." Heather said.

"Nah homies, I've been getting my schooling on, learning how to dish the respect out to the ladies, eh." He looked for some sign of approval at his changed ways, and deflated when all he saw was confusion and disdain. He still had a long ways to go before he was cool in this strange new world.

Thankfully before he could say anything else to bewilder the other teens, Chris had another announcement to make.

"Our new arrivals have an hour to unpack and get everything squared away. Once you're done with that, report to the amphitheater, where you'll learn all about this week's challenge. McClean, out!"

First among the guys to step forward and acknowledge Ezekiel's existence was Geoff. "Yo, Zeke my man. Let's get you to your new crib bro."

"Yes sir! I mean uh, yeah dog, I'm down."

"Easy bro, you can just call me Geoff."

"Sure, Geoff."

With Trent, it seemed like old team ties were not entirely dead either, as Owen gave him a great big bear hug that nearly crushed the life out of him.

"Woohoo! My buddy Trent, back in business!" He cheered, letting the poor guitarist go.

"Owen, man, it's good to see you." Trent said once he got his breath back. "Man getting kicked out like that was a real blindside, I'm glad to have another chance."

"Right you are my man." Owen said. He turned to follow Geoff and Ezekiel and motioned for Trent and Noah to join him. "Come on, we're all sleeping in one big dudes cabin now."

Trent fell in behind, but grimaced visibly. "So that means Geoff will be there?"

"Yeah, he's a cool roommate." Owen said. "That guy can party with one mix tape and a can of pop!"

"I guess." Trent shrugged.

"Don't worry. You still have me if you want more intellectual company." Noah offered.

"Weren't you the guy who refused to play Dodgeball?"

"Formerly. I now get dragged into all kinds of strange, physically strenuous antics, courtesy of my new friend here." He patted Owen on the back. "Oh and Katie too. Her and Sadie have a lot of surprises up their nonexistent sleeves."

"You'll have to tell me all about it after the challenge." Trent said.

"If you aren't too preoccupied with your lady friend." Owen elbowed him playfully. "Rumor has it someone missed you."

"Really?" Trent raised a brow skeptically at Owen. "Because she ran away from me the second I tried talking to her."

"Don't worry, she's probably just so excited to see you she's afraid of embarrassing herself. You got this dude!"

"If you say so man."

As the guys arrived back at the cabin Geoff gestured to the three empty beds left. "We got plenty of space for you hombres, so pick whatever's good for ya."

Clinging to what little bit of familiarity he could find in this place, Ezekiel took the bunk on top of Geoff's, and slid his luggage in under the bed and in whatever drawers weren't already taken. Geoff was content to leave it to him at first, but his curiosity started getting the better of him the longer the silence lingered.

"So Zeke, whatcha been up to?" Geoff asked.

"I've been hitting the books on how to be cool and hip with you city kids yeah?" Ezekiel said, flashing a couple of what Geoff thought might be gang signs. "I'm here to win and that means I need to hang with the cool crowd."

Immediately Geoff regretted asking. "Zeke, dude, what the hell are you talking about?"

"Like, rappers eh? They make tons of money, and all the ladies love them? I see them on the TV with the gold chains and cool cars and I figure that I gotta be like that if I wanna be high rollin yo."

"So after being kicked out for misogyny you decided to take life lessons from rappers?" Noah said. "Brilliant. They can also teach you great vocabulary for talking to your ethnic friends."

"Listen, Zeke," Geoff said tersely, the frustration seeping into his words. "Just pick a bed and get your stuff in here, okay?"

The sudden and strong disapproval shook Zeke, and his head lowered in shame. He finished packing quietly, much to the relief of everyone else in the cabin with him. Nobody bothered to ask him any more questions.

While Zeke faded into the background, Geoff found himself face to face with the other new resident of the boy's cabins. Trent looked at him, and he looked back at Trent, and instantly there was a palpable tension in the air. Something about their vibes just clashed, and the two circled each other like bull buffalos sizing up a rival entering their territory.

"Trent."

"Geoff."

"So, how's the song writing going?" Geoff asked. "Still got nothing I can boogie to?"

"My music isn't for boogie-ing." Trent repeated the word back mockingly, as if the very concept was the epitome of immature childishness. "It's for soulful reflection. You should try it some time."

"Oh I am so soulful bro. I am so full of soul you don't even know."

"Really? Name the most soulful artist you listen to."

"Duh, the Beastie Boys."

Trent looked like he might vomit on the spot, and he made several gagging noises. "Ugh. You cannot be serious."

"Serious as Santa Clause brother. You're just jealous you don't got no mojo like I do!"

"If that's what you call mojo." Trent rolled his eyes.

While the boys dealt with new neighbors, Heather had no such troubles to disturb her as she preened herself in preparation for the challenge. Always out to look her best for the cameras, she reapplied foundation, touched up her eyeliner, and plucked some stray eyebrows. All the while, her mind was never too far from strategy.

"Katie, be a dear and plug in my curling iron, would you?"

Such a cordial tone was unheard of when she was dealing with Beth and Lindsay. Katie knew she was being pulled into something, but got up from her own beauty routine to grab the cord. Best to play along for now.

"Here you go." Katie said as she plugged it into the wall socket.

"Thanks." Heather said, turning to Katie as she waited for it to heat up. "So, you were friends with Courtney, right?"

There it was. Sometimes Katie's own intuition scared her. "Uh like, I wouldn't say friends. But I did like, know her."

"Close enough." Heather shrugged. "Did you ever see her writing in a diary?"

"I don't know, maybe?" Katie scratched her head as she tried to remember. "She had this little notebook thing but I never asked her what it was for."

Heather's interest was immediate, and she leaned in towards Katie and lowered her voice. "We have to get it. Do you know where she kept it?"

"Not really." Katie shook her head. "You're not like, planning to read it out loud in front of everyone again are you? That'd be like, so messed up."

"Only if there's something really good." Heather said, feigning a look of serious concern and staring Katie dead in the eyes. "I think Geoff might be having an affair with Courtney."

The news was so stunning that for a moment Katie forgot who she was dealing with, and gasped. "No way!"

"Shhh, you want everyone to hear us?"

Still reeling, Katie's mind flooded with a million questions.

"But why would he? Geoff would never."

"You wanna bet? I saw him and Courtney sneak off while you were gone, and they were missing all day. I wonder what they were doing with all that time alone they had…"

The more she thought about it, the more Katie feared the worst. Geoff was a nice guy, but he had a bit of a jerk streak to him when he got carried away. Maybe it hinted at a more selfish aspect to him that was hiding right under their noses? He was pretty impulsive too. The sort to act on his impulses without thinking.

"Oh no…Bridgette would be soooooo crushed."

"Don't get ahead of yourself, we have no proof yet." Heather reminded her. "That's why we need to get Courtney's diary. Now, are you with me?"

It could be a ruse. Heather was not an honest person. Katie didn't want to play into Heather's hand any more than she had to to stay safe in her alliance. But she sounded pretty serious. If this was true, Bridgette deserved to know. And if she cooperated, Katie would better be able to keep an eye on Heather and stop her if she had any truly heinous plans afoot.

"...okay." Katie nodded.

"Good. Now, here's the plan."

Some time after that conversation, Courtney was minding her own business in her cabin when a knock at the door got her attention. She got up and went to see who it was, and there Katie and Noah stood in the doorway.

"Can I help you?" Courtney asked.

"Omg hi Courtney. Noah was helping his new friends move in-" Katie said

"-we never agreed to call them that-" Noah interjected. She continued as if his words were part of her own sentence.

"-when he found something that he thinks belongs to you."

"Could you come check it out?" Noah asked.

Courtney leered at them skeptically. "Was it really too hard to just bring it here to me?"

"Yes actually," Noah said. "I might have literally died from exertion trying to do so."

"Well sorry," Courtney shook her head. "But I'm pretty sure that I didn't leave any cinderblocks lying around in my cabin."

"Oh well." Noah shrugged. "Guess it must be someone else's list. We'll go ask the others."

"Wait, list?" Courtney perked up. "I better come with. Just in case."

She couldn't see the ridiculously smug smile that Noah had on his face as he turned to lead her away from the cabin. The way was clear for the second stage of the plan to begin. As Courtney disappeared into the boys cabin Heather slipped from the bushes behind the girls cabin and ducked into the now-empty right side where her rival slept.

With had no idea how long the ruse would actually keep Courtney out, so she had to work fast. She pulled drawers open and overturned their contents, looking under the beds and in the suitcases she found down there. No luck. Before she could explore any alternative places that diary might be hidden, she heard the doorknob rattle. Someone was coming. She had to get out of there.

Heather dashed for the window, trying to open it so she could slip out for a quick escape. When the frame wouldn't budge, she frantically tried to brace her leg against the sill for more leverage. It was too late. The door swung open, and Gwen gasped as she was greeted with a surreal sight.

"Heather?!"

Realizing the jig was up, Heather tried to play cool and put on an expression that was cool, confident and definitely not embarrassed at this unexpected turn of events. "Hey Gwen! I was just, uh, stretching my calves on the windowsill. It does wonders for those leg cramps."

Gwen was clearly not buying it. "What are you doing in here?"

"Nothing. None of your business." Heather said. "You don't own this half of the cabin, I'm allowed in here too."

"Are you trying to steal my diary again? I told you you're not going to find it this time, so screw off!" Gwen stayed in the doorframe with her feet firmly planted, and didn't budge despite Heather's attempts to elbow past or duck under her.

"Are you going to keep blocking me from the door until I give you an answer?" Heather asked tersely.

"It's a fair trade." Gwen said.

Heather glared at Gwen angrily, weighing her options. Slap her face off and walk out? Possible, but it might cause a scene if anyone outside sees. If Gwen made a fuss, Courtney might hear it and come back to investigate. Heather would be out of the frying pan and into the fire. Best to just make some concessions now and get out for a better attempt later.

"Ugh, fine." Heather huffed, as if Gwen had really squeezed the truth out of her. "I wasn't looking for the diary, I wanted your dumb sketchbook. With lover boy back on the island, you need a reminder of your place. I thought you might have had some saucy nude sketches of him in there that would expose you for the creep that you are."

Judging by the disgusted look on weird Goth Girl's face, she bought it hook, line and sinker. "Wow. That's low. Like, seriously low."

"But obviously, I don't have it." Heather held up both her hands to show that indeed, she had grabbed nothing of value, even going so far as to turn around to confirm it wasn't in her back pockets. "So if you let me go, I'll forget about the whole thing and get out of your hair. For now."

Gwen narrowed her eyes at her, no doubt deciding whether she believed Heather or not. Or maybe she wouldn't believe Heather no matter what she said, and was just debating whether or not to make more of a scene about it before letting her out.

"Fine." Gwen huffed, exasperated. "Just go."

She didn't have to say it twice. Heather ran out of the cabin, dashing across the campgrounds until she was sure she was out of sight.

Thus, Heather had to walk away empty handed. It wasn't a total loss however, she at least was able to keep her plausible deniability intact. As far as they knew she was still after Gwen, and only Gwen. If there was one thing she could count on, it was Gwen's belief that the whole world revolved around her pitiful little self. That at least, would keep Courtney unaware that she was the real target.

If Heather had waited only a few minutes more, she wouldn't have needed such an elaborate distraction to get Courtney away from her new home. While returning to her former home at the Bass Cabin, Courtney encountered Bridgette, who raised a brow in surprise seeing her with Noah and Katie, of all people, after their recent argument.

"What are you guys doing?" she asked.

"I think I might have left something in my old room." Courtney said. "Noah says he found it while moving in."

"Oh." Bridgette nodded. "Then, maybe you can help me while you're at it? I think one of my surfboards is missing. I loaned to Geoff and I think he misplaced it. He can be so forgetful."

"Haha yeah he can." Courtney laughed weakly. "Uh, why don't we go find him and ask?"

Sensing something was off, Bridgette's agreement was of a subtly reluctant type. "Yeah, let's do that."

It wasn't too difficult to track Geoff down, after all he was the only guy who wouldn't be moving into a new home today. A quick knock at the door summoned him, and immediately Bridgette was picking up nervous vibes from him. They were so distracted in fact that they didn't notice Noah and Katie slip away back to Heather without a word.

"Hey Bridge, hey Court, whatcha doin here?" Geoff half-laughed.

"Geoff, Bridgette's been looking for her favorite board." Courtney spoke in a very deliberate tone. "Don't you have something to tell her about that?"

"O-Oh. Right. Just hang on a minute." He said, closing the door and disappearing inside.

"I'll leave you guys to it." Courtney said, taking the interruption as a chance to step out.

Bridgette waited at the door, still a bit confused. Something was going on, and Courtney wasn't telling her the whole story. She guessed that it was something she wanted Geoff to tell her, and that's why Courtney had left them alone. When did she learn to be so hands off and not meddle in everything? Maybe she'd had left more of an impression on her CIT friend that she had ever even realized.

The door opened again and this time, Geoff was standing there with a surfboard. What made Bridgette do a double take was that it wasn't one she'd ever seen before. The gold details were intricately painted and the unmistakable wood grain showed through the deep blue dye.

"Is that…a new board?" She gasped, her eyes wide with both excitement and confusion. "Geoff that's so sweet of you! How did you even get it?"

"Oh man, that's a long story."

As she stood there beholding the new gift, her head was spinning. This was too good to be true! There were no surf shops on the island. There was no way he could have gotten this. That's what started to turn her excitement in skepticism.

"Geoff…" She began slowly. "Where's the one I gave you?"

His hesitation to respond was a huge red flag, that only grew more incriminating as he wavered for longer. Just as Bridgette opened her mouth to demand answers, Geoff finally spilled.

"Bridge, I can't lie to you." He sighed. "I got this board because, I busted your old one trying to do some sick moves."

Confusion flashed into anger, and from Bridgette's calm waters rose a storm. "You what?!"

"Please don't be mad!" Geoff put his arms up to shield his face. "I know I messed up big time but it's okay now right?"

"Ugh, I can't believe this. How did you even break it?"

"There were these waves! And the rocks! I swear it wasn't my fault!"

"Rocks? Why would you surfboard around rocks?! You could have gotten hurt, or killed!"

"I dunno man! I saw the big waves and wanted to try it! Didn't realize it would be so gnarly."

Bridgette's initial fury subsided into something more forlorn, and she stepped back with a deep frustration carved into her features.

At first Geoff dared not speak to her, but after such an outburst the silence worried him. "Bridge…are you okay?"

Was she okay? She didn't know how to answer that herself. The reason for her snapping felt silyl and ridiculous in her head, but in her heart she wasn't ready for this. Dating was supposed to be kisses and love and exploring yourself with someone special, wasn't it?

"It's just…I thought when we became official you'd settle down a little." She sighed. "Take things a bit more seriously. Ugh now I sound like Courtney. Has she been rubbing off on me?"

"Aw c'mon Bridge, you know I didn't mean to."

"I know!" She threw up her hands. "You're a big goofball who doesn't think, and sometimes that's cute but other times it makes me want to slap you!"

"W-which one is it this time?"

"...I don't know. It's a lot to take in and I-"

Before she could get her thoughts out completely, the shriek of the loudspeakers cut her off mid-sentence.

"Attention campers! Meet me at the amphitheater in ten minutes, I repeat, ten minutes!"

Their conflict ground a halt, and for a while all they could do was just stare at each other awkwardly. They had to get moving, but there were still so many feelings running hot they hadn't yet gotten off their chest. They slowly shuffled away from each other, taking half steps back while avoiding eye contact.

"So…" Geoff began.

"Sooooo…." Bridgette cleared her throat.

"Uh…"

"Yeah…"

Bridgette finally managed to look up in Geoff's general direction. "Let's do this later?"

"Totally." Geoff nodded.

They walked together in awkward silence towards the ampitheater. Some of the others were already there, but some still hadn't arrived yet. When Bridgette sat down, Geoff's first instinct was to sit next to her. But he second guessed himself, and awkwardly fell into the seat one row down.

It appeared that they weren't the only ones having relationship issues either. Gwen was in the row below theirs, but when Trent came over to sit next to her she vaulted up into the seat between Geoff and Bridgette. Unwittingly, she'd just sandwiched herself in between their couple troubles in an attempt to escape her own. Everyone else fell into place wherever there was room to sit, not caring as much about who they were next to.

"Welcome to your next challenge." Chris said. "The time honored game of torture, Say Uncle! You are all about to be put through tests of endurance so insane, that some of them sent our interns to the emergency room."

He gestured to the scoreboard that had been used in the talent contest, which had a big red 10 displayed on its timer.

"If you back down from the challenge or do not last the required ten seconds, you will be eliminated. The winner will not only be safe from elimination, but will win this luxurious trailer. Yours to take home at the end of the summer."

There it was, a ways off stage. Clad in a shiny white exterior, with chrome trim gleaming in the sun. A few jaws dropped and excited murmurs filled the crowd. The more savvy members of the audience realized that thing had to be worth damn near half the grand prize money. Even the less savvy could only dream of the luxury within, after over a month of sleeping on ratty bedsheets in leaky wood cabins.

"You can also volunteer to go in someone's place and do their torture. If you complete it, not only will they be safe for the round, you'll get to sit out your next torture as a reward. Fun right?"

"What kind of torture?" Courtney asked.

"Why don't you ask my lovely assistant?" Chris replied. As if on cue, in fact certainly so, Chef emerged onto the stage, wearing a hockey mask that made his already intimidating visage look positively murderous.

Nobody dared ask Chef. The point was made without a single word spoken.

"Alright." Chris rubbed his hands together. "Let's do this!"

"Zeke, you're up first! You've been out of this a while, time to get reacquainted with the pain."

"Ah yeah uh, bring it on McClean. You better hand over the deed, cause I'm gonna mow it."

"Sure dude. Whatever you say." Chris shrugged. "Let's spin the wheel of misfortune to see what your torture is."

On the standing wheel were several graphics representing what terrible fates awaited them. Each was specific enough to give them an idea of what it was, yet left enough to the imagination to stoke the fires of fear of the unknown. Chris gave the wheel a good hard spin and let it go. It whirled for a few more rotations before beginning to slow, coming to a stop on a picture of a puck.

"Oooh, hockey puck shots." Chris grinned.

Chef went backstage and emerged with a hockey stick and a net basket full of pucks. Two interns followed him with a goalie net and set it on the stage opposite of the stands.

"Back in highschool, Chef Hatchet here was the meanest forward his hockey team had ever seen. Rumor was he kept a necklace of all the teeth he busted out of his opponents in his pocket for good luck. Sadly, we couldn't find any documents proving he ever went to highschool, or indeed, anything suggesting he existed before 1998."

Chris led Ezekiel over to the net and stood him in front of it. "You gotta stand there, unprotected, and take every puck he hurls at you until the timer is up. Fun right?"

"...mhm. Totally. Sounds radical."

"I'd cover my kiwis if I were you dude." Chris told him as he stepped clear of the net. "This could get ugly."

A buzzer sounded and the timer began counting down. Not a second after it began a puck hurtled towards him. He stepped out of the way as it just barely grazed his ear, but he hadn't time to breath a sigh of relief before another one was screaming right at him. He tried to dodge again, but was too slow on the uptake. It glanced off his shin, a sharp crack of pain following.

More came afterwards. Some he avoided, but Chef's barrage was ceaseless and rapid. One hit him squarely in the gut, and it was all he could do to stay upright. Another checked him in the shoulder, and two smashed his hands while shielded his prized family jewels from harm. After ten seconds, he was battered, and probably bruised all over under that sweater and jeans. But he was still standing, and that's all that counted to Chris.

The game had begun, and everyone else would have to stand and take it in a different sadistic punishment to advance through the round. To the surprise of everyone, it was Geoff who chickened out when threatened with electrocution from the cattle prod. When he was out, he was led back to the stands, and placed in heavy iron shackles that bound him to the seat. An extra layer of humiliation for the losers.

During the second round, it seemed like Lindsay would for sure be eliminated after she landed one of the most brutal dares on the wheel, having molten marshmallows poured on her face for ten seconds. Not only did she agree to it however, she sat through the whole thing without complaining even once. Afterwards she only had one comment.

"Oh my god, I can't believe how smooth that is." She said, rubbing her face. "That isn't even like, the most painful salon visit I've had either. Thanks Chip."

"It's Chris." He told her.

Later that round, Noah decided he'd had enough the minute they brought out an alligator with an apple sitting inside its mouth. He liked his hands, they were very important for gaming. Even his left one, which was the lesser of hands, was still pretty important. He tapped out.

Not long after him, Katie met her match when she was threatened with a poison ivy face wrap. Her mind flashed back to vivid memories of her and Sadie's first day on the island, and instantly she lost the will to continue.

That next round, Heather was out because she refused to do a hand stand on hot coals, on the basis that her nails were already suffering badly enough without cooking them too. Five rounds in and the real wimps were starting to filter out. Now it was time to see what the real competitors could do. Halfway into the fifth round, Gwen got picked to go up next.

"Gwen, you're up." Chris said. The wheel landed on a graphic of a leech. That one didn't leave much to the imagination. "The barrel of leeches awaits."

A waist-high wooden barrel was carted out onto the stage. The lid was lifted to reveal a rippling black membrane at the top of the water, which on closer inspection was in fact the slimy bodies of dozens of leeches all writhing at the surface. She braced herself as she stood up, shuffling forwards with arms crossed tightly and legs pinched together.

"Wait!" A voice called from the stands. "I'll go for her!"

She turned to see Trent waving a hand above his head frantically. Her heart skipped a beat. Was he pulling her leg or something? There was no way he actually would right? She waited for the "just kidding", but instead he got up and left his seat.

"Taking a dive for your girl? Mad respect dude." Chris nodded. "Gwen, take a seat. Trent, come on up."

After all he'd been through because of her, he would do that? Gwen was crushed by a dual-pronged emotional tidal wave. One side of it was hopeful and excited. He still liked her, she still had a shot! It also however, made her horribly guilty. To think that she had caused him so much trouble and ostracized him just for liking her.

She wanted to throw herself into his arms and thank him. But she also couldn't bear even looking at him, and ran past him back to her seat without a word. Only once she sat down, and saw him about to climb into the barrel, did she see how badly that had deflated him. Trent looked like he just watched her strangle a child. The pain of betrayal was raw in his eyes.

He still went through with the deed, but with his motivation sapped he didn't last more a few seconds before scrambling out in a panic. In that brief time his body had already accumulated a horrifying amount of leeches, sinking their bloodsucking fangs through his clothes and into his flesh. Several interns with bottles of leech repellent surrounded him, applying just a dab of the substance to make the repulsive creatures fall away. Once thoroughly cleared of parasites, Trent was led back to the stands and placed in shackles.

Bridgette snapped out of her funk after witnessing that. Forgetting for a moment her own problems, her instincts kicked in and she tapped Gwen on the shoulder.

"What the heck Gwen?" Bridgette whispered. "He just stepped into a barrel of leeches for you, and you can't even say thank you? Or at least look at him?"

"I know, it was terrible. What was I thinking?" She groaned and buried her face in her hands.

"Tell me what's wrong, alright?" Bridgette said. "I promise I won't judge you, you're obviously going through a lot right now."

"You probably wouldn't believe me. It's really dumb."

"After all the crazy stuff I've seen here?" Bridgette chuckled. "Try me."

"Okay…fine…" Gwen breathed deeply. "So…after Heather blamed me for voting off Trent I was sure he hated me. But then he comes back and is all nice, and I just don't know how to process that? I was hoping I could just avoid him until after the challenge but then he blew it by taking that dive for me."

"Sounds like you have a lot of strong feelings about him." Bridgette said. "It won't do you any good to keep hiding them if this is how that makes you act."

"So what, I just walk up to him and tell him?" Gwen's eyes widened in disbelief.

"He has plenty to tell you about he feels too." Bridgette told her. "Any guy who would throw themselves under the bus like that is head over heels."

It was hard to deny it, in spite of how badly Gwen wanted to. She was used to rejecting people, and even more used to being rejected before she had a chance. The thought of Trent actually liking her scared her more than the idea of him hating her, but that's what made it so exciting wasn't it? All the best things in life were a little scary and dangerous.

"Fine, I'll talk to him." Gwen said. "Just, not right now okay? Let's just get through this challenge first. Getting pummeled with hockey pucks and covered in leeches is a real mood killer."

"Fair enough. I feel that." Bridgette laughed. Knowing that she wasn't the only girl in the world stumbling cluelessly into her first relationship was like a weight lifted off her shoulders.

It also made her think back to the fight earlier, with Geoff. Was she overreacting? Had she been too harsh? Maybe she was taking too many cues from Courtney after all. She glanced over at Geoff, whose attention seemed divided between fearfully looking at her, and fearfully looking at the challenge. Her heart strings tugged a little. He looked like a lovesick puppy, and she felt terrible for leaving him hanging like that. If she was going to tell Gwen to just go for it and talk to Trent, maybe she needed to follow her own advice, and clear things up with Geoff as soon as this was over.

While Bridgette ruminated on her love life, others were fighting as hard as they could in the challenge. Much to the surprise of everyone present, Ezekiel was still in the game. He didn't understand half the words he was spouting in his attempt to seem cool, but he did know how to take a hit. His continued and unexpected success drew the attention of one other camper in particular, who couldn't help but hold him with a mix of fascination and disdain.

Beth had dealt with guys like Ezekiel before back at home, the sort that blithely repeated the ignorance which had been passed down to them through generations. By those standards, he was a rather tame example. Though it seemed so long since they first came to the island, she vividly recalled everything said back then. Sure he believed that girls weren't as strong or as smart as guys, and she wouldn't hear any of that, but he also wanted to protect the girls on the island. That put him a cut above the sorts she'd met who also believed women to be stupid and weak, and used it to justify all sorts of scummy behavior for their own gain. Beth's parents had done a great deal to keep men like that out of her life, but in a small town full of hicks they were never far.

That just made it all the more frustrating to her that he was acting like this. Because if he was malicious and stupid, it would be easy to just ignore him. Instead, she was forced to watch him flounder trying to be something he clearly wasn't. He spouted off hip catch phrases that he had no clue the meaning of, which were used by the sorts of people he'd never even seen before much less interacted with. And behind it all, that desperation for approval was so transparent that even Beth could see it in every move he made.

Then something clicked, and from that thought was born an epiphany. Was that what she looked like, whenever she was trying to act preppy and popular around Heather?

Such a question filled Beth with a sense of dread. It made her question every interaction she'd had on the island up until that point. Why had anyone bothered keeping her around? With Heather it was obvious now that it was for her vote, but what about Lindsay? Did she seriously put up with every painfully uncool thing Beth did and still accept her?

Beth watched as he came back from another successful challenge. He tried so hard to swagger, but it only ended up making him look like a drunken duck. She then thought back to her promise to become more like DJ, and to stop walking in the footsteps of Heather. Maybe standing up to her was too much to ask for right now, but perhaps Beth could try to be better than Heather in other ways. This could be her chance to try.

"Hey uh, Zeke." She leaned forwards in her seat a little."You know, you don't have to talk like that to impress people. You're doing really good in the challenge and I think you could actually win this."

"Woah, really? I mean uh, fo shizzle?"

"No, not fo shizzle." She shook her head. "The truth is…that nobody thinks you're acting cool. It's just embarrassing, really…"

She trailed off and waited for his reaction. Would he harshly reject her and double down? Or would he implode and give up once the realization hit him? Disappointment colored his expression as he looked back at her.

"But, all the famous stars on the TV said…"

"You're not them." Beth sighed. "Imagine how ridiculous I would be if I went around acting like Paris Hilton."

He paused to consider her point, looking down at his lap for a couple seconds. "You said you really think I can win this?"

"Beth! You're up." Chris's voice interrupted them before she could respond.

Reluctantly she stood up, but before she left she quickly leaned in and added. "I know you can. Just stop trying to put on the silly act and focus on the challenge. You're doing great, so own it."

"Beth!" Chris said, tapping his foot impatiently. "Come on, we don't have all day!"

She couldn't stall any longer, and had to leave him with just those parting words. Hopefully they would take. If not, she could at least sleep that night with a clear conscious knowing she did everything she could to help. Right now however, it was her turn to endure the pain.

A tall metal cylinder was carted out onto the stage with a dolley and placed in front of her. Inside the open door, she could see a barebones interior with just a showerhead at the top. "Beth, you have to spend ten seconds in the tear gas chamber."

Growing up on a farm she was no stranger to noxious fumes and harsh chemicals, but she'd never been tear gassed before. Her older cousin had when he got in a scuffle with some local police, but he'd always been a troublemaker and she never thought to ask him what it was like. It couldn't be that bad right?

Beth stepped into the chamber. The door shut behind her, and she heard the hiss of gas start to pour into the tightly confined space. The air became hostile to her, it took on a cloudy color and every breath started to burn her lungs. She shut her eyes to keep it out of them, but her nose ran uncontrollably with mucus and just breathing it in caused her eyes to fill with tears. Instinctively she opened her eyes to wipe them clear and instantly regretted it. It was like the air itself was trying to torch them out of their sockets.

It was too much, she pounded against the door and screamed to be let out. As it swung open she stumbled out frantically, gasping for clean oxygen to fill her searing chest.

"Ooh, nine seconds. Just missed it." Chris said.

As Beth was led back to her seat and placed in shackles, she could already feel Heather's glare burning a hole through her. She still couldn't really see, her eyes were too watery, but she knew beyond a shadow of the doubt.

"What the hell was that?" Heather demanded.

"I'm sorry," Beth sniffled, "I got it in my eyes and-"

"Not that." Heather cut her off. "Before the challenge, were you talking to homeschool back there?"

"Uh, no. I mean maybe…" Beth stammered. "So what?"

"So, he's totally gross. Did everything I taught you about popularity leak out your ear? Stay away from him or you'll make our alliance look bad, got it?"

Oh how she wanted to tell Heather off for that. It was okay for her to string Beth along even if she thought of her as gross, but Ezekiel was off-limits? But when she went to speak, all she could mutter was a timid, "...got it."

She still had a long ways to go.

Shortly after Beth was out, Gwen followed her after her. Pain was one thing, but the mind-numbingly blase nothingness of new age music was like a railroad spike through her psyche. She threw off the headphones after only a few seconds of the opening, booting her out of the running and into chains with the rest of the losers.

As the number of contestants still in the running dwindled, Ezekiel started to think that maybe Beth was right. Even Lindsay, whose continued participation was nearly as much of a shock as his own survival, tapped out the next round when she had to get her head shaved with a chainsaw. That one made him wince. Even he wasn't sure he could do it. Just the thought of that thing so close to his head made him mortally terrified.

Now that she was out however, it was down to himself, Owen and Courtney. The latter took him by surprise. All he could remember about her was that she refused to jump in the diving challenge and then yelled at everyone while they tried to move their crates. How could she of all people have made it this far in a test of endurance? How could she have made it this far in the competition? People on his team that he'd thought seemed stronger and cooler, like Duncan and DJ, were gone, yet she remained? Had his first impression been wrong? Or had she changed a great deal since he last saw her?

He didn't have time to ponder it. What mattered is that he had a chance, and someone who he would let down by blowing that chance. With only three of them left, the tortures came rapid fire. Next up for Ezekiel was waterboarding, which sounded like a fun and exciting activity to someone who had no idea what that was.

It quickly turned into the most terrifying ten seconds of his life, overwhelmed by the sensation of drowning. In those moments where he nearly screamed for it to stop he only held it back in by remembering what Beth told him. This was how he could prove himself, this was how he could be cool. She believed it, and so did he.

He emerged on the other side, shaken but still standing. The punishing battle went on. Courtney was up next, and would have to let a deadly reticulated python constrict her for ten seconds before the crew could remove it. When the serpent was brought out onto the stage, its sheer size drew gasps of awe from the audience. Despite being a mighty three meters long, this was only a juvenile, maybe half its potential adult size and still able to comfortably coil around any of the contestants with tail to spare.

"You don't have to do this Courtney! No prize is worth being eaten by a snake." Bridgette said.

"I can handle this." Courtney assured her, looking at Chris. "Your people better get this damn thing off me if anything goes wrong, or I will haunt you through eternity and you will never rest."

"Relax, dead contestants don't make money. Neither do expensive settlements. So step right up."

Anyone who had seen the discovery channel as a five year old understood how a constrictor snake worked. It was one thing to see it however, and another entirely to realize what it felt like to be crushed from every direction all at once. Courtney could feel her lungs pulling and gasping for air but drawing nothing, her extremities going number as the blood flow stopped and oxygen sapped out of them.

In just the ten seconds she had to endure she lost feeling in her fingers and toes, and if it were allowed to go on certainly all of the rest of her would follow. Thankfully, the timer rang and the interns went to work uncoiling the snake. Courtney gasped for air and staggered forwards as she was released, flashing a thumbs up at the stands.

Now it was Owen's turn to give it a go. He landed on a picture of ice cream, which Chris helpfully explained was the ice cream tub chug challenge. Down a whole pound of ice cream in ten seconds. A tall order for anyone, but if anyone could hack it, Owen was definitely the guy.

"Free ice cream?" He laughed as he was handed a jumbo spoon and tub of vanilla, "You call this torture?"

"We'll see about that." Chris grinned menacingly, and the timer buzzed. "Chug dude, chug!"

On start Owen began voraciously scooping huge gobs of ice cream into his mouth, gulping down the desert in mouthfuls. It looked like he would easily pass through the challenge, and by five seconds in he'd already downed half the contents.

Then a paralyzing chill gripped his skull and he seized up in place. Brain freeze. Too late he realized why this was a torture. The ice cream was bait, a sweet and sugary delight that lured him to his own demise with its tastiness. By the time he got a grip and started trying to eat again it was too late. The timer buzzed, and there was still plenty of ice cream left in the bowl.

"You're out dude." Chris said.

"Awww man." Owen sighed, clutching his throbbing head. "Can I at least keep this?" He pointed to the remaining ice cream.

"Sure. Knock yourself out."

He shuffled back to the stands. Now it was just down to Courtney and Ezekiel, who both felt a sense of deja vu descend upon them. They waited anxiously for Chris to spin the wheel, but instead the host came towards them where they sat.

"Congratulations to our two steely competitors, for enduring twenty rounds of torture." He gave them a modest applause. "I have to say, when we began this I wasn't expecting it to end in a rematch, but I sure am glad it did. That is quality TV, people."

"So, for our two former bottom feeders who are now today's top dogs, you'll be going head to head in a sudden death round. Winner takes all. The swag, the immunity, the bragging rights, it will be yours!"

"What exactly are we doing?" Courtney said.

"I'm so glad you asked. Follow me."

Chris led them off the stage and back to the campgrounds, then down to the dock. Two large logs floated in the water below, hinting at the ordeal ahead. Behind them, the losers were led in chains to the shore where they could watch. They were the most absurdly colorful chain gang to ever shuffle their way down Wawanakwa. Once they were all in position, Chris began to explain.

"For your final challenge, you will be log-rolling." He explained. "Once you're both on your respective logs, the timer starts, and you better get rolling. First camper to either stop rolling or fall off the log is out. Any questions?"

"No sir." Ezekiel shook his head, kneading his palms together nervously. Letting the mask fall away was liberating, but it also left him with nothing to hide behind.

"Let's do it." Courtney said.

Carefully they stepped out onto the logs, each footfall precisely calculated. The logs bobbed in the water beneath them, shifting with every step and making every move a risk even before they tried to start rolling it. Still, they made it to their starting positions with neither of them being dunked in the water.

As they waited for the signal to begin, some of the losers started calling to them from the shore.

"Go Courtney! You're gonna roll him!" Bridgette cheered.

"Cause he ain't the sharpest tool in the she-ed!" Geoff sang.

"That's right Courtney, show him what girls can do." Gwen joined in on the cheering.

It was a chest-clenching reminder for Ezekiel of his past failure. It made him want to just go back hiding behind all that cool slang and street life persona he'd built up around himself. Who cared if it was fake? They certainly didn't like the real him.

"Don't let them get to you Zeke." A lone voice spoke up. "You're gonna do great. I believe in you."

He didn't have to look to know who it was. Nobody else had that lisp in their voice. He glanced over his shoulder, careful not to tip the log. There Beth was, at the front of the crowd, smiling at him through bloodshot eyes. Though it was her alone that spoke in his favor, just knowing one person had his back steeled his resolve. It wouldn't be easy, but if someone believed he could do it, so did he.

"Everyone ready?" Chris asked, raising the air horn above his head. "On your marks, get set, roll!"

On the blast of the horn, both of them started running in place as fast as they dared. Trying to get the log spinning without being unceremoniously thrown off it and into the lake. The first few steps were shaky and tentative, but as their speed picked up they found the log felt more steady beneath them somehow. Both of them reached the fastest speed they could maintain, and once there it was a battle of endurance to see who would make a mistake first.

Once again Courtney was proving every bit a worthy opponent. She had her log rolling just as fast as he did, and showed no signs of tiring. She had a focused, determined look on her face. She wasn't looking at him, she didn't say any trash talk, or indeed anything at all. She looked straight ahead, her eyes on the prize.

In that moment, Ezekiel saw something in her that he recognized. Something he couldn't quite name, too much of his focus was being consumed by the grueling challenge. It would have to wait. As the seconds ticked by his legs really began to burn and his throat dried out from his rapid breathing. He no longer watched Courtney or listened to the crowd lest it take him away from the task at hand.

It felt like it had gone on for hours, but it couldn't have been but a handful of minutes. His heavy boots played against him. They gave him fantastic traction on the slippery surface of the wet log, but they made each step laborious. Just when he was starting to slow down and feel the pull of the log trying to yank him into the water, he saw Courtney stumble and slip. She lost her footing for a brief second, and although she managed to quickly right herself, his peripheral vision caught it.

She too was tiring. He could still win this, if only he hung in just a little longer. He pushed himself, rallying all his remaining strength to his aid, his aching muscles fueled by pure adrenaline. Ezekiel was determined to roll that log until he collapse.

And he very nearly did. Seconds before his legs gave out on him, Courtney again slipped. This time however, she fell too far before she started trying to recover. She was already on her way down, and all she could do was let out a scream before hitting the water with a resounding splash.

"I can't believe it! Zeke wins!" Chris announced. Not two seconds after, he collapsed and went straight into the river himself.

Stunned silence fell on the audience. Zeke crawled out of the lake and onto the dock to find everyone staring wordlessly at him. A single clap emanated from the crowd, and everyone turned to look at the lone applauser with a mix of annoyance and disbelief.

"What?" Beth asked defensively.

"We talked about this." Heather said.

Any other day she would be so terrified of just a dirty look from Heather, that it would have shut her up completely. But now, someone was counting on her to be their support.

"He won, fair and square, we should at least give him some credit right?" She said firmly, and when that only seemed to annoy Heather even more, she quickly changed tracks. "Plus, he did dunk Courtney in the lake. Tell me you didn't enjoy that?"

A thin smile cracked the corners of Heather's lips, and she gave the smallest of nods. "Okay, she so deserved it." She made the smallest of golf claps. "That'll do Zeke, that'll do."

Some of the more Heather-aligned parts of the crowd followed her lead. It was a modest applause, but it was enough for him. It beat dealing with the deafening silence of judgemental stares.

"Congratulations dude." Chris said. "Not only are you immune during tonight's elimination, you get to kick back in the lap of luxury tonight. Silky soft egyptian cotton bed sheets, top of the line air conditioning, and a heated shower. It's all yours."

"Thanks." He panted breathlessly. He didn't have anything else to say really. No spiel about how much faster, stronger and smarter he was, or some clever catchphrase he stole from a celebrity. He was much too tired for that. After taking a beating all day, the only thing he could think about was getting his butt to that trailer and into those promised cotton sheets.

With the challenge over, the losers were finally released from their chains. "The rest of you." Chris said. "Get cleaned up and think about who you want to vote for tonight."

As they headed back to the cabins, Ezekiel realized there was one thing he still needed to do before he crashed for the night. He found Beth talking with Heather, and remembering her cold response to him earlier he wisely chose to hang back and wait. After a few minutes, Heather left to go do something. What it could be, he didn't have the slightest clue, but as long as it wasn't anywhere near him he felt he would be safe.

"Hey, uh…" He froze as he approached her, realizing that he didn't know the girl's name. She'd never been on his team and she hadn't told him during the challenge. "Uh, excuse me? What was your name again?"

"Huh?" She glanced up at him. "Oh uh, yeah. It's…Beth. Heh, sorry I didn't start with that."

"It's alright eh?" He shrugged. Beth. It was a fitting name for her he thought. She looked like a Beth. If he'd been forced to guess, it probably would have been in his top five choices. "You probably know my name cause they said it on the big loud noise maker, up on the pole, remember?"

She scratched her head. "Noise maker? Oh! You mean the loudspeaker that Chris announces everything with?"

"Yeah that thing. We don't have any of those back home. You wanna be loud you just gotta shout."

"Oh I totally get that. We have a couple back in my town but most of them don't work." Beth laughed. "So uh, what were you gonna say?"

"Right! Uh, just wanted to say thank you, eh?" He clenched his hands together, fidgeting anxiously. "For helping me out back there."

"It's okay! Really, no need to thank me." She said. "I knew you'd do great."

"Yeah. I'd share the trailer, you know, to make it up to you? But I don't think Chris would approve eh?"

"You would?!" Beth jumped just a little too excitedly, and immediately shrunk back when she realized how loud that came out, her face turning a spectacular shade of crimson. "I mean uh, yeah. We'd probably get in trouble."

"For sure. Don't wanna get my new trailer taken away." He nodded, completely oblivious to her faux pas. "It's really sweet. Better than most of the trailers people live in back home."

"I bet." Beth laughed. "I live in a real house. Just in case you were wondering."

"Me too! Wow, crazy how much we have in common."

"Yeah. Totally crazy." She rubbed the back of her head. "I should really get going, before Heather notices I'm gone."

"Oh, yeah." He nodded. "Nice talking to you. And uh, thanks again for the help. Catch you around soon eh?"

"Yeah! That'd be great." She waved. "Later."

As she went, Ezekiel had a funny feeling in his tummy. It was satisfying, but in a different way from winning the challenge. Whatever it was, he hoped that it would come back.

Sometimes, the best plans in life were the easiest ones. Rather than hatch any complex plan to divert Courtney and the others away from the cabin, Heather this time opted to just wait. The CIT would be washing up for a while after taking a dive in that nasty lakewater, and Bridgette was off spending quality time with Geoff. She didn't know where Gwen was, but if she had to guess, it had something to do with stalking Trent.

That left her the perfect opportunity to get that diary and get some much needed leverage against Courtney's alliance. Just in case, she had Noah and Katie guarding the front door, and beyond them, Beth and Lindsay staged such that they could alert the former two if someone came back.

While rummaging through the drawers for Courtney's diary, Heather found Gwen's sketchbook that she claimed to be interested in for its lurid content. Briefly she considered actually keeping it as a prize of opportunity. There might actually be some worthwhile blackmail in there. Then again, she really didn't care. Gwen wasn't a threat unless she got inducted into Courtney's alliance. Would a goody-two-shoes rule lover like her really accept working with a grungy rebel like Gwen? Heather seriously doubted it.

Her search was interrupted by a knock at the door, followed by Katie's muffled voice. "Hey uh, we just like, saw Gwen. She's not coming back right now but she's close so like, hurry up?"

Immediately she went to the window and opened it, preparing her escape before anything else so she wouldn't be caught in such an embarrassing way again. Now that she had her out, Heather quickly swept through the room, patting down sheets and turning over the contents of every drawer. Just when she thought she had checked it all without success, her elbow brushed spiral bound spine sticking up out of the little space between the bed frame and the matress of Courtney's bed.

She fished a hand down in there, and was delighted to pull a little black book out. She flipped open the first page and in beautiful cursive handwriting she could just barely make out the name.

Courtney Valentino. 6/01/2007.

Heather snapped it shut and wasted no time crawling out the window with it. She closed that behind her to leave less of a trail and then hid it behind her back as she circled around back to the front of her cabin.

"I got it." She motioned Katie to follow her inside. "Egghead. Stay on guard. We'll check out the goods."

"There's nothing wrong with his head." Katie protested.

Heather ignored her, and the two went into the cabins to see what juicy new info Heather had managed to poach. She set the book down on the rug. It was maybe an inch thick, and the cover was a solid color with no labels or writing on it. Very formal looking, as could be expected from its owner.

"Is this the diary you saw her write in?" Heather asked.

"It looks like the one." Katie nodded.

"Good." Heather unfolded it and set it in her lap as she began to read. "What do you think is gonna be in it? Steamy affairs? Cheating? Sabotage? Gimme something good."

Katie furrowed her brow in disapproval, but watched over Heather's shoulder as she went through it's contents. That's when they noticed that something was off. The first page of real content was divided up into boxes, with numbers on them, and instead of paragraphs all they had was bullet point lists.

"6:00, wake up. 6:15, brush teeth? 6:30, Shower? 6:45, get dressed? Wait a minute…" Heather skipped ahead a lines. "13:30, collect laundry, 13:45, organize socks? This isn't a diary! It's a day planner!" She hurled it across the room in frustration, where it landed against the wall with a thud.

"Are you sure this was the only book you saw her with?" Heather asked Katie as the latter went up to go retrieve the planner.

"Yeah." Katie nodded. "This was basically it."

"Useless." Heather spat. "Forget about the affair. We'll have to take them down the old fashioned way. We get the alliance together and vote them out."

"But who should we vote for?" Katie asked.

The answer was short, simple and rhetorical. "Good question."

Elsewhere, Geoff had finally worked up the courage to talk to Bridgette after their earlier dispute. When he went looking for her he'd expected her to be mad, and that he'd have to chase her down to some remote corner of the island to have a word with her. So when he came out of the boy's cabin and nearly ran into her on the porch, he about had a heart attack.

"Gah, Bridgette!" He sputtered, catching himself in the door frame as he nearly stumbled back through it. "What are you doing here?"

Despite herself, Bridgette bristled. "Is it a bad time? We could do this later-"

"No way brah! I mean, I was looking for you just, didn't think I'd find you."

She untensed, just a little. "O-oh. You were looking for me? That's weird because…I was looking for you."

"You were?"

"Y-yeah…I…"

Geoff felt the pressure building in his chest, it felt like his heart was a bomb about to explode if he didn't get his feelings out to Bridgette.

"Bridgette, I am so sorry!" He blurted. "I know I messed up big time and I was so scared of losing you and that we'd be over so I had to do something and I know it's not perfect so if you're still mad I totally get it and-"

His rambling jolted to a halt as Bridgette threw her arms around him and squeezed tight, burying her face in his chest. "Shut up you big baby." She muttered.

Even Geoff had enough intuition to get the hint. He stopped talking, wrapped his arms around her, and they cradled each other for a few minutes. Not saying anything, not doing anything, just soaking up the feeling.

"So…you're not still mad?" He asked.

Reluctantly, Bridgette let go and pushed herself off his chest so she could lean back to look up at him in the eyes. Between his bad posture and goofy demeanor it was easy to forget just how freaking tall he was. She loved being reminded like this.

"No." She shook her head, laughing a little. "But I am a little curious…how the heck did you get that new board?"

"Oho, that's a wicked story." Geoff chuckled. "Long one too man. Wanna like, chill on the beach while I tell you all about it?"

Falling in beside him, she wrapped her fingers around his as they started walking. "That sounds perfect."

So they cuddled up on the beach and Geoff told her all that he could get in edgewise between the kisses. They watched the sun sink below the horizon, and not long afterwards they were called to the elimination ceremony. The first they had in over a week. With DJ's medical evacuation and a non-elimination round back to back, the contestants had been subject to an unexpectedly long reprieve from the routine of regular eliminations. That ended tonight.

"Screaming Gophers, Killer Bass. These are both names that mean nothing now." Chris began the ceremony. "From here on out, everyone can vote for anyone. Almost anyone. Ezekiel, you won tonight's challenge, and with it, immunity. You get to come up and claim the first marshmallow."

"Sweet, eh." Ezekiel stood up, and for the first time since he got to the island, a bit of real confidence filled his step. Not the wobbly duck waddling swagger he imitated earlier, but an upright and proud stance.

As he picked up the marshmallow, it occurred to him that the little white puffball would be his first. Both on the island, and ever. His parents never allowed such processed industrial foods into their household, seeing them as sinful creations of modern man's hubris. He only knew what a marshmallow was because they appeared on some of the shows he was allowed to watch.

Here too, it marked a first. Being the very first out of the game, the feeling of safety was a new one to him as well. One that he liked more and more as he sat down. He could watch the whole ceremony play out in complete comfort. Idly, he nibbled at the marshmallow, and waited to see what would come of this.

"Now, on to the rest of your losers, who are all very much at risk of going home tonight." Chris continued. "If I call your name, come up and get your marshmallow. First up, is…Geoff."

"Woohoo! Alright!" He ran up and got his marshmallow.

"Lindsay, Beth. You two are safe." Chris said.

They squealed with delight and ran up together to get their marshmallows.

"Noah, my dude. You live to see another day."

"Yaaaay."

"And so do you Owen. Trent, Katie, you're safe too. To the surprise of some, Gwen also gets a marshmallow tonight."

Now they were down to the last two. Bridgette looked around her, distressed and confused how she of all people ended up in the bottom two. "W-what? I thought I was cool with everyone? What happened?"

For her answer she only need turn her head to the other person in the bottom two with her. Heather was also without marshmallow, and she need not ask why. She had been correct to assume they would make an attempt to cast her out, and her plans were thus vindicated in an instant. While recording her vote, Courtney had summarized the facts of the matter, which slotted smoothly into the final episode.

"It's like they say. Chop off the head and the body will die. Lindsay is too dumb, Beth is too sycophantic, and Katie is too dependent. If Heather goes, they'll be lost and confused. Easy pickings."

Likewise, Heather had her reasons for voting Bridgette, that she helpfully shared in the confessional too. "Out of all of Courtney's little alliance, Bridgette is the biggest threat. Everyone likes her, and if this ends in a jury that prize is all hers. Plus, now that she and Geoff are official, that just means they're an unbreakable alliance who would definitely split the money if either of them won. She has to go."

One marshmallow remained, and two contestants had yet to receive one. Chris dangled it between his fingertips

"What a shocker." Chris commented. "I expected to see you this low Heather, but Bridgette? You must have seriously stepped on some toes while I wasn't looking, cause last I checked you were good with almost everyone on the island. What happened?"

"Maybe some people just couldn't take the good vibes." Bridgette suggested, side-eying Heather. She was shocked, but she was no fool, and already was piecing together why she would be a target.

"Doesn't really matter though." Chris shrugged. "The votes have been cast. The last camper who will receive a marshmallow is…."

"Heather. Come on up."

Once more victorious, Heather smugly took the prize she knew the she was owed and gobbled it down in one bite. "Bye bye surfer girl." She waved mockingly.

Doing her best to take it in stride, Bridgette stood up and went to take her one last walk down the dock of shame. Immediately by her side was Geoff, who looked even more forlorn about it than she was.

"This is bogus man." He smacked a palm into his fist angrily. "You should ask for a recount."

She stopped in her tracks and looked up at him, reaching up to cup his cheek. "Please, don't be angry about this. It's just a game, and I'm glad for the time we got to spend together. Don't ruin it with bitterness."

At her touch he softened, and his anger deflated into a puppy-dog eyed, verge of tears sadness. "But…but…but I'm going to miss you." He whined.

"I'll miss you too." Bridgette said. "But don't worry. We'll see each other again, I promise."

"Really?" Geoff asked.

"Really." Bridgette nodded. "Once this is all over, we will find a way."

Tears began to flow and Geoff's words trailed off in heartfelt sobs. "You're the best girl I could ever ask for. I love you Bridge…" This time, he was the one to pick her up by the waist and start the kiss. A long, fiery kiss, that she leaned into, and clung to him bodily with both her arms and legs.

They held it for as long as could before breaking it to breath, and for Geoff to cry a little more that she was leaving.

"Uh, buddy." Chris tapped his shoulder, rudely interrupting their moment. "Your girl has a boat to catch."

"Right…gotcha man." Geoff gently set her down on the dock, wiping his eyes and composing himself.

"I'll make sure he doesn't get into too much trouble while you're gone." Courtney said. "And I will make sure Heather pays for what she has done."

"I know I can count on you." Bridgette gave her a thumbs up. To her surprise, Courtney grabbed her by her extended arm and pulled her into a hug. Brief though it was, the gesture did not go unappreciated.

Her goodbyes said, Bridgette now made the final few steps down the dock. But before boarding the boat, there was one more person who ran to catch her, and get their last words off her chest.

"Hey." Gwen waved sheepishly as she skidded to a halt. "Just wanted to say thanks for the talk. I'm not gonna forget my promise, even if you're not here."

All Bridgette had to say to that, was to shrug and nod over in Trent's direction. "Don't tell it to me. Tell it to him."

"I will. Wish you could have stayed longer, you seem kinda cool. That's pretty rare in this freak show."

"Maybe. Perhaps we were friends, in another place, another time. Who knows?" Bridgette shrugged. She stepped onto the boat and gave one last wave to Gwen and everyone else on the dock before it pulled away. Like all others before her, she grew smaller, and smaller, and eventually disappeared into the darkness.

Nobody bothered to linger by the campfire much longer. Most them just wanted to get some rest, but Gwen wasn't ready for bed quite yet. She wasn't just going to fulfill her promise to Bridgette. For once, she was going to answer to herself and her wants, her needs. She was sick of hiding in the corner while Heather ruled the island. If she was cut down for disobeying some stupid laws of popularity, so be it. But she would die on her feet, doing what she wanted.

The moon was high in the sky over the cabins when she found Trent strumming a few practice notes on the porch of the boy's cabin. He was never far from that thing was he? She'd have to ask him what sort of songs he'd written after he got kicked out. Maybe he already had some angsty ballads of defeat ready to show her. That would be cool.

When she approached him he immediately perked up, scooting over to the side to make room for her. "Oh, Gwen! Uh, hey."

"Hey." She said, sitting next to him at arm's length.

"You're not mad at me are you? After the challenge I thought I might have said something…"

"No." Gwen cut him off. "No I'm not mad. I was just…" She inhaled deeply. "I was going through a lot. Never really expected to see you again. Guess I took Chris's word more seriously than he did."

"I feel that." He nodded. "I thought they were pulling my leg when they said they wanted me back. I was like, bro, you know that once you take the dock of shame that you can never come back ever, right?"

"Which turned out to be complete bogus." Gwen laughed.

"Yup. Man, I'm glad that I did get the chance though. I haven't stopped thinking about you since I got booted, I have so many songs you gotta hear."

"You do?" She leaned in. "That's kinda funny because, I thought you'd be the one mad at me. You know, after I got you booted off?"

"Don't sweat it. Cody told me all about what happened. It wasn't your fault."

"Cody?" She raised a brow. "Oh. So uh, are you guys cool now?"

"Yeah we're cool. He uh….also told me some things about you." Trent said, and Gwen's heart stopped in her chest. Was this what she thought it was? She tempered her expectations, reminding herself that just because she was ready to confess didn't mean he felt the same way. Did he?

"What kind of things?" She asked, testing the waters with an open ended question.

"That you really liked me, and were super sad to see me go. He said I should talk to you about it and I've been trying all day so-"

"It's true." Gwen blurted out.

Taken aback, Trent scratched his head. "Which part?"

"All of it." She said, "But before we talk too much about it I need to know…" She gathered up all her strength to move the next words out of her mouth. "Do you like me too?"

"Uh, yeah." Trent replied in the flattest, most direct tone she'd ever heard. "Why would I hang out with you if I didn't like you?"

"I don't know." Gwen shrugged. "I guess I just couldn't believe anyone actually like me? Everyone at school thinks I'm a freak, a weirdo, a reject. Why would anyone want that?"

"You're not a freak?" Trent gasped, sounding offended on her behalf that anyone would say such a thing. "You're smart, independent, beautiful, you're a real free-thinker and I love that about you. You're not like anyone else, and that's why I just can't get you out of my head. I like you, Gwen."

"So…then you'd like to maybe, go out some time?" She tapped her fingers together nervously. "As…as…couple?"

"Huh? I mean, yeah. I would like that." He tentatively reached out and clasped a hand around hers. She slid closer to him until she'd closed the gap, and finally was able to turn her head to look him in the eyes. Even in the low light of the buzzing yellow bulb above the cabin porch, his green eyes were gorgeous. Easily one of the best things about him. He could probably fit a few more pairs of those on his giant forehead? Was that a weird thing to think about right now? It definitely was, but she didn't care. He liked that about her, so why not embrace the weird?

"Would you also like it if we did this?" She asked, leaning up for a quick peck on the lips. Light, affectionate, it still made her heart beat fiercely and her cheeks flash with uncharacteristic color through the chalky foundation.

"Oh." He stared at her wide eyed. "Yes. I would like that too. I would that too, a lot, thank you. Yes, very much." He smacked his lips and shook his head. "Gah. Words. Kiss…"

"Heh it's okay. No need for words." She gripped his hand tightly. "Just, be here for me, okay?"

"Yeah. I can do that."

Thus he did. The two stayed by each other's side long into the night. Gwen shared stories about everything that had happened to her while Trent was gone, while he played her some of those tunes he'd been working on in her absence. For once, she could say she was truly happy here.