I Don't Wanna Be Famous (A Total Drama SI story)

Which camper should return in chapter 15 alongside Izzy?

  • Cody

    Votes: 3 30.0%
  • Beth

    Votes: 6 60.0%
  • Owen

    Votes: 1 10.0%
  • Leshawna

    Votes: 2 20.0%
  • Noah

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Geoff

    Votes: 1 10.0%
  • Bridgette

    Votes: 1 10.0%
  • Tyler

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Katie/Sadie (one or the other)

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Harold

    Votes: 1 10.0%

  • Total voters
    10
  • Poll closed .

Bear Ribs

Well-known member
Does Beth actually know that Heather stole the diary? I know Heather used Beth as her fallgirl but I don't have the impression Beth has a clue. So her showing up won't sink Heather but will re-open Gwen's quest to determine who stole her diary once she knows Beth merely found it, leading to more drama which Chris will love.
 

Knowledgeispower

Ah I love the smell of missile spam in the morning
Of course there's nothing stopping Chris from bringing back three or four people if he feels like it. Mind you our glorious author would kinda have to make up one or two episodes on their own as a result
 

Mrsean22

Well-known member
Does Beth actually know that Heather stole the diary? I know Heather used Beth as her fallgirl but I don't have the impression Beth has a clue. So her showing up won't sink Heather but will re-open Gwen's quest to determine who stole her diary once she knows Beth merely found it, leading to more drama which Chris will love.

I mean wouldn't Beth get told what happened after she was voted off? Even if not Beth story would mention the diary coming out a window when she was behind the Gopher cabin during when Gwen and Jason were searching for it(guess who was there when they started searching? XD).
 

JasonSanjo

Your Overlord and Jester
I just re-watched the Playa Des Losers episode (ep 22) to get a feel for how things work there. Apparently, the campers do get access to the episodes as they finish editing (but presumably before they air, since filming seasons 1 and 2 takes place over the course of a single summer, whereas season 3 doesn't start filming until almost a year and a half later, indicating the season 1 and 2 episodes were released as a standard fall and spring TV season, respectively), but aren't required to actually watch them, from various comments by the campers.

Given the assumption that the campers would want to at least watch the episode wherein they got voted off, it stands to reason that Beth (assuming she wins the vote, which is likely) would know Heather was the one who stole the diary and (accidentally, though she might not see it that way) got her voted off... that is, assuming that episode had finished editing by that time in the story.

In-universe it's been something like 9-12 days since Beth got voted off. Would that be enough time for a reality TV episode to finish editing and potentially be shown at Playa Des Losers, giving Beth a chance to find out what happened? Keep in mind that there is anywhere from 0 to 2 "free" days between challenges for the campers to recover and that there may be a delay due to previous episodes still undergoing editing.

In total, it's been about 4-5 in-universe weeks since they started filming episode 1, and likely about a week and a half since Beth got kicked off. I'm personally not familiar enough with reality TV to tell how long such a process would normally take.

Oh, and in canon there were 10 episodes between Courtney getting kicked off and them filming Playa Des Losers, so at the very least 10 episodes' time (about 3-4 weeks?) would have been enough time for the episode to finish editing and be shown to the campers at Playa Des Losers, as Courtney had found out how she got voted off by that time, and it's implied she did so from watching the episode itself. Though, everything going on with her hunting Harold and him allegedly starving (and how the other campers react to it) could be interpreted to mean that she only found out in the past couple days before episode 22, so maybe it takes a fair bit of time for editing to finish?

What do you guys think? Would Beth have had time to find out or not? We know from episode 22 that 3-4 weeks is enough time, but in Beth's case it's only been about 1.5-2 weeks at max. Yay or nay?

Edit: And Beth is the winner of the poll!
 
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Mrsean22

Well-known member
I just re-watched the Playa Des Losers episode (ep 22) to get a feel for how things work there. Apparently, the campers do get access to the episodes as they finish editing (but presumably before they air, since filming seasons 1 and 2 takes place over the course of a single summer, whereas season 3 doesn't start filming until almost a year and a half later, indicating the season 1 and 2 episodes were released as a standard fall and spring TV season, respectively), but aren't required to actually watch them, from various comments by the campers.

Given the assumption that the campers would want to at least watch the episode wherein they got voted off, it stands to reason that Beth (assuming she wins the vote, which is likely) would know Heather was the one who stole the diary and (accidentally, though she might not see it that way) got her voted off... that is, assuming that episode had finished editing by that time in the story.

In-universe it's been something like 9-12 days since Beth got voted off. Would that be enough time for a reality TV episode to finish editing and potentially be shown at Playa Des Losers, giving Beth a chance to find out what happened? Keep in mind that there is anywhere from 0 to 2 "free" days between challenges for the campers to recover and that there may be a delay due to previous episodes still undergoing editing.

In total, it's been about 4-5 in-universe weeks since they started filming episode 1, and likely about a week and a half since Beth got kicked off. I'm personally not familiar enough with reality TV to tell how long such a process would normally take.

Oh, and in canon there were 10 episodes between Courtney getting kicked off and them filming Playa Des Losers, so at the very least 10 episodes' time (about 3-4 weeks?) would have been enough time for the episode to finish editing and be shown to the campers at Playa Des Losers, as Courtney had found out how she got voted off by that time, and it's implied she did so from watching the episode itself. Though, everything going on with her hunting Harold and him allegedly starving (and how the other campers react to it) could be interpreted to mean that she only found out in the past couple days before episode 22, so maybe it takes a fair bit of time for editing to finish?

What do you guys think? Would Beth have had time to find out or not? We know from episode 22 that 3-4 weeks is enough time, but in Beth's case it's only been about 1.5-2 weeks at max. Yay or nay?

Edit: And Beth is the winner of the poll!

Would Beth be able to watch the Talent show challenge? Don't know exactly how long that would be but if she can she could be able to guess with the knowledge she got from being on the show(more likely think Heather screwed her). Not to mention people already lost just telling her Heather took the diary.

As for your question it depends I think. Add in cartoon logic it could go faster. My guess is two to three weeks which could mean Beth saw her episode(would depend on you I guess).
 

JasonSanjo

Your Overlord and Jester
Would Beth be able to watch the Talent show challenge? Don't know exactly how long that would be but if she can she could be able to guess with the knowledge she got from being on the show(more likely think Heather screwed her). Not to mention people already lost just telling her Heather took the diary.

As for your question it depends I think. Add in cartoon logic it could go faster. My guess is two to three weeks which could mean Beth saw her episode(would depend on you I guess).
The thing about that is that, while others would've had the opportunity to see Heather steal the diary in the first place (and might mention it to Beth), no one would have seen her toss it out the window and into Beth's lap unless that episode had finished editing and been shown to them... in which case Beth would also see it.
Also remember Beth's not the brightest of biscuits so unless she outright sees footage of Heather stealing the diary/throwing the diary out the window/confessing she may not put two and two together.
Yeah, that's pretty much what I'm thinking. The others may or may not tell her that Heather was the one who originally stole the diary, but unless Beth sees footage of Heather tossing the diary out the window and/or confessing in the confessional, she's unlikely to put two and two together.

All in all, I view things as follows:
Beth got kicked off and went to Playa Des Losers. At some point, she most likely found out that Heather stole the diary from Gwen in the first place. She may or may not bring that up on its own once she returns to Wawanakwa.
Whether or not she finds out Heather was the one who tossed it out the window and inadvertently got her voted off, however, depends entirely on whether the episode had finished editing in ~1.5 weeks and been shown to everyone at Playa Des Losers or not. I'm currently leaning toward not, simply because Courtney finding out about Harold appeared to be a fairly recent event at 3-4 weeks' of time differential, but I want to hear what you all think about it.
 

Mrsean22

Well-known member
Sorta assuming Beth has something of an idea about what happened and the reason why she was voted off(wouldn't surprise me if Heather was saying stuff like "Shouldn't of taken the diary" to rub salt in the wound before Beth left). Also wouldn't think Chris would bring someone like Beth back unless he knew she could cause drama and put a little more chaos in.
 

Bear Ribs

Well-known member
It seems reasonable to me that it could go either way and depends on where you take the story.

If Beth knows Heather both stole the diary and got her voted off, she's probably going to tell everybody to get even and knowing she did something that mean will most likely end Heather immediately as a contender, probably having her voted off right away unless Heather manages to poison the well against Beth or is able to create doubt that Beth's telling the truth. In that case the story will need to switch to a different antagonist or format, possibly going friendly rivalry.

If the story's better served as continuing to keep Heather as an antagonist further, Beth can simply not know about it giving Heather slightly more breathing room (though one of her enemies coming back, and with an unknown amount of confessional knowledge, should make Heather frantic and forced to amusing levels of damage control to keep her alliance together.)
 

JasonSanjo

Your Overlord and Jester
Sorta assuming Beth has something of an idea about what happened and the reason why she was voted off(wouldn't surprise me if Heather was saying stuff like "Shouldn't of taken the diary" to rub salt in the wound before Beth left). Also wouldn't think Chris would bring someone like Beth back unless he knew she could cause drama and put a little more chaos in.
Oh, Beth probably knows she got voted off because everyone thought she stole the diary. She is also likely, thanks to Playa Des Losers, to know Heather originally stole the diary. The only real question at the moment is whether or not she also knows Heather was the one who tossed the diary out the window and directly caused her to get voted off, as that will affect what she does once she returns to Wawanakwa.
Currently I'm leaning toward "no" on the last one, as mentioned.
It seems reasonable to me that it could go either way and depends on where you take the story.

If Beth knows Heather both stole the diary and got her voted off, she's probably going to tell everybody to get even and knowing she did something that mean will most likely end Heather immediately as a contender, probably having her voted off right away unless Heather manages to poison the well against Beth or is able to create doubt that Beth's telling the truth. In that case the story will need to switch to a different antagonist or format, possibly going friendly rivalry.

If the story's better served as continuing to keep Heather as an antagonist further, Beth can simply not know about it giving Heather slightly more breathing room (though one of her enemies coming back, and with an unknown amount of confessional knowledge, should make Heather frantic and forced to amusing levels of damage control to keep her alliance together.)
I actually have some ideas hatching from this conversation... And yes, Heather will definitely end up frantically doing damage control as a result of Beth returning.
 

Mrsean22

Well-known member
Trent seems to think Beth and Jason worked together to make Gwen go crazy and get close to her. Wouldn't surprise me if Trent thought Jason told Beth to make a story that blames Heather. Then there is Heather trying to discredit said story(Heather can be pretty convincing). So it be pretty much in the air where it goes. Can see Jason believing Beth's story because he already had doubts on if Beth did take the diary so maybe he questions Beth? Not to mention Jason has pieces to the puzzle and smarter.

Oh, Beth probably knows she got voted off because everyone thought she stole the diary. She is also likely, thanks to Playa Des Losers, to know Heather originally stole the diary. The only real question at the moment is whether or not she also knows Heather was the one who tossed the diary out the window and directly caused her to get voted off, as that will affect what she does once she returns to Wawanakwa.
Currently I'm leaning toward "no" on the last one, as mentioned.

Even if she doesn't know the last part her just knowing Heather took the diary could cause trouble(Beth still doesn't like Heather so she'll tell everyone that Heather took the diary). And man Beth is dumb if she can't but two and two together on it being Heathers fault that Beth was voted off. Like she knows Heather had the diary, knows Heather is very mean, knows that the diary came out of the Gopher cabin and Heather probably trying to put much blame on her as possible for the diary.

Edit: Not to mention Beth wanting to clear her name.
 

Bear Ribs

Well-known member
Well remember that it wasn't just the diary that sank Beth, it was also taking the cursed idol from Boney Island she set on the diary, and Beth may well consider the idol more important to her voting off and not put as much weight on the diary.
 

Mrsean22

Well-known member
Well remember that it wasn't just the diary that sank Beth, it was also taking the cursed idol from Boney Island she set on the diary, and Beth may well consider the idol more important to her voting off and not put as much weight on the diary.

Damn I forgot about the idol. Damn you idol and Beth!! Why you so cursed and dumb!?!? (XD)

Guess I got to put my faith in Jason. Beth does know the diary came out the Gopher window after leaving the food area. So if Jason were to ask Beth what happened and when this happened he could rightly guess Heather was the one that threw the diary out the window before himself and Gwen searched the Gopher cabin on the girls side.
 

JasonSanjo

Your Overlord and Jester
Beth likely putting more focus on the idol as the reason for her elimination is indeed a very good point. While she likely does believe the diary contributed, she probably thinks the idol was the bigger reason, particularly due to its alleged curse. Between that and likely not knowing Heather was the one who tossed the diary out the window and caused her elimination... she might not even mention the diary at all unless someone asks her directly.

Even with all that, though, she is not happy with Heather at all, and will definitely try to get her kicked off one way or another.
 

Mrsean22

Well-known member
Beth likely putting more focus on the idol as the reason for her elimination is indeed a very good point. While she likely does believe the diary contributed, she probably thinks the idol was the bigger reason, particularly due to its alleged curse. Between that and likely not knowing Heather was the one who tossed the diary out the window and caused her elimination... she might not even mention the diary at all unless someone asks her directly.

Even with all that, though, she is not happy with Heather at all, and will definitely try to get her kicked off one way or another.

I get not thinking Heather eliminated her but not mentioning the diary at all when she probably has the knowledge that Heather took it, not liking Heather and probably wants to clear her name of ever taking the diary? Add in it's the reason she was voted and people remember along with Gwen still here. Like I would be shocked if people see her back and not say "Why is the diary thief back?" and I'm expecting Gwen to say it or Trent. Like if she doesn't say anything at all then there is a good chance she's getting voted out the same episode she returns.
 
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JasonSanjo

Your Overlord and Jester
I get not thinking Heather eliminated her but not mentioning the diary at all when she probably has the knowledge that Heather took it, not liking Heather and probably wants to clear her name of ever taking the diary? Add in it's the reason she was voted and people remember along with Gwen still here. Like I would be shocked when people see her back and not say "Why is the diary thief back?" and I'm expecting Gwen to say it or Trent. Like if she doesn't say anything at all then there is a good chance she's getting voted out the same episode she returns.
It all depends. Like I said, if anybody else mentions it (for example, if someone calls her a diary thief to her face), she will definitely talk about it. However, if she doesn't think the diary played a large part in her getting voted off, she is unlikely to mention it on her own for that reason. Now, if she believes talking about it might help her get Heather voted off? That's a whole other story, but the question is if Beth - one of the dumbest people on the show - would think of it in the first place, let alone make effective use of it if so. She might, but then again she might not. We'll see. But again, she will definitely try to make things difficult for Heather. I have some ideas...
 

Mrsean22

Well-known member
It all depends. Like I said, if anybody else mentions it (for example, if someone calls her a diary thief to her face), she will definitely talk about it. However, if she doesn't think the diary played a large part in her getting voted off, she is unlikely to mention it on her own for that reason. Now, if she believes talking about it might help her get Heather voted off? That's a whole other story, but the question is if Beth - one of the dumbest people on the show - would think of it in the first place, let alone make effective use of it if so. She might, but then again she might not. We'll see. But again, she will definitely try to make things difficult for Heather. I have some ideas...

Well hopefully someone calls her a diary thief to her face then. I guess Jason is my only hope of the diary ever being really talked about because he seemed to be the only one to question that Beth did what people think she did. Not to mention Beth will be alone because of the diary thing. Heather will use her alliance to try getting rid of Beth so she can't talk and most others still think Beth did it at this time(hopefully that changes).

Actually what are the chances Chris talks with Beth before sending her back? Chris wants to make drama so maybe he talked with her on what to do to get back in the game(let's be honest Beth would be Chris's last choice if she didn't have the possibility to cause drama).
 

JasonSanjo

Your Overlord and Jester
Well hopefully someone calls her a diary thief to her face then. I guess Jason is my only hope of the diary ever being really talked about because he seemed to be the only one to question that Beth did what people think she did. Not to mention Beth will be alone because of the diary thing. Heather will use her alliance to try getting rid of Beth so she can't talk and most others still think Beth did it at this time(hopefully that changes).

Actually what are the chances Chris talks with Beth before sending her back? Chris wants to make drama so maybe he talked with her on what to do to get back in the game(let's be honest Beth would be Chris's last choice if she didn't have the possibility to cause drama).
Yeah, Heather will try to get rid of Beth, and Beth will try to get rid of Heather. Who succeeds first remains to be seen.

Possible, but nothing guaranteed. I wouldn't put it past him to sorta mention something in passing and hope Beth picks up on it only for her to misunderstand or think it's not important, leading to misunderstandings... not quite sure how such a thing would play out in this case, though.
 
Chapter 15: Wheel of Misfortune

JasonSanjo

Your Overlord and Jester
I Don’t Wanna Be Famous

A Total Drama SI story

Disclaimer: Total Drama belongs to Fresh TV Inc. I’m simply borrowing it to tell some stories.

Author’s Notes: Well, this chapter turned out to be another long one… despite my skipping a few scenes I had originally intended to put in before the boys’ return to Wawanakwa. They weren’t too important to the flow of the chapter, and they can be inferred by scenes I did put in the chapter, anyway, so it’s not a huge loss. Anyway, I’m gonna be a bit busy on Sunday, so enjoy the chapter a day early!

Also, what do you think about Heather and Beth's “confrontation” scene? I was having a bit of a hard time keeping everyone in character in that one, but hopefully it didn’t come out too cringey.

Oh, and I feel like I might've overused the confessional in this chapter. Sure, the bit near the end was kinda necessary due to how things went in canon, but still...



Chapter 15: Wheel of Misfortune

Chris stood on the dock as he addressed the camera.

Last time, on Total Drama Island…”

Clips began rolling, showing scenes from the previous episode.


The Bass and Gopher teams were disbanded into a battle of the sexes challenge that put their taste buds to the puke test.

With bovine testicles, live bug insect pizza and dolphin hot dogs on the menu, not only was this the single biggest wretch fest this host has ever seen, but Jason and Heather’s rivalry came to a head in a hot dog eat-off of hot dawg proportions.

While the guys set sail on a weekend retreat aboard the S.S. Lap o’ Luxury, the girls set out to talk things over.

Will Heather’s overtures win over the overachiever Courtney, or did her overeating overreach?

Can Gwen overcome Eva’s overbearing overdrive, or will she overdo it herself and end up overwhelmed?

And can Lindsay recognize anything’s over without all stepping over it?

For the answers to all these cliffhangers and more, stay tuned to the most exciting episode yet, on Total. Drama. Island!”



Heather lounged in a chair by the dock, awaiting the imminent return of the boys. Lindsay likewise lounged on a chair nearby, and they were both reading beauty magazines while looking this way and that at the other girls. Like them, they had surreptitiously gathered around the dock to await the boys.

Gwen sat on the dock, writing in her journal while occasionally sending glares at everyone else… except Eva, who stood next to her while doing biceps curls and staring straight ahead.

Courtney sat in a chair halfway between the two groups, looking uncertain as she looked back and forth between them. Despite Heather’s best efforts over the past couple days, the Hispanic girl still didn’t want to pick sides.

Suddenly, a fly entered Heather’s field of vision. She watched as it flew lazily in front of her face before finally landing on her nose. Very slowly, she raised her hand in preparation to-

Sharp pain erupted from her nose when Lindsay’s rolled-up magazine bonked into it. “Ow!

“Oh, oops,” Lindsay said as Heather got to her feet.

“Lindsay, you are a total-”

A loud honk interrupted her, causing Heather to widen her eyes and quickly cover her mouth with her hands. She looked over her shoulder and saw a white yacht – the one the boys had left on a couple days before – pull up by the dock.

The boys were back.

The boat’s boarding ramp lowered, and the boys rushed onto the dock, one after the other: Justin, Duncan, DJ, Trent, and finally… Jason, the metaphorical bane of Heather’s existence.

Well, ever since she came to Wawanakwa, anyway.

Duncan hollered. “What a weekend! Woo-wee!”

“That spa was exactly what I needed,” Justin said and let out a contented sigh.

Duncan chuckled and winked knowingly. “I think Justin and DJ took a real shine to those lovely ladies who served us hand and foot.”

Hello! The spa treatments? My alligator elbows, totally gone!” DJ said and held up his elbows for inspection.

Justin touched DJ’s elbow and whistled. “It’s like velvet!”

Heather swore to herself as she joined the rest of the girls in walking up to the guys. Those should be my velvety elbows!

“Anyone care for a chocolate-coated cherry blossom?” Jason asked as he walked up to meet them. He carried a tray in one hand that was covered with the sweet, sweet delicacies, and with a smile and wink he held it out toward Heather. “Heather?”

Briefly overcome with self-righteous fury, Heather slapped the tray away, sending it and its contents into the water.

Jason didn’t seem too concerned, however. “Guess not,” he said with a shrug and turned away, and Heather felt the urge to deal out another slap, this time to the back of the boy’s unprotected head.

She resisted. Barely.

“Oh, don’t be concerned about the chocolate,” Justin said, acting uncharacteristically calm as he walked up next to Jason. “The ladies are simply envious of our good fortune.”

Duncan crossed his arms over his chest and smirked. “Yeah, who can blame 'em? They can barely stand each other, and meanwhile, us guys are tighter than family! Guys rule!

To Heather’s shock, the guys exchanged high-fives and shoulder hugs amid a chorus of agreements. What in the world happened while they were at the resort?

Suddenly, there was a mechanical squeal as the camp’s PA system activated, and Chris’s voice echoed across the camp.

Listen up, campers! As of right now, all teams are officially dissolved. From here on in, it's every camper for themselves!

As one, the guys detached themselves from each other.

“Ahem, well, uh, it's about time we flew solo,” Duncan said simply.

“I agree,” Eva said darkly. “Bring it on, Chris!”

Then get ready for this!

There was a loud honk, and Heather turned, along with all the other campers, as another boat pulled up to the dock. When she saw who was standing on the prow, Heather couldn’t help but gasp.

“What? But, that’s impossible!” she breathed.

“Wait, what is she doing here?” Gwen asked with a scowl.

The person standing on the boat was…

Back by popular audience demand, it's Beth!

“That’s right, I’m back,” Beth said right before she jumped off the boat… and promptly slipped and fell, slamming her chin into the dock and dropping her glasses. She grunted and rose, rubbing her chin with one hand while her other searched for her glasses. Eventually she found them and put them back on. “And just to be clear: I am going to kick butt, and especially someone’s… Heather.”

Heather felt her nails dig into her palms as she clenched her hands into fists. Beth being back was a potential disaster in and of itself, but what if, during her absence, she had learned that Heather had been the one responsible for getting her voted off? Worse yet, what if she had learned about the diary and decided to spill the beans?

She could ruin everything I’ve worked for…!

“Wait a sec,” someone said then, and Heather half-turned to see Gwen addressing the nearest PA speaker. “You said no one is allowed back.”

For once in her life, Heather found herself not only agreeing with but even cheering for Gwen. Internally… where no one could hear her.

I did?

Gwen nodded and crossed her arms as she glared up at the loudspeaker. “And once you leave on the Dock of Shame, on the Boat of Losers, you can never, ever, ever come back.”

Oh yeah. That… Yeah, I lied.

“You can’t do that, it’s not fair!”

“Yeah, what Weird Goth Girl said!” Heather agreed aloud before she could stop herself. She exchanged a surprised glance with Gwen before they quickly broke eye contact.

“You two realize you’re arguing with a loudspeaker, right?” Eva asked bluntly.

“To be fair, Chris is almost certainly watching through the cameras and listening through the mics,” Jason pointed out.

No one asked you!” Heather snapped, mostly on reflex. She then looked away. “But yeah. That.”

The moment she turned away from Jason, she came face-to-face with Beth, who had used the duration of the loudspeaker argument to walk up to her.

“Oh, Beth,” Heather said sweetly and let out a nervous laugh. “H-how good to see you! How have you been?”

“I know everything,” the bespectacled girl whispered tersely. “And I’m going to blow your secret wide-open.”



CRAP!”

In the confessional, Heather was less than happy.


Crap, crap, crap, crap, CRAP!”



Chris told me everything,” Beth said in the confessional. “I know Heather’s secret. I can’t believe I didn’t figure it out sooner; looking back, it’s all so obvious.”

She smirked.


From now on, I’m calling the shots around here.”



“Now hang on,” Gwen said then, once more interrupting the proceedings. “Beth was audience favorite?”

Heather could almost hear Chris shrug over the loudspeakers. “Not really. But we liked her. Also returning to camp, it's… Izzy!

There was a chorus of “Oh, no!” from Heather, Gwen and Lindsay as everyone turned back to the dock, but unlike Beth who had arrived by boat, Izzy arrived by… swinging in on a vine while shouting like Tarzan.

There was something seriously wrong with that girl.

The curly-haired redhead waved as she let go of the vine. “Hey guys! It's good to be back at camp! Even though I never actually left the island. I've been living in the woods all this time!”

Gwen stared. “But I thought the RCMP hunted you down!”

Jason blinked at that. “Wait, the who?

Izzy giggled. “They tried. But being a wilderness survivor, I was swift-footed and avoided capture,” she said, then pulled out a raw fish from behind her back and bit into it. She spent a moment chewing and swallowing, then added, “Once I was safe among my animal brethren, it was just me against the harsh elements.”

Eva shot the girl a flat look. “It's been warm and sunny all week.”

“Not where I was! But luckily, I was able to take refuge in the beaver dam,” Izzy explained in that manic way of hers. “Yeah, I befriended the family of beavers who lived there and together, we foraged for nuts and berries. Boy, I could use a bag of nachos right now.” She laughed and then got down on all fours and scratched herself behind the ear with her foot before letting out a wolf-like howl at the sky. “So, what's new with you guys?”

“Can we keep her?” Jason asked of the loudspeaker, and to Heather’s surprise, she felt a twinge of irritation at the question.

The loudspeaker squealed. “Sure, at least until you vote her off again! All right, campers! Report to the amphitheater where you'll learn all about this week's challenge! Ksh. McLean out!

“Wait, did you just say ‘ksh’?” Jason asked. When he didn’t receive a reply, he waved at the loudspeaker. “Hello?”

“He’s gone, you idiot,” Heather said flatly as she walked past the boy toward the camp.

Seriously, for such a fiendishly smart boy, Jason could be really stupid at times… unless he was just playing dumb to annoy her. Yes, that was probably it.

Jerk. As if I don’t have enough problems…



“So, Izzy, Beth,” Courtney said in a welcoming voice as the girls all gathered in the Gopher cabin, “we have some empty bunks, so-”

“I want that one,” Beth interrupted, pointing at Heather’s bunk. “Unless there’s a problem with that…?”

Heather’s jaw visibly tightened before she smiled and stood up from her bunk. “Of course not. Go right ahead, Beth.”

Beth smirked and sat on the bunk, then looked upward, toward the blonde sitting on the bunk above. “Hi, Lindsay!”

“Hiya, Beth!” Lindsay returned, waving one hand happily. “I’m so glad to see you back. It’s been sooo boring without you.”

“I’m glad to be back. We have a lot to talk about… don’t we, Heather?”

“R-right. O-of course we do,” the Asian girl stammered. “We’re all friends, and friends have lots of things to talk about…”

Courtney looked back and forth between the girls and blinked.



I don’t get it. Does Beth have some kind of hold over Heather?” Courtney asked in the confessional. She had a perplexed look on her face. “She’s not normally that cordial with anyone, let alone people she dislikes… and I’m pretty sure she dislikes Beth. Some kind of blackmail, maybe? Hmm…”



A while after leaving the dock, we all gathered at the amphitheater. There were tables, benches and chairs set up on the right side of the stage to create something of an improvised, multilevel gallery area like you might see on certain game shows on TV. The interns directed us to sit, and we took our seats as follows: the row the highest up and furthest back seated, from left to right: Trent, DJ, Duncan, myself, and Justin; in the same order, the middle row seated Gwen, Beth, Heather and Courtney; and finally the bottom front row seated Izzy, Lindsay and Eva. With this seating arrangement, Heather was in front of and below me, and she sent a glare my way as she took her seat. I simply shrugged and smiled in response, to which she scowled and turned away.

I chuckled. Annoying her was fun.

In the middle of the stage was Chris, standing in front of a spinning wheel upon which a number of crudely drawn sketches had been pinned in the different fields, each likely denoting a different event or challenge of some kind.

Once everyone had finished taking their seats, the host began his introduction.

“Welcome to your next challenge, the time-honored game of torture: Say Uncle!

At his words, my thoughts went unbidden to “Uncle Rob”… the cause of my being here. For some reason, I had trouble remembering what his face looked like, exactly… but his mustard-yellow suit stood out in my memory. The guy had a lot to answer for… but I had to admit, I didn’t completely hate being here. Some of the challenges had been fun… and some of the people were interesting, too.

Chris, of course, was unaware of my thoughts, and simply continued his speech.

“You’re all about to be put through tests of endurance so insane that some of them sent our interns to the emergency room. If you back down from the challenge or do not last the required ten seconds, you will be eliminated. The winner will not only be safe from elimination, but will win this luxurious trailer, yours to take home at the end of the summer.”

As he said the last bit, the host gestured to a creamy-white trailer set up a ways away from the stage. It looked to be brand new, and even sparkled in the sunlight. Clearly, it had been freshly waxed.

“What kinds of torture?” Eva asked suspiciously.

“Why don’t you ask my lovely assistant?” Chris replied, gesturing to Chef Hatchet… who, for some reason or other, wore a hockey mask and brandished a cleaver. “Alright, let’s do this! Duncan, you’re first up. Let’s spin the Wheel of Misfortune to select your torture!”

Duncan apprehensively stepped up to the wheel, and the host spun itas upbeat game music began playing. Eventually it stopped on a piece of paper with what looked like a turtle drawn on it.

“Turtle Puck Shots!” Chris declared gleefully. He walked up to Duncan and put what might have been a soothing hand on the nervous-looking teen’s back. “Our interns spent weeks collecting the grumpiest, angriest, crustiest, hungriest old snapping turtles on the island. While you stand in the goalie net completely unprotected, Chef will fire off turtle slap shots.”

While he spoke, the interns set up a hockey goal on the left side of the stage, and also put down a good half-dozen angry-looking turtles that kept snapping their jaws menacingly. Chef Hatchet grabbed a hockey stick and took up position behind the turtles, facing the goal.

Chris pushed a very unenthusiastic-looking Duncan over to the goal. Once he was in position, the host whispered, loud enough for all of us to hear, “If I were you, dude… I’d protect my coconuts!” Chris then jogged away, only to briefly return and add, “This could get ugly!

As expected, Duncan quickly covered his groin protectively with his hands.

“If you can stay in for ten seconds, you will go on to the second round,” Chris said once he was safely away from the line of fire. The host slammed his hand down on a button and a buzzer sounded… an instant before the first turtle went flying.

Duncan let out a yelp and ducked, the turtle narrowly missing his head to smack into the goal’s net. The second one snapped its jaws shut on his shoulder, and the punk rocker screamed… right before a third, fourth, fifth and sixth came flying, all of them attaching themselves by their powerful jaws to various bits of his anatomy.

“And Duncan moves on to the next round!” Chris announced as Duncan collapsed with a pained groan. “Isn’t this fun?

“Not for him,” I muttered to no one in particular as I beheld the downed teen. I had never been bit by a snapping turtle, but it looked like it hurt.

“Yeah, it’s a riot,” Duncan said weakly from the floor as a bell sounded from somewhere.

Right then, Trent leaned forward to where Gwen sat on the row below him, and I leaned slightly over to my right to be able to hear better as he said, “Whoa. That was harsh.”

Gwen, understandably, was not amused, and immediately crossed her arms. “Don't talk to me.”

“Look, I’m sorry about… um… everything,” Trent said, his voice pleading. “I never meant for everything to get so-”

“I said, don’t talk to me!” Gwen snapped, cutting the boy off. Surprised, he sat back in his seat.

Yeah, leave her alone, I mentally chimed in as I, too, leaned back in my seat. You screwed up, dude. Move on. I had of course told the guy as much while we were at the resort, but he hadn’t seemed very interested in hearing what I had to say back then, so this development was unsurprising.

“Next up, Lindsay!” Chris declared and spun the wheel. “Your torture is... marshmallow waxing! We're gonna wax every part of your body. If you can take the pain for a full ten seconds, you can go to the next level.”

The wheel had stopped on the image of a burning marshmallow. I had to admit, I don’t think I would have guessed it was a waxing challenge just from the image. Who came up with these, anyway?

Lindsay was strangely unperturbed by all this and eagerly took her place on the waxing table – one of those tiltable metal tables with an edge at the bottom to stand on – that the interns pushed onto the stage. “Oh, I so need this. I've been dealing with nasty razor stubble for weeks.” The blonde looked over at Chef Hatchet, who stood ready to grab the pot of melted marshmallows next to the waxing table “Try not to wax off my tan, 'kay?”

Without further ado, the hockey-mask-wearing Chef grabbed the pot and emptied its contents all over Lindsay’s face. There was muffled screaming and wild flailing, but she held fast… and after ten seconds, Chef grabbed the edge of the melted marshmallow “mask” and pulled it off.

“Ah! Ow!” the blonde gasped, before there was ding, signifying her successful completion of the challenge. She stepped off the table and gingerly felt her upper lip. “Oh, my gosh. I can't believe how smooth that is. Thanks, Chip.”

“It’s Chris,” Chris corrected her with a flat stare. He followed the blonde as she returned to her seat and continued, “Well done, Lindsay. Since you didn't even complain once, you get to choose who goes next.”

“No thanks,” Lindsay said casually, right before Beth tapped her on the shoulder. I tried listening in as the bespectacled girl whispered something to the blonde, but I couldn’t make it out. Lindsay looked back at Chris. “Wait, I changed my mind. I choose… Heather. With lake leeches. Because… she’s a backstabbing lowlife traitor who only survives by leeching off of others.”

Lindsay!” Heather snapped, slamming her fists into the desk as she stared down at the blonde.

“What? You always tell me to do what I’m told,” Lindsay said thoughtlessly.

“What I tell you to do, not- Ugh!” Heather seemed to resign herself to her fate, because she got up out of her seat and walked out onto center stage. She glared back at Lindsay and Beth. “You’re both going to pay for this!”

“Enjoy your leeches, leech,” Beth said simply, giving the Asian girl a small, sarcastic wave.

Heather growled, but said nothing, instead turning around as Chef Hatchet brought a large barrel onto the stage and set it down alongside a small stepladder. He opened up the barrel’s lid, revealing that it was filled with water… and, supposedly, leeches. He tapped the side of the barrel as he looked over at Heather, motioning for her to get in.

She gulped.

“Alright, Heather, get in the barrel of leeches,” Chris said. “We ain’t got all day, you know?”

“I’m working up to it!”

“Well, work faster.”

I meant to say something encouraging, but it came out as, “Hey, if you’re lucky, the leeches will think you’re so skinny that you don’t have any blood and leave you alone.”

I swear I didn’t mean it. The big smirk on my face was totally incidental. Honest.

Heather eyes flashed as she turned to me. “You-” She seemed to think better of it and turned away, crossing her arms as she did so. “Thank you for saying I’m thin.”

I blinked. That… didn’t work out as planned. Uh, I mean, it didn’t work out as I expected it would after I totally said it on reflex. Yeah.

“Oh, and if your victim can last ten seconds without saying uncle, you get eliminated instead, which means you lose your chance to win this!” Chris said, gesturing once more to the trailer.

“Wait, really?” Heather asked, orienting on the host. “If I stay in the barrel for ten seconds, Lindsay gets eliminated?”

The host nodded with a grin. “Mm-hmm.”

Heather’s expression turned from surprise to smugness as she looked over at not Lindsay, but Beth. I followed her gaze and saw the bespectacled girl did not look happy at all.

Heather climbed into the barrel, impressively keeping up both her smirk and her staring contest with Beth the whole time. Slowly, however, her expression turned… less jovial. Her eyes widened in obvious discomfort and she twitched several times… but eventually, the timer ran out and the bell dinged. The moment it did, the Asian girl let out a shriek and leapt out of the barrel and onto the stage, where she immediately began removing the multitude of leeches from her skin and clothes.

Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!

As soon as the bell dinged, a couple of interns walked onto the stage, pushing a stockade on wheels between them. They removed Lindsay’s chair and replaced it with the stockade, then locked the blonde in it, forcing her to bend over standing up… much to Heather’s amusement, judging by the loud “Ha!” she let out at the sight.

“Not bad,” I said earnestly once Heather returned to her seat. “I didn’t expect you to win that. Good job.”

She looked up at me with a surprised expression, and for a moment looked like she was about to say something, but then shrugged and turned away again. “Whatever.”

Okay, now I’m just confused…

Chris spun the wheel, and it landed on a crudely drawn footprint. “Our next challenger will be spending ten seconds in a wooden crate with Sasquatchanakwa. Tough one. Oh, and Heather, since you didn’t complain while you were in the barrel… you get to pick who goes next.”

Very slowly, Heather turned around in her seat to look up at me with a smug look on her face. Her eyes were positively shining. “I choose Jason.”

“Of fucking course you do,” I muttered before I got up from my seat and walked over to join Chris on the stage as a large – very large, easily four meters in height and over two meters in width and length – crate was wheeled onto the stage. I could see small holes drilled into it along the top, likely to allow the creature inside to breathe, and there was a door at the bottom to allow entry. As I watched, there was a crash as something inside the crate smashed against it, and the entire crate wobbled alarmingly.

“Uh, what did you say was in there, again?” I asked, my eyes flitting between Chris and the crate.

“Sasquatchanakwa.”

“Sasquatcha-what?

“Just get in,” Chris said and opened the door. A very pungent musk emanated from the opening, stinging my nostrils.

“Okay, then,” I said and walked inside. As soon as I had cleared the threshold, the door shut and clicked behind me as it was locked. Quietly swallowing, I looked up…. and up… and up. “Damn, you’re tall.”

The creature in front of me was tall – something like two and a half meters in height – and very hairy, its elongated body covered in grayish-purple fur. It looked sort of like a cross between a human and a gorilla, and it looked down at me with beady red eyes.

“So, uh… nice day for it?” I ventured hopefully.



I don’t know why I’m even surprised anymore,” Jason said as he sat in the confessional with both hands on his lap. He had an alarming amount of shed, grayish-purple fur on his clothes. “A sasquatch? Sure, why the hell not? Luckily, it doesn’t seem like I’m allergic to it, so that’s something. I don’t remember seeing it around the island, so I’m kinda wondering where they got it… ‘course, it might just be good at hiding. I actually have one of those metal poster things back home. You know, the one with Bigfoot, calling him the hide-and-seek world champion? Yeah, that one.”



To Heather’s chagrin, Jason emerged from the crate unharmed, if covered in what looked to be some sort of grayish-purple fur.

“Can I get one of those fur roller things?” the boy requested. “The guy was a hugger.”

Chris and Chef Hatchet blinked and exchanged looks, then shrugged as a group of interns appeared and wheeled the crate off the stage.

“Well, looks like Jason won this one, Heather,” the host said slyly and turned toward her. “Enjoy your new seating!”

A pair of interns showed up and – with some difficulty – got a stockade up on Heather’s level. It was virtually identical to the one Lindsay was stuck in, and Heather silently cursed as she leaned forward and let the interns lock her up.

“This is so humiliating,” she said as Jason walked past her on his way to his seat. He was rolling a fur roller up and down his sleeves. “I hope you’re happy.”

“Oh, I am,” the boy replied once he’d seated himself. “The view is quite nice!”

Heather’s eyes widened. Jason was above and behind her, so… “Where are you looking?!”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” came the annoyingly playful reply.

Stop looking this instant!

“… Nah.”



“Jason, who goes next?” Chris asked before Heather could continue her objections.

“Justin,” I said without hesitation. I wasn’t quite as annoyed with the pretty boy as I had been in the past, but I still wouldn’t mind seeing him sweat for a bit.

The pretty boy ended up wearing wooden shorts… while a very energetic woodpecker pecked all over them. Potentially very unpleasant, but seeing as it flew from spot to spot rather than stay in one place… Meh. He passed, but not without complaining, so he didn’t get to pick the next one. Instead, it was up to Chris… and he picked Gwen.

The Goth girl had to endure having her nose hairs picked with a pair of tweezers. She passed, and I flicked my fingers in disappointment. Not because of her passing the torture, but because it wasn’t Justin who had his nose hairs pulled out. That would have been way better than the wooden shorts.

Next, DJ had to wrestle with a python… and lost, ending up in a stockade.

After that was Courtney… who had to stand still while her upper body was covered in bees. It went well at first, but then one of the bees landed on her nose and she screamed and ran off the stage, losing the challenge. Once the interns brought her back, they put her in a stockade.

Eva had to do a game of whack-a-mole… except she had to use her hands instead of a mallet, and the “moles” were cacti. It was painful just to watch, but she stuck it out somehow, and returned victorious to her seat with her hands covered in band-aids.

Trent had to jump over a bunch of skunks… who took offense to his presence and sprayed him in the face. Needless to say, he took a dive after that.

Gwen finally lost after being forced to listen to some kind of New Age music on a pair of earphones. Now, I had personally heard New Age music that was relaxing, as well as New Age music that was absolutely terrible and made me want to scream, and I could only assume this was the latter, going by Gwen shivering and going into the fetal position after tossing the earphones off.

Then it was Justin’s turn again… this time with Chef Hatchet picking up a chainsaw to cut off his hair. To my quiet disappointment, the pretty boy ran away screaming before the actual cutting could begin. Him losing was pretty sweet, though.

Next it was Beth’s turn. She had to do the Ice Cream Brain Freeze challenge. The name was straightforward enough, as it simply entailed her eating copious amounts of ice cream over ten seconds. At 5.7 seconds, she fell over, gripping her head and screaming. She lost.

At this point, there were only four campers left: myself, Eva, Duncan and Izzy. We ended up doing multiple rounds of tortures, but came out on top every time… until we didn’t.

Duncan’s third round came… and it was a doozy. Chris called it “Japanese Watermelon Torture”, and it involved Duncan, wearing a blindfold, hitting watermelons with a bokken, or wooden sword in the rough shape of a katana. The problem? The watermelons were suspended by rope and swung back and forth with the aid of Chris’s interns. To his credit Duncan did manage to crush a couple watermelons… but not before he ended up black and blue from all the hits he took to the face, and he lost the challenge along with his consciousness.

Next was Izzy. The interns brought back the tiltable table and Izzy stood upon it as Chef Hatchet pulled on a pair of rubber gloves. An aquarium was brought on stage, and Chef Hatchet reached into it and pulled out a pair of eels.

Electric eels, judging by the way Izzy’s hair flashed and stood on end when he touched her with them. Oddly enough, the redhead only laughed as if being tickled… despite sizzling slightly.

“That was great! Hit me again!” she demanded. The Chef did so, prompting another flash of electricity and round of laughter.

Chris popped up from behind the table. “Izzy, who's your next victim?”

Izzy immediately raised her hand. “Ooh, ooh, me! With a poison ivy spa treatment!”

Suddenly there was a ringing noise, and Chris pulled a cell phone out of his pocket. “It’s Chris. Yeah, yeah, she wants to do it! Okay.” He put the phone away and turned to Izzy. “Okay… The judges will allow it, but they wanna know why?

“I just wanna see how it feels,” was Izzy’s reply.

The host shrugged helplessly. “Alrighty, then.”



Okay, the electric shocks I can kinda understand, but poison ivy? Like, why?” Jason asked, looking perplexed as he sat in the confessional. “That girl’s way kinkier than I thought. I can dig it.”



The bell dinged.

“Time's up. Chef, remove the poison ivy,” Chris said.

Izzy, whose face was wrapped in poison ivy – with a pair of cucumber slices covering her eyes – held up a hand. “No, no… It feels great.”

Unperturbed, Chris said, “You stuck it out, but sadly, you eliminated yourself.”

Izzy took off the poison ivy wrappings, revealing a bright red and swollen face. In a very muffled voice, I think she said, “Look how big my lips are!

Chris ignored the redhead as he walked up to the gallery. “After twenty rounds of torture, we're down to two steely competitors and the sudden death round. Jason, you’re up.”

The host looked over his shoulder as Chef Hatchet spun the wheel.

“Alright, Jason, your final challenge is... the Grizzly Bear Log Roll!

I blinked. “Log roll?”



The sudden death challenge, unlike all the rest, didn’t take place on the stage. Instead, it took place in the water off the dock, on which I was currently standing alongside Eva, Chef Hatchet and Chris, while the rest of the peanut gallery – still stuck in their stockades – watched from a ways behind us. There was a log floating in the water before me, and a bear standing at one end of it. And it smirked at me.

“Molotov the Bear performs with the Russian national circus and has been the European log-rolling champion for the past twelve years,” Chris explained as the bear rolled the log with practiced ease, as if showing off. “To win, you must last ten seconds on the log while avoiding certain death in the piranha-infested water.”

As he said the last bit, a whole bunch of piranhas leapt out of the water, audibly biting again and again in midair before falling back into the water.

It was a very strange situation, all told.

“Jason, you could back out now,” Chris pointed out, evidently taking my silence for hesitation.

“Yeah, and give me the win,” Eva chimed in. She crossed her arms over her chest, bringing my attention briefly to her still band-aid-covered hands. Like myself, she had gone through every challenge successfully. Say what you want about Eva, she was a trooper.

“Fuck that,” I said and turned to Chris. “As long as I don’t fall in the water for ten seconds, I win, right?”

The host nodded. “That’s right.”

I stepped onto the log. I wobbled slightly before finding my balance and looked up at the bear, who was still smirking at me.

“Bring it,” I said, giving the ursine a smirk of my own.

“Aaaaand... go!

With Chris’s signal, the challenge began, and I leapt. The bear barely had time to widen its eyes in surprise before my foot struck its chest and knocked it off the log and into the water. I landed unsteadily on the log, and for a brief, vertigo moment I felt as if I was going to fall off too… but I spun around and regained my balance.

Behind me, there was a pained roar, and I looked over my shoulder to see the bear resurfaced with most of its fur missing and several piranhas hanging from it, their teeth stuck in its pink flesh.

I winced at the sight. “Sorry, dude.”

I backed off as the bear climbed back onto the log, but it didn’t seem hostile; if anything, it looked sad. I had to resist the urge to give it a comforting hug.

“Jason wins!” Chris declared once the bell dinged, “… in a rather unorthodox way, but a win’s a win. Eva is out!

What?! No way!” Eva protested.

Way,” Chris shot back and then pushed the gym girl away. “He wins the challenge, invincibility, and the grand prize!”

I followed the host’s gesturing and saw the trailer, still glinting in the sunlight. Now I wouldn’t have to sleep in the cabin with everybody else. “YES!

“While Jason checks out his trailer full of food, the rest of you can go to the confessional booth and vote off a camper. Other than Jason.”



Following the challenge – and Jason running off to check out his new trailer – Heather went to the confessional to vote, as did everyone else. After finishing her vote, she went back to the Gopher cabin… but along the way she was intercepted by a determined-looking Beth and confused-looking Lindsay.

“B-Beth, Lindsay, hi,” Heather stammered. Although she had done her best to make sure Beth got voted off – and felt reasonably certain she had succeeded – the girl was still dangerous as long as she remained on the island… so playing nice was paramount. “How are you?”

Lindsay, who clearly didn’t get the seriousness of the situation, smiled dumbly. “Oh, I’m fi-”

“Stop pretending to be nice,” the bespectacled girl said, her voice and face both betraying her displeasure as she glared at Heather. “That’s all you ever do: lie to people.”

Heather’s eyes flitted this was and that, but fortunately, there didn’t seem to be anyone else in earshot. “I’m not-”

Shut up! I wasn’t finished!” Beth snapped. She seemed to take a moment to calm herself down, then said, “Remember what I said about knowing your secret? It’s true. I can’t believe I didn’t see it before… it’s so obvious, now!”

Heather grit her teeth. This was bad. Really bad. If Beth told everyone at this stage, even with the day’s voting over with, Heather would surely be voted off in the next-

“You’re crushing on Jason!”

The statement brought all of Heather’s thought processes to a screeching halt. “What?!

“Ooooh, that’s why you’ve been so obsessed with him,” Lindsay said. “I thought all that digging you had me do was weird. You like him!”

“Lindsay! That’s not it-”

I knew it!” a new voice said, and Heather turned her head, her eyes wide with panic, to see Courtney emerge from around the corner of the Gopher cabin. “I knew you were crushing on Jason!”

Heather could only stare as the three other girls exchanged smug, knowing looks.

This was so much worse than she expected!

“I can’t believe you gave me a hard time about liking Taylor!” Lindsay said teasingly. Then she blinked. “Uh, or was it Tylenol…? No, no, it was definitely Taylor.”

“That was different!” Heather protested. Then, seeing the girls exchange more knowing looks, she immediately added, “I’m not crushing on Jason!

“Oh, really?” Courtney asked as she crossed her arms over her chest. “Then what do you really think about him…?”

“He’s a childish, perverted freak who-”

My ears are burning~!

Heather’s heart leapt into her throat as the subject of their conversation came walking up behind her, all smiles.

Where did you come from?!

“My parents, I’m pretty sure,” Jason replied thoughtfully. “Unless I’m a clone or something… What?”

Heather groaned and turned away. Her face felt like it was on fire, and she was in no mood for Jason’s stupid comments, or his-

“So, Jason, are you seeing anyone?” Courtney asked suddenly. “A girl at home, perhaps?”

“Nah, I haven’t dated in a while,” Jason said with a shrug. “Why?”

“Oh, you haven’t dated in a while? Isn’t that interesting,” Courtney said and looked very meaningfully over at Heather. “Don’t you think so?”

Heather gave the girl a cold glare, then turned to Jason. “Don’t you have something to do?”

The boy blinked. “Something to…? Oh, right, yes, I’m on my way to vote. See ya, ladies.”

To Heather’s incalculable relief, he walked off in the direction of the confessional… just in time for her to feel someone elbow her in the side.

“Isn’t that great, Heather?” Lindsay asked. “He’s single. You should totally go for it!”

“Yes! Go for it!” Courtney agreed gleefully.

“I will not,” Heather shot back. “There is nothing between me and that… that…!”

“Oh come off it, you tsundere bitch!” Beth interjected before Heather could properly vocalize her disdain for the very idea that she- Hold on a moment.

“What did you call me?!”

“You heard me! And if you don’t want me to tell Jason, you will do exactly what I say from now on!”

Heather stared, her mouth hanging open in surprise. Was Beth not trying to get her kicked off, but rather blackmail her way into being at the top of the alliance? The sheer audacity left the Asian girl momentarily speechless.

Alas, the same could not be said for the other girls present.

“Wait, why shouldn’t we tell Jason?” Lindsay asked, confusedly. “Oh, wait, is it because Heather’s shy? Aww, that’s so cute!

That got Heather’s jaw working again. “It’s not like that!”

“Don’t worry, we’ll keep your secret,” Courtney said with sly smile. “Just make sure to make your move soon, okay?”

You’ve got it all wrong!



Later that evening, we all gathered at the campfire for the elimination ceremony – the very first one where everybody was present, given the teams’ dissolution.

Chris spoke, “Okay. So first up, we ran out of marshmallows. A bear stole them all.”

I hummed thoughtfully as I thought back to the first time I had run into the bear in question, nearly a week earlier. Maybe I should have done something about that when I had the chance…?

“I've reviewed the confessionals and I have to say, there's lots of hate-on in this group, which is awesome! While I normally protect your privacy, in the spirit of airing your dirty laundry, I'm gonna go live with your confessionals!”

Judging by the surprised gasps from, well, everyone, nobody had been warned about that. No doubt the host had planned it all along for additional drama. As he spoke a TV dropped down from a wooden pole next to him.

I watched apprehensively as the TV’s static gave way to an image of what was obviously the confessional. It was kinda weird seeing it from that angle, though.



Since Jason’s immune, I’ll do the next best thing and vote for Beth,” Heather said in the confessional. “If she thinks she can come back here and threaten me, she’s got another thing coming!”



I have nothing against Beth, but Heather wanted me to vote for her, so I did,” Justin said casually. “Sure, the teams are dissolved, but she told me that the best way of winning is sticking to the alliance, so I did.”



Sorry Beth, but diary-stealing ain’t okay in my book,” DJ said right before blinking. “Hey, I made a pun! That was totally unintentional!”



I just can’t get over how smooth this is!” Lindsay said as she touched the area above her lips with her fingers. “Oh, and Heather said if I didn’t vote for Beth, she would paint my toenails purple while I slept. Purple is sooooo not my color. Sorry, Beth!”



You don’t even need to ask,” Trent said without a trace of hesitation in his voice. “Beth’s the one who ruined things between me and Gwen. Of course I was gonna vote for her!”



Beth stole my diary,” Gwen said matter-of-factly. “Need I say more?”



Dammit, I was so close to finally beating Jason!” Eva cursed at the ceiling. Then she sighed. “I’m voting for Beth. She stole Gwen’s diary, and Gwen is my… friend… so...”



I vote for Heather,” Beth said with a scowl. “And as soon as I’m done in here, I’m gonna confront her! She’s finally getting hers!”



I’m sure you’d expect me to vote for Heather now that I have the chance, right?” Jason asked mirthfully. “Sure, she’s a bit of a bitch, but she’s fun, so I think I’ll keep her around. It’d be great if I could kick her ass in the final challenge! … Oh, and I’m voting for Beth, I guess? Yeah.”



The vote was… interesting, though I noted there were a few voters missing; no doubt Chris deemed them not dramatic enough to show off to the rest of us. But damn, there was a lot of information, there! Beth threatened Heather? Justin was in Heather’s alliance? Trent thought Beth stealing the diary was what caused the falling-out between him and Gwen? Eva and Gwen were friends now? And Beth confronted Heather about something?

Actually, was that what I walked in on before voting, before? Could have been. Maybe I should have stayed to listen… Eh, whatever. I actually had a hunch what it was about – Heather being the one who actually stole the diary. I didn’t have any proof for my assertion, of course, but it just made so much more sense for her to steal it and then use Beth as her fall girl after she left their alliance. Though it did raise the question of why she never made use of the diary itself… unless her plan was to drive Gwen crazy with paranoia from the very beginning? Kind of a dick move if so, but fiendishly clever.

Oh, and judging by the weirded-out look Heather’s giving me, she picked up on that bit about me keeping her around because she’s “fun”. Great. That’s not gonna bite me in the ass or anything.

Chris chuckled. “Lots of dirt revealed there, huh? But in the end, it was still seven votes against Beth. So, adios.”

“Wait a second!” Beth protested as she got to her feet. “Gwen, I never meant to steal your diary, honest! It just fell out of the sky!”

Gwen shot the bespectacled girl a dubious look. “You seriously expect me to believe that?”

“It’s the truth! You have to believe me,” Beth continued, even as Chef Hatchet appeared and started pushing her onto the dock, despite her best efforts to resist. Once upon the boat, she turned back to face us.

Fine, but before I go, there is something I need to say.” Her gaze swept over the crowd before settling on me. “Jason! Heather is-”

Before she could finish, one of Duncan’s carved wooden skulls smacked her in the head and knocked her over.

“Hey, I was still working on that!” Duncan complained while glaring at Heather, whose entire pose screamed “I just threw something”. Noticing us, she straightened.

“What? It’s a souvenir. She likes souvenirs.”

“Uh-huh,” I deadpanned, my eyes narrowed.

Unheeding of its passenger’s plight, the Boat of Losers began to pull away. I watched it, pondering. I wonder what she was gonna say…?

Then Izzy spoke up out of nowhere. “Alright, party at Jason’s crib!”

“Hey, I never agreed to that!”



End Chapter 15



The roster

The Screaming Gophers: Gwen, Trent, Heather, Cody, Lindsay, Beth, Izzy, Owen, Leshawna, Justin, Noah

The Killer Bass: Geoff, Bridgette, DJ, Tyler, Sadie, Katie, Courtney, Jason, Duncan, Eva, and Harold
 
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Mrsean22

Well-known member
Well a lot has happened. The guys had a lot fun and all friendly(didn't last long). While the girls were split between Gwen with Eva and Heather with Lindsay while Courtney was in the middle.

Beth came back and she did some changes to the situation but man Beth is so dumb. Beth basically confirmed Courtney's theory and man that can lead to interesting places. This weirdly could mean that Jason and Heather are safe from Courtney because she wants it to happen but if it takes too long Courtney might make a move for Heather to get the ball rolling. And it wasn't cringey to me and the characters were in character. Other than that most people still think Beth took the diary(except Jason). Which gets her voted off.

Izzy is back and its everything that Chris wanted with her. Do love that Jason thinks She's very kinky(she kinda is if my memory is right). Can see Izzy not wanting to get rid of Jason with him thinking the same. Let's be honest they are gonna encourage each other's doing what they want. Did Heather feel jealous right there(XD)?

Jason won the challenge not surprising and safe from the vote. Jason learned a few things like Heather wants him gone and Justin is in the Heather alliance now. Not to mention confirming his theory on Heather actually taking the diary and that she is very much a schemer. Can easily guess Trent is against him. Jason is probably the person who got the most out of the confessions votes. Now what will Jason get out of Beth trying to call out to him about Heather like will it more confirmly his theories or think there is something more?

For what other people got out of this. Anyone with a brain now knows Justin is in a alliance with Heather and if anyone been paying attention during the game and confession vote they know Lindsay follows Heather. Gwen probably didn't like the implication of Trents theory on if Beth didn't take the diary they wouldn't have a problem(basically saying he didn't do anything wrong) the fact it was a confession doesn't help Trent. For other stuff it all depends on how smart they are and what they saw from it.

Heather's probably the next person that learned more from the confessions. Like Jason's probably just confirms her thinking Jason been going against her. The fun thing can weirdly be seen as a complement because it basically says Heather makes the game more fun with her scheming. Also likes messing with her(XD).

Edit: Also the skull Heather threw. Was that's Duncan's present to Courtney that he has been making for her? If so that could have Duncan very against Heather now. All that effort just for it to be gone and having to start over now because of Heather.
 
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