The Bass team was clearly energized now. Geoff stepped up right after, pumping his fist. "Woo-hoo!"
He took a running start and cannonballed off the edge, whooping the entire way down. Another splash and another point for bass.
Behind him was DJ, who stepped up to the edge but immediately froze. His eyes went wide, his breathing got heavy, and he took a step back.
"Come on, man!" A very distance voice sounded, Geoff yelled from below. "It's awesome!"
DJ shook his head, tears forming in his eyes. "I can't. I'm sorry, I just—I can't."
He backed away, heading to the back of the line.
Duncan stepped forward next, shooting DJ a look. "Nice knowing you, mama's boy."
Then he jumped without hesitation, landing it perfectly with barely a splash.
I was still contemplating, I didn't want to go too early and look like I was trying too hard to be a competitor. third felt far enough from first that I didn't seem like a burden or threat. Though I really wanted to support a teammate like Heather or even Owen, I had to make sure the audience saw me not only in a positive light but as a leader among this group. Especially in the first challenge.
There was plenty of time to make allies and enemies for entertainment.
The rest of the Bass team went through their jumps most ended up making it without to much trouble. But the few.
DJ kept refusing. Every time he got to the front of the line, he'd look down, start hyperventilating, and step back.
Courtney stood at the edge for what felt like forever with the same worried expression, gripping her arms, before finally shaking her head. "I can't risk an injury before the next challenge."
Then there final member Ezekiel went. He hesitated at the edge for a little to long and in the midst of gathering his courage and mid crouch stumbled, when he jumped, his form was all wrong and I could've swore I heard him hit a rock, but I eventually heard him hit the water with a massive splash.
looking down Immediately, fins started circling.
"SHARKS!" someone screamed.
some intern was already on his jet ski, zooming out. He grabbed Ezekiel and hauled him onto the back just as a massive gray shape lunged where he'd been seconds before.
"Killer Bass score: eight out of eleven!" Chris announced once everyone was accounted for. "Not bad, but not great either!"
The Bass team looked deflated. DJ was still crying. Courtney looked furious with herself. Ezekiel was shaking and pale.
The girl with wild orange hair came sprinting up, laughing maniacally. "That looks AWESOME! Can I go?!"
Without waiting for permission,she launched herself off the cliff. "WHOOOOOO!"
She hit the safe zone dead center.
Katie and Sadie had swapped to the other team earlier and I was for sure not going to hold them back.
I had to admit, I was relieved. Our team was stacked now. This would guarantee some biased focus towards my own team.
"Screaming Gophers, you're up!"
Lindsay stepped forward first, which I could only think she didn't have a clue what fear even was. She walked to the edge, did a little pose for the cameras, then dove gracefully.
Perfect landing.
Justin went next while I was busy admiring the landing, and as if God himself blessed him, he came out of the dive looking like he was in a shampoo commercial. His hair somehow looked better wet.
He for sure make a good actor one day.
I went next before Cody could finish his stride. A humble, confident third was mine. not counting Izzy.
I wore navy shorts with white flowers and a solid black buttoned short sleeve.
With little hesitation and a short run up, I performed a basic dive out into the sky. The air pressure picked up more and more the further I went down, but I resisted it in an attempt to keep my form. I knew at least the viewers would be watching.
With a solid thunk, I landed inside the circle, going slightly further than I wanted but coming up quickly. I calmly waited for the boat arrival, treading water.
Then I heard a scream coming.
My hearing slightly impaired due to the pressure of the water and air, I looked to the left, them right before seeing Heather flailing downward, arms windmilling.
I gently pushed myself out of the way and a giant splash formed right where I'd been. She quickly pulled her head up, attempting to shake away the water like a wet dog.
When she surfaced fully, Her expression was filled with rage the snapped her head upward.
"LESHAWNA! I'm going to END you!"
Above us, I could faintly hear Leshawna laughing. "Oops! My hand slipped!"
Heather sighed and looked toward me with her sharp eyes. Seeing her expression now reminded me of someone I used to act with in my past life, and I couldn't help but tease her a bit.
"Nice dive," I said.
Her eyes seemed to sharpen into daggers, but before she could respond, the motorboat arrived.
We both hopped on, a little cold from the water. Heather muttered to herself that she'd never be going in these waters again.
In seconds we were nearing shore. The crates filled with the equipment for our next challenge stood there, guarded by red shirted staff members. The Killer Bass were all down here too, but none were allowed near the crates yet. Almost half of them went into the outhouses that had been temporarily placed nearby.
I decided I'd do the same.
Hopping down off the boat and offering Heather a hand, which she reluctantly accepted, I headed forward, seeing Lindsay and Justin chilling near the crates, both seemingly concerned about their appearance sneaking in pocket mirrors from somewhere.
I gave a small smile and wave. "I'm off to confessionals."
Justin gave me a glance over twice before giving his standard bright smile. Lindsay, bright as ever, gave a hardy wave back. Heather went up to speak with her about something.
Hopping in line, I saw several others still splashing into the pool. Gwen was flying down now, and with a splat she managed to land inside the circle.
I didn't notice until Courtney cleared her throat behind me that I was already next in line for the confessional.
Hopping inside, I decided to give the audience a little shift from my last confessional and share some of my real thoughts without being too revealing.
I sat down and turned on the camera, leaning back casually.
"So, heights? Yeah, they mess with your head. No shame in not jumping—I mean, we're talking a thousand feet into shark-infested water. That's objectively insane."
He pauses, grinning slightly.
"But hey, my team came through. We've got a solid shot at winning this thing. And with Izzy joining us?"
"Even though that girl's certifiably crazy, her braveries commendable."
I leaned in a little forward.
"The Bass team though... DJ couldn't do it, Courtney chickened out, and Ezekiel nearly became shark food. Not to make any assumption but our team looks like it'll pull through."
Leaving the confessional, I saw almost everyone had jumped except Owen, and the rest of our team had joined us on shore. I walked up to the trio of our group Heather, Lindsay, and Justin just as the boat pulled up with another solid chunk of people.
Heather glared at the approaching boat, clearly still fuming about Leshawna or the fact someone didn't jump. She spoke up, voice sharp. ""If we want to stay ahead, we should pay attention to who slows a team down. The Bass made that pretty obvious."
I saw her in my peripheral, looking in my direction gauging how I'd reaction.
I did almost 200% agree with the sentiment, but weak people were also necessary in a sense. They showed the gap in competence, made others look better by comparison, and were easy votes when you needed them.
But I wasn't about to say that out loud on day one.
"We already have 8/11 as long as Owen jumps that's already better than eight out of eleven."
Heather's eyes flicked to me, thinking, she simply nodded. "True."
Owen finally came down in the distance skin flapping in the wind and making a subtle wooshing sound downward that we all could hear. Arms wide and body facing directly to the bottomless water the biggest cannonball yet, sending water scattering everywhere was felt.
Seconds went by without him appearing.
When he surfaced, he was laughing so hard he could barely swim. float upward and laying on his back.
"THAT WAS AWESOME!" he screamed.
Chris's voice boomed over the megaphone. "Screaming Gophers: nine out of eleven! You've got the advantage heading into part two!"
Our team erupted in cheers.
And just like that, we were winning.
For now.
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