Chapter 5 – First Test
All the campers were already at the top of the cliff, their eyes set on the huge drop into the water.
Chris with a smile began the explanation of the challenge.
"Today, the first challenge will be triple, your first task will be to jump from this 300 meter high mountain into the lake" said Chris
"Piece of cake" said Bridgette with a smile
"If you look down you will see two marked areas, the wide one represents the part that we filled with sharks, hahaha, psychotic people eaters, inside that area is the safe zone, which is the small circle in the middle, that is the objective, where we are sure that there are no sharks" said Chris
"Excuse me ?!" Leshawna asked, wondering what to answer.
"For each team member that jumps and survives, open a crate of materials waiting for you below. Inside it are materials that will be important for the next part of the challenge, building a jacuzzi," said Chris.
"The best team will enjoy a crazy jacuzzi party! ... The losers will send someone home," said Chris.
"Okay, catfish, you go first."
While the other team started jumping, our protagonist, Cody, kept looking at the view.
It was the first time he was in such a high place and he could see a lot of nature. But like a good teenager with hormones, the most interesting things were human biology.
He had to admit, as much as Heather was bad, she had a perfect butt, maybe a product of ballet.
Gwen, what can I say, she was one of the places where the term big-ass goth was born.
But the perfect among the perfect, the gold medal in the rear Olympics, were Courtney and Lindsay.
If it wasn't a recorded program, Cody could shout Amen to heaven.
Back to the jumps, the catfish started. At first they were a bit intimidated, with Bridgette starting things off by diving into the safety zone.
Followed by Tyler, who again landed badly and hit a buoy, then Geoff, Eva, and Duncan, each with their own style.
It was DJ's turn, who was looking down at the water.
"No way, I don't jump," said DJ.
"Are you afraid of heights?" joked Chris.
"YES, since I was a kid," replied DJ
. "Okay, big guy, but unfortunately that makes you a CHICKEN, so you have to wear the hat of shame for the rest of the day," said Chris, giving DJ a chicken hat before sending him down while doing chicken impressions.
Ezekiel jumped in, followed by Harold, who by the way, looks like he won't have a child due to a horrible fall into the water from the Split.
Cody could hear something break from above.
The last to jump was Courtney, who, looking at the water, refused to do so, telling Chris that she had medical problems.
Chris forced her to wear the chicken hat.
Courtney, on her way down, passed by Cody, but heard something.
"Well, you couldn't be good at everything..." Cody said, turning his back on her.
Courtney stops for a second, without looking back, but her expression changes slightly.
There is no mockery, no sarcasm. Just a simple statement that, somehow, gives her perspective.
Without answering, she continues walking, but her expression is now less rigid.
Chris checked her list to see who was missing, noticing that Sadie and Izzi were left.
"I'm not jumping without Katie," Sadie said, holding Katie's hand.
"We have to be on the same team, Chris," Katie said
. "Please!" Sadie and Katie begged Chris.
"I'll switch places with her," Izzi said.
"Oh, well, since then, do it, now Izzi is a mole and Katie is a catfish."
"Yes!" Katie and Sadie shouted excitedly, going to jump.
"Okay, 9 jumpers and 2 chickens, now it's your turn, Screaming Moles. If you beat the mark, you'll win trolleys to carry your crates" said Chris
. "Great, alright guys. Who's going first?" asked Trent.
No one answered at first
. "Sorry, I'm not doing that," Heather said finally.
"Why not?" Beth asked.
"Hey! National TV, my hair'll get wet" said Heather .
It's kind of funny hearing her worry about it, knowing the lengths she's always willing to go to in order to win.
"You're joking, aren't you?" Gwen asked.
"If she doesn't jump, then I don't jump," Lindsay said, imitating her.
LeShawna got ready for a fight
Cody got in the middle to separate the girls
"What's so bad about that? In magazines the sexiest models always have wet hair" Cody said
"Really?" Lindsay asked excitedly, bless your naivety Cody thought to himself
Trent seemed to realize what I was talking about.
"Yeah friend, you know those ones that appear on the covers, with beautiful swimsuits posing by the ocean" Trent said
wow, who would have thought, I had no idea that he also knew those magazines, something you want to tell us friend? Cody thought to himself
Lindsay was considering it, but Heather didn't seem impressed.
Time to get serious Cody said to himself
"You know what? You don't have to do this if you're scared" Cody told her
She was outraged by this
"What!? I'm not scared!" Heather said annoyed.
"It's okay to be scared, I get scared all the time too, it's not that bad, there's probably something else you can do later," Cody was saying, his face looking like he was thinking.
"On the other hand, the competition will probably only get harder from here." Cody didn't say it directly, but the implication was pretty clear, if you don't help out, you'll be the one who goes home.
"I'm. Not. Scared," Heather punctuated each word as she moved her face closer and closer to mine.
I just stood there with a small, sympathetic smile, trying not to back away or think about how close she was.
Heather's confessional
"What does that jock think he is? He'll see."
[The original Cody was a geek, but with his physique nowadays, nobody puts him in that classification, they just see him as an athlete.]
******
She moved closer to the edge and despite her previous words, she seemed a little worried, but the anger at being underestimated was much worse for her. Heather is an extremely proud person, she won't care if you insult her or hate her. But something she will never let go is someone trying to trample on her ego. Whether it's feeling sorry for her or challenging her. And for a geek, of all people, to do it was just adding insult to injury.
She finally jumped, thus being the first moles jumper, just like the first time, only this time, it was of her own free will.
"Phew, it wasn't that hard" said Cody.
"Dude, that was the most deceitful trick I've seen in a long time..." Leshawna told him.
"Good job, I was ready to throw her limp ass off the cliff." Leshawna said.
"Well, I just thought it would be bad if we started fighting each other, especially if there was still another team to defeat," said Cody.
She and Gwen seemed to consider my words.
"You're right, this is not the time to fight, I'm going to try to keep that to a minimum, here I go!" Leshawna said as she threw herself off the cliff.
One by one everyone jumped, it was funny how scared they all looked as they fell. This time I stayed back longer, there was someone else I needed to help.
"No... I can't do this, I'm too scared," Beth said, Chris pulled out a chicken hat.
"Wait Chris, Beth, I want to give you some advice," Cody said.
Beth was much more capable than we all thought, she just needed a little push.
"Advice?" Beth asked.
"Yeah, don't think about it, just run, jump, close your eyes and think that down below is what you want most." Cody said.
"Like a chocolate pool?" Owen said excitedly. Trent hit his forehead and shook his head.
"What I want most, like a mud puddle, next to my friend Big Berta!?" Beth said.
"Uh... I... guess?" said Beth
Beth gulped and looked at the cliff
"Okay, I'll do it" said Beth with a determined look
Beth's confessional
"After someone went through the trouble of trying to help me, I couldn't just back down, even if I was still scared as hell" said Beth
*******
"Aww, really? And I bothered bringing so many hats with me" said the host disappointed.
"Shut up Chris!" Beth ran towards the cliff, jumped, and immediately tried to imagine herself in her happy place, "mud puddle, mud puddle, mud puddle".
*Splash*
"I... did it, I really did it!" said Beth who landed in the safe zone, our team cheered for her from up and down the cliff.
"Okay guys, I'll see you on the other side" Cody said to the guys.
"Good luck bro" Trent replied.
Chris smiles in amusement as he looks at Cody.
"Okay, Cody, your turn. Are you going to do it with class or are you going to back out at the last second?" said Chris.
Cody walks towards the edge with confidence… but as soon as he sees the distance, his smile falters.
"Okay, it's not that high… is it? No, no, I can do it… just one jump… no sharks… probably." Cody said to himself, swallowing hard.
He makes a small movement as if he's about to jump… but his body stops on its own.
The other campers begin to notice his hesitation, some already with amused expressions.
"What happened, champ? Did the air suddenly change?" said Duncan, crossing his arms in a mocking tone.
"Seems like the great Cody isn't so brave when the adrenaline is real." Heather said with a mocking smile.
Cody frowns, snorts, and taps his face as if trying to activate himself.
"Come on, come on, Cody, this is just another day of glory… another epic moment… another—AH!" Cody said to himself.
Suddenly, Cody shakes his head, changes his position, and his expression goes from panic to absolute surrender.
"This jump is for my girlfriend!" Cody said dramatically, raising his arms.
The campers look at each other, confused.
"Which girlfriend?" Gwen asked, raising an eyebrow.
But Cody doesn't listen, because he's already in total surrender mode.
"For Lindsay! For Courtney! For Gwen! For my future wife that I haven't even met yet! For ALL OF THEM!" Cody said as he jumps, shouting names as if he had an endless list.
He lands in an exaggerated way, with a dramatic twist before entering the water.
The campers are silent for a second, and then burst into laughter.
"That guy sure knows how to put on a show!" Geoff said laughing as he held onto his knee to keep from falling to the floor in laughter.
"I almost cried with emotion, how touching." Duncan said shaking his head in amusement.
"So pathetic... but I must admit, it was entertaining." Heather said rolling her eyes but with a slight smile.
Chris takes a moment before speaking, still with an incredulous expression.
"Well, I guess we've never had a declaration of love in the middle of an extreme challenge before. Next!" Chris said very amused
---
Gwen's Confessional
"Let's see... I don't know what was more ridiculous, her initial fear or the fact that she called out names like she was at an awards ceremony." Gwen said
Geoff's Confessional
"That was pure gold! Cody has my total respect. He didn't just jump, he made it a work of art." Geoff said
Duncan's confessional
"Look, I thought he was going to come off as a coward, but he handled it in the most absurd way possible. It pains me to admit it... but it worked." Duncan said
Heather's confessional
"This just reinforces what I already knew... Cody's not a competitor, he's a distraction. Although, if he keeps doing this, at least the show will be entertaining." Heather said
---
The next campers jumped, Gwen, Izzi and Justin who amusingly fell into the shark area but was not attacked, they seemed more in love than anything else.
The Gophers secured the victory leaving only Owen for last, the campers looked at him each with their own thoughts.
Some thought he was going to die, others that he wouldn't.
Cody was thinking about two things, one surely Owen was already hungry, how the hell two will survive the tsunami that Owen was going to cause
The cliff shook.
Owen jumped with all the force of his existence, launching himself into the water as if the fate of the universe depended on it.
But no one was prepared for what came next.
The impact created a wave worthy of a disaster movie, lifting everyone already in the water and sending them flying without mercy.
---
Between the bodies propelled by the impromptu tsunami, Cody felt time slow down.
As he twirled through the air, he saw the scene from a new perspective:
Bridgette struggling to keep her balance.
Geoff enthusiastically trying to ride the wave (failing miserably).**
Duncan swearing as he flew.
But then… Cody saw something that left him in a state of total acceptance
. Lindsay.
Floating in the air, with an expression of pure panic, with her butt first, her arms flailing uncontrollably as she fell exactly… straight towards him.
The fates were already written.
Her face.
Lindsay's fall.
The impending impact.
Watching it all unfold in slow motion, Cody just smiled.
"If this is how I'm going to die… at least it will be glorious." Cody said to himself.
And then, boom.
Lindsay landed on top of him, her body falling right on his face.
The impact buried them both in the sand with a force worthy of divine retribution.
[Post-impact – The scene of the disaster]
The chaos was absolute.
Lindsay jerked her head up, her face completely red as she realized the position she had landed in.
"Oh my God, Cole! I didn't mean to!" Lindsay said nervously, her eyes wide as silver.
Cody remained on the sand, processing the moment with absolute calm, still smiling as if everything had gone according to plan.
Internally, he could only thank God for this unexpected gift.
"Thank you, universe. Thank you, Owen. Thank you, laws of physics." He said to himself.
The other campers looked at the scene with different expressions.
Geoff's confessional
"I mean, I'm not going to lie... that was the best landing anyone could ask for. Cody, bro, your luck is unbelievable." Geoff said.
Duncan's confessional
"So, why does the nerd get all the glory? Where's my lucky break?" Duncan said.
DJ's confessional
"I hope he's okay, but... man, am I lucky." DJ said.
Hearher's confessional
"Why does something absurd always happen on this show? Ugh." Heather said, annoyed. Is it jealousy?
Lindsay's confessional
"It was all Owen's fault. The water propelled me like a beach ball! I didn't choose to land on Cole, it just happened. Although... well, I guess if I had to land on someone, it better be him and not, I don't know... Muncan."
Returning to Chris
"The winners, the screaming moles!" Chris said.