Chapter 11
ONE BAD PUN WAS PLENTY, THANKS
SEYOON
Forming an alliance with Dean does not make us friends.
He’s stubborn and has the emotional capacity of a brick wall, but, I don’t know, I thought that since we’re teaming up, we might at least sit together at breakfast to have a conversation about the game.
But the next morning, which we have off, Dean makes it his mission to be scarce, popping by the cafeteria only long enough to grab food before he disappears.
Fine. Dean’s free to spend his time however he likes.
I take the opportunity to go for a swim in Summit Lake.
Not because I’m avoiding making friends after yesterday’s disaster. But because… it’s hot.
Come noon, when the sun crests in the center of the intensely blue sky, Garrett and Blake call us all to gather around the empty bonfire pit—noticeably, without the usual camera crew flanking them.
I spot Dean sitting on one of the logs. He looks up. “Hi.”
“Hey.” I glance at the empty spot next to him, and Dean pats the log in a wordless invitation before I can ask. I sit, silently relieved. “What were you up to earlier?”
“Nothing much. Just reading.”
“How come you didn’t hang out with everybody else?”
He crosses his arms defensively. “How come you didn’t?”
“How—how did you know?”
“Saw you swimming by yourself.”
“Okay, creep. I thought you were reading, not stalking?”
“I was reading by the lake.”
“You were at the lake? Why didn’t you join me? We could have raced. Whoever wins gets to choose our alliance name.”
“I’ll definitely take you up on that offer.”
I sit up. “Really?”
“No.”
I slouch, disappointed.
Blake clears her throat, and all of us around the firepit stop talking. She’s as polished as ever, in another equally nice blazer and pantsuit. Garrett standing next to her, on the other hand, is dressed like a camp counselor. Or a zookeeper, more accurately.
“Thank you, campers.” She smiles. “As you know, tomorrow kicks off your next challenge, which will be—”
“Survival of the Skillest!” Garrett interrupts, throwing out jazz hands.
Silence.
“That’s not even close to being grammatically correct,” Carter says.
“Yes, well, we left the creative naming to the host,” Blake says, pushing Garrett’s hands down.
He’s not deterred. “I don’t want to spoil too much, but your task tomorrow will be in-tents.”
“Are you trying to say intense?” asks Siddharth. “Why are you putting so much emphasis on it?”
“I’m saying in-tents.”
“Dude, I think he has a lisp, lay off,” whispers Adin.
“Oh, my bad, Mr. Moxley.”
“No, ugh—” Garrett groans. “It will be in-tents. Like, inside of tents. As in, you’re all going to build a tent and camp in it and show off your survival skills. God, children, I can’t… just laugh when I say it on camera tomorrow, alright?”
CONFESSION TAPE—Vendredi Tengku, Contestant
You know how some celebrities look better on TV than they do in real life? Well Garrett is kinda like that, where he seems funnier on TV than he actually is. He also looks worse in real life, too.
… Do you guys show him these tapes?
CONFESSION TAPE—Beck McLaughlin, Contestant
I still don’t get the joke. That was supposed to be a joke, right?
“Anyhow,” Blake says. “We wanted to check in ahead of time and see if any of you have considered teaming up. We’d love to see unions form, especially those that would excite viewers and longtime fans of the show. Remember—alliances earn three bonus points.”
Me and Dean raise our hands. So do Vendredi and Beck, and Siddharth and Adin.
Blake’s face creases as she glances over at Carter.
She points a neatly manicured nail between us and him.
“Just Seyoon and Dean? I can’t convince you to do me a solid and replicate everyone’s favorite Final Three?
” She drops her voice like she’s joking, but the anxious lilt to her voice kind of ruins the bit.
“The network would really love to see it.”
I scoff. “It’s not happening.”
“No,” Carter says plainly.
Dean curls up like a stink bug, trying to shield his face from view. Helpful, as always.
Blake looks less than pleased, lips pursed thin, but ultimately stands down. “Alright. Well, our three alliances, let me drop the other shoe that our host forgot to mention yesterday. Teams must split any points they win or lose.”
That changes things. Siddharth and Adin take one look at each other, then unanimously nod and scoot away subtly.
“Maybe we’re better off on our own,” Siddharth says, scratching his neck. “No hard feelings, bro?”
“No, no,” Adin’s quick to say, waving his hands in the air. “No hard feelings for you, bro.”
“None here, bro.”
“Brother, I’m telling you? None here either.”
Aeneas, on the other side of Adin, leans away even as the boy keeps scooting into their personal bubble.
CONFESSION TAPE—Aeneas Hudson, Contestant
How did I end up here, like on the show? Well… sometimes I have trouble stepping outside of my comfort zone. So my therapist gave me a challenge: For one week, instead of turning down new and uncomfortable opportunities, I have to say yes. To all of them.
I got the email asking me to be a contestant during that week.
[strained]
On day six of that week.
I look over at Dean, who swallows thickly, his Adam’s apple bobbing. I hold my fist between us, knuckles out.
“We can do it,” I reassure him. “We’ll win so many points together it doesn’t matter that we have to split them.”
Dean’s honey eyes widen in surprise. I nod at him, certain, and watch as some confidence bleeds into his expression. He smiles back, albeit hesitantly, and bumps his fist against mine. “We will,” he agrees.
“Don’t speak so soon,” Carter drawls. I ignore him.
“That’s the spirit!” Garrett says.
Beck and Vendredi, sitting on the adjacent log, exchange whispers, then Vendredi straightens. “We’re still going to form an alliance, too,” she says. I glance over and accidentally catch her eye. I turn away first, pretending I was just stretching.
After that, we’re excused to go to lunch. Once everyone else leaves, Dean pulls me aside.
“So, about the challenge tomorrow,” he says, scratching his neck. “Would this be a bad time to tell you I don’t know the first thing when it comes to survival skills?”
This mother—