A Different, Better Timeline

The Pain of a Splinter

I hope you think of me whenever you drop loose change into this.

Geoff was pleased with his work. He had been making this gift for Bridgette since the last elimination ceremony, painstakingly gluing macaroni around the heart shaped framed and using his best photoshop skills to create a photo of the two of them together. There was no way she wouldn't love it!

Checking his watch, Geoff saw he only had a few minutes to deposit the gift on Bridgette's bed before breakfast ended. He had to get going if he wanted to surprise her before the challenge. He grabbed the gift and raced through camp. After sufficiently checking that the coast was clear, he entered the girls' cabin and walked up to what he assumed was Bridgette's bed. He placed the gift under her covers and went to wait on the porch.

Across camp, he saw Bridgette and DJ walking to the cabin together, whispering about something. As they made their way up the steps, Geoff greeted them, "Hey, Bridge. Deej. How was breakfast?"

The two of them shared a look of exasperation, and Bridgette sighed before answering, "Courtney and Duncan got in a fight."

Geoff couldn't help but chuckle, as Courtney and Duncan fought often. Their fights could be about anything, ranging from "why are you so allergic to fun?" to "why are you touching me right now?" to "this team is crumbling, and it's all your fault." It was as annoying as it was amusing. "What's it about this time, dudes?"

"Not entirely sure, man," DJ said. "I think he called her 'Princess' again."

Bridgette nodded, confirming this story. "It's still going on. I think they forgot we were there, so we left. Anyway, where were you this morning, Geoff? We missed you!"

Geoff smiled at her. "I was in the arts and crafts tent! Making something for a special someone!"

DJ laughed, knowing that this was only going to end up poorly for his friend. Bridgette chewed the inside of her check and looked down. "Sure," she mumbled. She didn't like the way Geoff was smiling. It told her something was up, and the stuff Geoff thought up usually didn't end well for either of them.

"Okay," Bridgette said, looking at the boys again. "Well, I have something I need to do in the cabin before the challenge starts. See you later." She waved to the two of them and entered her cabin, hoping that whatever Geoff was talking about wasn't as bad as she thought it might be.

The campers finished their morning routines and met at the beach for the briefing. The challenge didn't sound too hard: canoe across the lake, hike around an island, and start a fire. It would take a lot to mess that up, and both the Killer Bass and Screaming Gophers were confident in their abilities.

After Chris sent the campers on their ways, likely and unlikely pairs came together for the canoeing portion of the challenge. On the Killer Bass side, Bridgette quickly claimed Courtney, leaving Geoff to find his solace with DJ. Sadie and Harold paired up on the basis that they were the only two left and were surprised when Duncan forced himself into their canoe. Duncan knew the logical choice would have been to pair up with Geoff and DJ, but he didn't want the three of them to be seen as a unit.

Lindsay and Beth formed the Screaming Gophers' first canoe, and, in order to have some time away from Heather, they pulled Trent in to form a trio. Cody used this to his advantage and made sure that Gwen would be going along with him. Looking at her choices, Leshawna figured that Izzy would be her safest bet. She wasn't too keen on spending any time at all with Heather and was getting tired of Owen. This left the two of them, much to Heather's annoyance and Owen's misplaced excitement. Once in the water, these pairs and trios fill the lake with various conversations.