Author's Note: Just a little something for a very special holiday. You can also find this oneshot in the T-rated "The More The Merrier" holiday collection. Happy Thanksgiving, everybody!
The eight teenagers were all seated on comfy sofas, cheering like crazy in the final minutes. Then when the siren sounded, most of them began clapping enthusiastically.
"Great game!" Cody cheered brightly.
"There! What did I tell you! I told you that the Lions wouldn't win today! Bill Belichik has really put together a decent squad this year. How 'bout them Patriots, huh?" Zack praised ecstatically, getting up from the sofa he'd been sitting on for the past three hours.
Zack, Maya, Cody, Bailey, Marcus, Addison, Woody and London had begun the festivities for Thanksgiving aboard the S.S. Tipton in a traditionally American manner: taking in some football before Thanksgiving dinner. While the remaining six had cheered and whooped for each team (London was complimenting the cheerleaders on their trendy attire) Zack and Maya had debated and argued all throughout the first game about who had the better chances of winning on Thanksgiving Day: New Hampshire or Detroit. They had been watching the first game of the day inside the games room, which sported a brand new 40-inch plasma screen. Maya watched Zack whooping and cheering and shook her head.
"The Patriots got lucky," Maya scoffed smugly.
"Are you out of your tree? Did you not see that amazing play that Tom Brady made during the first quarter when the Patriots went into that classic Wildcat formation?" Zack demanded impatiently, turning to face Maya as she got up from the sofa too.
"Please! A 5-year old could've figured out that's what they were gonna do! It was so obvious!" Maya snorted contemptuously.
"It wasn't obvious to the Lions! That's why the Patriots scored!" Zack shot back callously.
Marcus, Cody and Bailey laughed appreciatively at this while Woody, Addison and London looked politely puzzled.
"Admit it, you're just worried that the Jets might actually lose to the Bengals in the third game tonight." Zack added malevolently.
"Pfft, there is no way that the Bengals are winning tonight," Cody retorted knowingly.
"Yeah, I'm with Cody. They're just…terrible." Marcus agreed wholeheartedly.
"Am not! The Jets are way better than the Bengals any day of the week. You take that back right now, Zack!" Maya fumed in an annoyed tone.
"Why don't you make me, Maya?"
"You really don't want me to make you."
"I think she could make you," Woody added knowingly.
"You couldn't make me even if they were serving 2:30pm ice cream on the Lido Deck and I was distracted!" Zack shot back callously.
"Guys, quit bickering. It's Thanksgiving! You know, the day to be thankful." Addison interjected vehemently.
"I'll be thankful if the Jets can't score a single touch down at all tonight!" Zack retorted maliciously.
"We so can score a touchdown! After all, we have Mark Sanchez playing at quarterback and he can do unbelievable things with his feet!"
"Yeah, except for one crucial thing: kick! Sanchez couldn't hit a barnyard door from three paces away…if it were placed in the end-zone!" Zack retorted maliciously.
"Just admit it! You're just mad because New Hampshire almost lost their heads in the final quarter and the Lions almost won the game. That's the only reason you're backing the Bengals at all. We both know they're not gonna beat the Jets in the third game tonight!" Maya yelled furiously.
"I am a firm believer in miracles," Zack quipped snidely.
"Here we go," Cody muttered wearily, covering his face to block the worst of what was to come.
"That does it! I'm tired of you constantly dissing my sports teams, Zack! And I'm not gonna take it lying down either!" Maya exclaimed angrily, turning red in the face.
"I can give it to you standing up if you'd prefer it," Zack retorted devilishly.
"You think you're so smart and macho and know everything about football. Well, you're wrong!" Maya shot back loudly.
"Am I? You may think you know a lot about football based on stats alone. But I bet you couldn't put that to the test in a real football game!"
"And I bet you I could!"
"What are you saying? Are you challenging me to a real game?" Zack asked laughingly.
"Please don't challenge him to a real game," Cody begged under his breath.
"Maybe I am," Maya answered with dignity.
"She challenged him to a real game," Cody muttered wearily.
London was watching the entire exchange like a ping-pong rally, her head bobbing back and forth in a comical fashion.
"Maya, baby. Football is a rough game designed to test your stamina and strength to its limits. In essence, it's a man's game." Zack declared in a patronising game.
"And you think a girl can't play your little precious game? We'll see about that," Maya taunted stonily.
"Zack, I can't believe you! I know you have your opinions about sport, but I never thought you'd be so sexist about it." Bailey declared in disbelief.
"Zack's not being sexist, Bailey. It is a statistically proven fact that guys are better at playing contact sports than girls." Cody conceded in a reasonable tone.
"Oh really? Well, I hope you're good at protecting your face when my fist makes contact with it, Cody Martin!" Bailey retorted irately, causing Cody to take a few steps back from her.
"Whoa, time out, people! Why is everybody wasting their time arguing about the Patriots and the Jets? Everybody knows that the Cowboys are gonna come out top of after all three games today!" Marcus joined in confidently.
"Dallas? Marcus, you've gotta be kidding," Bailey scoffed openly.
"Well, they do have a great team and that Jerry Jones really is a man to be respected."
"And what is it that you respect about him exactly? Him or his money? It sounds like you just jumped on the Cowboy bandwagon because they're currently on a winning streak, Marcus." Bailey offered derisively.
"I'll have you know that I've always supported Dallas since I was a little kid, Bailey Pickett!" Marcus fumed indignantly.
Just as Marcus and Bailey began bickering loudly, Woody put his bulky body between them to break up the fight.
"Guys! Maybe Maya's right. Maybe the only way to settle this is to play a real game of football to prove who knows the sport better." Woody suggested quickly.
"Uh, in case you haven't noticed, Woody, we're on a boat! What are we gonna use for goalposts? The portholes?" Cody demanded sarcastically.
"You can play out on the Sky Deck. There's plenty of space up there." Addison suggested sensibly.
"But not nearly enough space. What are we gonna do for kicking?" Zack asked impatiently.
"Lose the kicking then and make it a purely running game. That shouldn't be too hard for you, Zack, since you're used to running your mouth." Maya pointed out maliciously.
"Ok, Big Apple, you're on. Boys vs. Girls. The loser has to be the winner's slave for 24 hours on Christmas Day." Zack declared vehemently.
"Deal." Maya agreed readily.
"Wait, Woody and I are playing too?" Marcus asked quizzically.
"Of course we are. This is a classic battle of the sexes, bro. You can't possibly back down," Zack chided knowingly.
"But I don't wanna play! I'm hungry!" Woody whined loudly.
"Quit thinking about your stomach, Woody! There are more important things in life, like proving your worth as a man." Cody replied vehemently.
"You mean like 'Robo Boy' in my comic books? Ok, I'm in." Woody stated readily.
"Wait! What about dinner?" Bailey asked worriedly.
"No worries, we'll be done in plenty of time. It shouldn't take too long to prove to Maya that I'm right." Zack spat smugly.
"I'd like to see you try. Come on girls, let's talk strategy." Maya instructed tersely.
"Wait…I have to play too?" London asked in horror.
"Come on, London. You and Addison have to play," Maya begged.
"Gee, Maya. I'd love to help you out, but football seems kinda…dangerous." Addison remarked anxiously.
"It's not dangerous, Addison. We're more than equipped to play against a bunch of boys…and Cody." Bailey countered wisely.
"Hey!" Cody whined indignantly at Bailey's obvious insult.
"Fine, I'll play. But I'm wearing my finest jewellery and my flashiest Arturo Vertalli boots. Football uniforms are just hideous!" London exclaimed with revulsion.
"Alright, I'll play too. But there won't be any ping pong balls anywhere, right?" Addison asked while her eyes darted frantically about her.
"Don't worry, Addison. You'll be safe from ping pong balls," Bailey reassured smoothly, steering Addison over to the side before rolling her eyes to the sky.
"Wait! I just thought of another problem. There's no way that Mr. Moseby will let us play football on the Sky Deck with the other passengers around. How are we gonna get rid of him?" Marcus asked quickly.
"Not to worry, Mr. Little. I have a plan," Zack announced slyly.
Mr. Moseby began laughing hysterically at Zack and Cody's suggestion.
"Good one, Zack! But it's Thanksgiving; you really should save your best jokes for April fool's," Moseby declared hoarsely while mopping tears off his face with his handkerchief.
"We're not kidding, Mr. Moseby. We want you to let us play 4-on-4 football on the Sky Deck." Cody reiterated patiently.
"Have you lost your mind? I can't let you hooligans run amok on the ship while it's moving at full steam ahead. Why if the football lodges itself in the deck! You could sink the whole ship!" Moseby shrieked in horror while he pictured it in his mind's eye.
"If you let us play, we won't ask London to tell Mr. Tipton about that time you left the ship unsupervised to go to a reunion of your old roller-skating buddies." Cody declared slyly.
"That's preposterous! Besides, I wouldn't have left the boat if Zack and Marcus hadn't been trying to get rid of me so they could throw a party for the models on board!" Moseby fumed angrily.
"But Mr. Tipton doesn't know that. And he would be oh so disappointed if he found out that his favourite Tipton employee was so careless…especially while London was on board too." Zack replied evilly.
"Ooh, you're good." Moseby conceded reluctantly.
"Very well, I'll let you play your silly little football game on the Sky Deck. But you are not allowed to ever use that form of blackmail on me again…if you value your lives." He added in a dangerously low voice.
"Deal! Thanks, Mr. Moseby! You're ok in my books!" Zack exclaimed happily, moving towards Mr. Moseby for a hug.
"Don't touch me! Don't touch me! Don't touch me!" Moseby yelled while fending off Zack's attempts at affection.
The eight Seven Seas students assembled on the Sky Deck, dressed and ready to play football 30 minutes later. Zack was sporting his favourite Patriots jersey that he'd purchased back in Boston with exaggerated padding, making his shoulders look even broader than usual, along with a pair of khaki board shorts and a pair of sneakers on his feet. Like Zack, Maya was wearing her favourite Jets jersey along with a pair of black ski pants and sneakers and two lines of black paint under her eyes. Cody was wearing a plain white baggy T-shirt and green baggy training shorts with his sneakers. Bailey was wearing a worn-looking faded blue T-shirt which hugged her chest along with comfortable blue sweat pants and sneakers, her long brown-blonde hair tied into a neat ponytail. Marcus was wearing all-black for the occasion: black T-shirt, black shorts and black basketball sneakers.
Woody and Addison had opted for similar attire: multi-coloured head bands (which looked particularly comical covering Woody's curly afro), multi-coloured T-shirts, Addison sporting cute hot pants while Woody sported grey sweat pants and they were both wearing multi-coloured high-top sneakers along with a host of leg and arm bands. And finally, London wasn't wearing any athletic attire at all. She was wearing a white tank top with glittery insignia on the front, flashy-looking silver pedal pushers with ankle-high 4-inch Arturo Vertalli boots, a sparkly silver bracelet and a silver scarf tied through her luscious black locks.
All of the deck chairs and the buffet table had been moved to the side and Cody and Zack had quickly constructed field lines with a wad of white masking tape beforehand. The passengers on deck stood on the sidelines watching the scene in confusion while Mr. Moseby stood between the four boys and girls, a grim expression on his face and a megaphone in his hand.
"Attention, everyone! I'm terribly sorry to interrupt your relaxation time on the Sky Deck. But these eight students of Seven Seas Academy have sportingly agreed to participate in an impromptu game of friendly 4-on-4 Thanksgiving football for your viewing pleasure. Please stick around for the turkey sandwiches being served at the buffet table. That is all," Moseby signed off with composed eloquence.
"Mr. Moseby, is any of what you just said true?" Ms. Tutweiller asked curiously, having come forward after Moseby's speech to the crowd.
"Not in the least, except for the 'playing football' part. Now, let's go over the rules," Moseby began gravely while addressing the group of teenagers.
"Rules? What rules?" Zack asked in awe.
"Mr. Moseby, this is a friendly football game, like you said. And we're not even playing all the different formations like in a regular game," Bailey added knowingly.
"True, but to avoid cheating as much as possible where Zack Martin is concerned, a few guidelines are in order. There will be no eye-gouging, no fish-hooking of any kind and no tossing anyone overboard if one of you doesn't get your way," Moseby began formally while shooting London a suspicious look, who was busy admiring her nails.
"Are we clear?" Moseby asked sternly of Zack and Maya, who had been nominated as team captains.
"Crystal," they murmured in unison without taking their eyes off of each other.
"Good. Let's begin." Moseby concluded before marching off to the sidelines to join Ms. Tutweiller.
"You really think they're going to keep things clean, Mr. M?" Emma asked curiously.
"Of course not. But my money's on the girls," Moseby replied with an evil smirk on his face.
The boys and girls were currently grouped in their various huddles, discussing their strategy for the game.
"Ok, we're starting off with defensive play, so we've gotta mark the girls as closely as possible. I'll cover Maya; Cody, you cover Bailey; Woody, you cover Addison and Marcus, you cover London," Zack instructed rapidly.
"Wait, I can't cover London, Zack. How am I supposed to get my mack on that way?" Marcus asked impatiently.
"Simple: you're covering her. So you're the only one who can lay down some mack around London," Zack replied slyly.
"Good point," Marcus praised, matching Zack's tone.
"But I can't cover Addison! She's a girl!" Woody exclaimed suddenly.
"Relax, Wood-mite. Just make sure she doesn't run past you," Zack advised patronisingly.
"Ok, here's the deal. The guys are gonna try to mark us as closely as possible. So whatever play we decide to run, we've gotta confuse them as much as possible. I'll take care of Zack; Bailey, you get rid of Cody. Addison, you distract Woody." Maya advised slowly.
"How am gonna do that?" Addison asked quizzically.
"Smile at him. That should do the trick." Bailey advised knowingly.
"What about me? What do I do?" London questioned curiously.
"London, I have a very special play for you. You're gonna go…long." Maya replied mysteriously.
"Where's 'long'? Is it in the same place as 'hiding'?" London asked in confusion.
"Close. I want you to stay as far back by our own end-zone at all times," Maya responded smoothly.
"Ok," London agreed rapidly.
"I hope that shoulder padding of yours is good," Maya noted when she and Zack faced off once more.
"Why's that?" Zack asked slowly.
"You're gonna need it for when I knock you flat on your back." Maya sneered venomously.
Zack watched Maya get into position as Bailey prepared to hike the ball to her.
"Oh, it's on." He murmured more to himself with an evil glint in his eye.
The first portion of the game was fairly standard insofar as game-play went. Between Maya's good throwing and Bailey's quick running, the girls were gaining a lot of yards en route to the end-zone. Even Addison was doing her bit by shrugging Woody off during intervals whenever he tried to block her. London was still standing by the end-goal line, admiring her nails and completely oblivious to the game in front of her.
By the time the two teams switched over, the guys and the girls were tied for one touchdown each. After Marcus had hiked the ball to Zack, he managed to get an excellent pass off to Cody, who blew past Bailey on his way to the goal line. And when he reached the end-zone, he stood on the spot and began doing a crazy jig in celebration with ball in hand, which resembled 'The Running Man'. In retaliation for Cody's obnoxious behaviour, Bailey came up behind him and tackled him viciously onto his stomach. Then she did a crazy dance of her own.
While the game continued on, London was still standing off to the side, this time with an ice-cream cone in her hand that she had procured from the buffet table during one of the break-downs in the play. While she was busy eating, a seagull flying overhead left her an extra topping on top of her ice-cream.
"Ew!" London shrieked in horror and flung the ice-cream as far away from her as possible.
The ice-cream flew in mid-air and hit a middle-aged male passenger smack in the chest on his floral print shirt. The man, who had been walking aimlessly about, glanced at the mess on his shirt before glancing suspiciously up at the sky in turn.
When the score had reached 21-21, tactics were completely thrown out of the window as both teams became more decidedly sneakier in their attempts to distract each other. When Addison had thrown the ball to Maya during their offensive manoeuvre, Zack came up behind her and pulled down her pants, revealing her black boy shorts underneath. In her mortification, Maya's cheeks turned pink from embarrassment mingled with fury while she abandoned the game for a few seconds while she chased Zack around the length of the deck.
Besides a few underhanded tactics, the boys began doing exceptionally well at a particular juncture in the second quarter. Marcus passed the ball to Zack, who began sprinting forward. He just managed to side-step Maya en route to the touchline. Addison, who was watching Zack's progress, suddenly sprinted forward towards him with the intention of tackling him. Zack saw Addison coming from a few paces away and got ready to sprint away from her when she took him completely by surprise by grabbing him around the waist.
Both the boys and girls (including London), stopped what they were doing and watched as Addison kept hold of Zack's middle and kept running around him in a circle, screaming like a caged beast with no intention of stopping what she was doing. Zack, who was far too surprised by Addison's strange tackling method, could only stand there for a few seconds with ball in hand watching as Addison continued sprinting around him, his eyebrows raised in confusion.
When they began play once more for the girls' offensive strategy, Bailey fed the ball to Maya, who got ready to make a pass. She dodged Zack's attempts to tackle her and threw the ball into Addison's waiting arms. Cody came running towards her as she made her way to the end-zone. Without thinking twice about it, Addison swung her arm forward and caught Cody on the stomach, sending him toppling onto his back. Then she breezed right past him and threw the ball down onto the line with a triumphant smile on her face.
"I love this game!" she exclaimed while clapping her hands ecstatically.
Woody helped a disgruntled Cody onto his feet and the boys huddled up while shooting glares in the girls' direction.
"Girls, huddle up. It's second down," Maya announced briskly.
Zack, who had overheard her announcement, frowned in confusion.
"No it's not. It's third down, Maya." He amended seriously.
"Um, I think I would recall if it was third down already. It's definitely second." Maya continued assuredly.
"Wow, you really would do anything to win, wouldn't ya?" Zack questioned in a snide tone.
"What are you talking about? It's second down," Maya persisted defensively, getting visibly annoyed with Zack's insinuation.
"Ok, whatever you say, Maya. Let's make it second down, since you're intent on cheating your way to the top." Zack declared maliciously.
"Perfect, let's keep playing," Marcus agreed rapidly, ready to continue with the game.
"Don't bother, Zack. Since you obviously can't play football without cheating, let's make it third down instead." Maya shot back impatiently.
"Aw, but making it third down will make it harder for us to score," Addison complained wearily.
"Relax, Addison. We don't need to stoop to Zack's level. We can win this, trust me." Maya concluded assuredly.
A few minutes later, the girls stood in a huddle, looking positively exhausted and glum. And it didn't help that the boys were doing an obvious celebratory dance in imitation of Soulja Boi a few feet away after scoring yet another touchdown.
"I think it's time to take drastic measures," Maya began cryptically in a low voice, turning her eyes away from Zack's annoying smirk.
"What do you mean?" Addison asked wearily.
"The guys are gonna win this and they're gonna rub it in our faces for months. We can't let that happen; our reputation as strong and independent women depends on this." Maya replied painstakingly.
"I want to win just as much as you do, Maya. But we're just girls. What can we do against guys who are stronger and faster than us?" Addison asked anxiously.
"Daddy always says that all rich, powerful and arrogant men have one weakness in common. And that's a beautiful woman." London declared unexpectedly, causing the other three girls to stare at her in awe.
"London, that's brilliant!" Bailey congratulated heartily.
"What did I say?" London asked in confusion.
"You just gave us a strategy to win the game! Maybe we can't outrun the guys, but we can distract them just long enough for us to score." Maya answered cleverly.
"So what do we do?" Addison asked curiously.
Bailey and Maya locked eyes with one another, each thinking the same thing.
"We're gonna give the guys something to sweat about," Maya declared evilly.
The boys were back on the offensive once more and Maya put her plan into action. Marcus passed the ball to a surprised Woody, who began running forward. Zack and Cody were effectively blocking Bailey and Maya, which just left Addison near the front to get past. But instead of covering Woody, Addison was casually standing off to the side, idly twirling a strand of her brown hair around her index finger and unabashedly batting her eyelids at Woody. Woody saw this and stopped dead in his tracks to stare at Addison.
"Hi," Addison greeted seductively.
"Hey," Woody greeted back slowly.
Addison took that as her cue to move forward and take the ball right out of Woody's limp hands, leaving Woody standing there with a goofy grin on his face.
"Woody! Wake up!" Cody called out impatiently.
"Huh? What just happened?" Woody asked stupidly, looking around him frantically.
"You just got PWNed by a girl, my friend." Marcus noted while patting Woody sympathetically on the arm.
Marcus found out just how true that statement was a few minutes later when Maya surprised everyone by putting London up front in close proximity to Marcus instead of keeping her at the back like usual. After Cody fed Zack the ball, Marcus was getting ready to sprint towards the end-zone when he caught sight of London coming towards him. He hadn't gotten a chance to talk to her at all during the game and was secretly pleased that he was finally getting an opportunity to do so.
"Hey, Marcus!" London greeted brightly, flashing pearly whites at him.
"Why…hello, beautiful! I was wondering when you were gonna come over to talk to me!" Marcus exclaimed delightedly.
"You could've come over to talk to me, Marky-poo. I was just oh some wonely out back," London purred in a babyish voice.
"Oh no! Well, we can't have that, now can we?" Marcus asked smoothly while giving London a subtle once-over.
Zack, who'd been fed the ball by Cody from the scrimmage, tossed the ball at Marcus, who was supposed to be standing at the ready to receive it. Instead, Marcus got hit hard in the face; the ball bounced straight off his head and rolled out into touch into dead-ball territory.
"Marcus! What are you doing? London's trying to distract you! Get your head in the game!" Zack scolded reproachfully at Marcus, who was lying on his back on the ground.
"No more music deals for me! I just wanna lead a normal life," Marcus mumbled stupidly, still clearly in a stupefied daze.
In spite of the girls' tactics, the guys were gaining momentum and more yards as the clock slowly ran down for the third quarter. Growing desperate at Zack making a break for the goal line, both Bailey and Maya sprinted after him. Bailey jumped onto Zack's back while Maya grabbed at his ankles to bring him down. To Zack's credit, he managed to stay on his feet and began dragging both Maya and Bailey in the direction of the touchline while they held on tightly to him.
After Zack scored yet again, Woody had the ball in his hands once more. Seeing this, Addison went for broke and began chasing after Woody.
"Woody, I really like you! Will you go out with me!" she began screaming wildly.
"Quit distracting me, Addison! I'm begging you, leave me be!" Woody exclaimed painstakingly.
But Addison's words had the desired effect as Woody completely bypassed the end-zone and collided with a waiter on the Sky Deck, sending both of them crashing into the buffet table and upsetting the contents.
"Mr. Moseby! The girls are using their physical appeal to distract the boys. Aren't you going to do anything?" Ms. Tutweiller asked in a horrified tone.
"Yes I am, Ms. Tutweiller!" Moseby exclaimed in a ringing tone, grabbing the megaphone resting next to his deck chair.
"Keep going, ladies! Wave the flag for feminism!" Moseby cheered unabashedly.
"Mr. Moseby!" Emma exclaimed in a scandalised voice.
"What? I told you I wanted the girls to win this one. Nobody blackmails Marion Moseby and gets away with it!" Moseby shouted indignantly in Zack and Cody's direction while shaking his fist at them.
There were a few minutes left to go on the clock in the fourth and final quarter. The passengers who had stuck around to watch the game were cheering wildly for both teams, thoroughly enjoying themselves. Even though both sides had played supremely well all game long, both the girls and boys were exhausted. The score was now 42-47 with the boys in the lead. The girls were back to playing offensive and needed one more touch down to win the game.
"Ok, girls. Huddle up," Maya called out wearily.
"Oh no, this is our last huddle," Addison noted dejectedly.
"We've got one more play to run before time's up. We've gotta make this count if we're gonna beat the guys," Maya added anxiously.
"With what? We've used some of our best moves; they've got us covered from every side." Bailey replied despairingly.
"We can't give up, there has to be a way," Addison declared encouragingly.
"Hey, why don't you use me?" London asked unexpectedly.
"I don't know about that, London," Bailey responded doubtfully.
"Come on, I've been standing at the back the whole time and I'm bored. Use me, the guys never cover me," London pleaded.
"London, there's a reason why they're not covering you," Maya reminded knowingly.
"Come on, Maya! I wanna beat the boys just as much as the rest of you. I can catch the ball." London persisted persuasively.
"Come on, girls. Put London up front to catch the ball, she can do it." Addison added sincerely.
"Ok, London. Go up front and wait for me to throw the ball to you," Maya relented reluctantly.
"Yay me!" London exclaimed happily before skipping forward.
"I hope I don't regret this," Maya murmured to herself.
"Are you ready to lose, ladies?" Marcus called out in an obnoxious tone.
"Don't worry, we'll go easy on you so you can save your pride. After all, it's Thanksgiving. We still want you to have something to be thankful for," Zack joined in teasingly.
Then the final play of the game began. Bailey fed the ball to Maya and began blocking Cody. London sprinted forward towards the end-zone while Addison ran through the middle. Maya was beginning to have some doubts about passing London the ball, so she began sizing up her choices. But things weren't looking good at all for the girls. Woody was blocking Addison so that she couldn't get to the ball. To Maya's horror, Maya noted that both Marcus was holding Bailey's hands behind her back while Cody blatantly covered her mouth with his hands. And to make matters worse, Zack was barrelling towards Maya like a freight train, a manic glint in his eyes while he began yelling like a warrior in the middle of the battle.
And still London stood, without a defender in sight near the end-zone, waving her hands frantically in the air, signalling for Maya to throw the ball to her. Maya shook her head ruefully and tossed the ball high in the air just as Zack landed on her and threw her forcefully to the ground. The ball began flying seamlessly through the air. A hushed silence fell over the passengers and the players as they watched the ball's progress in mid-air. Cody even took his hand off of Bailey's mouth to stare in awe at the distance the ball was making. London saw the ball sailing towards her and began jogging backwards as she prepared to catch it. Time froze for a moment as both Zack and Maya lay on the ground and watched as the ball began its descent downwards.
Then the ball landed neatly in London's outstretched arms and she was positioned right in front of the end-zone line. With a look of delight on her face, London tossed the ball behind her with a triumphant air. Bailey, Addison and Maya rushed towards her and began hugging her tightly while they celebrated. They stopped the celebration when they realised that the boys were celebrating too.
"What are you celebrating for? We just won the game," Maya noted in bewilderment.
"Actually, Doll-Face, when London tossed the ball behind her, she was still about five feet away from the end-zone. So technically…we win!" Zack announced smugly as he and the boys continued cheering.
"Wait a minute, I don't understand. If London didn't score a touchdown, but no one tagged her either…isn't the ball still live?" Addison asked tentatively.
Everyone stared at the ball lying a few feet away as if it was on fire. Then all of them raced to the ball like crazy people, Zack and Maya leading the pack. The two of them jumped on the ball first and the remaining six teenagers jumped on top of them, forming a massive pile-up.
"Let's go, it's my ball!" Maya yelled angrily at Zack.
"Your ball? I bought this ball!" Zack shouted back.
"Well tough! I got to it first!" Maya shot back.
"Did not! I did!" Zack screamed.
"No, I did!"
"No, I did!"
"Boy, I'm getting sick of this constant bickering." Marcus complained irritably.
"Me too," Bailey agreed, matching his tone.
"They're about to serve Thanksgiving dinner now," Moseby announced gaily, coming up behind them.
"Finally! I'm starving!" Woody exclaimed eagerly.
"Me too!" Addison agreed readily, following after Woody.
London stared at Zack and Maya arguing amongst themselves, shook her head and walked away with Marcus, followed by Bailey and Cody.
"Oh my gosh, the food's so good! My compliments to the chef!" Marcus noted earnestly through a mouthful of turkey.
"Well, I may have helped a little with preparing the stuffing," Cody noted with a trace of pride in his voice.
"Well, I take my hat off to you, Cody." Marcus praised sincerely of his friend.
"Thanks, buddy." Cody answered, bumping fists with Marcus.
The six teenagers were seated in the dining room with Mr. Moseby and Ms. Tutweiller and the other passengers enjoying a sumptuous Thanksgiving dinner together.
"This really is an amazing dinner that the staff put together," London stated sincerely.
"It looks you guys worked up quite an appetite playing football earlier," Ms. Tutweiller noted with a small smile on her face.
"Tell me about it. I'm exhausted." Cody replied wearily.
"Me too. Playing football is dirty and hard," London agreed, matching his tone.
"Well, you all played marvellously this afternoon, especially that final play, London." Mr. Moseby declared earnestly while fixing London with a look of deep pride.
"But I didn't make the touchdown," London pouted despondently.
"That doesn't matter. You all still played a great game that was a lot of fun and you played together as a team. That's something to be proud of," Moseby answered sincerely.
"You're right, Mr. Moseby. I did have a great time playing football. And I'm thankful for having great friends to play the game with," Marcus declared earnestly.
He locked eyes with London, Addison, Cody, Bailey and Woody. They all looked at each other and smiled warmly in turn.
"And we almost ruined it with our whole 'battle of the sexes' argument. I'm sorry I gave you such a hard time on the field, Cody." Bailey declared apologetically.
"It's ok, I'm sorry too. I was kinda being a jerk," Cody replied warmly while giving Bailey a quick and friendly hug.
"I'm sorry I distracted you out on the field, Woody." Addison apologised while turning to face Woody.
"It's cool. I would've done the same thing if I were as pretty as you," Woody responded sincerely.
"Wait, that came out wrong," he added sheepishly a second later.
"Actually, it came out perfectly to me," Addison noted demurely before kissing a surprised Woody on the cheek.
"That was beautiful," Ms. Tutweiller noted with a sniffle while she blew her nose.
"I'd say I'm sorry too for letting you get hit in the head with the ball, but I'm not." London announced brightly to Marcus.
"That's cool, London. I wouldn't expect anything less from you." Marcus replied with a winning smile on his face.
"I can't believe Zack and Maya are still outside grappling for the ball," Bailey commented pensively.
"Yeah, it's already dark outside. It must be freezing," Cody added worriedly while glancing at his watch.
"They must be starving too. Do you think we should take some food out to them?" Addison asked genially.
"Why not finish your food, Addison? There's still plenty of food for those two whenever they finally decide to come inside and enjoy it," Moseby responded sensibly while tucking into his yams.
"Let go! It's my ball!" Zack yelled furiously.
"No way! I got it to first!" Maya shouted back.
The two of them were still sprawled out on the Sky Deck, clutching Zack's baseball between the two of them. It was close to 8pm and the deck lights had already been switched on; they were very much alone.
"I can't believe that everyone just left without us," Maya mused in disappointment.
"I know. I guess they just don't care enough about football like we do," Zack replied in a disgruntled manner.
"Tell me about it," Maya agreed.
"Hey, Maya! Check it out!"
"What?"
"Look at the sky! It's starting to snow!"
Maya followed Zack's gaze and looked above her. Sure enough, there were tiny white snowflakes floating down towards them from the indigo sky overhead.
"Wow, that's beautiful." Maya mused in awe, her hair covered with white flecks of snow.
"It really is," Zack agreed softly.
Then the two of them locked eyes with each other before glancing down at the ball between.
"Gimme the ball!" Maya shouted impatiently.
"No way! It's my ball! You let go!" Zack shot back furiously as they continued bickering.
Author's Note: This oneshot is dedicated to one of my favourite Thanksgiving episodes of my favourite sitcom, "Friends" called "The One With The Football" (season 3). I hope you all have an awesome Thanksgiving, God bless : )