Disclaimer: Guess what? I don't own The Suite Life of Zack and Cody or The Suite Life on Deck. (I bet that came as a shock)
Chapter 4: An Unexpected Guest
Three Days Later…
Maya woke up on a sunny Saturday and immediately scowled. It had been three days since Mr. Moseby showed them the video about the Martin family coming to the Tipton, and three days since she and Bailey had overheard Zack and London's strange conversation on the Sky Deck after curfew.
After hearing Zack and London, the two girls had tried to get Mr. Moseby to show them the next video, but whenever they got close to him, Mr. Moseby suddenly remembered some urgent problem on a different deck. So, they had decided to take matters into their own hands and decode what they had heard, trying to figure out what happened to Cody Martin.
Maya climbed out of bed, quickly got changed, and headed up to the Sky Deck. She noticed Zack working at the juice bar and waved to him, then crossed over to the table furthest away from the bar, where Bailey sat.
She slid out a chair, and Bailey closed her science textbook, looking at Maya. They had been meeting here every day after school to puzzle over Zack and Cody, but were no closer to finding out why Cody wasn't at Seven Seas High, or why Zack was so secretive about him.
Bailey rubbed her eyes and smiled at Maya tiredly.
"Hey," she said.
Maya smiled wryly at her. "Couldn't sleep?"
Bailey shook her head. "Not for a few nights now. I keep trying to forget about that conversation, but it keeps me up at night."
Maya nodded miserably. She didn't need to ask which conversation the blonde was referring to. "I know," she said. "I just wish he had told me. I mean, we're dating. He should be able to trust me."
Bailey shrugged. "I don't think that it's a matter of lack of trust, just that he doesn't want to relive what happened. Like you said; it was probably pretty traumatic."
The brunette sighed. "You're right," she said. "I wish we knew what happened."
Bailey nodded thoughtfully. "We need more information. I wish that Mr. Moseby would show us that video. Why does he not want to? I mean, we promised that we wouldn't tell Zack."
Maya shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe he thinks we'd be tempted if we saw it."
"Yeah," Bailey said. "But, we're probably not going to get any further along than we are if we don't see the tape."
Maya nodded. "You're right." She then sighed, saying, "Well, I guess that since we can't figure it out, we might as well do something else. You have any homework left?"
Bailey nodded towards her bag. "Just finished it. Do you?"
She shook her head. "I'm gonna get a smoothie. You want one?"
Bailey nodded. "A Prune Whiz, please," she said, handing Maya a five dollar bill.
Maya heaved herself up and walked over to Zack, ordering Bailey's Prune Whiz and a Berry Bonanza. She then walked back to the table, and saw Bailey scribbling in her notebook- probably working on next week's homework now that she had finished that week's. Bored, Maya put her head in her hands and stared up at the clouds.
Just as she was studying a cloud that resembled a snowman eating marshmallows, a tall, African-American boy with dreadlocks cruised up the girls' table. He smoothly grabbed a chair, slid it over to their table and said "Hello, ladies," in an obvious flirty voice, winking at them.
Maya got a very strong gut feeling that this boy wasn't someone to trust.
"Um, hi," Bailey said, grabbing the top of her notebook and pulling it towards her, a slightly apprehensive look on her face.
The boy looked towards Bailey, instead of at Maya. He nodded at Bailey's notebook. "What'cha got there, Babydoll?"
Bailey's apprehension now turned to slight anger. "It's Bailey," she said. "Not Babydoll. And this is my homework."
The boy snorted. "Why would you want to look at homework when you've got this?" he said, gesturing to himself.
Maya also snorted, feeling more and more sure that this boy was not as he seemed. "And what book full of lame pickup lines did you get that one from?" she spat.
The boy turned towards her. "No one asked you," he said nastily. "Not that they'd want to." He looked her up and down, crinkling his nose in disapproval.
Maya's mouth dropped open in response to his insult, and she stood up, ready to fight with him. He stood up as well, but at that moment, Zack came over with their drinks.
"Okay, so for Maya, I have-" he said, staring down at his notepad, but cutting himself off as he looked at the boy who had been flirting with Maya and Bailey. The boy looked at Zack with a look of intense disbelief and anger, while Zack was equally shocked for a few seconds. Then, his face morphed to a look of pure, pure hatred. Every muscle in his body tensed up, and his knuckles turned white on the tray he was holding. Maya and Bailey exchanged curious looks regarding Zack's strange reaction.
Maya looked back at Zack. He stayed tense for a few seconds, then gritted out "Thomas."
The boy inclined his head, his expression twisted into one of hate, but not as strong as the one on Zack's face.
"Martin," he said in a cold voice. "What are you doing here? Wait, let me guess; you flunked out of high school and got a job as a juice monkey." His eyes scanned Zack's uniform and the corners of his mouth turned upwards in a sneer. "I can't say I'm surprised."
Zack bared his teeth, setting down the tray and clenching his fists. "For your information, I'm still in school, here on this boat."
The boy continued to sneer. "You go to school here, huh? What, did you get sick of your mommy crying every time she looked at you?"
Maya was confused at the boy's strange insult, but Zack evidently got it, because he narrowed his eyes and clenched his fists harder. She sensed the start of a fight and crept over to Bailey, the two of them preparing to pull the boys off of each other if necessary. But, she had to admit that she was more curious as to what this stranger's relation to Zack was, as well as what he was talking about.
Meanwhile, Zack was glaring at the other boy. "Shut up!" he exclaimed angrily. "Don't even talk about him. You're not worthy to talk about him!"
The boy smiled a wicked smile. "Oh, boo-hoo," he mocked. He rubbed his cheeks with his fists, pretending to wipe away tears. "Does little Zacky miss Cody? Is Clone #1 mad 'cause of what happened to Clone #2? We were doing him a favor, you know. Who'd want to be related to you?"
Something inside Zack snapped, and he lunged at the boy, fire burning in his eyes. Maya mutely remembered that she was to prevent a fight, but she was too stunned by the fact that this mysterious boy knew something about Zack's mysterious brother to do anything but watch as the two boys wrestled, knocking over tables and chairs.
She and Bailey watched for a bit, until they heard sirens ringing and saw security guards rush over to separate Zack from his opponent.
Zack kept trying to jump at the other boy, who had a smirk on his face, but the security guards kept them apart. It remained like that for a little while, until Kirby and Mr. Moseby burst onto the deck. Maya and Bailey exchanged looks and backed up so they were partly behind the staircase; out of the way, but still within earshot.
"What's going on?" Mr. Moseby demanded upon reaching the guards. One of them walked up and explained what had happened to the manager, who then approached the boys.
He looked at Zack and groaned. "Zack… why am I surprised?" Zack furiously started protesting, but Mr. Moseby waved his hand and said "Zip!" He turned towards the other boy. He opened his mouth to speak, but then realization dawned on his face. He motioned for the security guards to release the boys and they did so, leaving the Sky Deck. Maya and Bailey crouched further out of sight.
Mr. Moseby glanced between the two boys. Zack was still staring at the other heatedly, but he didn't try to attack him again.
"Explain," the manager said, looking at Zack. The other boy, however, spoke first.
"I was just sitting here, minding my own business, then he came up and started hitting me!" he exclaimed, pointing a finger at Zack.
Zack bared his teeth, then turned back to Mr. Moseby. "He was talking about what he- about what happened to Cody."
Maya looked at Bailey, now very curious as to what this boy had to do with the absence of Zack's twin.
Mr. Moseby sighed and looked at Zack. "Nevertheless," he said. "Violence is not tolerated on this boat. Zack, you will be suspended for two days, and will have detention for two weeks upon returning." Zack nodded, and the manager turned his attention to the other boy.
"As for you, Mr. Thomas," he said. "You are not a student at Seven Seas High, nor are you on school property, so your punishment is not for me to decide. However, I will be telling your parents about this, as well as the other blemish on your record."
Maya had no idea as to what he met by that, but the boy knew, because his eyes widened and he started protesting. Zack still looked furious, but he shot the boy a triumphant smile.
Suddenly, a voice came from the other end of the deck. "Tell your parents what exactly?"
Everyone looked over, and Maya saw an African-American couple similar-looking to the boy. Mr. Moseby and the boy walked over to them, and Mr. Moseby explained what had happened, as well as what he had threatened the boy with. At the end of the speech, the man and woman- the Thomas's- looked a mixture of horrified, sickened, and furious beyond belief. They curtly thanked Mr. Moseby and dragged their son by the ear off the Sky Deck.
Mr. Moseby walked back over to Zack. He was sitting in one of the chairs that was still standing, with his head in his hands. Mr. Moseby spoke to him in hushed tones, and he eventually left. The manager then sat down in Zack's now-vacant chair and pinched the bridge of his nose. Maya and Bailey exchanged looks and decided to approach Mr. Moseby since, with just one look at Bailey's face, it was obvious to Maya that the blonde wanted answers just as much as she did.
Maya slowly crept up to the manager, Bailey right behind her.
"Mr. Moseby?" she asked in a voice scarcely above a whisper.
The manager lifted his head. "Hello, girls," he said. "Excuse me, but I have an urgent staff meeting to get to.
Maya placed a hand on his arm to prevent him from getting away. "Not so fast," she said. "We saw what happened, and we want to know what it means."
Bailey nodded in agreement. "Who was that boy? How does he know Zack? What does he have to do with Cody?"
Mr. Moseby glared at them for a moment, then his face sagged. "I guess I knew I couldn't avoid it. I'll explain everything in a bit. Now, go get Emma, Woody, and Marcus. It's time for you to see the second video."
What up, Fanfiction-junkies! I'm back with the fourth chapter (duh). Sorry for the long wait, but I have started...dramatic pause... high school! So, my day is extremely busy, like wake-up-at-six-and-come-home-at-seven pm-busy. Because of this, I won't update as often. :'( But, I as working on the next few chapters of my stories, so expect an update soon-ish. (I'm not going to give a specific time limit, because there's a 99% chance that I won't make it.)
So, how do y'all like this chapter? Does anybody know who the boy is? Btw, I made up his last name, but he's not an OC.
I want to give a very special shout-out to Guest for being my 50th reviewer. You guys rock!
Thanks to everyone who reviewed Chapter 3!
krikanalo
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Cassaroha
BsBLady
SweetTooth4Romance
crimson11116 (I don't plan to make this a romantic story, so Cody and Bailey probably won't end up together.)
allie1207
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Penguinluver1 (Guest)
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Guest
Thank you! You are majorly awesome!