"I wanna play ping pong," said Kristen.
"Good idea," Rebekah agreed. She stood up to lead everyone to her house.
"You have a ping pong table in your house?" Taylor asked.
"Yeah, a really old one, though. We also have a really old pool table." She looked at Zac pointedly when she mentioned the pool table, because she knew he liked pool.
"Cool!" Zac exclaimed, running up to his brothers. He draped one arm over Taylor's shoulder and one over Isaac's and lifted himself off the ground. They both bent over, not expecting him to do that and pushed him off.
"Wanna have a ping pong tournament," suggested Tim. The other seven agreed right away. As they walked into the basement, they figured out the teams. They decided that team one would be Rebekah and Isaac, team two was Kristen and Tim, team three was Katie and Taylor, and team four would be Sarah and Zac, since none of them had ever been together. Katie suggested not doing a tournament, so every team could play everyone else.
Kristen was really bummed that she didn't get to be with a Hanson. Instead she got stuck with Tim. They were friends sometimes, but a lot of times, they got on each other's nerves. She was always calling Tim a jerk.
Tim was less than thrilled also. He wanted to be with anyone but Kristen and Sarah. He wouldn't even mind being with Rebekah. Sometimes they were good buddies, but most of the time they fought, too.
Sarah was ecstatic that she got to be with Zac. She wanted to do really well so he would be proud.
Zac didn't really care whom he was with. He thought all the Castros and Hadlers were cool. He also wanted to start a pool tournament the second Ping-Pong was over.
Taylor wouldn't mind being with anyone, but he was secretly glad that he was with Katie. He would never admit this to Rebekah. He would tell Isaac and Zac, though. Tonight, maybe. Well, Rebekah got her way.
Katie just wanted to be with a Hanson. She didn't care which one, because she liked all of them equally.was right.
Rebekah was satisfied. Taylor and Katie were together. She hadn't been with Isaac all day and was glad she could be on his team for something. She used to think Ike was cool and funny. Now she could prove it.
Isaac didn't care whom he was with. He was impressed how they had been able to make different teams each time a game came up.
"Hold on," Rebekah told her friends, "It's way too quiet down here. I need music."
Isaac laughed. He also noticed the eerie silence in the dirty basement. As Zac leaped into the old couch next to the Ping-Pong table, dust flew up into Taylor's nose. He sneezed and bumped into the chalkboard. Since the chalkboard was set on a chair, it teetered dangerously. Isaac dove at it and caught it before it fell.
"All because of a little dust!" Tim observed, causing everyone to laugh.
"Their basement is disgusting," Kristen complained. She grabbed a nearby pool stick and poked at the dense cobwebs in the corner. A spider scurried out of his home and onto the stick Kristen was holding. Because Kristen was watching Rebekah lug the big CD player down the creaky wooden steps, she didn't notice the small spider inching closer to her hand.
"Uh, Kristen," Sarah started, looking warily at the spider.
Kristen looked down at her hand. She dropped the stick in disgust and jumped back. The spider scurried across the cold concrete floor back into its home. "Don't you ever clean down here?" demanded Kristen.
Rebekah's face turned red and clashed with her orange T-shirt. "I tried. It's cleaner than it was." She walked over to the Ping-Pong table, trying to avoid tripping on her long pants. Earlier that summer, Katie and Rebekah came up with an idea to make a video to send to Hanson. In part of the video, they would dress up like a Hanson and do a music video. Rebekah found some ugly gray corduroys in her dad's closet that were too small for him. Since that day, she wore those pants when she went outside and didn't want to get her jeans dirty. Rebekah called them her "Ike pants."
"Why'd you change?" asked Katie."Did you pee in your pants when you saw Hanson?" Tim teased.
"No," Rebekah snapped indignantly, "I was cold." She handed a paddle to Kristen, Tim, Isaac, and kept one for herself. Katie offered to keep score. Rebekah and Isaac took the side closest to the chalkboard and the stairs. Kristen was across from Isaac by the wall. Tim and Rebekah were on the side by the pool table. They all played games to fifteen. Tim was really good, but he didn't cooperate well with Kristen on his team. Also, Rebekah knew all his strategies, because she had played against him many times before. Rebekah and Isaac were both good and they won by five points.and Taylor switched places with Rebekah and Isaac. Sarah and Zac went on the other side. Sarah was "athletically challenged" and the team couldn't compete with Taylor and Katie. Zac didn't want to be a ball hog, like Tim had been with Kristen, so he let Sarah go for a few. Katie and Taylor won. and Isaac switched with Zac and Sarah for the next game. Rebekah passed the ball and it bounced onto Katie's side. Katie swung and missed, even though it was an easy hit.
"Oh yeah," Katie started. Picking up the ball from the ground, she threw it in the air and smacked it as hard as she could onto Rebekah and Isaac's side of the tablecaught it off the bounce.
"Sorry, Katie. You were just too late. Better luck next time." They continued the game, Taylor and Katie winning by two points. every team had played everybody, they tried to figure out who won. They decided Taylor and Katie had, since they won the most games. Ike and Rebekah weren't far behind. No one mentioned who was in last place even when Tim wanted to know. They didn't want to make anyone feel bad. Tim figured out himself that Zac and Sarah hadn't won any games. He wisely didn't say anything, though.
Zac knew what to do next. "Who wants to play pool?" Ike, Taylor, Tim, and Rebekah all did. They would need two teams of two for pool, so one person would have to leave. That worked out perfectly, because the Hadlers needed one more person for Ping-Pong. Taylor finally offered to play Ping-Pong. Sarah invited Taylor to her team playing against Katie and Kristen. Taylor looked beyond the fact that Zac and Sarah had been last place and joined her team, a smile on his face.
The "pool-people" were having a little bit more trouble choosing teams. "Tim and I were already both with Ike before, so we should be together. Besides, it would be fun to have a game of Castros versus Hansons," argued Rebekah.
"But I don't wanna be with her!" Tim whined, "She sucks!"
"What a nice thing to say about your sister," Isaac said.
"I don't suck, Tim, I'm probably better than you!" Rebekah quarreled.
"Yeah, right, I'm better than you at everything." After a few seconds of fighting, they ended up defending themselves and each other against everyone else's criticism. They had to be on the same team to prove everyone else wrong. The Hansons were relieved that the confrontation was over.
"How long have you lived in this house?" Zac asked as he tapped the ball with the pool stick. It hit the two ball, which dropped into the corner pocket.
"About nine years. I think this pool table was here when we moved in. We got that Ping-Pong table from our grandma maybe a year ago." answered Rebekah.
Zac nodded and took his next turn."How long have you lived here, Katie?" he asked across the room.
"Six years in April," she replied without hesitation.
"Before that there was a field next to our house," Tim explained.
"Don't even go there, Tim," Katie warned. She knew that every time someone mentioned the field, the two families would start to argue. Tim and Rebekah were mad when the house was built because they liked running in the field. Now, Rebekah was happier with the Hadler's living there, but Katie thought that Tim still wanted the field since there was no one his age in the Hadler family. Tim didn't say anything more and they all continued their games.
Taylor and Sarah seemed to be working a little better as a team then Sarah and Zac had been. Katie noticed this when they actually were leading for awhile until she and Kristen were ahead again. They rhythmically hit it back and forth, distracting the people playing pool. Luckily, none of them really had to concentrate on the game much. Kristen spiked the ball at Sarah. Sarah reacted by swinging her paddle as hard as she could, sending the ball flying across the room. Everything seemed to be in slow motion as the two teams watched to see whom it would hit. It was heading straight at the back of Rebekah's head. At the last second, she stepped to the left and the ball went over her right shoulder. She spun around and glared accusingly at them. They all shrugged their shoulders and laughed."Sorry," Sarah said quietly, "at least it didn't hit you. Am I going down?" she asked, referring to a favorite phrase of Rebekah's.
Rebekah smiled and said, "Not this time. But you better sleep with one eye open tonight." They finished up their separate games and took a seat around the room. Rebekah hopped onto the pool table. Kristen, Katie, Taylor, and Sarah--in that order--sat down on the dusty couch close to the Ping-Pong table. Zac joined Rebekah on the pool table. Tim and Isaac stood.
"Let's play 'killer'," Sarah recommended. Those who knew how to play it immediately vetoed that idea. Isaac, Taylor, and Zac wanted to know how to play it, but they were told to drop it.
"What about 'Ghost in the graveyard'?" suggested Zac. Katie groaned quietly.
"Kick the can," Tim voiced, ignoring Zac.
"Yeah!" Kristen and Sarah agreed. Katie still kept an unsatisfied look on her face, but she agreed, too. She didn't usually like playing that game, but she figured it would be a blast with Hanson there.
"So, is it decided?" Isaac questioned."Yep, I guess so," said Rebekah. She reviewed the rules as they walked outside. After some "discussion," they decided to play the version where the person "It" had to stay by the can. To figure out who would be "It" they all put their feet in a circle. Tim was "It" first.counted to twenty as the others looked for hiding spots around the yard. Rebekah ran to her favorite spot. It was behind a small bush right next to her house. Behind the bush was a picnic bench that she loved to climb through to get to the other side of the house. From the other side it was much easier to kick the can without being caught.
Isaac walked quickly to the three lilac bushes. They were behind the middle maple tree that they climbed earlier that day and the one next to it closer to Katie's house. The three bushes were close together, so no matter where he sat behind them, he would be well hidden.went to the spot she hid in a lot. It was a group of bushes pretty close to Rebekah's other neighbor's yard. The girls called it "Terebithia," because it used to be their little hideout sort of like in the book, Bridge to Terebithia. It was also very well hidden because of how close the bushes were and how far away it was from the can. It's really hard for the person "It" to see someone there unless headlights from a car driving on the road behind their houses would shine on them. Zac saw this great hiding spot and joined Katie behind it.
Kristen knew where she was going to hide right away. She loved hiding in the front yard. It wasn't fair since the person who was "It" couldn't see you until you were right behind them, but that's why she liked it. Sarah followed Isaac behind the lilac bushes. She hid herself closer to the bushes than Ike did, because she was worried that if she sat too far back a car light would shine on her and give her away.
Taylor was having problems finding a good place to hide. The best spots were taken already. Tim was about to say "20," so he dove behind the closest tree, which was the tree in front of "Terebithia."
Tim scanned the yard, but he couldn't see much. A car drove by at that moment, so he watched the area of his yard by the road. He thought he saw someone's shadow, but he didn't want to be accused of guessing who it was, which was a sin in this game, so he yelled, "Come on, ya wimps! Why don't you go ahead and run!" Of course no one did.
"I think he almost saw me," Isaac whispered to Sarah. "Do you think I could make it without being seen if I crawled over to where Katie and Zac are?"
"Where are Katie and Zac hiding?" Sarah asked. She had been to concerned finding her own hiding spot and didn't pay attention to where the others hid.
"They're over behind that group of bushes on the other side of the yard," Isaac said, pointing.
Sarah looked a little worried. Her method was to stay in her spot as long as she could, until at least one person was caught. This way she was never "It." Besides, it was a pretty long way to crawl, and she doubted he could make it. "No way! Tim would see you," she finally answered.
Isaac thought for a minute and said, "Maybe, but he wouldn't know who I am." He remembered that Rebekah changed into pants that looked a lot like his. He was hoping Tim would think she was crawling and not Isaac. "I'm gonna go for it," he said, leaving Sarah staring at him.
Zac and Katie were searching the yard to see where everyone was hiding. "I see Taylor behind that tree," Katie said, pointing to the tree in front of them.
"Kristen went behind the house," Zac informed her. They both saw that Tim was getting bored and had started singing to himself. They were also getting bored, and the mosquitoes were starting to bug them. Zac looked past Katie and spotted Isaac, "Katie, look at Ike!" Katie looked over and saw him crawling to their tree. Another car drove by. Isaac nervously glanced at the road and flattened himself to the ground. They watched in awe. "I'm gonna try to go by Tay, OK?" Zac said.
Katie nodded her head and began shaking the branches of the small tree by her. She remembered that Zac was trying to sneak over to Taylor, so she stopped, but it was too late.
Tim's head snapped in the direction of the tree she was shaking."Well," he said, talking to anyone who would listen, "I know someone is behind Terebithia." When he mentioned "Terebithia," both Zac and Isaac looked at Katie in confusion. She shook her head, indicating that she would explain later. "I'm not gonna guess who it is like Kristen always does."
Tim suddenly heard a faint, "What?!" in the front yard. He assumed it was Kristen since he just "dissed" her. "Kristen's behind the house!" he yelled. In reality it was the front yard, but from their perspective, it was "behind." Kristen came around the house with an angry look on her face. She walked past Tim silently and played with the clothesline, wrapping her fingers around the chords.
Zac felt braver now that someone was already out. He crouched low to the ground and walked on his hands and knees to Taylor. Taylor turned around, surprised to see his brother grinning back at him. "How'd you get here?" he asked.
Zac explained while Isaac crawled the rest of the way towards Katie.
Tim looked back at the road and saw Isaac."Rebekah's crawling to 'Terebithia'!" he shouted. Isaac laughed. His plan was working. "Well, if it's not Rebekah, it's Taylor!" Tim guessed wrong again. "I mean Ike!"
Isaac collapsed to the ground, laughing uncontrollably. "Finally!" he yelled back to Tim. He stood up and joined Kristen and Tim at the corner of the house.
By that time, Rebekah had decided to sneak around to the front of the house and try to kick the can. She doubted it would work, but figured, "What do I have to lose?" She ran around the house and to the other side where Tim and the can were. She got as close to the brick as she could. If Tim backed up any more, he'd be able to see her. He took a step back but didn't look at where she was. She ran at the can as fast as she could. Tim was faster. He spun around when he heard her feet on the grass and caught her.
Katie noticed that Zac and Taylor were whispering to each other. She watched them until Zac came back around the tree to her side again. "What were you whispering about?" she asked.
"We have a plan. It probably won't work, but it's worth a try. You, Tay, and me will all charge at the same time, not making a sound. He'll see us but he won't hear us. Maybe he'll be so surprised that by the time he gets all of our names out, one of us will have kicked the can." Katie also doubted it would work, since she knew how fast Tim was at calling names, but she thought it sounded fun, so she went along with it. Zac stayed by her and began to loudly count to three, so Taylor could hear him, too. On three, they ran out from behind their trees and headed to the can.
Tim was surprised, but only for a second."Katie running! Zac running! Taylor running!" he yelled as loud and as fast as he could. The three of them stopped running and stood by Isaac, Kristen, and Rebekah, panting a little. "Sarah, come out! I caught everyone else!" Sarah appeared from behind the lilac bushes. Sarah walked toward everyone else she heard Rebekah say to Ike, "That was so cool how you snuck over to 'Terebithia.'"
"OK, wait, what is 'Terebithia'?" Zac demanded. Katie laughed, remembering the look on their faces when Tim said that word. She and Rebekah explained how they made a "secret" hideout (which wasn't very secret at all) and wanted to keep food and books and stuff in there. Katie even told them about how the two of them were going to buy two chickens and keep them in there. Zac thought it was pretty cool until he heard about the chick part. He was comparing "Terebithia" to his tree house at home.
