Author's Note: This may not be the Suite Life you'd expect. You've been warned.

THE SUITE LIFE: THE UNCHARTED PORTS

Season One

Scene One – New Faces On Deck

"Twins?"

"Twins!"

Harper sighed as she leaned against the polished rail. She'd heard nothing all day but 'twins'. In every conversation: twins. Walking down the corridors: twins. Outside in the sun: twins. Twins here, twins there, twins everywhere. What was with everyone's obsession with twins? There was so much more going on today that was a lot more important.

Ever since Harper had stepped aboard the SS Tipton, her head had hurt. The ship was huge! There was so much to see. And it was all brand new, too. Everything gleamed. The brass fittings, the teak railings, the mahogany accents. And it was so big! As soon as her parents had helped her unpack and disembarked, she'd gone up on deck. She didn't know when she'd have the chance to see the Cleveland skyline again. It looked different from this vantage point. Smaller. She supposed the world would look a lot bigger to her soon. Bigger and smaller. Spending high school aboard luxury cruise liner would do that.

For the next four days, she'd be within sight of land as the Tipton traveled across the Great Lakes and up the St. Lawrence Seaway, emerging into the Gulf of St. Lawrence and finally passing into the Atlantic. Then the open sea awaited. The open sea, and her first day of high school. That in itself made Harper cringe inwardly. But for now, she was happy. Her brown, shoulder length hair looked good, her blue eyes sparkled, and she was ready for the future.

Harper wanted to get more acquainted with the ship, but after driving here and going through the check-in, registration, unpacking and sustained farewells from her parents, she just wanted to chill.

Her cabin wasn't hard to find. The Tipton's corridors were well-designed and signage was posted everywhere. Harper didn't even have to consult her pocket map of the ship as she threaded her way up to C deck, home of the student residences.

Things had already changed. Noise and movement clogged the common room of the suite. Harper stopped for a moment to take it in. Suite C-1212 was on the starboard side of the ship, with her new cabin located through the fore doorway, and a mirror cabin to the aft. The fore doorway was propped open, with a lithe blonde girl drifting in and out, moving mass quantities of clothing and various personal items from the common room to the cabin. It took three more trips before she noticed Harper.

"Wow! Hi! Didn't see you there! Wow! Are you my roomie? I just got here, and well, I was so busy with things … wow. Don't you love this room? I'm so happy! It's so big. Back home I had to share with my sister. Not that I mind sharing with anyone now! Wow! It's so different, because, y'know, sisters are sisters, and well, you're not a sister. I mean, wow, you might be a sister, just not my sister. I'm Frankie, by the way."

Harper had to stand there for a minute and let all that wash over her. "Hey. I'm Harper. Nice to meet you. And yes, it looks like I'm your roomie." She held a hand out.

Frankie squealed and launched herself into Harper's arms. Harper was caught off guard, but managed to return the hug. Frankie was a few inches shorter than her, and very slim. Her blonde hair was wheat-colored and her blue eyes were lighter than Harper's. Harper instantly felt a tiny bit jealous of Frankie's dimples. They were so cute! She reminded Harper of her younger sister Pam, but only in the good ways.

"I am so excited! Wow! I can't wait to get underway! Have you checked your schedule yet? I've been over mine like fourteen times. Okay maybe not fourteen. Maybe only twelve. Y'know, a dozen. Not a baker's dozen, because that would be thirteen. But who talks about a baker's dozen anymore? Not me. Well, not after now, anyway. I don't even like donuts."

Harper took a moment. "Yeah. I prefer bagels."

Frankie drew in a breath to speak again, and Harper quickly added. "Poppy seed. Poppy seed bagels are my favorite."

Frankie beamed. "You knew I was gonna ask! Wow! We so totally get each other already! C'mon, let's arrange our room now that we're both here."

The next hour passed by in a flurry of motion. Harper was barely able to keep up with Frankie as she buzzed around their room. Unpacking was one thing, but decorating was something else entirely different. They quickly agreed on sides of the room – Frankie insisted Harper pick first – and then started on their bedding, night stands, and then the walls. Harper noticed a lot of pictures of Frankie and a bunch of younger kids – siblings, she assumed – in sunny locales. After the bedroom, they moved onto the bathroom. It was cramped, but still, Harper would have more room since she was only sharing it with Frankie instead of four sisters.

They went back to the bedroom to hang out a bit and talk some more. The room had matching twin beds, two desks, a closet apiece, and two portholes for sunlight. Harper was pretty sure that the other rooms looked the same, but now that they'd spent the time decorating it, Harper and Frankie's room looked unique. Harper thought about spending the next four year here. She was brimming with excitement.

"What was that?" Frankie asked, cocking her head at the door.

Harper shrugged and preceded her out the room.

The common room housed several varieties of couches and chairs, a TV, two bookcases, another two desks, a counter with a sink, some cabinets, and a glass-topped coffee table. Near the TV there was a beanbag chair, which appeared to be occupied by a laptop computer sprouting out of a hoody and a pair of long boots. After a second, the clothed laptop squirmed, and Harper caught sight of some dark glasses under the hoody.

"Um, hello?" she said.

The glasses didn't move. Harper looked back at Frankie, who shrugged.

Harper waved a hand at the form. "Hey there?"

The hoody stirred. An impish face regarded her, then nodded in greeting.

Harper frowned, and Frankie shrugged more emphatically. "Wanna go outside?"

And they did. Along the way they introduced themselves to several new students that were milling about and getting acclimated like they were. Teens from all over the country were coming to school here. Harper was one of the few 'locals' to board the ship. The Tipton had been moored here in Ashtabula Harbor for the past three days, and Harper's family had only had to drive a few hours to get here. She'd already met students from New York, Florida, and Washington. Well, both Washingtons, DC and the state.

"Where are you from?" she asked Frankie.

Frankie shivered and pulled her pale yellow jacket tightly. "Cali."

Harper laughed. "Warmer there, is it?"

Frankie looked around. "This is like winter back where I'm from."

Harper laughed again. "You wanna go back inside?"

Frankie perked up. "No way. I hear there's some cute new twins on board, and I wanna meet them."

Harper sighed. It was going to be a long day.

They threaded their way aft to the Sky Deck, the rearmost accessible spot on the ship for all passengers. It seemed to be quite the social center. Dozens of students were ambling about, drifting from conversation to conversation. There were some old people too – regular cruise passengers, Harper guessed – and several uniformed members of the crew. They picked out a couple of bar stools at the service bar and ordered drinks.

"Do you have any money?" Harper whispered.

"Don't you have your student cash card?" Frankie frowned at her.

Harper straightened. "My what?"

"Wow! It was in your student orientation pack! We get one every semester. It's for food, books, other necessities. It's not a lot, but since we're stuck on board for most of the time, it's not like we can just walk down to the local mini-mart, or even to the bank, I guess. Not that I every really did that anyway, because my parents didn't feel it was safe for me to be walking around by myself, which I get, I mean, I guess I do, although I don't really most of what my parents say, and even the stuff that I do get I don't really get, y'know, because-"

"So I don't have any money on me," Harper cut in.

Frankie stopped mid-sentence. "Oh, well, don't worry about it. I'll get it this time. I'm sure we'll be up here again. It's not like we're gonna spend every single meal in the cafeteria. That place is terrible."

Harper reached for her smoothie. "I dunno. I've never been there."

Frankie blinked. "Um, me either. I've just heard from some of the other, y'know, newer students. The other new students, I mean. Like us. Y'know."

Harper felt a scowl pulling at her brow. "Sure," she said, sipping her smoothie. "Oh, that's good. Those are fresh strawberries."

"Always. They get deliveries every month." Frankie slurped loudly on her own drink. "Um, so I've heard. I mean I read, y'know. Online. I read that online. I've been looking forward to this trip for so long. It's really cool. Reading. And learning. Y'know."

Harper snickered, almost snorting up some of her drink. "You have an odd conversational style."

"Well, I'm a blonde."

Harper threw her head back and laughed.

Her laughter was answered by the boom of the ship's horn. Both Harper and Frankie looked up. Harper felt a bolt of pure thrill shoot up and down her spine. She looked up, to where a fresh blast of steam was boiling up from the ship's stacks. A low, steady rumble passed through the decking under her feet. She felt her pulse pick up. They were on their way.

"All aboard," Harper breathed.

AN: This is only the first scene. Any comments? What do you think of Harper and Frankie? What will happen when they meet the mysterious 'twins'? The answer might surprise you!