The camera was positioned rather high up in the sky. In the center of the frame, was a rather large island with a large cliff visible in the back end. As the camera flew closer to the ground, it approached a dock, with a man standing there. This… was Chris McLean, the host of this new show. As the camera got closer, his smile only got bigger.
Once the camera stabilised, he spoke up. "Hi, I'm your host, Chris McLean, coming to you live with the newest reality show to hit TV." He took a few steps to the left, that way the name of the island could be in full view. It read out Wawanakwa. "We're out here just off the coast of New Brunswick where we will be filming this." That's right, it wasn't where it originally was! Take that.
The host moved away from the sign, stepping back towards the middle of the dock. "Here, campers will be forced to deal with the harsh reality of being so far away from the mainland, and must survive the wilderness of an island like this. They will be stuck here with the only people around them being their fellow campers, myself, and my co-host." He walked away from the dock, heading further into the island.
"Each week, they will have to face off in death defying challenges, where, at the end of them, one camper will be voted off the island." It then cut away to the mess hall. "They'll need to survive off the worst food they could ever imagine." It cut away again, this time, he was standing inside one of the cabins that seemed to be a little bit in rough shape. "Terrible living conditions." Another cut away. This time, Chris was sitting down in an outhouse, looking directly at the camera. "And all of it will be broadcasted live directly to you! On Total! Drama! ISLAND!" And then the screen faded to black…
With the island approaching on the horizon, one of the people on the boat couldn't help but gaze at it as it grew larger. His orange eyes, filled with adventure as he gauged the potential a place like this was hiding. He had short messy brown hair, and he was rather tall. His clothes were dark brown, and he was wearing blue jeans. His hair blew gently in the wind as the boat cruised along. This man was Cameron Parker. A man excited by the mere thought of adventure. "Beautiful." He commented as his eyes sparkled with glee. Honestly, he looked ready to leap off the boat himself to swim there, given how dangerously close he was to leaning completely off.
"C-careful!" The voice of a girl called out, quickly approaching him at the rail. "The sea is unpredictable. Who knows when a wave could knock you loose." The girl next to him was significantly shorter than he was, only standing at 5'6". She had short silver hair tied into twintails, and red eyes that seemed menacing, though they didn't match the rest of her expression. She was wearing a military-like uniform with a light green shirt, camo pants, and black boots. This girl was Nila Darabond.
Cameron spent a few seconds looking at her before quickly shaking his head. "Don't worry, it'll be fine." His attention, back towards the sea. "This isn't the first boat I've been on, and I'll make sure it isn't the last one." But, to keep her from worrying, he did take a step back. "So, how are you enjoying this?"
"Oh, it is lovely." She clapped her hands together, a sweet smile replacing her concerned expression.
Of course she would enjoy it, it's a boat ride! That's at least what he thought before turning back towards the sea. "But it's nothing compared to what awaits us on that island!" He turned his head back towards her, a slight tilt to it. "So, why'd you sign up?"
"Ah?" She wasn't expecting to be asked that so quickly. "Well, I thought it would be rather fun to participate in." She moved herself over to the railing. "Besides, my sister said I should go out more."
And her sister didn't even try to sign up for this. "Ah, well, I'm sure you'll do fine." He brought his hand to his head to block out the sun as he took a better look at the island. "I can see the dock now, we're approaching ever so quickly." He lowered his hand before turning back towards her. "The name's Cameron, by the way. I've heard great things about this show."
"Have you?" Nila blinked a few times when she realised something. "But I thought this was the first time for this show."
"It is!" He wasn't going to elaborate what he meant.
Well, that was a bust, but she didn't want to end the conversation. "So, why did you sign up, then?"
"Amazing question!" He blurted out. "Because a chance like this only happens once in a lifetime!" He paused for a moment. "Well, actually, I tried to make many of those chances happen, but this was the only time I was accepted. Maybe my personality is too much for them?"
Well, too much to handle wouldn't be how she described it, but it was definitely something. "I wonder how the other people will be."
"Right! Everyone here is competing for the money, so we'll be going up against people with just as much will as us." He didn't know why he was talking like they would be a team. Though teams could be at play. "Hey, if we end up on the same team, then let's work together."
Already attempting to make an alliance. "O-oh? I suppose we could do that. But should we not wait to meet the others at the very least?"
"Their fault for not thinking ahead like I am." He turned his attention back towards the dock, seeing that they had ported. "Ah! We're here. Let's go, adventure awaits us!" He declared, jumping off the rail, instead of using the stairs that were ten feet away.
"H-hey! Cameron!" Nila called out, before jumping after him.
Tranquillity. Peace. Silence. All things one could easily wish for. However, right now, it seems whatever entity provided wishes was out on vacation. A girl found herself leaning over the railing. However, her reasoning was vastly different from Cameron's. The girl had long purple hair tied into a ponytail. She wore glasses over her blue eyes. She was wearing a lab coat with a light green shirt underneath, and beige shorts. She stood at 5'8". She was by every definition of the word, annoyed. The girl was Jenna Claws, and right now, she could only hear one sound, drowning out even the ocean around her.
Next to her was a boy. He had messy blonde hair. He had a red t-shirt with a rather large image of a cat on it. He wore black jeans, as well as black shoes. On his right wrist, was a blue watch. He stood at 5'5". "So, what's your plan once we get there?" From the sounds of it, he had been talking for a while. This boy was Christopher Hide. He looked up at the sky. "Hey, I know!" He had a bright smile on his face. "Let's be friends, alright? We've already been able to talk this much, so-"
Jenna finally leaned up from the railing, letting out a loud sigh. "Can you not?"
He paused for a moment. "You don't want to be friends?"
Well, it was much more than that. "I don't want to be having this conversation." She crossed her hands, her expression growing a little more sour. "I just want some peace and quiet."
"Oh! Well, you could have just said that, I would have left you alone." He felt kind of bad now.
"And me walking away didn't give off that impression?" She gripped onto the railing tightly as she turned to look at him.
Christopher brought a hand to his chin. "I just thought you wanted a change in scenery."
Her eyes scanned the horizon, with the only scenery being water. "Right, scenery."
"Hey, there's an island over there!" He pointed out. "That's scenery."
"That's the island we're heading to." Which was honestly a blessing. After that, she could at least create a greater distance.
Maybe he got off on the wrong foot. "Anyways, I'm Christopher." He extended his arm out. "I wish you luck in the competition."
She stared at his hand for a few seconds before sighing reluctantly. "Fine." She grabbed his hand and shook it. She might not be the best social, but she also realised that trying to make an enemy before the competition even started wasn't a good idea. But that's the only effort she would put into making friends here.
"So, why the lab coat? Are you a scientist?" Christopher moved so he was a bit further away, you know, to give her space! His eyes were trained on the island.
"Something like that." She wasn't a scientist, but she just liked wearing this outfit. "Still in high school, remember?"
"Oh yeah, I guess so." Didn't think of that. "What kind of people do you think will be on the island?"
Alright, now that was a good question, for once. "I don't know, but if anyone signed up for this show, I can't help but assume they're going to be serious about it." Though, she has already been proven wrong. "I'm more worried about challenge threats." Jenna wasn't very sporty, so that could be a problem.
"Who needs to worry about challenges when you can build up allies?" Christopher countered before being distracted by something else. "Oh, we're already here." He moved over to where the stairs on the boat were. "And hey, there's already some people here." He made his way down the stairs.
Jenna spent a few seconds watching before she moved away from the railing. "Alright, let's get started, then." And with that, she followed him down the stairs.
Another boat, another two people to be locked in an interaction. "Hmm…" A voice hummed out. It belonged to a boy, and he had one eye closed, examining the horizon. He formed a square with his fingers, almost like he was trying to imagine what a picture of this place would look like. Compared to the other two boats, this one was significantly closer to the island than they were. "This island…" He mumbled out. The boy had short black hair, and was wearing an old tattered brown detective trench coat. He was standing at 5'11". This was Matthew Direkuta. After spending some time picturing things in his head, he moved away from the boat. He walked away before he reached a chair he could lounge in. "Seems like the host really knows how to pick his location. When I was told about the island, I imagined something a bit rundown." He did the same square thing with his fingers. "But it's quite breathtaking."
He was speaking to the other person on the boat. He had weird sunglasses where one of the lenses was a star. He had some messy brown hair. He wore a gold ring on his finger. He had a blue button up shirt with a pink shirt underneath. He wore some nice black dress pants with red socks. His shoes were also nice black dress shoes. He was about 5'9", but it was hard to notice, given he was currently lounging on one of the chairs too. He was also reading from a magazine.
Hearing Matthew speak towards him, he lowered his book. "I suppose you'd be right." He sat up, putting the magazine on the table next to him. "I'm looking forward to meeting this Chris person. As a young potential host, I need to see what kind of pointers I can take from him." This was Josef Osapuoli. "Though, I imagine that since he's gotten his own show, he must be the real deal." He stood up, taking a glance over at the island. "And you aren't wrong. This island hides some beauty that I'm sure the camera will capture. What kind of person are you? Most don't even try to think about things like that."
"I am…" Dramatic pause. "But a man who's fascinated with movies." He did a frame with his fingers again. "I see the world through the lens of a camera, and try to figure out how to best capture it for the big screen."
Josef leaned down and picked up something that was beside the chair. Lifting it up, it seemed to be a cane with a jewel encrusted at the top. He spun it around before pointing it at Matthew. "Then, you and I shall get along quite well. I share the same thoughts."
"Oh?" He stroked his chin, deep in thought. "Well, that's reassuring to meet a like minded individual. Especially in a game like this."
A game Josef was intending to win, so he wasn't going to form that deep of a bond with anyone. He wasn't here for that. "Yes, I suppose so. Although, I think we probably differ in other aspects."
"Makes sense. Nobody is the same, after all." Feeling refreshed from sitting in the chair, Matthew stood up, adjusting his trench coat. "In sense of style, we differ immensely." He made a frame with his fingers again, but this time, it was centred around Josef's glasses. "Just what are those awful glasses?"
"Awful?" He gripped onto his cane tightly. "I'll have you know it's the pinnacle of fashion."
Dismissing him entirely, Matthew walked past him. "Sure, they might be, but aren't they distracting to the bigger picture? Do they really tell the world who you are?"
Alright, this conversation was getting out of hand, so Josef had to end it somehow. "Hey, we're here." Convenient.
This seemed to get Matthew out of whatever rambling he had started. "Ah, so it would appear so." He moved over towards the stairs, examining it. "I didn't mean anything bad about that. Just merely stating my opinion. There are tons of them around the world, so pay no heed to mine." And down the stairs he went.
"Tsk, as if he would know anything about what looks good with that trench coat of his."
This next scene wasn't happening outside near the railing. No, in fact, it was happening inside the boat, which contained a small room with a few bookshelves, some chairs, and a TV. Not that the TV worked, as the person standing around in the room found out not so long ago. Instead, he had opted to grab one of the many books, and began to read it.
He was wearing a purple and black cloak that reached about halfway down his legs. The rest of his clothes followed similar colours, with purple being dominant. He had short messy white hair, and yellow eyes. He stood at about 5'10". He was Robin Fuego. After a few seconds of reading, he let out a small sigh in boredom. None of the books interested him. "All basic stuff." He mumbled out, before his eyes trailed over towards the window.
Outside, a girl that stood about 5'3" was standing near the railing. She had short brown hair, and green eyes. Not that Robin could see that from where was standing. She had a magenta see through shirt, and under that, she wore a pink shirt. And lastly, she was wearing blue jeans. This was Bella Fiore. On the railing, a bird was resting next to her. It was just a seagull, so it was by no means hers. In fact, a few could be seen flying around in the air. "We're almost there." She said to herself. She brought a hand to the bird, which made no attempt to flee.
"Interesting." Robin stepped out from the room, causing the birds to scatter.
"Ah…" Bella mumbled out sadly before turning to look at Robin. "Hello there…" She said rather weakly.
He leaned against the wall, crossing his arms. "Seems you are great with animals."
"Huh… yes, I am." Now that a person was here, she was much more shy.
Awkward silence. Seems Robin would have to try a little harder to try and make a conversation out of this. "So, Snow White?" He placed his hand in the pocket of his coat. "It is an honour, princess."
A deep blush appeared on her face as she placed her hands in front of herself defensively. "Nono! I'm not a princess. I just spend a lot of time outside." The bird that had flown off earlier had landed back next to her. "You see, I like doing research on nature. Honestly, it's why I signed up."
"Research…" Robin repeated, deep in thought. Being very highly academically inclined, it was something he could get behind. "So what, like an ecologist?"
"Well, I haven't really decided on a path yet." She turned away from him, before looking at where the island was. "But I thought going to an island this far out in the ocean would help me study."
"Isn't it summer? Studying should be the least of your concerns." Being very highly academically inclined, studying during the summer wasn't something he could get behind. "I'm fine with studying, but everyone deserves a break every so often, right?"
"But it's something I find fun. Wouldn't you say doing something fun counts as a break?" Bella countered.
"Depends on the person, honestly." He took his hands out of his pocket, looking at the horizon.
"We'll be here soon." He moved over to the rails, causing the bird to fly off again. This time, it was on purpose. "You seem nice, don't let people take advantage of it." Just like he would at his earliest convenience.
"Huh… right." She didn't feel like she needed that warning, but she hadn't exactly been the most social in her life before, so maybe someone would pretend to be nice to her. She turned her head towards the island. "Well, it was nice to meet you. Have you ever watched a show like this?"
"I have studied a lot." He answered.
Well, it seems he was prepared for this. "So, you know what you're doing?"
He quickly shook his head. "No no. You misunderstood me. I didn't have time to watch any of these shows because I was studying."
That's not at all how he structured his answer, but she didn't want to be rude. "Oh…" She mumbled out, seeing that they were now at the dock. "I guess we're here now." She moved over towards the stairs.
Robin stood still for a while, watching the birds flutter around in the sky. "This should be a fun time." He finally concluded before making his way off the boat.
Meanwhile, in another cabin on a different boat, a girl was currently rummaging through the shelves for anything of note. She had long blonde hair that frosted blue at the tips. She had green eyes that scanned the entire room as she moved from shelf to shelf. She was wearing a pink sweater that slowly faded to purple as it went lower. She had ripped jeans, and she stood at about 6'0" tall. "There has to be something here…" She mumbled to herself, seemingly looking for anything valuable. Maybe hoping to steal something. This was Mindy Misuto, "No… seriously? How cheap can you-"
"What are you doing?" A voice called out from behind her, causing her to jump slightly. Quickly turning to look at who it was, she saw another girl. She was also a blonde, although her hair wasn't as long. She had blue eyes, and only stood at 5'4". She was wearing a light brown school uniform with an emblem made of gold on it. It was obvious she was probably from some private school. Her name was Historia Lenz "You aren't trying to steal anything, are you?" She narrowed her eyes.
Ah great, someone stuck up. "Oh please, I wouldn't even consider doing that." Such lame accusations. She put down the worthless vase she was examining. "I was just wondering how rich this Chris person was." She leaned forward slightly. "You know, with him being the host and all. He even has his own private island."
Historia spent a few seconds staring at the tall girl before averting her eyes. "Yeah, well do it in a less shifty way." She crossed her arms. "Who knows if there's even cameras in here. If you were really trying to ste-"
"There isn't. I checked beforehand." Mindy quickly reassured her.
Which only seemed to have the opposite effect. "So you were stealing!"
"You can't prove that! There's no camera footage." The tall girl teased before moving over to sit down on the couch. "Why must I be trapped with someone like you for so long?"
"You can always jump off the boat if you really wanted to." Historia deadpanned.
Mindy placed a hand over her heart. "You wound me."
"Good." The scholar didn't feel like dealing with this. But she also didn't want to be alone, so she would just have to put up with it. "So huh…" Although, she wasn't the best at starting conversations. Especially with someone like her.
"Hmm?" The tall girl hummed in thought. "Were you going to ask me something?"
"Forget it." Historia quickly shook her head before leaving the room. She just couldn't bring herself to have any conversation.
Instead, she felt it better to move outside. She had been on a cruise before, so this boat was nothing special. However, feeling the cool wind breeze sweep through her, it felt nice.
"So. Come out to get fresh air?" Mindy asked, now standing beside her.
"Jesus-" Historia took a step back out of shock. For someone so tall, she was silent while she walked. "Don't sneak up on people like that."
"Huh? But I didn't try to." The tall girl was a little confused.
Letting out an annoyed sigh, the scholar leaned her head on the railing. "I can't believe my parents signed me up for this. I don't even need the money."
Hearing that statement, the girl couldn't help but grin slightly. "So what are you, rich?"
"Don't even try to steal from me." She narrowed her eyes.
"All these hateful words. I'm just saying a lot of my clients are rich." Mindy corrected her thoughts.
Of course, that probably wasn't the best word to use, and Historia's mind began to race. "C-clients?"
"Yes, for commissions." She reached into her suitcase which was conveniently at her feet. Convenient. "I like making art in my spare time. I can sell them for a decent chunk of money as long as I can fulfil their demands."
Historia spent a few seconds looking at her, before responding. "You need to choose better words to say. You'd sound horrible out of context." Fortunately, before this conversation could turn for the worse, the boat stopped. "Finally." Was all she could say before she made it over to the stairs. She got there before Mindy did, but when she finally got to the bottom, the tall girl was already waiting for her. "You stop that!" She pointed her finger at her.
The mischievous girl could only giggle.
New boat, new problem. Although, now that it's mentioned, there wasn't much of a problem. The two girls on this boat didn't really seem to be annoying each other.
On one end, there was a short girl leaning over the rail. She had auburn twin tails. She had two ribbons, one for each tail. The left one was red, while the right one was blue. She wore a black and white striped shirt, blue jeans, and finally, she wore blue sneakers. She was rather short, only standing at 5'0". She seemed to be deep in thought, concentrating about something. This was Arianna Rodriguez. After letting out a small sigh, she turned towards the other occupant of the boat, who was lounging on a chair. "Don't you want to enjoy the view?" She offered her.
The other girl tilted her head over to Arianna. She had short brown hair that went to about her ears, however, she had purple hair extensions that were slightly longer, going a few inches behind her actual hair. She had lime green eyes with a small mischievous gleam in them. Her hands were wrapped in what appeared to be gauze which went about a quarter up their arm. Her fingers were uncovered. She wore some brown jeans with rips in them. But the fabric that would normally be white, was more lime green. Then, she had a beige T-Shirt on with what looked like paint splotches of lime green. She was 5'7". This was Enima Palapeli. "I guess I could. It's getting kind of boring to lie down all the time." She quickly moved herself off the chair. "It is beautiful out here." Her gaze fell down to the waves, which gently rocked the boat. "You ever gone out at sea before?"
"Tons of times." Arianna responded. "My father would always take me, given we live next to the coast."
"Ah, it must be great living somewhere like that, huh." Enima let her hands sway over the edge in beat with the rocking. "I've only ever been once for a school trip. Practically had to beg my mom for it." She let out a small laugh. "But now, here I am, about to live on an island for eight weeks."
"Isn't it only eight weeks if you don't get voted off?" Arianna replied. "Not saying you will, though."
"Ah, do we have someone competitive here?" This could be fun if so.
The girl with the twin tails quickly shook her head. "Not at all. I'm just pointing out facts." Or maybe she was doing much more than that.
"If you say so, kid." Enima moved away from the railing.
Kid? That got on her nerves slightly, but Arianna wasn't about to point that out or anything. "Hey, we're about the same age, aren't we? Isn't it a bit rude to call me that?"
"Yeah, probably." She didn't care, so it wasn't worth pursuing. She moved over towards the inside of the cabin, coming out with a juice box. "But it's not a lie, isn't it? We're all young. Compared to that Chris guy anyways. I heard he looks to be in his early thirties, but he's almost forty."
An old man like that was going to be hosting this entire season. "He sounds like a bit of a pushover."
"Tell me about it. I betcha anything he can't keep up with us. His challenges are probably going to be nothing." Enima continued to bad talk the man.
Maybe she could get along with this girl. "Well, I'm hoping for more mental challenges."
This got a laugh out of the short haired girl. "Ah, not the physical type, are you? Well don't worry, I'll carry you if I have to. You seem short enough."
"I don't think that'll be necessary." Especially considering she didn't want that in any capacity.
"Alright, whatever you say sweetie." Enima called out as she moved closer to the railing. They had arrived at the island, so now it was time to get off the boat. Except, unless most people, she just jumped off the railing. "Hopefully we're on the same team."
Hopefully not. The thought crossed Arianna's mind. Maybe a little too unpredictable. She shortly made her way down the stairs right after.
The next boat was a little more wild. For one, only one person was actually on the boat. The other one was on a surfboard, tailing the boat at the moment. He had blonde messy hair that went about his eyes, blue eyes, an unzipped purple hoodie with a symbol of a wave under it. The shirt underneath was white. He was wearing beige shorts. On top of his head, sat a pair of sunglasses he didn't seem to be using. Lastly, he was about 5'7". This was Jeremy Cloud, and he was currently having the time of his life. "You should join me." His hand gripped tightly to the cord he had attached to the railing.
He had said that to the girl that was watching him. Either out of concern, or morbid curiosity, she couldn't tear her eyes away. She stood tall, and had long red hair that went to about her lower back. She was wearing a blue sundress, and had a blue sun hat to match it. Her eyes were green. She was 6'0". "Hey, you should be careful. I'm not turning this boat around if you fall off." This was Marisa Campbell.
"That's fine!" He called out, seemingly without a care in the world. "Besides, I've been doing this for a while, no way I will fail anytime soon." As he said that, a wave almost took him out. "See, flawless."
Well, if anything were to happen to him, it would be his own damn fault. "Don't say I haven't warned you." She took a step back from the railing, letting out a sigh. They would arrive at the island soon, and every moment made her heart race even more. To think she actually got onto a show like this. She wouldn't waste this chance-" She felt the entire boat shake, as if they just hit something. She turned her attention over to where Jeremy used to be, only to see that he wasn't there. The rope that was tied to the railing was still there, but there was no sign of-
SLAM!
Oh there he was. He landed onto the deck of the boat, face first. But he didn't take much time to recover. He quickly stood up, dusting himself off. "Who put a rock out here?"
Looking back, there was for sure a rock there. "How is that there, aren't we in the middle of the ocean?"
"Rocks float, so it's an easy explanation." The surfer explained.
That- "They don't in the slightest." Marisa quickly responded. But that wasn't important right now. "What happened to your surfboard?"
"Oh right." He looked around. "Well, if I was knocked onto the boat, then shouldn't it-"
SMACK!
The surfboard clonked him right in the head, knocking him to the ground.
After a few moments of silence, Marisa spoke up. "Hey, I found it."
"Yeah, thanks…" He quickly got up, moving over to his surfboard. "Guess that's enough surfing for now."
"Can't say I didn't warn you." But oftentimes, her words of warning went over their head. She moved back over to watching the waves, now that there wasn't something to worry about.
"Although, I don't see any other rocks, so it should be fine, right?"
This guy was going to get himself killed, wasn't he? "Knock yourself out." Who would she be to deny his wishes after he should have learned a lesson. But maybe not playing into his games would also cause him to reconsider.
"Alright!" Jeremy declared. No objections meant that he could do whatever he wanted.
"Wait, no-" Well, too late, he was already back in the water. Honestly, why did she even bother with some people? He was keeping her too distracted, and now her mind was disorientated. From her peripherals, she could see that he had gone back to surfing. However, she soon noticed something. They were approaching the island, and it would only be a matter of seconds till they got there. "You should probably get out of the water."
But of course, her voice fell at deaf ears, so she found it better not to mention anything else.
Once the boat stopped abruptly, she could hear the sound of someone hitting the backside of the boat. "Hmm." She hummed as she moved over towards the stairs.
New boat, hopefully no new problems. And for the most part, the two people seemed to be getting along. One of the boys was currently lounging on a chair, carving a piece of wood he had brought with him. He had black hair that went a bit past his brown eyes. On his left eye, he had a vertical scar. He wore a maroon shirt, and black jeans. He was 5'9". This was David Talon. He was going to town with that chunk of wood, and he was seemingly carving an animal out of it.
"Woah man!" Another guy called out. "You're actually pretty good at that!" The boy was taller, standing at 6'2". He wore a suit that was white, neon red, and neon green. His pants seemed to be the same material and colours. His hair was messy blue, and he had light blue eyes. This tall boy was Ashton Mertar. "You think you could teach me how to do that?"
David stopped his carving, turning his attention over to him. "Why are you dressed like you're going to go race?"
"Huh, because I do go racing." He placed a hand on his hip.
The black haired boy narrowed his eyes. "Alright, but why are you dressed like that now? We're going to an island."
"Oh!" Well, he never really considered that. "Well, this suit tells everyone what I'm all about!" He gave himself a fist bump. "I'm here to kick ass."
An amused smile slowly crept up David's face. "Aren't we all here for that? I think it just makes you stand out more. You should go for the more subtle vibe."
"Subtle?" Ashton clenched his fist. "As if I'd attempt to be subtle. That's the coward's way to victory. You have to let everyone know your presence!"
That just paints a target on your back. That thought crossed David's mind, but he found it best to not mention it. "While it is the coward's way, it doesn't mean it's wrong. The world is full of cowards, isn't it?"
"Too many, in my opinion. The world would be better off if everyone wasn't afraid of speaking their opinion, or standing out." He spoke loudly. It was seemingly something he was deeply passionate about.
Letting out a sigh, David wiped his knife of any wood shavings, before putting it away. Then, he placed the incomplete carving on the table next to him. "I think you're asking for too much man. Let people be people. If it's not hurting you, why should you care?"
"Huh- Well!" He didn't really have a counterpoint for that.
"Besides…" The black haired boy had closed the distance between the two of them, placing a hand on Ashton's opposite shoulder. "What if people speaking their mind means saying mean things about you?"
This didn't have the desired effect at all. "Well if they have things to say about me, then they should say them!" He called out.
This guy just wouldn't learn, would he? Well, not much he could do. David backed away, raising his hands in defense, seemingly. "Alright, just warning you. People might not like your attitude."
"Well, that's fine. They don't have to like me. Won't affect how I view things." All things considered, this wasn't the mood he wanted. "But forget about all of that." He pointed out towards the island in the distance. "Once we set foot there, we are opponents."
"Aren't there teams?" David pointed out, crossing his arms.
There was a bit of silence before Ashton spoke up again. "Once we set foot there, there's a fifty percent chance we are opponents!"
"Yeah, that's more like it." He moved over to the railing, leaning against it. "Well, I think if a lot of the people in this competition are high spirited, this should be fun."
"AH! Now you're getting it!" Ashton clenched his fist before noticing they were at the island now.
"Let's go!" And then he jumped off the boat.
David stood by the railing for a bit before shaking his head. "Such a hassle…" He mumbled out, making his way towards the stairs.
Tranquillity. Peace. Silence- Wait, we already did this.
"LET'S FUCKING GOOOOO!" A loud voice called out towards the open ocean. A girl had moved a chair over towards the railing, so she could stand on it and have one on top of the railing. She had long hair that was black, purple, and yellow. She wore purple headphones around her neck. She wore a black leather jacket with a purple shirt underneath. The shirt had a skull on it. For pants, she had black ripped jeans, with a chain coming out of one of the pockets. To counter her more out there appearance, her eyes were a light blue. She stood at 5'6". This was Catrina Rwuicks.
"Can you shut up!" A voice called out, annoyed by the sudden burst of energy. "We aren't even at the island yet, so all you're doing is just annoying me." The voice came from a girl that was standing a few feet away from her. She had long blonde hair tied into a bun, but some hair still went down her back. She had caramel eyes, and was wearing a blue and pink outfit. She wore a marigold skirt. Honestly, it looked cute, but it didn't match her facial expression at all. She stood at 5'8". This was Talia Wayward. "Now get off the railing before you fall."
Catrina spent a few seconds thinking before she spoke. "You know, you're kind of a bitch."
This only further pissed off Talia. "What did you just say to me…?"
"Well, I don't come over to where you are and tell you what to do." The punk replied.
Oh, these two wouldn't get along in the slightest. "But I'm not disturbing the peace, am I? You're out here yelling your lungs out."
Catrina crossed her arms, getting down from the chair. "So what? I was just excited to be on this show. Didn't you scream loudly when you got accepted?"
"Not really." She deadpanned. "I signed up for the hell of it. Didn't care if I actually made it in or not."
How could she not be as excited as she was? "Oh, I get it. You just can't feel happiness, can't you?"
"I can so feel happiness. But I can also understand that people don't want to hear about it." Talia turned away, moving back towards where she was originally. "Just keep it down, will you."
Almost as if to spite her, Catrina began screaming again. "Hey! I see the island from here!" She waved to anyone who was there (not that she could see anyone).
"Do you have a problem listening?" The blonde girl pointed to the headphones. "You've listened to so much music you've gone deaf, haven't you?"
… "WHAAAT!?" The punk shouted out, as if she truly was deaf. "I can't hear you over the sound of me not caring." Then, while flipping her off, she put on her headphones. "Fine, I'll leave you alone, then. You could literally go anywhere else on this boat." She pointed to the cabin. "But you've chosen to be around me."
Truth be told, she was hoping to get some relaxation in the sun before she had to stress about the competition, but she wasn't about to mention that. "Whatever." Now she had started off the competition, annoyed out of her mind.
All while Catrina enjoyed the rest of her time on the boat, bopping her head to the beat of the music. Of course, she couldn't even be quiet doing that. As lyrics started to be sung, Catrina joined in, not giving a damn what anyone around her thought.
But Talia didn't have the energy for any of this. "Unbelievable…" She mumbled out as she sat down on a chair, pulling out a book. "Why couldn't we just get our own boats?"
She wouldn't be reading for long before hearing another shout. "Ah sick! We're here!"
By the time she looked up from her book, the punk had already moved on. "Good. More space." The island looked pretty big, so she was hoping she would get some well deserved space away. Making her way towards the stairs, she climbed down them.
To counter the last boat, this one was definitely more on the peaceful side. A girl stood by the railing, feeling the wind blow through her long light blue hair. She had lime green eyes filled with innocent joy. She was wearing light green farmer slacks with a white shirt underneath. She had rather large black boots on, probably from working the fields. Finally, she stood at about 5'7" tall. This girl was Eleanor Eden.
"Enjoying the view?" The voice of a boy called out, much more calming than some of the others shown so far. He had dark messy blue hair that almost covered his left eye. He wore a similar coloured dark blue shirt with a golden police symbol on it. He had black pants, and black dress shoes. He wore a hat that was tilted downwards, making it hard to see his blue eyes. As for his height, he was 5'11". This was Jared Caertas.
The girl turned to look at him. "Yeah, I am. I've never been on a boat." She turned her attention away from him. "I've lived inland for most of my life, never close to a coast." She trailed off. "To be so far away from home, it's almost surreal."
"I understand that sentiment." He brought a hand to his chin. "Although, I do live near the coast, so not entirely. However! I, too, have never been so far away from home." Despite his more serious demeanour, it was clear he was a bit excited over the whole thing. "Of course, I must remain composed."
This caused Eleanor to smile a bit. "It's alright to be excited. I'm feeling pretty happy right now." She placed a hand right under her neck. "I'm thinking of all the people I'll be able to meet. I didn't really have much back where I'm from. Just farm for acres."
Jared shook his head. "I'm hoping having less people to deal with will be a change of pace. I live in a rather large city, so there's always so much going on at once." Not that he minded it, but it could get grating. "But don't forget, that we're here for a hundred thousand dollars, and some people might stop at nothing to get it." He warned her.
The farmer looked at him, a little cluelessly. "It's not good to assume that about people. I'm sure they are all wonderful people."
"Gg-" Seems his warning flew completely over her head. "Yes, I suppose you're right." He placed his hands behind his back. "Sorry for my assumptions. I'm just worried about the type of people who might have been let into this show." Not that this girl was bad, so maybe he was overthinking things too much. "Please let me know if there's any suspicious activities during your time on the island!"
"Suspicious-" Eleanor quickly shook her head. "I don't think that will be necessary." This boy was acting like he was a police officer. Though, that would explain his shirt. "Are you a fan of police stuff?"
"Huh?" He didn't even realise what kind of shirt he was wearing. Taking a glance down, he quickly averted his head. "Y-yeah. I just like the shirt design!" He tried to lie, but it failed.
The girl giggled a bit, covering her mouth with her hand. "That's cute. Well, I hope you can become one, one day." Her attention turned back towards the open ocean. "There it is…" She trailed off.
Jared's attention shifted over towards the island. "So, this is the island." It wasn't what he pictured it to be, but it was still relatively nice. "An entire summer here, huh?"
"I hope my parents are fine managing the farm at home." Eleanor let out a small sigh as they reached the dock. "Shall we head off?"
With no reason to stay, Jared nodded his head and made his way towards the stairs. He took a deep breath of the island air before heading down the stairs. "Watch your step, the waves are still active." He warned as he headed down.
A few seconds later, she followed suit.
One last boat, and one last pair of interactions. This one was happening in the cabin of the boat. A boy was sitting down on a chair, one of his legs crossed over the other. He was currently reading a book, and it seemed to be a lengthy one. Not one he picked up from here. The boy had straight black hair that went to his eyes, which were blue. He was wearing small glasses. His clothes were rather nice. In fact, he was wearing a black suit. Long black pants, and lastly, black shoes. He was 5 '11 ". This was Jack Bunda. He didn't speak a word. He didn't even spare a glance to the other person who was in the room with him.
On the other end of the room, was another boy. He was pulling something out of the fridge, which turned out to be orange juice. He had messy hair which ranged from black, white, and grey. His eyes were red, and he had a very menacing look to him. While Jack was wearing nice clothes, the ones this boy was wearing were leagues above him. Full black suit with a white shirt underneath. A red tie could be visible. He wore black pants, and brown dress shoes. This was Xi Loung. He poured himself a glass of orange juice, before turning to look at Jack. "Are you going to say something, or will you continue this cycle of silence?" He had attempted a few times to start a conversation, but he was unwilling.
The reader began to tap his foot on the floor, clearly annoyed. "I don't have to speak to you."
"Oh? And why's that? Worried that someone is dressed nicer than you?" That had to be it, right?
Peeling his eyes away from his book, Jack sent him a glare. "I don't think that has to do with anything. Besides, aren't you dressed a little too nicely for the setting?"
"I could say the same to you." Xi put down his glass, closing the fridge.
"Tsk, tsk." The reader shook his head. "This is nothing but my casual attire."
If that was casual, Xi didn't want to know what he considered fancy. "So are you saying you have nothing else but that?"
"Exactly. I don't see it as much of a problem though. You're wearing a suit too." Jack pointed out.
Chuckling a bit, the boy shook his head. "This is only for the first day. See, first impressions are good. After that, I have more casual clothes." He nudged his luggage. "Wearing a suit like that every day, it won't leave a good impression."
Finally, Jack closed his book. "Are you done talking? You bore me."
"Ah, I bore you?" Grabbing his glass again, Xi took a sip. "I've been called worse. But that's only because nobody takes the time to listen to what I have to say. They hear words coming out of my mouth, and chalk it up to some mundane rambling. A shame really. If one were to listen, they might actually glean some useful advice."
"I'm sure they could, but I'm not one to take advice from a freak with hair like that." Jack crossed his arms.
Oh, that might have almost hurt. Xi ran a hand through his hair. "So what if it looks like this? Not professional enough for you? People are allowed to express themselves however they see fit." He took a step towards the chair, putting his hands in his pockets. "Or, are you inclined to disagree?"
"You ask too many questions. Leave my sight." Jack ordered him.
Letting out a sigh, the man turned on his heel. "Very well. I shall grant you that, at the very least. But it's not a good foot to start on." He hated people like this. People who were so full of themselves. It was always fun to watch them crumble when pressure was applied.
Stepping out of the cabin, Xi saw their destination, rapidly approaching. "And this is where the fun starts." He told himself, a smile creeping up on his face.
Now, everyone was finally here. Chris was standing on the dock, looking around at each individual contestant. He had watched all the auditions personally- WELL… All the auditions that made it past the first few rounds. Once it was narrowed down to only fifty people. He had selected these twenty two campers on his own. "Good morning, everyone." He greeted with a bright smile on his face. He had to keep up that image, after all.
"Good morning." Eleanor was the only one to respond. Everyone else mostly just kept to themselves.
Honestly, if nobody had answered him, that would have been fine. But the fact that one person had, filled him with just enough hope that maybe others would too. Alas, it was all for nothing. "Alright, we've got a chipper number of people today." He was going to say this time, but as far as he knew, this was going to be the only time.
"Um, where can we bring our luggage?" Historia spoke up, nudging the rather large luggage she had. "I don't want to be carrying this around everywhere."
Impatient bunch, weren't they? "You'll have plenty of time to settle down in your cabins. First, an introduction. This isn't a show you could have seen before, as this is the first season." He clasped his hands together. "So there's no way to know how this will work." Right now he would go for a cast photo, but he didn't have time for it, so it would have to be later. "If everyone could follow me, I will show you around." And with that, he left the dock.
Everyone looked around at each other before following him.
"This is going to be kickass!" Ashton blurted out, fist bumping himself. "Wonder what kind of challenges we're going to get."
"I mean, there's only so much that can be done on an island." Jenna shook her head.
"Hey!" Cameron shouted out. "Use your imagination, won't you? Anything can be done on an island like this. The possibilities are endless."
"I concur." Matthew did a frame with his fingers again. "There seems to be a lot of funding put into this, so the challenge should be nothing short of exceptional."
"You'll have plenty of time to worry about the challenges after I finish my explanation." The man had a schedule to keep. He stopped walking, turning to face the contestants again. Now, they were at a bonfire. "This… is the location of the elimination ceremony. After every challenge, you will gather here to vote someone off. Every time you come here, you will have a chance to be voted off. Your fate will be entirely in your fellow campers."
Everyone started eyeing each other, a bit of doubt in their eyes.
"Of course, not all is lost. Winning a challenge grants you immunity from being voted off." Chris continued his explanation. "At the start of this competition, you will all be put in teams. Winning as a team grants immunity to everyone in it, and the other team must vote someone off." He took out a clipboard he had. "We will form those teams right now. When I call your name, go stand on the right side of the campfire." Taking a look down at his notes, he began to read names off.
"Arianna."
She glanced over at the host before making her way over to the designated location.
"Ashton."
The racer fist bumped himself before shouting out. "Ah hell yeah! Picked second!"
"I don't think it works this way…" Talia shook her head.
"Cameron."
Deciding to mimic Ashton, he called out to. "Ah hell yeah! Picked third!"
"Catrina."
Talia must have started some sort of bandwagon by making a comment, because Catrina also exclaimed. "Ah hell yeah! Picked fourth!"
"Jesus Christ…" She mumbled out.
"Eleanor."
Unfortunately, she was the one to break the chain. "Alright." She smiled before making her way to where everyone else was.
"Jack."
The man crossed his arms, not saying anything as he joined everyone else.
"Jared."
The police cadet ran over to where everyone was. "Glad to be of assistance."
"Marisa."
Hearing her name called out, she looked at the people who were on her team. "Nice to meet you all." She said as she joined up with everyone else.
"Robin."
Well, not one to let opportunity slip by, he spoke up. "Ah hell yeah. Picked ninth." Although, his tone was much calmer than the other three who did it.
Things were going bad for Talia, and it was only downhill from here. "Talia."
She had to be put in a team with the girl that she already had a strong disliking for. "Dammit…" She mumbled out, reluctantly making her way over to the rest of the team.
"And lastly, Xi."
He made his way over to the rest of the team, eyeing each of them individually. That's who he would be paired up with. He had already seen some divide, so this could end up being fun.
Chris picked up a rolled up banner from the ground. "From this moment on, you will be known as." He chucked it towards the group. "The Screaming Gophers!"
Cameron was the one who ended up catching it. As Chris called out the team name, the banner unrolled, revealing the logo. "Ah! Sweet!" He had nothing negative to say about it.
"Everyone else I call out, you will stand on the left." He looked back down at his list. "Bella."
The short girl quickly glanced around before moving over to the assigned spot.
"Christopher."
Well, he was just happy to have his name be called out. He quickly moved over to stand next to Bella.
"David."
Sliding himself between the two that were already there, he placed his hands on their shoulders. "We're going to have a lot of fun on this team."
"Yeah!" Christopher cheered out, excitedly.
"Enima."
Without saying anything, she snuck herself behind the other three.
"Historia."
So far… the team was a little lacklustre. But it's fine. She made her way to everyone else, but she kept her distance.
"Jenna."
The girl in the lab coat lazily looked over at her team before sighing. This would have to do, but it seemed like the other team had some of the better physical people.
"Jeremy."
"What's this, number four?" He mumbled to himself. "I was picked fourth."
"That isn't true in any way." Historia shook her head.
"Josef."
He spun his cane around. "Finally. Was starting to get bored."
"Matthew."
"Yes, I see." He put the entire team in his finger frames. "We'll do wonderful." He joined his team.
"Mindy."
Quickly making her way to her team, she smiled at everyone.
"And lastly, Nila."
Being picked last was new to her, but she didn't really mind. She shuffled over to her team.
"From henceforth, you will be called." He reached down and grabbed the other rolled up banner, throwing it at the nearest person. "The Killer Bass!"
David was the one who caught it, and when it unrolled, it showed a logo of a bass. "Ah sweet!"
"Hey, why do they get the cool one?" Catrina yelled out. "I'm killer!"
"I think it's more fitting to us. Besides, are you even a killer?" Enima pointed out.
"Excuse me!" Jared called out, pointing his finger at her. "But what is that implying?"
Still wanting to keep to a schedule, Chris coughed a few times. Once he had gotten everyone's attention again, he spoke up. "Now that the teams have been made, it's time to move onto other things." He began to walk away from the campfire.
Their next destination was a small outhouse in a worn down condition. "This." Chris pointed towards it. "Is the confessional."
Confessional: Chris
He was sitting down, staring directly into the camera, a smile on his face. "Here, you can let the world in on your inner thoughts. It's also where your votes will be cast. These are strictly confidential, and won't be shown to the other campers." There was a long pause before he let out a chuckle. "Probably."
Confessional: Josef
He had his arms crossed, and he didn't seem too pleased. "I don't think I'll be using this too often…"
Confessional: David
"Hmm…" He was looking around the confessional booth. "This could prove to be useful."
Confessional: Historia
She had a rather annoyed look on her face. "In terms of teams, I think I could have done better. Let's just hope they're able to hold their own out there." But the other team seemed somewhat imposing.
Now that confessionals were dealt with, Chris had to move onto the next order of business. Everyone would find themselves in front of two cabins. "This is where everyone will be staying. The cabins are divided into two sides. One for the girls, and one for the boys. Each cabin is for a team." He pointed to the right one. "Screaming Gophers." And then to the left one. "Killer Bass."
Talia lifted up her hand, and before Chris had time to acknowledge her, she spoke up. "Alright, do we have access to showers here?"
"I'm glad you asked." He pointed to a building not too far from here. "Over there are the communal bathrooms." Luckily, everyone seemed to know what that meant, and those who didn't, didn't say anything.
"Are the bathrooms at least in better shape than the confessional booth?" Xi crossed his arms.
"Better condition? Yes. Good condition? No." The host replied, before turning his attention back towards the cabins. "Everyone, get yourself settled in. Lunch will begin in one hour."
Everyone looked at each other, a bit of uncertainty about the entire thing.
Screaming Gophers (Guys)
Each cabin was fitted with three beds. Each one being a bunk bed, which allowed for six people to sleep in the room. The rooms were dusty, but they didn't seem to be in bad condition.
"Dibs on the top bunk!" Ashton called out, as soon as he stepped into the cabin. With a pretty decent throw, he managed to lunge his bag onto the top bunk of the back corner.
"Hey!" Cameron saw that he was slow to the punch. "I'll take the other top bunk!"
"Children…" Jack shook his head, moving over to the bottom bunk of one of the unclaimed beds. "It'd be better if we had our own rooms, but it doesn't seem like that'll be the case."
"Ah, lighten up." Cameron shook his head. "We should take this time to get closer as a team."
"Pass." Robin put his things on his bed, which was located under Ashton. "I'm sure the challenges will be plenty of time for things like that."
"He's not wrong, though." Jared pointed out. "We'll be living with each other for the next few weeks. We can at least try and get along."
"Yeah!" Cameron began searching through his bag. "I've even brought some activities for this!" The sound of dice could be heard as he pulled out a pouch. "Have any of you played D&D before?"
This seemed to cause Jack to look over at him. "DnD you say…" He mumbled out.
"What the hell is that?" Ashton dropped down from his bunk bed. "A board game or something?"
"It's a tabletop game!" The enthusiastic man quickly responded.
Thinking for a moment, the racer shook his head. "Isn't that what a board game is?"
"Technically, yes." Jack crossed his arms, before making his way over to Cameron. "But it's much more than that."
Xi, who had been listening this entire time, finally decided to say something. "I've only played it once, but it's leagues above what a board game is. No end to the creativity, provided you have someone competent at the helm."
Letting out a laugh, Cameron pointed to himself. "Well, with me in charge, you can never hope to be bored."
"I don't get any of this…" Ashton had already given up, and nobody had explained to him anything.
"I too… am unfamiliar with this." Jared brought a hand to his chin. "And while it sounds like a good team building exercise, I'm not sure it will be up to my speed."
"Two out, two in." The DM looked around the room. "And what about you?" His attention turned to Robin.
Before he had time to answer, Xi was the one who spoke up. "Now, I don't remember ever agreeing to this." He lifted his head up slightly. "There's the possibility we won't even have the time for this."
"Ah, there will be nothing but time here." Cameron shook his head. "We're twenty two, and we're here for eight weeks. There's a ton of days where there won't be challenges."
"I'll join." Robin stepped forward. "But that's a false way of thinking. There's the possibility that some challenges take longer than a day."
Of course, those words fell at deaf ears, as Cameron was already setting things up. "Trust me, we have the time!"
"Don't we have to be in the cafeteria in less than an hour?" The police cadet pointed out.
After hearing that, his bag was already packed up again. "Another time, then." He moves really quickly.
Screaming Gophers (Girls)
Out of all the rooms she had to be placed in-
"Let's go, team!" Catrina shouted out, hitting her fists together. "Say, hope you guys don't mind music."
"I love music." Eleanor smiled sweetly at her, before realising something. "Wait… what kind of music?"
"Punk rock." No hesitation as music blared through her headphones hanging around her neck.
Sensing some immediate unease in the room, Marisa quickly moved over to the group of two. "Well, not everyone would be fond of music like that, so maybe it isn't the best time to do it."
Catrina looked at her for a few seconds before sighing. She wasn't wrong. "Alright." She lowered the volume and placed her headphones back on. Then she tossed her bag onto one of the top bunks.
"Thank you…" Talia mumbled out, choosing to lie down on the lower bunk on the opposite end of the room. She tilted her head towards the other girls. "Some team we have."
Arianna, attempting to make sure the team didn't fall apart immediately, spoke up. "Hey, it's just the first day. I'm sure things will go better after."
"Right!" Eleanor bounced over. "We're probably all from different walks of life."
Talia looked her over for a few seconds. "You do look like you just came from a farm."
"W-well…" She took a step back.
Letting out a sigh, the rude girl sat up. "Didn't mean anything by it."
The room remained silent for a bit as the four girls just stood around (Catrina wasn't part of the equation).
"So…" Marisa decided to break the silence. "Should we do this like we do at school? Your name and two interesting facts about yourself?"
Talia quickly shook her head. "I hate when they do that. Really puts us on the spot."
Arianna shrugged. "They do it all the time, so just say the same two things."
"I've never had to deal with that…" Eleanor mumbled out. "Oh, but I come from a small town where everyone already knows each other."
"So, are you actually a farmer?" Talia raised an eyebrow. "You look like one."
She quickly nodded her head, twirling her finger in her hair. "Yes, my family has been for decades."
"Alright, my turn." Marisa spoke up, despite Eleanor not providing her name, or a second interesting fact about herself. "My name is Marisa, and I'm into journalism." She also did not provide a second interesting fact about herself.
"Talia." And then she didn't even provide any facts about herself.
Seems Arianna would have to carry all the weight around here- "I'm part of the theatre club back at school, and also on the student council." These girls didn't know how to do anything right.
There was a pause, before all the girls turned their attention to Catrina, who was lying down on her bed already, completely ignoring the conversation that was going on around her.
"We should vote her off first." Talia pointed out with a smile on her face.
"H-hey!" Eleanor blurted out. "We can't do that!"
She shrugged. "Sure we can. Nothing is stopping us."
Arianna shook her head. "Let's… not worry about who we're going to be voting off. Who says we're even going to lose a challenge?"
"See, that's how we should be thinking. I'm sure we'll make a great team." Marisa said as she moved away from the bed Talia was on. "Alright, let's get settled in. We'll have to be out of here shortly."
Killer Bass (Boys)
The door rapidly flew open, slamming against the wall. If the door was even a percentage weaker, it would have broken off the hinges. David poked his head into the doorframe, looking around. "Not too bad." He eyed the place.
Christopher slowly peaked his head in from the other side of the door frame. "I don't think that was necessary.
"Nonsense." Matthew slowly poked his head from the top of the doorframe, upside down. "It's all about making an entrance."
"What's the point of a flashy entrance, if nobody is here to witness it?" Josef peaked his head from the bottom right of the door frame.
"Aren't we always being watched by cameras." Jeremy poked his head out from the bottom left part of the door frame.
The wannabe host slowly nodded his head. "I suppose."
David looked at the four other boys. "What are we doing?"
After a moment of silence, Matthew fell from the top part of the door frame.
The five boys poured into the room, looking around.
"I'll take the top bunk here." Jeremy claimed, taking the back right bed.
David glanced around. "From the looks of it, someone will have to be alone." That was alright with him-
"Well, I can bunk with you." Christopher offered with a smile. "I'm sure it will be fine."
He wanted to say something else, but someone else spoke up.
"Well, I can bunk with Josef." The movie nut commented. "I, too, would like a top bunk."
"Oh!" Christopher shouted out. "I want a top bunk too. Just like when I was a kid."
"Ah, nice. You have a sibling?" Jeremy turned away from his bed.
He shook his head. "No."
Then what was- Jeremy found it best not to ask further questions.
"Wait, does that leave him being alone?" The wood carver pointed towards the surfer.
"It would seem so…" Josef wasn't too pleased with the circumstances, but he wasn't going to say anything.
"Well, that was quick." Matthew nodded to himself. "Glad we could make arrangements. Now we can focus on the actual show."
Josef put his bag on his bed, opening it to sort through some of his stuff. "Yes, that would be nice." He pulled out a comb, as well as some other things. "I suppose I should go make myself more presentable."
"Oh thank god." David let out a sigh of relief. "Thought you were going to spend your entire time looking like you just came off a hosting gig."
Not wanting to lose his temper on the first day, the wannabe host walked out of the room.
"So…" Jeremy trailed off. "Have you ever been on a show like this?"
"No, never before." Matthew replied, thinking for a moment. "Although, it wouldn't be the first time I've been on TV."
"Wait, are you telling me you're a star?" Christopher's eyes beamed slightly.
The movie maniac nodded his head. "Yes, in fact I am." He made a frame with his fingers again. "I was in a movie with a two second cameo as an extra."
The room fell silent, Christopher spoke up again. "That's so cool!" Contrasting what the other two were thinking. "I'd like to be an extra in a movie."
"Why would you need to be an extra in a movie when you're already on TV here?" Jeremy pointed out.
Well, he had never really considered that. "Yeah, but if I make cameos after this, I wouldn't just be some nobody. I would be someone who was on Total Drama."
"That's assuming this show really takes off in popularity." Jeremy pointed out. "This is the first season, so there's no way of knowing if it'll be any good or not."
"Whether it's any good or not relies solely on us." Matthew pointed out. "If we can give them a good show, we might be able to be famous."
David sat down on his bed. "Then, let's make sure we give them something entertaining."
Killer Bass (Girls)
The first one to enter the room was Enima, who scanned the room rather quickly. "Well, I'd be lying if I said this was the worst room I had ever seen."
"Are you kidding me?" Historia didn't seem pleased. "This room looks awful."
"N-now now…" Nila tried to reassure her. "It is not actually that bad. Right?"
Bella was the next one to step into the room. At first, she was quiet. Instead moving over to claim one of the top bunks. "I like it." She finally said.
"Look, they could be making us sleep out in the woods. He referred to us as campers, so." Jenna moved over to one of the beds closer to the back window, claiming a bottom bunk, right under Bella.
Sighing to herself, Historia made sure to claim the last bottom bunk. "Whatever. But I feel like he should at least give the winners a better place to sleep."
"Well…" Mindy trailed off, having already claimed one of the bottom bunks. "Then that just means we have to keep winning, right?"
The unbearable scholar glanced over at her. "I would hope the incentive to win is more than just us getting a better room. If we lose, we vote someone off."
Enima shrugged. "Eh, so what?" She lugged her stuff on top of the bed Historia was standing next to. "By the way, claimed the top bunk, hope you don't mind."
Which left Nila with the option of taking the top bunk over Mindy. "Well, I do not think us losing will be a problem." She seemed pretty confident when she said that.
"Are you sure?" Bella looked over at her. "Depending on the challenge, I'm not sure how much help I'll be."
"Then why sign up?" Historia pointed out. "Clearly some effort would have to be put into this."
"Don't really see you putting much effort." Jenna called out, already lying down on her bed. "You don't look like you've seen a day of work."
"Could say the same for you." The unbearable scholar marched over towards her.
"Hey, hey, hey." Enima had to step between them. "Let's not get into any fighting right now. It's the first day."
Historia remained silent for a bit before turning towards her bed. "Whatever."
Bella let out a small sigh. "I hope this isn't like this the entire time."
"Might be." Mindy replied, looking through her bag. "Hmm… He said we had to gather by the cafeteria in an hour right?"
"Yeah, but that gives us tons of time to kill." Enima placed a hand on her hip.
"But, we do not want to be late, do we?" Nila pointed out. "And because we do not know where the cafeteria is, should we not look for it?"
"Um…" Bella spoke up. "I think we should at least try and figure out where it is."
Jenna shook her head. "It wouldn't be too far from here. I doubt they'd have us trek through the woods to get our food." Oh, how little she knew.
Somewhat disappointed that nobody but Bella wanted to follow along with her idea, Nila let out a sigh. "Very well. But I still suggest we try and leave early."
"How about this?" Enima spoke up. "We leave ten minutes early just to be safe."
Mindy shook her head. "That still feels a bit too early. Can we just not go?"
"Don't you want food?" Historia frowned.
Jenna shrugged. "If she doesn't want to eat, she can starve."
"Well, I already ate before I left. So I'm not really hungry. I might just stay here while you all go to eat."
Historia and Jenna eyed each other before they both shook their heads in unison. This was going to be one of those Summers, huh?
Cafeteria
They had heard this man briefly mentioned, and even saw him in the promo shots. But actually meeting him, nothing could prepare them for that.
The large cook was standing in the other room, by an open part of the wall. "Come here! Get your food! And sit your butts down!" He shouted when nobody made any motion to move.
"I can see that slop from here. No way am I eating any of that." Historia put a hand on her hip.
Everyone seemed to have similar thoughts. That is, until Cameron stepped forward. "Well then. Guess I'll be the first!" He moved over towards where Chef was, grabbing a tray. "Load her up!" After getting the slop, he looked at it for a few seconds before going in for a bite. After a few seconds, he finally spoke up, his voice seemingly happy. "Wow! This is awful!" But he still went for a second bite. "That didn't make it any better."
"Boy." Chef warned him, glaring at him. "What did you say my food was?"
"Hey, I'm still eating it." And before anything could happen to him, he quickly moved over to the table.
Since he wasn't on the floor dying, some of the others decided they might as well grab some too.
Jeremy stopped in front of Chef, looking down at the food. "Hmm… " Then he looked at him. "Have you ever killed a man?"
"What of it?" He replied.
Not the answer he was expecting, but it was good enough. "Nothing." The surfer took his food and moved away.
David was the next person to go up and grab his food. Looking down at the horrid mess in the bowl, he leaned himself near the wall. "Hey man, cooking all day for ungrateful teens must be difficult. I'd be willing to hop in the back and help with some of the cooking." He was going to keep talking, until a cleaver embedded himself into the counter next to him. Slowly nodding his head, he responded. "Alright, that's cool too." He took his food and made his way towards the table.
Everyone seemed to have set themselves up with their teams, probably for the best anyways. The team closest to Chef was the Killer Bass.
Matthew scanned the room, before arriving at a conclusion. "I see we're missing a member."
Enima rolled her eyes. "Mindy said she wasn't hungry, so she didn't want to join us."
"Is she daft?" Josef clutched his cane. "Chris said for everyone to make it to the cafeteria."
Jeremy let out a small laugh. "I'm sure it'll be fine if she isn't here to eat. Nothing official has started anyways."
The wannabe host crossed his arms. "Yes, but I'd like to not take any chances."
"I could go get here if it is that much of an issue." Nila spoke up.
The unbearable scholar shook her head. "If there is a penalty for it, we don't need two people gone. Who knows if she's even at the cabins anyway?"
"Oh." Bella let out a happy gasp. "Maybe she's exploring the forest. If we didn't have to stay here, I would take a look around."
"The forest is pretty big, isn't it. I wonder if there's any soft animals in there." Christopher thought for a moment.
Looking up from her food, Jenna spoke up. "Yeah, bears."
The boy thought for a moment. "Do you think they'd give me a hug?"
"Jesus Chris…" Josef mumbled out, realising this was the team he was stuck with.
On the other end of the room, let's see if the Screaming Gophers were doing any better.
"It's only natural he would throw us into a challenge right after eating." Marisa brought up. "As bad as this food is…" She trailed off. Seems she wanted everyone to be ready, but even she was having a hard time justifying eating the food.
"But what if this makes me sick?" Ashton brought up. "I don't need that happening mid challenge."
"I concur…" Arianna shook her head. "It's probably best if we don't eat this…"
"Then…" Eleanor trailed off. "We could see if there are any berries in the woods."
"And how are berries supposed to fill us up?" Jack said, despite not having any better idea. He didn't even get up to get himself some food.
Most of the team didn't seem to be eating the food, except two. Cameron and Catrina.
"Ah, come on! This isn't that bad!" Catrina pointed out. "I've had worse than this."
"See a doctor." Jared advised.
Xi was looking rather annoyed, tapping his fork against the plate. "I wonder if this will be a constant thing, or if the food will improve. Only those who manage to stay on this island will get better food."
"I… doubt it." Marisa shook her head.
Letting out a sigh, Talia took a bite from her food. She hated it, based on her facial expression, but it didn't stop her. "You should all just stop complaining…" She mumbled out.
Watching her, Jared moved over to eat some of his food. "She's right. This is the food we've been given. It would be an insult to turn it down."
"It's an insult to be served this." Robin pointed out.
The cadet was going to say something else, when the doors swung open, revealing Chris.
He held his hands behind his back, with a rather large smile on his face. "I hope you've been enjoying this food."
"I think it's digesting me." Ashton called out.
Ignoring that, the host continued talking. "It's about time, don't you think?"
"For the challenge?" Marisa spoke up. Was she going to be right?
Turning his head over to her, he smiled. "Yes. Your first challenge begins in thirty minutes. Everyone, get ready. It's not going to be an easy one." He turned around to leave, but stopped only a few steps away from the door. "And remember, the losing team will be voting someone off tonight."
"What's the point of having everyone settle in if someone is just going to be voted off the first day." Jeremy pointed out. "Oh well, it sucks to be them, I guess."
"Alright, team." Jared spoke up. "Whatever the challenge is, we have to win this. Since this is the first challenge, it'll probably help us build a team bond."
"That's perfect!" Cameron called out. "If we build a bond now, we'll be unstoppable!" He put his hand in the center of the table. "Everyone! Let's do this!" It was clear that he was waiting for other people to put their hands on his. The first to do so were Ashton, Catrina, and Eleanor.
"Why must we do that?" Jack shook his head.
"Aw, come on!" Catrina called out. "It'll be fun."
"Hmm…" The cynical critic mumbled out.
One by one, everyone put their hands in the center, until there were twelve there.
"Wait…" Marisa looked around. "Aren't we only eleven?" It didn't take long to find the odd one out.
"I wanted to be included." It was Christopher.
Historia had to drag him away from the table. "Don't go interacting with them." She warned him.
"Let's leave now." Josef said once almost the entire team was there again. "And someone, go find Mindy." He pointed his cane over at Nila.
"R-right!" And she was gone in a hurry.
"Then, let's go." The wannabe host ordered as he made his way towards the door.
Just outside the forest
The twenty campers had gathered themselves just outside the forest entrance, where a rather imposing obstacle course awaited them. Most people were just silently watching.
Confessional: Historia
She seemed annoyed. "Of course our first challenge was going to be physical. Couldn't just play to my strengths?"
Confessional: Josef
"Nila and Mindy still haven't appeared yet. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt, but…" He crossed his arms.
Chris turned to face the two teams. "Your first challenge… will be an obstacle course that spans the entire length of the island. Are you up for the challenge?"
Everyone looked at each other rather nervously… This was going to be one hell of a first day.
And that concludes the first episode of this Total Drama fic! To note, while these are all OC's, they aren't all mine. Three of them belong to my good friend, and beta reader, Omakin (He doesn't do anything a beta reader does). These three characters include Arianna, Christopher, and Marisa.
This episode has actually been written for a while, and I have six other finished up. I just wasn't ready to post till now. I'll wait to post the others, maybe only posting one episode a week until I'm caught up. And then you can suffer along with me in waiting.
Welp, I know it isn't the canon cast, but I think this cast is still pretty good. Hopefully you have some favourites!
Remaining Campers: 22
Screaming Gophers
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Arianna Rodriguez: The Popular Girl
Ashton Mertar: The Loud Racer
Cameron Parker: The Eccentric DM
Catrina Rwuicks: The Outgoing DJ
Eleanor Eden: The Sweet Gardener
Jack Bunda: The Cynical Critic
Jared Caertas: The Law Abiding Cadet
Marisa Campbell: The Excited Journalist
Robin Fuego: The Snarky Tactician
Talia Wayward: The Rude Waitress
Xi Loung:The Manipulative Psychologist
Killer Bass:
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Bella Fiore: The Quiet Nature Lover
Christopher Hide: The Happy Go Lucky Idiot
David Talon: The Shady Guy
Enima Palapeli: The Mysterious Painter
Historia Lenz: The Unbearable Scholar
Jenna Claws: The Arrogant Chemist
Jeremy Cloud: The Fearless Surfer
Josef Osapuoli: The Wannabe Host
Matthew Direkuta: The Movie Fanatic
Mindy Misuto: The Mischievous Artist
Nila Darabond: The Soft Military Trainee