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Topic: Write an entry about your first day on the "Diary Survivor" island; incorporate all of the other contestants in your story. The first IC topic is a way for the contestants to get to know each other a bit - browse their diaries and such. Use what little you know of them to write a fictitious account of your arrival at the "Island." Your can use humor, drama, whatever writing style you please.
My heart races through the whole plane ride. What had I gotten myself into? How will I survive on the island, surrounded by the other contestants, 15 virtual strangers, with nothing but our writing skills and a few hand-hewn tools to get us through the long weeks ahead? Am I insane? I don�t even like to camp with the Boyfriend.
Panic rises unbidden. I force myself to take deep breaths, swallow a few mouthfuls of water and review the short bios we�d received on each other once again.
Finally, the landing strip comes into view. I fasten my seatbelt and settle in for the descent onto Diary Island, my temporary home.
Meg meets me on the tarmac. �Jennifer�glad to have you with us!� she smiles. We walk out of the backwater airport to a jeep. She gestures to the driver to store my larger bag in the back. �You won�t be needing that until your part of the contest is over. It will be waiting for you at the lodge when you�re done.� Inwardly, I thank her for not saying �voted off� as I adjust my knapsack with the items from the �allowed on the island� list inside and fasten my seatbelt for the ride.
The Jeep pulls up to a makeshift pier where several other people are waiting. I step out to meet my fellow islandites, feeling much less sure of myself now that Meg isn�t there.
�Hi�you must be Jenistar,� a deep voice said behind me. I turned to find Milkmaid coming toward me. She�s smiling, too. I remember now why I applied to do this in the first place.
We walk over to get a drink from the table next to the boat slip. I�m glad that Milkmaid is the first person I�ve met. I know we have teen TV in common. If all else fails, we can talk about how sad it is that Felicity is going off the air, and try to figure out what the heck is up with Spike and Buffy.
Lampshade is at the table, too. I�m anxious to ask her if she knows any of my friends from the renaissance fair circuit, since I know some of them travel around the country and she might have worked with them. She�s in conversation already, though, with Alltherage about the last They Might Be Giants album.
Ladeeleroy walks by, scoping out the area. Milkmaid invites her to join us as well. Ladeeleroy�s face seems to mirror my uncertainty at being here. �Ah, well,� she says, �it beats being at work any day. I�m going to miss Lipman, though.�
I nod, understanding that thought. The Boyfriend, being essentially clueless about the existence of my diary, was less than thrilled about my departure for Diary Survivor Three.
I hear a laugh from over my shoulder. �You should try saying goodbye to two little boys! Well, three little boys, if you count Thor!�
Kitchenlogic has joined our circle, too. I�m thrilled to finally meet her. �Did you bring their picture?� I ask, wanting to finally match their faces to their online names. �Of course,� Kitchenlogic says, producing a 4x6 of her whole family. �That was taken in front of the Maul of America.� It�s so wonderful to meet her in person that I almost forget we�re competing against each other for the Diary Prize. Almost.
The high tinny sound of someone else�s walkman floats through the air. Malkavia has just arrived, her headphones turned up for one last musical indulgence before she has to give them up. Her mix CD case falls from her pocket as she reaches the group. I bend down and hand it back to her, happy to see Depeche Mode in the song list. �Hi,� she says, �Sorry. I got held up. My plans changed a bit at the last minute.�
As people are wandering about, chatting, I see Mariel standing off to the side, flipping through a well-worn copy of The Last Battle. �I wanted to get through the end one last time before I had to say goodbye to my books,� she explains when she sees me looking on. �I understand that�it was hard to leave my bookshelves behind!� I agree. We start talking about our favorite C.S. Lewis moments when Throcky approaches. �My dears, are you talking about your favorite books?� she asks, sweeping over to us. �I, too, smuggled in a few favorites for a last look before we truly depart.�
Everyone breaks in at once, talking about the things they�ll miss most while we�re here. During this conversation, I discover that MyChai has a dog named Daisy. �Hey�I used to have a dog named Daisy!� I exclaim. He looks at me a little oddly. �That�s great, Jenistar.� I seem to notice him moving slightly away. �No�she was a great dog. We had her for 19 years. I still carry her picture�I�ll never get over missing her.� He relaxes a little. �Oh�pictures!� He pulls one out of his pocket, revealing a cute little pup. �Hope she doesn�t miss me too much��
For the first time, I see Mattu in the crowd. �Hey�Matt! Nice to meet another member of the Bean Ring!� I yell to him. I�m looking forward to hearing Matt talk some more about his tutoring, something that was mentioned in his bio but not elaborated on much. I start to look forward to our time on the island.
Circling the table, I see Racer96 deep in conversation with Tickle-me-BB. As I get closer, I realize that Racer is giving her Canadian tourist advice. It seems to involve good places to watch hockey games. I think I might be able to impress him with my knowledge of Rick Tocchet�s penchant for making spaghetti sauce. Then I realize that this probably isn�t interesting to anyone but me. Well, maybe the spaghetti sauce part might be interesting to Tickle-me-BB. Maybe not. I decide to keep it to myself.
�Mmm�spaghetti sauce,� someone says behind me. Startled, I find Ravenword standing with me. Apparently, I�d been speaking out loud after all. �I read in your profile that you�re a Buffy fan,� Raven says, �what IS it with that show? And why am I letting myself get hooked on the reruns?� I tell her they send out visual crack during the credits. It�s the only explanation I can find. We stand together for a minute. I have a strong urge to give her a hug.
We all begin to make our way into one big circle. Meg welcomes us all officially and tells us to pair off for the boat ride to the inner island circle. I look at Confruzzled to my left and TV Zero to my right. Confruzzled looks at me with a slightly hostile expression. I feel suddenly old. When she doesn�t return my smile, I speak. �Hey, listen, don�t jump to conclusions about the older female islanders. We may not all be as uncool as you think. Honest!�
I turn again to TV Zero, who will be my boat ride partner. We climb into the small craft and start to play the �get to know you� version of 20 Questions. By the time we get to the other shore, I have discovered that both our moms were 19 when we were born and that we were both in the �gifted student� program in school. I want to ask him if he thinks Genghis Jon has a bark worse than his bite, but it�s time to scope out camp and settle in.
I am feeling so much better now about being here. There are so many things to learn about the other contestants. The island, for all its strangeness, holds a mysterious beauty. It will be a good time, I�m sure.
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