Episode 9: Subzero Heart
Brrr. The final 9 endure chilling pain as they try to be the last one to leave their ice baths. As they freeze their butts miserably, they will be forced to deal with temptations, feelings of jealousy, beaver sacs and each other. Who will handle the frostbite? And who will step right out to the Dock of Shame? Grab a biscuit and find out!
July 21 2024
11:19 pm
"OW, OW, OW!" Julia yelped behind her shower curtain as she hopped around on her feet. "OMG! NO! NO! NO! I CAN'T!"
From the adjacent shower, MK rolled her eyes as she shivered slightly. "Ugh, stop whining. You said this yesterday too… and the day before that! If you keep complaining about ice cold showers, how do you expect to submerge your entire body into an ice bath, which may I remind you is going to be lasting much longer? Especially if it's last one out wins."
Julia cursed under her breath as she let these words soak in. By this point, she wasn't even standing under the shower head. Instead, she was leaning against the wall, not a single drop of water hitting her body.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Julia banged the back of her head against the wall three times as she closed her eyes in frustration. "UGH! I KNOW BUT… it doesn't get any easier!"
Julia sighed. After winning immunity with MK last challenge, she wanted more. MK informed her that ice baths would be coming up next so for the past three days, twice a day at morning and late at night, they had sneaked off to the showers and practiced taking ice cold showers.
Standing and shivering under freezing water, neither of them lasted two minutes before taking a break and then trying again. Today, however MK seemed to be doing better while Julia was still struggling. Julia hated that.
"I know," MK said gently as she ran her fingers through her wet hair. "It's not like I'm not freezing. I'm saying you have to push through even if it's hard. Try…try to think of something Wayne." MK laughed into her hands to prevent a snickering noise from escaping her.
"What?" Julia asked sharply. Did she hear that correctly?
"I said try to think of something warm," MK giggled as she let the ice water flow through her hair.
"No, no that's not what you said. AH!" Julia gave another scream as she tried to get her hair wet but she instantly jumped away once again.
MK gave a harsh laugh as she pictured what was going on in Julia's shower. A jumpy teenage girl constantly colliding with the walls because she couldn't stand under cold water, making an unbelievable amount of noise.
"Well, challenge starts in a few hours and it looks like you're not going to do well. Wow, what can I say? Even with three days preparation you still suck!" MK teased. Although Julia was her only ally here, after three days of talking and scheming together, MK felt they had reached the point where they could joke with each other safely. Maybe at one point, they could move on to crude nicknames for each other…
Julia seemed to take this jab slightly personally. Here was MK taunting her challenge skills and physical gifts! "Shut up!" she said fiercely. "Watch me win! I can push my way with SHEEEEEEER FORCE!" Julia punched the wall furiously and yelped once more as she tried to get her hair wet but failed miserably.
MK looked at the clock which hung limply on the bathroom wall.
11:29 pm. They had been here for 10 minutes. MK gave a small noise. They would clearly not be ready for tomorrow's challenge so there was no point in continuing. Might as well call it early she thought, disgruntled. They would have to hope for the best for tomorrow. Unless…?
MK turned off her shower. "OK, I think we've had enough," she called over to Julia. "You're clearly not going to get better at this. Let's just put our swimsuits in the laundry so they'll be ready for the challenge."
Julia turned off her shower as well, extremely grateful that it was over but also nervous at how she would perform in tomorrow's challenge. Oh well, at least she was mentally prepared… sort of. "G – g – good idea," she said through chattering teeth.
Julia and MK both grabbed their towels and patted themselves dry. A quick change and they were now in their pyjamas, holding their swimsuits. MK opened the bathroom door and silently slipped out in case anybody was watching. Julia swiftly followed.
Even though it was the middle of summer and even though they had just dried off their hair, it was still slightly chilly at night. Coupled with the fact that they had just taken a shower in freezing temperatures, they were both still shivering and rubbing their arms as they walked to the laundry rooms.
MK gave a little sneeze so Julia brought herself over until her shoulder was right up against MK's. The two headed to the laundry rooms, holding each other tightly for warmth, each of them regretting not bringing a sweater.
"I can't believe you have another swimsuit," MK said, eyeing Julia's swimsuit in amazement. Over the last three days, Julia had brought a different swimsuit while MK had been re-using the same one. I mean, what was the point of having so many different outfits if they were going to be washed anyways?...
"These are actually my least fave ones," Julia smiled, pointing to her teal two-piece. "I only wear my favourites when we film. The whole world needs to see me at my best."
MK snorted. "This isn't a Miss Universe competition. You'd still look fine if you wore Ripper's speedo or… oversized sweatpants."
Julia blinked and looked down at MK. What did she just say?
"You think?"… Julia grinned, her heart pulsing slightly faster.
"Yeah, because you're pretty," MK said simply. "Surprise, surprise. When you're pretty, it doesn't matter what clothes you wear. People will still think you look good. I mean, you can literally rock my normal outfit, y'know… with the whole red coat."
Julia turned slightly scarlet at this remark. "Sooo… you think I'm pretty?" she asked beaming. Despite hearing it many times throughout her life, it felt oddly flattering to hear it from MK. Julia had the funny feeling MK didn't give this compliment often.
"Oh… yeah, I guess… I mean, doesn't everybody?" MK said nervously, sweating slightly. They were halfway to the laundry rooms by now but for some reason MK didn't feel like getting there too quickly. She wanted to take her time and keep talking to Julia in the chilly summer air. As their hair continuously blew into their faces, they had to keep moving it out of the way so that they could see where they were going.
"Mmm true, everybody does think that," Julia laughed.
MK lowered her eyes to the ground. They continued to walk silently for a minute before Julia spoke.
"Sooooo… Caleb listened to us last elimination huh?" she said slyly as she flicked her eyebrows.
"Oh yeahh!" MK said enthusiastically as she squeezed her hands into fists. "Now he'll realize how much better off he is with us."
Julia brought herself closer to MK. "Any idea where the immunity idol could be?" Julia whispered into MK's ear. "We're definitely going to need it. Priya, Wayne, Raj, Damien, and Emma are so friendly with each other that at this point I consider them a five-person alliance. And maybe Axel too considering she went canoeing with Emma…" Julia bit her lip angrily, recalling Axel acting too buddy-buddy with Emma for her liking.
MK closed her eyes. "Ahhh but remember Emma is a little upset at Axel for voting for Chase. Did you see them yesterday breakfast? Sitting on opposite ends of the table! Which means we have Caleb and Axel once again…"
"Mmm true… but she still doesn't fully trust me after I betrayed Nichelle –"
"Hey, why did you betray Nichelle? She would've been better to have in the merge than someone like… Wayne… he's too friendly with everyone, especially his buddy Raj."
Julia snorted. "Honestly she was just getting annoyingly good. I felt threatened by her, and as always if I feel threatened by someone they have to go."
"Interesting… Do you feel threatened by me?" MK asked jokingly.
"What?! No, you're just a crafty little Gremlin who happens to have something I want. If it weren't for that handy piece of paper, you and I wouldn't even be speaking!" Julia spat venomously.
MK smirked. She knew Julia didn't mean these words. Julia seemed the type to be scared of developing feelings for anyone and as a result, talked a big game. No friendship for this mean-spirited queen bee.
"Well, we might not be speaking for much longer, because I burned it," MK whistled cheerfully. She had said this extremely nonchalantly as if it were of minor importance.
Julia stopped and stomped her foot on the ground. "You WHAT?" she yelled. In the distance, an owl hooted angrily.
"I burned that piece of paper," MK repeated, stopping and looking up at Julia to see her reaction. "Now that Priya knows Caleb cheated, my name is bound to come up. I don't want her to do any snooping around and report me with the paper."
"Nice try but you're not fooling me. That doesn't make any sense. You said Chris doesn't care if you cheat," Julia hissed.
MK looked at Julia astonished. "Julia… who said anything about Chris? I'm not worried about her reporting me to Chris. I'm more worried about her reporting me to the others. If they ever knew I was cheating, I'm gone. Now she doesn't have any evidence!"
"Oooo good thinking," Julia conceded. Julia found it odd but for some reason… she could not bring herself to stay mad at MK. Had it been anyone else, Julia would've already chewed them up and spit them out.
"Relax, don't be so worried," MK smiled as they resumed their brisk pacing to the laundry rooms. They were almost there. "So let's run through it again. We have you, me, Caleb and potentially Axel voting with us." MK counted her fingers. She paused. "…We either need one more person or we need to turn the others against someone."
Julia winked. "Let's turn them all against someone. It's more fun that way," she rubbed her hands excitedly.
"I was just thinking the same thing!" MK nodded. "And I'm personally thinking – "
"Priya," they both said together.
"YES!" Julia touched MK's shoulder affectionately, glad that they were in agreement on who to mess with today.
"She won last season and she's the biggest threat left socially and physically," MK said as they finally reached the door to the laundry.
Julia's brow furrowed as she held the door open for MK. "Do you have any ideas? They're not just going to hate Priya out of nowhere…" she drawled. Indeed, they were going to have to get creative with their dirty play. Priya was much too popular.
Julia closed the door with her foot and the two began crouching silently in the dark, navigating their way to the washing machines. There would be no need for lights in case anybody was watching.
"You're right…," MK said slowly as she began pouring Tide and Downy into the machine. "Although… I do recall Damien, Caleb and Priya had some slight tension going on between them when they were on my team although admittedly it kind of died down naturally... Maybe I can restart it."
Julia brought her hands to her mouth and squealed. "OMG… a love triangle? How exciting! Those are goldmines for drama!"
"I know right! By the way, I have a plan to find out who has the immunity idol," MK dropped her voice to a whisper.
"You do?" Julia said stunned as she tossed her swimsuit in. MK did the same and started the machine. Now that it had started spinning, whirring and making some noise, she brought her voice up to its normal pitch.
For the past two nights, ever since they discovered someone had found the immunity idol, MK had been desperate to find out who she needed to steal from. She had concocted a sneaky plan and could not wait to carry it out. It said a lot about how much she trusted Julia because even though they had just started working together, MK was filling Julia in on everything. Julia truly was her partner in crime! And MK could not wait to share her brilliant plan…
"Today, what you're going to do is yell out loud that you have the immunity idol so the others shouldn't even bother voting for you… Everyone will look at you in surprise. In that moment, I'll be watching everyone's faces closely. I want you to say a random area on Boney Island– an area you definitely know where the idol wasn't at," MK whispered rapidly. "Maybe like behind a random tree or along the beach or whatever."
"OK…?" Julia raised an eyebrow skeptically, struggling to see the brilliance of this plan.
"Once you say the wrong place, the person with the idol will look relaxed. That person has the idol and then that's the person we're going to have to steal it from with phase two of the plan," MK licked her lips hungrily as she rubbed her hands.
"What's phase two?" Julia smiled approvingly now that she completely understood what MK wanted to do. Studying facial expressions. Amazing, she thought happily to herself as she stared proudly at MK. That's exactly what I do as well!
"Tomorrow night, we'll write a note to the person with the idol with the words, 'I know you have the immunity idol.' I'm banking on them panicking and trying to check up on its hiding spot to make sure it's still there. That's when we're going to have to follow them." MK hoped the owner of the idol was a great, big chicken because she was making quite a few assumptions on how they would react. She also hoped the idol was not hiding in the boys cabin because then that would require a bit more work. In an ideal world where everything went right, this person would panic and move their idol to a new location.
Julia's breathing had turned shallow because she was already visualizing the plan working. She could clearly see the idol in her hands. "Brilliant! We'll get that idol for sure!" she hugged MK.
MK blinked in surprise as she buried her face in Julia's shoulder. For a minute, the two embraced each other in silence as the gentle noises of the laundry hummed in the background.
Julia confessional: *interlocks hands* Awww if MK's brain drove a cool car, I'd date it.
Finally, they released.
"Let's get to work bestie!" MK cheered, fist-bumping Julia. They left the laundry room, and headed off to their beds. Or at least, that's what Julia thought before MK all of a sudden seized her arm. Julia looked down in surprise.
"By the way, we have one more stop," MK said in a low whisper, as she dangled a bronze key in front of Julia's face.
"What does that key unlock?" Julia squinted. She had never seen it before.
"Your heart!" MK chortled. "Joking, joking…. THIS will lead us to an important room."
Julia gave a weak laugh.
MK darted off to a path Julia had never seen before during her time on the island. Julia obediently followed. MK turned left and began heading to the control room she had been to last year. That time, she had operated some shields during 'Capture the Skull' but this time the room served a different purpose. Sally had informed her of the renovations it had gone through in preparation for the ice baths challenge. And MK was going to use that to her advantage.
MK panted. Did she mention how much she hated running? In either case, MK stopped to take a little break. Until –
Out of the goodness of her heart, Julia casually gave MK a piggy-back.
"Whoa! What's this?" MK chuckled as she grabbed on to Julia's shoulders. It was Boney Island all over again.
"A gift from me to you," Julia winked. "Just tell me where to go."
MK nodded as she directed Julia towards the control room. "Left… right… RIGHT…"
Julia's jaw dropped. She was standing in the middle of what appeared to be a larger-than-life computer system.
"Welcome to the ice baths control center, where temperature is moderated," MK announced proudly. "Let's just turn these two up to nice, hot and bubbly." She stepped forwards and began dialling up the temperature for two of the ice baths.
Julia stared in amazement. "Wait, are you raising the temperature for our ice baths? Awww, thank you!" She watched the screen mesmerized as the temperature indicators for two tubs went from blue to red.
"It'll be like entering a nice, steamy hot bath. NO MORE ice for us baby!" MK winked.
"You mean, you knew this the whole time? Why did you make me do those ice showers then?" Julia scowled.
"I just enjoyed seeing you suffer through something," MK smirked. "And hey, it's not like I didn't go through a bit of suffering myself!"
"Ugh," Julia gave an annoyed little smile. She could not argue that because it was true. They had suffered together like true partners.
"That means we'll have to take tubs 8 and 9." MK pointed to the schematic which displayed 9 tubs arranged in circular fashion, each labelled with a different number. Julia saw tubs 1 through 7 had freezing temperatures while tubs 8 and 9 were now filled with hot and steamy temperatures.
"Excellent!" Julia pumped her fist. Immunity was just around the corner.
"And while we're at it…" MK began slowly.
Suddenly MK and Julia both gasped loudly in realization at how they could continue pressing their advantage in the game.
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" they both said as they looked at each other and pointed at each other playfully.
"If we're warm and they're freezing, we'll be able to talk over them and they can't talk back!" Julia said elated, her heart pumping faster in joy.
"So let's taunt them all while they're freezing their butts off!" MK added. "Think you can mess with their heads?"
Julia blinked and shook her head. Was that even a question? "Can I mess with their heads? YES! IS that even a question? And you can join me MK, it'll be fun!"
"Alrighto then!" MK laughed. The two stared up in admiration at their hot tubs, eagerly anticipating for the challenge to start.
July 22 2024
7:56 am
Priya, Emma and Damien sat huddled around a table, eating their breakfast (soy sauce French fries). Priya, in particular, was sitting hunched over not saying much. She constantly fiddled with her fork and absent-mindedly dropped numerous fries onto the cabin floor. Emma looked over curiously at her.
"Priya, what happened?" Emma asked gently. "You haven't looked well since we went to Boney Island… Did something happen between you and Caleb?" Emma recalled they did not come back together on the canoe ride back.
Priya sighed. As angry as she was with Caleb, she still had not told anybody the details of what they had discussed on the canoe rides. She especially did not want to tell the truth and expose Caleb as a rotten cheater. But why? Was that not the right thing to do? Did she really care about him that much? Or did she believe karma would wave her magic wand and smack Caleb over the head soon?
Priya confessional: *buries her face into her hands* I'm so confused! The C in Caleb stands for cheater! Why would he do that? UGH! He was so perfect!
Caleb confessional: *thinks everything is OK when it is clearly not* It's been 72 hours… TIME TO TEST THE WATERS! *smiles like a goofball*
Damien, who was sitting opposite Priya and Emma, leaned over. "Have a biscuit Priya! Always cheers me up!" he smiled, tossing her his biscuit. Though it was the only edible part of today's meal (his fries remained untouched), he felt she needed a sugar rush more than him.
Priya smiled and gratefully took the biscuit into her hands –
BANG!
She looked up. Standing in the doorframe, blocking all sunlight with his massive back and trapezius muscles, was Caleb. Priya snorted and looked down to the floor. Caleb, noticing this, decided to ignore her reaction and slowly began walking towards her table.
"Priya?" he said sweetly as he stood above her, hands behind his back.
"She doesn't want to talk with you right now," Emma snapped, raising an eyebrow at Caleb.
"Actually I do…" Priya said softly though she gave Emma a weak smile.
"OK fine… maybe she does…" Emma corrected herself, laughing awkwardly.
"Damien, Emma can you two leave us?" Priya said pleadingly, rubbing her arm nervously. Emma and Damien blinked, momentarily stunned, but swiftly recovered.
"Sure," Emma nodded as she and Damien stood up to leave the cabin.
After the door had shut, Caleb invited himself to sit down directly across from Priya, though he did not say anything. To be honest, he didn't even know if he was allowed to say anything.
A minute of awkward silence and then –
"What?" Priya asked, rather aggressively.
"I'm sorry – "
"I don't wanna hear it," Priya spat, raising her hand to get him to stop talking. "You know… I still haven't exposed you even though I should?!"
Caleb sighed as he stared down at the wooden planks of the cabin floor. It meant a lot to him that she was choosing not to turn him in but this did little to cheer him up.
"I wasn't in on the cheating I swear! I knew about it, but I… I didn't do anything to stop it…" he mumbled.
Priya's eyes widened. He was still using this excuse?
"That makes you a cheating accomplice. That's just as bad Caleb!" she hissed.
Another minute of silence. Priya quickly shoved the biscuit Damien had given her into her mouth.
"I hate this… I hate it! I really liked you," Priya's voice cracked though that may have been due to the thick chunks of raisin that had gotten stuck halfway down her throat. Caleb nodded silently but did not say anything right away. After another minute of silence –
"A – are we still okay?" Caleb asked awkwardly as he fiddled with his thumbs.
"I'm not sure…" Priya sighed, turning away from him. "Maybe we should just take a little break…"
Caleb felt his heart fall right out of his chest. If he had known MK's cheating scandal would lead to this horrible outcome… why, he would have cut ties with her sooner. Caleb continued to stare down miserably at the ground.
Priya suddenly got up and left the cabin without another glance back at him.
Caleb gave another heavy sigh. Though it was difficult to accept, he knew this was what he deserved. In fact, he was pleasantly surprised Priya had not gone full nuclear on him like he had expected. But this… this might be just as bad if not worse. He had dealt with unhinged Priya and now disappointed Priya. He knew which one he preferred.
He gave one last hopeful look to Priya but the only thing he could see was her back. A turn of the lock and she was gone. He did not even try to stop her.
1:06 pm
"Attention campers. Meet me at the beach and bring your swimsuits… again!"
The final nine fanned themselves in exhaustion as the scorching sun stared down at their heads. "Eughh, damn mosquitoes!" Emma swatted a mosquito which had been nibbling at her leg. mos
Suddenly, Chris, Chef and Emily strolled out with sunglasses as they slurped their chocolate sundaes. They were radiating an extremely summer camp vibe with their beige, Bermuda shorts and floral-themed T-shirts.
Chris took a noisy slurp from his sundae. "Aaaahhhh," he said cheerfully, wiping his mouth. He fanned himself pretentiously. "It's a really hot day today, specifically 36 degrees. So we thought what better way than to cool off with a little ice bath?"
"And ice cream!" piped up Raj.
Chris ignored him. Raj frowned. He had been hoping for Chris to generously offer strawberry-flavoured ice cream as an act of kindness. The heat was scorching!
Chris cleared his throat. One click of the remote he was wielding in his hand and all of a sudden out from the ground popped 9 large objects. As they noisily made their up to the surface (Emma had to cover her ears), the campers took note of the circular shape of the stainless steel containers they would be submerging themselves into as well as the freezing water which filled each container near to the very top. Finally, as each tub settled itself into position, the water gave one last tiny swaying motion and finally the noise ceased. Where there had been nothing but solid ground before, there now stood nine tubs arranged in a clock shape.
Chris beamed at their awestruck faces. "It's a simple challenge. Last one out wins!" he gestured towards the tubs.
"It's giving Season 1 pole challenge…" Julia drawled.
Chris nodded appreciatively, glad that someone had brought it up. "Indeed it is! And to make things harder for you all… Emily?"
Emily put her hands on her hips. "We will, of course be tempting you with treats every so often. Hand-warmers, hot steamy showers, hot plates, towels you name it. Anything that might want you to get out of that chilly ice bath. Just like last time." Though she had not been here last year to host the pole challenge, Emily was looking forward to this one. It had been her favourite episode.
Chris glanced at Emma, Priya and Julia - the only three here who had competed in the pole challenge last season. Such veterans! He expected one of them to win today for sure; after all, they already had experience dealing with temptations. He was in the middle of considering how much money he would bet with Chef on one of these three winning when Wayne began to laugh obnoxiously loud.
"HA! Good luck everyone, you're all going down!" he cockily said, puffing his chest out with pride. "This should be easy! Rajie and I basically live on ice! You're no match for us!" He exchanged fist-bumps with his best pal.
Wayne confessional: When Rajie and I saw the pole challenge last season, we were totally bummed that we didn't get to compete! We're super good at these last-one-out-wins kinda games. Today, it's OURS! *grins arrogantly*
Julia and MK rolled their eyes.
"Oh reaaaallly?" MK asked cheekily. Deep down, she found it hilarious how Wayne or anyone here thought they were going to win today when they were not going to pick the right tub.
"Yeah!" Raj said happily as he clapped Wayne on the back. "Where we come from, Calgary, Alberta, we stand out shirtless on our rooftops in - 20 weather. Sometimes we howl."
"True that Rajie!" Wayne clapped Raj back. "This ice bath is NO match for our Alberta blood! AHHH-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" he fell on his knees and howled into the sky in a wolf-like manner as Raj roared with laughter.
Raj confessional: When I was 10, Wayne and I tried to turn our homes into an igloo. Then our parents got mad so we tried to make an ice treehouse instead. It's a great getaway hideout! So yeah! We're used to living with the chills. *gives a confident thumbs-up*
"Is this really a challenge though?" Damien asked quizzically. "I mean, this sun is so hot I practically want an ice bath!" He eyed the water with an eager gaze. He could not wait to jump in.
"Famous last words…" Chris grinned evilly. "Well then, step in!" he motioned to the campers to select a tub.
MK and Julia were fastest, immediately slipping themselves into tubs 8 and 9 respectively, the blueprint schematic in the control room still fresh in their memories.
Wayne and Raj cannonballed enthusiastically into tubs 1 and 2. However, their faces quickly went from one of glee to one of panic as they began to freeze. Alberta had not prepared them for this!
"C-c-c-cold!" Raj shivered as he rubbed his arms with his hands vigorously. He was already turning slightly blue!
"OH m-m-m-man! N-n-never h-had an ice b-b-bath l-l-like this!" Wayne said nervously as his teeth chattered. He desperately wanted to get out but the challenge had just started! Hopefully, everyone else would drop out in the next few minutes. After all, he did not want to be first to bail when he had just talked such a big game. He eyed Julia incredulously. She was next to him but unless his eyes were playing tricks on him… she was not even shivering! And she was from Vancouver Island!
Damien, having just witnessed the Alberta hockey boys freezing, dipped a suspicious finger into tub 4. How cold was this water really? He received his answer as he felt a jolting pain in his index finger and quickly brought it back out screaming.
"Are you trying to freeze us to death?!" he scowled at the three sadistic hosts who all lay comfortably on their reclining chairs with a large umbrella to block out the sun.
Chris lifted up his sunglasses. "Well… it wouldn't be much of a challenge if it wasn't hard, right?" he winked.
Damien sighed and slipped himself in, though very noisily. "AHHH-OH, OW! OOO! OO! OOOOOO!" he shivered as his body was now completely in the water.
Everyone else slipped into a tub. Axel took tub 3, Emma took tub 5, Priya and Caleb took tubs 6 and 7, respectively. There was a lot of swearing and high-pitched screaming (mainly from Damien) as they each struggled to adapt their bodies to the freezing temperatures.
The end result was 9 freezing teenagers each facing each other but not saying a word. This made for a highly awkward and rather uncomfortable situation as they all just sat in their tubs, making occasional squealing noises.
Julia was first to break the silence. She put her hands behind her head and leaned back dreamily, tilting her head to the sky smiling.
"Keep it coming Chris, I can be here all day!" she said slyly as she winked at MK.
"Seriously? H-h-how a-a-are you n-n-not c-cold?" Axel asked, genuinely curious. The survivalist had practiced living in sub-zero temperatures but even this was too much for her. And Julia being better than her at this challenge slightly stung Axel's pride.
Julia gave a little laugh as she let her arms rest comfortably on the side of her tub. "I guess I'm just really radiating strong girl energy. I'm surprised you're not doing so well Axel, hang on…. didn't you live in the Arctic for a brief moment?"
"N-no?" Axel blinked confused. What was Julia talking about? Axel had never mentioned anything about living in the Arctic. Perhaps Julia was just messing with her.
MK giggled into her hands.
Axel confessional: *rolls eyes and crosses arms annoyed* Oh ha-ha-ha. We get it. You're somehow not freezing and rubbing it in all of our faces. Sooo funny. UGH!
It had now been ten minutes since they had all submerged themselves into their baths and there was still very little conversation going on. MK and Julia did not feel like pouncing yet.
Julia + MK confessional (Julia): We could've messed with their heads earlier but… *looks over at MK*
Julia + MK confessional (MK): we wanted to see them freeze first. *looks back at Julia*
Julia + MK confessional (Julia): But I think it's almost time! *sharpens gaze at the camera* *MK nods evilly*
Chris frowned. This was rather boring. There was still quite a bit of time until the first temptation so it seemed he would have to shake things up.
"Emma… got any stories to tell us this time? You gave us some entertaining ones in the pole challenge!" he said jovially to a freezing Emma. True, the MVP of that episode had been Chase but Emma had also shared the spotlight with him that time.
MK and Julia exchanged a glance and nodded. Perhaps now would be a good time to start toying with the others.
Before Emma could respond, Julia interjected aggressively.
"Nope. She ran out of all of her Chase stories. If it's not about Chase, she doesn't have anything… Anything interesting at least." Julia gave a harsh laugh as she flickered her eyebrows tauntingly at Emma who looked visibly offended.
So Julia thought her whole life revolved around Chase huh? Well… she would show her!
"T-that's not true!" Emma blubbered. "I h-h-h-h-h-have lots of f-f-fun s-s-stories!"
"Really?" MK asked, pretending to be interested. "Well then tell us."
"We're dying to hear! Tell us what's so interesting about Emma Patterson's life," Julia said sarcastically.
Emma scowled. "O-O-OK! S-s-so back in 2021 I actually g-got a casting call for the new B-B-Barbie move because I like to do acting on the side, you guys know that right? Maybe I'm not as talented as Nichelle or w-w-whatever but I'd s-say I'm p-p-pretty good! So I h-had to fly to C-California for a-auditions and I s-s-saw – "
"They asked you of all people but they didn't even give me a call? RUDE!" Julia scoffed at the Barbie casting directors inviting a nobody like Emma. How could they not see she would have made the perfect Barbie over Emma? Well, that was their loss…
"Yeah, because y-you're probably n-n-not talented at all Julia. H-Hollywood w-wants s-s-stars. Y-you're m-m-more s-s-small town d-d-inner t-t-heater," Emma cackled. Though she was chattering, everyone was able to piece together what Emma had just said.
At once, everyone except for Julia and MK roared with laughter. Even Wayne and Raj were guffawing at Julia who bit her lip in frustration as she narrowed her eyes dangerously at Emma. At this moment, Julia did not even care for Priya. Now, she wanted Emma gone for humiliating her like that in front of everybody, especially her followers who were watching back home.
Julia always felt Emma was beneath her, like a bug she needed to crush. Yet somehow Emma always survived like a cockroach which refused to die. She just kept getting up again and again, despite the punches. And this moment… felt so cliché. It was like one of those cheesy, early 2000s movies where the loser was finally sticking up to the popular kid and everyone was somehow taking the losers' side. This filled Julia with enormous anger.
"BOOM! ROASTED!" Raj wiped a tear from his eye. He had been laughing that hard.
"OHHH SNAP!" Damien held his sides, wheezing.
"You just got COOOOOKED!" Priya threw her head back and roared with laughter.
Julia's eye twitched and her hands trembled with pure rage underneath the water.
Julia confessional: *shakes fists* UGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH! SHE'S GOING TO PAY FOR THAT!
Wasting no time at all, Julia interrupted Emma's Barbie rant (she was now in the middle of talking about how she got to the final round before they cut her).
"Emma, how badly do you miss Chase?" she said rancorously.
Emma stopped and blinked. "W-w-why are y-you bringing this up?" she scowled.
"No reason," Julia smirked. "I just remember seeing you running to the dock to say your little goodbye. You really love running back to him, don't you? And after all of that, what did you get? Just a pathetic flower which you somehow managed to make look uglier than the first one."
"S-shut up Julia!" Emma snapped. "C-Chase is a w-w-way b-better p-p-person than y-you which is a R-REALLY l-l-low bar. At least he had the decency to apologize. You're j-just being a b-b-bitch for no r-reason – "
Julia cut her off with a yawn and waved Emma off.
Now that Julia had gotten Emma's attention, she continued to put pressure on the others. "Well I know someone who definitely doesn't miss Chase, isn't that right Caleb? You voted for Chase?" Julia smiled nastily as she turned to Caleb who was two tubs away from her.
Caleb, lacking social awareness as always, blinked stupidly. Yes, that wasn't exactly wrong. After all, he had voted for Chase! But was that really the best thing to say? Before he knew it, he found himself speaking. "I – I – I DID! But –"
"Mmmmhmmmmm… Tsk, tsk… naughty boy," MK smirked, flashing her eyebrows at Caleb who frowned.
Caleb confessional: *shivers* What are they doing? And how are they not freezing like the rest of us? They're talking normally as if they're taking a nice hot bath! It's really hard for us to defend ourselves when we're freezing… None of us can talk properly either!
Julia ran her wet fingers through her hair, basking in the absolute chaos she was starting up. "Anyways Emma any more stories?" she smugly asked.
Emma did not respond and only stared down at her tub red-faced.
"Well MK and I have some more," Julia curled her lip and turned to her next victim. "Damien, Priya doesn't like you so you can stop chasing after her. She likes Caleb. She's just pretending to like you so she can win again."
Damien nearly jumped out of his tub at being addressed so directly. And the specific subject… they were venturing into private territory.
"WHAT?!" he yelped. "I don't like h –"
"Yeah, think about it," MK chimed in, leaning over her tub to face Damien. "Who wouldn't want to be a two time champ? A two time millionaire? What isn't known to the public is that Priya is also a two-faced backstabber."
Damien snorted. "Y'all r-really think I'm this gullible? I s-s-see what y'all two doing. S-somehow you two ain't f-f-f-f-freezing and using this chance to talk o-over u-us and not allowing a-anyone to d-d-defend t-themselves! But I ain't s-s-stupid… I'm not f-falling for that."
Damien confessional: That's right! I'm too prepared for this game! I know who the villains are!
Julia cursed under her breath. So Damien was not going to fall for their plans that easily? We'll see about that… At a whim of the moment, Julia decided to switch up her style. She was going to perform a complete 180, going from attacking Damien to sucking up to him in order to lower his guard for the moment. Science students could so easily be manipulated if their egos were fed. They loved to be reminded of how brilliant they were after all…
"That's right Damien, you're so brilliant. You're like the smartest guy I know… " Julia cooed, emphasizing the right words. It seemed to have worked as Damien's body language suddenly relaxed and he put on a triumphant smirk. So Julia thought he was smart, huh!
"W-what?! Oh, why t-t-thank you Julia!" he said, puffing his chest out proudly. Priya rolled her eyes.
"D-D-Damien!" Raj hissed, trying to keep his friend focused. "OK seriously, you two –" he turned his head towards Julia and MK – "h-how are you g-g-guys not f-f-f-f-f-freezing? What's the s-s-secret k-k-krabby p-patty f-f-formula for s-surviving ice b-b-baths?"
Chris slurped a soda which looked oddly like the ones Zee usually drank. "Yes, that is a good question. How are you two not freezing?" he narrowed his eyes suspiciously at Julia and MK who appeared to be having the time of their lives while everyone else was suffering. Perhaps he should go and check the temperature of their water just to make sure it really was ice-cold… but… he was simply too comfortable in his reclining chair. He did not want to get out from this relaxing position. Sometimes, you just had to treat yourself…
"Well Wayne and Raj may have taken their shirts off in - 20 weather but MK and I took a trip to Siberia over the holidays," Julia said strongly which was quite surprising considering she had just come up with this lie on the spot.
"Yeah… -20 weather is nothing. Try -50," MK smirked as she plunged her face into the water and brought it back up a few seconds later. Despite her history of wanting to fly under the radar, today she loved showing off in front of everyone. Was guaranteed immunity making her a little too cocky?
"W-w-wow… -50 s-sounds a lot h-hotter than -20!" Wayne said in awe, clearly failing to realize what he had just said.
"T-T-TWICE AS HOT B-BRO! W-what are they t-t-talking about, 'try -50?' " Raj snorted. "That's like F-Florida w-weather!"
"Negative 50 ya donuts," MK rolled her eyes unimpressed. Were they trying to be funny?
"Ohhhhh…" Wayne and Raj both said, slapping themselves on their foreheads.
Wayne + Raj confessional (Wayne): *shivers in the confessional* OK in my defence, I don't exactly think straight when I'm freezing… I think I'm starting to get brain freeze! It's like my IQ is dropping! *holds head terrified*
Wayne + Raj confessional (Raj): *tries to rub arms to warm himself up* SAME! AGH, how are they not freezing?! I guess it's time to take a trip to Siberia now!
Wayne + Raj confessional (Wayne): YUP! Maybe we're just noobs when it comes to the cold… ah man… *sighs and looks down underwhelmed*
"Interesting… very cool!" Chris nodded his head, accepting this reasoning. After all, it made sense to him. Anybody who could survive Siberia could easily survive the ice baths. Perhaps they had just gotten lucky that they had prepared for a challenge involving extreme cold… Therefore, he was not going to check their tubs.
"Emi tells me Siberia is just like my soul. Cold, cruel and agonizing… I REALLY SHOULD CHECK THAT PLACE OUT. It sounds amazing!"
"Yeahhh… and you can stay there for as long as you want!" Emily teased. Chris frowned momentarily before shrugging and taking another sip of soda. Suddenly, the timer on Emily's wrist watch beeped.
1:45 pm. It was time for the first distraction.
"OK, I think it's time for our first bait," Emily announced as she leapt out of her seat. She snapped her fingers and two interns came striding over holding steaming mugs on trays. "Who wants steaming hot chocolate? You can get a mug right now! All you have to do is get out of your tub!"
Emily was prepared to sit down immediately. After all, it was only the first bait and it was the easiest. The temptations would only get harder from here. Surely, nobody would actually fall for the hot chocolate. But to her great surprise, Wayne and Raj were eyeing the mugs a little too eagerly.
"H-h-hot cocoa?" Raj stuck his tongue out.
"OH SWEET HOT COCOA, p-please stop s-s-staring at me like that with your delicious c-chocolatey aroma!" Wayne wailed, attempting to turn his head away but taking tiny peeks every so often.
Emma dunked her head underwater, sending a large splash.
Emma confessional: *drops of water rolling down her wet face* If you can't see it, it can't see you!
"No one?" Emily asked cheekily, checking one more time to make sure. When nobody jumped out, she shrugged casually. "OK then… Chef?"
"Don't mind if I do," Chef said wiggling his fingers in anticipation. "AHHHH," he took a long exaggerated sip. "This hot chocolate is amazing! It's probably the hottest hot chocolate I've ever had in my life! I bet it would taste even better if I was craving a cup while I'm sitting miserably in a super duper chilly ice bath!"
"N-n-not.. helping…" Axel said through gritted teeth.
"Well then, take em away interns," Chris waved them off. He would not be drinking the hot chocolate. It was 30 degrees for crying out loud! Anybody who drank hot chocolate in this scorching weather was a psychopath. Even with the umbrellas and fans to cool them off. He had made Chef do it on purpose just to tempt the contestants and he smirked as Chef sat there sour-faced with a burnt tongue.
"Awwwwww…" the final nine all said in unison as the hot chocolate was carried away and out of sight.
"You know you guys should just quit now," Julia laughed mirthlessly. "I think it's pretty obvious MK and I are going to win thanks to our Siberian training! SO GO AND FALL FOR THE NEXT BAIT! I mean… wasn't it absolute torture seeing that hot chocolate disappear?" Every word Julia said was chosen precisely, deliberately and carefully to tempt the others. Julia always felt it was her biggest gift – being a master with words.
Wayne and Raj put their hands over their ears to block out Julia's voice. Raj was literally sobbing at the thought of missing out on hot cocoa, a classic postgame treat for the Snow Owls.
"And with that the first temptation is over with and nobody has bailed. Plenty more to come!" Chris said as he noisily slurped his banana split.
This comment only aggravated the others and they sat there, grumbling stone-faced. It was going to be a long day.
2:14 pm
By this point, it had been one hour since they had all entered the ice baths. Each camper found themselves slowly adjusting to the freezing temperatures, although occasional shivering still occurred here and there.
"Can we… stand up and shake our legs or something?" Emma chuckled nervously though she knew what the answer would be.
"Nope! IN the tub!" Chris pointed gleefully. Emma scowled.
Emma confessional: *sighs and slouches* Awww, worth a try…
As often, whenever she was bored or feeling good about herself, Julia began to casually play with her fingernails.
Axel raised her eyebrow. "Julia? Why do you look so calm? Don't tell me all that mediation actually worked," Axel said incredulously. Julia looked way too relaxed.
Julia continued to look at her hands without looking at Axel. "Mmmm… maybe it did, maybe it didn't. I don't really know… don't really care to be honest… all I know is, I'm winning immunity today!"
Emma blew steam from her nose. She hated seeing Julia getting so cocky. And the thought of her winning immunity twice in a row was unacceptable. Why, it would just be Season 1 Julia all over again!
"You t - think you're so cool with your immunities?" Emma said contemptuously. "You do realize you're going home first as soon as you don't win immunity right?"
Julia's heart skipped a beat. MK's must have done so as well because at that moment, they exchanged a significant glance. MK winked. Julia did not need to ask twice as she understood exactly what MK meant. She had not forgotten MK's plan a few hours ago… it was time to strike…
"Whatever, I'm not worried…" Julia said calmly. "I have the immunity idol anyways. And none of you twerps will ever find it. It's in a place where it can't be found!" She looked up at them all and sneered in front of their thunderstruck faces. Everyone's mouth was open and they were all looking at her in disbelief.
In tub 1, Wayne shifted anxiously. Though it might sound stupid, he felt a sharp pain in his chest which he knew had little to do with the cold. He was emotionally wounded at the fact that Julia had not told him this news before announcing it to the others. Was he not important enough to her anymore to be given exclusive information in advance? It had been 4 days since Boney Island and she hadn't mentioned anything about an immunity idol to him!
Wayne just knew that if this was the pre-merge, Julia would've told him this right away. But now that the teams had disbanded Wayne felt they were not as close as before. They had probably talked for a grand total of 2 minutes since Ripper left. Wayne never really got much opportunity to talk with her on her own anymore especially because she kept hanging out with MK during leisure hours. This bothered him.
Wayne never imagined a scenario where he would miss the pre-merge so badly. Anything to go back to the good old days when their chemistry had been blooming stronger with each passing episode. When they had exchanged meaningful looks and flirtatious energy, passively fought for leadership, and the sexual tension between them had been at an all-time high. It had all been taken away from him and he wanted it back!
Wayne confessional: So Jules has the idol eh? … Wonder if she would ever use it to save me…
MK narrowed her eyes and began to observe everyone. She would be watching for any facial twitching, brow furrowing, the corner of their mouths, anything that would give themselves away…
Inside, Damien's heart was pumping twice as fast than normal. He was panicking. Had Julia really found his idol? How could that be? Had he already lost it? Perhaps she had seen him physically planting it in the tree with the spray-painted skull. Or perhaps she was bluffing? Whatever it was… Damien felt uneasy. After this challenge, he would go check… if it was still there, well then…. would he move it? Or would he not?
"You're b – b – bluffing!" Damien burst out. He was very lucky he had the freezing temperatures as an excuse for his stutter. He was a nervous wreck!
Julia turned herself to face Damien and raised a sassy eyebrow. "Oh really? Why do you think that?" she grinned.
"NO reason. I… I can just tell!" Damien blubbered. Shut up Damien, shut up! Before you look too suspicious! he scolded himself.
Interesting… I hope MK's taking notes…. Julia thought delighted. In her mind, Damien was already a likely candidate. He was practically screaming he had it. What a noob. Now it was time to continue with the second part of their plan - the part where this supposed immunity idol holder would unknowingly reveal themselves and lower their guard…
"Yeah… OK… anyways, it was literally behind the outhouse confessional at Boney Island and none of you ever bothered to check!" Julia laughed coldly.
Chris blinked and stared at Julia intrigued. That was not where the idol had been hidden… and he knew Damien had the idol, not her… what was she up to?... whatever it was, Chris did not want to say anything. Julia was making things interesting.
MK did a quick scan. Whoever had the idol was going to look relaxed… she was sure of it. MK made her way around the circle quickly. There was Priya, Emma, Axel, Caleb and Wayne who all looked genuinely shocked and furious with themselves.
"That's true… we only went there to confess… not search for idols…" Priya hung her head in shame as she acknowledged Julia's statement. Priya was slightly disappointed in herself for not finding the idol if it had been in a place as obvious as this. Perhaps she had been thinking of Caleb too much that day…
Emma punched her first into her hand. "Damn it… all this time and we never bothered to check behind… I was more focused on the treasure!"
"We all were," Wayne nodded, disappointed in himself. The giant spiders had not been worth it. All he had received was a giant cut on his left leg which had still not fully healed (even with all the antibiotics Chef had prescribed) and no treasure. He could've at least left the island a slight winner if he had found the idol.
"How could we be so STUPID?!" Axel ran her fingers through her hair frustratingly and slammed her fist on the side of her tub.
MK paused for a moment at Raj who looked… confused? Noted. Indeed, Raj was staring at Julia with a puzzled expression.
That's odd, she doesn't have the idol… I know Damien does…and… the idol was in the caves, not the outhouse… Raj thought slowly. But I don't want to correct her and tell everybody that Damien's the one who actually has the idol… maybe she stole it from him?...
Raj confessional: *scratches head confused as he sits hunched with a very concentrated face* I'm struggling to see Julia's game plan. Why would she lie about something like that?
BANG!
Julia kicked her tub loudly which broke Raj out of his temporary trance.
"Don't even bother stealing it from me," she announced fiercely. "Or you'll be sorry. YOU MIGHT AS WELL NOT WASTE YOUR VOTE ON ME."
"Why are you announcing something like this to the whole world?" Axel hissed. "Do you want it to get stolen?" To Axel, Julia was being incredibly dumb, practically inviting thieves to her own house.
"Because I'm confident none of you are smart enough or dumb enough to take it from me!" Julia said in a superior tone. "I have it safe and secure somewhere where it can't be touched!"
Caleb felt it was his moment to speak. This news did not sound right to him. He was greatly disturbed. "OK but seriously… was it really behind the outhouse confessional?" he piped up. "That sounds wrong to me because I checked myself when I went to confess, it's not there… I'm sure of it."
Julia looked at Caleb like he was something nasty at the bottom of her shoe. "Use your head big guy. That just means I got to it before you did. You were simply too slow," she said disdainfully as Caleb turned red with embarrassment.
Caleb confessional: OK, you're telling me it was in the Boney Island outhouse confessional? REALLY?!
Finally, MK stared at Damien's face long and hard for it had stood out to her the instant Julia had fibbed. She read his lips which had made a 'phew' motion… PHEW?! MK caught Damien's face muscles relaxing and looking relieved. Relieved because…?
MK smirked. She knew who had the idol.
Damien confessional: I don't know what that was about or why Julia would ever lie about something like that but I'm happy! She totally doesn't have it. It wasn't anywhere NEAR the outhouse confessional HAHA! And it's all mine! WOOOOO! *cheers*
MK + Julia confessional (both): BINGO!
MK + Julia confessional (MK): We got him hook line and sinker BABY
MK + Julia confessional (Julia): That was too easy, it's hilarious how bad people are at hiding their emotions. They wouldn't last a day being an influencer! Absolute amateurs.
*MK sticks her tongue out and makes a wet raspberry noise*
Axel was losing her mind over failing to find the immunity idol. "NOBODY TALK TO ME! NO DISTRACTIONS!" she put her hands to her ears.
Right on cue, to spite her, MK piped up. "Alright everyone. Let's confess! What's the worst thing you've ever done? Come on!"
"Why do you care?" Axel asked roughly.
"Axel, it'd be a great time to get to know each other!" Julia said extremely passive-aggressively. Axel blinked. Julia was behaving very oddly indeed…
Axel confessional: Why is she so cocky today? Is this what happens when you find an immunity idol? UGH! *stomps foot on ground*
"Well… I gave my grandmother a paper cut once. Accidentally sliced her cheek," Caleb said glumly.
BANG!
Priya slammed her fist on the side of her tub. "ACCIDENTALLY? So you're a cheater and a cheek slicer too?" She could not believe it! She had almost fallen for him!
Caleb looked at Priya thunderstruck. This was ridiculous! She was attacking him for every single thing he said! "PRIYA! NO! Please!" he blubbered but his protests were interrupted by Wayne and Raj who were dying of laughter.
"A cheek slicer? Hear that Rajie?"
"I love slicing cheeks! Bonus points if it's pork cheeks!" Raj said as he pretended to slice up some meat with an imaginary fork and knife.
MK gave a contemptuous glance at the hockey bros. Boys. Ugh.
"Well, I stole feather earrings from my grandmother, her favourite pair!" Julia said casually. "They look great on me. I took a photo of them but it got more likes than me so I had to throw them away…"
Emma snorted. "You're so unbelievably shallow…"
Chris gave a weak chuckle. He was living for the Emma-Julia beef today! It was why he had set up a challenge like this. He knew the longer these campers were forced to interact with each other, the more drama could unfold!
Julia whipped around to face Emma once again.
Julia confessional: OK seriously what is her deal? I'm going to make her life a living hell!
"I'm sorry? This is coming from someone who bawled because she couldn't complete a basic-ass dance routine by herself?" Julia sneered.
"Is this the same person who lost their mind over me getting a call for Barbie?" Emma pretended to put a phone to her ear. "Ring-ring, it's for you Julia. Jealousy's calling! 16 missed calls!"
"Mmmm… you didn't get the part though….right?... I'm not exactly jealous of a flop," Julia scoffed as she flipped her hair sassily. In her mind, Emma was just as much of a loser as Nichelle Ladonna. Therefore, she would meet the same fate. Julia desperately wanted to be the one to eliminate Emma once and for all. Preferably today.
Emma opened her mouth to retort with her next comeback but for some reason Raj said the strangest thing which made her stop and look over at him horrified.
"I like to smell other people's hockey bags!"
Everyone stared.
"YOU WHAT?!" Wayne turned to his friend and looked at him in absolute horror.
Raj laughed nervously at all of the attention he had brought upon himself so suddenly. Had he really said that out loud?
"Ew…" Emma said, distracted from her argument with Julia. She had been completely thrown off by this news.
Raj confessional: Oops *laughs nervously* Uhh… hopefully I can fix things!
Raj was desperate to undo the damage but what he said next didn't exactly help. "UHHH – No! No! What I meant was… I only like to smell other people's dirty hockey equipment. Sweaty jerseys. Yum."
"Ew!" his other eight campers said in unison.
"NO! I meant I only like to gently sniff other people's putrid-smelling, vomit-inducing, sticky-stained hockey helmets after a hard, long sweaty game!" This was the worst of all.
"EW!" everyone, including Chris, Chef and Emily said. Raj's face flushed and he stared down hardly into his tub, biting his lip to prevent any more words from escaping.
"OK you need to stop talking for real! You're making things worse!" Damien pleaded. He was scarred for life. The scarlet-faced Raj whistled to himself as he tried not to imagine Bowie's reaction.
"I think I'll interrupt with distraction number two…" Emily said slowly, desperately trying to remove the thought of Raj smelling his teammate's hockey bags form her head. "Who wants a nice hot steaming shower in our portable shower trailer? Filled with all the possible bubbles you can imagine. Colours, scents, soaps, conditioners, shampoos, body wash, and skincare to fit your individual needs…" she said dramatically as Chef played the harp beautifully in the background.
Julia gasped audibly. "Oh my gosh," she said, mesmerized. Julia had to admit that this was certainly much more tempting than the hot chocolate had been. Even Axel stopped to stare at the shower trailer.
Chris looked around and waited one more minute for any quitters but nobody stepped out. It was another round where everyone survived!
"Well then… guess you all just love your tubs. Take em away interns!"
2:58 pm
"How about a more lighthearted conversation?... WHAT DOES EVERYONE WANT TO DO WITH THE MONEY IF THEY WIN?!" Emma asked enthusiastically.
"Well if I win the money, I'm going to donate to 3 million charities and they'll each get $1!" Caleb said proudly.
Crickets.
Only when he saw the blank expressions on his fellow campers' faces did he register what he had just said.
Caleb confessional: *blinks baffled* That sounded a lot better in my head…
"I'd also give some of it away… but to an animal shelter instead! 15%!" Emma said. The pet store crash still haunted her dreams occasionally.
"I'd donate to science!" Damien said cheerfully.
"Same!" Priya added.
"Funnily enough, same…" MK said slowly, raising an eyebrow at the thought of how many fellow science donators there were right now.
Not wanting to feel left out, Caleb piped up. "Uh yeah... me too… if I have any leftovers of course… hooray science!" he said awkwardly.
Julia snorted. "Hold on… you guys would seriously give away your money?" The mere thought of giving away her hard-earned money was ludicrous to her! All that scheming, lying, manipulation would be for nothing then.
"Why not? It's a selfless thing to do! Don't you believe in giving away money for a good cause?" Priya hissed. "After all, it's only a small amou – "
"I don't believe in donating…" Julia carelessly said as she cut off Priya with a dramatic yawn. Priya's jaw fell.
"Excellent… OK you're my soulmate," MK said half-jokingly. Despite having just mentioned donating to science a few seconds prior, MK did not feel like giving away the money anywhere else.
Axel punched a hand into her fist fiercely. "Well, I'd build my own underground bunker. Or at the very least, I'd pay to get access to the ones the government uses…"
Damien splashed his face into his tub and took a large gulp of water. Disgusting, yes. But he desperately needed water in his system.
"The government's got underground bunkers?" Damien asked as he brought his face out from under the water. Well, this was certainly news to him! Or… it could just be one of Axel's crazier thoughts…
Axel nodded her head and Damien could tell she was being serious, believing everything she was saying. The look in her eyes was way too intense.
"Totally… they just don't let us know about it… cowards… they're just like Chris. Thinking for themselves only… unlike me who wants one to house as many people as possible once the apocalypse breaks out…" She was just looking out for everyone else, after all.
Axel confessional: Oh yeah! That's right! *stands up and starts shaking the camera like a crazy lady with her face an inch away from the lens* I KNOW ALL ABOUT YOUR SECRET HIDEOUTS, YOUR UNDERGROUND TRANSPORT SYSTEM, YOUR 50 YEARS' WORTH OF FOOD HIDDEN IN THE ATHABASCA –
Chris took off his sunglasses, irritated. "HEY! I heard that you know! Well, since you've POKED THE BEAR, it's time for more temptation! Emily!"
Right on cue, Emily stood up once again with the next temptation in her hands. "Behold hand warmers and fluffy white towels. Should warm you up instantly, no problem!"
"Fluffy towels?" Wayne asked, a little too intrigued.
"Oh no, no, no, …." Raj put his hands to his head while his leg began to slowly rise out of the tub…
Julia gasped dramatically. "They're going to crack!" she egged them on. Another minute as the fluffy white towels and hand-warmers rustled in the afternoon wind between Emily's fingers. And then –
"THAT'S IT IM GOING FOR IT!" Raj leaped out of his tub noisily, sending splashes of water out of his tub.
"I CAN'T TAKE IT ANY LONGER!" Wayne followed him.
"OK and there we go! The first two have bailed!" Chris said in relief. Finally, they were getting somewhere…. Indeed, these kids were certainly lasting a lot longer than he had expected. To be honest, he had expected them all to drop out by now as it was getting rather boring listening to them all converse with each other over mundane topics. Where was the drama? The pain?!
Raj confessional: Ah we lost.. but at least we got bunny slippers! *claps the bunny slippers together with a big smile*
"Anyways… after I've donated I'm using the rest to pay for school and help me buy a house!" Priya carried on as if Wayne and Raj's disturbance hadn't even occurred.
Caleb blinked. "What kind of houses have you been searching for that are actually worth millions? I don't think those exist…" he said skeptically, as the only thing he was seeing in his mind was downtown Toronto where the prices were astronomically high.
"There's lots available!" Priya protested. "And remember I actually have more than a million to spare from my first season!"
"Yeah but are they actually good houses? We're not talking about shacks Priya…" Julia drawled.
Priya snorted. What did the spoiled brat have to say about houses? "What's your definition of good?" she spat.
"10,000 square feet, minimum!" Julia swiftly replied, smirking at Priya whose jaw had just dropped.
"Houses, not mansions," Axel scowled.
"Man… you are spoiled…" MK muttered though she did not say this with any malice in her voice.
"Aww MK… Tell me something I don't know!" Julia laughed as the final seven all sulked at Julia and MK's annoying back and forth.
4:34 pm
By now, the remaining seven campers had all gotten used to the temperatures in their tubs and found themselves speaking normally. They had actually gone two straight hours without talking much to each other, something Julia did not appreciate as she felt the tension was slowly slipping away. She had to bring it back.
She turned to Caleb, played with her hair and cleared her throat. "Sooo… anyways, let's congratulate the newlywed couple of the season… Caliya! That's Caleb and Priya in case you didn't know" – she turned to face Damien – "Don't they look so cute together Damien?" she cooed.
Damien flinched slightly. "What? Oh yeah… sure…."
"Tell us how you really feel," MK said slyly.
"I just did! I'm really happy for them. You don't see healthy wholesome couples much nowadays. Most of the ones I see break up after two weeks…" Damien mumbled.
"Mmm OK but that's not what you're really thinking huh? I think Zee said something about you actually liking Priya. Might've mentioned it once or twice over dinner…" MK chortled as she exchanged glances with Julia.
"ZEE?!" Damien said, genuinely curious as to how the soda lord had gotten involved in this conversation. "That's not true!" Internally, Damien was slightly panicking. He was certain he had never mentioned his feelings for Priya to Zee, even during their leisure hours. However, other topics had certainly popped up… Damien was starting to regret ever telling Zee he was a Level 8 Wizard Squire…
Julia gasped dramatically. "Hang on a minute Damien. It's totally fine to have a crush on someone in a relationship. Do you think you can realistically take Priya from Caleb?" – she hardened her gaze playfully – "Are you the better man? I mean he is bigger, stronger, cuter, but you never know… she could give you a chance…"
"I heard your nickname back home was Mr. Jam-your-shorty Damien," MK giggled.
"What…?" Damien said, blown away by MK's choice of words.
Damien confessional: Why is she saying it like that?
"Priya, how could you play with both boys' hearts like that? You're a real player!" Julia cackled as she threw her head up into the air.
"Stop it Julia!" Priya snapped.
Julia raised her hands innocently. "OK… just saying…"
6:49 pm
"Interesting, it's almost been six hours and still… only Wayne and Raj have bailed so far. You guys haven't even eaten anything!" Chris said amazed as he loudly chewed his juicy Pound town steak. On the side, Wayne and Raj munched happily on their pork chops. The perks of being eliminated early in today's challenge!
Wayne confessional: If you think Rajie and I were dumb when we bailed for bunnies, just take a look at the others freezing their butts off! Meanwhile, we got pork chops, bunny slippers, fluffy towels and a warm fire to the side! *counts on his fingers* We're super comfortable too. So yeah! *takes out a fork and starts eating pieces of pork chop* Who's the smart one now? HA!
By this point, evening had fallen and the sun was about to start setting. The chilly temperature was now setting in and many of them were back to chattering.
"EVERYBODY LEAVE THE TUB I CAN L – L – LAST HERE ALL DAY," Emma shouted desperately, hoping somebody would leave at these words. Unfortunately nobody did. It seemed everyone was just as committed as her to winning this challenge.
Julia raised her eyebrow. "Shaking a little there Emma," she teased.
"N – NO I'M N – N – NOT!" Emma clenched her teeth at Julia, staring at her in complete bewilderment. How was she still not freezing?
Meanwhile, Damien began to sweat as he felt an uncomfortable urge inside of him. "Uh-oh… " he looked around at everyone else nervously.
Damien confessional: Yeah… thing is, I've been drinking so much water all day I forgot it has to come out somewhere eventually…
He would not be able to last much longer. "I NEED TO PEE!" he burst out loud.
"Oooh that's too bad because you would probably have to step out of the tub to use the bathroom," Chris chortled as Damien's body began to twitch violently due to him holding it in after all this time.
"Or you can just go in the tub! I do it at public swimming pools all the time and no one ever notices!" Wayne guffawed as he took a bite out of his porkchop. He was about to reach in for another bite but stopped when he saw everyone else in the tubs looking at him with pure terror.
"What…?" he asked innocently, slowly lowering his fork.
"OK… you're gross…" MK turned herself away from Wayne, the pool pisser.
Julia confessional: *shakes her head and laughs* OK that was kinda cu – GROSS! EW!
"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" Emily exclaimed bluntly.
"I don't know… I've been asked that question many times and I still can't find the answer…" Wayne joked, nudging Raj in the ribs who spat out his pork chop and roared with laughter. Julia did her best to suppress a laugh at his comment.
"THAT'S IT! IM OUT!" Damien yelped. Indeed, he was a ticking time bomb of urine. If he didn't go now, he would explode. Damien leapt out of his tub and sprinted towards the bathrooms, unzipping his pants as he went. He fell twice on his way before slamming the bathroom door shut in relief.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhh…" Damien's sigh of relief echoed across the campgrounds.
"Damien is out! Only six remain!" Chris rubbed his hands in anticipation. He felt they were nearing the end of this long and brutal challenge. And to speed things up… he had a plan he would resort to but only at the last possible second… if these campers were tougher than he thought… he would have to bring out the book…. The last time he had brought it out was for the Awake-a-thon nearly 17 years ago. It had been sitting idly on his shelf, collecting dust but now… it may be time to read Chapter 1: The Beaver all over again…
7:34 pm
For the first time in six hours, Julia took a good look at her skin (which wrinkled a lot slower than normal, human skin). What?! she shrieked in her head, absolutely horrified by what she saw. "Ugh, my skin is turning WRINKLY. LIKE OLD PEOPLE SKIN. Ewwww," she stretched a hand away from her and gagged.
"Yeah, you wouldn't last a day in the apocalypse…" Axel taunted.
Julia abruptly turned to Axel. "Sorry, is this coming from someone who was eliminated second last season?" she sneered. "In case nobody noticed, I did better than all of you last time and its gonna happen again."
"Uhhh… I think you forgot about the winner…" Caleb raised an eyebrow, pointing towards Priya. She was the only one here who had outranked Julia after all.
"Speaking of the winner, Priya who do you like more? Damien or Caleb?" Julia asked malignantly, resuming the attack from a few hours ago. Julia felt she had shown enough mercy, giving Priya a little break for a few hours. From the corner of her eye, Julia could see Damien who was now sitting next to Wayne and Raj and was doing her best to carry her voice over.
"WHAT?!" Priya shrieked.
"Didn't you eat Damien's biscuit?" MK added, doing her best to contain her laughter.
Caleb blinked. "Wait? What's going on? PRIYA! Damien gave you that biscuit?" Caleb said, a hint of jealousy very prevalent in his voice. Perhaps he was being paranoid but Caleb felt very uneasy. Priya hadn't wanted to talk to him this morning but she had gladly accepted a biscuit from Damien? And if he recalled correctly, she had held it rather gratefully in her hands… caressing the warm cookie between her fingertips. Was that why she had suggested taking a break? So that she could spend more time with Damien instead? So that she could accept more warm biscuits from Damien instead of him? Caleb's brain started racing as he came up with more wild theories on why Priya did not want to talk with him anymore.
"Hold up. What's going on?" Damien said, genuinely confused.
"IT'S JUST A BISCUIT. And he gave it to me to make me feel better!" Priya roared, staring furiously at Caleb.
Priya confessional: Is he… getting JEALOUS OVER THAT?!
"Nah, he was trying to flirt with her," MK goaded.
"Damien, as we said before you should really know Priya's been playing with you," Julia said softly. "This whole time. She really likes Caleb, not you. So you can stop trying to pursue her. You can give her a hundred biscuits and she still wouldn't like you."
Damien hung his head as both his and Priya's face flushed.
Damien confessional: *throws hands up exasperated* Why are we making such a big deal out of this darn biscuit?
Caleb confessional: They're BLUSHING?!
Caleb snapped. "SERIOUSLY?! Priya! You made me feel like I was a cheater but you're the real cheater!"
"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!" Priya exploded. She could not believe what Caleb was now accusing her of. This was an insane leap of logic. Somehow Damien giving her a cookie was proof of her cheating on him? Was he really that insecure?
"AYO. What do you mean Priya made you feel like you were a cheater? ARE THE RUMOURS TRUE? HAVE YOU BEEN CHEATING?" Damien interjected.
Julia and MK curled their lips triumphantly at all the chaos they had restarted. MK especially found it amusing that they were throwing around the word 'cheater' interchangeably to describe both cheating the game and cheating romantically. It made for a lot of confusion!
Julia + MK confessional (Julia): I love words with double meanings!
Julia + MK confessional (MK): This whole situation is so hilariously stupid only someone from MIT would actually take it seriously!
"DAMIEN! BACK OFF! THAT'S MY GIRL!" Caleb roared, sending spit flying everywhere. Hot, bubbly rage had filled his insides.
"YOUR GIRL? SINCE WHEN?" Damien fired back. He didn't like fighting but Caleb appeared to be coming for him first, hitting him with the force of a sledgehammer. "I don't recall you two ever claiming to be a couple. Sure you hang out a lot but – "
"Well, I'm not going to put it in great, big writing on a fricking sign – " Caleb snapped sarcastically.
"Both of you stop it!" Priya yelled.
"Which girl are you giving your biscuits to… if you're cheating on Priya? Is it Julia?" Damien said accusingly. "Y'all two seem to be getting along pretty well…"
Priya gaped at Damien. What on earth was he talking about?
"SHUT UP ABOUT THE BISCUIT EVERYBODY!" Priya said exasperated. This was a disaster. Why did they have to keep talking about this stupid biscuit? It was ruining everything.
"ZIP IT LEVEL 8 WIZARD SQUIRE!" Caleb spat. A burning rage had quickly filled his insides. It was taking all the self-control he had to not step out of his tub.
Damien's jaw dropped. This was hitting below the belt.
Damien confessional: *shakes the camera aggressively* ZEE! WHY?
"Honestly, I love biscuits," Julia smirked as she played with the water in her tub, sending little splashes.
"JULIA! STOP!" Priya whimpered. Though she did not know exactly what was going on, Julia and MK for whatever reason, were milking this whole 'biscuit' thing to cause absolute pandemonium.
Chris stared at them all bewildered. What in the world were they even talking about? Nothing was making any sense but Julia had managed to make everybody confused. Why did they keep talking about biscuits?...
"Priya, what are you doing? Messing with both of them?" MK added tauntingly.
Priya put her hands to her head to drown out Julia and MK's taunts.
"What is going on?!" Emma said, genuinely confused.
"Why the FUCK do we keep talking about biscuits?" Axel roared.
"Wait! Can I get a biscuit?" Raj asked innocently.
"NO! NOBODY CAN EAT BISCUITS! EVERYBODY, JUST FORGET ABOUT THE BISCUITS! SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UP!" Priya cried as she put her hands over her ears to drown out all the voices.
"Priya, why are you such a slu – " Julia sneered.
"OK SERIOUSLY! SCREW YOU TWO!" Priya screamed as she leapt out of her tub. She was done. If this was what she would have to sit through, she did not want to take part in any of it. MK and Julia smirked at Priya's backside as she sprinted away, sobbing noisily. Only the sound of Priya's tears made Damien and Caleb stare down shamefully, wondering why they had overreacted.
"I guess Priya's out," Chris said awkwardly.
Priya confessional: *crying* Boys are so stupid! All of that JUST BECAUSE DAMIEN GAVE ME A BISCUIT TO MAKE ME FEEL BETTER. WHAT A BUNCH OF UNICONIC DRAMA KINGS! IF YOU'RE GOING TO BE DRAMATIC, AT LEAST DO IT LIKE BOWIE!
Julia and MK confessional (Both): *exchange fist-bumps* Mission accomplished!
AUTHOR'S NOTES
This challenge, like "The truth, the pole truth, and nothing but the truth" from Season 1, is more focused on character interactions and dialogue as opposed to the challenge itself (which is really simple).
If everybody is sounding dumber here than usual (Wayne and Raj, Caleb-Damien-Priya drama, etc), it's because of the brain freeze! I thought this was a more reasonable way to get them to talk too much and generate drama as opposed to just having them start acting dumber for no reason out of nowhere. Only Julia and MK are able to be level-headed because of their warm tubs.
Yeah... this is how I thought of the villains finding out about the idol. Using one villain as a distraction while the other focused on everybody's reactions. Hopefully, it's not over for Damien though?
Wayne and Raj bailing out first is meant to highlight the irony of them thinking they would've crushed the pole challenge last season. Also the fact that the Alberta boys couldn't handle the cold makes it funnier.
Since it's the cartoon world, they are somehow able to magically hold in their piss for long periods of time without damaging the bladder. Only Damien got out for drinking an EXCESSIVE amount.