Chapter 9 - Second Test (Part 1)
The sun was rising over the rickety pier as the cameras focused on Chris, with his sharp smile and that unmistakable air of a show in progress.
"Welcome back to Total Drama Island! Where every decision can cost you your dignity... or your ticket out." Chris said, looking at the camera.
The music swelled as quick shots reviewed the events of the previous chapter.
- 22 campers arrived with varying expectations, from excitement to sheer terror.
- A 1,000-foot jump into a shark-filled lake left some with scarred pride... while the more cowardly ones ended up with the hat of shame.
- At the bonfire ceremony, it all came down to Ezequiel and Courtney, but ultimately it was Ezequiel who sealed his fate with his sexist comments.
Chris leaned against one of the pier columns, letting the camera slowly zoom in for the dramatic punchline.
"But what you didn't see... was the impromptu party Cody threw. Rebellion? A way to gain allies? Or just a move set to end in disaster?" Chris said.
The footage showed snippets of the party—music, chaos, laughter, and a few worried faces worried about the possible consequences.
Chris crossed his arms, squinting at the camp in the distance.
"Will Cody be punished for his little initiative? Who will be eliminated this time? And who will survive the toughest challenge ever?" Chris said.
Chris looked straight into the camera, his sharp smile returning.
"We'll find out right now, because this episode... is about to begin... on Total Drama Island!" Chris said.
The camera zoomed out dramatically, focusing on the sky before cutting to the action inside the camp.
Show intro
Chris returned to the camp, only to wake the campers with a megaphone on a horn.
Jolting everyone awake, some even hitting themselves when they woke up, others fell out of bed.
The campers left after changing their clothes; the clock read 7 a.m.
Cody approached Eva, whom he could see with an MP3 player. But damn, the girl was very irritable; I swear she growled at Cody.
The campers lined up in front of Chris, some still half asleep, others already resigned to whatever was coming.
Chris appeared with his classic showman smile, holding his megaphone with excessive energy for the time.
"Good morning, campers! I hope you rested well, because your next challenge will test your endurance, your determination... and your ability to not collapse halfway." Chris said.
Geoff yawned widely, Owen leaned against DJ as if he could stay asleep a little longer, while Gwen simply crossed her arms, expecting the worst
. Chris paused dramatically before announcing it.
"For this event, you'll have to run 20 kilometers around the lake. Yes, you heard that right. Twenty. Kilometers." Chris said
. The group reacted as one.
"20 kilometers? Are you crazy?" Duncan said, shaking his head
. "Great. With luck, I'll fall into the water and drown my troubles." Noah said, exhaling heavily.
"Is that safe? Because that lake... has sharks." Bridgette said, frowning in concern.
"Oh, that's fun! I like running, although I don't know if I've run more than... five." Lindsay said, smiling as if she hadn't processed the distance.
Chris completely ignored the complaints, getting her stopwatch ready.
"There's no escaping it, folks. But before we get started, any questions? Not that I'd mind." Chris said.
Before anyone could process the insanity of the challenge, Eva reacted.
"Twenty kilometers? First thing in the morning? Are you telling me I have to run until my soul leaves my body?" Eva said, clenching her fists with an enraged expression.
Chris smiled with shameless mockery, as if he had been waiting for this moment.
"Well, if your soul leaves your body, technically that means you can't lose... or does it?" Chris said with a shrug.
Eva took a step forward, her fury ready to explode into immediate violence.
"You know what? I'm about to use your ribs as weights-" Eva said.
Before her threat could take shape, her team reacted in panic.
DJ, Geoff, and Bridgette rushed to grab her arms, stopping her before the chaos began.
"Wow, wow! Don't kill him yet, he hasn't given us breakfast yet." Geoff said nervously
. "Breathe. Think about karma. Think about the ocean." Bridgette said, looking at Eva urgently.
"Please don't make me be an accessory to a crime." DJ said, closing his eyes.
Chris looked at them with pure amusement, without any concern for their safety.
"Well, it seems someone needs to relax a little. Maybe running 20 kilometers will help?" Chris said.
Eva exhaled deeply, but her gaze was still lethal.
Chris raised the stopwatch, ignoring any attempt at rebellion.
"On your marks... get set..." Chris said.
"GO!" Chris said, smiling even more.
The horn sounded, and the campers took off, some with speed, others with pure suffering on their faces.
Eva charged forward furiously, her determination more focused on proving she could survive the punishment than on winning the test.
Chris shrugged, satisfied with his work of early morning mayhem.
The group ran at varying paces, some with forced energy, others crawling with sheer will.
Gwen maintained a steady speed—not fast, but enough to keep from falling behind.
Beside her, Harold moved forward with some difficulty, but clearly intending to keep up.
The final straw was when Harold took a breath and addressed her in an enthusiastic tone.
"Gwen, we can do this together! You know, steady pace, like professional marathoners—" Harold said.
Gwen exhaled heavily, her expression hardening before she ruthlessly cut off the conversation.
"Harold, don't walk beside me," Gwen said.
Harold blinked, taken aback by the straightforward answer.
Before he could say anything else, Cody chimed in with a carefree smile, making sure Gwen heard him.
"Yeah, Harold, don't! That's my spot!" Cody said mockingly, his voice rising.
Gwen turned her head slightly towards him, raising an eyebrow in surprise before giving a brief, almost imperceptible smile.
"Your spot, huh?" Gwen said.
Cody shrugged, keeping pace with her, as if her statement made complete sense.
"Camp rules. First come, first pick." Cody said.
Gwen shook her head gently, but her expression still held a trace of amusement.
Harold, with no other choice, took a few steps back, looking for another space among the runners.
However, Cody had already secured his spot next to Gwen, and the conversation was about to begin.
The race continued, and while some kept pace, others were beginning to suffer the consequences of the distance.
Meanwhile, Cody and Gwen moved forward together, letting their conversation make the kilometers pass faster.
"Okay... let's keep our minds occupied. Let's talk about bands. Music crush?" Cody said.
Gwen thought for a moment before answering, her breathing steady as she kept her gaze on the road.
"Ville Valo from HIM. He has an incredible voice... and something about his stage presence is magnetic." Gwen said.
Cody smiled approvingly.
"Good choice. For my part, Izzy Hale from Halestorm. His voice, his energy, everything. Just great." Cody said.
Gwen nodded with a small smile, enjoying the conversation more than she expected.
"Okay,"But what band would you never get tired of listening to?" Gwen
Cody said, frowning slightly, thinking it over carefully.
"Hmm... tough one. But probably Queen. There's a song for every mood," Cody said.
Gwen exhaled softly, her expression more relaxed.
"Classic, you can't fail with Queen," Gwen said.
The conversation flowed smoothly, jumping from underrated albums to dream concerts, making the ordeal feel less like torture and more like a long, good-natured hike.
Not everyone had the same comfort level, though.
As Cody and Gwen continued their conversation, other campers were struggling to survive the ordeal, each handling it in their own way.
Owen started off energetically, his enthusiasm for the ordeal higher than expected.
"20 kilometers! This is almost a marathon! Come on, guys, we can do this!" Owen said.
But as the kilometers dragged on, his breathing began to become erratic, and his body less cooperative.
By mile 8, Owen was panting like he'd just climbed a mountain without oxygen.
By mile 12, his steps were stumbling, his skin shiny with sweat.
At kilometer 18... he simply stopped running.
"I'm... going to die here... tell my family... that I love them," Owen said.
DJ approached, worried, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Come on, bro, breathe. Don't fall here." DJ said
. "Can you carry me? Just a little... maybe all the way..." Owen said weakly.
DJ looked at him for a second and then shook his head.
"Owen, even I don't have enough strength for that." DJ said
. Eventually, Owen managed to drag himself to the finish line, but he collapsed onto the dining room table, with no energy left to celebrate. Heather kept running with ease, her posture firm, her breathing controlled. She didn't miss a chance to mock those suffering, especially when Owen started to fall behind. "Wow,
Owen , I thought your stamina would be better. Too many snacks?" Heather said with a mocking smile. Owen couldn't even respond, too busy trying to stay alive. But Leshawna wasn't going to let it go. "Heather, do you have to be this obnoxious before breakfast? It's not like you're going to win this," Leshawna said. Heather shrugged, looking nonchalant. "I don't need to win. I just need to see others fail." Heather said. Leshawna clenched her fists, her patience quickly crumbling. "Well, if running doesn't tire you out, maybe pushing you into the lake will." Leshawna said . Heather laughed softly. "Please don't ruin my hair with dirty water," Heather said.
The argument continued, with each of them throwing out sharp comments as they pressed on, keeping the rivalry going.
---
Noah had never intended to run the 20 kilometers.
From the start, his strategy was clear: find a way to stop without getting kicked out.
At kilometer 3, he faked an ankle injury, grimacing in exaggerated pain.
"Ahh... I think I twisted something... I definitely need to sit down," Noah said
. Chris, without even looking at him, pulled out her megaphone.
"Noah, unless your leg is backward, KEEP RUNNING!" * Chris said.
Noah snorted, disappointed at the lack of empathy, but reluctantly continued to shuffle along.
At kilometer 15, he tried another tactic.
"If I pass out, technically I can't run anymore, right?" Noah said.
But no one listened, too busy surviving.
Eventually, he made it to the dining room with no other options, collapsing into a chair in fake exhaustion.
"This was a nightmare. I'm definitely suing for psychological torture." Noah said.
Chris appeared behind him with a smile.
"If you think this is torture... wait until what happens next." Chris said.
Noah closed his eyes, exhaling in resignation.
The campers finally arrived, some panting, others just grateful to be alive.
Chris watched them with satisfaction, clearly enjoying the chaos he had caused.
"Well, some of you proved to be true competitors... and some of you just dragged yourself here with your dignity destroyed." Chris said.
"I don't even have the strength to be offended." Owen said, still gasping for air from the table.
Chris looked at everyone before his final blow.
"But you're not done yet... this is just getting started." Chris said.
"What the hell? More? What more can we suffer?" Duncan said.
"If it's another marathon, we're dead." Gwen said, looking at Cody.
"If there's more, someone's going to get beaten up." Eva said through gritted teeth.
Chris smirked, ready to unleash the next phase of the challenge.
Chris threw his arms up theatrically, his smile already promising chaos.
"And now... what you've all been waiting for!" Chris said.
With a dramatic flick, the curtains opened, revealing a majestic banquet.
Piled high platters, browned meats, vibrant fruits—the kind of food that only appeared in a starving camper's dreams.
The campers' eyes lit up as if they were seeing a miracle.
Owen fell to his knees, tears streaming down his face as he pointed at a golden turkey.
Cody, with an equally excited expression, saw a platter of tacos and felt his soul leave his body for a moment.
Without wasting any time, everyone rushed to the table as if there was no tomorrow.
Cutlery flew, plates were filled at superhuman speeds*, and the sound of chewing became the new camp anthem.
---
As he devoured with gusto, Cody looked at his companions, capturing small moments of the collective voracity.
When his eyes fell on Courtney, a mocking smile appeared on his face.
With the elegance of someone about to provoke a reaction, Cody leaned slightly towards her, speaking just loud enough for her to hear.
"Well, well... it seems that with the right motivation, even princesses lose their composure," Cody said in a playful tone.
Courtney, who at that moment was taking another bite, froze for a brief second, before looking at him with a flash of indignation in her eyes.
But instead of responding immediately, she simply finished her bite casually, as if ignoring him would be more effective than arguing.
Heather, who was standing nearby, let out a small laugh at the comment.
"She's right, Court. Your manners didn't survive five minutes," Heather said.
Courtney snorted, crossing her arms in frustration.
"Can we just focus on eating instead of making unnecessary remarks?" Courtney said.
But the smile on her face betrayed that, despite her annoyance, she also found the situation amusing.
As
the food quickly disappeared, the last sound lingering in the air was a thunderous burp from Owen, loud enough to make several campers stop for a second.
Chris clapped his hands, smirking.
"And with that auditory spectacle, we wrap up the first part of the challenge!" Chris said.
The campers exhaled, leaning back in their chairs, in a state of alimentary bliss mixed with exhaustion.
Courtney glanced at Cody before speaking in a light, but still defiant tone.
"If you call me princess again, I'll make you run another 20 kilometers," Courtney said
. Cody smiled nonchalantly.
"Only if you run with me," Cody said
. Courtney shook her head, but the small smile was still there.