It was Thursday afternoon and the first day of school. Zack and Cody just walked through the revolving doors of the hotel and were comparing their schedules when they realized that the lobby was buzzing with activity. The New York Yankees had come to Boston to play the Red Sox, and they were staying at the Tipton.
"Dude!" Zack exclaimed as he punched his brother. "Check it out. Let's go get our autograph books!"
Cody carried his bookbag with him, but Zack dropped his in front of the door. The twins ran to the elevator, and as soon as it opened they hurried inside, impatiently pushing the button that would take them to the floor they lived on.
While the boys were upstairs, bellhops continued to carry in bags and suitcases. One had his hands so full that it was impossible for him to see the floor in front of him. As he walked slowly through the door, he tripped over Zack's bookbag. He landed on the floor and watched as the luggage went sailing through the air, knocking a vase off of an end table and sending it to crash on the floor.
Zack and Cody returned to the lobby just in time to hear the bellhop tell Mr. Moseby about his tumble; both men looked at the door and saw the bookbag.
Mr. Moseby turned his gaze to the boys. With a frown on his face, he asked, "By any chance does this bag belong to one of you?"
Zack nodded somewhat sheepishly. "It's mine, Mr. Moseby. I'm sorry."
The hotel manager motioned for the boys to look at the broken vase. "That was an antique. Do you have any idea how old it was?"
Cody ventured a guess. "Really, really, really, really old?"
Mr. Moseby gave him a cynical grin. "My, we are a bright one, aren't we?"
Just then the boys' mother joined them in the lobby. She looked at the floor and gasped as she saw the vase. "Mr. Moseby, what happened?"
He looked at Carey, looked at Zack, then looked back at Carey. "Guess."
XxXxX
The next morning, Zack and Cody were in their suite getting ready for school.
"I can't believe Mom grounded me for the whole weekend! I had plans to go to the skate park tomorrow and work on some new tricks."
"Well," Cody said cheerily, "look at it this way. At least you'll be able to get a head start on your homework."
Zack only grimaced at his brother.
XxXxX
"The entire weekend?" Mr. Moseby cried. "But that means he'll be here."
Carey tried to calm him down. "I'm not even going to let him out of our suite, Mr. Moseby. From the time he gets home this afternoon until the time he leaves for school Monday morning, that's where he'll be-all the way up on the twenty-third floor, far away from you."
"Oh sure, he'll be far away from me until he figures out a way to drill a hole through every single floor to get down here."
Esteba the bellhop passed by and heard Mr. Moseby's complaint. "Oh, Mr. Moseby, don't be silly. The little blond peoples could never do that; they're not big enough."
He quickly walked away at the sight of Mr. Moseby's scowl.
XxXxX
"You know, I just don't think Mr. Moseby understands me," Zack complained as he fixed a bowl of cereal. "I go to school all day, where I'm supposed to be good. When I come home, I'd like to be able to do stuff without getting into trouble. All Mr. Moseby ever does is complain about how we're 'ruining' his hotel. It's like he doesn't know when to quit."
XxXxX
"Carey, I'm not sure Zack understands just how tough my job really is. Tending to so many guests, trying to keep them all happy, having to answer to for everything that happens-being a hotel manager is really quite hard. Sometimes Zack acts as if the Tipton were his own personal playground, and I can't help but wonder when he's going to grow up."
XxXxX
"Do you know what, Cody? For just one day, I wish he knew what it was like to be me."
XxXxX
"Carey, for just one day, I wish he knew what it was like to be me."
XxXxX
As soon as the words left Zack's mouth, everything around him seemed to momentarily freeze before beginning to spin and swirl. He put his hand out to try and steady himself, but it did nothing to help. He reached up and rubbed his eyes, but when he moved his hands away, he was in the lobby, looking at his mother.
XxXxX
Mr. Moseby finished his sentence, and immediately the lobby's appearance began to change. The colors started to fade, the furniture and decorations began to rearrange themselves, and the edges of his vision blurred. He rapidly blinked his eyes, and when he opened them again, he was in the Martins's suite, looking at Cody.