Chapter 1

Nowadays, you'd think that I, Cody Martin, the co-valedictorian of Seven Seas High, would have gone off to some amazing top-notch college other than Yale like Brown, though I look down on it, or Harvard, or Princeton. Well guess what? I hadn't yet. Instead, being as persistent as I am, I'm here, in New Haven, Connecticut, at Yale, the school that I found out I was rejected from the day of my high school graduation. The university I had dreamed of going to, that my girlfriend somehow was accepted to when I wasn't. I knew my chances were quite slim. I mean, what's the chance of one of the most prestigious universities in the nation accepting their own rejected applicant? Zero to none. And you think that I'd be smart and go to some other school. But there was something about Yale that I wasn't willing to let go of, ever. I just had to end up here, fate told me so. But I'm no fatalist. Science and religion are at the core of my beliefs.

Regardless of which, you're probably wondering what happened after I graduated. As soon as I had said my goodbyes to the S.S. Tipton and all of my dear class mates, I was devastated. It felt like everything I had or had worked for, I had lost. My girlfriend: not that we had broken up, just that everybody knows how hard long distance relationships can be, my future: the culmination and reward of seven of the most difficult and stressful years of my education, and the list goes on and on. But as the slow days passed by, I began to have faith again and this time, I wasn't going down without a fight. I was going to study at Yale, or die trying. And I was going to make sure to keep me and Bailey's relationship strong, no matter the distance. Luckily, I was able to have another date with her before she left with her parents to head back to Kettlecorn. It was absolutely perfect. She told me that the renovations on her farm were complete, and that I'd have to visit soon. We video chat every day; I love seeing her face, the look in her eyes that tells me she loves me more than any other guy. Well, besides her father. It reminds me of our Seven Seas High days. I know that I'll see her soon. And her bedroom is amazing; it looks like it came straight out of a design catalog. The walls are the perfect shade of lavender. And right on the wall by her bed is a photo collection of the two of us together.

So here I am at Yale. It's the weekend before term starts. I step out of the door to my new hybrid navy convertible. That was my graduation present. I would have loved the Firebird except that my brother parked it in a restricted area and got one of London's heavy, humongous shipping crates dropped on it. With both nerves and confidence, I begin to walk towards the admissions office. When I get to the door, I open it and pass through. Then I am greeted by a Yale administrator, who afterwards asks me what my purposes are in coming here and who I am. I'm no familiar face, that's for sure. I tell her Cody Martin, and all of a sudden, a puzzled look strikes her face. She then asks me, "Did you attend our biology camp last spring in Vancouver with Dr. Spaulding?" I reply, "Yes ma'am." That camp was probably the most exciting and weird spring break I ever had. There's nothing like being chased by possessed twins, then running through a saw mill, and then almost having your twin brother be merged into you. But before that, the camp was spectacular. Well, until Zack lost and broke Yale state of the art two million dollar technology. The administrator replies, "Come with me" as she gets up from her desk, and we walk across the campus to a conference room. And let me tell you, Yale is beautiful. I ask the administrator while we walk, "How are the dormitories?" She replies, "Actually we just had them renovated, they are great places to live if you want to stay on campus."

We arrive at the conference room and the two of us walk in and take a seat. A few minutes later, a man wearing a suit walks in, then a familiar face, Dr. Spaulding. Why was he here? And I noticed that he was holding two documents. What were those? Then I realized who the other man was, the Dean of Yale. I introduce myself to him. I want to make an excellent first impression. Then he begins to speak of how I was denied access to studying at Yale. I knew that part already. It resulted in me sobbing on my bed while my mom and Bailey tried to comfort me. But then, he said something I didn't know. But then I remembered. The whole reason I had gone to that spring camp was to get a scholarship to Yale. But wasn't I denied access? I got kicked out of the program, didn't I? Then he told me why I was rejected: my brother, but as the Dean, he realized that I was not the scapegoat. I was a young and respected scholar. And I knew what was coming next. Dr. Spaulding hands me the two documents. I look at them; the first one was the scholarship, and the second one, another letter from Yale, a one worth framing. The Dean congratulated me and left the room after shaking my hand. I asked Dr. Spaulding, "How did you get these?" Turns out, he kept his promise to me at the end of the camp. I knew he would. I thanked him, and then he left. I asked the administrator where the dorm registry was. Actually, it was really close, so I left and thanked her. I had to tell everyone! I had gotten into Yale after all!