All Friends On Board (The Suite Life On Deck)⚓

19. Mulch Ado About Nothing

"Mulch," Bailey exclaimed excitedly after opening her package.

"Mulch?" everyone wondered in unison.

I heard mulch was often used for gardening, improving the soil, and reducing the growth of weeds.

"Rotted vegetables and wood chips," Bailey told our friends and sniffed a handful of mulch, "I think I'm gonna cry."

Something told me she was starting to think of her beloved hometown.

"Does it smell that bad?" Zack asked.

"No, it smells like home," Bailey answered, "You know, this is the first year I'm missing the Kettlecorn Mulch Festival."

"Let me guess, you were Miss Junior Mulch?" London laughed and Woody and the twins laughed at her awful joke except Caleb and me. I shook my head at them all.

"Three years running," Bailey added trying to keep a cheerful spirit, "And this year, I would have been a shoo-in for corn queen." She started getting emotional, "I miss home." Bailey ran out of the lobby.

"I know what to do with this," Woody remarked showing us the mumu, "Who wants to go parasailing?" He turned raising the mumu like a kite, "Yeah, like... whoosh!" Woody ran across the lobby with his arms raised.

"Ohh! Look, guys. Sparkly," London smiled holding up the gold bar, and giggled.

Woody ran back in and banged his head against the gold bar with a grunt and fell unconscious on the floor.

"Something tells me he's gonna have a huge headache later on," Caleb cringed at him.

I nodded in agreement.

⚓

I tried helping London cheer up Bailey who was still homesick and kept watching videos of a man calling for a pig. Cody suggested recreating the Kettlecorn Mulch Festival to lift Bailey's spirit and have her crowned corn queen. 

With Uncle Marion's permission, Cody had got all of us working on decorating the Sky Deck with a farm theme and had us dress up to fit in with the country vibe. Caleb and I helped with some of the decorations. I could tell Cody was getting worked up in trying to make the makeshift festival perfect for Bailey. 

"Cody," Zack approached his twin along with Woody, "Cody, calm down dude."

"Yeah, you're stressing yourself out, and everyone else," I nodded as Caleb and I arrived.

"I can't calm down. Bailey's gonna be here any minute," Cody remarked, "Woody how are the corn fritters?"

"Frittered," Woody replied.

"Popcorn?"

"Popped," Caleb answered.

"Cornbread?" Cody asked.

"Corny," I replied.

"Creamed corn?"

"Creamy," Zack responded, "Can we stop this now?"

"No. Where's the square dance caller? Someone call the caller?" Cody hollered.

That second, Uncle Marion arrived and got on the platform with a happy grin, "Howdy, partners. I'm Marion Moseby, your square dance caller. Let's all get ready to hoot and holler." He announced to the crowd in cowboy talk. My uncle watched one too many Western movies and shows!

"Moseby?" Zack turned to Cody and me.

"Look, it was the only way I could get permission to use the Sky Deck," Cody answered.