Chapter 70

Again, I don't own any of these characters

Unfortunately, Cody, Bailey, Cassie and Zack had to eventually leave the S.S. Tipton. Not only did they have to get Ellie, Mitch, Amy and Michelle to the airport, they all had homework to do when they got back to their respective apartments. So, they bid farewell to Zoey, Katie, Billy and Chas (who Zack had taken an immediate shine to and had given numerous tips on how to annoy Moseby). After dropping the adults off at Logan, they had another round of goodbyes. Finally, around one in the afternoon, both SUVs were on the road west. Once back in Connecticut, they went their separate ways.

Finally back home, Cody and Bailey put their dirty clothes in the washer and proceeded to do their homework for the next day. The following week was their last full week of classes before reading week and finals. That week would also be their last week of working until after the first of the new year. As the week went on, they had their final lab of the semester. Neither were too unhappy about finishing their last ever required lab at Yale as both new they would see them again in grad school. Friday afternoon came, and Cody and Bailey finished their last shifts after attending their last class of the semester.

The next week was reading week, and as had become custom the last two reading weeks, they had a meeting with Bill scheduled for early Monday morning. After knocking on his office door, Bill motioned them in.

"How much longer do you have to wear that contraption?"

"The doctor says I should be free of it sometime after the first of the year..."

Bill smiled. "I bet you can't wait for that..."

Bailey laughed. "You have no idea...And I'm sure Cody will be happy not to be kicked with it at night..."

Cody nodded. "She's right...I can't wait for my bruises to heal..."

Bill just shook his head. "Well, I'm sure you two want to get back to studying, so lets see what we can do. On the Economics side, you only need 4 more classes over the next three semesters. One of those has to be your senior project, and another one has to be above the 400 level..."

"What would you recommend us doing?"

Bill paused. "Personally, I'd go ahead and knock two out next semester. Then, in your last year, take the 400 level class one semester and the senior project the other..."

Cody and Bailey look at each other. "That's sounds reasonable..." They look back at Bill and grin. "Do we have to ask this year?"

Bill laughed. "I should have known...I'm teaching Econometrics again and a course on Financial Markets..."

Bailey smiled. "Sign us up!"

"Alright...I bet you two can guess when its offered too..."

Cody laughed. "Its going to be 9:00-10:15...I'm just not sure if its Monday/Wednesday or Tuesday/Thursday..."

"Monday/Wednesday..."

"Sounds good..."

"Alright, the other class I would recommend for you both since you both may go into the health fields is Health Economics and Public Policy..."

Cody and Bailey nod. "Probably a good idea..."

"And its Tuesday/Thursday 11:00-12:15..."

"That's perfect..."

"Moving on, I forgot to clarify something with you both last time in regards to your Biology degrees. Did you two want a BA or a BS in Biology?"

Cody and Bailey look at each other for a minute before looking back at Bill. "Probably be better for us to have BS's..."

Bill nods. "Alright, well, there is a small difference. For the BS degree, you will need two semesters of the senior requirement. The Biology department requires you to do at least ten hours of research a week during each semester. However, something tells me between classes and studying, you both probably spend ten hours a week on each class anyways..."

Cody and Bailey nod. "Usually..."

"Okay, here is my suggestion then. Knock 16-17 hours out again next semester. That way, you can take easier course loads of only 12 hours your last two semesters. In the fall, knock out half of your Biology senior requirement and your Economics Senior Requirement along with a couple of other...excuse my language...fluff classes. Then, in your last semester, finish up your Biology senior requirement and three other classes you need to finish up."

Bailey paused. "That sounds reasonable, but I just want to make sure we take everything we need to take..."

Bill nods. "I understand. After the two courses you've already chosen for next semester, you only have two Economics classes left to take your senior year. We'll make sure you get all of your Biology classes taken care of too..." Bill pulls up a screen on his computer. "Beyond the prerequisites, you need seven courses, two labs and the senior requirement. Of the seven courses, there are four core classes you have to take, and you've knocked out three of those in Genetics, Evolutionary Biology and General Ecology. The final one to take is Intro to Statistics for the Life Sciences. That leaves you three electives you have to take including one in organismal diversity. Biochemistry counts as one of your electives. Next, your Genetics and Biochemistry labs take care of your labs. I would recommend taking the stats class and knocking out your last two electives.

Cody and Bailey look at each other. "Alright, that's what we'll do..."

"Okay, let's see what electives are available next semester..." Bill searches his computer screen. "Okay, the organismal diversity can be satisfied with courses dealing with terrestrial arthropods, invertebrates, ichthyology, ornithology, or microbiology..."

Cody and Bailey look at each other and at the same time, both say. "Microbiology!"

Bill laughs. "Alright, its offered Tuesday/Thursday 9:00-10:15..."

"Perfect..."

"Let's go back and schedule that Stats class now. It says here its a four hour class..." Bill looks at the times. "Wow, its one of those classes that has three hours of lecture and one hour of lab/discussion. Its going to have crazy times. Let's see if we can find one to fit your schedules. Hmmm...How about Monday/Wednesday 2:00-3:15 with the lab discussion on Friday mornings at 9:00-9:50?"

Cody and Bailey nod. "Sure..."

Bill smiled. "Alright, that takes us to your last elective. Is this where you two want to part ways, or do you want to knock out your last elective together?"

Cody turned to Bailey. "I don't know about you, but I'd rather finish our requirements together. Its your call though..."

Bailey smiled. "I'd prefer to as well..."

Bill grinned. "I think I have just the perfect class for both of your future pursuits...Biology of Reproduction. It focuses mainly on humans and other mammals..."

Cody grinned back. "Alright, that does sound perfect..."

While Bill looked it up, Bailey whispered to Cody. "Something tells me we're going to do just fine in that class..."

Cody had to keep from laughing.

Bill turned back to them. "Mondays/Wednesdays/Fridays 11:00-11:50 work?"

"Perfectly..."

Bill hits some keys on his computer. "Alright, done. Sixteen credit hours. You've set yourselves up for two light course loads your last year..." He prints out a copy of their schedules for them, and they walk out of his office.

Cody turns to Bailey. "Look at this...We're done on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 12:15. That would be perfect days for us to go in and work afternoons."

Bailey nodded. "Yeah. That works perfectly..."

The rest of the week found Cody and Bailey spending one day apiece studying for their finals. Finals were going to be different this year as they actually had five finals to take. Fortunately, they had dealt with finals on back to back days before, and they had dealt with that by studying during reading week. Finals started on Saturday, and Cody and Bailey had General Ecology right off the bat. They had studied for it all day Friday, so it was the freshest subject on their mind. Next off was American Economic History on Sunday afternoon to be followed by Game Theory on Monday afternoon. Tuesday was an off day from finals, but they began again on Wednesday morning with Biochemistry. Finals wrapped up on Thursday morning with Evolutionary Biology.

Thursday afternoon found them back sitting on their couch resting after a long week of finals. As she sat there relaxing, Bailey began to think of something. On Sunday, they were all heading back to Kettlecorn for Christmas again. But, due to her inability to drive, she hadn't been able to go out and do any Christmas shopping. And to make matters worse, she still hadn't thought of what to get Cody. She wanted to get him something extra special in part to thank him for being so supportive during her injury.

Bailey sighed. "Cody?"

"Yeah, Bails?"

Bailey decided just to get it out there. "What do you want for Christmas? With my limited mobility, we haven't had much opportunity to window shop this past semester, and I'm drawing a blank..."

Cody smiled at her. "You too, huh?"

"You mean you haven't got my gift yet either?"

Cody shook his head. "No...I've been racking my brain trying to think of the right thing, and I've only been able to come up with one idea..."

"What's that?"

"You sure you want to know?"

Bailey nodded. "Please..."

Cody proceeded to explain his one idea to her.

Bailey smiled. "Cody...I would love that!"

"Even if you aren't surprised now?"

"Of course..." Bailey sighed. "But that leaves me with nothing still..."

Cody paused. "Maybe not...If you don't mind there not being any surprises this year, I may have an idea..."

To be Continued...