“She made fun of my eyes?” I frowned.
“Oh, yeah, she was full of unflattering nicknames. Anyway, she’s pretty bitter and clearly hates the others on her tribe. I’m just not sure if she’s ready to cross over to the dark side. I played the whole ‘weakling’ angle with her. Told her she could easily beat us.”
“Did she buy that?”
Kyle eyed me, his brows scrunched in surprise. “Kenz, shecanbeat us. She’s tough and strong. You’ve seen her in challenges. I think the only one of us she’s afraid of is Carl.”
* * *
It wasno wonder the producers chose the East camp for us all to live in now. Not only was their beach nicer, but they had a natural barrier that protected them from the elements. It seemed they’d had a definite advantage from the start. How we’d come into the merge with equal numbers was a mystery to me. I had to wonder if it wasn’t our strong bond that had kept us together.
Dale, Kyle, and I took advantage of some free time to float in the ocean. We’d invited Carl to join us, but he no longer went into the water when Kyle was around, even after he’d promised to keep the piss in his pants. The water was relaxing as we glided over the tranquil waves. It had been a long, eventful day, and we needed to talk. While we were out in the water, the skies darkened and the wind picked up.
“A storm is coming,” Dale said ominously.
“If it turns into a hurricane, you think they’d evacuate us?” Kyle asked.
We all went silent, contemplating his words. That’s the way we were now – slow. Everything took more time to process.
“No. I think they’d just film us all dying,” Dale said. “It would make for great television.”
“With your luck, Dale, you’d come apart piece by piece. They’d find your little broken pinky finger in New Zealand.”
“You ain’t a-kidding.”
“I’ve always wanted a hurricane named after me,” I mused.
“Hurricane Kenzie? Talk about a wimpy sounding storm,” Kyle scoffed, and then his voice went high pitched. “Hi! I’m Hurricane Kenzie! Would you mind if I ripped your roof off? No? Okay, I’ll come back later.”
“Hey,” I laughed. “I think I’ve proven my toughness. Besides, I’d go by Mackenzie for something as official as a hurricane.”
“Mackenzie? Is that your real name?” Dale asked.
“Yes,” I answered, and then caught sight of Kyle’s amused face. “All right, give it to me. I’m sure you have some snarky comment.”
“I didn’t say anything. Why do you always assume the worst of me?”
“Why wouldn’t we?” Dale quipped.
“Anyway, Hurricane Mackenzie would be a real bitch,” I continued. “It would be a category five monster and would not change direction whether there was land in the way or not. I mean, if you’re going to have a hurricane named after you, you want to make it big, right?”
Kyle nodded like my logic made perfect sense to him.
“Well, if there was a Hurricane Dale, it would be a moderate category 2.5, slowing down along the way because it would insist on making landfall on every island along its path.”
“Your hurricane would be so incredibly organized,” Kyle laughed.
“And boring. Everyone would be all worried, and then I’d show up and they’d be like, ‘Oh, it’s just Dale.’”
“You’re not boring,” I said.
“Oh, you don’t know me very well. I’m unmemorable. Most people forget my name the second they’re introduced to me.”
“Well, then, people need to pay better attention,” I said. “Besides, after this show, you won’t be forgettable anymore.”
“I’m only going to be viewed as interesting because of the weirdos I’m keeping company with. No offense,” Dale said.
“You don’t give yourself enough credit,” Kyle said. “You’re just as weird as the rest of us.”
