It was a cold day out today. The wind was brisk, and stung the bodies of those who dares to pass through it. Zachary Hanson was one of those brave ones. He had gone for a walk and some well-needed fresh air. While he was out, the rest of the Hanson family was home crearing their heads. They weren't having class today because it was Saturday. They were still trying to recover from their plane trip from Miami to Tulsa, which had occurred three weeks past. It had looked as if there snowball fights, and fun ahead in their future today. Just a day of pure relaxation.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Zac had just turned the corner of his street. The snow had finally melted enough to see the peaks of the grass on the lawns. It was nearing about 1:15, and was probably the coldest it had been all day.
"I wonder what we are doing tonight," thought Zac to himself. "I need to stay out of the house. The weather is so great right now."
This young Hanson loved the cold weather. He adored the smell of the air, and the way the weather felt around him, and hugged his clothes. It felt like...winter in Tulsa, which was something he didn't get to see or feel too often with all of his traveling.
He kicked a loose pavement stone, and it skipped across the black paved road, rapidly. Soon, voices were heard, almost like a murmur, around him. Pushing his flowing hair behind his bright-red ears, Zac looked up to see who was approaching him. He couldn't exactly see who was ahead, but could barely make out the silouette of a girl and a guy.
"I wish that was Chrissy," he mumbled to himself.
The boy began to turn around before a familiar voice called out, "Zac!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Back at the cozy Hanson house, Tay was placed by the fire watching television. He had an idea for another song, and was brainstorming. So far, what he had flowed beautifully:
"Ike!" yelled Tay. "Can you come here a sec?"
Footsteps were heard dashing across their Tulsa home, as Isaac entered the room in which Taylor was seated, "What is it, bro?"
"Read this over, see what you can add," the paper, full of scratches and mistakes was handed to Taylor's older brother, Ike.
Isaac's eyes skimmed over the lyrics to Tay's new song. He assumed it was the lyrics to the music he had heard Tay composing on the piano earlier today. It truthfully was an extrodinary piece of art.
"I think it sounds great, Tay," smiled Isaac. "You really got something goin'."
"Thanks."
"In fact, we could've usewd the first verse in 'A Song To Sing'. It sounds like it would fit great," added Ike.
Tay rolled his eyes, "Oh, of course, now I write it. And there's no way I'm going back to the studio just to add a five-second verse."
"I'm with ya on that one," Ike agreed.
Ike sat down on the couch next to Taylor, studying the lyrics. He was trying to come up with something that would nicely fit in the music.
Slowly, Mackie came dancing into the living room, all joyful. He was a happy little kid today.
He was singing, loudly, "I know a song that get on everybody's nerves, everybody's nerves, everybody's nerves. I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves...and this is how is goes. I know a song that get on everybody's nerves, everybody's nerves, everybody's nerves. I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves...and this is how is goes..."
"Mackie, stop it!" it seriously was getting on everybody's nerves. Ike decided to speak for them.
Mackenzie giggled furiously, with his face all smiles. He seemed to think that this disturbance was just hilarious!
"Please, I'm begging you," the eldest Hanson siblind pleaded. "Don't sing that. We're trying to concentrate."
"Sowwie," their little brother attempted to look innocent. It wasn't working.
"Anywho," continued Tay, turning back to the piece, "what should we do with it? Obviously, it can't go onto the CD."
"Technically, it can, but it would require more recording time," explained Isaac.
Tay looked disgusted with recording, again. He just couldn't do it right now. His heart just wasn't in it.
Suddenly, Ike had a brillant brainstorm, "Hey, Tay! Remember how Jessie showed us her Jewel CD a while back? 'Pieces of You'?"
"Um, yeah, but what does that have to do with anything?" Tay asked, giving his brother an odd look.
"It had some of her poems in the cover!" exclaimed Ike. "Duh!"
"Oh, yeah, Ike, real cool, let's copy Jewel," sarcastically, he replied.
"Okay, okay, I admit what she did was dull," confessed Taylor's older brother, Isaac. "That doesn't mean we can't take her idea, and spice it up a little, though."
Now, they were getting somewhere.
"What do you mean?" questioned Taylor.
The two brothers were silenced for a short moment before Isaac came up with his result, "How about we put it like where everyone who buys the CD will see it? Ya know, like the clear part of the CD case where you take out the CD?"
"You mean, like the backing to where the CD holder is?"
"Yeah."
I guess we could do that," shrgged Taylor. "We gotta let Mark know, though, so he can tell the manufactors, as soon as possible."
Tay agreed, and almost mechanically, went to look for the phone.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Startled, Zac turnws his body around to face Chrissy and Eric approaching...holding hands...
"I knew they'd eventually get together," he thought to himself, "...just not this soon."
Yet, Zac swallowed his pain and put on a plastic smile to greet them, "Hey, Chrissy! Hey, Eric!"
Eric seemed almost cautious of Zac. It was probably a result to what happened between the two of them, earlier on in the year. In more ways than one, Zac wished he could take back what he had done to Eric. He wished he'd never seen it. Right now wouldn't feel so awkward if that was the case.
Chrissy threw her arms lovingly around her ex-boyfriend, smiling, "You're back! I can't believe you are finally back!"
"Me neither," the fourteen-year-old Hanson member told her, truthfully. It had almost seemed as if he'd never be back in Tulsa.
"How are you?" she asked Zachary.
"Great, until I saw you with Eric," he said to himself before saying, aloud, "Just Great! I'm really tired, though. And yourself?"
"Good, good," she responded, "and you know Eric, right?"
"Yeah, hey, nice to see you, again," Zac extended his hand to Eric, which Eric nervously accepted, and shook his hand.
"Same to you, Zac," Eric politely replied, shakily.
"Where are you two off to on this cold February afternoon in Tulsa?" inquired Zac, shoving his cold hands deep into his jacket pockets.
"Nothing really," shrugged Chrissy, "just talking and going for a walk."
"I just needed to clear my head," Zac told them, without being asked. I'm still kinda stressed from our flight home."
"I would imagine," Eric jumped in. "When's your CD due out?"
"Around the beginning of May," the boy explained. "I'm still sort of worried how the public will receive it."
"Awww," Chrissy hugged Zac, again, tightly, "don't be! They'll love it! I promise!"
Her support was definitely appreciated. After such a long recording process, he needed a confidence booster. Zac loved making music just for the purpose of making music, but he also wanted the people around him to enjoy it.
"Thanks, Chrissy," he thanked her, still smiling.
Eric wrapped his arms around his girlfriend, and kissed her on the forehead.
Zac cringed.
"Well, I better get going," Zac explained almost regrettfully. "I forgot I promised Tay and Ike I'd be home to practice a couple of songs."
"Awww, poor Zac," Chrissy cooed, "you never get to rest."
"It's not as bad as it seems, really it isn't," promised Zac, starting to get unnerved, and wanting to leave.
"Well, I'll let you go," she granted him leave. "But, give me a hug before you leave."
Zac hesitated before accepting Chrissy's open arms. As he hugged her one final time, he got the chills running up and down his body. Oh, how he missed her.
"Bye, Chrissy," he yelled back as he left, and slowly added, "and bye, Eric!"
Eric nodded in Zac's direction, "See ya, Zac."
Zac turned around and started back in the direction of his home. He felt almost relieved to get away from the two of them. Zac was happy for Chrissy, though. He was happy that she was happy, and found someone who would treat her better than he had in the past. Atleast, Eric better treat her better. Zachary Hanson couldn't stand to see her in pain...again.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"CLICK!" Ike hung up the phone, after a long conversation with Mark Hudson. They were discussing if the verse could be added, one way or another.
"What'd he say?" Isaac's younger brother, Taylor questioned, eagerly.
"He said," Ike started, "that he'll call the manufactor tonight and they'll add it in the back. They are passing it off as a poem, or something."
"That's great!"
"Yep."
"Do they have everything in order?" asked Tay. "Like, are they getting close to manufactoring it all?"
Isaac rolled his eyes, ashamed of his brother, "I swear, you ask the stupidest questions, Taylor. Of course they are getting ready to manufactor. We just finished mixing."
"So, wow, it'll definitely be on the CD," Tay seem dazed. "But, you know something, Ike?"
"What?"
"That part of the song, if you think about it...," Tya started.
"...It sounds like we are describing who we are, set aside from Hanson...," his older brother finished for him, as if he had read his thoughts.
"Yeah," Tay smiled, "that."
With this new CD, came a whole new perspective of music, life, and mostly, themselves. They grew up a lot in the process of creating this album --- musically, and emotionally, and they had a lot to share with the world. The three Hanson brothers had grown drastically, and all three of them knew that it was not going to get any easier. What lied ahead for the Brothers H was only a rollercoaster of events that they would have to survive.
Main Page
One More Time
Chapter 2- Thin Ice
Tulsa's Long Road Home
I Thought I Could Trust You
Silent Tears
