Michaela's grip on Kelsey's shirt broke free, sending Michaela into the sea of girls. Feeling a sharp tug on her shirt and then nothing, Kelsey spun around. Girls younger and shorter than her swarmed around. Kelsey forced herself through a mob of frantic fans in search of Michaela. They just couldn't be separated!
Michaela halted and stared at the girls in front of her. She could never find her friend in this mess. Since screaming Hanson lovers were pressing in from all sides, Michaela decided to go with the flow toward Hanson. Kelsey would see her there. So she advanced toward the guys. out of the corner of her eye, Michaela saw someone that looked like Kelsey. Turning, she realized it was. "Kelsey!" she yelled. Her small voice was only drowned out by the high-pitched squeals.
Kelsey continued to search for Michaela until she caught a glimpse of her. Michaela was yelling her name about ten feet away.
"Finally!" Michaela said aloud. She hurried over to her friend. The force of the fans was stronger than ever. Something big and puffy slammed into Michaela's head. It was so strong, she was thrown to the ground. All she saw than was feet. None of which looked familiar. "Ow!" she cried. Someone kicked her in the stomach. Michaela felt the breath go out of her. The next thing she saw was blackness.
"Chaela!" shrieked Kelsey. Her hand had been only inches from Michaela's shirt until a huge, fat arm with "Taylor" scribbled on it swung at Michaela's head like a baseball bat. Kelsey hadn't seen her friend fall but feared the worst anyway.
Kelsey frantically scrambled over to Michaela, who was lying flat on the ground. Girls--hundred of girls--blocked her path. The only direction she was going was farther away from Michaela. IN desparation, she sprinted toward Hanson. Hopefully, they would help her. Kelsey dove at the three guys. Their bodyguard pushed her out of the way. She began to get hot from head to toe. Her friend was in danger, and people just wouldn't get out of her way. "Ike!" she cried. Ike ignored the voice at first. To him it was just another fan's screeching voice. "Ike!" Kelsey screamed again. Finally, he turned.
His eyebrows shot up. He recognized the frantic look on his new friend's face. "It's OK, Jason," he told his bodyguard. "What's wrong?"
"Ike! Chaela! She--got punched in the head! She fell down. I lost her!"
Ike stared at her with a worried expression on his face. Hanson fans pressed up against Kelsey again to get near Isaac. "Get away!" she screamed, shoving them back.
Ike smiled at her sympathetically. "I'll send Rich out with you to find her." Turning to a nearby bodyguard, Isaac explained the situation to him.
The tall, blond man followed Kelsey to where she thought her friend would be. Rich and Kelsey edged through the sea of fans to the exact spot Michaela fell. "Stand back!" Rich yelled in a loud, deep voice. He scooped up the small, motionless girl. "We have to call an ambulance. You find a payphone, and I'll bring her outside."
Kelsey nodded and ran the rest of the way past the girls. She collapsed against the phone and punched 911. "What's your emergency?" the calm operator asked.
"My friend got trampled on by a bunch of girls!" Although the operator was confused, Kelsey continued to spit out all the information she asked for.
"We'll be there in about five minutes. Where is the patient now?"
"Outside with the bodyguard!" After Kelsey hung up the phone, she raced back over to hanson, scooting against the wall that time. "Zac!" He turned to her. "Did Ike tell you?" He nodded. "We'll be outside."
Zac nodded again. "We'll go to the hospital if we can when we're done here, OK?" Nodding, Kelsey spun around and scrambled out the exit.
The ambulance screamed up to the curb and came to a smooth stop. Rich handed Michaela to a doctor, who lay her on a cot. Kelsey hurried around Rich and started to climb into the open back door. "You can't come. No room." Kelsey looked at Rich for advice. She was the only one who could give them information about the accident. Why couldn't the short-sighted doctor's see that?
Rich led Kelsey back inside. They could do no more. As the siren on the ambulance blared, and the car careened out of sight, Rich coaxed the reluctant girl back inside to reunite her with Hanson. When they got into the lobby, Taylor broke through the girls and ran to Kelsey. Taking charge, Rich commanded all the fans to leave. Taylor spun around to thank them for coming. He couldn't forget about them.
"How is she? What happened? Where is she? What are you doing here?"
Kelsey couldn't help smiling. She saw how much Taylor cared. Taylor looked annoyed at the pleasant look on Kelsey's face. His bright blue eyes stared intensely into Kelsey's brown ones.
Before she could explain, Mr. Hanson appeared next to his second oldest son. "What's wrong, Tay?"
Since Taylor was struck dumb, Kelsey answered, "Michaela got knocked down. Nothing serious. She's going to the hospital now." Kelsey was an optimist and usually expected something good to happen.
Can we go, Dad?" begged Zac.
Walker hesitated at first. The boys had a lot of work to do. They wanted to get out of Milwaukee by tomorrow if they were going to have any time to rest in Chicago. Walker mentioned this to his boys. At that point, Isaac was the only levelheaded one. Could they let that many loyal fans down for a new friend who would probably get better anyway?
Noticing how calm his oldest son was, Mr. Hanson looked to Isaac for his opinion. "We don't want to disappoint our fans, but I think it's crucial that we be with Michaela." Barely letting his brother finish, Taylor sprinted out the door, calling for them to follow.
"Wait!" Walker called, "you kids have Rich drive you. I"ll pack up and come right over. But before you go, Kelsey, call Michaela's parents."
Taylor groaned. He was itching to see how his friend was doing. While Kelsey phoned her neighbors, Taylor leaned against the wall next to her and drummed his fingers on his own arm. Kelsey nervously smiled at him as someone picked up the phone. "Mrs. Sharpe? This is Kelsey. Michaela had a little accident, and she's at the hospital." Taylor could hear a muffled response. Kelsey replaced the receiver and turned to the guys. "They're gonna go to the hospital. We can go now." Listening to how terrified Michaela's mom sounded finally made her realize that what had happened was serious.
Suddenly, Gabriella entered the lobby. "Hi, guys!" she greeted cheerfully. Seeing everyone's nervous, worried faces, she stopped. Taylor and Kelsey were so anxioius to go, they were practically shaking. Isaac took his girlfriend's hand and pulled her out the door with the other's following. They all leaped into Rich's station wagon and pulled out of the deserted parking lot. "Explain," Gabriella commanded.
Isaac turned around in his seat to look at Kelsey. Since she looked like she was about to throw up, he summed up all he knew.
