It was a very awkward breakfast.
The gang usually got together before school on Fridays to eat breakfast together and today was no exception... but today, Maya wasn't speaking to Zack.
Zack, London, and Cody sat on one side of the table, Bailey and Maya on the other. "Hey, Maya, I finished the diagram for our English presentation last night." Zack began conversationally.
His girlfriend didn't even look at him. "Bailey?" she asked, "Would you pass the salt?"
"Sure." Bailey said. She didn't have the salt; it was next to Zack. "Zack, the salt, please?"
Zack sighed as he passed her the salt, getting the message very clearly that Maya was giving him the silent treatment. "Maya, can we please talk?"
Maya shook the shaker violently, dispensing a punishing amount of salt onto her eggs before passing it back. "Thank you, Bailey. So, London, how's life?"
"Oh, fine." London said airily, checking her lip gloss in her compact. "You know how it is when you're me." She seemed completely oblivious, as usual, to any tension going on at the table.
"Sure do." Maya said, concentrating on stirring her chocolate milk with her straw.
Zack looked frustrated and defeated, and Cody saw in his eyes the moment he decided to fix the problem by throwing his brother under the bus. "So Codes, how are things with Woody's sister?"
Bailey choked on her orange juice. Maya patted her on the back.
"Actually, Willa's great." Cody said, not bothered in the least. "She's really cool. Last night we had a great conversation about science fiction. She likes H.P. Lovecraft, although I'm more of an Asimov guy myself."
"Ah. So things are going well between you and Willa." Zack said slowly, attempting to meet Maya's gaze... hoping to convey that Woody's sister was no threat to her relationship with Zack.
She continued to ignore him.
"Yeah, I guess. I mean, we were laying in bed, just talking, for like, an hour after we turned off the lights. It was fun." Cody answered.
"In bed?" Bailey repeated, surprise rendering her unable to keep from speaking up. "She's sleeping in your room?"
"Well... yeah." Cody said awkwardly. "I mean... she's staying with Woody. She took his bed, and he took the floor."
"Oh." Bailey said, buttering her bagel with extreme care. "I mean... oh."
"Hi everyone!" Woody and Willa appeared at the table with their breakfast trays, Woody sitting next to Maya, Willa next to Cody. Woody made the introductions. "Willa, this is London, Bailey, and Maya, and you already know Zack and Cody. Girls, my sister Willa."
"Hi." London said vaguely, sparing Willa only a brief glance before turning her attention back to her makeup.
"Hi, Willa." Bailey said, at least attempting a smile at the new arrival.
"It's nice to meet you." Maya said cordially. "If you'll excuse me, I've got some last-minute studying to do before class." She stood, gathering her tray. As soon as she was gone, Zack stood up and followed her.
Cody smiled at Willa, gesturing around the room. "So, this is the cafeteria." he said teasingly, playing the tour guide as he had yesterday.
"Ah." Willa looked around obediently. "Very impressive."
"Hey!" Woody protested. "You only have to show her around when I'm not here." he said to Cody before turning to Willa. "So... this is the cafeteria." he told her.
Willa and Cody exchanged amused glances. "It's lovely." she assured her brother.
Cody leaned in. "Wait'll you see where we're going for dinner tonight." he told her.
"Somewhere special?" she asked, raising a coy eyebrow.
"You'll see." he nodded.
"So, Willa." Bailey spoke up. Her tone was friendly, but she looked like she had a bad taste in her mouth. "What are your plans for the day, while the rest of us are in school?"
"Oh, I figured I'd spend some time at the pool." Willa said. "The one with the waterslide we went down yesterday, Cody. On the, umm..."
"Lido Deck." Cody and Bailey finished together, their eyes locking. Bailey glared at him.
"Ahem." Cody cleared his throat. "Good. Well, I guess I'll meet you there after I get out of class."
"Thanks."
Zack returned to the table, a dejected look on his face. "She went into the girls' bathroom."
"No duh." Woody said. "You really thought it was going to be that easy?"
There was an awkward silence. "You know, I could use a bagel." Willa said finally, looking at the one on Bailey's tray. "Could someone point me-?"
Cody jumped out of his seat. "I'll show you where they are. Come on." He took her by the elbow and they headed back into the serving area.
Woody folded his arms and glowered after them. "Cody's being a better brother to Willa than I am." he grumbled.
"Uh, news flash." London said, looking at him for the first time that morning. "Cody's not being a brother to her."
Bailey bit her lip and studied the table.
"Well, not technically." Woody said. "But they're getting along really well. Almost like they were..." he trailed off. After a long moment, he looked at Zack, alarmed. "Oh. My. Gosh. Is Cody dating my sister?"
"Relax, Woodchuck. They've only known each other for one day. They're not dating." Zack said, looking slightly nervous about Bailey's reaction to the topic. He paused. "Although they kind of seem like they're heading in that direction..."
Woody looked as though he didn't know what to think. "Huh."
The door to Maya's cabin opened just as Zack was about to knock, and Bailey stepped out, a pile of DVDs in one hand, an empty carton of Ben & Jerry's tucked under her elbow. Her face darkened when she saw Zack. "You." she hissed, grabbing his arm with her free hand and towing him away from Maya's door. "Don't you dare go in there. I just got her to sleep."
"What?" Zack noticed that Bailey's face was slightly red and puffy. "Are you okay, Bailey?"
"Fine." she said, dabbing her tear-clumped eyelashes with her sleeve. "We just had a movie marathon of A Walk to Remember, The Way We Were, and Love Story."
"What?" Zack said again. That sounded horrible. "Why?"
She glared at him. "When you get dumped, sometimes it helps to have something fictional to cry about."
"What?" Zack said, stopping in his tracks. Maya was crying over him? Guilt and pain suddenly crushed his lungs. And they were over?
"Are you hard of hearing?" Bailey asked, reaching a trash can and throwing away the empty ice cream carton.
"I didn't dump Maya." Zack protested. "My judgment slipped for one tiny second. I've been trying to apologize to her, but she won't let me."
Bailey sighed. "Zack, she trusted you when you said you were done chasing skirts. How is she supposed to feel when she finally gives you a chance and then you're drooling all over Willa right in front of her?"
"I don't know!" Zack said, frustrated. "It was reflex, it was habit! I'm not seriously interested in her." He scrubbed a hand across his face. "The only girl I really want is Maya. I can't believe I screwed this up."
They arrived at Bailey's cabin and she opened it, tossing the DVDs on her bed. "Okay, okay. I'll talk to her." Bailey said finally. "I know you didn't mean anything by it, that hitting on girls is just your-" she rolled her eyes, "-nature. Maya just hasn't known you as long as the rest of us. Give it a little time and I'm sure she'll find it in her heart to forgive you."
"Really?" Zack asked hopefully. She gave him a humorless affirmative smile. "When are you going to talk to her?"
"Later." Bailey said firmly. "I'm kind of busy right now." She stepped back into the hall, closing and locking her cabin door, and headed for the deck with the boys' rooms.
Sensing that she was on a mission that it would be unwise to interrupt, Zack didn't follow her. "Bailey... thank you."
She shook her head. "Don't thank me yet."