So this one took a little longer to write, and they all will as the story progresses.

A lot more happens in this chapter. If anyone gets confused, just leave a review with your question and I'll reply.

I do not own the Suite Life or its characters.

Chapter 2

Mrs. Thomas walked swiftly down the hall in route to the principal's office, while Zack turtled behind. Mrs. Thomas was sick of Zack's daily shenanigans. Not only did he goof off in her class, but he also thought he could take advantage of her good nature. Mrs. Thomas did not like when people tried to take advantage of her.

"Although I doubt you'll care because you obviously have no qualms for anything you do wrong," Mrs. Thomas blurted, acting like a smart-ass. "We are going down to see Principal Morris about our third predicament in only two months of school. Zack, I'm not the only teacher who's sick and tired of your attitudes. We just can't deal with you anymore. It's too much, and maybe a suspension or something more serious than us scolding you, a detention, or a note home to your mom is the only thing that will do the job. You're driving us crazy, and we just can't deal with it anymore."

Zack let out a little giggle while Mrs. Thomas turned and shook her head slowly, thinking of how ridiculous this kid is. Zack loved pissing people off.

"Whatever Zack. All I know is that I'm not the person who's going to have to deal with administration." She paused, waiting for Zack to answer. When no reply came, she added, "Do you have any idea what the consequences for an act such as cheating on a test are?"

"I don't wanna even begin to guess," Zack said, rolling his eyes.

"Well, let me enlighten you, even though I feel like we have had this conversation before," Mrs. Thomas uttered. They stopped outside the main office. The old, mean lady looked Zack in the eyes saying, "If the teacher decides to report you, an offense such as cheating will earn you three detentions. Recall that 5 detentions in a quarter gets you a suspension. Ten detentions––expulsion. We're almost halfway through the second quarter and I have given you one detention for throwing a seventh grader in a locker, and another for simply messing around in class. I also know for a fact you have been in trouble with other teachers."

Zack looked up at the clock while she was lecturing, again, half listening. "Uhhh, only 9:17. It's Friday, almost the end of the week…can't wait till this day's over…" Zack thought. Then he decided to think about it a little bit more. No matter how much he loved to screw around in school, he finally came to realize he just couldn't keep this act up and not expect there to be serious consequences. Zack's lucky he's gotten away with all the stuff he's done so far.

Mrs. Thomas noticed his concern, so she put him in the hot seat, acting as though she would actually let him slide. "So, right now, tell me why I shouldn't march you into that office and tell the principal what you've been doing."

Zack was shocked. Zack was shocked he was shocked. He never really thought about the consequences of his actions. The boy had nothing to offer. She then opened the door to the office, letting Zack walk in first. The principal of Pattison Middle School, Mr. Morris, stepped away from the copier and approached the two. Mrs. Thomas reported the happenings to the principal. "I'll take it from here," he replied. "You may go."

Mr. Morris and Zack stood there, waiting for a hesitant Mrs. Thomas to leave. Something then caught Zack's attention. Outside, there was a man, someone he had seen many times before. He couldn't quite place the face…

When she was finally out of sight, big Principal Morris turned to Zack and interrupted his chain of thought, saying, "Follow me."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Did you know fungi can reproduce both sexually and asexually?" Cody asked his friend, Bob, excitedly.

"No, but thanks," Bob said emotionlessly, rolling his eyes.

Zack walked slowly into the room, dragging his feet. He looked upset about something. "What's the matter?" Cody asked worriedly. "Are they gonna do anything to you this time?

"Why are you so much better than me?"

"Huh? In what?" Cody asked, confused.

"Everything. I'm sick and tired of everyone saying how much smarter you are. How you're so much better behaved. How you are the twin who will get somewhere in life, while I'm the one who'll be living on the street."

"Zack, who's saying that? You are better than me in many things. Video games…better sense of humor…you're more popular…" Cody said, struggling to think of areas Zack actually in which Zack actually has talent.

"No, Cody. I didn't ask you that for a heartwarming list of crap that doesn't even matter. When it comes right down to it, all that stuff is…pointless. Video games aren't going to get me into college. My sense of humor or popularity isn't going to get me a good job in the real world."

"Zack!!" Mrs. Thomas shrieked.

Zack picked up his books and began walking fiercely out the room. "Where are you going?" Cody asked sadly.

"Where do you think, idiot? Zack said harshly, still walking until he saw Cody's gloomy face out of the corner of his eye. He hesitated for a moment, until hearing Mrs. Thomas' whiny voice call for him again. Zack just continued on his path out of the math room.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So, Zack, how's life?" Principal Morris asked as he sat down at his desk.

Zack stared at him. He didn't seem to be all that mad…

"Uhm, not good," Zack finally croaked up.

"Really? What's wrong?"

"Well, besides the fact that I just made another huge mistake that's going to cost me big time, there's trouble at home, too. With the parents.

Principal Morris sat patiently, waiting to see if Zack was going to expand on that. When nothing came, he asked gently, "Do you want to talk about it?"

Zack ruminated whether or not he wanted to share this information with someone he had only had to talk to when he was in trouble.

"Ok," Zack said, still pondering the extent of which he should share. "My dad, who left us when Cody and I were really little, came back unexpectedly about two weeks ago. He said he just wanted to see us, but that's not what we're––"

Mrs. Friendly, the secretary of the school, interrupted over the loudspeaker. "Please pardon the interruption, but Mr. Favinger, if you could please come to the office immediately. Thank you."

Principal Morris' face lit up. That was the code for a code-red lockdown emergency.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Carey Martin came to a rude awakening on this Friday morning. She had the day off, but she must've forgotten to turn off her alarm clock. Without looking, Carey slammed the snooze button, giving her five more minutes. Hearing the ringing in her head again, she flipped over, saw that it already 9:15 a.m., and decided just to get up. Walking slowly to warm up the shower, the mother of twins continued to wonder exactly why Kurt came back for the first time in years two Saturdays ago. Could it be because he really did want to see the boys and be with them a little more while they grow up? Or did he in fact have dark intentions? As much as she did not want to believe it, the more she contemplated it, the more she thought that his coming back had nothing to do with the boys.

Carey stumbled out of the shower, got dressed, made her coffee and, sipping her morning treat slowly, and turned on the morning news. What she heard next made her cup plummet to the ground, splattering her steamy drink all over the sofa.

"Yes, Tom, thank you very much. I am getting news in that Pattison Middle School went into an emergency lockdown situation approximately 15 minutes ago. There are reports of apparent gunshots, and also reports that some students or staff may be seriously injured. We'll be sure to keep you updated on this most severe developing story."

Wow, does anyone else love cliffhangers?!

Review please! I really want to hear all feedback!