The Challenge. (Started; accepting w/permission)

Rylet|Beach

A girl excitedly runs over just as I hear that the teams had changed. I don't understand, but stand anyway, assuming that she was on my team.

"Hey Rylet!" She calls. "Rylet!"

"Hi, you're Brigid?" I ask.

"Yup. Andy's in the dining hall. Did you want to practice or not?"

I nod, "Yes, I think we should. Let's go get Andy."

I glance back at Noah before following her towards the dining hall.

"Hey, am I pronouncing your name right? Rye-let? No silent T?" Brigid asks.

Turning to her, I nod.

"No silent T."

Andy|Dining Hall

I play around with the rice on my plate one last time before pushing it away. I'm not hungry. I see Brigid returning with another girl at her side. Brigid ran off when they announced that there had been a change. She said I didn't have to go if I didn't want and that she would tell me what was going on. The girl beside her's name is Rylet I believe. If there's one thing I'm good at it's names. I can always remember names.

"Hey Andy! Rylet here is our new partner for the kayaks. Instead of two-people kayaks, we are now using thee-people ones," says Brigid.

Great now I not only will I be stuck with two girls but we'll have to learn a whole new type of coordination with three people paddling.
"Do you think we should practice then?" I ask. A stupid question, I know. But hey, maybe they don't feel like doing it. Girls are such weaklings that the smallest exertion tires them. At least that's my experience. Perhaps it's better not to express my feelings to these two girls.

"Yes. I think we should," says Rylet. "We got a list telling us where we are positioned in the kayak. Brigid is in the front, I'm in the middle, and you're in the back."

"Cool," I answer for lack of anything better to say. "Let's go."

Brigid|Dining Hall

"Excuse me, Rylet," I began. "Do you know if we have to sit where we were positioned? Because I'm pretty good at steering, and normally the person steering sits in the back. The person in the back uses their paddle as a rudder, and I have a lot of experience with that."

Rylet thought for a moment. "I don't know," she said. "Maybe we should ask Katherine."

Rosette/Campgrounds

I look around. Happiness is bursting from me because of the joy of having partners... I look around, trying to find my new partners, Zohan, and Warren. Have I forgotten? I think I was too overwhelmed with everything that I hadn't been listening to the introductions... I have no idea how they look! I don't know if I should consider myself lucky, or unlucky for being with two boys... I am not very comfortable with making friends, especially not boys. Oh well, we'll have to see. Walking towards a big tree, I site beneath it. I spy a little squirrel in the tree, and invite it to sit beside me. "Come on little one... It's okay. I won't hurt you..." I say gently. "That's it! Good squirrel!" I pet the furry animal's fluffy tail, and then lift it up and place it on my lap. At least I have squirrel friends. I will wait for them to find me... I don't know what they look like, but I really should practice kayaking...

Noah / Campgrounds

After the announcement of the new teams with a new list. I sought out to fine Mario, after some decent searching again. I found him,

"You must be Mario." I said, shaking his hand.

"Noah," I introduced myself.

Andy|Campground

"That sounds like a good idea Brigid. I don't think I'd be very good at steering," I say. "Do you think Katherine is still by the beach?"

"Probably," says Rylet dubiously. We head over to where Katherine was last seen.

"Hey Katherine!" says Brigid. "We were wondering if it was possible to change our places in the kayak. You see I have a lot of experience steering."

"Oh sure Brigid. Since your team is two girls and a guy I just placed the guy at the back. But sure you can change places. Have fun practicing!"

"Good," I say. "Do you really think we have a chance?"

"Of course," the two girls say in unison then look at each other startled. I have to laugh and they join in. I like my team. A lot.

Rosette/Campgrounds

After waiting for almost an hour, I stand up, and put my furry pet down. As I walk towards the dining hall, I meet Zohan walking out.
"Uh. Hi, I'm Rosette, you must be Zohan..." I say, in a quiet voice. Until that moment, I was looking towards the floor, but when I look up at him, he looks very kind. Questioningly, I wait for him to answer.

Warren- campgrounds and beach
I head to the beach and look over the kayak we've been assigned to. I don't know that much about kayaks, so I spend about an hour figuring out how they work. Katherine offers help, but I politely decline.
After I think I know the basic ins and outs of kayaking, I reorganize my pack then go looking for my team to see if they want to practice. I ran into Zohan earlier, but it was a very brief conversation, just making sure we'd be able to find eachother later, and I still don't know anything about him, much less this girl, what was her name? I think it was a flower.
Outside the dining hall, I see them talking. I walk up to them and introduce myself to the girl.
"I'm Warren, you're other team mate," I say holding out my hand for her to shake, "nice to meet you."

Zohan/dining hall

yes! A girl! Another girl...but wait I'm disguised as a guy... I think to myse lf. I was so relieved that I almost blow my cover. I then tried to make my voice as boyish as possible. " hey what up girl?" that's what those boys on tv say right? it soundedreally weird so i cleared my throat "I- I mean my names zohan nice to meet you too." I said. note to self: don't talk unless needed to I smiled at her, hopefully she would take the whole mix up as a joke.

Rosette/Campground

The boy named Zohan replies, "Hey, what up girl?" Then, he paused, and looked very thoughtful, then continued, "I- I mean my name's Zohan... Nice to meet you too."
He seems kind of shy, and he looks kind of embarrassed. "Uh, yeah..." I half-smile.

Just then, a guy walks up to us, and says, "I'm Warren, your other team mate. Nice to meet you." I shake his hand. He looks nice.
"I'm Rosette, but just call me Rose for short... That is, if you want to." Then I remember about the kayaks. "Uh... I really have no idea how to steer a kayak... Do you two guys wanna go practice? Do either of you two know how? I'm going to need a LOT of teaching." I say, smiling. I look from Zohan to Warren. They aren't so bad, I guess.

Spoiler

Note this has nothing to do with what day I post or anything. The 'day' can last more than a day, less than a day, etc. I just want to keep some track of time.

Katherine|Campgrounds (everyone has gathered around to listen)

"Good morning everyone! I hope you all slept well and are ready for the day! Today will be super exciting and I bet you all are anxious to start. I think you all were able to practice yesterday and have a small strategy worked out perhaps. Here take these life jackets and put them on. I assume you can all swim but it's a bit of a long way and we don't want anyone sent back on the first day, do we? Speaking of that, I was told to inform you all that if you are eliminated you will be sent back to this campground to await the rest. Don't leave though! We have something special planned for the end. On that note, everybody to the boat! Your kayaks are already there. We'll grab a bite to eat on board then you will all start the race. This is so exciting isn't it! Here's what the inside of the boat looks like:

Spoiler

It's kind of small but I'm sure we'll all fit, what with the couches and the seats up front and the kayaks tied to the roof. Take another look at the list of teams before you head out. We're going to call the person in the front seat the 'captain' and I'll give them a walkie talkie in case you need me for something.

Spoiler

Brigid's team, in your case since you guys switched places it would make sense for you to give Andy the walkie talkie but it's up to you guys. Let's head out before it gets too late!"

Spoiler

Don't forget to post in the DT. Or at least check it later on today. I will be posting the winner there. Don't miss out!

Brigid|Katherine's Boat

"Okay, guys," I said, huddling on one of the benches with my team. "Andy's in the front, Rylet's in the middle, and I'm in the back. You guys just paddle, and I'll shout if I need something else for steering."

"Got it," Rylet replied. "We're strong, guys. We've got this."

I sat back against the edge of the boat, leaning out over the water. The wind was cold, and every time the boat bounced over a swell, the sea water splashed up and sprayed on my face. I could see Mount Thunderhead now--it looked to be an old cinder cone volcano. There were trees blanketing its slopes almost all the way to the summit, but I could tell that there would be some bare-rock climbing toward the end. What would happen to us if it suddenly rumbled back to life again?

"Alright," Katherine began, stopping the boat. "Everyone into their kayaks. Remember, it's five miles to the shore, and whoever wins the race gets dinner. Everyone else has to fend for themselves."

Andy and I followed Rylet over to our kayak and slipped inside. I grabbed my paddle, holding it level. I would probably end up paddling for a good four miles or so. Steering wouldn't really be important until the end, when we approached the volcano.

I settled into a comfortable position as the kayak was lowered into the water. Thankfully, I was taller than Rylet; I would have to see around her and Andy to aim the kayak.

Once all the kayaks were in the water, Katherine stood at the stern of the boat and looked each one of us in the eye. "Good luck," she said. "Start on my count. Three...two...one...go!"

Andy|Kayak Race

Adrenaline rushes through me as I grab my paddle. The kayak lurches forward as all three of us begin paddling at the same time. It's like we understand each other and can anticipate each others movements. I like it. After only half a mile I'm sweating. I'm not really tired but it seems to get really hot out.

"Brigid! We should pace ourselves. Let's not rush or we'll be too tired," I say. I look around and see the other kayaks a good distance away. We seem to be drifting away from each other. I wipe my brow quickly before dipping my paddle in again. I look around to see how the girls are doing and see that their faces are red. I turn back and try to focus. We have to win. We just have to.

Mario

I glanced at Teal and Noah. They both had their faces set in hard lines, though Noah tried to smile at me. We weren't started out great, the day before had gone badly. See, apparently Teal has this, disability, where she blacks out when under too much pressure. And arguing over who got what seat in the kayak was too much pressure. So she blacked out, and blamed me. And Noah didn't really do anything for either of us, though he at least sided with me on the point that she should have told us.

I'm still worried about this race. What if she decides to black out on us again? In the middle of a lake? I'm sure Noah and I could manage, but we'd have a disadvantage, it would be dead weight and less help.

"Come on, we can't let any of them beat us. I want that meal, and I want to win."

"I think we all do, Mario," Teal shoots back. I glared, but before I know it we're off, paddling rhythmically. We had at least been able to come up with some kind of strategy the day before. Start out slowly, then sprint the last part. We could do this. We could.

Warren-
I shrug.
"I was down there looking at the boats," I say to Rose, "I think I know pretty much how to work it. If you guys want to go practice..." Rose nods and we head down there, practicing until we go to bed. The next day, I head down to the beach with everyone else. While Katherine's talking about kayaking, I go over everything in my head, wondering if I forgot anything or overlooked anything. I can't think of anything I forgot, which gets me slightly worried. We all load onto the boat and I go look for Zohan and Rose, sitting next to them with a quiet, "Hi."