Zac raced down the stairs, and to his parents room. "DAD!"
"What?" his mother asked, stepping out of the bathroom.
"Oh," he said. "Uh, I'm finished packing."
"And?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at him.
"Can I go to Jocelyn's?"
"Sweetie, I dunno. That's a pretty good ways from here," his mother said.
"Please?" Zac asked.
"Ask one of your brothers to drive you," she told him.
"Okay. Thanks, Mom," he said. He ran back to his room. Only Isaac could be found. "Where's Taylor?"
"He's on his way out the door," Isaac said, as he sorted through his dirty laundry.
"Thanks," Zac called to him as he sprinted to catch Taylor.
He found him on his way out the door. "TAYLOR!" he shouted as he skidded to a halt beside his older brother.
"What?" Taylor asked, giving Zac an odd look.
"Where ya going?"
"To Skye's," Taylor told him. "Why?"
"Think you can take me to Jocelyn's on your way?"
Taylor considered it for a moment. He wanted to prolong telling Skye the truth as long as possible, and this was as good an opportunity as any. "Sure."
The ride was short. Zac hopped out of the car and ran to the door. Taylor pulled out of the driveway.
At the sound of the doorbell, Mrs. Andrews glanced up from her checkbook. Jocelyn, who still had another 2 days on her sentence, wasn't answering the door. Josh wasn't home, so he wouldn't be answering it either. She got up and went to the door. To her surprise, there stood Zac Hanson.
"Hey, Mrs. Andrews. Is Joce here?"
She studied him for a moment. In the end, his hopeful expression and puppy dog eyes won her over. "Sure," she said, smiling. "I'll go get her."
She went to Jocelyn's bedroom door and knocked. Jocelyn peeked out. "What?"
"Somebody's here for you," her mother told her.
"I'm grounded," Jocelyn reminded her.
"Well, let's just say these next two days will be suspended if you keep up your good behavior," her mother told her.
Jocelyn, eyeing her suspiciously, headed for the door. When she opened it, she about fell over backward. "ZAC!" she screeched, barrelling into him with a giant hug. "You're home!"
He laughed and hugged her back. "You missed me, huh?"
"You got it!" she said, leaning away from him. "Not fair! You've grown some more!"
"Oh?" he said. "I thought you'd shrunk."
She wrinkled her nose. "Not funny. How is the tour?"
"Great," he said. "No end in sight."
She sighed. "So, come in. Talk to me. I've been deprived of decent conversation for a month!"
He followed her inside, happy to be home.
