Chapter 68

Again, I don't own any of these characters

After saying goodbye to Moseby and Tut, the four headed up to their usual suite and dropped off their bags and let Porkers out of his travel carrier. Once he was leashed, they headed to the 23rd floor and on to Carey's suite. It turned out that with the boat docked in Boston, Ellie, Mitch, Amy, and Michelle had all already flown in to meet up with the twins. So, as soon as the four entered the suite they were welcomed with hugs and handshakes.

Immediately, everyone wanted to know how Bailey's ankle was doing, and she told them the doctor said it was healing just fine. Ellie and Carey wanted to know if Cody had taken good care of her, and Bailey smiled as she replied that he had done a wonderful job. Especially excited to see the four teens were Katie and Zoey. They enjoyed visiting the family, but both were ready for interactions with people closer to their own age. Katie specifically wanted to hang out more with Cody and Bailey and hear about how Yale was going. She was disappointed to hear that they would be spending the next several days studying for the GRE and MCAT, but she completely understood. Bailey did offer for them to join the four when they went and saw the new Twilight movie on Wednesday night. They both agreed, and both laughed at Zack's outburst when he found out that he was going to have to see the movie.

Cody and Bailey apologized to everyone, but they had to get back to studying. Everyone understood and wished them luck. Zack and Cassie offered the other twins to come back to their suite and watch the UCONN-Cincinnati game. Both readily agreed and they are off to watch it. If UCONN won the game, they will finish second in the Big East (not a particularly big accomplishment), and head to the Champs Sports Bowl.

Meanwhile, Esteban had hooked up Cody and Bailey with a small conference room so nobody could bother them. They spent the rest of the afternoon and evening prepping and doing practice tests. In fact, that's how they spent all day Sunday, Monday and Tuesday as well. They took breaks to eat, sleep and go to the bathroom, but that was about it. Beyond that, they both had a singular focus.

So, on Wednesday morning, they were both awake early, and both were showered and dressed in some of their most comfortable clothes. The night before they had gathered paper, pencils, calculators and everything else they were allowed to take into the tests with them. They both grabbed a couple of bananas and headed out. Once they got to the testing center, they were each pointed to the appropriate rooms. Giving each other a kiss for good luck, they both went their separate directions.

Cody was given five hours to complete the MCAT. It was divided into four sections – Physical Sciences, Verbal Reasoning, Writing Sample and Biological Sciences. After each section, a ten minute break was given to compose yourself before the next section. As he was taking the exam, Cody was grateful for all the practice and prep work he had done. To be sure, the questions weren't easy, but the sample tests had prepared him for that. There wasn't a single question that he didn't have at least an inkling of what he was talking about, but he knew that might not mean anything. When he was finally finished, he just sat there for a moment. He felt battered, bruised, exhausted...and had no idea how he had done.

Bailey was given four hours to complete the GRE. It was comprised of a Verbal Section, a Quantitative Section, and an Analytical Writing Section. In the Analytical Writing Section, she was given two essays to write. The first was an Issue Task where she had to choose between two topics on which to write an essay. The second was an Argument Task where she was given an argument and had to write an essay critiquing it and make suggestions about how to improve it. Finally, there was an experimental section. It would be similar to one of the other sections, but it would contain questions considered for future use and would not count. Unfortunately, there was no way to no which section this was. Bailey was glad she had prepared for it so extensively, but like Cody, when it was over, she felt tired and had no clue how she had done.

Since Bailey was done first, she walked around and waited on Cody. After using the bathroom, she happened to look inside a room and saw Cody working away at the MCAT. She had to smile seeing him so deep in concentration. Fearing she might distract him if he saw her, she returned to the lobby and sat in the waiting room reading the morning newspaper. After the longest time, she looked up and saw Cody walking towards her. She immediately got up and walked over to him. Not saying a word to each other, they just pulled each other into a hug. After several moments of just relaxing in each other's arms and drawing comfort from the other, they pulled apart.

Cody smiled weakly. "Well...Those are over now..."

Bailey smiled back at him. "I know...How do you think you did?"

Cody shrugged his shoulders. "I've never walked out of a test before with less of an idea of how I did..."

Bailey nodded. "Same here..."

Cody chuckled. "If I don't get into med school, the way I feel now, they can have my body for research..."

"Is there space for one more next to you?"

"Always...How does going back to the hotel and taking a nap sound?"

"Right now?...like heaven..."

And that's just what they did. Cody and Bailey drove back to the hotel and headed straight up to their room. As they walked in, they noticed Zack, Cassie, Katie and Zoey watching TV, but neither said a word as they immediately went into their bedroom. Zack and Cassie looked at each other concerned, and both got up to check on them. They gently knocked on the bedroom door and opened it after getting no response. Both had to laugh at the sight before them. Cody and Bailey were still in their clothes cuddled together on the bed fast asleep.

Several hours later, both woke up feeling more rested. They were still a little tired, but both knew they had the rest of the week to take it easy. They checked the rest of the suite and found it empty. They were about to go down to Carey's suite, but both realized their clothes were all wrinkled from their nap. After a refreshing shower and change of clothes, they headed for the 23rd floor. There, they found everyone else. Immediately, everyone wanted to know how the tests went.

Carey smiled at them. "Zack and Cassie said you both came back and immediate passed out. Were they that rough?"

Cody and Bailey both nodded. "Yeah. They were brutal. And neither of us have any idea about how well we did..."

Carey nodded. "Since they were on a computer, shouldn't you know fairly quickly how you did?"

Bailey shrugged. "Probably, but we both had areas that required us to give typed out responses. Those will take longer than the multiple choice to grade..."

"Well, I know you two have been busy the past several days, so we've already got tomorrow taken care of. You two just keep resting up. You'll need it for finals when you get back."

So, with that taken care of, Cody, Bailey, Cassie, Zack, Zoey and Katie all went out for dinner and the movie that night. The girls loved the movie while the guys suffered through it for the sake of their ladies. Cody was tempted to try to sleep through it as he thought he had a pretty good excuse, but Zack made it clear that if he had to stay awake for it, then so did Cody.

After the movie, Cody and Bailey wanted to stop for ice cream, and Katie asked if she could come with them. They agreed, and soon the three were sitting around a table at an ice cream parlor not far from the Tipton. Bailey, remembering what Tut had said, decided to see what she could find out from Katie.

"So, how are you liking Seven Seas High so far?"

Katie smiled. "I love it. So far, we've been to London, Barcelona and Casablanca..."

"Good. And how are your teachers?"

"I really like Miss Tutweiler. She's a great teacher..."

Cody and Bailey just look at each other and smile.

"What?"

Cody turned to his cousin. "Does she talk about her personal life?"

Katie shakes her head. "Not at all. I mean everyone knows she is dating Moseby, but she doesn't share anything..."

This time Cody and Bailey begin to laugh. "You guys are lucky then. Until our senior year, Tut was always lamenting about her lack of a love life. It was rather comical. Of course, we discovered she and Moseby were an item when we returned our last year..."

Katie shrugged. "Nothing like that now..."

Bailey smiled. "Well, we know you like the ports of call and your classes, but how is romance going on deck?"

Katie sighed. "It isn't..."

"And why is that? No one who catches your fancy?"

"Well, there is this one guy. And I think he likes me, but he won't do anything about it..."

Bailey turns and glares at Cody. "I know that feeling..."

Cody put up his hands in defense. "Hey! I had my plan...I know now it was stupid, but maybe this guy does too?"

"So, what should I do about it then?"

Bailey turned to Katie. "What's this guy's name?"

"Billy..."

"Do you like Billy?"

Katie nods. "Yeah. He's smart, sweet, sensitive..."

Bailey smiled. "Trust me, those are the best kind...but sometimes they need a little push to get them going..."

"So, what do I do?"

Bailey grinned. "Take matters into your own hands. Tell him how you feel..."

"And what if it backfires on me?"

Bailey and Cody smiled at each other. "Something tells us it won't..."

To be Continued...

Author's Note: Congrats to the University of Kentucky Wildcats for beating the dirty birds today.