Chapter 22
SUNSHINE, FUNKO POPS, AND RAINBOWS
DEAN
I set my hand of cards down on the mattress with a grunt. “You’re cheating. I know you are. You’re too quiet.”
Seyoon’s face contorts into the most incriminating expression I’ve ever seen. “How dare you besmirch my name. I would never cheat.”
“Maybe not in a challenge, sure. But when it comes to gin rummy?” I lean forward and make to grab her cards. She yelps and leans away, scooching to the safety of the other end of her bed. I point my finger at her. “See, an innocent person wouldn’t react that way.”
I knew I shouldn’t have trusted her when she approached me this morning with the battered deck of cards she found beneath her bunk bed.
But we had some time to kill before everyone finished getting ready for the day.
Seyoon’s hard to say no to, anyway. Not like I wanted to.
She doesn’t need to know that I’ve come to genuinely enjoy her company. Her ego’s big enough as it is, thanks.
Seyoon shows off her toothy grin and fans herself with her cards. “It’s not cheating. It’s, uh… Portland rules. Yeah, this is always how we play. You should get familiar if you want to move to my city.”
I’m about to tell her where she can shove her Portland rules when the cabin door bursts open. Everyone in the room jumps. Carter stands in the doorway, dripping lake water.
“Okay,” he says, an eerie calmness to his voice despite his facial muscles twitching with rage. “Who wants to die?”
He is met, predictably, with silence.
“That’s… rhetorical, right?” Adin asks.
Carter storms over to his bunk and shoves Adin’s shoulder. Adin’s too big for it to make much of an impact, but he does pout and rub his arm. Siddharth reaches down from his top bunk and shields him, frowning.
“Was it you, huh?” Carter says. “Did you and your boyfriend move my mattress out in the middle of the night?”
Vendredi snickers from her bunk. Carter whips his head around. He walks over and stands in front of her with his arms crossed. “What’s so funny?”
“You’re tracking lake water in, dude,” Seyoon complains.
He turns to glare daggers at Seyoon. “You know something about this?”
“And if I did? What are you going to do about it… hit me?” She stands, crossing her arms and giving him an amused up-and-down. “That wouldn’t be a very good look for you.”
It’s what he said to Vendredi yesterday. I snort, unable to stop myself. Carter directs the full force of his hatred on me now.
“I can’t wait until you two tear yourselves apart,” he spits. Then he turns and stomps out of the cabin. It’d be more intimidating if it weren’t for the moist THWOP THWOP THWOP sounds his wet socks make on the floorboards.
Siddharth climbs down from his bunk. “You guys pranked Carter? That’s so sick.”
“Thank—”
I cover Seyoon’s face with my hand, muffling her. “We can neither confirm nor deny,” I say, laughing nervously. Pranking Carter in the secrecy of night with no cameras around is one thing. Admitting it to a cabin full of competitors we’re not sure we can trust? Entirely—
“Ugh!” I yank my hand back. Seyoon’s saliva coats my palm. Why do I keep doing that? She’s going to lick every time, I know this.
We get ready, have a quick breakfast while ignoring Carter fuming in the corner of the cafeteria, and get on the bus to the filming location for today’s challenge.
Once we’re in the forest, they set us up near the starting point for Mountain Marathon and get to work powdering our noses, adjusting our mic packs, and preparing us for the challenge. The cameras film from every side. I’m losing hope that I’ll ever get used to it.
“Hey, lovebirds,” Blake says, approaching us with a crew in tow. “Can we grab a quick shot of you two? Don’t shy away from PDA. How about a little hand-holding? A romantic gaze into each other’s eyes?”
I turn to Seyoon, managing to mostly avoid an uncomfortable grimace. She blinks, then holds her hand out to me. I slide my palm against hers—rough and calloused, like a gymnast’s—and entwine our fingers together. The camera pans down to our hands.
“Adorable, darlings, love it.” Blake checks something off her clipboard before heading down the line to harass another contestant.
I glance down at where my hand connects stiffly with Seyoon’s.
How long am I supposed to hold on? Probably for a while.
Couples like to hold hands, and we want people to think we’re dating.
Yeah, I’ll keep holding on then. It’s not like it’s unpleasant.
Our fingers slot together surprisingly well.
I’m vividly aware of the way her knuckles feel against the pads of my fingertips.
Soft, in case you were wondering. My heart is racing. I’ve never held anyone’s hand.
Seyoon squeezes mine and hums. “You’re really clammy.”
Okay. Moment’s over.
Not long after, Garrett gives us the spiel for today’s challenge. Or at least, the first take of the spiel.
Who’s ready for the third challenge of the season? Edit in some applause there, Blake.
Last time, you put your survival skills to the test. Today, we’ll be sending you back out into the woods, so let’s hope you remember a thing or two to help you out there. The name of today’s game? Trailside Treasure Hunt.
Hidden somewhere in these woods are the most precious valuables money can buy: limited-edition Garrett Moxley Funko Pops.
That’s right. These treasures are hidden in locations that are significant to your respective relatives’ seasons of Forest Feud.
Your job is to brave the forest, find your Funko Pop, and bring it back before time runs out.
Adin raises his hand. “What if more than one person has a relative in the same season? My uncle and Sidd’s sister played together.”
And here I thought you were all brawn, no brains. Great question. There is one Funko Pop per relative to find, each for ten points. They’re grouped by seasons. So, say there are three players with parents from the same season…
The camera slowly pans to me, Seyoon, and Carter, in case there are any viewers at home who don’t quite make the connection. Overkill.
… Those three Funko Pops will all be hidden in the same location. Got it?
Carter doesn’t even bother raising his hand. “Do we get extra points for bringing back more than one doll?”
They’re not dolls. Ugh. Yes, you can earn extra points, but only for collecting Funko Pops from different seasons. No bonus points for snagging all the treasures from one location. We’re trying to make this fun for the audience, which means difficult for you, the contestants.
I see some confused faces. “But, Garrett, this challenge sounds so easy.” You might not think that when you find out there will be a double elimination this round. That means two of you will be waving bye-bye to that sweet, sweet cash prize.
Is everyone rightfully nervous now? Perfect! You have ninety minutes on the clock. Starting… now!
“A double elimination?” Seyoon says. She glances around and frowns. “I’d hate to see anyone here go home. Except Carter, who can go to hell.”
“I can hear you, Fourth Place,” Carter quips.
Before they cut us loose, an assistant hands each of us a map of the forest. There’s a red line marking the perimeter we can explore, about a mile in radius, with several landmarks on the map: the Nisqually River, a campsite, a hiking trail, and more.
Garrett sidles up to me and Seyoon as we pore over the paper.
“I have something for you two that I think you’ll like,” he says.
“Is it time away from you?” Seyoon chirps.
“Rude. Just for that, I’m giving this to Dean.”
He pulls a folded note from his pocket and plops it in my hand. “The incentive you two won yesterday for giving Blake the best performance.” Garrett pats each of our heads. “Don’t get lost out there.”
Everyone splits off into the woods, trailed by the usual team of camera and sound operators.
I catch Blake whispering to some of the techs, and when Seyoon and I head out, there are double the usual number of cameras following us.
A restless buzz thrums under my skin as the techs circle us on every side, constantly in my periphery.
There are already cameras installed in the trees—is this really necessary?
Once we’re away from the other contestants, we unfold the clue. The scrawl is messy and haphazard.
Vince, Garrett, and Jungeun, sitting in a…
Seyoon squints. “Is this cursive?”
“I think Garrett just has bad handwriting,” I say, then read it aloud. “The answer has to be tree. Problem is, which one?”
“What a shit clue. They want us to look for a needle in a haystack. No, a needle in a pile of other needles. See? Even the metaphor sucks.”
I purse my lips and gaze out across the woods, thinking back on the fifteenth season and any particularly memorable locations this could be hinting toward. The scenes flash through my brain like a highlight reel. I gasp when I realize.
“The treehouse!” I scour the map, searching, and yes, there it is. I point it out for Seyoon. “In the final challenge, the obstacle race led to a treehouse at the finish line. Do you remember?”
“Oh—you’re right!” She beams at me. “Nice work, partner.”
I try not to preen too visibly at the praise.
According to the map, there’s no paved road or hiking trail to get to where the treehouse is located, which is clear on the other side of the perimeter, so Seyoon and I get to work trekking through the woods.
The others must be scrambling high and low in search of their own Funko Pops, but wherever they are, it’s not nearby.
It’s just me, Seyoon, and the tiny militia of underpaid film workers behind us.
Seyoon grunts, stepping over a fallen tree. “Good thing we got that clue, huh?”
“That’s all thanks to your sweet little spiel yesterday.” With the cameras in earshot, I can’t call it what it actually was: a damn convincing performance.
Seyoon shoots me what’s supposed to be an obnoxious grin, but it’s kind of accidentally charming. “That was all from the heart, lover.”