Chapter 16

© Copyright 2010 by Elizabeth Delayne





Jamie didn’t have a chance that evening to talk to Felicity. It was as if she was suddenly afraid.

Or depressed.

She exibited some of the classic signs. Disinterest, fear. Loss of appitite. It made Jamie wonder what kind of medication she was on. If depression was something she fought or if it had already been diagnosed.

Jamie didn’t want to simply pull her aside in front of everyone and make things anymore obvious then they already were.

Even if the camera would eventually catch everything anyway.

It irritated her more than a little that she’d let herself be put in this position, and yet, she couldn’t imagine not knowing anyone on the RV. For the first time in a long time, she felt like she was surrounded by her family. For so long she had lived in Iowa with her grandmother, with her parents and siblings so far away in Chicago. Now, she felt like she was part of something.

Had she really felt so alone for so long?

The next day the bus stopped at Yellowstone. They were met by the production crew, who’s bus they’d lost last night, retaining only Rose and Lue with them on the RV.

Looking out the window, Jamie studied the scene. The production people were running around, taking light readings, moving tihngs out of the way. Someone was raking leaves while another person spread them out.

Someone even was going to the trouble of planting a bush.

In a forest.

Jamie could only shake her head.

Stacked on portable tables in the middle of the camp ground were loaded backpacks, enough for each of them and three camera people. At least. While Jamie didn’t know a whole lot about camping, she figured they were toting their own food and tents.

Thessa dropped onto her knees on the sofa beside Jamie and looked out.

“Camping,” she said.

Jamie nodded. “I guess we knew it would happen at some point.”

“It’s not bad.”

They both turned to find Felicity behind them. For a moment she seemed relaxed, until she noticed their eyes were on her.

“Camping,” she said simply, looking uncertain. “My dad used to take me.”

When neither one of them said anything, Felicity akwardly turned and went off the RV. Jamie sighed.

“Out of all things I’d thought she’d be, I didn’t expect happy camper.”

Jamie looked at Thessa, surprised that there was still bitterness in Thessa’s voice. “Listen, whatever she did, she’s obviously sorry. Let’s try giving her a break. We’ve got a team challenge to get through.”

Jamie climbed off the sofa and grabbed her camera before heading off the RV.

* * *

They had to have lessons, lectures in a way, on what they needed to expect in the back country of Yellowstone. There were papers to fill out and sign for permits, and phone calls to be made by producers.

And of course, as they had nearly twelve full hours to wait around before they could head into the wilderness, it was time for another trip into the video diary realm. Besides Jaime’s turn at the Grand Canyon, they’d already had two brief sessions in front of the camera. First, in the hotel before they met everyone, then again afterwards when they had arrived at the Jerome ghost town. They were asked about their first perceptions, their thoughts on the kids they’d been around, what were their favorite moments, and if anything reminded them of anything else in their life.

Other questions flew by.

This time, Jamie took a seat across from Jessica—Tyler’s friend. She’d been down in the canyon with the rest of them during the last session.

“So,” Jamie asked, clipboard in hand. “How’re you feeling?”

“Fine.”

“Talk to the camera.”

“Oh—“ Jamie looked awkwardly toward the camera. “I’m fine, really.”

“Go on ... explain how you’ve dealt with the pain. You didn’t get to go down into the canyon, but you saw the footage. What are you thinking? Bitter, grateful for taking a tumble for the team? What were you thinking, watching the footage...”

Jamie tried to think back. What had she been thinking? Feeling?

“I don’t know. I didn’t just sit up at the top and wait around, so I’m grateful I had the opportunity to do sometihng. But ... of course you wish you could be where everyone else is. You come on a trip like this, and you expect that you’re going to have some sort of group bond. Maybe in the end, it’s a little like a family. I don’t know. I wish I had been on the trail with them, and I wish I’d had the chance to do it for me. You look down into the canyon and you think—there’s no way. But people do it all the time. And it was such a stupid injury.”

















“How is it, by the way?”

“Seriously? I scraped my knee, more or less. Kindergartners do it every day. It wore off after about 24 hours. The people who were called in by the show were good. The whole way it happened was much more dramatic.”

“We’ll need to get some shots of Jamie’s knee later,” Jessica said, and turned to one of the interns. “Make a note of that. You know,” she said, turning back with a gleam in her eyes, “thinking back to the day it happened, I wish we could have pulled you aside then. What was really just perfect, was Tyler’s reaction. He was quite worried about you.”

“He’s the team leader. He should be worried about the fact that we were done one—“

Jessica leaned forward. “I’ve been around Tyler for years now. He’s into you.”

She wouldn’t deny that the thought made her heart jump, but she was very aware of the look in the producer’s eyes. Jamie bit her lip, she knew she was being pushed for a reaction.

“He was worried. What do you think about Tyler’s response?”

Not of Tyler himself, but of what she thought about him being worried about her. Jamie wanted to quip something smart, say she felt what any half brained girl would feel about a strong, cute guy being worried over her would feel.

But that, she was sure, would be too revealing.

Jamie shook her head. “This is a reality show. It’s not real. I can’t base feelings for anyone out of this.”

“You can’t help but feel something.”

“I don’t know. To be honest, I didn’t see his response as much as you did. I don’t know what else to say. He’s a great guy, he’s a good leader. I’m glad he was worried about me, I guess, though I’m sorry he had to be.”

“Would you go for him if you weren’t on the show?”

“I think–“

”To the camera. And take a breath. You’re frustration’s with me and that’s not part of the story.”

And for a moment there was something more than opportuniy in Jessica’s eyes. Jamie didn’t know if it could be trusted or not. Tyler trusted her.

And yet, she had let Tyler learn about Zeke’s presence on his own.

Jamie forced herself to stop and compose herself, and found that while the words she wanted to say were the same, she was much calmer as she said them.

“I think,” she said at last, “it’s not what I think about him, but would he go for me it I wasn’t on the bus? I have a good year on him. I spend my time on a small Iowa farm and in the operating room at a nearby urban hospital in Bosie. So that should be enough of an answer.”

As she climbed off the producer’s bus, she found Thessa hanging around outside. She turned when she saw Jamie and frowned. “What’s wrong?”

“They just pressed a little hard on the whole Tyler thing,” Jamie said, and let out a tense breath. “You went in already didn’t you?”

“Yeah. I was talking to Cameron. He’s next,” she said. “If it makes you feel any better, they started asking me about what I felt about Felicity. I don’t know what I feel.”

“Me too ... about Tyler. And why would I share what I have or might have felt?”

“Because you came on the show?”

Jamie laughed, “They need to call my grandmother and ask her about it then—“ she shook her head. “What am I thinking? Gram’s answer would be that I should be all about a thing with Tyler. Forget that.”

“You sure?”

“She’s the one with the crush on Tyler.” Jamie said. “You want to go for a quick run while we wait for everyone else?”

“You want to go running with me?” Thessa asked, clearly surprised.

“There’s a first time for everything.”

“Let me grab my shoes.”



* * *

Laden with her fully stocked backpack, her back country permit, and most of her sanity—she hoped, Jamie walked the trail beside George. Tyler was up front ahead with Felicity, Thessa and Cameron followed, with Jamie and George in the rear.



They were going camping. For three whole days, two nights, under the stars with mother nature, in the woods, as basic as one could get. Even if they were carrying the latest in camping and hiking equipment, no doubt sponsored by the company that produced it, they were still roughing it. No bathrooms, showers, public or otherwise. Their toilets would be mother nature.

Yellowstone was the home of the grizzly bear, bison. And all kinds of wild animals.

They had a ranger going with them and a team of rangers had briefed them on proper etiquette in the back country. Minimal disruption. What to do if wild animals appeared on the scene.

What not to do if animals appeared.







Along with the ranger they had their trusty cameramen and a producer or production assistant. Unlike Tyler, she couldn’t tell them apart, and didn’t know how their jobs differed from the other. They walked on ahead with the ranger, as if they knew where they were going.

Jamie was glad Cameron walked with Thessa instead of her. He was surely talking about all the scary things he found absolutely cool.

No television, video game or movies for them to escape to. For the first time she realized how alone they were—and how much they would depend on each other’s company. There wasn’t anything to distract them from each other. Even the games would be basic.

Though Jamie trusted Tyler to bring a handy set of cards.

“How you doin’?” George asked her.

Jamie breathed out a laugh. “I’m fine. A skinned knee, bruised shoulder later.”

“You were in some pain after. Worried me.”

“Cameron thought it was cool.”

“Yeah, well, from all accounts the boy’s hit his head a number of times.”

Jamie chuckled. “I’m fine George. Glad to be outside.”

“Get to do it much?”

“Not to run or anything ...” she shuddered. “Or hiking like this. My grandmother still keeps a working farm. I work the tractor, bale the hay.”

“The reaper?” George remembered.

“And all sorts of farm equipment. My grandfather was the town doctor, so he never had a big farm. But he grew up on one, wanted to keep his hand in. So it’s manageable.” She thought back, smiled a little as she pictured the flat plains that surrounded her grandmother’s home. “My favorite place in the world is this old rocking chair that sits on her wraparound porch. It belonged to my great grandmother. I sit, rock. Let the day in the OR just melt away.”

“Doesn’t sound like much exercise.”

“Are you kidding?” she asked. “I can rock for hours. You?”

“I tried to get into shape before I came on the show. One of my grad students introduced me to the fitness center at the college. But it was inside, climate controlled and there was a television on at all times.”

“I don’t know. If I want to move, I’d like to be headed somewhere.”

He chuckled. “Well, I tried golf ... must have been ten years ago. Well, for the second time. Go to the girl’s track games. That’s about all the outdoor activity for me. I have a love affair with my air conditioner.”

“Don’t feel bad. Thessa loves the elliptical, but when we ran earlier she admitted that she hated running outside. Probably the same reason. And Felicity ...” Jamie looked up ahead, watched the girl take confident steps on the trail. “I was a little surprised this was something she enjoyed, but then ...”

“She hasn’t really let anyone close. Even when she was talking about her addiction to this show.”

“No ... she hasn’t.” Talking about the show simply kept her at surface level.

“Then she hasn’t talked to you.”

“No—but you’ve been talking to Tyler.”

He shrugged non-committally, and kept his eyes ahead of them on the path. “

“Well, whether we want to be outside or not,” George said, “we got a week in the woods with nothing but the comfort and entertainment of each other. God help us all.”

“In that case, all of us are going to do our share of talking,” Jamie noted. “Including Felicity.”



Up ahead, Tyler stopped. The sun was going down. It was getting toward dinner time. They needed to make camp.

He stopped in a small clearing and looked back at the camera guy. He gave a small nod. Then he looked to Felicity.

“What do you think?”

She looked at him, and for a moment just stared.

“The clearing,” he said. “For camp?”

“Nobody’s going to tell us where to go?”

Tyler shook his head. “We’ve got to make it. It’s our experience they want to record.”

She stepped into the clearing and walked slowly around. The rest of the team followed.

“It’s been used before. Low impact zone. People are supposed to clean up after themselves.” She looked back at Tyler. “I think it’s big enough for us.”

“So do I,” he motioned for everyone to gather around. “All right. Now we unpack.”

“I assume you know how to put a tent together,” George said as he slid his backpack from his shoulders, then slowly stretched.

“As great for TV as our fumbling would be, I can put up a tent ... the question is, can I put up the new fangled tent.”

“My question is if they bothered to put in some new fangled high proficiency air mattresses,” Thessa said as she let her backpack fall to the ground with a thud.

“My guess?” Tyler asked. “No ... but I bet the cameramen got theirs. We can always stage a raid.”

He caught the glare behind the forth wall and grinned, then rubbed his hands together. “Let’s make camp, then prepare dinner.



Yellowstone’s back country trails came equipt with poles for storing the food high and with established fire pits. For the first time Felicity proved to be a wealth of knowledge beyond the past seasons of the reality show. She knew how to protect their food.

As, unfortunately, there were bears in them there woods.

She knew how to set up a campfire and get it going, and how to use camp food equipment.

Thessa stood back with Jamie and watched as Felicity gave Cameron a few basic instructions. “If this is her strong area, it freaks me out a little to wonder what they’ll have you do with mine.”

“Perform a ballet?” Jamie asked.

“I don’t think it’s a strength anymore. I just ... don’t have the drive. The desire. About my only other skill right now is writing a paper.”

“You’re going into law. What do you want to do with your degree?”

“Seriously?” Thessa asked. “I want to work on a political campaign. For someone I really believe in. I want to be part of a team that believes in someone enough to work that hard and to really believe that much.”

“You ever work for an campaign?”

“The last election. I wish I’d been doing it my whole life. But dance took up so of my time. So much of me.”

“Maybe you’ll get a chance from this show.”

“Maybe ...” Thessa said. “I hope so.”

They stood and watched Felicity’s proficiency at the campfire. She knelt down beside it and stacked the wood in like a tent, explaining to Cameron the difference between different ways of setting up the wood. Jamie watched as Cameron paid attention, or seemed to. It was hard to get him to pay attention for long periods of time.

“You know what bothers me more than what they think are my strengths?” Thessa asked.

“What?”

“Everyone else’s,” she nodded toward Cameron. “He does that extreme sport thing on a bike, likes to surf, ski and skateboard. I can ski, but it’s the wrong time of year for that.”

“Yeah.”

“Then there’s you.”

“Me?” Jamie asked.

“The O.R. nurse. I saw you stuff extra medical stuff in your pack,” Thessa nodded toward her bag. “I’d rather try Cameron’s deal than get near needles, IVs, or sutures.”

“Well, you have to be certified and trained to do most of that stuff anyway.”

“Good. Now if we can just figure out a way to stay away from Cameron.”

“Maybe we should get him to show us some pointers. In advance,” Jamie mused. “Better than working under stress.”

“I doubt that,” Thessa said. “It might just take that stress to get me into on a skateboard.”


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