Before getting started I'd like to say thanks to all my reviewers... except for the person who only commented because they don't like Courtney not being voted off last chapter. I have my reasons for keeping her here so far. Trust me, it'll be worth it, because it will impact how things go for the rest of this story and will have an even bigger impact on the sequel I'm planning. Just be patient. So... yeah. Here's the story now.
Chapter 7: Don't Take Anything
The campers, except Beth, stood by the beach, and Chris stood in front of them with a chart. "Bass, Gophers, today's challenge is a true summer camp experience: a canoe trip. You'll be paddling your canoes across the lake to bony island!" Chris did his best to sound scary, but the campers were not impressed. "When you get there, you must portage your canoes to the other side of the island, which is about a two hour hike through treacherous, dense jungle." Geoff scratched his head. "We gotta pour what?" "Portage", Chris said. "Dude. Walk with your canoe." "Oh." Chris nodded. "When you arrive at the other end of the island, you'll build a rescue fire that will be judged by me. The first team to finish and paddle back to this beach is the winner of invincibility. Move, campers, move!" They ran to the beach. "Oh, wait! One more thing I should mention. Legend has it, if you take anything off the island, you'll be cursed forever!" This time a few of the campers were actually scared, though not all of them. "Yeah, a cursed island!", Owen yelled. "Woo!" "Now, get in your canoes and let's have some fun." Beth ran up to Chris with some toilet paper stuck to her foot. "What did I miss?", she asked. "Canoes." She ran off to join the others.
Confession Cam: Cody
"Chris let us pick our own paddling partner. It was time for me to make my move. If I could just get Gwen alone for five minutes,I knew I could woo her with my manly charms. And it worked! Yes, yes! It is so on!" He then began playing air guitar.
Cody ran up to Gwen and grabbed her arm. "Come on, Gwen, you and me, open water! What do you say?" She attempted to break his neck while Lindsay and Beth pulled Trent away. Gwen saw this and let Cody go. "Fine. But I'm in charge." "That's the way I like it", he said.
Confession Cam: Gwen
"Cody? He's like an annoying brother. A really annoying little brother. Ruins everything. So much for hooking up with Trent..."
Heather walked up to Katie. "Okay, since dumb and dumber are rowing with Trent, you're coming with me." Katie nodded and they got into the canoe. Justin got stuck with Owen, so they took a while to get the boat into the water. Sadie went with Courtney, and Geoff shared a canoe with DJ. He kicked the canoe. "Yo, Geoff. Do canoes flip over a lot?" "No, you're thinking kayaks. Unless we hit some rough water..." "Water can get rough?" Geoff smirked and scratched his head. "Oh, yeah. Sometimes it can get totally radical out there." DJ gulped. "Dude, relax. We're gonna be fine."
Confession Cam: DJ
"When I was eight, my brothers dared me to jump off the high-dive platform at the pool. I was scared, but I jumped. I wasn't gonna let them call me chicken. I landed on my butt. Sounds better than a belly flop, right? Wrong! I had to go to the hospital to get my trunks off. They invented a new word for what I did: the wedgie flop. I've been afraid of water ever since."
As soon as all the canoes were in the water, Chris walked onto the beach with a revolver. "On your marks... get set... paddle!" He fired the revolver and an eagle came down with the bullet stuck in it. Chris stared at it. "That's gonna provoke some angry emails." The campers started paddling toward the other island. "So", Cody asked Gwen, "you wanna go out some time?" "No." "How 'bout Friday night?" "Ah, no." "Saturday's good for me. How 'bout Saturday?" Gwen stopped rowing and turned to glare at Cody. "I'm not going out with you. Ever!" "Okay, fine! Sheesh. ...So, is Sunday out of the question?" Gwen twirled her oar like a baton and rammed it backward into Cody's crotch. He fell forward and hit his head.
Meanwhile, Katie began talking to Heather. "You know, I don't get why everyone thinks you're so mean. You can be really nice sometimes." Heather rolled her eyes. "You seem to be the only one who thinks so. Even my family thinks I'm evil." "No, you just gotta work on showing them your sweet side. I can help! I can give you a makeover, or advice on how to make friends!" Heather laughed. "Oh please, I can handle that myself! I just don't see why I should bother. Why make friends when you can just use people as tools?" Katie thought about this for a minute. "If you really think that, why did you tell me you'll help keep Sadie from being voted off?" Heather was silent. "Well?" "Um... did you never consider I might've been lying to you? Getting you on my side?" Katie shook her head. "No, you're better than that. You're smart and cool and pretty, I trust you." Heather smiled. "Wow... it's been a long time since someone's said that to me. You know what? We're not just an alliance anymore. We're partners." Katie squealed and hugged Heather. "Oh my gosh, thank you so much! I won't let you down, new BFF!"
Confession Cam: Heather
"Oh boy, what have I gotten myself into? If I keep lying to her she's gonna be really ticked when she finds out the truth. If I don't lie to her anymore she'll learn the truth, and she'll try to get Beth and Lindsay to help vote me off. And if I try being nicer like she suggested I'll look weak and pathetic! What am I supposed to do?"
"Can I ask you something, dude?", Geoff asked DJ. "What did you think of Izzy?" "She was kinda crazy, man." "I know. Awesome, huh?" DJ shook his head. "Not really my type, she scares me." Geoff chuckled. "I bet we could throw some wicked parties together. I've been thinking about it since the first day when she hit her head on the dock." "Man, you're REALLY crazy if you like her." Geoff sighed. "Yeah, probably. Oh well! She's gone now, nothing I can do about it."
Meanwhile, Courtney and Sadie were talking. "I think no one likes me", Sadie said. "My only real friend here is Katie and she's on the other team. I was sorta friends with Bridgette but she's gone now." Courtney sighed. "I know what you mean. I'm the team leader, but after losing the challenge last time I'm worried everyone hates me." "I don't hate you", Sadie said. "I know facing your fears is hard. Just keep trying. And, uh, try to be less mean." Courtney shook her head. "No way. If I go soft on them I'll seem even weaker. I'm not taking any chances."
"I think I know why you keep shooting me down", Cody said. "It's because of Trent, isn't it. Look, I'm pretty tight with Trent and I was definitely sensing an 'I'm into Gwen' vibe from him. I'll put in a good word for ya, you know, if you want." Gwen smiled. "Wow, that's really cool of you. If you can get us in the same boat on the way home, I'll so owe you one." Cody smirked. "Interesting that you would say that. See, I'm in a bit of trouble. I kinda bet Owen that if I got your bra, he'd do all my dishes for the rest of the competition." Gwen glared at Cody and rammed her oar into his crotch again. "Ah... right. Asking too much. Got it."
The teams arrived at Bony Island and started to portage, with the Killer Bass taking an early lead. The Gophers ran into a fallen tree, and some animals came out of the bushes. "Monster beavers!" They ran screaming in the other direction. They reached a dead end and the beavers turned away. "Hey", Trent said, "They're leaving? But... why?" They found out when some angry birds appeared. "Oh, man." They ran away screaming again. Gwen yelled "Someone do something!" "Oh, wait!" Cody pulled out a loaf of bread. "Look!" "Where did that come from?" "I was gonna make us a romantic picnic." "With bread from your pants!" He ignored this and threw the bread to the birds. "It worked!" Meanwhile, the Killer Bass got slowed down when Geoff got a splinter and the Gophers ran into some quicksand. Cody saved Trent and Lindsay by swinging into a tree. Trent grabbed the vine and pulled himself and Lindsay out. "Hey, thanks bro", Trent said. "You're a life saver." "I am?" Lindsay hugged him. "My hero! Where did you learn to do that, Jody?" "Oh, you know, I watch a lot of movies." Gwen rolled her eyes. "This is very touching, guys, but we've still got a challenge to win!"
They got to the beach first, and were already building their fire when the Killer Bass arrived, carrying Geoff. But, the Killer Bass got their fire started first. "How did they do that so quickly?", Heather asked. Duncan responded by pulling a lighter out of his pocket. While the others searched fore firewood, Beth found a totem pole thing and put it in her pocket. Across the beach, Cody walked up to Trent. "Thanks again for saving my butt, Cody." "No prob, just looking out for a fellow Gopher. Trent, let's talk." "Okay, what do you wanna talk about?" "Gwen. See, I hit on her but I struck out. A few times. The point is, she's not into me. She's into you." Trent grabbed Cody by the shirt collar and glared at him. "If you're lying I could easily rearrange your face. You know that, right?" "Dude, buddy, what do I have to gain from lying to you?" Trent put him down and smiled. "Okay. So what do you think I should do about it?" "Well I'll tell ya, Trent, here's how I'd play it..." "Ladies", Heather said, "are you almost finished with your tea party? We're in the middle of a challenge here."
With one injured teammate and lacking a numbers advantage, the Killer Bass soon lost the lead they had on the Gophers. Harold panicked and threw his team's oars into the fire. "How are we supposed to get home now!", Courtney yelled. Meanwhile, the Gophers were about to leave Bony Island. "Guys", Cody said to Lindsay and Trent, "since you're both a bit shaken from the whole quicksand thing, we should split you up. How about I go with Lindsay and Beth, and Gwen can paddle back with Trent?" Trent smiled. "Sounds cool..." Then, the Killer Bass got to their canoes. Courtney was still upset. "What are we gonna do without paddles?" Geoff raised his hand. "I got it! How about we just push the canoes back?" "Yeah, but we need someone big enough to push all the canoes back. DJ, can you handle it?" "You can't do that,
the dude can't swim! I'll do it." "No", DJ said, "I can do this. I have to." Geoff patted DJ on the shoulder. "That is one brave man!" They stacked up the canoes, hopped in, and DJ pushed them back to the island. "The Bass are the winners!", Chris said. They cheered while the Gophers were left dumbstruck.
"And now, the always anxiety inducing marshmallow ceremony", Chris said. He smirked and twirled the plate of marshmallows. "When I call your name, come and get a marshmallow. Beth, Trent, Gwen, Cody, Justin, Heather, Leshawna, Katie... one last marshmallow. The person who doesn't get this one will walk off the dock of shame and take a ride on the boat of losers. And the unlucky loser is... Owen!" He tossed the marshmallow to Lindsay and Owen sighed. "Darn it... oh well! It was fun being here while it lasted." He walked up to Lindsay. "Are you gonna eat that?" She handed her treat to him and he smiled. "Thanks! Good luck, everybody!" Owen walked off eating his marshmallow and the others went back to the cabin. Cody got to his bunk and pulled something out from under his pillow. "Is that what I think it is?", Justin asked. Cody nodded. "Nice! How'd you get it?" Cody smirked. "A gentleman never kisses and tells." "Fine. Lucky little punk..."