Author's notes:
Hello, my lovely readers! It is I, Yuzu once again, bringing you this huge chapter! No kidding, it had 14k words last I checked. Not including the notes! I just wanna begin by saying how long this chapter took to write. I'm not exaggerating, but this chapter was redone from the scratch at least 3 times before I felt it was good enough. So, if you think there are a little too many conversations/interactions, it's most likely a result of several different drafts coming together, haha!
There's a lot to digest, but I hope the pacing of the chapter isn't too messed up. You'll notice this is the first challenge that got modifications from the canon episode, being slightly more complicated but still remaining true to its origins. I hope you guys have a blast when reading this chapter because I sure did when I wrote out the remaining 6k words in one sitting (actually true. I was very inspired that night, and listening to Mitski :p).
I want to take some time to respond to the reviews on the previous chapters since once again, I thank you all so so so much for taking the time to both read and review this fanfic of mine! I love you all!
Gucci Mane LaFlare: Thank you! And yes, I can guarantee you that couple has a lot in common, and too much in common can also lead to disaster...
And as per usual, a huge 'thank you' to all of my dear readers who take their time to follow, review, favorite, and/or just read this! I couldn't be here without you all!
Episode 5: Not Quite Famous
"Last time on Total Drama Island, the Screaming Gophers managed to turn the tide back against the Killer Bass after Samey won the tiebreaker against her former friend, Devin! There were bruises, tears, risky moves, and plenty of blackmail to go around." Sammy was shown backflipping and hurling the ball toward an astonished Devin. And Scarlett pressuring Devin to vote for Dawn. "In the end, Dawn was the one to go, after she made the rash decision of openly confronting Scarlett. Not very rational of you, Dawn… This week, another challenge will send one more camper on a cruise to loserville. Population: Beth, Owen, and Dawn. Who'll sink? And who'll stay afloat? Find out right now, on Total… Drama… Island!"
Introduction Song
The scene started at the Screaming Gopher's cabin, Bridgette was shown sleeping when Kitty began to whine. "No, I can't believe I really missed it! Someone must have taken it, there's no other explanation!" Bridgette woke up from the sudden outburst, clearly wondering what was going on. "Wait, Kitty, what's wrong?" When she finally took a good look at Kitty's face, she saw her makeup running.
"It's-it's my phone, Bridge… I can't find it! I've had that phone for so long, and I stored so many photos and memories and…" Before she finished, she began crying again, something that woke up her other teammates.
Her blonde friend looked at her with pity but knew she needed her space, so all she could do was hug her and let her cry her eyes out. "How about I help you look for it? I know you looked everywhere you could, but at least let me do something for you." Bridgette smiled at the Asian girl. Kitty sniffed but shakily nodded.
Kitty - Confessional (5)
She appeared crying just as she was in her cabin. "Why would anyone do that?! It's not like I was a thorn in anyone's side… I just hope whoever has it doesn't erase my things…"
Kitty - Confessional - End (5)
Bridgette - Confessional (4)
"I don't wanna be this person, but if she isn't finding it anywhere, and Chris has no reason to take it away from her… then maybe… maybe someone has it on them. I don't know, I'm just spitballing here." The surfer sighed. "I won't tell Kitty this though. The last thing we need is an emotional teen screaming down that someone stole something from her, haha…" Bridgette chuckled nervously and looked down.
Bridgette - Confessional - End (4)
The speakers on camp began to make a static noise, when Chris' voice suddenly blared through them, waking up all campers who hadn't been awake yet.
"All right, campers, enough beauty sleep! Time to show us what you're made of~" Chris bellowed out. "Meet me in the amphitheater in half an hour!" And with that, the host with the most was out.
On the Killer Bass' cabin, Sam and Devin were awake and chatting. "So, I noticed you haven't really been playing your game. Sucks to hear, man. Really thought Chris would find it by now…" Devin consoled his friend.
"Yeah… On one hand, it stinks that I haven't been able to play it. I've been doing it for so long that it almost felt hopeless being without it. On the other hand, I'm kinda glad…?" Sam tried. "I just feel like I've been doing better without it, somehow." Sam pursed his lips at the thought.
"That's kinda reassuring. Maybe being without it for so long will let you branch out and do things you wouldn't otherwise. You, Geoff, and I could go for a swim later today, how about it? Getting some exercises done is always helpful!" Devin tried to cheer his friend, who despite the grimace, seemed happy about the interaction.
"Yeah, I could do that!" Sam replied, trying his best to sound cheerful. "What do you say, Cam? You up for some swimming?" He extended his invitation to the small boy.
Cameron, who was taking notes in a separate notepad, finally looked up wide-eyed.
Cameron - Confessional (5)
"Lately, I've been thinking if sticking to Courtney and Scarlett is really the way to go…" Cameron rubbed his own neck. "Don't get me wrong, they're very smart and very educative… But some of their actions seem… dubious? Anyway, hanging out with some of my teammates sounds fun, at least." He fixed his glasses and smiled at the camera.
Cameron - Confessional - End (5)
"O-oh, yes. I don't mind, I just hope I'm not intruding…" He chuckled a bit and put his notepad down. Devin and Sam both smiled at him, content about having another friend happy to join them.
Devin - Confessional (4)
The jock sighed once the camera focused on him. "I can't stop thinking about Sammy's face at the tiebreaker… She seemed so hurt…" He then hid his face behind his hands. "I just need to make sure Scarlett can't use that as leverage. She played dirt, but it's good to see her true colors from the beginning." Devin seethed.
Devin - Confessional - End (4)
The next scene showed all remaining campers seating on the seats of the amphitheater. Their emotions ranged from calm to distressed, but one thing was for sure, that challenge was not what they were looking forward to.
"Damn, when is Chris even arriving? I was looking for berries when he suddenly blared that damn thing." Shawn complained to Brick who sat beside him.
"No idea. He- Wait, did you just say you were foraging?" Brick questioned the zombie enthusiast. The same nodded with an air of proudness. "I'm used to doing that, ever since I was a boy's scout!"
Brick looked at him, surprised at seeing someone else who shared a hobby with him. "Well, color me surprised, soldier! I was not aware you were into that kind of stuff!" Brick saluted him out of habit. "You've got to show me how to differentiate wild berries. The last time I tried to do that on the army, the rest of the battalion was bedridden…" Brick coughed nervously.
"Sure thing, dude. Who knows when we'll have a challenge that requires outdoor skills?" Shawn inquired his friend.
Before further conversation progressed, Chris finally appeared from behind the curtains. "Welcome to our brand-new-deluxe-state of the art-outdoor amphitheater!" Chris greatly exaggerated the state in which the amphitheater was, looking more like it was hastily put up the night before the challenge. "OK, this week's challenge is a summer camp's favorite! A talent contest!" Chris declared, pointing toward the campers.
Some of them that were more pizzazz-oriented were looking happy at the prospect of showing off, while some of the shier ones were sweating at the same idea. Tammy was the first one who cheered at the challenge.
Tammy - Confessional (5)
"I can't wait to finally be able to perform a full song in front of everyone! I know I sound like a broken record, but you should see me playing with my band back at home! It was otherworldly!" Tammy exclaimed, happy to prove her words.
Tammy - Confessional - End (5)
Chris carried on. "Each team has eight hours to pick the four talents they'd like to showcase. These four talents will represent their teams during the talent contest tonight." Chris explained the rules, with some campers already looking ecstatic. "Sing, dance, juggle! Anything goes, as long it's legal." Chris remarked to no one in particular. "You'll be judged by our handpicked jurors, to make sure your chances at the talent show aren't screwed by a single decision!" Three shadows were shown behind the curtain, with each silhouette belonging to a different juror. Two of them the campers could deduce, at the very least. The short one was probably Chris, while the big one was Chef. Lo and behold…
"You'll be judged by our resident talent scout, former DJ, VJ, and rap legend: Chef Hatchet!" As Chris called for him, Chef walked from behind the curtains, a permanent scowl situated on his face. He simply grunted at the teens and leered at them, clearly not impressed at what they could pull off. "The other two jurors will be a surprise, so you don't add a specific talent in mind to convince them!"
"Now, the team that scores a total lesser final note will send one camper home, tonight! Good luck!"
LeShawna raised her hand. Chris nodded for her to carry on. "Are the talents all one-man show, or can multiple people partake in a single show?" She asked for clarification. Chris smiled and promptly replied.
"Fair question. You can have multiple people partake in a show, be assistants, main talent, or anything else, but each member can only be part of one act. That means, for example, the Bass cannot have seven people do a single talent, 'cause otherwise, they wouldn't be able to have four singular talents." Any other questions? No? Then great scouting!"
And with that, Chris and Chef walked away, knowing they'd scramble for anything that could impress the judges.
7h and 57m until Talent Show
Courtney and Scarlett stood near their team, speaking to each other. "We need to make sure we only pick the best of the best. We cannot afford another loss." Courtney remarked, crossing her arms. The redhead nodded back at her friend.
"Yes, which is why I'd normally suggest we handpicked the talents ourselves, but our teammates aren't exactly happy with us taking the lead and doing things our way. We'll need to lay low and play nice if we wanna have a shot at not being booted off." The brainiac reasoned with Courtney, who acknowledged and nodded, despite wanting to do the exact opposite.
"Bass, we need to talk." Scarlett began.
As the two addressed their teammates, some noticeable frowns were directed at Scarlett. Namely, Crimson, Devin, and Harold. The redhead quickly noticed and nudged Courtney to speak. "Right. So, since we need to assemble four talents, how about we go to a secluded place and make a line? Everyone who has talent can show the team and we'll all decide who gets to participate." Courtney suggested, making some of their teammates do a double take but appraise their inclusion.
Harold - Confessional (7)
"I was not expecting that, to be honest. I thought Courtney and Scarlett would simply override our decisions and kick us out." Harold spoke with a hint of surprise in his voice. "I don't know if it's out of the kindness of their hearts or not, but either way that's cool."
Harold - Confessional - End (7)
As the Bass went to look for a place to audition, the Gophers weren't nearly as organized. Emotions were at a high, and so they all dispersed in the general amphitheater area. Alejandro and Amy were in cahoots, Brick and Shawn were chatting away, Bridgette and LeShawna were consoling a saddened Kitty, and Trent, Mickey, and Sammy were all in their own worlds. Overall, they had not started and were definitely lagging behind. It was only after a loud crash coming from one side of the area that they all focused their sights on the same spot.
There, Mickey was hung up by a light cable that his foot had gotten caught in. He nervously chuckled while hoping anyone was ready to help him.
LeShawna - Confessional (3)
"Is it just me, or is our team extra dysfunctional? Just 'cause we won the last two challenges doesn't mean we can slack off! We need to get our act together!" The sister declared with a brave look.
LeShawna - Confessional - End (3)
"All right, listen up y'all! We're wasting daylight in here, we need to get our act together." LeShawna suddenly barked out from beside Kitty and Bridgette. "Brick, help that white boy out of that mess! The rest of us have to come up with a proper strategy."
Brick saluted and went to help Mickey get down from his entanglement. "So, anyone got a clue?" Trent asked with a raised brow. "I can do something for the show, but I think we could discuss how we'll carry on first." Trent supplied.
"He has a point," Amy spoke. "We'll probably need to pick different talents, or else the judges will get bored by our shows." She provided and turned around. Alejandro smiled at her and made himself known.
"I agree with Amy. Knowing Chris, he'll probably be one of the judges, and he'll get bored by similar talents. So how about we line up and see what we have to offer? Everyone should try to compete, too. Participating and scoring are better than not participating." The casanova remarked and assessed his teammates, who all seemed to agree with the notion. "Great, so who wants to go first?" And just like that, pretty much everyone went silent.
7h and 45m until Talent Show
After the Bass finally found themselves a spot near the cabins, they sat at the stairs of their own cabin and began the trials. Cameron went first due to being in alphabetical order. "S-so, I'll most likely have to spend some time looking for scraps, but I'm sure that with enough material I can build something simple, like a robot that repeats phrases!" Cameron provided his teammates.
"Building electronics could be good. I bet that if we go for Chris' ego we could score some good points!" Scarlett offered.
"That's true, but we're hinging on the idea Chris is a juror, and the other three may not find it that impressive…" Sam replied to the brainiac.
"Then I can configure it to do something rather than say something? It shouldn't be that hard, I just need some time to work out the kinks." Cameron continued finicky, but still excited about the idea.
"I can help you with that. With the two of us combining our brains, we should make something like that easily." Scarlett offered. Cameron nodded at the idea, then looked back at his teammates.
"Hm, it's a good plan. Everyone in favor of it?" Courtney asked her teammates, who all nodded or gave a simple 'yes' as an answer. "Good, good. Then onto the next one… myself." As Courtney got up, she went inside her cabin to grab an instrument.
"Now I know there's a chance more than one person playing an instrument will be seen as repetitive, but my violin and Tammy's… flute, could be different enough." The C.I.T. offered.
"Then let's hear you play it, brah." Geoff cheered her on. "Of course, here I go."
As she finally adjusted her own instrument, she began to play a fine rendition of Romance in A Major, Op. 94, No. 2. Soon, the sweet yet melancholic melody had begun to swirl around the campers who watched the performance. Amazed at the piece, some of the campers even closed their eyes, imagining themselves being someplace else as they heard it. Courtney's talent was palpable, so it was only obvious she'd be one of their numbers.
As she finally finished the song, she made a swift riff at the end, earning applause from her teammates. And of course, the cheers from the more energetic ones like Geoff and Tammy. Courtney even blushed a little due to the sudden ruckus her play had created.
Courtney - Confessional (5)
As she sat still, she was still carrying a bit of a blush on her cheeks. "I knew I had talent, but seeing so many different people applaud me like that?" Courtney raised a brow. "Yeah, maybe Scarlett and I have been a little too harsh on them…" Courtney finished with a downcast look.
Courtney - Confessional - End (5)
"Yo, that sounded sick!" Geoff hollered at her, earning a small giggle back.
"I agree. Your musical piece may very well earn us some points during the competition. I'm definitely voting for your part to be in." Sam spoke from the back. All the attention made Courtney smile even more.
7h and 40m until Talent Show
Back with the Gophers, they were all where they were found during the beginning of the challenge, seated at the seats and waiting for the next talent to present itself. Mickey and Brick had returned too, from the former's bad trip. There, on the stage, were both Amy and Sammy, with pom poms and a characteristic 2000s boombox sitting nearby, ready to supply the soundtrack.
"OK, so. Samey and I are obviously cheerleaders, so we'll perform a cheer dance for our talent." Amy started with her hands on her hips and a smug look adorning her face, while Sammy stood slightly behind her, a bit nervous but still ready.
"Won't that be a little… on the nose?" Shawn asked, which made Amy sneer at him before carrying on.
"Which is why we're gonna include some acrobatics in our routine, while also singing a catchy tune!" Amy shook her pom poms to emphasize. She turned to nod at Sammy. "Hit it!" The younger twin turned on the boombox and put on a catchy, bubblegum-like pop tune.
As the tune began to rise, they both stood next to each other, stomping their boots against the wooden planks that made the floor of the stage. Suddenly, they both lept in different directions, but due to being rusty Amy lands wrong, which makes her stutter. Regardless, they carry on, with Sammy getting one of the spins wrong and almost tripping. After several more mistakes, the song comes to an end and they're both tired. Their teammates were not exactly impressed.
"Uh… That was… Something…" LeShawna started, not sure how to proceed. Mickey nodded and offered input. "Yeah, it felt like you guys were really being more random than anything, sorry…"
Sammy spoke next, pursing her lips. "Yeah… It's been a while since we actually did this one, so we're pretty rusty…" She looked at her sister who seemed more annoyed at how things played out than toward her sister. "Amy, maybe we should scrap the song? We still need to perfect our moves…" The younger sister suggested.
"We still need to wow the crowd, Samey! We're gonna keep training until we get things right, then, we're gonna write a song and make sure the judges give us max scores!" Amy said with enthusiasm, for once.
Sammy - Confessional (5)
She seemed surprised at her sister's behavior. "So, I didn't see that coming, to be honest. I thought she'd blame it all on me, as per usual. I guess I'm just surprised?" She tried with a small smile.
Sammy - Confessional - End (5)
"Right, while Sammy and Amy are preparing, we should move on. Who wants to go next?" Alejandro turned to the remaining teammates. "Bridgette, wanna give it a shot?"
The surfer was not expecting to be directly addressed again by the casanova but shrugged all the same. "Sure, but I can't really do much out of the water." She got up and walked onstage. "I guess I can hand walk for a while, would that count for something?" She asked before trying. After she received nods of confirmation, she quickly bent down and placed her hands on the floor, propping herself to attain peak balance and hand walk on the stage.
She managed to go back and forth a few times before she lowered herself back. "I know it's not much, but it's something in case we need to diversify." She shrugged but still avoided looking at Alejandro directly.
Alejandro - Confessional (5)
"Bridgette has been distant lately. I can't blame her, I've been spending a lot of time with Amy, so she'd probably call me out if I tried to charm her." Alejandro's thoughts ran wild. "What to do… She and her little friends could prove to be a threat if they got together to vote one of us off…"
Alejandro - Confessional - End (5)
"Hm… Yes, that talent will probably be put on the back burner for now. No offense." Alejandro tried with a small smile, but the surfer shrugged and went back to sit by her friend. "So, who's next?"
7h and 26m until Talent Show
Back with the Bass, Crimson's true talent was deemed 'too creepy' by her peers, so she had to innovate. While they waited for Chris or Chef to bring a pig to the island, they moved on to Devin's talent.
"Geoff and I are gonna do some sick tricks with skateboards." Devin declared to his teammates. He and Geoff then high-fived each other and went to opposite sides of the area. Swiftly, they both gained momentum in the boards and began making rounds around each other.
Suddenly, they grabbed onto each other and jumped from their boards, but the desynchronization made them crash at each other, rather than land on the other's skateboard. Dazed, they got up rubbing their heads and groaning in pain but nonetheless laughed at the scene.
Courtney sighed but laughed a little at the two bozos. "Right. Your talent is certainly invigorating, but you two need to keep rehearsing. Chris may like to see us crash, but we don't know about the other judges. Anyone else has anything to add?" She asked her teammates, naturally turning around with a small smile.
"That sounds good. I think it'll be wonderful to see those two in synchrony!" Tammy declared from her spot. Harold acknowledged with a nod and then got up."It should be my turn now."
As the jocks went to another area to practice, Harold propelled himself and turned on a boombox of his own. He put a cap backward, grabbing a makeshift microphone from behind the stage. "MC Harold is here to drop a sick beat on y'all!" He tried to holler, but the remaining teammates all looked at him with questioning looks. "I wanna beatbox, gosh!"
"Yes, Harold, we can tell by your… outfit. But-" Before she continued, Scarlett's words came back to her, which led to her correcting herself before she made a rash decision. "Actually, go ahead. We're entertaining all talents, so it wouldn't be fair to not hear yours, too." She complied and sat back down near Sam. Harold smiled at that and began his show.
The emotion in most of his teammates' faces went from questioning, to neutral, to surprise to then enjoyment. Clearly, Harold was packing some talent within his dweeb-self. As he finished, his peers actually gave him nods of approval and cheered him on, not being used to seeing this side of him.
Sam - Confessional (4)
"I was not expecting Harold to pull that off as well as he did, to be honest." Sam began with a smile on his face. "I'm just glad Courtney and Scarlett have calmed down. Being on the team isn't feeling like a chore anymore."
Sam - Confessional - End (4)
"Well, that was a surprise." Courtney offered with a proud look. "A good one, of course. That means that so far we've got at least 5 talents we could showcase. Once we're all done seeing them we're gonna vote." She finished with a small smile on her face, realizing her team had a very good chance at winning this challenge. "Let's take a small break and regroup in 10, all right?"
And with that, the scene shifted to show Amy and Sammy training their routine.
6h and 58m until Talent Show
"Let's go, Samey! We're missing the beat. You're going too slow, and I'm going too fast! We still need to write out the cheer!" Amy whined at her sister, but not really directing the heat to her.
"I know, Amy! I'm trying!" Sammy replied, but before she could carry on, the beatbox began to fizzle out. "Ah, the battery must be dead…"
"Hmpf, go ask Chris if he has some spare ones, while you're busy I'm gonna take a break and see if I can come up with anything." Amy reasoned, turning back and walking towards the amphitheater again. Sammy rolled her eyes at the order, but at least she hadn't been called anything bad during their time together.
As Amy entered the scene, she saw LeShawna attempting… She couldn't even put into words what the girl was trying to do, but the horrified look on her teammates' confirmed her thoughts. Oh, my gag!
Amy - Confessional (6)
"What the heck was that? Grandma Penny looks better dancing when she was having a stroke at our sweet sixteen!" Amy made a gag motion, before realizing what she said. "Come to think of it, Grandma still looked more synchronized with the song." She maliciously laughed at the image.
Amy - Confessional - End (6)
"And that's how you do it!" LeShawna finished her dance with a proud look on her face, oblivious to the looks of her teammates. "So, y'all, how about it?" She asked, wheezing from the exercise. Even Kitty had stopped crying for a bit to witness her friend's… peculiar dance.
"You know, Shawna, maybe you should take one for the team and sit this one out…?" Her friend tried to reason with her, knowing she could very much cost her team the win if she went out like that. LeShawna looked at her with surprise but she lowered her eyes and sat without another word. Kitty put her hand on her back and rubbed affectionately.
"Yeah, listen to what Phone Girl has to say, or not, dance like that and give us a reason to vote you off for all I care, haha." Amy quipped at the black girl, knowing it'd cause her to snap back.
"I have a name, you know?" Kitty asked annoyed but otherwise didn't rise to the bait. "Yes, and I don't care enough to learn it." Amy snapped back, which prompted Kitty to roll her eyes and go back to console LeShawna, who surprisingly hadn't given Amy any attitude.
LeShawna - Confessional (4)
"Normally, I would have no qualms. I'd put that white girl where she belongs. But right now? That'd only make us look bad. I hope the others saw that and realize who needs to get voted off in case we lose." LeShawna reasoned out.
LeShawna - Confessional - End (4)
Alejandro, who watched the scene with contempt gave Amy a glare and called for the attention of the remaining teammates. "How about we take a break? Let's all rest for a little, we're obviously tired and we could use a little 'me' time. How about we meet back here in ten?" With a mix of nods and 'yes' from the group, Alejandro directed his gaze to the evil twin, who was filing her nails.
"Amy, a word, please?" He asked, with barely contained irritation. She shrugged and accompanied him to a secluded place.
"What can I do for you, hot stuff?" She asked and immediately circled her arms around his neck, trying to lessen the heat of his glare.
"Two questions. One, aren't you supposed to be rehearsing with Sammy? And two, why would you even say that?" He asked but made no move to remove her. She rolled her eyes and replied harshly.
"I told you already, it's Samey, not Sammy. If I didn't know you any better, I'd think you were doing this on purpose." She seethed him for not using the malicious nickname. "And what do you care? Don't tell me you were seriously thinking she was talented?" Amy raised an eyebrow at the possible suggestion.
Alejandro once again rolled his eyes at his partner's childishness but carried on. "Of course, I thought she looked like a mess! Everyone did, that's the whole point." He barked out. "Have you forgotten about our talk? Not putting targets on our back?" He tried to reason it out.
"Uh, duh! I haven't said anything means to Samey for the past two days! What more do you want from me?!" Amy shouted back, drawing her arms from his neck and looking at him irritated.
"How about not picking fights with people like that? Remember, Amy. We're supposed to go under the radar!" Alejandro replied just as hotly. Amy rolled her eyes but apologized, knowing the increasing feud could result in nothing but negatives. "All right, whatever. And before you ask, Samey was looking for batteries since the ones in the boombox died on us." She supplied. "And I was about to write our cheer for the talent show, but I came across that.
Alejandro hummed at that. "Well, then I'll leave you be. I also need to work on my own talent…" After he said that, he began to walk toward his own cabin, leaving the bratty twin to write her piece.
Alejandro - Confessional (6)
He appeared in the outhouse sighing and rubbing his temples. "Sometimes… Sometimes I wonder if it was really that smart of a move to align with Amy." He then looked up. "Sure, she's incredibly easy to manipulate, all I need to do is compare her to Sammy and she'll do what I say, but staying with her is beginning to drive me nuts."
Alejandro - Confessional - End (6)
6h and 42m until Talent Show
Scarlett and Cameron appeared carrying a toolbox and a wheelbarrow, filled with all kinds of scrap metal. Cameron then spoke to his bespectacled peer. "You know, I'm kinda glad we get to do this together. It really makes us feel like a team." He then shot a smile toward Scarlett, who despite being puzzled, gave him one back.
"Oh, it's nothing. I'm sure that when it comes to most subjects, the two of us are the smartest on the island, It's only fair we get together to build something together." Scarlett responded with false modesty. "After all, our team needs to know we're strong assets."
As the two finally found a spot they could build their robot in secrecy, Cameron spoke again.
"You know, I was starting to doubt if you and Courtney together was really such a good idea…" He began tentatively. "Don't get me wrong, you two are pretty good together, but it felt like you were kinda… ruthless? I was afraid of what could happen if things went awry…" Scarlett listened to everything with an analytic expression on her face.
"I… see. Well, rest assured, Courtney and I spoke just today, and we recognized we were being too bossy around the others, so we're trying our best to be as team players as possible. After all, we care very much for the team." Though her words had Cameron fooled, she was truly only appeasing his moral sense.
Scarlett - Confessional (8)
"For the record, I couldn't care less about the team as a whole. They almost got me voted off during the Awake-A-Thon challenge, so I'm simply biding my time. All I need to do is get myself and a strong ally to the merge and we'll be off to a great start." Scarlett spoke with a sneer on her face. "Though I have to choose someone that I can have wrapped around my finger, and Courtney seems a little more prone to figuring things out…"
Scarlett - Confessional - End (8)
"That's great to hear!" Cameron replied, happy about the sudden attitude change. His lack of knowledge regarding relationships made him the perfect ally in the long run. She could lie to him all day and he wouldn't be any of the wiser.
"So, about our robot, I was thinking that…" And as they began to speak about their show, the camera panned over to another scene.
As Sammy finished talking with one of the interns, who handed her a new pair of batteries, she began walking back from the main lodge. 'I hope Amy has managed to write something…' She thought to herself as she walked by the cabins. There, on the back of the Bass cabin were Geoff and Devin, both riding their skateboards while Sam cheered them on.
Carefully, she approached the back of the cabin but stayed hidden enough. She looked forlornly toward Devin, whom she once considered a friend, but so ruthlessly dropped their friendship in order to stay focused on the game. She shook her head and moved away from the group.
Sammy - Confessional (6)
"I have to forget about him! He did what he had to do, and I can't fault him for that!" She began with confidence in her voice, but soon her voice wavered. "...I just wish he had spoken to me beforehand…"
Sammy - Confessional - End (6)
As she resumed her trek, she heard footsteps walking behind her, which startled her. Expecting to see Devin, or maybe hoping, she was surprised at seeing Geoff standing there.
"Oh, uh, hi?" She raised her hand meekly. "I was just passing by, I promise I wasn't watching your talent rehearsal or anything." She laughed nervously, knowing damn well that was exactly what had happened.
"Don't worry, Sammy," Geoff replied, as chill as he always was. "But not to intrude or anything, but you and Devin cool?" Geoff already knew the answer to that, but asked anyway.
That question obviously caught the cheerleader off guard, making her take a step back. "Well… I don't know if I'd say we're 'cool' right now…" She rubbed her arm nervously. "I can't say I'm holding a grudge or anything, though… I guess we're just going our own way…" She finished with a frown on her face.
Geoff looked at her and nodded. "I know what you mean. It's just that… Devin has been acting a bit hyper lately, almost as if he's purposefully ignoring the elephant in the room. When I spoke to Sam, he noticed that too." Geoff explained. "I was just hoping you would know something, but I guess I should have expected as much. He even went as far as to suggest we voted Dawn off the last challenge."
Sammy then raised an eyebrow. "I was not aware that he had some beef with her."
"That's the thing! He didn't. But it ended up being between the two of them, and she was obviously the one sent home… I wonder what happened for him to do that…" Geoff continued. "Anyway, sorry for taking your time, Sammy. Good luck on the challenge, oh, and tell Bridgette I said 'hi', please?" He tipped his hat and went back behind the cabin, making Sammy smile at his back and return to her own base of operations.
6h and 40m until Talent Show
As the Bass reunited, Sam approached the center of the group with a large bottle of soda. "So, since I don't have any of my games here, I guess I'll try to burp the entire alphabet after one bottle of soda! Here I go-" Before Sam could even tip the bottle, Courtney shot up from her seat.
"NO." She shouted, surprising her teammates. "I mean, Sam, don't you think that could be seen as gross, thus deducting points? I'm sure your burping could very well be a talent by itself, but I'd really like to avoid having to showcase it…" Sam looked sad but understood her point. "I get it…" Tammy patted him on his back as she got up.
"I believe now it's my turn! Let me get ready at once." As she pulled her ocarina from her back pocket, she began to clean it. "All right, here I go." As she began playing it, the melody began to swirl around the campers, being used to the sound, they mostly felt comfortable enough to hum along. To enhance her performance, she began to lightly dance around the area, putting up a decent show for someone who was busy playing such an instrument. Once it came to an end, she took a bow and giggled at the cheers.
"Wow, Tammy! It sounded even better than before! If my violin piece doesn't get it for whatever reason, your ocarina will definitely score us some points!" Courtney told the LARPer, unbeknownst to her how she put it.
"Wait, what?" Harold asked before Tammy could. "What do you mean 'if' your piece doesn't get in?"
"Well, everyone that was present applauded it, so I assumed we had agreed to include it," Courtney explained to the redhead. "And it's just like we theorized before. Similar talents may bore the jurors, so we should only use one of the instrumental talents."
Tammy then finally understood Harold's inquiry. "I see your point, Courtney. But shouldn't we let the others vote for which piece is going in?" Tammy asked with a raised brow. The C.I.T. stood still for a moment but gave in.
"You're right. We're a team and we ought to be democratic. Once we finish all talents we should gather up and decide via a vote." She reasoned out with the remaining members of her team. Despite her words, Crimson kept glaring at the Hispanic girl.
Crimson - Confessional (7)
She was staring dead ahead but still kept her stoic expression. "I don't trust Courtney or Scarlett. I know they're just trying to convince us to keep them in the game, but once I find the irrefutable proof they were the ones behind Dawn's elimination…" Crimson's eyes were adorning the most emotion she ever carried within.
Crimson - Confessional - End (7)
Back with the Gophers, Mickey, Brick, and Shawn had decided to go next. With their combined boy's scout prowess, they had decided to arm a trap onstage and efficiently dismount it after it caught its prey, who'd be portrayed as Mickey. As they were preparing the trap, Brick put a lasso on the floor, and Shawn tied a net to the other end, hurling the bigger end across one of the stage's gird, effectively creating a functional trap.
Mickey nervously stepped towards the trap, in fear of anything bad actually happening during the contest. Lo and behold, as soon as he was caught by the trap, it flung him up, but the other two members hadn't anticipated one of the limelights being in the way Mickey was supposed to go through. Due to said object, Mickey slammed directly against it, knocking him out almost instantaneously.
As the other members watched in fear of what happened, Brick and Shawn disarmed the trap and assisted the unlucky boy in going down, checking his vitals and possible injuries. They turned to look abashedly at the remaining campers. "It… worked?" Shawn asked, knowing their chances of participating were nill at this point.
"Yeah… I think it's better if you two take Mickey to the infirmary…" Alejandro stated with a look of worry on his face. "Since that was a bust, I'd like to go next. I imagine Kitty without her phone won't be able to do much in her state, so that leaves me." Alejandro elaborated, purposefully letting out the part that was his fault that she was that way. "For my talent, I'll be juggling several objects, but for that, I'll need an assistant. Would any of you ladies be said assistant? I'm not extending this invite to Trent solely because I bet he'll be competing too, won't you?" Trent nodded and went back to writing down his serenade.
LeShawna looked at both of her sides, Bridgette pointedly ignoring Alejandro and Kitty still downcast due to her missing phone. "All right, I'll do it then." As she said that, Alejandro thanked her and drew a box of random objects. "So, for this to work, I'll begin to juggle one of these items, and as time goes on, I'll tell you to hand me another one. Just make sure to hand it to me when I have my hand extended and it'll be all right. Can you do that?" LeShawna nodded and they went to practice.
With all talents being showcased, the remaining campers went to train in order to perform one last time in front of their teammates, who'll vote for their four favorite talents. Or in this Gopher's case, the only four talents available.
Amy and Sammy's routine, Alejandro and LeShawna's juggling, Bridgette's handstand, and Trent's serenade.
On the Bass' side, things were a little more complicated, due to similar talents and having an assortment of possible talents to choose from.
Geoff and Devin's skateboarding tricks, Crimson's pig hunt, Courtney's violin piece, Tammy's ocarina piece, Cameron and Scarlett's robot project, and Harold's beatboxing.
3h and 35m until Talent Show
"All right, Bass. What are we looking at today?" Scarlett started when they reunited. Cameron and I have been able to build our gadget and it's mostly done. I wanna believe the rest of you showed your talents and rehearsed, so all we gotta do is vote." Scarlett fixed her glasses and carried on. "So, we need to choose four from our possible six talents."
As she spoke, she teared up a piece of paper from her clipboard in nine different pieces. "How about we do this, everyone writes down their four nominations and submits them anonymously here, that way there will be no conflict." As she suggested, her teammates looked at each other and nodded. That felt like a safe suggestion, at least.
As they all voted, Scarlett collected the votes and tallied them in front of the others. "Let's see here. We have one vote for the following talents…" As she wrote down all of the votes, the talents ended up like this:
Cameron and Scarlett's Robot: 5 votes
Courtney's Violin piece: 6 votes
Crimson's Pig Trick: 7 votes
Devin and Geoff's Skateboarding: 8 votes
Harold's Beatboxing: 6 votes
Tammy's Ocarina: 4 votes
Tammy looked downright sad for not being able to perform her ocarina once again, while Cameron was happy things were done democratically, and Scarlett ended up miffed at having her time wasted by constructing that silly robot just for it not to be voted.
"Well… Seems like we have our talents chosen…" Scarlett drawled out, still a little annoyed. "Best of luck to you five, if anything unexpected happens, tell us so we can find a replacement act." Scarlett reminded them once again.
"All right! I gotta go refresh myself, I don't wanna dehydrate and lose the beat mid-performance. I'll catch you all later." And with that, Harold walked off to whoever knew where.
Courtney and Scarlett walked off to discuss, too. What they didn't realize was Crimson trailing behind them, making sure she made no noise and was able to hear their entire conversation.
"So… after this whole fiasco, I guess we should still discuss a contingency plan." Scarlett, who was still sore about the vote, declared. "I say we vote off one of the dweebs. Sam or Harold. I doubt they'd help us in the challenge, either."
"Well… I know that we normally discuss what to do, but can't we just… let things happen naturally?" Courtney tried with her friend. "Don't get me wrong, I know that we need to prepare for the worst. But maybe we should really just have some confidence in our team? I feel bad plotting behind their backs every time our chances dwindle down…" At that, Scarlett raised both of her eyebrows at her friend and took a second to realize what she was saying.
"But Courtney, the whole point of a contingency plan is to make sure we won't be caught off guard! Hadn't we agreed to work together and make sure we reached the merge?" Scarlett once again dubbed down.
"I… I know, it's just… Maybe they were right… Maybe we really need to chill…" Courtney rubbed her arm solemnly. Scarlett seethed at that display of weakness, in her eyes, of course.
"Fine. Let's do it your way, then." With that, she turned around brusquely and walked off once again, letting Courtney marinate what happened. Crimson saw the opportunity and walked toward the outhouse, knowing the redhead would most likely let her true feelings out.
Scarlett - Confessional (9)
Scarlett somehow began to pace inside the tiny shack, fuming at what she had to go through. "Unbelievable! I can't understand why Courtney would say that! All this time we've been working together to get rid of the useless people on the team, just for her to say we should trust them?!" She asked enraged. "Maybe becoming partners with her was a bad idea. Maybe I should ditch her as soon as possible! That'll teach her!" She screeched, not realizing a certain Goth was hearing everything and processing it.
Scarlett - Confessional - End (9)
Crimson - Confessional (8)
"So Scarlett wants to break things off with Courtney, huh? Maybe I should get a say in this…" With a malicious glint, Crimson pondered to herself. "But how to do that…"
Crimson - Confessional - End (8)
Back with the Gophers, Mickey had finally returned from the infirmary and had to get his head bandaged, no thanks to the two boy scouts. As Trent finished writing his lyrics, he approached Kitty, who despite not crying anymore, was still downcast.
"Hey, Kitty cat, you all right now?" He asked suavely. "I saw Bridgette going for a walk just a few minutes ago, and LeShawna seemed busy practicing with Alejandro. Can we hang out for a sec?" The musician offered. From hearing the nickname, Kitty blushed a bit but still remained composed enough to have a conversation.
"Oh, hey Trent…" She responded. "Sure, you know I don't mind hanging out with you. Sorry if I don't sound super excited though, what with my phone missing and all…" She concluded.
"That's all right, so long you're comfortable, that's what matters to me," Trent replied while sitting down next to her. "Say, what you up to, now?"
"Nothing much, I was just reminiscing about the first challenge. Diving from that high of a cliff would for sure scare my older sister, so I can't even imagine her face when watching that episode, haha!" And before they realized sad tears were replaced by happy tears.
Trent - Confessional (4)
"I gotta say, knowing I'm the one who made Kitty feel slightly better is definitely something I'd boast about," Trent said with a dreamy look. "God, she's cute…" He continued. "I normally don't even fall for someone this easily, but she's just so expontaneous and nice, and cute, and she smells like strawberry…" Before he carried on, the camera cut again.
Trent - Confessional - End (4)
Kitty - Confessional (6)
"Emma, I know that you'll be watching this at some point, but I just want you to know that I'm following your advice, and I didn't crush on any guy… for the first week…" She nervously laughed and rubbed her arm. "But if you've met Trent, you'd understand! He's so thoughtful, and cute and…" And just as Trent did, she began to ramble about her love interest, with the camera cutting away before it came to completion.
Kitty - Confessional - End (6)
"So… what's the song you're writing about? You seemed mostly zoned out during the auditions, so it made me curious." Kitty explained, looking at the musician with a hopeful glint in her eyes. Trent's eyes widened and he had to do a double take.
"O-oh, that? It's a surprise, hehe…" He rubbed his neck, not knowing how to tell her outright she was the muse of his song. "You'll only get to know alongside everyone else during tonight's spectacle." He told her.
"Aw, no special treatment for little old me?" She tried pouting in a cute way, but the way her face was slightly bloated due to crying for so long, it looked more like a pufferfish, which made Trent laugh. "What's so funny?" She asked and laughed a little.
"Your pout is just so cute, generally, but right now? You kinda looked like a pufferfish, no offense, haha!" As he bent over to clutch his belly, his contagious laugh got to Kitty and before they knew it, they were both doubling down in laughter.
3h and 24m until Talent Show
As Bridgette took a walk near the shore, Geoff seemed to spot her, which in turn made him smile and catch up to her. "Hey, Bridge! Wait up!" The cheerful voice of the party guy made her turn around, already adorning a smile on her face.
"Hey, Geoff. What's up?" Bridgette asked naturally, while they both resumed walking near the shore. "I hope you're not wasting your time talking to me here, by the way. I would hate being the reason you didn't rehearse enough, haha."
"Nah, don't worry, Devin is cooling off a bit, so we're taking a break." He clarified. "By the way, did Sammy do what I ask?" Bridgette giggled at that, knowing all he asked of her was to mention 'hi' to her.
"Yeah, she told me that when we crossed paths. That's nice of you, by the way." She smiled directly at him, which made him blush a little.
"So… How's Kitty? We heard her crying all day, I hope nothing too bad happened…" Geoff tried.
"Oh, that? She lost her phone, but last I saw Trent was chatting with her. He made her laugh, you know? The last time she actually laughed was before the past challenge. They look really cute together…" She said with a forlorn look on her face. "And so are Amy and Alejandro…" She sighed once again and sat at the beach stairs.
Geoff pulled a face at the casanova's name but sat next to her all the same. "You seem bummed, wanna talk?" Bridgette thought for a while but ultimately agreed.
"It's just… Alejandro has been messing with my head. We barely even spoke to each other, but just seeing the way he acts around Amy when he was flirting with me a few days ago… It really just makes me feel like I was played, you know?" Bridgette said with a downcast look. "I can't say I'm jealous but… I guess I'm disappointed…" She spoke again, making Geoff become both saddened and enraged.
"I know what you mean. That guy reeked of the slimy eel as soon as he stepped foot on the island. I'm just glad you've realized that before he drew you into anything worse!" Geoff spoke with a determined tone. "Just pay attention to his words and you should be fine, Bridge! Remember, I'm still your friend, and LeShawna, Kitty, and Sammy also like you, right?"
"Yeah, that's true… Thank you, Geoff! I needed to hear this!" Bridgette spoke again, hugging the party-goer tightly. "I'm really glad we've become friends, you feel like a big brother sometimes, you know?" She smiled at him and ran back to her cabin, with newfound energy.
Geoff - Confessional (5)
"You know? I thought I'd feel bad about being referred to as a brother, but Bridge is a nice girl. I'm just glad she's feeling better." Geoff spoke while tipping his hat. "Sometimes you gotta put your own wants before someone's needs. Bridge needed a friend, so I'd hate to over-impose myself." Geoff explained with a chill small on his face.
Geoff - Confessional - End (5)
Bridgette - Confessional (5)
"Wow, I'm so glad that Geoff took the time to come talk to me. I feel much better knowing there are so many people out there caring for me, to be honest." The blonde smiled at the camera. "I hope the other team doesn't vote Geoff off, I feel like he's one of the people who deserve to win the most."
Bridgette - Confessional - End (5)
14m until Talent Show
With the remaining hours, the campers decided to rest for a bit, knowing very well a badly placed strain could ruin their show. Some were still rehearsing, albeit much less ardently.
As Sammy was once again walking by the cabins, she noticed Devin sitting by himself and mulling over. She would not approach him. Not after how he behaved. Steeling herself, she rose her head and walked toward her own cabin, steering a bit away from the path, as if she was physically avoiding him. Of course, the close noise made him pay attention to what, or who was causing said noise. Once he realized who it was, sadness contorted his face, and he found himself rising from the steps of his own cabin.
"Hey… Sammy… I was wondering if we could talk for a bit…?" He began, as he tried to follow her. Not wanting to let the dam break, all Sammy managed to utter was a singular word.
"No." The instant decline made Devin sag a little, but he was still determined to at least talk to her.
"OK, well. Then we can talk to each other while we walk, that works too." He tried joking, but she was having none of it.
"Can you, like, not? I don't wanna talk to you, Devin. The last time we interacted, you threw that damn rubber ball at me. Thrice in a row. I get that you have to win, and I can't fault you for that, but you didn't say a single thing to me for the past two days. So, no! I don't wanna talk to you!" She exploded at him, and due to being close to the cabins, some of the other campers went out to see the commotion.
"Yeah, I know, but that's why I'm trying to talk to you now! This is the whole point of me coming up to you, Sammy!" Devin tried to reason back, also getting agitated, both by seeing the cheerleader being loud and the other campers listening in. "Can we go somewhere secluded at least? I think you're overreacting!" Devin barked back at her, who finally realized they had a crowd.
"Ugh, fine! If it means I don't have to entertain you anymore outside of this, let's go!" As she stomped off, some of the campers began to whisper among themselves, clearly shocked at the nice twin's outburst. Devin ran to keep with her, not without glaring at the campers who were clearly eavesdropping.
Once Sammy situated herself next to a tree, Devin arrived and began speaking.
"Look, I'm sorry for not checking up on you for the past few days, but I had to do that in order to not raise suspicion!" Devin spoke just as agitated as he was a few minutes ago.
"Suspicion of what? You're not making any sense, Devin! And here I thought I had finally met a cute guy who seemed to be into me for me, rather than wanting to get close to Amy or something…" She spoke with a deflated voice. The last bit made Devin's eyes widen and he had to do a double-take.
"Wait, you know I'm into you? Who told you that?" Devin asked in exasperation.
"Know? Does that mean you're really into me?" Sammy asked for clarification, her voice softening with each breath. "O.M.G…." Devin realized his tongue slipped but made no effort to take back what he said.
"Yes, Sammy. I'm very into you. You're just so cute, funny, and pretty and I really like you. I know we've met for no longer than two weeks, but I really feel a connection." Devin spoke with sincerity in his voice. As he looked at her softly, she made a choking noise.
Before she could reply, the speakers blared down once again for the day. It was showtime, baby!
"God damn it! Look, we can continue this talk once the challenge is over, OK? I promise you I'll explain everything I can." Devin spoke once again, looking at her with sincerity. The good twin nodded while blushing and they both went their own ways.
Sammy - Confessional (7)
"I can't believe Devin confessed to me!" Sammy spoke with wide eyes.
Sammy - Confessional - End (7)
Devin - Confessional (5)
"I can't believe I confessed to her!" He spoke with a mix of nervousness and giddiness.
Devin - Confessional - End (5)
Showtime, Baby!
As most campers took their seats once again, Chris was now dressed in a blue tuxedo, wearing his, possibly, best clothes for the judging of the talents.
The shot however showed the team's symbols over a bright, orange screen, with the two motifs crashing into each other. As Chris narrated the whole thing from the background.
"It's the TDI Talent Extravaganza!" As the shot went back to him, he was standing on the stage, with a very similar-looking table to the American Idol show, with three different chairs waiting for the jurors to be introduced.
"Welcome to the very first Camp Wawanakwa talent contest!" He greeted all of the non-talent campers. "Where eight shows will be put on by the teams, four of each! They'll try their hardest to clutch the victory and not humiliate themselves on national TV." As Chris proceeded, he smiled sardonically at the curtains. "Now, to introduce our jurors! First, it is yours truly! The host with the most, the always talented, Chirs McLean!" As he introduced himself, he walked forward with open arms, expecting to receive cheers. "Bet you guys didn't see that one coming, heh."
Sam from the crowd looked at the remaining campers and joked. "As if he'd pass a chance to be in the spotlight." Which earned the giggles of all remaining campers. Luckily, Chris didn't hear or pretended not to, since he carried on.
"Next, we have our favorite Chef! Chef Hatchet, come here!" As Chef appeared from behind the curtains, he was wearing his normal clothes, but with a formal-looking bowtie on top of his shirt. He grunted and took a seat in one of the chairs. "Touchy~" Chris teased, receiving a glare from the cook.
"And last, but not least, a special judge that was personally invited to participate, it's… Blaineley!" A pretty young woman dressed in a form-fitting red dress walks from behind the curtains, waving her hands as she was introduced.
"Hello, how are you all doing tonight? I hope you got some talent to show, 'cause I'm dying to see it!" She declared as she took the opposite chair to the table, leaving the middle one for Chris.
With all jurors introduced, Chris began to explain how the challenge would go. "So, all talents will perform and each will be individually graded by us three. Then, in the end, all scores will be added and the team with the highest amount of points wins invincibility." Chris explained with an air of grace. "Now, the Gophers shall go first, then the Bass, and so on."
Shawn - Confessional (4)
"I'm just saying. With a little bit more practice, we'd have totally perfected our show." Shawn declared with a pout. "Well… So long Mickey agreed to participate, hehe…" Shawn rubbed his neck.
Shawn - Confessional - End (4)
Back behind the curtains, the Gophers heard they were going first, and had decided to draw randomly to decide the order. Noticeably, Alejandro and LeShawna were the ones going first, with Bridgette following up, then Amy and Sammy's routine, and finally, Trent with his serenade.
With the Bass, they hastily made the decision and sent off a list for Chris to call out the correct shows in order. They decided Harold would be the opening, then Crimson would go, then Devin and Geoff's skateboarding, and finally Courtney would finish off for them.
"All right, it seems Alejandro will start off the show with LeShawna as his assistant! They'll be performing a juggling number! Let's see what they have to offer!" Chris declared as the lights on stage all turned off, with a single limelight focusing on the center of the stage.
"LeShawna, you know the drill!" Alejandro spoke with enthusiasm, as the sister handed over a bowling pin first. As soon as he got the hang of it, he extended his hand again, prompting her to give him a football now. As the items were being added, Alejandro began to walk around the stage, and every time he completed a turn, he got another item added. Soon, he was juggling 7 different items, ranging from bowling pins to even fire extinguishers! LeShawna then showed the completely empty chest the items were being stored in, as Alejandro kept walking and juggling, finally coming to an end as he dropped each item into the chest carefully.
Once it was done, the campers and the jurors cheered them on for the overall very good performance.
Chef then began to speak. "That was pretty good. It's a common talent, but you and your partner were well-synched. I'm giving you a 9!" Both casanova and LeShawna high-fived at the high score.
Chris went next. "Hm, I agree it was pretty good, but I really wanted to see you juggling something more dangerous. I'm giving you an eight." He then raised a score with the number eight on it.
Then finally Blaineley spoke. "I gotta say, the act was a bit too cirque-du-Soleil, for me, but you're very handsome, so I'm giving you a 10!" She declared with a huge smile on her face, which prompted the Gophers to cheer them on.
"And the Gophers score a huge 27 in their first round! Could the Bass beat that?" Chris narrated again, as Harold walked onstage, his sick beat dropped too.
He was getting into the rhythm, and so were Chef and Blaineley, already liking the strong first impression. Then he began to make a collection of different noises on the microphone, with every beat adding a new one. Then, as if on cue, the beat he was creating synchronized with the beat already playing, and his beatboxing was so on point, his beat overrode the one from the beatbox. He kept going for about two minutes, and actually shocked the Gophers and jurors, who weren't sure Harold could drop such a beat.
Chef began with wide eyes. "Wow. I was not aware the dweeb could make something like this. It's gotta be a 10 for me." Chef nodded, proud of the redhead.
"Damn, Harold, that was one sick beat. But… I can't say I was the biggest fan of the constant coughing during it. I'm giving you a 7." Chris explained, making the dweeb purse his lips but remaining quiet.
"Yes, I do agree with Chef. I could expect anything but this, so for the sake of novelty, I'm giving you a 10, too!" Blaineley declared.
"And in a shocking turn of events, Harold manages to score 27 too! Who could have thought?" Chris narrated as the redhead walked back, not without hearing the cheers from the campers. "Next, we have Bridgette doing a hand walk!"
As Bridgette walked onstage, she lowered herself onto the ground and began to hand walk. Now, with Geoff's energy boost, she was energized enough to get it done with barely any hitches. After she made three rounds on the stage, she rose back from the ground and took a bow.
"I mean, it was all right. Nothing extremely shocking, but good enough. 7." Chef declared with a neutral face.
"Yeah, it was pretty boring. If you had crashed into something it'd have been better. I'm giving you a 6." Chris declared with an uninterested look.
"I don't know, I think it was kinda cool. Normally this kind of thing would have me nauseated, but I like how you were full of confidence. I'll give you an 8." Blaineley spoke once again.
"A little low compared to the previous acts, but nothing to scoff at! Bridgette racks a solid 21, raising her team's score to 48. Next, it's Crimson for the Bass, and she'll be showing her farm skills apparently…? I gotta see this, haha." Chris declared with surprise on his face.
Crimson then walked on the stage with a black cowboy hat, a black lasso, and black leather boots. A pig was set loose on the stage and without even looking, Crimson threw her wound-up lasso at the pig, instantly stopping it in its tracks. As the pig lay there, she approached it easily and stood in front of it, as she gave the pig a full makeover. Once she was done, she stepped off and showed the pig to the jurors. The makeup the big wore resembled deeply Crimson's own makeup, but more heavily applied.
"That's something new all right… Putting makeup on a pig, who would have even thought of that? I'm giving you an 8. You still did catch that pig flawlessly." Chef supplied, making Crimson smile a little.
"Oh man, that was hilarious to watch. I'm giving you a 9, for sure." Chris spoke while laughing.
"The monotone makeup was a little boring, but overall you still did a better job than some of the interns on this island. I'm giving you an 8!" Blaineley declared.
"And who could have foreseen Crimson had rodeo abilities? Damn, that brings the Bass' score to a whopping 52! The Bass is currently in the lead, but can Amy and Sammy's routine bring the Gophers back on the race? Let's find out!"
As the two Gopher girls walked onstage, Sammy shot Devin a smile, who was waiting backstage with the remaining campers, just for it to be reciprocated. Sammy then turned on the boombox nearby, to the pop song they had rehearsed to. As the two girls began to dance, the synchrony was palpable, and despite their differences, they were both very talented at it.
As they stomped in synchrony and shook their pom poms, they both began to cite the cheer Amy had written.
"Gophers, you rock! Gophers, you rock!
If the jury agrees, the Bass meet the dock!
G-O-P-H-E-R-S
G-O-P-H-E-R-S
We're better than the Bass!"
As they sang the cheer, they began to perform acrobatics on stage, ranging from cartwheels to somersaults, which was quite taxing, due to singing and dancing at the same time. Nearing the end, Amy turned to her sister and nodded, so they both ran to opposite ends of the stage just to run toward each other again in the middle, but this time Sammy lowered herself as Amy jumped on top of her and stood on her shoulders.
"GO GOPHERS!" They cheered in unison. Due to the heavy performance, all people that watched it clapped at it. You had to admit, it had been pretty damn good. As the younger sister lowered herself to the ground, Amy and she embraced again, putting their differences aside for the moment.
"Damn, girlies! That was pretty damn good!" Chef declared with a proud look. "That's a 10 for me, for sure."
"I gotta agree with Chef, but you could have rhymed something a little bit more Chirs-centered. That's a 9 for me." Chris smiled at them, ignoring the dirty looks his way.
"Yeah, this kinda reminded me of my high school time. I was once the cheer captain, so for the memory lane trip, I'm giving you a 10!" Blaineley smiled at both girls, who once again cheered at their highly acclaimed performance.
"That brings the Gophers to 77. That's one tough number to beat, Bass! Better hope Devin and Geoff can pull off something wicked with their skateboards!"
As both jocks walked onstage, they took opposite ends and began to circle each other, every once in a while grabbing each other's hands and circling around. Once they went for long enough, they did their trick, successfully switching places and wowing the crowd. Then, one of the ramps that were onstage was used by both at the same time, resulting in the two landing side to side, just for them to once again switch back. They pulled off a few more switches and skate tricks, but stopped after a while.
Chef then began speaking. "That was pretty cool, I'll give you two that. It takes trust and discipline to be able to pull those moves. I'll give you a 9." Chef declared smiling.
"I still expected to see either one of you crash, so I'm giving you a 7. Sorry, not sorry." Chris spoke with a smirk.
"You two were very good, but it felt a bit… high-school-y? Does that word even exist?" She looked around but proceeded with no response. "Anyway, I'll give you two a 7, too."
"Well, that actually… Huh, it seems like both teams are tied at 77, once again they tie! If I didn't know any better, I'd say this was scripted!" Chris laughed at his unfunny joke but continued to narrate. "And next, we have our own Romeo who's apparently serenading someone. Romantic~"
As Trent entered, he took a seat with his guitar in his hand. He scanned the crowd for that face he was looking for. Once their eyes found each other, they both softened. Kitty waved at him and he smiled at her.
"This one goes out to someone very special here at camp." He then began to play his guitar.
"They say that we've only got summer,
And I say that's really a bummer.
But we'll swim in the sun and have lots of fun.
It'll just be the two of us.
Nothing to do but just hang.
So let me say only this, Stick around,
For just one kiss."
As he sang, he was looking directly at Kitty, who was blushing throughout the entire performance. Once he finished, Chef began to weep at the serenade.
"Oh this one… this one was so beautiful…" Chef began to bawl his eyes out, surprising the many campers, given his tough exterior. "It's a 10 for me! A 10!"
"Right…" Chris drawled out as Chef cried. "It was a bit cheesy, but it was good! I'm giving it a 9!" Chris declared.
"This song kinda reminds me of my first crush. He was a jerk. Thanks but no thanks. It's a 6 for me." Blaineley then turned and frowned. Trent was taken back by the low score, but proceeded anyway, waving one last time at Kitty before he walked off with the guitar and chair in his hand.
"Well, Trent closes the deal with a total of 102 points! Now, Courtney has got to score at least 26 points for her team to win! If it's a tie, we'll do one more round as a tiebreaker!" Chris declared as Courtney walked onstage.
"Hello, everyone. I was gonna play some Bronsart, but I decided to play some Pachebel, instead. Please, if you will." A piano sound began to come from the beatbox, supplying her with the needed assistance.
As she concentrated, Courtney began to play a beautifully concocted musical piece, drawing emotions out of all contestants present, campers, and jury altogether. As the performance went on, Courtney's fluid movements were emotionally charged, which meant her movements were all the more smooth and graceful.
The piano kept going, and Courtney was never far behind. She beautifully played, exposing her talent to the world to see, rendering all people nearby speechless. Once she was done, she made a last quick riff as an addendum and closed it with a drawn-out note. Once done, she took a bow and rest her instrument in its case once again.
Chef wasn't even able to speak anything, far too ingrained in his own mind. As he silently began to weep, he raised the sign with a 10 on it.
Chris cleaned a few tears from his eyes. "That's a 10 from me too, damn…"
"That was… beautiful…" Blaineley spoke with a tremulous voice. "It's a 10 for me too!" And she began to weep much like the other two jurors.
"And Courtney manages to score a perfect score for her team, which results in her team surpassing the Gopher's 102 with a whopping 107, winning the Killer Bass the challenge and the immunity!" Chris shouted from where he stood, with the Killer Bass rushing to the stage to cheer their victory and their winning player. "Bass, congratulations! You'll get to remain in the game for the next week! Gophers, what can I say…? It's not like you didn't do well, but the Bass took it home. I'll see you at the campfire ceremony in an hour! And once again, thank you Chef and Blaineley for taking the time to pop up here!" As Chris declared, Chef winked to the camera and Blaineley blew a kiss.
LeShawna - Confessional (5)
"Honestly? I can't even be mad at them. They did damn well." LeShawna spoke with a proud face. "But then again, who would we eliminate…" The reality dawned on her.
LeShawna - Confessional - End (5)
As the Gophers went back to their own cabin, Kitty noticed a strange, yet familiar object on top of her bed. She rushed to grab it, foregoing the note that came on top of it. "Where have you been?! I was looking for you this whole time!" Kitty screeched in happiness. She was about to take off to rejoice with Trent and her friends, but the note caught her eye. It read:
"Play me." With the words being underlined. She wondered for a bit what that could mean, but she decided to take the phone to the mess hall, where the other campers were reunited.
"O.M.G.! LeShawna, look at what I found!" As Kitty screamed in joy, she ran to hug Trent and her friends once again. "Which one of you found it?" She asked them in ecstasy. Bridgette, LeShawna, Trent, and Sammy all looked at each other in confusion. "Uh, c'mon, you don't need to keep the ruse going, y'know?" Kitty tried again.
"Uh, I don't think any of us would have hidden it from you as soon as we found it, Kitty… We all saw how you were, we'd do anything to break you out of that…" Trent supplied.
"Wait, but what about the note?" She asked once again. As they kept looking at her in confusion, she brought the note out of her pocket and showed them, catching the eyes of a certain duo nearby.
"What does it mean by 'play me'?" Bridgette asked. "As in, play some game…?" Kitty shook her head.
"I've got no clue. My next guess would be the recorder or something. Let me see." As Kitty began to fiddle with her phone, Amy and Alejandro exchanged looks, mostly pretending to be none of the wiser. "Huh, weird… It's got a recording from two days ago… I lost this back in the other challenge, which means whoever had it must have recorded it… But why?" As she hit play, all of the campers in the mess hall stopped to listen to what the recording had to say. Suddenly, LeShawna's voice was blaring out of the device.
As most campers looked at her in confusion, she recognized her own voice and when that had been recorded. Soon, her monologue was aired out to her friends.
'Now, I'm not one to be trash-talking about my own team, but so far, we are not doing too hot. Alejandro may be strong and smart, but I see the way he was toying with Bridgette and the twins. Amy is a brat, Bridgette is too passive, Brick seems to need someone telling him what to do, or else. I love Kitty to death from this week I spent with her, but she's definitely a little bit boy crazy, I'm too brash sometimes, Mickey is a little twig, Sammy has the spine of an invertebrate, Shawn is a nutcase and Trent is probably the most normal we can get here." I just hope it ain't me next time we lose…'
Every camper that was cited turned to look at her, with evident looks of surprise on their faces.
"...Shawna… what is this…?" Kitty asked her friend with a horrified look on her face. "Boy-crazy? Passive? Spineless?" Kitty asked her friend once again while taking steps toward her. "What is the meaning of this?" As LeShawna was backed into a corner by her teammates, she began to panic.
"Wait, this is taken out of context!" She tried to reason, but none of them were having it.
"What context do you need to call someone a nutcase?" Shawn asked with a sincerely hurt tone. "I know my behavior is a bit odd, but I'm no nutcase…" He drawled out sadly, Brick coming up to him and offering a friendly shoulder.
As the confrontation went down, the Bass could only look at the Gophers almost duking it out with each other. The only ones who didn't seem that mad were Alejandro and Amy, whom Scarlett quickly noticed and made a mental note to speak to him the next day.
"Now, now, I'm sure LeShawna may have her reasons, but not do anything too brash." Alejandro tried to "intervene" despite being the one who created the situation anonymously. "How about we figure this out during the ceremony? Our actions will speak louder than our words." As Alejandro finished, Kitty stalked out of the mess hall, as LeShawna was left being glared at by her teammates.
Alejandro - Confessional (7)
"Normally, I would have preferred to keep that little piece of information as blackmail material, but since LeShawna is a strong competitor, I figured I needed to disrupt their little group for a change." Alejandro provided with a malicious smirk.
Alejandro - Confessional - End (7)
LeShawna - Confessional (6)
"I… What?" LeShawna was baffled about what transpired. "I didn't mean those things that way… I was just venting, how could I have known that?!" She asked, exasperated.
LeShawna - Confessional - End (6)
As all ten campers were seated at the campfire, Chris stood next to an oil barrel with his plate of marshmallows. "Kudos to you for an incredible night of entertainment. You haven't won, but you certainly gave your best. Too bad trying isn't enough to win. Oh, and how could I forget, even after the show was over, you still provided entertainment! You guys rock!" Chris opened the ceremony with a pep in his voice. "Juggling, gymnastics, singing, you've done your best and you've certainly cast your votes. Now, I will call your name, and once you've been called, you must get up and claim your marshmallow." Chris finished, repeating the same speech from the previous time they lost.
"The first marshmallow goes to… Shawn!
Brick!
Mickey!
Samey!
Kitty!
Bridgette!
Trent!
Alejandro!"
All cited campers got up, grabbed their marshmallows, and stood next to Chris. Some of them seemed satisfied at seeing LeShawna in the bottom two, others were just happy they weren't eliminated.
"Amy, LeShawna. Both of you have received votes." Chris began rolling around the singular marshmallow on the plate. LeShawna looked like she had seen a ghost, but Amy was far more confident in herself. "Amy, you've been generally a thorn in people's side, you are rude and you are a brat, but you've been doing well in the challenges, just like today." He started, pointing to the evil twin. "LeShawna, you're seen as a fierce competitor by your peers, and you also do well in challenges, but apparently, your social game was off today. Getting caught trash-talking your teammates? Not cool." Chris tutted at her. "The one who's going home tonight is…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
LeShawna!" Chris then threw the last marshmallow at Amy, who happily caught it and joined her remaining teammates. "Seems like it's Dock of Shame time for you, baby!" Chris mocked as he leaned against the barrel.
LeShawna got up, sad, and yet she couldn't get herself to be mad at anyone, after all, it was her own fault she got eliminated. As she went by her teammates, Kitty was the first one who turned around but still uttered a single 'goodbye' as she began crying again. LeShawna sighed but bid goodbye to her teammates.
Chris then began narrating as the Gophers went back to their cabin, emotionally drained from all events that took place that evening. "It seems like it's the end of the road for our sister with the attitude! Who'll be the one going down next time? Will Mickey finally do something important? Find out the next episode of Total… Drama… Island!" As he finished, you could hear Mickey's undignified cry at the mention of his lack of role in this episode.
Cue the ending scenes.
Votes for the ceremony:
Alejandro: "I'm voting for LeShawna. Nothing personal, it's just the game."
Amy: "I vote for LeShawna. Hopefully, with that little plan of ours, she'll be booted off and we'll have to worry about one less annoying cow."
Brick: "Under normal conditions, I wouldn't be voting for her… But going behind our backs to trash-talk us?! I vote for LeShawna!"
Bridgette: "I really thought we were friends, she was even consoling Kitty about her phone… But saying all of that? That was harsh, I vote for LeShawna."
Kitty: "I can't believe she said that! I thought we were friends! I'm voting for LeShawna…"
LeShawna: "I don't know how that happened, but I bet Amy had something to do with that. My vote goes for her!"
Mickey: "That was so uncalled for. I helped us win the challenge and she only sees me as a twig? I'm voting for LeShawna.
Sammy: "Spineless? I know I'm shy, but that's a low blow… I vote for LeShawna…"
Shawn: "It sucks to hear someone finds you a nutcase. I'm sorry, but you give me no other choice. I vote for LeShawna."
Trent: "I hate the notion of doing this, but what you said really leaves me no choice but to vote for you, LeShawna."
Amy (1): LeShawna
LeShawna (9): Alejandro, Amy, Brick, Bridgette, Kitty, Mickey, Sammy, Shawn, and Trent
Contestants:
Screaming Gophers: Alejandro, Amy, Brick, Bridgette, Kitty, Mickey, Sammy, Shawn, and Trent (9/11)
Killer Bass: Cameron, Courtney, Crimson, Devin, Geoff, Harold, Sam, Scarlett, and Tammy (9/11)
Rank of Elimination:
19th: LeShawna - The Sister with 'Tude
20th: Dawn - The Moonchild
21st: Owen - The Funniest Guy Around
22nd: Beth - The Wannabe
I want to begin by apologizing, again, for suddenly eliminating a fan favorite super early... I know LeShawna is seen as extremely proficient during her TDI appearance, and I agree! She is! But that's the funny part. No, but seriously, I was in serious doubt about who to eliminate here, I just knew it had to be someone from the Gophers. I went through a few possibilities, but LeShawna was the one who felt the most appropriate, given her role in this chapter.
It would be pretty hard to get her eliminated under normal circumstances, she doesn't really strike me as someone who would be voted off by her teammates without a proper reason.
I hope this chapter has quelled your need for an update for the time being! It took me a while to finish, so I'd imagine it took you guys a decent time to finish it too, haha! I hope you all had a great time reading it and remember to review it if you're comfortable with it! I always appreciate reading what you guys have to say! For now, I bid you all adieu! Ciao!