Taylor
"I did it!" Taylor exclaimed, plopping the report down in front of Britt.
"Whoop-dee-do! Who cares? Get some teeny, Tay. Maybe she'll care about some report that we both know you are going to fail."
"I don't fail," Taylor insisted, "And maybe I will find some teeny." Aah. Good old jealousy.
"She can have you and your dumb career," Britt replied, icily.
"Woke up on the wrong side of the bed, I see."
"Sorry, but I can't get excited over your stupid report. How'd you finish so quickly, anyway?"
"Went to the library," Taylor stated, proudly, excluding the help "No Name" had given him, to avoid upsetting Britt.
"Yay for you!" came the sarcastic reply, "Look, Tay! Ally Mcbeal's on!"
"Calista Lockheart is hot," Taylor said, putting his arm around his girlfriend.
"Uh, no. Her nose is too skinny. Her face is too. What do all guys see in her?"
Taylor laughed.
Isaac
Ike was a nervous wreck. Shae was coming in an hour. The door slammed and Ike jumped.
"Calm down, Ike! Britt only left," Taylor stated, joining Ike in his room, "I finished my report."
"How?"
"A girl at the library helped me."
"She worked there?"
"Nope. She was only my age. Her grandpa fought in the Canadian army."
"They're Canadian?" Isaac asked.
"Yup. Just moved to Tulsa actually."
"Cool. Does she have a name?"
"Er, I suppose. But she didn't tell me it. Said that it wasn't important," Taylor said, quietly.
"Odd. Why?"
"I dunno. It's not bothering me," Taylor lied.
Ike saw past Tay's lie, but played along. The brothers chit chatted some more, and the minutes ticked by.
Zac
Zac blasted his CD player and lay down on his bed, letting "I Will Buy You A New Life" by Everclear flood his ears. He loved that song.
He was confused. In all honesty, he felt like he was going through a mid life crisis. But that couldn't be, he was, after all, only 12. Almost 13. Maybe it was a pre-teen crisis them. He sighed.
Earlier on that day, he had been drumming and thinking of Jared, Cassie, and Stephanie, when he felt very old. Not physically older, but emotionally older. And, at the same time, he had felt separated from them, from his closest friends whom he'd known since infancy. They'd adjusted to Zac's frequent absences, he had realised, but had he? Or, was he too caught up in being Zac Hanson? No, not that. Not that at all. He always missed home.
And the dumber thing was that he felt life was passing him by. He didn't know how that could be. What on earth could he missing? Zac had done so much more than anybody else he knew.
"Uh!" he exclaimed, feeling a headache set in, "I hate being confused!"
Isaac
"Tay, I don't, or we don't, know how to break the news."
"Gently. Very gently," Taylor replied.
The door bell rang. Ike shot a nervous look at Taylor. Taylor smiled and patted his arm. "Good luck."
Ike nodded, and went downstairs to get the door. Taking a deep breath, Isaac opened the door.
Shae was standing on the step, twitching her hands and looking far more nervous than Isaac. She was wearing black flares and a baggy black sweater. Her hair was hanging just below her shoulders. Ike reached out and touched it.
"You cut your hair," he stated.
"Yeah. This afternoon."
"It's pretty."
"Thanks."
"Zac, turn down that damn music! I hate that song!" Taylor yelled, just quiet enough so that his parents wouldn't hear, but loud enough for Zac and the couple in the entrance to.
"Hi, Tay," Shae greeted.
"Shae! Sorry about that," Taylor exclaimed, blushing at his less than gallant entry.
"Hey, no prob! Just don't let mom hear that."
They giggled and Isaac felt himself calm down. Mrs Hanson came in.
"Hi, Shae. Come in. Dinner's almost ready."
"YAY!" Taylor exclaimed, forgetting how much he hated Zac's song when the prospect of food pushed it away, "What are we having?"
"You aren't having anything until you find Zac and Avie."
"Oh!" Taylor grumbled, but did as his mother said.
"So, Shae, how are you?" Mrs Hanson asked.
"Fine, thanks. You?"
The small talk continued to the dining room. Shae seemed to be calming down, considerably. But Isaac wasn't.
Shae took a seat across from Isaac, by Jessica. Taylor trooped in with Avery and Zac, holding Avie's Barbie.
Avery scooted over to her seat by Taylor and he handed her the doll.
"Here's Barbie, Avie."
"Thank you, Tay. She is hungry too."
"She had better eat then."
"Okay. Can we have a ball later, Tay? You can play the Ken."
Isaac chuckled at the look of horror on Tay's face. Shae covered her mouth and giggled. As soon as Zac was seated on the other side of Shae, Mr Hanson said Grace.
"Yum, yum! Let's eat!" Zac declared, helping himself to a mountain of potatoes.
"Pass 'em," Taylor ordered.
"Nuh uh. I'm passing left to Dad."
"Pass right."
This was followed by a brief squabble, during which Mrs Hanson shot Shae a look of sympathy.
"So, Shae, how's school?" Mr Hanson asked.
Ike almost choked on his peas. He could tell by the way Taylor and Zac stopped their argument that they were surprised.
"Um, it's over," Shae said, in a voice that was hardly hearable.
"So soon?" Mrs Hanson asked.
Shae nodded and glanced at Ike. Ike smiled weakly.
"Why so soon? It's only-"
"OW, MOM!" Zac practically yelled.
"Zac, what's wrong?" Mrs Hanson asked, concern creeping into her voice.
"Uh, um, er-"
"I, er, I kicked him by accident!" Taylor jumped in.
"Be careful, Tay. Don't swing your feet."
Ike and Shae smiled at Tay and Zac. Good save.
"Shae, we're going to the zoo on Friday. Would you like to come?"
"Sure! But I'd have to find a sitter....." Shae's voice trailed off as she realised her slip up. She glanced apologetically at Ike.
Ike glanced at his parents. Mrs Hanson was wiping off Zoe's face, and looked confused. Mr Hanson's fork had stopped mid-way to his mouth.
"Do you have realitives staying with you?" Mr Hanson asked.
"Walker, of course not. Do you want more chicken?"
Dinner ended and Mr and Mrs Hanson pulled Ta and Zac out of the room.
"Sorry," Shae mumbled.
"It's okay. You'll see; my parents are cool."
"I hope so."
A moment later, Taylor and Zac came back.
"Avie! C'mon! Let's go, we have a Barbie ball to attend!" Taylor exclaimed, not believing that he was offering to play Barbies.
"Yay! C'mon, Jessie! Zac can be your prince."
"What?" Zac gasped.
"Yeah. Come on, Prince Zachary. The ball awaits," Taylor snickered.
"After you, Prince Taylor."
The party left, leaving Shae and Ike alone. They weren't alone for long, because Mr and Mrs Hanson came in.
"How old is your baby?" Mrs Hanson asked, smiling kindly, unarming all of Shae's mental defences.
"5 months."
"Oh! Boy or girl?"
"Twins, actually. One of each. Sam and Sydney," Shae answered, starting that nervous twitch with her hands again.
"Where do they go when you work?" Mr Hanson asked.
"My friend, Tracey, has a day care. How, er, did you know that I worked?"
"Because you said school was over."
Isaac smiled at Shae, wanting her to be okay. She was red, blinking rapidly, trying ot compose her herself, and looking terribly ashamed.
"I know that you think I'm stupid. It was stupid. I was stupid. It was a mistake," Shae's voice broke, "And I regretted it. I hated leaving school. My family disowned me. People looked at me and I could tell that they were thinking, "Oh that poor girl. Feel sorry for that baby. It's gonna have a bad life." I hated myself, and I hated being pregnant. Mom wanted me to get an abortion, but to me, that's murder. I hated life. I was so very depressed and lonely. But, when they were born, I loved them. So, I thought, 'Shae, you've gotta smarten up.' So, I tried. I tried to live better, because I had something wonderful to live for, and I could stop wollowing in self pity. Sure, I burned a lot of bridges, but I'd do it all the same. I love Sam and Sydney. They are my life."
Taylor
"So, what exactly was their reaction?" Taylor asked, stretching in his sleeping bag.
It was something they did occasionally. Two brothers would get sleeping bags, and depart to the other brother's room. It was corny, Taylor supposed, but a ton of fun. Because, you know, they all missed sharing a room to a certain extent.
"Did they threaten to slaughter you alive?" Zac piped up, pretending to slaughter his pillow, "That would be so cool!"
"Sheesh, Zac! They didn't say much. Mom looked kinda hurt about me not telling her. I think I'll get a talk tomorrow."
"Yay," Taylor said, sarcastically, staring at Zac's ceiling. Out of courtesy to his brothers, Zac had also given up his bed, and was laying on the floor, "So, Zacky, how exactly are you and Stephanie?"
"Good."
"Have you kissed?" Taylor continued.
"Frankly, Tay, that is none of your business."
"C'mon, Zac," Ike pushed, "Tell your big brothers."
"Grrr!" Zac exclaimed, "Fine! No, we haven't."
"Shoot, Zac! You have a girl who looks like a 12 year old Neve Campbell," Taylor paused to sigh about the new love of his life (he wished), "and ya haven't kissed her?"
"She doesn't look exactly like Neve Campbell."
"Sure she does. Steph could pass as her younger sister."
"Whatever, Tay."
Tay rolled over and let Zac and Ike gab about the one month anniversary of Posh Spice's wedding. Taylor almost gagged. He didn't know what his brothers saw in her. She was just too....too...too darn posh! Give him Neve Campbell any day.
Taylor's mind flicked channels. He had gotten his report back. A-. Missed A because his French battles weren't specific enough. Specific enough his foot! Oh well. He was indebt to that girl. No name.
Why was she No Name? It bugged the hell out of him. What harm did telling her name bring? Huh?
"TAYLOR HANSON! ARE YOU IN THERE? HELLO?"
"Huh? Hmm? What?"
"Zac and I asked if you and Britt were doing something tomorrow and you said, "How do I know? I don't know her name." Tay?"
"Oh, I was thinking about that girl who wouldn't tell me her name. Why wouldn't she?"
Zac answered, "Maybe she's a fan, who jumped at the oppurtunity to help Taylor Hanson with his homework. Maybe she found out she didn't like you after all. So, she didn't want you to know anything about her. Or maybe she has a bad name. Take your pick."
"I dunno." It still bugged Taylor.
Email:edithcampbell@angelfire.com.