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“Campers, this is the final marshmallow tonight………Heather.”
Cody sat in his wheelchair, dejected. Despite the fact he was in a wheelchair, covered head to toe in bandages, and unable to talk, he still thought that his team would do the right thing and vote out Heather. But they didn’t.
The rest of his team felt terrible about the whole ordeal–none of them wanted to vote out Cody, but given his condition, they had no other choice. They all apologized to him profusely as soon as Heather claimed her marshmallow. The raven hair was not one of the members to apologize, as she glared at Cody. But there was no glint in her eye as there was when she glared at other members of her team. It almost seemed like she felt bad for Cody.
Not long after the team said their goodbyes, Beth volunteered to bring Cody to the Dock of Shame. It was a kind gesture, given that the farm girl was partially responsible for his untimely elimination. Once Beth reached the dock with Cody, the rest of the Screaming Gophers turned away and walked back to the cabins.
All of them except Heather, at least. She stood at the bonfire, watching from afar as Beth left Cody on the dock. The farm girl removed her hands from Cody’s wheelchair, and after a moment, planted a kiss on his cheek before skipping away.
Heather watched in horror as Cody’s wheelchair rolled further and further away, and eventually, straight into the water. Beth was completely unaware of the boy’s predicament, as she walked closer to where Heather was with a scowl on her face.
‘He’ll come back up, right? He’ll float…right?’ she thought nervously.
She could only watch as the geek slowly sank into the murky water below the dock. Beth hadn’t even noticed. At that moment, Heather knew she had to do something.
“Beth! BETH! OH MY GOD!” Heather yelled as she ran towards the dock.
Beth turned around and faced the dock. “What? Oh, where’s Cody?”
Heather was sprinting down the dock and didn’t look back at the girl. “Just get Chris! Or Chef! Or anybody!”
She didn’t wait for a response as she dove into the water. She didn’t even care that she still had her shoes on, or that she was wearing her regular clothes. All she cared about was rescuing Cody.
As she swam further down, she was incredibly grateful for all the years of competitive swimming that she did. She was able to swim down with ease, and with her increased ability to hold her breath for long periods of time, she hoped to find Cody.
At the bottom of the lake, she spotted a familiar, metallic sight. Cody’s wheelchair, with him inside, was at the very bottom, sitting on top of some scraps of wood that had sunk to the bottom. She tugged on the boy’s wheelchair, but it was stuck on something in the sand. Pulling harder, she managed to partially dislodge it from whatever it was stuck on.
One problem down, but she had one more–oxygen. Her breath was running out, and she wasn’t sure if she could free Cody and bring him up in this breath. She frantically swam for the surface, coming up right in front of the dock. The rest of the remaining cast was there, concerned for Cody’s wellbeing. Multiple questions were being asked, but she didn’t answer. With another breath, she dove back down below the surface into the dark water.
When she reached Cody for the second time, she noticed that his eyes were shut, and it didn’t appear that he was breathing at all. Slightly panicking, she forcefully removed Cody and the wheelchair from where they were stuck and began swimming towards the surface, pushing the boy up.
The swim back up felt much longer than the swim down, though she didn’t know why. She figured it had something to do with the stress of the situation. All she could think about was the fact that Cody’s life was in her hands, and if the boy died, she would likely be blamed regardless. She had to make sure he lived. She began swimming upwards even faster than before.
As she resurfaced, using strength she didn’t know she had, she pushed Cody and the wheelchair onto the dock. She pulled herself onto the dock and immediately pushed everyone away from Cody. There were multiple complaints from the crowd, but she snapped at them all.
She removed Cody from his wheelchair and placed him on the dock. The darkness of the night made it difficult to see the boy’s features, but she could see that his eyes were still closed, and it didn’t appear that he was breathing. She removed the bandages from his mouth and began performing CPR, ignoring the voices that came from the other cast members.
‘They don’t care for him,’ she thought as she pushed down on Cody’s chest. ‘They only care now that I care. They just want to seem better than me, more moral than me.’ The raven hair briefly turned to face the group. Bridgette stood in front of her, trying to talk to Heather. She saw Gwen, who looked incredibly nervous, choking back tears into Trent’s shoulder. She saw Beth, standing as far away as possible, biting her nails and burying her face in shame. Heather turned back and continued to concentrate on performing CPR.
After a very tense minute, Cody’s eyes opened suddenly. He coughed violently, spewing water all over Heather. She quickly placed him on his side, facing him away from the crowd, so he could cough out more water. Once it seemed like all the water was gone, she pulled the boy into a deep hug.
“Oh my God, Cody, thank God,” she sputtered, choking back tears. “Thank God you’re still alive. I was so, so, so incredibly terrified for you…”
“Thank you, Heather,” the boy whispered, unable to hug the girl back. “You saved me. I knew you would.”
Heather didn’t say another word as she continued to sob into the boy’s shoulder. The boy smiled lightly as he tried to turn to face the rest of the cast.
The rest of the cast was in shock, incredibly grateful that Cody was still alive, but weirded out by Heather showing this much emotion to Cody. A couple, like Gwen and Leshawna, figured that she must have an ulterior motive for risking her life to save Cody.
Gwen tried to approach Cody. “Cody, thank God you’re alive–”
The raven haired girl interrupted her. “STAY AWAY FROM HIM!” she yelled, standing up suddenly to face the goth girl. “YOU WEREN’T THERE FOR HIM WHEN HE FELL IN! YOU–YOU–”
Gwen looked shocked at Heather’s outburst. “Woah, calm down, Heather.”
“Heather, Heather, it’s okay.” Cody said calmly. “I’m still here. It’s alright.”
Heather collapsed back on the dock and embraced Cody tightly. “I know, I was just- so scared that I’d lose you…I didn’t want to lose you…” she dropped her voice to a whisper. “None of the others here know, I just–”
“Should we tell them?” The geek asked.
“Tell us what?” Gwen asked with a raised eyebrow. The rest of the cast made some assumptions.
“Are Cody and Heather…dating?” Trent asked, confused.
“Oh, no, do not tell me you are seriously dating that witch, or I swear I’ll–” Leshawna moved forward and stood next to Gwen.
“We’re not dating!” Heather snapped, before turning to face Cody. “Oh god…” she groaned.
Cody took a deep breath before speaking. “She’s right, we’re not dating.” He looks at the two girls in the eyes. The rest of the cast looked on in anticipation. “We’re siblings. Well, step-siblings.”
The whole cast looked at the two of them in shock. Many of them looked at each other, wondering if they were dreaming. Somehow, the idea that the two would be siblings was even nuttier than the idea that they would be dating. There was a long moment of silence before Leshawna broke it.
“Hold on, you mean this witch–is your sister ? Oh my, Cody, do I feel bad for you.” A small chuckle went throughout the crowd.
“In her defense, she’s usually much better than this.”
Heather rolled her eyes and gave him a small smile. “Thanks, geekwad.” She said sarcastically.
Cody smiled back at her. “She really is, I promise.”
– – – – – Eight years ago – Vancouver, British Columbia – – – – –
“So, Cody, are you ready to meet your future sister?” Cody’s dad asked from the front seat of their sedan.
“Yeah. I guess.” The boy said with a slight smile on his face. “I just hope she likes me.”
“Of course she will. What’s not to like about you?”
Cody was deep in thought in the backseat. He never really knew his birth mother. His dad never really liked to talk about it, but promised that he would once Cody was older. Cody was also not stupid–he was able to understand the concept of remarriage and step-siblings–so he understood what his dad was doing and what it would mean for him. He just hoped all went well tonight. Cody’s dad spoke highly of this woman, and he didn’t want to ruin it.
Cody didn’t know much about the lady that his dad was seeing. She came to his house a couple times, and was always incredibly friendly to Cody, but they never interacted for a long period of time. He figured that as long as she wasn’t secretly a horrible person, she would be a good mother.
He was incredibly nervous about meeting the daughter of this lady. According to his dad, she was the same age as Cody, was very intelligent, and loved to swim and do ballet. Those last two things were things that Cody was not interested in, at all. He hoped they at least got along well.
Soon after, Cody’s dad pulled into a restaurant parking lot. He looked around, searching the busy lot for his date and her daughter. When he found them, he pulled into the parking space next to them and put the car in park.
The older man unbuckled his seatbelt and turned around to face Cody in the backseat. “You ready?”
Cody gave a small nod before unbuckling his seatbelt and opening his door. The two hopped out of the car and made their way towards the two girls. Cody’s dad gave his date a big hug. Cody hesitantly approached the young girl, who was standing next to her mother’s car.
The girl had jet black hair that went down to her lower torso. She wore a red t-shirt with a design on it that Cody didn’t recognize, olive green shorts that stopped just above her knees, and black, open toed sandals. She was skinny–almost as skinny as Cody was. She turned to face Cody, and looked almost as nervous as he was.
“Hey,” Cody said nervously with a slight smile. “My name’s Cody. What’s your name?”
The girl gave him a large smile back. “Heather.”
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Cody and Heather hit it off almost immediately, much to the relief of their parents. After that night, the two were inseparable. When Heather and her mother moved into Cody’s house, the two began sharing a bedroom and began sharing their interests. Heather taught Cody how to swim, and Cody taught Heather how to play video games.
At their parents’ wedding, Heather was the ring bearer while Cody was the flower boy (“because he was shorter,” according to Heather). They sat in the front row, right next to each other, as their new familial relationship was made official. Both of them had to choke back tears as the priest officially married their parents.
Despite their marriage, both parents and kids retained their last names. Neither child knew why, but they were sure their parents had their reasons. Heather and her mother continued to use her maiden name of Evans, while Cody and his father stuck with the name Anderson. Despite this, the two made sure everyone at school knew they were siblings; they were unashamed of their relationship.
Even as they grew older, they retained their friendship. All throughout primary school and junior high, the two always found time for each other and their interests. Cody would attend Heather’s swim meets and ballet recitals, and Heather would attend his robotics competitions. Outside of school, the two would walk home together and help each other with their homework. They would sit in their room on their respective beds, talking with each other about anything and everything.
Things were flipped on their head as soon as they left junior high, however. Their parents dropped a major bombshell on the two: the family would be moving to Edmonton. Over a thousand kilometers away from their current home in Vancouver.
Although distraught, the two took it in stride. In Edmonton, the two would start anew in high school, just like everyone else.
Their move wasn’t the only change the two were going through. Both teens had begun to go through puberty. Heather’s chest had begun to grow, and she became the object of desire for every boy her age. Cody, on the other hand, stayed as his short, scrawny, geeky self.
High school forced the two further apart than they had ever been. Heather became a part of the popular crowd, hanging out with all the preppy girls and athletes, while Cody made friends with the fellow geeks of his class. They never told anyone about their status as step-siblings; they both felt it would create complications in their friendships if others found out.
Despite this, the two made do. When they saw each other in the hallways, they would give each other a small smile. In school, Heather would stop her friends from trying to bully Cody or his friends. At home, Cody would give Heather his opinion on boys that tried to hit on her or be close with her. If they were mean to Cody or his friends, she would refuse to associate with them. Unfortunately for Cody, the boys never caught on, so they would continue to bully him and his friends.
Things continued like this until their sophomore year, when things took a turn. Advertisements began popping up everywhere for a new reality show for teenagers called “Total Drama Island.” They were looking for cast members, and all you had to do was send in an audition tape and be sixteen years old. Naturally, tons of kids in their grade were sending in tapes.
“Y’know, Cody, I think we should both send in tapes for that “total drama” show.” Heather said as Cody dropped his school bag on their bedroom floor.
“Why me? Those producers would never pick me.” Cody questioned. “I’m 5’2, skinnier than a pencil, and have very few redeeming qualities.”
“Cody, reality shows don’t care about that. All they care about are ratings. If you lie in your audition tape, then they’ll pick you anyway. It’s all about playing into the minds of the people who are choosing the contestants.”
“Won’t the producers figure out we’re siblings anyway? I doubt they’d pick a pair of siblings to be on the show unless they had a really good reason for it.”
“And who says they’d have to know? We have different last names. We can just lie on the forms, say we don’t have the other parent.”
Cody couldn’t find a counterargument for that. He stayed silent until Heather spoke up again.
“So, I’ll make an audition tape pretending to be a stuck-up, conniving, evil bitch, and I’ll run the game with an iron fist. Throw in a couple comments about being beautiful, and BAM! I’ll be selected in no time.”
“But you’re not evil. How are you gonna play that part on the show?”
“I’ll find a way.” Heather said dismissively. “Now, for you, we’ll have to get creative.”
“What do you mean?”
“You said it yourself. If you are you, then the people will never pick you. So we’ve gotta lie. Make you look more entertaining so they get better ratings. Once you’re there you can completely abandon it, I don’t really care. But I have an idea.”
“And what would that be, o wise one?”
“Pretend you’re some kind of casanova. Use your keyboard and play a ridiculous love song, and make like you’re gonna be a superstar. The producers will see that playboy egomaniac Cody, but not the real, kind and anxious Cody. The playboy gets the views, and since you’re kind of a geek, they’ll think that you’ll hit on every girl on the show and embarrass yourself on national television. That will get ratings, and get you on the show.”
“But I don’t know if I could do that. I’m already bullied enough at school. If I embarrass myself on television ? My life would basically be over.”
“Don’t worry about it. If we both get on the show, just help me win. Money solves all problems. Besides, you’ll become famous, get some money, and who knows, maybe you will find a girlfriend on the show.”
“I still don’t know…”
“Just make a tape Cody, you can always choose not to accept it if you get selected and you’re unsure.”
With that, the two separated to film their audition tapes. Cody’s pitiful attempt at imitating a pop star, and Heather’s promise of bringing in the ratings. And now, they played the waiting game.
To the surprise of both of them, they both made it onto the show. Their parents were proud of the both of them, saying it would be a great experience for the both of them. All that was left to do now was pack and fly into Toronto, where their parents would sign a million contracts, and then they would be taken by the staff of the show to the location of the show.
As part of their requirements, the two weren’t allowed to interact with other members of the show, if they knew of any. But since they were siblings and lived together, they didn’t care. They figured they would fly into Toronto together with their parents, and then split up, each with their respective parent, before the producers whisked them away to sign contracts and be on the show. Before their flight, the two had a discussion in their bedroom.
“So, Cody, we have to think about what we want our roles in the show to be.”
“...What?” The geek said, sitting on his bed.
“You know, like drama causer, party guy…have you ever watched a reality show?”
“No, that’s your thing.”
“Whatever. So I’m going to be the one ‘running’ the game. I’ll make all these alliances, I’ll manipulate people, I’ll backstab people…”
“Jeez, am I gonna be able to be seen in public with you after this show?”
“Shut up…” she groaned sarcastically. “It’s just a TV show. Now, what are you going to be?”
“Hell if I know. The geek, I guess. I don’t know these reality show stereotypes.”
“Maybe you can be the ladies man, hitting on all the girls since that was what your audition tape was about.”
“I can’t do that! I struggle talking to girls enough as it is.”
“Just try hitting on a girl while we’re there. As long as it isn’t me.”
“Ew! I could never hit on you. Besides, you’ll be evil, and I have to be the good guy, right?”
“Good enough, I suppose. Now, obviously, we can’t go around flaunting the fact that we’re brother and sister, so if we end up on the same team, I promise that I won’t target you for elimination. And since I’m going to be the villain, you’re gonna want to be a part of the group that wants me out. And if that means you have to vote me off, so be it.”
“Wait so…I can vote you off, but you won’t vote me off? That doesn’t seem fair. I don’t want to have to vote you off.”
“Just pretend that I’m someone else and vote for me if you have to. I’m not going to drag you into one of my alliances, unless we both make it to the very end, then I will.”
“That’s…actually very selfless, Heather. You’re going to be all cutthroat, and you won’t even vote me off?” Cody smiled. “You must be nicer than you’re letting on.”
Heather smiled back. “Shut up, dork. I’m going to win this game. And I don’t want my brother to get caught in the crossfire. Just don’t make too many enemies.” She rubbed his head a bit roughly.
Four hours later, the two were on a flight to Ontario. Heather and Cody sat together, wearing the clothes that they would wear on their first appearance on the show. Cody wore a common outfit for him, a long sleeve shirt with a yellow tee over it, and a pair of jeans. Heather, on the other hand, wore a tiny tube top and an extremely short pair or shorts.
“I still cannot believe you are wearing that,” Cody said, about an hour into the flight. “You’re basically wearing nothing at all.”
“First impressions matter, Cody,” she responded. “I’ll woo all the guys, and the girls will know that I mean business .”
Cody gave his sister a blank stare. “You are taking this so much more seriously than it needs to be, I think.”
After the flight, the two went their separate ways with each of their parents. Cody with his dad, and Heather with her mom.
It was time for the two of them to be on the show.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Heather was the first of the siblings to arrive at the island. Seeing that Cody was not there, she glared at her competition, hoping to set the tone that she was there to win.
When Cody arrived, he immediately made a fool of himself and tried to hit on nearly every girl there. Heather couldn’t help but feel embarrassment for the boy.
Like they agreed, they chose not to interact with each other too much, at least in the beginning. They did end up being placed on the same team, the Screaming Gophers, so that was lucky.
Cody couldn’t help but chuckle as Heather was thrown off the cliff by Leshawna. Serves her right for making an enemy this early on. In the end, it didn’t matter, because they won the challenge. And they had a hot tub to use for the rest of the show, which was definitely a positive.
Cody didn’t end up remembering anything from the awake-a-thon. Probably because he was incredibly sleep deprived. Although, Heather saw him getting his ear kissed by another boy, so she would be sure to make fun of him for that at home at least a couple times. Though knowing producers, they were definitely putting that in the episode, so she might lay off him for that.
Dodgeball was surprisingly fun for both of them. Cody was shockingly really good at it, and Heather found herself cheering for the geek, despite their promise of not interacting with one another. But the rest of the Gophers were cheering for him as well, so it made sense to cheer for him.
As Cody tried to flirt with Gwen during the downtime of the talent show, Heather was proud of her brother for stepping out of his comfort zone and talking with a girl. It made her feel even worse once she read Gwen’s diary out loud during the talent show and she saw Cody’s visceral reaction to the words. It was meant to be a strategic play, but seeing Cody hurt made her wonder if she was doing the right thing.
The hike through the woods worked great for Heather’s strategy, but terrible in just about every other aspect. They were forced into a tree by a bear, and Cody had the unfortunate consequence of peeing his pants out of fear. Heather, forgetting that the two were pretending they weren’t siblings, made fun of him for his reaction. Cody was usually able to take the mockery well; but tonight, on national television and in front of the girl he liked, he just looked dejected. Seeing the boy look sad made Heather slap herself internally. She told him she wouldn’t make him a target, but that was two challenges in a row that she had hurt him. She needed to apologize to him as soon as possible.
The phobia factor challenge went well for the Gophers. Hearing Cody claim that his fear was having to defuse a bomb under pressure made her laugh inside her head. She knew his true fear, but it wasn’t her place to tell.
The two didn’t interact during the challenge. Between Heather facing her fear and Cody in the woods trying to defuse a live bomb, the two were quite busy. When she heard the bomb go off in the distance, she prayed desperately that Cody was okay. And he was, amazingly.
And then came the paintball challenge. Heather had intended to sit in the woods and have Lindsay and Beth protect her the whole time, which started fine. Cody came by with Beth after Heather sent her to get a bag of chips from the kitchen, which she felt a tiny bit bad for doing.
Cody left immediately once things got heated between Heather and Beth. She barely noticed him slip away, taking the bag of chips with him. Before she knew it, the challenge was over, and the Gophers lost badly. Almost their whole team had paint on them. As she approached the gathering tent, she saw someone in a wheelchair, wrapped in a full body cast: Cody.
He had been mauled by a bear after he left the three girls alone. She wasn’t sure how it happened, but she felt horrible. The two looked each other in the eyes, and Heather wanted to drop down and give him the biggest hug she would ever give in her life right then and there. But she couldn’t. She had an image to keep up. And, Cody was alive. She figured she would visit him in the medical tent later once she got a chance.
She got her chance a bit before dinner. Gwen and Trent were in the tent, talking with him and exchanging sympathies. She waited outside for the two to finish, and once they did, she snuck inside to talk to him.
“Oh, hey Heather,” Cody said, seeing his sister enter the tent. “You sure you want to visit me right now? What about your game?”
She responded by giving him a big hug, squeezing him tightly, but not tight enough as to harm him more. “I don’t care about that right now. All I care about is you being okay.”
“I’m fine. Besides, I’m a quick healer. You know that.”
“I know, but the rest of the team doesn’t. They’ll probably vote you off for being disabled.”
“Actually, Gwen and Trent were just here. They said they were going to vote for you.”
“Oh, yes, I’m sure. If I actually do get voted out here, you better win.”
“What happened to running the game , dear sister?”
“Plans fell apart. You know how it is.”
Cody rolled his eyes. “Thankfully, Chef numbed me up real good, so I don’t feel a whole lot right now.”
“That’s…a bit concerning, but okay.”
There was a brief pause before Heather pulled Cody into another hug.
“Cody, I just wanted to apologize. I know I said I wasn’t going to pull you into my plans, but…I read Gwen’s diary during the talent show and you looked so hurt…and then during the hike in the woods I…said you pissed your pants and you looked so embarassed…” She choked back a sob. “I didn’t want to hurt you. I’m sorry. I’m sorry…” She hugged Cody even tighter.
“It’s okay, Heather,” he said, calmingly. “I know you would never try to hurt me.” He looked down at his arms. “I would hug you back, but…”
Heather chuckled. “I should probably get back to the cabins. If someone finds me in here, I’ll be even more screwed than before.”
“Later, sis.”
“See ya, dork.” She hugged him one last time before leaving the medical tent.
Cody sighed. ‘It’s nice to have a sister like Heather,’ he thought. ‘Despite her faults, she is really kind, underneath whatever it is she is right now.’
‘I hope she doesn’t actually become evil or whatever. That would suck big time for me.’