Confessional - Holden
"So, all of the sudden, all over the place, there's fuckin' printed off pictures of Athena's frowning fuckin' face on a mugshot. It came out of nowhere, and I'm not so sure who dispersed them, but it's funny as fuck regardless. Can't say I'm surprised to see Athena getting arrested for something or another. A cop must've been in her presence for more than three seconds. That alone should be a punishable offense-Athena existing for any longer than a few seconds. Christ almighty..."
Confessional - Matcha
"Being as intimate as I am with the law, I wasn't happy to find that mugshot of Athena. It made me feel like I can't trust one of my teammates, and with a challenge that I feel responsible for messing up... I've got to vote for Athena. It could too easily be me otherwise. Sorry."
Confessional - Kobe
Kobe hesitated, rubbing a hand through his fro, then he said, "I'm so confused, bro. Where did the mugshot even come from? And what did Athena do anyway? The lack of chill in this situation is palpable."
Confessional - Jill
Clearly hurt, Jill murmured, "I don't... I don't... I just don't understand..."
Confessional - Bowie
"Here's something maybe no one else noticed: after tonight's diploma ceremony, the teams will be equally divided for the first time since the art challenge. That's what I like to see."
Confessional - Jayshawn
"So there I was, lying in my bunk gettin' ready to ground my guinea pig, when I get a mo'fuckin' paper cut on my neck! I turn over and see this fuckin' thing on my bed!" he snapped, shoving a crumpled picture of Athena's mugshot against the camera. "Whoever put that shit in my bed is gettin' an elbow in they gizzard! Let a brotha pulverize his agouti in peace!"
End of confessionals
Walking down one of the halls of the academy, MK grinned as Matcha's stolen phone kept buzzing away at her.
Not long later, Athena rushed through campus, her eyes stricken with fear as she gasped, pushing herself harder than her legs could carry her. She finally made it to the garage where she saw multiple members of her team already in possession of MK's printouts. It was finally clear that the klepto hadn't been bluffing after all.
Athena skidded to a halt in front of the garage to see Kobe, Holden, and Jill with the papers in their hands. The orangey-blonde paced forward, her movements wrought with dread. Jill looked up from the paper to see Athena standing before them, eyeing her with a hurt confusion.
"Jill," she breathed, then Holden walked past her, shrugging and saying, "Can't say that comes as a shock. She's a freak after all."
"No, wait," Athena begged, "guys, you've got it all wrong."
"Athena, I don't understand," Jill murmured. "Where did this come from? You went to jail? What did you do?"
Lip quivering and tears welling up, Athena tried to hug her, only for Jill to take a step back. "I haven't been honest with you like I should have. But before I can explain that, you need to know what MK's done."
"MK?" Kobe echoed.
"Yes. Please, come with me, guys. We'll gather the team and I can explain this."
"There's not long until the diploma ceremony, I really ought to be voting..."
Athena stood before him before he could leave. Her big eyes looked up at him, like pleading saucers. "Please, don't vote for me until I've had a chance to explain. Please."
"Okay, Athena," Jill answered. "I'll hear you out."
"I will too," Kobe decided.
Flashing forward, the nine Dropouts stood onstage waiting for the diploma ceremony to begin. Among her eight other teammates, Athena was sweating bullets, while MK appeared calm and collected, amused with her dirty work and confident in her chances.
In the auditorium audience with Tracy, Mercutio cast a glance at the competitors above him. "Well, isn't this an interesting diploma ceremony? Wouldn't you say so, Tracy?"
"Oh, I'd certainly say so. Why am I saying so?"
"Because there are so many choices for elimination standing before us. Could it be Matcha for her failing strategy, whatever it may have been? MK for blowing it in the final act? Jill for losing first? Kobe for, well, I know what you did, Kobe. Perhaps they do too?"
Kobe mimed cutting his throat, his hand swishing so as to beg for silence-not to act like he's decapitating himself.
"Perhaps Athena for, well, need I explain myself?"
"I don't wanna go home!" she blurted, fighting tears.
"Well, let's find out who's safe or not. Tracy, be prepared to hand off diplomas, starting with one for Jill!"
The redhead caught her diploma and let out a breath of relief as she walked offstage.
"Matcha...
...
...
...
...
...
...
Kobe...
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...
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Queen...
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...
...
...
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Iko...
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...
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Brook...
...
...
...
...
...
...
Holden, and finally..."
Alone onstage with MK, Athena felt herself beginning to hyperventilate. "Oh, god, please, no. Not after how far I've come with all of my Dropout friends!"
"Would you knock it off?" MK complained. "Face elimination with your dignity."
"Hey, hey, hey, hey!" Mercutio snapped. "Allow for the dramatic pause! The last Dropout safe is...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
Athena."
MK's eyes widened and her jaw dropped, while Athena could finally breathe again. Instead of any rude expressions or remarks, she bounded offstage to go and hug Jill.
"What the fuck? What the fuck is wrong with you people?"
Holden raised a hand, then pointed it at Athena. "I voted for her, so don't get pissy with me."
Leaping back up to take to the stage, Athena stood with MK beside her, viciously glaring. If her gaze had hands, MK's eyes would have slapped Athena silly.
"MK, there's something I have to show you."
"Yeah, bub? What the hell do you have to show me?" she growled.
"As s-s-scary as it is to be confrontational, I know I have to do it, and I know I can't let you get away with bullying me. Tracy, would you bring down the projector screen?"
Mercutio watched his chef with confusion as he reached underneath his seat and clicked a button, a projector screen lowering down to the stage behind Athena and MK. "Did you and Athena speak in private?"
"Maybe a little," Tracy murmured back.
The screen turned on, revealing a paused video of MK messing with the confessional camera. She was flabbergasted.
"What the- how do you even have that?"
"Go ahead and play it, Tracy, please," Athena requested.
"Move on out of the way, Brook. Hey, viewing world," spoke projection MK. "Not here to confess; never gonna happen-but I am here to see about using this thing to my advantage. You can't see it, but there's a whole mess of cords and other random things that I'm gonna use like so: got this here phone that I stole from Matcha. If I'm right, I should be able to input the confessional feed into this phone, which is gonna make things a lot more interesting. Everything anyone says here will all be fed directly to me. You know, hacking into someone's phone isn't really as hard as you might guess. Just takes a little know-how..."
Before anything else on the video could be said, MK let out a growl and ripped the projector screen up.
"You're paying for that," Mercutio grumbled.
"You're a slimy bitch, you realize that?" MK snapped.
Absorbing the insult, feigning a hurt outer core, Athena mentioned, "I'd been overhearing the sounds of MK's beeping phone. Before long, I realized how strange it was that she would have a phone in the first place. I put two and two together to realize she'd stolen Matcha's phone. Maybe, as the oldest by a wide margin, Matcha would be allowed hers, I wondered?
"I noticed that the buzzing typically accompanied a contestant leaving to record a confessional, some minutes after they would go. In addition to that, I noticed the confessional camera said 'FEEDING' on it. As in, feeding the footage somewhere. I figured eventually that she might've been watching our confessionals somehow. When confronted about it, she swore revenge, when I... I suppose I should have kept to myself, but I couldn't help it. Curiosity got the better of me, and I didn't want everyone's secrets out in the open."
MK stared at her, shaking her head. She saw right through the facade, aware that something was lurking underneath the sometimes bubbly, sometimes weepy character she played.
"It's true!" Iko shouted. "MK manipulated me with my confessionals by threatening to te-" He cut off, realizing what position he'd walked himself into.
Annoyance at an all time high, MK turned around to sneer at him, "To tell what? Jill that you drool at the sight of her? That you'd happily lap up her boot grime? Shut up, Iko."
Now, Jill's attention turned to Iko. At the sight of his brightly reddening face, Jill looked back ahead of her, hoping not to amp his flustered feelings up to eleven. Before long, Iko rushed out of the auditorium, the sound of the doors slamming on his way out.
Attention back on her rival, disgust and disappointment seeped through MK's expression, but Athena kept up.
"MK must've used the computers in the library to find that mugshot. You see, when I was younger and more impressionable, I was approached by girls that were stealing alcohol, and needed a driver. I was just old enough to start driving my father's car, so-"
"This is the biggest load of bullshit I've ever fucking heard."
"We got into an accident. Police found us with a lot of alcohol in what ended up being stains on the car's interior and shattered pieces of glass. In the crash, my... o-one of the girls... she died. She didn't make it. There was a shard of glass in her eye, and when I regained consciousness... she was staring right at me... but the lights had gone out... there wasn't a she left to look at anything... I-"
Athena fought to keep from sobbing, throwing her palms to her eyes as she sniffled. "I was responsible. I thought I was going to be sadder in the moment, but instead, I was angry. So angry with myself that I would do that to someone-that I could be so naive. That's where the angry face in the mugshot comes from."
Red-eyed with tears welling up, she faced the crowd before her, and addressed them. "I held that anger for so long, and it led me to box up my true self and display myself as bubbly and agreeable. It's... it's all a mask. I haven't been honest enough with you people. You're my teammates. You deserve the truth. I committed a crime, and I've done things in my life that I know now I shouldn't have. I know I'm still naive, but I'm not a monster, and I couldn't let MK make you think I was. I couldn't let her air your secrets." She let her head hang low. "Thanks for listening."
Athena started pacing back offstage again. MK stayed still, watching her with the same eyes of disappointment.
"MK," Mercutio prompted. "Time to be going."
"You are unbelievable..." MK murmured, almost in shock. Athena kept her head low, shame burning her cheeks red as she walked away. "I-I... I don't understand."
Tracy came up onto the stage to escort MK out, but even as they headed offstage and down the aisle, MK kept on, lost in her thoughts.
"I thought I was the coldest bitch I knew, but you really just made up a story about someone dying in a car accident and then fake cried about it."
Jill murmured, "Don't listen to her."
With Tracy prodding her down the aisle and towards the auditorium exit, MK glanced back around and muttered, "Whoever you are... you're horrible."
Mercutio addressed the audience, closing out the episode while tensions remained high among the dispersing Dropouts.
"I-I think I should go talk to Iko," Jill murmured to Athena, who nodded and let her go. "I'm proud of you, though. Sorry MK did that to you."
Jill walked off, and with the other Dropouts clearing out, Athena murmured, "Oh, it's okay, I really think this experience made me stronger, and she was an annoying little bitch that deserved to go home."
No one had been around to hear, nor witness the slight smirk that appeared, for she had won without a trace.
The shot flashed forward to later that night to show Fish and Cody walking along the sidewalk by the road leading away from campus. It was dark, with the Bus of Shame not yet back from taking MK away. Lights from the academy and sparse lanterns lit the guys up, but there wasn't an abundance of moon that night.
"So, with all that being said," Fish continued an uncaptured conversation, "can I rely on your support if Jayshawn ever tries to fuck around on me?"
"Uh, I mean, I guess so, but does it seem likely he would do that?"
"Dude," he scoffed, "that guy- lemme tell ya- he is the biggest pussy I've ever seen. He gets his wittle feelings huwt so easily. He's just like the rest of the world nowadays. You say the word 'nigger' and everyone goes batshit. People are stupid. Jayshawn and I seem like we're on good terms, but he'd get rid of me-of any one of us, which includes you-in a heartbeat. You can't trust him. But you can trust me."
"Duly noted," Cody murmured, tugging at his scruff.
"Besides, maybe if you back me up in a vote sometime, I'll convince Londyn to blow you."
Cody's eyes widened exponentially, then Fish cracked up at him.
"Jesus, dude, I'm kidding. Fuck, man, that really got you worked up though, didn't it?"
As Fish kept laughing, Cody thought fondly about Londyn. At first there were merely feelings of sexual excitement imagining her curvy yet slim form, her soft skin, sparkly, blue eyes and perfect features. Then he remembered the look on her face after he and Bowie caught her, hearing her story of Fish manipulating her out of her top.
"You know, you're a lucky guy," Cody murmured.
"Am I?"
"With Londyn, I mean. Like, you barely do anything and you've got that girl hanging on every word you speak. She's obsessed with you."
"Yeah, until Bowie decided to string me up like a Looney Tunes character," he grumbled.
Cody tapped his fingertips together while his eyes darted around. "Right. Just Bowie. I don't know why it is that she's so drawn to you, but how do y-"
"I know what it is, Cody. You're a goofball, I'm an alpha. Some people know how to talk to women, and some don't. It's okay, not everyone's gonna get to reproduce. Don't feel too bad."
The goofball frowned. "You really ought to treat Londyn better. If she's gonna be so into you, the least you could do is be nice to her."
"Be nice to her?" Fish stopped walking to stand in front of him. "I've given her all kinds of niceness! Niceness that usually involves tongue, and some fondling."
"Maybe you should leave her alone."
Fish scoffed. "Leave her alone? Buddy, I am this close to getting that pussy."
"W- huh?"
"Don't think Mal and Zoey are the only ones fucking on this show. You probably wouldn't understand, practically walking around with a sign that reads 'I'm a sex-starved virgin', but I am so close to fucking her pussy that I can practically taste it. By it, I mean her pussy."
"You sure like that word."
Fish stomped overly close into Cody's personal space, inching closer with each word, the geek leaning back more and more as he neared. "What I like is how easy this chick is. I can say or do anything I want to her and I'll still get what I want. I've seen her tits, now I need to see more. I need to feel her, I need to make her mine, I need to make her scream."
Fish was now so close that he was leaning right over his teammate, causing Cody to collapse on his ass. "Not only is she a vote I can count on at every diploma ceremony, but she's just like a toy. She's something I can use, and use her I will." Fish now hung right over Cody, crouching to speak right into his face. "It doesn't matter what kind of tricks Bowie or you or anyone pulls-I control Londyn. I own Londyn. Mark my goddamn words, Cody-I will have Londyn's pussy, and soon, and there's nothing anyone can do about it."
Fish finally stood up straight, leaving Cody on the pavement staring up at him with disgust and a startled, hunched expression.
"The dorm goes a-rockin', don't come a-knockin', Cody."
Confessional - Cody
Thoroughly disturbed, Cody wondered, "What the hell is wrong with that guy?"
Confessional - Fish
"He's just jealous."
End of confessionals
On her way through the backside of campus towards the garage for the night, Athena paused at the distant sight of Jill and Iko together under the lamplit basketball court. Iko held a basketball with something taped onto it. She halted her pace, ducking behind a row of shrubs to watch the two of them.
"I wasn't sure if you'd still show," Jill murmured.
"Well, I invited you here, so..."
Iko's voice was low, still wrought with shame and embarrassment from MK's earlier outburst.
"You don't have to look so sad, you know," Jill told him, trying her best to keep a comforting, sympathetic energy. When Iko didn't at first respond, she added, "I'm gonna assume what MK said-the gist of it, not the literal stuff-was true?"
Iko raised his head. "Stand back."
"Hmm?"
"J-just stand back a few paces. You'll see."
Jill obeyed, taking a few steps back, then Iko took a breath before dribbling the ball over to her. As it bounced against the court, Jill noticed a taped piece of paper on it. She caught the ball as it came to her, and her heart swelled at the sight of what Iko had taped. It was a notebook page with the words, "Will you date me?" scrawled on it. Poorly drawn pictures of musical notes, basketballs, and Jill's face decorated its sides.
"MK was right, because I do like you. I was embarrassed to tell you because girls don't really think much of me where I'm from. Also, I'm not exactly much to look at. I've been called 'grapefruit' before. Like, that I'm built like one. Pizzaface when my acne was worse. One time someone compared my face to a pumpkin. Anyway, I didn't wanna pass up a shot at getting to know you, and maybe dating you. Because you're so good-looking. Like a girl I'd wanna be with, not like a building or something," he chuckled, a somewhat defeated smile on his face. "But beyond that, I just like you. That's the part that matters. The way you look hooked me, but the way you are makes me want to stay."
Jill dribbled the ball back to Iko. "I don't have a pencil. Am I supposed to write on the ball?"
"Uh- oh, shit, uhm, I, erm, uh, uh, I don't, uhm-" Iko patted around his overcoat on the hunt for a pencil as Jill strolled towards him. The girl growing closer, he finally pulled something out of a coat pocket. "I've got this calculator. Not sure what it's doing in there but-"
"I like you too, Iko."
Breathless, he replied, "You do?"
She smiled her beaming smile, emerald eyes radiant even without the sun to shine down on her. "Yes. You're driven and sweet, you show an interest in what I care about. I do like you, and I'll date you."
An amazed smile spread across Iko's face as Jill pulled him in and hugged him.
"You- you will? So, now- now we're boyfriend and girlfriend!"
"That's right."
Soon enough, the two were laughing, happy to be made official. Though Athena couldn't make out all the words, she had seen enough, and watched them with a twitching eye and a detesting frown. With the sounds of Iko and Jill happily laughing and bantering in the background, the camera slowly zoomed in on Athena, stalking with stark tonal contrast.
Confessional - Iko
Iko smiled a toothy, ecstatic grin as he pumped his short arms into the air. "She's my girlfriend! She's my girlfriend! Yes!" He mimed tossing a football on the library floor. "Touchdown!"
Confessional - Holden
"I don't really buy into Athena, explanation or not. You ask me? That was a pitiful Hail Mary that had everyone else on the team fine with keeping her over MK. Those were crocodile tears up there on that stage. Rest assured I voted for Athena tonight. You mark my words," Holden leaned in closer to the camera, passionate with his words. "That Cheetoh-haired bitch is a reptile, and my team may be a bunch of gullible dumbasses, but I'm not a fucking idiot."
Confessional - Brook
Shy as usual, Brook slouched and swished her hands around, one over the other in a fidgety motion. With the exaggerated lengths of her sleeves, her hands were completely cloaked.
"I... I-I don't... I don't think I can trust Athena."
*Author's Note: You may recall me mentioning in the prologue that this story was sort of split into an A plot (the competition) and a B plot. This is where we're gonna get the B plot started. It'll be told from Rome's perspective. We'll mostly be sticking with the A plot but occasionally checking in with the B plot
Rome's POV
The day had finally come. Well, it wasn't like it was incredibly long-awaited or anything. About a week into hanging out in Canada in our group, Zoey had spoken to her father, Brian and managed to get permission to use his car: a model not dissimilar to the Rick and Morty dad-like car that Jerry drives. Or maybe Beth drives it. Whatever-the point is that Kali and I met up with Zoey, Mike, Shay, and Masi and then we were off, headed for a big city.
Vancouver.
I'd been to more places in my life than I ever thought I'd visit, thanks to ranking third on Total Drama World Tour, but extensive visits to Canada hadn't really reached that list before. Beyond Camp Wawanakwa, the Drumheller badlands, and Zoey's little home-suburb, I haven't seen much of Canada, so the notion of heading into Vancouver sounded like fun to me.
We'd had to clown car our way into Zoey's dad's car, as it's a bit cramped on the inside. With Zoey driving and Mike in the passenger seat, I sat in the middle seat in the back between Kali and Shay, with Masi riding in the trunk. Shay wasn't sure about it at first, but Masi said he thought it'd be fun.
"Hey, Zoey, do you think you're gonna buy a car with the prize money?" I'd asked. She seemed content with her dad's car, just fine with its cozy, humble nature, yet figured she'd likely find something cheap and used so her and her dad wouldn't have to share it anymore.
The ride through the city felt fantastic. I could feel wind against my skin, but we were all bundled appropriately enough for it to feel fine. Now on top of a bus with my best friends, Masi slung an arm around my shoulder and pointed stuff out, making jokes about the city's scenery. To my left, Kali was laughing about something with Shay, then she leaned on my shoulder. The city lights and faux Asian street corner signs with the zingy, neon colors were gorgeous. A light misting of snow came down overhead, and I felt at complete peace.
Riding through Vancouver, I reflected on everything that had happened to get me here. I thought about the morning I said goodbye to my mom and drove my old station wagon to the Fairfield airport. I remember nearly crashing into both a pedestrian and another contestant's nicer car, then the moment when I met Chris McLean. A montage of moments ranging from horrendous and terrifying to spectacular and captivating floated through my mind. I remembered the soothing cherry blossom walk in Japan, then I remembered how it felt to take a branch to the back of the head. I reminisced on the thrill of adventure I felt skulking through Area 51, and time traveling forward to the ocean, and I remembered the terror of skydiving and trying to sing in the middle of that moment.
All in and all, I wouldn't have changed any of it. However, of particular note in this Vancouver trip was one moment specifically. At the time, I didn't think so myself, but in hindsight, it was the start of something major. Let's set the scene.
Mid-afternoon, my friends and I made our way through the Capilano Suspension Bridge. When you hear people talk about beautiful destinations, you haven't heard anything until you visit this bridge. While not for the faint of heart in the height-fear department, it offered amazing sights. I thanked Total Drama for helping me lose my fear of heights so I could enjoy the moment.
The bridge, narrow and wide enough for about one person to walk without someone by their side, spanned for what felt like miles. It overlooked gigantic, green trees, a river, more ravines and cliffsides. The connection I felt with Mother Earth here wasn't to be understated. We traveled along this bridge for a while before getting off it to reach a point that led us up to a cable car that took us up a snowy mountain.
Once we were up there, we suited up for skiing. As with everything else we'd visited, the view was incredible. We saw the distant lights of the city and its vast skyscrapers far past the snowy mountainside we'd be skiing down soon enough.
I helped Kali suit up as the others did the same around me.
"Hey, Rajie, look!"
We turned around to see two strangers about our same age or younger approaching. They tromped through snow up at the top of the ski hill. One of them was Indian, the other white with dirty blond, messy hair. On their way towards us, they wrestled one another in a playful manner.
"What is going on here?" Zoey wondered, amused.
"Strangers!" the Indian one exclaimed.
"What's up?" the blond guy greeted us. "I'm Wayne, and this here's Raj, but I call him Rajie. Just look at him. Don't he look like a Rajie to you guys?"
"I call him Wayner, 'cause he looks like a wiener."
"You take that back!"
Once more, playful wrestling, the two of them kicking around snow as they grunted and laughed.
"Can we help you guys?" Mike asked.
"Oh, sure," Wayne responded. "We've been asking people to race us down the slope."
Raj nodded. "Yeah, but no one's interested. They seem to think we're gonna rob them or something."
"Yeah. If we wanted to do that, we'd come right out and ask."
"The Christian way," Masi joked.
"You're Christian, right, Wayner?" Raj asked.
"Nah, I'm a devout flying spaghetti monster fearer."
I turned to face the others in my group. "What do you say, guys? Should we race these friendly Canadians we've never seen before until now?"
"Those are my favorite kinds of Canadians," Shay answered.
"I say we do it!" Mike burst. "Let's see what they're made of!"
"But we can't ski," I reminded him.
"We were gonna ski anyway," Zoey mentioned. "Or, at least try. Doesn't hurt to have friendly competition."
"Let's get radical!" Wayne exclaimed.
From here, the challenge was on. Tightly embraced by our ski outfits, we took to the slopes and started our descent down the mountain, directly competing with the two random fellas. I could hear my friends around me screaming and cheering, some of them doing mixtures of the two.
"Oh, Jesus, oh, god, oh, Christ," Kali burst.
"Yeah!" Raj cheered, zipping past the rest of us.
"Yeah, Rajie, go win it, buddy!" Wayne yelled.
"Not if I have anything to say about it!" shouted Mike, skiing off after him.
I cried out with both fear and excitement. The earth barreled past me, and I flew down the slope at a powerful speed. It reminded me of the turbine incident in Chris' jet, with Axel tampering and causing us to crash. Somewhere from afar, I saw Zoey fly over an incline, hurtling through the air, then Masi wiped out somewhere to the other side of me.
I kept flying by, eventually realizing I didn't know how to stop. Soon enough, I wiped out through a tuft of snow that broke my fall for the most part. That part reminded me of the Alps, when my team went tumbling down the slopes. Thanking god that I didn't stab myself with one of my skis, I saw Mike and Raj keep flying down the slope, followed up by Shay and Wayne, the two of them shooting by like rockets.
"No, Svetlana, I wanna do it!" Mike shouted.
Shay cried out with pure adrenaline. Kali managed to swish aside and stop herself not far from my location.
"That was skillful for a complete beginner," I rasped, catching my breath.
"You okay over here, lover?" she asked. "You hit that snow drift harder than the Road Runner hits a painted wall."
"I'm okay, I-" I cut off at the sound of my phone ringing.
"You have your phone on you at a time like this?
Taking my gloves off, I replied, "Apparently, yeah."
"Couldn't be me."
I pulled out my phone to find an unrecognized number starting with a 604. "You know what area code that is?" I asked my girlfriend.
"Think Zoey mentioned that was Vancouver."
"Hmm..."
"You gonna answer it?"
I shrugged. "Nothing better to do after smashing face-first into a bunch of snow." I answered the call, lifting it up to my ear as Kali inched closer, intrigued. "Hello?"
The voice on the other line was frantic.
"Ro-" shouted someone on the other end, a man I figured, though it was hard to be sure. The rest of the call from here was equal parts warbly and staticy. Eventually I overheard, "GCO! Remember-" followed somewhat closely after white noise by, "an evil- and he-" Then the call cut out for good, failing and beeping.
"What the hell was that?" Kali urged.
"Uh, 'GCO' and something evil?"
"'GCO'?" she echoed.
"Gecko cock oscillator?" I joked.
"Uh, sure, that's probably it," she chuckled.
"Well, whatever that was, it doesn't change the fact that I'm starting to freeze out here," I murmured.
"You and me both. Let's go find the others." Kali gave me a kiss then added, "I wonder if anyone beat those two guys."
"Time to go see," I replied.
Then we were off, heading back down the slope. For the rest of the day, I put the call out of my mind, forgetting it pretty quickly. However, I had no idea just how relevant it would turn out to be-just what a catalyst it truly was. Hindsight is a real bitch.
Dropouts: Athena, Holden, Iko, Jill, Kobe, Matcha, Queen, Brook
Grads: Cody, Bowie, Zee, Fish, Jayshawn, Londyn, Stephen, Damien
Some quick OC descriptions:
Athena: orangey-blonde, orange contacts, black and white dress
Holden: long, scraggly hair, heavyset, short, leather jacket
Iko: slim-fat, short, stylish overcoat and vest
Jill: athletic build, red hair, tan skin, emerald green eyes
Kobe: tall, big afro
Matcha: brunette, business casual
Queen: purple hair
Fish: typical influencer look
Jayshawn: fit, muscular, dreads, gym tank/shorts
Londyn: brunette, face tattoos, gorgeous features
Stephen: early 2000s emo look
Mercutio: chiseled face, suit, wide-framed
Tracy: slim, suspenders/bowler hat
Brook: silver hair, oversized cardigan