Zac checked around his room carefully. His hands sliding over the beds and the dressers. Come on, He thought impatiently. Where are they?
Fumbling for a few minutes, he grinned and stood up straight when he found the missing items. Gotcha. Hurriedly, pushing them into his bag, he zipped it up and went out the door.
Cheerfully whistling to himself, he calmly made his way down the stairs. His whistling jittered slightly when he hit the same familiar step, but he forcefully continued on.
"I'm ready." He called out when he reached the kitchen entrance.
Chairs scraped against the floor as Mr. and Mrs. Hanson readied themselves to take Zac to Seymour Groves.
Zac waited patiently, leaning his body against the entryway and had a self-amused smile upon his lips. His laughter bubbled out now and again, but no one commented.
To most of the kids, he was going back to normal. To Isaac and Taylor, he was changing into someone else.
Zac pressed his finger at his watch again. Beep. "It's ten-twenty-two a.m." The electronic voice sounded.
Nodding his head, Zac turned to face the window. Habit still making him to turn to see the scenery.
His eyes watered at the thought of not seeing the scenery anymore. No more houses, or people… no more fans, and especially, no more family.
He wiped furiously at his eyes, and then squeezed them shut tightly. Control was something he was slowly gaining.
And he was slowly accepting the fact that he may never see again.
When the car slowed down, Zac instantly unbuckled his safety belt. "Bye Mom! Bye Dad!" He said excitedly, as he jerked the door open, then slammed it shut.
Mrs. Hanson watched as her son ran across the lawn, then shoot his hand out at the railing leading the steps up to the large doors.
She sighed softly, "The boys are right." She stated softly. "He is changing."
Mr. Hanson placed his hand gently on her shoulder and gave it a soft squeeze. "Everything changes." He said quietly.
"He's growing up in a different world now." He told her.
"I know." She said softly, "It's just that…" She started.
"You don't want to see him going through this." He finished for her smiling slightly.
Mrs. Hanson turned to him and gave a weak smile before nodding her head. "Yes."
He returned the same smile. "None of us do." He said changing gears and backing out the way he had just came in. "But Zac has the worst end. We only have to watch him go through it, he has to live through it."
"I don't think he has the worst part." She murmured to herself, her eyes looking in the side-view mirror. Hoping for a second glance of her son.
"Zac, are you sure you want to do this?" Jakob asked unsure if this was such a hot idea.
"This is who I was." Zac said nervously as he fidgeted with his cane.
He straightened his shoulder; "I wanna be like that again." His voice was clear now.
Jakob had to grin in spite of all the warning bells going off in his head. "This could destroy everything that you have worked so hard for." He cautioned.
Zac just shook his head. "I can do it." He said determinedly.
"Okay, Zac." Jakob said giving in. Knowing he couldn't talk him out of it. "It's all yours."
Slowly Zac sat down in the low stool. His hands started grazing everything.
It all seemed so familiar, but so… unfamiliar. It was painful, almost unbearable, but he kept at it anyway. Soon his hands were grabbing for his bag; he yanked hard at the zipper until it gave away.
Once he had what he wanted, he threw his bag down, and took a deep breath.
His arms outstretched again, but this time he struck down hard. His drumsticks hit the snare and cymbals, and his foot hit the bass. He was getting back to who he was…
