CPSkool Forever: Elimination Ceremony 12

Bumble remained in complete shock after hearing the news... With a gentle pat on the back from Lewis she snapped out of it and realized the truth. "I am in the finals." She thought to herself.

"Bumble, not only are you guaranteed a spot in the CPSkool Forever finale, you will be selecting your other finalist." Peng announced, facing the camera. "With Bumble immune, Lewis can only cast his vote against Andre and Andre can only cast his against Lewis... so by default Bumble is making the decision!"

"Congratulations Bumble!" yelled Andre. He and Lew began applauding Bumble for her victory.

Within the next 5 minutes, the final 3 left the studio as the camera crew began packing up the equipment. They quietly soaked in the news and gazed out on the distant sunset.

Soon the cruise will be back home in Club Penguin, soon they were going to be with their families, soon they will be sleeping in their own beds...

... and soon there will be a winner.

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"Greetings to our final 3!" Peng shouted on his mic. "I hope the 3 of you enjoyed one of your last evenings on the S.S. CPSkool."

Andre put a flipper on the shoulders of Bumble and Lew who were sitting in front of him. "No matter what happens, we are still friends, okay?"

Bumble and Lew both nodded in reply.

"This, by far, has been the greatest season and will surely be marked in the history books of Club Penguin... I hope that no matter who is eliminated tonight, that you will leave this competition with your head held high and positive memories." Peng said. His reassuring smile slowly faded into a frown across his beak.

The job of a host is very complex. The only way to really understand is to be one yourself... In a way we are going on the same adventure that all the contestants are, the only difference is that a host cannot change what the contestants make of the gameshow. This is a fact that some people just simply cannot grasp. While we may have favorites and we may be rooting for certain people, our number one job is to make each and every season, challenge, and elimination fair for everyone.

"Bumble.. when you are ready I will need you to enter the voting booth and cast the final vote of the season." Peng stated.

Bumble took a deep breath and slowly got onto her feet. She was still weighing the pros and cons of choosing either contestant with the morality behind the choice. She cares about both Andre and Lew very much and she couldn't help but worry that her vote will affect their friendship. This, without a doubt, will be the hardest decision made in Season 5.

The walk to the booth seemed like forever, but once inside she was faced with the usual notepad and pencil to cast her vote. "This is it..." she whispered to herself.

Her flipper began to shake as she grabbed the pencil and marked her vote.

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About five minutes later, Bumble stepped out of the voting booth. She walked by Mat who patted her on the back as she walked by. She was crying. She took her seat between Andre and Lewis, she held both of their hands.

"I will read off the vote..." Peng said as he slowly turned away towards the voting booth. He reappeared with the notepad and made his way back to the stage. "Again, congratulations Bumble." He said to her. "I know this was not an easy decision for you to make."

She nodded slowly.

"Andre, Lewis, you both have played a marvelous game. The sad fact is though that there is only room for 2 people in the finale..." Peng paused for a moment, which seemed like a lot longer than it was in reality. "The 12th person voted off of CPSkool Forever, and the final member of the jury is..."

Andre's eyes closed. He was clutching Bumble's flipper.

Lewis bit his tongue and kept glancing between the stage and the deck below him. He was so nervous he couldn't bear to stare at Peng.

Mat took a deep breath, and he was soon accompanied by Sand Flipper and Guitarking97 who stood beside him. The hosts reflected back to the moment when they were the final 3 of CPSkool's 1st season... and Sand had to make the decision on who to bring to the finals. They knew how nervous the contestants were.

...

"Well I can't believe its me writing this comment right now..It feels amazing to know that everything I was worried about all season didn't matter, and now I have a chance at winning. It also feels amazing that the 2 people who deserve this spot most can get it right now..which also makes it the worst. I have to choose between two amazing players. Like I said, Andre and Lewis are AMAZING and I know everyone can agree with me on that. Andre has really played both of the 2 most important aspects in this game very well.. strategy and strength. I mean come on, he's been amazing at challenges, especially the really hard ones that I was probably the worst at. He had an amazing strategy, he knew what he was doing, he picked the right people to do it with too, and you really have to give that to him, it's amazing what he did. Lewis is great at challenges, especially the last few, maybe one was by luck or maybe he was just good at one, but those were difficult challenges and were placed at a very difficult time, and I'm honestly impressed with him. I've gained a lot of respect for Lew over the past months. And I truly respect how he played this game. I've felt like I've known all this time who I wanted to pick, but obviously everything I just stated about the two other players makes me think again...But in my heart I know what's right..I know what I want to do. I want to do this knowing I won't have a regret, even if this person beats me in the end. I won't look back and ask myself why I picked this person, it's even hard to explain why I'm picking this person, but he's done SO much this season and I can't and won't let that just fall to the ground. I've said why he deserves it, but how smart he was during the whole game makes him deserve this spot...I thought kinda knowing who I wanted to pick would make it easier, but actually it makes it even worse. I feel horrible having to do this and I really mean it when I say that. I've thought about this moment a lot, but I never thought too deep because I didn't think I'd be writing this right now. But always, there was one person on my mind the second I thought about who I wanted to bring..but I never knew how it was gonna feel to not be picking the other person..well..who I'm picking is..........Andre. ~Bumble.."

"Lewis, I am so sorry but you will be leaving us tonight." Peng said. The words he spoke were heavy with emotion.

Lewis accepted his fate and hugged Bumble and Andre. He had come so far, and got so close.... but it was all over with.

"I'm so sorry!" Bumbled yelled as she began to tear up. She gave Lewis a hug and he insisted that it was okay.

Andre was still taking in the fact that he was in the final 2 of CPSkool Forever until he snapped out of it and immediately comforted his eliminated friend.

Mat and Peng both walked over to Lewis and hugged him. "I am so sorry Lewis..." Mat said sadly to him.

"It's okay Mat, this has been the adventure of a lifetime... I'm just happy I got to be a part of it." He responded.

Lewis's walk down to his cabin was very saddening. As he slowly packed up all of his belongings, the beautiful color of the ocean sunset faded through his windows. He looked out at the vast sea and took a deep breath. Although he was sad that he wasn't going to be in the finale, he saw the bright side of the entire competition.

At last he finally understood the true meaning of CPSkool Forever.

He walked back to the pool deck and approached the helicopter. He waved good-bye to his dear friends who he had spent the last 4 months with on the cruise. They seemed like family to him... "See you soon!" he yelled at the small group of penguins.

Mat gave the pilot of the helicopter a thumbs up, and in response the aircraft slowly lifted off of the deck.

Bumble and Andre raced across the massive deck of the ship, following the helicopter. They reached the end of the ship and stood against the railing waving good-bye to their good friend.

This is the end of the line...

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Congratulations Lewis! You are taking the final spot on the CPSkool Forever Jury and will be responsible for casting your vote for the winner of the season.

You played an amazing game without a doubt. You fought extremely hard and have earned recognition of being one of the greatest contestants we have had.