Alex finished typing and printing her story the night before it was due. Around seven thirty in the evening Diana began setting up the living room so her children could present their projects.
“Momma do I have to read this in front of everyone?”
“Yes,” Diana smiled to herself. She had read some of Alexandra’s work and loved them. It was a kind of ‘oh my baby is good at this’ type of motherly love. It was the same feeling she got the first time Isaac, Taylor, and Zac performed in front of an audience.
Taylor strode into the living room hair falling from the sides of his tail, glasses on. He looked to be frazzled. Alexandra noted his uncommon disposition. Taylor never got this way before anything. Why was he so nervous? He began setting up his electric piano. She watched him plug it into the wall and then push his glasses up on his nose. She went over to him and tentatively hugged him. She never knew how Taylor would react to anything. He was very moody, but he responded with a smile.
“Thanks. I needed that.”
Alex just smiled and headed back up the stairs.
At eight o’clock everyone was gathered and they all settled to begin the presentations.
“Isaac, you’re first.”
Isaac stood up nervously. Diana had purposefully pulled him out of his element hoping that he would explore new things and enjoy something else other than music and his family.
He pulled a piece of cardboard out from behind the keyboard. He set it up on an easel type thing. He took a deep breath and clasped his hands in front of himself and smiled.
“Okay, well my assignment was a photography project that mom gave me little to no instruction on. For all she knew I could have took that as see how many pictures of Hanson I could find in magazines and glue them together. But unlike Taylor, out smart mouthed brother, I figured that she wanted me to take pictures.”
“Breathe, Ike.” Zac called from the group. A small chuckle from the family emerged.
“Shhh Zac, let your brother finish.” Diana scolded.
“Anyway like I was saying…I pondered for a while on what exactly I should take pictures of. I thought about what I liked. I could have taken pictures of flowers, but Taylor said that would be stupid and it was very unoriginal. Then I wondered to myself what was special to me? I came up with something and decided that I would take pictures of that. Well, after throwing away twenty pictures of my guitars I settled on pictures of my family.”
They all laughed at his joke, knowing knew that the family had most likely been his first choice. “Then I ran into another problem….I have seven siblings and two parents…who do I take pictures of and then what should I do with them? Should I pose them or what? Then I decided that I would capture them in their natural habitat and then describe what each member mans to me and what the picture represents to me.”
“Yo Ike, cut down on the speech.” Jessie said from her seat next to Taylor.
“I have to make this at least five minutes. Mom said.”
“At the rate you’re going it’ll be an hour long speech.”
“Jessica, that is enough young lady.” Walker scolded.
“Anyway, here are the pictures.” He turned to the poster board. “This first one is of my darling sister Jessie.” He turned to her with an annoyed look on his face. She just smiled back. “As you can see she was reading. Jessie is very intellectual. And her reading is almost as common to find around this house as music is. She just has a thirst for knowledge that never seems to be quenched. She reminds me of me when I was little. That makes it feel almost as if she is closer to me because we have such traits in common."
"This one is Avery on the swings being pushed by Dad. I just have to smile when I see this. Avery is just so innocent and this is the best way to show her. She’s shy and innocent just like Taylor used to be. Before he became the hot shot.” Isaac smiled at Taylor letting him know he was just kidding. Taylor just shook his head at his brother.
“Then this one is of Zac. He had fallen asleep telling me about a drum fill he had an idea for. It was so funny he had been blading with his friends all day and he had such a big idea he had to come home and tell me and or Taylor. Well Tay wasn’t home so he attacked me… he was talking and showing me he was real into it. I told him to hold that thought I’d be right back with some paper and I’d write it down as he told me."
He smiled, "Well when I got back he had fallen asleep still holding his sticks. It just shows you all of his personality. He’s hyper and active one minute and then calm and sleepy and so so...innocent looking. That’s not the right word but I couldn’t come up with anything else. It just shows me that he still is my little brother. I’ve come to think of him as an equal and when he falls asleep I can remember being six years old and looking at my baby brother and feeling such pride that I was his older brother.”
Zac had to look away. He wasn’t used to this kind of attention. It made him blush.
“Then this was one of Taylor. He had just gotten out of the shower and he was working on a song at his keyboard. He had his reading glasses on like he does now… but I don’t know there was something about when he was like this that made him look vulnerable like I know he is."
He casted a look at him, "He won’t admit it to anyone of us but he needs us and here he just looked so, so… calm, intelligent, and just like my little brother. The same little brother who had glasses to big for his face and running around and trying to chase after me and try to do everything I did even when his legs were too short to push himself on the swing. He wouldn’t let anyone help he would do it all by himself because Ike could do it. I kinda miss those days. He doesn’t need or want to follow in my footsteps anymore. He’s his own person now.” He took a deep breath.
“This one is of Zac and Mackie playing. The two evil twins. They are so much alike it’s uncanny. Both can be devils and angles all at the same time. Then this one I got at three in the morning. Zoë and mom. Well mom wasn’t up voluntarily. She was up because Zoë was screaming. But she never looks like she has been waken rudely. She just holds that baby so lovingly. She just radiates a glow from her."
"Then the this picture. This one was of mom and dad kissing. This action right there has resulted in all eight of us.” Isaac smiled. “But you have got to admit that we are a lucky bunch to have two such wonderful parents. Then this last one almost broke my heart. It’s of Alexandra."
"She was sitting by the window watching the kids outside play. I had been testing my camera because I was going to go outside and take pictures of the kids and their friends playing. I realized after I took that picture that Alex had no friends over to play with. I for the first time saw the loneliness in her eyes. I saw the hurt etched into her features. She’ll never admit it but she began crying. Not tears of jealously or hatred but of loneliness and longing. But it just absolutely broke my heard to see my little sister like that.”
After a moment pause he smiled and looked at his family. “Well that concludes my project.” They all clapped.
“That was amazing, Ike.” Diana said as Isaac put his poster back where he got it and took his seat.
“Thanks for saying such nice things about me.” Jessie said and hugged him.
“Ike, I still do follow you.” Taylor said quietly watching his hands.
“Thank you man!” Zac exclaimed and hugged him. Isaac blushed a little.
“Okay now, Taylor, it’s your turn.”
Taylor sighed loudly and pushed his hair out of his face and his glasses up on his nose. He handed the sheet music to his mother and went to the keyboard. He sat at the keyboard and smiled at his family.
With his hands resting on his knees he began to speak. “Well, I had made a comment that Isaac so graciously brought up to me when I was working on this song for today. I had said once that I was the only one that was really needed for the band. It had been one of my more ego driven days."
"But I said it without heed to my brother's feelings. Without considering that maybe that they already felt as though I took to much credit for what the band does anyway. Sure I write songs. Okay, I write fragments and Isaac usually finishes the lyrics and Zac works out the melody to a rocky song that I only have half of to begin with. But only when I began to write this song did I realize that I need my brothers.” Taylor took a deep breath.
“Okay, here it goes.” He began playing a simple melody that was short and the lyrics sounded half-finished and the melody too simple for a professional musician.
Taylor finished and looked up at his family. They clapped politely, for they knew it was not one of Taylor’s best songs. It lacked emotion and it lacked the harmony of his brother's voices that he needed to keep him in tune and on beat. He stood up and shrugged his shoulder and scratched his face nervously. "I tried.” He said and took his seat again.
“Hey, Tay. Meet me in the garage later I have an idea for that song.” Zac whispered to Taylor.
“Okay, Zac.” He smiled.
“Zac, it’s your turn.” Zac stood up and went to the front of the room.
“Okay guys, my project requires a field trip...”
