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It's 12 in the morning, but the TV was still on in Topher's living room.
"Wait, I see it! I should rewind just a little bit more to the back..."
Topher, who was sitting on his sofa, reached for the remote and rewinded the episode a bit, perhaps like 5 seconds before.
"I KNEW it! There IS an Ezekiel cameo beneath the table! I should tell this to the TD superfan blog!" Topher said as he turned on his phone. "This is so awesome....I bet I'm the first one to notice that one!"
For the past few weeks, Topher had been binge-watching the older seasons for fun. He liked the overall vibe and a little bit of nostalgia the first generation cast gave to him. Not to mention that he loved seeing Chris in his prime! He always used to admire Chris because he was always the fashionable, trendy, and confident show host that never grew old or out of trend.
...or, did he?
Topher remembered last year when All-Stars first came out. At first he thought it looked okay, though he was a little shaken by the fact that Chris was literally in jail and tried to make a new season of Total Drama with...uh...bugs? And it didn't get better from there as the Total Drama fan blogs he was following were totally bashing the season, saying how it was "poorly made" and "not like the old days", blah blah blah. Could it be that Chris did lost his charm and he is not the same host Topher looked up to back in TDI? Could it be?
No, that wasn't possible. Chris is the ultimate host who never, EVER grows old. And if he does, Topher himself would be there to continue his legacy. He will never let his beloved show become forgotten and outdated...
===
"That was...really funny!" Leonard giggled. "I usually don't watch reality shows, but this one is awesome!"
"Yeah, we usually binge-watch the entire Harry Potter series instead of something like this," Tammy laughed. "But this show is different! No wonder why it's famous."
Leonard and Tammy decided to watch a bit more. The TV screen flashed Chris doing his introduction for episode two as the name 'Camp Wawanakwa' caught Leonard's attention.
"I think the word 'Wawanakwa' has a nice ring to it! sounds like a deserted magic land...like, go back to the shadows of WAWANAKWA!" Leonard then let out a little gasp as his eyes twinkled with delight. "That sounds like an EPIC spell! I'm adding it to my book of spell lists."
"How many do you have so far?" Tammy asked.
"Thirty-five...aand now it's thirty-six." Leonard smiled. "Hey, if I ever joined that show do you think I could win?"
"I don't know, but I think people will find you pretty cool at least."
"You're right, wizards ARE always cool!"
Tammy focused for a moment on the screen as Leonard was drabbling down how much mannas would the 'Wawanakwa banishment' spell would cost. On the screen, LeShawna was throwing Heather down from a very high cliff.
"...If you are planning to join that show, would you mind including a levitation spell too?" Tammy asked.
"Great idea, my Viking companion!!"
===
"Blaine-Blaine-Blaine-Blaine Blainerific is my name, dishing dirt is my game..."
"WOULD YOU KEEP QUIET FOR A MOMENT!" a voice came through the apartment walls, clearly annoyed.
"Oh! I'm so sorry, Mr. McGillis!!" Ella replied kindheartedly.
How nice would it be if she moved to a better apartment -- or a house -- where the walls weren't too thin. Ella was quite obsessed for a while with Total Drama World Tour...particularly with their songs. Unfortunately she didn't see much people who shared the same enthusiasm with her. Her cousin Gwen would always get embarrassed when she mentioned Total Drama World Tour, saying something along the lines of "I was NOT a boyfriend kisser when he wasn't even her boyfriend!" or something like that. Ella didn't get that part well...she never had that 'fairytale prince' experience yet.
If she went to Total Drama, could she perhaps sing all time time when she wants to? or find her true fairytale prince like her cousin (though she denies it)? Her fairytale prince then better not be a jerk like Duncan, if whatever Gwen said was true.
"Invading your TV is my blenerici-- oww, this part is too fast to sing!" Ella stumbled.
"I SAID KEEP QUIET IT'S 11 IN THE EVENING!!!"
"I'M SORRY, I COULDN'T HELP MYSELF!!!" Ella apologized.
===
Shawn knew three things in his mind.
One, the zombies are gonna invade the world one day and he needs to prepare for it.
Two, a zombie-proof bunker is gonna cost at least one million dollars.
and three, the salary he earns from the bakery won't be enough for that.
"Look, Shawn. I also believe that zombies existed since the dawn of time and will emerge again someday when black magic revives, but increasing your salary TEN times just to build a zombie-proof bunker is NONSENSE." His boss at the bakery snapped.
"Well that's not fair! Why do you have a bunker in your basement then!?" Shawn yelled back.
"Because I believe that if aliens invade the world one day, we bakers should be hiding until it's all over, then come out to build a new society." The boss answered confidently. "Someone needs to rebuild the Pyramids now, don't they?"
Shawn stared at his boss, clearly upset. "I'm still a little bit skeptical about that Pyramid thing. Did pastry chefs exist at that time?"
"Hey! If zombies can exist, so can pastry chefs exist in ancient Egypt," the boss remarked as he pointed at Shawn, who still stared at him dubiously. He may have hired this kid not only because he was good in baking but also was a big fan of conspiracy theories, but there surely were times like this when they sometimes don't agree with each other's opinions.
"Also, before you say anything, aliens DO exist. You didn't watch Total Drama World Tour? It seems famous for kids your age."
"First of all, I don't really know what kids my age like to watch...you know that," Shawn said with a little hint of sadness in his voice. Being homeschooled always made him have a hard time catching up on trends. "Second of all...ISN'T THERE LIKE, A ZOMBIE IN IT??"
"Technically a feral human, but yeah I guess?" the boss replied, a bit unsure. "That feral guy SHOULD have been dead when he was starving in the cargo for months, but instead he is 'alive' and all green so I guess you could consider him as an undead."
"THEN I DON'T WANNA WATCH IT! IT'S TERRIFYING!!" Shawn panicked. "How are they allowing a REAL ZOMBIE to appear on TV?! Society is doomed! Zombies have taken over the world!!! and they are spreading propaganda through TV--"
"Hey, but they give one million dollars for winning. Isn't that what you like?"
That caught Shawn's attention. "...One million dollars?"
"Yeah. Just enough money to buy a bunker. Maybe you should audition for it, y'know. Aren't you turning sixteen soon?"
Shawn stared at his boss for a moment. He was right.
He needed that cash, and now he was old enough for that.
What a coincidence...
===
As much as Dave hated to go outside, being stuck at home all day on a rainy weekend with nothing to do was no fun either.
He realized that he had nothing to do after he organized his things in the garage*, and so he decided that maybe he should not do anything reckless (like GOING OUTSIDE on a RAINY DAY where there are MUD EVERYWHERE) and just watch TV or something. He went into the living room and noticed that his dad was sleeping while having the TV still on.
Hmm, that was not good.
When someone already touched the remote, he would have to wipe the remote first with wet tissue or something so that the germs would not get to his hand. Hands are germy, and remotes are contaminated with those hand germs! But because he was too tired for that, he just decided to watch whatever his father had put up on.
It was that popular show that he sometimes saw ads on the internet. What was its name? Total Island? ...That didn't make sense. Dave kept on watching it, though his inner thoughts were screaming that watching TV while the lights were turned off might be bad for the eyes. It didn't matter, because Dave was watching a scene that somehow got his full attention.
Perhaps it was a talent show. A man with a guitar and nice hair started singing out his love for a certain girl who dyed her hair blue (how fancy!). A part of him thought it was very lovely that a person could care for someone that deeply. He never had anyone he cared that much, especially a girl his age. Then a part of him also thought that the guy would surely not win if he was too hooked on that girl.
"That guy should play a little colder..." Dave mumbled. "He can't let love get in his way if he wants the money."
That night, Dave researched a bit more about the show. It seemed that the show was filled with very...lovesick delusionals. People who humiliate themselves in front of national TV just because their boyfriend cheated on them or whatever. What nonsense... they probably didn't know that you have to be smart, logical, calculating, and cold to win the money. Just. have. those. eyes. on. the. prize. money! How could people not understand such a simple thing?
"If I went to that show I could really do better than them." He said, and then for the first time in a while, he smiled. He WILL do better than them, he knows that.
He's not crazy for love like them, he's a normal guy after all.
*a daily routine of his. He HAD to arrange 4 spanners on the wall according to decreasing size, and 3 screwdrivers but this time in increasing size. Place the hacksaw on the left, and other miscellaneous things on the right. Perfect! He will get mad at anyone who decides to screw up that order.