Author's Note: What's happening in Canada right now? Let's find out!

Chapter 2: The Bright Lights

It was a quiet night in Toronto, Canada. Most of the late restaurants were beginning to clean-up and close for the night. Streets of Toronto became empty. The late night hustlers were getting for bed. But, not everything was finished for the night.

A large venue was still open for the night. Normally it's used for celebrities, sporting events, comedy specials, and political campaigns. But tonight, it belonged to Chris McLean.

Chris was in his 60s now. After many years of hosting Total Drama, he was officially retiring from the entertainment world. But, he wasn't planning on quietly retiring. He always dreamed of a big retirement ceremony, just for him. And he wanted everything to go perfectly tonight.

He invited everyone who competed in all his Total Drama seasons, the interns, the producers, the executives, and even his family. Chris wanted everyone to be there, for one last time.

…

The venue was very beautiful and elegant. There were forks, spoons, and plates on all the white tables. Lots of beautiful chandeliers and lighting on the ceiling. It was the perfect place for Chris to give his retirement speech. While everyone was entering the venue, Chris was backstage getting ready for the speech.

Chris was standing behind the red curtains. He was wearing his best tuxedo and shoes tonight. There was lots of hair gel on his hair. His body and clothing had a strong smell of Toronto's finest cologne.

He was getting ready for his speech by drinking some alcohol and smoking some cigarettes. The glass bottle of alcohol was in hand. Chris took large sips of alcohol. Mhm. Hm, weird. Is it just me seeing the red roses jumping out of the curtains? The alcohol was already affecting Chris. He was seeing weird things all around him. That third bottle of alcohol was already hitting the spot. He was just getting started.

Chef walked towards Chris.

At this point in life, Chris and Chef were very close buddies. Chef has been Chris' right-hand man for a very long time, and for a very good reason. Chris trusted Chef a lot to tend to his needs. Chef cleaned the kitchen every night, helped prepare the challenges, micromanaged the misbehaving contestants, watched the security cameras late at night, and did the chores for Chris.

"CHRIS! What are you doing man?" asked Chef.

Chris giggled a little. "Ah, c'mon Chef, you know better than to ask. I'm rewarding myself before the speech. I wanted to give my mind a first-class trip through the new wonders of the world. It's truly awesome." He laughed.

"CHRIS! You shouldn't be drinking or smoking before you give your spe-"

Chris cut off Chef. "Ooohhhweeeeeee! I'm seeing some mind-boggling stuff right now. Why are you dressed up as a child? You going to school or something? Oh Chef, you look strange wearing that backpack. In fact, that backpack is way too tight for you. You should probably take it off. You can't work for Toronto's embassy of food if you're dressed like that! You gotta, you gotta.." He paused for a moment. Hiccup! Hiccup! "They need you, Chef.."

Chef simply rolled his eyes.

"The artisans and craftsmen that architect the so-called Dairy-Princess 3% Milk need you. You would make such a fine mascot-person. You just have to swap out the backpack for a glittery princess dress and you should be good to go!"

"CHRIS-"

Chris cut off Chef once again. "When you get a pro..omotion.. Bring me all your dolla dolla bills. Then we can do an exchange. I get the money. I'll give you some of my finest cheese and milk from home-"

"THAT'S IT! CHRIS I HAD ENOUGH OF THIS SHIT! I QUITTTT!" screamed Chef at the top of his lungs.

"Huh? Chef you can't do that.." said Chris. "We make a great team together-"

Chef's face was red from his anger. "TEAM?! TEAM?! THERE'S NEVER BEEN A TEAM, CHRIS! I'M THE ONE THAT ALWAYS DOES THE WORK! ALWAYS, AND YOU NEVER GIVE ME ANY PROMOTIONS!"

"If it's about money, I can just give you some-"

"NO! I DON'T WANT YOUR MONEY! YOU CAN KEEP YOUR DAMN MONEY! I HONESTLY HATE WORKING WITH YOU!"

There was a long silence between the two of them. The alcohol helped Chris fall to the ground. It was a lot for him to process in his mind.

On the other hand, Chef was beginning to calm down a little. However, he was still exhaling and inhaling rapidly. His cold eyes stared at Chris' disorientated body. "Chris.."

Chris looked up at Chef.

"I don't think you understand, do you? You're a fake person, Chris. And our work relationship felt toxic to me. Whenever we talked with each other, you never really cared about me as a person. You were always obsessed with torturing the contestants, laughing at the interns, joking about the medical evacuations, and narrating in front of film cameras."

"Chef, the thing between us, was real-" stammered Chris.

Chef shook his head. "No, it wasn't. I'm done with you Mr. McLean. Why don't you try picking up the trash or cleaning the dishes for once in your life? Why don't you start being fair with your employees? Why don't you start being a caring, genuine, and good person for once in your life? Sleep on that. Goodbye Mr. McLean."

And with that, Chef left. He never looked back at Chris.

"CHEFFF! DON'T GO! Don't go.." mumbled Chris.

It was too late. Chef was gone.

Chris didn't know what to do next. He tried to stand up, but he slipped and fell on the floor again. Hiccup! Hiccup! He slowly got up from the ground. Chef is truly gone.. Oh, what am I going to do without Chef? I need him back. I can't retire by myself. I don't want to be alone in retirement. So, he thought of a plan. My retirement speech is going to be aired on national TV. Maybe I should seize the opportunity and talk about Chef in my speech. I hope he changes his mind and comes back.

It was time. The red curtains were beginning to rise up. The bright lights shone on Chris. Although the lights were extraordinarily bright, the lights weren't bright enough for people to see the real Chris.

Author's Note: More to come.