What's up everyone! Merry Christmas! As a Christmas present, I give you a new chapter. It will possibly be the last update of the year, but who knows. I hope everyone is having a fun and safe holiday so far.
Also, I switched some chapters around. The first are the in between chapters after the Talent show chapter, so it would make more sense. I also moved the chapter where it showed a flashback of how Melissa had her fear after Phobia Factor. Just wanted to let everyone know, so you won't be confused.
Other than that, I hope you all enjoy.
It had been a couple of days since the last challenge, and everyone was spending the free time with just hanging out and relaxing. For Melissa, she, Bridgette and Katie were hanging out in the cabin.
"So, how are you feeling?" Bridgette asked Melissa.
"I'm fine; I'm no longer getting random shocks. Although metal handles and stuff are still a little annoying." Melissa said.
Katie had a guilty look, and said," Again I'm really sorry for that. If I had only had a better grip though."
"And like I said previously, I don't blame you, accidents happen." Melissa reassured.
"It's just… I keep on messing up. Sure I do well, but I also make mistakes. It would be better of Sadie was here." Katie sadly said.
"Hey, don't bring yourself down. You made it this far without Sadie. She'd be proud of you." Bridgette said.
Katie smiled a little bit, and said," Thanks guys… some days I'm fine, other days I'm not. But I'm making the best of it. I'm going to use to the restroom." She said and left the cabin.
Both Melissa and Bridgette sighed and gave each other concerned looks. Unfortunately this was a common occurrence, Katie would be happy one moment but then she would be sad. And both Melissa and Bridgette or either one of them, would try and console the girl. It did work, but it was something that kept on happening.
"I feel really bad for her, I mean, we've been helping her and seems to work. But other times, she feels down." Bridgette said.
"Yeah, I mean myself and my teammates felt that way when game, matches or meets don't go well. But this is different. I mean, I know she's trying her best and she is. But, this is competition; we can't have her be like this for long." Melissa said.
Even though surfer thought otherwise, she knew the American had a point. This was a competition and they couldn't afford any issues that could end up with them losing.
-Confessional (Melissa)-
"Talking like that leaves a sour taste in my mouth. And I know Katie is doing her best and I'm proud of her. But teamwork is teamwork; we have to have everyone on board and on the same page. I mean this is a competition, there's no hand holding and nothing is easy. It's kill or be killed. Fight and win. And I'm not the type that gives it anything less than my all! You hear that people?!" Melissa asked as she got increasingly fired up.
She then realized what she said. She blushed with a nervous chuckle and said," Uh… sorry about that. Got myself fired up there…"
She then hid her face with her hands and groaned in embarrassment.
Before both girls could say anything else, the loudspeaker blew out some feedback. And instead of Chris's voice, they heard someone who was not the host.
"Listen up, you little cockroaches! I want all campers to report to the Dock of Shame at 0900 hours!" Chef Hatchet barked over the loudspeaker. "That means now, soldiers! Now!" He yelled after a moment.
Knowing how scary the cook was, and not wanting to find out what would happen if they didn't follow his command. Both girls sprinted from the cabin, and followed everyone else. For Melissa, she was having a sense of déjà vu, and she wasn't sure if it was slightly good thing or a bad thing.
Everyone soon found themselves standing in line, with Chef Hatchet walking around, inspecting them. The most noticeable thing about the cook was that he wasn't in his usual chef outfit, but he was instead wearing military fatigues that a Drill Instructor would wear.
"Line up and stand at attention!" Chef ordered as he yelled into a megaphone.
While Chef was correcting everyone's stance with a wooden stick, while also hitting them with it. Melissa stood at perfect attention, as if she was familiar with all of this. Chef then walked over to her and gave her a scrutinizing look, while the American tried not to flinch. He then nodded, and then went to berate and hit Harold, who didn't have the proper stance. The American almost let out a sigh of relief, but she held it in.
"Oh, this is going to be a fun day." Gwen sarcastically whispered to Leshawna, who nodded.
Apparently, she didn't say it quietly enough, due to Chef getting into her face. "What did you say to me, soldier!?" He yelled into the megaphone loud enough that it made Gwen's hair blow back.
"Uh nothing." Gwen nervously said.
"And you'll continue to say nothing, until I tell you that you can say something!" Chef continued to yell. "Today's challenge will not be an easy one. In fact, I do not expect everyone to come out alive."
Owen ended up chuckling, thinking about to what Chris said about them all not making it out alive during the camping challenge. They all made it out just fine… well besides almost being eaten by a bear. But they all lived.
Unfortunately, Chef didn't find it funny and proceeded to whack him in the back of the head with his stick.
"OW! That hurt!" Owen cried out in pain.
Chef then continued to talk," My orders are to make sure that all of the babies in front of me drop out of my Boot Camp except for one. The last one sanding wins immunity for their team!"
"Uh, what happened to Chris?" Heather asked Leshawna.
The Queen Bee would rather take whatever the host had in store for them. Instead of whatever was awaiting her and the others at the hands of the scary Cook.
Chef didn't hear her, and proceeded to talk further. "Rule Number One! You will address me as Master Chief! Have you got that?!"
"YES MASTER CHIEF!" Everyone said in unison.
"You will sleep when I tell you to sleep! And you will eat, when I tell you to eat! Is that clear?!" Chef asked as he yelled in front of Geoff and Katie.
"Yes Master Chief!" The both of them said, while Geoff said it loudly enough, Katie squeaked it out.
Chef continued on," Rule number two! When you are ready to give up, you will walk to the end of the dock and ring the bell!" Chef said as he pointed at a bell that was at the end of the dock. "Which brings me to rule number three! I'll have to get one quitter before the end of the first day! And that day will not end until someone drops out! Now get your butts down to the beach soldiers! NOW, NOW, NOW!"
Everyone ran to the beach in a panic, hoping not to incur the wrath of the cook if they did something wrong.
Katie happened to be running with Melissa and asked," We are like so screwed aren't we?"
Melissa didn't have the heart to tell her, and her silence made Katie gulp.
-Confessional (Gwen)-
"Okay, whoever's sick, twisted idea this was to put him in charge of this challenge, I have to say… I'm a little bit impressed." Gwen complimented.
-Confessional (Melissa)-
"Wow, talk about déjà vu. If I wasn't in reality show competition. I would've thought I was back home practicing for Track or my other sports." Melissa said with a fond tone, but she then realized something. "The fact that I'm slightly looking forward to this, probably isn't a good thing." She realized.
The campers found themselves on the beach, Chef stood in front of two canoes, which had each teams respective colors.
"Listen up! Each team will hold a canoe over their heads! I catch you taking your hands off the canoe, you will be eliminated! And no one eats lunch until someone drops out! Canoes up!"
Both teams picked up their respective canoes and held it up like they were instructed.
Owen snorted in amusement, ands said," This isn't hard."
Geoff agreed and said," Piece of cake."
A couple of hours later, they were regretting what they had said. The whole time, they held up their canoes and it didn't help that it was hot that day. And not having anything to eat, was making everyone's stomach's rumble. Not only that, both Chef and Chris, the latter had made his appearance, had decided to sit onto the canoes. Which made the challenge a lot harder for the contestants. And it was starting to show, due to some of them were straining to keep their arms up.
"Come on you sissies! It's only been three hours!" Chef barked from on top of one of the canoes.
"Looks like they missed lunch today." Chris said with a grin, as he heard a couple of stomachs rumble.
Chef agreed and said," Guess they just weren't hungry." Chef said. "Unless someone wants to quit now!" He went back to yelling at everyone.
Owen's stomach grumbled, which caused Gwen to glare at him and said," Don't even think about it Owen." She sternly said.
Bridgette looked at Melissa and whispered;" Didn't you say one of your coaches was ex-military?"
"Yeah, he was a Drill Instructor in the Marines. He does Track and Field for High School, as well as a couple of other things. He's one of my favorites. Although he isn't as severe as Chef is right now."
"Did I just hear one of you speak?!" Chef barked as he looked down.
"No Master Chief!" Both girls said.
Surprisingly, the challenge ended up going into the night and everyone was still holding up the canoes. Their arms were numb, they were tired, they were hungry and didn't have a bathroom break. While they dealt with those issues, Chef took the time to regal them of stories of his time in the Service.
"Twenty-five of us went into the jungle that night. Only five came back out." Chef said, as he sat in a chair by a fire.
Gwen let out a yawn and asked," What war were you in, anyway?"
"Did I ask you to speak?! Because I don't remember asking you to speak!" Chef snapped at her.
Gwen rolled her eyes, and muttered," Whatever, he so wasn't in a war."
"Guys, I-I can't do this anymore." Lindsay said in a tired voice and dropped her arms. Her teammates looked at her in shock as she started to walk away. "I have no more feeling in my arms."
"Looks like we got ourselves a quitter!" Chef happily said with sadistic glee.
"Don't do it Lindsay!" Owen called out to his teammate, but it was all for naught.
Lindsay walked over to the bell and like she said, she couldn't feel or move her arms. So she used her head to ring the bell. The Gophers lets go of the canoe, unfortunately they ended up dropping it on themselves and were sprawled on the sand. The Bass threw the canoe to the side and cheered at the win.
Chef walked to Lindsay and placed a hand on her shoulder and said," Listen here. You have nothing to be ashamed of." The blonde would've found comfort in that, if Chef hadn't switched back to yelling at her, while using the megaphone. "Except being a little baby that lets your team down! As for the rest of you! Head back to the mess hall! Dinner is served!" Chef said to the others.
"Sweet Marie, thank you!" Owen cheered.
Later at the Mess Hall, everyone was waiting for whatever they were going to eat.
"All right, maggots! Open your ears! You've got ten minutes to eat before night training begins! So get to it!"
That wasn't well received by the others, due to them complaining. You would be to if you had held a canoe for an entire day.
Melissa looked at her teammates, and said," Buck up guys, show some spirit. We can do this. All we need to do it eat and rest and then we can continue on."
"Where's the food?" Gwen asked.
Chef chuckled and said," You're looking at it." He then gestured to the trash cans.
"You think we can eat that, States?" Duncan asked Melissa, who gave him a look.
Owen was the first to open the lid and peered inside and said," This is leftover garbage from this morning's breakfast."
"Darn right! When you're at war, you take what you can get!" Chef barked, while the others cringed, but Owen decided to start looking into the can and soon ate something.
Chris, who was happily watching this from the side, said," Well, I can see you've got this under control. I'm off to craft services. Coming?"
"Serve me up some of that." Chef agreed and followed the host.
Melissa sighed, as she decided to take one for the team and dug into the trashcan. She found some of the slop Chef served them during Breakfast, which also had some gunk on it. She gulped and ate it. But she soon regretted it, due to groaning a little.
"I'm, gonna step outside for a moment." She grumbled and ran out. The others winced when they heard her throw up outside.
Duncan smirked, knowing the American wouldn't be able to stop him from enacting an idea he had. Luckily, everyone else was preoccupied to notice him go into the kitchen. Once he came back, he held a glass full of liquid and was walked over to Harold.
"Hey Harold. I felt really bad trying to prank you the other day. So here, I found you some apple juice."
"Thanks." Harold said, appreciating the gesture. Since Melissa helped him, Duncan and the others hadn't tried to prank him. So it was nice to see Duncan trying to make up for it. Harold then took it and drunk it but spat it out. "This isn't juice!"
"Oh! Oh! My mistake dude! I've must've confused it with kitchen grease." Duncan laughed, while Geoff, who was close enough to see and hear what happened, snickered as well.
Geoff then realized what happened, and glanced around, luckily, Melissa was still outside. So he didn't have to worry.
"Idiots." Harold said with a glare and walked off.
"You guys are so immature. I hope you're proud of yourselves." Courtney scolded Duncan.
Duncan grinned at her and said," Heh. Okay, look. I know you like me. He knows you like me, everyone knows it. So here's a tip. If you wanna kiss me, I might let you."
Courtney's scowl only increased and said," And to think I actually thought you were nice!"
Duncan looked worried and made shushing motion with his hand and said," Me? Nice? Yeah right." He said, trying to play it off.
Geoff stopped eating whatever he was eating, looked confused and asked," Why'd you think that?"
"Never mind. I was wrong. He's just as gross and annoying as he wants you to believe. Enjoy your garbage." Courtney said as she walked away both disappointed and annoyed.
Duncan smiled nervously, due to Geoff looking at him with a confused look.
Later, the night training that Chef made them do was to dance and follow his moves to the song Thriller. Chef was on a platform dancing along to the music that blaring on a boom box nearby. While the contestants were copying his every move, Melissa was actually having a good experience. Due to the fact she had done Michael Jackson's moves before, most recently during the Talent Show challenge.
Too bad her groove was thrown off, due to the music abruptly stopping. The cause of it was Duncan, due to him turning off the music.
"Duncan, what are you doing?" Courtney asked worried.
"One of us drops out, we're done for the day." Duncan said to Chef with crossed arms.
"We're done when I say we're done!" Chef yelled. "Now drop and give me twenty."
Duncan rolled his eyes and did just that.
"Anyone else got anything they want to say?" Chef barked at the others.
"Uh yeah. Can I go to the bathroom?" Gwen asked with a raised hand.
Apparently, going to the bathroom meant cleaning it. Due to Chef making the Goth clean it, which wasn't what the Goth had in mind.
After that detour, the next part of the challenge involved going back to the main lodge, and sitting on their own team table.
"For your next challenge, you will complete a three hundred word essay about how much you love… me." Chef explained.
Melissa held back a snort; she could tell the others had other thoughts about their feelings towards the cook/Master Chief.
"You have 2 hours. Anyone who falls asleep or fails the challenge will be eliminated." Chef further explained.
Melissa glanced at the clock, which read it was a quarter to one.
-Confessional (Melissa)-
"Boy this challenge taking no prisoners. And I thought the awake-a-thon was harsh. I think after all of this, I'm going to appreciate that Coach Morales is not anything like Chef or Master Chief." Melissa said.
Two hours soon passed and everyone looked downright exhausted. Melissa had already finished her essay, and she leaning on DJ's shoulder, the Brickhouse was currently asleep. Melissa didn't seem to notice the implications of her doing that and neither did Bridgette. Due to the surfer being currently asleep, or else she would've been ecstatic or tease her friend.
Chef walked around grabbing and reading everyone's essays. He then picked up Duncan's essay, and the person in question looked smug.
"I love Master Chief Hatchet because he is very very very very very very very… this is just one sentence with five pages of 'very's' in between!"
"It's three hundred words exactly. You can count them if you want?" Duncan supplied.
Chef gave him one last glare before walking away to the Gopher's table. He didn't make it that far, due to slipping and falling on a pile of drool that was on the floor. Courtesy of Owen, who looked out of it.
"Wipe up that drool, you little baby!" Chef ordered after he got up, and slammed his hand onto the table.
Chef looked at DJ and Bridgette and said," You both are out." He then looked at everyone who weren't eliminated." The rest of you, get to bed and report to the playing field at 0500 hours."
"O what?" Katie asked as she yawned.
"5:00 AM in military time." Melissa explained.
'Even if it's only a couple of hours, at least I get to sleep.' Melissa thought.
"Uh, you missed a spot there, General." Duncan told Chef, who still had drool on his clothes. And he even held up a small towel.
"Boy! Do you wanna run fifty laps around this camp right now?!" Chef yelled, as he got into the delinquents face.
"No thanks!" Courtney said as she dragged Duncan away from the angry Master Chief. "He's going straight to bed. Aren't you?"
Chef merely glared and walked away. Courtney felt relieved that situation was resolved, and she then looked at Duncan, who still looked amused.
"What are you trying to do? Get eliminated?" She asked.
Duncan's grin seemed to look smugger and said," I didn't know you cared."
"I don't! I just don't wanna lose this challenge! So stop being such a screw-up and do what you're told for once! Okay?" Courtney said, and then stormed off.
"She wants me." Duncan told Geoff, and held his fist up.
"No doubt, bro." Geoff agreed and fist bumped him.
As Courtney walked outside, she was soon joined by Melissa.
"Penny for your thoughts?" The American asked.
Courtney let out a long suffering sigh and said," I don't know why I even bother trying to help him. He just doesn't care or just thinks it's all a game. He's driving me crazy."
Melissa smirked and said," Oh? He drives you crazy? Didn't know you felt that way?"
Courtney gave Melissa an unamused look, and simply said," If pigs fly."
Melissa would've teased her more, due to noticing the slight redness on Courtney's cheeks. But she instead said," Y'know, this is a far cry from our talk the other day in the cabin."
Courtney knew what she meant, and said," I know, I'm trying to be more… relaxed and open. But it's hard. Besides, I can't exactly be that while we're doing a challenge and dealing with Duncan."
Melissa gave her friend a sympathetic look and said," Hey don't worry, I was just joking. And don't worry this type of thing takes time. And I agree, trying to be carefree and fun during a challenge like this doesn't help. Maybe finally resting will help you get things cleared up."
"I hope so."
After getting some rest, the remaining campers were at an obstacle course with Chef. The course itself consisted of the entire ground being extremely muddy. While the obstacles themselves were a climbing wall they had to get over, rope swing, tires they had to jump through. And finally swinging axes they had to crawl under.
"You will all run this course until you can all complete it in under a minute." Chef explained.
Melissa had to hold back saying 'Piece of Cake', due to finding this part of the challenge easy. She did not want to add more for the others. Or be on everyone's bad side for the foreseeable future.
Chef continued by getting into Duncan's face and said, "Am I making myself clear?"
Duncan wasn't at all intimated, due to him wearing his normal smirk, and said," Crystal."
Melissa leaned over to Duncan and whispered," Just try and not mess around anymore okay? I'm pretty sure it would earn brownie points with Courtney."
Duncan smirked and whispered back," I'll keep that in mind."
"Go maggots go!" Chef yelled at them.
Melissa sprinted along with everyone, her competitive instincts told her to get ahead of the others. But, she didn't want to end up hurting herself and also she needed to see how the obstacle course would go first. Doing something under a minute took planning and vigilance.
Like Melissa, the other more athletic contestants did well, including Katie, who was surprisingly able to hit a minute after her third attempt, like Melissa. Once both girls found out from Chef, they both high-fived.
While the less athletically inclined had some issues with the course, with Leshawna having trouble getting over the wall at first. And also Owen getting stuck in the tire when he tried to go through it. And then Harold, after getting over the wall, ended up falling and face planting into the mud. Unfortunately when he got up, he started to throw up mud.
Duncan looked down at Harold and then said to an approaching Chef," Uh General Crazy. We got ourselves a situation here."
"Too much… mud…" Harold managed to say.
Chef helped Harold up and said," Ring the bell and report to the infirmary. Your tour of duty is over." And Harold did just that.
"Wow, poor guy." Duncan said to Geoff.
"Back on the course soldiers, now! One false move and I'll be on you like stink on a poop wagon!" Chef ordered.
"I look forward to it, sir!" Duncan said with a salute and ran off.
Melissa, who was nearby, rolled her eyes. She leaned over to Katie and Bridgette and said," So, when do you guys think he'll go too far?"
"I have a feeling pretty soon." Bridgette said with a slight wince.
"Yeah like no doubt." Katie agreed.
The remaining campers continued on, but not without some issues happening. Owen ended up tipping the wall down, with him on it. Geoff almost got stuck in the tires, Heather got tangled by the ropes and was hanging upside down. Leshawna ended up getting stuck and slightly sunk into the mud.
Duncan saw this as he crawled past her and said," Fallen soldier, I salute you!" He would've continued on, but Chef was in his way.
"You just bought yourself twenty more push-ups!" Chef yelled.
"Thank you!" Duncan said and then proceeded to kiss Chef on the nose.
And just like that, Chef became even more enraged, to the point that the others could see veins appearing on his face.
"I think you may have pushed him over the edge, bro." Geoff said with a worried look.
"I… think you're right." Duncan agreed, with a rare worried look.
"One night solidarity confinement. In the boathouse." Chef angrily said.
Everyone gasped at the punishment, except for Duncan, who went back to his care-free look.
"Big deal. How scary can it be?" He scoffed with a shrug.
He would eat those words once he was in the boathouse. Various sharp tools, including some big fish hooks, shark jaws that still had the sharp teeth in them. A couple of barrels full of water, which also had some type of creatures in them. And also a whole shark hanging from the ceiling.
Duncan was sitting on a crate and he could only say what he was feeling about the predicament he was in right now," Should've kept my big mouth shut."
After the challenge and seeing Duncan being taken to the boathouse, the remaining campers were eating in the Mess Hall. The atmosphere was slightly hindered due to what happened to Duncan, but they were also making the most of the break. They didn't know what else Chef had in store for them. And they didn't want to get on his bad side and end up like Duncan. Even Melissa felt bad for the guy, sure their relationship was strained and Melissa thought he deserved the punishment. But she still felt bad and slightly worried.
Courtney herself was in the 'worried about Duncan' camp, due to her playing with her food. And was also looking out the window forlornly.
After a couple of moments, she sighed and said," I'm going to check up on him."
Geoff gave her a grin and knowing look and said," You like him."
"I do not, like him." Courtney firmly said with a glare.
Katie gave her a sly look and said," Like you sure do. Sadie and I love romance, and we can spot one from like a mile away."
Courtney ignored that and said, "Not only do I not like him. I can't stand him. He's rude, he's rebellious and he's totally annoying. I'm going to check on him." She said and was about to leave, but stopped and looked at Melissa. "Um, will you cover for me?"
Melissa smirked and said," Sure, go on ahead. Don't stay too long."
Courtney let out a long suffering sigh and left.
Melissa, Katie and Geoff gave each other grins and high fived each other.
-Confessional (Geoff)-
"She likes him." Geoff simply said.
-Confessional (Melissa)-
"Denial is a river in Egypt." Melissa said with a smirk.
-Confessional (Katie)-
"EEEEEEEE!" Katie squealed.
Courtney soon found herself cautiously walking to the boathouse, with a flashlight in one hand and the bowl of food in the other. After making sure everything was fine, she cautiously opened the door.
"Hello? Duncan?" She asked as she peered into the room.
She found Duncan busily sweeping the floor. Duncan stopped what he was doing, grinned and said," Princess!"
Courtney rolled her eyes and said, "I wish you'd stop calling me that."
Duncan came up to Courtney with a smirk and said," So, come to claim that kiss?"
Courtney's response was to hold the bowl of gruel in front of Duncan, but that didn't stop the smirk she had on her face.
"Even pigs deserve a meal." She said.
"Hmm, no thanks. I'll stick with the bait." Duncan said and pointed at a bucket full of worms in the corner.
Courtney sat down on a crate while Duncan sat down on a bucket. He tried to move the gruel around, but it was stuck.
"That's all Chef would serve us after our pathetic performance on the obstacle course. It's better than trash though. But why do you egg Chef on like that? You know you're going to get in trouble."
"Why are you so uptight all the time?" Duncan asked and then thought of something. "Although, I have noticed you've been trying to talk to everyone more."
Courtney was reminded of the conversation she had with Melissa.
"It's something… that I don't want to talk about." Courtney simply said. Sure she told Melissa, but she didn't want to tell Duncan about her issues. She might in the future, but she wasn't sure. "But I just don't want to lose challenges if people don't do what their supposed to. Heck Melissa agrees with them."
"No, States is not as uptight as you. She's a little more fun. Besides, what you're implying is that I break all the rules. But I don't, only the ones that I want to."
Courtney let out an aggravated groan, knowing he sorta had a point and said," Okay, maybe I do follow the follows. And yes Melissa does to, but she's more lenient and cooler than me. Does that make me a loser in your book then?"
"Maybe." Duncan said a grin, which made Courtney let out a growl. "So why follow them then?"
"Because not following them gets you thrown in a fish cabin!" Courtney yelled as she held a fish to Duncan's face.
"But, you came to see me, in the fish cabin. After old Chef said no one was supposed to be near me." Duncan pointed out.
Courtney realized it; she also distinctly remembered asking Melissa to cover for her. And the American didn't object or anything. And she also remembered the teasing she got from her and the others. This caused her to grin a little and try not to look at Duncan.
"You feel like ditching this crud for some peanut butter and jam?" Duncan asked.
Courtney perked up at the mention of real food and said," Ha, are you kidding? All I've had for two days is this gruel." But she then realized something. "But Chef'll never give it to us."
"See? Now that's the problem with your thinking!" Duncan pointed out. "The trick is to not ask for it."
"Do you have some on you?" Courtney asked.
"No, but I do know where we can find and get some." Duncan said with a smirk. "But it'll involve breaking a couple of rules though. Are you up for it?"
Courtney thought about it for a moment, logically the right answer was to say no and pretend Duncan didn't suggest doing something that would get them in trouble. But she remembered the conversation with Melissa a couple of days ago.
She said she would work on being more easygoing and have more fun. So something like this might help. The idea Duncan suggested was probably not a good idea. But, another part of her was telling her to do it.
The part of her telling her to do it won with Courtney saying," Let's do it!"
"Well alright then." Duncan said and they shared a high five.
The both of them soon found themselves at the craft serves tent. Once they got inside, they found Chef and Chris talking and distracted enough for them to not notice them. So they had free reign to take as much as they could. And once they got enough, they soon ran into the night.
Melissa sighed happily as she took a bite out of the ice cream sandwich. She thought all she had to do was cover for Courtney. But she so did not expect her and Duncan to come back and have a boatload of real food. That led to everyone having a small party in one of the cabins and they ended up eating and having a good time.
"Man, I forgot how good ice cream and real food is. Considering what we've been forced to eat for the past couple of weeks and days. Not to mention what Chef has been putting us through." Melissa said.
"I know right? Like Chef is so scary. I thought he was scary before, but now." Katie said with a shiver.
"True, but what is with all those lame war stories?" Gwen joked as she took a bite out of an apple. "He is so demented!"
Heather rolled her eyes and said," Please, this is TV; it's probably all a dumb act."
"Dumb act or not, these nails were not made for combat training." Leshawna said as she showed her nails. "Know what I'm saying?"
"Mm. Seriously, if I wanted to join the army, I would've." Bridgette said and then looked at Melissa. "You have talked about that coach of yours before, Mel. Ever thought about enlisting?"
Melissa shook her head and said," I respect everyone who has served, but it's not for me. Besides, if what Heather said is true, then I think Coach Morales could take on 'Master Chief', no problem." She said Master Chief in air quotes and the girls laughed.
Courtney, who was sitting next to Bridgette giggled, and was about to reach for another ice cream sandwich, but Bridgette stopped her.
"Okay, I think you've had enough." Bridgette said amused.
Melissa smirked and said," C'mon Bridge, she was co-mastermind in helping getting us all of this. I think she deserves one more."
Courtney giggled some more, either from the sugar or she was still feeling the high of actually stealing stuff with Duncan. "She's right, thanks Mel."
Courtney ate it, but after she swallowed, she burped loudly and her stomach started to rumble.
"Okay… yeah, that was a mistake." Courtney said as she got up and ran out of the cabin.
Bridgette gave her friend a disapproving look, but she was also trying not to smile. The others were laughing though. "You did that on purpose."
Melissa shrugged innocently and they laughed.
Outside, Courtney threw up over the railing. While she did that, Duncan came out with a smile.
"So the Princess has a dark side." He teased.
Courtney groaned and said," Okay, that was so gross." She admitted she went a little overboard. Just because she broke the rules once, doesn't mean she was carefree or without limits yet. She internally chuckled at the thought that what she did, probably wasn't what Melissa had in mind about cutting loose. But oh well.
"But it was like, once I did something bad, it was so much fun, I just wanted more!"
"Well, you could always gimme that kiss. That would be pretty bad." Duncan said a sly look.
Courtney scoffed in amusement and then ruffled Duncan's Mohawk a little and said," You're still not my type."
Duncan smirked as he turned around with crossed arms and said," Alright, fine. Enjoy a peanut butter-less life."
Courtney did the same and said," Thanks. Enjoy prison."
"I will." Duncan said, and was about to leave, if not for Courtney grabbing him and kissing him. Duncan soon leaned into it for a moment, until they pulled apart. Courtney walked off, while leaving Duncan in a slightly dazed state.
Geoff and DJ walked out the cabin with grins, and they cheered and patted him on the back.
"Yes! Dude, right on!" Geoff said as he patted Duncan on the shoulder.
"Nice, man." DJ said with a grin and thumbs up.
"Told ya she wanted me." Duncan said with a proud smirk.
Before they could say or do anything else, the screech of the loudspeaker was heard.
"Attention, all remaining boot camp recruits, the next evolution of your training begins tomorrow morning at 0700 hours! And if I catch the sucker that took my desserts, your butt is mine!" Chef said over the loudspeaker.
The next day, the remaining campers, this consisted of Melissa, Duncan, Courtney and Katie for the Bass, and for the Gophers, Gwen, Owen and Heather. They were all hanging outside down from a tree. The Bass were on the left side, while the Gophers were on the right.
"What you are experiencing is an ancient form of torture. By now, the blood has begun rushing to your head." Chef explained what this type of torture would do to a person. "The next state is nausea, followed by dizziness and a flushed appearance as the blood begins to pool your eyes. You may experience fainting spells."
As he was saying this, Duncan went through all of these stages and then proceeded to fall from the tree. He hit the ground with a confused, dopy expression.
"Duncan!" Courtney called with a concerned tone, while the others winced.
Bridgette went over to check on him and she did, she said," It's okay. He's alright!"
This caused Courtney to let out a sigh of relief. She then had an idea and reached her arms up to grab the branch, so she could hang with more support. The others saw her do it and then proceeded to do it themselves.
Well… except for Owen, who tried to do it. But all he did was let out a couple of farts and he laughed.
Heather, who was next to Owen, had a look of disgust. "Okay that's it. I'm done!"
She then let's go and landed perfectly on her feet. Unfortunately, she was soon crushed by Owen, who ended up losing his grip and landing right on top of her. Heather started to yell and thrash under Owen and he soon got off of her.
"Sorry." Owen apologized.
The sound of someone giggling was heard, and everyone looked to see Courtney was laughing uncontrollably.
"Stop laughing this instant!" Chef ordered her.
Courtney continued to laugh, but managed to say," I'm sorry, hehehe, I can't help it!" Due to that, Courtney became unfocused and then fell off the tree. But it didn't stop her laughing fit.
"I expected more out of you, soldier." Chef said in a disappointed tone.
Courtney stood up, still trying to get over her giggling fit. But she managed to clear her throat. "Master Chief? Heh. I just have one thing to say to you." Courtney said while tried to keep it together.
"And what might that be?" Chef asked with a raised eyebrow.
"You really… need to take… a chill pill." Courtney said and walked away laughing. Not noticing everyone gasping or gaping in shock, and seeing the shocked look Chef had, that soon morphed to anger.
Duncan was the only one laughing, besides Courtney, and they high-fived. "Hehe, yeah! Now that's what I'm talking about!" Duncan praised.
-Confessional (Melissa)-
"Wow, when I suggested for her to relax and have more fun. I didn't expect her to go the full nine yards. But I'm proud of Courtney." Melissa said with a grin. She then had a thoughtful look. "Although she may have to tone it done a bit. But then again, Duncan sorta helped her… so who knows what will happen."
Melissa took a calming breath, but that was a mistake, due to feeling a little woozy. She shook her head but it made it worse.
"Ah crud." Was all she said, and fell down.
One would think she would hit the ground like Duncan did, but someone was there to catch her. That someone was DJ.
"I got you. You okay Mel?" DJ asked.
Melissa looked woozy and said," Thanks… ugh." She attempted to talk, but ended up passing out in DJ's arms.
The Brickhouse blushed a little as he led her to the side, mainly due to the fact she was semi snuggling into his chest. He didn't notice the thumbs up from Duncan and Geoff and the look of giddiness from Bridgette.
"All right, Katie! It's all up to you!" Courtney cheered.
"You got this Gwen?" Owen asked his remaining teammate.
"Oh yeah. I can hang here all day." Gwen confidently said with a smirk.
"Same, I was hanging upside down champion back in school. I won't let you guys down!" Katie said.
Both girls would stay upside down for the next 20 minutes, until something happened. Both girls started to look woozy and their teammates waited. But the clear winner was soon shown, due to Katie falling down from the tree, but was luckily caught by Melissa and Bridgette. While Gwen fell down, but was caught by Owen. The Gophers cheered while the Bass all slumped down in defeat.
Gwen groaned as she Owen placed her back on the ground and got up. "Ugh, who won?"
"You did Gwen." Chef said and saluted her. "Well done soldier. I'd go to war with you anytime."
"I'll keep that in mind." Gwen said with a raised eyebrow. "When I plan out my career." She said as she walked away to celebrate with her team.
"You do that, soldier. You do that." Chef said with pride and a single tear went down his cheek.
Later that night, the Bass were now at the Campfire ceremony.
"I only have six marshmallows on this plate. And these marshmallows represent the campers who will continue to be here." Chris explained. "You'll all placed your ballots in the confession can. If I do not call your name, you must immediately go to the Dock of Shane, catch the boat of losers and go home. And you can't come back, ever. Alright, here go we… Harold, DJ, Geoff."
All three of them cheered and high fived each other and got their marshmallows.
"Melissa, Bridgette and Courtney." The three girls smiled and got their marshmallow.
Courtney then realized that Duncan hadn't been called and now looked worried. Duncan himself did look a little worried as well, but he gave confident look to Courtney. While for Katie, she also looked nervous.
"Campers, this is the final marshmallow of the night."
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"Duncan." Chris said as he tossed the marshmallow to him.
Duncan breathed a sigh of relief, and Courtney squealed and hugged him. Katie looked resigned and she looked like she was going to cry.
She got up and said," Sniff, sorry again guys. I tried."
Melissa placed a comforting hand on the girls shoulder and said," It's cool, you did your best. Sadie will be proud."
Katie smiled a little and said," Yeah, she would. Good luck you guys. Sadie and I will be rooting for all of you."
Chef then lead the girl to the boat. Chris watched this and said to the remaining team and said," The rest of you are safe tonight."
Later, the boat drove through the waters of Lake Wawanakwa, Katie was wondering where Chef was taking her. After crying a little, she began to wonder where the Chef or was it Master Chief? Oh never mind. Where Chef was taking her, and she was worried about asking, due to not knowing what the guy would do.
After gathering enough courage, she asked," Uh Chef… where are you taking me?"
Chef looked at her with a smirk and said," Oh you'll see." He said and let out a chuckle.
Katie gulped, wondering if she should jump ship or find something to defend herself with. She was about to start looking, but Chef's voice stopped her.
"Alright, maggot. We're almost at our destination."
Even though she was worried, Katie's curiosity got the better of her and she looked out. She was surprised to what looked like a hotel. In fact, it sorta reminded her of the one the brochure said that Camp Wawanakwa was.
But she was even more shocked when she saw someone at the dock. Looking out to see who was on the boat was none other than Sadie herself.
Once both girls saw each other, they both squealed in happiness and Katie jumped off the boat, just as it docked and ran to her BFFFL. Both girls hugged each other, squealed and jumped up and down. After finally being reunited.
Yep, Katie's gone and Courtney did not get voted off like in canon. Told ya I was changing things. I'll have this chapter posted to AO3 soon.
Another Melissa fact, in real life, my 7th Grade P.E teacher was also former military as well. He wasn't a Marine, but was Navy. He was there during the Gulf War in the early 90's. He didn't actually fight, but he trained troops on some ships though. So you can imagine how P.E was for a myself and the rest of the class. So I got the idea about Coach Morales from my teacher. But he was a cool guy and cared about our health. He did get mean sometimes, but was fair.
That's all I have, so again Merry Christmas and have a Happy New Year.