Hey all,

I've been a bit frustrated lately with the amount of reviews I've been getting (this obviously doesn't apply to the readers who've gone out of their way to comment on the story).

I put a lot of work into each chapter, so the lack of reviews can be disheartening (considering the high number of readers). It makes it difficult to keep up the writing momentum when I'm not getting feedback. I hope you'll take the time to comment if you're enjoying/following the story.

Thanks so much for reading!

DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own The Suite Life on Deck in any way, shape, or form, and I probably never will.

"Good morning, class," Ms. Tutweiler said cheerfully, watching all her students file into her classroom.

A general mumble of assent answered her, except for two voices that rose above the crowd. "Good morning, Ms. Tutweiler," Cody and Bailey said primly, smoothing their clothes out. She sighed in annoyance.

"Does everyone have his or her introductory essays?" she asked, referring to an assignment she had assigned previously.

Some nods, some shakes of the head.

Inwardly, Ms. Tutweiler groaned. "Whatever. Whoever has them, just pass them up to the front of the line."

It would be safe to say that she nearly leaped three feet in the air when Zachary Martin was the first to come up, a sheet of paper held proudly in his hand.

"Wha-Zack? What-I-you-"

"Yes?" he said smoothly, smiling his characteristic grin.

"Well, Zack," she said, composing herself once more. "Okay. . .who bribed you into doing this?"

"Oh, no one!" he said, grinning. "It was all my own work! Nobody asked me to do it. I mean, why would you think that-"

His words were instantly cut off because of a sound smack from none other than Maya.

"Alright, alright, sheesh," he groaned, rubbing his arm half-heartedly. "It was Maya, okay? She promised me a reward if I did my homework well."

"What was the reward?" Bailey asked suggestively, then burst into high-pitched giggles.

"Aw, shut up, Bailey," Zack snapped. He turned his attention back to Ms. Tutweiler, who was clearly waiting for a response. "Maya ordered a pizza for tonight's dinner - her treat."

"Well, that's nice," Ms, Tutweiler said pleasantly, still a bit taken aback by the fact that Zack had actually done his homework. "Good job, Zack."

Zack nodded and turned back to go to his seat. Maya gave him a high-five on the way back.

As she collected the sheaf of papers, Ms. Tutweiler shuffled the papers to a random order. "When your name is called, please come up and read your introductory essay."

"And please," she continued, glaring pointedly at Woody. "Do not add sound effects!"

Woody slumped down in his seat, deflated. "Dang it!"

"Bullied," a voice came out of the darkness, echoing off the walls. "Broken. Beaten down, at the hands of another. My heartless tormenter, my very own brother. . ."

Cody's poem was the second-to last one, and everyone was bored to tears, even Ms. Tutweiler. His "introductory poem" was more than five pages long, and Cody had insisted on changing into a somber black costume to "complement the tone".

As he finally finished the last word trailing off dramatically, some students clapped half-heartedly, the applause less than spectacular.

". . .That was lame," London called out.

"Well, you're supposed to take it seriously," Cody said indignantly pulling out a snack, and taking an angry bite.

"It's hard to take you seriously while you're spreading butter on a bagel," Maya spoke up, unable to resist one small comment.

"It's margarine," Cody said huffily, and the whole class laughed, Cody eventually joining in.

"And now, last but not least, Maya Bennett," Ms. Tutweiler said quickly, ushering Cody off to his seat as fast as she could.

The applause was renewed again, as Maya was a well-liked girl. Zack smiled at her as she made her way up and settled into the seat.

Ms. Tutweiler gave her an encouraging smile, which Maya returned, taking a deep breath. She began to read in a sweet, clear voice:

I am not what you would consider normal.

I am the girl that spends most of her free time reading, writing, drawing, playing sports, or doing other activities that most teenagers wouldn't call "normal".

I am the girl that people call weird and a freak either behind my back or to my face. I am the girl that doesn't spend her time on Facebook.

I am the girl who never talks to a girlfriend on a cell phone or regular phone.

I am the girl who doesn't care.

I am the girl that hasn't ever been asked out.

I am the girl that has stopped to smell the flowers and jump and splash in the rain.
I am the girl who is never invited to a party and doesn't give a damn about it.

I am the girl who's been taking taekwondo since she was three and hasn't stopped.

I am the girl who doesn't quit.

I am the girl who has a mortal fear of skinny jeans and makeup.

I am the girl who can express herself with words and actions.

I am the girl who enjoys doing the things that no one seems to have the time to do anymore.

I am the girl who would rather play with boys.

I am the girl who will trip over nothing, get up, laugh, and trip over again.

I am the girl who is mysterious, cold, and half-insane.

I am the girl who can laugh when nothing's funny.

I am the girl who would rather eat Jello through a straw instead of just going back to take a spoon.

I am the girl who can forget what she's saying in the middle of a sentence.

I am the girl who can dance to commercials on TV.

I am the girl who usually really hates people.

I am the girl who made a mortal enemy of the entire world.

I am the girl who took the time to make this list.

But I am also the girl who knows and is proud to be who she is, and knows the importance of the little things.

The class laughed at some of the lines – funny, sweet, and sarcastic, just like Maya herself. However, when she ended, they started clapping without any hesitation.

When the applause showed no sign of dying down, Maya blushed slightly. "Yo, guys, it's just a paper, you know,"

"But it was your paper," Zack pointed out. "And that's what makes it special."

This comment, of course, made Maya flush an even brighter shade of pink, making Zack grin. It was adorable.

She hurried back to her seat as Ms. Tutweiler started to speak again. "That was beautiful, Maya," she said happily.

"Oh – thanks, Ms. Tutweiler," Maya replied, a little embarrassed.

"Please hand in your papers," Ms. Tutweiler called out to the class.

"Hand? Ugh, no!" London said, only catching one word. "That manicure is awful."

"London!" Ms. Tutweiler reprimanded indignantly, then looked at her hand self-consciously. "Oh-wow. You're right. Well, everyone, just pass your papers up to my desk while I just. . .uh, well. . ." She hurried out of the room as the bell rang.

Maya grinned at Zack. "I'd say that was a well-deserved A+. For both of us."

Zack raised an eyebrow. "What makes you say that?"

"Well, let's see," she said. "I wrote a great paper. You actually wrote a paper."

"Yeah," he said, laughing. "That deserves an A+, right then and there.'

He offered his hand to her as she slung her black backpack over her shoulder. Maya smiled and took it, walking out of the classroom.

"We're here, Mr. Moseby," Zack called out as he dropped his backpack onto the floor, along with Maya's. "Is it okay if Maya works with me?"

Mr. Moseby gave a reluctant sigh, and turned to Maya. "If you can keep this hooligan in check, then by all means, stay."

Maya laughed. "Thanks, Mr. Moseby."

"You're very welcome," he replied. "Zack, if you even think about slacking off just because Maya is here, I'll personally see that you get thrown in the brig."

Zack just grinned. "Sure, sure."

The ship's manager shook his head good-naturedly and walked away. Zack turned to Maya and beamed. "Looks like you're working with me, Maya-kitten."

"Yeah. About that name. . ." Maya said, but then reconsidered. Oddly enough, when it came out of Zack's mouth. . .she didn't exactly hate it. "Eh, forget it."

Maya set to work blending up a Cherry Chiller smoothie while Zack started cutting honeydew into cubes.

"Hey Zack, you got any more ice cubes at your station?" Maya yelled over the roar of the blender."We're all out here."

"Coming right up," Zack called back, and tossed a handful of ice cubes at her.

"Thanks!" she said, grinning, as she caught them all single-handedly, poured them into a smoothie cup, added a twisty straw, and handed it to one very satisfied customer who gave them one very satisfying tip.

"We're making loads of money here," Zack noted, then sighed resignedly. "Too bad it's all for Moseby.'

"Speaking of money. . ." Maya remembered. "Where did you get enough to buy that necklace for me?" She fingered the necklace that she was wearing, admiring the beauty of it for the thousandth time.

"Just took the money out of the cash register and ran for it," Zack said, grinning, which earned him a playful smack on the arm.

"Well, I'm glad you'd go through all that trouble just for me," Maya said softly, genuinely touched.

"Don't worry about it," Zack said back, looking into her amber eyes. "It was worth it."

Maya really didn't want customers to see a super-romantic kiss that she desperately wanted to give him, so she settled by walking in, cupping his face gently, and giving him a sweet kiss on the cheek. "Thank you," she murmured softly.

Zack stared off into space for the next minute until Moseby appeared, waving his hand in front of Zack's face. "No slacking on the job!" he said sternly, snapping Zack out of his daze.

"It's okay, Mr. Moseby," Maya spoke up. "We've done a lot of great work today." She opened the cash register and displayed the huge stack of bills and coins, arranged neatly. "See?"

"Yes, yes," Mr. Moseby muttered distractedly, but then looked back at the pile of money. "Wait, whaat?!" he yelled, quite unceremoniously.

Maya and Zack grinned, expecting the reaction. "Yep. Cold, hard, cash."

"Holy mother of ship!" Mr. Moseby yelped, earning many angry stares from customers with young children.

"Well, you don't have to sound so surprised," Zack said indignantly.

"Ah, forgive me," Mr. Moseby said, managing a shaky smile. "Good work." He walked off with an air of drama, but then suddenly screamed "So much money!"

"That man will never change," noted Zack ruefully, earning a laugh from Maya.

. . .Holy mother of ship.

Geddit? Geddit? /shot

Yes, I sorta stole that poem/whatever, so I wanna make it clear that I DO NOT CLAIM IT. Although I did add quite a few lines of my own.

Okay, please review! NOTE: I AM NOT updating until I get 8 of 'em. D: Why 8? I dunno.