Wednesday, October 6th, 2010- Day 3


" I don't see why I have to do everything for you?" Bailey let out a sigh as she handed Cody his Chemistry textbook that was sitting on his desk. " You didn't really break your legs, you know."

" But how are you going to fully understand what it's like to be married to someone who is bed ridden if I walk about?" Cody pointed out as he sat up and placed his book on one of those tables used by patients in the hospital. " I mean, you might as well be thankful you're with a partner who is willing to go the extra mile and make this assignment as realistic as possible. Could you grab me a pen?"

Bailey glared at him for a second and then got up to get his pen. This was only the 3rd day and already she was starting to dislike this assignment. She really hoped that things went up hill from here.


" Just get out of the chair," Bailey hissed as she tried to push Cody's wheelchair in-between a row of desks. She was quite thankful that Cody liked to get to class early and that they were the firsts one here. She was not in the mood to be embarrassed by his behaviour.

" Ah, if I was really in a wheel chair, would you tell me get up?"

" Well….no.."

" Well, then move the desks out of the way and carry me to my seat. Okay honey?"

She scowled slightly, but did what she was told.

Moments later Ms. Tutweiller came into the classroom. " Good afternoon Cody, Bailey."

" Good afternoon," Cody replied.

Ms. Tutweiller glanced at the wheelchair beside his desk and the bandages around his legs. " Good, at least somebody is taking this assignment seriously."

" A little to seriously, if you asked me," Bailey mumbled under her breath.

Ms. Tutweiller was about to ask her what she meant by that, but she was stopped by the sound of the bell ringing and the rest of her class filing in.

As always, London and Zack were last to arrived. And like the day before, they made a big show out of it.

Zack pulled out London's chair for her and she flashed him a smile. Then she dug into her purse and pulled out a wad of cash. " Thanks sweetie."

He grinned back at her, taking the money. " By the way, might I add that you are looking rather gorgeous today." He then pointed to his cheek, indicating he wanted a kiss.

London playfully rolled her eyes. Although at first Zack's sudden flirting with her had been confusing, she now thought it was rather endearing and even found herself playing along with his flirtatious games. She leaned up and pecked him on the cheek.

He then walked over to the back of the class and took his seat, still grinning like an idiot. This was the most fun he had ever had in school. And he had to admit, being married to and flirting with London was not as complicated as he thought it might be. Everything just seemed to flow naturally.

Cody made a gagging sound and then raised his arm in the air. " Ms. Tutweiller?"

" Yes, Cody?"

" I don't think London and Zack are getting the whole concept of this assignment. She is just bribing him so he will say she is beautiful. There's no compromising, no giving and taking going on."

Bailey let out a huff. What a hypocrite. How could he accuse his brother of not compromising when he sat in bed all day and demanded that she do everything?

Zack protested. " Clearly, London gave me money and I took it. Give and take."

Ms. Tutweiller rolled her eyes. Although she did find the twins rather amusing sometimes - and Cody was generally a pleasure to have in class- they could sometimes get a little carried away. " Cody, although London and Zack aren't acting like the conventional couple, what they are doing seems to work for them. And they are actually coming to class and participating, so let's just leave them be, shall we?"

Cody grumbled but nodded.

Ms. Tutweiller continued. " Today we are going - "

" Ms. T?"

She sighed. " What Zack?"

" I decided to quit my job."

She raised her eyebrow at him. That wasn't really supposed to happen. Generally speaking the student was supposed to keep their job, unless they had picked the " Career Change" like Woody had. " Um, why?"

" Well," he began, " listening to people's problems is not really my forte. Plus, once I found out that I can't give out meds, the job kind of lost it's appeal."

" Okay, and what do you intend to do instead?"

He gave her his trade mark smirk. " I've decided to devote myself to becoming a full time trophy husband."

Cody groaned. But London clapped her hands together in a way that only London could. " That's my…." she racked her brain for a pet name for him," …Zackums."

Zack cleared his throat and shook his head. " We're going to have to work on that one."

She nodded in agreement.

Ms. Tutweiller sighed. She had a feeling that she was going to be interrupted quite often over the next two weeks. " Right, on to today's lesson. Today we are going to be doing a month long budget for your households. And you'll have to adjust these accordingly throughout this assignment. Now Bailey, seeing as your spouse is currently unable to work you will only have your income to work with. Keep in mind that he will also have medical expenses. And Addison and Woody you will have to keep Woody's band running. So do some research on what it will cost to get all the equipment you need and rent spaces for gigs." She then turned to London and Zack. " And…well, considering that you just quit your job Zack, your household actually doesn't have an income. But, once again, that doesn't really effect you guys much, does it?"

" Apparently not," Zack replied.

" Hmmm…let's see." She nodded once she thought of a way to still get them to do this part of the assignment - seeing as doing a budget was completely pointless when you had an almost endless supply of money. " I want the two of you to keep track of all your spending over the next two weeks. London, this also means every time you bribe somebody, including your husband."

London raised her eyebrows. " That might take a while. And a lot of paper."

" Well then, you better get busy."


" Hold on, I'm coming," Zack yelled as he pressed pause on his video game, tossed the controller on his bed and walked over to his cabin door . He opened it and was surprised to see London standing on the other side. She didn't often venture into the part of the ship that housed the boy's rooms. " Hi…uh…come in?"

She walked past him and he shut the door. " So…are you working on that budget thingy for Ms. T's class?" He was still slightly confused as to what she was doing here. This just seemed like the most logically question to ask.

She shook her head. " No, I hired an accountant to take care of it."

"You do know that you'll have to add what you paid them to your list of things you spent money on, right?"

She mulled this over for a second. " Remind of that later, okay."

" Uh, sure." He paused for a moment. " London, not that I don't mind you dropping by, but what are you doing here?"

" Oh, I thought we'd hang out," she replied in tone that suggested that this happened all the time.

That's kind of odd. Why would she do that? Zack glanced at her for a second, slightly confused.

Almost as if she could read his mind she continued. " Normally I would just hang out in my room and paint my nails or pretend to listen to Bailey go on about farming or what she learnt in Physics class. But Cody's in there forcing her to watch some stupid video on how to properly fold socks."

" Really? That's odd, even for Cody."

She nodded in agreement. " Yeah I know. " She shrugged her shoulders at Cody's behaviour . " So what are you doing?"

He gestured to his game console. " I was playing Call of Duty 4. But, I don't think it's your kind of game."

" Well, how do you know?" She asked as she walked over to his small tv.

He shrugged his shoulders. In all honesty he had no idea if London liked video games about warfare. He grabbed the remote from off the bed and pressed play. Instantly a stimulated stealth mission began to play out on the screen as he continued to play.

London shook her head as soon as she saw what the game was about. " You're right. Definitely not my thing. Now, if there was a game were you went shopping then I might be all for it. But this battle stuff, it just doesn't interest me."

Zack chuckled slightly and paused the game again. He then glanced at his watch. It was only 6:30. " Fine we won't play video games." Suddenly his stomach growled and he was reminded that he hadn't eaten since lunch. " Hey, would you like to grab a bite to eat?"

She nodded. " Yeah sure."

He grabbed his jacket - a quick glance out of the port hole in his room told him that it was overcast outside and most likely slightly chilly- and then they both headed off towards on of the many restaurants on the ship.


" You know, Zack, I've been doing some thinking lately," London said after the waiter had left with their orders.

" About what?" He asked curiously. He had stopped himself from saying something along the lines of " did it hurt?" For some reason he got the feeling she was being serious and might actually have something semi-important to say.

" Your brother."

" What about him?" He was now starting to get really intrigued.

She shook her head. " Oh I don't know, it's just he's been acting strange lately. More moody and more mean. He just doesn't seem like the sweet nerdy boy that lived in the hotel."

Zack nodded slowly. He had noticed something similar. " Maybe he's just going through a phase," he suggested as he took a sip of his water.

" Perhaps, but I think it's deeper then that." Zack raised his eyebrows, somewhat baffled. Was London Tipton about to get all philosophical on him? " I think he's afraid."

" Of what exactly?"

" Well," she continued, " of everything really. You know, growing up, becoming independent, all that stuff. But mostly I think he is afraid of the relationship he has with Bailey. If you ask me, he's pushing her just to see how far she will go before she breaks. He wants to know if she is willing to stay with him through the thick and the thin. He wants to know if she feels the same about him as he does about her. I'm just not so sure he's going the right way about it."

Zack just stared at her for a moment. " Wow, London…that was rather insightful."

She smiled. " You know, I'm not actually as dumb as a post. " She shook her head as an after thought occurred to her. " Just as dumb as a doorknob."

Zack was dumbstruck. It all of the sudden made prefect sense to him. London was just as self conscious as everyone else her age. She was just better at hiding it. And he wasn't quite sure if he should laugh at her comment or tell her he didn't think she was " as dumb as a doorknob". So he opted to take a sip of his water instead.


So there you have it, Chapter 3. Next up, Couples Challenge