*Lola's P.O.V*
"Gangway! Coming through! Watch out!" I yelled, rolling out of the elevator, into the lobby. Me, Zack and Cody were having a rollerblade race. See, this is what happens when we're bored while Mom's working.
"Lola, what are you doing?" Mom asked. It was then that I realised she was stood in the middle of the lobby in her performance outfit.
"Winning!" I replied. I heard Zack and Cody behind me, as I headed for the hotel entrance.
"Hi, Mom!" I heard Cody say.
"Zack! Cody! Stop, right now!" Mom demanded. We ignored her, of course. Zack and Cody followed me into the revolving door and we did a full circle, then I skated down the ramp thingy in the lobby. I started going a little too fast, so I tried to stop but couldn't.
"Look out! Look out! I can't stop!" I shouted, before crashing into a bellhop who was carrying a bag of golf clubs.
"What is going on? If it's not one thing, it's-" Mr. Moseby was cut off when a guy in an expensive looking jumpsuit tripped on the bag of golf clubs and fell on top of him, "MAMA!" Moseby yelled in fear, as he and the man hit the ground.
"Mr. Moseby, are you okay?" Mom asked, as everyone crowded around.
"Here at The Tipton, it's the guest that matters, not the manager." Moseby said, obviously trying to hide the pain. Zack and Cody came and helped me up, and Mom turned to us with an angry look as we took our helmets off.
"Look what you guys did! You broke Mr. Moseby!" She exclaimed, "You are so grounded."
"When you grounded, does that include the pool, and the gym, and the arcade-" Zack was cut off by Mom.
"Our room! On the 23rd floor!" She said sternly. She then turned to Mr. Moseby, who was now standing up and was dusting himself off. The other guy was gone. "Mr. Moseby, I am so sorry. You won't see them down here for a long, long time. 'Til they go to college."
"Or prison." Moseby said. I rolled my eyes. Moseby then walked away, holding his lower back and groaning.
"Guys, just once, would it kill you to behave?" Mom asked us. Me and my brothers looked at each other, before we put our hands on our throats and fell to the ground, "dying".
The next morning, me and the boys were in the bathroom. I was doing my hair, while Zack and Cody were arguing about Zack's armpit hair.
"It's there." Zack said. His shirt was half off and he was holding his arm up so Cody could see the non-existent armpit hair. Yeah, this is what I have to deal with everyday.
"No, it isn't." Cody said.
"Yes, it is. Right there, are you blind? You can totally feel it." Zack argued, running his hand over the skin. Cody reached out to feel it, only to have Zack yelp in pain.
"Ow! You pulled the skin!" He shrieked.
"That's 'cause there's no hair there!" Cody said in a 'duh' tone. "And no deodorant." He added, clearly getting a whiff of Zack's armpit stench. I rolled my eyes, as I finished braiding my hair and tied it, before turning around to see Mom at the door.
"Awh, you're looking for armpit hair." She cooed.
"Mom!" Zack and Cody groaned, as Zack put his shirt back on.
"My little boys are becoming little men." She said, "And you're becoming a little woman." She told me.
"You should really knock. We don't walk in on you." Cody said.
"Actually, you do. And you bring friends." Mom said, as we followed her into the living room. "We've gotta talk about last night. We do not want to repeat of the Dream Valley Lodge incident." She said, handing us our backpacks.
"I swear, I thought it was a black cat with a white stripe." Cody defended. I shuddered thinking of how Cody smelled like skunk for ages. I had to share a room with him!
"Here's a thought, what do you say we keep this job and get you a babysitter?" Mom said.
"Babysitter?!" Cody yelled.
"Wha- wait, you just said we were little men!" Zack protested.
"And I was a little woman!" I added.
"Okay, a little woman and men sitter." Mom said, "I was thinking maybe Maddie? Works at the sift shop, needs the money...just like us."
"Whoa, Maddie. Baby's got it goin' on!" Zack said, making a curvy shape with his hands. I rolled my eyes. Typical.
"She's got what going where?" Mom asked, giving Zack a look.
"I don't know what I'm saying." Zack said, looking as innocent as possible.
"Yeah, you better not." Mom said.
"He doesn't." Cody said, as Mom went over to the door.
"Yes I do!" Zack protested.
"No, you don't." I snorted.
"Yes I do!" Zack whined.
"Mr. Moseby, good morning, what a surprise." Mom said. I then noticed Moseby in the doorway. He immediately looked at us three.
"Good morning, Mr. Moseby." We said in perfect unison.
"What brings you up so early?" Mom asked him, tying the tie on her kimono, since she hadn't yet gotten dressed.
"Couldn't sleep." He explained, then looked directly at me and my brothers, "Nightmares." We just gave him innocent smiles. "Actually, I am here to discuss your bill." Moseby informed Mom, opening the file he was holding.
"What bill? Room and board are part of my bill." Mom said worriedly.
"Yes, only you have exceeded your first month's allowance by..." He handed Mom a piece of paper to let her see for herself. As soon as she saw the bill, her eyes widened, her jaw dropped and she legitimately stopped breathing.
"Breath! Breath, Mom, breath!" Cody said, and she finally let go of the breath she was holding.
"Oh my," Mom started, "Mr. Moseby, you can't be serious."
"I am powerless to be otherwise." Moseby answered. At that moment, a guy walked in wheeling a cart of food. It was the room service we'd ordered to apologise for the rollerblade incident last night. Perfect timing...Not.
"Room service! Somebody ordered the 'I'm-sorry-for-what-we-did-last-night' buffet." He said. Mom lifted one of the silver domes that was on top of the plates.
"Eggs Benedict with caviar?!" She asked in disbelief.
"Must be a mistake." Cody said.
"We ordered toast and a raisin." I lied, giving the room service guy a "go away" look.
"You guys are bleeding me dry here!" Mom exclaimed. The room service dude looked around and saw Mr. Moseby, suddenly realising the situation.
"Oh, my mistake. This was meant for the other Mommy with triplets on the 23rd floor." He said nervously, backing out of the suite.
"Uh, I-I'm sorry, I'm mean, they-" Mom tried to tell Mr. Moseby.
"I understand," Moseby cut her off, "Children sometimes can be a burden." Okay, that was just mean. We are not burdens! Are we?
"Oh, you have kids?" Mom asked.
"No, and after seeing yours, not gonna happen!" Moseby replied, before leaving. Mom looked at the bill.
"Video games, pay per view... You had your underwear dry-cleaned?" She asked us disbelievingly.
"Feels good!" Zack asked, as we all nodded.
"Sit." She ordered. We sat down on the coffee table, while Mom sat on the round cushion chair thing.
"Now, look, guys, we may live in a castle but we are not royalty." She said.
"I think you're a queen, Mommy." Zack said as cutely and innocently as possible. I rolled my eyes and almost gagged.
"Awh... Put a sock in it." She told him. "C'mon, guys, this is the best gig we've ever had and without it we're broke." She said, "With it, we're broke." She added, looking at the bill. "Don't you guys realise what a great opportunity this is for us?" She put her hand on my knee, "I don't have to go out on the road anymore. We can all be together."
"Yeah." Cody mumbled.
"I like it better here than at Grandma's." I admitted.
"Yeah! Last time, she dropped her false teeth in my chocolate milk!" Zack exclaimed. I shivered in disgust of the memory.
"I rest my case." Mom said, "So please, be good."
"We will." The three of us agreed.
When we got back to the hotel after school, we were greeted with a mob of paparazzi and had to push our way inside.
"Hey, come on!" Zack whined, shoving passed the men.
"We live here!" I exclaimed.
"I live here too!" One of the paparazzi said. Yeah, sure ya do, mate. Finally, we got inside.
"Hey, check it out! I found five bucks in my pocket!" Zack grinned, holding a five dollar bill.
"Those are my pants!" Cody said, frowning.
"Cool, candy's on you." Zack said.
"Let's hitch a ride." I said, as the luggage cart passed by. "Shotgun!" I yelled as we got on the luggage cart.
"Driver, to the candy counter." Zack told the bellboy.
"You got it." The bellboy said.
"Shouldn't we give this money to Mom?" Cody asked, as we got wheeled to the candy counter.
"Not until she learns to manage money better. We're broke!" Zack said as we jumped off the luggage cart, landing in front of the candy counter.
"Hey Maddie." I greeted as she turned around.
"I want two zababbabas, a sweetie tweetie and a seven foot licorice chain." Cody said.
"I see you're cutting down." Maddie said sarcastically. We all just smiled and nodded. "So guys, I've completely reorganized the candy display. Now, tell me, what draws your eye?" She asked, motioning towards the candy display.
"You do, sweet thang." Zack winked. I rolled my eyes and gave him a smack on the arm.
"Please, some of this candy is older than you." Maddie said. Zack frowned.
"Paparazzi!" I heard Moseby exclaim. I turned around and saw him walking out of the elevator, chasing one of the men with cameras. "I can smell them!" He said. The man snapped a photo of Moseby and the flash almost blinded him.
"What's going on here?" I asked, turning back to the counter.
"They're waiting for Bobby Carillo, centre fielder for the Sox, and Ursula, lingerie model." Maddie explained, holding up one of the gossip magazines, "They're getting married here this Saturday." Maddie handed us the magazine.
"Dude, he's the best player ever!" Cody exclaimed.
"And she's real good at what she does." Zack said, staring at the picture of Ursula. I rolled my eyes.
"Oh yeah. Takes real brains to sit on a horse in your underwear." Maddie said sarcastically. I giggled and high-fived her. Suddenly, the cameras started flashing like crazy. I turned around and saw Bobby and Ursula walk in. "I mean, what is the big deal?" Maddie asked, going back to reorganizing the candy display.
"Money, baby." The room service dude said, appearing out of nowhere. Seriously, where did he just come from?
"Tuck!" Maddie jumped and the candy in her hands came flying over the counter and landed behind us. "Hi!" She said. She clearly likes him. I mean, I guess he's cute, but not really my type...or age.
"What does he have that I don't have?" Zack complained.
"Armpit hair." I said, as the three of us started picking up the candy, and possibly hiding some up our sleeves as well...
Tuck walked up to the counter and rested the toilet plunger he was holding on it, "Word on the street is tabloids are paying $20,000 for a shot of the bride and groom's first kiss." He told Maddie. We were listening and froze.
"You are so plugged in." Maddie said dreamily. Oh please.
"This hotel doesn't run without me." Tuck boasted, trying to pull the toilet plunger off of the counter. I almost burst out laughing when it nearly hit him in the face.
"Are you guys thinking what I'm thinking?" Zack asked.
"Yeah!" Cody said, "What are you thinking...?" He asked. I rolled my eyes. Isn't he supposed to be the smart one?
"We can take a picture of the kiss and we'll be rich!" Zack exclaimed.
"And we can pay Mom back!" Cody said.
"And we'll be rich!" Zack repeated.
"And we won't be burdens anymore!" I smiled.
"And we'll be rich!" Zack repeated again.
"And whatever we have left, we can give to charity!" Cody said and I nodded.
"I swear, we're not related." Zack said to me and Cody, but mostly Cody. We picked up the rest of the candy and stood up.
"Maddie, I need a camera, and charge it, please." I said. She got a camera from under the counter and was about to give it to me, when she pulled it back.
"Candy." She ordered. We placed one candy bar each on the counter and Maddie gave us a look. We sighed and placed one more candy bar each on the counter. Maddie gave us a harder look. We sighed again, knowing we wouldn't get away with it, and put the rest of the candy on the counter. "Thank you." Maddie said smugly, finally handing me the camera. I looked at the camera and then at my brothers, who were both smiling, like me. We then started victory dancing.
"We're rich! We're rich! We're rich!" We sang in unison.
"Not quite! Not quite! Not quite!" Tuck mocked us. "No one is getting into that wedding without a printed invitation."
"I am." A voice said. We turned around and saw London, with a bellboy and luggage cart in tow, "Little me, back from Paris." She said in a French accent. She walked over. "Hello, Maddie."
"Hi, London." Maddie said with slight sarcasm.
"So, how are you getting into the wedding?" I asked London.
"My daddy owns the hotel, duh." She replied.
"Can you get us in?" Zack asked hopefully.
"Yes! But I'm not going to, duh." She said. I rolled my eyes, as she added, "I fly solo."
"Oh yeah, like the time you let yourself into that rockstar's room with the master key?" Maddie said.
"Johnny Rip thought it was endearing. He even wrote me." London said.
"That was a restraining order." Maddie interjected.
"Look, I'm going to that wedding, I'll be on the cover on this magazine, and you'll be selling it. Duh." London said, before walking away. Maddie rolled her eyes and went back to work.
"We're never gonna get in here!" Zack exclaimed as we peeked our heads into the ballroom, where the wedding would be held, "There's gonna be security at every door!" In case you hadn't figured it out already, we were trying to find a way to get in to take the $20,000 picture.
"And this is the ball room." We heard Mr. Moseby from down the hall. We made a run for it and hid behind the piano. "Which we will magically transform into your wedding chapel."
"Oh my," Ursula said in awe, "Where will Beyonce sing during the ceremony?"
"Copenhagen." Moseby answered bluntly, "Her tour has been extended. You know how the Danes like to get down." Moseby continued, then made a weird noise to go with a weird dance.
"I am sick of these divas." Bobby said, "Can't we just have a nobody singer who will actually show up?"
"We know a nobody singer!" Zack exclaimed, as we popped up from behind the piano.
"It's our Mom!" Cody said.
"She's a huge nobody!" I added, as we walked around the piano to stand in front of them.
"But I'm sure she's stretched way too thin with her show and policing you." Moseby said, glaring at us as he said the last bit.
"She can handle it." I said.
"C'mon, she's rehearsing now!" Cody said, as Zack grabbed Ursula's hand.
"You'll love her," Zack explained, as we pulled them out of the ballroom, "She's wears your underwear, but she looks a lot different." We took them to the lounge, where Mom was rehearsing one of her songs.
"She's great. She's great. Isn't she great?" Bobby said, as we all clapped for her.
"Yes, Ms. Martin's marvellous! Everything at the Tipton is marvellous!" Moseby said.
"Wow, I don't know how to thank you." Mom said.
"Thank your agents." Ursula said, looking at me, Zack and Cody. We smiled.
"Okay, let's get you two lovebirds out of here without causing a riot." Moseby said to Bobby and Ursula. As they left, me and the boys ran up to give Mom a hug.
"Oh, whatever you want, you got it." Mom said happily.
"Get us into the wedding." Zack requested.
"Except that." Mom said, her smile fading. The three of us frowned. "You're grounded, remember?"
"You meant that?" I asked, disappointed.
"I'm doing the right thing." Was her response, as she walked away.
"Okay," Zack turned to me and Cody, "We're just gonna have to find a way to get into that wedding ourselves."
"Forget it." I said, folding my arms.
"There is no way you're talking us into one of your idiotic schemes." Cody agreed.
"This is the last time I let you talk me into something like this." I pouted, as me and Zack stood by the air vent.
"No it's not." Zack just shook his head, smirking. He was probably right. Somewhere down the line, I'm guaranteed be in a situation like this once again, thanks to Zack.
"Mad Dog to Bird Dog and Kitty Cat." Cody's voice came through Zack's walkie-talkie.
"Kitty Cat? Really? That's the best name you could come up with for me?!" I complained, grabbing the walkie-talkie from Zack.
"Give me that!" Zack hissed, snatching it from me and speaking into it, "Affirmative, Mad Dog, we have located the mezzanine vent. Hopefully this one leads to the ballroom."
"It better. Because Mad Dog needs to find a fire hydrant, and quick." Cody replied. Me and Zack looked at each other and cringed.
"Roger. I'm sending down the probe." Zack said into the talkie.
"You mean the golf ball?" Cody asked cluelessly.
"Yes, the golf ball!" Zack replied, annoyed. He put the golf ball in the air vent and we waited to see if it reached the ballroom.
"Bingo! We found it, Bird Dog and Kitty Cat!" Cody said.
"Okay, now get out of there before Lard Butt Moseby sees you!" Zack said. It was silent for a second, until a different voice spoke through the walkie-talkie.
"Bird Dog, Kitty Cat? This is Lard Butt," Oh crap, "You do anything to disrupt this wedding, it will be the last song your mother ever sings at the Tipton. Over, and you're almost out."
On the night of the wedding, me and the boys were sat at the table in our suite, while Maddie helped us with our homework.
"No, a dromedary is not a play about milk." Maddie told a very clueless Zack, making me laugh. That's when Mom came out in a pretty, sparkly, gold dress.
"Tada!" Mom spread her arms out to showcase her dress, "Well, what do you think? And be brutal."
"Anyone looks at you and they think, twenty-five." I said.
"And?" Mom looked at Zack and Cody.
"And never had a kid." Zack said, as Cody nodded in agreement.
"Yes! I've trained them so well." Mom said to Maddie, who smiled and nodded. "Okay, you gonna stay in the room and do everything Maddie says?"
"Yep." Cody said.
"Mhm." Me and Zack said.
"Good." Mom said, then looked at Maddie, "Don't believe them." She told her. Me and the boys just grinned.
"Okay, guys, hey, triple kisses." Mom said, bending down to our height. 'Triple kisses' is when Zack and Cody stand on either side of Mom and kiss her cheeks, while I said in front of her and she kisses my cheek. "Goodbye, and goodnight!" Mom said, walking out the door, "Love you!"
"Love you." My brothers and I called in unison. We then looked at each other and nodded slightly, making sure Maddie didn't notice.
"Well, I'm gonna take my bath now." Zack announced, walking towards the bathroom.
"I'm going to brush my hair." I said, following him.
"And I'm going to brush my teeth, to prevent dental decay and-" Before Cody could finish his long winded explanation, I grabbed his arm and pulled him into the bathroom. "I just have one question about this; what if we get caught?" Cody asked, as he turned the bath on, so it sounds like Zack is actually taking a bath.
"Yeah, Moseby could fire Mom." I added, as Zack ripped off his sweatshirt and pants, leaving him in a tuxedo. How did he even wear all that clothing without sweating to death?
"Who cares? With twenty grand, we buy the hotel and fire Moseby!" Zack said excitedly. Me and Cody glanced at each other, then at Zack.
"Good point." We both said simultaneously.
"Now, I need exactly thirty-five minutes to get there, get the picture of the kiss and get back." Zack said.
"Right, you wanna synchronise watches?" Cody asked, holding up his watch.
"I don't have a watch." Zack said, slightly annoyed.
"Neither do I." I said.
"Then we won't do that." Cody said, putting his wrist down. Me and Cody snuck out of the bathroom and walked over to the window.
"Hey, look, you can see the celebrity guests arriving." I said, trying to get Maddie's attention.
"Or, you could just watch it here on TV." Maddie replied, not moving from the couch. I looked at Cody with a "do something!" look.
"Oh no, we're falling out the window." Cody yelled. Maddie got up from the couch and walked over. Bingo. While Maddie was distracted, I saw Zack run out of the bathroom and slip out the front door. Maddie suddenly grabbed our ears and pulled us over to the couch.
"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow." Me and Cody whined. We watched the celebrities on TV for while, before realising it was way better to watch it in person, from the window. So, me and Cody walked back over to the window, with Maddie following.
"Hey, look, a stretch SUV limo." Cody said, pointing out the window.
"Oh yeah, way to waste our planet's natural resources, Mr. Six-Miles-Per-Gallon!" Maddie shouted out the window sarcastically. I walked over to the couch, passing the bathroom door on the way, only to realise there was water coming out from under the door.
"Uh oh." I muttered. "I think I gotta go to the bathroom. Cody, will you come with me?" I looked at Cody with a "get over here!" look. He obliged and walked over, his eyes widening when he saw the water seeping into the carpet.
"You guys go to the bathroom together?" Maddie asked, raising her eyebrows.
"Uh, yeah, we're triplets. We go everywhere together!" I said as if it were obvious. "Plus Zack's probably getting lonely in there." I added, pulling Cody into the bathroom with me. As soon as I walked in, I started slipping, and so did Cody.
"Whoa!" I yelled as we skidded across the bathroom floor and ended up falling on top of each other.
"Cody? Lola? You okay? I heard someone fall." We heard Maddie ask.
"Uh, that was Zack and Lola. Right guys?" Cody looked at me, as I turned the water off.
"Uh, yeah, that was us."
"We're not coordinated like Cody." Cody added, pretending to be Zack.
"Yeah, but luckily we're not stupid like him either." I said, giving Cody a smack in the arm. Cody yelped, as we grabbed some towels and got on the floor, trying to clean up the water.
"Guys, what's going on in there? Open this door." Maddie demanded from the other side of the door. Me and Cody looked at each other with slight panic, before we both opened the bathroom door to see Maddie. "I thought Zack was taking the bath." She said suspiciously. We both looked down at ourselves to see we'd gotten wet while cleaning the bathroom floor.
"Yeah...but he splashed us." I lied.
"Not nice Zack!" Cody called to "Zack".
"Let me talk to Zack." Maddie said.
"Okay." Cody said.
"You're the babysitter." I said with an attitude. Me and Cody went back into the bathroom, "She wants to talk to you, Zack." I told "him".
"Okay." Cody said, pretending to be Zack again. He took off his sweatshirt, put a shower cap on and opened the door, only peeking his head out since he was supposed to be naked, "Can you make this fast? There's a draft." Cody said when Maddie didn't say anything.
"Oh, is that right? Then I'll just talk to Cody and Lola." Maddie decided.
"You women and your moods." Cody sighed, closing the door. I gave him a glare, since he basically just insulted me. "She wants to talk to you two." He said as Zack, pulling his sweatshirt back on, "Okay, Zack... Thank you, Cody... You're welcome, Zack."
"Oh, would you just!" I hissed. This isn't the time for him to be having a conversation with himself!
"Okay, okay." Cody whispered, as we both left the bathroom to talk to Maddie again.
"Cody and Lola here." I smiled innocently.
"Your sweatshirt's on backwards." Maddie said to Cody, putting his hood up so it covered his face. I face palmed. Idiot!
"What's your point?" Cody asked, his voice slightly muffled. I rolled my eyes. He may be the smart one, but he's seriously stupid. Maddie barged into the bathroom, slipping on the water as she walked in.
"Where is he?!" Maddie demanded.
"We'll never rat him out!" Cody yelled.
"Not in a million years! Not in a billion years-" Maddie grabbed both our ears and it hurt so much, we had to talk, "He's in the air condition duct,"
"On the way to the wedding,"
"To get the picture of the $20,000 kiss." We took turns explaining. Maddie growled and walked out of the bathroom, pulling me and Cody with her by our ears.
"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow."
Me and Cody were with Maddie somewhere in the air ducts, trying to find the ballroom.
"All I wanted to do was make a little extra money so I could buy myself a few nice things, because some of us have to work for a living and don't get sent to Paris as a punishment for breaking into Johnny Rip's room!" Maddie ranted, then stopped for a second, "Man, it stinks in here!"
"Sorry." Cody mumbled, crawling ahead of us. Okay, gross.
"Oh no, we're too late." Maddie said when we finally got to the ballroom. Me and Cody saw Zack hiding behind a plant, with his camera at the ready.
"Yes!" Me and Cody whispered. Maddie looked at us.
"I mean, darn!" I said and Cody nodded, as Maddie just rolled her eyes. I watched Zack lift the camera to his face, as Bobby and Ursula kissed. Awesome, we got the picture!
"Hey, that scum's got a camera!" The minister said. Spoke to soon... Security guards started running around and I thought they were gonna bust Zack, until they ran right passed him and chased some bellboy with a camera. Okay, so we did get the picture. Sweet!
"Hey, Zack, over here!" Maddie hissed. Zack got up and ran over. He looked up at us, since we were still in the air vent.
"What is she doing here?" Zack asked me and Cody.
"Saving your butt before I kick it!" Maddie replied harshly.
"Is that a threat or a promise?" Zack asked with a cheeky grin. I rolled my eyes and so did Maddie.
"Come on, stretch!" Maddie said, reaching her hand down to Zack.
"I can't reach you!" Zack said, trying to grab her hand. "London!" He called to London, who just happened to be passing by. "I need your help! Give me a boost, get down on all fours!"
"Like I'm sure. I wasn't even here." London scoffed.
"Take her picture!" I told Zack. Zack snapped London's picture.
"Now you were." Maddie smirked at the heiress.
"When I inherit this hotel, you're so fired!" London hissed, walking over, "And I'm kicking you out!" She told me. I just grinned.
"Oh, you'll be too busy getting facelifts!" Maddie replied. I giggled, as London got down on her hands and knees. Zack stood on London's back and we pulled him into the air duct.
We were still crawling through the air ducts, on our way back to our suite, and I was not looking for to see what Maddie what going to do to us.
"Okay, I've only babysat you guys for thirty minutes. What do you do now? Rob a casino?" Maddie asked sarcastically.
"Don't have to, we hit the jackpot tonight!" Zack exclaimed. We crawled around the corner, only to find Moseby waiting for us.
"Busted!" He yelled. The four of us screamed so loud, it could probably be heard throughout the whole hotel.
Moseby took us down to the lobby, where Mom was. Oh great. Mom was talking to Bobby and Ursula, when she saw us with Moseby.
"Ms. Martin, I found these little rugrats in our air conditioning vent." Moseby said, pushing us towards Mom.
"What?! Are you crazy?!" Mom yelled at us.
"Exactly, they could've damaged the vent!" Moseby said. Really, dude?
"They could've gotten hurt!" Mom said, glaring at Moseby. Then she glared at us, "What were you thinking? No, I'll tell you what you were thinking, you weren't thinking at all, that's what you were thinking!"
"You were glorious." The minister told Mom as he passed by.
"Thank you." Mom smiled, before she turned back to us to continue yelling, "Well?!"
"We wanted to hear you sing." I lied, sounding as innocent as possible.
"Then listen at the door when I'm in the shower." Mom said. Suddenly, some guy was escorted through the lobby by security guards.
"Oh, what happened? Must I be everywhere?" Moseby complained.
"Jerk photographer crashed the wedding." Mom said.
"Don't move." Moseby told Maddie, before running after the photographer.
"I hate those people." Mom said, "How could he do something like that?"
"Maybe he really needed the money?" Zack suggested.
"Because he loves his Mom." Cody added.
"I don't care what his reason is. It's a an invasion of privacy! Those people are just low-life, greedy scrum!" Mom said. Me and the boys looked at each other with guilt.
"This is for you." Zack said, reluctantly holding out the camera for Mom to take.
"We didn't sneak in the vent to hear you sing." I confessed, looking down with shame.
"We snuck into the air conditioning vent to take the $20,000 picture." Cody finished.
"What?!" Mom yelled.
"What?!" Moseby yelled.
"I am so fired." Maddie groaned.
"We wanted to pay you back." Zack explained.
"We wanted to stop being burdens." Cody continued. Mom glared at Moseby, since it was him who made us think we were burdens in the first place.
"Come here." Mom told us, leading us over to the couches in the middle of the lobby.
"I was trying to stop them." Maddie told Moseby.
"Better men than you have tried." Moseby said. Me and the boys sat on the couch, as Mom sat on the coffee table in front of us.
"You're not burdens, okay?" Mom began, "It's my job the make the money, not yours. Your job is to be the kids and have fun! And parents take care of children, children don't take care of parents. Even if they are becoming little men and women. Understand?"
"Yep." Zack said.
"Got it." I said.
"Sorry." Cody said.
"And maybe I did come on kinda strong about the whole 'being broke' thing. I really shouldn't have worried you like that. I was...w-wrong." Mom had a little trouble admitting she was wrong. Maybe that's where I get it from. Who am I kidding? I'm never wrong.
"So, what you're really saying is this is all your fault and we're not punished?" I asked, as me and the boys smiled hopefully.
"Nice try." Mom smiled, but it wasn't a good smile, "Yeah, you're grounded for another week."
"When you say grounded..." I trailed off.
"On the twenty-third floor." Mom said clearly.
"Race ya up stairs!" Zack said to me and Cody.
"Go!" Me and Cody yelled in unison.
"Hey, don't run! Don't run! Look out!" Mom yelled after us. We ignored her, only to run into that guy in the jumpsuit and fall into the coffee table, knocking off the expensive vase on top. The vase fell and almost hit the floor, when Moseby leaped forward and caught it. Well, today has been eventful...