Germany is the next destination the group went to, so Stephanie's on her way there, too! Hey...have the Simpsons ever been there?
Okay, just checked...they haven't. Thanks for your acknowledgement, Nicky Haugh.
In spite of not having seen the competitors since last fall, I fit straight back in with them. Actually, similar to how the newbies had. Still, when I wasn't around Alejandro, I reminded myself of what I'd heard of him so far. If he considered himself worse than Heather, what would he do? Had he done anything in the episodes I hadn't seen?
I actually got an email from Tasha that same day as we travelled. It said:
Steph, are you NUTS?
You interrupted junior year to go around the world and compete in bizarre challenges? Don't get me wrong, I would do it too, but why the HELL would you go and not even tell me before you left? BTW, the Yukon episode just aired. If you're on Team Victory, look out, because Alejandro will be trying to get you eliminated. He just did that to Bridgette. Keep your guard up.
We'll all be watching, and you better come home with the million this time!
Love Tasha.
I wished I could email Tash back and tell her thanks for letting me know about Bridgette. But meanwhile, I didn't know what to do. When I wasn't around the Spaniard, I could tell myself he was trouble all I wanted and believe it. But when Alejandro was actually talking to me, I was helpless to resist his charms, and at that time, I almost...well, almost didn't mind.
It was almost a relief when we were called to the common area. I hadn't been shown around the plane like everyone else when they first got on, but I'd been quickly working out everything – the confessional bathroom (yes, again – why couldn't it be like the makeup trailer in the second season?), the elimination room, the common area, and the living space for the teams who hadn't won the last challenge. Still, I hadn't realized that the floor in the common area would just open up and drop us out. It was lucky that we landed on soft snow, although my black jeans were coated with the stuff (I'd chosen to pack my TDI outfit so everyone remembered me – most people were wearing similar clothes to their TDI outfit, and I had to be grateful I hadn't chosen tiny short shorts and a halter like Heather).
As I landed, I saw Alejandro holding out his arms to catch Leshawna, but he ended up being half-buried in the snow, probably having underestimated her weight.
Lindsay turned to Tyler, greeting him with a cheerful "Hi, Darryl!"
"It's me, TYLER! Season One – you and I were together!" Tyler told her frustratedly.
Lindsay gave him a blank look. "You must have me confused with someone else. The only guy I was ever into on this show was Tyler, and he's never coming back."
Tyler sighed. I chuckled, slinging an arm around the jock's shoulders. "You might want to give up." I told him. "Or try to win her over for the second time. She still likes you – she just doesn't remember who you are."
Tyler gave a sigh. "I know. But it's not just her – no one talks about me on the fanblogs. I doubt even Sierra does, and she's got blogs about everyone. How can my own girlfriend not remember me?"
I laughed again. "She's just being Lindsay. Her memory might come back, it might not."
Chris welcomed us to Germany, telling us that we were in avalanche territory and although we'd have to sing, it would also be a challenge to sing as quietly as possible to avoid it.
Noah began the song. "Keep it down -" he began.
"So I can win the loot!" I finished.
"Try, I will," Owen sang in a hushed voice, "But I still gotta fa – no, toot!" We shushed him.
Heather sang next. "Toot on, but you're still outta luck, you suck the lemon chuck!"
"Wait til' you're voted out for being such a lout!" Gwen told her.
Courtney pirouetted to the other side of Heather. "I'll dance a jig when Chris shoves you out the plane!"
Alejandro turned to Leshawna and sang "When you don't hold back and lead the pack, truly there is nothing stopping you, you, you."
Leshawna practically swooned. "Swimming in your eyes, it's butterflies and suddenly there's nothing I can't do." She gave the camera a guilty look and added, "Sorry, Harold." to her absent admirer.
Lindsay's blue eyes suddenly narrowed. "Wait, something's itching in my brain!" she sang.
"Someone's back in the game, my former flame!
And Tyler's your name, you're Tyler just the same!" Tyler looked confused, pointing to himself as Lindsay ran to him and hugged him, spinning around. "Oh Tyler, Tyler, Tyler, Tyler, back you came!"
"You remember me?" Tyler asked. Lindsay nodded. "She remembers me! YES!" And that's when it all came crashing down.
Not for their little reunion – for everyone. Tyler's cheering for Lindsay's memory had just caused that avalanche we were trying so hard to prevent. Look, if I had to sing on TV, I wanted to belt it out and prove that I could do Broadway (or possibly off-Broadway) when I wasn't selling paintings and sketches, but I wasn't going to cause problems like what Tyler just did.
Oh well, at least we didn't die. We just had to climb up the mountain, as I heard Lindsay telling her teammates how amazing it was that Tyler was back (and apparently she'd only just noticed, even though I'd seen her talking about him in the first episode – granted, she confused him for Alejandro, but still).
When we reached the top of the mountain, we were greeted with three giant hand-powered grinders and three piles of meat. Chris explained that we'd each make a giant sausage to ride down the mountain.
I gagged. "Make a sausage by hand? Gross!"
"This is the most disgusting challenge yet!" Heather agreed. I shot a glare at her. Who would want to have the same opinion as her, and no, I didn't care how petty that sounded, that's how much I despised her. Team Amazon as a whole had a problem. Apparently they'd had access to an electric grinder which Heather had thrown out of the plane, thinking they wouldn't need it. That would've put them at a major advantage.
"I knew I should have tackled you when you threw our grinder out!" Courtney snapped at Heather.
"You didn't disagree at the time!"
As it was, I found out in the next five minutes that even if Alejandro was trouble, he was a good leader. He had to pull Izzy out of the funnel of the grinder, where we'd put the meat. Then he started calling out orders, organizing everyone else to work on the sausage. "Tyler, we need your strength on the grinder! Owen, stuff that casing like your life depends on it! Noah, make sure Izzy doesn't get into the grinder again! Stephanie, you put the meat into the grinder!"
So while he shovelled the meat up to the top, I shovelled it into the grinder itself, while Tyler turned the lever. Noah had to distract Izzy. We were all fine, until-
"Ha, Cody's got a tiny sausage!" Noah laughed. Sure enough, Team Amazon's sausage was teeny. Half their meat was made into a statue of Cody, courtesy of Sierra.
"At least my team has a sausage!" Cody called back. Yes – Owen hadn't bothered to stuff. He'd just eaten all the meat I'd been putting into the grinder!
"Owen, you glutton!" I yelled furiously. "We needed that meat!"
But Alejandro suggested we just use Owen as the sausage and ride on him (minds out of the gutter, guys), and Chris agreed, even though Courtney argued that it was cheating (boy, was I glad I wasn't on her team this season – sure, she could be OK sometimes, but right now, she was in bossy mode).
Chris had promised us rewards for everyone who made it down the mountain, and we got down first. We were given helmets. Team Victory got fluffy hats, and Team Amazon came in last and got Peter Pan hats. Then, it was time for the second part of the challenge. We had to learn a traditional German dance – well, three for us and Team Amazon, two for Team Victory, since there were only three of them. We'd stand on platforms, which delivered shocks if Chris thought we weren't dancing well enough or if he just felt like it. So I offered to go up for my team, along with Alejandro and Noah. For Team Amazon, Cody, Sierra and Heather went up (and for coming last, one of them had to wear lederhosen – and Cody ended up having to put them on), and Leshawna and DJ went up for Team Victory.
Sierra chanted a rhyme that made me giggle, stopping my dance and making Chris shock me at one point. But hearing Sierra was worth it. "One, two, three, slap my knee, my husband-to-be, his name is Cody!
Four, five, six, pick up sticks, my heart won't tick without my Cody fix!
Seven, eight, nine, straighten your spine, spin to see Cody looking so fine!
Ten, eleven, twelve, nothing rhymes with twelve, chicks want Cody but his butt's MINE!" While I nearly doubled over, poor Cody was staring at her in horror.
As Leshawna began her...interesting, to put it nicely...dancing, Heather laughed. Alejandro stepped closer to Leshawna, continuing the dance, and I heard him murmur "Ignore those who do not know fabulous dancing when they see it. Truly, you are fabulous. You mustn't hold back any longer!"
"You're right, candy apple!" Leshawna cried, her enthusiasm hightened. I sidled up to Leshawna and hissed kindly "But there's a time and place for that. I think your team just wants you to follow the steps."
As I spoke, Alejandro addressed another one of our opponents. "I'm disappointed, Heather. You're above petty teasing." Heather shot him a death glare and didn't answer.
Meanwhile, as I got back to my place, I heard Noah asking Alejandro what he was up to. "Giving the enemy a pep talk? Not cool."
"Very perceptive, my brilliant teammate." Alejandro answered. "I'm working at an angle that'll benefit our team."
I didn't realize what I was seeing until after the challenge was over. Maybe if I'd asked questions, I might've worked it out earlier, but as it was, Chris called to finally finish the challenge. Everyone was up on podiums, facing someone from another team, and they had to try to knock each other off. I was up against Heather as I danced, but her little push was abrupt, and I toppled off my podium early. Leshawna had already kicked Noah off, and Alejandro was just about to send Cody spinning.
"CODY!" I heard Sierra scream. She kicked DJ off the podium easily.
Now it was four to four – I just had to hope that Alejandro would be able to kick Sierra off, so that we still had a shot. Next to them were Heather and Leshawna.
"Come on, Sierra!" Courtney called from the sidelines. "Don't burn out now!"
"Stay on that platform, Leshawna!" DJ called.
"I'm not going anywhere!" Leshawna assured him.
"That's it, seize the day!" Alejandro called over to her.
"Ugh, she's not even on your team!" Heather shouted. At that moment, her dancing accidentally caused her to slap Leshawna. I sensed the eruption.
"I'm gonna seize the YOU!" Leshawna roared, knocking Heather off her podium and jumping off after her. "YOU'VE HAD THIS COMING FOR THREE SEASONS!" And seconds later, Heather's tooth was knocked out.
Alejandro froze, suddenly. He just stopped completely, and barely even said a word when Sierra pushed him off his platform.
"Dude, seriously, what happened?" Noah asked him.
"Heather sacrificed herself to distract me, and her brilliant plan worked! I am most disappointed in myself."
"Oh, yeah, I totally planned that!" Heather said sarcastically, her voice muffled from her missing tooth.
Sierra began jumping up and down and screaming with joy when she realized she'd won. She and the rest of Team Amazon would have First Class passage to the next destination.
I went to the confessional while Team Amazon headed for First Class, my team went to Economy Class, and Team Victory went to the elimination room, where one of them would take a parachute and leave the plane, and the other two would come back to Economy Class.
"So, it's kind of fun to be back." I said brightly. "But 'kind of' is the operative word. Chris was always a jerk, but not as much as he is now. As if getting to know two new people isn't enough! And what is with Alejandro? It's not that I didn't see him flirting with Leshawna in the third episode, but he's talked to me the way he talked to her, like I'm the only girl in the room to him. And that rings alarm bells. At least...when he does it to someone other than me." I heaved a sigh. "All right, I won't deny it. I like it when he flirts with me. I mean, I'm single, right? And as long as I focus on the game, what harm could it do? For as long as we're on the same team, he won't do a thing to sabotage me, and who knows, maybe I can hook up with someone for longer than a week this time."
I returned to my team just as Lindsay and DJ walked in. Leshawna had been eliminated.
So...Stephanie is kind of headed for trouble. She's aware that Alejandro is more than a flirt around the other girls, but that won't stop her from responding. Maybe it'll end up working in her favour...