"Hey boys, sorry we were late," Diana said, walking into the Hanson house at 6:15. Walker followed, carrying bags of Chinese take-out, supper for that evening.
"How was baby-sitting?" Walker asked, remembering Zac's "Tie Up the Kids So I Can Play N64" experience.
Zac shrugged,"No cuts, scrapes, or internal bleeding. All in all, pretty successful."
"And I remembered to keep Zac away from rope or string of any kind," Ike cracked, shooting a 'look' at his brother.
"It was a game..." Zac whined, going upstairs to retrieve Mackenzie and Zoe.
"Mo-om," Avery whined, as she and Jessica came into view,"Chinese food? Icky."
Diana put her hands on her hips,"Well, hello to you, too, sweetie."
"Sorry," Avery blushed,"I guess it's ok, as long as you don't make me eat those slimy vegetables Tay-Tay always orders... Ewie..."
"Fine, no slimy vegetables for you,"Diana smiled,"And speaking of Taylor, where is he?"
Isaac shrugged,"I dunno. He left with Jayden around noon and promised to be back in a few hours to practice, but he's still gone."
"I wonder what happened to him,"Diana said worridly,"It's not like him to be so late."
Walker gave his wife a quick kiss,"He's a 16 year old guy... He's probably just 'rebelling against the rules of society'."
Isaac gave his dad a weird look," 'Rebelling against the rules of society'? Um, Dad, reality check, this is not the '60s... And sweet little goody-goody Tay, a rebel? I think there's a bigger chance of Marilyn Manson becoming a pre-school teacher..."
Diana sighed,"I guess I worry too much, but if he's not home in an hour or two..."
"Don't worry, he will be," Walker reassured her.
"Must.... have... FOOD!" Zac cried, as he came barrelling into the kitchen, knocking over a small houseplant in the process.
"Zachary Walker Hanson..." Diana said warningly, causing Zac to automatically retrieve a small broom and dust pan to clean up the mess.
Once the family was settled and the plant was back in its original spot, Zac noticed a spot was empty at the usual overflowing table.
"Hey where's Taylor?" he asked, oblivious to the 'rebel' conversation that had gone on while he was upstairs.
Ike smirked,"Probably with Jayden getting hot and...."
He trailed off as his parents gave him stern glares.
"Um, getting hot and, uh, sunburned... Sure was a scorcher today..."
Zac burst out laughing,"Nice try, Ike."
"Um, could we quit talking about the weather?" Avery asked, unknowing as to what they were implying,"That's what old people talk about. Bor-ing." *AN: No offense to the senior citizens of the world. Rock on! lol :o) *
"Are you saying i'm old?" Ike asked, trying to sound shocked,"I'm truly, madly, deeply hurt."
Zac groaned,"Um,Ikey,quit with the song quotes,ok? Bugs the hel- uh, heck out of me."
"Sure, buddy," Isaac said casually, then began humming the tune of "Wannabe" by the Spice Girls, just loud enough to annoy Zac.
Zac turned and glared at Ike,"Ok, let me re-phrase that: No song quotes or humming of any kind, especially the Spice Girls."
While the two brothers continued their little squabble, Jessica and Avery fought over who was the best ballerina, Mackie used his hands to put chow mein noodles in the shape of a happy face, and Zoe was putting Chinese food everywhere but in her mouth,Walker and Diana were growing more concerned over Taylor's absence.
"You know what? I bet Taylor's just eating supper at Jayden's house and forgot to call," Diana said, rising from the table,"I'll just phone and make sure."
She walked to the living room, and picked up the cordless phone.
Ring, ring
Jayden was startled by the phone.Aw, why can't Mom or Dad answer it? she thought to herself, before remembering they, along with her brother Regan, were visiting some great-great aunt she didn't even know she had, out in the country. She quickly wiped away her tears, and cleared her throat, trying to compose herself.
"Hello?"
"Hi, is this Jayden?," Diana asked.
"Yep," she replied,"May I ask who this is?"
"This is Taylor's mom," she said.
Ohmigosh, Jayden's mind raced, Did he tell them? I hope he didn't take it too hard... Yeah right... I broke his heart.
"Oh, hi Diana! How are you?" she said, trying her best to sound cheerful.
"I'm fine, thanks. Uh, can I talk to Taylor, please?" Diana asked politely.
Jayden frowned,"He's not here, actually. He left about an hour ago, around 5:30..."
"Hmm, maybe he just stopped by at a friend's house," Diana suggested, mostly to herself.
"You mean he hasn't come home or called or anything?" Jayden asked.
Diana sighed,"Nope. But I guess i'm just getting worked up. I mean, it's only been an hour, and he's a sweet, responsible boy."
"Uh-huh," Jayden said, her voice cracking a little. He was my sweet responsible boy, but after today... she thought. This caused a new flood of tears to trickle onto her cheeks.
"Are you ok?," Diana asked, concerned after hearing Jayden's voice waver, and her small sniffles.
Jayden didn't know what to say,"Um, yeah, fine. I was just watching 'Titanic', the very end. Pretty sad."
"Oh, ok.." Diana said suspiciously.
Jayden didn't know what else to say."Hey Diana, your son's a total wreck and might have run away because of me. Just thought you'd like to know. Bye, and have a nice life!" Not exactly the easiest words to blurt out.
"Uh, well, sorry to bother you," Diana spoke up,"If you see Taylor, tell him to call home, please?"
"Sure, no problem," Jayden said, relieved the conversation was over,"Bye."
"Bye, dear," Diana said, pushing the 'Off' button on the phone and once again sitting down to supper.
Walker swallowed a mouthful of food,"What time is Taylor coming home?"
"Yeah, we really need to practice," Ike added, taking a sip of water.
Diana cleared her throat,"Well, um, I don't know..."
"You don't know?" Walker asked,"Oh, did he pull one of those teenage 'lack of speech' moves and just say "Later"?"
Zac chuckled,"Teenage 'lack of speech'? Dad, have you even listened to Ike babble on lately? Yeesh. He talks enough to fill in for 10 teenagers..."
This comment was met with a swift slap on the back of the head.
"Someone's PMSing...." Zac grumbled, rubbing his head. Isaac retalliated by non-chalantly stepping on Zac's foot under the table.
"Hey! Watch it, circus reject!" Zac cried, expecting a stern look from his dad, but got none. Walker was checking his watch, and quietly talking with Diana in the living room.
Cool, Zac thought, No parental watch-dogs...
"Hey Mackie," he whispered, nudging his little brother.
"What?" Mackie replied, taking his attention off of his Chow-Mein masterpiece.
Zac grinned,"See those long, stringy noodles over there?"
"Uh-huh."
"Well, I dare you to take one, and when Avery's not looking, put it down the back of her shirt," Zac whispered.
Mackenzie giggled and reached for the noodles,"Ok."
Seconds later, the kitchen was filled with the shrieks of Avery and Zac. Mackenzie giggled wildly at the sight of Avery, squiggling to get the noodle out, and Isaac leaned back on his chair, satisfied with the sight of a bowlful of Taylor's 'slimy vegetables' perched atop Zac's head.
Isaac leaned in close to Zac, who was shooting death-glares at him, and whispered,"You know, if you're gonna plan an impromptu food attack, you've gotta pay way more attention to outsiders who could ruin your attempt."
Zac's reply was a chicken ball, flying the short distance, and landing directly on Ike's forehead. Jessica giggled, which resulted in Isaac flinging a few peas at her. Avery decided to get revenge, and began pelting a squealing Mackenzie with rice. Before anyone could say a word, a massive food fight was on.
Ginger beef flew through the air. Deep-fried shrimp was skillfully sent across the table. Plates were now being used as shield from air-raids. Kung-pao chicken was stabbed with chop-sticks and flung to unsuspecting victims. Chicken-fried rice was thrown, like confetti at a wedding. Minutes later, every morsel of food had either become someone's fashion accessory, or was on the floor. All that remained was a single glass of water, which both Isaac and Zac eyed evily.
"It'smine!" Isaac exclaimed, reaching for it. But Zac was just too quick and moments later, Ike's hair was dripping wet.
"Ugh, ZAC!" he exclaimed, as the younger kids giggled wildly. He shook the water from his, making sure the spray hit Zac, who then dashed out of the kitchen, and smack into his parents.
"Zac!" Diana cried,"What on earth happened?!"
Walker returned to the kitchen, to find that Jessica, Avery, Mackenzie, and even little Zoe who had been caught in the cross-fire, resembled buffet tables and main dishes rather than children.
Diana sighed,"Two words:Clean up!"
Isaac and Zac exchanged mischievious glances.
"Later!" they said in unison, scrambling out of the room.
~Chapter 10~
~Chapter 9~
~Home~
