Chapter Text
Chapter 1 - Day 1
The warm water splashed into the boat, getting my shorts wet as I and 17 other people rowed toward the beach of Koh Rong, Cambodia. I heard a few people behind me grunt in dissatisfaction as they were subjected to the same treatment. My gaze darted over to the canoe beside mine. It was filled with 4 people who all looked as though they were willing to unscrew your head with their bare hands if you blocked their path. Most of them probably could.
I averted my eyes from the intimidating muscular people to find that my scrutiny fell upon a tall boy in front of me who was wearing a Muse t-shirt. He had hair the color of chocolate and cut in a mirror image of mine. His skin was fair; by no means was it as pale as mine, but in comparison to the Greek gods in the other boat he appeared pallid.
I felt someone prod me sharply in the back, startling me into realizing that my hands had grown idle. Hurriedly, I resumed my paddling until we reached the shore. We departed the canoes, ambling onto our respective colored mats. My heart was racing.
Jeff Probst stood confidently before us, squinting against the glare of the sun, "Welcome," he said, "to Survivor: Koh Rong. You have been divided already into your two tribes: the yellow, Armoh, and the green, Kavu. Your first decision as a tribe is who will be the leader. This person protects the interests of the tribe. I'll hand out pens and paper; based solely on what you've observed of their body language, vote on one person."
I looked around at my tribe. I was mildly heartened by the fact that the Muse boy was among them, arms crossed loosely across his chest as he, too, studied the people around him. Dragging my eyes away from him, I examined each of the contestants in turn. One young woman was fiddling with her green bandanna, batting her eyes at the man beside her. He seemed enthralled by her. I turned to the older gentleman beside him. He held himself with an assuredness I admired in a representative. I decided I would be writing his description on the parchment.
"Who do you think would lead your tribe well?" Jeff asked of the Armoh tribe. Most had voted in favor of a tall, tan guy whose name, I found out, was Greg. I made a mental note to be wary of the man. His posture implied confidence, and his smile betrayed a plan.
Our host made his way over to our tribe, "Kavu tribe, who will be your leader?" he pointed to a short, stocky man at the edge of the small crowd, "Sava, who did you pick?"
"The man with the gray beard and blue jacket," Sava had a slight Bulgarian accent.
"That would be Josh. Nick, what about you?"
A sizable man in a green shirt responded, "Josh, as well."
"That's two for Josh," Jeff noted. He continued to survey the group, with the aged fellow receiving the majority of the tribe's votes. I discovered that the Muse boy's name was Dan. He was British, like me, and rather eloquent. This was an attribute which would be immensely helpful to him if he made it to the final three. I wouldn't have to worry about that for about 35 days, however, so I decided to approach him after we got to camp.
"Your first decision as leader," Jeff's voice snapped me out of my thoughts, "is who is going to participate in our first challenge."
My heart dropped. I knew I would be of very little help if this was a physical challenge. I scanned the structure briefly, taking in the least possible areas of the trial and hoping to every god of every religion that I didn't get chosen.
Thankfully, Josh picked the 7 that weren't Dan and I. We were sent to sit on the bench with the two others wearing yellow bandannas. Dan glanced uncomfortably at the Herculean people and promptly sat as far away from them as possible, forcing me into the middle. I realized my opportunity to form an alliance with the boy and made the immediate decision to act upon it. As I turned to talk to him, however, I made the error of looking into his eyes. They were pools of deep sienna, sparkling in the blazing afternoon sunlight. I felt my heart beating faster, pounding inside my chest as my mind changed course rapidly. We had been staring at each other for several seconds, what seemed like an eternity to be lost in those eyes, before he spoke.
"Yeah?" he inquired. It took me a moment to remember that I'd tapped him.
I hastily altered what had once been a carefully planned conversation, "I- I was just going to ask what album was your, um, favorite?" I stammered, "I saw you were wearing a Muse shirt and I like them too and... Yeah."
Wow. Very articulate, Phil, well done. I inwardly slapped myself, but Dan just smiled softly as he replied, "I like The Resistance. What about you?"
"I like that one too. I'm Phil, by the way," I said timidly, feeling warmth spread to my cheeks.
"Dan. Nice to meet you."
"You too," I smiled nervously, swiftly turning to watch our tribe compete as Jeff began to narrate loudly.
"I didn't expect Alyssa to be so good at this," Dan said to me after the girl who'd been flirting with Sava solved the puzzle almost immediately after the rest of the team arrived at that part of the challenge. We groaned as a yellow banner was raised, however, broadcasting the fact that Armoh had won.
Congratulations were exchanged as we regrouped to watch the host award flint and steel to the yellow-clad athletes. We traipsed empty handed to our designated camp area.
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While the rest of the Kavu tribe built an elevated raft for us all to sleep on, Dan, Alyssa and I attempted to make a fire. We failed miserably until I realized I had my glasses with me. I broke the loathed eyewear with little regret; I had detested having to wear glasses since first getting them. I noticed Dan's brown eyes flickering between the spectacles and my face, biting his lower lip. I tore my gaze away from his mouth. Focus, Phil. I saw smoke rising from the bundle of dry grass and quickly began to add kindling. Alyssa started gently fanning oxygen towards the pile until a small flame appeared.
We celebrated briefly before adding more wood. A large structure had been erected in the corner of the camp. It was surrounded by all of our belongings, and above it was a makeshift tarp of woven leaves. I and several others saw that it was growing dark, so the tribe decided to call it a night.
They rest of the tribe had fallen asleep, but I could make out the silhouette of a certain tall Muse fan beside me, watching the horizon. I stared at him in silence for a while prior to sitting up and accompanying him in doing so. The moon was just beginning to rise. I could feel his gaze move to me for a few moments before he slumped down. I didn't emulate him until I heard his breathing become slower and more relaxed, indicating dormancy. Upon hearing this, I curled up next to him. His steady breath lulled me to sleep.