AUTHOR'S NOTES

Welcome to Episode 2! There are 10 chapters in this episode because this time we have an elimination and a more complicated challenge. Enjoy!

Chapter 7: The Big Short Alliance

June 28 2024

6:56 am

"98… 99…..100!"

Caleb had just finished his morning routine of 100 body-weight pull-ups using a thick tree branch as a pull-up bar. True, there had been a new gym installed over the last year that he could use but he always liked facing the sunrise. The branch also helped with grip strength. Caleb leaped down and grabbed his towel. However, waiting for him was…. Caleb blinked. Was he seeing that right?

MK was leaning casually on a tree and waving at him. Caleb checked behind his back in case she was waving at anybody else, but after seeing no one, he confirmed she really was looking at him! What could she possibly want?...

Caleb made his way over to her.

"What's up?" he asked kindly, wiping some sweat off from his face.

MK chuckled and tossed him a water bottle. "OK. On a scale of 1 to 10, how badly do you want revenge on Bowie for what he did to you last season?" she said rather bluntly. Caleb stared at her incredulously as he took a sip. She was really cutting to the chase. No introductions, no hellos, nothing. Just pure talk about the game.

Caleb confessional: Damn. Kind of wanted to just go take a shower and eat breakfast but... I guess I'm stuck talking with MK?

"What…?" Caleb said slowly, giving a nervous laugh. Why was MK asking him this question? "Like… a 5, I guess? I mean… I'm still holding a slight grudge obviously but we had tons of fun playing volleyball yesterday. Like Bowie and I actually got some killer spikes together!" he said happily.

Indeed, Caleb who had felt tremendous amounts of bitterness towards Bowie yesterday morning, had calmed down after their volleyball game. They had won 25-21 against the Panthers and even had some small talk afterwards. Besides, Caleb was not the type to hold grudges.

MK snorted in disbelief. "How touching… look I'm the only Frog of Death member who actually cares about you. I can help you eliminate him. Alliance?" She extended her hand. She had also ignored everything Caleb had just raved on about.

Caleb stared down hesitantly. Should he go for it? An alliance with the pickpocket? She had done some handy confessional shenanigans last season after all, perhaps that would be useful… His mistake last season had been not reaching out to others as soon as possible. He would not make that same mistake this season. And the fact that she had reached out to him first when no one else had...

Caleb confessional: *puts hand on chin and ponders* I do need an alliance. Never thought I'd see myself with the smallest one here considering I'm so huge but… I'LL TAKE IT!

"Deal," Caleb winked. He shook her hand and just like that, the very first formal alliance of the season had been formed.

"Great," MK rubbed her hands thrilled. "So here's the game plan. Today, act all hostile towards Bowie and give him death glares whenever you can."

Caleb blinked. It sounded ridiculous to him to openly show distaste for Bowie. "What?!" he said, taking a shocked step back. "B - but, why would I have to be mean to him like that?" he spluttered. "Wouldn't that just put a fat target on my ba – "

"Trust me Caleb," MK chortled. "Good talk. Bye!" And with that, she swiftly turned her back and walked away, leaving a very confused Caleb to wallow in his thoughts.

MK confessional: Pfft. He's so naïve. The important thing is getting me to that merge. And if that means making him look bad in front of the others, so be it. The less attention I get, the better. *smirks*

AUTHOR'S NOTES

This is one of the shorter chapters so if you're feeling a little bummed, good news. Next chapter is longer and has more stuff going on.

I hope you can see that Caleb is not necessarily acting OOC. The show makes it very clear he's strong, he's MIT-smart but he's also naive and kind of stupid when it comes to the social aspect of the game. This makes him an easy target for MK.