" Tay, why is he watching this again?," Zac groaned when he saw Mackenzie watching Winnie-the-Pooh again.
" Because it's either this or Barney's Great Adventure," Taylor smiled wryly.
" Then again, you can never have too much Pooh," Zac said quickly.
" Don't worry, Zac. This week it's Pooh, next week it's Elmo," Taylor told him.
" Tay, it's been six weeks and he's still going strong, watching Winnie-the-Pooh non-stop! Aren't you getting just a little tired of this video, Mackie?," Zac asked him.
" No way! Pooh's cool!," he exclaimed.
" You know Mackie, the Disney channel has a show called The New Adventures of Winnie-the-Pooh," Jessica said, just coming in.
" Really?," Mackenzie asked.
" Jess!," Zac moaned," Why do you keep encouraging him?"
" I like Pooh!," she said defensively.
" Or maybe you guys are trying to drive me crazy! That's it! It's a conspiracy! I'm doomed to watch Pooh the rest of my life!," Zac dramatically threw his arm over his eyes and pretented to faint.
" Well, I've got some good news Zac," Diana said, who had come in just in time to witness her sons theatrics.
" Winnie-the-Pooh is now illegal?," Zac said.
" No. But you get a break from him for a while. It's time to eat."
" Hoo hoo hoo hoo! T.T.F.N.! Tata for now!," Mackenzie jumped up and down/
" Well, even Tiggers need dinner, so bounce right into the kitchen," Diana smiled at him. She turned to Taylor. " Will you please go get Erin and tell her it's dinner time?"
" Awww, man!," he sighed.
" Come on, Tay. I'll go with you," Isaac volunteered.
" Thanks. I don't know about you, but I do not like that girl much," Taylor said when their mom was out of earshot.
" She certainly didn't give me a good first impression," Isaac agreed," and the sad thing is that she just got here. But I really felt like smacking her."
" Particuarly when she bitched at Zac. You know, I'll be able to overlook this attitude problem of hers for a while, but if she keeps this up, she's gonna find out that she's no the only one who can be a jerk."
" Just avoid her if she does. That's what I'm gonna do."
" Yeah, that will work too."
Taylor lightly knocked on the basement door.
" Go away!," Erin said.
" We just came to tell you that it's time for dinner," Isaac called.
" I said go away! I'm not hungry!," she yelled.
" Okay, that's fine," Taylor answered and pulled Isaac to the dining room.
***************************************************
" Where is she?," Walker asked.
" She's not coming," Isaac replied.
" What do you mean ' she's not coming '? What did she say? "
" She pretty much said ' go away, I'm not hungry, go away'," Taylor quoted.
" I think we'd better talk to her after dinner," Diana told her husband.
" Good luck! That girl has been cold as ice since she got here!," Zac exclaimed.
" Zac, it's only her first day here," Walker reminded him.
" I still say, good luck."
***************************************************
" Come on, who is she really?," Terry asked.
" I'm serious, Terry. Erin Harris is that girl Taylor and I bumped into when we were at the mall a couple weeks ago!," Isaac insisted.
" That's pretty ironic. So what's she like?"
" Well, remember how she was at the mall?"
" Uh-huh."
" Pretty much like that."
" Isn't that exagerating a bit?"
" No, not really." Isaac proceeded to tell her about the incident in the basement.
" You told her off?," Terry asked," That's not like you."
" I know. But you know how I am: Mess with my family or friends and you mess with me."
" Awww. How sweet of you!," she teased.
" I know, I'm so sentimental. Now cut it out," he smiled. He turned serious again. " But she had a lot of nerve. When Tay and I went to get her for dinner, I could smell the smoke coming from her room."
" Well, what are your parents gonna do about that?"
" I don't know. When we told them about her refusing to come out, they just said they should have a talk with her." He looked up at a sound. " And it looks like I'd better get off. There's something I want to ask them about anyway."
" What do you wanna ask them about?"
" Just something Zac, Tay, and I want to do. I'll tell you about it when we get an answer."
" Um, kay. Sounds mysterious."
After he got off the phone, he turned to his tired looking parents.
" How did it go?"
" Not so good. She wasn't even paying attention to what we were saying and looked bored and in a hurry for us to leave," Diana sighed.
" Let me guess: Stick with the original plan and make her feel as wellcome as possible." Now was definitly not the time to ask about what was on his mind.
" Yeah, pretty much," Walker said," Hopefully, she'll eventually realize that she doesn't have to be so cold."
***************************************************
Later that night, Zac, Taylor, and Isaac were in their room, relaxing before going to bed. Isaac and Taylor were sitting on the bottom bunk and Zac was lounging on the trundle bed. They were listening to a No Doubt cd and thinking their own thoughts. Just then, Taylor remembered something.
" Hey Ike, did you ask Mom and Dad about inviting the girls over for a party?"
" Not yet."
Zac propped himself up on his elbow and looked at Isaac questioningly." How come?"
" Mom and Dad were so upset about Erin after talking to her," Isaac explained. " If I had asked them then, they definitly would have said no."
" So when are you gonna ask them?," Taylor asked.
" In the morning. I have a question for you guys. If Mom and Dad say yes, are we gonna have Erin at the party with us?"
They were silent for a moment before Zac said," I guess we could tell her she's wellcome to join us."
More silence.
" Yeah, I guess we could do that."
***************************************************
Erin paced around her room, furious. What right did they have butting into her life, anyway? What buisness was it of theirs? Damn it!, she thought. I should be at that party right now! But knowing these kind of dorks, it would probably be " too dangerous" for their liking! And if I snuck out and got caught, they'll call my parole officer and she's the last person I need to deal with!
Then she shrugged and flopped down on the bed to think.
I guess I could watch them for a few days, see what I'll be able to get away with. If I can't " sweet talk" them into at least letting me stay out late, I'll have to find a way to sneak out. Screw the parole officer. Like I care what she thinks anyway.
She smiled inwardly. If she was going to be living with the Brady Bunch, then she was going to make the best of it.
