First challenge time! Also, I just want to note something. I am writing this as summer, and Stephanie is sixteen. Her birthday is July 5th, so I'm writing this as if she's only just turned sixteen, since TDI is eight weeks long and the summer would've ended by the time it was over. So let's say the special was filmed on the 31st of August, and Stephanie's flight home was on the 1st of September (in this case, a Saturday), then school restarted on the 3rd. Just letting you know what the timespan is for this story.
Our challenge had more than one thing to do. The first part was to dive into the lake from the cliff. However, we'd have to dive into a small safe zone, or risk getting eaten by vicious sharks. After that, we would be given crates, which we'd then take back to the campground. We'd use the contents of the crates to build a hot tub. The best hot tub won, and the losing team would send someone home.
"Killer Bass, you're up first." Chris said.
"Oh, wow." muttered Bridgette. "So, who wants to go first?"
Owen muttered something to his team about interns doing the stunt first, but that didn't make me feel any better about it. Eventually, Bridgette decided "Fine. I'll go. It's no big deal, just an insane cliff dive into a circle of angry sharks..." But she landed safely.
"Yeah! I'm next!" Tyler exclaimed. He hit a buoy, but he was fine, so I jumped next, screaming the whole way down. I was followed by Geoff, then Eva, then Duncan. But DJ and Courtney both came down the cliff in chicken hats, having not had the guts to jump. Ezekiel and Harold jumped, though. Then came the team switch. Izzy switched with Katie. Oh, joy. Now both the twins were on our team.
"We're coming, Killer Bass!" I heard both of them call as they jumped off the cliff.
Sadly, the Gophers got an advantage on our team. More members of their team jumped than ours (only Beth chickened out), so they got carts to pull their crates in, while we all had to push ours. Actually, Justin missed the safe zone, but the sharks were too dazzled by his beauty to eat him.
Everyone on our team was kicking and pushing their crates along.
"Ow! I think I just got a splinter!" Courtney complained.
"Shut up, and pick up your crate. Chicken." Eva snapped at her.
"Hey, I'm the only one with CIT camping experience. You need me!"
"Push all the crates by yourself, then." I challenged. "And stop whining."
Katie and Sadie both went into the woods to take a bathroom break, but when they both came back, they complained that they were itchy.
"You guys are way behind the other team." Chris told us. "What's the hold up?"
Courtney explained it to him, but he didn't seem to be listening when he saw the bug bite on her eye. It looked pretty horrifying.
Bridgette worked out what Katie and Sadie had done. They had squatted over these plants that Sadie described as "oval and green and all over the place".
"Were they low to the ground?" Bridgette asked. "About this big?" The girls nodded. "You guys squatted on poison ivy."
So yeah, by the time we got to the campgrounds, there was only nine of us. The twins were sitting in the shallows of the beach, trying to make their itches go away. Meanwhile, the other team was already hard at work.
Leshawna noticed the abscences. "Hey, aren't you missing a couple of white girls?" she asked.
"They're getting a drink." Courtney told her.
Harold muttered something to Ezekiel, which made him laugh.
Leshawna noticed Courtney's bite. "What happened to your eye, girl?"
"Nothing!" Courtney said. "Just an allergy."
"Think it's getting worse." Ezekiel commented.
"Shut up, we don't want them to know that!"
Anyway, we had to get to work. Courtney tried to take the lead. "We need a project manager. Since I've actually been a CIT before, I'm electing myself."
"Where do we begin, Cyclops?" Duncan said sarcastically.
"Open the crates." Courtney ordered. "Bridgette, go find those itchy girls. We need all the help we can get."
Courtney was right. But our team was totally useless. No one appreciated Courtney trying to tell everyone what to do. I made a mental note to vote her off first – what right did she have to be the leader when she wouldn't even do the cliff dive?
Finally, Chris called time. He looked at the Gopher's hot tub first. It was sleek and shiny, full of water that had steam rising from it. "This...is an awesome hot tub!" he declared. The team cheered.
Then Chris looked at ours. It was rickety, full of duct tape, and a seagull with its' head in a six-packring was floating in it. Chris only had to tap it for it to start leaking and break.
"Well, I think we have a winner...the Screaming Gophers!" The Gophers cheered. "Killer Bass, what can I say?" Chris said. "Sucks to be you right now. I'll see your sorry butts at the bonfire tonight." Yeah, while the Gophers were in their hot tub, having fun.
Dinner was also pretty sombre. The most notable thing was that I saw Izzy, now sitting with her new team, staring into space with the most unsettling smile on her face. It was the way my friend and former stalker from Hillwood used to smile when he'd just had a crazy idea, or just carried it out. I wondered what she was thinking, but I was diverted by the conversation at our table.
"We have to decide who we're going to vote off." Courtney said.
Duncan, who was sitting between Courtney and I said "Well, I think it should be Princess or the brickhouse here." He meant Courtney or DJ, since they'd both refused to jump. "And if we have to push a car or something," he added, "I like our odds on the big guy."
"You guys need me!" Courtney protested. "I'm the only one-"
"We know." Bridgette and I said together. "Who used to be a real CIT."
"So who would you pick?" Bridgette asked.
Courtney glanced around, and then pointed at Tyler. "What about him?"
"No!" cried Lindsay from the Gopher's table. There was a pause as she realized she'd caught everyone's attention. "I mean, no salt, there's no salt on the table...bummer." she said nervously.
"At least he jumped off the cliff, chicken wing." Duncan argued.
"Shut up!" cried Courtney.
"You shut up!" I snapped back. "The guy's right about you, you know. You are a total princess." Duncan went off, saying he'd had enough.
"I just don't get why we lost, eh." Ezekiel finally spoke up. He'd been quiet for most of the time. "We're the ones that have more guys and the same amount of girls as them."
Katie and Sadie froze. The rest of us girls scowled.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Bridgette snapped.
"Yeah, homeschool, enlighten us." Eva added.
"Well, guys are stronger and better at sports than girls are." Ezekiel said obliviously.
I looked at Eva. "Want me to hold him so you can punch?"
Ezekiel didn't even seem to hear me as he continued "My dad told me to look out for the girls here, eh, and help them in case they can't keep up."
Eva hauled him up by his neck. "Still think we need your help keeping up?"
"Um...not really..." Ezekiel choked out.
"Guys, let's give him a break!" Geoff cut in. "I mean, at least he doesn't think that guys are smarter than girls."
Eva put Ezekiel down. The minute she did, the little creep opened his mouth again. "But they are."
Bridgette caught my eye. Both of us nodded. Voting off Courtney could be put on hold.
I went to the confessional to express how I felt. "That sexist creep is going home ASAP." I proclaimed. "Guys are smarter than girls. Yeah, remind me of that when Lisa starts taking junior classes in her freshman year while Bart's barely passing as an actual junior."
The campfire ceremony was actually not too bad, when you got past the nervewracking thing of it. Chris handed out marshmallows to everyone who was staying. I was called fifth, so I didn't have to wait too long. Soon, there was only one marshmallow left. And the two people left were...Courtney and Ezekiel.
"Campers, this is the final marshmallow of the night." Chris said. He took ages and ages to announce the last person to stay, but he finally said...
"Courtney."
Ezekiel was left sitting there. "Can't say I'm shocked." Chris told him. "I saw you picking your nose, dude. Not cool. Dock of Shame is that way, bro." So Ezekiel had to take the walk of shame down the dock and catch the Boat of Losers home.
"The rest of you, enjoy your marshmallows." Chris said. "You're all safe. For now."
We passed the Gophers on our way back. A few of them were dancing around, chanting "Go Gophers, go Gophers, go Gophers..."
At least we had a cabin to go back to. I chatted a little to some of the girls in my cabin. Courtney had gone a bit quiet, probably because she was so close to elimination, but Katie and Sadie seemed happy to talk to each other. Good thing, too. I didn't want to talk to either of those airheads.
"I am so glad we got rid of that Ezekiel guy." I remarked to Bridgette and Eva. "I mean, seriously. Did he even see you at the challenge, Eva? How many guys actually picked up the crates?"
Eva smiled slightly, but that was actually a pretty scary look on her serious face. But to be honest, when she wasn't angry, she seemed perfectly nice, if a bit distant. Bridgette was very nice and friendly. To be honest, I was glad to have her on my team.
I didn't know the boys on my team too well yet, but they seemed nice. Duncan looked like fun – I was looking forward to getting to know him. Geoff also seemed pretty cool. DJ was pretty nice, although he'd been kind of a wimp back on the cliff, but I got the feeling he wouldn't have acted like Courtney afterwards, even if she hadn't been there. Tyler was a bit of a klutz, but he wasn't mean, and Harold was a total nerd, but hey, I could deal with that. I mean, having a nerdy little sister like mine...it gave me a certain appreciation for nerdy people like that.
All I could do that night was wonder what the next day would bring. I'd survived one bonfire ceremony. One person down, twenty-one more to go.
I originally planned for Stephanie to think Eva was a danger to regular people, but the more I think about it, I think she'd appreciate Eva's strength. Also, as Stephanie fans may know, she likes crazy people. I'm working towards something here, people...take a guess! Hint: It's to do with the special.
Please please please review!