Now Ezekiel found himself faced with a dilemma. Evidently Eva hadn't been lying when she said she'd been awake for four days straight, because she was sleeping before sunset. Again. He found her sprawled across that same striped couch in the cramped hotel lobby, and now he wasn't sure what to do with her.

"Yo, yo, homie. Uh, someone else got 'liminated tonight, and they'll be at the dock any minute. We're s'posed a' go and meet 'em there, eh."

Eva had a pillow stuffed in the crook of her arm, and she crushed it against her side in her sleep. Ezekiel left her alone for a few minutes, but he came back with a few small pebbles in his hand. The first missed her entirely and the second was too short a throw. The third bounced off the back of the couch. He hit Eva's leg on the fourth try, but she didn't seem to notice. She snored like a tractor with one loose wheel.

"Aw, come on! Please? Please with, uh, carrots and sugar cubes on top?"

Nothing. Clearly the only way he was going to get her up was if he shook her awake. And he was not going to shake her awake. He valued his fingers and his life too much for that. He needed a moment to think.

A) Eva Baker was obviously still upset at him for the whole guys vs. girls thing.

B) Eva Baker was actually a pretty scary girl and she liked to grab him by the neck.

C) If Eva Baker was going to keep acting like this towards him for the remaining, what, seven or so weeks they would be stuck together, then he was going to need to find himself an ally.

Hmm. Well. Sleeping beauty could stay on the couch until true love's first kiss for all he cared. The Zeke would meet their new buddy at the dock alone.

"That big brick guy for sure, eh."

He arrived only a minute too late. By the time he rounded the corner of the hotel, that half-Indian kid - Nate, or something - had almost finished climbing the stairs from the dock. This resulted in a full-on collision between both of the boys, and yet somehow Ezekiel was the only one to fall down.

"Yo, yo," he said weakly, rubbing his head. Noah (he remembered it now- a biblical name like his own) Noah stared down at him with that half-lidded gaze of his. The gaze that said that he was better than everyone else, with places to go and things to do that were all far more important than being here, and Ezekiel had better get out of his way, stat.

"Where's the fire at, Homeschool?"

"Uh… think they turned the barbecue off a'ready, guy. Sorry."

Noah made a rather intimidating silhouette standing there, his tan suitcase in one hand and his book tucked under the other, his slitted eyes practically glowing from brown to orange as the porch lights reflected off of them. Ezekiel scooted back a pace or two before he realized what he was doing.

"Right," Noah said at last. "Too bad."

There were many qualities that Ezekiel prided himself on, but his determination was definitely near the very top of the list. He sprang up to his feet and held the hotel door open before Noah had the chance to do it himself. No verbal thanks, no nod, and hardly a glance his way.

So far so good.

"Here, lemme get that for ya, homes." He tried to take the case from Noah, but when Noah turned, eyes flashing, he accidently pushed Ezekiel to the ground with his arm.

"Whoops. My mistake, Homeschool."

"S'okay. Accidents happen, eh?"

Noah used his elbow to hit the call button on the elevator, then glanced out the window on his left. "And there are cows at the pool too? I guess Chris was right. This place really does have everything."

"Huh?" Ezekiel pressed his face to the glass, squinting into the darkness, but he couldn't find the alleged cows, and by the time he turned around the elevator had closed and Noah was gone. Aw, wicked! If he didn't want the tour, he was probably an explorer too, then!

…

"Yo, yo, dawg! Noah! Wakey, wakey, homie!"

There were a few rustles and thrashes, and then a loud thump. The voice on the other side of the door was half-muffled by blankets and extremely irritated. "It's… five thirty-six in the morning."

"I know, dawg! Why're ya still sleepin', eh?"

"Look, Homeschool- I know you're a farm kid or whatever, so getting up at the break of dawn is only natural for you. But please, if you value your teeth, tell me that I am still dreaming and that you did not just come up here with the intention of making me leave this bed at this unfavorable hour of the morning."

Ezekiel tilted his head. Rubbed his nose. He sniffed. Then he coughed and swallowed thickly. "Yeah, uh… I'll just… go then, eh?"

"Yes, please go! Go far, far away!"

So Ezekiel slunk down the hall, down the elevator, down another hall, and into the kitchen. Tara and Samantha were nowhere in sight, which was probably a good thing. In fact, the kitchen was completely devoid of any life at all, including the potted plant on the windowsill. Ezekiel watered it out of sympathy, but deep in his heart he knew that the fern wasn't going to make it.

"Yeah, you can take the pigs and cows away from the farmboy, but you can't keep the farmboy from making himself useful, eh? No, wait, that's not how it goes… uh… Well, whatever. The Zeke can bake in any kitchen he sets his mind to."

A few minutes of poking around in cupboards, drawers, and closets rewarded him with the ingredients he was looking for. Two cups of flour - "Nah, let's double the recipe and make it four!" - followed by sugar, a bit of baking powder, and some salt - "That was a close one, yo! I almost used this here tablespoon for it!" - all of which were mixed up in the largest bowl he had been able to find. Joining them a moment later were a stick of butter (minced, and his nicked finger could vouch for it) and a glass of milk. No love, though. His mother had told him once that love was the most important ingredient a woman could put in her food, but as he was not a woman, his biscuits would have to survive without it.

"Aha! There you are, you sneaky little ragamuffin!"

Ezekiel's first thought was, "Why was I cooking with the lights off?" Then he thought that since he was up to his wrists in dough, and since he'd already been caught red-handed, there wasn't much point in running. He licked his teeth. "Uh… You like?"

"Couldn't sleep, sugar pie?"

"Well, I was just-"

It was Marcia, up and at 'em as usual, her faithful rag in hand, her typical eyebrow cocked. "You did wash your hands before you started makin' that stuff, didn't ya?"

"Uh… right! Yeah, yeah, I totally did. Right after I watered your plant, eh." Ezekiel stared at the intern for another anxious moment before adding a second, slightly more tentative, "You like?"

She reached out and pinched his cheek between her sausage fingers. "Aw, you're just like my own li'l Dillsberry Doughboy, aren't ya?"

He shrugged off her hand with his shoulder… but gently.

"You're such a big softie, Zeekie boy."

"Is this on camera? This ain't on camera, is it?"

"You go and get washed off now, all righty? I'll finish these biscuits o' yours and bring 'em out to you by the pool in half an hour or so, so long as you promise that you'll stay out in the sun."

"It's a deal, yo." Ezekiel exchanged a slight fistbump with the older woman, then sprinted off. The flour from his hands was quickly rinsed off in the huge shower he found in his suite. He dabbed soap behind his ears in respect for his mother, but he was still in and out in less than ten minutes. Hey, homemade biscuits didn't just eat themselves.

"Yo, yo, dawgs! The Zeke is in the house! Er, at the pool. Yeah!"

Ian was setting out towels this morning, and he looked up in surprise as Ezekiel nearly skidded into him. "That really you, Zeke? Dude, you smell better than you have for days. Did you finally settle your differences with the shower?"

"Word." Ezekiel shook his hair, spraying droplets across the towels. "Really ain't so bad once ya teach it who's boss, eh?"

"Wicked. Way to go, little man. Didn't know you had it in ya."

He nodded and bunched his muscles so he could cannonball into the water, until a cheerful voice behind him said, "'Bout time you came out of hiding, pint-size. I missed you."

All the hairs bristled on the back of his neck. Ezekiel placed his palms together and stared up at the sky. Then, smile strained, he turned on his heels. Hands slipped behind his back. Fingers clasped. He rocked.

"H-hi, Eva. You look really pretty today, e'en for a girl. You know, 'cuz girls are always pretty and stuff."

Ian went away snickering about flowers and shovels and funerals.

"Stuff it, Homeschool. I'll shove you in the washing machine." Eva leaned against one of the rubber palm trees, a dumbbell cocked lightly in one hand. She was still smirking. "Looks like you weren't the first one up this time."

"I so was, yo! Were you makin' biscuits at five-forty in the mornin'?"

"Yeah? Were you lifting weights at four twenty-eight? With those skinny hamster arms of yours?"

"Uh, did I say biscuits at five? The Zeke meant biscuits at three. Youch!" Ezekiel sprang backwards, cradling his injured foot, while Eva merely crouched down and scooped up her barbell.

"Sorry 'bout that, Homeschool. Slipped."

Sill glaring, Ezekiel tested the strength of his heel and flexed his toes against the yellow tiles. "The Zeke does not accept your apology, ya knob."

"The Zeke had better accept my freaking apology if he doesn't want me to drive this here dumbbell through one ear and out the other."

Ezekiel gazed back at her for all of two seconds before she kicked him in the shin and then shoved him head over heels into the pool. He came up spewing water. "Aw, c'mon, Eva! You said you weren't gonna do that anymore after I knocked my skull all up last time!"

Guilt flashed across her features. "Ooh, right. Didn't I say I was gonna do… this?" She picked up a plastic chair and thwacked it down on his head. Ezekiel knew better than to swim away now - she'd running-tackle him again, even if she didn't change into her blue swimsuit dress - and so he covered his hand with the one hand that wasn't clinging to the side of the pool and took it through his nervous giggles.

"Aw, stop! Stop it, homie! … No, please stop. Eva! Eva, dawg!"

"Ahem." Noah's face appeared at the open window of his suite. There were dark bags under his eyes, and he stared down at them both with half-disguised contempt. "There are decent people up here who are trying to get some well-deserved sleep."

Eva glanced over her shoulder at Ezekiel. The smirk crept back over her face. "That so, fruitcake? You and what guts to back that threat up?"

"Yeah, homie! What she said! You and what guts, eh?"

"Aww, just look at him, Homeschool. He looks exhausted. Was the wittle baby dweaming 'bout being mauled with dodgeballs and marshmallows? Is that why he had such a hard time sleeping? I heard from Josh he had it pretty rough yesterday. Y'know, playing every game and all that."

"Heh. He does look pretty banged up 'round the edges, yo."

"What's that?" Eva asked, cupping a hand around one ear and tilting her head in Noah's direction, "You'll have to speak up a bit, squeaky. 'Fraid I can't hear the noise your little lungs are making as the big guy carried the wee little piggy all the way home."

"Can't e;en see ya o;er that window, dog! You should try standin' up e'ery once in a while, eh."

"And… you might wanna get some ice for your black eye while you're at it, Fruitcake. It looks a little swollen."

Noah stared at them for a moment, unimpressed, and then simply walked away from the window while Ezekiel and Eva exchanged brief high-fives. Then, once they realized who they'd smacked, she coughed into her fist and he adjusted the plastic cover on one of the pool filters.

"But seriously, dawg, what's his problem, eh?"

"Oh." Eva waved one hand and started to lift her dumbbell again. "He's been in a pretty bad fix ever since he kissed another dude in front of everyone."

Ezekiel lost his grip on the side of the pool. His head went under, but when he came back up he spluttered, "He did what? Yo dog, who was-?"

From his window, Noah shouted, "It didn't happen! Don't believe everything you hear, Homeschool! Gossips never prosper!"

"Ear, lips, same thing. Bad dreams, my foot. The fact remains that the scrawny geekling still got pecked, and the know-it-all fruitcake was still the one to do it. I saw it myself, and I'd bet my MP3 player that we can get him wearing a dress before the week is even out."

"Yo, did you say 'ear'? And, uh, 'bad dreams'?"

"Yeah. So?"

"And, uh, you told The Zeke that ya hadn't slept for, uh, four days, so…"

"Yeah?"

Ezekiel scratched his head, but couldn't think of anything else to add to the conversation. Besides, Eva was starting to look pretty irritated again. He shrugged.

"Those your biscuits that just got brought out over there, Homeschool?"

Eva went inside after biscuits, and Noah finally left the security of the hotel about noon. He was wearing his swim trunks, but he stayed well away from the water and he'd brought his book, so Ezekiel wasn't even sure why he had bothered to come out in the first place. Every time he tried to start up a conversation, Noah would glare daggers at him until he slunk back to the buffet table or tiki bar or whatever, all on his own. If he even looked up at all.

The whole routine was starting to feel pretty familiar to Ezekiel by now, so he got over it.

They kept up the silence act for about an hour, until Eva first shrieked. Ezekiel was the one to speak up from behind the fake tropical plants where he'd ducked, wanting to know if Noah thought they should go and see what was wrong with her. In response, Noah looked straight at him, completely blank-faced, and the only thing he would say was "Gossips never prosper," before turning back to his book.

Another ten minutes passed before Eva rejoined them outside. She made a beeline for Noah, who just had time to lay his book aside before she grabbed hold of him, half-tucked him beneath her arm, and partially carried, partially dragged him over to the pool to toss him in. To his credit, Noah didn't try to fight her or even scream. He simply shrugged in her grip. An Oh well, at least I tried sort of shrug. Ezekiel found the effect to be dignified and amazing and knew he would definitely have to try it sometime.

Eva, lips twitching slightly upwards, crossed her arm as she watched Noah bob on his back in the water, his fingers laced behind his head. "Rigging a bucket of ice above the door to the bathroom? Huh. Didn't know you had it in ya, but I like your style, Fruitcake. Truce?"

He cocked up one brow. "Meh."

Ezekiel's eyes slid between the boy and the girl. Then, creeping out from behind the plants, he cleared his throat. "Uh… Eva?"

"Homeschool?"

He extended his hand. "Truce?"

She flipped him over his shoulder and onto Noah's stomach, sending both of them plunging under. And… and that was how it was for the remainder of the afternoon. Eva perched like a crow at the side of the pool with one foot trailing in the water, lifting a dumbbell and with her headphones snaking from the MP3 player in her pocket up to her ear. Noah floated like a corpse, not kicking, not sinking, just drifting, with his eyes either shut or wandering across the clouds. Ezekiel dog-paddled like a real Olympian.

Eventually they sky grew dim. When Noah stretched and climbed from the pool, Ezekiel trotted after him. They rubbed themselves down with towels while Eva bounced a tennis ball and watched. Awkward "Good night"s were exchanged, and they split to their rooms. Ezekiel's was on the upper floor, and even though Noah walked with him on the way to his own, in his mind he climbed the stairs to it alone. Even when Noah yelped as icy water and pinecones and chunks of rock poured down his back.

So Eva and Noah still weren't entirely on favorable terms with each other, but the following day proved that they could at least occupy the same general area without one of them trying to wring the other's throat.

Ezekiel couldn't say the same for himself. When he tried to pull the same trick on Eva, she brought him out to the pool and left him tied him to a chair for two hours straight, adding insult to injury by strategically placing a grape smoothie on the side table just out of his reach.