Hey everyone, this was something that I had wanted to do for some time. If you don't know, the first season of the Peralta Challenges was my first true 'fanfic' that I was working on before other projects took over. And when looking back at the old story compared to what I was doing now, I realized that it was kinda mid.
But this story now aims to fix that as I'm reworking this entire project with the standards that I have nowadays. All of the characters will be the same as far as their general concepts but I did change a few names and stereotypes that I thought would better fit them. Also, the elimination order may be different this time and I do plan an adding way more mini-subplots to really fill this story with a lot of content.
This is still a project that I have a lot of attachment too and my goal is to finish this at some point alongside all of my other major projects. So, of course, we start things off with the very first episode, which is your standard introductory chapter. I put more focus on my best qualities as writer, like better character interactions, so hopefully things play out much more smoothly and enjoyably. Anyways, have fun reading!
EPISODE 1: WELCOME TO THE PERALTA CHALLENGES
A cold breeze struck the trees of a small island, surrounded by the grand clear waters of Lake Michigan. The sky was bright, the clouds were few and the weather was perfectly warm. On one side of the island, poked out an old, rickety boarding dock. Worn out planks of wood, cloaked in mixes of sand and dirt groaned as the feet of a tall, middle-aged man walked across it. His attire was simple, an orange t-shirt with an open blue collared button-up over it. Freshly kept khaki shorts covered the man's lower half alongside his spotless blue and white sneakers.
It wasn't only just the man who walked on the dock however, as it was also a full-blown camera crew that followed behind. One of the members set up a metallica tripod and another carefully placed a big camera on top, adjusting it to get a good view of the tall man, who had now turned his back on the horizon. The camera zoomed in on his chiseled face, showing off the man's big brown eyes and slick black hair. Once the crew were set, one of them gave a silent signal to the man, who finally spoke.
"Welcome everyone!" he exclaimed, holding his hands out in a presenting way. Effortlessly, the man smiled brightly for the camere before he continued on. "This is the Peralta Challenges!"
Right after such an introduction, a wide shot of the entire island was revealed. Littered across the north end of the island were a bunch of various buildings. Some were old and rustic in nature, while one in particular looked quite modern and sleek. Most notably, in the direct center of the island, poking through the wooded area was a large flag pole. At the top was, of course, the American flag but right below was a different, orange banner of sorts. It even had a peculiar design on it, almost as if it was a stylized P and C overlapping each other.
The man on the dock was back in view, his smile still as bright as ever. "We are here at Bennington Island, about a few miles from the coast of Milwaukee, Wisconsin," he explained, his voice enthusiastic and charming. He then pointed a confident thumb towards himself. "My name is Johnathan Peralta but you can simply call me John and I will be your host for this exciting new show."
"New show, you might say? So, what exactly are we getting into?" he continued. "Well, my good viewers, if you just tuned in, you should know that the Peralta Challenges is a spin-off of the popular TV series, Total Drama. This time it's aired online but the premise is still similar. Eighteen teenaged campers will compete against each other to win a grand prize of one million dollars. There are indeed more rules to this but I'll explain it all when those eighteen campers finally arrive."
As if it was prompted, John was told something through an earpiece that he had been wearing. A few moments later, his smile grew even bigger. "And what do you know? I've just been informed that the campers will be arriving very soon. So why don't we get ready for them?"
John and the camera crew quickly positioned themselves to watch for the boats that would be transporting the campers. "Like the first season of the show that this is spinning off of, each camper will arrive individually by boat," the host explained.
And through the magical power of editing, a small boat was soon in view. John straightened up his posture and clasped his hands together as he patiently waited for the boat's arrival. It was currently carrying the first camper, who was a rather tall and thin young man. His hair was curly and deep orange in color. His outfit consisted of a simple green t-shirt with white hems and a white shirt pocket. A brand new pair of khaki pants and some blue and white Adidas's rounded out his simple appearance.
In no time, the boat pulled into the dock and the tall camper soon departed. As he walked along the dock, John greeted him with a firm handshake and pointed at the camera. "Tell the viewers who you are, my friend."
"My name is Patrick, sir," he replied, his voice clearly having an Irish accent. "As you might've guessed by the way I speak, I am from good 'ol Ireland."
A small chuckle from him soon ensued, while John nodded and pointed towards a grassy area. "Well, welcome to the show, Patrick," he greeted, giving a gentle pat on the lad's shoulder. "Now please take a spot on the grass while we wait for the others."
Right as soon as Patrick sat down on the warm grass, the next boat had arrived. This particular camper was a very intimidating looking girl with her frizzy brown hair tied up into a ponytail. She wore a denim vest over a yellow Harley Davidson shirt and jean shorts with brown steel-toed boots. There was also a long thin scar that started at the base of her ring finger and ended halfway between her wrist and elbow.
"Hey there, how's it going?" John greeted, holding his hand out to her.
The girl gave a stoic look, ignoring the host's gesture. "Fine, I would suppose," she grumbled.
John simply took his hand back and dropped his smile a little. "Mind telling us your name?" he asked.
"Harley," she told him, not really showing much enthusiasm. "Now where do I go?"
John pointed behind him with his thumb, towards Patrick's general direction. "Over there, I guess," he answered, not exactly thrilled by Harley's cold demeanor. As she went to go meet her fellow camper, John gave a look towards the camera. "Might wanna be careful around her."
Harley was greeted with a smile from Patrick as he held out his hand. "Hey there, lass. Name's Patrick," he greeted her.
"Good for you," glowered Harley. "And don't call me 'lass'. I'm not here for pet names." Patrick quickly recoiled his hand back and proceeded to scratch the back of his head, seeming pretty apologetic. Harley just rolled her eyes and the two remained quiet.
Meanwhile, the next boat arrived and dropped off a rather handsome young man. He had some cleanly brushed blonde hair that went well with his charming face and he dressed rather nicely, wearing a high-end blue button up polo with gray slacks and black shoes. After being greeted by John, the camper smiled for the camera
"Hey all, I'm Robert," he said with a cheerful wave. "I'm super excited for whatever is in store for us."
"And so am I," John added, patting the kid on the shoulder. "Anyways, we already have a few other campers here. Why don't you go say hello?"
Robert thanked the host and then paced over to the two other campers. Once again, Patrick extended his hand towards him. This time, however, Robert returned the handshake.
"Pleasure to meet ya," Patrick greeted. "Are you excited fer this summer?"
"For sure, it's going to be awesome," Robert replied with a small nod. He then looked over towards Harley, who stared off into the horizon with an empty look on her face. Robert scrunched up his nose and decided it was best to not talk to her for now.
The next boat then arrived, dropping off the fourth camper. This one was a young girl with dark brown hair tied up into pigtails. Her face was covered in tiny brown freckles and she wore a big blocky pair of glasses. She also had on a red and black flannel shirt with a pair of worker jeans tied up tightly with a brown belt. Her boots were well worn and a bit muddy but overall, the small girl seemed quite timid.
"And welcome, young lady," John greeted her. "Please introduce yourself to all of the others."
"Hello," she said softly. "My name is Linda. I'm from Nebraska and I do a lotta farm stuff. I don't normally go out much but I'm really hoping I can make some good friends here."
"What about the money?" John asked with a bit of a smirk.
"Oh, that too, I guess," Linda shrugged before being told to go meet with the others. As she did, Patrick once again held out his hand. She shook it and smiled shyly. "Hi.."
"Hey there," Patrick greeted back peppily. "You said you were lookin' fer some friends? Well, I'd gladly be your friend here."
"Oh wow, thank you," Linda replied, a little shocked by how friendly this guy was. "So, uh, what's your name?"
"Patrick," he replied. "I'm Irish."
"And I'm Robert," said the fellow camper who sat next to Patrick. "I'm not Irish."
Linda chuckled softly, finding the two boys to be quite endearing. "Well, nice to meet the both of you," Linda said. Then she turned to her fellow female camper and waved hello. "What's your name?"
"Harley," she answered, spitting at the ground as her face was stern and unwelcoming. "I don't wanna be your friend so don't bother."
"Oh… okay?" Linda replied, looking a little bewildered at first.
Patrick leaned over towards her and lowered his voice. "She doesn't seem to be the most friendly kind of fella out there," he whispered.
"Yeah… I can kinda tell," she whispered back.
Camper #5 was then dropped off. She was tall and quite pretty, with her long red curly hair flowing down her shoulders gracefully. Purple yoga pants tightly wrapped around her fit lower body and a purple v-neck shirt that had some type of school logo on the chest covered her torso. All of a sudden, she bolted out of the boat, lept up into the air and landed an amazing front flip. She bowed while wiping some dirt from the dock from her white gym shoes in the process.
"Oh my, what an iconic entrance!" John gasped, looking quite impressed by the girl's athleticism. "Definitely wasn't expecting a flip."
The redhead stood back up with a confident smirk on her face. "I'm always looking to be the best at everything," she stated, placing her hands on her hips. "Even with a simple introduction."
"Well, we still need to learn your name," John reminded.
"I am Alexandra," she answered, looking quite proud of herself. "I will be the most dominant lady in this entire show and based on what you've seen of me already, I doubt that would be hard to believe."
"What a show-off," Harley muttered to herself as she picked away some strands of grass.
"Well Alexandra, I guess you made your entrance loud and clear," John said as he pointed at the other campers. "Try not to overwhelm these guys just yet, however."
Alexandra let out an amused chuckle and walked down the dock, where she spotted Patrick and Robert. She flaunted her hair back and winked at the two of them. "How ya doin', boys," she asked in a rather flirtatious manner before taking a seat next to Linda.
Patrick leaned over to Robert and seemed concerned. "Something about her just ain't sittin' with me," he confessed.
"It might just be the overconfidence," Robert suggested back, not trying to immediately judge a person by one introduction.
Linda, however, had no concern at all and instead timidly tapped her fingers together. "Wow…" she said. "You're, like, really cool and stuff."
Alexandra leaned back with a smirk. "'Preciate it, darling," she replied, before growing a bit skeptical. "That outfit could use a little work."
"Yeah…" Linda sighed. "I'm not exactly well-versed in fashion and stuff."
Alexandra smiled and gently scratched Linda on the chin. "That's alright," she assured. "If you hang with me, I can get you on the right track."
"Really?" Linda asked, curious at what she could mean but yet couldn't help but grow a small smile. Alexandra simply nodded before twirling her hair and observing the next boat making its arrival.
This camper was a young man wearing a Lakers baseball cap with white and blue sweatpants, a plain white t-shirt and a fresh Dodgers baseball jacket. He even had on a snazzy pair of sunglasses, making him look very sharp and full of drip.
"What's good y'all, this is your boy Craig," he greeted, gesturing with his hands. "We representin' SoCal, ready to make a name for myself. That's how it is, yo. Work hard for that big money, you know what I'm saying?"
"I certainly do," John said, clearly not so.
"So, you the host?" asked Craig, extending his fist out for a bump.
"Yes I am," John answered back, returning the gesture.
The sharp contestant grinned a little. "You look a bit different than the picture on the website," he mentioned with a smile. "Did you lose weight?"
John chuckled, finding the camper to be quite charming. "Why yes, thanks for noticing," he said. "You seem pretty cool, kid. Glad you could make it."
"Good looks," Craig replied, patting his chest in respect. Afterwards, he walked to the other campers and sat down right next to Alexandra. He lowered his sunglasses a little dramatically and grew a flirty smile. "Damn girl, you fine as hell."
Alexandra looked back at him with a smile. "Why thank you," she said, flipping a lock of hair behind her shoulder. "I am indeed."
Craig gave a small chuckle while Harley rolled her eyes and scoffed in disgust from behind him. Craig turned around and stared back at the standoffish woman. "Sorry, didn't mean to ignore ya," he added, extending his hand out to her. "You aight too, cuz."
Craig was returned with just a cold stare from Harley, enough to make him grow a bit nervous. "My bad," he apologized, retracting his hand.
While all of that was occuring, the next boat arrived to drop off the next camper. This one was a very short boy with wavy brown hair. He wore a simple gray t-shirt with some sort of video game artwork plastered on it. His pants looked too big and baggy for him as they completely covered his footwear.
"Greetings, short stuff," John greeted, as the boy departed from the boat with his baggage. "What's your name?"
"Don't call me short stuff," he demanded with a frown. "Just call me by my name, Milton."
"Certainly," John agreed without much worry.
"Oh, and I just want to let you all know that being short is not, in any way, a disadvantage," Milton added, seeming to get quite defensive. "I happen to be very active and strong. I play a lot of video games too, so I got great hand-eye coordination."
"Well then hopefully you can prove such a case to us when we start the challenges tomorrow," John said, pointing towards the rest of the campers. "Anyways, you may sit with them."
As Milton made his way to the others, Craig could be seen smirking, as if he had some devious thing to say. "Ayo, wait a sec, John. I didn't know you were gonna allow third graders here," he joked.
John seemed to ignore the remark but Milton wasn't so forgiving. He glared down at the sitting Craig, even though they were basically eye level. "I'm gonna be a freshman," Milton scoffed, rolling his eyes and trying to seem holier than thou in a way. "You're not funny anyways."
"Ah, come on kid," Craig laughed, shaking his head. "No need to be so damn uptight."
"I'm not uptight!" Milton shouted abruptly, startling a bystanding Linda. "And don't call me 'kid'!"
"Milton, stop it," John ordered, snapping his fingers at him.
Milton flopped his arms to his side before gesturing towards Craig. "But he started it by calling me a third grader," the short boy whined.
John wasn't amused but he faced the SoCal native anyway. "Craig, just leave him alone for now, okay?" he requested.
Craig rolled his eyes while Milton seemed proud of himself for snitching. "Aight, whatever," he agreed. As Milton took a seat elsewhere, Craig started mumbling under his breath. "Out here tryna kill my vibe, like, who the fuck does he think he is…"
Suddenly, he noticed Alexandra staring at him and quickly quit his mumbling. "Don't worry about it, girl," he assured. "I'm cool."
Alexandra shrugged with a small grin on her face. After that, the next boat arrived, dropping off the next camper. This one was a young lady with long straight blonde hair and blue sparkly eyes. She wore a cute pink shirt with an adorable monkey face on it, a pair of green athletic short shorts and yellow sneakers that had some cutesy cat drawings on it. She made her entrance by skipping onto the dock with her beautiful smile.
"Good afternoon young lady," John greeted. "Who art thou?"
The girl gave a look before giggling. "What was that? I don't speak Spanish or whatever," she asked. This caused some of the campers to laugh a little before the ditzy girl grinned ear to ear. "Ohhhh, I get it now. You wanna know who I am, duh!"
She gave herself a playful tap on the forehead while John stood there looking amused. There was an awkward moment of silence before the host spoke up. "So… your name?"
"Oh yeah! I'm Julie," she answered.
"Alrighty then," John said, chuckling a bit. "Welcome to the show, Julie. Now why don't you take a seat over there with all of the others?"
"Okie dokie," Julie complied gleefully before skipping along the dock and finding a spot on the grass. She then saw Robert sitting nearby her and excitedly scooched up to him. "Hiya!"
"Hey there, I'm Robert," he replied.
"That's so cool," she complimented with this endearing sense of innocence. "I'm Julie."
"Yeah, we heard you before." he explained with a smile.
"Oh yeah," she giggled, giving herself another playful tap on her head. "Well duh, haha! Sorry, I'm just so excited!"
"Aren't we all?" Patrick interjected, extending his hand out to her over Robert. "The name's Patrick, pleasure to meet ya."
"Oh, hi Patrick!" she exclaimed, shaking his hand. "Nice to meet you too, sweetie."
Meanwhile, Milton watched Julie and felt his heart flutter a little. "Wow… She's so hot," he said, maybe a bit too loudly because a nearby Linda overheard him.
"Why don't you go talk to her?" Linda suggested, seeming to not mind Milton's desire for such a girl. "She seems very nice."
Milton nearly froze in embarrassment, which led Linda to grow sheepish. "Sorry…" she apologized. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop…"
Back at the dock, the next boat dropped off a camper. He was pretty tall and pretty muscular. His extremely shaggy brown hair covered his ears and he had a nicely groomed goatee to compliment the messy hairstyle. He wore a forest green shirt with some kind abstract gray monster on it and a pair of dark blue skinny jeans. He also had on some white Nike skate shoes, even though he wasn't much of a skater.
"What's up, everybody?" he said with a great big smile on his face. "My name is Marcus, king of rockin' out and havin' all kinds of fun, yeah!"
John laughed, enjoying the guy's enthusiasm. "You must be that drummer guy that signed up," he explained. "Go ahead and tell us about your band."
Marcus nodded. "Of course, dude," he agreed. "So, my band is called Lyer. We play some gnarly rock 'n' roll but we also just play whatever we really wanna play. It's our own music style, we say."
"Very cool," John complimented. "Maybe you could send me a sample of your music sometime."
"Sure, that'll be sweet," he said, holding up the devil horns gesture with his left hand. He made his way to the others next and decided to take a seat next to Craig. "How's it going, dude."
"Not much, cuz," Craig answered, giving Marcus a fist bump. "Ay, I make music too."
"Awesome," Marcus nodded with an infectious smile. "What kind?"
"I make my own beats and then I rap over them," Craig explained, mimicking him holding a mic. "Yeah, I go by the alias, LA Shredder. Check me out some time."
"That's sick, dude. I totally will," Marcus complimented. "Is your name a reference to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, by the way?"
"Hell yeah, you already know," Craig confirmed. "Works well with me too because I shred on the mic."
"Right on, right on," Marcus nodded.
"Got a couple of artists here," John admired as the next boat made its arrival. "Wonder what this one will have in store."
The next camper was a curvy girl with wavy black hair and a thin nose. She wore a rather nice red blouse with black yoga pants, white sneakers with red laces and a snuggly fit cowgirl hat that made it all too clear what part of the country she was from. She gave a friendly wave as she stepped out of the boat. "Hey y'all, my name is Samantha," she said with a bright southern accent. "Born and raised in beautiful 'ol Tennessee."
"Same here, pardner," John shared. "I was born in the heart of country music, Nashville."
"Aw shucks," Samantha beamed, tipping her hat at John and twirling a bit of her hair. "Well ain't that pretty neat, sugar." Afterwards, she walked over to the rest and took a seat right by Alexandra.
"Howdy there," she greeted, tipping her hat again. "I must say that I really like what you've done with your hair."
Alexandra caressed some of her hair that was laying on her shoulder. "Thank you! A fellow woman of taste I see," she said, causing the two to chuckle together. Alexandra then nudged Linda with her elbow and pointed at Samantha with her thumb. "Now that's how you rock the rural American look."
Linda blushed as she observed Samantha's outfit. "Oh, I see…" she said bashfully.
Alexandra leaned back and smirked to herself while Samantha smiled and tipped her hat at Linda. "Oh, don't worry, sugar. You look gorgeous," she complimented, which Linda very much enjoyed hearing.
Over by Julie, she was rocking back and forth on her knees. "Wow, so many people with cool accents are here," she remarked giddily. "Even the host has a Spanish accent."
Robert furrowed his eyebrows and gave Julie a bewildered look. "What kind of Spanish accents are you hearing?" he asked with amusement.
Julie covered her mouth to contain herself from laughing so much. "I'm just joking, sweetie," she giggled. Robert couldn't help but chuckle a little which only made Julie giggle some more.
Patrick leaned over and whispered. "Now with her, I fully one hundred percent like," he shared, referring to his concerned comments about Alexandra from earlier. Robert shrugged but still had a big smile on his face.
As the next boat arrived for its drop off, John pulled out an index card. The camper to depart this time was a tall man with a thin mustache, who looked very in shape. He wore a purple and green basketball jersey with the number seventy-six on the back and the name "Martinez-Rivera" written in bold letters above it as well as matching gym shorts and white Jordan's.
"¡Hola! Bienvenida a la isla," John greeted in Spanish, although it was clear he had no idea how to speak it.
"Uhhh, I speak English," the man said, scratching the back of his head.
"Oh, I know," John said, ripping up the index card. "I just thought it would be respectful to introduce you in your native language. You are from the Dominican Republic, right?"
"Sí y gracias," the basketball player replied, now understanding the intentions. "Although you pronounce it badly."
"I'm trying, amigo," John quipped with a defensive shrug. "Anyways, what's your name?"
"André," came the reply.
"Well André, like all of the others before you, head on over to the grass," he ordered.
André simply obeyed and made his way to his fellow campers, where Julie waved at him and gestured to him to sit by her. "Hi there, welcome to the US," she greeted cheerfully.
"Thank you," André replied, taking a seat next to her. "I been here few times. Mainly Florida."
"Omigosh! I love Florida," Julie squealed with delight. "They have all kinds of pretty beaches and even better… Disneyworld!"
"Dizzy… Whirl…?" André repeated in confusion.
"It's a big theme park based on Disney," Robert interjected as Julie was busy singing along to some classic Disney songs. "You know, Mickey Mouse and stuff."
"Ohhh, DisneyWorld!" André realized. "I misheard."
Over by John, he seemed unamused. "Not sponsored, by the way," he said to the camera before he saw the next boat make its arrival. This camper was a stoic asian girl with black mascara on her eyes while her lips were shaded a dark violet. She wore some gray skinny jeans with small tears on the knees, a gray denim vest over a violet shirt with a metal band logo on it and black boots. She had her dyed purple hair tied up into long pigtails.
"Welcome to the show," John greeted, holding his hand out, to which the camper expectedly ignored the gesture. "Well, uh, please introduce yourself for the audience."
"Why don't you do it? Isn't it your job to host?" she defied emotionlessly and bitterly.
John scoffed and seemed pretty offended. "Well ok, Vicky," he snarked, saying her name with spite. "Get with the others then."
Vicky simply sighed and rolled her eyes. "Whatever," she mumbled. "Don't get your panties in a twist, dude."
"You know, your lack of respect won't get you so far," John said as Vicky walked off the dock to go crouch down by the grass.
Vicky smirked and scooted into a sitting position, where she observed the horizon peacefully. "Well, it's already gotten me this far," she countered.
John shook his head in disappointment. "Unbelievable," he grumbled.
Craig leaned over to Alexandra and whispered in her ear. "I hope to God I don't end up on the same team with her," he confessed.
Alexandra stealthily pointed at Harley. "And her as well," she added.
Craig looked back at the unaware tough girl and slowly nodded. "Lots of mean bitches so far," he remarked quietly before shooting a swift wink in Alexandra's direction. "But hey, at least you and that blonde shawty seem nice."
Alexandra looked over towards Julie, who was still singing along to Disney songs. She simply just gave a look of mild disdain before noticing the next camper to be dropped off. She was a very pretty lady with long light brown hair and beautiful brown eyes. She wore a faded red v-neck t-shirt. Her bottoms consisted of a pair of denim booty shorts and long black stockings that reached to her mid thigh. She also wore gray Converse high-tops and a silver necklace with a small locket. Finally on her right wrist, she had on a colorful bracelet, one that looked to be handmade.
"Hello everybody," she greeted warmly. "My name is Nicolette. I hope everyone is having a wonderful time here already."
"Despite one nuisance, I'm doing just fine so thank you," John replied, eyeing back at Vicky, who shook her head. "She's a bit of a rude one, just to inform you."
Nicolette peeked over to see Vicky with a huge scowl on her face before looking back at the host. "Well, I was taught to be nice to everyone," she explained. "Not just the ones you wanna be nice for, so apologies if others weren't taught the same."
"You've been taught well," John said, patting the girl on the shoulder. "You can head over to the others now."
"Definitely," Nicolette agreed, soon taking a seat right next to Vicky. "You feeling okay?"
"Why do you care?" Vicky asked, her scowl still strongly intact.
Nicolette cautiously held a hand out. "Just checking up on you," she explained. "You seem to be in a very bad mood, that's all."
Vicky seemed not so much annoyed anymore but instead a bit caught off-guard. She ultimately decided to just roll her eyes and ignore Nicolette for now. Eventually, the next camper was dropped off. He was a pretty buff man with jet black hair gelled up into a faux hawk. He wore a black Winnipeg Jets hoodie with a maroon t-shirt underneath, dark green cargo pants with lots of pockets and white sneakers with red accents.
"Meet our resident troublemaker, Roderick," John greeted, smirking at his little introduction.
Roderick stepped off the boat with a bored expression. "Yep, that's me," he said disinterestedly. "I'm a total madman."
John chuckled and patted the apathetic guy on the back. "Just having some fun, kiddo," he said. "After all, you are our only camper with a criminal background."
"Guess I gotta wear it like it's a badge of honor or something," Roderick replied, rolling his eyes a little. "Now can we move on from my past and talk about what I'm supposed to be doing now."
"We're just waiting for all the others to show up," John explained, pointing at the other campers. "So for the time being, just sit with all of them. Remember, they're your competition."
"Fascinating," Roderick grumbled as he carried his luggage and headed to everyone else. He noticed Samantha waving hello and he nodded in her direction. "Sup."
Samantha pointed at his hoodie. "I recognize that logo, hun. Are you a hockey fan too?" she asked.
"I'm from Canada. Of course I am," Roderick answered, deciding to sit down next to her. "But what about you? You don't seem like the hockey type."
Samantha adjusted her cowgirl hat to block more of the sun from her eyes while having an amused smile on her face. "Been a Preds fan since I was a little gal, sugar," she shared. "Hockey is much bigger in the south then maybe some of y'all northerners think."
"Didn't say it wasn't but cool to see a fellow fan, I guess," Roderick replied with a shrug. "So… how many have shown up already?"
"We're almost about done," John answered from the dock. "Only four left to go."
One of those four was dropped off next. He was a pleasantly plump young man, who had curly dirty blonde hair and was quite the tall fellow too. He wore a yellow tank top with orange and pink horizontal stripes at the bottom, brown shorts with large pockets and big brown shoes with the laces practically untied. He waddled onto the dock and breathed in heavily, wafting in the island smell. "Is it just me or does this island smell really good?" he asked, squinting.
John gave him a look, feeling a bit befuddled by his strange question. "I guess it's just you," he answered.
"Yeah, it's me," the big boy confirmed. "My nose is a little stuffy now and I think I have allergies."
"Cool," John replied, furrowing his eyebrows. "So, uh, what's your name kid?"
The tall contestant grabbed John's hand and shook it roughly. "My name is Benny, sir," he informed, still shaking his hand. "Indeed it is. I'm a little hyped up because I drank a lot of energy drinks because I was feeling quite nervous about being on the show but I think I should be fine eventually."
Once he let go of John's hand, it only seemed to befuddle him even more. "Alrighty then," the host said, staring at his hands. "You can go sit with the others. Geez…"
Benny happily waddled on over to the other campers. He sat down near Patrick and whispered to him. "Hey, skinny dude," he said. "Got any gum?"
"Oh, I actually do," Patrick confirmed, reaching in his pocket to pull out his box of gum and offering him a piece. "Also, I go by the name of Patrick, not 'skinny dude' but it's alright, mate."
Benny took a piece and stuffed it in his mouth, chewing vigorously. "Thank you, skinny dude," he said before correcting himself. "Err-I mean, thank you, Patrick."
Patrick gave a friendly laugh. "You're very much welcome Big Ben," he replied.
"Hey, I like that. Big Ben." Benny rambled, still chewing pretty intensely. "Thanks for the nickname, skinny dude."
Meanwhile, Alexandra couldn't help but stare in disgust at this latest camper. "What a pig…" she mumbled to herself before being tapped on the shoulder.
She turned to see Samantha nodding along. "And no table manners either," the southerner mentioned. "He's just chewing that gum with his mouth wide open."
"It's so gross," Alexandra stated, almost on the verge of gagging.
Back at the dock once more as the next boat arrived, dropping off a small girl with medium-length blonde hair. She wore a lime green spaghetti strap tank top with denim booty shorts and hot pink shoes. Much to John's surprise, he noticed her struggling to pull out a huge suitcase. Eventually, she yanked hard enough but in the process, she tripped onto the dock and landed with a thud. "Dang it! That stupid exit was too small," she complained, banging on the floor of the dock.
"Why such a big suitcase?" John asked, quickly helping her up.
"Well, where else would I have clothes and make-up for each day I'm here?" she replied, gesturing towards the giant thing.
"You do know we have a laundry room right?" he informed her.
"I'm not using your generic soap though," she said, shaking her head and dragging the suitcase with her. "I brought my own. Otherwise, it will just fade all of my stuff."
"Okay then," John shrugged. "Anyway, do you mind telling the people who you are, at least."
The girl quickly straightened herself for the camera and smiled brightly. "Hello everyone," she began. "My name is Barbara. I'm a 14 year old girl who loves to go shopping with my best friends. My favorite color is chartreuse and my favorite food is pizza but not one with meat toppings. I'm a vegetarian so I don't like meat. I also have a boyfriend named Davey, so don't bother hitting on me. I'm a faithful girl and-"
"Okay that's enough," John interrupted her, rubbing his temples. "No need to tell us everything."
Barbara pouted a little. "Well you did tell me to say who I was," she defended with a small whine.
"Yeah and all we really needed was your name," John explained, trying very hard to move things along.
"Well whatever," she continued to pout. "That's just the way I am, hater."
As she carried her large suitcase with her to the other campers, John slowly massaged his temples some more. "She's certainly gonna be a fun one to deal with," he sarcastically said to himself.
Milton's jaw dropped as he watched Barbara strut down the dock. If he thought Julie was hot, then Barbara was a literal Goddess to him. He turned to Linda and whispered. "Okay, I'm definitely gonna try to talk to her."
Linda smiled and pumped her fist. "Go for it," she encouraged, failing to realize something.
Milton got up and met up with his new crush. "Hey there, Barbara," he greeted, trying to seem cool. "I'm Milton and I, uh… Um… I think you're really cute…"
Barbara glared at him as Milton immediately felt embarrassed. "What did I just say before I was rudely interrupted?" she snarled.
Milton was unable to speak so Barbara just shoved him aside. "Faithful girl, remember that!" she huffed.
Linda slowly covered her face with her hands. "I'm an idiot… I should've reminded him…" she mumbled to herself. Once Milton got back to her, all she could say was sorry. Milton ignored her.
Barbara, meanwhile, found a spot right next to André. "Move aside, I have to be in the shade," she demanded.
André frowned as he scooted away. "At least say please," he mumbled to himself.
While Barbara continued to be… Barbara, the second to last boat had arrived and dropped off a very well-dressed young man. He was wearing an extremely nice collared shirt with spotless gray slacks and brown dress shoes. His hair was brushed and groomed fancily, parting like a curtain over his forehead. When he walked off the boat with his suitcase, he couldn't help but sigh.
"Why the long face?" John asked.
The fancy boy simply stared at John. "This is a huge downgrade from where I'm from," he confessed, eyeing around the island and having a slightly posh British accent. "But I really need this money."
The host simply shrugged and pointed at the camera. "Well, whatever your predicament is, you should start by sharing your name," he suggested.
"I am Steven Charles Mason III," the fancy boy introduced, slouching his hands into his pockets. "Where I come from, we don't normally spend our summer days on some lousy island. But like I said, I need this money."
"Well then, it's nice to meet ya and hopefully you can grow more comfortable in this new environment," John said, moving things along. "Please take a seat with the others."
Steven walked along the dock and first stopped by Benny. The big man looked up at him with a friendly smile. "Hey there, buddy," he greeted.
Steven looked down at the sitting, tall fellow and sneered in disgust. "Ugh, you do so happen to know that your breath smells so unbearably foul that I could smell it all the way over there," he insulted, pointing towards a spot a few feet away from them. Benny looked at him rather incomprehensibly and giggled.
Steven sighed and left Benny. "What a floundering buffoon," he muttered under his breath before taking a seat next to Nicolette. "I suppose you don't smell as repulsive as that other guy so I'll sit here."
"Uhhh, thank you?" Nicolette replied, a little bit bewildered. "Um, so what's this about needing the money so badly? Are you okay?"
Steven smirked and nodded his head. "Maybe I'll explain another time," he added, adjusting the sleeves to his shirt. "But I appreciate your concern."
Nicolette slowly nodded and turned away until she noticed a pair of eyes locked onto her. She saw that it was Vicky again, who wasn't staring at her maliciously but instead there was almost a bit of intrigue in her eyes. Nicolette just smiled back. "What's up?"
Vicky didn't answer and just looked away, noticing the final boat making its arrival. The final camper to be dropped off was a girl with long dark black hair with purple highlights and purple shaded lips, fingernails and eyelids. Her outfit consisted of a gray tank-top over a see-through red long sleeve shirt. A small silver chain hung from her black cargo pants, which were held up by a bright red belt. Finally, she wore a similar colored pair of shoes, fully completing her punk appearance.
The punk girl departed from the boat without saying a word. She simply observed the island around her before noticing John and waving at him. John waved back and gestured her to his side, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Folks, this is Elaine," he explained. "Our last camper to arrive."
Marcus noticed a design on Elaine's shirt and grew a big smile. "Yo, that's a Deftones shirt," he pointed out. "Sick band choice, dude."
Elaine simply smiled at him before being told to head towards the other campers. John followed behind shortly after and stepped off the dock, scanning all of them. Some were looking back at him, others focusing on distractions, and Benny was breathing heavily with his eyes closed. "What a bunch," he remarked, giving a fantastic grin to the camera. "Welp, we're all here. Welcome to the Peralta Challenges everybody. You all might be wondering, 'what exactly will we do here?'"
"It wouldn't hurt to know, I guess," Nicolette said, twiddling with her brown hair.
"Good, because I'm gonna explain everything right now," John announced. "If you didn't already know, my father, Tom Peralta, is the current CEO for Peralta Productions. He's also the proud owner of the famed and acclaimed amusement park Coaster City. The one located nearby in the Milwaukee metro area. He is the main reason why this show can even exist as all of the money is coming from out of his pocket."
"He must be a billionaire!" Julie exclaimed. "I bet it takes a lot of money to do all this, wow!"
"It sure does," John confirmed. "And I'm very very appreciative that he was so generous to help us out. He's a good dad." He clasped his hands together and continued. "Now, here's a little history on how this show all started. While in college studying finance, me and my best friend Samson came across a fun idea. Harkening back to our young days and remembering all the fun we had at camps during the summer, we wanted to start a camp of our own. But this time, kids would partake in some competitive challenges and be able to win prizes for it. Shortly after this idea, the hit tv show Total Drama Island debuted and after some negotiating with the creators, our idea would finally grow into fruition as this online only spin-off. This summer is gonna be full of a lot of challenges, so don't be too surprised to be pushed to the limit. 'Cause in the end, you guys will have a chance to earn some big amounts of cash."
"Yep, that's why I'm here, baby," Barbara interjected, rubbing her hands together and licking her lips. "I'm here for that money!"
"Easy there, we still haven't gotten to the actual show part," said the host. "So where was I? Oh yes, you'll be split into two teams that'll compete against each other in a series of challenges. After every challenge, the winning team will be safe and get a small prize as a reward. The losing team, however, will have to vote for someone from their team to be kicked out of the island. Thus eliminating them from the show and their chance to win it all. Instead, they'll be transported back to the Mainland by the same boats that brought you here. We do this until only one of you remains. That remaining one will win the grand prize of one million dollars!"
There was a dramatic pause to let the campers fully grasp what's at stake. Some definitely felt a little pumped as this was life-changing money for all of these youngsters.
"So what are the challenges going to be about, you might think?" John continued. "Well, there'll be a wide variety of things. Each of you will really need to give all your effort if you want to go far in this show. The goal is to win the million after all, right? Of course, there is also the challenge of simply getting along with your own teammates and being on an island far away from the rest of society. There's this survival aspect to it all as well. While shelter and food will be provided, who's to say there may not be any wild animals roaming about. Thunderstorms happen here quite often, plus you still have to deal with the heat and humidity."
"Sounds torturous when I really think about it," Robert commented, chuckling nervously.
"Well it won't be that bad I guess," John reassured. "I gotta play it up for the audience, you know."
"You enjoy breaking the fourth wall, I noticed," observed Linda, poking up her thick glasses.
"It's a reality show, what did you expect?" John retorted with a small laugh.
"Um, excuse me. There ain't any bee hives around here?" Samantha asked nervously. "I'm allergic."
"Not anywhere near where you'll most likely 'bee'?" John punned while some of the campers groaned. "Don't worry, if an emergency happens our staff are there to help."
"If you say so, hun," Samantha whispered to herself, rubbing her arm.
"Speaking of which," John continued. "Let's meet some of the staff right now." Just then three men, a lady and a young boy approached the campers.
The man on the far left, who wore a similar outfit to John's but with a trucker hat to hide his receding hairline, spoke first. "Howdy guys, I'm Tom," he said in a thick southern accent. "I'm sure John told you a little bit about who I am. Yessir, I mostly do all the business side of things for this show."
Next to Tom was a pretty lady with long brown hair, who wore a midnight blue turtleneck with a red beaded bracelet on her left wrist. She also had on a pair of white pants with matching shoes. "Afternoon, kids. I'm Michelle, John's wife," she said, her arm slung over the boy's shoulders. "I'm the head chef at my very own restaurant and I'll be the one in charge of all your meals here."
"And I'm Johnny," said the little boy, who wore circular glasses. "Michelle and John are my mom and dad!"
"Aww, he's so adorable!" Julie swooned, making the boy giggle.
The man next to Johnny had on a tight black t-shirt with dark denim pants and brown boots as well. His hair was brown and messy but his nose was a similar shape to John's. "Welcome," he greeted sternly. "My name is Zack and I'm John's younger brother. I run security around here so my duty is to make sure none of you guys go out of line. We're here to have fun, so no fighting with one another, ok?"
"Great… A narc," Roderick said under his breath.
"And hello there, I'm Samson," said the man next to Zack. He was fitted with a white tank top, gray sweatpants and brown boots that were similar to his co-worker's. "I'm from Kenya but moved here to the USA. I am so excited to see our great idea come into fruition and I wish you all the very best of luck." Although he was really muscular and intimidating in his appearance, he actually sounded quite friendly.
"As stated before, Samson is the co-creator of this show," John informed the campers. "He helps out a lot with making sure our challenges are set up nice and safe for all of you."
"Indeed," Samson nodded. "Every now and then, John will let me be in charge of creating some really nice challenges. All respect to my good friend John here but I definitely create the best ones on this show."
"Well, let's just see what they think of them when we get to yours," John chuckled as he then faced all of the campers. "So these guys are the main staff members to know. Please respect them and if you need anything, you can come to one of them."
A quick check of his watch and John nodded. "So at this point, I think it's time that I tour you guys around the island," he explained. And so, John navigated his way away from the dock area and into the rest of the island, allowing the rest of the campers to follow him. The first stop was a pair of old, unremarkable cabins. They were worn down with paint peeling and rust collecting on the window panes and door knobs. One cabin had a blue door and the other had a reddish, pink one.
"Gross," Alexandra scoffed, plugging her nose. "What happened here?"
John stood on a dirt patch located directly in front of the two cabins. "These are the sleeping lodges, or cabins, in which you all will rest yourselves in after a long challenge," he explained. "As you can see, there are two. One for the boys and one for the girls." He pointed at the different colored doors then continued the tour.
The next stop was a pair of two identical brick buildings, with one smelling like chlorine. "These are the gymnasium and indoor pool," John explained. "Some challenges might involve using these places and you are more than welcome to recreate here in your free time."
The next stop was the cafeteria. It was a brick building with a long set of windows viewing the lake horizon. Inside were two sets of long rectangular tables. John pointed at the building. "The cafeteria will be the dining hall for all of you," he informed them. "There is always a meal schedule on the blackboard near the serving station."
The final stop was the really modern looking building located near the center of the north side of the island. It was half-brick and half-glass. The brick side sheltered offices, closets and other small rooms. The glass side hovered over a nice lounge area. There was a red rug dividing the building in half and it had the same logo as the flag on the island's center flagpole. This time it was imprinted in white lettering. There was also a chandelier hanging over the center of the lounge area.
"This right here…" John began, tapping on the glass wall, "is the Main Hall. This is where most challenges will begin and eliminations will be held. My office sits right at the end. Try not to bother me if I'm in there."
"Wow, this sure is a pretty nifty looking building ya got there," Patrick stated. "I'm guessing this is much newer than those dinky cabins."
"Oh yeah, it was built specifically for this show actually," John explained. "In fact, let's head on inside so we can discuss more about what your teams will be."
John opened the front doors to the Main Hall and led the campers inside. He ordered them to sit all around in the lounge chairs and sofas as he stood behind a wooden podium. Johnny was there also and he had a clipboard behind his back that he eventually handed to his father. The host thanked his son and then geared his attention back at the campers. "What I have here in my hands are your teams that we have chosen for you," he explained.
John stepped away from the podium and walked over towards the brick side of the Main Hall, where some type of banner was rolled up. A white velvet rope dangled down from it. John began to read off some of the campers' names. "Alright, I need Robert, Julie, Marcus, Nicolette, Craig, Harley, Vicky, Steven and Barbara to all come over here," he ordered. The nine that were called for slowly walked over to where John was standing.
"You guys will be known as..." John pulled the rope and the banner unfolded, revealing a big yellow thunderbolt with wings over a black background. "The Thunderbirds!"
John then walked over to the glass half of the building and a similar looking banner that was rolled up was above. "The rest of you, André, Alexandra, Patrick, Linda, Roderick, Milton, Benny, Elaine and Samantha, come over here," he ordered as the remaining nine all gathered together over there.
"You guys will be known as..." John pulled the rope and the banner unfolded, revealing a big red howling dog over a white background. "The Bloodhounds!"
Johnny excitedly clapped his hands together. "Wow Daddy!" he said. "You're very good at this."
John couldn't help but chuckle as he rubbed the top of his son's head. "Thank you, kiddo," he said before noticing Samantha with her hand up. "Yes?"
"So, when's our first challenge?" she asked.
"Oh, that will be tomorrow," he confirmed. "You guys will have to get up at 8 o'clock on every challenge day, which is basically every weekday. On weekends, however, you're free to do what you wish. There's no challenges on those days."
"Makes sense," Robert said, scratching below his eye. "But what about the cabins? You said one was for the boys and one for the girls, yet the teams have a mix of both."
"Well, looks like teams will be intermingling more often than usual," John answered with a shrug.
"Wait no, I have to share a sleeping quarters with him?" Steven scoffed as he pointed directly at Benny, who seemed a bit nervous by being called out.
Patrick, however, interjected and patted Benny on the back. "Ah, don't worry about him, lad," he assured. "He's just being a tool."
Steven rolled his eyes while Benny sucked in his cheek. "Um, John," he called. "I'm getting a little hungry because I haven't had lunch yet."
John smiled as he took a look at his watch. "It seems maybe you all might be a little hungry," he said. "Well that's good, because right now at the cafeteria, we're having a little pizza party to celebrate the start of this show. Come along, everyone."
Most of the campers followed the host on their way to the cafeteria, with only Steven and Alexandra staying behind. The two noticed each other before the redhead spoke first. "You think that's bad? I have to share a cabin with so many weirdos," she mentioned. "Like that stupid looking punk girl, Elaine or whatever her name is."
Steven smirked and found the conversation amusing. "I doubt someone who doesn't even speak would be as bad as a fat oaf, but if you say so."
"Alright, fair point," Alexandra replied. "I just can't stand social outcast types. They're all, 'Ooh, look at me! I'm so unique guys! Notice me!' Ugh, if you have to look like an idiot to get noticed, then you aren't even worth noticing."
"Harsh but I like it," Steven remarked.
"I knew you would get it. You seem to have pretty good standards," Alexandra said, enjoying this newly formed acquaintance. "You know what, I think we could really run this show."
"A cross-team alliance? This early in the game?" Steven stated, slowly growing a devious smile. "Let's see how the first challenge ends up and then we'll talk more about this."
"Sounds like a plan," Alexandra agreed, before tilting her head towards the exit of the Main Hall. "I suppose we have a pizza party to attend to. Let's meet with the others now."
/
At the cafeteria, the campers sat at their designated tables, eating some pizza. All of the Bloodhounds were told to sit at the table closer to the entrance and all of the Thunderbirds were told to sit at the table near the kitchen area. And over by the Thunderbirds' table, the campers all chatted to get to know each other better.
"Pretty sick team we got here," Marcus said as he folded up a pizza slice. "You guys ready to crush the competition together?"
Craig raised his fist in the air. "Hell yeah," he agreed, glancing over at Vicky and dropping his fist. "As long as we keep things chill and respectful that is."
Vicky rolled her eyes and ignored him but suddenly, Julie plopped right down on the seat next to her. "Hi there, new teammate!" the cheery girl greeted. "It's gonna be soooo fun, isn't it?"
"Get out of here," Vicky demanded in a low grumble. "I don't want your dumb blonde-ness to rub off on me."
Julie was a bit taken aback by this but she tried to smile it off. "Okay, you seem a bit grouchy. I'll leave you be," she said nervously before taking a seat next to Nicolette instead. "Hi!"
"Well hello," Nicolette greeted back. "Apologies for Vicky's rude comments. I'm sure she's a sweet girl deep down so maybe she's just having a bad day."
"Oh yeah, I get that," Julie replied, seeming to be back in her cheery spirit. "So, where are you from?"
"Not too far. I live in Illinois," Nicolette explained, folding up a piece of pizza.
"Where's that?" Julie asked. "Is that a new state?"
"Um, I mean, not really," Nicolette corrected, a little amused at the innocence of Julie's response. "Do you really not know where Illinois is? It's the state right below Wisconsin."
"Oh wait, I knew that," Julie replied, nervously laughing at her silly mistake. "Sorry, I had a brain fart right there."
"It's okay," Nicolette reassured as she took a bite. "Sometimes I can have moments like that too."
"Yeah," Julie sighed, slouching down a bit. "I don't think I'm the brightest contestant here."
"Aww, don't worry sweetheart," Nicolette soothed, patting Julie on the back. "I don't think you're dumb."
"Thanks!" Julie chirped, feeling less embarrassed. "You're very kind. Can we be friends?"
"Of course!" Nicolette responded, gleefully. "So where are you from?"
"Milwaukee," Julie answered.
"Ah, so you're pretty close to home I see," Nicolette stated, taking another bite. "I guess if you wanted to for some reason, you could swim back home."
"Can you actually do that?" Julie asked, fumbling with her own pizza.
"I mean probably not," Nicolette shrugged. "Unless you're like a really good swimmer or something."
"Or if you build a boat," Robert interjected, as he slid down the table to meet up with the two girls. "But I don't think there'll be any need to go home yet. Seems like this is gonna be a cool camp experience. I'm excited for whatever our first challenge will be."
"So am I," Nicolette added. "Thankfully, this island doesn't seem to have a giant cliff that we could jump off of."
Robert laughed as he picked off a pepperoni from his slice. "What they do up there in Canada sometimes is absolutely crazy," he remarked, plopping the pepperoni in his mouth afterwards.
Over by the serving station, Barbara stood there with her plate and untouched slice of pizza. She waited impatiently for Michelle to show up and when she did, the young girl groaned. "Um, hello, I'm a vegetarian," she said passive aggressively. "Can I get a slice without any meat please?"
Michelle seemed not to be bothered by Barbara's tone and simply took her plate. "Sure thing, dear," she said, replacing her slice with a plain cheese one. "Enjoy!"
Barbara seemed pleased and twirled around with her plate in dramatic fashion. "Now off I go to my team, ta ta!" Her table didn't seem to care too much for her arrival as they were busy chatting together. Barbara frowned a little but took a seat next to Harley. "So… what were you guys talking about?"
Harley glanced over towards her with uninterested eyes. "Like I would care to remember," she grumbled.
Barbara, oblivious to Harley's demeanor, simply took out her phone to check Instagram. "Where I come from, I'm pretty popular," she explained while texting. "Sometimes, I get so much attention that I become fearful for my life. You seem like a strong person, however. Why don't you be my bodyguard? I'll pay you a cut from the million dollars that I will inevitably win, of course."
Harley stared at the girl in disbelief. "Get real, loser," she growled before taking her plate and leaving Barbara to be alone.
The popular girl was not too thrilled and let out an offended scoff. "How dare you!" she shouted, to which a few nearby campers turned to her. Barbara didn't seem to mind the attention, however.
Meanwhile, over by the Bloodhounds' table, André sat with his food and spoke with a nearby Roderick. "You like hockey, yes?" he asked.
"Yep," Roderick affirmed bluntly.
"What about basketball?" André continued, hoping to find a common interest between them.
"Nah, not so much," Roderick replied, taking a small bite from his slice. "Closest NBA team to me is the goddamn Minnesota Timberwolves, and they suck."
Elaine overheard this and glared at Roderick playfully. "What? Are you from Minnesota or something?" the troublemaker asked with a big smirk on his face. Elaine reluctantly nodded but kept a small smile. Roderick found the interaction a little amusing as he picked at his teeth. "You know, last time I visited Minnesota, I almost got busted for smuggling weed. Good thing Minnesota made that shit legal."
"Is that what John meant by criminal background?" Alexandra asked, finding the story a bit fascinating.
"Ah nah, that was due to me getting busted for trying to steal a car," Roderick answered, a bit more quiet this time as it was clear he wasn't the most fond of his past.
"Are you serious?" André and a nearby Patrick both asked.
"Yep, went to juvie for over six months for that," Roderick said while laying back his head on his interlocked fingers.
"Wow, you crazy," André laughed.
"Gosh, I never met a juvenile delinquent before," Patrick remarked, scratching his head.
"Yeah…" Roderick said with a slight frown. "Also, do you have lice or something? You scratch your head a lot."
"No," Patrick responded timidly. "Just a wee bit of hair, I guess."
"Keep it clean and that won't be a problem," Samantha interjected, fiddling with her own hair.
"I do, mate," Patrick defended.
Suddenly, John announced that more pizza was here and so some campers got up and took some more slices. Benny sat back down at his table with a big pile of six slices, all stacked up on top of each other. The rest of the Bloodhounds looked at him with flabbergasted looks.
"What?" Benny asked, when he saw that his whole team was staring right at him.
"That's a lot of pizza, hun," Samantha explained, tapping on the table.
"I know right," Alexandra added, rolling her eyes with disgust. "Talk about being a pig."
"Hey, I'm hungry ok?" Benny said as he bit into one of his slices. "I'm a big dude. I need food… Oh hey, that rhymes. But yeah, I need all the energy I can get because I wanna win this thing."
"Well, big dude, what are you going to do if you win the money?" Roderick questioned, feeling a bit sarcastic. "Buy more food?"
"Nope," Benny denied, swallowing a bite. "I'll buy myself in as one of the members of Fall Out Boy." The rest of the team shared bewildered looks with each other.
"Hun, Fall Out Boy isn't going to add you to their band," Samantha explained again. "Not even with a million dollars."
"Not even ten million," Linda added, readjusting her glasses. "I mean, if we really were going to be honest, I'm sure they don't need any new members anyway."
"Well, whatever," Benny pouted, staring at his tower of pizza slices. "I can dream."
"Wait… who's the Fall Out Boy?" asked Milton, someone who had been pretty much silent since his heart was crushed by his crush. The others bursted out in laughter, however, which made the guy feel a bit better.
Back over by the Thunderbirds' table, Craig peeked over to see what the commotion was with the other team and turned back to the rest of his teammates. "Well, they seem to be enjoying themselves over there," he remarked.
"Good for them," Steven said dryly. "Just remember, they may get along now but will that be the case tomorrow?"
"Ay, I know," Craig agreed, pushing his cap to the side. "Like I said, if we chill and respectful, then we should be good."
"We just gotta have some good energy," Marcus stated, wiping his face with his napkin. "I can more than provide enough for everyone here."
"Well that's nice," Nicolette said before turning to Julie. "Hey, since we're done, you wanna go check out the cabins?"
"Oh, absolutely!" Julie replied, peppily getting up to her feet. "Maybe we can share a bunk or something!"
Nicolette gave a warm smile as she stood up beside her. "Sure, I wouldn't mind at all."
Overhearing what the two were planning, Barbara quickly got up and threw her pizza out. "I get first dibs since I'm popular!" she called out as she scurried out of the cafeteria.
Nicolette and Julie shared bewildered looks with each other before making their leave. Steven, however, had a small chortle. "Something tells me I know who our first boot is gonna be," he snarked.
"Ain't gonna be the case if we never lose," Marcus responded, slapping the Brit on the back.
Steven just gave a look of disgust before getting up. "I'm going to the cabins," he stated, soon leaving the others to themselves.
Marcus decided to crumple up his napkin and stuff into his empty milk carton. He then attempted to toss into a nearby trash can, which he would successfully do. "Two points!" he cheered, turning towards the nearest person to him. "Did you see that Harley?"
Harley tapped her fingers on the table, not really amused by Marcus' basketball skill. "Yeah," she said before also leaving the cafeteria. Marcus shrugged and then tossed his plate at the trash can like a frisbee. He cheered again when it landed right in.
Outside the cafeteria, Harley was on her way to the girl's cabin when she heard someone call out her name. She turned to see Patrick of all people. "Oy, I just want to make it clear, you don't like being called by any names except Harley, yes?" he asked.
Harley furrowed her eyebrows but didn't seem angered. "Pretty much," she answered, remembering their previous interaction as well as some others. "And just know this; I'm a no nonsense person, alright? I'm not here for cutesy friendly stuff. I'm just here to win."
"Hey you know what, I can totally respect that," Patrick replied. "You see this show how it truly is and as long as yer honorable, I don't have a problem wit it."
Harley stood there, slightly impressed by this. "People typically think I'm some mean bitch whenever I say that," she admitted, almost reflectively. "But that's just the way I ended up being. So thank you for not immediately thinking the same as all of the others."
Patrick paused as he wasn't expecting her to open up like this but he simply nodded graciously. "Anytime," he finally said but right before Harley left entirely, he had to say one last thing. "But I will admit, you can be a fearless competitor and still have time to make a couple of friends, you know? It is possible to do both."
Harley stopped and slowly turned her head enough to side-eye Patrick. "Maybe I'll consider it," she said to him. Patrick seemed satisfied with that answer as he watched Harley enter her cabin to go meet up with her fellow teammates. Afterwards, the Irishman scratched his head and quietly headed to the boy's cabin.
/
At the end of the day, almost all of the campers were recreating at the gymnasium. Craig and Marcus were facing André and Robert in an intense game of two on two basketball. Linda, Roderick and Patrick were chatting and sitting on the bleachers, watching the boys play their game. Milton built some courage again and tried talking to Barbara but she mostly ignored him, every now and then replying with a simple "uh huh" or "ok". Alexandra, Samantha, Nicolette and Julie were playing jump rope together. Benny laid on top of an exercise mat, just vibing while eating a candy bar. Harley was in the corner, playing handball by herself. Steven sat by himself on the bleachers, reading a book quietly. Elaine and Vicky were the only two campers not there. Elaine was strolling along the island's north shore and Vicky was napping in the cabin.
Meanwhile, John stood by the entrance of the gym, casually watching the campers. "Well viewers," he said, turning towards the camera. "I have a feeling this will be an awesome summer. And it's because of you guys choosing to watch that makes this fun little show an exciting phenomenon worldwide. So thank you once again, and tune in next time on the Peralta Challenges for another awesome episode where our campers will participate in their very first challenge. We'll see you all later."
Well, that's a wrap for the first episode and since I already had this story partially written, then I don't expect the next chapter to take so long as all I really gotta do is reworking what I already have to my standards. But we'll see.
Besides that, here's an easier look at my OCs and the teams they're in:
The Bloodhounds:
Alexandra - the Alpha Female
André - the Caribbean All-Star
Benny - the Big Teddy Bear
Elaine - the Muted Outcast
Linda - the Modest Farm Girl
Milton - the Small Package
Patrick - the Friendly Irishman
Roderick - the Apathetic Troublemaker
Samantha - the Country Gal
The Thunderbirds:
Barbara - Little Miss Popular
Craig - the West Coast Hotshot
Harley - the Ruthless Tomboy
Julie - the Ditzy Darling
Marcus - the All-Out Rocker
Nicolette - the Kind-Hearted Saint
Robert - the Voice of Reason
Steven - the Distinguished Brit
Vicky - the Overly Rude Goth
And as always, stay hydrated and have a good day :)