"Codykins!" Bailey cried, throwing herself across her dorm room at the sight of one of her best friends appearing in the door. His shaggy hair was sticking to his sweaty forehead and he was carrying two big boxes full of Rachel's belongings. He barely had time to put the boxes down before Bailey was on him, wrapping her arms around his neck.
"Hey Bails." He replied, hugging her back.
"What about me? Don't I get an eager hello?" Zack pouted from behind his brother. Bailey squealed and disentangled herself from Cody, running over to her other best friend.
"Zackie!"
"Ugh! I wish you wouldn't call me that." Zack groaned but hugged her anyway. Bailey's drama queen ways were in great thanks to her parents who had sent her to any kind of performing arts classes they could. Being the youngest of ten, you would think that she would be forgotten but instead, she was the star of the family. She was actually about seven years younger than the second youngest of the Pickett family and so was able to step out of the shadows and be noticed. It really helped her through her first years of schooling. Her room at home was covered in trophies and medals from various competitions and she could always be found practicing for one recital or another.
She'd met Zack and Cody when she went with her mother to the Boston Tipton for the day when she was five. The two mothers became friends and although the boys weren't too eager to be friends with a girl, let alone someone as dramatic as Bailey, they soon hit it off and had become inseparable since then. They had ended up going to elementary school together and started junior high at the local school in Boston but Bailey had somehow found out about a new boarding school being run by the Manager of the Tipton Hotel and had begged to be allowed to go. Of course that meant Zack and Cody had to go along as well so for the next year the three worked hard to get into the school and finally were accepted. They started their second year of junior high on board the S.S. Tipton and they'd been going to school there ever since.
It was now their junior year of high school and the day before, they had finally returned to the school after spending the summer at the Boston Tipton together. Bailey was a little nervous starting the year because she was to get a new roommate. Her old one had sort of become part of their trio but it didn't work out in the end and there had been a huge fight between the two girls, so much so that Zack and Cody had sworn never to mention the other girl's name again when in the presence of Bailey. None of them had heard anything about Bailey's new roommate and the boys wanted to hang around to see who it was so they had offered to help her set up her cabin. On the first day, she helped set up their shared cabin, setting things out the way they liked it and they shared a pizza picnic on the floor of the cabin afterwards. Today, however the boys were bringing up her boxes from the hold where they'd been stored for the past week.
"Aww… is Zackie too grown up for that?" Bailey asked, pouting as she let go and flopped down on her bed.
"No. I just don't want other people calling me that. Only you can." Zack told her.
"Bails, where's your iPod dock? I'll set that up so we can listen to music while we work." Cody asked, searching through one of her boxes.
"It's in that box. Should be on the top." She told him, pointing at a box by the end of her bed. Cody moved to it an opened it, revealing the pink iPod dock. He pulled it out and put it on its usual shelf above her bed, plugging it in. Bailey tossed him the iTouch and he switched it on, allowing the music to blast from the speakers. The three got to work, setting up Bailey's side of the room. By this time, after setting up their cabins together so many times, they pretty much had the routine down pat. Cody would organize Bailey closet and stack her DVD and CD collections while Zack would hang up her pictures and posters before making her bed. Bailey would pull out her school things, organizing them at her desk. Then she would set up her bookshelf, containing her favorite books. When she was done, she watched the boys working. She smiled as Zack hung up her big picture frame with a collage of photos in it. There were literally hundreds of photos in there. Some with Bailey and Cody or Bailey and Zack and some with all three doing silly things. Her favorite was front and centre. It had been taken the summer before high school started. They were at the beach and the boys had kissed her cheeks while her mother took a photo, capturing her surprised but happy expression. There was one or two of just the boys, her favorite one being one where she had snapped Zack jumping on Cody's back as he posed for a photo. Eventually the boys finished their jobs and stood back to admire their work. Bailey loved the way her room looked when it was all set up. It was her haven away from the boys.
"Well, I'm stuffed." Cody sighed, flopping down on the bed. Zack followed suit, heaving a big sigh.
"I guess, you don't want a smoothie on me, then?" Bailey asked, knowing that they'd never give up the chance of having a free smoothie. Both boys shot up at her words and practically dragged her out the door.
"Hang on. I've got to get my purse. And fix my hair now, thanks to you two buffoons." She grumbled as they ruffled her hair playfully. As she ran a brush through her hair, they heard a commotion outside the door and suddenly it burst open to reveal a pretty brunette girl carrying a purple handbag and dragging two purple suitcases behind her. A boy, about their age followed her in.
"Maya, come on. Let me do it." The boys begged, neither of them had noticed the three people already in the room.
"I'm fine, Marcus. I can carry my own bags." The girl snapped.
"Okay, okay. Just let me take the heavy stuff then. I know you're a feminist and all but mom and dad made me promise to take care of you and them getting a phone call because you've hurt your back on the first day won't help." Marcus begged, rolling his eyes.
"Oh bite me." With that, Maya turned around and finally seemed to notice the others in the room.
"Hi. I'm Bailey Pickett. These two behind me are my best friends, Zack and Cody Martin. You'll get to know which is which soon enough. One's more of a ladies man while the other is more into academics." Bailey introduced herself and the twins, holding out her hand.
"Maya Bennett. This is my half-brother Marcus. He thinks he's all that but he's really not." Maya said, shaking Bailey's outstretched hand. Behind her, Marcus was clearly not happy about how she'd introduced him but was keeping silent.
"I'd love to stay and get to know you a little but I promised these two smoothies on me so we can do that later." Bailey apologized.
"Thant's okay. I need to unpack anyway and then help sort out Marcus' cabin." Maya said and gave a small wave as Bailey dragged Zack and Cody out of the room. Once outside, Bailey gave the underside of Zack's jaw a sharp tap.
"Close it goldfish. She's my roommate. You keep your hands off." She warned and he pouted at her.
"I don't think he was looking at her." Cody said quietly. Bailey smacked his head.
"Hey! No fair!" Zack whined at his brother.
"Whoever he was looking at: don't. I don't want to have an awkward relationship with my roommate." Bailey chastised them, shaking her head.
Back in the cabin, Marcus was watching Maya unpack her things, his mind wandering to the pretty girl who was apparently roommates with his sister.
"So, what's the name of your roommate again?" He asked, trying to sound like he just wanted conversation.
"Her name's Bailey but don't try anything, weirdo. I don't want to start off on the wrong foot. Something tells me that if anyone hurts that girl, those two boys will be on them and anyone associated with them in seconds." Maya warned him.
"I never said I was going to do anything." Marcus protested.
"You don't need to. I can see your eyes."
"Whatever. Are you done? I want to get my room sorted today too." He whined and she rolled her eyes.
"Almost done." She finished hanging her clothes in her closet and shut the door.
"Where do our bags go?"
"Why the hell would I know?" He replied, getting up off the chair he was on.
"Fine. Are we going to do your room or what?" She groaned, deciding to ask her roommate later on. The two of them left the room and made their way down a few decks to Marcus' room. They began to unpack but were soon interrupted by the door being thrown open. A large boy with messy hair appeared.
"Hey, you must be my new roommate. I'm Woody." The boy said, holding out his hand. Marcus shook it.
"I guess I am. I'm Marcus and this is my sister, Maya. She was just leaving." He gave Maya a pointed look. She just stuck her tongue out at him and left the room to explore a little.