Ok, this chapter kinda made me cry, you'll see why later on, but don't worry this isn't the end...
Gwen's POV:
I woke up the next morning, but not to a bullhorn. To birds, singing their songs outside my window. I hopped out of bed and got dressed to see that the girl's cabin was full of smiley females.
"No challenge today?" I asked excitedly as I put my blue lipstick on.
"Not until tonight. Oh, which reminds me! I have got a meeting with Alejandro." Courtney muttered, making her way towards the door. The mention of the returnee's name caused Heather to flinch for a moment as she continued brushing her slowly growing back hair. I walked over to her quickly.
"Does it bug you that she's all over him now?" I whispered to her.
"Nope." She answered simply.
"But-" I began. Her slamming her brush down on the rickety vanity shut me up.
"I had to choose between Alejandro and the million." She said, staring up at me intently. "You know what I chose." She said simply. Wanting to escape the intensity of the situation, I picked up a random book that was lying on what used to be Lindsay's bottom bunk and walked out the door. Only then did I look down at the heavy book and saw I had picked up a history textbook. I flipped it open anyway, reading the name card on the inside cover. There was a couple names from years past on it, scrawled on there with the handwriting of a five-year-old, but the bottom one, the current owner's, stuck out. It was written in bright pink ink, and took up most of the page.
"Lindsay." I sighed, reading the loopy cursive. It was the history book that I was using in my school this year, and it wouldn't kill me to read a bit and do a couple chapter reviews I guess. I grabbed the pen that I usually used for my diary entries and sat down on the spot, leaning my back on the wooden banister.
I sat there for...well, I'm not sure how long, but I was fifteen pages into underlining things when I picked up on a conversation going on behind the cabins. I peeked my head back there and saw that it was the terrible threesome: Geoff, Courtney, and Alejandro.
"But you have to do it, man!" Geoff pleaded to a stiff Alejandro.
"Yeah. I won't be trusted, and you have the most charm out of the three of us." Courtney tried to persuade him into doing the mystery task by using his own tactic of flattery.
"I-I don't know! It isn't very honorable." Alejandro stammered.
"Dude, did I mention he kissed Heather?" Geoff asked. I froze. Okay, so they were either talking about Trent or Duncan in this case. I willing to bet the million that I hopefully win this season that they were talking about Duncan. Alejandro's face gaped at the duo before him in shock.
"Saw it with my own eyes. It was almost as bad as watching him kiss Gothie." Courtney shuddered. Yeah, I'm going to let that slide for now.
Alejandro's face didn't move.
Confessional
Alejandro: Oh that's it, I will have my revenge on that tirón! *Looks around stall* Hm, usually when I say something like that, Owen snaps his underwear over his head and sings "Take Me Out To The Ballgame."
End Confessional
"I'll help you two-fold." Alejandro said evilly, shaking Geoff's hand. I covered my mouth with my hand.
"What's up?" A voice asked. I nearly jumped out of my skin for a second, but regained my composure when I found that just the person I needed to see was greeting me. Without thinking, I pulled his arm until his face was down to my level. "What, are we making out in secret now or something?" He whispered.
"What? No! This is serious!" I whisper-yelled back to him. He smirked for a moment, but noticed the seriousness in my face and listened. "You need to watch out for Alejandro. He knows you kissed Heather that one time and he's-he's ugh!" I growled at him. He was chuckling heartily as he sat down next to me, leaning against the banister in the same way I was. He threw an arm around me and pulled me close to listen to him.
"I've known to watch out for that eel since the moment he stepped off that bus last season." He informed me. I frowned as a way of giving him a fair warning and continued underlining things in my history book. I had made it halfway through another page until Duncan disrupted me again. He was doing the same thing he always doing, trying to peek over my shoulder.
"Duncan, it's an American history book, see?" I said, slightly lifting the textbook up. He snatched it up out of my hands.
"So wait...you take American history?" He asked, examining the thick cover. I snatched it back from him before answering.
"Yes!" I said in an irritated tone of voice. "Sometimes your just as bad as Cody." I said disgustedly.
"Hey! I heard that!" Cody called from somewhere I couldn't quite place. I heard him cry out once more and then scream: "Ah! Not the face, Sierra!" I didn't want to know.
"Oh, so now Pip squeak's a better kisser than I am, too?" Duncan asked mock-offensively. I laughed, shut the book in my lap, and sunk deeper into the arm he had around my shoulder.
"You smell like street." I said, a laugh playing on my words. That was one thing about Duncan that had mesmerized me. He could take a shower, he could wash his clothes, he could scrub himself raw, yet him and his clothes would still smell like that mixture of grime, seriously watered-down whiskey, and expensive cologne. Like, like an alley in New York City.
"And you smell like blue raspberry." He countered. I sniffed my arm to test his accusation.
"No, I don't." I said, smelling my arm one more time. He laughed.
"Well, I don't think I smell like street, but I complain when you tell me I do." He countered. I sighed in a playful defeat.
"Fine. I guess we can just agree to disagree..." I trailed off getting lost in the yellow sky.
"Fine." He agreed on our agreement to disagree. (A/N: Brain hurt?)
I sat there in silence for a while, staring at the yellow sky and cottony clouds until a bold shade of pink streaked the sky, assaulting the yellow. It really was a beautiful sight, and if I wasn't so comfortable in Duncan's arms, I would probably be sketching it right now. My uninterrupted gaze was shattered by a high-pitched throat clearing at the bottom of our stairs.
"I believe this cabin is for girls only." Courtney said, but not to me, to her ex.
"I'm not technically in the cabin, so off my case, Princess." Duncan said, using his old pet name for her just to tick her off. It worked, as she balled her hands into fists and bent them on her hips.
"Are you trying to receive another call from my lawyers?" Courtney asked him.
"Why not? They've already got me on speed dial!" Duncan said with a raised voice. A fight would have broken out right then and there had it not been for the intervening of...Heather?
"Aren't you supposed to be sucking face with Alejandro?" Heather asked, stepping out of our cabin. Courtney's face wrinkled up in a way that perfectly mirrored Heather.
"Aren't you supposed to be pretending like you don't care that he thinks I'm a better kisser?" Courtney shot back. The rage on Heather's face deepened.
"At least I'm better than the pineapple!" Heather screamed. Then, I was sure a fight was going to break out, but Chris came around for some reason.
"Okay, okay, save it for the challenge, which starts in ten minutes at the clearing." Chris explained with a raised index finger. We all took a few deep breaths before slowly getting up to walk. Duncan held me close as we walked all the way to the clearing. Courtney and Heather arrived with us, while most of the other competitors had already arrived.
"Uh, you can let go now." I said to Duncan. He still wouldn't let me go.
"Not until I get a kiss." He said winking. I laughed before kissing him on the lips for a moment.
"Okay, now let me go!" I said, fakely acting angry. He laughed and walked over to his team, where he immediately started bickering with an annoyed-looking Geoff. I turned my attention to Chris, but not before noticing Alejandro smiling wickedly at me.
Confessional
Alejandro: So maybe I won't take my anger out on Duncan just yet. Yes I'll watch him squirm for a while. And I know just how to do that. *laughs*
End Confessional
"So tonight I thought we'd play a good old fashioned game of capture the two flags!" Chris announced, revealing his hands. Each of his tanned hands had a set of two handkerchiefs, which I'm guessing are going to be our "flags." The ones he tossed to LeShawna were white, while the ones the Killer Cavemen received were both red. "Each team has twenty minutes to hide their flags somewhere on their side of the clearing. Then, you have twenty minutes to try and infiltrate the other team's area and steal their flag. If you get tagged somewhere in the process before you capture an opponent's flag, you're out. Whichever team has more of their flags at the end of twenty minutes won't be sending someone down the Dock Of Shame tonight. Questions? Good. Ten minutes starts...now!" Chris screamed. Our team encircled ourselves within a tight huddle.
"Okay, so we should hide the flags up high so that they're harder to reach." Courtney said.
"We haven't been listening to you this entire game! What makes you think we're starting now, girl?" LeShawna asked. She tossed the two flags in her hand to the hand that Sierra didn't have Cody clutched in.
"Why don't you two hide the flags?" She asked them. Sierra squealed while Cody groaned. Nonetheless, Cody went along with the bubbly short-haired girl.
"Okay, the rest of us need to set up a plan for guarding and stealing." Heather said as we closed up the huddle once more.
"Agreed." I whispered.
"I'll guard with my martial arts!" Courtney volunteered.
"I'll still with the distractions." LeShawna said. I think you know very well what the "distractions" she was referring to are.
"I'm fast, I'll steal, too." Heather said quickly.
"Fine then, I'll guard with Sierra and Cody." I said. Just then, Sierra sped back with tons of force, Cody screaming as usual.
"We're back!" She sang.
"And...time!" Chris called. Perfect timing.
"Did you hide it somewhere it won't be seen in the dark?" I asked.
"Yup, I think so." Sierra said excitedly.
"Good, now get in positions. And remember, your guys need to find a red flag." I informed LeShawna and Heather. LeShawna smiled sweetly at me.
"Thanks." Heather said. We all gaped at her. Did Heather really just thank me for something? She quickly realized her misstep and shook her head while muttering: "I mean-uh...whatev!"
"Okay, it's dark out now, campers!" Chris said in a spooky voice "Beware of flag stealers!" As far as we were concerned, that meant go. The new night had suddenly quieted, not even a cricket's chirp of a cicada's hiss could be heard. I felt like I was in a war movie.
My eyes and ears were as alert as they had ever been. Thank goodness my eyesight is magnificent in the dark, or I wouldn't have noticed a blonde ponytail bobbing up and down across the bushes. I quickly pointed to the ponytail.
"Sierra! Get her!" I screamed. The girl tried to flee, but Sierra was too quick, though, and Bridgette was tagged.
"Crap!" She exclaimed as she picked herself up off the grass.
"Sorry, Bridge!" I yelled over to her. I faintly saw a sheepish smile on her face.
"I't okay, Gwen! It's all in good fun!" She yelled back, making me giggle. I loved how Bridgette was so chill that she could talk about potentially losing the million dollars as "all in good fun." I watched Bridgette trudge over to Chris and Chef's towering forms and stand there patiently for the next seventeen minutes we had left.
Confessional
Bridgette: I'm actually glad to be out of that challenge. I don't like land sports.
Gwen: Something tells me Bridgette was actually glad to be out of the challenge.
End Confessional
Suddenly, I heard shouting coming from the far left corner. A figure was speeding through the woods very quickly.
"Get him! He's got the flags!" Courtney screeched as she tried to keep up. But alas, he was too quick on his feet for her.
He crossed back to what we presume is his team's own line.
"How many of the flags did he get?" Cody asked.
"all of them!" Courtney screamed furiously. Chris interjected with a laugh.
"Seriously? Epic fail, Squids, epic fail. Alejandro's outrunning wins it for the Cavemen!" Chris said, holding up Alejandro's arm as he panted for a while. Heather and LeShawna heard the announcement and dashed back from their posts.
"How did this happen?" Heather demanded. Let me tell you, if looks could kill, we'd all be twice over.
"I-I don't know! I never saw him coming!" Courtney responded.
"But what you do see coming is elimination! Cast your votes!" Chris said. We groaned and shuffled over to the confessional. I was about to fling open the door when Alejandro stepped in front of me.
"Ladies," he began, then looked to Cody, "And gentlemen. Allow me to write for you." Alejandro said, bowing gracefully. I looked at him apprehensively and then looked bak at Heather, who mouthed a very distinct...nothing, because Courtney pushed her aside to walk up to Alejandro.
"Of course you may." Courtney said, placing her tan hand in Alejandro's larger tanned one. He kissed it and they walked into the confessional stall, shutting the door behind her.
"Are we really going to let him do this?" I whispered to Heather. She looked really annoyed and growled.
"Now we have to to keep Courtney from getting suspicious." She said. I rolled my eyes and went along with it. Courtney emerged a minute later, humming joyously on her way to the campfire ceremony. LeShawna was up next. She was hesitant at first but eventually broke and agreed.
"Fine, Candy Apple, but if I find out you jacked these votes up, I'll jack you up, know what I'm sayin'?" She asked before shutting the door. She emerged in less than a minute, then joined Courtney at the campfire. I decided to go up next. I walked in without a fuss. Shutting the door was where it got hard for me with my claustrophobia.
"Just-just put Courtney down." I said with my eyes shut, and breath heavy.
"Sure thing." He then placed a warm hand on my shoulder. "I assure you, mamasita, I am a changed man. I will not disclose your vote to anyone." He said. His warm breath was making the already hot air in this cramped space unbearable. I wordlessly kicked the front door open and stumbled out, leaning against the side of the unstable outhouse.
"If Gwen's doing it then so am I!" Cody yelled, trying to impress me. Does that boy not understand the futility of that yet? He was in and out soon enough, and so was Sierra. Heather was the only one left, and she confidently strutted in the door. Not even one minute later, she was out.
At the campfire ceremony, the anticipation was killing me, watching Chris flip through all the hand-written votes.
"Very interesting." He said simply before tossing the white pages into the nearby fire. I watched them smolder. "Cody." Chris said, tossing a marshmallow to the boy. "Sierra." She of course squealed and force-fed Cody both of theirs. "LeShawna." He said simply as he tossed her one. "Heather." She caught hers with one hand before satisfactorily scarfing it down. It was only then that I noticed I was in the final two. It was me and Courtney. A bad feeling started to settle in my stomach, and I looked at Courtney next to me to realize that the same had happened to her. It was more of a reflex than anything when you're in the bottom two in this game. "And the final marshmallow of the night goes to..."
My heart stopped dead.
"COURTNEY!" He screamed.
"WHAT?" Heather and I screamed at the same time. Heather pranced up to Chris and grabbed him by the shirt collar.
"You better be joking about this McLean!" Heather yelled through gritted teeth. I, on the other hand, was frozen. I was just eliminated. Nothing was making sense to me. I couldn't hear anything until a gentle touch on my shoulder from behind brought me back to reality.
"Come on, girl." LeShawna said solemnly. I slowly got up, surprised that my legs weren't jelly. We walked with linked arms to the beginning of the dock, where the outlined figures of the eager Killer Cavemen waited to say their goodbye's to the next loser. Me. LeShawna spun me around and hugged me tightly for a moment, while I weakly squeezed back. "Shine on, baby." She said with a half-hearted smile. Cody cried out and clung to my legs tightly, probably soaking my combat boots with his tears. I pried him off gently.
"Cody, I think there's enough tears for now." I said. he nodded and Sierra pulled him away, offering me a slight wave as they disappeared into the moonlight. I was awaiting a goodbye from Heather, but she was still screaming at Chris. Courtney smiled evilly at me and flashed her middle finger. I turned and walked to the dock where I could finally be seen.
"Gwen?" Bridgette asked in disbelief.
"What?" Duncan asked, peeking himself out from behind Geoff. "Man, this sucks!" He yelled in a sort of high-pitched voice. I would of laughed if it were...any other time. Bridgette held me tightly.
"I'm so sorry." She whispered in my ear. I didn't say anything, but gave her a knowing look. She smiled at me and tugged at Geoff's arm to say something.
"Oh, uh...sorry it had to be this way. Oh well." He said almost nervously. Whatever way he said it, it definitely wasn't sincere. DJ and I did our handshake and he gave me a plastic baggie made of home-made cookies from his Mama.
"I want you to have it." He said sheepishly. I smiled appreciatively at him and tucked the bag safely away in my pocket and was going to say bye to Al, but he was nowhere in sight. I walked over to Duncan. He was looking at the swishing water over the dock. I grabbed his motionless hand for a moment, and smiled at him before preparing to step onto the boat. Before I could, he grabbed me, and held my head to his chest. I turned my head to look back at the camp.
"I'll miss you, babe." Duncan whispered in my ear. I finally pulled away from him and gave him one last eager kiss for now.
"Me too." I said. Then, Heather came running onto the dock with Chris.
"Chris! Can I ride with her?" Heather asked.
"Whatever." He shrugged. I smiled at her and we both stepped onto the back of the boat.
"Hey, Gwen!" Duncan called. I looked to him and he tossed me a soft, black hunk of cloth.
"Keep it, alright?" He asked. I nodded and waved to everyone as the boat started to fade away. I blew a kiss to Duncan and watched him catch it and keep it in his pocket. Then, they were all blurs, and soon after that Camp Wawanakwa was gone. I sat on the plastic bench next to Heather. She began to pat my back as I felt a lone tear slide down my cheek.
"Something's up, and I'm going to figure it out." She whispered into my ear. I nodded and sighed down at what I had now realized was a black sweatshirt with the same skull design Duncan's T-Shirt has. I smiled at it just when we had reached the dock of the swanky resort. I prepared to walk off the boat when Heather grabbed my arm. "Gwen, wait, I..." Heather trailed off, She groaned in frustration and pulled me into a hug. Truth be told, it was the most comforting one I had received all night. We held each other for a while until realizing that we were holding each for a while. We released each other and latched pinkies for a moment. I saw droplets of water on Heather's hand. She was crying. We let go of each other's pinkies and I stepped onto the dock.
"Friends?" I asked, half-smiling.
"The best." She responded. I smiled as the boat floated away, carrying my best friend with it. I looked at what would be my new home until someone won this season and sighed. Pulling the sweatshirt over my head, I walked quickly into the building, not even acknowledging the throng of eliminated contestants that were staring at me. I walked right up those steps and into the room I already knew had been assigned as mine. I locked the door before throwing myself onto the bed and having a good, solid cry. I just wanted to for some reason. As I was sniffling and holding back more tears that threatened to pass through, I felt something in the one-piece front pocket of the sweatshirt, something that helped me sleep, for it was a note, written in the worst, and best handwriting I'd ever seen:
"Night Pasty."
Gwen's POV:
I woke up the next morning, but not to a bullhorn. To birds, singing their songs outside my window. I hopped out of bed and got dressed to see that the girl's cabin was full of smiley females.
"No challenge today?" I asked excitedly as I put my blue lipstick on.
"Not until tonight. Oh, which reminds me! I have got a meeting with Alejandro." Courtney muttered, making her way towards the door. The mention of the returnee's name caused Heather to flinch for a moment as she continued brushing her slowly growing back hair. I walked over to her quickly.
"Does it bug you that she's all over him now?" I whispered to her.
"Nope." She answered simply.
"But-" I began. Her slamming her brush down on the rickety vanity shut me up.
"I had to choose between Alejandro and the million." She said, staring up at me intently. "You know what I chose." She said simply. Wanting to escape the intensity of the situation, I picked up a random book that was lying on what used to be Lindsay's bottom bunk and walked out the door. Only then did I look down at the heavy book and saw I had picked up a history textbook. I flipped it open anyway, reading the name card on the inside cover. There was a couple names from years past on it, scrawled on there with the handwriting of a five-year-old, but the bottom one, the current owner's, stuck out. It was written in bright pink ink, and took up most of the page.
"Lindsay." I sighed, reading the loopy cursive. It was the history book that I was using in my school this year, and it wouldn't kill me to read a bit and do a couple chapter reviews I guess. I grabbed the pen that I usually used for my diary entries and sat down on the spot, leaning my back on the wooden banister.
I sat there for...well, I'm not sure how long, but I was fifteen pages into underlining things when I picked up on a conversation going on behind the cabins. I peeked my head back there and saw that it was the terrible threesome: Geoff, Courtney, and Alejandro.
"But you have to do it, man!" Geoff pleaded to a stiff Alejandro.
"Yeah. I won't be trusted, and you have the most charm out of the three of us." Courtney tried to persuade him into doing the mystery task by using his own tactic of flattery.
"I-I don't know! It isn't very honorable." Alejandro stammered.
"Dude, did I mention he kissed Heather?" Geoff asked. I froze. Okay, so they were either talking about Trent or Duncan in this case. I willing to bet the million that I hopefully win this season that they were talking about Duncan. Alejandro's face gaped at the duo before him in shock.
"Saw it with my own eyes. It was almost as bad as watching him kiss Gothie." Courtney shuddered. Yeah, I'm going to let that slide for now.
Alejandro's face didn't move.
Confessional
Alejandro: Oh that's it, I will have my revenge on that tirón! *Looks around stall* Hm, usually when I say something like that, Owen snaps his underwear over his head and sings "Take Me Out To The Ballgame."
End Confessional
"I'll help you two-fold." Alejandro said evilly, shaking Geoff's hand. I covered my mouth with my hand.
"What's up?" A voice asked. I nearly jumped out of my skin for a second, but regained my composure when I found that just the person I needed to see was greeting me. Without thinking, I pulled his arm until his face was down to my level. "What, are we making out in secret now or something?" He whispered.
"What? No! This is serious!" I whisper-yelled back to him. He smirked for a moment, but noticed the seriousness in my face and listened. "You need to watch out for Alejandro. He knows you kissed Heather that one time and he's-he's ugh!" I growled at him. He was chuckling heartily as he sat down next to me, leaning against the banister in the same way I was. He threw an arm around me and pulled me close to listen to him.
"I've known to watch out for that eel since the moment he stepped off that bus last season." He informed me. I frowned as a way of giving him a fair warning and continued underlining things in my history book. I had made it halfway through another page until Duncan disrupted me again. He was doing the same thing he always doing, trying to peek over my shoulder.
"Duncan, it's an American history book, see?" I said, slightly lifting the textbook up. He snatched it up out of my hands.
"So wait...you take American history?" He asked, examining the thick cover. I snatched it back from him before answering.
"Yes!" I said in an irritated tone of voice. "Sometimes your just as bad as Cody." I said disgustedly.
"Hey! I heard that!" Cody called from somewhere I couldn't quite place. I heard him cry out once more and then scream: "Ah! Not the face, Sierra!" I didn't want to know.
"Oh, so now Pip squeak's a better kisser than I am, too?" Duncan asked mock-offensively. I laughed, shut the book in my lap, and sunk deeper into the arm he had around my shoulder.
"You smell like street." I said, a laugh playing on my words. That was one thing about Duncan that had mesmerized me. He could take a shower, he could wash his clothes, he could scrub himself raw, yet him and his clothes would still smell like that mixture of grime, seriously watered-down whiskey, and expensive cologne. Like, like an alley in New York City.
"And you smell like blue raspberry." He countered. I sniffed my arm to test his accusation.
"No, I don't." I said, smelling my arm one more time. He laughed.
"Well, I don't think I smell like street, but I complain when you tell me I do." He countered. I sighed in a playful defeat.
"Fine. I guess we can just agree to disagree..." I trailed off getting lost in the yellow sky.
"Fine." He agreed on our agreement to disagree. (A/N: Brain hurt?)
I sat there in silence for a while, staring at the yellow sky and cottony clouds until a bold shade of pink streaked the sky, assaulting the yellow. It really was a beautiful sight, and if I wasn't so comfortable in Duncan's arms, I would probably be sketching it right now. My uninterrupted gaze was shattered by a high-pitched throat clearing at the bottom of our stairs.
"I believe this cabin is for girls only." Courtney said, but not to me, to her ex.
"I'm not technically in the cabin, so off my case, Princess." Duncan said, using his old pet name for her just to tick her off. It worked, as she balled her hands into fists and bent them on her hips.
"Are you trying to receive another call from my lawyers?" Courtney asked him.
"Why not? They've already got me on speed dial!" Duncan said with a raised voice. A fight would have broken out right then and there had it not been for the intervening of...Heather?
"Aren't you supposed to be sucking face with Alejandro?" Heather asked, stepping out of our cabin. Courtney's face wrinkled up in a way that perfectly mirrored Heather.
"Aren't you supposed to be pretending like you don't care that he thinks I'm a better kisser?" Courtney shot back. The rage on Heather's face deepened.
"At least I'm better than the pineapple!" Heather screamed. Then, I was sure a fight was going to break out, but Chris came around for some reason.
"Okay, okay, save it for the challenge, which starts in ten minutes at the clearing." Chris explained with a raised index finger. We all took a few deep breaths before slowly getting up to walk. Duncan held me close as we walked all the way to the clearing. Courtney and Heather arrived with us, while most of the other competitors had already arrived.
"Uh, you can let go now." I said to Duncan. He still wouldn't let me go.
"Not until I get a kiss." He said winking. I laughed before kissing him on the lips for a moment.
"Okay, now let me go!" I said, fakely acting angry. He laughed and walked over to his team, where he immediately started bickering with an annoyed-looking Geoff. I turned my attention to Chris, but not before noticing Alejandro smiling wickedly at me.
Confessional
Alejandro: So maybe I won't take my anger out on Duncan just yet. Yes I'll watch him squirm for a while. And I know just how to do that. *laughs*
End Confessional
"So tonight I thought we'd play a good old fashioned game of capture the two flags!" Chris announced, revealing his hands. Each of his tanned hands had a set of two handkerchiefs, which I'm guessing are going to be our "flags." The ones he tossed to LeShawna were white, while the ones the Killer Cavemen received were both red. "Each team has twenty minutes to hide their flags somewhere on their side of the clearing. Then, you have twenty minutes to try and infiltrate the other team's area and steal their flag. If you get tagged somewhere in the process before you capture an opponent's flag, you're out. Whichever team has more of their flags at the end of twenty minutes won't be sending someone down the Dock Of Shame tonight. Questions? Good. Ten minutes starts...now!" Chris screamed. Our team encircled ourselves within a tight huddle.
"Okay, so we should hide the flags up high so that they're harder to reach." Courtney said.
"We haven't been listening to you this entire game! What makes you think we're starting now, girl?" LeShawna asked. She tossed the two flags in her hand to the hand that Sierra didn't have Cody clutched in.
"Why don't you two hide the flags?" She asked them. Sierra squealed while Cody groaned. Nonetheless, Cody went along with the bubbly short-haired girl.
"Okay, the rest of us need to set up a plan for guarding and stealing." Heather said as we closed up the huddle once more.
"Agreed." I whispered.
"I'll guard with my martial arts!" Courtney volunteered.
"I'll still with the distractions." LeShawna said. I think you know very well what the "distractions" she was referring to are.
"I'm fast, I'll steal, too." Heather said quickly.
"Fine then, I'll guard with Sierra and Cody." I said. Just then, Sierra sped back with tons of force, Cody screaming as usual.
"We're back!" She sang.
"And...time!" Chris called. Perfect timing.
"Did you hide it somewhere it won't be seen in the dark?" I asked.
"Yup, I think so." Sierra said excitedly.
"Good, now get in positions. And remember, your guys need to find a red flag." I informed LeShawna and Heather. LeShawna smiled sweetly at me.
"Thanks." Heather said. We all gaped at her. Did Heather really just thank me for something? She quickly realized her misstep and shook her head while muttering: "I mean-uh...whatev!"
"Okay, it's dark out now, campers!" Chris said in a spooky voice "Beware of flag stealers!" As far as we were concerned, that meant go. The new night had suddenly quieted, not even a cricket's chirp of a cicada's hiss could be heard. I felt like I was in a war movie.
My eyes and ears were as alert as they had ever been. Thank goodness my eyesight is magnificent in the dark, or I wouldn't have noticed a blonde ponytail bobbing up and down across the bushes. I quickly pointed to the ponytail.
"Sierra! Get her!" I screamed. The girl tried to flee, but Sierra was too quick, though, and Bridgette was tagged.
"Crap!" She exclaimed as she picked herself up off the grass.
"Sorry, Bridge!" I yelled over to her. I faintly saw a sheepish smile on her face.
"I't okay, Gwen! It's all in good fun!" She yelled back, making me giggle. I loved how Bridgette was so chill that she could talk about potentially losing the million dollars as "all in good fun." I watched Bridgette trudge over to Chris and Chef's towering forms and stand there patiently for the next seventeen minutes we had left.
Confessional
Bridgette: I'm actually glad to be out of that challenge. I don't like land sports.
Gwen: Something tells me Bridgette was actually glad to be out of the challenge.
End Confessional
Suddenly, I heard shouting coming from the far left corner. A figure was speeding through the woods very quickly.
"Get him! He's got the flags!" Courtney screeched as she tried to keep up. But alas, he was too quick on his feet for her.
He crossed back to what we presume is his team's own line.
"How many of the flags did he get?" Cody asked.
"all of them!" Courtney screamed furiously. Chris interjected with a laugh.
"Seriously? Epic fail, Squids, epic fail. Alejandro's outrunning wins it for the Cavemen!" Chris said, holding up Alejandro's arm as he panted for a while. Heather and LeShawna heard the announcement and dashed back from their posts.
"How did this happen?" Heather demanded. Let me tell you, if looks could kill, we'd all be twice over.
"I-I don't know! I never saw him coming!" Courtney responded.
"But what you do see coming is elimination! Cast your votes!" Chris said. We groaned and shuffled over to the confessional. I was about to fling open the door when Alejandro stepped in front of me.
"Ladies," he began, then looked to Cody, "And gentlemen. Allow me to write for you." Alejandro said, bowing gracefully. I looked at him apprehensively and then looked bak at Heather, who mouthed a very distinct...nothing, because Courtney pushed her aside to walk up to Alejandro.
"Of course you may." Courtney said, placing her tan hand in Alejandro's larger tanned one. He kissed it and they walked into the confessional stall, shutting the door behind her.
"Are we really going to let him do this?" I whispered to Heather. She looked really annoyed and growled.
"Now we have to to keep Courtney from getting suspicious." She said. I rolled my eyes and went along with it. Courtney emerged a minute later, humming joyously on her way to the campfire ceremony. LeShawna was up next. She was hesitant at first but eventually broke and agreed.
"Fine, Candy Apple, but if I find out you jacked these votes up, I'll jack you up, know what I'm sayin'?" She asked before shutting the door. She emerged in less than a minute, then joined Courtney at the campfire. I decided to go up next. I walked in without a fuss. Shutting the door was where it got hard for me with my claustrophobia.
"Just-just put Courtney down." I said with my eyes shut, and breath heavy.
"Sure thing." He then placed a warm hand on my shoulder. "I assure you, mamasita, I am a changed man. I will not disclose your vote to anyone." He said. His warm breath was making the already hot air in this cramped space unbearable. I wordlessly kicked the front door open and stumbled out, leaning against the side of the unstable outhouse.
"If Gwen's doing it then so am I!" Cody yelled, trying to impress me. Does that boy not understand the futility of that yet? He was in and out soon enough, and so was Sierra. Heather was the only one left, and she confidently strutted in the door. Not even one minute later, she was out.
At the campfire ceremony, the anticipation was killing me, watching Chris flip through all the hand-written votes.
"Very interesting." He said simply before tossing the white pages into the nearby fire. I watched them smolder. "Cody." Chris said, tossing a marshmallow to the boy. "Sierra." She of course squealed and force-fed Cody both of theirs. "LeShawna." He said simply as he tossed her one. "Heather." She caught hers with one hand before satisfactorily scarfing it down. It was only then that I noticed I was in the final two. It was me and Courtney. A bad feeling started to settle in my stomach, and I looked at Courtney next to me to realize that the same had happened to her. It was more of a reflex than anything when you're in the bottom two in this game. "And the final marshmallow of the night goes to..."
My heart stopped dead.
"COURTNEY!" He screamed.
"WHAT?" Heather and I screamed at the same time. Heather pranced up to Chris and grabbed him by the shirt collar.
"You better be joking about this McLean!" Heather yelled through gritted teeth. I, on the other hand, was frozen. I was just eliminated. Nothing was making sense to me. I couldn't hear anything until a gentle touch on my shoulder from behind brought me back to reality.
"Come on, girl." LeShawna said solemnly. I slowly got up, surprised that my legs weren't jelly. We walked with linked arms to the beginning of the dock, where the outlined figures of the eager Killer Cavemen waited to say their goodbye's to the next loser. Me. LeShawna spun me around and hugged me tightly for a moment, while I weakly squeezed back. "Shine on, baby." She said with a half-hearted smile. Cody cried out and clung to my legs tightly, probably soaking my combat boots with his tears. I pried him off gently.
"Cody, I think there's enough tears for now." I said. he nodded and Sierra pulled him away, offering me a slight wave as they disappeared into the moonlight. I was awaiting a goodbye from Heather, but she was still screaming at Chris. Courtney smiled evilly at me and flashed her middle finger. I turned and walked to the dock where I could finally be seen.
"Gwen?" Bridgette asked in disbelief.
"What?" Duncan asked, peeking himself out from behind Geoff. "Man, this sucks!" He yelled in a sort of high-pitched voice. I would of laughed if it were...any other time. Bridgette held me tightly.
"I'm so sorry." She whispered in my ear. I didn't say anything, but gave her a knowing look. She smiled at me and tugged at Geoff's arm to say something.
"Oh, uh...sorry it had to be this way. Oh well." He said almost nervously. Whatever way he said it, it definitely wasn't sincere. DJ and I did our handshake and he gave me a plastic baggie made of home-made cookies from his Mama.
"I want you to have it." He said sheepishly. I smiled appreciatively at him and tucked the bag safely away in my pocket and was going to say bye to Al, but he was nowhere in sight. I walked over to Duncan. He was looking at the swishing water over the dock. I grabbed his motionless hand for a moment, and smiled at him before preparing to step onto the boat. Before I could, he grabbed me, and held my head to his chest. I turned my head to look back at the camp.
"I'll miss you, babe." Duncan whispered in my ear. I finally pulled away from him and gave him one last eager kiss for now.
"Me too." I said. Then, Heather came running onto the dock with Chris.
"Chris! Can I ride with her?" Heather asked.
"Whatever." He shrugged. I smiled at her and we both stepped onto the back of the boat.
"Hey, Gwen!" Duncan called. I looked to him and he tossed me a soft, black hunk of cloth.
"Keep it, alright?" He asked. I nodded and waved to everyone as the boat started to fade away. I blew a kiss to Duncan and watched him catch it and keep it in his pocket. Then, they were all blurs, and soon after that Camp Wawanakwa was gone. I sat on the plastic bench next to Heather. She began to pat my back as I felt a lone tear slide down my cheek.
"Something's up, and I'm going to figure it out." She whispered into my ear. I nodded and sighed down at what I had now realized was a black sweatshirt with the same skull design Duncan's T-Shirt has. I smiled at it just when we had reached the dock of the swanky resort. I prepared to walk off the boat when Heather grabbed my arm. "Gwen, wait, I..." Heather trailed off, She groaned in frustration and pulled me into a hug. Truth be told, it was the most comforting one I had received all night. We held each other for a while until realizing that we were holding each for a while. We released each other and latched pinkies for a moment. I saw droplets of water on Heather's hand. She was crying. We let go of each other's pinkies and I stepped onto the dock.
"Friends?" I asked, half-smiling.
"The best." She responded. I smiled as the boat floated away, carrying my best friend with it. I looked at what would be my new home until someone won this season and sighed. Pulling the sweatshirt over my head, I walked quickly into the building, not even acknowledging the throng of eliminated contestants that were staring at me. I walked right up those steps and into the room I already knew had been assigned as mine. I locked the door before throwing myself onto the bed and having a good, solid cry. I just wanted to for some reason. As I was sniffling and holding back more tears that threatened to pass through, I felt something in the one-piece front pocket of the sweatshirt, something that helped me sleep, for it was a note, written in the worst, and best handwriting I'd ever seen:
"Night Pasty."
gwenn 2day
