There was no sound at all in the Martin family suite apart from Mikayla's sobs and some gently whispered words of comfort from Carey. As the two females sat together on the couch, Zack and Cody worked silently in the kitchen. They washed the dishes and put them away as quietly as possible, so as not to disturb their emotionally distraught guest. When they were done, Mikayla was still crying in Carey's arms. The twins spoke to each other in hushed tones.

"Should we go over and try to help?" Zack asked.

"I want to," Cody admitted. "But there's nothing we can do that Mom's not already doing."

Zack nodded. "We'll just give them some space." He paused for a long while as he gazed over at Mikayla. Zack did not have the reputation for being as sensitive as his twin, but truthfully, he was a very compassionate young man in his own right. "We have to make things better for her," he whispered to Cody.

"I know."

"How do we do that?"

Cody was silent. Finally, he looked down at the floor. "I wish I knew."

Mikayla's crying was finally starting to subside when there was a knock at the door.

"That's probably London," Cody said. He looked to Mikayla. "I can tell her that now's not a good time."

"No," the girl answered as she sniffed back her remaining tears. "I'll be fine in a second."

"Come on," Carey told her as they both rose from the couch. "Let's get you cleaned up."

The two females made their way to the bathroom while Zack went to answer the door. As Cody had guessed, it was London...but she wasn't alone. Mr. Moseby was with her. The twins barely had time to nod to him before London started speaking excitedly.

"Where's Mikayla?" she asked. "Moseby's going fix everything for her."

"Hold on, London," the hotel manager cautioned. "Let's not overstate things."

"Can you really help her?" Cody asked.

Before Moseby could respond, Carey and Mikayla emerged from the bathroom. London waved to a greeting and Cody quickly introduced Mr. Moseby, since Mikayla seemed a bit nervous by the presence of someone she hadn't already met. Fortunately, the hotel manager could sense her discomfort and he made sure to speak in a very polite and friendly tone which helped put her at ease.

Once everyone had taken a seat in the living room, Moseby asked Mikayla a few questions about her living arrangements and any savings she might have. The young singer explained that she only had enough money to pay her bills for one more month.

"And do you have much that you'd need to move?" Moseby asked.

Mikayla shook her head. "I've had to sell most of my things."

"Well, at least there won't be any great moving expenses," Moseby concluded.

"But I have no place to move," she said.

"Yes, you do," London put in with a big smile. "You're going to live here at the Tipton!"

"I can't afford-" Mikayla began, but Moseby gestured to her indicating that he would explain.

"Since resuming my duties here as hotel manager, I've been reviewing how business went while I was gone," he said. "One major change I've noticed has to do with our lounge entertainment. In fact I was going to speak to you soon about that Carey, but now that Mikayla's situation has-"

"Wait one second," Zack interrupted. "London says Mikayla's going to live in the hotel, and you're talking about the lounge entertainment...which is Mom." Zack gave Moseby a dirty look. "You better not be firing Mom and giving Mikayla her job."

Everyone started talking at once after Zack made that accusation. After minute or two of chaos, Carey yelled to cut through the uproar.

"QUIET!"

After her shout had silenced everyone else, Carey continued in a calm tone. "I'm sure Mr. Moseby is not going to fire me." She then turned to the manager and whispered "You're not firing me, are you?"

Moseby rolled his eyes. "No, I am most certainly NOT going to fire Carey," he announced. "Zack jumped to a very incorrect conclusion. And if I may finish without interruption, you'll all see that firing Carey is the furthest thing from my mind."

The manager went on to explain that over the past several months, Carey's lounge act, which had always been successful, had actually experienced an increase in popularity. A very noticeable increase.

"The crowds have been great lately," Carey said with pride. "But I didn't realize I was that popular."

"Oh believe me, you are," Moseby assured her. "Perhaps you had more free time to rehearse while Zack and Cody were out at sea. Or maybe you simply had more energy to put into your performances, but whatever the reason...your act has become one of the hottest tickets in Boston."

"Way to go Mom," Zack said.

"We're proud of you," Cody added. Then he turned to Moseby. "But how does all this lead to Mikayla living at the hotel?"

"Because of the increased business in the lounge, the hotel could bring in a lot more revenue if we added performances. The demand right now would actually justify an afternoon show and two evening performances...all seven days of the week."

Carey's eyes went wide at that statement. Moseby noticed her shock.

"Yes, Carey, I know," he said. "Your contract gives you a much lighter schedule. I was going to talk to you about a new contract with more performances. Naturally an increase in pay would go along with it."

"I appreciate the offer," she answered. "And I could definitely use more money, but the schedule you just described...I don't think I could do that. Not without the quality of the show suffering."

"Which would hurt your popularity, and that's the last thing we want," Moseby said. "However, if we went to the new schedule but only had you work as many performances as you could comfortably handle, and hired a second singer to fill out the rest...."

Everyone in the room could see where this line of reasoning was leading, and now Zack, Cody and Carey were all wearing excited smiles that matched London's.

Mikayla however, looked unsure. "You want me to be the second lounge singer?"

"It's perfect," London said with glee.

"And you'd be our neighbor," Zack added. "We could hang out together." This idea appealed greatly to him.

"It would be nice," Cody chimed in. He also liked the idea of Mikayla being in the same building.

"I don't know," the young singer said in a worried tone. "I'd need to put an act together...pick the right songs. What if I'm no good?"

Carey tried to reassure the girl and offered to help her with the act. "Don't let the troubles you're going through shake your confidence. You've performed in front of thousands of people. You can handle the Tipton lounge."

Moseby also had some encouraging words. "You wouldn't have to give your first performance until you felt you were ready. We're not going to this new schedule overnight. We'll ease into it gradually to give both you and Carey time to adjust."

"But that doesn't mean you can't move in right away," London said happily. "We can have your suite ready tomorrow."

Mikayla's head was spinning. It had been only a matter of hours since she'd thought her entire life was ruined beyond repair. Now people that she'd just met were doing everything they could to help her. It was all too good to be true. It had to be. Her doubts caused her to try and think of some hidden drawbacks to Moseby's offer.

"You're all being so wonderful to me," she said. "And I don't want to sound ungrateful because I do need the job, but have you thought about how the press will react when they find out I'm working here?"

"As a matter of fact, I have," Moseby answered. "Are you worried that people will assume you're working here as a last resort? That everyone will think of you as a failure?"

Mikayla nodded. In her mind, she was a failure. Two years ago some people were telling her that she was going to be the next Hannah Montana, but now she was one step away from being homeless.

"Do keep in mind, this is a five star establishment," Moseby went on. "It's not like you'll be working at a budget motel."

The young singer suddenly realized that her concern about the media reaction might seem insulting to Mr. Moseby's hotel. Or even worse, insulting to Carey. Mikayla didn't want to imply that working as a lounge singer was somehow a second-rate job. She began to explain this, but the two adults told her not to worry.

"We know you weren't being insulting," Carey said.

"Unfortunately, I can't control how the press reports your story," Moseby added. "But I will use my authority as hotel manager to keep them from harassing you personally. I'll ban all reporters and photographers from the building if necessary."

"You might not have to," Zack said, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"I know that look," Cody said as he observed his twin. "You've got something in mind."

"To handle the press, we just need the proper spin control," Zack said. "And who knows spin better than me?"

"You do realize that some people consider 'spin' to be just another term for lying, don't you?" Mr. Moseby asked sarcastically.

"Give him a chance," Cody replied. "This may be one of those rare times that Zack's devious nature could be used for good, instead of evil."

"Point taken," the manager conceded.

Ignoring the exchange, Zack continued to ponder the best way to handle the press. Finally, a sly grin appeared on his face.

"Here's what we tell anyone who asks about Mikayla's job," he said. "She's working here for fun. She took this job only as a personal favor to her brand new BFF...London Tipton."

"Me?" the heiress said. "Yay! I've got a new BFF!"

"It's the perfect solution," Zack went on. "We'll just have the girls hang out together in public, go to a few high profile parties, and then the press won't give a second thought to Mikayla being at the hotel. We don't even have to say she's living here. We can just say that she has a suite here reserved for her use, and act like she only stays in it part of the time."

Everyone was impressed with Zack's cover story. It was brilliant in its simplicity, and quite believable. Reporters would have no compelling reason to question it.

"And it's not even like we're being dishonest," London concluded. "Because Mikayla and I can be friends for real."

The young singer had to let out a laugh at London's enthusiasm. But she certainly agreed with the sentiment. Judging by all the help London and the others were giving her, Mikayla had found herself an entire room full of friends.

To be continued...

author's note: Please review. I need the feedback.