"All right! Time to get up!" Diana yelled throughout the cabin. Laurie groaned. It had taken her long enough to fall asleep, and now she had to wake up. She rolled out of bed and made a mad dash for the bathroom. A few minutes later, she walked out and the next person in line, Mackie, went in. Laurie just then remembered that she had to give Mackie the toy soldiers she won.
Laurie walked to the front of the bus where her mom and Diana were sitting. "How far away are we from the place that the guys are performing at?"
"We're about ten minutes away. Why don't you go tell the guys that? That may get them up," Diana suggested.
"Okay," Laurie replied. She went to the back and checked Ike's bed. He was still in there. "Goody," Laurie thought silently and devilishly to herself. She climbed into Ike's bed and started cuddling with him. Ike smiled back, and was still asleep. He did the same back to her. Laurie leaned over to his ear as if she was going to whisper something.
"WAKE UP! TEN MINUTES TILL WE'RE AT THE THEATER!" Laurie yelled. Ike jumped.
"Good lord child!" Ike got out of bed, taking Laurie with him.
"Ow! Thanks for the warning!" she replied.
"Sorry," Ike said. He then went straight to the bathroom.
"Thanks for helping me up, too," she muttered.
"Well, I'm sorry Laurie, but I just saw you on the floor, you didn't give me the chance to ask," a voice from behind her said. Laurie didn't even blink.
"Thanks, Taylor," she said. He took her hand and pulled her to her feet. She then went past him and got Zac out of bed by tickling him. Laughing, Zac jumped out of the bed and tickled Laurie back. Ike was about to yell at them, but the bus pulled up at the theater. A security guard the size of a small refridgerator came to the door.
"Hi, Mrs. Hanson," the bulging man said. "Long time, no see."
"Hi Dan! Wait until the boys see you. Isaac! Taylor! Zachary! Come up here!" she yelled back to them. Isaac, Taylor, Zac, and Andy came running to the front.
"Dan!" Ike exclaimed.
"Hey, it's Dan the Man! What's happenin?" Zac asked, giving him a high five.
"Not much, Zac. Remember me, Taylor?" he asked.
"Who could forget you?" he said with a grin.
Dan smiled back. He then saw a girl on the bus looking at him openmouthed. He then remembered who she was.
"You're-- you're-- you're the guard from the Third Eye Blind concert in St. Louis from a year or two ago!" Laurie sputtered.
"Why yes I am," he replied. "I remember you, I gave you the backstage passes, courtesy of Taylor."
"That's right!" Laurie said.
"So, what's your name again? I heard it about a million times from the guys, but I'm not too good with names."
"I'm Laurie."
He shook her hand. "Pleasure to re-meet you, Laurie." Laurie giggled. She already liked Dan.
Dan turned to the guys. "Why don't you come on out and I'll take you into the theater? They're still setting up your equipment."
"Okay," the guys said. Ike turned to Laurie. "I'll see you later."
"Okay," Laurie said. Ike gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and left the bus. She could hear Dan asking Ike if Laurie was his girlfriend. Laurie smiled and went to the back of the bus. She saw Mackie sitting on the floor.
"Oh, Mackie, we almost forgot about you! What are you doing back here?" Laurie asked.
"Just playing. Want to play too?"
"Sure, but I have a present for you first." Mackie's eyes lit up.
"You do?" he asked excitedly.
"Yep. Follow me," she said. Mackie tucked his hand inside hers and they walked back to Laurie's bunk. She got the soldiers out for Mackie.
"Thanks Laurie!" he said. He gave her a big hug. "Bend down."
Laurie bent down. Mackie gave her a kiss. Then he whispered into her ear, "Don't tell Ike I gave you a kiss, okay?"
Laurie smiled. It's our little secret." Mackie picked up the toy soldiers and him and Laurie went to the front of the van where the two mothers and Andy were playing cards. Mackie set up his toy soldiers on the ground and started to play. Laurie took a seat next to Andy.
"What are you playing?" Laurie asked him.
"We're playing Four Kings In a Corner," he replied. "Want to be dealt in the next hand?"
"Yeah, sure," she said. Laurie watched the three finish up their game, while daydreaming of how the concert would be that night.
* * * * * * * * * * *
"No, the drums need to be in the center, the keyboards to the right, and the guitars to the left!" Walker Hanson told the set-up crew. Taylor, Ike, and Zac were drawing on the ground with sidewalk chalk, part of an effect. Zac put the finishing touches on his work of art, then stepped back to admire it. He then ran over to another part of the floor and began to make another one.
Walker came up to Zac. "Son, go up to the stage and test out your drums. Make sure everything is the way you want it."
"Okay, but what if I have to move stuff around? Won't it throw off the set?"
"It won't matter, if you can't play the drums the way you are comfortable with, then it won't do you any good."
Zac nodded and ran up towards the stage. He jumped up and sat behind his drums. He cranked out the beat for "Ever Lonely". He made a few minor adjustments and nodded to his dad. Taylor and Ike tried out their equipment, too. They were almost done, when Walker remembered something.
"Zac, go back by your drums, plug in your glowing drumsticks, and try playing with them," he yelled through a bullhorn.
"All right, dad," he said. He went back up to his drums, plugged the sticks in, and began to play again. Everything worked out. He went back down to his dad and two brothers.
"Okay guys, go ahead backstage and find the hair and clothes department. They'll help to fix you up." Walker watched his boys run backstage.
* * * * * * * * * * *
"Hi guys, I'm Danielle, and from my left is Chloe, George, Molly, and Christine. We're the clothes and hair department, and we'll help you guys get ready for the concert! Why don't you go ahead and follow George and Molly back, and they'll help you pick out outfits."
"Alrighty," the guys said. They followed George and Molly to this little room where there was a ton of clothes. Molly looked critically at the boys.
"Lets see, for Isaac I would recommend black pants, a white shirt, and a maroon leather jacket. For Taylor, definitely a white shirt, an orange button down, and blue jeans. For Zac, lets go with a black t-shirt, blue jeans, and sunglasses," Molly said. She and George went back and forth a little, and their outfits finally were, for Isaac, a blue button down shirt with a white shirt underneath, for Taylor, the white t-shirt and the orange one over it, and black pants, and for Zac, a green shirt and blue jeans, with black sunglasses that had yellow lenses. They then went back and found Danielle, Chloe, and Christine. Zac followed Christine.
"Hi Zac, I'm Christine. How do you want your hair for the concert?"
"Well, I was thinking about braids for the first part of the show, then brushed straight the second part?"
"I think that'll work. Lets get to work." She washed and conditioned Zac's hair and took him back to a chair. She blew dry his hair, making it straight and shiny. She then concentrated on his hair, which took up an ample amount of time. When she was done, though, it was worth it. Zac's hair looked awesome. He went back and saw his brothers. Taylor had his hair down, and Ike's was up in a ponytail. Walker met them when they were done.
"Okay guys, the concert will start in about two hours. Everybody's backstage now, so why don't you go back there and kinda chill? People are already coming in, so I'm going to take you a certain way so you aren't seen."
The boys followed him through a long hallway and then made a sharp right. Taylor saw his whole family in there. Jessie, Mike, and Avery were playing video games, Mackie was playing with some toy soldiers, and Laurie, Andy, his mom, and Mrs. Woodman were playing cards. Mr. Woodman was helping Jessie through a tough stage.
Laurie saw Taylor first. She smiled at him and motioned for him to come on over. The card game ended, and Laurie gave her cards back to her mom.
"Taylor, you look awesome! You're going to knock them dead tonight," she said.
"With my looks, charm, or talent?" he said jokingly.
"All three," she said seriously. Taylor was a little taken aback at how serious she was. Ike headed over to the two of them.
"Ike, you look good, too! Where's Zac?" Laurie asked.
Ike pointed over by Mackie. Laurie gave him a quick kiss and then headed over there. Ike turned to Taylor. "Does she seem a little different to you?"
"Yeah, but I can't put my finger on it."
"At least I know I'm not imagining things," Ike commented, looking over at Laurie. She was laughing with Zac and Mackie. Laurie still had her braids in her hair, with her Road to Albertane shirt and her orange Adidas shorts. She still had her braids in. They went over to her.
"Hey, we forgot to put the beads in your hair!" Zac exclaimed. "I'm going to go get Jessie and Avery's bead kit." He was there and back in about 10 seconds. The guys got to work, making a pattern of one black bead, one clear bead, then another black bead, and vice versa on the next. They finished fairly quickly. They all nodded their approval.
"Let me see a mirror," Laurie said. Ike handed her a small hand held one. Laurie admired herself in the mirror. "Very shagadellic!"
"Cool, you like it?" Zac asked.
"Yeah, it's awesome. Thanks guys!" she said. Laurie felt her pocket to make sure what she had put in there earlier was still there. She and the guys decided to draw a little before they had to go onstage. Laurie saw Taylor keep looking up at her.
"Tay, when are you going to tell me what you are drawing?"
"When I'm finished," he said, grinning at her.
Laurie stuck her tongue out at him and continued working on her drawing of a monkey. She finally finished. The guys stopped their drawings for awhile and started up a game of Four Kings In A Corner. She saw Taylor get up and walk over to the kitchen area. She joined him and pulled him back.
"Tay, before you go onstage tonight, I want to let you know that I still have your ring," she said, showing him the delicate black and silver ring he gave her last summer. "Also, I want you to take this on stage with you tonight. It's my good luck charm." Laurie tucked something into Taylor's hand. It was a small plastic Gumby figurine that was bendable.
"Everytime I have Gumby with me, he's brought me good luck. I never told you or Ike or Zac this, but the night I met you guys, I had Gumby in my pocket. That was when he became my good luck charm," she finished shyly. Taylor looked at the Gumby and wrapped Laurie into a huge hug. He stroked one of her braids. When they finished hugging, Laurie kissed his cheek. "Good luck tonight."
"Thank you, Laurie, I really appreciate that," he said. He kissed her cheek back. They grabbed cans of Dr. Pepper and headed back to where Ike and Zac were sitting.
"It's your turn, Taylor," Zac said.
"Allrighty," Taylor drew a card and made as many plays as he could. He finally ended up winning the game and they all went back to relaxing. Walker approached them again.
"20 minutes," he said. He left again. Laurie picked up Ike's hand and led him into the kitchen.
"Ike, I want to tell you good luck tonight, and that I love you very much. I know you'll do a great job tonight," she told him. She started to walk back, but Ike pulled her back.
"Laurie, I love you very much. Thank you. Will you do me a favor?"
"Sure, Ike. Anything."
"Will you hold onto my ring tonight? In fact, I wanted to tell you this at a better time, but now's just as good of a time. I want you to wear my ring."
Laurie was speechless. In the year that they had been dating, this was the first time Ike gave her a ring. She watched him pull out a delicate silver chain. He threaded the ring on and attatched it around her neck, giving her a quick peck as he pulled away. He then dropped it down her shirt.
"Now, no matter how far away I am, or where I may be, I'll always be close to your heart." Laurie gave him a big hug and a long kiss.
Ike grinned. "Lets get back there," he said. He picked up one of Laurie's hands and they walked back. Then, Zac pulled her away and went to the kitchen.
"Laurie, tonight when we're playing, I'll be thinking of you," Zac said with seriousness.
"Thanks, Zac. I'll be thinking of you too. You'll do an awesome job tonight, I'm sure of it. Just make sure you have fun."
Zac smiled, and the two of them hugged. Laurie kissed the top of his head, and he kissed her cheek. He then whispered into her ear.
"That was my first kiss," he admitted. Laurie gave him a big hug. She and Zac had grown so close in the past 6 months. They hugged one more time and went back to the room. It was time for the guys to go onstage. Laurie gave the guys big hugs and told them to do an awesome job.
"We won't let you down!" Zac promised as they ran out. Laurie smiled, and with her mom, dad, and the remaining Hanson family went to the special section reserved for them. Mr. Hanson and Laurie had video cameras. They saw the guys run out onto stage and jump right into "Gimme Some Lovin".
The place was really getting loud. Diana leaned over to Mrs. Woodman. "I'm going to take Zoe backstage. All this noise isn't good for her," she said loudly. Mrs. Woodman nodded back, and Diana took Zoe backstage. They watched the rest of the concert on a TV set up in the room.
After "Gimme Some Lovin", Taylor went up to the microphone. "Hi everyone! I'm Taylor Hanson, and on guitar is Isaac Hanson, and on the drums is Zachary Hanson! We're so glad to see you tonight! We hope you all enjoy the show and most importantly, have fun!" Taylor then turned to his brothers, and they began to play "MMMBop". Everyone was waving their hands and singing along. The guys played a few more songs including "Thinking Of You", "Where's The Love", "Look At You", "Minute Without You", and "Madeline".
"We're going to take a short break!" Zac announced. The trio of guys ran backstage. Laurie met up with them.
"Guys, your show is great!" she said.
"Thanks Laurie!" they responded. They wanted to talk a little more, but they had to have their hair fixed and change their outfits. About 15 minutes later, they were back on stage. Christine decided to leave Zac's hair in braids. Ike's was down and so was Taylor's. The set had changed to a garage background. They played a bunch of Three Car Garage stuff. Then Ike looked directly at Laurie and announced the next song.
"For our next song, we have a new song called 'Ever Lonely'. It's just been written, and we've played it in our hometown of Tulsa a lot. We hope you all enjoy it." They started to get into the song. It had an awesome drum beat, one that Laurie had never heard Zac play before. Taylor did an awesome job of singing the lyrics, and Ike's guitar playing really escalated. The crowd was in love with the song. Taylor later took over the drums for Zac, and Zac ran around, squirting people with the huge Super Soakers.
"So that's what they were for," Laurie thought silently. She had almost gotten nailed by one. The guys played a few more acoustic songs, then a few more songs, then the concert was over. They ended with "Man from Milwaukee". The crows absolutely loved the song. When the guys ran off, the crowd was still begging and cheering for more, so the guys ran on and did an encore number, a song entitled "Pictures". They took another bow and ran backstage. They ran right up to their parents.
"Good job guys! I'm proud of you!" Diana said, giving her sons big hugs.
"You put on a great show tonight," walker commented.
"Thanks Mom, thanks Dad," they said. Ike spotted Laurie. He ran up to her, swung her in the air, and gave her a big hug and kiss. "We did it!" he exclaimed.
"You guys sure did, it was an awesome show!" Taylor then came up and they hugged and kissed each other's cheeks. "Tay, you put on a great show tonight!"
"Thanks Laurie. It felt great!" Then Zac came up, giving Laurie a big bear hug from behind.
"My turn! Tay, Laurie, we did it! I was awesome!" he exclaimed. He then saw his brothers. "We were awesome!"
Laurie laughed. "You guys put on an excellent show. I got the whole thing on tape, including backstage stuff."
"Lets watch it!" Tay said. Walker put a hand on his shoulder.
"When you're in the van, you can. We gotta get moving. We have to be in Detroit tomorrow."
"All right, but first we gotta talk to the girls and Mackenzie," Zac said, speaking for the whole trio. Walker said okay, and they ran off. Laurie turned to Walker.
"They really did a great job tonight, didn't they?" she asked.
"They did an awesome job," he said, grinning and quoting Laurie. They gave each other high fives. Laurie then went over to her parents.
"Hi Mom, hi Dad," she said.
"Hey kiddo. Have fun tonight?" they asked.
"Oh yeah!" she exclaimed. They talked for a few more minutes. Then, people who were awarded backstage passes came back, so Laurie helped her family and the rest of the Hanson family move stuff to the vans. The guys were talking to some overly excited fans. They collected presents from them, had a small conversation with them, gave them hugs, and posed for pictures. The girls left 20 minutes later, more hyper than before, if possible. Laurie smiled at the guys. All in a day's work. They left the backstage area soon and headed out. Laurie popped the video tape in the VCR and re-lived the whole night with the guys again.
Chapter 10
Chapter 8
Heading to Albertane
Kelly's Stories
