Mini-Episode 2: Tranquil Blues

One by one. A strut of flimsy legs and dragging backpacks. Making their way through the front door. The front porch, bumpily situated over the rough terrain of Pahkitew ruggedness, rested a few campers. Three, to be exact. Watching over the night sky in brief peace.

From the wooden chair, Keesha scooched herself forward toward the front edge of the porch, gently leaning for a better look at the stars. The stars, twinkling at their place. Not making any grand movements or adjustments. Neither rising, nor falling. Just… there. Blinking subtly at her. Silently.

The comfort from the roof above brought a serene smile on her face. Her elbows rested onto the porch fence, glancing at her last few teammates entering their living quarters for the few nights to come. A few nights, until the next challenge arrived.

"Man, what a wild ride we had tonight, huh?" Fridge rested his back onto the front side of the Meh Cabin, hands behind his head. Almost like he was falling half-asleep. Still had enough in the tank to speak in a defined tone. "I love the great team effort we had! Our team really pulled through! If we had a coach, he would be proud. Very proud."

"Oh, no doubt! And you did great today!" Keesha turned her seat around, smiling. "We all did!" She then glanced at the third member sitting across the small glass table, waving at him. "How's the island treating ya' so far?"

Walter, almost falling asleep from his chair, shook his head rapidly to wake his eyes once more. "Sorry. I'm just… really sleepy," he rubbed his eyes. "So, the island… oh yeah! The island! It's… not so great," he shuddered. "We started off on the terrifying swim, then I was carried—like a doll—up to the top of a cliff. Then I was left alone, all by myself. Then we had to build our ship right next to hell-bug! THEN we had our opposition steal our entire raft! AND THEN we—" he took a quick breather, sighing heavily at the ground. Big, deep breaths. "Golly-gosh. This was chaotic. Everything went by so quickly! Everything… so disorganized! It was hard to follow anything that was going on. Like I was reading word vomit and jargon from an insanely long chapter of a book, oh-gosh! I need another breather…"

"Looks like you could use some sleep." Keesha advised, still retaining her smile. A smile that could calm the soul. "We've been through a lot. It's understandable. Look, how 'bout you get some early shuteye, and we'll turn the living room noise down."

"Oh?" Walter yawned. "You're not sleepy at all?"

"I need some time to recollect myself. To catch up with my fellow teammates." She grinned.

"Well then." He stood up, dusting off his shirt before walking inside through the double-front doors. "I'll see you two tomorrow. Goodnight!" He waved.

"Don't let the big coach bite!" Fridge waved back with a wide grin.

Keesha giggled at his goodbye. "I think you said it wrong?"

"What?" He stood back up, pausing before cracking a chuckle. "Oh! Har-har-har! It's what coach used to say before practice. To keep us motivated, in case he, you-know… bites us," his shoulders shuddered. "He was one crazy coach."

"I'm sure he was being cheeky," she giggled again.

"Sometimes, you can't just trust crazy," he stretched his arms out, letting out one massive yawn. "I'm gonna head inside to watch a movie with the team. Wanna join?"

"For a bit!" She smiled, following him back inside.

The living room. Dark with an air of dusty. With the kitchen at the very back, only separated by a tall counter. The stools stood clean and wooden, on the living room side. Three stools lined up neatly right where the kitchen and living room met.

Suffice to say, Team Tigers had all the necessities needed for the night, plus the coziness and friendliness. The loosened casualness of resting on a big black leather couch for a late movie night binge. With the TV screen flashing constant colors onto their faces. Then, sudden static. Only the single kitchen light was switched on for the night.

Fridge and Keesha were the last to walk inside the Meh Cabin. Everyone inside already seemed to slip into their sleeping outfits and pajamas. A few stood in a circle, huddled up while blocking the hallway, whispering to each other.

"How are we splitting the rooms?" Carter glanced at Rival. Then at Viola. And then at Shun and Dylan. "We've run into a predicament here. There are far too few rooms to accommodate all of us evenly. Which means… one room will be split between one guy and two gals. Or two guys and one gal."

Shun leaned her back against the wall, chuckling. "What's the big-io deal-io, yo?" She crossed her arms, yawning. "Just throw the youngest gals in one room. And as for the rest, I'll be down to split my room with whomever."

"Viola?" Dylan flashed a grinning peace sign to her quiet teammate. "Looks like we're sharin' rooms, dude."

The musician nodded with a slight smile.

"Dylan and Viola in one room." Carter noted, keeping his voice low. But before he let loose another word, Fridge and Keesha joined in on their huddled conversation, brightened up the sleepy mood.

Fridge was the first to hop in. "My favorite team in the whole wide world! What is up!"

"The sky?" Rival chuckled.

"We got funny-man over here, yo." Shun stifled a laugh. "Oo! Oo! I got an idea. Emiya! Let's do a joke contest. First one to laugh serves us breakfast tomorrow! You're up first, joker!"

"Well…" He leaned his back onto the wall, arms crossed as he pushed back his hair. Glancing at the ceiling. Conjuring up his next killer zinger. "We live in a society—"

"Alright dudes." Dylan teased. "Share a room, why don't you?"

"Actually, best if we all get some early sleep. Who knows what'll occur tomorrow." Carter commanded. "Shun, you settled all your stuff where Walter walked in and slept, so if you don't mind sharing a room with a boy, that's—"

"No biggie!" Shun thumbed up casually. "Anyone else wanna get cozy with ya-girl?"

Keesha raised her hand, smiling. "I don't mind."

"Great!" Carter nodded, clapping once. "Fridge, Emiya, and I will get the last room. Let's get settled right away. I've already used the bathroom, so if anyone needs to shower, brush their teeth, et cetera… do so right away. Remember: we must be prepared at all times."

"Sure thing, Carter!" Keesha walked over to him, splitting the group huddle in half as she gently patted his shoulders. "Get some sleep now. Your eyes are—"

"Red?" Carter rubbed them vigorously. "Jeez, you're right. I could feel the tingle underneath my eyelids," he glanced back at everyone. "Alright!" he clapped. "Let's ready ourselves to sleep…"

The window to the right of her left slightly open. Midnight breeze whistling through the gap. A few grunts and complaints faintly echoed out of the Pahkitew shed nearby. Perhaps Keesha should have inspected the rooms before choosing the one closest to fierce dilemma trickling into her bedroom window.

Did not matter. She laid straight on the bed. Facing the ceiling above. Staring off into space. Her hands clasped together between her thighs. Pondering. Wondering over what was in store for her and her team. Perhaps tomorrow would jump straight to another challenge? Or perhaps a rest day? She scratched her chin, her face serious and emotionless, before getting out of bed. Stretching.

She felt snug and warm in her sleeping attire: a pale-yellow flower t-shirt with teal athletic shorts. A satisfactory feeling, it was. Almost like she was back in her cozy home. One of those rare late night music sessions to hum herself back into the zone.

And she hummed. Hummed with melodic airiness with her eyes delicately closed as she stood back up, ready to head out to the living room.

But before exiting the room, she heard a quiet giggle. Slowly turning around, she saw Shun's silly arms-crossed smirk. And in return, she smiled back.

"Couldn't sleep either?" Keesha chuckled quietly.

Shun lowered her voice to a whisper. "Nope!"

"Yup. Moving to a new place. It'll do that to ya." She giggled.

"Tell me about it." She giggled back, blowing her long hair off her face.

They glanced at each other for a few seconds. Keesha quietly admired Shun's spunky outfit. Light-green sports bra, with pink trim. Light-green sweatpants, with a pink plaids pattern. Her colors and patterns painted a lively punk-rock song. Energetic and fun. Pleasant and easygoing. While not Keesha's typical taste, she loved her daringness. Her pluck.

"Wanna watch a movie?" Keesha whispered in a smile. "TV's up-and-running. We could pass time. Get to know each other a little more. Build team morale."

"Oo! Oo!" Shun's hand-raising almost startled Walter off his sleep. "Oop-sorry." She lowered her voice. "We could gather all the chicks for a gal's night."

"I like your style." She finger-gunned. "I'll see if Viola and Dylan are awake. Feel free to set up the TV!"

Shun saluted, leaping off her bed. "Eye-eye, cap!"

Shun laid down, resting sideways on the leather couch. The right side of her head resting on her palm. Making herself comfortable with ease. Waiting for the television screen to stop flickering static. Its constant barrage of gray static was the only source of light in the living room. Bright enough to remove the need for lamp lights. But the noise kept echoing across the spacious walls. Non-stop buzzing.

"Oh-c'mon!" Her head laid limp on the couch; arm stretched out. But not for long: Keesha, Viola, and Dylan walked out the hallway. Shun grinned widely; she sprung back, sitting upright, waving at her teammates. "Suh-dudes!"

"Hey-Shun!" Dylan waved back, following up with a peace sign. Keesha and Viola waved gently from behind.

Shun sneakily peeked at Dylan's outfit: an oversized red shirt, with black shorts underneath. Barely visible. But she dug her casualness. Her swagger. To Shun, she thought Dylan could pull off anything and still make it look so cool.

"Lookin' killer as always, Dyl!" She flashed a grin.

"Thanks!" Dylan chuckled. "But… 'Dyl'? My brother calls me that."

"Ooooh," she gritted. "We don't want that, oh-no."

"Oh-no is right." She stifled a giggle.

"Psst." Viola timidly raised her hand. "What will we be watching, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Whatever you dudes want!" Shun scooted over. "Looks like these dang channels ain't workin'."

Apart from Shun, Dylan was the first to sit down, with Viola and Keesha seating themselves afterwards. Waiting for the channels to flicker color. At least one channel. Any channel that would actually work.

"Let me try." Dylan gently grabbed the controller from Shun, pressing vigorously onto the remote. One after another… nada. Just static. And more static. On top of static.

The monotone television buzzing irked Viola slightly, wanting to leap out of their friendship gathering and head back to sleep. Her constant eye-rubbing and repeated yawning pushed her more and more to call it a night and run to her room. But she remained stiff. Sitting upright. Her fancy posturing came naturally to her, even during high levels of drowsiness.

"OO! OO!" Shun, moving giddily on the couch, pointed ecstatically at the TV screen. No longer showering them static feedback. But finally, for the first time tonight, actual colors. Colors slowly adjusting to an episode of a famous reality TV show. A TV show everyone in the team recognized.

Dylan chuckled. "We are not watching Total Drama reruns."

"Sh-sh-shhh, wait-wait…" Shun lowered her voice, pointing the remote at the screen. Gripping high on the volume. "This must be, Total Drama uhh…"

"World Tour." Viola answered softly. Almost blankly. Tired, of course. "Total Drama World Tour is the third season of Total Drama."

The scene within the show flashed a bright-red-orange color, simulating pinball machines the size of an office building. Hollow spheres that looked like hamster balls ricocheted off each other within the machine of chaos. The episode, chaotic in nature. And the four moviegoers, glued to the TV. Watching the action in awe. With one seemingly growing a little bored, while another kept her smile throughout.

"Neato." Keesha chuckled; arms crossed playfully. "World Tour, it is."

Behind the kitchen counter, sudden metal rattling. The girls' heads sprung up in alertness, spooked by the wakening clash of kitchen utensils dropping onto the floor. Obscured by the night shadow and a faint red tint emitting behind the monitor.

"What was that?" Viola whispered, wide-eyed.

Shun shrugged, yawning. "Probably just rats."

"Ew."

"Ew is right." Dylan yawned. "This episode stinks."

Written by: Lillaptop.