I Wanna Be, I Wanna Be, I Wanna Be Boyfriends

Chapter 8

The sun was high overhead and the campers were all still in their cabins sawing at logs. In the boys' cabin, Harold was the first to awaken. Per usual, he rolled over to paw around for his glasses, squinting hard until the moment he was able to put them on his face. He sat up and scratched an itch through his cowboy pjs. "Does it feel late to any of you guys?" he asked confusedly.

His question stirred the rest of the cabin. Geoff lifted his hat which had been covering his face and poked the alarm clock on the bedstand to check the time. His blond eyebrows lifted. "Dudes, it's like eleven-thirty," he remarked.

"Chris let us sleep in??" Duncan said, peeking out the window slats with incredulty.

"I knew the guy couldn't be mean all the time," DJ said.

"I guess you're right," Trent agreed with a smile.

"Oh man, that felt good," Cody said as he sat up, stretching his back and shoulders. "I haven't gotten to sleep in like that since last summer! Haha."

"Oh no! Did I sleep through breakfast?!" Owen gasped in dismay.

Noah drew his head up from his pillow dazedly, his hair a ruffled mess. "No wake-up call? Why do I have a really bad feeling about this?" he queried rhetorically.

"I'm with cerebral cortex," Duncan hooked his thumb at Noah, "Something's definitely up." He jumped down from his top bunk, quickly sloughing off his wifebeater and pulling on his long sleeves and pants, already on his way out the door.

He found Chris lounging in a beach chair in the middle of the campground, a pair of sunglasses on as he soaked up the late morning rays. "The dead walk," he commented upon seeing Duncan. "I'll just wait until everyone's here. No sense in rushing anyone." He laughed privately.

"You mind explaining what's so funny?" the delinquent demanded.

"I actually do," Chris snarked. "So how about you keep your shorts on and wait for your fellow campers like I said before?"

Duncan rolled his eyes and sat on a stump. The other contestants began to gather outside, emerging one by one or in pairs.

"So, is today actually a challenge day or what?" asked Gwen, folding her arms impatiently. She, like Duncan, seemed to suspect foul play.

The showhost put his hands on his hips. "I'm glad you asked, Gwen. And now that everyone's here, I'll answer that question: Yes." He clapped his hands together. "The object of today's challenge will be surviving a night out in the woods," he continued. "Originally, all your supplies were waiting for you at a pre-established location. But thanks to last night's little escapade..." there was another groan from the campers, "You'll have to hunt them down first." He grinned, pulling two maps out of his shirt pocket and tossing them to both the Bass and Gophers; Gwen caught one and Duncan caught the other. "Use these maps to locate the supply groupings, then assemble camp before dark. Trust me, you do not want to be travelling these woods in the dark." He laughed then, as if there were something he wasn't telling the campers, making them all pass nervous glances at each another. "Just a shame you all slept in so late..." he spoke mockingly, "if you'd gotten an earlier start, I bet this challenge would be a lot easier."

~~kkkssshhhttt...!!~~

"Letting us sleep in was just a ruse?" Trent wondered aloud. "Man, Chris really knows how to work the angles on this show."

~~kkkssshhhttt...!!~~

"Do you think it would be a 'major breach of contract' if I rearranged McLean's face?" Duncan asked, punching his knuckles into his palm.

~~kkkssshhhttt...!!~~

Courtney put her hands on her hips, eyes narrowed. "Um, changing the challenges the night before they're filmed? Now who's breaching the contract? I'm going to get in touch with my lawyer." She pulled out her cell phone and began to dial.