Sitting in the common area for eleven hours with the other contestants felt like a slap in the face. Alejandro had put everything into that last challenge, single handedly carried his whole team (minus the Sierra problem), and gave the Amazons the win. Despite all this, his hooks were in and he was actually in a good mood. Until Owen, Noah, and all the rest of the replaceable annoyances managed to irritate him all over again.
Team Victory sat across the aisle. Next to Leshawna on the far left was a hole barely fixed with planks of wood. Throughout the talking Alejandro noticed the wood slowly falling apart. Piece by piece the hole was opened once again and air started pulling in from the hole. Everybody not strapped in, like Leshawna, were pulled towards the open air.
As she started to fly away, Alejandro noticed an opportunity, he grabbed her out of the air. He held her close while keeping one hand on his strap and the other on her lower back. She looked up at him, blushing, as he called her a true beauty. They were all in danger until Owen broke through the straps and plugged the hole with his body. Behind him, Alejandro heard D.J. and Harold discussing him. 'Bingo' He thought, 'Get Leshawna on my side and get Harold off his game. Two birds with one stone!'
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From up in first class, Heather felt the rumble of turbulence. 'Ugh you'd think Chef would fly this deathtrap better considering his precious star Chris is in it!' She thought to herself.
Her team was arguing about who should be team leader. Courtney insisted it be her while Gwen insisted there shouldn't be a leader at all. Heather rolled her eyes, "You're, like, not the only member of this team Courtney!" A laughable statement considering Heather was only on her team by herself. As far as she was concerned, her "teammates" were numbers until the merge, in which she'd destroy them.
"There's my friend Sierra to consider," She continued, looking back at a creepy Sierra going through Cody's things. Courtney and Gwen laughed at Heather.
'They are such fools. Like, yeah, she's crazy and for sure creepy. But she's a genius when it comes to this game. She's gonna take us far. You two losers are gonna be voted out for bickering with each other and refusing to compete in challenges.'
Before Heather could say something, Chris spoke over the loudspeaker. He called everyone to the cafeteria of the plane. That meant if she wanted to get her confessional in she'd have to do it soon then head over.
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From the seating area right next to the kitchen, Alejandro sat amongst the crowd. It took a few minutes for Chris, Chef, and the interns to set everything up. Apparently, they were planning something big for this episode. Or at least that's what Alejandro assumed when nobody on the crew would look the contestants in the eye.
So he was resigned with watching the cast. Everyone would chat like normal before the cameras were on. 'Like fools, not even keeping quiet around their competition.' He listened in, gaining information. Izzy knows amazing gymnastics, Noah worked as an intern on a bunch of recent reality shows, and Owen is actually incredibly strong. Yet one person kept completely quiet, Heather. 'She doesn't say a thing about herself until the cameras are on. She must know all that matters to Chris is marketable content. She's so smart."
Standing next to Harold, Heather kept her eyes noticeably off of Alejandro. 'He's staring at me. I don't know what that snake wants with me but he better keep his eyes to himself if he knows what's good for him!'
Alejandro kept watching her and noticed something else. Harold was the one person who tried to talk to Heather. And last season, he was the only one to try and see the good in Heather. If she ever tried some cross team alliance or they both made it to the merge then the numbers could beat Alejandro. Another good reason to bump him.
Finally, everyone had mics and the cameras were rolling. Chris ran through the usual spiel about their location, Japan, with only Harold prompting him back. Eventually, Harold annoyed Chris too much and he had Chef destroy the door with his sword. Thus everyone was launched out of the plane and free falling in the air. And then he had the audacity to ask for a song. So like jesters performing for a cruel king, the teens had no choice but to muster out a song about their dreams while falling from hundreds of feet in the air. Once they had finished and Chris was satisfied, they landed on a set, in a huge rice bowl.
After pulling himself up from the rice, Alejandro noticed Leshawna and Harold fighting right next to him. He shuffled forward hearing Harold mention speaking Japanese.
"You know Leshawna, I speak a little Japanese. Hana no youni kirei. That means you're as beautiful as a flower." He spoke with a lilt. Leshawna blushed and giggled, twirling her ponytail. Behind her, Harold frowned.
'Got them.'
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Chris' next plan for torture was some large pinball game. He wanted at least one member from each team to get in a large ball and get battered around for a bit getting points. Alejandro volunteered to earn points for his team. 'Make them think they need me to succeed.' Luckily the "vicious" panda bear loved him like most people do. 'This will be a breeze."
Heather sidestepped that responsibility on to Cody who ended up not with a panda bear but Sierra, even more clingy and vicious.
With the panda Ting-Ting's help, Alejandro used his perfect physicality to win the mini challenge for his team. Another success under his belt and an advantage in the next challenge.
Chris took everyone back to the plane. Inside the common area, he showed the cast the marketing for their show in Japan. All of their voices were dubbed over. Heather's voice actress was shrill and sounded like an evil stepmother in a children's cartoon.
When "Heather" spoke on-screen, Alejandro snickered. Standing on the other side of the table, Heather looked back at him. Flashing her teeth with an angry grimace, she huffed and blew her bangs upward. 'At least I was in the show,' she thought to herself, 'this is his first season and he's barely talked!'
Chris and Chef, giggling to themselves, set the contestants out on their main challenge. Filming a new promo for Chef's new snack.
Since they won, Alejandro's team got first pick on the items provided for them. He investigated the items in the boxes. A monster suit, tiny buildings, and some army hats. Looking at his team members, Owen and Izzy falling on boxes with Noah and Tyler trying to stop them. He had a great idea. A monster movie homage. That would surely impress Chef, who played a monster last season. Plus Chris loved Owen. Making him the star would make Chris all kinds of happy. 'Better get started before the other teams get ideas.'
Walking out, they passed team Victory. Alejandro stopped to greet Harold. "Good luck, honorable opponent." He had to hold back a laugh while bending over to bow. Anything to make Harold overconfident. Arrogance is the number one way to mess up. Especially when showing off for a girl. Leshawna stood behind Harold rolling her eyes at his reply, "I don't need luck!"
"Of course not. You have superior leadership skills and vision. Your team is lucky to have you." Alejandro knew from watching the last couple seasons that Harold was overconfident in his abilities. 'If I can make Harold mess up, his team will be annoyed and vote him out. Then Leshawna will be available for my flirtation."
Alejandro walked off, following his team to a different section of the cargo hold to film. He stood behind them all as they set up the tiny city for Owen to destroy. 'Better for me to manage. Let the drones do all the work.' Looking around him, he spotted the bag of fish candy. 'Might as well try them.' One quick taste and Alejandro was puking into a bucket.
Alejandro is extraordinarily picky. 'My body is a temple, I must keep it clean and holy.' But he knew sometime this season would be a gross-out eating challenge. He had hoped by trying the candy he could get used to Chef's disgusting creations. No such luck. 'Hopefully it'll be before the merge and I can use Owen's never ending hunger to my advantage.'
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Being in last, team Amazons had the last pick on the props. They had been too busy bickering to pick someone for the mini challenge. Now they were in the same predicament. Heather, Courtney, and Gwen were not giving up control on their ideas. Cody suggested combining the ideas but none of the girls were listening. Heather had suggested something cute and simple and at the others refusal, she felt a wave of embarrassment wash through her. She crossed her arms and scoffed at everything the others said. 'They're all so dumb!'
The girls, excluding Sierra, chose to not complete the challenge. They all stormed off separately, leaving Sierra and Cody to do the work. Heather normally would have never forfeited a challenge. Especially if elimination was on the line. 'Maybe if we lose, I can split the votes and get rid of Courtney or Gwen.' She was more focused on turning off her witch switch, as Gwen said. She wanted to blend into the background. 'If they don't even think about me, they'll send someone else home.' Luckily, Cody and Sierra had no intentions of going to the elimination ceremony.
The teams finished filming and Team Chris Is Really (4x) Hot went first showing off their monster movie. It involved Alejandro throwing the candy fish into monster Owen's mouth to calm him down. 'A ridiculous idea but it'll work' He thought while watching his team's poor acting and low-budget set. 'Better than Victory's so called film' He laughed to himself watching their artsy dramatic ad. Nobody seemed that impressed with it. 'Exactly what I thought, Harold out-did himself ha!'
The Amazons were on their way to last with no ad. Until Sierra and Cody rushed in. They loaded the ad onto the screen for the others to watch. It was a mashup of all their ideas and a wild viewing. Heather was pleasantly surprised they used part of her idea. 'Maybe Sierra and Cody like my ideas? Maybe I don't have to be silent all the time? Maybe these numbers could be real allies?'
Her thinking was interrupted by Chef's ratings. Team Victory had lost the most and would be facing elimination. Surprisingly, Chef loved the Amazons video and they won first place. Heather was so excited she even laughed out loud at the other teams. 'Ha! Didn't even do anything and we still got first class!' She didn't know when she started referring to her team instead of her on her own. It was a pleasant but confusing change. One she'd like to see more often. Though she'd never admit it.
The girls all congratulated Cody and his determination to finish the challenge. Sierra suggested a group hug. Although she just meant her and Cody, Heather leaned in. Finally accepting her teammates and their affection.
Alejandro watched this from afar, puzzled. His team lost? And Heather's being pleasant? 'Maybe I knew less than I thought. I'll kick my plan into high gear next episode. Can't allow her to surprise me anymore.' He had avoided elimination. But so had she. 'This will be tricky.'
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Back in the regular section of the plane, Alejandro slid next to Harold. 'Time to complete the plan.'
"It could just as easily have been me. At least we have our honor and girls. Like majestic Leshawna. They love guys with honor." Alejandro whispered the last part into Harold's ear. Watching his eyes light up with an idea. Self sacrifice. Later that night Harold would be in the bottom two with D.J. but only one would leave. With Alejandro's help, Harold would "sacrifice" himself hoping to gain Leshawna's favor. But all that's gained is Alejandro's next step in this competition.