Chapter 3: "Kim! I can't believe it's you!"

So, interesting chapter title huh? Well, not really. It's a quote from somebody later in the chapter. It's just a little hint, telling you that Kim meets somebody she's seen before. Though if you're smart, and you read the summary, you'll pretty much know who she bumps into.

Thanks for the reviews for the previous chapter! They were awesome! I'm really surprised with all the positive comments I'm getting, so YAY!

And to Angel-of-Energy: I'm actually not very sure if tobogganing is the same as sledding. I've checked the Internet but no definite answers.

Anyone knows if tobogganing is the same as sledding? Please comment if you do.

Hope you guys like this chapter! Not my personal best, but I have to upload SOMETHING.

Disclaimer: I do not own Kickin' It or the fictional character that's about to appear later in the chapter that is from an old Disney show… (it's not the person I quoted, just to let you know)

It seemed like eternity before the day of the long-awaited cruise finally arrived. We all met up at the dojo, with all our bags and belongings, all set and pumped up to set off on the high seas.

The boys were busy clowning around as they tried to come up with a ridiculous karate routine while I sat on a bench at the side, my broken ankle propped up against the opposite bench on a cushion. I sighed, staring longingly at the guys as they kicked and punched in terrible synchronization. Stupid ankle.

My phone vibrated and upon seeing who sent me a text message, I rolled my eyes. Mom had been messaging me like, every five minutes ever since I left the house that morning. She just wouldn't put her mind at rest. Every text had been about being careful with my ankle, not to get involved in any relationship with a boy onboard, not to get in trouble on the ship, or even things as ridiculous as remembering to get up no later than nine thirty.

I know she meant well, but I couldn't help but wish she'd leave me alone and let me manage things by myself. I mean, I was fourteen, for crying out loud, not a six-year-old going for her first day of first grade!

This time, the text message read, 'Sweetie, remember to go to bed by 10 p.m. every night. You need all the rest you can get. Love, Mom.' Hadn't she already told me that?

It was frustrating to have Miranda Crawford as your mother. And not only because she was quite a nag, but also because she had no idea how to use text messaging lingo.

"Another text from your mom?" I looked up to see a smiling Jack.

I rolled my eyes. "What else is new?"

"How's your ankle?" Jack asked.

I shrugged. "It's doing pretty okay. I just need to make sure I am always walking on crutches, and that nothing knocks against it and causes too much impact."

Jack had a troubled look on his face when he said, "Look Kim, I'm still really sorry about your ankle."

I sighed. That's probably the only thing Jack had been saying around me for the past week, and nothing else. I know he was just upset and really sorry for causing my injury, but it was barely his fault, and he needn't keep going on about it.

"I know you are," I said, struggling to hide my frustrated feelings with a grin. "And you don't need to say so anymore."

Jack looked relieved, but I'm pretty sure that in another ten minutes, he was going to apologize again.

"C'mon guys, let's go," Rudy said, finally coming out of his office. Or more like stumbling out of his office, because of the fact that he had a backpack carelessly slung over his shoulder, a duffel bag around the other shoulder, an athletic bag in his left hand, and a huge, bulky luggage in the other. He also had a pouch around his waist.

"Whoa Rudy, we're only gonna be there a week, not a whole month," Jack said, wide-eyed and shocked.

"Well, I originally managed to pack everything into my luggage here," Rudy panted breathlessly. "But then I wondered whether I would have enough clothes if let's say, I was one of the survivors of a sinking ship – guys, remember Titanic? So I decided to pack some emergency stuff in here." He vigorously shook the athletic bag in his left hand. "But what if we got stranded on an island and monkeys stole the clothes in here? Or if I lost these clothes while struggling ashore? So I packed some more things in his duffel bag. And finally, the backpack is where I keep my stash of junk food and juice boxes."

I rolled my eyes. Rudy was one of those people who were always over-prepared.

"Anyway, we better be on the move, guys, or we'll miss the boat," Eddie said, grabbing his luggage.

All the guys immediately scurried towards their baggage, dragging them away from the shrinking cluster of luggage. Soon, all that was left was my metallic lavender blue luggage, standing in loneliness.

I rolled my eyes. Trust the guys to be completely oblivious to the fact that I, Kim Crawford, a girl, had a broken ankle and could not drag her own luggage.

I struggled to get off the bench, using my crutches as support, and finally managed to stand up. My eyes trained themselves on my luggage as I hobbled forward.

Suddenly, for some particular reason, I stumbled on something, sending me flailing backwards towards the cold hard floors of the dojo. I braced myself for a sickening thud, but the thud never came.

Fluttering my eyes open, I saw that I was in the arms of none other than Jack Anderson, who had caught me and prevented my fall. My arms were surging with electricity from his touch.

I was just about to wriggle out of his grip out of embarrassment when I noticed what a deep brown his eyes were. I've always known his eyes were that color – but this was the first time I actually stared into them I realized that they were more than just deep brown – they were like orbs of Belgian chocolate. Perfect, addictive, and hypnotizing, they twinkled merrily whenever he smiled or laughed.

"Um… Kim?"

I suddenly realized in horror what I was doing, and quickly pulled away, my body hot with embarrassment. My cheeks were flamingo pink as I wormed out of his grasp and stood up with the support of my crutches.

"Um… sorry," I stuttered. "Thanks for, um, breaking my fall."

Jack, still looking a little weirded out by my strange behavior, said hesitantly, "No… no problem." Snapping out of his thoughts, he rushed forward and grabbed my luggage. "I'll get that for you," he said, dragging it towards the entrance.

I smiled gratefully at him, my body still tingling. "Thanks again."

All the boys were already outside by the time I had hobbled my way to the door. As I stepped out into the fresh, winter air, I couldn't help but feel a thrill of excitement. Starshine Cruise, here we come!

After suffering from a bumpy, rowdy, extremely long (it took forever to get to the dock, because it was in a different city) and nauseating ride in a cab, we finally arrived at the dock. Desperate the get out of the vehicle, I stumbled out in a rush, glad to finally get a whiff of fresh air.

"Worst… ride… of… my… life," Jack panted, staggering out after me.

"This was like the time Jerry burped after eating pizza in the dojo," the skinny nerd said, picking himself up the ground after Eddie had pushed him out in a frantic hurry. "Except this time, the burp didn't come out the right end."

"Rudy, you honestly should have hired a bigger taxi," Jack complained to our sensei. "Do you know how stuffy and awful-smelling it was in there?"

"Hey, it was either the taxi, or my bike," Rudy protested defensively.

I sighed and turned to face the dock. Families and couples dragging luggage milled around, chattering at the top of their voices as they navigated their way towards the ship.

Only one word could describe the ship: phenomenal. The cruise ship towered over us like a giant, white, well-carved boat statue, and it gleamed under the sun's rays and the cornflower blue sky. Windows ran along the side, and along the bottom of the boat, 'Starshine'was written in calligraphy.

"Well, let's board the ship! I really want to see what it looks like on the inside," Eddie trilled with excitement. "Plus, I'm hoping there's a free, all-you-can-eat welcome buffet." He rubbed his belly for emphasis before darting off in the direction of the boat.

The mere thought of eating food after that terrible taxi ride caused my stomach juices to start churning.

"So Rudy, what's our rooming system?" Jack questioned, glancing over to the piece of paper Rudy was holding.

"Well, Kim, you have a tiny room to yourself, since you're the only girl," Rudy said, scanning the paper. "Jack, you're with me, and Milton, Eddie, and Jerry are all together."

I was kind of disappointed, yet relieved. Only girl meant one room all to myself – which meant I could do anything I wanted in there. But people do get lonely at times.

Milton and Jerry shared a high-five upon hearing the news and began doing an unsightly dance, while Jack and Rudy laughed at their antics. I couldn't help but giggle along with them, as terrible as their dance was.

The inside of the ship was even more breathtaking than the outside.

When you first enter the ship, you see three floors of plain luxury. The walls were a creamy yellow color, and each floor had a golden railing. Velvet-covered staircases and roomy lifts gave transportations to different floors. Now, on the very first floor, you receive entry to the sky deck, which is spacious and full of people tanning themselves, drinking cocktails, eating high-quality food, or just standing around and talking their heads off to friends. On the first floor, you could also find a huge hot tub, where you find teenagers and adults soaking and lazing around in.

It was amazing. Everything was so luxurious, and everyone there looked so sophisticated.

"This place is awesome, yo!" Jerry gasped. He then pointed at the first level in glee. Peering down, I realized I had failed to notice a table covered in red cloth. Many containers of food were lined up in a pretty fashion on it, and there was a line of people queuing for some food. In other words, it was a buffet table.

"And look! There's Eddie!" Jerry yelled again. Yup, I spotted the stubby African-American stuffing his face into the goodness of some fancy-looking shrimp. Upon spotting us, Eddie waved and began rushing up the steps, clutching onto his plate with greasy fingers. When he was barely halfway up the stairs, he was already huffing in exhaustion, and I had a feeling it took him a good three more minutes to climb up completely.

"Guys, this shrimp is legendary," Eddie sighed in content, taking another bite of the sea creature. "It's so delicious. You guys have got to try some later on. And take as much as you like, because the buffet is free!"

I gawked at him. Was Eddie psychic or something?

"Hello, and welcome aboard Starshine."

The calm voice freaked me out, and spinning around, I saw an African-American man about my height standing in front of me. Overall, he was smartly-dressed, with a crimson red jacket and striped tie. In his jacket pocket rested a purple, well-folded handkerchief. He had the looks of a sophisticated man – well, until you had a look at his bottom half, where he was wearing white shorts, high knee socks, and black shoes.

"I'm the manager of the ship, Mr. Marian Moseby," he said politely. "Nice to meet you all."

For some strange reason, he seemed oddly familiar. I was racking my brain, trying to think of where I had seen him before, when Jack seemed to have answered my question.

"Hey! You used to be that really short dude who ran the SS Tipton! And before that, the Tipton Hotel!" Jack blurted out, snapping his fingers in triumph. He then frowned in disgust at Mr. Moseby's socks. "And dude, put on some pants and lose the knee socks." My memory was jogged – yes, I did stay at the Tipton Hotel when I visited Boston before.

Mr. Moseby pulled a face in mention of his height and fashion sense. "Yes, spot on, young man. I used to work for the SS Tipton – but alas, Mr. Tipton sold the ship. Bad timing too – those two hooligan twins were about to graduate, so I would have been able to run the ship in peace afterwards."

We stared at him blankly, so he quickly continued, "Well, anyway, welcome to the ship! You guys must be the Wasabi Warriors, am I not wrong?"

We nodded.

"Good, good. Now, I was instructed by Mr. Wasabi to lead you all to your rooms and give you a tour of the ship," Mr. Moseby continued. "Now, allow me to lead you to your rooms first to put down your baggage. Kimberly… Crawford? Must be you, right?"

I scowled in mention of my full name and grumbled a response. The manager smiled uncertainly and began leading us down the corridor before stopping in front of door marked with the number fourteen.

"This is your room, Miss Crawford," he said, flinging the door open in one graceful gesture. I gaped at the sight before me.

If my room was 'tiny', according to Rudy, then those boys were certainly lucky.

The walls, similar to the outside, was painted creamy yellow, and had a window at the far end looking out to the turquoise sea. A bed with clean, crisp bed sheets was pushed against the wall, and opposite it was a high-tech, flat-screen TV. Not far away, a brown cupboard, a smooth, wooden desk, and a vanity mirror stood patiently, waiting to be used. The floor was carpeted with a blanket of creamy-white fur, which was ticklish, yet extremely comfortable, to the step.

The bathroom was the most luxurious one I've ever seen. It had white, marble tiles on the floor, and the walls were bronze with real shells etched into them. A long mirror stretched the total width of the room, right in front of a long, white sink. Nearby, I had a brightly-lit shower area and an inviting bath tub to soak in.

"This room is amazing!" I trilled in excitement. Not even bothering to kick off my shoes, I rushed up to the bed and flopped down like a starfish. Wow, how totally out of character for me. This room really has its effect on people.

"Whoa Kim, lucky you, you have this entire, awesome room to yourself," Jack said in envy. I laughed and smacked him playfully.

"If I have this, you have twice of this."

Jack's eyes widened at the prospect of having brilliant room, and immediately ushered Mr. Moseby out the door. "Come on, Mr. Moseby, bring Rudy and I to our room, stat."

All the boys, eager to see what luxury room awaited them, rushed out at the same time, causing them all to collide with each other.

Mr. Moseby groaned. "And I thought those hooligan days were over."

I frowned at the manager, trying to resist the temptation to give him a good telling off and to say very firmly that my friends were not what he called 'hooligans'. Childish and juvenile, maybe, but not hooligans.

"Alright, boys, come with me," he said, leading them off down the right corridor.

Jack stopped and peered into my room, where I was still sitting on the bed. "Kim, you coming?"

I shook my head. "No, I'm good. You guys go ahead. I'm gonna unpack. Later, come fetch me for the tour, will you?"

He flashed me a charming smile and nodded, before darting off after the boys.

I sighed and began taking out my clothes, rearranging them nicely in the closet. I was a very organized person, so all my clothes were arranged according to type and color. It took a while, but in the end, I still benefitted because it made choosing clothes a lot easier.

By the time I was done unpacking, the boys still hadn't come back from their rooms, so I was guessing they were fooling around and still gasping in awe over the amazing facilities of their bedrooms. I laughed at the mental image of Eddie wolfing down the complimentary cookies that were left in the suite, Milton trying to predict the sea level through the window, Jerry accidentally flooding the bathroom, Jack busting karate moves all over the place, and Rudy trying to calm everyone down. Those boys and their antics.

Still giggling, I decided to head out and go check out the place myself for a while first before coming back to my room. As I stepped out the door and locked it, I heard a buzz coming from my pocket.

The message from my mother read, 'Are you on the ship yet? How's the place? Love, Mom.'

At least it wasn't another message about sleeping by 10.

I smiled and started typing my reply when I suddenly collided into something, or someone, because after the collision, I heard a very loud "Ouch!" get yelped into my ear.

"I'm so sorry!" I quickly apologized, putting my phone away and looking up.

But the person I saw was not a total stranger, and it wasn't somebody I ever wanted to see again.

"Ricky?" I gasped in shock, looking up at the brown-eyed, doll-haired, jerk-faced mega pop star. He was still rubbing his arm in pain when he looked up. The pained expression on his face was replaced with a face of utter disbelief and surprise.

"Kim?" Ricky Weaver's jaw dropped for a moment, and it slowly curved into a smile. "Kim! I can't believe it's you! What a coincidence, huh, that we're both on Starshine now?"

Wait, he was actually happy to see me again?

"Why are you happy?" I demanded rudely, my eyes flashing with hatred. "Happy because I can now toss you onto the buffet table downstairs, like how I did with the bowl of guacamole? I hate you. You're an absolute jerk, Doll Hair. I'm leaving now, and I hope we never lock eyes again." Whipping around, I began to stomp off.

But I was stopped by a certain 'dreamy' pop star.

"Kim, please forgive me," Ricky pleaded. "I know I was a jerk to you, and I treated you and played you just like all the other girls, but I regret it because you're different from all the typical fan girls I have. Hurting you was stupid of me, really. And I was hoping you'd give me another chance."

His words made absolutely no sense to the extent that I had to stifle a laugh. I put on a cold, harsh little face and glared at him with piercing eyes.

"Give you another chance?" I spat. "Please, Ricky, that is not going to happen. In fact, I don't even think you're sincere. You're just trying to play me again. In fact, your entire speech is probably copied right off a paragraph from some cliché romance book."

"Kim, I'm not joking," Ricky said. I was surprised to see genuine sincerity in his hazel eyes. "I'm really serious about this – I was stupid to hurt you and I honestly regret it. Please give me another chance."

Now, it was either Ricky was as great an actor as he was a singer, or he was truly sincere and honest about wanting another chance. And even though a typical Kim Crawford would go with the first option, she decided to trust the latter.

"Look Ricky," I sighed, my expression softening slightly. "I just… after what you did, I don't know if I can give you another chance."

Ricky's face fell. "But Kim…"

"Sorry."

"Kim, please…"

"Stop pleading, or I'll flip you!" I snapped, losing my temper.

"Hey Kim, we're back…" I spun around to see the guys rushing towards me. Jack was right in the front, and he was also the one who had called out. But he trailed off when he saw who I was talking to.

"You!" he spluttered. "What… what are you doing here? And what were you talking about? Why were you talking to him?"

"Relax Jack. Ricky's just here by coincidence," I explained, shooting the pop star a glare. "And he wasn't talking, he was pleading. And I wasn't talking, I was snapping."

Jack seemed to relax a bit, but he still looked pretty pissed by the fact that Ricky was here on the ship.

"Stay away from Kim, Ricky, and quit bothering her," Jack warned. "Or you'll get it from me – I mean, the Wasabi Warriors."

"Yeah!" the guys chorused threateningly, edging forward.

Ricky sighed. "See you around, Kim," he said dejectedly, quickly sprinting down the stairs two at a time to escape the fierce and angry mob of Bobby Wasabi students.

"Well, he's out of your hair, thanks to us," Jack said proudly, straightening his shirt. "Now come on Kim, time for the tour. We're meeting Mr. Moseby at the receptionist. He had some quick business to attend to before this." And placing a hand on my back – which sent tingles up my spine – he led me to the receptionist.

I laughed and smiled as I walked down with the boys, but they were all forced. Because the whole time, I was thinking about Ricky's dejected expression.

So, turns out to be RICKY WEAVER! How many of you guessed it? I'm guessing a lot of you though. :P And the character I mentioned in the disclaimer is MR. MOSEBY. Haha, bet you didn't see that coming. He won't be playing a major role in this – he'll just be your fussy ship manager.

I'm not too good at describing cruise ships – in fact, I don't think I've ever been on one! (except when I was, like, five, but it's really blurry in my mind right now) So sorry for the terrible description of the ship's inside. :(

I watched 'Badge of Honor' yesterday! Yup, somebody finally posted the link! It's pretty, actually, how Rudy's at the skate park and everything – though the part where he was 'flying through the air' and doing that 'sick move' was pretty fake, and it's obvious it was shot in front of a green screen. I also think Milton was really going overboard with the whole cop thing. It actually reminds me of the Suite Life on Deck episode, 'In the Line of Duty', from Season 2, where Zack goes overboard being the hallway monitor.

Oh well, I'm done babbling! Hope you like the chapter, even though I personally dislike it, and thanks for reading!

CIAO!

~Kelsey