Byline: ERIC DEGGANS

It was so surprising, she had to ask a reporter to repeat the news, just to make sure she'd heard right.

"It makes me nauseous,'' said Jan Gentry, upon learning her third-place finish in CBS's reality TV show Survivor: Thailand would net her about $85,000. "I just know the first (contestant ejected from the show) got $2,500. That would be a nice summer job for a schoolteacher.''

And that, in an instant, sums up the Tampa first-grade teacher's quirky path to success on the fifth edition of the reality TV survival game.

Riding a mix of charisma, fortitude and good ol' fashioned luck, the 54-year-old Texas native found herself within a hairsbreadth of a $1-million payday during the show's three-hour wrapup Thursday - even though she often looked as if she had no idea of the intrigue surrounding the game.

"Frankly, I'm surprised Jan made it to the final three,'' admitted Survivor host Jeff Probst, standing at a huge after-show party held by the network shortly after Thursday's broadcast. "I'm still not sure if Jan was playing everybody or if she was just coasting. I don't think you get that far by really being as laid back as Jan appeared to be.''

Of course, a far more manipulative contestant wound up taking home the $1-million prize: used car salesman Brian Heidik, who controlled his teammates with the finesse of a born flimflam man.

Wading through a sea of well-wishers, flashing cameras and reporters from celebrity TV news shows such as Extra, Gentry was philosophical about the game's results - mostly because she never expected to make it this far, either....