Beach Blanket Bogus
POV. Third person
Chris begins narrating, "Last time in Total Drama Action. He was a boy," he said alongside Trent's image, "she was a girl," Gwen appeared on the other side, "and last week on Total Drama Action, a shocking team redistribution pitted them against one another. Our heroine made a fundamental romantic comedy error, picking Duncan first and leaving her boyfriend Trent feeling kinda... ouchie. Meanwhile, two men made an illegal alliance," the chef is seen talking to DJ, "And Duncan's mad thespian skills trumped Izzy's… well, madness. She was kicked out of the competition having a honeyed goodbye with her boyfriend, and a conversation that promises a lot of drama hahahaha, will Duncan break up Gwen and Trent's barely-there relationship? Will Heather give us another scene with the resident geek? Is Lindsay hiding something? Will Harold ever shut up? Will the new locks keep Owen out of the craft truck? Will my nonfat vanilla soy latte ever get here?" he asked sulkily, "all the answers, uh… answered right now in another tear-jerking episode of TOTAL... DRAMA... ACTION!"
-0-
POV. Cody
I was sitting at one of the tables in the service store stirring... whatever the chef served us.
Duncan and Courtney seemed to be arguing about something... But then they started kissing on the table, making everyone here uncomfortable.
Heather sat next to me with a grimace at the scene, "that would take away anyone's appetite," she said, until she saw Owen steal the dishes from the kissing couple, "well, anyone but Owen," she said irritably.
"Hahahahaha, it's hard to believe they were insulting each other just now," I told him as I tasted my dish... ha, it doesn't taste so bad.
Heather looked at me contemplatively, "Don't you feel bad about Izzy leaving?" she asked.
I shrugged, "I was able to say goodbye to her, and she wasn't very affected, so I don't think about it too much... although I'm going to miss her warm hugs," I told her dramatically.
"I'm sure that's the only thing you're going to miss," she said obliquely.
I smiled at her, "Are you jealous?"
She looked at me annoyed, "How long are you going to keep saying that?"
"I don't know if you've noticed, but you've never really given me a straight answer when I've asked you that," I said.
She froze with the spoon halfway to her mouth, then looked at me, "I'm not jealous," she told me a little exaggeratedly, she can't even say it in a normal way.
"Whatever you say, I completely believe you," I said sarcastically.
"I'm serious!" she complained like a child.
"Yes, you sure are," Gwen told her as she passed behind her.
"Grrrrr," Heather just started growling like a dog.
I decided to leave her alone for now, there's so much you can upset a person before they try to bite you.
Lindsay and Beth approached Justin, "Justin look, I brought you bacon," Lindsay told him.
"And I brought you facon. Tofu's good for your heart," Beth told him.
"Pig's good for his hair," where did you hear that Linds?
"Holy crap, I love his hair!" said Beth excitedly like a crazed fan who won't be named (Sierra), making me shudder a little as I watched the farmer jump up and hold on to Justin's head.
"Ladies, please, I accept both your offerings," the model said as he shook Beth off, "Join me for breakfast?" he said, resuming his meal. Beth fainted when Justin winked at her.
Confessional.
Beth
"If only making friends with a guy as gorgeous as Justin was as easy as making these bracelets," she said as she tried to make one, "Ah!" but she let go and the pieces scattered.
Lindsay
She scratched her head nervously, "I feel a little bad for Cody, his girlfriend was kicked out by our team," she said regretfully, "it's amazing how well he hides his pain," she said surprised, "I wanted to apologize, but Heather is always around him and things between us are still awkward. So, I thought I'd distract myself by contemplating Justin as I sometimes do... But, it's not working as well."
Justin
"It feels good to know that I'm the center of attention again."
End of confessional.
...
Trent poured salt into his scrambled eggs, but the saltshaker dropped the lid.
"Hahahahahaha, sorry about the morning as-salt," Duncan sneered.
Gwen hit him in the back of the head for this, "Third grade called. You're due back in class," she told him.
"Real mature. Don't you know it's bad luck to spill salt?" Trent asked Duncan. Then I grab a handful and throw it at Heather and me.
I took her by the arm and pushed her out of the way, "Be careful, 'Lucky Charms'!" she demanded.
"Nothing a little pepper won't fix," he said taking the pepper, but it spilled on him too, so he threw it harmlessly behind him this time.
"Hahahahahaha," Duncan kept taunting him as he approached him, "you still gonna finish those eggs, bro?" he said as he took a handful and ate it.
"Are you nuts? Now I only have eight pieces left," Trent complained. I know where his obsession with the nine comes from, but that certainly borders on the ridiculous.
"Am I nuts? Dude, you are officially capital W weird," Duncan told him.
"Which is good, because I happen to really like weird," Gwen told him. I couldn't help but feel that this was a lie. She ate another portion of egg, "There. Now you've got seven pieces. Which is an odd number again? Isn't that kinda better?"
"Abso-Gwen-ly," Trent replied.
Duncan shook his head, unaware that Courtney was giving him a suspicious look.
Confessional.
Courtney
"I know Duncan is a scoundrel who likes to pick on people, but I think it's weird that he gets so involved in those two's relationship... Duncan wouldn't have feelings for Gwen? Would he?" she asked, annoyed.
End of confessional.
*Whistle*
Chris entered the dining room blowing a whistle to get our attention, "hang on to your coconuts, players, we're going back to the beach," he said.
"Woo hoo~!", as always, the only one who celebrated was Owen.
"Ever seen one of those 1950's surfer movies where the kids get up to neato fun before the big bonfire Twist-a-thon? And the bully kicks the sandcastle in the nerdy guy's face?" Well... you know.
"Huh, no grandpa, we haven't," Duncan replied.
"Well, get ready to recreate one, junior. Two challenges followed by a tiebreaker, if necessary, so grab your swimsuits," he said as he left.
-0-
Chris brought us to a studio with the air conditioning on full blast while we were all in bathing suits. There was literally ice everywhere.
"When did you guys move the beach to Antarctica?" asked Lindsay, she was trying to squeeze a bottle of sunscreen.
"As some of you can see, we're actually in the shooting studio," he said, pointing to the entire place.
"And the AC's cranked because?" asked Duncan tremblingly.
"All the cameras and lights get so hot, they could melt Chef's heart," he said, looking at the man who greeted us with an innocent smile.
As Chris spoke, I focused on something else that was much stranger to me.
I watched everyone suffer from the cold in their bathing suits, then I looked at my hands with wide eyes, I wasn't shivering, in fact, I barely felt the cold, was it really that cold here? The others couldn't be exaggerating, could they?
Suddenly I had a memory, I was walking with my clothes wet from an icy and inhospitable tundra, I felt how life slipped through my fingers with every step I took in the blizzard, then I fell to the ground on the verge of hypothermia.
Now I was back in the studio with a stunned look, "the Yukon," I whispered.
Of course, after such an experience, who would be able to stagger from a cold lower than that of that place. I almost died of hypothermia that day. It would have become a trauma if Sierra hadn't been there being more traumatizing than freezing death.
Look again at my hands, even if this body has never felt such cold, my mind remembers it perfectly, and you know what they say, deceive the mind and you will deceive the body.
I'm a little surprised by the fact that I didn't catch a cold on that occasion. Heather got sick for days after spending a few hours in the meat freezer.
It seems that I am more resilient than I thought, I wonder what else I am really capable of.
I saw Lindsay trying to squeeze her sunscreen. I put my hand in hers, "we're indoors, you don't need that," I said. She looked at me surprised, "Linds?"
Before I knew it, she gave me a hug. I turned red right away, she was in her bathing suit.
"Hot," she said curling up against me as she shivered, "you're very warm," she told me.
I looked around, everyone was busy listening to Chris.
"Uh, Linds, it's not to rush or anything, but maybe we should pay attention to Chris," I said, she smelled great.
"Just a little bit more... It feels good," she whispered straight into my ear. Forget what I said about dying of asphyxiation, this girl could easily kill me with her tenderness.
"Just a little," I said, hugging her back more awkwardly.
I looked to the side again, at Courtney's bored face. Which was the only one who had noticed us.
I smiled nervously, not knowing what to do, but she just shook her head and looked back at Chris. I'm so glad she's not the Courtney she used to be.
"So, who's going first?" Lindsay finally let me go when Chris asked about volunteers.
Obviously no one wanted to volunteer, so Duncan pushed Harold forward, "we have a volunteer," the host said while Harold glared at Duncan with hatred, but he just high-fived Gwen to Trent's suspicious gaze.
...
"Mad surfing skills activate," Harold said dramatically on the board.
"And please welcome the return of some season one fan favorites," said Chris, "the sharks," Harold didn't even get a chance to surf when one jumped out of the water at him. Making it jump up to a roof structure.
Confessional.
Harold
"I'm very protective of my buttocks. The provide me with the low center of gravity that is my many mad skills. You could say they're my hugest asset. Check it! I can juggle my Magic Steve's Magical Trading Cards," he said, tossing the cards from one pocket to the other with his butt.
End of confessional.
The sharks were trying to reach Harold to bite his ass. It's a good thing that my fear of sharks isn't as big as my fear of bears.
"My butt and I are out," he said.
"Your booty has an opinion?" asked LeShawna.
"That's a big job for such a saggy, sad little thing," Heather said.
"I'll have you know that this is a selfless act, my lady fans couldn't handle the loss of this perfect behind," his fans never noticed his butt.
"And by lady fans, he means his mother," the queen bee replied. It's unbelievable that everyone is still shivering from the cold... except Justin, how come this doesn't affect him?
"Hey sharks, look, bacon and facon," Harold said, pointing at Owen.
"Breakfast should last all day, no?" he said as he ate.
The sharks came to the edge of the tank to try to catch Owen, that gave me an idea.
Harold jumped off of the structure and fell, only not into the water but into the frozen trampoline of the tank.
"Uh~, way to stick the dismount, bro," Chris said.
Heather, Gwen, and Duncan laughed at Harold, while the latter two fist bumped.
Trent still looked at them suspiciously, Beth noticed and spoke to him, "Friendship bracelet?" asked Beth offering him a purple bracelet.
Trent took it and started counting to nine, feeling better, but scaring Beth, who backed up until she was close to Lindsay and me, "Did you ever notice Trent's a little weird?" she asked.
"No, he seemed very normal to me the first season," Lindsay said thoughtfully, "maybe... Too normal?" she said. She turned red when she saw that we were both looking at her with smiles, "What? Do I have something on my face?" she asked, her hands on her face worriedly.
"No," I replied still smiling, "it's just that we're impressed that you remember the first season so well," I said, Beth nodded her head.
She pouted in a cute, offended way, "that was bad, I don't have such a bad memory," she said annoyed, which made her look even prettier, what is it about the girls on this show and looking cuter when they're angry?
"Do you know the name of the host?" I asked.
She looked at Chris questioningly, "that's not fair," she said, I stroked her back in comfort.
...
Now it was Lindsay's turn on the surfboard. At first, she managed to keep her balance decently.
Which means Chris would make it a lot harder for her. He swapped the beach setting for a farm in the middle of a tornado, and turned on a powerful fan.
"Woah, woah, woah," Lindsay could barely stay on the board.
*Blow*
Until she ended up smashed against the background wall due to the strong winds. I grimaced, that looked painful.
...
Next, it was DJ's turn, but like the first time a shark jumped and snatched her swimsuit. He fled in shame.
"The body's a beautiful thing! You don't need a suit!" I shout chef, I agree, but only when it comes to the female body.
...
Owen was next and as expected he broke the board in half, and caused a mini tsunami, causing the sharks to fall out of the tank.
He apologized to them as Chris blew a whistle, "break time, union rules," the host said.
"Finally," Heather said.
"I don't mean you, shark bait," Chris said.
...
The sharks had been given cups of hot tea and shrimp while they were sitting on chairs taking a break.
In the meantime, it was Gwen's turn on the surfboard, "no sharks equals no problem," said our goth.
But she was surprised when Chris brought a machine gun of seagulls of all things.
"I love this game," he said as he began to shoot her, one of which hit her in the face.
"AH! Sky Rat! Get it out! Get it out!" she shouted as she fell into the water.
...
Earlier this was Justin's turn, but the one who got on the board was Courtney, she looked at the water with sharks with a bit of concern, then she looked at the smiling Chris who turned on his seagull trigger, "I've already dealt with seagulls, sharks and a Chris on an island abandoned by god. You don't scare me," he told her determinedly.
Chris shrugged, "whatever helps you sleep at night," then turned on his machine gun and started shooting at Courtney.
She dodged the seagulls much better than Gwen, while still balancing herself on the board. A shark jumping out of the water looking to grab its share of angry CIT. But Courtney punched him in the nose, making him cry and go back into the water before everyone's astonished gaze.
Confessional.
Courtney
"Sharks have very sensitive noses, a small bump is all it takes to drive them away if they attack you at sea. It's one of the things we're taught to be counselors, don't ask why."
Harold
"Of course I could do that too, it's just that I felt sorry for the poor sharks, there are times when I don't control my strength," he said, flexing his scrawny arm.
End of confessional.
"That's my girl!" shouted Duncan excitedly.
"Excuse me, she's on the other team, remember? And now they're ahead of us," Leshawna told him.
She's got a point, I'll have to get it right or else we'll tie this challenge.
"Maybe, but she's still hot," Duncan said, looking at Courtney's butt as she climbed out of the tank. If you really think that, then don't cheat on her with the goth girl.
...
Duncan decided to go next to impress Courtney... or maybe challenge her, the truth was quite confusing with the "just look at me" signals she was giving to the CIT.
"Trying to impress your girl Huh? it would be a shame if you fell hahahaha," Chris proceeded to shoot him, but Duncan dodged the seagulls, even managing to hit one. Chris ran out of ammo, so he started throwing things at him from the studio, but the delinquent just dodged them. Lindsay was being watched by the CIT due to her previous crash, so she wasn't thrown at Duncan, that's a good thing.
Duncan got out of the tank unharmed, "and with that Duncan manages to tie things up," Chris announced, he walked over to Gwen and they made a special salute, was that really necessary? How long have they been doing that?
Trent and this time also Courtney looked quite jealous.
...
Justin got on the surfboard, "yes, let's go Justin," Lindsay encouraged.
"Yes, let's go," Beth said as well.
Confessional.
LeShawna
"Am I the only one here who remembers that there are two teams in this competition?... although I admit that Justin takes the cold away from anyone," she said, fanning herself with her hand.
End of confessional.
Justin stood on the board, smiling. The sharks and most of the girls stared at him with dreamy eyes. To think that Alejandro had the same power. And unlike Justin, he did know how to use it.
"So… perfect, almost makes me believe in the inherent goodness of the human race," we both know that's a big lie, "almost," he said, reloading his machine gun, where did he get so many seagulls?
"Justin!" Beth yelled.
Confessional.
Beth
"I wanted to tell him he looked like a surfing god! Instead, I said..."
End of confessional.
"Your face! Watch your beautiful face!" the farmer shouted.
Chris started shooting at him and Justin protected himself in fear. A seagull hit him in the face and he fell into the water. The sharks immediately came to his rescue.
"What do you think you're doing?" an annoyed Heather asked Beth, "he's on another team, are you going to betray us?"
Beth got angry, and pointed at her touching her nose, "oh, I don't want to hear that from the queen of traitors," they both looked at each other like cats and dogs.
LeShawna stood in the middle of the two, "enough, don't waste saliva girl, she's not worth it," she told Beth.
Confessional.
Heather
"Beth thinks that because she doesn't obey me anymore, she's suddenly a great competitor, when the reality is that she can't go five minutes without looking for a new master to kiss its feet."
End of confessional.
"It's your turn, nerd," Duncan told me, "if you mess it up maybe we'll kick you out, no pressure," he said cheekily, I rolled my eyes, your words really touch my soul.
"Don't listen to him," Gwen told me as she elbowed Duncan, "you've done harder things, I know you'll be able to handle this," she told me, I smiled at her and we fist-bumped as she went to the board.
I climbed into it and started balancing myself, it didn't seem too difficult, until Chris started shooting at me with his seagull machine gun.
"Woah, woah, woah, woah!", the seagulls flew like little projectiles around me, "think it's dodgeball, think of the dodgeball", the sharks were eager for me to fall into the water. But damn me if I let another one of you eat me whole.
I grabbed some strips of bacon from my pocket that I stole from Owen, "Does anyone want bacon?" I asked the seagulls. Then throw the bacon at the presenter.
"Oh, oh," the seagulls pounced on Chris, "AHHHH! Why does this always happen to me!?" he said as he fled from the hungry birds. Even the sharks came out of the tank and started jumping after the host.
Everyone laughed at the pitiful spectacle.
Confessional.
Chef Hatchet
"Hahahahahaha, that's what happens to you for not paying me pretty boy."
End of confessional.
"Hahahahaha, ok, enough, you troublemakers," chef said, "since Chris is busy it's up to me to say this. Ahem, with a total of two to one, the Gaffers win," the chef announced.
My team celebrated as I got off the board, "well done," Gwen told me.
"I admit it, you did well... don't think I'm going to say it again," Duncan said reluctantly.
"Thanks guys."
"Well, unfortunately this show still needs a host, go to the entrance of the studio while I go get him," chef told us.
-0-
We were all waiting outside the movie lot. It took Chris a while to get rid of the feathered menace, but he was finally here.
"Welcome back to Total Drama Action," Chris said in front of the camera, "where against all advice to the contrary, our players have changed out of their bathing suits. Hope you like swimming in your jeans," as if we were going for a swim.
"Right, because we're totally going to the beach for real this time," Heather said sarcastically, "the bus is just late."
*Beep, beep*
Just then a school bus arrived, "You were saying?"
Confessional.
Owen
"Chris actually told us the truth for once? Hahahaha, what's next? Being treated with actual respect?"
End of confessional.
"A blue bracelet for Gwen that matched her gothic style," Beth said handing a bracelet to Gwen, who seriously seemed to appreciate it, "a green one for Duncan that matched his hair," she said, handing one to the punk.
"Whatever," he said, accepting the gift anyway.
"An orange one for Cody to remind him of the redhead in his heart," she said, handing me the bracelet.
"Thank you Beth, I really appreciate it," I said getting on the bus, I hung the bracelet on my right wrist, it really reminded me of Izzy.
Confessional.
Beth
"How I'd like to give Justin one... but, we're on different teams, and Heather keeps breathing down my neck, she's very annoying," she said in a bad mood.
End of confessional.
-0-
"Yes, campers, we're actually back at your old stomping grounds, TOTAL... DRAMA... ISLAND!" said Chris. I can't believe how close the film studio is to the island actually, "If you need to take a moment and reminisce about the great times you had here..."
"Hahahahaha!", we all laughed about it, yes, there were good times, and very good times, but most of them were still bad.
"Fine. We'll skip the 'good memories' montage. Screaming Gaffers. You've got a thirty-minute head start on... The sand castle building contest. To be judged by our resident King o' the Dunes", chef changed his chef's hat for a tower of sand, "make like prop masters, guys, and give me something awesome. I really don't want the tiebreaker to have to go down", neither do I, whatever it takes for not seeing Leshawna dance... oh and don't let Trent give us the challenge, "well, you can get started," Chris told us.
We all exchanged glances, "Okay, does anyone know how to build sandcastles?" asked Duncan.
"I don't even go to the beach," Gwen said.
Heather looked at me, "Don't you have 'sand castle builder' in your arsenal?" she asked.
"I built castles when I was a kid, but nothing too complicated," was my reply.
"I've done it too, I can help you," Beth told me.
Ok, we're moving forward, "okay, we've got the upper hand, Beth and I will take care of the castle, DJ, LeShawna we're going to need a lot of wet sand."
"Leave it to us," LeShawna said as they both grabbed buckets to go collect sand.
"Gwen, Duncan, Heather, you guys get branches, rocks, and seashells."
"And why do you need those things?" the criminal asked me.
"For decoration, it's not enough just to build a castle, it must have personality," I told him.
"I'll go get the seashells," Heather said boredly.
"We'll get branches and stones," Gwen said.
"Ok, let's get to work."
-0-
POV. Lindsay
"Uh, Owen, this is bad, isn't it?" I asked the guy next to me.
"Very bad," he said, I was afraid of that.
"Terribly bad," Justin said, looking the same way we did.
"I told you, I'm a Frank Gehry fan, so I should decide what we're going to build! Gosh!" said Harold, that seems like a very valid point to me... I don't know who he's talking about, though.
"You're not the only one who knows the greatest architect of our era, I can easily tell you fifty structures better than what you propose," oh, so that's what he was, thank you Courtney.
"Guys, calm down, arguing isn't going to get us anywhere, I say let's make a simple castle... with nine towers around it, of course," Trent said, the other two stared at him.
Then the three of them started arguing louder, "At this rate, we won't be able to build anything when our turn comes," Justin commented worriedly.
I looked at the other team, Cody was telling them what to do and the others were listening to him, he really is an amazing leader, I blushed a little when I remembered what happened earlier, I just went and hugged him without thinking too much, but it was so warm and it was so cold, how is that possible? I shook my head, concentrate Lindsay, what am I supposed to do?
I saw some branches buried in the sand, that's it, "I have an idea", I said out loud getting everyone's attention, take the branches from the beach, "let's use this, whoever gets the shortest, will decide which castle to build", everyone looked at me funny, "What?".
"That's a good idea," Courtney said.
"Did you come up with it?" asked Harold.
I got angry, "What's so weird about that?" I complained.
"It's just that you're not very smart."
"Owen!"
"Sorry," he said, frightened.
I was sad, "Is that what you think of me?"
"No!" said Courtney quickly, "Why don't we choose at once? I'll go first," despite that it still made me feel sad.
-0-
POV. Cody
"Here's more sand," LeShawna said as he brought in another bucket of wet sand. Gwen and Duncan had left just now after dropping off the things I asked for, DJ now helping Beth and I build the castle. I used the stones and branches to give it a more artistic touch. I also kept an eye out for the seagulls to get close to our work, but they just flitted around the beach, they had no interest in us.
"Squawk," except one.
"Hi Kevin, it's been a few weeks since I last saw you," I said to the seagull standing next to me who had a branch in his beak.
"Dude, I've gotten used to seeing you talking to animals, but I still think you're crazy," Leshawna told me.
I just shrugged, by now I had accepted that I'm a little crazy.
"I have seashells," Heather said as she came and emptied her bucket into the sand, the truth is that she had gotten some very good pieces, "you better be grateful, because they weren't easy to find," she complained.
"Yes, yes, whatever you say," Leshawna dismissed.
Chris blew a trumpet, "Gaffers, your extra thirty minutes are over," the host said, "Grips, you can begin."
"Well, let's just do what we agreed to do, and we'll win this challenge," Trent said.
What did they agree to? They were fighting just now, aren't they going to use Harold's design?
Confessional.
Courtney
She looked annoyed, "stupid game."
Harold
"I was robbed, this was my chance to shine."
Trent
"Haha, I won, castle with nine times everything, here we go."
Lindsay
She looked sad, "they said it was a good idea, but no one seems happy now."
End of confessional.
...
"Ok, it's almost finished," I told the others, I don't have much experience making sandcastles, but I can say that we really did a good job here, it was a pretty impressive medieval castle.
"It's an amazing job," Gwen said as she arrived along with Duncan.
...
POV. Courtney
Duncan and Gwen had finally returned, they were gone for quite some time. Okay, I don't like playing the jealous girlfriend, but I think it's time for Duncan and I to have a little chat.
"Now we have a flag," Lindsay's voice made me look back at our work... our work very strange and poorly structured. At least the flag Lindsay painted looked good... I feel a little bad that we all called her a fool indirectly.
"Alright, we just need eight more flags," Trent said, that might ruin our castle.
"Why would we need more flags?" I asked our leader.
"To make nine of course," he said with a look you'd only expect to see in someone like Izzy. What is it about Trent and the number nine?
"Harold, remember, nine windows, and then nine moats," he said to the nerd sculpting in our castle.
"That's impossible, the structure will collapse if we do such a thing," he replied.
"Hey, who won the competition to decide what we would build?" asked Trent.
"You," I replied, "but that doesn't mean we're going to follow you to defeat on a foolish whim," I replied to Trent.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Can I at least put up the nine flags?" I slapped my forehead.
"Do what you want, but you can't complain to us later," I warned, I'm sick of taking care of reckless teammates.
...
POV. Cody
I did one last check to our castle, it looked quite rustic, but as we opted for a medieval theme it suited it quite well, "done, it's finished", I told the others.
"It's a good castle," Gwen said.
"It would be a lot better if it was painted black, but I guess I can't complain," Duncan said.
"I know, right?" Gwen said immediately. I felt my eye move, these two are going to give me something, I'm serious.
"Dude, stop, it won't resist!" shouted Justin.
We all saw the other team; everyone was worried about Trent trying to put one more flag on his castle.
"Hehehe, one more, just one more and we'll have nine, hehehehaha, then Casa Gwen will be finished," he said with a psychopathic look, Trent was getting crazy out and fast.
"Now he's naming buildings after me? I think Trent might be obsessed," Gwen said incredulously, "At least his number nine obsession is even worse than the "me" one."
"Four letters in your name, five letters in Trent's. Put 'em together and you get..."
"Nine! He can't be doing everything nine times just for me," Gwen said bewildered.
"And he doesn't," I told her as I watched also him try to put up the flag.
"What?" she asked.
"I said it's highly unlikely that's the reason for his obsession with number nine. It's very stupid," I said as I looked at the delinquent who was just sneering without a care in the world, "Don't you think you should ask him instead of jumping to conclusions? I don't think this kind of obsession has anything to do with love, believe me, the guy looks too desperate, it must be for something else," I said.
To my great relief, Gwen seriously considers my words.
Confessional.
Gwen
"Agh, Cody is right, how could I immediately accept Duncan's absurd theory? In hindsight, it sounds very stupid," she sighed, "I don't think I know Trent as much as I thought," she started thinking about it, "in fact, I think I know almost nothing personally about him," she realized, "agh, what a girlfriend I am," she said disappointed.
End of confessional.
Trent placed the last flag over his castle... And surprisingly it didn't collapse. I guess it was because Harold and Courtney built it.
"Yes!" he said excitedly, his team breathed a sigh of relief.
"Alright, time's up," Chris said, "it's time to judge, Chef."
Chef approached our castle first; we all held our breath as he assessed it with a critical eye. He also looked at us intensely.
Without saying a word, he walked away from us and went to judge the other castle, the stagehands greeted him with nervous smiles, he looked at each of them with a raised eyebrow, then looked at their castle with an intense gaze.
Then he nodded his head and went to stand next to Chris again.
"...," he scratched his chin thoughtfully, "they were both second-hand works and would never win a prize in a real competition," ouch, that hurts, "but I like medieval fortresses, my vote is for the Gaffers," the chef said.
I was in disbelief, I just felt how Beth and DJ hugged me happily.
"That means the Screaming Gaffers win this week's challenge," Chris announced. This time we all celebrated with joy, I managed to avoid the tiebreaker and two awkward situations, that's quite an achievement. No one needs to see LeShawna dance.
"All right host, give us the reward," Duncan threatened the presenter sadly.
"Don't worry, tiger, this week's reward is... the greatest beach party ever picked," the host announced.
"Oh yes baby!", LeShawna and DJ high fived.
"Organized by the losing team," Chris ended.
"Now, that's a reward," Heather said as the Grips complained. The reward changed a bit, I guess because we won both challenges.
"Come on, are you serious?" complained Courtney.
"I'm hoping for a good party, love," Duncan teased her.
Courtney squinted, picked up one of the shells they used as a flag and threw it straight into his crotch, "phew."
*Boom*
"Uhhhhh~", that looked painful, Duncan collapsed to the ground. The rest of us just recoiled in fear. Don't get on Courtney's bad side, that's a rule this season.
Confessional.
Courtney
"I'll admit that maybe I go a little too far... But it felt good to give that fool his comeuppance after constantly worrying."
Duncan
He had an ice pack on his nuts, "it's very counterintuitive, I know how deadly it can be to anger Courtney, but at the same time who can resist watching her go wild?" he said happily.
End of confessional.
"I knew we should have gone with my idea and built the Taj Ma-Harold," Harold said angrily.
"If that was your idea we would still have lost, I should have taken over the project," Courtney said. They both glared at each other with hatred and proceeded with a slap fight similar to the one in the original first season. That team is dysfunctional.
-0-
POV. Gwen
Chris left for some alone time. He told us that we could relax until the evening while the other team took care of organizing the party, in which they would not participate. That made me feel a little bad for them... but only a little.
Now I was walking through the woods, I know I shouldn't believe Duncan's nonsense, but I needed to clear my doubts and that's what I was going to do.
Luckily I managed to find Trent collecting wood, only... Agh, this is the last straw.
"Oh, hello Gwen," Trent said when he saw me arrive.
"Hey... I went for a walk for a while and I saw you, do you need help?"
"Nah, it's okay, it would be a shame if we couldn't even do this," he replied. Now I feel even worse about winning.
"Uh, I couldn't help but notice that you carry exactly nine sticks," I said looking at the branches in his hands, "Is there any reason for this?"
"Oh, it's just that nine is my lucky number," he told me.
"Four letters in your name, five letters in Trent's. Put 'em together and you get..."
I shook my head, don't think stupid things, "and is there any particularly special reason for that?"
Now Trent looked a little more embarrassed, which was starting to scare me.
"Honestly, it's a pretty personal thing, and I'm embarrassed to say it," he said.
"Hey," he looked at me and I smiled at him, "I'm not going to judge you, I promise," at least I hope I don't.
Trent looked to the sides before speaking, "fine, but don't tell anyone, especially Duncan."
I rolled my eyes, "Okay, I won't say anything to Duncan."
Trent scratched the back of his head, "Before he died, my grandfather gave me a toy train, which I loved very much."
I was surprised, I didn't expect this, "Your grandfather die?"
"Yes, but don't worry, it was a long time ago... The point is, I loved that toy train... But one day, it lost one of his wheels, and then it only had-"
"Nine left," I said, wide-eyed as I realized it.
He smiled sadly, "Yeah... Since then, nine has been my lucky number," he concluded.
I was feeling so stupid right now, I really was about to believe that the nine was because of the absurd combination of our names? Argh, I deserve someone to kick me for this. Actually, it fits, Trent was always a sentimentalist, so I definitely see him obsessing over something like this. This is the guy who gave up the competition because he almost burned Heather out of all people.
"Gwen?", great and now we fall into an awkward silence, what am I supposed to say to her now?
"I... I... oh, looks like LeShawna is calling me, I have to go, I'm sorry about your grandpa, nice chat, see you later," I kissed him on the cheek and literally ran away.
Confessional.
Trent
"Uff, maybe I shouldn't have told her that, she clearly felt uncomfortable, surely she thought I was being very cheesy, Gwen is the cold and mysterious type after all."
Gwen
She had her face against the table, "grrrr, yes I know, I just ran away from there like a coward, I didn't know what to say to him," she raised her head and looked at the camera angrily, "and you don't have the right to judge me, I wish I saw someone else in my place knowing what to do in that situation."
End of confessional.
-0-
POV. Duncan
I kicked a rock towards a group of seagulls on the beach, it was a bit boring now that the challenge was over. I guess this team wasn't too bad, we were killing it with the challenges. The only bad thing would be that Courtney isn't on the team, that's a nuisance, especially with how competitive she is.
"You and I have to talk," I smiled, talk about the devil and he'll show up.
"Are you still upset about the party, princess? It's not healthy to hold a grudge like that," I said.
She squinted at me, "it's not about that, although I admit that losing bothers me, and I thought I told you many times not to call me that," she told me angrily, she's so easy to provoke, "this is about your thing with Gwen."
"Ugh, great, do you too now? How long are you going to continue with this?" I asked cowedly, there's nothing between us.
Courtney stood in front of me with fire in her eyes, this means "be careful what you say next or there will be consequences" I don't even cross the line when she gets like this.
"Don't play dumb, even if you tell me you don't like Gwen, I know you well enough to know that everything you've been doing, being all friendly to her, is yet another one of your ploys to annoy Trent."
"Tks, I was hoping you wouldn't notice", nothing escapes this girl, that's scary, yes, I was bothering him because I don't really care about his relationship, but it's not like I have ulterior motives, "So what? It's not my fault that Elvis assumes something that's not true."
"And is he really wrong?"
"What? Do you really think I'm doing this to get them to break up?"
"And what do you want me to believe? Since when are you so friendly with someone? I'm your girlfriend and all we do is fight, and I don't care if it makes me look like a jealous girlfriend... At least I want proof that this is more than just a game for you."
But if the one who wanted us to focus on the game was you, argh, who understands women? "well I understand, how do you think I can be a better boyfriend oh your majesty?".
The smile that was drawn on her face made me realize that I had fallen into a trap, "I'm so glad you asked", she took out a pile of paper from... somewhere, and she handed it to me.
"Uff", how much does this weigh?
"Those are just a few guidelines you need to meet to be an ideal boyfriend. Since you seem so committed, I hope a few days will be enough to finish it," she told me.
Confessional.
Duncan
"Number 56, section 7, paragraph 5, if I want to hold Courtney's hand, I have to make a good pun on her hair first? Argh, the things you do for a girl," he said tiredly.
End of confessional.
"Well, I'll leave you so you can focus... We have to get ready for the party after all..."
*CRACK*
Before leaving, Courtney broke a rock in half in one kick out of frustration, ah, right, that's why I do it, who could resist such a woman?
-0-
POV. Lindsay
My team and I were sitting on a secluded part of the beach, while the other team was enjoying the party we threw for them. We were supposed to go to the bus but apparently it was damaged.
Kyle didn't even bother to get us food, he's a really bad guy.
Harold was sitting alone and sulking in a corner, Courtney was the doing same, so was Trent who was sitting next to Owen.
As for me, I was sitting hugging my knees, this is all my fault, if I hadn't suggested the twig thing, maybe we would have made a better castle, and at least we would have tied with the other team, not only that. It was my idea to put flags on our castle, which made Trent want to put more on it, which ruined its appearance for the chef.
I tried to contribute to the team just like Cody would, but instead of helping I just ruined it... Like I did in the Gophers.
If Heather hadn't told me what to do all those times, I would most likely have been expelled sooner or later.
I shook my head, I don't want to think that right now.
"Hi Lindsay, why are you so sad?" asked Justin as he sat down next to me. Not even his beautiful god-like appearance among men could cheer me up at this moment.
"It's my fault the team lost," I told him.
He was silent for a moment thinking about what to say, "Well, I wouldn't worry about that, I'm sure others will forgive you," he told me.
I looked at him hopefully, "Do you really believe it?"
"Of course."
"But... I ruined it... like, a lot, today."
"And what does it matter?... After all, you're an attractive person."
"Huh?", okay, I know there are a lot of things I don't understand, but this time I'm seriously lost here.
Justin continued without noticing my confusion, "we, attractive people, don't need to use our heads, that's for people who can't stand out like us and need something that makes them feel special," he said dramatically, Is that how it works?, "that's why you don't need to worry, people will forgive you if you mess up, It's not like they're looking at what you do, but who does it," he said as he looked at himself in her mirror and smiled, "As long as you're beautiful no one will care if you don't know anything, the camera loves us, this is our stage, the audience will always have their eyes on me- us, they'll always have their eyes on beauties like us, They'll be on our side, and that's all that matters on this show, popularity."
"Uh..."
"So don't feel bad Lindsay, you don't need to try to be smarter, leave that for those who can't shine like you."
I smiled awkwardly, "huh... Thank you Justin?"
"You're welcome, beautiful," he said as he looked at himself in the mirror, was he talking to me or the mirror? I'm so confused.
Confessional.
Lindsay
"Hey, is it my idea, or did what Justin said seem to be... bad? But he's handsome, he must know a lot about this, right?"
Justin
"Too bad Beth is on the other team, you can tell she has feelings for me, it would have been easy to convince her of an alliance, maybe she can be a good spy... but Lindsay, she clearly wants to get attention, what better way to do it than standing next to me helping me win, she also has feelings for me after all, more than an alliance, we could be the flashiest and hottest couple on the show, attractive people must be with even more attractive people... and Lindsay clearly has the attributes for a relationship with me. I'm definitely going to crush the competition... It's just a matter of time."
End of confessional.
...
POV. Trent
"Agh, you must have seen her Owen, she left in a hurry, I think she felt sorry for me," I was telling my potbellied friend what happened to Gwen, skipping the train part of course.
"Oh, oh, that's not good dude, girls only care about winning, they care about winning more than anything," he told me.
"How do you know that?" I asked.
"Well, the only girls I know besides my mom are the ones on this show, and all of them have threatened me more than once to get the win... Also, some guys, but that's beside the point. My point is... that if Gwen's objective gets hindered because of what you told her..."
"She… she could break up with me!" I realized gravely.
Confessional.
Trent
"I won't let that happen, Gwen is more important to me than a stupid game. If she wants to win to be happy, then I'll make sure she does," he said seriously.
...
Chris was watching this from the camera room, "wow, there are a lot of very interesting and promising developments coming around here, hahahahaha, we'll have to see what juicy drama this becomes, will Trent be able to save his fragile relationship with Gwen?"
"I definitely will!" said Trent who clearly heard the presenter.
Chris turned off the camera by pressing a button, "Will Duncan be able to finish studying to go out with Courtney before the next episode? What is Justin up to? Will Lindsay do anything useful, or will she continue to sink her team into defeat? all the answers to these and more questions in the next dramatic episode of TOTAL... DRAMA... ACTION!"
End of confessional.