As the male members of Gophers reached their side of the cabin, they opened the door and got a look at their new living quarters. Sure enough, it fit the theme of a summer camp, right down to bunk beds. "Well, this stinks," Duncan bluntly stated as he looked around.
Harold looked between the beds and them. "There are four sets of beds, and seven of us. We need to decide who…" he began, before trailing off as he recounted the number of guys and noticed something. "Where's Cody?"
The other guys looked around, surprised to see that the geek was not with them. They got their answer a moment later when they heard Courtney shout "OUT!" and looked outside. Sure enough, Cody was sailing out of the cabin from the girls' side, landing mouth-first in the grass.
Duncan snickered. "Okay, that was good," he remarked, and Liam chuckled as well at the schadenfreude.
Tyler hummed as he looked at the beds. "With eight beds, one of us will end up sleeping by ourselves," he finished Harold's thought.
Ezekiel opened his mouth, but Duncan said "Not a chance, homeschool. I get my own bed."
Harold frowned. "And who made you captain?" he challenged. "I think we should vote for who gets it."
Liam shook his head. "If we knew each other, that would be fine. But we'd all vote for ourselves," he countered.
By this point, Cody had made it back to the cabin, and raised his hand. "How about we draw straws?" he said.
That made each of them pause to consider that. After a moment, however, Ezekiel asked "Where would we get straws?"
Duncan smirked. "I don't know about straws, but I can get us sticks," he said, before whipping out a pocket knife. Walking over to one of the beds, he began to scrape off seven strips of wood. Liam raised an eyebrow at the token act of vandalism, but said nothing. Both Harold and Cody frowned in disapproval, but the fact the knife was out kept them silent as well.
In short order, the seven of them gathered around and drew sticks. The one with the longest stick, and therefore their own bed… was Justin.
The model grinned and placed his luggage on the top bed. Meanwhile, the others groaned but quickly broke off into pairs. One bunk bed went to Cody & Harold, while the others went to Liam & Duncan and Tyler & Ezekiel. That minor issue resolved, the guys began to unpack their luggage and put it away in the drawers they were provided. However, they were less than a minute into that task when an incredibly loud, female scream rang across the island.
They looked in the direction it had come from, the same direction as the Bass cabin. All of them quickly rushed over to see what happened, as did the other campers. As the scream came to an end, Leshawna uncovered her ears. "Dang, that white girl can scream," she remarked, causing several of the campers to nod their heads.
Lindsay, meanwhile, had leaped onto a stool inside the cabin and was quivering in fear. "Kill it! Kill it!" she shouted, pointing at a cockroach standing on the floor. DJ gasped and screamed as well, leaping onto Gwen's bed and nearly crushing it under his weight. As the roach began crawling around, several of the other campers also screamed, while some of them tried to step on the roach only for it to crawl out of the way.
It then switched direction and began rushing for the door. Its mad dash for freedom came to an end, however, in the form of an axe-wielding Duncan. With a grin, he swung the weapon down, and Liam could swear he heard a voice say 'Help me' just before the cockroach was cut in half.
"Well, that's one way to kill it," Gwen remarked, smirking slightly.
Tyler, who was among those that tried to step on it, quickly approached Lindsay. "You know, I could do that too," he boasted. "So if you see one of those again, just let me know," he told her.
The blonde smiled and giggled, touched by the offer. "Aw, you're so sweet," she said, causing Duncan to roll his eyes.
"Always with the jocks," he muttered, before hefting his axe and heading back to his team's cabin.
'Where did he even get that?' Liam wondered, before shaking his head. Some questions, he had learned through bitter experience, were better left unanswered. For now, he returned to his cabin and finished putting away his luggage. Doing that left him enough time to talk with one person before lunch, two if he was lucky. So he needed to be wise in choosing who.
That decision was made for him when Beth emerged from the girls' side of the cabin. Future pawns were nice, but he needed to secure this one now. And so, as he approached her, he made sure to bow his head slightly, grab his left bicep with his right arm and add a small frown to his face.
"Hey, Beth?" he said, getting her to look at him. "I'm not sure how being new friends works. Do we help each other with challenges? Keep us both from being eliminated? Or just talk?"
Beth hummed, looking at the ground. "You know, I'm not sure. I haven't... really had a lot of friends either, except for my pet pig Bertha," she admitted, making Liam blink at the knowledge that her only friend was an animal. "But all that stuff you said sounds like a great start!" she added, looking back up.
Liam gave her a smile filled with relief. "That's great; I wasn't sure if you would like my ideas," he told her. "So, should we start with talking?" When she nodded, he sat down on the cabin steps, and she quickly sat down next to him. "I'm curious: what made you want to join the show?" he asked.
Beth smiled. "Well, I've talked to a lot of people at my school, and not a lot of them like farm animals, even the boys. So I'm hoping to make some friends that do," she told him.
The redhead considered that. Between that and the pet pig… "You lived near a farm, then?" he asked.
"Lived on one, actually. That's why I got to know animals as well as I do," she answered. "What about you? Do you like animals?"
Liam waved his hand. "I've been to a farm a few times," he answered vaguely. "But every time I was there, I enjoyed being able to interact with the animals. Especially the horses," he claimed.
Beth nodded. "Horses are pretty great," she agreed. "But out of the bigger animals, I prefer cattle. They're way less picky about their food."
Liam grunted in acknowledgment, but didn't have a reply. After sitting in a comfortable silence for a minute, he eventually stood up. "Well, it was fun talking with you, Beth. We'll have to do it again soon," he told her.
She grinned. "I'd like that," she said, and he returned the smile before walking away.
Well, that was one resource secured, and he had enough time to talk with one other person. Looking around, he noticed both Katie and Sadie were admiring Justin as he suntanned, and mentally dismissed the three of them. Duncan was an option, but he wasn't so sure yet if making a friend out of the delinquent was a good idea. Being associated with that kind of attitude could earn him more enemies than allies.
As he looked further, he noticed Harold was still in the cabin, reading a comic book. Hmmm… why not?
He entered the cabin and sat across from the nerd, saying "Big fan of Batman?" and waving at the comic.
Harold looked up from the comic at him. "Yeah, ever since I was a kid. Why do you ask?" he questioned, somewhat wary.
'Not as quick to trust as Beth, I see,' Liam mentally remarked. Aloud, he said "I figured I should get to know my teammates. We are going to be living and working together. Being able to get along will be important."
He was silent for a moment, thinking that over. "I guess I can see the logic in that. So let me ask you: do you like comic books?" he asked.
The redhead's initial thought was to lie and say yes, he was an avid comic reader. However, with how closely Harold was looking at him, there was the chance he would catch a lie. Honesty it was, then. "I've never actually read one," he admitted. "But I've yet to find a film adaptation I didn't enjoy, so I'm sure I could get into the comics."
Harold nodded. "I get that a lot. They'll come out with a movie or show, and that will get people to look at the source material," he said. Looking down at his luggage case tucked under his bed, he said "You know… I could lend you one of mine. See if it's your cup of tea."
Liam considered it. Devoting a few minutes each day to reading, and making sure it was in a place Harold could see him do it? He could do that. "Sure," he said. "It could be fun."
The nerd smiled and reached for his case. He soon produced another Batman comic, which he handed to Liam. "Just take care of it, and give it back when you're done, okay?" he said.
He nodded. "I promise to keep it safe," he said honestly. It was an easy promise to keep. And to display his sincerity, he immediately climbed up onto his bunk and began reading the comic.
That task consumed the remaining time until Chris came on the loudspeaker, telling them all to gather at the main lodge. Two large picnic tables were set up inside, one for each team. And standing behind the serving counter was a tall, heavily muscled man with dark skin and a chef's outfit.
"Listen up!" he shouted, causing all of them to stand straight. "My name is Chef Hatchet. I serve it three times a day. And three times a day, you will eat it! So grab a tray, get your food, and sit your butts down!" he told them, dispensing plates with Sloppy Joe-esque sandwiches and bowls of some unidentifiable gray mash.
Owen chuckled. "Have a cow, why doesn't he?" he said to Noah.
"What was that?!" Chef called, causing him to freeze. "Come closer, big boy. I don't think I heard you," he challenged.
Owen immediately backed down. "Oh, I didn't say anything worth hearing," he said, laughing nervously.
"I'm sure you didn't," Chef replied. "You, scrawny kid!" he said, getting Cody, Harold and Noah to all perk up.
Rolling his eyes, he pointed to Noah. "Get over here," he said, and the bookworm obediently approached the counter. He scooped up a second serving of Sloppy Joe mix and added it to Noah's plate. "Need to put some meat on those twigs," he said, making Noah thin his lips in annoyance.
"Thaaaanks," he replied, but refrained from adding anything else.
Behind him in line, Leshawna and Gwen were standing next to each other. Leaning over to her new bunkmate, Leshawna whispered "You think it's real meat in there?"
Gwen frowned. "Probably not," she admitted. As she received her tray, her sandwich twitched, and she stopped. Looking at Chef, she said "Okay, I hate to be a cliché and complain on Day One, but I think my food just moved."
Chef's response was to produce a hammer and smash her sandwich with it, splattering bits of sandwich 'meat' over both of them and Leshawna all while fixing her with a flat stare.
"...Great!" Gwen said, smiling and walking away rather than find out what happened if she asked for a new sandwich.
Behind both of them was Liam, who approached with his usual smile. Taking one look at his lanky stature, Chef said "Double helpings for you too, maggot. Any problems with that?!"
"Sir, no, sir!" Liam replied automatically, eyes briefly opening fully as he stood straight.
Chef raised an eyebrow. With a response like that... "Army family, son?" he asked much more calmly.
Relaxing, Liam shook his head. "No, sir. Three years in the Royal Canadian Sea Cadets program," he said.
That got Chef to nod approvingly. "I was a navy man myself. Here," he said, reaching into a pocket and producing a packet of black pepper. "Helps improve the taste," he explained even as he added a second scoop of 'meat' to the teens plate.
Liam smiled. "Thank you, sir," he said, taking his tray and walking off to sit at the Gopher table.
As Daphne sat down at the Bass table and examined her sandwich, she muttered "I wonder…" before reaching into her pocket and pulling out a lighter.
Izzy, who was sitting across and to her left, perked up. "Oh, are we burning bread?" she asked with excitement.
Daphne shook her head. "Maybe later, but first…" she said, before flicking the lighter and bringing her sandwich closer to it. Her teammates all watched the scene with various expressions.
And once the sandwich was only inches from the flame, it let out a screech before leaping out of her hand. They all watched it slide across the floor like a worm as it bolted for the door, sliding under it and escaping outside. The other Bass looked at their sandwiches and-except for Owen, Izzy and Eva-pushed them away. Those three just shrugged and bit into their sandwiches, ignoring the small screams they gave out before going limp.
Once everyone was served, Chris entered the lodge. "Well, I hope you're all enjoying your food," he said with a smile.
Several of the campers glared at him, and Geoff said "Yo, Chris. Can we, like, order a pizza or something?" His answer came in the form of a meat cleaver flying right past his head, imbedding itself in the wall. "Whoa! It's cool, man! Gray paste is fine!" he hastily, waving his hands at the angry Chef who threw it.
Distracted as they all were, none noticed Daphne reach up and pull the cleaver out of the wall. "Izzy," she whispered, getting the girl to look at her. "A gift," she said, passing her the knife under the table.
Izzy's eyes widened, and she grinned at the sight of the deadly weapon. "Awesome!" she said, taking it with a nod of thanks.
Undeterred by the sudden violence, Chris pressed on. "Your first challenge begins in one hour. Be in your bathing suits, by the way. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to get a gourmet meal from the craft services tent," he told them, irritating them further as he strutted out.
Katie and Sadie, who were obviously sitting together, leaned closer to each other. "What do you think they'll make us do? A swim race?" Sadie asked nervously.
Katie smiled. "It's the very first challenge. It can't be that hard."
The cameras then cut to all of them standing with Chris next to a several-hundred foot cliff.
"Oh, f #$," Katie said, the editors censoring it for their U.S. audiences.
Taking a moment to savor their expressions of terror, Chris began his explanation. "Your first challenge on the show has three parts. First up, each of you will jump off this 1000-foot cliff into the lake. On the beach below, you'll find a set of crates; the second part is to move all of your crates back to camp. And finally, you'll use the supplies in them to build a hot tub, to be judged by yours truly."
Pointing down to the water, he added "You'll notice two designated areas. The larger area has been filled with man-eating sharks…" At that, each of them stared at Chris like he was insane, but he didn't let that stop him. "And the smaller area within is a safe zone. At least, it looked safe enough during testing," he said with a chuckle. "The team with the best hot tub will win a sweet party tonight. The losers, meanwhile, will be sending someone home."
Taking a look at the two teams, he hummed before concluding "Gophers, let me see what you got!"
Bridgette leaned over the edge, looking down at the target area, and how small it looked from up there. "Oh, wow…" she said nervously. "So, who wants to go first?"
There was a moment of silence as each of the Gophers looked at each other.
Confessional Stall - Liam
"Jumping into possibly shark-infested waters? No, I did not want to go first!" he said unhappily. "But if I want to start connecting with my teammates, I need to be seen doing my part."
"I'll do it," Liam announced, missing a look of surprise from Courtney as he did. Walking up to edge, he sighed and closed his eyes. "Imagine jumping into dollar bills, imagine jumping into dollar bills…" he said, before taking a breath and leaping.
While keeping his eyes shut did help him to not scream, it prevented him from aiming, and he just barely landed inside the target area. Quickly coming up for air, he looked around. "Well… I'm not dead," he concluded, before looking back up. "Seems fine!" he called back up to his team.
Emboldened by his success, Tyler cheered "Yeah! We got this, come on!" and ran off the cliff. Unfortunately, he didn't get nearly far enough from the cliff, and smacked off of it before falling to land against one of the metal buoys that surrounded the safe zone. "Mommy…" he said faintly, before sliding off and into the water.
Seeing how to not cliff dive, Bridgette was much more careful by contrast, swan-diving into the dead center of the safe area. "Geronimo!" she called as she went down. Duncan didn't say a word, jumping straight down with his arms crossed and an angered expression, and Ezekiel was next to make it, followed by Cody.
However, Beth shook as she stood at the edge, looking down the cliff in abject terror. "I… I can't do it. I'm too scared," she admitted.
Chris nodded in seeming understanding. "That's alright," he said gently, getting her to relax. "Unfortunately, that also makes you a chicken! So, for the rest of the day, you have to wear this," he declared, slapping a hat shaped like a chicken onto her head.
"Aw. Seriously?" Beth asked. When he nodded and began imitating clucking sounds, she hung her head and began walking back down the hill. Either willing to jump or just unwilling to wear one of those hats as well, Katie and Sadie both jumped afterwards.
Harold was next, and he said "Yes!" Before jumping. He fell down… down… and landed with his legs split, causing him to hit the water with his groin first. Although it wasn't in the safe zone, Harold's resultant screams of pain inspired such empathy in the sharks that they let him go.
Seeing that pretty much made up Courtney's mind, and she said "Excuse me, Chris? I have a medical condition."
Not believing it for a second, he challenged "Oh yeah? What condition?"
"The kind that prevents me from jumping off cliffs," she lied plainly.
Nodding along, he said "You can choose not to jump, but… it might cost your team the win. And then they'll hate you."
Courtney was about to refuse anyway, before taking another look at the Killer Bass. While DJ appeared utterly terrified, the rest of them either were waiting with bored expressions, giving her challenging looks-especially Eva-or were Lindsay and appeared uninterested in anything besides their bikini. 'If one of them can convince DJ…' she thought, and then took another look at her teammates that were waiting on the beach. 'And if all of them can do it…' Groaning, she said "Fine! Look out below!" and dived over the edge.
Thankfully, she aimed her dive right to make it to the safe zone, and she was transported to the beach amidst her team's cheers. The last to jump was Justin, whose own dive put him outside the safe zone. As he surfaced, everyone from both teams gasped, and several began shouting for him to get out of the water.
Those cries grew when two sharks emerged behind him, mouths wide open to bite him in half. But then the man-candy turned around and flashed them a smile, and both saw the water dripping from his hair and along his washboard abs. Despite being sharks, they were instantly charmed, and swam under Justin to lift him up and ferry him to shore. During the whole exchange, he didn't say a single word.
"Well… that just happened," Chris said, before shaking his head and holding up a clip board. "So, that's eleven jumpers and one chicken. Killer Bass, if you can beat that, we'll throw in a cart for you to carry your crates with," he offered.
Trent grinned. "Sweet. So, who wants to go first?"
Unsurprisingly, none were eager to leap to their potential deaths. Heather crossed her arms. "I'm sorry, but I'm not doing it," she said firmly. "I'll get my hair wet on national television."
Gwen blinked. "You're joking, right?" she asked.
Lindsay piped up. "If Heather's not going, then I'm not either!" she declared, smiling at the rich girl and getting a smile in return.
"Oh, I don't think so!" Leshawna said. "I am not losing this challenge just because a spoiled daddy's girl like you got your hair done!"
Heather leaned forward, leaving less than a foot between them. "Back off, you too-tight-pants-wearing ghetto rap star wannabe," she ordered.
But she didn't back down, firing back with "Boutique-shopping, gossip-starting, new-car-for-your-birthday prom queen!"
For a moment Heather said nothing, and then she smirked. "At least I'm popular," she stated.
That caused the rest of the team's eyes to widen, and they all backed away from the two of them. As for Leshawna, she appeared one shot away from losing it. "You're jumping off this cliff!" she demanded.
"Make me!" Heather said, and that was it. Leshawna glared at her before grabbing the girl and lifting her over her head. "Wha-?! Hey! Put me down!" she yelled.
Marching over to the cliff, Leshawna replied "Absolutely!" and threw her over the side. Heather screamed as she fell, landing in the water, before landing in the safe zone.
She emerged a moment later, shivering and glaring. "Leshawna, I will get you for this!" she vowed.
Smirking, she called down "Hey, I made sure to throw you into the safe zone, didn't I?" Then her smirk faded, and she muttered "Now I just gotta make sure I make it too," before jumping.
Luckily for her, she did land in the safe zone, and her jump was followed by a terrified Lindsay, Gwen and Noah, a cheering Geoff and Daphne, and a cackling Izzy. But then came DJ, who had yet to make a move closer to edge.
Shaking his head, he said "Uh-uh. No way, man. Not doing it."
Chris grinned. "What? Scared of a little water?" he taunted.
The muscular boy surprised him by nodding. "Yeah, man. Ever since I was a little kid," he stated.
"Aw, that's okay. One chicken hat for you, then, Mr. Chicken," he said, reaching up to place said hat on DJ's head. He accepted with silent shame, already walking back down the hill.
Trent gave Owen a high-five, saying "Let's do this!" before jumping, with a stoic Eva following him up.
That left just the big guy left. As he hesitated, Chris pulled out a megaphone to take down to the rest on the beach. "Okay, campers, just one left. Killer Bass, you need this to keep the Gophers from winning."
Most of the other Bass immediately started cheering, most of various versions of "Go, Owen!" while Heather called "Just do it, Owen!"
Said camper slowly pulled on a pair of arm floaties, trying to gather his courage.
Confessional Stall - Owen
"I'll admit, I was pretty nervous. See, the thing is, I'm not that strong of a swimmer," he admitted.
Confessional Stall - Geoff
"Okay, since the dude's on my team, I'd want him to jump. At the same time, I'm looking at him and thinking 'There's no way he'd make it'."
Confessional Stall - Gwen
"I honestly thought that if he did this, he was going to die."
Both teams waited with bated breath. Chris, eager for some good footage, said "Take a run at it if you need to, buddy. You can do this!"
Taking his suggestion, Owen began backing up. "This is it. This is how I'm freaking dying," he said, coming to a stop. Then he clenched his first, closed his eyes and took a deep breath. A moment later, when he opened them, his gaze was filled with determination. Giving a battle cry, he charged past Chris, up to edge, and leaped.
"OH CRAAAAAA-!" he screamed, before hitting the water with a belly-flop so massive it sent up a wave half as high as the cliff itself.
That wave sent Trent, the boat being used to ferry him, and even one of the sharks onto the beach. Every other camper was re-soaked, while a second shark had been launched into a tree. But once the water settled, floating in the center of the safe zone was Owen. "Yeah! Who's the man!" he shouted.
The rest of the Bass cheered, and Chris called over his megaphone "Only one person from both teams chickened out! We have a tie!"
Beth raised her hand. "Does this mean we both get a cart, then?" she asked hopefully.
"Hmm… Nope!" he said, happily dashing those hopes. "We only had one, so since nobody won, both teams get to move them by hand. Have fun!" he told them, laughing and ignoring their complaints as he walked away.
Chef was quick to arrive and take the cart away before they could use it anyway, and both teams groaned before starting to push or carry each of their crates.
The two teams, by way of mutual distrust, had moved far enough away from each other on the beach to be mostly unheard. Thanks to having both Eva and DJ on their team, the Bass began to gradually pull ahead, to the visible irritation of Courtney.
"Come on, guys, we can't let them win! It's mind… over… matter!" she said angrily, before lifting the crate she had been pushing over her head and marching forward.
Ezekiel, who was pushing his crate next to Liam, said "Man, she's pretty strong for a girl, eh?"
The redhead raised an eyebrow. "'For a girl'? What does that mean?" he asked.
Looking at him in confusion, the farm boy said "Well, guys are stronger, faster and smarter than girls, right? That's what my Pa told me."
Liam's eyes opened fully, and he quickly looked around. Luckily, the others seemed too preoccupied with their own carts to listen to them. Leaning closer, he asked "Have you mentioned that to anyone else?"
Ezekiel shook his head. "I didn't see a reason to. It's supposed to be obvious, eh?" he said.
Liam sighed in relief, before looking at him. Suddenly, his relieved expression turned to one of realization.
Confessional Stall - Liam
"When I learned that Ezekiel had been homeschooled all his life, it didn't click for me at first. Now I see: he's completely ignorant of the outside world! And an ignorant teammate…" He smirked. "Is a pliable one."
"Alright, Ezekiel, let me ask you something: Do you want to make it past the first elimination?" he asked. When the other camper nodded, he said "Then imagine for me, if you will. I just walked up and told you that, due to something you don't control, you will never be as fast or smart or strong as I am, no matter how hard you try. How do you feel?"
Thinking about it, he said "Well, since we're both guys, I'd be pretty upset. If I were a girl… I'd probably still be upset, but I think I'd get over it. It's just the way it is."
Liam did his best not to roll his eyes at that justification. "Regardless, you understand that hearing such a thing would upset the women on our team. And if they're upset with you, they'll want to vote you out, even if they do 'get over it'," he explained, failing to suppress the eye roll at the quote.
"I guess…" Ezekiel said slowly.
Seeing that he had a foothold, Liam said "How about this? Anytime I think you're about to say something that would upset our teammates, I'll give you a signal to stop. This will keep them from voting for you. And in return, you'll follow my advice on who to vote for yourself."
The farm boy was silent for a while, thinking about it. "Can I say no to voting for someone if I like them?" he said.
Liam hid a grimace at that. Okay, maybe he wasn't completely ignorant. "Sure," he allowed.
"Then I say yes," Ezekiel declared, extending a hand. Liam shook it, and the homeschooler said "Really appreciate the help, man."
"Don't mention it," he replied, before focusing on his own box.
Elsewhere, Tyler put down his crate. "I gotta take a leak," he announced.
Courtney stared at him. "You couldn't have done that before the challenge?" she said.
Before he could answer that, Katie spoke up. "I also have to use the bathroom."
"Oh my gosh, Katie, me too!" Sadie said, and they both smiled.
Courtney looked incensed. "Ugh, fine! Just hurry: we're already falling behind!" she told them, and Tyler nodded before dashing into the woods.
With the Bass, meanwhile, Leshawna was carrying her crate over one shoulder, and moved over next to Gwen. Seeing her come close, the goth said "Something I can help you with?"
"Just wanted to get your thoughts on something," Leshawna replied. At Gwen's wave to continue, she said "I see it like it is, and we're not going to win every challenge. Sooner or later, we're gonna have to pick someone to boot off."
Gwen frowned. "And you want that to be Heather?" she guessed.
"Exactly. You saw how bossy she's being. And that I had to throw her to get her to help this team. She's bad weight that we need to drop, the sooner the better," she stated.
The goth hummed. "I'm with you about the bossiness… but I don't know. Maybe she'll be helpful for something besides diving. And she'll be far from the only headache I've had to deal with," she said.
Leshawna grunted, obviously disagreeing. "Well, I can't force you to change your mind," she conceded. "But keep what I said in mind, you hear?" Gwen nodded, and she changed direction to begin carrying her crate away.
At the same time, Daphne had been slowly angling her crate towards Izzy, until she was eventually close enough. "Hey, Izzy," she said.
"Hah?" the orange-haired girl said, carrying her crate with a strength that belied her slim frame. As she turned to look at Daphne she swung the crate around and nearly hit her on the head with it, stopping at the last second. "Whoops, sorry! What's up?" she asked.
Rubbing her temple where the crate had grazed it, Daphne said "Be honest: Are you in this competition for the money?"
Izzy tilted her head from side to side. "Not really. I mean, a hundred-thousand is nice. But when you can live among the beavers, it isn't something you really need, you know?" she said.
She stared. "You… lived with beavers?"
"Beavers, prairie dogs, Sasquatch. Potato, tomato," Izzy said, which didn't clear up matters at all.
"Right…" Daphne, before shaking her head. "The point is, I'm not in it for the money either. I'd like to make friends, and you seem like a fun girl to be around. So, what do you say? We keep each other in the game, help each other have as much fun as possible?"
Izzy didn't need to consider it. "I'm always up for more fun!" she said with a grin. "Just don't tempt me to blow any buildings up. I've done it before," she warned.
The brunette grinned back. "Oh, if it's burning something, I'll be the last person to stop you," she promised, which only made Izzy smile more.
The Gophers made it about three-fourths of the way to camp when Katie and Sadie both stopped. "What's the hold up?" Duncan asked.
Both of them were scratching over their shorts. "Our butts, they're really itching!" Katie said, and Sadie added "And burning!"
Bridgette brought her hand to her chin, considering. "Did you two squat down over any plants when you peed?" she asked. Katie nodded, and she continued "Did you happen to see what they looked like?"
"They were green, oval-shaped and on the ground," Sadie answered.
"About this big?" the blonde asked, holding her hands apart. When they nodded, she said "You both squatted over poison ivy."
Both of them froze, before both girls started panicking and running around. Harold and Tyler both laughed at the ridiculousness of it, while Courtney was mute with shock that someone could be so careless.
Between already being behind and Katie and Sadie no longer being available to move their crates, the Killer Bass arrived at the campgrounds fifteen minutes ahead of the Gophers. As they began opening the boxes, Heather approached Leshawna with Lindsay in tow.
"Hey... I just wanted to apologize," Heather said, her expression contrite. "I didn't mean it when I called you a rap star wannabe. And I love your earrings," she said earnestly.
Leshawna looked at her with surprise. "Straight up?" she asked, and Heather nodded. "Well… I'm sorry about throwing you over the cliff," she said.
"Don't worry about it; I needed it," she assured her. "Truce?" she offered, holding her hand out for a shake.
Instead, Leshawna gave her a fist bump, saying "Yeah. Truce." As Heather smiled and walked away, she thought 'Maybe Gwen was onto something.'
By the time the Gophers made it to the camp, the Bass had already finished opening their carts and were laying out tools. Seeing how far ahead the other team was, Courtney was quick to take charge.
"Alright, people, we have a hot tub to build and little time in which to build it. We need a project manager, and since I'm the only one who was a C.I.T., I'm nominating myself. Any objections?" she asked.
None of the other Gophers seemed to have an issue with this, or at least not enough to object beyond a raised eyebrow from Liam. "Where do we start, princess?" Duncan asked mockingly.
"We start by opening these crates. Bridgette, go get Katie and Sadie from wherever they ran off to; we need all the help we can get," Courtney ordered. The blonde nodded and ran off.
To make opening the crates harder for both teams, Chris decided they could only open them using their teeth. Which, as it turned out, took up most of the fifteen-minute lead the Bass had. With Courtney directing each Gopher to their task, none of their roles conflicted with each other, helping them to catch up.
Not only that, but their lack of physical players became an unexpected advantage. Being more geared towards academics made Beth, Harold, Liam and Cody more able to follow instructions, whereas Geoff and Owen required the other Bass to repeat some instructions. But some hiccups came from Bridgette's clumsiness, which caused several light injuries, and Katie and Sadie, who both took frequent 'scratching stops' even when Courtney cracked the whip at them.
By the time Chris arrived to inspect the hot tubs, both of them appeared to be completed. He inspected the Bass' tub first, feeling the heat rise from it, as well as the working jets and the boards, which had been placed together seamlessly. Placing a finger in to gauge the water, he finally smiled. "Now this is a hot tub!" he declared, getting several of the Bass to smile hopefully.
Walking over the Gopher tub, he noticed how some boards were damaged or held together with tape, a result of Bridgette having dropped a pump on them. Some of the jets were also not functioning due to the team not having time to install them all. After dipping a finger into their water as well, he eventually said "A good effort… But not as good as your opponents."
Spreading his arms, he declared "The Killer Bass win!"
The Bass cheered, and Owen burst out of the water. "Yeah! We get to stay~! We are so awesome~!" he sang, while the others traded high-fives or, in Heather's case, just applauded. The Gophers, meanwhile, collectively looked to the ground in dismay.
Chris continued "Your reward is safety from elimination and being allowed to keep your rocking hot tub for the rest of the competition." Turning to the others he said "Screaming Gophers, I wouldn't want to be you right now. I'll see your sad behinds tonight at the campfire."
After Chris finished having some interns dismantle the Gophers' hot tub, the two teams were served another bowl of gray mash by Chef as dinner. The difference in mood between the two tables was palpable, with the Bass downright cheery while the Gophers were somber.
"So… what do we do now?" Sadie asked.
Liam answered. "Now we have to decide who to vote off. Any suggestions?" he said.
"Well, I think it should be Braces over there," Duncan stated, jerking a thumb at Beth.
Said girl froze. "What? But… but why?" she asked.
Leaning forward, he said "Because as far as I see, you're the only one at this table with a chicken hat."
Looking desperate, she said "But I helped with the other parts! And what about Courtney? She was the one in charge of the hot tub. She even wanted to be!"
"That is true," Katie said, slightly miffed over Courtney bossing them around so much without a victory to show for it.
But the delinquent didn't appear moved, and pushed away his bowl before standing up. "I've had enough prison food for one day. I'm going to take a nap."
"Wait! You can't leave yet!" Courtney protested. "We still haven't decided who to vote for!" But he walked out anyway. "UGH!" she angrily shouted, burying her face in her hands.
Ezekiel opened his mouth, about to remark on their loss despite the Bass having two more girls than them. But seeing how irate Courtney was caused him to flash back to his conversation with Liam earlier that day. And thinking about that caused him to snap his mouth shut.
Said redhead remained silent during the exchange, before he looked at Courtney and a ghost of a smile passed over his lips.
Later that evening, the dozen members of the Screaming Gophers had assembled and seated before the lit bonfire. "Campers," Chris greeted them. "At a normal summer camp, marshmallows are a treat that symbolize safety, deliciousness and fun. Here at Camp Wawanakwa, marshmallows represent life."
He held up a plate for them to see. "Your votes have been cast and your decision made. On this plate are eleven marshmallows. When I call your name, come and collect one. The camper who does not receive a marshmallow must take a walk on the Dock of Shame, catch the Boat of Losers, and never return. Ever," he told them, causing several of them to look nervous at the prospect of never getting a second chance.
"First marshmallow goes to… Duncan," he said, getting the punk to fist-pump as he stood.
"Bridgette…" She smiled and walked over.
"Cody…" The nerd grinned and strutted to the front.
"Liam…" He stifled a yawn and ambled over to grab a marshmallow.
"Ezekiel…" The farmboy happily ran up to collect.
"Katie and Sadie…" The two girls 'eee'-ed and hugged before grabbing marshmallows together.
"Justin…" The male model silently accepted his.
"Harold…" Clutching a paper towel with ice to his groin, he hobbled over.
"Tyler." The jock cheered and grabbed one. "One marshmallow left. And the person it goes to is…" he said, deliberately trailing off.
Both Beth and Courtney looked at each other with differing levels of nervousness. That only grew as Chris drew the wait out, building up tension and even pretending to aim at them.
…
…
...
"Courtney."
The C.I.T. sighed and stood up to claim her prize. Beth, meanwhile, slumped sadly. "And I was just starting to make friends..." she said, before standing and walking towards the dock. To none of their surprise, her luggage was already on board, Chef having gathered it once the votes were tallied.
As her boat pulled away, Chris said "Screaming Gophers, the rest of you are safe. For tonight."
After taking the time to roast and enjoy their marshmallows, the Gophers began to trickle back to their camp. As they did, they passed by the Killer Bass, some of whom were dancing to music as part of their hot tub party.
"Go Bass team! Go Bass team!" Leshawna said as she danced, with Owen, Noah and Geoff quickly joining in.
As the other team passed by them, Courtney noticed one of the cameras. Facing it, she said "Are you recording?"
In response, the camera zoomed in on her.
"Good. They can enjoy their party while it lasts. But I'm going to win that prize, make no mistake," she promised, before walking away. As she did, the camera faded to black.
Eliminated:
1. Beth, the Wannabe