I'm back (one week too late)
Sorry about that, my lovelies. I had an introduction week for my study and my Word subscription ended, so I can't write my story on my own laptop. Don't worry about it, though, I promise I won't happen again.
Though, I should admit that I was also waiting for more people to notice my new story. It's quite noticeable that the show is over and a big part of the fandom has left (also the fanfic fandom). There are a lot of names that I used to see regularly, but now have disappeared. But that's okay, because there are also a lot of NEW names, which means new people that I can get to know. Thank you so much for all your enthusiastic reviews! I really enjoyed reading them :)
This chapter will be the first out of many tests I'll describe. Not much Auslly yet, but you'll notice it's just the start of whatever's coming. Enjoy!
She didn't just know his name, she knew everything about him. Austin Moon, professional swimmer, divorcé, father, drug addict.
"Prick," she whispers to herself as all the memories come flooding back. The realization drowns the look of disgust in her eyes.
"It's been a real pleasure, princess," Austin salutes her, ignoring her sudden change of attitude. Without giving her another glance, he makes his way to the others that are working on the hut, leaving Ally by herself, feeling a bit clueless and useless as the rest is busy with their tasks.
"I'm assuming you and Austin knew each other already." The same girl that sat beside her in the helicopter appears next to her with two rods in her hands. Offering one to Ally, she silently invites her to join her fishing.
Ally gives her a sincere smile. "We don't, actually," she admits as they take place on one of the flat boulders lying in the shallow part of the water. "At least, he doesn't know me." After the blonde girl gives her a confused look, Ally decides she trusts her enough to tell her the details. Besides, this could be her first chance of an actual friend on this island. "I once had to fight for custody for his ex-wife. The asshole didn't even show up to try and defend himself."
She decides to keep the whole drugs situation to herself. Beside the fact that she could get fired for telling not only the nice girl, but also spilling Austin's private information to the viewers, it wouldn't feel fair against Austin, no matter how much she hated him. "I won, though. Obviously," she chuckles proudly.
"And he doesn't know it was you," she states in disbelief, in which Ally shakes her head. "Are you planning on ever telling him?"
"Maybe somewhere in the future." Ally shrugs before showing her a confident smile. "After I send his ass off this island."
"I'd be glad to help you with that," the girl giggles, being convinced of Austin's horrible attitude, and finally introduces herself. "I'm Rachel."
"Ally." After formally shaking hands, they turn their attention back to improvised floats on the surface of the water.
"We're going to be in the finale together," Rachel suddenly speaks after a few moments of silence. "I can feel it."
A smile grows on Ally's face. "I'd love that." The two spend some time catching up and actually somehow catching a small fish or two. Ally finds out Rachel is a travel writer in continents like Africa and Indonesia, something that gave her somewhat advantage over being used to humid and hot weather. Rachel gives Ally all the information Ally missed out on when the group met for the first time and Ally shares her knowledge about specific fruits that are extra nutritious, something she had spent time on doing research on a few weeks before her departure. Without too much words, the girls promise they will look out for each other and share important observations about the other candidates.
And that's how Ally made her first pact.
After a few hours-or so they thought, since there was no way of telling the time-the group got picked up by a boat and taken to another island where some kind of obstacle course was set out for them. Once they arrived, the show host Ally had spoken to numerous of times in preparation of the show is waiting for them. The large group assembles itself in front of him.
"Welcome candidates. This first test will give you an impression of the skills you need to possess to survive on the island," gesturing to the playfield next to him, he starts explaining the parkour. "You will begin the race on a platform in front of the coast. After swimming to the shore, the first challenge is to make a fire, a very important task you need master better sooner than later. Once you manage to burn the string hanging over the pan, it will give you access to a torch that you need to light and bring with you. While holding the torch, you need to find your way over and under a few obstacles. At the end, all you need to do is solve a difficult math problem," the man easily walks them through their first test, the anxiety mixed with eagerness seen on everyone's faces. "Also, the individual choices you make in this test will determine the structure of the two teams."
Everyone takes a final look at the long course before a boat takes them to the floating platform. Ally takes a look at the people, as she hasn't talked to a lot of them yet. While silently making assumptions and estimating their professions and strengths, she catches the eyes of a particular smug looking young boy. While she wonders why he's staring at her, she notices his confident smirk as he compares his build with hers, obviously not impressed by her skinny arms and small figure.
That's when she recognizes him from some unprofessional broadcasting company. Drew something, she can vaguely remember. The journalists from the station were known for being pushy and inappropriate when interviewing people. They usually stuck their noses in cases they had no knowledge of, making quick assumptions that put the person being interviewed in an uncomfortable position. Ally had had the pleasure numerous of times when she came out of the courthouse after finishing a case about a celebrity. His invasive questions and her sassy way of avoiding them created a mutual dislike for each other and, looking at him, he remembers her as well. She can already vow they won't be getting along on the island.
As they all climb off the boat, the twelve equally fanatic candidates slightly push their way forward to get the best place at the edge of the platform possible. Tinier girls like Ally and Rachel find themselves clinging onto each other to avoid falling off. Finally, they manage to find a spot somewhere on the side. Before they know it, the presenter counts down from ten. Ally braces herself to jump off, knowing her diving skills are probably more underdeveloped than anyone's here. Only a second before they can start, Ally sees Drew inch his way closer to her. Before she can comprehend what's going on, he places one hand on her back and gives her a firm push, making her unable to leap a far distance into the water.
The salty water enters her nose and mouth and when she finally reaches the surface, she's coughing up her lungs and probably looking like a lost seal. The whole incident has created a big distance between her and the rest, some had already even reached the shore, including, obviously, Austin. Knowing cameras are surrounding her and not wanting to look like the victim, she follows them in her best attempt of a breast crawl, imagining the embarrassment she must portray while pushing herself through the water.
Once she arrives at her wok, she realizes she might've had to practice this. Looking at the different types of wood, straw and a stick of magnesium, she tries to remember what her brother, a dedicated fan of the show, told her. Start out with the driest type, the straw, she reckons, and try to get sparks from the magnesium sticks. Rachel standing next to her gives her a sympathetic smile, probably having seen how she had been pushed, and nods her head at Drew and rolls her eyes mockingly. Ally giggles shortly before trying focussing on her fire. Letting her eyes roam, she tries to sneakily copy the other candidates. After trying to blow on the straw, she notices the dry wood starting to glow in some places. Shielding the wok from the wind, she keeps using the magnesium and blowing until, finally, a small flame arises.
Without her noticing, some candidates had already succeeded into freeing the torch and were now on their way to the obstacle course. Lucky for her, the flame was growing rapidly, a sign for her to start adding the bigger pieces of wood. Next to her, Rachel's fire is almost reaching the string as well. Drew was struggling with his, though, as the water dripping from his face and hair were constantly extinguishing the starting flames. His patience was running out, just like the strength he needed to keep striking the magnesium stick. With a content smile, Ally eventually burns through the piece of string at the same time as Hannah does too. They both light their torch and, as they run to the next part, Hannah runs a little bit too close to Drew, her feet scooping up maybe a bit more sand than usual which lands in his wok.
"Sorry!" She blinks innocently as she puts out his umpteenth tiny flame before running along with Ally, leaving him and only two more struggling players. Holding the torch shielded from the wind, they storm over the obstacles as fast as their small bodies with minimal muscle would allow them to. Finally, they arrive at the last part where they discover only a few candidates had been able to solve the puzzle. Placing their torch in the holder, they study the problem. A classic high school sum was displayed on a big black board, something with a lot of multiplies, x's and even some long divisions. Ally was luckily quite decent at math, but the fact that they couldn't use a sheet to write their steps down made it very tricky.
"Fuck, my math game is off," Rachel mutters under her breath, making Ally laugh before she starts fully focussing on solving the problem. In a matter of minutes, after she had checked her answer twice and is sure she has the right code, she walks to her chest and effortlessly opens it. Inside, she sees two objects and looks at the presenter standing in front of her.
"You can choose only one," he tells her, in which she takes another look inside the chest. One is a vessel full off rolled up pieces of papers, obviously a bunch of extra votes she could use in an island selection, with a blue piece of cloth wrapped around it. The other option is a small pot of rice, something that could help the whole team when food would run out, with a likewise ribbon attached to the lid, only in red. "Untie the ribbon of the object of your choice and keep it hidden for the other players, so they don't base their decision on the assembly of the teams. Make sure only I can see the colour."
This early in the game, she had to make the decision between being a help for the whole team or an individual security for in the future. Shaking her head to get rid of the accusatory thoughts, she grabs the ribbon that was her first choice, puts it in the small of her fist so the colour is hidden from the others' eyes and crosses the finish line. That's where she sees a lot of other candidates had already finished in front of her, which wasn't a surprise since she hadn't been the fastest in the water nor on the obstacle course. Standing next to mostly the muscular guys who had probably struggled most with the math problems, she lets the fabric show behind her back for the host to see.
Rachel is still in war with the sum and it doesn't seem like she's progressing. With every second, the clear difficulty she has with solving the problem becomes more obvious. While Ally had been busy choosing a ribbon, Drew had arrived. At this point, Rachel seemed to have given up on her brain and started praying to every god she could think of. She had already ran to her chest to try numerous options, but the lock stubbornly objected every time.
Rachel, Drew and one other candidate were the last in the race, judged by the eyes of the others. Ally didn't have a clue what other colours the rest had chosen, but she now realized only six could pick the same colour, figuring the teams must have an identical number of candidates. Rachel makes another attempt, all hope now left her tired eyes, and it takes everyone by surprise when the chest opens. She quickly chooses a ribbon and joins the rest, receiving a proud wink of Ally. That's when the presenter speaks up.
"Drew and Hayley, please come forward and open your chests," he says and writes the solution on the board. With slightly red cheeks of shame, they follow his instructions. "As the blue team is full, please grab the red ribbon. Because you were the last two, you lose your prize. The rest of the candidates may now reveal what team they have chosen."
The players let the ribbon hang from one hand in front of them while looking around, sending smiles at their team mates. Ally squeals as she sees Rachel holding a blue ribbon as well, hugging her tightly. They had both chosen themselves over the team, something others might call selfish, but they knew they would be able to protect themselves and others with the extra votes, since no one had mentioned they couldn't let someone else use the votes. Naturally, the two teams gather up and exchange congratulating looks, already making Ally feel more welcome than when she arrived at the beach for the first time.
Everyone starts tying the ribbon to their clothes or around their wrists, knowing this colour was now their home, at least as long as they were on the island. Studying the faces of her teammates and trying to remember their names, she notices one pair of particularly mischievous hazel eyes looking her way, almost hidden behind still damp dirty blonde hair, paired with a smirk.
"Look at that, princess. What are the odds?" Austin chuckles as he ties the blue fabric around one of his belt loops. "Good to see you still have a bit of common sense in that head of yours."
Hope that was clear enough to understand!
One small favour I'm asking you readers and reviewers; if you want, could you maybe tell me what you'd like to see me change, regarding my writing style? For example longer/shorter paragraphs, more/less descriptive details, more/less variety in my word choice, things like that. You'd help me a bunch and it will make the story easier to read, as I'll adapt to your preferences :)
I will see you again next sunday 10pm my time (I swear)