Chapter 4

I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did.

Wait...In this story, I actually created some of them, so I do own them.

Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves.

And as for the ones I did create, who they are is up to me, so...

July came and went and gave away to August. And as August was beginning, Cody was getting everything ready to head to Yale to surprise Bailey while she was getting everything ready to head to Brown to surprise him. That just left Zack with no real clear picture of what he was going to do. But Cody already had a plan in place for him. And in early August, Zack was sitting on the couch when Cody came up to him with his hands behind his back.

"Zack, can we talk?"

Zack just kept looking at the television. "About what?"

Cody grinned. "Behind my back, I have two options for you for your future, both of which I think you'll like."

He looked up. "What are they?"

"You have to choose first. Left or right?"

Zack rolled his eyes. "Left..."

Cody pulled an manilla envelope from behind his back and gave it to Zack. He opened it and read it and then read it again to make sure he was really seeing what he thought he was seeing. He looked up at his brother in confusion.

"You got me a job as Dwight Howard's personal assistant?"

Cody smiled and nodded. "I did. I've kept in contact with Kevin Love since he came on the boat, and he gave me Dwight's number. And of course Dwight remembered you. He liked the fact that you gave Mr. Moseby such a hard time. Anyways, his last personal assistant left for another job, so he's looking for a replacement. He said if you wanted it, the job is yours. Of course, there are some drawbacks. One is the current NBA lockout. Two, there is the rumor he might try to get out of Orlando and go play for the Lakers. As a Celtics fan, they might be something you refuse to have anything to do with..."

Zack shook his head and laughed. "I'll deal with it! Thanks, Bro. I finally might get my life out of neutral now..."

Cody nodded and pulled out another manilla envelope from his right hand. "This is another option as well..."

Zack opened it up and read the letter inside. But when he finished reading this one, he looked up at his brother and glared it him. "Is this some kind of a joke?"

"No, its not. I got London's help, and she pulled some strings. If you choose this one, they will fly you to N'Djamena, Chad via Charles DeGaulle in Paris. You will be working for the Peace Corp at the same exact location Maya is..."

Zack continued glaring at his brother. "And why would you ever think I would along with this?"

Cody sat down next to him. "Because you love her..."

Zack shook his head. "No, I don't!"

"Yeah, you do. You're just letting your pride and your ego get the best of you right now. Trust me, I know that feeling all too well. I wish someone would have smacked some sense into me when Bailey and I broke up, but I don't think I was in any position to listen to them. I know you probably aren't either right now, but I'm hoping you'll learn from my mistakes. I know I got lucky that I got Bailey back. And I know you can be that lucky too and get Maya back."

"Cody, I..."

Cody interrupted him. "Look...I know what you're feeling now, and not a day goes by that I don't wish I could go back and undo everything about that night in Paris and what happened afterwards. But, I can't. Bailey and I can just learn from the mistakes we made so we never let anything like that happen again. And that's what were doing. We've learned that a strong relationship has to be worked on. We've learned we have to constantly communicate with each other and not take the other for granted." He paused. "Right now, you're in denial about everything. I was too. But, I got wonderful words of wisdom from Kevin, Dwight and Deron about how you have to let your feeling be known and how you have to be willing to put yourself out there. And they were absolutely right. And when I called Bailey and heard she was in trouble, I didn't give a second thought about somehow getting to her to make sure she was alright. I loved her, and if she was in trouble, I couldn't sit back and do nothing. And fortunately, everything worked out for us. Let me ask you though. If you got a call from Maya that she was in trouble, would you drop everything to go to her to make sure she was alright?"

Zack just looked at his brother, but he didn't say anything.

Cody shook his head. "Don't answer that right now. Just think about it. I know its not the same as if it was really happening. Just think about it though. And Zack...follow your heart. It will never lead you astray."

The rest of August continued to pass. And for Zack, he did think about it. And he began to realize that Cody was right. His anger and stubbornness was clouding his thinking. But at least he no longer refused to think about Maya. In fact, if he was honest, he thought about her a lot. And when he did, he could feel his heart begin to beat a little faster. But he was still no closer to reaching a decision. There were still too many unanswered questions in his mind.

Finally, the day came when Cody was set to leave to head for New Haven. And that meant it was time for the twins to say goodbye. Cody gathered up all of his things on a luggage cart, and when he was done, he hugged his brother goodbye.

"I guess this is the end of an era, huh?"

Zack nodded. "I guess so. We haven't been apart since you went to math camp."

Cody grinned. "When you came to try to bring me home because you missed me."

Zack rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah..." He paused. "I will miss you though. Take care of yourself."

"I will...and I'll miss you too."

"You tell Bailey she better take care of you too or she'll have to answer to me."

Cody smiled. "I'll tell her. You tell Maya the same thing for me."

Zack sighed. "Codester..."

"Look. I'm not trying to tell you what to do. I just know the fates have a way of telling us what we are supposed to do. They brought Bailey and I to the ship so we could meet. And I think they sent the twister to Kettlecorn so we would get back together. Zack, when the fates talk to you, listen to them."

"I'll think about it. Now, go on...get out of here. Your fellow nerds await."

"Alright...Zack, I'll see you when I see you. And if that's not for another two years, so be it. I'll know you're with the woman you love then. I'm off to do that myself. There no feeling like it in the world."

"We'll see..." He paused. "And Broseph, if I do go to Chad...you better not get married until I get back!"

Cody laughed. "I promise. I mean...how would I get married without my best man?"

And with that, it was time for Cody and Bailey to take their places as college students. Neither still had any idea of the other's surprise for them. Cody took the luggage cart and loaded up his car. Yes...his car. Over the summer, Carey had finally decided she needed a new car, so Cody got her old one. It wasn't as nice as the sports car he had given to Zack, but it had plenty of trunk space, got fairly good gas mileage, and was dependable. Once he was loaded up, he pulled out of the Boston Tipton parking garage and began the three hour drive to New Haven.

On Bailey's part, she had flown into the local airport in Providence after a layover in Chicago. Before she left, she had called London. After telling her of her change in plans, she asked London for a favor. London came through for her, and waiting for her at the airport was a car to take her and her things to campus. As of then, London was the only one who knew of both Cody and Bailey's surprises for each other. But, an end of summer clearance sale had diverted her attention and she completely forgot about them.

At the exact same time, both Cody and Bailey arrived on their respective campuses and made their way towards what was supposed to be the other's dorm. Cody arrived at Bailey's a few minutes first, and walked into the front lobby.

"Excuse me. Can you tell me which room Bailey Pickett is in? I'm her boyfriend, and I wanted to stop by and surprise her and help her move in."

The woman at the desk smiled at him. "Of course." She checked her computer and frowned. "I'm sorry, sir. Miss Pickett was assigned to this dorm, but several weeks ago, she called and canceled her room."

Cody frowned. "She did what? She didn't tell me anything about that..." He shook his head and pulled out his cell phone. "What is going on here?"

Meanwhile on Brown's campus, Bailey walked into what was supposed to be Cody's dorm. And she walked up to the front desk too.

"Excuse me. Can you tell me which room Cody Martin is in? I'm his girlfriend, and I wanted to stop by and surprise him and help him move in."

The man behind the desk smiled. "Certainly." He checked his computer and frowned too. "I'm sorry, young lady. Mr. Martin was assigned to this dorm, but several weeks ago, he called and canceled his room."

Bailey frowned. "He did what? He didn't tell me anything about that..." She shook her head and pulled out her cell phone. "What is going on here?"

She was about to dial his number when her own phone began ringing. And checking her caller ID, she saw it was Cody himself calling. So, she hit the talk button and spoke.

"Cody, where the feathers are you?"

"Bailey, where are you? I'm here at your dorm at Yale, and they told me you canceled your room here!"

"I'm at your dorm at Brown, and they just told me you did the same thing! What are you doing there anyways? You're supposed to be here moving in..."

"And you're supposed to be here moving in. Why are you there?"

"Well, I was planning on surprising you. I..." She paused when she heard some static over the line. "Cody, are you still there?"

"Yeah, I can barely hear you though. Can you hear me?"

"Barely..."

Cody paused. "Maybe we should speak in person. On my way here, I passed a rest area on I-95 around New London, Connecticut. It should be halfway between us. Can you meet me there in about an hour?"

Bailey nodded. "Yeah, I'll be there. Rest area around New London. I'll see there in about an hour..."

And with that, both headed back to their cars and began driving towards each other.

Meanwhile, back in Boston, with Cody gone, it was now just Zack and his Mom in the suite. And Zack was still no closer to figuring out what he was going to do. Working for Dwight Howard would be a great opportunity, but with the NBA lockout looking like it would wipe out the whole season, it would be some time before he would get to go out on the road and see all of America. But he still wasn't sure if he was ready to head to Africa for two years without any certainty of what the reception would be when he got there. He didn't even know if Maya would welcome him being there. Plus, there was the fact that he had grown accustomed to things like air conditioning and running water over the course of his life. He wasn't sure he was ready or willing to give those up.

"What are your plans today, Zack?"

He looked up to see his Mom looking at him. He shrugged. "I don't know, Mom."

"Any closer to making a decision?"

Zack shook his head. "Not yet. I still don't know what to do."

Carey smiled at him. "When the time comes, you will. And then you'll make the right choice. Anyways, I need to head downstairs for a rehearsal. I'll see you later."

And with that, Carey left the suite and Zack by himself.

He sighed in frustration. "Why can't that time come now? I want to know what the right choice is..." He looked up. "Alright, fates...if you guys are so smart, why don't you give me little help here?"

Shaking his head, he turned on the TV. And when it came on, he was surprised with the first thing he heard.

"Today, we take you to N'Djamena, the capital of the Republic of Chad where we will take a closer look at the refugee situation as more and more people flood into the country from Sudan's Darfur region and the Central African Republic. With more and more new people arriving everyday, more and more help is needed here. Fortunately, there are volunteers here from the Peace Corp, but they are undermanned."

Zack just shook his head and laughed. He looked up again. "Okay, okay...I get it. Very subtle..."

At the rest area in New London, Connecticut, Cody arrived first and waited for Bailey to arrive. Ten minutes later, another car pulled in and parked next to his. Immediately, Bailey got out of the back seat and walked over to him.

"Okay, we can actually hear each other now. What were you doing at Yale?"

Cody smiled at her and handed her a letter. Bailey took it from him and began reading it. And when she finished reading it, she looked up at him with the biggest smile on her face. "Cody! You got in! But how?"

"Well, you see...It seems that some events happened after I left Hans' office. Turns out Zack heard everything too..." And Cody went on to explain Zack catching Hans taking a bribe, and the little deal they made. "He didn't tell me right away as he wasn't sure Hans would keep his word. But, he did. And I called to make sure it was legit, and it was. I decided to surprise you and tell you when I showed up at your dorm today..." He smiled. "I guess we can frame the acceptance letters together now after all..."

Bailey just shook her head and laughed. "I guess so. Remind me to thank him the next time I see him."

"Well, if all goes right, that might not be for a couple of years..."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, lets just say I came up with a plan to thank him for what he did. I called in a favor to Kevin Love and got London's help too. You see..." And then he went on and explained the two choices he got for Zack and the talk he had with him. "I'm hoping the fates will do something and he'll soon be on a plane to Africa..."

Bailey smiled at him. "Me too. I wish someone had sat us down and told us how stupid we were being back then."

Cody smiled back. "So do I. And while I wish we could have that time back, I do think we both learned a lot from our mistakes."

"I think so too. We know not to be complete idiots again. We know not to let stupid misunderstandings come between us..." She paused and smiled. "By the way, have you ever noticed you use the phrase 'follow your heart' an awful lot?"

He paused to think. "That was only the second time I can remember saying it. The first time was during the Mulch Festival." He smiled. "And you have no idea how much I wanted to tell you to stay on the ship so you wouldn't leave me..."

Bailey smiled back. "I couldn't do that if I tried. But, you did say it a third time. You were..." She paused. "Oh...you said it that time in my dream when I got knocked unconscious..."

"Yeah, about that dream. What was it about anyways?"

"It just helped knock some sense back into me. He reminded me of how much I loved you and to stop being so stupid."

"Sounds like a good dream then..."

"It was...Afterwards was a little awkward though. I had to say something nice to Moose because I didn't want things to be weird in the storm shelter with the tornado still going on outside. I didn't have the heart to tell him that I hadn't even thought of him once since the mulch festival."

"Well, I'm glad you picked me."

She smiled. "I will always pick you. Everyday of the week and twice on Sundays."

He smiled back. "Me too...Now...What were you doing at Brown?"

She smiled at him again. "I was there to surprise you too. I had an interesting conversation with my Dad and learned a few things. You see..." And she went on to explain about her Dad turning down the navy to be with her Mom. "And if he hadn't done that, who knows if I ever would have been born. And he said he never regretted his decision at all. And he never resented my Mom because she encouraged him to make his own decision. He knew he had her love and support no matter what he did. Just like I do with you. You've always encouraged me to pursue my dreams. Well, turns out, I can have both of my dreams at the same time. I can get a top notch education at an Ivy League school and be with the man I love at the same time. So, I was going to show up at Brown and tell you that you were stuck with me and to get used to it."

Cody grinned. "I believe I could definitely get used to it."

"Good. Cody, I'd never resent you. You've never once tried to tell me what to do and always encouraged me to do what I wanted. Well, I appreciate that more than you know. You respect me as a person and are willing to forgo what you want to make me happy. You love me so much, you'd sacrifice your own happiness for me. That's one of the many things I love about you. But we don't have to sacrifice anything now."

"Well, Sweetie...I guess that leaves us only one thing left to decide. We both have been admitted to Yale and Brown. Do we go west back to New Haven or east back to Providence? Your choice."

"What about Dr. Brown and your chance to work with him?"

Cody smiled. "I told him I was off to be with the girl of my dreams, and he told me to go for it. Besides, getting to study with the most brilliant person I know...or going to brown was a no brainer of a decision."

"Well, I get to study with the most brilliant person I know now too. Cody, it doesn't matter to me at all where we go." Bailey grinned. "Either way, I get the best of both worlds..."

He laughed. "How fitting. On our first date, we danced together to that very song at the concert..."

She laughed too. "I remember."

Realizing Bailey's driver was sitting there waiting on them, Cody walked over to the car and knocked on the driver's side window. When the driver rolled down his window, Cody spoke to him.

"You can head back home now. I'll take care of the lady's transportation from here on out."

The driver nodded, and he helped them load Bailey's things into the back seat of Cody's car, and then he drove away. Cody turned back to Bailey.

"So, where to, Sweetie?"

She paused and smiled. "I have an idea..."

"What's that?"

"Fate brought us together on the S.S. Tipton and brought us back together in Kettlecorn. I believe it was working to make sure we met and got back together because it knew we were perfect for each other. I say we let fate decide the next step for us again."

"What do you have in mind?"

She smiled as she pulled a quarter out of her pocket. "I say we let fate guide the quarter to tell us where we are meant to go..."

He smiled back. "Works for me. What do you say? Heads, we head, to Brown and Tails, we head to Yale?"

"Exactly what I was thinking. You know, Yale and Tails rhyme" She paused. "I think living with London rubbed off on to me..."

He smiled. "Well, for the past 18 years, I've lived with either Zack or Woody, and it hasn't caused any permanent damage...I don't think so anyways."

Bailey smiled too. "Either way, I love you just the way you are." She flipped the quarter high into the air. And as it was flipping over and over, Cody grabbed Bailey's hand as they watched it. In a matter of seconds, it would tell them where they were off to. But it didn't really matter to them. Either way, they would be together continuing the next step in their great adventure through life.

The End