Tay Woke Up At 6 Am And Couldnt Figure Out Why He Wasnt The Least Bit Tired. He
Couldnt Get Back To Sleep Either. At About 6:15 Tay Heard Zac Wake Up. He Rolled
Over And Seen Him Getting Out Of Bed. ‘Zac?’ He Said. Zac Stopped Dead In His
Tracks And Turned To Face Tay. ‘Yeah?’ He Said Like It Was Nothing. ‘Where
Um..Where Ya Goin? Itz Like Quarter After Six In The Morning Dude..’ Tay Smiled. Zac
Sighed. ‘You Said It Best Last Night Tay...Your Sick Of All Of It..You Cant Be The Only
One..Mom And Dad Must Be Too..Why Am I Still Living Here?’ He Asked. Tay Sat
Up...Zac Was About To Run Away Cause Of Something He Said, He Had To Fix It.
‘Zac, I’m Not Sick Of All Of It..Just The Bad Stuff..And Thats Cause I Know All Of It,
Mom And Dad Dont...Alright, Listen...Maybe The Best Thing To Do Would Be Maybe
Stop Doing Drugs?’ Tay Asked Sarcastically. It Was Alright Cause Ike Was Staying At
His Girlfriends Last Night So He Couldnt Hear Them. ‘Tay Itz Not That Easy!’ Zac Said
Exasperated. ‘I Cant Even Imagine How Right You Are..’ Tay Said. Zac Sat Down. ‘But I
Know Running Away Izn’t Gonna Help Zac..’ He Looked At Tay. ‘Your Right...Sorry..’
Zac Was Really Upset...And Tay Didnt Like How Young Zac Looked Because Of All Of
This, He Looked About 11 Again. At Least When He Was 11 He Was Happy. ‘Dont
Apologize Zac, Itz Not Your Fault.’ Tay Said. Just Then, Tays Cell Phone Rang. Tay
And Zac Looked At Each Other. Who Was Calling This Early. Tay Jumped For The
Phone So It Didnt Wake They’re Parents Up. ‘Hello?’ He Said. ‘Tay?’ He Heard Ikes
Voice From The Other End. ‘Yeah Ikes, Whats Wrong? Itz Pretty Early You Know..’ He
Said. ‘I Know, I’m Sorry..Did I Wake You Up?’ Ike Asked. ‘No, Me And Zac Um..We
Stayed Up All Night Jus Like Talkin And Stuff..So Whats Up?’ He Had To Lie. He
Couldnt Say He Was Up Cause He Had A Gut Feeling About They’re Little Brother
That Came True. ‘Dude, I’m In Trouble. Rachel, Shes Pregnant...And Itz Mine...’ Tay
Went Silent When He Heard Ike Say That. ‘Tay? You There?’ He Asked. ‘Yeah Ike,
Um, I’m Here...Are You Sure?’ Tay Asked. ‘I Thought You Were Breaking Up With
Her?’ ‘I Know, I Was Going To...She Told Me Before I Got Anything Out..I Had To Call
When She Was Asleep...Tay I Dunno What To Do...Mom And Dad Are Gonna Kick Me
Out..’ Ike Said, He Was Really Upset. ‘Ike, I Dont Think They’d Go That Far...’ Tay
Tried To Calm Him Down. ‘ISAAC? ARE YOU AWAKE?’ Tay Heard Rachel In The
Background. ‘Crap, Dude, We’ll Talk When I Get Home Later, Tell Zac For Me?’ He
Asked. ‘Alright, Bye..’ Tay Said. Ike Hung Up. ‘What Was That All About?’ Zac Asked.
‘Rachel, Shes’s...Pregnant!’ Tay Said Still In Shock. ‘With IKES Kid?’ Zac Asked. ‘You
Guessed It..’ Tay Said Sitting Down. ‘Man, Mom And Dad Are Gonna Kill Him!’ Zac
Said. Tay Knew That All Too Well. When One Of His Friends, David, Got His Girlfriend
Pregnant, Diana And Walker Thought It Was Awful That A 17 Year Old Boy Was
Already Having Sex. Even Though Ike’s 20, Rachel And He Arent Married. Which Is A
Big ‘No No’ In The Hanson House. ‘I Dunno What He’s Gonna Do. I Mean A Kid Iz A
HUGE Responsibility!’ Tay Said, Breaking His Own Thoughts. ‘Did He Say Anything
More?’ Zac Asked Curiously. ‘No, He Said He’d Talk To Us When He Gets Home Later,
So Really Theres Nothing More To Do Until He Gets Home, You Hungry?’ Tay Said.
‘Yea, Lets Go Have Breakfast!’ Zac Replied. Tay Stood Up And Walked Downstairs
With Zac. They Walked Into The Kitchen To Find Diana Sitting At The Table. ‘What Are
You Boys Doing Up So Early?’ She Asked. Tay Prayed To God She Didnt Hear His
Cell Phone Ring Earlier. ‘Couldnt Sleep. And You Know How I Get When I Cant
Sleep...I Cant Sleep..No One In The Room Sleeps...’ Zac Said Covering For Himself.
‘Yeah, I Woke Up But Im Not Tired...’ Tay Said Reaching For The Cereal And Passing
It To Zac. ‘When Did You Get Up?’ Zac Said Pouring Himself A Bowl. Tay Came Back
From The Fridge With The Milk And Sat Down Next To Zac Pouring His Own Bowl Of
Cereal. ‘About 10 Minutes Ago, You’re Dad Snores Like An Old Farmer So I Woke Up
And Couldnt Get Back To Sleep, Plus I Figured Zoe’s Going To Be Up Any Minute Now
So I Might As Well Stay Up.’ She Stood Up To Get Another Coffee. As The Boys
Started They’re Breakfast, They Heard Zoe Walk Sleepily Down The Stairs. ‘Morning
Zoe!’ Zac Said Cheerfully. ‘Mornin Sis!’ Tay Said. ‘Goodmorning’ She Said Sitting
Down At The Table. Diana Brought Her A Bowl And Sat It In Front Of Her. Like The
Other 6 Kids In The House, Zoe Is Very Mature For Her Age. At A Year And A Half She
Could Pour Her Own Cereal And Milk Without Spilling A Drop. She’s A Very Smart Two
Year Old. ‘Can I Take This In The Family Room And Watch Cartoons?’ She Asked.
‘Sure, But Be Careful!’ Diana Warned. ‘I Will!’ She Picked Up Her Bowl And Spoon And
Walked Into The Family Room. Zac Finished The Last Bit Of His And Announced He
Was Going For A Shower. He Put His Bowl In The Sink And Walked Upstairs. Tay Sat
There Uncomfortable With Diana Sitting Across From Him. ‘So...Whats On The Agenda
For Today?’ She Asked. ‘Oh I Dont Know...I Mean, Saying Im Supposed To Be In
Memphis Right Now, I’m Not Sure.’ Tay Smiled. ‘Hunny, I’m Glad You Can Joke About
This...Itz Good For You!’ Diana Smiled As Well. ‘Yea, Actually, I Think I’ll Go To The
Mall Today.’ Tay Never Really Went To The Mall Mall, He’d Go To The West Tulsa
Mall And Go To The Music Store. He Was Well Known In There Because He Was A
Frequent Shopper. ‘Oh Yeah? Thats Good. Could You Pick Me Up A Couple Of Things
While Your Out?’ Diana Asked. ‘Sure! What Do You Need?’ Tay Said. ‘I’ll Make A List.’
Diana Replied As She Stood Up And Walked Into The Office. Tay Put His Bowl In The
Sink And Walked Into The Family Room. Zoe Looked At The Door. ‘Gosh, Do Any Of
The Boys In This House Wear Shirts?’ She Asked Disgusted. Tay Laughed. ‘I Guess
Not Zo!’ He Sat Down Beside Her On The Couch. ‘Whatcha Watchin?’ He Asked.
‘CareBears’ She Replied Still Eating Her Cereal. ‘Oh Awesome! Jessie And Avie Used
To Make Me And Zac Watch This Show Constantly!’ Tay Said. ‘Oh...So Maybe You’ll
Wanna Go Cause Your So Sick Of It?’ She Asked Hopeful. ‘Jesus Zoe, Tryin To Get
Rid Of Me?’ He Asked. ‘Yeah Kinda!’ She Said. Tay Laughed And Walked Out Of The
Family Room. Zac Was Already Done His Shower And Walked Downstairs, His Long
Blond Hair Dripping Wet. He Had His Head Down Putting His Watch On, So His Face
Was Covered By Hair. ‘You Ever Gonna Cut This Mop?’ Diana Laughed As She Swung
Zacs Hair. He Looked Up Appalled. ‘NO! Why Would I Do That?’ He Asked
Defensively. ‘Just A Question Zachary! Calm Down!’ Diana Said Laughing. ‘Why Iz
Everyone Awake?’ Said A Very Sleepy Jessica As She Walked Down The Stairs.
‘Couldnt Sleep...’ Tay Replied. ‘Im Always Up Early With Your Sister. When You Were
3 You Were Up At 5:15 Every Morning!’ Diana Smiled At The Memory. ‘Isaac And
Avery Were The Only Babies Out Of Yawl That Slept Later. They Both Woke Up In The
8:30-9:00 Region!’ She Added. ‘Jessica Shook Her Head. ‘Oh My GOSH! Zacs Up!’
She Said Noticing Him. ‘Wow, I’ve Never Seen You Up Before Noon!’ She Said
Reaching For The Cereal. He Glared At Her. ‘Maybe You Should Go Put Some Makeup
On Your Ugly Face Before I Throw Up?’ He Jabbed At Her. She Shot Him A Dirty Look.
‘Zac! Apologize To Your Sister Right Now!’ Diana Interjected. ‘Why?’ He Asked.
‘Zachary...NOW!’ She Repeated. ‘Sorry Jessica!’ Zac Said While Rolling His Eyes. The
Minute Diana’s Back Was Turned He Made Gagging Motions In Her Direction, In A
Silent Reply, She Gave Him The Finger. Tay Had To Leave The Room Before He Burst
Out Laughing. He Started Up The Stairs. This Whole Thing Was Gonna Be A Huge
Adjustment For Everyone.
