Recap of previous episode continues the chronicle of complaints over the camp’s choice of chef. Chisom having forcefully took over the role of the chef from Debby last night threw up debate among Searchers. While some of the contestants see Debby as their preferred chef, others welcome the change in taste Chisom brought with her cooking.

“During Deborah’s time, the food was limited; but she made good use of it. She prepared it in her own way and it’s delicious,” says Vivien who apparently would love Debby to continue cooking for the Order of Heroes in Palm-Boo Camp. Melvin admits that Debby does cook well, but raises issues with her attitude when cooking. “She asks too many questions.”

Anyway, contestants may not need to quarrel over the issue for now as Show Host, Bob-Manuel Udokwu appointed a new chef (Chuks) for the camp at the Place of the Talking Drum last night. Chuks is being punished for being the first to drop from his tree stump during the previous day’s task. “In spite of the fact that you were the first to come down from you block, you still stay within the time limit set by the hunters. The other one is that you will not eat for the next 24 hours. You will do all the cooking in the camp and all the washing.”

Upon returning to Palm-Boo Camp last night, contestants contemplated cooking their lean reserve of food. Debby and some others want the remaining yam and plantain cook for dinner. Wale argued to the contrary. “Na only yam and plantain remain. Person no need to sleep, we need the food in the morning to do work tomorrow,” he reasoned.

Debby wants the issue to be put to vote. Wale stood his grounds. “No everything we go dey vote. You can’t have your way always!” he barked his orders out.
As it turned out, those who favour cooking the food store out won and Chuks prepared dinner for the Searchers.

However, contrary to Bob’s directive, Chisom assisted him during the cooking. She defended he action: “I did not help Chuks to cook, but I help to put the fire, because they did not instruct for him to do the fire. They only said, make sure you clean up and cook. So, anybody could have done the fire.”

Surely, cleanliness is an issue in Palm-Boo Camp. Indeed, Bob had to make an issue of it during the Place of the Talking Drum last night.

Uche could no longer belly his anger over the state of hygiene at the camp and they way their female colleagues were handling the matter. He busted out, labeling his female colleagues “lazy girls” except Chisom who he praised for hard work.

This would pitch him against Vivien who hates being labeled “a lazy person.” She gave him a thorough tongue lash, barking at him in anger. “I’m not your wife! You can’t talk to me like that!”
It soon became a shouting match.

Still, hurting from Uche’s utterance over hygiene, Vivien explains her anger during interview. “I got angry because told him particularly that I hate the words. I hate when people use some of these words on me, because I can count how many times I wake up in the morning, I’m always the first to wake together with Elvis, and I do what I’m supposed to do, I sweep the environment. He’s always the last to wake, because he wakes up very late; and then all he can do is just to come out of the tent and tell me that I am lazy. His word was so direct.”

An obviously humbled Uche explained that he had said what he said as a passing statement, “but she took it too serious.”

Indeed, Vivien further explained the reason behind her outburst. “Had it been that he said all the girls are lazy, I wouldn’t bother myself; but he kind of made an exemption that except Chisom and I got angry. For Chisom, that is she. She’s hyper-active. She wants to do what she wants to do. I believe I do what I want to do because it’s proper.”

The following morning, the Hunters woke up to some exercises to shake off their while Chuks clean up the environment and make fire. Melvin explained their decision to workout that morning. “We had a very cold day yesterday. Previous night was very cold, throughout the day was cold, we performed the task under the rain again and then we went to the Place of the Talking Drum cold. By the time we woke up this morning, the cold was reducing, but we felt that an exercise will help us out. I mean to ease out the day’s cold and to keep us fit for the day’s task.”

Vivien said she had to exercise because “I was cold throughout. My blanket was wet and I slept on the bare bamboo, so I had to wake up this morning with pains all over my body and I was still feeling cold. So I had to exercise in order to get my body going.

Again, starving Chuks cooks breakfast. Obviously, Chisom refused to help him make the fire. Chuks labour with the task. And as the Narrator observes, “he seems to be making more smoke than fire.”

Wait a minute, Debby suddenly remembers her dad and sobs. Wale and others console her. Elvis who thought Debby was joking tries to joke with her, but soon realize that Debby was genuinely crying. “I felt bad about myself when I found that she was serious,” Elvis explained.

No one seems to know what’s the issue is about Debby’s dad that makes her cry. Her colleagues could only guess. Elvis thinks Debby was simply “trying to relate with what Vivien said about her own Daddy.” Wale reasoned that Debby must be missing her father “I think she grew up with her grand parents whom she took more like her father.” Chisom inferred in the same vein. “I think she is from a single parent; and Vivien was talking about her father, father, father and everybody was like talking about his or her father. I think she felt left out. I believe that was what moved her to cry.”

Chisom too suddenly broke into tears during her interview. “I’m trying to think about my parents too. I’m 23 years old. My father has been sick. I never saw him well. He has been at home,” she sobs uncontrollably, tears streaming from her eyes.

Debby cried the more during her interview. “I’m crying because I just thought about my dad. He’s late now. Two years ago. Everybody was talking about their dad; how their dad use to dance, or how their use not to dance, and all that. So, I just thought about mine, he dances with me, he pampered me, took me out a lot of things happen between both of us and he just have to go.”

Debby pulled herself together soon after breakfast. Indeed, again, she found the clue that instructs them about the day’s task. Bob wasted no time in letting them what’s in stock for them today.
“One thing a good hunter has to do is to be fit and alert at all times. A hunter should be able to track animals for days and still be able to be conscious of the environment to assess the situation all the time.
“Today, your task will test your physical strength and mental ability once more.”

It’s individual task. The hunters are made to run past flags attached to poles along a marked hunting route. They are advised to memorize the words inscribed on the flags, because they will need them to solve a puzzle upon their return.
The run was vigorous and exhausting. Debby could not keep pace with the rest of the bunch. She was almost a kilometer behind in the excruciating race. What is more, she makes “no attempt to catch up”, as the Narrator puts it.

They all returned, came with their words. Bob suddenly realized “One person is missing.” Who is it? Hey wait, where’s Debby?
“Oh! I see her in the distance,” Bob said, as Debby limps in.
“What happened,” Bob asked her.
“I fell,” Debby replied.
Asked if she still can continue with the Search, she does not sound sure.
Then Bob delivered his verdict: “It’s obvious that you cannot continue Debby. You are no longer worthy to continue in this Search. Therefore, you are hereby evicted from Gulder Ultimate Search VI. Turn around, go back to the camp pack your bag make a big cross on your own portion of the Totem and leave immediately!”

Melvin is declared winner of the day’s task. He feels good about it because it was his first time of winning an individual task. “It means I’m a strong contender,” Melvin enthused. Indeed, he thinks he could “actually go all the way to be the Ultimate Man.”
Did I hear you say, ‘tall dream?’

Well the days ahead is pregnant with puzzles and riddles as to whether our Orderr of Heroes will even find the Horn of Valour, and who would find among them.

Remember the series, Everybody Hates Chris? Well, Debby can definitely get back to the real world and invent her show in exact contrast to Chris Rock’s childhood memoire show. Definitely, her show will be “Everybody Loves Debby.”

Reviewing the events that led to Debby’s eviction all the contestants admits they would miss her, unlike Ada whom every was happy to see leave during her eviction. Oseyi said she had wished was mistake. “I was hoping Debby’s eviction didn’t happen,” she said. Chisom feels bad and would miss her saying her eviction “was quite surprising.” Even Wale admits that Debby’s eviction will “probably dampen the spirit in the camp, because Debby is someone that always lights up anywhere she is. She’s kind of jovial and fun to be around.”
For Elvis, “It’s kind of shocking, because I don’t expect her to leave now. But I believe there is something about this game. Everybody has his/her race to run. I guess that’s where her own stops.”

Chuks wonder how the camp would be without her because “most people will definitely feel her not being around.” Uche see her as someone everybody loved and used to boo and make fun of her at the same. Everybody just liked her.”
Vivien feels very sad because “I like Debby. She’s my very good friend. Among all the girls in the camp, I’m closes to her. Melvin added: “Debby is going to be seriously missed. I’m definitely going to miss her.”

Then, came time to prepare lunch. Though, the picture of glooming-looking Chuks  watching his fellow contestants relish the dinner he cooked while he starved last night, some of the contestants does not seem to understand his frustrations as he reluctantly cook them a lunch after today’s task.
It’s the last meal Chuks has to prepare to end his punishment. Yet, he seems reluctant about it. Obviously, he’s hurting inside of him. He protested as the contestants’ compounds his woes by complaining.

Still, Wale decides to taunt a hungry lion further by picking a quarrel with Chuks sensing that Chuks was deliberately slow about the cooking probably because he won’t eat of it.

Perhaps Wale thinks being made to starve only to cook for others to eat is funny. Chuks definitely does not find it funny. He shouted back at his buddy Wale: “You’ve been the leader since, you have not delivered one result. People are complaining, your followers are complaining and you are here talking about leadership. Just don’t say that sh*t any more men; what’s that?”