“Julie seems OK,” commented Katie as they were searching for a pay phone.
“I guess so,” Rebekah said. She suddenly fell into a slight state of depression. The girls, including Rebekah, wanted her to be hyper. Although Katie wanted her friend to be hyper most of all, she didn’t show it. She ignored Rebekah, not wanting Rebekah to ruin her night.
“I think there’s a phone over there,” Kristen said, pointing toward the sidewalk about one hundred yards away. As they headed toward the pay phone, male and female fans to the left and right of them talked about the concert.
“Oh my god. Taylor is so fine! I wish I could’ve gone up on stage. Did you see him wave to those girls when they were going back to there seats after ‘MMMBop?’”
“Yeah, I wish I could have gone on stage.”
“I wonder if they know how lucky they are.”
Sarah laughed. Taylor waved at her, and she did know how lucky she was. Rebekah stepped off the grass covered in litter and reached for the phone. After inserting the coins and dialing her home phone number, she turned to Katie, “Did you hear those girls back there? That was hilarious.” Katie nodded, dumbfounded. One minute Rebekah was silent and upset, the next she was grinning from ear to ear.
“Hey, mom!” Rebekah greeted happily, “It was the best concert I’ve ever been to! We’ll tell you all about it on the way home, OK?” She arranged for her mom to be there in about and hour and hung up the phone. “Next step is to find the guys.”
Katie groaned. That was the hard part. They started back towards the park. Sarah held onto Rebekah’s Hanson shirt so she wouldn’t get lost in the sea of Hanson fans. Katie and Kristen did the same, each grabbing onto the person in front of them. Rebekah didn’t want to lead; she had no idea where she was going. She decided to head to the stage, then circle around it until she found an opening in the backstage curtain. They pushed through the crowd in their long line. Another large group of girls tried running between them and separated Rebekah from Sarah. Rebekah turned around, bumping into a couple people in the process and found Sarah a couple feet behind her. Sarah’s arm was outstretched, groping for Rebekah’s T shirt. Rebekah backed up and Sarah grabbed her shirt again.
They continued on. The stage was clearly in sight now, so she walked to where she figured was backstage. The Hadler girls huddled behind her as she drew open the tall, blue curtain. Immediately, a security guard stepped in front of them, blocking their way. “We have passes,” Rebekah explained, lifting her own. The huge guard reluctantly let them by. Katie stepped past the guard after Rebekah. Backstage was a huge, curtained in open space behind the stage. Since it was outside, there wasn’t much more that could have been done with it. About thirty girls were there also, waiting impatiently for Hanson to arrive. Katie wasn’t at all surprised to see that many girls, but her sisters and Rebekah were.
“Why are there so many girls here?” wondered Kristen.
“They probably won passes,” Katie answered confidently.
“Yeah,” realized Rebekah, “from radio stations and stuff.”
Suddenly, Hanson appeared. The crowd of girls squealed and ran at the guys. Rebekah followed them, obviously not screaming. Kristen and Sarah held back reluctantly. Rebekah turned around. “Come on, you guys.” Finally, they joined her. As they got closer, Katie saw a fatter girl clutching an unrolled poster, waiting for Hanson to sign it. This girl was much shyer. She hung back behind the others, not sure if she really wanted to face the guys or not.
Katie noticed right away. “Hey, Rebekah, we should introduce ourselves to that girl over there,” she said, subtly pointing out the girl.
Rebekah eyed the overweight girl. She looked about twelve years old. Rebekah watched as the girl self consciously pulled at her shoulder length curly blond hair and stepped away from the crowd. All suspicions Rebekah had against the young girl vanished. “OK,” she agreed and let Katie lead them to the girl.
“Hi, I’m Katie,” she greeted with a quick wave.
“I’m Rebekah.”
“Kristen.”
“Sarah.”
The girl stared at each one as she said her name. “I’m Courtney,” she responded quietly.
Katie smiled. “Hi, Courtney. How’d you get a pass?”
Courtney looked down at her backstage pass and answered, “My dad won it off of a radio station for me.”
“You getting your poster signed?” Rebekah questioned.
“Maybe,” replied Courtney. She glanced warily at the screaming crowd of girls milling around Hanson.
“We’ll get that signed for you. Follow us,” said Rebekah. Dragging Sarah with her, she went on the other side of Courtney. Katie and Kristen stayed by her right arm. “You can go between us so you don’t get stomped on,” Rebekah suggested in a teasing voice. She took a deep breath and started pushing through the small wall formed around the guys. Eventually, with some polite “excuse me”’s and some impolite pushing, Rebekah, her friends, and Courtney made it to the front. The screaming had died down a while ago, so speaking to the guys would be no problem.
Since Isaac was almost a head taller than most of the girls, and so was Rebekah, he had seen her coming. He smiled as he watched Rebekah and Katie force themselves through the crowd with a younger girl between them. Isaac looked down in surprise as a “Middle of Nowhere” CD stabbed him in the stomach. He took the CD from the hand with red fingernail polish and signed it. He grinned at the girl who gave it to him as he handed it back. After he returned the CD, Katie accidentally crashed into the red nailed girl and took her spot, mumbling “sorry.” Taylor and Zac grinned at the girls.
“Um, guys, this is Courtney. She wants you to sign her poster, but she was too shy to push through the crowd, so we helped,” Rebekah explained.
“Of course,” Taylor agreed, gently taking the poster from Courtney. He felt sorry for the girl.
“Hi, Courtney!” Zac greeted loudly. Courtney smiled for the first time. Zac signed the poster after Isaac and gave it back to Courtney.
“I have to go,” Courtney said quietly. In her own little world, she pushed through the girls.
“Nice meeting you!” Zac called after her. Courtney turned and smiled again.
“Well,” said Rebekah happily, “that’s my good deed for the century.” All three Hansons laughed. The fans glared at Rebekah and continued shoving merchandise in Hansons’ faces. Some of them also posed for pictures with Hanson. Katie thought, “They probably want to prove they were hThe girl stared at each one as she said her name. “I’m Courtney,” she responded quietly.
Katie smiled. “Hi, Courtney. How’d you get a pass?”
Courtney looked down at her backstage pass and answered, “My dad won it off of a radio station for me.”
“You getting your poster signed?” Rebekah questioned.
“Maybe,” replied Courtney. She glanced warily at the screaming crowd of girls milling around Hanson.
“We’ll get that signed for you. Follow us,” said Rebekah. Dragging Sarah with her, she went on the other side of Courtney. Katie and Kristen stayed by her right arm. “You can go between us so you don’t get stomped on,” Rebekah suggested in a teasing voice. She took a deep breath and started pushing through the small wall formed around the guys. Eventually, with some polite “excuse me”’s and some impolite pushing, Rebekah, her friends, and Courtney made it to the front. The screaming had died down a while ago, so speaking to the guys would be no problem.
Since Isaac was almost a head taller than most of the girls, and so was Rebekah, he had seen her coming. He smiled as he watched Rebekah and Katie force themselves through the crowd with a younger girl between them. Isaac looked down in surprise as a “Middle of Nowhere” CD stabbed him in the stomach. He took the CD from the hand with red fingernail polish and signed it. He grinned at the girl who gave it to him as he handed it back. After he returned the CD, Katie accidentally crashed into the red nailed girl and took her spot, mumbling “sorry.” Taylor and Zac grinned at the girls.
“Um, guys, this is Courtney. She wants you to sign her poster, but she was too shy to push through the crowd, so we helped,” Rebekah explained.
“Of course,” Taylor agreed, gently taking the poster from Courtney. He felt sorry for the girl.
“Hi, Courtney!” Zac greeted loudly. Courtney smiled for the first time. Zac signed the poster after Isaac and gave it back to Courtney.
“I have to go,” Courtney said quietly. In her own little world, she pushed through the girls.
“Nice meeting you!” Zac called after her. Courtney turned and smiled again.
“Well,” said Rebekah happily, “that’s my good deed for the century.” All three Hansons laughed. The fans glared at Rebekah and continued shoving merchandise in Hansons’ faces. Some of them also posed for pictures with Hanson. Katie thought, “They probably want to prove they were here, too. Just like we did at home.”
Katie opened her mini backpack and retrieved her “Middle of Nowhere” CD. Rebekah curiously watched her and then did the same. “Good idea,” she told her friend.
“How did you like the concert?” Taylor casually asked the girls around him. Several girls squealed, but most of them were paralyzed by the fact that Taylor Hanson was talking to them.
Katie flinched as a girl screamed in her ear. “I loved the concert,” Katie offered. The Hansons smiled at her. Zac took her CD. Taylor took Rebekah’s. All three brothers silently signed the CD cases, writing a personal message on each. Isaac suddenly felt guilty as he noticed a disappointed fan watching him write on Katie’s CD. He knew it wasn’t fair to favor his friends. Reaching around a teenager who had somehow gotten between him and Katie, he handed Katie her CD. Kristen triumphantly pulled her favorite Hanson pin-up of her coat pocket. Remembering their deal, Isaac signed the pin-up and passed it to his brothers. “Lucky you remembered,” Ike told Kristen, “because I forgot again.”
“I know.” She smiled as she stuffed it back into her pocket.
“I don’t have anything to sign!” whined Sarah softly.
Zac pulled her close to him and whispered, “I’ll give you something later, OK?” Sarah nodded happily, stepping back to Katie. Rebekah grabbed her CD from Zac and pulled the Hadlers out of the huddle. She also noticed the icy glares from the other girls.
Katie looked at all the girls around her. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Amanda and Theresa, the girls they met in Merton the day before. She turned and tried to get a better look. Amanda saw her and waved. Katie politely waved back. After she pushed herself through the fans, she said to Rebekah, “I saw Amanda and Theresa.”
“Really?” Rebekah replied. She wasn’t that interested at all.
They waited outside of the tight circle as Hanson tried to talk to the other girls. Katie watched Amanda and Theresa and saw Amanda say something to Hanson. She listened more carefully. “Do you guys remember us from yesterday?”
The guys studied her. “Yeah,” Taylor said.
“You guys are the ones who were doing a cheerleading thing to ‘MMMBop,’” Zac recalled.
“Yep,” Theresa said, smiling from ear to ear.
Sarah shifted impatiently. When would all these girls leave? She watched as the crowd slowly began to thin out. After about a half an hour, all the girls had gone home.
“Hey, guys!” Zac shouted, running up to the girls.
As Taylor and Isaac approached, Katie noticed that Taylor was still a little flushed and sweaty. “Hard work?”
Taylor looked up at Katie, a little startled. He had been watching an argument go on between Kristen and Sarah. Unlike most arguments, this one stopped immediately when Zac made them both crack up. “Oh yeah,” he finally answered.
“Oh, I agree. I can just imagine how hard it is to sign your name thirty times in one hour!” joked Rebekah.
Although the joke was lame, Katie laughed anyway. Rebekah always seemed to be able to make certain people laugh at certain times, even with the lamest jokes.
Katie grinned as she watched Avery and Jessie run over to their brothers with Mackie trotting along behind. “Now you can meet the rest of our family.” Zac said.
Isaac took over, “This is Jessie,” he pointed to the oldest girl, “Avie,” the youngest girl, “and Mac,” Ike finished rustling the shaggy, blond head of his youngest brother.
“And these are our friends Katie, Sarah, Rebekah, and Kristen.” Each of the girls waved after Taylor said their name.
Jessie and Avie began talking at the same time. They were more hyper than Zac or Rebekah. Isaac silenced them as Rebekah started talking.
“Could you guys do us a favor?” The way she said it made the guys worry, but they hoped their friends wouldn’t do anything bad to them, so they agreed. “There’s this one girl¼ð All three Hansons groaned. Come on, you guys. We promised we d introduce her to you. She seems nice. And if she s not, how much damage can one girl do?
You ve never been mobbed before, have you? Zac asked sarcastically.
Yeah right, said Kristen.
“Will you do it, for a fan?” Rebekah asked pleadingly. She figured that they would do almost anything for a fan. She recalled the Erica incident.
“Yeah, bring her back,” Isaac finally agreed. He didn’t know what his problem was. The girls were right. One fan couldn’t do much damage. And besides, Hanson’s fans were important to all three boys.
“We can’t, she doesn’t have a pass,” explained Katie.
“That’s OK,” Taylor said enthusiastically, “We’ll go to her.”
Rebekah smiled, “That’s the spirit!”
Zac was elected to tell their parents they were leaving for a while. Jessica and Avery really wanted to join the oldest kids, but Isaac knew that wouldn’t be a good idea. “We’ll be back soon. We promise.”
“Will Sarah be back?” Jessie asked hopefully. Ike turned to Sarah.
“Sure,” she said.
“Yeah, we’ll come back here before we go home,” decided Rebekah. As soon as Zac came back, they went off to find Julie. It didn’t take that long to find her. Julie was pacing back and forth not far from where they exited.
“Oh my god!” Julie screamed. Kristen frowned. That was the reaction she expected. Rebekah rolled her eyes but was happy she screamed. She didn’t want to chance Hanson liking Julie better than her. Sarah slapped her hands against her ears. Katie winced. Man, she could scream loud. They all knew she would scream though.
So did Hanson. Taylor stuck out his hand to her. “What’s your name?” he asked.
“Julie,” she shrieked. Julie’s breathing quickened to the point where Taylor thought she was going to faint.
“How’d you like the concert?” Ike asked.
Julie paid no attention to Isaac or Zac. Instead she held Taylor’s hand tighter and said, “Oh, Taylor, I loved you since the first time I saw you in my best friend’s magazine. Thank you,” she breathed.
Taylor shrugged, not knowing what to say. “What about me?” Zac wondered, breaking the mood. Julie was only concerned about Taylor and hadn’t heard Zac’s question. She didn’t care about anything else besides the fact that she was holding Taylor Hanson’s hand.
“Can I have your autograph?” Taylor nodded and pried his hand out of hers. She pulled a “Middle of Nowhere” CD out of her back pocket and handed it to Taylor. Her eyes remained fixed on his face. Isaac provided Taylor with a pen from his pocket. Taylor took it in his right hand and signed the front of her CD. When he turned around to give the CD to Zac for him to sign, Julie grabbed it out of his hand. “Can I have my picture taken with you? Just you?”
Zac whimpered. She hadn’t looked at him or Isaac since they found her. Isaac looked at Zac and shrugged. Then he checked his friends’ reactions. All three Hadler girls were frowning. Rebekah, on the other hand, was laughing at how stupid Julie was. Isaac smiled at the girls. Taylor looked back at his brothers to see what he should do. Isaac nodded to him, indicating that it was OK and that he wasn’t offended. Before locking her arm around Taylor’s and dragging him into the open, Julie shoved her camera into Isaac’s hands. In order to console himself, Isaac glanced at Rebekah, who had a shocked expression on her face but was still grinning in amusement. Taylor posed with Julie for four pictures. Julie took her camera back from Isaac and stared at Taylor again. “I’d better go,” she whispered. “My mom will be here soon. Thank you, Taylor. I’ll never forget this moment.”
“Neither will we,” Zac said dryly. Katie giggled. Glad that someone appreciated him, Zac grinned at Katie and circled his finger around his temple, hinting that Julie was insane. Katie nodded in reply. Julie continued to ignore Zac and leaned over to kiss Taylor on the cheek. Taylor stood straight as a board, letting her kiss him. Her lips gently brushed his cheek. Julie backed up and smiled. Then she walked away.
“Cool chic, huh, Katie?” Rebekah said sarcastically.
“Shut up,” Katie responded. This made Zac laugh. “We should get back to Jessie, Avie, and Mackie now,” she suggested.
“Yeah, and have some real fun!” Sarah exclaimed.
“Yeah!” Zac agreed. He grabbed Sarah and Kristen’s hand and skipped back to the backstage area. They followed, trying to keep up. Katie, Taylor, Isaac, and Rebekah also followed Zac back through the curtain. Jessica, Avery, and Mackenzie ran over to them.
“Did you have fun?” wondered Jessie.
“I’m sure Taylor did,” Kristen said.
Jessie stared at her in surprise. Then she looked to her brother to find out what Kristen meant. “It wasn’t that fun,” Taylor said, blushing.
“Oh, Taylor, I love you Taylor. Kiss me, Taylor,” Zac said, making kissing noises. Avie giggled. Taylor blushed even more.
“How much time do you have?” asked Isaac, changing the subject.
Rebekah glanced at Katie’s watch. “We only have about fifteen minutes.”
Everyone fell silent. Fifteen minutes until they had to say goodbye. “Anyone want a soda?” Taylor asked. He walked over to the large cooler on the ground and fished out seven sodas. Rebekah noticed he was trying to carry all seven at the same time and hurried to his side to help him before he dropped one. She took three Pepsis from him. “Thanks,” he mumbled.
“No problem, Tay,” she said happily. “Sarah, catch,” Rebekah said before tossing a can to her. She knew the odds were against her, but she risked it anyway. Sarah was close to missing it, but, luckily, she didn’t. Rebekah handed the other two sodas to Kristen and Katie and then walked back to Taylor to get one for herself. Avery got a soda for herself and Jessica. She led the whole group over to the couches positioned in the center of the backstage area.
Just as they were about to sit down, Walker came over to them. “Hello, ladies.”
“Hi,” they said politely.
“I’m sorry to interrupt, but we need to pack up the van now.” Zac groaned.
Rebekah set down her soda and offered to help, “We can help, right guys?” She looked at the Hadlers, expecting them to say yes.
“Sure,” Katie said. She figured that loading the van might be better than sitting around talking.
“Here, Katie, come help me with my keyboard,” Taylor said. Katie followed him over to his keyboard and took one end. This would definitely be better than sitting. It was a good bonding experience. The couple took baby steps through the open doorway. Taylor was walking backward, struggling to stay on his feet.
“You should hire someone to do this,” Katie joked.
“That’s not a bad idea,” Taylor said, laughing.
“You’re going to Chicago next, right?” Katie reviewed.
“Yeah, but there’s no way Chicago will be as fun as Milwaukee.” Taylor thought he liked Katie. Since he was the sensible brother, though, he refused to let their relationship be any more than a friendship. Not only did he have his career and fans to think about, but also Katie. Before he had a chance to blush, Taylor continued talking. “Maybe we should change ‘Man from Milwaukee’ to ‘Man from Chicago.’”
Katie laughed, “Yeah.” They made it to the van and hoisted the keyboard into it. Then the two headed back to continue helping.
“We’ll invite you guys over to our house next time we’re in Tulsa, OK?” Taylor suggested.
“OK,” said Katie, still doubting that it would happen. Taylor and Katie both walked back through the curtain to find Rebekah and Isaac struggling with Taylor’s two bongo drums. Taylor was about to help them, but Isaac called him off.
“We should have made Sarah carry these,” Rebekah complained as the two of them exited.
“Why? They would probably flatten her to the ground.”
“So instead, the two tallest people are chosen to break their backs,” whined Rebekah.
Isaac grunted, “Well, I could take both, but then I don’t think I’d be able to perform in Chicago.”
“I’m just kidding,” admitted Rebekah, “I really don’t care what I carry. By the way, where did your friends go?”
Isaac was surprised Rebekah noticed they were gone. “They left right after we went on stage. They can’t open for us in Chicago. They’re busy with something else.” When they arrived at the van, Walker took the drum from his son. Rebekah stumbled a little and almost tripped. Walker’s hands were already outstretched to take the drum, so he grabbed it before it fell.
“Whoa,” he said, “Careful.”
“Sorry,” Rebekah responded quietly.
“I don’t think Taylor would appreciate a broken bongo,” joked Isaac.
“I said sorry,” Rebekah returned insincerely. Silently, they walked back. Suddenly, Rebekah cried, “Ike, I’m gonna miss you guys!”
Isaac laughed, “You’re getting more like Zac every hour. But seriously, we’ll talk again. And we’ll have you guys over to our house. All five of you!”
Rebekah let out her breath. She couldn’t believe she did something like that. It’s OK, she figured, since they’re all friends now. Rebekah could do anything and not offend anyone. That gave her courage. Impetuously, she swung her arm around Ike’s shoulder and said, “Let’s go carry more heavy stuff now, buddy.” Isaac smiled at her and put his arm around her shoulder, too.
“Ooh, Bekah, got a boyfriend?” Kristen teased when the two of them walked in.
“No, Kris,” Rebekah responded happily, “wanna die?” At the same time they dropped arms and went in different directions to find something else to lift.
Katie looked at her Taz watch and groaned. Mrs. Castro was probably there now. She walked off to find Rebekah. Katie was probably the most surprised when she saw her two tall friends walking next to each other. “Hey, Rebekah, we have to go.”
“What?!” she screamed. “No!”
“Yes!” Katie imitated Rebekah. She called her sisters. The seven friends met in the middle by the couches. “Do you guys have our addresses?”
“No,” Isaac answered. He fetched a pad of paper and a pen and handed it to Katie. She wrote down her and Rebekah’s addresses and phone numbers. Zac took the paper and pen from her. He gave the paper a big kiss and stuffed it in his pocket. He wrote down his address in Tulsa and their number for family and friends.
“Can you make two copies, so we don’t have to share one?” requested Rebekah.
Zac stared at her and groaned, “Fine!” He copied his address and phone number on another piece of paper and gave one to Katie and the other to Rebekah. “Here you go, your highness,” he said, bowing to Rebekah.
“Thank you, Zac,” she said, taking the paper.
“What about us?” Sarah asked.
“You and Katie can share,” Taylor said.
“OK,” said Sarah.
