.:Chapter 03:.
Normality vs. Reality
Zack let out a breath, watching as it fogged in front of his face and dissipate as quickly as it appeared. It wasn't that far along in October and it had already gotten pretty cold in Boston. The cold fronts that were coming through didn't help as it passed through the Boston Harbor first; bring the drop in temperature along with it. It was funny; he was so used to having move around so much due to his mother's job of being a lounge singer. When he heard that they were going to be staying at the Tipton Hotel in Boston, he didn't believe it, and he didn't want to go. He and Cody had gotten used to being brought around the US while Carey tried to find a job and Kurt was off doing his tours, but when they got to be too much trouble, as they always were, she decided to leave them in Seattle with her mother.
He and Cody got used to being in a stable place and having friends that they could always hang out with. Even then Zack did some of his homework and was getting decent grades. He was having a good time, being spoiled by his grandmother and having a good time with his brother. When the news broke that Carey had finally gotten a new job at the Tipton hotel, he didn't want to leave his grandmother's house. He didn't want to have to start all over again, to make new friends, to get used to a new place, to find a way to be happy.
That's how the trouble had started at the Tipton hotel; he and Cody were bored and needed something to do. They were just being kids. It wasn't their fault that the hotel had a manager that was so uptight and wouldn't know fun if it bit him in the ass. Was it their fault now? Since they were still working to get on Mr. Moseby's nerves every chance they got?
Yeah, he could admit that.
Everything had seemed so simple and then everything blew up in his face again. Just like when he was a kid, his reality had been stripped away from him. "And they say Cody is better than me? Ha. Good fucking luck."
"I heard that."
Zack turned his head to the side and saw Riley walking beside him. She had her head tilted to the side and was looking directly at him. After a few seconds of eye contact, he had to look away. That was always a bit frustrating to him as well. He waited for her to clarify, focusing on everyone else's conversations.
"So who's paying for dinner, tonight?"
"Do you think Mr. Moseby will be mad if all of us eat there? Last time he made it that we had to stay in the guys' suite for the party."
"Can we get the buffet this time?"
"I think that we would have gotten a good chance to win if the coaches held better try outs. I mean, yeah, soccer isn't a very popular sport team, but if they had the best people at school playing rather than letting anyone on. I think that's why the other teams are doing better."
"Yeah, and it makes sense, but it's not really fair either. So I guess we just have to wait for a new crop to come in and hope that they're better than the last."
Zack tuned them out, tilting his head back and looking up at the night sky. It was littered with stars, though they were difficult to see due to the sheer volume of lights from the city and the harbor. He realized that he had never been able to completely see them before. Shaking his head, Zack turned back to Riley.
"Heard what?"
Riley's lips twitched then her eyes narrowed. "You know something that I never understood about you, Zack?" He shrugged. "How no matter what you do, Cody is able to have your back and is willing to help you and support you through everything that you do. But then the one time that he is able to do something he wants, even if it's something that's a little unheard of for him, you can't give the same thing back."
Zack looked at her, dumbfounded, and then shook his head. If she wanted to go on believing that, then that was fine. There were always some things about other people that didn't particularly make you that happy knowing, he could deal with it. Most people thought that about him anyway. Whatever. "You wouldn't understand."
"So explain it to me," Riley's voice held a bit of an edge to her tone. Zack wondered, yet again, if she was really just trying to protect Cody like she always did. Jumping to his defense when someone was picking on him or treating him unfairly. So was Zack never treated unfairly? Everyone always jumped to conclusions where he was concerned.
"Why? You already think I'm a jerk anyway, right?" Zack's frustrations got to him and he snapped at her. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see her expression blaze with fury before cooling into anger. She grabbed onto his arm, spinning him so that he was facing her, the two stopped.
"I never said that you were a jerk!" She spat.
"Right." Zack crossed his arms over his chest. "Almost every word that comes out of your mouth, directed towards me anyway, has to do with me being a jerk or whatever. So at some point, it gets kinds hard to figure out whether or not you mean it."
"You've done jerky things, Zack, but I've never said or believed that you actually are a jerk." Riley pushed her hair out of her face, looking him up and down. "Though now I'm starting to question it." Her eyebrows twitched before she started walking again. After a few paces, she stopped and turned back to him. "By the way, I'm not your friend only because of Cody."
"How'd you-"Zack cut himself off, not sure if he even wanted to know the answer to his question. What with the can of worms that it could open for everyone, it wasn't worth it. Zack twisted his mouth to the side before pouting, shoving his hands in his coat pockets. His bag smacked him in the side and he punched it out of the way, hunching up his shoulders. All of his friends walked along in front of him, talking and laughing with each other.
"Are you ok?" Carey reached over and ran a hand through her son's hair. At his sharp look, she retracted her hand and brought it to her side. "Sorry, I forgot that you didn't want me to do that anymore." She gazed at him. "You and Cody are both growing up so fast."
"Mom!" Zack protested.
"I'm your mother, I should be able to get away with saying these things," Carey reminded him. Zack stayed silent. "Sweetie, I hope you're not upset about the game tonight. You did such a great job. Seriously, you're probably going to get the MVP award at the fall sports ceremony this year," she reminded him. For the first time since earlier that afternoon, Zack cracked a teeny smile. "And you have basketball coming up, which you love."
"Yeah…"
He wondered if his mother would be able to understand how he was feeling. It was possible. She and her sister barely talked ever since they had gone off to separate colleges. There was always a bit of a competition between the two of them. Carey had even told him that there were times that she felt inadequate compared to her sister because of her decision to stick with singing, rather than going out to get a 'real job' like her sister did. Maybe that was why her mother was so eager to take in Zack and Cody when she got the chance; to be able to see that they grew up normally instead of continually being taken around the US.
"And the best part is that the buffet that we're going to have, is being completely paid for by Mr. Moseby," Carey added, nudging Zack on the shoulder.
Zack laughed. "Wow, how'd you manage to do that?"
"I told him that you and Cody were both going to be busy with basketball for a while so that you won't be around the Tipton much longer for you to bother him all the time."
Zack smiled, though his hear sank. "Way to be manipulative, Mom."
"I learn from the best," Carey replied.
The group walked in through the revolving doors of the Tipton hotel, Zack and Cody stopped to say 'hi' to Norman on the way in. Mr. Moseby then showed them to the outdoor section of the Tipton dining room, so happy at the news that Zack and Cody were going to leave him alone, that he had reserved the whole space for them and their friends. There was a buffet set up for every single kind of food available and as soon as they were told that it was all taken care of by Mr. Moseby, the group descended on the food like a pack of locusts.
Zack sat down at a table with Rhuben, Patrick, Noah, Max, and Bailey, his pate filled with his favorite foods, getting ready to dig in and allow himself to forget everything that had happened that day with all of his favorite food. If it was a buffet and Moseby was paying for it, he was going to be sure that Mr. Moseby was going to pay for everything.
"Tape, you should get some of the spaghetti," Cody said. He put his plate down next to his brother's and sat down, eagerly picking up his fork and knife. "We're going to need to start carbo loading if we want to be in shape for our first game."
Zack's fork dropped to his plate with a loud clatter, but it was drown out by everyone else digging in.
"Zack, sweetie, aren't you going to eat anything?" Carey glanced at her eldest son's plate and then into his face. The sullen look was usually reserved for having his desert taken away (from after the time that she had tried to have him cut sweets cold turkey), being forced to dress up to go somewhere, and all of the times that Maddie had turned him down when he was younger.
"I'm not hungry."
Zack slid down in his seat, staring at his full plate.
A/N: Ok, next chapter is basically the start of the plot of the story and where the story starts where I show other friendships that they all have with each other. I just needed to set up the story plot a little bit before it really started. Thanks for the support and reviews and stuff so far. It means a lot, I'm having fun writing this story and I'm glad that you guys are enjoying it.
Chapters are longer starting with the next one.
Cheers,
-Riles
