Celebrities React to Spots & Sharks
"Jagged, I get that you're thrilled about reality shows since your past time, but don't you think that you're taking this a little too seriously?"
One of the hotel staff blinked as Jagged Stone's hotel room was filled with every snack, drink, and pastry imaginableâenough to feed an entire film crew. His agent Penny stood by the door, arms crossed, watching him balance a precarious tower of gummy sharks atop a pyramid of popcorn buckets.
"Penny, my dear," Jagged said, adjusting his sunglasses, "this isn't just any reality show. That's Marinette out there! My favorite designer! The one who made my groovy sunglasses, my album cover, and my faux dragon-skin jacket!" His voice cracked on the last word, and he nearly toppled the snack tower. Penny sighed, plucking a stray licorice whip from his hair.
Luka chuckles. He knew his dadâthat he once questioned his mother about once since Marinette was sent to camp on that day, and his mother knew that it was best to tell him so she called Penny and have Jagged over to meet him and Julekaâwould go overboard, but this? Though he honestly couldn't blame him, he was also looking forward to seeing Marinette, even if she's in a reality show.
When Juleka told him about how the class agreed unanimously to send Marinette to a camp, and though she tried to oppose, she couldn't because she didn't want Rose to feel bad, Luka knew that as much as he gets that Juleka cares for Rose and how she wants to stand up for Marinette, he was still not happy with how they along with Ivan and Myléne sided with this Lila girl, who Rose once told him about, did this to a wonderful girl like Marinette.
When he looked at one of the flyers Juleka snuck out of the classroom, he couldn't help but feel sick when he saw the fine printâhow it wasn't just an ordinary camp, but a survival reality showâhosted by someone Penny told him Jagged knows back but didn't talked about. He wasn't sure if his father knew that the host was one of his old acquaintancesâbut judging by how Jagged reacted when he first told him about Marinette being sent to this "camp", he doubted it. But he was still disappointed with how his sister and their friends and bandmates were treating Marinette, nonetheless.
He honestly wouldn't be surprised if his sister and her friends are probably watching the show themselvesâand she was discreetly rooting for Marinette despite the situation. The thought brings a faint smirk to Lukaâs lips as he leans back on the couch, watching his dad dramatically rearrange snack trays like a general preparing for battle.
Penny rolls her eyes as she sits down while Jagged's crocodile, Fang, crawls onto the couch, resting his head on her lap. She strokes his scales absently, watching Jagged adjust the TV volume for the fifth time in three minutes. "You're acting like it's the Eurovision finals," she deadpans.
Jagged doesn't even glance away from the screen. "This is better than Eurovision! That's my honorary niece out there!" His fingers drum nervously against the armrestâa habit Penny hasnât seen since his first Grammy nomination. Across the room, Luka plucks a quiet melody on his guitar, something minor-keyed and restless, matching the tension in the air.
When the show was on, Jagged looked surprised to see who was on the show, "Chris?"
"Welcome back to Total Drama Island." Chris said, "Alright, it's time to meet our first eleven campers. We told them they'd be all staying at a five-star resort, so if they seem a little T.O'ed, that's probably why."
"Dad, you know him?" Luka questioned, looking at his father surprisedâyet acting like he is as he already knew thanks to Penny. "Are you kidding? That man once tried to serve me deep-fried scorpions on a dare!" Jagged shuddered, flicking a stray popcorn kernel off his sleeve. Penny snorted, scrolling through her tablet. "And you ate three before realizing they werenât gummy candy." Luka flinched but still looked both shocked and surprised at that revelation while Jagged still shuddered at that time. "Good thing that the cooks he hired got the tails off." Penny added, "Otherwise, you'd be tasting venom in your mouth for a week." Luka then shudders with his father while Fang lets out a grunt before Jagged looks back at Penny, "Oh come on! That was ONE time!" He then looks back at the TV while muttering. "And for the record, I thought they were crunchy licorice..."
Luka rolled his eyes playfully before turning to the screen to see the first contestant, being a teen girl, looking-dressing like she's from the late 90's show. Brown hair in a side ponytail with a pink hair-tie, blue eyes, wears a green t-shirt under an olive green vest with badges, pink pants, and white sneakers. She also has two moles under her chin, wearing black-tinted glasses, and looks to have braces. "Beth, what's up?" Chris said, welcoming the girl, Beth, who happily ran and hugged Chris saying, "It's so incredulous to meet you. Wow, you're much shorter in real life." "Uh, thanks."
Penny snorted into her drink. "Oh, this is going to be painful," she muttered, watching Beth smile and waving at the camera. After that, the second contestant arrives, a tall, large-framed guy with bronze skin, brown hair, a brown chinstrap beard, jet-black-colored eyes, wearing a white skullcap, an olive green ringer t-shirt with a dark orange "D" on the front, grayish-green denim shorts, and olive flip-flop sandals.
"DJ." Chris greets as he and the guy, DJ both high-fived, "Yo, Chris McLean. How's it going?" DJ then looks around in the surroundings he's now in, "Hey, you sure you got the right place here?" he asked while Chris nodded. "Where's the hot tub at?" "Yo, dawg, this is it. Camp Wawanakwa." Chris said. As DJ picks up his luggage to put it to the side along with Beth's, he looks around, "Humph. Looked a lot different on the application form."
"Yeah, well, that's what people get when they fall for false advertising, unfortunately." Penny commented, shaking her head while Jagged snorts loudlyâhalf-amused, half-disgusted. Luka couldn't help but feel sorry for Beth, DJ, Marinette, and the rest of the incoming contestants who will arrive one at a time.
The camera cut to the next contestant who arrived. A goth-girl, who's lightly fair-skinned with black and dark teal-dyed hair in a shaggy bob cut and matching dark teal lips, wearing a black corset with green and admiral blue 3/4 sleeves, a black and turquoise square pattern pencil miniskirt, greenish gray tights, and black knee-high boots. Luka wouldn't be surprised if his sister is probably watching the show herself and looking at Gwen as if she's a kindred spirit.
"Hey, Gwen." Chris greets. The girl, Gwen, looks around, and then asks, "You mean we're staying here?" "No. You're staying here." Chris said, 'correcting' her, "My crib is an airstream with A.C."
"How am I not surprised he would say that on television in confidence?" Penny muttered under her breath, rubbing her temples as Gwen glared at Chris, "I did not sign up for this." Gwen angrily said, glaring at Chris. Then, Chris holds up a stack of papers in one hand telling her, "Actually, you did." Gwen then takes the papers and tore them up into shreds. However, before Jagged and Penny could say anything, Chris then says, "The great thing about lawyers is...they make lots of copies."
"Well, dang." One of the hotel service staff mutters as they and the three know that there's no way out of this for Gwenânor anyone elseânow that they're on the island.
Luka exhales through his nose, fingers pausing mid-strum on his guitar strings. "I am not staying here." Gwen said, picking up her luggage. "Cool." Chris smugly says, "I hope you can swim though, because your ride just left." And there, the scene shows them the boat already leaving Gwen in the camp. "Jerk!" Gwen angrily said.
They then see the fourth one arriving with music playing while at it. A bulky young man with short blonde hair, blue eyes, a six pack of abs and a large cleft chin, wearing an olive green cowboy hat with a dark teal band, hot pink turn-down collar shirt which apparently shows his bare stomach, a light yellow beaded necklace, olive green wristband, dark teal blue shorts, and dark teal blue flip flops.
"Chris McLean! 'Sup, man?" The guy said as he and Chris fist-bumped, "It's an honor to meet you, man!" "The Geoff-ster. Welcome to the island, man!" "Thanks, man."
"If they say "man" one more time, I'm gonna puke." Gwen muttered. 'You and me both.' Penny thought, but before she could voice it, the screen cut to Chris.
"Everybody, this is Lindsay." They then see a girl that is five-foot and six-inches with light tan skin, full lips with orange lipstick, triangular-shaped eyebrowsâpossibly her fashion sense, long blonde, waist-length hair with a dodger blue bandana to cover the upper part of her forehead, sapphire blue eyes, wearing a cropped brown tank top over a red tube top, an orange runched mini skirt and brown calf high cowboy boots with dark brown decorative stars on the sides of her boots. "Not too shabby." Chris said.
'If by that, then he means the tube tops coming back in style out of the blue, then sure.' Penny thought, not looking surprised, there would be one bringing back some old fashion trends, though she's honestly not one to judge those who like wearing themâgiven Jagged's own obsession with faux reptile-skin jackets. The girlâLindsay greeted Chris before saying, "Okay, you look so familiar!" "I'm Chris McLean...The host of the show?" "Oh, that's where I know you from." Lindsay said, now getting it. "Uh, yeah."
While Jagged, Luka, and Penny weren't surprised to know that Lindsay is not the sharpest tool in the shed, Penny couldn't help but groan, and both Jagged and Luka shook his head in sympathy, knowing that the poor girl might end up suffering in this camp more than she realizes.
The next contestant arrivesâanother teenage girl with olive skin, waist-length and jet black with semi-gray reflection hair, matching jet black eyes, a small cleft in her chin, wearing a burgundy halter top, light army green shorts with a black belt, and burgundy red slide wedged sandals. The sight of her makes most of the contestants, including Jagged, flinch from seeing her arrival. She takes off her sunglasses, glaring around her surroundings. She then walks with her luggage as Chris greets her with only her name, "Heather."
Luka shudders as if he heard her inner songâall sounding like a remix between the theme songs of both Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho, and Stanley Kubrick's The Shiningâsomething jagged and serrated.
'At least her name's not Helen from that musical I once heard.' Jagged thought before shaking his head.
They watch as Beth greets her and tells her, "Looks like we're your new friends for next few weeks."
Just then, punk rock music was heard, and they watched as the scene changed to the next contestant arriving. A guy with a unibrow, along with teal ear and nose piercings, black and lime green hair styled into a mohawk and teal eyes, wearing a black t-shirt with a skull on it over a long-sleeved cream shirt, dark teal shorts, and red high-top sneakers with no laces.
When he jumps off the boat, Chris greets him, "Duncan, dude." "I don't like surprises." Duncan said. "Yeah, your parole officer warned me about you, man. He also told me to give him a holler any time and have you returned to Juvie." "...Okay then."
"Ah, should've known." Jagged muttered as he and Penny weren't surprised that Duncan was apparently a delinquentâbut Luka's fingers still hesitated on his guitar strings, noticing something raw beneath Duncan's smirk. The kid carried himself like a stray dogâall teeth, but with that coiled-up wariness of someone used to being kicked.
They then watch as another boat brings in another camper, who was apparently water-skiing. The guy has an athletic build, has brown hair and brown eyes, wearing a red tracksuit with white stripes along the sides of the legs and arms, and a matching red and white headband.
"Ladies and gentleman, Tyler!" Chris introduced while the guy, Tyler, waves to them until his fingers slipped, letting go and crashing into the dock, causing him to fly and land onto the luggage. Both the campers, and the three wince at the sight.
Penny winced, rubbing her temple. "Oh, that's gonna leave a mark." Beside her, Fang grunted in agreement, shifting his bulk on the couch. Jagged shuddered dramaticallyâhalf in sympathy, half in morbid fascination. They then see the scene showing one bag flying and landing into the lake, which caused Heather to get soaked up. "Ugh, my shoes!" She groaned angrily. "Wicked, wipe-out, man!" Chris calls out to Tyler. Tyler then has his hand up, and then gives a thumbs up. Making Geoff and DJ do the same. As well as Jagged still watching, making Luka chuckle and Penny rolling her eyes playfully.
They then heard a long sigh, and turned to see the next contestant. A tall, scrawny, geeky-looking guy with auburn hair, green eyes, a goatee, and glasses, wearing a pink shirt, a blue shirt with a hamburger graphic over it, green pants, and blue sneakers, holding his luggage along with a keyboard.
"Is it just me? Or am I seeing another generation of Napoleon Dynamite?" Jagged muttered, adjusting his sunglasses. "Welcome to camp, Harold." Chris greets. The geek-looking guy, Harold, then looks around at his surroundings. "What's he looking at?" Beth asked DJ, causing him to shrug. Then Harold asked Chris, "So you mean this show is at a yucky summer camp and not on some big stage or something?" "You got it." Chris said, confirming it. "Yes!" Harold said, feeling pleased about it, "That is so much more favorable to my skills." Hearing Harold say that made both Chris, Jagged, Penny, and Luka inhale sharply.
The next boat arrived with the next one, a tall, lean guy with light skin, black hair, green eyes, wearing a light green shirt with a black paint hand, black pants, and light green-olive shoes, having his luggage, and a guitar case. "Contestant number nine, is Trent." Chris introduced. "Hey, good to meet you man." Trent said, pleased making Chris's acquaintance, "I saw you on that figure-skating show. Nice work." "Hey, thanks, man. I knew I rocked that show!" Chris said, feeling proud of himself when he was reminded of that show.
"Right, he was a judge on Battle of the Blades." Jagged said as he and Penny remembered watching one episode that had him be a guest judgeâbut before Luka could ask how his father even knew that, Beth said, "I saw that. One of the guys dropped his partner on her head, so they got immunity that week." "Lucky!" Harold said, feeling a little jealous, "I hope I get dropped on my head." "Me too!" said Lindsay.
Aside from Harold and Lindsay's comments of how they want to get dropped by the head, Luka was surprised to know that this Battle of the Blades show sounds just as badâif not worseâthan Total Drama Island.
"So this is it?" Trent asked, after looking around his surroundings. "All righty then."
After that, the next camper comes in. Another teen girl with tanned skin, long blonde hair that is in a ponytail, olive green eyes, wearing a mint blue hoodie, blue-gray shorts, and brown thong sandals, holding a surfboard. As she gets off with her surfboard and luggage, she greets with a, "Hey! What's up?" "All right." Chris said, "Our Surfer Chick, Bridgette, is here." Duncan scoffs, "Nice board. This ain't Malibu, honey." "I thought we were going to be on a beach." Bridgette said while Chris confirms it, telling her, "We are!" Then, the TV shows the beach, which was probably not what Bridget expected it to be. The beach was dirty, filled with soda cans, a soda bottle, tires, and even some seaweed.
Jagged and Penny were not surprised at the sight. "That's Chris alright."
"All right, that makesâ" Chris was then cut off when Bridgette's surfboard hit him on the head while she was picking up her luggage and walking off, causing Jagged to laugh while Chris said, "Ow! Darn it, that hurt!"
"Ha, that's karma getting ya, Chris." Jagged said to the screen while still laughing. Luka chuckled, knowing that is one thing that Chris McLean hatesâgetting hit on the headâand so does Duncan, Harold, and Trent dodging the surfboard, almost hitting them on time while Bridgette was getting acquainted with Geoff. "Dang, watch the board, man."
"Hey, relax, Dynamite. You and your buddies dodged it. You're alright." Jagged said to the screen once more before chucklingâLuka chuckles as well, already knowing that Geoff is already taking a liking to Bridgette thanks to already reading his inner songâall dance party tunes, yet with a slight of shyness he's trying to mask.
Heather then spoke up while squeezing the rest of the water out of her hair, "Okay, we've all met surfer girl. Can we get on with the show, please?"
"Someone missed their double cappuccino macchiato this morning." Duncan teased while Harold nodded. Heather scolded, "Get bent."
Jagged quietly snickered while Penny rolled her eyes, but couldn't help but smirk a littleâknowing full well that Chris McLean deserved every bit of that surfboard karmaâas Luka leaned forward slightly, fingers absently tracing the frets of his guitar. The screen cut to the next contestant coming in. A very skinny guy with dark tan skin, dark brown hair and eyes, wearing a maroon red singlet over a teal shirt and white long-sleeve shirt, olive green shorts, white socks, and green shoes.
"Our next camper is Noah." Chris introduced after the pain left his head. As Noah walks past with his luggage, he asks Chris, "You got my memo about my life-threatening allergies?" "I'm sure someone did," said Chris.
The three raised a brow at the same time, not surprised if Chris McLean would end up missing that memo about Noah's allergiesâJagged could already see the lawsuit forming in his mindâbut before he could voice it, Noah spoke once more, "Good. Is this where we're staying?" "No," Duncan said while cracking his knuckles, "it's your mother's house, and we're throwing a party." "Cute." Noah says sarcastically, "Nice piercings, original, do them yourself?" "Yeah. You want one?" "No, thanks. Can I have my lip back, please? Thanks."
"Well, at least he was calm from that." One of the hotel room service waiters quietly said while the second one noddedâboth looking at the screen, still surprised at how Duncan grabbed Noah's lip and held out a needle while Noah was surprisingly calm and cool about it.
Then the camera quickly pans to the right, showing the next contestant arriving on the next boat dropping her off. A moderately overweight, yet somewhat short African-Canadian teenage girl, with a particularly large apple-bottom, with long dark hair tied up in a ponytail, matching jet-black eyes, a mole on the left side of her face, wears a light yellow T-shirt with kumquats, calf-length jeans, dark brown sandals, and beige hoop earrings. "What's up, y'all? Leshawna's in the house!" she calls out, waving to the other campers.
Jagged, Penny, and Luka smiled at how Leshawna is already making an entranceâPenny chuckled, knowing that Leshawna is already going to be one of the contestants who won't take any crap from anyoneâespecially not Chris McLeanâwhile Jagged nodded approvingly, already liking her energy. Luka, meanwhile, was silently amused by how Leshawna's inner song soundedâa mix of confident hip-hop beats with an undercurrent of warmth, like someone who could roast you alive but would also share her last snack if you looked hungry.
Leshawna strutted past the cameras like she owned the dock, "Yo, baby, hey, how you doing? How's it going?" she says to Chris as they both high-fived, "Feel free to quit now and save yourselves the trouble, 'cause I came to win."
Unfortunately, while she was making small talk with DJ, Harold started to make a wrong move making conversation with her. Which resulted in an altercation. Leshawna ready to pummel Harold but was held back by both DJ and Bridgette while Harold was doing some sort of martial arts stance that the three and some of the hotel staff doubt that Harold is any good at itâeven Fang grunted in agreement.
"Oh, yeah, you want some of this? Well, come on then!" Leshawna yelled. "All right, campers. Settle down." Chris tells them. "Well, at least Chris is still not one when it comes to fights...Even if it's on the first episode and first season." Jagged said while Penny nodded, as they both know that the last thing Chris needs is another lawsuitâespecially after that incident with what happened in that one reality show.
"That's a first." One of the hotel staff said while rolling in a dish of snacksâfreshly made from the bakery downstairsâwhile Penny adjusted her glasses, watching Chris McLean continue introducing the remaining campers. "Chris McLean actually stepping in before blood gets spilled? Must be a new record."
Jagged shrugged, "Eh, knowing him? It was out of habit." Penny nodded, "It's true. The last one who didn't intervene got him sued for three million."
When they turned back to the screen, they watched as the next two contestants arrived. But seeing the two even made the hotel staff coming in look surprised. One has a pear-shaped body, tanned skin, black hair in two high pigtails with pink hair bobbles, black eyes, and is wearing a black and white striped crop top, pink unbuttoned shorts, and pink wedge slide sandals. The second one is shorter, and seems to be slightly obese. Keyword, slightly. She has black hair in two high pigtails with pink bobbles, black eyes, fair skin, and much like the first one, she is wearing a black and white striped short-sleeved crop top, pink unbuttoned shorts, and pink wedge slide sandals.
And from the sound of their inner songs, apparently they are an in-sync duet to a bubblegum-dance-pop tune singing something about puppy dogs, cotton candy, and bubblegum waterfalls. Luka was surely surprised and somewhat amazed with how those two seemed to be so in sync with each other.
Chris then greets the two, "Ladies! Sadie, Katie, welcome to your new home for a few weeks." The first girl then gasps, "Oh my gosh. Sadie, look. It's a summer camp." The first girl, who must be Katie, tells Sadie. "Okay, I always wanted to go to a summer camp." Sadie squeals.
After that, the next contestant comes in. A guy with brown hair, gray eyes, slight facial hair on his chin, wearing a green hoodie, white undershirt, a bluish-green pair of jeans and hat, and green hiking boots, and seems to have a chubby stomach from looking carefully. "Ezekiel! What's up, man?" Chris said.
Ezekiel looks up and suddenly says, "I think I see a bird." Hearing Ezekiel say that caused Trent to quietly laugh while Jagged raised a brow confused. Luka, on the other hand, can hear some sort of old-fashioned country tune that sounded like it was singing about some sort of conservative beliefsâsomething he wasn't expecting.
Then, Chris tells Ezekiel, "Okay, look, dude. I know you don't get out much. Been home-schooled your whole life, raised by freaky prairie people, just don't say much and try not to get kicked off too early, okay?" "Yes, sir." Ezekiel said.
'I should've guessed.' Jagged and Luka thought at the same time. They then watch as the next camper arrives, a guy with curvy brown hair with teal eyes, wearing blueish jeans, with a yellow shirt and another white shirt under it with dark green shoes.
"Cody, the Code-ster. The Code-meister." Chris greeted. The boy, Cody, then struts, "Dude, psyched to be here, man." he said as he now walks past Bridgette, Lindsay, and Leshawna, "I see the ladies have already arrived. All right." Luka quietly chuckled, already listening carefully to Cody's inner song, sounding like some sort of synth-pop tune with an underlying nervousnessâlike someone trying too hard to sound confident.
But before Cody could make a move on Leshawna, she stopped him, telling him, "Save it, short stuff." Cody smiles, understood after getting the message and heads back.
Then, the next one stomps in. A muscular, athletic-looking woman with black hair tied in a ponytail, hazel eyes, a mole on the left side of her face, and a unibrow, wearing a dark blue sleeveless polo, dark blue athletic shorts, white tube socks with dark blue stripes, and blue-black running shoes. And from the sound of her inner song, Luka could tell that hers is a marching drumbeatâsteady, relentless, and annoyingly loud. Something that could also easily irritate a punk-rock guitarist.
Chris introduced her as she walked, "Eva? Nice. Glad you could make it." Cody attempts to get a high-five from her, but it becomes a bad move when she purposely drops her duffel bag on his foot. The way it landed fast and hit hard on his foot made the three, and the hotel room service who was coming in and stayed to watch themselves, flinched at that while Cody held his foot and let out an 'Ow', "What's in there, dumbbells?" He asked. "Yes." Eva confirmed. The people looked surprised at that confirmation. "She's all yours, man." Duncan said to DJ.
Then, the shock changed after hearing someone cheer on the TV. There, they see the next contestant who arrived. An overweight teenage boy who has messy blond hair, dark forest green eyes, light skin, wearing a white shirt with a teal maple leaf, green shorts, white socks, and green-white shoes. "Chris, what's happening?" he greets, laughing and feeling pumped, "This is awesome!" "Owen, welcome!" Chris said. Just then, the guy, Owen, hugs Chris, "Awesome to be here, man. Yeah!"
Jagged smiled at this. "Now that's enthusiasm," he muttered, watching Owen practically vibrate on-screen. The kid's energy was infectiousâLuka could feel it humming through the TV, Owen's inner song sounding like a pump and pop-like anthem with zero subtlety and maximum volume. Penny nudged her glasses up, smirking. "Chris looks like heâs regretting that hug already."
After that, Owen lets go of Chris, "Sorry, dude. I'm just so psyched!" he said. "Cool." said Chris, "And here comes Courtney."
They then see the camera quickly pan to the next contestant, a teenage girl that must be of Hispanic heritage, who has brown hair in a shoulder-length long bob, brown eyes, have a few freckles on her face, wearing a charcoal grey crewneck cropped short sleeved shirt over a cream collared button up blouse, calf-length olive green side split pants, and grey-dark taupe ankle strap wedge sandals, who was just simply smiling and waving.
After getting off and walking, she greets the other campers, "Hi! You must be the other contestants. It's really nice to meet you all." Although Luka sure did appreciate the kindness she's showing, he couldn't help but feel like there's something else about her that a lot of people probably don't know yet. Because from the sound of her inner song, she sounds a little calm and collected, but the rest of her song sounded like some sort of mad office worker songâlike she's trying to prove something to someone.
He then heard Courtney let out a slow 'Wow', causing him to look back at the screen to see the next contestant coming in. A handsome teen guy, with tan skin, black hair, blue eyes, wearing a dark green T-shirt, worn out jeans with flip-flops, and seems to be very strong. And not much to Jagged nor Penny's surprise, the girls in the camp were already swooning over the twenty-first contestant.
Chris then introduces the contestant to them and the people watching, "This is Justin. Welcome to Total Drama Island." "Thanks, Chris. This is great." said Justin. "Just so you know, we picked you based on your looks." Justin shrugs, "I can deal with that."
"Honestly, I'm not surprised." Penny muttered under her breath, watching Justin preen under the sudden attention. Jagged snorted, reaching for another pastry from the snack tray. "Kid's got the ego of a lead singer who can't sing."
While Luka too wasn't surprised with Justin only getting into the show because of his appearance, his inner song was not surprising either, as it sounded like a mix between a model commercial jingle and a deep whispering voice saying his name repeatedlyâwhich made Luka raise a brow in non-surpriseâbut also slight amusement at how Justin seems to know what he's doing.
"Hey, everyone, Izzy!" Chris said, making the scene change to the girl with orange chest-length curly hair green eyes, wearing an apple green keyhole high-neck sleeveless crop top with a midriff and stomach cleavage with a lime green sarong, and apple green flats.
Luka's eyes widened in surprise, already hearing her inner song sounding like a mad circus tune mixed with some sort of punk rockâchaotic, unpredictable, and oddly charming in its own way. "Hi, Chis! Hi!" Izzy ran, until she tripped off the boat, falling and hitting, chin first onto the dock's board and falling into the lake.
'And a hint of music you hear in a psychiatric ward,' Luka mused silently while his father and Penny both winced from how hard Izzy's chin must've hit the dock before she plunged into the lake.
Courtney runs, helping Izzy up, "Guys, she could be seriously hurt!" she said. After she helps Izzy up, Izzy starts shaking off the water like a dog, and then says, "That felt so...good!" Hearing that, caused Jagged and the hotel staff to look surprised and confused at the same time. "Except for hitting my chin." Izzy said, "This is summer camp? That is so cool! Do you have papier-mache here? Are we having lunch soon?" "That is a good call!" Owen happily said, liking Izzy's last question.
"First thing, we gotta finish welcoming our last five campers." Chris said, "These next two were a package deal from the U.S.. All the way from Los Angeles, California. Annabelle and Jessamine!"
The screen then showed Ann and Jessamine, the blonde-multi-color-hued girl was already bouncing on her heels, looking excited to be here while the feather-layered brunette girl was standing beside her, looking indifferentâthough her eyes were scanning the area like she was calculating something. Penny chuckled, "Funny, those two look like night and day." Jagged nodded, eyes glued to the screen as the two got off the boat and headed to the other side of the dock to put their luggage up. As they were, Jessamine skipped ahead, twirling excitedly. "Oh my gosh, this place is so much cooler than Mom said itâd be! Look at this dockâitâs practically falling apart! Authentic!" Annabelle smiles and rolls her eyes playfully, "At ease, Jes. Itâs just a rotting pier." The way she says itâslightly dry, but fond, like a soldier humoring her excitable commanderâmakes Luka smirk into his guitar strings.
Jagged leans forward, "...Wait, haven't I seen those two when I was touring in Gotham?"
Penny taps her tablet, pulling up an old concert photoâthere, in the front row, are Annabelle and Jessamine, mid-laugh under neon lights. Jessamineâs arms are thrown up like sheâs trying to catch the music, while Annabelleâs got one hand clamped over her ear, the other holding a half-drunk Mr. Salt soda bottle like a baton. "Gotham Music Fest, 2012," Penny confirms. "They were there with the tickets they won from one radio station rock-alternative trivial contest." "Right!" Jagged snaps his fingersâtoo hardâand winces. "That Jessamine kid yelled something about me being a 'guitar-wielding dragon' during the encore."
Luka stifles a laugh. That tracks. They watch as Chris continues, "The next one I'm sure you all probably know that she's famously known around the world. She helps all who are old and new, performs wonderful performances by dancing, and making the tastiest savory meals. And, whenever she is free, she always gives a wonderful greeting along with a quick small talk to a friendly face with friends. One of the world-known famous celebrity ladies and beloved sweetheart from London, Lucille "Lucy" Corleone!"
The screen cuts to Lucy stepping off the boat with the effortless grace of someone used to cameras. "âEllo, Mr. McLean." She said, heading to put her luggage up.
Jagged nearly spits out his soda. "WaitâCorleone? As in Rico Corleone's kid?" Pennyâs fingers fly across her tablet. "Confirmed. Her father donated half a million to a charity gala hosted by the billionaire philanthropist Bruce Wayne last year. Public records show sheâs his only daughter." Luka raises an eyebrowâthis camp just got infinitely more interesting. While he was surprised and wonders why Londonâs Sweetheart is on a reality-show, he, his father, and Penny looked at the screen as Chris continued introducing the remaining campers.
"For our second-last camper, we have this one who is recommended to us from a school in Paris, France," Chris explains. Jagged's eyes lit up, knowing who the next one is as Chris continues, "She's a rising fashion designer, became popular overnight, and now has good connections with her famous commissioners. It's...Marinette Dupain-Cheng!"
Then, they see Marinette stepping down on the dock. "There she is!" Jagged exclaimed, pointing at the screen, nearly knocking over a bowl of gummy worms.
Marinette clutched her pink purse strap tighter, her pigtails bouncing slightly as she surveyed the rotting dock with wide eyes. The camera zoomed in on her fingersâpale, knuckles whiteningâbefore panning to her uncertain smile.
"Bonjour," she said, voice smaller than usual, "It's very nice to meet all of you." She then looks down a bit before offering them some baked goods that she must've brought along with her, "Macarons?" Chris gladly took oneâwhich was pretty obvious, because surprisingly, Jagged knowing Chris a little too well, is that Chris has a sweet toothâ"Merci." Chris said, nodding before biting into it while Marinette walks and offering some of the other campers some while putting her luggage up as well. "These are really good!" Owen said as he was happily enjoying his macarons. The others agreed, and after understanding Heather's personality, though she did roll her eyes, she enjoyed her macaroon anyway.
When Marinette offered some to the city girls and Lucy, Lucy gladly took a vanilla-flavored oneâwhich was obvious to the three and the hotel staff who were still bringing in more of the snacks and drinks Jagged ordered, since Lucy is a huge vanilla fanâShe smiled warmly and her eyes sparkled more than the sparkly outfits Jagged can remember seeing other celebrities wearing. "Oh my stars, these are divine," Marinette's cheeks pinked at the praise. "T-thank you!" Jagged, Penny, and Luka smiled at how Marinette and Lucy bonded quicklyâthough they're barely bonding via macaroons, but stillâthey then see Jessamine take an apple-flavored one, and she was surprised at the taste of it.
"Wow. These are insane." She said, "Did you make these?" Marinette nods. "Yeah. My parents own a bakery back home." "These are great." Ann said, enjoying a cookies and cream one.
Luka smiled at how Marinette is already fitting in, despite being thrown into an unfamiliar situation. His fingers resumed strumming his guitar, transitioning into a softer melodyâone Marinette had hummed absentmindedly while sketching designs at the Liberty. Jagged, meanwhile, was practically vibrating with excitement. "Look at her! Already winning hearts with those macarons!" He grinned, tossing a handful of popcorn into his mouth. "Kidâs got charm. Like me in my younger days." Penny rolled her eyes but couldnât hide her smirk. "You still have the charm, Jagged. Just less wild stage dives these days."
The camera went back to Chris as he wrapped the introductions with the last camper, "And last but not least, is someone you all will really like. She is a combination of a gothic and a character from all classic shows your folks might have known back in the days, Daria Morgendorrfer." "She's that one character back in the 90's, right?" Luka guessed. Penny nods, "Yeah, one of the best MTV shows back then." Luka nods, now getting it before turning back to the tube. "Itâs none other than my daughterâŠAmanda!â
They then see a teenage girl, who must be Amanda Chris is talking about, walking into the scene and standing next to Chris. The girl has Chris's hair and eyesâthough the tips of her hair were dipped in violetâand the same bored expression Chris wore whenever he was forced to attend corporate events. Her outfit made her look like she came out of an alternative music videoâripped fishnets, knee-high heel boots, a choker that looked more like an heirloom she got from Chrisâthat is, if he actually went through a goth phaseâand a black tank top with jagged blue and purple lightning bolts. She had one side of her head shavedâlikely because Chris once did so back in his teensâand the other side had hip-length black hair cascading down like spilled ink. She looked like sheâd rather be anywhere elseâwhich, judging by Chrisâs smirk, was exactly the point.
Amanda grumbled while crossing her arms, âI canât believe you and mom are making me do this.â âNow, Amanda dear, this is for your own good to find some friends and for us to bond like we used to.â Chris said, patting Amandaâs head, making her roll her eyes a second time.
Jagged looked surprised at Amanda's resemblance to Chrisâboth in looks and attitude. "Wait, that's his kid?" He leaned forward, popcorn forgotten in his lap. "I knew he had a daughter, but I didn't think she'd be...you know, cool." Penny snorted, tapping her tablet. "Divorced when Amanda was ten. Though she herself said she's fine with it because she was tired of their usual twenty-four-seven yelling argumentsâand that's a direct quote." "I can't imagine how it must've been to hear fights like that." Another one of the hotel staff commented, shuddering at the idea of what those so-called fights must've been like as well as feeling sorry for Amanda having to go through something like that.
Meanwhile, the screen cuts back to Chrisâwho was now grinning like a shark smelling bloodâas he tells the campers, "Alright, first things first. We need a group photo for the promos. Everyone at the end of the dock." When the campers headed to the end of the dock, Marinette stood next to Lucy and Amanda. While Ann and Jessamine stood on their own yet close to one anotherâthough Luka could tell that the two must've been very close friends, it's like they're sisters, not by blood but by choice.
As Marinette and the rest of the campers were smiling for the camera, "One, two, three... Oops, forgot the lens cap." After the cap was off, he was getting ready to take their picture, "One two- oh no, wait, card's full. Hang on." "Come on, man. My face is starting to freeze." Leshawna said with grit teeth and a smile while rolling her eyes. "Got it. Okay, everyone say, Wawanakwa!"
Though when the campers all said 'Wawanakwa', the dock suddenly collapsed, which the camera took a photo of, showing most of the teenagers either almost drowning and/or swimming for their lives, while the photo got Annabelle, Jessamine, Amanda, Lucy, and Marinette. Amanda was looking not surprised, as if she knew that this was going to happen sooner or later, Ann was holding her locket as if it was her lifeline, Jessamine was holding her hair like she didn't want it all soakedâthat Jagged couldn't blame for as he once went through almost the same thing when he was youngerâand Marinette and Lucy were still smiling for the camera before ended up in the water along with the rest.
After watching a bit of the commercials, the show was back on, and Marinette and the rest of the campers were all at the campfire pit, listening to Chris, "This is Camp Wawanakwa. Your home for the next few weeks. The campers sitting around you will be your cabin mates. Your competition. And maybe even your friends. You dig?" Unsurprising to Luka, Duncan shook his fist threateningly to Harold. Which was typical to some people, but not to othersâespecially Lukaâwho found it childish. Though Chris continued, "The camper who manages to stay on Total Drama Island the longest without getting voted off will win one hundred thousand dollars!"
Jagged whistled, "Now that's motivation." Penny rolled her eyes with a knowing smile, tapping her tablet. "I think Marinette cares more about surviving the mosquitoes than the prize money." Luka chuckled, his fingers pausing on the guitar strings. "Knowing her, she'd split it with her chosen friends and family if she won."
"Alright!" The three turned to see one of Jagged's familiar colleagues on tour, Carlos Montgomeryâthe drummer of one band known as Pistols 'N' Cloversâturning his head and calling out, "Hey, Faron! Come check out what's on the tube!" "I don't want my kids watching TV!" Another voice, who must be this Faron fellow, called back. "Okay...But McLean is on another reality-show!" And with that, Faron, and a guy holding his hand comes running in with his twin son and daughter following suit.
"Did we miss much, Jagger?" Faron asked Jagged by one of his usual nicknames most bands called him. Jagged chuckled, "Just the introductions." "Cool!" The twins, Faron's kids, said as they sat in front of the tube to watch the show with them. The guy sitting beside Faron, his husband, Perseus "Percy" MontgomeryâCarlos's older brotherâlooked surprised when seeing Marinette on-screen, "Wait a minuteâisn't that the kid who made your shades and album cover?" Jagged grinned, tossing a handful of popcorn into his mouth. "The one and only! Kid's got talent bursting outta her seams."
"Dad, Papa, Uncle Carlos, Uncle Jagged, we're trying to watch." The daughter, a freckled girl with pigtails identical to Marinette'sâjust blondeâLouise, hissed through her teeth while elbowing Percy's side. The adults chuckled but quieted down as the screen showed Chris telling the campers, "Here's the deal. We're gonna split you into two teams. If I call your name out, stand over there." With that, Chris starts calling the names of the campers. "Gwen, Trent, Heather, Cody, Lindsay, Beth, Katie, Owen, Leshawna, Justin, and Noah. From this moment on, you are officially known as the Screaming Gophers." Chris tosses Owen a flag that has their team logo, a green circle of a gopher who's screaming as if it's going to war, and Owen was already liking it, "Yeah! I'm a Gopher!" The two kids were liking the show so far thanks to Owen's enthusiasm.
Chris then moves on to the second team. "The rest of you over here. Geoff, Bridgette, D.J, Tyler, Sadie, Izzy, Courtney, Ezekiel, Duncan, Eva, and Harold." As they head to the other side from the Screaming Gophers, and the people in Jagged's hotel room watching the show quietly ignore, yet sympathize Sadie and Katie being separated into two teams, Chris tells them while tossing Harold their flag, "You guys will be officially known as the Killer Bass." Harold then reveals their flag, a red logo of a bass that looks angryâas if it's ready to attack a fisherman who was trying to reel it in. "Itâs awesome. Itâs likeâŠamazing." "No surprise Napoleon Dynamite likes it." Carlos jokes. "Who?" The son asks. "Don't worry about it, Revel." Percy assures his son.
"Wait, what about them?" Cody asked, motioning to Marinette, Ann, Jessamine, Lucy, and Amanda. Luka was already thinking the same thing, until Chris explains, "Well, since there's an odd number of you, and we can't decide which team they will be in, we decided to let them switch teams. Isn't that fun?" Aside from Chris's smile, it was honestly understandable why he's letting Marinette and the other girls switch teams, not to mention neither Luka nor the twins blame Chris for the odd number bit for some reason, but still, the idea wasn't a bad one.
"Hey, good thinking, McLean! Marinette deserves to switch teams." Jagged said, raising his soda cup. "Jagger, don't encourage him." Percy groaned while nudging Louise's shoulder when she whispered, "Waitâdoes that mean Marinette gets to pick?" The screen showed Chris adding, "So for right now, they will be part of the Screaming Gophers." "Figures." Revel muttered, rolling his eyes playfully. "Yeah, like he was gonna put 'em with Harold's team." Louise agreed.
Back on-screen, Chris continues, "Alright, campers. You and your team will be on camera in all public areas during this competition."
They then watch as the screen changes to an outhouse, which surprisingly, is also a confessional for some reason, as they watch the confessional, they see Chris explaining, "You'll also be able to share your innermost thoughts on tape, with video diaries, anytime you want. Let the audience at home know what you're thinking. Or just get something off your chest." "Any idea why they're using an outhouse to confess their feelings?" Louise questioned Luka and Revel, getting a shrug from the two, while Carlos shrugged, "Just another budget-friendly idea, I guess." "Wouldn't be surprised." Percy muttered while Faron rolled his eyes, but chuckled, "Only McLean would think of something like that."
Back on-screen, the fifth confessional comes on, which turned out to be Lucille's, "First, I would just like to say 'ello to all of my friends and family from London. And I must say, this show some dear acquaintances of mine have recommended me to be on is becoming impressive so far. Even though it is already getting its ups and downs, as they say, I still believe I am going to be just fine here in Wawanakwa." Percy, Faron, and Luka smiled at that. "Classic 'Cille." said Jagged, "Never a dull word."
On-screen, Marinette's came on next, "Okay, I don't really know what to say in this confessional. But I like to say, this is gonna be a good camping experience for me." Luka smiled a second time, but the smile stayed because knowing Marinette all too well, she was clearly nervousâwhich was obviousâbut she was already trying to make the best of it, like she always did.
The camera then cut to Jessamine's confessional, "Honestly? I expected worse. At least thereâs nothing that is worse than what Annie and I saw on this island so far. But other than that, I just wanna say that Iâm looking forward to being in this camp for the next few weeks." Ann's confessional then came on after Jessamine's, "This wonât be so bad." She said, sounding a bit pumped, "At least I have Jes with me. And I made friends alreadyâŠAnd honestly, thatâs the first time I ever made more friends. I can thank Jessa for that."
Luka smiled once more for Ann, softly this time. He knows how it feels to have a struggle on making friends. Though he was unsure, from the sound of her inner song has a slight melancholic tone, it sounded like aside from Jessamine, she never had any friends growing up.
But then, Amanda's confessional came onâand suddenly, the mood shifted. The screen showed Amanda leaning back, crossing her arms, still not pleased of being in the camp nor island, "I canât believe my parents agreed to have me on this show. NOT how I wanted to spend my summer vacation."
Percy raised a brow, "Both her parents? That's new." Jagged shrugged, tossing another handful of popcorn into his mouth. "I mean, I can understand Chris wanting to spend time with his daughter, but both him and Catherine agreeing on having her on an island camp for her summer? That's still new." Carlos said, wondering why the two would agree on that even after their divorce.
The screen flickered back into the campfire pit, and Chris said, "Alright, any questions? Cool. Letâs find your cabins.â The scene changes to the cabins the campers will be staying in. âGophers, youâre in the east cabin, Bass, youâre in the west.â Chris easily explains.
Jagged turns a blind eye, and then sees, "Nightingale! Over here!" The American pop star, Clara Nightingale, approaches Jagged with a smile, "Ah! Monsieur Stone! Always a pleasure!" She sits beside Jagged, her signature dress sparkling under the dim hotel lighting. Clara then turns to the screen and looks surprised to see who's in there, "Marinette? And is that Lucille Corleone?"
Louise gasped, pointing at the screen. "WaitâClara Nightingale knows Marinette?" "Was part in one of her music videos." Revel explains to his sister while Luka nodded, confirming that he too was there with Marinette in the said music video. Clara leaned forward, intrigued as Lucy and Marinette were both sharing a bunk together, while Cody walked behind Amanda, telling her, "You're so smart. I feel that." "Shouldn't you be on the boys' side?" Gwen asked him while looking at him suspiciously.
Then, Gwen throws him out of their side of the cabin. Percy shook his head, not surprised at that, "Boys. Always trying to sneak in where they don't belong." Revel shook his head as well, "Some people. They never learn, do they?" "Doubt it." Carlos chuckled, shaking his head, as he took a sip of his lemon-lime soda.
"Where are the outlets? I have to plug in my straightening iron." One of the Screaming Gopher girls, Lindsay, questioned. "There are some in the communal bathrooms, just across the way," Chris explained. As the screen shows the communal bathrooms outside. They can already tell that  Lindsay is not the brightest crayon in the box when she said, "Communal bathrooms? But I'm not Catholic." "Not communion. Communal." Chris corrects. "It means we shower together, Lindsay." Jessamine explained. "Yeah, but I wouldn't worry about it. It's not like those shower rooms from the book and movie versions of Stephen King's Carrie. There's a difference." Ann added. "Ohh, okay." Lindsay said, now understanding and looking relieved.
"What does Ann mean by that? About how the showers are not like the book and movie versions of Carrie?" Louise questions. "I don't know," said Jagged, "Something about how that school shower room scene is kinda non-private." "Oh. Yeah, I can see that." Revel said as he and his sister put two and two together, and were as relieved as Lindsay. "Well, glad to know the kids don't have to worry about that." Faron said while Luka sighed in relief as wellâhe wouldn't want Marinette to be uncomfortable in any way while she's at camp.
On-screen, Geoff calls out to Chris asking, "Excuse me, Chris. Is there a chaperone of any kind in this facility?" "You're all sixteen years old," Chris said, "As old as a counselor in training at a regular summer camp. So, other than myself, you'll be unsupervised. You've got a half an hour to unpack and meet me back at the main lodge. Starting now." "Nice."
Jagged, Penny, Clara, and Luka looked surprised and confused in one. "Isn't Marinette fifteen?" Penny questions. Luka shook his head, guessing that Juleka's so-called friends must've lied about Marinette's age to get her enrolled into the camp without correcting itâbut Carlos, Faron, and Percy already saw through it. "Doubt they cared." Carlos muttered, while Percy sighed, "Some people."
But then, a scream was heard, making the people in the hotel room flinch, including Fang. They turned back to the screen where all the campers were outside, looking in one side of the cabin, "Oh, man that blonde girl can scream." Leshawna quietly muttered.
They then watch as the screen changes to Lindsay on top of a drawer, looking scared at a cockroach on the floor, "What is it? Kill it! Kill it!" she yelped. Revel and Louise were not surprised, "Of course." Revel muttered. "Some people are just scared of bugs." Louise shrugged, though she was still not surprised at Lindsay's reaction.
They then went back to watching the show, seeing the cockroach crawling around, causing most of the campers to scream in fear and avoid it. Then, Duncan holds an ax, ready to decapitate it. "Okay, I can understand people against animal cruelty, but bugs?" Louise questioned. "Depends," said Revel, "Some bugs are useful. Cockroaches? Not so much."
Before Duncan can chop the roach, Ann stops him while holding the said roach in her other hand, "I wouldn't even use that if I were you." She said, "Because even if you did, both halves will continue to move due to their decentralized nervous systems." "She's right." Harold said, "And cockroaches can live for weeks without their heads." Marinette shudders at that fact, as well as the people in Jagged's hotel room, already picturing the thought of a headless cockroach still crawling around. "Yeah, thanks, Duncan, but I think we're just gonna have to take a raincheck on that ax." Revel said, shuddering. "I second that." Louise added while Luka nodded, agreeing as well.
Then, they watch as Ann takes the cockroach outside and lets it go free. "There we go." She says with a proud sigh while dusting off her hands. Marinette sighs in relief, "Thank you." "Well, that's one way to get rid of a cockroach." Gwen said, impressed with Ann's way of getting rid of bugs. The nine people watching were also impressed with Ann's way, "Well, that was nice." Clara commented, "A peaceful way to get rid of pests." "Bet she literally been there in her hometown." Revel whispers to his sister, Louise nodding along, "Honestly wouldn't be surprised if she did."
Back on the screen, they see one of the guys of the Killer Bass team, Tyler, heads to Lindsay, telling her, "If you ever see one of those again, just let me know, okay? 'Cause, you know, I could do that, too." Lindsay smiles at his offer. The peopleâwho were in and who came in after hearing the scream but then got intrigued with what's happeningâsmiled while some were not surprised, knowing that sooner or later Tyler and Lindsay would be a thing. "Oh, young love." Clara mused, "Adorable."
Duncan scoffs, "They always go for the jocks." They then hear Jessamine snort, "Not all of them. But hey, we all have our types." She says with a smug and shrug. "I mean, she's not wrong." Revel said before nudging his sister, "Remember when you showed me that letter from your old pen pal Sarafina and how she has a thing with that Ramona girl?" Louise snickered, "Yeah, you know for a sweet yet shy girl with a soft-voice, she sure has a thing for girls who are goth and hipster both in one." She chuckled, "Still can't believe she prefers combinations over pepperoni." Carlos chuckles, "Yeah, well, love's a pizzaâyou never know what toppings you'll get."
The screen then changes, and they all see what must be the main lodge, and then, they hear a booming drill sergeant-like voice yelling aloud, "Listen up! I serve it three times a day, and you'll eat it three times a day! Grab your tray, get your food, and sit your butts down NOW!"
Carlos snorts, "Why am I not surprised? Hatchet's still a chef. And this time, he's a camp one." "Uncle Carlos, you told us he once was at a prison, right?" Louise asked. "Yeah, though it's been a while, it's all a blur." Percy admits, still trying to remember what prison it was. "Guess we'll never know." Faron shrugged, watching the scene unfold.
Back on the screen, Amanda turned her eyes to Ann, Jessa, Lucy, and Marinette, and started tapping her finger to them. Which Percy can already translate in his head, "...No kidding." "What?" Revel asked. "Your pop learned Morse code back when we were on tour." Carlos explained, "And Amanda's using it to tell Marinette's group that it's normal." They, along with more people coming in, looked surprised until they saw Ann and Jessamine's confessional.
"We're used to hearing yells like that all the time. And most of them are from my dad when he's talking to his workers on his phone calls." Jessamine said. "We're witnesses." Annabelle added, making Jessamine smirk at the joke. "But still, Chef Hatchet's yelling is nothing compared to what dad does when he's working at his job." Jessa added. "That's the understatement of the century." Annabelle replied.
"I honestly don't know if I should be worried or not, but frankly, I don't either way." Faron said, knowing how it must've feltâthe way Annabelle and Jessamine talked about it was almost nonchalant.
Carlos snorted into his soda can, "Yeah, well, I'd take Chef's yelling over my old man's lectures any day." Luka rolled his eyes with a knowing smile, 'And I honestly would prefer ma's yelling at dad whenever he tries talking to her.' He chuckles, remembering the one time his father tried to talk to his motherâagainâand his mother's yelling was heard from across Paris.
On-screen, Marinette, Amanda, Ann, Jessamine, and Lucy get their trays and food, and then, "Thanks, Chef." Ann said, sounding thankful in her tone. "Thank you." Jessamine says happily. "Merci." Marinette said. "Grazie," said Lucy. "Thanks, Uncle Chef." Amanda said as they walked off. Chef nods at them as they walk off.
Revel and Louise both raise a brow, confused when Amanda called Chef "Uncle Chef," and Carlos whispers-tell them in short, "He's a close family friendâused to be Amanda's nanny when she was little." "Ohh." The twins murmured. Penny found herself smiling at the politeness of the girls, especially Marinetteâthough she noticed Clara and Jagged smiled when Chef's confessional played.
"Of course I care for my niece. But she's gotta earn her keep like everyone else. That girl's got grit, I'll give her that. And the other four? Polite kids, not gonna lie. Refreshing change from these other whiners." One of the hotel chefs who came in earlier to serve snacks snorted at Chef's confession, muttering something about 'softening up'âearning a gentle bonk on the head by another chef, "Cut him some slack. He practically raised Amanda since she could hold a knife."
After the confessional, they all watched some of the campers eating some of it, and some looked at it uncertainly. Marinette and the four girls, on the other hand, Amanda eating hers normally, which was obvious to some people as they could tell that not only she grew up with Chef, but she also grew up eating the mystery food he made, Lucy was enjoying hers like she's in a fancy gathering with catered food, Jessamine ate hers was enjoying it with reminiscence in her eyes, Ann was enjoying her food as if she hadn't eaten anything in days, and Marinette was eating her food politely and looked at it with a look that says 'Not bad. Could use a little salt though'.
They then watch as Chris enters in, "Welcome to the main lodge," "Yo, my man. Can we order a pizza?" Geoff asked. Then suddenly, a butcher knife was thrown and hit the wall, missing an inch of both Chris on his left, and Marinette on her right. While most people were both shocked and surprised at that, Jagged, Penny, Luka, and Clara looked surprised themselves, but not at the knife-throwingâbut at Marinette's reaction. But then again, after coincidentally being with her from time to time, they weren't that surprised as everyone else around them is.
They then see Amanda's confessional, "Like I said in Morse code, Uncle Chef's yelling, and that knife-throwing thing? Totally normal. He used to do worse to dad during Thanksgiving when he'd steal the last drumstick." She crossed her arms, "And don't even get me started on that one time he replaced dad's pepper spray with powdered sugar. Knives were the least of his problems."
"Yup. That checks out," Carlos confirmed, showing Luka, the twins, and the kids of some of the hotel guests some of the photos of a young kid Amanda with Chef and in the background, Chris McLean nursing a bleeding nose and holding a drumstick in his hand, clearly during Thanksgiving. "Okay, on one hand, ouch. But on the other, well-deserved. Also, good to know." Revel commented with Louise nodding in agreement. Penny gave Jagged a knowing smirkâheâd tried stealing the last cookie from Marinetteâs bakery once. Sabine Cheng had not thrown a knife, but her glare had been sharp enough to pierce steel.
On-screen, Lucy's confessional comes on, "Oh, posh. I have been there plenty of times back in the day. Chef Hatchet's knife-throwing is nothing compared to the dear servants I knew and worked with one summer back in London. And one even starts a fire to the kitchen all the time. Sometimes with his flamethrower even."
"Can't imagine what place it was she worked at and who the workers were," Louise muttered, shaking her head. "Ah, could've been worse." Carlos said, "Your dads and I worked at some weird spots back in the dayâone time, this guy in Berlin threw a whole schnitzel at me for 'sullying the art of meat' when I added ketchup." "Better that than a knife," Revel said, already seeing a past Uncle Carlos incident forming in his mind.
On-screen, came in Ann and Jessamine's confessional, "Oh, please. That was amateur hour," Ann scoffed, rolling her gunmetal-blue eyes. Jessamine nodded. "Back in L.A., a chef we once knew threw cleavers whenever someone asked for ketchup. Sometimes whenever they have an attitude, snapping their fingers, and saying, "Excuse me?" and then, "I specifically asked for no" and then it's always no something, something. Like that one couple who loathes mayonnaise, saying that mayo is the "Devil's Condiment", and that was one of our classmates' distant cousin complaining all that lousy useless nonsense," Jessamine added, spinning one of her multicolored ponytails around her finger, "But hey, better that than a chainsaw one of them used to shave some ice." Ann shuddered, "Don't remind me."
Some of the people watching shuddered at the thought of a chef using a chainsawâeven Jagged Stone, who'd seen his fair share of bizarre backstage antics, raised an eyebrow. "I can understand the part where chefs throw knives at mayo-hating customers, but chainsaws?" Faron mused, shaking his head. "That's a bit much."
Then, Marinette's confessional comes on, "Eh, I've seen, and been through worse. There was this one time this one akumatized villain threw knives too, but they were plastic knives, though they sure did hit the walls like actual ones. Mom and dad were shocked and horrified seeing me almost getting hit by one of them."
"It's true." Jagged admits, remembering that time he was checking on the two way earlier before catching wind with how Marinette was set to go to a camp at an unknown location, "Tom and Sabby almost passed out when they saw that akuma footage." Penny nods, recalling the frantic phone call she'd gotten from Sabine. "It was that Cutlery King attack, wasn't it?" Louise asks, recognizing the story from tabloids. "Yeah, the same one who was attacking people with all the utensils people could name, whether it's silverware or plastic." Revel said, remembering that one news report, "Apparently it was about something dumbâlike someone didn't like using his hands to eat slices for some reason. Not to mention any foods that don't require any utensils of any kind."
Carlos snorts, "I mean, I get itâyou don't use utensils for pizzaâbut throwing knives is a bit much." Luka crosses his arms, his jaw tightening at the memory of Marinette nearly getting hit by an akumaâs plastic cutlery barrage. "At least this time sheâs not being targeted," he mutters, earning a knowing glance from Penny. Marinette subtly adjusted her earrings under her pigtails, "But seriously, why the heck do people keep throwing sharp objects near me?" "Who knows, Marinette?" Jagged Stone said with a shrug.
"Whoa! It's cool, G!" Geoff says, "Brown slop is cool! Right guys?" The campers agreed in fear while Marinette and her new four friends nodded in honesty. Chris then continues, "Your first challenge begins in one hour."
"What do you think they'll make us do?" Katie asked. "It's our first challenge," said DJ, "How hard can it be?"
Then, the screen changes to all the campers outside, in their swimwear. "You were saying?" asked Amanda. Then, the screen zooms out, and shows that they're all up a cliff.
"...Oh, dang." Revel and Louise muttered in unison, staring at the screen along with their family, their friends, and more and more people who were tuning in to see this unfolding before them.
They then hear Marinette ask, breaking a bit of the silence, "Guess nobody here has seen this coming, huh?" "I suppose not." Lucy said honestly. "So much for having our hopes up." Amanda sarcastically comments. The class then heard Ann and Jessamine both let out a 'Eh' and said at the same time, "We've seen worse."
The screen then goes back to all of them with Chris explaining their first challenge, "Okay, today's challenge is threefold. Your first task is to jump off this one-thousand-foot-high cliff into the lake. If you look down, you will see two target areas. The wider area represents the part of the lake that we have stocked with psychotic man-eating sharks." The screen then shows sharks' fins, swimming around, and some sharks jumping out and are chomping, as if they're ready for fresh meat.
"Why am I not surprised? That is so Chris." Faron sighed from the hotel lobby, rubbing his temples while Percy placed his hand over Faron's shoulder.
Luka frowned at the sight of Marinette gulping when she saw the sharks. The four girls Marinette befriended, on the other hand, Ann and Jessamine were looking at them as if this was normal for them, Lucy just tilted her head, and Amanda rolled her eyes.
Then, Amanda's next confessional comes on, "Of course. Dad has to have sharks in this camp. No wild surprise there." The people in the hotel room looked at her surprised that she knew, "And don't get me wrong. I'm not afraid of sharks, not one bit." She says honestly, "Been there, done that, I am not amused. Believe me. I know my dad." "You're not the only one, chica." Carlos said, remembering that one time Chris McLean put sharks in a swimming pool for one of his TV stuntsâonly for Amanda, at age seven, to dive in and swim laps around them like they were goldfish.
Then, the screen shows Ann and Jessamine's third confessional, "Don't get us wrong. We're fine with the sharks." Ann starts while Jessa nods. "Weâre used to them when it happened on our trip to the beach. We were swimming, minding our business, and not much to anyone's surprise, sharks came up. But instead of letting them attack us, we grabbed the shark by the gills the same way a child would to a mother's hoop earrings." Hearing how those two did that made the people in the hotel shudder at the mental imageâespecially since Jessamine said it with the same tone someone would use to describe tying shoelaces.
"Yeah, those sharks regretted it." Ann finishes nonchalantly, as if discussing the latest juicy gossip. The people glanced at one to another. Some were impressed, some were concerned, and some were unsure if they should either be glad that the two have a survival system or call the authorities. Jessamine crosses her arms proudly, "So, long story short, sharks? Nothing. We can deal with them."
They then went back to the show, where Chris continued his explanation, oblivious to the Killer Bass team's mounting horror. "Inside that area is a safe zone. That's your target area. Which we're pretty sure are shark-free."
"Excuse me?" Leshawna's voice gawked. "Leshawna's rhetorical question sounds right." Louise muttered, watching the screen with a mix of disbelief and morbid fascination. Chris continued, "For each member of your team that jumps and actually survives, there will be a crate of supplies waiting below." The screen then pans down to the lower level of the camp's beach, where it shows the crates Chris was talking about, "Inside each crate are supplies that you'll need for the second part of the challenge. Building a hot tub. The team with the best one gets to have a wicked hot tub party tonight. The losers will be sending someone home." After explaining the challenge, Chris starts the challenge. As he holds up his clipboard, he says, "Let's see. Killer Bass, you're up first."
"So, who wants to go first?" Bridgette asked. The rest of the Killer Bass team were silent, not volunteering to be the first to take the first dive down from the cliff to the Safe Zone. The Screaming Gophers were even quiet. The atmosphere was thick both inside and outside of the television, so thick that someone could cut it easily with a butter knife, and this time, not a plastic one from that Cutlery King.
Then, Owen reassures both the Screaming Gophers and the Killer Bass, telling them all, "Hey, don't sweat it, guys. I heard that these shows always make the interns do the stunt first to make sure it's survivable." Marinette and Lucy smiled at Owen's optimism.
"Owen's right," Marinette said, smoothing her hands over her swimsuit nervously. "I'm sure they did test it out. After all, the last thing this place needs is a lawsuit." Lucy nodded beside her. Luka smiled faintly from the hotel lobbyâMarinette always had that way of grounding things, even when her own knees were practically knocking together.
The pianist of the emo band, Our Mutated Relation, Corbin Bleu, then noticed Amanda quietly snickering, before he can question anyone why, the screen shows what seems to be a quick Behind the Scenes clip. Where Chris and Amandaâholding what seems to be a school notebookâare standing on the cliff while Chef is in his swimwear.
"We need to test the stunts first. You know that." Chris tells the camp's chef. "Do I look like an intern?" Chef questions sarcastically and looks at Chris as if he's nuts. "No," Chris said, "But the ones we had are all in the hospital." While some were shocked, Luka, Jagged, Penny, Clara, Carlos, Faron, and Percy weren't. Since they know how Chris operates. Revel and Louise, on the other hand, both raised a brow unfazed.
"That, and the others chickened out like that Lex Luthor guy who bailed when that Darkseid guy came around." Amanda added while reading through a notebook in her hands.
"Who?" Revel and Louise both questioned in unison. "Uh, you two don't wanna know." Percy said, not wanting to explain what he once witnessed when he was at his husband's tour at Metropolis. Back on the screen, Chris takes Amanda's notebook out of her hands. "Hey." "As much as I care about your grades just as much as you do, kiddo, it's probably best if you lay off the whole research for your essay for now." "Fine," Amanda says, rolling her eyes, "But I'm still going to finish that essay." "You do that," said Chris.
"...Okay, I know we're all probably thinking this, so I'm gonna go ahead and say this...It's a good thing he cares about Amanda's education." Faron muttered, rubbing his forehead as if trying to stave off an impending headache.
The hotel lobby erupted into murmurs of agreement while Chris turned back to Chef, "C'mon, just jump it, you big chicken." He tells Chef while balking like one. "I don't get paid enough for this, man." Chef said after putting on his swim goggles. With that, he jumped.
After they see him jump, and not much to anyone's surprise, Chef jumps up mid-air, and runs off just in time before the shark can get him. "Well, that seems safe enough." Chris says while writing on his clipboard.
"Did you have to add the sharks on this island?" Amanda questions non-amusingly while taking back her notebook. Chris shrugged, "Eh, it's not my idea when the producers wanted to add sharks to the island." "Yup. That figures." Faron muttered as he, his husband, brother-in-law, Jagged, Penny, Clara, and Luka already figured out that it wasn't only Chris McLean's idea that sharks be added to the camp's lake, but also producers' involvement too.
"And besides, Chef survived." Chris added, "Barely." Amanda says sarcastically, "You're terrible." "I know." Chris says with a wink and grin. "Is it weird to say that I think the word "Terrible" sounded like an understatement?" Louise questioned. "Major understatement of the century, sis." Revel replied while rubbing his forehead.
The show then went back to the first part of the challenge and the Killer Bass. "So, who's up?" asked Eva. "Ladies first," said Duncan. "Fine. I'll go." Bridgette said. "You got this, Bridgette," Marinette said, "No regrets!" Bridgette smiles at Marinette's encouragement before preparing to jump. "It's no big deal. It's just an insane cliff dive into a circle of angry sharks." As she jumped, the rest of the campers all watched as she made it safely into the Safe Zone. The campers were happy seeing that she made it into the Safe Zone.
Everyone in Jagged's hotel room all sighed in relief, all glad to see that Bridgette made it safely. "She did it!" said Tyler, "Yeah! I'm next!" With that, Tyler jumps next, letting out a 'Cowabunga' until he lands on a buoy, which Bridgette winces at the pain she had witnessed, while Tyler groans in pain, yet he is still in the Safe Zone. "Oof. Did not expect that." Louise commented with Revel nodding in agreement.
After Tyler, Geoff jumped, then Eva, and then Duncan. DJ was next. However, "Uh-uh. No way, man. I'm not jumping." "Scared of heights?" asked Chris. "Yeah. Ever since I was a kid." said DJ. "That's okay, big guy. Unfortunately that also makes you a chicken. So, you'll have to wear this for the rest of the day." Chris explained, putting a chicken hat on DJ's head. "Oh, man. For real?" said DJ. "Just be glad that he isn't making you wear a turkey suit." Amanda muttered while her father was balking.
"Yeah, I think I would stick with the chicken hat." Revel muttered, watching DJ now wearing the ridiculous headpiece with a grimace. Louise snorted into her sodaâsomehow, despite everything, the absurdity of reality TV kept punching through the tension.
"That means the chicken path down is that way." Chris said, pointing to an escalator that was surprisingly there at the cliff. The campers, minus DJ who was ready to walk, and the people all filling up Jagged's hotel room watching the show, were surprised and confused at how an escalator got there. "How the-" They then watch as the campers glance at Amanda. "Don't ask." Amanda says, shrugging, "Dad's weird."
As DJ walks to the escalator, Marinette stops him saying, "It's okay, DJ. There's no shame about not doing it due to a fear of heights. Everyone has fears. Even me." Marinette says honestly. DJ smiles at Marinette's words. "Thanks, Marinette." DJ says gratefully.
Luka smiled at how Marinette comforted DJâshe had this quiet way of stitching people back together with just a few words. Then, her confessional comes on, "Seeing DJ's fear... it reminded me of my own struggles. Heights never bothered me much, but bugs aside from ladybugs and butterflies? Well...all I could say is that it took me a long time to overcome it. But seeing someone else facing their fears? That's something I understand deeply."
Luka, Louise, and Revel nod in understandingâLuka remembers Marinette had once admitted her fear of bugs since one of her first days back in school before tenth grade. Louise, who once saw Marinette freeze up when a moth flew into the bakery when she and Revel were picking up croissants for their dads.
They then watched as the challenge was still on, and the one homeschooled Killer Bass boy, Ezekiel, was next to jump. As he jumps, he accidentally bumps into a rock on the cliff, causing him to spin in circles like an old cartoon character, yet makes it safely into the Safe Zone. The Killer Bass, who jumped off, cheered while Ezekiel gave a thumbs up. "Logic better have a good reason how that guy didn't get dizzy." Louise muttered while rubbing her forehead, which made Luka chuckle softlyâMarinette always had a way of attracting the absurd, even by proxy.
Harold jumped next, however, as he made it to the Safe Zone, he landed on his crotch, which made him scream in pain, and the campers, even the sharks, winced at the pain he's feeling now. Even the people in the hotel room gathering around the television winced at that.
"Sweet mother ofâ" Faron clapped a hand over his eyes while Percy groaned in sympathetic agony beside him. Jagged Stone, ever the rockstar, winced theatrically and clutched his own crotch in solidarity. "Mate, thatâs justâoof. Brutal." Penny sighed and rubbed her temples, muttering something about workplace safety violations. "Oh, buddy." Revel muttered, shaking his head while Louise buried her face in her handsâyet somehow still peeked through her fingers at the screen. Luka shuddered and instinctively crossed his legs, suddenly grateful for the chair beneath him.
Back on-screen, Chris, still smiling which wasn't surprising to anyone, Courtney was crossing her arms with a look that is not a wince nor a look of sympathy nor anything else in between, Amanda, Marinette, and Lucy had the same expressions as the three monkeys people often mentionâsee no evil, hear no evil, and speak no evilâwhile Ann and Jessamine both held each other, shuddering and still wincing at what they just witnessed.
"Oh, hate to see that happen," said Chris. "Tell us something we don't know." Amanda said with her eyes still covered and still wincing Harold's pain. "Preach it, sister." Corbin muttered, already crossing his legs, remembering his stunt accident from two years agoâthe memory still fresh enough to make him shudder. "That poor boy." Lucy said softly with her mouth still covered. "You can say that again." Ann said as she and Jessa both shuddered after hearing Harold in so much pain. "More like you can say that again twice." One of the famous makeup influencers and one of Louise's schoolmates, Miley, muttered while rubbing her forehead, already feeling bad for Harold.
"Excuse me, Chris. I have a medical condition." Courtney announced to him. "What condition?" "A condition that prevents me from jumping off cliffs." "Acrophobia." Ann corrects. The wincing stopped and was replaced with surprised expressions looking at Ann who just said that. "You know what it's called?" asked Marinette. "She's been learning medicine a bit. It's a small habit of hers when she was reading books." Jessamine explains to them. "I did remember seeing her holding a book after my concert back in Gotham." Jagged comments to the group watching the show, recalling spotting Ann tucked in a corner with a thick medical textbook during his backstage chaos.
He then hears Jessamine add in her explanation, "And one of them was a medical school book that was in a bookstore that sells pre-owned books." Ann shrugged, "It was interesting." She says in defense. Carlos shrugged, "Hey, I get where she's coming from. Percy did the same back in our teens." He said to the people in the hotel room, "Except Percy's was naval engineering manuals. Guy had a thing for schematics." Percy elbows him, though gently, while Faron just rolls his eyes affectionatelyâCarlos wasn't wrong. Penny chuckles, "I get it too. I caught Jagged reading fantasy books on tour once." "Hey!" Jagged protests, though there's no heat in it. Luka quietly laughs as he too once saw Jagged reading fantasy booksâspecifically ones with dragons and gatorsâthough the musician prefers not to mention it.
They then went back to watching Chris telling Courtney, "You can chicken out if you want. But it might end up costing your team the win. And then they'll hate you." "It's a calculated risk." Courtney said, "I've seen the other team, and I don't think any of them will jump." 'I wouldn't be so sure about that.' Luka thought while raising a brow at Courtney's smugness.
"Alright, here's your chicken hat." Chris said, putting the chicken hat on Courtney's head. After that, he looks at his clipboard, tallying up the results. "That's eight jumpers and two chickens. We're missing one."
"I'm not jumping without Katie!" said Sadie while Katie adds, "We have to be on the same team, Chris." The people started to look unfazed, while some were not surprised as the two begged Chris to be on the same team together. "I'll switch places with her." Izzy offered. "Let them, Chris, because I can't stand their begging any longer." "Me neither." Miley and Louise both said with their ears covered. Revel snorts, but he knows that even his sister and her friend have limitsâespecially when it comes to whining, or hearing someone or people whining.
"All right, fine," Chris says, giving in and looking not too pleased as the class who are still watching, "You're both on the Killer Bass now. Izzy, you're on the Screaming Gophers." "'Bout time." Corbin muttered, relieved that they don't have to hear the begging anymore. After seeing the two jump and making it into the Safe Zone, "Okay. So that's nine jumpers and two chickens. Screaming Gophers, if you can beat that, we'll throw in a pole cart to put your crates on." Chris said to the Screaming Gophers. "Nice." said Trent, "Okay, guys. Who's up first?"
"I'm sorry," Heather said, crossing her arms while turning her head as if she was letting out a huff, yet the huff is a rude 'I'm sorry' instead, "There's no way I'm doing this?" "Why not?" Beth asked. "Hello? National TV. I'll get my hair wet."
"Psh. Typical." Miley said, rolling her eyes, "Typical wannabe princess." Louise muttered in agreement, both already not liking Heather's attitude. On screen, Ann said, "Oh, please. We were soaked earlier today after the dock collapsed." "Yeah." Jessa added, shrugging, "And you were pretty much fine after we got back up to land." "That was different." Heather said. Revel snorted, "Yeah, keep saying that."
"Oh, you're doing it." Leshawna said. "Says who?" Heather scoffs. "Says me." Leshawna shot back, "I'm not losing this challenge 'cause you got your hair did, you spoiled little daddy's girl." "Back off, Ghetto-Glamour Too-Tight-Pants-Wearing, Rap-Star Wannabe." "Mall-Shopping, Ponytail-Wearing, Teen-Girl-Reading, Peeking in High School Prom Queen!" "Well, at least I'm popular." "No surprise on how there's a rivalry. Even on the first day." Revel muttered while rubbing his forehead. "Hey, better this than that last one in school." said Louise. Miley nods, "Yeah, unlike CollĂšge Paul Bert, these two don't talk about what rumor is true or false." One attorney watching the show with them, Chandler, mutters, "Christ, this is like watching two alley cats fight over a dumpster."
"Oh, are you?" They all then turned their heads back to the screen after hearing the growl from Amanda. As they did, they watched as Amanda stomped over to Heather, picking her up like a piece of wood from a construction site, surprising both the campers and them. "I'm sorry, Heather, but I have about enough of this messed up drama that we all have witnessed. Your lousy little excuses and talk-backs are just nothing but a giant waste of my time, and everyone else's. So, shut your trap, shove it down, and get in there, NOW!" After saying that, Amanda throws Heather into the Safe Zone. On screen, they see Ann looking like she's getting some sort of dĂšjĂĄ vu, while Jessamine looks like she's been reminded of something else.
"HA!" Louise barked out a laugh, "Karma!" "Karma indeed." Percy agreed, grinning at what they all saw. "What did Chef feed that girl?" Faron muttered while rubbing his foreheadâthough there was no hiding his smirk. "And that, campers, is Life Lesson number one. Do NOT make my little girl mad." Chris said with a nonchalant smile on his face.
Then, Amanda's confessional comes on, "I had this stress and anger issue combination since my first day of middle school. After going through some things, I've been having these two issues all my life to this very day." Luka can understand that.
He remembers the times Ivan once told him all about his struggles and situations of his rough patch relationship with his criminal father who wanted him to be like him and carry on his legacyâbut Ivan refused, much to his father's disappointment, and Ivan never looked back since. He knew how stress and anger can mess with someone's headâespecially when it's bottled up for too long.
Amanda's confessional continued, "The only thing good to know is that I have two systems of calming them both. And one of them that tops it off, is my two essential oils one of my distant relatives gave me from their metaphysical shop." Amanda then shows two small bottles of essential oils labeled Stress and Anger Management. "These two are the only things that can help me calm down when I'm out. Without them, who knows what could happen."
"Well, glad to know that she got it handled." Revel muttered while also feeling glad that he's not the only one who uses essential oilsâthough his are for migraines, courtesy of Louise after she caught him stress-crumbling over finals last semester.
On-screen, Heather gets up from the lake, catches her breath, and glares daggers at Amanda, "Amanda, you are so dead!" she yelled for Amanda to hear. "Hey! She threw you into the Safe Zone, didn't she?" yelled Leshawna. She then turned to the rest of the team and said, "Now I just hope I can hit it too." After that, she jumped and made it safely into the Safe Zone as well.
"Heather had it coming to begin with." Louise muttered under her breath, swirling her soda can with a little too much forceâlike she was imagining it was Heather's neck. Jagged chuckled, rubbing Fang's head absently. "Kid's got her mum's throwing arm," he mused, eyes flicking briefly to Penny, who rolled her eyes but didn't deny it.
On-screen, Lindsay was next to jump, but was looking scared, "I thought this was going to be a talent contest." She said in fear, Chris laughed, "Yeah, no." After Lindsay jumped, it was then Gwen, followed by Cody, and then Izzy, who was laughing like a maniac while heading down to the Safe Zone. Carlos chuckled, "Does Izzy remind you of someone, Fare?" Faron groaned, rubbing his foreheadâIzzy's chaotic energy did remind him a little too much of his younger self, back when he was still figuring out how to channel his ADHD into something productive instead of, say, rigging the school's PA system to play death metal during math class.
Justin was then next. However, as he jumped, he was outside of the Safe Zone. Cody, Gwen, and Leshawna, and the people in the hotel room all yelled, telling him to paddle, get out of there, and so on. "Justin, get out of there!" "Get out of there!"
However, as the sharks swam to him, they stopped, looked at him, and instead, they swam him back to land. Leaving the people watching shocked and confused. "What theâ" Louise muttered.
"Holy freak, he's even popular with dangerous sea creatures." Amanda said, looking surprised herself. "Amanda has the right to say that." Clara pointed out, "How is that fair after the sharks just stop and stare?" "You're rhyming again, Clara." Carlos muttered before shaking his headâthis wasn't the weirdest thing he'd seen today, but it was up there.
On-screen, Beth chose to chicken out, then Noah jumped as well as Trent. And then it was Marientte's turn to jump.
While some worry as they watch as she looks uncertain, some people look worried for her, until Lucy and Amanda both stand beside her, Amanda stands on Marinette's right, and Lucy stands on her left. "Hey, we'll tag with you." Amanda assures her, "No one jumps alone." Lucy nods, "We will be with you on this." Marinette smiles gratefully. "Okay." She says softly, "Let's do this." The three girls hold hands, and jump together. Marinette lets out a cheerful "Allez!" as they dive down, landing safely in the Safe Zone. The campers and the people watching all cheered, happy that Marinette made it safely, and away from the sharks. "That was awesome!" Owen cheered, "You three rock!" Bridgette smiled, "Way to go!"
"Rock and roll, Marinette!" Jagged cheered while Fang wags his tail. Luka's smile grew more as he saw Marinette's joyful expression.
The screen then shows Ann and Jessamine stepping up, and then, the two jumped. Ann gracefully flipped in midair, arms up like a bat spreading its wings, while Jessa tucked into a cannonball, her multicolored hair whipping around her as she whooped. Both landed cleanlyâAnn silent as a shadow, and Jessa splashing water onto Heather's freshly dried hair, earning a shriek. "Oops, my bad." Jessa grinned, not sorry at all, while Ann rolled her eyes but nudged her friend's shoulder fondly. Louise and Revel, and a couple of more kids of the hotel guests laughed while Heather looked like she wanted to strangle someone.
But then, their laughter died when they realized that Ann and Jessa are outside of the Safe Zone. "Oh, crud!" Miley gulped. However, before the sharks could do anything to them, the two grabbed them by the gills and pulled them, making the sharks retreat and the two laughed. "Still got it." Jessamine smirked while Ann nodded silently.
While some were both shocked and surprised at that, Jagged, Penny, Luka, Carlos, Faron, Percy, Louise, and Revel sighed in relief. "Those two weren't kidding when they said that they weren't afraid of sharks," Penny muttered while rubbing her forehead. "Yeah, those two would've done something like that." Louise said while shaking her head in disbeliefâyet not entirely surprised either. "Still wild." Carlos muttered while Percy just shrugsâhe's seen wilder. "I know I might kick myself for saying this later, but I think I can see why Chris picked them to be contestants." Faron mutters while rubbing his foreheadâthough he's grinning despite himself. Percy chuckles, nudging him, "You would say that."
On-screen, they all hear Chris call out via megaphone, "Okay, campers, there's only one person left."
They all watch as the screen shows that the last one to either jump or chicken is Owen. "You guys need this jump for the win." Chris added before turning to Owen, "No pressure, dude." Some of the people in the hotel room smiled at that as well as Owen, until Chris then said, "Okay, there's pressure."
The Screaming Gophers all cheered for Owen to make the jump. As well as some of the Killer Bassâespecially Noah, who was cheering loudlyâand the people in the hotel room who were watching.
"You can do this, Owen!" "Show those sharks who's boss!" "Don't let them smell fear!"
The screen showed confessionals, starting with Owen's, "Oh, I was pretty darn nervous. You see, the thing is, I'm not that strong a swimmer." Then Geoff's, "I'm looking at this guy and thinking, there's no way he's gonna make it." Then Gwen's, "I actually thought that if he jumps this, he's gonna die." Then Amanda's, "Yup. Owen is definitely going to die. Or...gah, I forgot what my dad said, but I do know that the word he says from time to time was another way of saying Owen is going to die. Still don't know what that word is, but I'll figure it out later." She says while shrugging. "But hey, at least he'll die trying." She says sarcastically.
"I wonder what that word was?" Louise muttered, wondering what it was Chris said that Amanda's trying to know. "...Uh, I think it's best to not wanna know." Faron said while Jagged nodded in agreement, "Yeah, trust us, LouLou, it's better if you don't know." Louise, Revel, Luka, and Miley glanced at one another, and then shrugâthey'll take their word for it. Even if only their folks know what that word must've beenâwhich Luka's guessing was probably a profanity.
They then turn back to the screen on time to see Lucy's confessional, "I am not one to judge on people nor their shape and size, but I must say, Owen's courage is admirable. Though I do hope he does not injure himself." She pauses, adjusting her pearl necklace thoughtfully. "I have seen enough accidents during ballet rehearsals to know momentum can be... unkind."
"Oof, do I know that feeling?" A rising ballet student said while stretching his leg, "I remembered seeing this one girlâwait, two girlsâboth slipped on stage wax and crashed into the orchestra pit." Some people in the hotel room winced at the mental image.
while Ann and Jessamine's confessional came on, "Don't get the two of us wrong. We're rooting for Owen, butâ" Ann pinched the bridge of her nose as Jessamine snorted, spinning a lock of her multicolored hair around her finger. "Hey, we're still rooting for him, no matter what. Besides, he'll survive, and not feel any pain like that one swim-jock I once called a stick-up punk who had the gall to tried to make a move on all girls by impressing them with what he calls it, a "Swan Dive of Eternal Beauty", until he almost drowned, and bruised his ego after everyone knew he can't swim." The people in the hotel room snickered, giggled, chuckled, and laughed at the thought of thatâthough Louise and Miley both groaned in unison, "Ugh, don't remind us." Miley said, "I have a cousin who goes to the same school as that guy. He still canât live it down.â Revel shuddered. âManâs got a punchable face too.â Carlos snickered, "I wouldn't be surprised if that kid had more of a punchable face than Amandaâs dad."
They hear Ann snickering, "Made me wish I was there to see that...May sound a bit wrong to laugh and all, but I still wished that." Jessa nods, "Still though, wish Owen luck. He'll need it." Ann nods. "You said it, Jessa." Jagged glances at Lukaâhis sonâs fingers have gone still on the guitar strings, hovering like heâs waiting for a cue.
And lastly, Marinette's confessional comes on, "On one hand, I believe Owen can jump this easily, but on the other hand, I'm scared for him. He's such a sweet guy, and I don't want him to get hurt." She pauses, twirling her pigtail hair around her finger. "But...I have faith in him." Some people smile at Marinette's kind words.
Back on the TV screen, Chris tells Owen, "Take a good run at it, buddy. You can do this."
"I'm going to die now. I'm going to totally die now." The atmosphere was now tense as they watched and waited for Owen to make the jump. "Come on, big guy." Leshawna said. And then, Owen runs with confidence, and makes the jump, until the fear comes to him as he falls and screams. But while he screams, he arrives down safely at the Safe Zone, the splash he made became huge that even caused the sharks to be stuck in the trees, surprising everyone in the hotel room.
Then, they see Owen is in the Safe Zone, "Yeah! Who's the man!" he roots. "The winners, the Screaming Gophers!" Everyone in the hotel room all cheeredâeven Louise let out a whistle while Fang wagged his gator tail excitedly.
The hotel owner, and mayor of Paris, AndrĂš Bourgeois, walks in to wonder what has gotten people to come into the hotel room and see, "Oh, Christopher is on another reality show?" he said, surprised to see Chris is on probably his fifth reality show. Louise nods, "Yeah, he's the host of Total Drama." she tells him. AndrĂš hums in understanding.
"Anthony, what is going on here?" Shrilled another voice, there walked in his wife Audrey, who then stopped to see Chris, and looked not-so surprised, "Don't tell me. Christoph is hosting another one of his little shows again." She said, already sounding done with the dayâwhich was barely noon. The hotel guests chuckled, not surprised that Chris is fully known to some of the people in the hotel. Including the mayor's wife.
"Yeah." Carlos confirmed, "And here's the best part. One of Paris's very own citizens is in it. And it's the kid Jagged's been cheering on." AndrĂš and Audrey looked surprised, and when they saw the screen showing the Screaming Gophers already pulling their carts that are carrying their crates while singing '99 Bottles of Pop on the Wall', they looked more surprised to see who it was. "The girl who designed Gabriel's son's derby hat?" Audrey gawked. AndrĂš blinked surprised, but was surprisingly glad, "Ah! The Dupain-Cheng girl!" He said happily, "I didn't know she was going to be on Christopher's show."
"Uh, about that." Penny started before whispering-explaining everything to him and Audrey.
"...They WHAT?!" Audrey gawked a second time. Penny nods, confirming it, "Her parents already called, including Jagged and Luka's mother. And I'm sure there are probably more concerned parents calling right now." She explains. The mayor rubs his foreheadâhe did hear how the school was closed due to an urgent investigation, but he didn't think this was why.
"The nerve of those students who think that was a brilliant idea. The way they did so is ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous!" Audrey hissed, fists balled up, "Anthony, I think it's best to have the best authorities themselves to see for themselves on what is going on." She said, AndrĂš nods, "Right. I'll get on the phone with them." He then whispers to Carlos, "My wife and I will like to have the details on the episode." Carlos nods, "Sure thing, man." With that, AndrĂš and Audrey walked out.
What no one didn't know was how ChloĂš and Sabrina overheard the whole thing. Including Penny's whispered explanation about what happened.
"You have got to be kidding me!" ChloĂš gawked, her perfectly manicured nails digging into Sabrina's arm as they lurked behind a potted fern. "Marinette Dupain-Cheng? On a reality show on television? And was sent there because of those low-class worms? Without even a "sure, why not?"?" Sabrina winced, but even she didn't like how their classmates sent Marinette to some unknown place without her knowing nor the family's 'Okay'.
"Sabrina, we're dealing with this once and for all. No one messes with Dupain-Cheng's life but me! Their little stunt is ridiculousâutterly ridiculous!" ChloĂ© hissed, storming off toward her fatherâs office, Sabrina following behind, also madâthough less about Marinette's dignity and more about how dare their classmates do something without ChloĂš's input.
Meanwhile, back in the hotel room, the screen showed the Screaming Gophers still pulling their carts. While the Killer Bass had to carry all of theirs on their own with their hands and strength. Which was not surprising to any of the people watching as they saw Courtney try to do so until, "Ow! I think I just got a splinter." Eva then walks and picks up the crate with her amazingly strong strength and tells Courtney, "Shut it, and pick up your crate." She then drops it, causing Courtney to back away, then said, "Chicken." Though it did seem harsh to some, most of the people know that Eva does have the right to say that, as Courtney is complaining over a small splinter.
"Honestly, Courtney should just let up a bit. Girlâs got a splinter and acts like itâs a severed artery," Louise muttered, tossing a handful of popcorn into her mouth. Revel shook his head, "Some people really donât know how to rough it." "Well, not everyone can, but I get what you guys are saying." Miley said while shruggingâthough she still winced when Courtney said, "Hey, I'm the only one with CIT camping experience here, you need me." Both Eva and DJ were unfazed at her defense. As well as the people watching in the hotel room.
"That lousy excuse isn't gonna get you anywhere." Corbin called out to the TV. "Take it easy, Corbin." Percy chuckled, nudging him with an elbow before the screen flickered back to the Screaming Gophers as they were still pulling their carts to the campgrounds. While they were still doing so, they noticed the cameras catching Marinette having a conversation with Gwen, Leshawna, Ann, Jessamine, Amanda, and Lucy. Where Lucy explains to them why she's in the show.
"The people in London suggested it to me once when my Nonna and I were visiting Italy for the summer. They suggested believing that it would help me overcome my shyness," she explained, her sapphire blue eyes softening. "But I think they underestimated how much I have grown."
The people in the hotel room smiled, as it is true, Lucy has grownâfrom a shy four-year-old who was apparently all over the world somehowâto a graceful teen who carried herself with dignity and is well-known for her kindness. "They sure underestimated her, alright." Carlos chuckled, nudging Percy. Percy chuckled while agreeing with his brother, "Yeah. I still can't forget the time she was there in New York. I mean, really, how did she even get there?" "I heard she was there with her honorary cousin who travels a lot. Didn't say the name, but I'm guessing she's related to her somehow." Corbin replied while shrugging. Faron nods, "That sure does explain a lot."
Back on screen, they hear Jessamine tell both her and Ann's reason why they're in the camp as well, "My folks thought it would be fun for us to try something newâand to keep us out of trouble for our summer. May be odd of them to sign us up here, but honestly, I don't mind it." "Because you didn't wanna get dragged into another "boring" family vacation?" Ann asked knowingly with a raised brow. Jessamine laughed and flipped her ponytails dramatically. "Duh. Plus, not gonna lie, aside from the whole shark situation, this island camp stuff is actually a nice change of paceâway better than sipping fruit juice in some stuffy building while ma and pop are having it as their working vacation...with all due respect, of course." "Makes sense to me." said Amanda.
"I get where she's coming from." said Corbin, "One summer my parents dragged me to a corporate retreat in Switzerland. Twelve-hour meetings about sustainable alpaca wool." He shuddered, and Louise fake-gagged into her soda can. "Ugh, sickening." "Exactly." Corbin said, "So yeah. I'm glad for Jessa getting out of thatâand Ann too." Some people nodded in understanding.
Back on screen, Amanda gave a dry chuckle, explaining her reason while adjusting her spiked wristband. "My dad signed me up for "character building". Translation, he needed ratings gold...Well, that, and he and mom thought it would be nice to have me be out of the house for the whole summer." "Bummer." Annabelle muttered. "I second what Ann said there." Penny said, though her eyes softenedâshe'd seen Chris' old audition tapes. The man had never been subtle about exploiting drama.
Amanda continued, "Hey, but it's fine. I mean, with all due respect, it beats seeing another round where two of my three friends back home rumble with the rest of the teens in our local comic shop. Those two were just as collectible-crazy as those four guys decades ago." "The Eltingville Comic Book-Science Fiction-Horror-Fantasy-and-Role-Playing Club?" Jessa asked as she and Ann looked surprised.
"Oh, god. She has friends that are like those guys?" Faron groaned, rubbing his temples. "Those dudes were insufferable." Jagged let out a rare shudder, guitar pick slipping from his fingers. "Met âem once at a convention in â99. Two of 'em yelled at each other. Somethin' about some sort of 'continuity errors' in a comic book adaptation. Security had to drag âem out."
"Woof." Revel shuddered, tossing a handful of popcorn into his mouth like it was holy water. "And I thought we were bad back when we were eight." Louise nodded fervently, remembering the infamous Great Juice Box Debate of 2012 that had ended with their old school teacher threatening to ban fruit pouches forever.
They then hear Amanda add on, "But hey, unlike them, those two knuckleheads don't fight over an original twelve-inch Kenner Boba Fett figure that is still in the Star Wars box, Wookie Scouts, blah, blah, and not to mention, never removed from the said box...until those two Eltingville knuckleheads ended up fighting over it, breaking it, head off the body almost like Sub-Zero's Fatality."
Everyone shuddered at the thought of what Amanda just describedâeven Fang let out a low, empathetic growl from his spot under the coffee table. "I heard those two tried to pin the blame onto one another saying they "broke their Boba Fett" which led the comic shop owner correcting them that they both broke it and they're both going to pay for it, and then threw them and their other two friends out of the shop." Carlos said while shaking his head. "Dang." Miley muttered. "That's just...oof." Percy added. "Well, glad to know that your friends are still sane compared to those idiots," Annabelle muttered with a wry smirk. "I'm with Ann. No way is this world ready to have another generation of those guys." Corbin shudderedâonly for Louise to pat his shoulder sympathetically. "At least Amanda's friends know better than to fight over toys." She saidâonly for Revel to snort, "Eh, depends on the day." Percy chuckled at that.
They then hear Beth say aloud on the screen, "Hey, look, there's the camp grounds." Owen smiles, "That was pretty easy." "I'm pleasantly surprised." Cody added with a pleasing nod. Everyone in the room chuckled, pleased to see that Marinette and her team got to their destination safely.
When the scene changes, they see the Screaming Gophers opening their crates. And to their shock, and some not surprised at what they're seeing, they were opening the crates with their teeth. "Remember, you guys can only use your teeth to open the crates. I added that one."
"Of course Chris did." Faron groaned, rubbing his temples as the hotel room erupted into a mix of laughter and sympathetic winces. "Typical McLean twist." Jagged muttered, shaking his headâheâd known Chris long enough to recognize the manâs signature brand of chaos.
"Hey, I think I got it open." Izzy happily said. As the crate opens, Izzy lets out an 'ow', "Ow, rope burn on my tongue." She says, shaking her head. "Here, Izzy." Marinette said softly, handing her a water bottle she brought from her purse. "Thanks!" Izzy says, taking the bottle and rinsing her mouth. "Good thing that Marinette kid you told us about is there to help." Carlos said to Jagged while nudging him. Jagged smirked proudly, "Told ya she's wicked sharp."
On screen, the Screaming Gophers got all their crates open, and are going through with what's in them. "Hey, check it out, I got wood." Owen says, holding up some pieces of wood. "I've got some tools here, and what looks like a pool liner." Trent added. "And I've got the jets." Gwen said. "Alright, we got everything we need, let's get to it!" Amanda said, clapping her hands together.
"But how do we put it together?" Beth asked. "Don't worry, Beth." Marinette said, smiling softly. "If I learned anything from helping my parents at the bakery, it's that teamwork makes the dream work." Lucy nodded, "Indeed. We shall assemble it like a puzzleâone piece at a time."
Everyone smiled at that. As well as seeing how their very own civilian of their city helping out with building the Screaming Gophers' hot tub. As well as a surprise of the girls she befriended. Amanda's lead, which was not surprising as she must've been taught by either Chris, Chef, or both of themâeither way, she had the Screaming Gophers assemble their hot tub pretty quickly.
As well as Lucy's ballet flexibility and movements, seeing how she helped by bending over backwardsâliterallyâto hold the liner steady while Annabelle hammered in the final nails. Even Ann and Jessamine's combined street smarts came in handyâJessa spotting the weak spots in the structure before they became problems, Ann silently adjusting the alignment with precise kicks when no one was looking.
"Those two sure know how to manage things together." Percy said, looking impressed. "Uncle Jagged," Louise said, "Chris said that they're from Los Angeles, but you mentioned earlier about how they were at your concert at the Gotham Music Fest. How is that even possible? Those tickets were won like a few days before the festival." Jagged shrugged with a smirk, "Beats me, little rockstar. All I know is those two somehow got front row seatsâand they didn't even blink when my guitar caught fire mid-solo." Revel shrugged, "Guess they might've been around the city when they got the tickets." "That would be the logical explanation." Penny said, "Regardless, it's good that Marinette has them as friends." Everyone nodded in agreement.
Back on screen, the Screaming Gophers were already getting the supplies out of the crates, and the Killer Bass arrived. "I wonder what took them so long?" Revel muttered. Louise shrugged, "Who knows? But hey, better late than never, I guess." Luka nods in agreement.
"Hey, what's up, guys?" Trent said in greeting. Amanda then noticed something off, "Hey, aren't you guys missing Sadie and Katie?" she asked. "They're getting a drink." Courtney said.
Everyone's eyes widened both horrified and in shock when they all see Courtney's eye swollen up as if a bug bit her there. "Holy Ace from Outer Space, that's bad!" Corbin exclaimed, recoiling from the TV screen.
Onscreen, Marinette's eyes widened in shock when she herself saw it as well, "Courtney, what happened?" Marinette asked softly, pointing to Courtney's eye, causing Courtney to hide it with her hand, "Nothing, just an allergy." she said. "Think it's getting worse." Ezekiel commented. "Shut it." Courtney whispered to him, "We don't want them to know that."
As a few seconds go by, they watch as the Screaming Gophers worked hard on their hot tub. And when the results were in, they were amazed with how well they built theirs. When the hot tub building was done, Chris announced, "Well, I think we have a winner here...the Screaming Gophers!" Chris announced. The Screaming Gophers cheered upon hearing that they had won the challenge. "Gophers, you're safe from elimination, and you get to rock this awesome hot tub for the rest of the summer. Bonus!" he said to them.
The people in Jagged's hotel room cheeredâLouise nearly spilling her soda as she pumped a fist in the air. "Heck yeah, Gophers!" Revel whooped, tossing popcorn at the screen like confetti. Even Fang let out an approving chuff from under the coffee table. "Rock 'n' Roll, Marinette!"
Then, Chris continued while turning his head, "Killer Bass, what can I say? Stinks to be you right now. I'll see your sorry butts at the bonfire tonight."
Then, Amanda's confessional comes on once more, "Okay, so first day at this tacky summer camp, I won my first challenge, and I made some new friends like my folks wanted me to do since the very beginning...I guess this won't be a bad summer vacation after all. Just as long as nothing else crazy and brutal doesn't happen in the future, I'm all good." "Fingers crossed to that." Miley said with a shrugâonly for Louise to snort, "Make it double fingers crossed."
The scene then changes back to the main lodge, where all the campers were probably having dinner. Then pans to the Killer Bass, who were discussing something. "So, what do we do now?" Katie asked, breaking the ice in the Killer Bass table. "We have to figure out who we're gonna vote off." Courtney tells her. "Well, I think it should be Princess or the brick house here," Duncan said, pointing to her and DJ. "What? Why?" Courtney asked. "Because unless I'm mistaken, you two are the only ones here wearing chicken hats. And if we ever have to lift a truck, I like our odds with the big guy." Duncan explained, pointing to DJ.
"I can see his point." Revel said, "Sure, DJ didn't jump, but he was practically carrying half the crates himselfâCourtney just whined about splinters." Louise snorted into her soda, "And then tried to flex her CIT status like that means anything here." Fang let out a low growl in agreement, tail thumping against the carpet. Even Luka can't argue on that.
"But you guys need me," exclaimed Courtney. "I'm the only one-" "We know," Bridgette said, interrupting Courtney before she could finish her sentence. "You used to be a real CIT." "And that title doesn't mean anything there," Faron muttered under his breath.
Bridgette then asks Courtney, "Who would you pick?" Courtney looks around and then points to Tyler. "What about him?" "NO!" yelled Lindsay. The Screaming Gophers and the Killer Bass turned to look at her, even everyone in the room looked at her surprised at that outburst. "I mean no...salt, There's no salt on the table, bummer." "Oh, sorry, Lindsay, I lent it to Cody. Here." Marinette says as Cody passes it to Lindsay. "Thanks," said Lindsay.
"Hey, at least he jumped off the cliff, chicken wing." Duncan pointed out. "Duncan's not wrong there." Carlos said. Percy nods while adding, "Even when he also hit himself with that buoy."
The hotel room all agreed on Duncan's pointâTyler had at least tried, unlike Courtney's last-minute hesitation. "Shut it!" Courtney yelled to Duncan, making the room look at her unfazed.
"If she keeps that up, she's gonna be the first one out." Revel said while Luka nodsâhis fingers tapping out a restless rhythm against his knee. On screen, Geoff steps in, "Okay, let's just chill out," he said, "This is getting way too heavy."
"Glad to see Geoff-ster here hasn't lost his chill," Revel muttered, watching as the screen showed Geoff raising his hands in a peacekeeping gestureâonly for Duncan to get up from his seat, "I've had enough prison food for one day," he said, "I'm gonna go have a nap." "You can't do that! We haven't decided who's going yet!" yelled Courtney. "Hey, get used to it, CIT princess!" Faron called to the screen, "This ain't your precious summer camp hierarchy anymore."
"Well, I just don't get why we lost, eh. They're the ones that have twelve girls. And one of them is the daughter of a host, and the other is a rich-British wannabe." Hearing Ezekiel say those words caused everyone, including Duncan, to freeze in shock. Marinette spat out her water while Amanda's eye was twitching, and Lucy coughed from her water after hearing those words come out of Ezekiel's mouth. Even Ann and Jessa too both spat out their water after sipping some. Even the people in the hotel room spat out whatever they were drinking while watching. "Did he justâ?" Louise choked out, wiping soda from her chin.
"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Bridgette. "Yeah, homeschool. Enlighten us!" Eva said, putting her fist on the table. "Well, guys are much stronger and better at sports, music, and other stuff than girls are," said Ezekiel.
"What did that homeschool boy just say?! When I get my hands on him, he's going to pay!" Clara yelled with anger running in her veins. Jagged and Penny both grabbed Clara by the shoulders before she could storm out of the roomâand possibly straight through the TV screen. "Easy there, rockstar," Jagged muttered, though his own fingers were twitching toward his guitar like he wanted to smash something too. Fang growled low in his throat, teeth bared at Ezekiel's pixelated face. Luka couldn't even blame him for thatâhis own jaw was clenched so tight he could feel his molars grinding.
Ezekiel continued on the screen, "My dad told me to look out for the girls, eh. And to help them in case they can't keep up." Eva then grabbed Ezekiel by the neck with her two hands and lifted him up. "Still think we need your help keeping up?" she asked, shaking him to prove her point. "Not really," he said. Geoff then jumps into the small scene, "Okay, guys. Let's give him a break," he said, causing Eva to drop Ezekiel. "I mean, at least he doesn't think that guys are smarter than girls." "But, they are,"
"Okay... THAT DOES IT!" They all hear Jessamine say and see her hoodie sleeve forcefully grabbing Ezekiel off the ground and hiding spot, which then causes the scene to change to the two being back up on the cliff, and Jessa angrily dragging Ezekiel to the end of it. "FORGET YOU, YOU ALPHA-PUNK! GO BURN IN A VOLCANO'S LAVA!" Jessa yells, throwing Ezekiel back into the ocean. Except this time, he splashes outside of the Safe Zone, and the sharks' fins appear. Which then the screen shows Jessa walking off, dusting her hands while Ezekiel's screams were heard down below.
Seeing that made everyone in the hotel room cheerâeven Fang let out a triumphant bark, wagging his tail so hard it sent popcorn flying. "THANK YOU!" Clara yelled at the screen, her fists pumping the air like she'd just won a boxing match.
Faron and Percy both whooped, slapping palms so hard it echoed through the hotel room, Carlos half-spilling his drink as he leaned forward. "Man, homeschool boy just got tossed like yesterday's leftovers," Carlos grinned. "Alright, Jessamine!" Louise cheered, throwing a handful of popcorn at the TV screenâonly for Fang to snatch it mid-air with a pleased chuff. Miley whistled, pleased with how Jessamine handled that situation. Revel snapped his fingers in approval, "You show that little gutter-rat how we roll." Corbin nods his head with approval, "I'm impressed, she did that with one hand."
"I wonder if that catches on?" Jagged said after hearing Jessamine say 'Alpha-Punk' before she threw Ezekiel. "I highly doubt that," said Penny.
The screen flickered to Annabelle's confessional, where they see her crossing her arms, "Probably should've told the gang the things Jes despised the most. One is sexist punks, sexism, misogyny, misogynists, chauvinism, and chauvinists. Oh, and those wannabe guys who always believe all those lame alpha-male nonsense too, of course. Can't forget about that." Ann said, crossing her arms, "People and things like that always get on her nerves ever since we were both nine." Corbin whistles lowly, "Boy, even when young, she was already ticked with those kinds of things, huh?" Ann continued, "And don't even get me started on that play we once watched back in the day," She shuddered just remembering what went down, "Hoo, boy." She shakes her head, "But yeah, Ezekiel got off easy." She shrugs, "Could've been worse."
"I can't imagine what the play was." Revel muttered, rubbing his neck. Then, Jessamine's confessional comes on after.
"Mom, dad, Di, 'Kenzie, Jay, if you guys are watching right now while in the middle of work, uh...hi." Jessamine muttered to the camera, rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly before clearing her throat. "Okay, confession? That felt GOOD. Like, really good."
"Of course it does, Jessa." Louise said to the screen, still happy that Ezekiel got what was coming to him. Jessa grinned, flexing her fingers as if still feeling the phantom impact of Ezekiel's jaw. "Not as satisfying as the times you guys put the people who did all wrong in their place, but still. I'm starting to see how you guys feel." She twirls her hair around her finger, suddenly thoughtful. "Still though. That Ezekiel guy was worse than the one guy dad told me about who tried to make mom's life miserable. I can see why you guys loathe people like that punk."
"I can't imagine who that person was she's talking about." One off-the-clock officer muttered into his soda. Jessa scoffs on the screen, "I know I'm not one to talk down nor wish anything bad on people, but I really hope one of these days that punk and Ezekiel will face what they justly deserve....But yeah. That's lesson number one on why you shouldn't underestimate girl power, kiddos!" She said with a wink.
"Amen!" Louise and Miley shouted in unison, clinking their soda cans together like champagne flutes at a victory toast. After the confessional, the screen shows time flew by, showing that now it's night. And all the Killer Bass are all at the bonfire ceremonyâincluding Ezekiel, who apparently escaped the sharks, but now have all the Killer Bass girls glaring deadly daggers at him.
"Dude, you've got a lot to learn about the real world." Duncan told him. "Even a Juvie kid knows better." Revel said, making the whole hotel room agree that even though with a record, Duncan's the one who knows better than Ezekiel.
"Killer Bass." Chris said, getting everyone's attention, turning to watch him explain to the Killer Bass team, "At camp, marshmallows represent a tasty treat that you enjoy roasting by the fire. At this camp, marshmallows represent life. You've all cast your votes and made your decision. There are only ten marshmallows on this plate. When I call your name, come up and claim your marshmallow. The camper who does not receive a marshmallow tonight, must immediately return to the Dock of Shame. To catch the Boat of Losers. That means, you're out of the contest. And you can't come back. Ever." Everyone in the hotel room all shuddered. While they do understand the explanation Chris gave to only the losing team, they still couldn't help but shudder at the way Chris explained it.
With that, Chris began the elimination ceremony, "The first marshmallow goes to...Geoff. Tyler. Katie. Bridgette. Eva. DJ. Harold. Sadie. Duncan. Campers, this is the final marshmallow of the evening..." Then, there was a brief pause. But the people in the hotel room can already tell who's the first one to go. "...Courtney."
"Ezekiel, no surprise." Miley muttered as Ezekiel simply walked off to the Dock of Shame. Chris then tells the rest of the Killer Bass, "The rest of you, enjoy your marshmallows. You're all safe. For tonight."
After that, Gwen's confessional comes on, "Yup. This camp pretty much still stinks. But now that I'm here, I guess I might as well actually try to win."
After that, the TV shows the Screaming Gophers team all celebrating their victory in their hot tub party, along with BIGBANG's Bang Bang Bang playing in the background.
"To the Screaming Gophers!" Cody said, raising a juice cup. "The Screaming Gophers!" The rest of the Screaming Gophers cheered, raising their juice boxes as well. "I made celebratory macarons!" Marinette said, walking to them with a tray of macaronsâwhich had the Screaming Gophers logo on them.
Luka smiled, feeling proud of Marinette, making new friends, making it through her first challenge, and already showing off her baking skillsâthough his fingers twitched against his knee, itching to strum a chord in celebration.
Only to stop when Courtney was walking in the foreground while the Screaming Gophers were still celebrating, stopped, and turned to the camera, "Are you recording this? Good. They can enjoy their little party all they want. But I'm gonna win this competition. And no one, is gonna stop me." she said, causing the people in the hotel room to look not-so surprised nor amused at that little vow of hers, until she got hit in the head with a water balloon. "My bad! I meant to do that. Also, foul ball!" Amanda yelled.
"Ha! Karma." Miley said as the show now ended and the credits rolled.
After the show concluded, everyone all agreed to meet again to watch the next one, and see what Marinette and her new little friend group do next.
Luka was already looking forward to the next episode, and how Marinette would adjust to the challenges ahead.
