Riot on Set
POV. Third person
Chris begins narrating, "Last time on Total Drama Action. Sixteen teenagers, one spooky film lot, and a whole bunch of alien eggs. In a world where an army chef wore an alien costume, only the strong could survive. Finally, two lovers shared a heroic victory. But now, they'll be forced to endure a tragic separation. And so it was that another pair of lovers were the subject of a vote-off for the ages. But Geoff and Bridgette's love was so strong, no amount of heckling could ever break their timeless bond. Enough already with the love, this week, we're gonna bring the pain. Well, if I have anything to say about it. And I do. So, brace yourselves for some deliciously painful TOTAL... DRAMA... ACTION!"
-0-
POV. Cody
It was four o'clock in the morning, and Chris would come at any moment to wake the others up.
Today, Trent and Gwen would pick their teams, I wonder which team I'll end up on.
I'll have to be careful what I do, if there was one constant in these challenges it's that those who tried to stand out immediately, were usually kicked out.
Not to mention, Noah will be sitting in the sequel studio watching the whole show, if I'm not careful I'll look very suspicious.
It's best to keep a low profile at the beginning of the season, otherwise I'll immediately become a target.
I sighed, it would be easier if I could write my ideas down somewhere, but I run the risk of someone finding that information. The only true privacy in this program is inside one's head.
And sometimes not even that is safe.
I got up and got out of my trailer, went to sit on the seats in the middle of the rest area, everyone else was still asleep, did I really change so much from when I was a teenager? It feels weird to know that I once slept as much as they did.
Chris arrived with his megaphone, "wow, you're still an early riser Huh?, don't pay attention to me, I'm just going to make a lot of noise hahahaha," said the sadistic presenter as he turned on his megaphone. I covered my ears with a grimace.
"Hey, keep it moving!"
*HORN*
"AHHHHHH!", shit, that was loud, I could hear Gwen screaming all the way here.
"All crew on set! Call time is four a.m., I love this thing," Chris said referring to his megaphone, I imagine so.
Confessional.
Beth
"At first, I thought he was talking to the crew crew, not us. I was really hoping they'd replace Chris the creep with a nice host this time around! Is that mean? Sorry."
End of confessional.
"I can't believe I'm doing another season of this show," Leshawna said.
The girls came out of their trailer as bitter as expected... Except for Izzy, who came out fluttering happily, I couldn't help but laugh at it.
The boys also went out, and they looked just as tired, "this continuing sadistic wakeup call is messing with the natural rhythms of my mind clock, my mojo will be destroyed," Harold said.
We're friends, and I'll admit you have a lot of good stuff, but mojo isn't exactly at the top of your repertoire.
"Dude, how do you stay up so early?" Trent asked me as I was unaffected by the morning awakening.
"Hours and hours of video games can do things to your sleep cycle," whether it's programming, testing, or just playing them.
"That's not good for mental health, you know?" commented Courtney, thank you Miss Righteousness.
"Well now we know why he's so out of his mind," Gwen joked, everyone in the clearing laughed, with Izzy being the loudest, she doesn't miss the opportunity to mess with me. I laughed too, you can't be sane after waking up in the past and moving on with your life.
-0-
The sun was already starting to rise when we were all gathered outside.
"You're on a film set now, and you're gonna learn that show biz is not all red carpets and pool parties," Chris said in front of Owen's face. Ironically, this is what my life was like in my time with the Drama Brothers, "today you're gonna get schooled on how tough on-set production life can be."
"Whatever, I can deal. I once had a summer job at a petting zoo. It's so adorable, everybody feeding the adorable goats their adorable cabbages. But somebody, i.e. me had to shovel up the less adorable end of the digestive process," Gwen said bitterly, why was she working at a zoo to begin with?
"Well, speaking of number two, it's time to pick your teammates and then try to stick it to the team your boyfriend chooses," Chris told her. She and Trent exchanged a look.
"We're not gonna get all competitive and nasty, are we?" asked Trent, that's just the problem.
"Absolutely not, we already learned last season, right?" they didn't, they just moved the issues further south.
...
"Okay, let's get this bloodbath started, you're gonna choose schoolyard style. Boy, girl, boy, girl. Ladies first and since we have no ladies here, Gwen," Chris said pointing at her.
She sighed, "I dunno, Duncan?", I know they were starting to become friends, but really? She didn't even think about it too much.
Trent gasped incredulously.
Confessional.
Trent
"I can't believe she just went ahead and chose Duncan! I mean, they're kind of alike. And now… she wants to be on the same team? What am I supposed to make of that? You think you know a person," he ended grumpy.
End of confessional.
They high-fived, Trent looked annoyed by this development, okay, here we go.
"I choose, the beautiful Lindsay," Trent said.
"Yay!" she said happily, totally ignorant of what was going on.
Confessional.
Gwen
"'The beautiful'? What? Was Trent trying to tick me off by picking Lindsay like that? You think you know a person."
End of confessional.
"I like to keep things cool, I pick Leshawna," Gwen said in a more cheerful tone.
"Woo hoo! The girls are back in town," the big sister said as he high-fived her.
"I choose Justin," Trent said.
"Oh. Pick all the good looking contestants. That'll get you far," Gwen said, LeShawna and Duncan looked a little offended, that was funny.
"It will in show biz," he's right, that's why Justin was part of the band despite not knowing how to play any instruments. Gwen looked annoyed anyway.
"Cody," she said, well looks like I'll be part of the Gaffers. I walked over to my new team and high-fived LeShawna.
"Courtney," Trent said, she was surprised as was Duncan, but she went with her team anyway.
Confessional.
Trent
"This team will need at least one person who can think correctly."
Duncan
"No~, he didn't do that to annoy me in the slightest," Duncan said sarcastically.
End of confessional.
Gwen thought about it quite a bit, "Beth, join us," she said to the farmer surprising me, I looked at LeShawna, I guess Heather hasn't bothered her enough to make Gwen choose her to watch over her. That's an interesting change.
Beth was a little insecure, Lindsay and Justin were on the other team, I know she had a crush on Justin this season... Even though she supposedly already had a boyfriend... Seriously, why did people take it out on me so much? I repeat, no one here is a saint.
She sighed and joined us, I put my hand on her shoulder comfortingly, she looked at me and smiled.
Confessional.
Beth
"Well, Lindsay and Justin are the enemy now," she said a little sadly, but then smiled, "but at least I have good friends here too."
End of confessional.
"I'm going to pick Owen," Trent said without much thought.
Confessional.
Trent
"Owen saved my life on Boney Island, he won't be the brightest, but I know we can count on him for the heavy lifting."
End of confessional.
"Oh yeah, buddy," he high-fived as he joined them.
"DJ," Gwen said, choosing the sensitive heft. He came and high-fived Duncan.
Trent looked between Izzy and Heather, but then noticed a grimace on Lindsay's face, so he made a decision, "I'm going to pick Izzy."
As expected, Izzy stood in her place whistling innocently. I rolled my eyes.
"She likes to be called Kaleidoscope," Lindsay told him.
"Oh right, E-Scope," he called her again.
"Here!" she said much more cheerfully. It seems that all the couples were separated, my presence and Courtney's altered the formation of the teams.
However, neither Izzy nor I are one to make a fuss about things like this. She always tries to compete with me in everything at the end of the day.
Confessional.
Izzy / E-Scope
"I'm I worried about being on a different team than my mountain geek? Pff, not at all, who do they think we are? The rest of the cliché couples on this show? One of us will win this, it will be him or me, and I'm going to enjoy every moment," she said with a psychopathic look, then smiled more normally, "besides, it will be fun," she finished.
End of confessional.
Gwen sighed, "well, this is better than Harold I guess, Heather," Gwen said.
Heather quietly approached us and stood away from Beth and LeShawna.
Confessional.
Heather
"Picked last and on a team of people who don't like me very much, wow, karma is strong today," she said rolling her eyes, "I'll have to keep a low profile if I don't want to be kicked out at the first opportunity."
Beth
She sighed, "stuck on another team with Heather," she said sadly, but then smiled, "well, at least I don't have to be in her shadow anymore."
End of confessional.
"Excuse me, what does that mean?" Harold asked Gwen, "h, hello? Don't wicked skills count for anything? I mean, who else here went to film camp and is fully trained as a junior cinematographer with a thorough knowledge of lighting filters, film stop-"
Trent grabbed the bridge of his nose, and Courtney shook her head in disappointment.
"Just come here Harold, but quietly please," Trent said with a headache.
Confessional.
Trent
"Listening to him talk for hours in the bouncy castle was a bummer, and now I'm going to have him doing that constantly, this team hasn't started well."
Courtney
"I haven't forgotten that it was his ruse that got Duncan eliminated last season, I'll be watching you," he told the camera with narrowed eyes.
End of confessional.
Well, that's another one that changes teams, now Duncan won't be able to bother him constantly... I think so, I don't really know if that would be a factor, last time he did it because it was his fault that Courtney was expelled, although this time, it was his fault that he was expelled... Let's see how that ends.
Chris came up to us, "Gwen, I christen your team, The Screaming Gaffers," then went to Trent's team, "Trent, you're the Killer Grips."
"Hurrah," Lindsay said, but then she looked confused, "What's a grip?"
"Well, a grip is the one who has the indispensable task of assembling all the production equipment, such as the lights, the cameras, handling the sound, blah, blah, blah, blah," Harold said, beginning to speak.
"Uh~, big deal, the world would be lost for sure without a professional pressing play on a camera," Heather said sarcastically.
*Break*
The inmate handling the sound threw the microphone on the floor angrily, "I'm sick and tired of getting no respect around here!" he said.
*Break*
While another, much larger inmate threw a screen from his stand onto the ground.
"You had to comment, didn't you?" I said to the queen bee, but Heather just rolled her eyes.
"Okay, since we're running late now and don't seem to have anymore um… whatever those… two… crew… dudes… did, we better get going. Your challenge? For each team to set up a film set," said the host right besides some technical equipment. This is the only challenge that didn't have a film genre.
LeShawna smiled at this, "haha, we'll be scarfing flapjacks by seven," she said confidently. Am I going to have to give another talk about tempting fate?
"Oh, will you? As location manager, I want your sets to go… there!" said Chris, pointing to the fake mountain that looked a lot like Wawanakwa's.
"You just love doing this to us," Gwen complained.
"Yes. Yes, I do," Chris pulled a walkie-talkie out of his shirt, "Chef, Clear for traffic up there" he asked, but chef didn't answer, so he grabbed his megaphone, "lights, camera, action!", Chris hadn't even finished talking when we both went to pick up our equipment in a hurry.
Climbing the mountain carrying things was an exhausting task, but it was a good exercise, besides, I am constantly carrying Izzy, which although not excessively heavy, was quite difficult at the beginning.
"What are you doing with him!?" I heard Trent's voice a little higher up.
Duncan had kept Gwen from falling and Trent took it badly, I shook my head, I couldn't help him right now, we're in a challenge with time against us, not to mention we're on separate teams.
Fortunately, Courtney was already way ahead, or this could have been much more complicated.
Trent stepped on the light cord that had been falling to the floor, Lindsay ran to help him before Gwen did. Trent bragged about this.
Yeah, these two had to break up, I can't be on the lookout all my life that one of them doesn't screw up.
Heather bumped into Duncan dropping the cart she was dragging, I stood in front of it and stopped it with my foot.
Heather came running, "thank you," she said as she held it back up.
"It would be a pain in the ass to go back for it," I said, put the light I was carrying on top of it and held it on the other side, "I'll help you."
She blushed a little, but looked away and started pulling again, "this would be easier if we passed things on to each other, but I doubt anyone on this team is going to listen to me," she said sulkily.
I tried to think of something, but I didn't have anything, "for now you don't need to prove your worth to the team, you won't get kicked out without a reason."
She looked at me again, "And how do you know that?"
"Well, if we lose, I won't let them just kick you out just because... It wouldn't be fair," I said simply.
The red came back to her cheeks, but she was rolling her eyes at me, "Wow, my hero, what will you do if they end up kicking you out for that instead?"
I shrugged, "Who wants to be on a team like that? Most likely, they will end up failing on their own."
"Hahahahaha", she laughed at this heartily, I smiled, she looked at me now with a smile of her own, "I'm not your girlfriend you know? You don't have to put your hand in the fire for me," she joked.
"Who said I did it because of that... it would be a shame if Izzy lost her cute red curls," I said with a cheeky smile.
"What? Do you like her cute red hair so much?", did you just say that Izzy has cute hair?
"It's not because of that," we both startled when Izzy appeared out of nowhere next to us, along with a devilish smile, oh no. She clutched her hair into a ponytail, "it's because otherwise he wouldn't have anywhere to pull on to pound harder, hahahahahaha," she said pulling her hair a little.
I opened my mouth in shock, as did Heather. Of all the awkward things she said so far, this one definitely takes the prize.
"I'll see you at the top, goodbye," and now she's running away after making a scene... Why not?
"..."
"..."
Heather and I fell into an awkward silence, both red as tomatoes. Damn Izzy, this is your fault.
Confessional.
Heather
"At this point it shouldn't surprise me that apart from being a pervert, he's also a fetishist," she said with a frown... She looked at her own short ponytail and out of curiosity pulled it a little, but then she remembered where she was and opened her eyes wide, "Shit!" she lunged at the camera causing static, "How do you remove the tape from this thing?" she asked alarmed.
End of confessional.
Something about Heather caught my attention, "... huh, Heather?... You've got something in the...," I said, pointing under my nose.
She touched hers to find that it was bleeding, covered her hand and looked away.
Confessional.
Heather
"What's going on with me!?"
End of confessional.
"Let's make a deal... you don't tell anyone about this, I don't tell anyone about this, especially Courtney, what Izzy said, and we forget about it," she told me. I guess it's a good deal.
"Deal", at least I learned some interesting things from this conversation.
...
POV. Beth
I was dragging a heavy set of lights, maybe I should have chosen something lighter, "Woah!", the equipment almost fell out of my hands, if something breaks it could end up hurting my team.
"Be careful", fortunately that did not happen thanks to the appearance of a certain Greek god sculpted by the angels themselves. Justin held the end of the lights to keep them from falling off.
"Hahahaha, g-thanks Justin~, p-but you shouldn't, you know... you, me, different teams," Why did it suddenly get so hot?
"A gentleman should always help a damsel in distress," he said in his soft velvet voice, he is so perfect.
"Uh, I'm sorry you know I've got to shine, the Beths won't stand on their own," I said.
"..."
"...", I slapped my forehead, What the hell am I saying now?, "I'll see you later", I said goodbye hurrying away.
Confessional.
Beth
"Uh, I can't believe I acted like a fool in front of Justin, besides, we're on different teams, if everyone else saw me like that they'd send me home before he and I can get married... I mean before I can make the million... yes, that."
End of confessional.
...
POV. Third person
*Scourge*
"Ouch!" shouted Harold as he ran uphill.
"Hahahahaha, let's go Harold faster," Izzy told him. She was using a light cord as a whip to make her run faster.
*Scourge, scourge, scourge*
"I'm going as fast as I can, gosh!" said the nerd.
Confessional.
Izzy / E-Scope
"Courtney told me that if Harold got too talkative, E-Scope was allowed to whip him, and E-Scope doesn't turn down opportunities like that."
End of confessional.
...
POV. Cody
"It's neck and neck, people," Chris announced, "and now for the heavy stuff."
Both teams met at the bottom of the mountain to decide how to get the makeup trailers to the top.
"How the heck are we gonna get those trailers all the way up the hill?" asked Trent.
"I have a great idea," Lindsay said.
Confessional.
Lindsay
"This is my chance to contribute more to the team and that, I have a lot of untapped potential, you know?"
End of confessional.
Lindsay walked up to me startling, "Cody, do you have an idea for getting the trailers up?" asked Lindsay with all the innocence of a puppy.
I swear I almost said yes.
Courtney put a hand on Lindsay's shoulder, "Hey, Lindsay, a problem with your strategy, Cody... It's not... on our team," she told her as if he were talking to a small child.
Lindsay blinked a couple of times, "wow, that's going to be a problem... I don't have any more ideas."
*Growl*
Owen's stomach rattled calling Trent's attention, "Owen. There's catering at the top of the hill. Just take that trailer up there with you and you can eat," he told him.
"Eat? I love to eat!" Owen took off his belt, tied one end to the trailer joint, the other end to his head, and began to climb up.
Trent turned around, "Hey! New best friends, how do you like that? You gonna cry together, you punk wannabes? 'Cause your team is going down!" everyone gasped at Trent's words, I massaged the bridge of my nose.
Neither of them was spared from this debacle. I had less and less reason to let them stay together. If something like this made it to World Tour, I might as well let the world explode.
"That was cruelly unnecessary," Beth said.
"You know? The sugary blonde had a point," LeShawna said looking at me, "Do you have any know-it-all geek ideas?" she asked me.
"Wow, wow, wow, wow... wow, why are we asking the nerd of the bunch when we have an obvious solution?" said Duncan grumpy.
Confessional.
Duncan
"I don't have anything personal against the geek lover of crazy chicks, but I've already endured being on a team with a nerd who thought he was more than he was and he ended up kicking me out by cheating, I don't need this team to be put on a silver platter in the hands of someone else to decide our fates as they want. I can find solutions as well, besides, what Elvis said bothered me, this is personal," he said angrily.
End of confessional.
"Hey buddy, what's your problem? I ask him because he's the one who always has the best ideas," LeShawna said, annoyed by Duncan's attitude.
"Yes, like finding new ways to get his face into the cleavage of the blonde with big tits or look at the queen bee's ass back there," Duncan said.
Heather didn't like the punk's comment at all.
"Oh, and your big idea, is...?" LeShawna asked him.
"We have DJ take it to the top," he said, "it seemed obvious enough to someone with common sense."
"You are a...", I'm sure LeShawna was going to attack him, but Gwen intervened.
"Ok, enough, LeShawna, Duncan's plan is good, we'll go with it," she said.
Duncan looked at her with a win-win face.
Confessional.
LeShawna
"I'm not much of a side-picker, but I think Gwen is favoring that spoiled punk too much," she said angrily.
End of confessional.
"So, what do you say, DJ?" Duncan asked the big guy.
"Oh no. Don't expect me to… What if the trailer snips and rolls back down the hill and possibly hurts someone? What then? I couldn't handle being responsible for that," DJ said.
While they were arguing, I called out to Beth, LeShawna and Heather, "Please tell me you came up with an idea to convince DJ?"
"No, not at all, DJ isn't going to do it," I told them as I looked inside the trailer, it had a lot of makeup equipment.
"So... what are we supposed to do?" asked Beth, I went outside and looked around, that will do.
I got out of the trailer ignoring the girls and walked over to a bunch of duffel bags that were hanging nearby, it's a good thing we're in a film studio.
"There's no time to explain," I told them tossing them some bags, "fill this with as much as you can from the trailer," I told them.
They looked at the bags understanding what it was all about, "little buddy you're as sneaky as ever," Leshawna said.
Confessional.
Cody
"If DJ refuses to take the trailer for safety, then we just have to leave the trailer," he told the camera in a philosopher's wig.
End of confessional.
"Without his belt holding him up, Owen's pants are slowing him down, looks like the Screaming Gaffers still have a chance," Chris said, "Will DJ step up to the plate, save the day?"
"I said no," DJ said.
"Find out after the break to see if DJ rises to the call of duty."
DJ stood in front of the camera, "I'm not gonna do it."
With that said, Chris went elsewhere for the commercial break.
"Come on DJ, you've got to do it," Duncan told him.
"I won't do it guys," DJ said with his arms crossed.
"Good for you DJ," we tossed him a bunch of bags full of makeup gear.
"What is this?" he asked.
"We emptied the trailer as best we could," Beth told him.
"Now you don't have to worry about hurting somebody," Leshawna told him, "Catch, punk boy," threw a very large suitcase at Duncan.
"Uff", this one was buried by its great weight.
"I'm feeling better now," Leshawna said, and I smiled at this.
"Move everybody, we don't have a lot of time," Heather said.
...
We all carried as many bags as we could, with DJ being the most loaded. Somehow, we managed to get to the top before time ran out.
"Wow, the Gaffers managed to kind of bring in their trailer in an unorthodox way hahahaha, but what the heck, if it works, it works," Chris said.
"Yes!", We celebrated.
"Now what?" asked Courtney.
"Now, the second part of the challenge," said Chris, many complained about this, "it's time to make a movie," Chris directed us to two scenarios, "and what we've got here is the set for a tearjerker, starring an elderly lady considering her long life", that's how I feel at the moment.
"Boring," Trent said.
"Gaffers, you'll be making a feature about a thug who tries to go straight but can't resist the lure of the street," Chris said.
"Yes, it's been done," Gwen said.
"And now it's time to choose an actor to perform a scene," Chris said, "Chef, give the teams their scenes," Do I tell someone the scripts are wrong?... No, if I do, we lose, we won't get better food from DJ either, and he won't leave to vindicate himself.
I looked at Izzy on the other team. It doesn't matter if you leave now knowing that you're going to come back to cause more disasters later.
While the Grips were choosing their actress, we were doing the same, "Big Lucky Parmesano," Gwen read the character's name.
"A tough guy?" Heather asked.
She, Gwen, and LeShawna turned like one to look at the criminal vandalizing our stage.
"What?" he asked grumpily.
"You have got to play the gangster," Gwen told him.
"Don't typecast me, I don't even know if I can act," he said.
Heather smiled wickedly, let's see where this is going. She looked at me, I'm going to be used again, won't I?
"Well Cody, since the second toughest guy in the group turned out to be a chicken, you'll have to save us one more time," she said happily.
Duncan ruined his skull drawing, making a long line through it, "pff, you seriously expect me to eat that-".
"Yes, you'll have to save this team like in the first part of the challenge," Leshawna said, then looked at Duncan, "since someone else's plan failed."
"That wasn't-"
"Please do it Cody," Gwen begged me pretendingly.
"Agh! Come on! You too-"
"Of course I'll do it with pleasure, we can't force Duncan if he has stage fright," by now Beth and DJ were laughing behind their hands.
*Crack*
But they stopped when the delinquent plunged his knife into the wood, then walked over to Gwen and snatched the script from her, "you don't know how much I hate you all," he said as he walked away to read it.
"Oh, believe me, we know," Heather said mockingly.
Well now that that's settled, "Captain, how about I take care of the technical team?", I asked Gwen, it's my specialty after all.
She shuddered, "Fine, but don't call me that."
"Yes, captain."
She squinted at me, "You spend too much time with Izzy," she told me.
Heather turned red when she heard that and moved away a bit so they wouldn't see her, it seems she hasn't forgotten what she said earlier.
"All right, set up the shot! Whoever can get Chef, Mr. Ex-Army Corporal, to show any emotion, wins the challenge," Chef growled at the camera to prove he wasn't impressionable.
-0-
POV. Izzy / E-Scope
Phew, my legs and back feel cramped, I'll have to ask Cody to give me a massage when this is all over, when I sneak into his trailer again.
" I feel like eighty years have already passed since they've started to adjust the lighting," I complained.
"Be patient, the art of lighting is a delicate process, requiring subtle hands to achieve the best blah, blah, blah, blah contrast," Harold said starting to speak, that was worse, I need a distraction.
I looked at Lindsay who was putting makeup on me, wow, from here I can see her cleavage, it's very big and eye-catching... Would she notice if I accidentally fell on it?... That reminds me of the other night, I smiled, that sounds funny.
"So, Lindsay, did you dream up something funny the other night?" I asked as I tried to wiggle my toes.
She instantly stiffened and looked at me wide-eyed.
Confessional.
Lindsay
"Don't tell this to E-Scope, but the other night I had a really weird dream, it had to do with her boyfriend... that... it's not normal, is it?"
End of confessional.
"Uh... No, not at all, I don't remember anything like that," she told me very quickly and nervously as she put more makeup on my face. So, she remembers.
"Cough, cough, cough, cough, really? Because I could swear, I heard you say Cody's name... a couple of times~", let's see how she reacts to this.
She got even redder and was going to say something "Aren't you done yet?" until Courtney sulky came over and interrupted her, damn it, and I was getting to the best part... well, I can still play one more card, can't I?
"Cramp!", I leaned forward and my face fell directly into Lindsay's cleavage which caught me so I wouldn't fall.
Wow, how warm and soft it feels here, she smells so good too, damn Cody, is this what you feel every time you stick your head in here? You're a rascal, keeping this to yourself, Oh I love you so much, I love you, your antics, they drive me crazy.
"Damn it, and I was about to achieve the perfect lighting! Gosh!" complained Harold.
Courtney sighed, "everybody take five minutes," she said, Five minutes here? No problem... I wonder if...
*Lick*
"Yip~!", Lindsay tastes sweet too, wow.
-0-
POV. Cody
" One, I can't memorize this much, and two, these lines are way out of left field," Duncan complained of the script. Knowing that the chef mixed up the scripts now, that would make sense.
"Cody, I'm done adjusting the lights," Beth said, coming up to me, I was manning the sound equipment.
"Great, now we just have to wait for our star to finish his make up session," I said as I looked at Duncan.
"So, you just stand there and look pretty. Okay? Pretty boy?" Heather told him.
"Don't call me pretty. The last guy who called me pretty ended up looking a lot less pretty," he said as he crumpled up the script in his hand, "Get it?"
Chris saw this from the side of the stage, "hahahahaha, friction between the crew and talent. I love it!", maybe, but it makes things more complicated for me.
"Hey ruffian, that was a good performance, you're getting into character," I said to Duncan before Gwen started calling him hot.
"Thank you, at least someone appreciates my effort," he told Heather. She looked at him with bad intentions.
-0-
POV. Izzy / E-Scope
"Finally, I've got the perfect lighting," Harold shouted from the ceiling, wondering if...
*Fall*
"Ouch! Gosh!" it doesn't matter anymore.
"How do you feel?" Courtney asked me, letting Trent take care of directing the team while she massaged my aching legs, since I had been standing for a long time.
"I would have preferred Cody to do it, but I'm not going to complain," I said.
She rolled her eyes, "of course you do," she said.
I smiled, "I bet he would have put his hands higher."
Courtney flinched and turned red, it's so much fun to mess with people.
"How can you say things like that like it was nothing in front of everybody?" if only you knew what I said in front of Heather.
"Because I'm proud to have him in my life, it makes it more interesting, and if the world is listening then I'd rather shout it," I told her, I don't have a single reason to hide anything about me with Cody, I love to make it clear to everyone what kind of relationship I have with him, "What about you? I haven't seen you say anything or talk to Duncan in the last few days."
She sighed, "so many reasons, we're on separate teams now, I'd like to focus more on the competition, we're always fighting, plus he's very busy making new friends," she said annoyed, looking at Gwen talking to Duncan.
"Wow, your relationship seems disgusting, why are you still with him?" I asked, why be with someone who bothers you so much? It's like if I tried to date the jerk, Justin.
She smiled, "there's something about him that attracts me almost magnetically, he's so tough, independent, manly, strong, uncontrollable," she said dreamily. Wait, I'm all of that, and Courtney is a lot like Cody... Do we geniuses always fall in love with upright people?
"I get it, it's no reason for you to get affectionate with my leg," I said.
She realized I was hugging my leg inappropriately, so she pulled away, "I'm sorry... But yes, I can't help but want to be around him."
It seems to me that you just like to have someone to fight with, but it's your relationship, I'm not going to get into that.
-0-
POV. Cody
I walked around the stage making sure everything was in place. Without Harold here, I had the role of supervisory nerd. Until I saw something that caught my attention.
"Pff, this looks so familiar," I said to Heather who was hanging upside down again in a bad mood.
"Screw you, geek," she told me without real venom, venting more than anything, "I know LeShawna had something to do with this," she said.
"Don't assume things like that, that could divide the team, and you know you're not in the best position," I said.
"Haha, very funny, then are you going to help me or-?"
I grabbed the rope tied to the light and waved it, it freed Heather's leg causing her to fall. Luckily I caught it in mid-air, how weird? Wasn't she heavier?
"Thank you," she said as she climbed out of my arms, "What? Don't you wobble around carrying a girl anymore? I'm impressed," she told me mockingly.
"Yes, I guess I'm getting stronger," after so many ordeals.
Confessional.
Heather
"Should I ask Cody to form another alliance with me? ...," she grimaced, "I don't know if that would end well."
End of confessional.
...
"And now, it's time for the final hair and makeup," Chris announced.
DJ approached Duncan, "we're just going to sprinkle a little blush on those cheekbones, you'll look divine," he said while putting on the criminal's makeup.
I don't think a man (other than Justin and Chris) should know that much about makeup.
"That's enough!" the chef yelled fed up. Then he took it and sat it on a chair next to him.
I'm not going to change his secret alliance; it will be important later... And our lunch will depend on that, too.
-0-
POV. Third person
Lindsay put the granny hat on E-Scope, "wow, you don't look like you," she said.
"Aye, lassie! That's on account of me being a master thespian," the lunatic told her.
"Just make sure you lose the Scottish burb. Okay, Granny McE-Scope?" Trent told her.
Beth and LeShawna gave Duncan a gun and a hat.
...
Chris took his director's clapperboard; the show was about to begin.
"And... Action!" the presenter said.
Cinema Mode...
Duncan began with his performance.
"When I was a young schoolgirl in Poline, frolicking through my fields with my pet goat in the summer sun, those were my happiest days."
...
Chris and chef were looking at this confused, "Did you check the envelopes before you labeled them?" Chris asked the chef.
"I thought you checked them," they both started laughing.
...
"Now you listen and you listen good. If you fighter doesn't go down in the first round, you'll be sleepin' with the fishes, and uh, that's tough to do because… you know, they have no eyelids and it's hard to sleep. Hey, I can flip my eyelids, anyone wanna see me flip them?" said Izzy.
...
Trent and Owen exchanged a glance, while Courtney slapped her forehead.
Confessional.
Courtney
"In hindsight, maybe I should have played the role of Granny, but you've seen this team, they don't have any kind of direction without someone to lead them, it's the Bass all over again," she said, massaging the bridge of her nose.
End of confessional.
"Okay. Granny Izzy's nuts, but at least she's committed. Duncan's gonna have a hard time beating that," Trent said.
"I wouldn't be so sure," Courtney said, looking at the other scenario.
...
"I've lived a good, long life! I've loved, I've laughed, but what I miss most of all is my sweet little goat," he said in a long-suffering voice, "Shopah! Oh, baaa, baaa," she said with tears in her eyes.
...
"Baaa, baaa, baaa, buawwwwwww," this was enough to bring tears to the manly cook's eyes.
He approached LeShawna and Heather, who had a box of tissues as they cried.
Chris was also crying, "all right, cut, Okay, enough! It's too much for Chef to take, Duncan clearly wins for best performance," the host declared, "The Screaming Gaffers win it," Duncan looked like he didn't believe it.
Izzy threw her hat on the ground, "ay, ay, oh, oh, I was robbed! Yeah, I'll see you in the morgue, capiche?"
DJ walked up to the chef who was still crying, "You're gonna teach me how to be a tough guy?" he sneered.
But chef grabbed him by his shirt, "tough guys cry," he said, "and did you notice that your team just won? Who was the judge DJ? Huh? Who?"
-0-
POV. Cody
We were having a celebratory party in the boys' trailer. I watched Gwen leave, I guess she's going to have her conversation with Trent. I also got out and went to my trailer. I pulled something out from under the bed, it was a wrapped box, it's a gift I got Izzy in town, "I hope she likes it", she was leaving tonight and wouldn't be back until the prison challenge. She's really an unpredictable person... to the people who doesn't know her well, at least.
-0-
POV. Third person
The team of Killer Grips was seated in the Gilded Chris Awards gallery.
Chris wearing his smart light blue suit was standing on the stage, "And now it's your turn to cast your votes and determine who will stroll down the Walk of Shame," Chris said pointing to the lame-o-sine, "Under your seats, you'll find voting devices. Just press the button of the person you want voted off. It's easy. So, cast your votes...", everyone looked undecided, "Who will it be? Who will be cast off the set?" said the host, everyone voted, "And it looks like all the votes have been cast. Chef?", he passed him the sheet with the votes, "Remember, if you get a Gilded Chris, you get to stay, because rather suitably, the Gilded Chris represents the luster of fame and immortal greatness", said the presenter. Courtney rolled her eyes, "And the Gilded Chrises go to...
...
...
Courtney... Owen... Trent... Justin... and Lindsay," now only Harold and E-Scope remained, "And the last Gilded Chris is for...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
Harold!"
"Yes!"
"Izzy, time to go."
Confessional.
Trent
"I can't stand Harold's chattering mouth anymore."
Courtney
"You're even more annoying than you were last season."
Justin
"I asked the others to vote for Izzy, a girl that overlooked me and who is immune to my charms is useless, and of course, who can say no to this smile?" he said, smiling at the camera.
Lindsay
She looked worried, "Justin asked Owen, Harold and I, to vote for Izzy, she's my friend and Cody's girlfriend, I can't do that to her, so I'm going to leave my vote blank, I hope the others don't find out."
End of confessional.
Izzy crossed her arms, "I'm not going anywhere, that's not my name."
Chris looked at the chef confused, "she likes to be called Kaleidoscope."
Chris frowned, "Can I get a pen over here?," he wrote on the sheet, "it says E-Scope now, okay?", she stood up and went to the lame-o-sine, "and remember, you can never come back, ever", he called a couple of inmates in white uniforms, "take her to the lame-o-sine", they grabbed her by the arms and dragged her.
-0-
POV. Cody
I was leaning into the limo when two interns brought Izzy in, she looked surprised I was here.
"Can we have a minute to say goodbye please?" I asked, they exchanged a glance and let go of Izzy, then left. Izzy came running and hugged me, "So, did you get kicked out first?" I asked, she pulled away and looked at me smiling.
"No, they expelled E-Scope," she said mysteriously without compromising anything.
"We both know you're an amazing liar, will you tell me then why you didn't take your role seriously?" that's something I was curious about the first time around.
She smiled more, "it's a secret," was all she told me.
The gears in my head started moving, she could easily cause to be kicked out on purpose to make her grand comeback, but that's thinking too much of it and she's not like that, there had to be something else, something more absurd and random.
The lame-o-sine blew smoke from its exhaust pipe, that is it, "you only had them expel you so you could get on the lame-o-sine, right?" I asked rolling my eyes and smiling.
She opened her eyes wide, but then a euphoric smile came on, "and then you say you don't know me at all," she told me happily, was that really her reason for being kicked out? Now she looked more thoughtful, "Oh no, I just realized, I won't be around anymore to keep you company, too bad... If only there were more sexy girls out there," she said in a deadpan voice and her best poker face.
I shook my head with a smile, "in a normal relationship a girl doesn't tell her boyfriend to go after other girls," she was now looking at me annoyed.
"How dare you compare us to one of those boring cliché relationships," she said with feigned exaggeration, "I'm just saying that because I know that's what Cody's heart wants, and Izzy wants him to stay as happy as she is."
"I'm sorry, I was just making an observation," I said humorously.
She also smiled again and moved closer to my face, "So you're going after Heather?" she asked me with the subtlety of a hammer in a glass shop. I turned red, but she wasn't done, "also... I think Lindsay likes you," she got straight to the point now.
"..."
... She slowly opened her eyes at my lack of reaction, then she smiled maliciously, "you already knew that", she said, no, she accused, then she came even closer to me, and her smile grew, "and you like her too", she realized elated to see me blushing. yes, it's not like I didn't notice Lindsay's feelings, she and I had a whole history during Island, but I thought it hadn't gotten any more than that. How am I not supposed to feel anything for her? That's who I am. Now Izzy looked annoyed, "Shit, how come I'm just realizing, what a matchmaker I am, I should give up my title."
"Hahahaha, is that what you're worried about?", I couldn't help but laugh at the situation.
"Don't laugh, it's serious to me," she pouted.
"... I'm going to accept the feelings of both of them... if it really doesn't bother you," I said.
"...", she waited for the 'but'.
"... but... only if they are the ones who declare themselves... Because if any of them want to be part of... This," I said, pointing to both of us, "then let it be because you agreed."
She smiled maliciously again, "Trying to pretend that you are still a good person, mister sinful? Izzy knows that Cody is selfish," she said amused, "well, that's what attracted me to you, since Izzy is also selfish, hahahaha we're both the same, so you can be if you want," she said calmer.
I smiled, "You're wrong Izzy, I'm selfish... You're just crazy."
She just shrugged, "maybe, but that didn't stop you from loving me, so I win," were we competing? "well... I have to go... This limousine won't be standing here forever," she said as she walked over and gave me one last kiss.
"Yes... I'll see you later," I said as she walked to the limousine.
~0~
POV. Cody
I got out of my car dressed in a smart black suit and a gift in my hand, looked at the address on the invitation, "this seems to be the place," I said with a smile, thinking that Noah's syndic would invite me to his wedding, we haven't spoken in years, I'm excited.
After showing the invitation to the guard, I was let in. It all looked pretty standard, I guess it's Noah's wedding.
"Cody!", a very recognizable person approached me excitedly.
I smiled, "Hi Owen, cool mustache," I said when I saw him.
"Huhahahahaha, thank you, it's great that you arrived," he told me, "Noah is putting on the suit right now, he'll look for us later."
"Good to know," I said.
"Oh, what do we have here, a new friend?", a very energetic girl peeked out from behind Owen, I recognized her immediately.
"You must be Kitty, I saw you during the Ridonculous Race, that was a great team you and your sister made."
"Thank you, it's a pleasure to meet the third finalist of World Tour," she said.
"Wow, you flatter me."
"Well, I'll leave you guys, I have to go see how my sister is," with that she left very quickly.
"She's very lively, isn't she?" I remarked.
"Yes, she is."
"And... Will the others be here soon?" I said, looking around.
Owen scratched nervously, "uh, yes, about it."
...
We were sitting in a pew outside the church, "... I see," Owen told me what the others were doing... at least the ones who had the grace to send an answer, it seems like it would just be me and the big guy, "Wait, what about Izzy? You didn't mention her once," I realized.
Owen now looked pretty sad, "the thing is... I don't know where she is, Noah and I have tried to contact her many times, but she never responded, no one knows where she is... It's almost as if the earth itself has swallowed her," he said ruefully.
"Wow, are you okay, I know you were still friends."
"Yes, I'm just worried, what could have happened to her? Do you think she'd still be here if we hadn't drifted apart?" he asked.
"I don't know, dude."
"Miniature canapés for the gentlemen?" a waitress offered.
Owen now looked more enthusiastic, "canapés, great," he emptied the tray into his mouth. There's nothing like food to boost your mood.
"I'm so sorry for him," I said to the bespectacled waitress, she smiled humbly.
"It's okay, we have a lot more," with that said, she left.
Owen and I fell silent.
"I hope she comes back someday," he said.
I closed my eyes, "me too", could this happen to any of the others?
-0-
POV. Izzy / E-Scope
I felt possessive arms wrap around my waist and neck. I almost instinctively reacted by attacking the aggressor, until I remembered that it was just Cody.
"What's going on? Do you miss me so soon?" I asked looking at him out of the corner of his eye, his face buried in my hair.
"Can you promise me something?" he asked me without letting go, "Do you promise me that if I accept another girl's love, that doesn't mean you're going to walk away?... that you're not going to completely disappear from my side?... even though it sounds possessive, I really appreciate you being with me Izzy, you're an amazing person," Is it my idea or does it seem like he's afraid I'll leave him?
I thought about his words, and I really considered them, he wants me to continue being his girlfriend even if he has another girl he likes better, I know it should be obvious, but that didn't stop my heart from beating fast at his selfish request, it seems that we have more in common than I thought.
Before, I probably would have sent him to hell for asking me for something like that, whether it's him or any other boy, Izzy can't be chained to anyone... But now...
I turned around and hugged him back with equal enthusiasm, "Okay... Izzy promises to stay by Cody's side for a long, long, long, long, long time," I said, smiling with a blush.
Now... It doesn't feel so bad to have at least one chain telling you where to go back to when you walk away.
"One last thing," he pulled my hair back and rolled up the sleeve of my top.
*Bite*
And I shuddered with satisfaction when he bit my shoulder. That was unexpected and would definitely leave a mark, he finally pulled away and looked at me with an innocent smile, "so you remember me," he sneered.
I squinted at him with a blush as I climbed into the limousine, "getting hot when I have to go, that's cruel," I told him, though I still liked it.
"Oh, I almost forgot," he picked up a box from the floor, "I got you this during the two days off, I hope you like it," he said handing me a wrapped box. Wow, I didn't see that one coming.
The limo started starting to leave, I climbed on the hollow part of the roof, "thanks for the gift, muack~", I said sending him a kiss, "Good luck in the competition, don't do anything Izzy wouldn't do... On second thought, don't do something I would do either... just do what Cody would do and you'll be fine!", I don't know if he heard the last one, I sat back down in the seat and looked at the gift next to me, what got me? I developed it with enthusiasm.
I opened the box and took out what was inside. It was the figure of a green-eyed orange cat with a silly face, holding a Chinese coin against its abdomen with one paw, while moving the other animatedly in a cat salute.
Did he really buy this as a gift?...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
... I love it...
...
...
... wow... I could spend hours looking at it," I said somewhat mesmerized.
-0-
POV. Third person
Chris was still standing on the stage, "And this concludes this dramatic first elimination after the teams were formed, wow, first Geoff and now E-Scope, the ones who were crowned at the top last season are dropping like flies in this one hahahahahaha, who will be the next unfortunate victim? Which team will come out on top? Will Cody take advantage of the fact that his girlfriend is not around to do some dramatic stupid thing? Find out in the next episode of TOTAL... DRAMA... ACTION!"