All Friends Check-In (The Suite Life of Zack & Cody)

12. It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad Hotel

When I arrived in the lobby, I saw that the twins and Esteban had accidentally busted an antique frame while playing football in the hallway. They thought Uncle Marion wouldn't notice, but he quickly caught what had happened.

"This painting has been hanging in the Tipton for nearly one hundred years," my uncle told the boys and bellboy.

"Well, good. Now you can buy a new one," Zack smiled.

I shook my head at him.

"Old is good," Uncle Marion corrected Zack.

"And that's what makes you great," Cody grinned.

"Oh, Mr. Moseby, forgive us," Esteban gave my uncle an apologetic expression. "Back home, they would tie my arms and legs to four goats and send them off in different directions."

Uncle Marion and I had weirded-out expressions at the bellboy's story.

"At least they weren't horses," I muttered.

"It is what they do for people with bad backs," Esteban added.

"Which is what you'll have after working a double shift," my uncle told him.

"I'd better find a goat."

Esteban handed me half of the frame and left.

"Who's gonna pay for this?" Uncle Marion turned to the twins.

"Do you take game tokens?" Cody asked.

Arwin arrived, making a superhero pose.

"Keep your tokens in your pockets, young man," he told Cody.

"Arwin!" the twins exclaimed happily.

"Arwin can fix it," Cody expressed.

"Arwin can fix anything," Zack added.

"Ah. Except a nice quiche," Arwin jumped in. "I can't get the cheese to harden quite right."

"I'll keep that in mind," Uncle Marion nodded.

"Same here," I shrugged.

"I can fix this, though," Arwin told us, reaching into one of his pockets. "With my new super-strength glue." He pulled out a glue bottle. "I call it super-strength glue."

"Or Gorilla Glue," I mumbled.

"Catchy," Uncle Marion smiled. "See what you can do."

I handed half of the frame to Arwin as my uncle left. 

"Check this out," the friendly janitor told us. "All you have to do is put a little drop down here," Arwin added some glue to the bottom of the frame before moving on. "A little drop up here." He applied the sticky glue to the top while Cody helped attach the other half of the frame. "And you stick it down there and stick it up here, and voila!"

The frame was whole once again. I noticed smoke coming from the edges where Arwin applied his glue.

"Smoke!" I gasped, pointing it out.

"No, thanks," Arwin shook his head, not even noticing a thing, "It's a nasty habit."

"No, the frame is smoking!" Zack clarified.

"That is the silliest thing I've ever--" Arwin didn't believe our warning until he turned to the frame and screamed at it. 

He tossed the frame about a couple feet from us as if getting rid of a bomb. "Aah! Aah! Duck and cover!" Arwin ushered us over to the other side of the couch. The twins, the goofy janitor, and I hit the floor just as an explosion went off. The frame was history, literally.