Disclaimer: I do not own"The Suite Life of Zack and Cody" or any of its characters

A/N: This is not only my first TSL fanfic but this is also my first non-anime/manga fanfic so please, be gentle.

Sick Producer

Bad Publicity

"What do I do? What do I do?" London panicked as she strolled continuously through her suite, holding her hair with both her hands.

"London, calm down" Maddie watched as the Tipton nervously walked back and forth through the suite. However, she herself believes that this is a crisis situation in its own right. With the press having an unlimited source of information from the excited fans of Yay Me, and a picture that they can manipulate however they want, they can turn an exaggerated, completely made up story into a credible testimony.

"How can I calm down? Cody will kill me!" the heiress shouted at the candy counter girl.

"Oh come on London! You don't really believe that. Cody's too nice to even think about killing someone…" the blonde girl replied"…except maybe Zack"

"Yeah…" taking a deep breath, the dark haired girl calmed down a bit. Maddie has a point; Cody is too nice to do any harm to people. Heck, she needed to turn him into a dress-up doll for him finally explode during the first season of her production. "…I guess you're right"

"Are you sure you're okay?" Carey asked her very sick son as he prepared to register himself as present in today's essay writing competition. After Cody read the article out loud, he couldn't give an explanation.

Flashback

Cody brought down the newspaper as he nervously looked at the two, glaring adults beside him. "Heh heh heh…" he gave out a nervous laugh "Journalists…what whacky minds they have, eh?"

"A little too wacky if you ask me" the single mom said in a dark tone.

"And don't forget the picture. The article is just half of the story" Mr. Moseby added.

"L-look, y-you guys have to believe me. N-nothing happened! I-I was just comforting London because she was stressed out. There's nothing between us so far" the sickly boy replied rather reluctantly.

"So Far?" the manager raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, so far?" Carey is has now crossed her arms over her chest and is tapping her index finger lightly.

"Uhmm…well…you see…" He hates this position. It's like being stuck in a 2ft by 3ft cave surrounded by rattlesnakes. He doesn't want to put any meaning to the 'so far' in his statement. It just came out. Maybe because he was hoping that there'll be more than friendship between them? No way! He's given up that dream since Todd came.

Two pairs of eyes bore down on his soul as he tried to find an innocent and totally believable explanation. "Uh…uhmm…you see, it's like this…this…and…and that!"

The saying 'Saved By The Bell' came to mind that very instant in Cody's mind as his alarm clock rang signaling them that its time for early morning preparations. "Well…look at the time…" he said as he hastily tried to stand up (of course, as hastily as his sickened body can move) "...I need to get ready for that essay writing contest"

"You're still going to that contest?" Carey's anger turned to sudden worry. If Cody insists on going to school in his condition, then all other inquiries must be postponed henceforth.

"Yeah…I'm the school's representative. We may not have regular classes but the contest must go on"

"Honey, I can't let you go to that contest! Look at yourself!"

"But mom—"

"I'm sorry but if your going to that contest looking like that, then the judges might make you write a 5-page essay on Why school's must not be sued for entering a sick child in a contest" the single mom strongly objected to her son's persistence

"Can we get back on track here!" Mr. Moseby interrupted the two as he shook the article in his hand violently. Both Martins merely looked at him for a few seconds before turning towards one another.

"Honey, you can't go" Carey once again insisted

The manager merely rolled his eyes, realizing that he'll get no further comments from mother and son; he went out of the suite. He'll have to get answers from London

End of Flashback

Needless to say, Cody won their little argument since they are now in school and Cody's getting ready to compete, despite some headaches and a light case of vertigo.

"I'm okay mom" the sickly boy replied, ignoring the nosy paparazzi trying to get a picture of London's new item

"Okay" with that said, the single mom let go of her son and allowed him to enter the competition

"You know, you have to face him somehow" Mr. Moseby told London as the said heiress looked at her vibrating cell phone. After heading straight to London's suite, he wasn't surprised to see Maddie in it as well.

Flashback

"LONDON!!!" Mr. Moseby stormed into the suite of his 'near daughter' and held up the article "What is the meaning of this?"

"Moseby?" London stood up from her position and prepared herself for a confrontation with her guardian.

"What Moseby?" the manager asked "is there any other manager of this hotel"

"Yup…but there's only one MEANager" Maddie joked followed by a laugh to which London happily took part in.

The manager merely growled and glared towards the candy counter which immediately silenced the teen.

"Moseby…" London began, taking on a more serious tone "…Cody was just comforting me. I was a damsel in distress."

"Mm-hmm…" the manager raised an eyebrow "…how are you going to explain this to your father? You think he'll buy that?"

"Yes?" the dark haired girl replied with a tone laced with uncertainty.

"What about Cody? You think your father will be gentle with Cody about this?" now, the manager took on a tone that made both Maddie and London nervous. Just then, the heiress's phone rang. Looking down on her phone, London silently read the monitor of her phone which displayed the caller's identity—Daddy.

End of Flashback

"He's right London…" Maddie backed up the manager "…you know he'll want an explanation on any rising story about you"

London nodded as she swallowed hard "I know…" with that said, she pressed the accept button and brought the phone to her ear "Hello Daddy"

"LONDON!! WHAT'S THE MEANING OF THIS?!! HE'S THREE YEARS YOUNGER THAN YOU FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE!!!" her daddy suddenly shouted through the phone, his anger apparent through the earpiece.

"Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh…" the heiress laughed nervously as her fingers uncomfortably played with the ends of her hair "…so I guess you saw the article?"

"Yes, I read it and right now, I am very furious. London, this boy is beyond any other boyfriend you had. He is far too young" Mr. Tipton scolded from the other side of the phone.

Giving out an exasperated sigh, London sat down on her couch and massaged her temples gently. This is going to be a long session of father-daughter chat. The media can really mess things up. She just hope Cody is enjoying all the media attention

He hates this...he hates this with a passion. Cody'y eyebrow continuously tiwtched as they awaited the results of the competition. As he stood there on the backstage, the media kept on trying to get a picture of him and interview him. They made the small space of the backstage even more cramped.

"And the winner of our Essay writing contest is…" the announcer paused to prolong the suspense "CODY MARTIN!!!"

Cody wasn't expecting to win the essay writing contest. True, he is rather confident about his writing skills, but during the entirety of the contest, he's been experiencing light vertigo and nausea. Hence, he wasn't in the best shape to write an essay, much less make an essay that is a winning one.

Very little applause came from the audience. The majority came from his mother and some people from the school board as he was handed a trophy and a medal. He wasn't that surprised of course. Even before the essay writing contest started, people have been…

"Hey Martin…" a competitor interrupted the blonde boy's train of thoughts. "…How'd you bribe the judges to making you win? Or did your girlfriend bribe them for you?"

Cody sighed exasperatedly. Everyone of his competitors, the majority of the audience even, have suspected that he's been using London and the media connections to win. Some say it was bribery, others say that the media changed the subject to favor him while some say that the judges are trying to make Cody look good since he's being covered by the media.

"None of the above" was all he said before he shoved pass the loser and went down stairs where he is immediately confronted by the paparazzi.

"Cody, how do you feel about winning the contest?"

"Is it true that you used London to bribe the judges?"

"Martin, what is your opinion on the rumors regarding your moralities in this competition?"

"Cody, Is it true that you and London made out while under the camera of Yay me starring London Tipton?"

Camera flashes blinded him, media personnel suffocated him and their voices confused him.

"Umm…uhh…no…" he was honestly mumbling random words and answers to the few questions he is able to catch. His head started to ache and he started to get dizzy and nauseous. He feels like throwing up!!

Thankfully, the teachers and contest staff members were able to make enough room for him to go through the rage of paparazzi.

"Honey are you alright?" Carey worriedly went to her son as soon as they reunited with one another.

"Swell…" Cody replied as he clutched his head, leaning on his mother for support "…let's go home mom. The last thing I need is more paparazzi and more competitors questioning me about the essay"

"Okay" the single mom nodded. She knows that people are questioning her son's ethics in the competition and knows just how uncomfortable her son feels about being sick, trampled on by the media and glared and criticized by the competition.

To be continued

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