The Chefshank Redemption
POV. Third person
"Last week, the dry desert heat baked our favorite partners like roadkill on the blacktop," Chris narrated as he showed the competitors in the rest area, "but crispy bottoms or not, they still had to mount their ancient steed from a hundred-foot platform, hahahahaha, but that wasn't all. A calf-roping contest had the teams lasso each other, when Trent's crazy love act led him to throw challenges for Gwen, she gave him the old heave-ho, and then was intercepted by his team. However, thanks to the intervention of a certain geek-mountaineer, and an angry CIT, things worked out without much trouble for the goth. Sadly, this also caused Owen, who had a slight involvement in Trent's behavior, to be kicked out of the competition."
As Chris narrated, the Grips team sat exhausted and tired on a bench, except for Courtney, who wiped her sweat with a towel.
"Cheer up team, we only need one more lap," he told the CIT without showing tiredness compared to his teammates, "I told them that the morning exercise would be a good team exercise."
"I can't feel my legs," Lindsay said tiredly.
"It's because you're touching mine," Trent told him, just as tired.
"This is not good for my image," Justin complained.
Chris approached them laughing, "stay tuned to find out who will win this week, could it be the Grips? Hahahaha."
"We're going to win, rest assured," Courtney told him determinedly.
"We'll see, don't miss this episode of TOTAL... DRAMA... ACTION!"
-0-
POV. Cody
It was late at night and I was having dinner together with my team at the service shop. There was no sign of the Grips anywhere.
Duncan was eagerly eating cowboy beans, "wow, I don't know what happened to Chef, but his food today isn't too bad," the offender said.
"I know, this reminds me of mom's food," Beth said.
I glanced sideways at DJ, he was smiling, it looks like it had something to do with the food.
Sadly, not everyone was so enthusiastic. Gwen stirred her beans without eating them and sighed every three minutes.
LeShawna put a hand on her shoulder, "Come on girl, cheer up, you can't just lie on the floor because of a boy, you're not like that."
"Oh, actually she is, I remind you that she's a complete pessimist, and I imagine that hasn't changed so far," Heather said, it didn't look like she was trying to insult Gwen, she was just speaking her mind without any kind of filter.
"Why do you always have to be so bad?" asked Beth.
"I'm just pointing out what everyone knows but refuses to admit, it's not my fault they can't stand the truth," she said.
"When I want the truth I will make sure to ask you, in the meantime I suggest you keep your mouth shut," Leshawna threatened, Heather just raised her hands in surrender and continued eating.
Should I be worried that this will start to cause problems?... No, as long as nothing mostly catastrophic happens, there is no need to intervene directly, I prefer Alejandro to believe that we are a bad team that has only been lucky so far, than a strong and united one that represents a real threat against him.
It's unlikely that anyone would think that teams win just because of me, as here are also the three toughest women of the Gophers. And their constant fights help keep people from believing that we're the perfect team.
I'm not going to try to hand away the challenges to the other team, but I'm also not going to do much if things blow up on this side.
LeShawna doesn't seem to want to form an alliance against Heather yet, I don't know if she'll stay that way later on, but if she does, her possible allies will be Gwen, Beth, or Duncan, I doubt I'll get involved since I'm the only one who gets along with the queen bee. However, with her little trick in the challenge of the doctor movies, any alliance could end up severed. We'll have to see how that plays out.
The Grips finally showed up for dinner and looked very tired, they literally arrived and crashed into the table.
"What happened to them?" asked DJ upon seeing them.
"Courtney tried to get us in shape to improve our performance," Trent said.
"Hahahahahaha, yes, she usually does that when she's frustrated, heck, I wouldn't want to be you," Duncan teased them.
Chef came out annoyed from behind the bar with plates of food, "I only cook three times a day, if you don't want to starve, I suggest you don't arrive late, cadets," he warned them as he left the dishes on his table and then left.
"It's not our fault," Lindsay said as she grabbed a spoonful of beans, "after running thirty laps around the movie lot we were too tired to walk."
Confessional.
Lindsay
"I know I said I wanted to prove myself in this competition, but I think Courtney is taking it too far."
Justin
"This is not good at all," he said worriedly, "Courtney has been in charge of the team for only three days, and in those three days I've already broken a fingernail and scraped my knee, not to mention all the sweat and sunburn," he said scared, "it's only a matter of time before anything happens to my beautiful face."
Trent
"I know I said I was going to redeem myself, but I think giving control of the team to Courtney was a bad idea."
End of confessional.
Courtney walked into the store with a towel around her neck, "Remember, after you eat go straight to sleep or else you'll be very tired in the morning," she ordered her team. They seemed to want to complain, but just nodded their heads.
"Wow, that girl is obsessed," LeShawna said of Courtney's treatment of the other team.
"Which is bad for us," Heather said, "I remind you that it was when she took the reins that the catfish started to make a comeback to the point where they beat us in four challenges in a row," she ended up being cautious.
"I hate to say it, but she's right, it's going to be hard to face her when she gets like this," Duncan said as he looked at her dreamily with his hand on his chin.
"That means we all have to stay focused during the next challenge," Heather said as she looked at Beth who was looking at the sweaty Justin and the depressed Gwen.
"You don't have to tell me, it would suck to lose because of a breakup," Gwen said as she discreetly glanced in Trent's direction.
LeShawna and Duncan agreed with Heather, wow, I didn't even have to step in to get the team to take it seriously. This makes it easier to go unnoticed, thank you Heather.
Once dinner was over, we all went back to the rest area to sleep. Next up is the prison challenge, the Grips had everything to win the challenge last time, if it wasn't for the blackmail of Gwen.
There's also the return of Izzy, which is possible if it happens regardless. That girl is capable of breaking the timeline on her own, just for the sake of it. I haven't done anything particular to get Heather's attention, other than sarcastic comments and annoying her from time to time, I'm sure my very psychopathic girlfriend wouldn't let that slide... What did they talk about in the Aftermath? I hope the studio didn't end up on fire or something like that. I doubt Izzy will tell me, show privacy policies and stuff.
I went to sleep with a lot of curiosity about tomorrow.
-0-
"Squawk."
*Peck*
"Ouch!" I woke up when something stung my nose. I opened my eyes to see Kevin sitting on my chest staring at me with his usual expressionless face, "Kevin? What are you doing here?", I looked at the wrist watch on the side of my bed to check that it was early in the morning, "twenty minutes for Chris to make the morning announcement", maybe if I go out now maybe I can avoid the lockdown.
I walked over to the door and tried to open it.
*Blocked*
But it didn't move, "What the hell?", the door didn't have a lock, but no matter how much he pushed it it wouldn't open, "uff, it's useless, it weighs as much as two mastodons... or an Owen."
I sat on my bed thinking about how to get out, I could just wait for Chris to come and open it, but who wants that?
"Squawk," Kevin sat on my head, a moment...
"Hey, how did you get in if the door is locked?" I asked the bird. He didn't answer me obviously, but he did look up, straight up, looking at, "A skylight?"
Confessional.
Cody
"Ha, can you believe I didn't know my trailer has a skylight?" he said scratching his head in embarrassment, "... Maybe I should explore it better."
End of confessional.
I managed to get out through the skylight of the trailer, then I could see what was blocking the door, "well, certainly Chris has gotten creative when it comes to annoying," I said as I watched Sasquatchanakwa sleeping leaning against my door.
I slowly walked away so as not to wake the sleeping sasquatch; Chris was standing in the center of the rest area in a police outfit
"Hahahahaha, woah dude, I see you managed to escape on your own," the obnoxious presenter said.
"Yes, was there a reason why there's a missing link lying in front of my trailer?" I asked him as if he didn't know anything.
"Everything related to this week's challenge," Chris said.
"Get us out of here!"
"Chris, I'm going to kill you!"
"Which I will announce after I release the other prisoners from their cells."
"Prison movies then," I said.
"You're still as smart as ever," he replied, I rolled my eyes, not that this one was hard to guess.
"Do me a favor and open the girls' door," he said as he made his way to the boys' trailer.
Well, there's no reason to say no to that, right. I approached the trailer which already had the door all dented, due to Courtney's knocks, I imagine.
*Boom*
After a particularly loud knock on the door, I opened it to the stunned gaze of six girls in pajamas.
I smiled a little, "Did anyone ask for a locksmith?"
"Yes! We're saved!" said Lindsay as Courtney rolled her eyes.
"Thanks nerd," Gwen said as she exited the trailer.
"AHHHHHHHH! PHEW!", we all watched as the guys (minus DJ) fell in a pile in front of us after Chris opened the door for them.
"Hope you all enjoyed your first taste of the gulag," Chris said.
"Gulag? I didn't get any gulag," Lindsay said.
"He means confinement," Courtney told her.
"Oh."
"Well, prepare for it to get a whole lot worse. Because today… is prison flick day," everyone complained about this.
"Lovely, at least we've got the only actual ex-con on our team," Heather said as she looked at Duncan.
"It was only juvenile detention, don't get too excited," just wait a few more years, my friend.
"Ah~, prison, the confinement, the claustrophobia, the vile, nasty food, and you're always looking over your shoulder 'cause Mr. Killer Dude wants to cut ya for taking the last tater tot. And no matter how hard you try, digging out spoonfuls of dirt, year after year, there's no escape!", certainly Chris, you are the most apt to describe to us what the prison is like considering where you are going to end up after Revenge Of The Island, "unless you get voted off, of course".
Confessional.
Courtney
"Was it just me or did Chris describe very well what it's like to live in prison?" he said mockingly.
Harold
"Talk about overkill, this place is plenty prison-like already. Not that I'm complaining, I mean, I should probably be locked up for the ladies' sake anyways."
End of confessional.
-0-
After that frantic awakening, Chris gave us time to go change our pajamas. We were now on the set designed for the jail movies where the prison food eating challenge would take place.
"Lock down, people, let's get this challenge started," Chris announced, "teams, take a prisoner from the competition, and Chef," Chef arrived in his sergeant's attire, "I mean, warden, lock 'em up."
...
POV. Lindsay
"I think we should lock Cody up," Justin said.
"Uh, I don't know, he can usually do anything," I said, that's why I admire him so much, and I wouldn't want to see him go through something nasty either, but there was no need to say that...
"Lindsay is right, Cody is unpredictable," Trent said, "I say let's pick Duncan, I'm sure the lockdown brings back some bad memories," Trent said as he looked at Duncan, I thought he was over the jealousy thing.
"I agree with Trent, we should pick Duncan," Harold said.
*Applause*
"Okay, that's enough," Courtney said after clapping, "neither is a good choice, but luckily I've already chosen our target."
"What? Just like that without consulting us?" asked Justin indignantly.
"Believe me, this is for the best, listen to your captain," she said.
Confessional.
Justin
"Courtney went crazy for power, she tells us when to sleep, forces us to do team drills, and caused me to get a scrape on my perfect elbow!"
Lindsay
"I don't know if I'm going to be able to do anything, Courtney doesn't seem like the type to listen to suggestions right now."
End of confessional.
...
POV. Cody
"It's easy, Lindsay's got a weak stomach, I say let's pick her," Leshawna said.
The rest of us agreed, I don't like the idea of making her eat repulsive things, and it seems I wasn't the only one, but it was the safest option... Wait, maybe there's no need for her to eat.
Gwen was pretty quiet, but she wasn't trying to sabotage us, which is better I guess.
"Choices? Gaffers?" asked Chris.
"Lindsay," LeShawna said.
"Yay, I win!" she said, sometimes her naivety is so sweet... Too bad it's not what you imagine.
"Grips? Now, remember, this is an important choice, I hope you thought it through as a team, hahahaha, for perennial losers like yourselves," Chris teased them.
"Oh, sure we did," Harold said as he looked at Courtney's back.
Courtney pointed out to our team, "We chose Heather," she said.
The named one opened her eyes wide, "oh fuck," she complained.
" Today's first game is… the prison chow-llenge," Chris said as he lifted the tarp from a bucket full of... I don't even know if that can be called leftovers. It made my stomach churn to see some of those things, "each team of prison chefs whips up the foulest, nastiest, most barf inducing slop this side of Alcatraz," how could Owen possibly find this delicious? I thought as I remembered him rubbing his hands together, "Heather and Lindsay have to stomach as much as they can, last one to power-hurl, wins."
Heather looked a little green now, if she didn't do something we were going to lose this round.
" I-I can't! I'm innocent, I tell you! Innocent," sometimes perhaps too innocent Linds.
" That's what they all say," Chris teased the two locked girls.
Lindsay and Heather exchanged a glance from the cages.
Confessional.
Heather
"I may have conflicting feelings towards Lindsay that I can't get over yet, but I'm not going to let that stop me, I want to win this," she said seriously.
Lindsay
"I'm going against Heather, I know she doesn't see me as an equal, and this competition isn't necessarily my forte," she said scratching her head nervously, "but... I feel like I'm not going to be able to fix things if I can't stand face to face with her, Izzy and Cody are my friends, but they're also Heather's, I don't want to force them to choose, I have to do this for myself and for them," she started to turn green, "even if... it means... eating disgust-," she didn't manage to finish before running off to vomit.
Courtney
"Did I planned this outcome so that those two would be the competitors? No, I just wanted to get back at Heather, that's all."
End of confessional.
"Gross, oh no," Lindsay almost threw up when she saw the things on her team's table, Heather grimaced at this.
"What's the reward for this challenge?" asked Beth.
"The winning team gets this," Chris said as he showed us a golden shovel.
"What are we supposed to do with a shovel?" asked Lindsay.
Confessional.
Harold
"Everybody knows more wars have been won with a shovel than a sword. Give a man a hole, and what does he have? Nothing. But give a man a shovel, and he can dig a hole to contain the nothing."
End of confessional.
"Prisoners ready?" asked Chris.
"No!" said Heather.
" And… colonate," Chris finished, " Duncan goes right for the roaches, Beth puts some rat tails, hahahaha, way to go."
Confessional.
Beth
"This is to win the challenge, not because I'm jealous of Lindsay and her new friendship with Justin... I'm serious."
End of confessional.
" How's a self-respecting Chef supposed to serve that? " said DJ, then made his special seasoning completely forgetting that the point was to make Lindsay throw up.
I didn't stop him because I'm sure my plan would work, while Gwen served possum eyes, yuck, I looked for a specific ingredient that I knew would give us the victory.
...
POV. Courtney
"Come on people, pick up the pace," I instructed my team, I know Lindsay has a weak stomach so our stew has to be gross enough for Heather to vomit just from smelling it.
"I have green cheese... I don't think cheese should be green," Trent said as he grated it into the bowl.
"There are bat brains here," Harold said as he placed them.
Something is missing, "Justin, where are the skunk tails?" I asked the model already feeling a migraine coming.
He was close to the bucket of... leftovers, arms crossed, "na-ah, I'm not going to touch those things without gloves, do you have any idea how much they stink? My hands would lose their natural lemon essence," was his reply.
The only reason I didn't force him is because we didn't have time, "step aside, I'll do it", I pulled him out of the way, grabbed the stinky tails, and accidentally passed them close to his face.
*Boom*
I couldn't help but smile a little as the supermodel fell cold to the floor.
...
POV. Cody
Wow Courtney has really taken the reins of the team again, we will have to be careful in the next round, I wouldn't be surprised if she could dig to the finish line faster with two spoons, than us with a shovel.
Courtney approached Heather with her plate, "skunk tails, toad stomach, and some green eggs, along with stinky cheese, yum, yum, yum, take a deep breath Heather," she said as she placed the plate in front of her face, which was already green.
Duncan walked up to Lindsay, "pig's bladder, baboon's butt and hoof jelly, hahahahaha, I wouldn't want to be you Goldilocks," the criminal told her with sadistic humor, Lindsay swallowed hard.
"Are you maggots ready?" Chris asked both girls.
They looked at their disgusting stew, "No!"was his reply.
" One minute to down that chow! And… dig in," the host said.
Both girls raised their spoons, but their hands trembled as they tried to put them in their mouths, neither wanted to be the first to taste the stew.
Heather, being the competitive girl she was, took the first bite.
And almost immediately her eyes turned to dots and he was about to give it all back, but she managed to swallow it with a grimace and a shudder.
Confessional.
Heather
"I thought the brunch of disgustingness challenge would be the worst thing I'd ever experience, but apparently it can always get worse," she said disgustedly.
End of confessional.
As Heather went for a second spoonful, Lindsay finally plucked up the courage to give her stew a taste.
"...", but as she had expected, her face immediately turned green, "Bluagh!", and she vomited directly into Heather's face who was dumbfounded.
Shit, forgot that little detail, oops... At least no one can blame me for that.
"Hahahahahaha, I don't know what was in that stew, but Lindsay's stomach couldn't handle it," Chris scoffed.
I looked at that ingredient on our team's table, pickles, that's right, the secret ingredient that overcame DJ's seasoning, was a few simple pickles.
Confessional.
Lindsay
"I hate pickles with my life," she covered her mouth, feeling more vomit coming.
Heather
She was drying her wet hair, "my team better start appreciating the effort I put into these challenges," she said annoyed.
End of confessional.
"And Heather keeps it down for the Screaming Gaffers and wins the reward," said Chris, my team celebrating this.
"Sorry guys, I can't stand pickles," Lindsay told her team embarrassedly.
Heather, covered in vomit, approached us, who backed up a little.
"You better not forget this," she told us.
"It's going to be hard to do," Duncan said.
...
POV. DJ
"What do you think of that, Chef? I did a good job, don't you think? You were right, pride is everything," I parted ways with my team as they left for the second round, I was eager to see the Chef's face knowing we won.
However, he wasn't as happy as I'd hope, "You've learned nothing!"
"What? But, but pride, Chef."
"Pride?! Pride and two bucks will get you a cup of coffee! What a man really needs is loyalty, if it weren't for the dwarf geek throwing pickles into the pottage, you could've blown it for the whole team!"
"Oh dear," he's right, but I thought I was doing things right.
Chef put his hand on my shoulder, "I was once like you. Young, weird, kinda ugly, but you've got a gift, now own it, don't let it go to waste… like I did… Do you want a good example? Just look at the scrawny guy on your team, he knows how to use what he has to his advantage. Meet me in the kitchen after the challenge. You're on permanent KP duty, soldier."
Confessional.
DJ
"Who knew Chef was such a softie. But I can't argue with the man. I got the gift, I just have to know how to use it."
End of confessional.
-0-
POV. Cody
After Heather washed off her vomit with a hose, we went to the outside of the prison set for the second part of the challenge.
Gwen and Trent have been pretending that each other doesn't exist until now, for the moment it works since they haven't had the need to interact, it will be very awkward when they have no choice but to see each other face to face.
"Elimination challenge, here we go," Chris said, "No get-out-of-jail-free cards here, people, this is Escape from Total Drama Pen. Each team must hop in their laundry carts while one member pushes through the obstacle course to freedom. When you reach the wall, get digging. First team to reach the boxcar to freedom wins immunity. Convicts, select a pusher."
"I'll do it," DJ said, offering himself on his own.
"You sure you can handle the pressure?" Gwen asked, but with no ulterior motives, just making sure DJ can do it.
"Of course I can, leave it to me," DJ said confidently.
"I'm convinced," Duncan said of his support.
DJ was able to swim with all his equipment on top of him in the canoe challenge so it's the best option.
"Well, we're counting on you DJ," Gwen said with a friendly swipe and smile for the first time today.
Our support served to give the big guy more confidence, he looked ready to push the cart.
...
POV. Lindsay
"Okay, Justin it's time for you to do something today, I want you to push the cart," Courtney said, not looking like to negotiate this time.
"Excuse me, why me exactly?" replied Justin, I know he has to take care of his appearance, but even I am finding that Justin is a bit lazy.
"It's either that or dig, and since I doubt you'd want to fill your precious nails with dirt, you'd better start stretching to run, I'll take care of digging, so it's not a good idea for me to push the cart," oh, so Courtney had it all planned, wow, she's actually quite considerate, I think I misjudged her very soon.
"And why doesn't another one of the guys do it?" complained Justin.
"Because I can't dig alone, I'm going to need their help if we want to beat the team with a shovel using nothing but measly spoons," Courtney said.
"She's got a point, dude," Trent said in support of Courtney.
"My crazy digging skills are more useful than my strength pushing the cart," Harold said.
"Oh! I've got it!", Justin put his arm around my neck, "Lindsay can do it, I'm sure she's got what it takes, just look at those beautiful, strong runner legs," Justin said.
"Do you really believe it?" I said flattered, I thought everyone would be upset because I lost the first game and cost us the lead, but it seems that Justin still trusts me, he is a real friend. I couldn't help but blush, maybe this can be an opportunity to redeem myself, "thank you Justin, I'll do my best."
However, Courtney separated me from Justin, "none of that, in any other situation I would have considered it, but not against DJ, we need someone physically similar and you're all we have, whether you want it or not, so you better get used to the idea quickly or else I'll have to get violent," Courtney threatened him as she cracked her knuckles.
"Okay, okay, there's no need to go that far, I'll do it, I'll push...", he shuddered, "I'll push the dirty, filthy laundry cart full of unwashed stinky clothes", oh, now that I think about it I have to get into said cart... shit.
Confessional.
Justin
"I can't stand it anymore, Courtney is even worse leader than Trent, yes, he wanted to sabotage us, but at least he let me get away with some stuff, Courtney doesn't even give me a space to breathe."
Lindsay
"Owwww, I thought I'd have another chance to make it up to them after messing it up during the first challenge," she said sadly.
Trent
"Yes, Courtney is obsessed, but she seems to know what she's doing, despite her harsh methods."
End of confessional.
...
POV. Cody
"Ouch! Who's got his elbow on my neck?" complained Gwen.
"I don't know, but Duncan's piercings are itching my butt," Leshawna complained.
"Don't think I'm having a great time behind your colossal-" Duncan said.
"Uh-uh, don't you dare complete that sentence delinquent brat," she said.
"Who's breathing down my neck?" complained Heather.
"I'm sorry, I can't see anything, my glasses fell off," Beth said.
I stood next to DJ as we watched the mass of bodies writhing inside the cart, jumping all at the same time was not one of their brightest ideas.
"Maybe you should go out and settle in better," DJ suggested.
"Runners, go to your positions," Chris announced.
"There's no time," I said, then I got into the cart.
"Ugh! Watch out for the merchandise, nerd!" Heather complained as I fell on her lap, but it was the only comfortable position left.
"Yes, watch out for that defective merchandise hahahaha," Duncan laughed from wherever he was.
*Blow*
"Uff," that didn't stop Heather from hitting him in the balls somehow.
"Everything about me is premium quality for your information," she replied.
"I can corroborate that statement," I joked, making Heather blush, which caused her to hit me on the head as well, only a lot less severely than Duncan.
"You better keep your mouth shut," the queen bee told me, which just made me laugh, this is a bit nostalgic.
Confessional.
Heather
"What does that fool think? Laughing at me like it's nothing, I'd better not think he can get away with being all flattering and cheeky, I'm still upset because he made me lose a hundred thousand dollars...", she didn't know, but she was still blushing, "he'll have to do better than that if he really wants me to forgive you completely," she said looking away from the camera with all the arrogance of an infatuated queen.
End of confessional.
...
DJ and Justin were prepared for the race, "hey princess, how it feels to know you're going to lose again," Duncan said from wherever he was.
"I don't know, because I can assure you that this time the victory will be ours," she replied.
"This is it, teams," Chris said, "on your marks... get set... Escape!", the boys from both teams began to push their carts.
Thanks to DJ's strength, we managed to take the lead, but thanks to the Grips being fewer and without Owen, Justin was hot on our heels.
"What's going on outside?" asked LeShawna.
"We've got the upper hand," Gwen said, "come on DJ keep it up," she told him.
"Alright," DJ quickened his pace a bit.
"Come on Justin, we're being left behind! Hurry up!" shouted Courtney behind us.
"Ah, ah, ah, I function better with praise than with demands," the model said.
"Come on Justin, you look... uh... handsome? As you push the cart," Lindsay said.
"Really?"
"yes, very masculine," Harold said.
"Losers are not attractive at all," Trent said.
"It's true, they're not," I can't believe that seriously the power of narcissism made him run faster.
"Come on, just a little more DJ, one last push, you can do it," I told our friend.
"I can do it", DJ also ran faster, we dodged all the obstacles.
"Yes, we did it," Heather said when we got to the digging mark first.
"Woah!"
*Boom, boom, boom*
"Uff."
We were all kicked out of the cart by the power of LeShawna, Heather and Beth fell on top of me this time.
The Big Sister hurried to the mark and began to dig, "To one side everyone, someone's dirt's in my hole! I'm gonna get it out."
I pulled some spoons out of my pocket, "Beth, Duncan, let's support LeShawna," I said as I handed them the spoons.
"Like why? She's got a shovel," Duncan said.
"Ok people! Start digging!", Courtney's group arrived at that moment and as soon as they got out of the car, she, Harold, and Trent began digging with almost animal ferocity.
"Because you should know better than anyone how Courtney gets when she's cornered," I said as the delinquent stared at his girlfriend wide-eyed.
"Let's dig," Duncan said as he walked into the hole.
-0-
POV. Lindsay
While the boys and Courtney dug the hole, I was in charge of removing the soil so that it would not accumulate, it was a boring job, but I guess someone had to do it.
... Again I messed it up again for my team, we're with the noose around our necks (I think that's how they say) and yet I put us in a bind again, nobody seems to care, but I think it's because they're busy digging, and you know, you can't dig and think at the same time, I know I couldn't.
Maybe Heather was right, I'm not cut out for this kind of competition, she hasn't said it, but I think she can't even bear to look at me, every time our eyes meet, she immediately pushes hers away.
I'm afraid there's no way to be friends again, I don't even know if my team will survive for long.
Even Justin, who refused to put in the effort at first, did better than I did.
He was relaxing behind all of us recovering from the hard work of getting us here, "thanks for giving us a chance after I messed it up during the first challenge", I thanked him, it's fair.
He smiled at me, "it was nothing, I'm more than just a pretty face, I also look good saving our team," he said, he's right, he does.
"Uff, cheap spoons," Courtney said as she replaced the spoon she was using for the fourth time.
I sighed, "if only I didn't have such a weak stomach I would definitely have won the first challenge," I said as I hugged my knees, "but I can't stand pickles," I really hate them, stupid pickles.
"Yes, Cody was certainly very resourceful about putting them in the pottage," Justin said.
"...", I widened my eyes, "Justin... Did you say that Cody put the pickles in the stew?", it couldn't be that he... Or did he?
"...", for a moment he didn't say anything to me, then his eyes widened "…Yes... Yes, in fact, he did, I saw him take them from the bucket of leftovers, that was all he took," he said, trying to remember.
My stomach clenched, "You won't believe... He wanted me to lose, right?" I asked him.
"Of course he wanted it," Justin said immediately, "you're on different teams after all, he probably thinks you're a threat and I try to make you lose to take the advantage," Justin said.
"But he's my friend," I didn't want to believe he did it on purpose.
"Remember that only one can win, you may be his friend, but that doesn't mean you're not his competition, and with how smart Cody is I wouldn't be surprised if he was trying to tie up loose ends."
"..."
"That is, removing obstacles from the way."
"..."
"Agh, making them eliminate those who would be hard for her to face, like you who are his friend," he said somewhat exasperated.
"... oh...", I finally understood, "... oh," and then I really understood, "What am I supposed to do now?", again I feel lost.
Justin put his hand on my shoulder, "Don't worry, I'll help you show him that you won't be so easy to eliminate."
I smiled, "thank you Justin you are a true friend", I'm glad I'm not alone in this.
"Yes, I'm a beautiful friend... maybe even more than that."
"What did you say?"
"Nothing... for now, I'd say Cody needs a taste of his own medicine."
Confessional.
Lindsay
"I guess if I really want to outdo myself, then I also have to be as competitive as Cody, even against him," she said unsurely.
Justin
"I can't believe the amazing opportunity that fell from the sky! Now no doubt Lindsay will trust me completely, this competition will soon be in my hands."
End of confessional.
-0-
POV. Cody
"Achoo!"
"What's up nerd? Too much dust for you?" scoffed Duncan.
"I'm fine, it's nothing," I said, I hope someone isn't talking about me... and if it is, I hope that someone isn't Sierra.
This part of the challenge is longer than it looks, it's hours and hours of digging edited to minutes.
Gwen sighed sitting further back, taking advantage of the fact that I was taking a break, I approached her.
"So... How are you coping?" I asked, but she just sighed again, "I see, it's that bad then."
"I thought that after I broke up with him everything would go back to normal, that I would go back to focusing on the competition... But I keep wondering if it was the right decision to break up with him... especially now that we're both miserable," she said.
"Well, if you had gone on, you would most likely still be miserable... but together," I said.
"Huh?"
"When you get into the dating world, there's always going to be a moment where you feel miserable, whether it's being rejected, causing someone else to be rejected, rejecting or ending a relationship, I guess you could say you suffer as much as you enjoy when it comes to love."
"Have you ever had your heart broken?" she asked me.
I looked forward remembering other times, "... several times... Before I came on this show, it wasn't like I was kind of like a soap opera heartthrob... It was just rejection after rejection for me."
"It's a little hard for me to believe," she said as she watched Heather dig with a spoon, only to have LeShawna accidentally throw dirt in her face.
"Yes... but it's true, Izzy is actually my first girlfriend, I never had one before her", and I refuse to even think that the Sierra thing was romantic... Or consensual, "Back in the real world, I was just an ordinary geek with terrible luck talking to girls... When I came to this program I took it as an opportunity to start as someone new, to change scenery, to forget a little about all my failures...", I smiled, "and yet, I ended up meeting someone crazy but cute, who later became my girlfriend".
Gwen listened to me silently.
"But... there was someone before Izzy," she looked at me, "we didn't have a relationship or anything, but... There was one girl for me who was so much more special than any other, so much so, that I was willing to do anything for her."
"And what happened?"
I laughed, "I wasn't her type."
"..."
"I wasn't at all, not at all, not even a little bit."
"Ouch."
"Yes, no matter what I did for her, she never saw me as a good match, she preferred the weirdos or the bad guys... I even think she liked girls at some point... But apparently, a geek was the only line she'd never be willing to cross... I think she mentioned once that she had a brother who looked like me and that's why she couldn't see me romantically... I curse that brother a lot sometimes."
"Damn, and here I thought my love dilemma was the most dramatic of all," she said.
"Well the point of all this is that when it comes to love, I don't know if there's really anything like a right decision, you're going to suffer and you're going to enjoy at some point no matter what, it's just a matter of time, there's no good or bad side, just a huge grey and amorphous blob."
"Hahahahaha, that sounds gross."
"That's love, too," I said humorously.
"You're right, love is also disgusting... Thank you, I don't know how, but hearing your misery really helped me a little bit," she thanked me.
"Anything for a dumped friend," I offered her my fist, she bumped it smiling too.
I could never be more than a friend to you Gwen... But now I understand that's okay.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Beth's cry immediately caught our attention. A hand that came out of the ground had grabbed her arm.
"Mole people are real!" said LeShawna, alarmed.
Duncan grabbed the shovel, "Stand still, I'm going to cut it off," he said, braced.
"If I die, tell Justin I love him!" the farmer said.
Luckily I got there in time to stop him, "wait," I said as I held the shovel by the handle.
Izzy's head emerged from the ground like a mole, "yip, yip."
"Kaleidoscope?" they all said surprised.
I smiled when I saw my girlfriend, "You know what, this doesn't even surprise me," I said.
"Hahahahaha, what I would expect from my special boy," she said.
"I hate to interrupt, but what are you doing here?" asked Beth.
"I've been living underground amongst the prairie dogs," she said.
"Furious squeals," a prairie dog stood on his head and started yelling at us angrily.
"Aw, Butchie, it's okay, these are my friends, oh look, that over there is my boyfriend Cody, you know, the one I'm always talking about," she said, "Cody this is Butchie; Butchie, Cody, say hello."
"Uh, nice to meet you Butchie," I said as we shook hands, this is very weird.
"Furious shrieks," he clutched his ears as if he were fed up.
"Hehehe, yes, she can be that burdensome," I replied.
"Hey," my girlfriend said when she saw us talking about her, "you're not allowed to conspire against me."
Heather pulled me aside, "okay, enough of weirdness, we've got to finish digging before Courtney's team does," the queen bee said.
"Damn it's true, they should be close to the finish line by now," Duncan said.
"Oh, no problem, I can get you out of here," Izzy said, "... but only if Heather begs me," she said.
"Do I have to?" said the queen bee, not very convinced.
"Do it!"
"Well okay," she said after that wake-up call, "oh, please get us out of here, glorious, beautiful prairie dog goddess, we're lost without you," she said as she hugged Izzy's head and pressed her cheek against hers, is it my idea or is Heather quite serious about praising her?
"Hahahahaha, well since you insisted," she collapsed the wall behind her making it bigger, "everyone follow me."
"Shriek."
"Yes, I wonder if she's more gopher than human, too," I said to the prairie dog. the... prairie... "I'm talking to a prairie dog," what's going on with me?
Gwen nudged me from behind, "You'll be able to contemplate your descent into madness when we're on the surface."
We followed Izzy through the huge hole she had dug, did she dig this from the Aftermath studio?
"Hey Izzy, why are you here? I thought your team kicked you out," Beth asked.
"No, they eliminated E-Scope," she said.
"I buy it," Duncan said with a shrug.
"Wait, can you come back for something so absurd?" asked Gwen.
"I doubt very much that Chris will allow another comeback like that," I said.
"You're right love, Izzy is an exception, there's not going to be another one," she said, "And we're here."
"Get me out of this hole," LeShawna hurried out, "... I don't see the other team," she said excitedly.
It seems that since we didn't stop digging we managed to get the upper hand on them before Izzy found us.
Leshawna quickly helped us all out and we raced to the finish line across it.
Chris came up to us, "well, well, well, what do we have here, hahahahahaha, if it wasn't for a team being completely miserable about this, it would surely get boring, but it will, so once again, The Screaming Gaffers win!"
We celebrated, I feel a little sorry for the other team, but at least they have the consolation prize, Izzy.
"Speaking of which, where are the Grips?" asked DJ.
*Collapse*
"Woah."
*Fall*
The ground underneath DJ collapsed and he fell into the hole.
"Cof, cof, cof, cof," Courtney full of dirt and sweat came out of the hole with wide eyes, "No! No, no, no, no, no, not this again! Why!?" she threw a tantrum as she tapped his hands on the ground.
"I'm afraid so," Chris said, "Grips, you lost, again hahahaha."
Courtney smashed her head into the ground.
"What? Are you serious? Hell," Trent said as he and the others climbed off the ground.
The truth is that they had little chance without a shovel, there were more of us and we could take turns working, they couldn't, if it wasn't for Gwen's sabotage this team would have won the challenge the first time.
"Well, Courtney, it looks like all that hard work was in vain," Justin said as he wiped away the dirt. Courtney looked at him with murderous intent, "ah", he hid behind Harold.
But before the CIT could kill the model, Izzy hugged her and Lindsay, "friends, you don't know how much I missed you, the gang is finally back together," she said.
"Izzy?" said Courtney, surprised.
"Were we a gang?" asked Lindsay, confused.
"But... we eliminated you, what are you doing here?" said Justin.
Izzy gave them the same explanation as she did with us, with the challenge over we all parted ways for the rest of the day.
-0-
"Come on~ just a little kiss," Izzy said as she leaned over me cornering me against a picnic table, I put my hand in the way.
"I told you, when you remove those false teeth," I said.
"Why?" she complained, pouting.
"Because if I let you kiss me, you're going to bite my tongue with those," I said, rolling my eyes.
"Tks," she turned her gaze, that was her intention, wasn't it?
On the ground Butchie was sticking out of a hole, and he was making sounds towards Kevin, who strangely answered him, after the tunnels I prefer not to inquire into that.
Izzy seemed a little annoyed now, we haven't seen each other in weeks and now I'm openly refusing to kiss her, "I bet you don't want to kiss me now because you already have another girl with normal teeth to exchange saliva with," she said pretending to be offended.
This girl has no remedy, I stood up a little to be close to her face and kissed her on the cheek.
"Hm," but she just gave me a cold shoulder, so I pulled her hair back a bit and kissed her on the neck. She flinched over this and her ears reddened, but she was still playing hard to get, well you asked for it, "pff, hahahaha, al-alright, hahahaha mer-mercy hahahaha", she begged me as I tickled her soft and exposed ribs, "So-sorry, I won't do it again! Hahahahahahaha! I'm serious! Hahahahaha!", well that's enough, I stopped once tears came out of her eyes, she was breathing erratically, but anyway she smiled at me affectionately and hugged me, "that was so cruel...", she said laughing on my shoulder, "Izzy definitely missed you", she said.
I smiled and stroked his head, "I missed you too Izzy."
"Ahem," we both turned to see a blushing Lindsay looking away, how long was she standing there?
"Hi Linds, what's going on?" I asked.
But she closed her eyes, "Izzy you could come with me, it's a team affair", did she just ignore me?
Izzy and I exchanged a look, "Sure, Linds, I'll go with you," Izzy said curiously.
"Thank you," Lindsay said as she turned around to walk away from me.
Izzy gave me a quick kiss on the cheek and followed the blonde.
I stood there not understanding what happened.
Confessional.
Cody
"What just happened?"
Lindsay
She was blushing and embarrassed, "Uh, I think I was too harsh with him... No! Concentrate Lindsay, you're supposed to be playing the same game as him, prove to him that you're up to the task," she said encouragingly... But she hid her face behind her hands when she got over the embarrassment, "This is very difficult."
End of confessional.
-0-
POV. Duncan
I approached Courtney, after the tantrum passed of course, she was writing something angrily, she usually writes the things that bother her and then tears up the paper... or eat it, is she also a witch?
It's funny to see someone so supposedly correct act so immature and maniacal, I wish she always behaved like that.
"Making a to-do list?" I asked.
She stopped writing, "no, I'm trying to think of who to eliminate."
Of course, "looks like it's the Bass team for you again."
"No, at least the Bass had hope when I took over, but this team? It has no salvation," she said.
"Well, who cares about the team? Eventually there won't be a team, you just have to try to be the last one left until the merger, that's all," I advised, I know that's what I would do.
She looked a little depressed now, "I care... I aspire to be a counselor, I want to be a good leader, it's what I like and what I desire, I don't know who I am without my ambitions, without my goals, without my... passion. Who am I supposed to be without all that?"
"A stuck-up, angry girl?" I teased her.
"..." But she didn't even react.
"...", shit, what am I supposed to say to her now? "well if you ask me... I think that's the problem."
"What?"
"You know, I'm always telling you that you should relax more, I don't do it just because I think you're a stuck-up, it's because you're just too closed-minded", What the fuck am I saying? "I saw you during Island... Sometimes, you were as passionate as ever, but over time you seemed more... relaxed, more open, more... I don't know, free?... But now when I see you, I'm seeing the old you again, the one who was stuck in her square box, the one who only thought about the result, the one who had everyone as her enemies... so I'll tell you what I was always saying to that Courtney... you need to relax... I'll keep saying it until it gets stuck in your thick princess skull."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"...", shit this is awkward, that sounded so stupid.
"Pff... hahaha," but Courtney just burst out laughing, what the heck? Did she finally go crazy? She wiped away a tear, "I had secretly forgotten how sweet you were," she told me.
"Hey! We agreed not to mention that again! I've got a reputation to uphold, remember?"
"Yes, yes, whatever you say badass boy," she said standing up from where she was sitting, "thank you, really, I needed that... You're right, I was obsessing over it again, I forgot how important it is to listen to others," she said while smiling.
"Well, I suppose from time to time I can give good advice too," I said, then pretended to think something, "maybe I should become a counselor."
She hit me for that, "you clown, if you were a counselor, all the correctional facilities in Canada would end up full," she's not wrong, "hey, do you have the list I gave you?", I raised my eyebrow, but I showed it to her anyway, she took the list and removed half of the pages from the bottom surprising me, then offered me the top, I had my eyes wide open, "If I'm going to be more flexible, maybe I should start here," she said, then kissed me on the cheek as she passed, "I must find my team, I'll see you later."
I just stared at how she walked away, then looked at the much shorter list of guidelines and smiled arrogantly, "hm, I handled it very well... I guess we don't make such a bad couple after all."
-0-
POV. Third person
It was time for the Gilded Chris ceremony, four people had already received an award, there were only two campers left on the Grips team, who exchanged a look.
"Competitors... there's only one Gilded Chris left on the tray, whoever doesn't get it will have to board the lame-o-sine, get its butt out of here, and won't be able to come back, ever! I'm serious this time," he said, looking at a certain red-haired character sticking his tongue out at him, "And the last Gilded Chris of the night is for...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
Justin!" the presenter said as he threw the award at him.
"What!?" cried Courtney in astonishment.
"Sorry Courtney, the road to the lame-o-sine is over there," Chris told her.
She looked at her team, "You chose him over me?" she asked still in shock, "but you need me, this team needs me."
"Just face it Courtney, you're a thing from the past," Justin told her.
Confessional.
Justin
"Finally... One less obstacle, now I have free reign again."
Lindsay
"It's nothing personal, but I didn't like the whole army thing and stuff."
Trent
"It feels bad to do this after she gave me another chance, but she's out of control, plus the others said to forgive me for the sabotage fiasco if I voted with them, I can't leave yet."
Harold
"With Courtney here holding me back, I'm not going to be able to use my skills for the team, I should have been the leader."
Izzy
"Justin asked me to vote for Courtney, which I immediately declined, then Lindsay asked me to, so I accepted immediately, sorry Courtney, Izzy has Lindsay a step higher than you on the friendship ladder... even though I actually voted for Justin... hahahahahaha."
End of confessional.
-0-
POV. Courtney
I clenched my fists tightly, I wanted to scream, I wanted to get angry, I wanted to explode more than at any other time in my life.
But I didn't.
I relaxed my fists and took a deep breath, I don't want to be that person right now.
"If that's what you want, then I wish you the best of luck... I mean it... I really hope that this team can make a comeback," I told them, "And Izzy... Welcome back... I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner."
She smiled at me, "thank you friend."
With that said I made my way to the lame-o-sine in silence, at least I want to leave with my dignity intact.
I got into the limo and it took off.
*Drip, drip*
I started sobbing as we walked away a bit, then it turned into full-blown crying.
I wasn't crying because I got kicked out, I was crying because this was my own fault, and I didn't realize it until it was too late.
I feel that I have failed the good people who had supported and helped me from the island.
Duncan was right, I was acting like the same me I was before.
And I'm very embarrassed about that.
-0-
POV. Cody
My team and I were scattered around the rest area when the Grips returned from the ceremony.
And they were missing someone, someone important, my eyes widened as everyone but Courtney showed up in the clearing, What the hell happened in that ceremony?
And I wasn't the only one surprised, "What the hell?" said Duncan angrily as he got up from the picnic table and walked over to the other team, "Did you really kick out the only person on their team who knew what they were doing?"
"She had become a tyrant," Harold said.
"She was the only one on your team who really cared about you winning," Duncan said, "Who's going to lead you now? The 'I don't want to get dirty' model? The forgetful blonde? The charlatan? The crazy chick?... And you Elvis," he said pointing at Trent, "you did take this jealousy thing too far," Trent grimaced feeling uncomfortable.
Confessional.
Tren
"The worst part is that I don't know if it was really jealousy or not."
End of confessional.
"Enough Duncan," Gwen said, "she's gone, there's nothing to do, don't take it out on those already on the ground," she told him.
Duncan held her gaze, as if he could make her back off.
In the end it was the delinquent who surrendered first, "whatever," he said annoyed as he walked towards the boys' trailer.
"Thank you," Trent said to Gwen.
"There's no point."
After that everyone dispersed, Izzy came up to me, "What happened at that ceremony?" I asked.
But she shook her head sadly, "Izzy can't tell you, Izzy has been silenced", if she takes that seriously it's because a friend asked her to, I imagine Lindsay, I look at the blonde talking to Trent, what's going on on in the Grips team?
-0-
POV. Third person
Chris is standing near the rest area, "and so one of last season's greats comes back, while another one goes, a soul for a soul, hahahahaha, what will happen now that Courtney is gone? What consequences will this have for both teams? Is anyone safe this season? Find out next time here, at TOTAL... DRAMA... ACTION!"