Caleb and I arrived in the lobby and saw the mail cart by the reception desk. Uncle Marion dug through it, to check and see if he got another monthly pocket handkerchief.
"Yes! It's here," my uncle exclaimed excitedly as he pulled out a large envelope, "My pocket hankie of the month."
I just shrugged and checked the cart to see if there was anything from Grandma. Every month since I've been on the ship, she would send me care packages. There was always a surprise in each of them. I found it thoughtful of her. Sure enough, I found a box with my name on it.
"Alright!" I smiled.
"What is it Mar?" Caleb asked as he too dug through the mail cart just as Uncle Marion was too hung up on his new pocket hankie to notice us.
"A care package from my grandma."
My best friend nodded at me and then pulled out a package which I guessed was from his parents.
"Oh, stripes!" Uncle Marion smiled after opening his delivery and seeing the pattern on the handkerchief.
"MAIL CALL!" Woody hollered from the other room.
Next, he, along with Zack, Cody, London, Bailey, and the other students ran into the lobby making me think of the stampede scene from The Lion King. Caleb and I jumped out of the way as Uncle Marion darted out with his new handkerchief. We made great timing as our friends and classmates crowded around the mail cart!
"Yes. Yes. Oh, yes. Mom's muffins are the best," Zack exclaimed happily.
"I thought you said your mom was a horrible cook," Bailey said.
"Oh no. If she got better, she'd be horrible," Cody told her.
"Trust me, I've tried her cooking," I informed Bailey and Caleb recalling the few times I've had dinner with Carey and the twins.
"Yeah, we wouldn't dare eat them, but these babies sure are fun to play with," Zack added and dropped a muffin and it bounced back into his hands like a bouncy ball.
"Plus, they make great erasers," Cody jumped in and demonstrated it.
"Yay! My allowance for the week!" London cheered and pulled out a gold bar from her package.
"Whoa!" Caleb gaped at it wide-eyed.
"What do they say when you bring that to the bank?" Bailey wondered.
"Wow." London quoted with her fingers.
"Dang it," Woody frowned as he held up a mumu in front of him which nearly made me crack up.
"Nice dress, Woody. Really brings out your eyes," Zack commented teasingly.
"My mom switched our packages again. This was supposed to go to my little sister."
"Little?" London questioned as she and Zack pulled at the sides of the mumu seeing how large it was.
"She must have got my PJs. Guess I'll have to sleep in the buff," Woody shrugged.
"No buff," Cody remarked knowing what he meant, "Uhh... our room is a buff-free zone."
Bailey went over to the mail cart and found a package with her name on it, "I got a package from the farm."
"Is it homemade pie?" Cody asked.
"A fresh peach cobbler?" Zack jumped in.
"A one-way ticket home?" London smirked.
Bailey and I frowned at her. Even though they were roommates, London was always finding ways to make Bailey leave the ship for good so she could have their cabin to herself. I've told my ditzy friend countless times to try and get used to the idea she had to share the cabin and that it would be good for her.
"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.
"Apparently, 'calling' is on his bucket list," I added.
"Calling?" Caleb wondered.
"You're late," Cody turned to Uncle Marion.
"Sorry, I was sewing rhinestones on my chaps. See?" my uncle apologized and showed the side of his pants.
"No excuses," Cody shook his head.
London arrived on the deck, "Bailey's coming!"
"Places, people. Move it, move it, move it!" Cody ushered all of us to get into position for Bailey's arrival.
When Bailey made an appearance, all of us surprised her. On taking in the theme, Bailey recognized it as the mulch festival. It made me happy to see her happy. On learning Cody put together the makeshift festival for her, she smiled big at him. Bailey was about to hug Cody when London informed her that she had flown in Moose, Bailey's ex-boyfriend.
On seeing him, Bailey was thrilled to see someone from her hometown. Cody reacted negatively at seeing Moose but tried to keep an optimistic behavior around Bailey.
When it was square dancing time, Caleb and I partnered up and went with the flow. I could tell Cody wasn't all that thrilled with Moose's presence thinking the latter would interfere with his attempts at impressing Bailey.
During a bobbing for corn contest, Cody had a hard time gripping the corncobs with his teeth and Moose ended up winning it. Plus, Cody also drowned in the bucket that Moose quickly pulled him out of it.
"I've know bobbing for apples, but never knew corn bobbing was also a thing," Caleb remarked.
"Me neither," I replied.
⚓
Next was the arm-wrestling contest. Moose took down a bunch of guys by a notch. Caleb tried his hand at it but ended up losing to the big guy.
"Man, he's strong!" Caleb gaped as he rubbed his hand after having it slammed on the table.
"No doubt about that," I shook my head, "Codes is gonna have a hard time competing with 'im."
"Dude. Look at his arms," Zack pointed out informing his twin trying to get him to forfeit the challenge, "He's got pythons. You got yummy worms."
"Arm-wrestling is not about brute strength," Cody explained, "It's about physics. As long as your elbow establishes the proper fulcrum, it's all just angles, leverage, and torque."
"You're a torque."
Before getting started, Cody adjusted the arm height, which got Uncle Marion impatient who was eager for the contest to go on. Once Cody was ready and my uncle called it, Moose slammed my friend's hand on the table and Cody ended up falling over. Another contest Moose won!
Caleb and I ended up helping Cody get back on his feet.
"You just got fulcrumed," Zack remarked.
"I think you mean, K.O.," I corrected him.
⚓
Since Cody wasn't able to win at any of the physical challenges, he thought he could beat Moose at chess. It turned out Moose won at it as well, having won every contest and prize. When Moose learned that Bailey was homesick, he suggested having her return to Kettlecorn with him. Though I could tell she was wanting to continue seeing the world. It turned out Moose proved to be a bit bossy at what he thought was best for Bailey.
"Well, gather round, farm folk. It's time to crown the corn queen, so lend me your ears," Uncle Marion announced and joked.
"I get it. Ears of corn," Caleb nodded finding it funny though some of us didn't think so.
"Now, one of you lovely ladies is gonna take home the crown, and I guess the rest of you are gonna say, "Aw, shucks."
That got some of us laughing at my uncle's joke. Though Caleb cracked up at it.
"Sorry. All these corn jokes. I'm getting creamed."
He should've been a standup comedian instead of a hotel manager. I thought.
Bailey was announced as corn queen. I smiled at her seeing that her dream became a reality. Bailey had a speech written down from when she was five, but I could tell her feelings were true.
Cody expected to get crowned as corn king. However, Moose was announced as corn king instead. Cody felt betrayed that the others didn't vote for him. Guess it had to be his pushy attitude earlier when we were setting up the deck! Though I could tell Cody was worried about potentially losing Bailey.
Caleb and I caught Woody eating some of the mulch. He had a weird appetite!
⚓
It turned out Bailey decided to stay on the ship after Cody, Caleb, and I encouraged her to decide what she felt was the right thing to do. There was a lot to see worldwide and she didn't want to miss out on the adventures. For sure Bailey was happy to have Moose visit, but it reminded her of the reason they broke due to his bossiness and assuming he knew what was best for Bailey, when in reality he didn't.
Bailey admitted to Cody that she would miss him and the rest of us if she had left. When both Cody and Bailey hugged each other, I quickly pulled out my camera and took a picture of them for them to treasure the moment. Both of them included Caleb and me in getting some corn-o-colas, which were corn-flavored sodas, and offered us some floss in case the kernels got stuck in our teeth.
The next day, I arrived in the lobby to find Uncle Marion still wearing his caller costume. Yet again, he was loving the cowboy act. I shrugged and turned in the other direction.