A/N: Again, I do not own The Suite Life on Deck or the setting or characters. Except for Lenny, she's mine :) I'm happy you guys are reading! Please let me know if there's anything you really love, don't think is right, anything! :D
"Ready Bailey?" Cody asked his friend. He had his part of the project in a wagon.
"Yup. I've got it," Bailey said, hauling a wagon stuffed to the top, "Both mine and Lenny's."
Lenny looked up from her bed. She waved her hands a bit in some hand gestures, and Bailey translated for Cody, "Len says that she's sorry she can't come with us and tells us good luck." Lenny did some more motions with her hands. "Stop it Len!" Bailey exclaimed.
"What'd she say?" Zack asked, from beside Lenny's bed.
"No one's business," Bailey said dejectedly. Lenny made some more movements with her hands, "She also said to make sure we don't break it. We won't, Lenny!"
"Don't worry about a thing, Lenny. I've got your notes and everything. I'm sure our invention will win the Tokyo Young Inventors Competition!" Cody reassured her.
Lenny looked sad and moved her hands sadly. "She just wishes she could be there with us to see it win," Bailey translated.
"How do you guys do that? It's like some secret language or something," Zack marveled.
Bailey and Lenny just shrugged. "I guess we just know each other that well," Bailey replied for both of them.
"It's nice of you to stay here and take care of Lenny while she's got laryngitis and the flu," Cody told his brother.
"Well, it was either this or clean the toilets on the fiesta deck with the Mexican buffet… I flipped a coin," Zack confessed. Lenny slapped his arm, and apparently hard because he replied with his high voice that he saved only for pain, "I mean I practically begged for this job – BEGGED I TELL YOU!"
"Oh, look at the time," Cody said, checking his watch and pulling Bailey by the hand, "We've got to get going. See you later Zack!"
Lenny did some hand motions. "Yup, we've got it – good luck," Bailey said as she left the room. She was already out the door when Lenny did another hand motion. "We won't get lost! And be quiet! I do NOT!" Bailey protested from the hall. Zack just had a look of complete and total shock on his face.
Cody and Bailey had just entered the lobby of the Tipton hotel in Tokyo where the Young Inventors Competition would be held. Mr. Moseby followed close behind, he had had to watch over them in this foreign city while Miss Tutweiler toured with the other students. "Now, where are you two supposed to sign in?" Mr. Moseby asked.
"Front desk," Cody replied. "It's kind of weird not seeing you behind that desk," he commented.
"Yes," Mr. Moseby mused. "Something seems familiar here…"
"It's just like the time that London tried remodeling the hotel using fung shei," Cody informed him. It came their turn to talk to the people and sign up. Cody said something in Japanese that was supposed to mean "We're here for the competition" but instead meant "We are here to attack your watermelons".
Bailey pushed Cody aside, she used the correct words in Japanese and got them signed in. "Don't try to talk in Japanese again," she whispered to Cody, "You'll get us in trouble!" Cody looked sad. They wheeled their stuff to the ballroom where the competition was to be held in order to set up.
Zack was watching as Lenny furiously tried to communicate to him with her hands. "Look, Len, I'm sorry I don't have Bailey's gift! And I couldn't find a dry erase board! Ugh, what's this mean?" Zack asked, copying Lenny's hand motion.
Lenny put her head in her hands, this was going to take a while. She tried to get up to get some paper, but Zack pushed her back into bed. "Nope, there is no way that you're getting up. The nurse told me that if I let you take one step out of bed, she would personally find something wrong with me… or make something wrong with me…" Zack shuddered.
Lenny looked up at the ceiling and shook her hands in anger. She tried signaling as easily as she could, for a drink of water, something to eat, even writing. Zack just wouldn't get it! She was getting frustrated and slapped Zack's arm.
"Ow! There's no need to get angry! I'll just get you everything I think you might need!" Zack announced, exiting the room. Lenny rolled her eyes and snuggled into her pillow – this could take a while.
Cody and Bailey had finished setting up and were demonstrating to Mr. Moseby how their invention worked as practice. "Then the sensors scan the area and pick up the signs of misplaced items," Bailey finished up.
"Very good. But what if the judges ask you about the programming?" Mr. Moseby asked.
"No problem," Cody replied, "That was done by Lenny, but I've got her notes so I can explain it. I've even highlighted the important information and tabbed the important pages."
"Did you use the highlight-tab I gave you?" Bailey asked.
"Yes," Cody replied proudly. "It works wonders."
Mr. Moseby still looked skeptical, "Did you test this in the field?"
"Well, we did use it to help clean Zack's room," Bailey informed him.
"That's putting it to the maximum test, you are sure to win!" Mr. Moseby told them.
"Sure to win – huh?" a boy said from behind Mr. Moseby. "I wouldn't be too sure of that," he said.
"What makes you say that? And who are you?" Cody asked the boy.
"I'm Anthony Pepperkins," the boy said snottily, "And who might you be?"
Cody stepped protectively between the mysterious boy and Bailey, "I'm Cody Martin, and this is my friend, Bailey Pickett."
"What's your marvelous invention that you claim will win?" Anthony asked.
Bailey looked at Cody from over his shoulder, "Should we tell him?"
Cody shrugged, "It couldn't hurt. Both of us, with our friend Lenny, made a scanner for rooms that tells you if anything is messy or misplaced and lets you know where it's supposed to go."
"Then it bugs you until you put it in the right place," Bailey added.
Anthony looked unimpressed. "Well, that's all good, but my girlfriend Grace and I made something much more… modern," he boasted.
"Like what?" Cody scoffed.
"Oh, nothing, just a robot that acts as a personal servant," Anthony replied nonchalantly.
"No way!" Bailey said in awe.
"Way," Anthony responded. He walked away coolly.
Mr. Moseby turned to the two, "Okay, so you might be in a little bit of hot water…"
Zack returned to the room where Lenny was taking a nap. He gently shook her awake. Thinking that she was finally getting some food, Lenny sat straight up. Zack reached behind him in the cart full of stuff that he had. "I've got a fluffy new pillow for you!" Zack announced as he fluffed it up a bit more. He placed it behind Lenny's back to make her more comfortable.
"Oh, and I got some music for you," Zack said. He pressed the play button on his laptop. "I tried to get the violinist from the restaurant to come here for you, but when he heard you had the flu, the wimp chickened out."
Lenny relaxed into the pillow a little. This was kind of nice, despite her hunger. Zack's eyes grew wide, "Please don't tell me you want a massage! I tried to get the masseuse, but she just screamed at me that she couldn't get laryngitis. And trust me, with her voice, you'd think she already has it," he smirked. Lenny couldn't help but silently giggle as well. "But, I mean, if you really want one I can try to give you one…" Zack offered.
Lenny smiled and shook her head. Then her stomach growled, really loud. "What was that? Some type of animal?" Zack asked. Lenny pointed at her stomach. "Oh, oh, you're hungry! Is that what you've been trying to tell me this whole time? I'll get you some food right away," Zack told her. He ran out the door to the bathroom. Lenny rolled her eyes and grinned. Zack came out of the bathroom. "The other way," Zack replied, walking into the hall.
"What are we going to do? We don't have time to make a whole other invention!" Bailey fretted.
"Bailey," Cody said.
"Now we've got no chance of winning!" Bailey whined.
"Bailey," Cody said a little more forcefully.
"Cody what are we going to do?" Bailey screamed, grabbing his shoulders and shaking him a little bit.
"Bailey!" Cody screamed back, grabbing her shoulders and shaking her a little bit too. "We're going to be fine. Even if we don't win, we've still got a pretty cool invention." Bailey calmed down a little bit. "And working with you is a prize enough for me," he said. Bailey looked at him a little funny so he quickly added, "And with Lenny."
"Thanks," Bailey replied, blushing, "Working with you… and Len… was awesome."
The judges came up and Cody and Bailey quickly went to work explaining their invention. "How does the internal system work?" one judge asked.
"Well, our partner Lenny isn't able to be here today to explain it," Bailey said.
"So I'll try my best," Cody finished, and began explaining, using Lenny's notes as a guide. The judges seemed impressed that he could do this impromptu.
When the judges finally moved on, Bailey turned to Cody. "I think they liked it! Even our demonstration! And you did amazing explaining everything so quickly like that!" she gushed. Then, to Cody's surprise, she wrapped him in a hug and gave him a peck on the cheek. For Cody, it didn't seem that things could get any better…
Until they did. They heard Anthony's voice screaming in horror as his invention failed to do what he had planned. The judges didn't seem impressed at all. "Looks like we've got a chance," he said to Bailey.
Lenny was finishing the huge bowl of chicken noodle soup that Zack had brought her, along with the strawberry-banana smoothie he had made her – king sized of course. When Zack had brought in the food, Lenny hadn't even given him the chance to say anything, she dug right in.
As she finished up, Zack got the dirty bowl, and spoon and said, "I'm really sorry that I didn't understand what you wanted sooner. You must've been starving!" Zack said. Lenny nodded her head in agreement. "Sorry about that. And I'm sorry if the soup didn't taste too good, it was my first time cooking it using Cody's recipe! And… well, can't say much about the smoothie, that's the Zack Special!" he boasted proudly. "I guess what I'm trying to say is – I know that I'm no good at this, trust me, Mr. Moseby can tell you all about that, I probably shouldn't even be allowed to do this for you, but… well, I'm sorry, honestly. I tried my best, I'm really sorry, Lenny," Zack apologized.
Lenny couldn't help but smile. Zack could be very sweet when he wanted to be. She raised her arms to give Zack a hug. He obliged. "Just don't sneeze or cough on me, okay?" he laughed. She silently laughed too and nodded before giving him a hug as best as she could while still sitting in bed. Man she's good, he thought. "At least this doesn't need translating," he said, "You're welcome."
Bailey and Cody walked in with their invention and trophy. Lenny looked ready to squeal as Zack turned to face the new comers. "So you won, huh?" he asked them.
"Yup!" Bailey said excitedly.
"And our invention will be on the front page of Young Inventors Monthly, not to mention that they will start making them, using our notes of course!" Cody added.
"I have no idea what half of that means, but congratulations!" Zack said.
Lenny rolled her eyes and lightly slapped his arm. She beamed, but looked a little sad. "Don't worry Len, you were just as big a part of this," Bailey said, giving her friend a little hug.
"So how was Nurse Zack?" Cody asked her. Lenny looked at Zack and they both shrugged. Lenny took a sip of her smoothie as Cody sniffed the air. "Is that my recipe for chicken noodle soup?" he asked Zack.
Zack scoffed. "Me? Cook? Psh, psh, psh, no. I don't cook!" Cody gave him a stare. "No hablo ingles!" Zack screamed, running out the door to the bathroom.
"He cooked," Bailey affirmed to Cody. They watched in amusement as Zack ran out into the hall announcing, "I always do that!"