Chapter 46
Again, I don't own any of these characters
A little while later, Cody and Bailey were dropped off in front of the JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort & Spa, the hotel they would be staying at. A bellboy brought their bags inside as Bailey walked up to the front desk to check in. Along with their keys, there was also a packet waiting on them from Sony Pictures Studio. After, being shown to their room, they begin to look through their packet.
"So, is there anything we have to do tonight, or does everything start tomorrow?"
Bailey continued looking over the packet. "What time is it now?"
"5:30, Mountain Time..."
"We're supposed to meet in one of the ballrooms for an opening night banquet and introduction at 7:30..."
"How dressed up?"
"It says since everyone is a college student, dress casual..."
"Let me guess...In our school t-shirts?"
Bailey smiled. "That's what is says..."
Cody laughed. "Glad we packed them then..."
Bailey paused. "There is also another note asking us to call the executive producer's room as soon as we get in..."
Cody shrugged. "Let's give him a call then..."
It seems the executive producer needed to speak with them immediately and asked them to come up to his suite. Both stopped unpacking and headed upstairs. Once they got to his door, they knocked and an older gentleman opened the door. He invited them to sit on a couch in the lounge area of his room.
"Miss Pickett, Mr. Martin...Thank you both for coming to see me so quickly. It seems we have an issue that we need your assistance with..."
Cody and Bailey looked at each other not sure what was going on.
"It seems you two have some prior history with one of the contestants from another team. Actually, it appears that you have a restraining order against her..."
Cody and Bailey immediately turn to each other again. "Could it be?"
Just then, there is another knock at the door. The executive produce got up to answer it again and brought two more people into the lounge. Cody and Bailey stared in shock. One of them was Barbara.
The executive producer turned to Cody and Bailey. "I know this may be very uncomfortable for the two of you, but we are hoping we can work out an arrangement..."
Cody paused. "We'll listen, but I want to make it clear that we do not in any way waive the protection of the restraining order we have against her..."
The executive producer nodded. "Fair enough. This is team Harvard. We have a back-up team from Harvard ready to hop onto a plane if something can not be worked out here..."
Cody and Bailey nod. Bailey speaks up. "Alright, Barbara...Explain to us why we shouldn't have you sent home right now let alone arrested..."
Its obvious Barbara wanted to smart off at that, but she composed herself. "Look, I'm here for the same reason you two are. Too compete for my school and hopefully win some scholarship money..."
Bailey nodded. "So, if we agree to this, does this mean you will leave us alone for the duration for our stay here, and once this is over, stay away from us?"
Barbara paused to collect herself again. "Yes. I've moved on with my life. My teammate, Mark, is not only my friend but he's my boyfriend. I've told him everything that happened..."
Cody and Bailey take in the young man standing next to her. At best, he can be described as average. At worst, he can be described as homely. "Can Bailey and I have a few minutes to talk about this?"
Everyone nodded and gave Cody and Bailey a few minutes.
"What do you think?"
Bailey paused. "As long as she leaves us alone, I can deal with it..."
Cody nodded. "Are you sure? You give the word and we'll have her on the next flight out of here..."
Bailey nodded. "I'm sure. It will make it that much sweeter when we beat her..."
Cody smiled. "And I know we will..."
Bailey smiled back at him. "And even if we don't...I still won the most important thing – you."
"And nothing will ever take me away from you..."
Bailey giggled. "Besides, Barbara seems to keep trading down. Bob is a nice guy, but he's not you. And this new guy..."
Cody laughed. "I know..."
Cody and Bailey waive the others back in.
"Okay, we will go along with this, but Barbara has to leave us alone except in situations where the show dictates it..."
The executive producer sighed. "Thank you..."
Cody smiled. "Besides, my fiancee and I want to beat the best of the best..."
Cody and Bailey study Barbara's reaction to that. Both can tell she is seething and wants to say something, but wisely, she keeps her mouth shut. Once the meeting was over, Cody and Bailey returned to their room. They grab a quick shower and get dressed in shorts and their Yale t-shirts. They had to get moving to make it to the opening banquet.
Once they arrived at the ballroom, they found fifteen small tables set up around the room, each holding a placard with a school logo. They quickly found the one with the Yale logo, and notice the one with the Harvard logo is on the other side of the room. Soon, others starting filling into the room, and before long, all the tables were full. Eventually, someone got up that everyone immediately recognized, and he walked to the podium.
"Good evening, everyone. I'm Alex Trebek. I would like to officially welcome you all to the first ever Jeopardy College Team Tournament. We are looking forward to a good week of competition. But first, I want to fill you all in on how this is going to work. We will be filming all of the episodes in the Grand Canyon Ballroom, and it is being set up as we speak..."
He shuffled some papers before he continued. "Now, I'm sure you are all wondering how this is going to work exactly. Well, it will be the same as regular Jeopardy with a few differences. First, you will not be recognized by your individual names. Rather, you will be recognized by your school name. For example, I will call you Team Stanford or Team Yale or so on. Second, each member of the team will have their own signaling button. Team consultations will be allowed as long as you get your answer in before time runs out. Beyond that, its the same game I hope you all have been watching for years..."
He pulls out another sheet of paper. "Alright, here is the schedule for the week. Tomorrow and Tuesday will be free days for you here to relax. The stage will be available on Tuesday if you want to get used to it and want to practice using the signaling buttons. The first five games will be taped on Wednesday. From those episodes, the five winners and four other teams with the highest money amounts will move on to the semi-finals. The semi-finals will be determined in the following ways. The five winners will be seeds 1-5 based on their amounts won. The other four teams will be seeded 6-9 based on their amounts as well. One semifinal will be seeds 1, 6 and 7. Another will be seeds 2, 5 and 8. The last semifinal will be seeds 3, 4 and 9. Alright, I bet everyone is curious to see what the first round matchups are. They were all drawn randomly."
Alex Trebek walks over to 15 boards on easels. As he turns over the first three, he speaks. "Game one will be contested among Team Harvard, Team Arizona State and Team Northwestern..."
He moves on to the next three boards. "Game two will be contested among Team Princeton, Team UCLA and Team Georgia..."
Moving on to the next three boards. "Game three will be contested among Team Penn, Team Stanford, and Team Georgetown."
Moving on the next to last set of boards. "Game four will be among Team Cornell, Team Texas and Team Kentucky..."
Finally, he moves on to the last three boards. "Game five will be among Team Duke, Team Ohio State, and Team Yale..."
After the announcements, everyone in the room began to look around to scout their competition. Of course, Cody and Bailey knew they couldn't tell anything from appearances, but they were hoping their opponents would take them lightly. But, they knew they weren't going to do the same. Both knew Duke and Ohio State were good schools, so they should expect them to be represented well.
Soon, the actual meal was served, and afterwards, there was a mixer for all the participants. Cody and Bailey stood there sipping their fruit juice when two people walked over to them. Before they could say anything, both noticed the Duke logos on their shirts. It was two guys, and both fitted the usual description of nerds.
"So, you're team Yale..."
Cody nodded. "That's us..."
"Well, good luck...You're both going to need it!" And with that, they walk off.
Cody couldn't help but laugh as he turned to Bailey. "And here I thought Duke was only pricks in basketball..."
Bailey could only laugh at that. "Let them think what they want. We'll just have to show them not to mess with us..."
To be Continued...