Chapter 52

Again, I don't own any of these characters

Everyone was on the floor after having been knocked down. After waiting to make sure there were no aftershocks, everyone slowly began to rise back to their feet.

Zack was the first to say something. "What was that? Did we just hit something?" He turned to the girls and then finally to his brother. But something was different. Cody now looked like...Cody. "Bro! You're you again!"

Cody looked down and then back over at Zack. It was true. He was looking at his twin brother again. He then turned to the mirror and was never so happy so see his own reflection. "I am me again!"

He turned back to the girls, specifically Bailey. "Bails? Are you back too?"

Bailey turned to Cody or who she hoped was Cody again. "You're back in your body?"

"Yeah, are you?"

Bailey turned to the mirror, and she too saw her own reflection. Tears began to form in her eyes. She turned back to Cody and could only nod. Quickly, she ran and through herself into his arms and he just held on to her as tightly as he could.

Zack smiled and turned to Cassie. "I take it that means you're back too?"

Cassie could only smile and nod. She too ran and through herself into Zack's arms. Both couples just stood there and held each other for the longest time. Eventually, they both pulled apart, but neither broke contact with their significant other.

Cody spoke up. "Okay, pact time. From now on, we never mention this to anyone, and we never say anything that could give the cosmos or the fates reason to think we want to switch again...And, no more unnecessary bickering. As we just saw, it can only cause problems."

Everyone quickly nodded and agreed.

Cody turned to Bailey before turning back to Zack and Cassie. "As Bailey was saying, there is something we need to tell you..."

Zack interrupted. "No, us first. There is a guy from Yale coming on board today to meet with you both..."

Cody and Bailey just looked at Zack and Cassie. "What?"

"Yeah...Tut told us a couple of days ago. We wanted to wait to tell you after we switched back because we thought you two would freak out..."

Cody and Bailey just looked at each other and tried to stay calm. "Alright. What time and where?"

"2:30 in Conference Room B...Look, we know we should have told you earlier..."

Bailey sighs. "Its okay. We have something to tell you two as well..."

"What is it?"

Bailey looks to Cody and he nods. While Bailey walks over to her backpack, Cody slips across the hall quickly. When he returns, they both hand envelopes to Zack and Cassie. "These came the other day..."

Both Zack and Cassie look confused that the envelopes are already open. "You opened them? Isn't that a federal offense? You know, tampering with the mail..."

Cody sighs. "We got them while we were in detention. Let's just say that at the time, we were a little upset..."

Zack and Cassie both pull the letters out of the envelope and quickly read them. They both look up at Cody and Bailey who are smiling at them. Then, they turn to each other and at the same time. "I got in!" They immediately pull each other into another hug.

"Congratulations. You both got accepted to the same college. And a pretty good one at that..."

Cody turned to Bailey and smiled. "Think we'll be able to handle them being about an hour away?"

Bailey laughed. "I think it'll be okay..."

Zack was confused. "What are you talking about?"

"Zack, New Haven and Storrs are only about an hour and 15 minutes apart..."

Zack still wasn't catching on. "Storrs?"

Cody sighed. "Yeah, Storrs as in Storrs, Connecticut as in where UCONN is located..."

Zack and Cassie just look at each other again. "Sorry, I think we're still getting used to the idea that we both got into the same school..."

Cassie turns to Cody and Bailey. "Will we really be that close?"

Bailey smiled. "Yeah. Hartford is about halfway in between us. We could even meet there every so often..."

Zack just shakes his head. "UCONN..." He pauses and smiles. "That means BCS football!"

Cody rolls his eyes. "Barely. Its the Big East. Add seven guys to you, me, Marcus and Woody, and we could win that conference..."

Zack smiled. "I don't care. Right now, nothing could wipe this smile off of my face..."

"How about the fact that we have class in an hour?"

Zack sighed. "You couldn't let me have my moment, could you?"

Bailey laughed. "Well, if it makes you feel better, you both aced you Geography quiz and your teachers are really happy with your class participation the past couple of days..."

Zack and Cassie both groaned. "Gee...thanks..."

Cody checked the clock again. "I hate to break up the party, but we all need to get ready for class, and I'm more than ready to move back into my cabin again...Besides, I bet there are a few people who would love to get phone calls from you both to learn the good news..."

Zack nodded. "You're right. We need to call Mom, Dad and Sarah..."

With that, Zack and Cassie both leave the cabin, excitedly talking with each other.

Bailey turns back to Cody and hugs him again. "I'm so glad to have you back here again."

Cody smiles. "Its good to be back...and to feel those arms around me again."

Bailey smiles. "Want to know what else I've missed?"

"What's that?"

"This..." She leans up and kisses him.

Cody grins. "Its good to be missed...What say you and I conserve water this morning and take a shower together?"

Bailey grins "Sounds good to me..."

"Did you know I actually had to clean Woody and Zack's shower? I felt like it was a large petri dish..."

Bailey grimaces. "That bad, huh?"

Cody nods. "Yeah...But you know what? I'll never have to use it again because I'm back here where I belong..."

"You sure are..." And with that Bailey leads Cody into the bathroom. The door closes and giggling can be heard coming from behind it.

Later that afternoon, Cody and Bailey find themselves sitting in Conference Room B. To make a good impression, the both dressed semi-formal yet conservative. An older gentleman finally comes into room carrying his briefcase and takes a seat. Once he organizes himself, he looks up to Cody and Bailey and smiles.

"Thank you for meeting me, I'm Dr. James Anderson, Associate Dean at Yale. I take it you are Cody Martin and Bailey Pickett?"

Both nod. "Yes, sir."

"Good, its good to finally meet you both and to welcome you both to the Yale family. We look forward to you officially joining us in August."

"Thank you, Cody and I are both pretty excited about it too."

"Have you had a chance to visit the campus?"

"Yes, sir. Bailey and I visited last summer and toured the campus. We even found an apartment to rent as well."

Dr. Anderson nods. "Very good. Its always advantageous to be ahead of the game. Well, I bet you are both wondering why I wanted to meet with you both today. I admit, a meeting like this is not the norm, but then again, you both have been awarded full academic scholarships."

Bailey looks to Cody and then back to Dr. Anderson. She knew better than to tell him that they had just found out this morning after having switched bodies with her cousin and Cody's brother. "You could say our curiosity has been piqued."

Dr. Anderson nods. "Well, unbeknownst to you, you both were nominated to be considered for the Albright Award. It is an honor bestowed to an incoming freshman who we feel best fits the definition of what the ideal Yale student should be."

Cody and Bailey look at each other in surprise. "We had no idea..."

Dr. Anderson smiled. "Well, you wouldn't. Students have to be nominated by a current Yale faculty member. And in your case, it was Dr. William Thomas..." He pauses. "But I believe you know his wife Jo better."

"Yeah, she's going to be our landlord..."

"Anyways, once nominated, a packet was sent here to your high school where you had to have a current teacher volunteer to present your case to be awarded the Albright. And this was done by a Miss Emma Tutweiler."

"Wow...We'll have to be sure to thank her."

"Ordinarily, we go to the high schools of our nominees and conduct interviews in person. And we were scheduled to meet you last November, but due to Hurricane Igor, it had to be canceled."

"So, is this just a formality? Having to meet all candidates before you can officially name the winner?"

Dr. Anderson begins to laugh. "Not hardly. We wanted to meet you both as after the applications, you were both high on our list. If I may, your backgrounds are simply amazing. The city boy from Boston and the farm girl from Kansas. Yet, together, you've traveled the world and embraced other cultures. You've had a hands on education while others simply get theirs from a book. That's what we look for. Someone who is willing to go the distance to see truth and knowledge."

Bailey paused. "Okay, I think you've lost us..."

"Well, beyond coming here to officially welcome you to Yale, I wanted to congratulate you both on becoming the first ever joint winners of the Albright Award..."

Cody and Bailey just look on in complete shock. "Huh?"

Dr. Anderson laughs again. "I know this must come as a bit of a surprise, but you won. Your teacher, Miss Tutweiler said that as individuals, you were both strong candidates, but that as a team, you were unbeatable. And, we believe she is correct."

"Thank you, Dr. Anderson. This is truly a great honor."

"Well, just prove us right. And when you arrive in New Haven, we'll work on setting up the grant for you."

"The grant?"

Dr. Anderson smiles. "Yes. If I may admit, you guys are robbing us blind. Beyond your scholarships, you're being jointly awarded a grant in the same amount of normal tuition. Normally, the Albright serves as another full scholarship, but in rare instances like in your case, the award winner has already received a full scholarship. In those cases, the Albright winner essentially doubles up and receives the amount as another stipend. So, you both are jointly being awarded an annual stipend equal to a year's tuition. Just for reference, that amount for this academic year was $49,800. Of course, we do expect it to be higher next year..."

Cody and Bailey just sit there with their eyes bulging and their mouths wide open.

To be Continued...