EPISODE 2: THE ULTIMATE RELAY
It was barely dawn at Bennington Island, where birds chirped quietly and the waves of the Great Lake were low. All of the campers were sound asleep within their cabins, having spent their first day just getting to know each other. The only one who seemed to not be asleep was John himself. He was awake and excited as he made his way to a dirt patch in front of the cabins, holding onto a megaphone. The host checked his watch occasionally until it was exactly eight o'clock. Then he blared the siren of the megaphone before yelling into it. "Good morning, campers!" he boomed, his voice echoing throughout the entire island. "Head out of your cabins for breakfast!"
Slowly, each of the campers shuffled out of the cabins and formed a crowd in front of John. Some were not happy with the wake-up call, however. "Why did you gotta wake us up so early?" Vicky moaned, eyes half-shut in sleepiness.
"Early? It's 8 o'clock," John said, pointing at his watch. "Didn't you remember what I said yesterday? There's a challenge today but first, I want you to go eat your breakfast. Then in about an hour, I want to see you all over by the Main Hall."
With that said, the campers navigated their way to the cafeteria where breakfast was being served by Michelle. She had a nice array of food, ranging from eggs to french toast. Despite the rude awakening, many of the campers were pleased with their first meal of the day. Everyone soon made it to their designated tables, chowing down whatever they wanted. Over by the Thunderbirds, Vicky was the only one not eating. She just had her head laid on the table.
"Still sleepy Vicky?" Julie, who was sitting next to her, asked.
"Yes," Vicky mumbled through the table.
Barbara picked off the crust of her french toast and tossed the remnants on a lone spot on her tray. "Geez, those beds in the cabins were horrible," she complained. "Absolutely no support whatsoever."
"I didn't think they were too bad," Nicolette shrugged, taking a bite out of some eggs. "Maybe you just got unlucky with your bunk?"
"If that's the case, I need to switch bunks with one of you," Barbara demanded. "I must get good sleep in order to maintain my pizazz!"
"O…kay?" Nicolette replied, a bit bewildered but didn't judge too much. "I mean, I don't mind switching bunks with you if you think it'll help you sleep better."
"Perfect! You're the best, Nicolette!" Barbara exclaimed, finally finished with her crust tearing.
"You're welcome, I guess," Nicolette replied.
Meanwhile, Marcus chatted away with Robert and some of the others about what they potentially could be doing for their first challenge. "Dude, what if it's like a paintball battle or something? That'd be sick as hell," the rocker pondered.
"As long as they give us protection, I'm fine with it," Robert added, jabbing his fork into a slice of bacon. "Last thing I want is a direct shot in the eye with a paintball."
Marcus chuckled a little. "Just be like Craig and wear some sunglasses," he suggested, pointing over towards the rapper.
"And get glass right in your eye," Craig added, shaking his head a little.
"Okay yeah, maybe don't do that," Marcus said.
Steven quietly listened to their rather uninteresting conversation, according to him that is. "You Americans do some really weird stuff for money," he said dryly as he stared at his cup of orange juice. "Can't imagine any show like this happening in Britain."
"So, why are you even here then?" Craig asked, tilting his head in intrigue.
"Because my parents are forcing me to make money myself," Steven explained. "I really wish they could just spoil me like all the other rich kids in my city but no, I have to learn how to be independent. So now, I'm stuck being around so many dumb Americans."
Although he tried mumbling those last words quietly enough, people were still able to hear Steven. Craig was first to take offense as he wasn't expecting such a blatant jab. "Ayo what?" he said, raising an eyebrow.
"Gimme a break," Harley muttered, who sat across from Steven.
Steven attempted some damage control, but maybe not in the best way possible. "Don't take it too personal, I'm just stating the obvious," he defended, brushing off something from his lap. "It's just a statistical fact that many Americans are less educated than Brits."
"Let's not start this, okay?" Robert pleaded, trying to not escalate things.
That was too late, however, as an irritated Vicky shot her head up from the table and glared daggers into the Brit. "Listen up, you fucking nerd," she snapped, snarling her teeth at him. "No one cares about whatever facts you pull out of your ass. Now get off your high horse and zip it!"
Steven wasn't fazed as he just sat back with his arms crossed. "Heh, maybe you shouldn't just be so personally offended by what I said," he retorted, rolling his eyes.
"Or maybe I should shove this piece of french toast in your mouth and personally shut you the hell up," she shot back, clenching her fist next to her tray.
"Everyone, just relax," Robert interjected, tapping his fingers on the table. "Let's not start fighting on the very first morning here, please."
"Yeah, it's getting kind of annoying," Marcus added, wiping something off his face with a napkin. "Like who cares who's smart and dumb. We just need to focus on beating the other team."
"Fair enough," Steven shrugged, seeming to be cool with brushing this aside. "I suppose my genius should be used against the other team anyways."
Vicky just rolled her eyes in disgust and laid her head back down on the table. Julie was still next to her and seemed a bit concerned. She leaned over to Nicolette and whispered. "Is she having another bad day?"
Nicolette assured her with some gentle pats on her hand. "She's tired, that's all," she explained.
Over by the Bloodhounds table, things weren't as hostile as mostly everyone seemed pretty chill. Benny sat at the end of the table with a good portion of food. "This breakfast is so good, man," he shared, stuffing his mouth full of food. "Oh yeah, I'm gonna have so much energy for our first challenge."
"I'm sure you will," Alexandra muttered, looking mildly unamused.
"It could use some spice," André suggested, scratching his chin. "I wish I had hot sauce."
"You always put hot sauce on your food?" Linda asked, taking a bite out of a piece of toast.
"Yes. Spicy food is my jimmy jam," André replied with a pretty infectious smile.
"I see," she nodded, not quite understanding what he said. "Well, I guess you are latino after all."
Milton sat next to Linda, chowing down on a piece of buttered toast before he turned to Patrick. "Quick question, what's it like living in Ireland?" he asked.
Patrick smiled brightly, definitely cool with taking some time to gush about his home country. "Oh, it's a beautiful place," he answered. "Lot's of green hills and friendly fellas."
"Must be pretty different from America too, hun," Samantha added.
"Oh yeah, definitely," he affirmed with a nod. "But don't get me wrong, I do like it here too. It's got all kinds of unique geography and stuff."
"It's really not that unique," Roderick spoke dryly.
"Well, where are you from then?" Patrick asked, turning to him.
"I'm from Winnipeg, obviously," he answered, pointing at his hoodie. "We got all of the mountains and lakes up here in Canada too."
"Wait, so if you're from Canada," Alexandra began to question. "Why are you here in the American spin-off and not the original?"
"Because I didn't apply for the original," Roderick explained emotionlessly. "Is that a problem?"
"No, I was just curious," she assured, a little intimidated by Roderick's tone.
Roderick, however, didn't seem apologetic. He just stretched his back and sighed. "Anyways, I could really use a smoke right now," he confessed.
"You smoke?" André asked.
"Yeah, I do," he affirmed, scooping up some eggs with his fork. "Even brought a pack of cigs here."
That's when the other campers shared concerned looks. "You know that stuff is not allowed here, hun," Samantha informed him. "You could get disqualified if they found out."
"Relax, I have it hidden and away from sight," Roderick explained, rolling his eyes a little. "I can't break the habit just yet."
"This is why I play video games," Milton said, giving a smug look. "It's a way healthier habit than smoking."
"Good for you," Roderick grunted.
"Well, if I win this million dollars," Milton continued, oblivious to Roderick's sarcasm. "I'm gonna use it to start my own game development company."
"Looks like you're already one step ahead of me, mate," Patrick added, scratching his head. "I have no idea what I'd do with the money."
"I'd probably use it for my college tuition," Alexandra stated. "That is if I don't get a scholarship for my gymnastics."
"I'd use it to help build a new barn," Linda confessed. "My family is really in need of a new one. So the money could pay for supplies."
Roderick then turned to Elaine, who ate quietly to herself. "What about you, Miss Mute?" he called out. "What's your plan with the money?"
Elaine simply shrugged and kept back to herself, causing Roderick to grunt about something. Meanwhile, Benny stood up from the table. "Alright, I'm done with my food," he announced, pushing aside his tray. "So, I'm gonna head over to John now. I'll see you guys there later."
The big man quickly left, leaving Alexandra to lean over to Samantha and speak quietly. "At least he chewed with his mouth closed this time," she said.
Samantha smiled and gave a small shrug. "Progress, I guess," she quipped, getting a little smirk out of Alexandra.
After everyone had finished eating, the campers all packed themselves inside the Main Hall, sitting casually around the lounge. John stood near the glass-side of the building with a table covered in a purple fabric. On the table were two different colored cylindrical objects, one yellow and one red. To get everyone's attention, John swiftly whistled causing the campers to focus their eyes on the host, some even covering their ears.
"Today is your very first challenge. And what better way to celebrate such an occasion than with a little race. Except this race isn't so little actually," John said, picking up one of the objects. "This here is a baton, something very vital to what we're about to do today."
"So you mean that this is just going to be a stupid relay race," Steven sighed.
"It's not stupid," John shook his head. "But it is a relay race, just way more advanced."
"Advanced?" Roderick repeated with a smirk. "I agree with Steven, this does sound stupid."
"Are you guys gonna let me finish?" John angrily questioned. After a brief moment of silence, he continued. "Alright, I'll cut to the chase. This isn't just your typical running race. Sure there may be some running in it but you guys are also going to have other special tasks along the way."
John shuffled his way to the center of the Main Hall, taking a spot right on the logo of the red carpet. "Right now, there are nine of you on each team," he pointed out. "So there will be nine different sections in this relay race. Now, in order to show you what you need to do, come meet me outside by the gym in, let's say, five minutes."
Five minutes later, all of the campers gathered in front of the gym where in front of them was a dirt path that had two sets of hurdles placed evenly across it. There was then a big wall at the end of the paths and on the top of it, a platform with ropes dangling from a metal beam was raised high above from the ground.
Craig, astonished by what was in store, leaned over to Robert and whispered. "Man, it's only our first challenge and they already wildin' out."
Robert chuckled and whispered back. "Just like the original TDI, I suppose," he said.
"If I see one shark, I'm out," Craig replied, causing Robert to chuckle again.
Meanwhile, John stood upon a wooden crate and waved his hands in the air to get everyone's attention. But when no one replied, he put his pointer and his thumb in his mouth and blew another loud swift whistle. "Now that I have your attention, this here is the start of the race," John announced, pointing at the hurdles. "Starting off our shindig is the classic hurdle jump. A camper from each team will have to jump their set of hurdles with the baton in their hands until they reach that tall wall over there. From there, the next camper must take the baton and climb the wall all the way up and hand it to their teammate that will be waiting for them there."
John hopped off the crate and walked a little towards the race setup. He pointed upwards to the set of ropes dangling from the beam. "Once the baton is passed, that camper will have to swing from those ropes, all the way to another platform at the end."
"Is there at least a net under the ropes?" Milton asked nervously. "We could fall and die, you know."
John chuckled, a little nefariously. "Don't worry kid, it'll be just fine," he reassured, almost seeming like he was purposely trying to mess with Milton's fear.
"Famous last words," Milton quietly mumbled to himself.
"Now, moving on," John said, swinging his arms forward and approaching the front of the pool building as the campers followed him. "After you finish the rope swing," he explained. "You will run across a path that will lead you towards the back door of the pool building. At the back door, which should be propped open, you'll hand the baton to the next camper. That camper will need to dive into one end of the pool and swim all the way to the other. After you swim through the pool, you'll trot on down next door to the gym. At the gym, the next camper will have to shoot basketballs until they can score five of them from the three-point line."
Next, John led the campers outside of the cafeteria. "Once the shots are made, the camper will have to run here," he continued. "Inside, the next camper will be tasked to eat five hot dogs. And after that, they must pass the baton to the camper next to them, who will have to drink a large slushie. Once the slushie is all gone, they'll need to hand the baton to the next camper who must take it and run back to the Main Hall. And from there, they then must perform ten cartwheels on their designated mat. Finally, after all that is done, the final camper must answer an extremely hard trivia question. And they do so by placing their baton in the proper placeholder. If they answer incorrectly, they are punished with a one minute penalty and can't answer again until then. If they answer correctly, that means the completion of the race is done and the challenge is over."
"Whoa… that seems like a lot, John," complained Linda, wiping some smudges off of one of her lenses.
"It's why we have it split into different sections, of course," John explained. "Just remember that the baton is obviously important. You cannot start your section without it and you must finish with it. Other than that follow the basic setup and you guys should be fine. Any particular questions?"
Robert raised his hand. "So, how do we know who does what?" he asked.
"Easy, I'll pick one of your teammates to decide for everyone," John answered before tapping his chin. "Hmm… Let's see… Steven! You're picking the order for your team."
"Are you kidding me?" Vicky complained, gesturing towards Steven. "I really don't want this guy picking for me."
Steven smirked a little. "Don't worry, I'm a fair person," he reassured sarcastically. "I won't make you do the trivia question since you're obviously not that smart, statistically speaking."
"I will rip your fucking head off," Vicky threatened with a vicious snarl.
"Easy there, you two," answered the host. "Ideally, you can freely discuss what you're comfortable doing and not doing, so don't fret too much. If he's a good teammate, he'll listen."
"Well, what if more than one person wants to do the same thing?" asked Samantha.
"It will have to come to a decision soon," John shrugged. "Speaking of which, the person picking for your team will be Patrick."
"Alright, mate," the Irishman said, turning to his team with an assuring nod.
Benny raised his hand and then asked. "You said after every challenge there will be a little reward. So what will it be?"
"You'll find that out after the challenge," John replied as he checked his watch. "It's currently getting close to starting time so why don't you all make your decisions on who's doing what, right now."
With that being said, the campers grouped up with their teams. Nine on one side of the grass. Nine on the other. Over by the Thunderbirds, Steven led the conversation by pulling out a small notepad and pen from his pockets. "Very well," he began. "So I'm going to infer that you guys already know what you wanna do."
"I wanna do the first part, the hurdles," Marcus announced. "Hopefully I can get us off to a great start."
Steven nodded and wrote something down before pointing at Craig. "Yes?"
"I can eat the hot dogs," the rapper said, patting his stomach. "I can scarf those bad boys down like nothing."
"Alright, then you will," he agreed.
"Ooh! Ooh! Could I do the slushie thingy?" Julie asked, jumping up in the air. "I'm really in the mood for something sugary sweet."
"Aren't you hyped up enough?" Vicky sneered.
"She's fine so calm yourself, geez," Steven ordered, causing Vicky to dart her eyes straight at him. If looks could kill, he would be a bloody corpse by now.
Julie shrugged and then looked up at Nicolette. "Still a bad day?" she asked quietly.
Nicolette sighed. "Maybe I'll try talking with her after this is over," she suggested, biting her lip a little.
Meanwhile, the Bloodhounds had Patrick taking charge. He huddled up his team and proceeded to ask them what they wished to do for the race. André volunteered first with a confident smirk. "I am a basketball king. Let me do that."
Patrick nodded, flicking some finger guns at him. "Right you are, mate. You're gonna crush that section," he complimented. "So, anyone else wanna volunteer?"
"Well, Benny could obviously eat the hot dogs. He needs the 'energy', of course," Alexandra said sarcastically.
"Ha, I guess I wouldn't mind," Benny agreed, not bothered much by being singled out. "I'm like a human vacuum sometimes."
Alexandra just rolled her eyes a little before shrugging. "You can have me do the cartwheels, Patrick," she volunteered.
"Good, then that's what you're doing," Patrick claimed. He then looked over towards Elaine, who stood there staring deeply at the grassy ground. "Hey lass, what do you wanna do?"
Elaine simply looked up and shrugged. Patrick tapped his chin before making a suggestion. "Do you mind doing the rope swing?"
Elaine shrugged again. Patrick sucked in his cheek. "I think I'll take that as a yes," he assumed.
Eventually, all of the teams finished up with their decisions and were ready to tell John. The host took a clipboard from Johnny in one hand and retrieved a pen from his shirt pocket with the other. "Okay," he began, clicking his pen. "Now that you guys have picked your order, let's hear it so I can write it all down. Whose first?"
Barbara pulled Steven aside. "I'm having second thoughts with my section," she informed him. "Please replace me with someone quick."
"No, I will not," Steven scolded. "It's fine as it is. You fail us, then you're just going to be eliminated."
Barbara scoffed and placed her hands on her hips. "You are soooo rude!" she huffed.
"Perfect!" John interjected. "Steven, tell us your team's order."
Once Steven did so, John nodded and wrote some things down. Afterwards, he pointed at Patrick and requested the same. After both orders were known, John tucked the clipboard under his arm and spoke. "Since we got that done, why don't you head to your positions. Get your bathing suits if required and in about five or so minutes, we'll start this entire thing."
Harley was tasked with swimming, so she headed to the cabins to go retrieve her bathing suit. Patrick was the swimmer from the other team and was doing the same. They eventually noticed each other, Patrick sharing a wave in the process. "One on one with you, huh," he said. "Welp, I'm screwed, haha."
Harley couldn't help but smirk. "I'm on the swim team," she explained. "So yeah, you're screwed."
"Well, I still wish ya the best of luck," Patrick said.
"I appreciate it but I don't need any luck," she replied, rolling a shoulder.
"Right you are," he agreed playfully.
A little bit later each camper was at their designated spot. John had some of the staff stand close by each section. Samson was by the rock wall ready to hook them up. Zack was on lifeguard duty, hanging around the pool. Johnny was in the gym, ready to supply the basketballs. Michelle was at the cafeteria, of course, handling all of the food-related duties. That left John, who would be there at the Main Hall, ready to determine the winner. However, as of now, he stood by the hurdles with Marcus and Samantha, both getting in position to run. John quickly grabbed his radio and spoke into it. "Are we all ready?"
"Yes," came a few replies.
"Ok! Marcus, Samantha, when I fire this blank round, that's when you two should go," John explained, to which both campers nodded. "On your mark… Get set… GO!"
A blast from the gun later and the two were charging down the path, heading for the hurdles. Marcus took the early lead, hopping over each one near flawlessly, while Samantha seemed to struggle just a bit with hers.
Up ahead, Barbara, who was hooked up to the wall, cheered on her teammate as he approached her. "Go faster!" she shouted, despite Marcus already going pretty fast as is.
The rocker heaved his way over the last hurdle and slid. Despite almost colliding with Barbara, he was able to hand her the baton, to which she started climbing it as fast as she could. Marcus took a few deep breaths before standing up straight and smiling to himself. "That was awesome!"
Samantha finally made it to the last hurdle but as she halted it, she tripped and fell face first. With a quick "ouch", she got up and handed the baton to Roderick, who began his climbing.
Samson quickly shuffled over to Samantha and helped her up. "You okay?" he asked kindly.
Samantha nodded silently as she rubbed her scraped knee. "I'll be fine, thanks hun," she reassured, looking up at the wall. "C'mon Roderick, you can do it!"
Atop the rock wall, the two rope swingers, Vicky and Elaine, were waiting to retrieve the batons. Roderick climbed as fast as he could but stopped when he looked down behind him. "Crap… I'm so high up…" he cursed to himself.
This allowed Barbara to reach to the top first and hand the baton to Vicky, who started her rope swinging. Roderick quickly regained focus and pulled himself atop. "Sorry about that," he apologized to Elaine as he handed her the baton. He stood there catching his breath, sweating a little bit too. Elaine stared at him for a bit which Roderick soon noticed. "What? I'm afraid of heights, alright?"
Elaine shrugged and then grabbed the first rope, peeking down to see a giant trampoline that was under her to catch her if she fell. She sighed a sigh of relief and pulled herself off the platform. Vicky was nearly finished as she reached for the final rope. Elaine tried her best to not fall too far behind but Vicky was able to land safely on the other platform and began her jog to the indoor pool.
Elaine continued on, not deterred and eventually landed on the platform, gliding down the ladder effortlessly. She tried her hardest to make up for as much time as she could because Vicky had just handed the baton to Harley, who immediately dived in the pool.
Patrick waited by the edge, scratching his head until Elaine eventually arrived and handed him the baton. "Here goes nothing," the Irishman said as he dived in, attempting to swim as fast as he could.
Elaine watched him go, clapping for him before noticing Vicky heaving a few feet away. She went up to her to go check up on her but Vicky nudged her away. "I'm fine. I just hate running, that's all," she groaned.
Elaine scrunched up her nose and then noticed that Harley made it to the other end of the pool, with Patrick currently halfway done. Harley hastily pulled herself out of the pool and then ran towards the gym that was next door. Patrick followed suit some time later.
At the gymnasium, Robert was handed the baton by Harley. "How far ahead are we?" he asked, retrieving a basketball from Johnny.
"Far enough, now shoot!" Harley demanded, to which Robert quickly listened and made his first shot.
André anxiously awaited for Patrick to finally arrive and when he came running in, Robert had already made his first shot. "Hurry, amigo!" shouted André.
Patrick apologized and subsequently handed the Caribbean the baton. André stuffed the baton in his gym shorts and retrieved some basketballs. Carefully, he sprung up, tossing the ball and having it swish beautifully through the net. He then proceeded to do it again and again. Robert noticed he was now falling behind, pulled back and made his second shot… only right after André nailed his fourth one.
"Wow, you're good." Johnny stated in childlike wonder.
Meanwhile, Harley was angered. "Welp, there goes our fucking lead," she growled. "Pick up the pace!"
"I'm trying my best," Robert defended, missing a shot and groaning in frustration.
André laughed provocatively as he effortlessly nailed his fifth shot. "Adios, amigo," he said to Robert as he took the baton from his shorts and made a mad dash towards the cafeteria. Harley just facepalmed herself, clearly fed up with Robert's lack of ball skills.
Robert ignored everything around him. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, speaking to himself. "Not today," he whispered. "We're not going to fail this because of me."
After that, it seemed like the spirit of Michael Jordan entered him as he was able to nail his final three shots, making all five of his needed three-pointers. With that finished, he raced quickly and made it to the cafeteria only to see Benny scarfing down on some hot dogs.
"Over here Robert, quickly!" called out Craig, holding out his hand. Robert nodded and placed the baton in Craig's hand. Craig began scarfing down the hot dogs faster than a homeless man eating his first meal in a very long time.
But Benny had finished up his very last hot dog, licking his fingers with delight before he handed the baton to Milton. "Go buddy!" he cheered. "You can do it!"
Milton nodded and grabbed hold of a large cup, containing some blue raspberry flavored slush. He took one big breath and began slurping. Alexandra waited by his table, watching the liquid in the cup slowly sink down. But suddenly, Milton spat the straw out, holding his head and waving his fist.
"So cold! So cold!" hollered the littlest camper.
Craig laughed and swallowed the last bit of his hot dog, handing the baton to Julie. She immediately started sipping her slushie.
Alexandra slapped Milton's table to get his attention. "Pull yourself together!" she shouted. "You're halfway there!"
Milton nodded and was able to recollect himself. After another deep breath, he began slurping again. Both of them were basically neck and neck at this point until Milton freaked out again.
"Ah! This really hurts!" he screamed, pounding his head like a maniac. Craig cackled so much, he nearly fell over. Benny seemed worried for the little guy but Alexandra was furious, shaking her head in disappointment.
Eventually, Julie finished and handed the baton to Nicolette, who ran as fast as she could towards the Main Hall. Milton finally finished his drinking but at this point, Nicolette was far gone. He handed the baton to Alexandra who rolled her eyes. "Good going, doofus," she mumbled before quickly leaving the cafeteria.
Milton sighed in disappointment but felt Benny's hand on his shoulder. "Hey, I've been there," the big man said. "Brain freezes are no joke."
"Oh, I just hope this doesn't cause us to lose…" Milton groaned, still rubbing his temples a little.
Over by the Main Hall, Nicolette scurried towards the exercise mats. John was there now, watching over the final stretch of campers at his podium. One by one, Nicolette started cartwheeling, being as careful as she could.
Steven watched her closely but when he noticed Alexandra showing up, he grew nervous. He had every right to be as Alexandra was absolutely efficient with her cartwheels. She landed her cartwheels as quickly and gracefully as she possibly could and made it seem like it was so easy in the process.
It was right when Alexandra finished her seventh wheel that Nicolette had finished her tenth. Steven was swiftly handed the baton and started to read his trivia question.
As of today, which one of these solo singers has the most Grammys?
A. Stevie Wonder
B. Michael Jackson
C. Beyoncé
D. Alison Krauss
Steven pondered on his question, not knowing much about most American rewards. Unfortunately for him, Alexandra finished up her cartwheels soon after and handed the baton to Linda, who read her question.
What was the exact date of the assassination of President Lincoln?
A. April 14th, 1865
B. March 5th, 1863
C. April 22nd, 1864
D. October 9th, 1865
"It has to be after the civil war ended right?" Linda pondered to herself. She thought real hard but when she finally had her answer, Steven already placed his baton in the appropriate placeholder, C.
"The Thunderbirds win the first challenge!" John exclaimed, much to the dismay of Linda and Alexandra. The only two Bloodhounds currently at the Main Hall.
"Oh dear, I lost…" Linda whined.
Steven looked smug and turned to Nicolette. "What did I say?" he said. "Statistics don't lie."
Nicolette wasn't exactly happy with Steven's rude remark but they did win despite that so when the rest of her team showed up cheering and high-fiving each other, she simply smiled and clapped.
Alexandra eyed down at Linda, who was still sort of moping, before noticing Milton entering the Main Hall. She grew a frown as she kept looking back and forth from Linda to Milton. Eventually, she stopped and placed a hand on her chin, clearly thinking of something.
Meanwhile, John was ecstatic as he hopped away from his podium and towards all of the campers. "Well, let me first just say that this was a great and intense first challenge!" he complimented as some campers clapped and cheered. "And we saw lots of effort and perseverance coming from both teams. However, only one could win this challenge and that was, of course, the Thunderbirds!"
The winning team all cheered together again. John waited a moment before continuing. "So as for winning," he said. "Not only will you guys be safe from elimination but you will also be rewarded with a special dessert. It's an all-you-can-eat ice cream party." The winning team all cheered once more again
"And as for you, Bloodhounds," John said, turning towards the losing team. "I'm afraid that you're gonna have to vote someone off. After dinner, return here for your very first elimination ceremony."
While the Thunderbirds exited the Main Hall, spirits high as ever, the Bloodhounds stayed around for a bit. Roderick slouched his hands into his hoodie. "Well this sucks," he said.
André sighed and looked pretty sad. "I did so well with basketball too," he whined.
Roderick patted the Caribbean on the back. "Ah, don't worry, dude," he assured. "It's not like we're gonna vote you off. So then how about me and you figure out who we wanna vote for?"
"Okay," André agreed as he and Roderick left the Main Hall.
Alexandra went over to Samantha. "I agree, you and I should figure out who to vote for too," she said, glancing over at Milton before turning to Linda. "You. Come with us."
Linda was a bit surprised, timidly tapping her fingers together. "Oh… sure…" she said nervously.
Samantha reached her hand out to Linda. "Aww, don't feel bad, hun," she soothed, taking her by her side. "I'm sure you tried your best."
The three of them then left the Main Hall together, leaving just Milton, Benny, Patrick and Elaine. Elaine didn't really feel like staying, however, and she left too. Patrick scratched his head, eyeing his fellow guys. "So, uh, what a challenge, am I right?" he said awkwardly.
Benny patted his stomach and let out a belch. "You got that right, brother," he quipped, causing all three of them to laugh.
/
A little time later, it was the afternoon. Barbara was in the girl's cabin, holding onto her blankets as she waited impatiently for Nicolette to move her stuff away. "Are you sure this bed will be better?" she asked.
Nicolette shrugged as she tossed her pillow up into Barbara's bunk. "Probably," she answered.
Julie was laying on the bunk above what was formerly Nicolette's bunk but now was going to be Barbara's. "Ooh, I got a new bunk buddy," she said, sharing an amused smile with the popular girl.
Nicolette stepped away from her old bunk, dusting off her hands. "That should do it," she said, heading over to her new bunk. "Enjoy, I guess."
Barbara gave a thankful nod and then plopped all of her blankets down on her new bunk. However, as soon as she tried laying down on it, she immediately sprung back up. "You lied!" Barbara shouted.
Nicolette gave her a concerned look. "What do you mean?" she asked.
"This bed is WAY worse than my old one!" Barbara explained furiously. "I wanna take that one back."
"Barbara, you barely even laid on it," Nicolette pointed out. "Just give it a chance, okay?"
"If I gave everything a chance, I wouldn't be as popular as I am!" Barbara countered, flaunting her hair like she was some model on the red carpet. "Popular girls are picky people by nature."
Nicolette sighed and shook her head. "Alright, fine. Whatever. You can have your old bed back," she said defeatedly, hopping off the bunk and taking her stuff.
"Bye, new bunk buddy," Julie said as Barbara left. Once Nicolette came back, Julie couldn't help but pre-giggle at her planned quip. "Hi, old bunk buddy."
Nicolette chuckled a little. "Hey," she greeted back, plopping her stuff down before collapsing onto her bed in a pseudo-dramatic fashion. "Those cartwheels really took a lot out of me."
"You think that's bad? I almost broke a nail while climbing the wall," Barbara shared, staring at her fingernails.
"Mmhmm," Nicolette mumbled through her pillow.
Barbara let out an obnoxious yawn and hopped off her bunk. "Anyone wanna tan on the beach with me?" she asked.
Nicolette poked her head up and furrowed her eyebrows. "Aren't you, like, fourteen?" she asked.
"So?" Barbara scoffed, rolling her eyes. "It's not like I'm doing it naked. I have my bikini."
Nicolette peered up at Julie and the both of them shrugged. Suddenly, someone else entered the cabin. This time it was Harley. Barbara clapped her hands in excitement. "Oh perfect! My bodyguard is here!" she exclaimed. "Listen, I'm gonna go to the beach to get my tan on. I need you to watch over me so no perverts show up, okay?"
Harley's stoic stare was enough to tell Barbara that she wasn't interested but Barbara persisted. "Pleeeeaaaassseee!" she begged. "It's very important. I said I will pay you when I inevitably win the prize money. Don't you need that so you can afford some plastic surgery?"
At that moment, you could hear a pin drop. Nicolette covered her mouth, shocked in horror. "Oh dear…" she said as she saw Harley's stoic stare slowly morph into a snarl.
Shortly after, Barbara came flying out of the girl's cabin, landing on the porch with a big thud. Harley furiously slammed the door behind her and locked it. Barbara was absolutely mortified and quickly went to pound on the door. "I can't believe you!" she cried on her knees. "You are such a big meanie! I just wanted someone to watch over me! Dammit! Let me back in! Come on alr-"
Barbara was cut off by someone clearing their throat from behind her. She immediately stopped what she was doing to see Milton, standing there with a confused gaze. Barbara's cheeks reddened as she slowly stood up. "I was just acting?" she tried to explain.
Milton slowly nodded his head before he thought of something. "Well, since you're out here… Um, you wanna go for a walk or something?" he asked.
Barbara took a few seconds to think about it before sighing. "Fine," she reluctantly agreed.
/
Elaine sat on the beach, clawing up some sand back and forth, sort of like she was drawing some abstract beach art. Occasionally, she would glance over at the horizon and see a seagull or two. But then she heard the voices of two people chatting and quickly turned to see who it was. It was Roderick and André.
"Whoa, you actually saw that happen?" was the first thing Roderick said that Elaine was fully able to hear.
"It was crazy," André replied. "No one got hurt but ever since, I am afraid of sharks."
"I mean, if I saw that big thing charging at my boat with its jaw wide open, I'd be afraid to," Roderick agreed before he noticed Elaine staring at them. "Oh, look who it is."
"Are you afraid of the shark?" André asked her, to which the response was a simple shrug.
"Is that all you know how to do?" Roderick asked.
Elaine shrugged again, this time with a cheeky smile. Roderick smirked back and then leaned over to André. "By the way, did you know that since the Great Lakes are so big, there are sharks in them?" he fibbed.
"No way," André denied, although he wasn't sure if he could disprove it as he obviously wasn't familiar with them like Roderick was. This inevitably caused him to actually get a bit worried.
Elaine just rolled her eyes and got up to her feet. She brushed some sand off her hands with her pants and waved goodbye to the two boys. Roderick waved back but André still seemed fixated on the shark in the lake idea. Roderick laughed and shook him by the shoulder. "Dude, I was joking," he confessed. "Sharks can't survive in freshwater."
"Is this water fresh?" André asked nervously. Roderick was about to answer but decided it would be more fun to just shrug and walk away. André stared at the lake, feeling some butterflies in his stomach. "I will not take my chances."
/
"So, why exactly are you trying so hard to hang out with me?" Barbara asked as she and Milton walked along a nice path in the woods. "I told you that I had a boyfriend."
"I know, I know. Faithful girl, I remember," Milton replied. "But could it just be possible that I just want to be friends?"
"You literally asked me out the very first time we met," she reminded him.
"Yeah… I guess I did," he said bashfully.
Barbara grew a devious smile. "You were redder than a pepper too," she added.
"No I wasn't," Milton denied, his cheeks shading red themselves.
"You totally were," Barbara countered, giggling a little before she twirled around. "But it's okay. I make all the boys blush when I'm around."
Milton chuckled awkwardly and rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, you are very pretty," he complimented.
Barbara just smiled at him and started walking backwards. "You know, I guess if I wasn't already in a relationship, it wouldn't be completely off the table between us," she confessed.
Milton felt a bit surprised. "Wait… are you for real?" he asked.
"Nope, you're totally not my type, sorry!" Barbara replied with a mischievous looking grin on her face.
Milton frowned, clearly not finding this as amusing as her. "I can see why they kicked you out then," he grumbled.
Barbara clasped her hands together. "Oh, come on, I'm just poking some fun…" she explained before looking regretful as she noticed the hurt on Milton's face. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry."
Milton flopped his arms to his side indifferently. "It's fine, I guess," he sighed.
Barbara fiddled with her hair as she awkwardly looked down at the ground. "I kinda have an attitude problem," she admitted. "At least that's what my Mom says."
Milton didn't really respond so Barbara took a deep breath and walked right up to him. "Okay look," she said, tapping his shoulder with her finger. "If we were to ever meet again and I didn't have a boyfriend at the time, I might let you take me on a date. Key word, might!"
Milton slowly grew a smile and nodded. "You know what? Sure," he agreed before pretending to act all cool. "But I'll probably already be with another girlfriend anyways. You know, since I'm such a ladies man and all that."
Barbara playfully scoffed and shoved Milton aside. "Dork… Oh hey, we gotta head back," she stated. "It's probably almost dinner time."
"Ah crap," Milton groaned. "I still have an elimination ceremony to deal with, thanks for reminding me."
"Well, do you think you're gonna get eliminated?" Barbara asked curiously.
"Probably not," Milton answered as he thought about it. "I think my team all made mistakes in some way so I could argue my way out of it if I needed to."
Barbara nodded her head. "Well, good luck then," she said before suddenly leaping up into Milton's arms, surprising the boy entirely. He nearly dropped her as he let out a gasp but Barbara clung on and found it all amusing. "Now carry me to the cafeteria, my servant!"
Milton huffed to catch his breath before nodding his head. "Okay," he said breathlessly.
/
It was dinner time and the campers were all at the cafeteria with their meal. Over by the Thunderbirds' table, the team were discussing their win. Robert shook Marcus by the shoulder in excitement. "That was complete mastery with your hurdle jumping buddy," he complimented.
"It was nothing really since I do track at school," Marcus explained with a modest shrug. "I'm just so glad we crushed the other team. Victory feels so damn sweet."
"Well, you can all thank me for our win today," Steven bragged.
"It was a team effort, dude," Marcus replied, frowning a little.
"Ah, but who was the one to choose the order?" Steven countered with a smug look. "That's right, me. Because I know what the hell I'm doing. Honestly, you guys are lucky to have a valuable leader such as I."
Nicolette let out a scoff and crossed her arms
"Okay, you did a good job and all but is there any need to act so condescending to us right now?"
"Yeah dude, how would you like it if we all voted you off?" Marcus confronted, nodding with Nicolette's sentiment.
"You wouldn't because, like I said, I'm valuable," Steven argued.
"Oh come on," Vicky sneered. "Do we really need this crooked teeth jackass on our team in order to win all the time?"
Steven glared at the goth before growing a vindictive smirk. "Really now? Alright team, do you actually believe that this aggressive rude bitch is somehow more valuable than me?" he asked, causing some of the other team members to gasp.
"What the hell did you call me!?" Vicky shouted, bolting up from seat, nearly flipping over her tray in the process. She stormed right up to the Brit and snatched him by the collar. Her fiery eyes looked like they were about to shoot deadly flames, like a high-powered flamethrower.
"Hey, hey, hey, hey, stop it guys," Julie interjected, scurrying in front of the two and nudging Steven out of Vicky's grasp. "We won, shouldn't we be excited? Please guys, let's not fight right now."
Steven adjusted his collar and crossed his arms. "I suppose we should be excited," he said reluctantly, taking a seat back down. "Great work, team."
"Whatever," Vicky growled under her breath as she decided to just leave the cafeteria.
Julie sat back down and wiped some sweat from her forehead. "Phew, that was scary," she remarked.
Craig shook his head as he tossed an empty milk carton back and forth within his hands. "Some of y'all really need to get it together," he said. "The vibes here be way out of whack every time, sheesh."
Nicolette simply sighed and slumped her head into her hands. She peeked out of the cafeteria window for a second before getting up. "Alright, I'm gonna go talk to her," she announced.
Steven snickered a little. "Be safe out there," he quipped. "She's pretty unhinged."
Nicolette stood there for a second, almost seeming like she was gonna say something back but she bit her tongue and simply just left. She walked past the Bloodhounds' table, where Roderick had just sat down. It was rather quiet for them, until he finally spoke up. "So, I talked with André about who we wanted to vote for aaaand we got nothing," he informed his team as he twirled his fork into some spaghetti.
"It was hard," André added with a mouthful of garlic bread.
"Well Roderick, I might have someone in mind," Alexandra replied, wiping her mouth with a napkin.
"I hope it's not me," Roderick said, half-sarcastically.
"Mmm… maybe," Alexandra answered ambiguously.
"Gosh, I hope you guys don't vote me off," Patrick said as he bit into a meatball. "I mean, I know I wasn't that good in the swimming part but I feel like I wasn't that bad either, y'know."
"It's alright, skinny dude, I won't vote for you," Benny reassured, placing one of his arms around Patrick's shoulder.
"This whole thing feels kinda weird honestly," Samantha added. "I don't want to make y'all feel bad by voting y'all away because I would feel like such a jerk but yet, I have to do it."
"Why would you feel like a jerk?" Roderick interjected, placing his hand on the table. "I mean, aren't we all fighting for one thing here?"
"Well yes, but right now we're a team," Samantha said, taking a sip of her juice. "And we should still work as one. Otherwise it won't be long before you go, hun."
"I'm not stupid," Roderick retorted, rolling his eyes. "But I'm not here to feel bad about playing the game either. If you wanna win, you're gonna have to do whatever it takes."
"Look everyone, I think it's just best that we choose the one that we personally believe should leave today," suggested Alexandra. "Then come tomorrow, we can learn from this and move on. As a team, that is."
"Yes, yes, I agree," André nodded, picking his teeth with a toothpick.
"Alright then," Roderick sighed, picking up his dirty tray, staring right at Alexandra. "I guess I'll go get ready to vote."
As he left the cafeteria, Alexandra seemed a bit concerned at how he said that but she snapped out of it when the frail voice of Linda spoke up. "I'm sorry guys," the farm girl softly apologized.
"Uhhh… what for, mate?" Patrick asked.
"Well, I took too long on the final question," she explained. "So it's my fault we lost."
"You're not the only one who messed up though," Alexandra claimed, pointing at Milton, who sat at the end of the table. "I had to watch this child scream about brain freeze for way too long."
"It was super cold okay!" Milton interjected, attempting to defend himself. "Maybe you shouldn't have made me do that. I mean look at me, did you really think someone my size could scarf down all that ice in one gulp?"
"I remember you saying something about your size not mattering," Alexandra countered, rolling her eyes.
Milton started to grow a bit nervous. "Well… Uh… How about Samantha?" he suggested. "Didn't she lead us to a bad start."
"I tripped at the very end, hun" she debunked. "It didn't take away much time. In fact, what more likely did so was when Roderick just decided to stay there on the wall for a few seconds."
"Okay so I'm not the only one who messed up here," Milton pointed out.
"We never said you were, Milton," Alexandra scowled.
"Well then why did you single me out?" Milton questioned.
"Because you were fucking terrible! God!" Alexandra snapped, which frightened Milton a little.
"¡Ay dios mio!" André exclaimed, standing up with his tray. "This is just bad. I will go with Roderick now." With this, he left in a hurry, hoping to clear his head from the madness.
Alexandra rubbed her temples and shared looks with Samantha. "I definitely know who I'm gonna vote for," she told her.
"Yep," Samantha agreed before standing up. "Come on, hun."
Alexandra took a deep breath to calm herself down and stood up. As her and Samantha left, Patrick awkwardly looked at the rest of his team. "So fellas… Good spaghetti, right?" he said, chuckling nervously.
Elaine simply sat there hunched over, thinking to herself. She pretty much had ignored the entire previous conversation and only was really bothered by the sudden shouting. Eventually, she also decided to leave but not before giving her untouched bowl of spaghetti to Benny, who was clearly interested in it. "Ah yeah, sweet!" the big man wooed. "Thanks, buddy."
Patrick waved goodbye to Elaine as she left. He then looked over to see Milton and Linda both with their heads down before he turned to see Benny joyfully chowing down on his food. The Irishman couldn't help but smirk a little. "Well, at least one of us is having a grand 'ol time."
/
While most of the Bloodhounds were getting ready for the elimination ceremony and most of the Thunderbirds were hyped for their upcoming ice cream party, Nicolette was more concerned with finding Vicky. It turned out that Vicky was just in her cabin, sitting cross-legged on her bed and despondently fiddling with some sort of bracelet. As Nicolette entered the cabin, Vicky barely even acknowledged her so the kind girl spoke first. "How're you doing?" she asked.
Vicky sat there for a bit before tossing the bracelet aside and standing right up. "Doing just fine," she answered with a shrug.
Nicolette could tell that wasn't exactly true. "Look, if you need to get something off your chest, I'm here for you, okay?" she offered.
Vicky gave her a look, one that almost seemed like she was offended. "When I wanna get things off my chest, I say it right away," she explained. "Like I did with Steven earlier."
"Okay, I guess that makes sense," Nicolette replied, still feeling like the goth was withholding something. However, she decided it was best to not push any further. "Welp, sorry to bother you then."
Vicky rolled her eyes and walked right past Nicolette, leaving her all alone in the cabin. The kind girl stared around before letting out a small sigh. "What an experience this has been so far," she said to herself.
/
It was now time for the very first elimination ceremony. Like John had stated, it took place in the Main Hall after dinner. The host had each camper sit on the chairs while he stood by his podium. "Good evening everyone," he greeted calmly. "Welcome to the first ever Peralta Challenges elimination ceremony. Let me explain how things are done."
John pointed towards a small room, near the entrance of the Main Hall as the tension amongst the campers grew. "Over there in that room is where you guys will all vote," he explained. "There will be some slits of paper inside. Take one and write down the camper's name that you wish to get rid of. I will tally up the votes once all of you have done so and from there we will find out who is eliminated. Now, one by one, I will call you to go inside that room and vote. Please remember only to vote once. No double voting."
As stated, John called up each camper one by one and once everyone was done, he gathered all the votes, counted them out and nodded. "Let's begin," he announced.
The lights began to dim as many of the campers nervously looked around. Their nerves were getting ever so slightly uneasy as John read his tally. "We're gonna start off with the campers who are safe," he stated. "First one that's safe is the big man, Benny."
"Hell yeah!" Benny cheered, raising his fist in the area.
"The next one safe is Caribbean Michael Jordan, also known as André," John continued.
"Haha! Good nickname, John," André clapped as he grew a bit of relief, despite not really believing he was going to go.
"Elaine, Samantha and Roderick, you're all safe too," John said, seeing each of them look relieved before continuing. "Patrick and Alexandra, you're both safe as well but Alexandra was voted for."
Patrick let out a giant relieved breath. "Oh, thank the Lord," he said, looking over to Alexandra for assurance. "Gee, why is this so nerve wracking?"
Alexandra sent back a fake smile but it was clear she was a bit ticked off that she was voted for, considering how well she did in the challenge. Meanwhile, John eyed down the last two remaining campers. "Milton and Linda, it is down to you two."
Both shared concerned looks with each other. Milton started biting his nails and rocking in his chair slightly. Linda felt her heart beat rapidly and couldn't even look at John.
"Milton…" John continued. "You took forever on the slushie… which caused your team to fall pretty far behind. Linda… you weren't able to answer the question in time… which caused your team to ultimately lose."
"Oh no…" Linda whispered to herself while Milton simply crossed his fingers and whispered to himself, "Please, don't be me," repeatedly.
"So now…" John added, speaking much more dramatically. "It's time we find out who will be packing their bags and heading back to the Mainland. The very first camper to be eliminated from the Peralta Challenges is…
…
…
…
…
…
…
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…
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…Milton."
"No!" shouted Milton as he jumped up holding his head. "Why guys? I know I could've done better but I wasn't the worst teammate today, I swear."
"Sure you weren't," Alexandra grumbled, rolling her eyes.
Milton glared at Alexandra. "Well just so you know, I voted for you!" he confessed.
Alexandra smirked and didn't seem as bothered anymore now that the results were revealed. "Figures," she said.
"Wait, you voted for Alexandra?" John asked.
Milton scratched his head. "Yeah, why?" he replied.
"Oh dear," John said as he reread the tally. "If you had just voted for Linda, you would've tied the votes. You would've given yourself a chance."
Milton was flabbergasted, Linda was shocked and Alexandra couldn't help but cackle. "That's what you get for being petty," she mocked.
"Shit…" Milton grumbled. All he could do now was let out a defeated sigh, calming himself down a little. "Well, I guess it was nice meeting everyone here. Bye guys..."
"Later, mate," Patrick farewelled. "Don't take it personal. You're a swell lad."
Zack showed up, ready to escort whoever was going home. "Let's get your stuff, kid," he said to Milton. "Your boat ride out of here is waiting."
"The rest of you are dismissed," John said to the others. And soon, everyone was out of the Main Hall.
/
"What!? They voted off Milton!?" shrieked a very shocked Barbara, who was clearly waiting outside to see who from the other team was going home.
Milton walked up to Barbara and shrugged. "I tried but I kinda bungled things up," he explained. "I coulda tied the votes but I voted for the wrong person."
Barbara shook her head in disbelief. "Ugh! You idiot!" she scorned. "Who's gonna be my servant now? Who's gonna carry me to places? I can't believe you messed up that badly! What a fool!"
Milton stood there, taking it all as he knew it wasn't that much of an issue. "You done yet?" he asked.
Barbara sighed and slowly nodded her head. "Bye, I guess," she said.
Milton slowly grew a smile. "Can I get a hug?" he requested.
Barbara initially frowned at him before shrugging. She reached out but stopped half-way. "But only for two seconds," she insisted. Milton was fine with that and they had a brief goodbye hug. Barbara then nudged Milton away and twirled around. "Later, dork."
Zack carried things along, making sure Milton had all of his possessions before leading him to the dock. Meanwhile, the rest of the Bloodhounds headed to their cabins. Most of the other Thunderbirds were still in the cafeteria, enjoying their ice-cream with Barbara being one of the ones to head back. The other was Steven and he stood by the girl's cabin until he saw someone. "Hey Alexandra," the Brit called out.
Alexandra peeked over and saw him. Growing some intrigue, she hopped off the porch to go meet up with him. "What is it?" she asked.
"About that cross-team alliance," Steven replied, making sure no one else could hear them this time. "I think I'll take your offer."
Alexandra grew a devious smile. "That's great to hear," she said. "I say that we start by picking off members of our team, one at a time. And since Milton is gone, I'll let you decide who our first target should be."
"Really now?" Steven replied, growing quite the nefarious smile. "Well then I know exactly who we're going to target then. We'll talk more tomorrow. Until then, have a wonderful night, madam."
And so with the two plotters heading back to their cabins, John came into view from right outside the Main Hall. "Things are already getting interesting," he remarked. "But we're out of time for now. Thanks for tuning in today, however, and I hope you enjoyed this first challenge as much as I did. So who will be eliminated next? What will our next challenge be? And who is this newly formed alliance's target? Find out next time on another exciting episode of the Peralta Challenges!"
Votes:
Milton: Alexandra, Samantha, Patrick and Linda
Linda: Benny, Roderick and Elaine
Alexandra: Milton and André
Team Status:
The Bloodhounds: Alexandra, André, Benny, Elaine, Linda, Patrick, Roderick and Samantha
The Thunderbirds: Barbara, Craig, Harley, Julie, Marcus, Nicolette, Robert, Steven and Vicky
Eliminated: Milton (18th)
Milton in the original version was pretty much as fodder as fodder can get. So my goal was to give some more to his character and actually have a small romantic arc with Barbara so he had a little more to do than just be the first one eliminated. I hope you enjoyed what I did with him.
As always, stay hydrated and have a good day :)