Chapter 10 #2
We forgo the awkwardness that would be a handshake with two opposite hands. Colton nods at me instead, sealing our deal, and I zip my lips together to signify that his little attendance lie is still safe with me. I watch his tight features sag with relief.
It’s kind of sad how he still frets over a high school attendance record.
While other people couldn’t care less about something so small, I doubt his dad would see it that way.
A Downing, lying as a teenager. Why, that was grounds for impeachment from the family line.
And Colton couldn’t stand for that. Disappointing Daddy is a big no-no.
“Colton.”
Colton and I both pivot toward the voice and see two people in familiar black-and-lime outfits crest a nearby hill.
“Colton,” Tyrone shouts again as he traverses the slight decline, his dad, Joseph, following in his wake.
Without forewarning, I get pulled through leafy bushes and over snaking roots as Colton rushes forward to meet his man crush.
Tyrone and Colton do a little handshake thing with two fingers and some snaps; all the while, my hand sags between me and Colton like a lazy dog on a leash.
Two nights ago, Tyrone and Colton discovered that they used to attend the same summer camp when they were kids, and now they’re in the honeymoon stages of their bromance.
While Tyrone and Colton gab like two matrons at a hair salon, I turn to Joseph.
His dimpled smile is a welcome reprieve from the stress of the game.
He has a fatherly air about him, not only because he is Tyrone’s dad, but because he’s pretty much been the father at base camp.
From day one, he’s run the place like a tight ship, giving us all chores to accomplish morning, evening, and night—firewood collecting, utensil making, fish trap setting.
I doubt a base camp has ever been as put together as it is this season.
“Hey, just a warning,” Joseph says. “We saw Heartbreaker and Legend shoving other teams’ coconuts into bushes. Make sure you’re looking high and low.”
“So Team Ruby and Fuchsia are working together,” I say, recalling the conversation Colton, Team Lime, Team Amber, and I had around the firepit last night, speculating if Team Fuchsia and Team Ruby had formed some sort of alliance.
“I think so.” Joseph nods.
“Well, thanks for the info.”
“Sure.” Joseph turns and pats his son on the back. “Tyrone, let’s get going. One more to find.”
One more? One more! I nearly double over with panic. Tyrone and Joseph have only one more coconut to find? I glance at the sack of coconuts slung over Colton’s shoulder. Between our two net bags, we are four coconuts short of what we need to write out our S.O.S on the beach.
Tyrone and Joseph are just walking away when I tug at the bungee cuff, pulling Colton farther down the trail, eager to get moving.
That’s when a large drop of water lands on my nose and drips down my chin, followed by another.
I stop and look up, wondering if it’s dew from a tree, but instead, I find raindrops falling from the sky at an ever-increasing pace.
Colton clears his throat, looking at me with those stupid blueberry eyes. “Told you.”
“Now is not the time, Colton. We’ve got to move,” I shout, trying to be heard over the rain that’s making a drum set out of every leaf, branch, and surface of the jungle.
Suddenly, there’s a small pop, and a bright flare streams through the rain-saturated sky, lighting up our surroundings in a brief explosion of ruby red.
“No.” The word bursts from me. I immediately slip between two trees and start running, Colton following behind me. My mind races, imagining the sands of a timer reaching its last few grains, when another shot sounds. This time, fuchsia lights the sky.
Panic overtakes me. At this rate, the game could be over in a matter of minutes, and we’d be done. Sent to an elimination. One step closer to going home without funds for The Red Curtain or the means to start a nonprofit.
Suddenly, it’s all too real. This isn’t just about collecting coconuts. It’s about helping my community in the best way I know how. It’s about Izzy and Mama and making sure that kids like my fourteen-year-old self never have to feel alone or worthless.
“Colton, hurry,” I say as we run side by side.
Then it happens again. A bang, followed by a burst of amber yellow. Bill and Maria? I’d just seen one of their coconuts at the base of the tree we recently scavenged. They couldn’t possibly have found it and made it to the beach that fast. Unless … They found a game booster.
Game boosters have been used since Season Five, allowing teams to get some sort of advantage in the heat of a challenge. Maybe Bill and Maria found a booster that made it so they didn’t need all of their coconuts to complete the challenge.
The thought makes me speed up as we start down a hill that cakes my shoes in layers of mud.
Colton descends the slope too carefully, making me feel antsy the farther behind he lags.
Three of six teams have finished, and we still have four coconuts to find.
I feel the weight of my dreams collapsing on me. How could I’ve let this …
“Oof.” A grunt escapes my lungs as Colton slams against my back, causing both of our feet to slip beneath us.
Colton’s right arm swiftly wraps around my waist as we, our backpacks, and our bags full of coconuts go tumbling down the remainder of the hill, skidding to a stop just before ramming into the trunk of a bay-rum.
“Are you okay?” Colton lets go of my waist, allowing me to roll from his grasp. I slowly get to my knees and pull at my muddy T-shirt that makes a slurping sound as I peel it away from my body.
“I’m sorry. The ground was slick and …” Colton stops and stares as I pull a chunk of slimy hair from my face, smearing mud all along my cheek. His lips wobble, and I can tell he’s trying not to laugh.
How could he be laughing at a time like this?
“Is this seriously a game to you?” I growl.
Colton casually pushes onto his knees. “Yes. Sunsets and Sabotage, I believe it’s called. I thought you were a fan.”
His snarky comment is tinder for the frustration mounting inside of me. Hot tears prick my eyes. Of course he’s making a joke at a time like this. What does it matter if he wins this game show? He’s going home to a comfortable life filled with anything he can dream up.
I scramble to my feet, pulling Colton with me.
As soon as we have our bags in tow, I wipe the rain from my face with my clean wrist, but in an instant, the water is back in my eyes.
Regardless, I step forward, determined to keep going when I trip over Colton’s shoe and nearly end up falling face-first. My emotions are a boiling pot of water ready to spill over.
Colton runs a hand down his arm, wicking away globs of mud. “What is it now, Missy?”
I blow out a shaky breath. “The shoe, the fall, this game. Everything, Colton. You’ve done everything to get in my way since the moment we met.”
“Hey now, it was you who started that high school rumor, Miss, not me,” Colton prods, as if this were just another one of our meaningless sparring matches.
It takes all I have not to strangle him with the bungee cord. I’m not playing our little game this time. This challenge may mean nothing to Colton, but this is high stakes for me.
“I’m not joking around, Colton. Every single time I try to do something to break out of my circumstances, there you are, stopping me.”
His eyebrows scrunch together. “When are you going to stop blaming me for anything that goes remotely wrong for you?”
I jab a finger at his chest. “When you start giving me a reason not to blame you.”
“And what have I done now? Slip into you? I’m sorry. It was an accident. The mud was slippery. I had no choice in the matter.”
“It’s the fact that you’re here, Colton.
You’re just here having a rich-kid summer doing whatever seems fun because you know your future is taken care of, just like it’s always been.
You don’t know what it’s like to work your butt off for a college scholarship, or wonder how you’re going to pay for your next mortgage bill, or fund your dreams. You’ve always been under Daddy’s umbrella.
” I step back, wishing I could sever the shackle that binds us.
“You don’t understand, Colton, and you never will. ”
Colton huffs with incredulity. “Have you ever thought that maybe you’re the one who doesn’t know what it’s like?
You’re Perfect Miss Missy, always saying the right thing.
Always charming people with your accent and your smile.
You wouldn’t know the meaning of hard because everything comes effortlessly to you.
You want to teach kids confidence? Great!
I’m sure you’ll have success, because that’s just you.
But how you’ll teach coping skills to a bunch of kids with real problems is a mystery to me. ”
He steps forward, closing the distance between us.
“But somehow, you’ll find a way. Call it luck—call it a glow-in-the-dark star, a shiny shoe, a seashell.
Whatever it is, it’s made you completely oblivious to the fact that you have more at your fingertips than most people can dream of, and yet, here you are.
Complaining. Blaming me for having the money you don’t have, when it was something I was born into. I never had a choice.”
Both of our chests rise and fall in quick succession, our anger coursing out of us with every breath.
“I can’t stand you,” I seethe.
Colton leans down until his face is level with mine. “You took the words right out of my mouth.”
I’ve never wanted to walk away from someone so badly, but there is a twelve-inch piece of rubber keeping me connected to the one man I never want to see again.
“Let’s go,” I say, trying to summon the thimble-full of strength I have left.
The rain escalates, coming down as intense and as furious as our argument.
I raise my free arm to swipe at my face, but it’s no use.
The sheets of rain pound so forcefully, even the drone that’s been filming us during this challenge has flown away, likely being steered back to its home base before getting waterlogged.
Just when I’m starting to think I can’t hear a single thing over the barrage of water droplets, I’m proved wrong when the shot of a fourth flare gun reaches my ears. Stomach sinking, Colton and I look skyward. I make out the faintest hint of lime green through the rain.
Four teams have officially completed the challenge, which means if we don’t beat Team Violet, we’ll take last place.
“We’ve got to go,” I yell, more frantic than ever.
“Are you serious, Missy? We can barely see each other. There’s no way we’re finding anything in this,” he yells back.
“I’m not giving up.” I try to walk forward, only to be held back by the bungee and Colton’s stubborn will.
“I know you want to win, but we need to think logically. I saw a small cave a little way back. Let’s take cover there and come up with a plan.”
I point to the sky where the green flare recently burst. “We don’t have time. We could come in last, Colton. Last.”
“We. Can’t. See. Anything.”
I hate this. I hate being stuck, and even more, I hate that Colton is right. I can barely make out my hand in front of me. There’s no chance of finding the coconuts right now.
“Fine.” I let out a defeated breath and relent, hoping I didn’t just cost myself my dream.
Several minutes later, Colton and I find the small cave, which is more like a rock formation with a stony overhang. Green foliage spills from the top, causing long grassy tendrils to brush against our faces as we step into the shelter with our bulky bags.
Feeling antsy with every second we lose, I turn to Colton. “Do you have a strategy in mind?”
Colton scrubs a hand through his hair, pulling off his rain-soaked bandana. “I was thinking we could …” He stops, his eyes narrowing in on something behind me.
I turn around and immediately want to cry. “A booster.”
I rush toward the four small buckets of paint hanging from hooks on the wall.
Each of the buckets are filled with a team color.
However, Team Fuchsia’s and Amber’s paint buckets are missing from their hooks.
Those teams must have found this booster a while ago.
Above the buckets hangs an artificially broken metal sign that reads “Paint any five coconuts to count as your own.”
I gasp as Colton grabs our teal paint bucket.
How many unpainted coconuts had we seen while trying to find our own today? Too many. We rush out of the rock formation and run straight for the beach, not caring about the rain pelting our skin.
Along the way, we find four unpainted coconuts at the base of two large coconut trees and carry them until we break out of the jungle and onto the sandy shore. With every moment, I hope and pray that somehow, someway, we’ll finish before another flare bursts into the sky.
A minute later, a flare streams through the air. But this time, it’s beautiful, sparkling, and teal. We come in fifth place out of six. We are safe … unless America votes otherwise.