Updates from the Witzler

“A thin layer of ice covers seemingly everything, appearing almost as if a glass bomb exploded overnight. News reports detail residents unable to leave their homes as their doors are frozen shut. Sidewalks and streets are treacherous. Just walking this short distance in the front of the hotel feels dangerous. That’s why you won’t see any cars driving by. People will be trapped–”

“That’s two, no, three cars that just went by behind you,” a voice chimed in from offscreen.

“What?!” Sanna responded, turning fast enough to look behind her that she nearly fell over on the icy walkway.

“Polly!” Serinda scolded, standing roughly twenty feet down from her younger sister in preparation for her report with the hotel doors behind her.

“I pointed it out because it wrecks your narrative,” the oldest teen replied. “And there’s a fourth car…”

“Great! Now, we have to edit that section out. San, don’t use the intersection in the background. Move over so we can restart your lines,” Serinda directed her younger sister.

“No, wait…Yay! That car just hit the other one. It works perfectly to prove my point,” Sanna informed her sister, who couldn’t see the two vehicles as she was closer to the hotel.

“That’s…That’s awful! Those people could be hurt,” Polly squealed, lowering the phone she used to record the Bank sisters’ video.

“Pol!”

“Don’t stop!” Sanna ordered. “It’s just a fender-bender. I’m sure the people are going to be fine.”

“You don’t know that. Minor accidents can cause serious injuries, such as whiplash or lingering back trouble,” Polly supplied.

“Oh, my gawd. Are you fifty?” Sanna screeched. “I knew we should’ve found a better camerawoman, but nobody else was up yet.”

“I do not sound fifty!” Polly argued. However, she did raise the phone to record again. “How did I let myself get talked into this? It’s freezing out here.”

“No, you sound like you’re preparing for your career as one of those personal injury lawyers,” sixteen-year-old Serinda joked half-seriously.

“I don’t know why I’m even helping you,” Polly stated grumpily while Sanna giggled.

“Don’t worry. When we’re famous, we’ll give you free air-time for your commercials,” the fourteen-year-old piled on. Suddenly, Sanna’s voice shifted to a terrified shriek as she pointed at the minor accident. “Look at the carnage. This city is under siege from Mother Nature’s wrath!”

“Awesome!” Serinda praised as her sister motioned for Polly to shift the camera phone at her. The younger Bank also pulled out her phone. Two videos worked better for editing different angles together.

“Good morning and Happy New Year, Eldermoss! I’m Serinda Bank, co-host of Sussing with Serinda and Sanna, reporting from the scene of your favorite guilty pleasure: Honey Hollow. Expect plenty of content over the next few weeks, as Sanna and I experienced in person what you’ll read and see on Nosy Nectar. Behind me is the Witzler Hotel, where an unbelievable series of events went down late into last night. Your favorite pair of sisters were in the thick of things and have plenty of juicy details at the ready to supplement what Nosy Nectar will report. However, before we begin, we’d like to express our thanks to our temporary camera operator. Take it from there, San.”

While Serinda gestured at Polly to remain on her, Sanna shifted her phone to point at their distant relative by marriage.

“Thanks, Rinda. Eldermoss, you’re looking at Polly Gettinger, or the Pollinator as we like to call her–”

“What?!”

“Shhh,” Serinda shushed.

“You might not recall seeing much or anything at all about Polly on Nosy Nectar in the past, as she runs a fairly tame and boring life. However, Polly is the cousin of the legendary Finley Singer. Yes, yes, we know. You must be wondering because Finn is also our cousin, but Polly's from his dad's side, and you all know we're from his mother's side. We'll explain more about Polly's ties to several main stars in our upcoming sitdown with her. Hint: She lives next door to Austin and Aurora Rusk. Check out her interview–"

“My what?!”

“As Polly has an eyewitness account of what went down at Harvey Diamond’s cabin on Wasp Lake this last week. What did she see or hear? Polly might not be a gossip, but we’ll pry the salacious details out of her. Back to you, Serinda.”

Sanna swung her phone back to her sister while moving in closer.

“Thanks, Sanna. This year’s Honey Hollow charity ball revolved around a cause that’s near and dear to our hearts. And while we expected to play a minor part in the grand unveiling of Cassandra’s Story Society, the new foundation in honor of our Aunt Cassie, Sanna and I found ourselves thrust into more prominent roles due to shocking allegations. As for now, we won’t discuss those matters unless Nosy Nectar decides to, but we found ourselves on stage as assistants to the night’s fill-in emcee.”

“You heard correctly, Eldermoss,” Sanna took over, pointing her phone at her face. “Rinda and I assisted Dr. Bridget Tarver, our aunt’s old friend and the mother of Honey Hollow’s new hero, Sean Tarver.”

"Unfortunately, our duties kept us from recording but only a portion of the ceremony and speeches. However, many ballgoers have generously sent us their videos," Serinda revealed, resuming her hosting. "We plan to share them with all of you and discuss what went down with our future roundtable reviews. We'll discuss the immediate goals, events, and potential future activities. We'll also provide reactions to the heartbreaking speeches by so many speakers, including our Grandma CeCe, Finn, and both Bridget and Sean Tarver. Don't fret! Not everything was somber."

“Right!” Sanna agreed cheerfully, turning the phone around again. “Fletcher Wynwick stole the show before getting ordered off the stage with his hilarious comments. And he did this–shocker!–to save the moment when Whitney Diamond—the girl you love to hate–furthered her sympathetic turn by rushing offstage after becoming overcome with emotion.”

“That’s correct, Eldermoss. We understand Nosy Nectar posted only a fraction of last night's events and adventures. Honestly, there was so much that we figured they became overwhelmed by the nonstop action. Yes, you heard right. Expect plenty of updates today from the hottest source of entertainment," Serinda continued until pausing for the next edit. While doing so, she shifted to face away from the Witzler as Sanna moved to join her. Polly also changed her spot.

"As the sun shines down on a new day and year in Honey Hollow, viewers probably wonder if Season 17 can fulfill the hype we've vowed would happen. Will it? In our opinion, the answer is a resounding yes," Serinda declared.

“The last week has featured an amazing number of events that will shape the second half of Season 17. We’re not exaggerating either,” Sanna promised. “This season has the potential to rival, if not surpass, fan favorites like Seasons 11 and 14.”

“Major stars have reached crossroad moments. The sweetheart of Honey Hollow is back on the market. What will Lacey Stratton do with her first freedom in nearly two years? Will she–”

“Wait, isn’t Yumi Nakano the school sweetheart?” Sanna interrupted her sister with the question.

“Hmm, that’s a fair point,” Serinda replied, mulling it over on camera for a few seconds. “Maybe Lacey is still the main sweetheart since Yumi only moved back last summer. Or should we call Lacey something different? Like the red-haired sweetheart or ginger sweetheart.”

“We can’t call her the cheerleader sweetheart, as they’re both on the squad. Perhaps the matchmaking sweetheart?” Sanna speculated. “I know! We can post a poll and let our viewers decide.”

“Fantastic idea!” her sister replied. “So what will Honey Hollow’s favorite matchmaker do? Will she use her skills to find herself a new boyfriend, or will Lacey double down and focus on finding love for her classmates? Either way, I think we can expect plenty of matchmaking fun from her for the rest of the season.”

“Based on comments over last night’s shocking breakup, there is plenty of speculation over Austin Rusk’s single status. Will the star quarterback be the hottest male prospect on the market? Numerous girls have waited for this moment. However, will Nosy Nectar’s revealing of his lies about the Wasp Lake rescue damage his stock? Or will girls dismiss the revelation as minor embellishing?”

“And the Wasp Lake rescue really shook up the Honey Hollow High hierarchy. A new star has risen in Sean Tarver. How will he handle his newfound fame? Will it go to his head? Will he fade back into obscurity? I doubt the latter, but the former is highly possible,” Serinda suggested.

"Especially with Whitney Diamond pulling the strings," Sanna chimed in. "Yes, yes, I know Whitney is usually seen as a villainess in our neck of the woods. So, it might be difficult for people back in Eldermoss to understand just how much sympathy the blonde heiress has garnered over the last few days. However, the rumor around the hotel is that Whitney plans to reward her savior with a full assortment of teenage girls. Yes, we know that Nosy Nectar hasn’t reported about the development yet. But trust us, faithful viewers. We’ve heard tidbits about the plan from multiple people last night. A plan of that magnitude alone might make this season one of the most scandalous ever.”

Serinda paused momentarily to provide for another edit and a cheeky question.

“Hey, Polly, are you getting in line for a night with Sean?”

The implication nearly lost the Bank sisters their temporary camerawoman as Polly pitched a fit. It took several rounds of apologizing before she agreed to assume her filming.

"Another potential storyline to watch is how Austin and Sean's entry into the dating pool will be taken by Fletcher Wynwick and Charlie Cork. Will the two hated rivals suffer or thrive with the increased competition?"

"Speaking of joining the dating pool, Rinda, how will the older generation react to the news about Dr. Bridget Tarver's impending divorce? Viewers might not realize this, as Dr. Tarver has mostly been a side character, but she's nothing like her daughter Peyton. As one of our aunt's two closest friends, we've heard stories about how the gorgeous blonde was Lana and Poppy rolled into one during her days as a cheerleader. Let that sink in for a moment."

“And we had a huge development concerning the greatest couple in Nosy Nectar history —or at least that's my opinion," Serinda added. The Finn and Lana rollercoaster took some sharp twists and turns last night. We're still efforting more information, so stay tuned."

"Yes, this might be a make-or-break moment for our cousin and his first serious girlfriend," Sanna foreshadowed, ignoring her sister's scowl. Unlike her sister, she wasn't solely committed to Lana as Finn's truelove. "However, we need to take care of a couple of housekeeping things before moving on. First, we're ecstatic to see the large jump in subscribers since last night. Based on comments, it appears that we've found new viewers in Rattle Ridge, Breezy Bay, and Honey Hollow. We'd like to thank our new friends in those two cities for helping alert their friends about our shows."

“Unfortunately, our participation in a **** scheme with those friends may cause us to be grounded when we return home. We don’t know how this will affect Sussing with Serinda and Sanna, but it is possible we might need to find a guest host or two,” Serinda revealed, grimacing at the possibility. “If that’s the case, we’ll ensure that our temporary–”

"Ohmigawd!" Sanna screamed, interrupting her older sister.

The ear-piercing scream nearly caused Polly to drop the phone. So she didn't capture the view of Sanna staring at her phone with tears of joy forming.

“We…We made it onto Nosy Nectar!”

"What? Where? I have to see this," Serinda responded, pulling her phone from her back pocket.

“Oh, fuck; oh, fuck. We have our own tag!” Sanna squealed again.

“Are own tag? That means…” Serinda trailed off, pulling up the site.

“We’re mentioned more than once!” Sanna yelled, hopping around in a celebratory dance.

“You sold us out, Yosh!” Samson O’Dell bellowed upon entering the dining room and spotting his wayward friend.

Behind him, Reed Swift sought to calm his best friend down or at least get him to lower his voice. His efforts didn't help much as Sammy stomped to a table.

“You left us to die, man. Gerry went first. Robot spiders. Fricking robot spiders! Then, Banjo bought it when a giant snake ate him. The Gibble brothers got taken out by another team. Then, Reed–”

“Oh, dear. Your friends died?” Felicity gasped as her fork clanked onto her plate. “I’m so sorry, honey. We need to be prepared for the funeral and to help their families get through this. How could you abandon your friends, Yoshio?”

“Oh, no!” Yumi wailed, tears already forming. “Cat and Katie are going to be so upset by this news. Now they have to be nice to Greta.”

“Uh, Fliss, I think Shayla’s son is talking about a video game,” Valentina Quill pointed out as James Nakano rubbed his forehead at his wife and daughter’s gullibility.

“This is why Yoshio shouldn’t be allowed to waste his time with such drivel. That video game nonsense can’t help prepare him for his future,” James argued, bringing up a point he’d made to his wife numerous times only to lose.

“But I loved playing games. Remember how much fun we had playing Mario Kart? You could never beat me!” Felicity laughed.

"Let's not bring that up," James replied, hoping his wife wouldn't have one of her slipups. His frequent race losses in the dorms often led to some steamy encounters as the bubbly blonde sometimes got turned on by the thrill of victory.

“The Gamesmaster?! He’s back! Wait, you guys were up all night playing the new version?” Jason Quill asked excitedly.

"Yeah, the new one is crazy, Mr. Quill. We got ambushed by returning ninjas and then found ourselves in one of the Gamesmaster's games. Thanks to Yosh not being there, we lost the whole team. We needed our sniper!" Sammy complained, reaching down to snatch a piece of bacon from Yoshio's plate.

"Yep, can't survive without your sniper," Jason agreed, nodding vigorously. He noticed his wife rolling her eyes. "Hey, I haven't opened mine yet. But I will tonight. You said once the new year began."

“Caterina should’ve never bought you that as your gift,” Valentina grumbled. “Video games at your age. Harumph!”

“Does this mean you won’t play Mario Kart with us anymore?” Felicity questioned, her eyes shimmering with hurt.

“Wait, what?” Jason questioned, his head swinging back and forth between his wife and ex-dancemate.

“It’s not my fault! They’ve been roping me into them since high school,” the older brunette defended. She didn’t explain how it annoyed her as she knew Fliss would probably start crying.

“Remember how mad Gemma would get?” Cordelia Tissle asked, announcing her arrival. “She’d fume and say that only nerds played video games.”

“Gemma always got mad about everything,” Felicity pointed out.

“Yeah, but she really hated how we’d end up playing those old games in Grant’s room. Screaming about staying away from her brother,” Cordelia started to laugh before wincing due to her hangover. Then, she glanced around the dining room. “I see my daughter is not the only teen not up yet.”

"I tried! Nobody else at the cheerleader sleepover must be hungry yet," Yumi explained. "They all pulled their blankets over their heads or used their pillows. I thought the Babybees might get up."

“Cheerleader sleepover? At least we only had one squad for our sleepovers, not two,” Cordelia said, nudging Valentina.

"Oh, we had even more girls, Aunt Cordy. We had some of the Babybees's friends. Zoey Gibble, Winnie Wirch, and Robin Ridge were there. And we even had Delilah and Ariel from the Sugarbees!"

“That many girls gives me a headache just thinking about it,” Cordelia mumbled.

“Cat is probably going to be in one of her sour moods all day because of it,” Valentina mumbled back.

Yumi nodded, unsure why, but Cat was often in a sour mood.

“Well, I hope Cheyenne stayed out of trouble. She spent the night in Quilla’s penthouse. I assume they had an afterparty,” Cordelia replied before Yumi bolted from her seat, startling her.

“Will! Oh, Will!” the perky cheerleader called out, waving her hand at Winkie.

“Did that finally happen?” Cordelia asked, using the video game conversation to mask her question.

“Doubtful,” Valentina responded.

“Did what happen?” Felicity inquired after reassuring her son that his father couldn’t ban him from playing his new game.

“Nothing,” both of her oldest friends replied simultaneously about the well-known crush on Yumi.

“Are you okay? Were you bleeding again last night?” Yumi rattled off as Winkie nodded. “Why didn’t you tell me? They said you had nurses with you.”

“Um, I didn’t know I should. I mean, it only bled a little more while I was in Quilla’s suite. And, uh, I swear, I really swear that Loren and Rowan stayed in my room only to make sure I didn’t end up at the ER again. Nothing happened.”

“Well, you should’ve told me!”

Will’s hopes rose as he began to think that Yumi had similar feelings for him.

“Or told Cat, or Katie, or Roxie. We could’ve assigned some Babybees to you. They have experience now after nursing Sean last night,” Yumi stated. Her poor choice of words caused Cordelia to **** on her orange juice. “Do the Rogers triplets have any medical training? Do they? I honestly don’t know if Thornapple Academy teaches those skills.”

“Oh, I can ask Danika. She’s calling right now,” Felicity announced, seeing the name of their former dancemate on her phone. The former Danika Huskova lived in Regal Crest, and her son was a senior at the nearby private school.

What followed was an interesting phone call as Danika mostly bitched and moaned about Felicity recreating their old dance last night. The uptight woman wasn’t happy that all her old classmates and Sugarbee squadmates had posted the videos on her social media accounts. Val ended up taking the phone away from Felicity to argue when Danika started in about what her high society friends must be thinking right now. Cordelia delivered the final admonishment about acting rude to her old friends.

"Don't forget I know things, Danni," Cordy warned. "Now apologize to Fliss," she ordered, returning the phone.

“I think Aunt Danika needs to attend Aunt Talissa’s etiquette classes at Thornapple,” Yumi stated as her mother accepted her old squadmate’s apology. She loved it when her mom’s other friend visited and taught her some of the lessons she taught at the school. Then, turning toward Will, she added, “I know they teach that at Thornapple.”

“Unfortunately, Danni’s like Cat. She’ll never learn any manners,” Cordelia proclaimed.

“Hey!” Valentina exclaimed in defense of her daughter.

Yumi merely nodded as in resignation. Suddenly, the teen perked up again, realizing she had a New Year's goal for her friend.

“Yeah, yeah, I just got off the phone with them, Mom,” Brandy explained in exasperation.

Pepper responded with a series of questions, as she would never just take her youngest daughter’s answers at face value.

"Aargh! How many times…No, I didn't talk to Bridget. I talked to Whitney and Sean, " Brandy repeated for the third time. "Yes, it was tense and icy driving up. I guess Harvey damaged his SUV when pulling into the cabin's driveway. And as I said, the power went out. So Harvey was outside checking on the generator while Bridget observed."

“Why would she need to do that?” Pepper questioned, sensing something was off with the story,

“I don’t know! Probably to make sure that Harvey didn’t electrocute himself,” Brandy speculated, throwing her hands up. “And Sean said she’d call you when she had the time.”

“Hmm, I see,” Pepper replied, obviously thinking over Brandy’s report.

“Okay, I’m done here,” the youngest Fallon said. Walking away, Brandy stopped to look back. “You’re welcome.”

“What’s wrong?” Fawn asked when Brandy returned to their table.

“I am so sick of these interrogations.”

“You think you’d be used to them by now,” Wrenn remarked, causing Brandy to slam her palm against the table. “Hey!”

Keeley stifled a laugh at Wrenn’s reaction as she reached over to keep Darla from falling over. If Brandy and Darla looked pale and sickly, then Wrenn looked to be at ****’s door with her hangover symptoms.

“Don’t take it out on them, Dee,” Fawn ordered. “Now, what happened with your mom?”

“She clearly didn’t believe what I told her. It’s not like I was lying or anything,” Brandy grumbled, taking a long sip from her second Ariza Special.

“Did you tell her everything?” Fawn queried. If Pepper had a top-of-the-line lie detector test built into her for Brandy’s answers, then Fawn had the second best.

“No! I couldn’t tell what I thought was going on. Are you insane?”

“And what did your warped mind think was going on?” Wrenn questioned.

“I couldn’t tell my mom and dad that I’m pretty sure I interrupted Sean and Whitney while they were fucking,” Brandy revealed.

Darla’s own hangover special flew from her mouth and all over the table in front of Wrenn.

“Gross!” Wrenn exclaimed, clamping her hand over her mouth and closing her eyes to fight away the urge to throw up.

"Whoa! Don't worry, I got that," Tim announced, coming over to the table with food for himself and his wife. He tossed a few napkins down to wipe away Darla's drink, which she had spat.

“Thanks,” the hungover Fourth Musketeer said weakly.

“Okay, spill,” Fawn demanded, waiting until Wrenn’s husband left the table. “Why do you think they were screwing?”

"I don't know! The conversation just felt off. Something wasn't right. Whitney seemed distracted. I heard moans, and she kept hissing at Sean. And that kid seemed spacey as hell when he got on the phone. Honestly, I didn't think Sean had it in him."

“Hmm, it’s possible your warped imagination is misreading the conversation,” Fawn started, with Darla agreeing. “However, Whitney definitely has it in her, and I think we knew she planned to reward Sean for saving her life. I’d give it a sixty percent chance that you’re right and a ninety-five percent that Whitney made it happen. Wrenn?”

Known for estimating the odds of everything they did while growing up, Wrenn shook her head this time. She didn’t feel as strong of an urge to vomit anymore, but she also didn’t know the two teenagers enough to estimate the odds.

"If it does happen, I hope Sean is discreet," Brandy said. "Harvey won't care a bit, but in Bridget's eyes, Sean is still a little boy. She doesn't need another shock after that shit with Leo."

“A shocked Bridget? But what about you, Dee? I mean, your real nephew might be getting used sexually by your fake niece. Isn’t that freakiness freaking you out?” Fawn teased.

“Fuck off, Four Eyes,” Brandy shot back. “Or should I give Sean more of that medicine and lock you in a room with you? I bet he’d pinch more than just your ass this time.”