Zac sighed as Anna opened one of the many boxes on her floor. She had been talking more that day, at least more than yesterday, but she hadn't said a word for the past five minutes. Lifting Anna's stereo out of another box, he asked, "Where do you want this?" Anna looked up and bit her lip. "Uh, just put it on my desk for now. I guess before we start putting things away I'll put my furniture where I want it." Zac did as he was told, and then walked over to Anna, who was standing in the middle os the room. "Any ideas?" he asked. Anna tilted her head. "I'll put the bed by that window," she decided, pointing. "And my desk next to it. The shelves will go on that wall, and my dresser over here." She continued talking until everything had been mentally rearranged. Then she and Zac looked at each other. "I guess we have to work now," Zac said with a smile. Anna just nodded, then picked one end of her dresser up. "Could you help?" she asked, knowing the answer. Zac hurried over and grabbed the other end up, and they carried it across the room to its designated place.
After nearly an hour of lugging furniture around, Anna seemed pleased. "Thanks, Zac," she said, moving her stereo to an empty shelf. He plugged her tv in and placed it on her dresser with a small shrug. "That's why I'm here. To help," he replied. They looked at each other, their eyes meeting for a brief few seconds. Then Anna turned away, flushing. "We deserve a break. Wanna go see what our older sibs are up to?" Zac suggested. Anna glanced around the cluttered room, then let a small giggle escape her lips. For the first time since she had been back in Tulsa, Zac saw her real smile. "Sure," she said, her eyes sparkling. It was like all the sudden she had re-lit her flame. Zac wondered what had caused the sudden change, but he didn't question it. Who knew how long this mood would last.
Sydney sighed as she opened yet another box. Taylor and Isaac had helped her move the furniture, and with the three of them working it had only taken about forty-five minutes. Now they were working on emptying the dozens of boxes. "Where do you want these?" Isaac asked, holding up several framed pictures. Sydney slowly surveyed the room, then pointed to her desk. "Just line 'em up on there. I'll fix them later. It doesn't matter at the moment." Taylor, who was sitting in the desk chair, observed the pictures as Isaac put them down. In one, Sydney was smiling and waving at the camera. Three girls were with her, and they were all dressed in cheerleading uniforms. "Are you going to try out for cheerleading at your new school?" Taylor asked her then. Sydney looked up and nodded. "Yeah. Next week are when tryouts are. I'm sort of nervous, not knowing anyone."
Isaac gave Sydney a reassuring grin. "You'll do fine. And some of our friends go to TMS (Tulsa Middle School. I dunno if there really is one, though.) and a couple of the girls were cheerleaders last year. We can introduce you sometime before tryouts, if you like. Then you would no some people." Sydney jumped up and ran over to where Ike was, giving him a hug. "That'd be so great! Thanks, guys!" she exclaimed, hugging Taylor. They all laughed. Taylor turned back to the pictures. Another showed Sydney and a guy all dressed up. It looked like it had been taken at a dance. "Where was this?" Tay asked, showing her the picture. Sydney glanced at it, then smiled a little. "Homecoming. That's Kyle. My ex." Taylor put the picture back and stood up, walking over to where Ike was unpacking a box. "Ex? How long did you guys go out?" Ike questioned.
Sydney sighed, and ran a hand through he wavy hair. "I dunno exactly. On and off the whole year. One time it was only for a week and a half, but last April he asked me out and we stayed that way. We broke up about a week before I moved. We're still friends and stuff, though." Taylor didn't want to get real personal, but Sydney was his friend so he asked, "Why did you break up?" Sydney gave him a weird look, but answered, "We decided things would be better if we were just friends. Especially since I was leaving. It was more my decision than his."
The room fell silent. They worked in the quiet, beginning to feel uncomfortable. Just then, Anna and Zac entered the room. Taylor stared at Anna with slight surprise. Her old smile, radiant and sparkling, had returned, along with a familiar twinkle in her eyes. "Hey all," she said, flopping onto Sydney's unmade bed. Sydney gave her an annoyed look. "Anna! Watch it, ok? Last time you sat on my bed like that it broke a spring." Anna rolled her eyes. "Chill Syd. I didn't do anything. And I'll try to remember not to do it again," she said, looking as serious as possible.
Zac was holding back his laughter. He walked over to Sydney's desk, and started glancing over the pictures. He noted the two Taylor had asked about, but his eyes stopped as they glided over another. It was a copy of the picture he had been looking at just a day before. "Hey Syd, you actually kept this out in your room?" he asked her. Sydney looked at it with a laugh. "Of course I did! Every time one of my friends came over they'd be like, 'I can't believe you know Hanson!' It was pretty cool. Plus I like the picture." Zac nodded, and turned back to the desk. He quickly scanned the rest, then turned away, but turned back. Picking up the last picture, he stared at it for awhile. It almost seemed to explain things to him.
In the picture, Sydney was dressed in her cheerleading uniform, surrounded by some of her friends. Off to one side, Anna was standing, looking at the group. Her eyes seemed to have a reflection of sadness, and Sydney was totally oblivious to the young girl watching her. Zac understood Anna's withdrawn personality now. When they had moved to Ohio, Sydney had matured, leaving her younger sister behind. Anna felt left out, but that was all Zac could figure. He decided to ask Anna about it when they went back upstairs.
"Why are you guys down here? Don't tell me you're done with Anna's room already!" Isaac said with a laugh. Zac shook his head as Anna replied, "We're taking a break." Taylor turned to the wall, looking at the clock. "Hey, it's almost one! We should have lunch or something," he commented. Everyone started talking, realizing how hungry they were. "Let's go find our moms. I bet they forgot, too," Sydney said. They five headed out of the room and upstairs. Reaching the hallway, Anna turned towards the master bedroom. "Mom?" she called.
A few minutes later Mrs. Terrence emerged from the master bedroom. "Yes Anna?" "Mom, can we go get some lunch?" Sydney asked. Anna gave Sydney a look. Mrs. Terrence checked her watch and yelped in surprise. "Of course! Why don't a few of you go pick us all up some fast food?" she suggested. Mrs. Hanson entered the hall, overhearing the tail end of the conversation. "Ike, why don't you, Taylor, and Sydney go to our house and pick up Jessie and Avie, then stop by Wendy's on your way back here? Just take down everyone's order, and if Jessie and Avie haven't had lunch, get something for them, too. Or just get them Frosties or something. Here's some money," she said, reaching for her purse. Mrs. Terrence did the same. Zac and Anna exchanged a glance. "How come we can't go?" Zac asked. Mrs. Hanson looked at the two, a smile on her face. "There isn't enough room, Zac. Sorry." Zac rolled his eyes at Anna, who nodded.
"So what does everyone want?" Isaac asked, pen and paper in his hand. After taking down orders, he, Taylor, and Sydney drove off. Mrs. Hanson and Mrs. Terrence went back to the master bedroom, and Zac and Anna were left standing in the empty hallway. "We'll go outback. After lunch we'll get back to unpacking, that ok?" Anna asked. Zac shrugged, and they quietly walked outside.
"Hey Anna, can I ask you something?" Zac said, facing her. Anna looked at Zac's concerned face and sighed. "Sure," she replied warily. She knew what was coming. "What's up with the personality change? I mean, yeah, you've grown up so I wouldn't expect you to be the same, but you're like, a totally different person!" Anna buried her face in her hands. "You wanna know? The story's kind of long," she warned. Zac nodded, his eyes boring into hers. "Please tell me. I want to know, and if there's anything I can do to help," he trailed off. Anna shook her head. "This is sort of beyond help. Things change, and there's nothing you can do to stop that." Zac moved closer. "So what's up?" Anna sighed and closed her eyes. Silent for several minutes, she opened them again and began to tell her tale.
When she had finished, Zac gave her a hug. "Anna... I'm sorry. You and Sydney used to be so close..." Anna bit her lip, trying to hold back tears. "We're not anymore," she said quietly. A few tears spilled over, and she wiped them away. "We don't even know each other anymore." Zac looked down at the grass. He didn't know what to tell her. "Why don't you talk to Sydney?" he asked. Anna shook her head. "I've tried. And she's said she'd find time, but she never does." Zac started to bite his nails in thought. "So just go in her room tonight and talk to her. Don't let her brush you aside anymore, Anna. You deserve better."
Anna straightened her back and took a deep breath. She seemed to be contemplating the idea. "You're right. I'll talk to her tonight." Zac smiled, and they stood up. As they walked back towards the house, he hoped Anna really would talk to Sydney.
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