Return of Duke (a more clever title TBD)

[JWood201]

Hey gang. So I began this story a million years ago and just found it on my computer. It actually gets pretty intense towards the end (I was such a dramatic 16 year old apparently), but I need to write some more scenes before I can post that part. I wanted to post the beginning for a few reasons: to see what people think and to hopefully kick my butt into actually finishing it.

Enjoy!

-----------

Mary Ann trudged through the jungle carrying a heavy bucket of coconuts in one hand. She needed one more to have enough to bake one of her famous coconut cream pies, but there didn’t seem to be any more lying loose on the ground. She stopped under a palm tree and looked up, craning her neck to see to the top. There, among the leaves, she spotted one lonely coconut. She stood, hands on her hips, and sized up the tree. Deciding that this tree was nothing compared to the other outdoor activities and chores she had been forced to endure on the farm, she kicked off her shoes and deftly scaled the tree until she reached the leafy top.

Once there, Mary Ann made the mistake of looking down and the distance to the ground suddenly overcame her. She shook her head clear and concentrated on getting the coconut so she could safely climb down. The fruit was slightly out of reach, however, and as she stretched her arm towards it she felt her grip loosen on the slippery bark. As Mary Ann tried to regain her grip, she lost hold of the trunk altogether. She screamed and mentally braced herself for the impact that never came.

She had landed safely in a pair of outstretched arms. Confused, her heart still pounding from the fall, she turned to come face to face with, “Duke!”

“Wow,” he smiled, “those gidgets at the beach always told me I was a legend, but I didn’t know everybody knew me!”

“What are you doing here?”

“Answering your prayers, baby.”

She rolled her eyes. “I’m serious. Why are you here? And put me down,” she added, poking a muscular shoulder for emphasis.

“Well, me and the boys hit the beach early yesterday morning to work on some new tricks when one of the gremmies gets into trouble. I mean, he’s trying to ride the nose –”

“Put me down, Duke.”

“– and hang ten at the same time! So me and a couple other hot doggers haveta go in and pull him out. While we’re comin’ back to the beach this chick lays eyes on me, but I give her nothin’ –”

“Duke, put me down.”

“– But she won’t back off. She’s all over me like wax on my surfboard. So I go and tell her that if she –”

“PUT ME DOWN!”

Duke winced and stopped mid-sentence, gently setting Mary Ann down on her feet. “I was just tellin’ ya why I’m here.”

“Never mind, I don’t want to know.” She picked her shoes up off of the ground and brandished one at him. “Just go home. Now. Ginger and I don’t want anything to do with you, remember?” She turned and stalked off to camp, leaving the bucket of coconuts, and Duke, behind.

“Ginger? Wait a minute, baby! I don’t even know your name!”

-------------

“Really, Thurston, I don’t know why you must be so stubborn!”

“Lovey, it’s the principle of the thing! I don’t go around telling…” He trailed off as Mary Ann burst into the clearing, a shoe in each hand. The rest of the Castaways, who were gathered around the table trying to ignore the Howells’ argument, looked up.

Mary Ann plopped down in her spot between Gilligan and the Professor and deposited her shoes roughly in front of her, sending a light shower of sand out over the table. Mrs. Howell looked up from her plate in distaste.

Mary Ann crossed her arms with a stern, “Hi.”

“Morning!” Gilligan chirped, not catching the tone of her voice. He turned to her, grinning, and she stared him down. His smile slowly faded and he turned away.

“What’s the matter, Mary Ann?” the Skipper finally ventured, feeling brave.

“Nothing.”

“I see.”

The Skipper didn’t feel totally defeated and was about to say something else when she cut in, “I can’t believe he’s back. Out of all the people to land on our island, yet again, it had to be him. The one person that I would have been happy never to see again…EVER, for the rest of my life, has to be the one to come back! It’s just too perfect!” She waved her arms dramatically in the air once more for effect before dropping her head to the table.

“Who’s back?” Ginger asked after a moment of awkward silence.

As if on cue, Duke could be heard beckoning through the jungle, “Hey! Where’d you go? Come on, baby!”

Mary Ann let out a muffled groan.

Duke scratched his head and decided to call out the only name he knew to be associated with the island. “Ginger?”

The movie star gasped. “He remembers my name!”

“Wait a minute, I thought he had amnesia?” the Skipper asked.

“Well, Skipper, there are many forms of amnesia. His case could have lasted a day, a week, a month –”

“Or maybe she told him!” Ginger accused, ignoring the Professor.

“Maybe I did!” Ginger gasped again and glared at Mary Ann.

“Girls, please.”

“Hey, there you are!” Duke proceeded to swagger over to the table and crossed his muscular arms, poised to receive the welcoming adulation he expected.

No one moved.

“Duke!” Ginger began suddenly, seeming oddly excited to see him.

He grinned, “Hey, everyone does know me. I must be a legend!”

“Oh, Duke, daarliing,” Ginger started, blatantly overacting, “Mary Ann here was just explaining to me about how she found you in the jungle.” She made her way around the table and stood unnecessarily close to him.

“Well, I more like rescued her.”

Ginger gasped, feigning impression, “Really? That must be why she’s so smitten with you.” Mary Ann turned, horrified. Ginger answered her surprise with a sweet smile and a continuation of her tale. “Why, she was just telling me how incredibly handsome she thought you were,” Ginger elongated the words as she drew little patterns on his tan skin with her finger. Duke grinned. His head proceeded to bob back and forth arrogantly as Mary Ann gaped at them. “See ya,” Ginger purred. She winked at them both before sauntering off to her hut.

“I can’t believe she just did that.”

“It’s okay, baby. It had to come out sometime. Move it, kid.” He shoved Gilligan off the end of the bench and sat down in his spot next to Mary Ann.

“Get away from me, Duke.”

“You don’t have to be embarrassed anymore, honey. It’s all out in the open.”

“Touch me and die.”

Duke’s arm froze in midair three inches from her shoulders. There was silence for a moment until he burst out laughing. “You’re so cute when you’re angry.”

[JWood201]

Ugh, I don't know why my prose sounds so awkward when I read it back. I'm so out of practice, haha. Here's a little bit more, but that's all you get for now.

Mary Ann seems kind of out of character to me. Maybe too spunky or ballsy or bitchy, I don't know. Or maybe not. Please let me know if I'm totally screwing everyone up, it's been a while. =\

--------------

Mary Ann took a few steps through camp and stopped. He was still behind her. She proceeded a few more paces and halted abruptly. He did the same. Finally, she spun around to confront him. “Duke, you need to stop following me. You’re driving me insane!”

Duke smiled. “Are you still tryin’ to deny it? Baby, Ginger told me everything; you heard her.”

“Ginger lies. And you are incredibly dense.”

“Thank you.”

“And stupid,” she muttered under her breath. She decided to take another approach and attempted to reason with him. “Listen, Duke, it will never work out because – uh, my heart belongs to somebody else.”

“You mean you have a boyfriend?” She nodded. “Oh. Well, its okay, baby, you’re shipwrecked now!” He smiled devilishly.

“Oh. But he’s…on the island!”

Duke looked stunned. “Don’t tell me you go for married men and eggheads. Who is it?” She merely shrugged coyly, trying not to dig herself any deeper into the lie. He took a step towards her and crossed his arms. For a moment, Mary Ann seriously thought Duke would kill whoever she said it was. Or her. Whichever was more convenient. “Mary Ann, who is it?” She was too stunned by his usage of her actual name to think of a plausible response.

“Hi!” Gilligan emerged from his hut and passed between them on his way somewhere.

“Gilligan!” Mary Ann yelled, glad that he had chosen that moment to unintentionally rescue her. “Oh, Gilligan!” She ran the few feet to where he had stopped and threw her arms around his neck.

“Mary Ann, what are you –?”

She held a finger to his lips to silence him. “Oh, Gilligan, wherever are you going?”

“To check the lobster traps,” he mumbled around her finger.

“Oh, that sounds so romantic!”

“Not really.”

“Couldn’t I come with you?”

“I guess, but I don’t see why you’d want –.” She slapped her hand over his mouth and smiled tensely at him.

“Let me come help you,” she nearly hissed through her teeth.

“It’s okay, there’s only three traps. I can handle –.” She finally shut him up by kissing him firmly on the lips. Duke’s jaw dropped to the ground. Gilligan’s eyes popped from his head and his arms flailed helplessly. His hands finally settled on her waist before realizing where they were and promptly resumed their haphazard flight.

Mary Ann let him go and sighed dreamily. “Let’s go check the traps, okay?”

Gilligan blinked several times, but said nothing as he allowed himself to be led down to the lagoon.

[callensensei]

I don't think your prose sounds awkward at all. And your surfer lingo is pitch-perfect: I can just hear our air-headed, arrogant beach god. You cleverly work in the fact that Duke still has amnesia and still thinks he has a chance with both of the girls, thus creating the chance to throw Duke off with more "fake" (?) couples. Sounds like lots of fun ahead!

I could definitely see Mary Ann being very firm about telling Duke to put her down. I wonder whether she would actually go so far as to say "Ginger lies," but we certainly did see on the series that Mary Ann has a temper under all that sweetness: "Ship Ahoax," "Seer Gilligan" and "Gilligan Goes Gung Ho" definitely all come to mind.

[JWood201]

Sigh. Yeah. I don't know. This is a tough one. I like the idea of a story where he comes back because I love the episode so much and there's potential for actual character-development and semi-seriousness.

My gut tells me there's something wrong with this, I just haven't figured out what yet, haha.

[iDOhavealife]

Well, I'm thoroughly enjoying it so far, and I'm looking forward to more! Yay!

[Teebs]

Your prose isn't awkward. And I just love the way the story heads straight for MAG land. Because MAG is what you do best. Gilligan and his flailing hands landing lightly on her waist before flailing again. You know he wants it.
Duke is perfect. Laid back and arrogant, just like those hunky beach types. (Damn them.) Ginger's a little devious, landing Mary Ann straight in it. But Mary Ann would stand up to anyone who pushed beyond her boundaries. I'd love to see more of this. After you've written The Bucket list, of course.