Tim wanted to get back into the game and quickly made Kristen start counting. Rebekah and Isaac both ran to "Terebithia." While Kristen was counting, Rebekah did cartwheels by the road.
Tim ran behind the house where Kristen had been hiding before. Sarah followed Tim because she wanted to try kicking the can this time. Taylor didn't know where to go again, but he quickly thought that going behind the picnic table would be a good idea. Katie was thinking the same thing and tried to beat him to the spot. They both got there at the same time and had to share. Taylor sat directly behind the picnic table. Katie kneeled down next to him.
Zac ran behind the lilac bushes with five seconds left. During those five seconds, Rebekah got in one more cartwheel and dove behind "Terebithia" as Kristen was saying "20." "I always do cartwheels when I hide back here," Rebekah told Isaac, "A lot of times my sandals fall off and I have to play without shoes, because I don't have time to find them."
"Kind of like this time?" Ike said, looking at her feet. Rebekah also looked down at her orange socks. She didn't know where her sandals were. They could be in the road for all she knew. “Cool socks.”
Rebekah smiled, “You just noticed them? I love colored socks,” she confessed, straightening her socks fondly.
"Someone just run, OK?" begged Kristen. It hadn’t taken long before she was bored. She was going to try not to guess where everyone was, because she didn’t want Tim to yell at her.
"Ike, can I have your flannel?" Rebekah asked. His eyebrows shot up. "I wanna try to fool Kristen." Isaac handed her his flannel. She hid her jacket behind the bush, took off her scrunchi, and stuffed it in her pocket. "Wish me luck," she said, with a twinkle in her eye.
"Good luck," he replied, smiling back at her. It wasn't as daring as what he had done, but it was close. Ike watched as Rebekah darted out from behind the bushes and sprinted to the far tree. All heads turned to see who was running. Everyone but Isaac and Zac thought that it was Ike. Zac saw them trade coats and knew what they were up to.
"Ike's gonna get caught," Taylor whispered to Katie. As "Ike" got closer, Katie saw "his" face.
"That's not Ike. It's Rebekah. They must have traded shirts!" Katie and Taylor started laughing, wondering how Kristen would react.
Kristen had seen the person run. "Ike running!" she screamed. The person didn't stop. "What?!" Kristen screamed again, "I said Ike!" The person was behind the tree by now. Finally, Kristen figured out who it must be. "Rebekah is behind tree number five!" she said, referring to the far tree, the one by Rebekah's other neighbor's house.
Katie imagined how much Rebekah would brag from then on that she wore Isaac Hanson's flannel shirt. No one would believe her, though. Even if someone did believe her, Katie would have some really cool stuff to tell him or her, too. There is one way they'd have to believe them. Katie decided that before Hanson left tomorrow that she was going to get a group picture, the eight of them, in front of her house, so no one could think they were lying. Katie suddenly shivered.
"Cold?" Taylor asked. Katie was only wearing a T-shirt and shorts, because she didn't have time to run home to get a jacket.
"Yeah, I'll probably just get my jacket after Kristen's done." Katie wrapped her arms around herself. Her teeth started chattering.
"You're gonna get us caught," teased Taylor. His older brother inspired him. He slipped off his jacket and handed it to Katie. He was only wearing a short sleeved shirt under his jacket, but he figured he'd be fine for now. Katie looked really cold. She looked at him. Before she could refuse, he said, "Just wear it for this round. Then you can get your jacket if you want." Katie reluctantly accepted the jacket and slid her arms into the huge sleeves.
Taylor's attention shifted to the sound of voices coming from the front yard. He watched Kristen to see if she heard it. The voice suddenly started laughing. A second voice joined in. Kristen immediately recognized the voices.
"Sarah and Tim are behind the house!" After a few seconds, Sarah and Tim came around the house, still chuckling.
"Save us!" Rebekah yelled from the "jail."
Taylor crawled around Katie, "I'm gonna go kick the can. Wanna help?" Katie considered it for a moment. She was close to saying no but changed her mind. She followed him around the other side of the house. Taylor wasn't cold at all and wondered why Katie was. Oh well. They jumped out from the corner, coming face to face with Kristen. Bad timing.
Kristen called them out and they joined the jail. Zac realized that there was no way he could rescue them, so he jumped out from behind the lilac bushes, screaming. Isaac was the only one left. He was even farther away than Zac had been, so he gave himself up, too.
Rebekah spun around and started counting right away, trying to catch them off guard. It worked.
Zac walked up next to Taylor and whispered to him, "So, you gave Katie your coat?"
"I was just being nice," Taylor assured him, "She was shivering so much I thought Kristen would hear her." Zac forgot about it, knowing that Taylor was a nice guy and would do something like that. Zac also couldn't waste his twenty seconds trying to figure out if Taylor liked Katie, when Zac already knew that Taylor would tell him if he wanted to.
Katie stood behind the tree closest to Rebekah, not caring if she got caught. It just occurred to her that Rebekah started counting so soon that she didn’t get a chance to return Taylor's coat. She definitely was going to get her coat once she got caught. His jacket was warm, though. And big, she thought, noticing how the sleeves went over her hands.
"20," yelled Rebekah. She looked around the yard and immediately saw someone behind the closest tree, "Tay, no Katie is behind tree number two!"
Katie stepped out from behind the tree. She walked past the jail and continued to her house to get a jacket, almost forgetting to tell Rebekah where she was going. When she stepped into the family room, her dad turned to her and asked, "Where'd you get that coat?"
"It's Taylor's," she said, trying to sound as casual as possible.
"Oh, my little girl's growing up. Now boys are giving her their coats," he teased. Katie walked to the closet across from the front door and grabbed her coat, ignoring her dad.
Rebekah had caught everybody else by the time Katie came back. They were all cracking up at something Zac had just done. She looked around uneasily and handed Taylor's coat back to him. Katie walked up to the can, turned her back on the others and started counting. They didn't hear her until she had counted to five, so they all ran in opposite directions, slamming into each other.
Taylor hurried towards the lilac bushes before anyone else could get there. Zac and Rebekah ran behind the house. Kristen and Isaac rushed over to "Terebithia." It was a hiding place Ike had been in before, but he wanted to pull another daring stunt and figured that would be the best place to do it from. Sarah ran behind tree number five, the one that Rebekah was behind when she was pretending to be Ike. Tim was running around in circles, not wanting to go in a place he had already been. Finally, he scrambled to the lilac bushes. He didn't know Taylor was already there.
He turned around to get comfortable and jumped when he saw Taylor. "Hi, I didn't know you were back here."
"Yeah, I came here right away," Taylor whispered. He peered out from between the branches of the lilac bushes at Katie to see where she was looking. She was loudly having a conversation with herself so everyone could hear. She suddenly started singing but much quieter. She was singing "Weird" by Hanson. Katie thought that she and Rebekah sounded best singing that song, so maybe she was hoping that Rebekah would join in and give herself away.
"Uh, do you like Katie?" Tim questioned Taylor. "I won't tell her," he promised.
Taylor shrugged, "Sure, I like her, she's cool."
"Not that way. Do you really like like her?" Tim pressed.
Taylor shrugged again, "I don't know."
Tim broke into a wide grin and asked, "Do you like Rebekah?"
Taylor laughed at Tim's face. Katie's head snapped around. "Taylor, you're behind the lilacs," she shouted. She had actually taken a guess on who it was and guessed correctly. Taylor came out from behind the bushes, still grinning at what Tim said.
Rebekah peeked around the house, "Oh, no, she got Tay! We have to save him!" she reported to Zac with phony urgency.
"OK, we better put our plan into action," Zac said, playing along. They tiptoed like spies to the front yard and into the garage.
"Here's the plan," Rebekah was barely whispering, because if she did, Katie would hear her. "I'll open the door really slowly. Then you'll crawl through the door. Don't go in front of the bushes. Go between them and the house. But the bushes are really small and short, so you’ll have to be careful. Go slowly, or you will rub against the bushes and make noise. Once you get to the can tip it over with your foot some how so you can't be accused of not kicking the can."
Zac nodded as she talked. Luckily, the back garage door was already open a crack. Rebekah stuck her fingers in the opening and pulled the door open as slowly as she could. The door creaked a little, but Katie was talking to Taylor and didn't hear it. Rebekah turned around and motioned Zac through. He crouched down and crawled through the doorway. As he was turning the corner into the bushes, his hip brushed a bush. Katie's attention shifted to the garage door. She was close enough to see Zac kneeling in the grass, looking up innocently at her.
"Zac," she said, “you're by the garage door.” And he was caught.
Kristen and Isaac had been watching for Zac and Rebekah ever since they had gone behind the house. They had a little bet going.
"I bet they’re gonna make it," Isaac said. "Zac’s pretty good at sneaking around."
Kristen shook her head stubbornly, "No way, Katie will definitely catch them before he kicks the can." Each of them had faith in their own sibling.
"Wanna bet on that?" asked Isaac, looking Kristen straight in the eye. "If you win, my brothers and I will sign one of your posters. If I win..." he paused, rubbing his chin. "If I win, then, well, I’ll think of what happens when I win later."
"OK," Kristen responded slowly. Isaac put out his hand for her to shake. She took it and sealed the bet. What would Katie say when she told her that Ike shook her hand? She really wanted to win. It would be cool to have an autographed Hanson pin-up. Then it would be easier telling her friends about Hanson. Kristen glanced at Isaac as they waited for Zac and Rebekah to come out of the garage. He had his fingers by his mouth.
"I bite my nails, too," she said.
Isaac looked up, startled. He didn’t realize that Kristen was watching him. "I’m trying to quit. It doesn’t help for guitarists to bite their nails."
"Yeah, I know." Kristen had heard that in an article about Hanson before and was proud that she had something in common with Isaac. "Hah, I won!" Kristen exclaimed suddenly. Isaac turned in time to see Zac step out from the bush. He had been caught.
Katie heard Kristen and shouted, "Kristen, you’re behind ‘Terebithia!’" Kristen looked at Ike and walked away from the bush. Suddenly, Katie saw a short person run to the house. Sarah had just run from her spot. Katie saw her hair, which was a lot like Zac’s, but Zac had already been caught. "Sarah, you just ran behind the house!"
Sarah came out with her hands on her hips," How did you know it was me?"
"I saw your hair," Katie answered.
"You could have thought it was Zac," she stated.
"But Zac was already caught."
"Oh." Sarah shrugged and walked over to Zac, Taylor, and Kristen, who were all standing in a group.
Rebekah wanted to try doing what Zac did since she was still in the garage. She crouched down and starting stepping forward. Her shoulder bumped a rake by the door. The rake fell and hit her in the back. She bit her lip and winced in pain, trying not to yell.
Katie took a step forward, but still couldn’t see anyone. Rebekah hadn’t gotten out far enough yet. "Someone’s in the garage," she announced. The few people who knew that it was Rebekah didn’t say a word and kept their faces expressionless. They wanted to be freed. Katie looked over at the door again. She saw Rebekah’s head this time. "Rebekah’s in the garage," she shouted. Rebekah got up and rubbed her soar back. The people in jail asked if she was OK. Rebekah explained the whole thing while Katie looked around for Isaac and Tim.
Someone dashed out from behind the lilac bushes, running and screaming to the can. Katie knew Tim was stupid enough to do something like that, so she called out his name. Tim started his dorky laughing as he joined the other prisoners.
Isaac was the only one left. The only way he could rescue them would be to crawl as low to the ground as he could all the way around the house. He felt that he had to try, so he did. Since there was only one person Katie had to watch for, she spotted Isaac before he even got to the tree that Sarah hid behind.
Katie halted Taylor before he could start counting. "Maybe we should play in my yard now. There are a lot of places to hide. We've all, like, hid in every spot in this yard."
"Are there any code names in your yard, like 'Terebithia'?" Taylor asked.
"No, not one," answered Rebekah. The eight of them walked to Katie's yard. There was a small hill in the back of the yard, which was actually their septic system. They put the can up on that hill. As Taylor counted, the others scurried around, mentally thanking Katie for providing them with fresh places to hide. Isaac and Katie hid behind the shed on the side of the yard farthest from Rebekah's yard.
Rebekah tiptoed onto the deck. If she made a sound on the wood, Taylor would know someone was on the deck. She crouched down just beyond the sliding doors of the house, so no light would shine on her. Rebekah looked around to see where everyone else was. Zac and Sarah ran behind the pool, which took up most of the yard. They had to be extra careful in this spot. If they barely moved at all, the rocks under their feet would shift and be pretty loud. Kristen was lying down on the slide. It was a genius spot, even though it seemed obvious since the slide wasn’t very wide, and it was really close to where the person “It” was standing. Katie hid there once a long time ago when Rebekah was "It.” Rebekah found Katie last and that wasn't until Tim started talking to her from the jail, which was the swing set.
Tim had to be extra careful in getting to his hiding spot, too. He wanted to hide on the other side of the hill that the can was on. He ran low to the ground, going around the hill instead of over it, because if Taylor wasn’t closing his eyes, he would see him. He jumped down onto the grass, belly down and stayed there until Taylor yelled "20!"
Katie and Isaac peeked around the corner of the shed. Taylor was scanning the yard silently. He was the first one who hadn't talked to himself. Isaac sat down. "It was a really good idea to come over here. I think everyone was getting pretty bored over in Rebekah's yard. No offense to her though. It was fun at first. She has a lot of good hiding places in her yard."
"I know. I agree." Katie said, assuring Ike that she didn't think he was saying mean things about her friend. Hopefully, by that time she was Isaac's friend, too.
"Did Rebekah tell you we were coming to her house? You seemed so surprised," commented Isaac.
"She didn't tell me anything. I was surprised. It's not everyday that you get to meet your favorite music group." Isaac smiled. "I was also surprised that she didn't tell me. She usually can't keep gossip to herself." Isaac raised his eyebrows. Katie noticed and corrected herself, "I mean, she can keep a secret really well, she just likes gossiping, you know, about guys and stuff." She stopped talking, hoping that she hadn't made Isaac not like Rebekah.
They were silent for a few seconds, trying to figure out if Taylor was able to hear them talking or not. It didn’t seem like he could. “Katie, what do you think of Taylor and you as a couple?” Isaac asked, casually.
“Taylor? And me?” Katie acted just the way Taylor had when Tim asked him. They each had their own thoughts but wouldn’t share them with anyone. Katie quickly tried to change the subject. “I thought you and Rebekah were supposed to be the couple. You know--Isaac and Rebekah. They’re a couple in the Bible; it has to be fate.” Ike had disagreement written all over his face. “Don’t worry. I’m not being serious. But you have to admit, it is pretty weird. They’re spelled the same way too.” Katie smiled when she saw that he looked relieved. Isaac wasn’t worried. He didn’t think Katie was the match making type, anyway.
"I see, um, Rebekah on the deck," they heard Taylor say.
"Well, now we need to come up with a plan to save her," said Isaac. Katie nodded and walked around the shed to peek out the other side. She could see Sarah and Zac talking and laughing about something.
Zac and Sarah seemed like they didn't even care about the game. Instead, they had their own little conversation going. "We like reading stories about you on the Internet," Sarah was telling Zac. "The last story we read, we started making fun of the person in the story named Trina."
"Why?" asked Zac, smiling.
"I don't know. We just did. We said, 'No, ladies and gentlemen, this is not a balloon, it’s Trina on keyboards!”
"Well, that's mean," he scolded playfully.
"I know. It was so funny! She said that she was Taylor's twin sister. And she made it sound like she was fat or something."
Zac didn't really think it was all that hilarious, but something about Sarah just made him start laughing. He puffed out his cheeks and did a Santa Claus impression, except that this Santa Claus had a high voice. "Hi, I'm Trina. I'm Taylor's long lost twin. Don't I look like him?"
Sarah couldn't stop laughing. It was exactly how she had imagined Trina looking and sounding like. Zac suddenly clapped his hand over Sarah's mouth, stopping her laughter. Still smiling, he put his finger to his mouth and said, "Shhh." Sarah was still giggling but tried to keep it down.
Rebekah heard Sarah's unmistakable giggle from the big swing. She turned around to see if Taylor had heard. He hadn't. Rebekah decided to start a conversation to distract him from the game. After swatting a mosquito in front of her face, she said, "So, how's your day been?"
"Great," he replied. "I'm having lots of fun."
Rebekah nodded, "What was your favorite part of today?"
"Hmmm. The park, I guess. Everything was fun."
"I'm glad you thought so," Rebekah said, a huge grin spreading across her face.
"I'm starting to get the feeling that nobody is playing anymore," Taylor remarked, looking around the yard. "Either that," he added with a smile, "or they just don't wanna save you."
Rebekah laughed, “That can't be it.”
“You never know. They might be saying, ‘let her suffer.’”
“It's not exactly suffering. The worst part is the mosquitoes.”
“OK.” Taylor took a deep breath and yelled, “Someone come out and save Rebekah!” Rebekah spun around and looked at him with wide, amused eyes. He grinned.
"Yikes," said a voice from the slide.
"That's better. Kristen's on the slide," Taylor said with authority. Kristen sat up, looking just as surprised as Rebekah did.
Isaac looked at Katie from behind the shed. They were in the middle of planning to save Rebekah when they heard Taylor shout. It had shocked both of them.
"He's probably getting hyper," Isaac said. "He does that sometimes. He gets really funny at night. I bet Tay's just getting started." Katie listened, trying to imagine Taylor being hyper. Ike interrupted her thoughts, saying that it was time to put their plan into action.
Just as Katie was about to run out from behind the shed, she heard Taylor yell as fast as he could, "Tim is running from the back of the hill to the can, and now he's down!" Tim had tripped on something and toppled to the ground. He immediately picked himself up and joined the jail.
"You OK, bud?" asked Rebekah.
"Yeah, I'm fine," he said haughtily.
Katie didn't wait any longer. She shot out from behind the shed and ran right past the can. Taylor called her while she was running, but she didn't stop until she was past the can. Katie then stopped and tried to distract Taylor however she could, talking to him, bugging Tim, anything. While she was doing that, Isaac crept up behind him. Unfortunately, Taylor was closer to him than the can, so Isaac would have to go around Taylor to get to it.
Taylor was watching Katie fool around until he heard something in the grass. He turned to find Isaac approaching the can. Isaac stopped in his tracks. They both smiled at each other. “Hey, Ike,” Taylor said, still smiling. “Nice plan.” He put his hand on Ike’s shoulder, “It was a good effort.” Both Isaac and Katie were caught. Their plan had failed.
Still facing Ike, Taylor yelled, "Zac, you’re behind the pool. You can come out now."
Zac stood up and walked over, stunned. "How did you know?"
Taylor grinned, "Well, you know, I'm psychic." He walked toward Zac, "You are now thinking, 'who does he think he is?'." He snapped back into reality. "No, actually, I heard you and Sarah laughing. By the way," he went on, yelling now, "Sarah, you are also behind the pool!"
As Sarah walked out from behind the pool, she stopped and said, "I felt a rain drop."
Taylor tipped his face up to the sky. A fat raindrop landed squarely on his nose. Laughing, he said, "Yeah, me too." They all then spread out their arms to catch the rain.
"Cool," Kristen ejaculated, "we can play in the rain." The rain hardened, but the kids were still intent on playing in the rain. Until the thunder came. Sarah yelped in surprise and ran for her house.
"Tim, you and the guys can go home. Katie and I will come in about ten minutes or so," Rebekah instructed. They agreed and retreated to the Castro home.
