"You know, Zac!" Taylor yelled through the door as it thumped again. "Kim and i are fine in here. We have all the food we need!" Groans sounded from the other room. Kim smiled at Taylor, and he smiled back. Although they were surrounded by glass, and a warm wind howled past the broken window, they both felt safe right where they were. Taylor ripped open the cracker box and loudly chomped on the cheddar crackers.
Kim took a couple, too, saying loudly, "Mmm! These crackers are so good!"
"You're such a punk, Kim!" Courtney screamed.
Zac gave up hurting his shoulder. "Guys, it really isn't going to move."
Courtney pondered for a moment. "Both windows are broken," she reminded the people in her room, "so they can just crawl out one window and into the other one." Everyone looked at her as if she had lost it. "No, really, the windows are really close together and close to the ground. It's completely safe."
"You seem to be forgetting what broke the windows in the first place," Isaac told her, "stuff is flying all around out there."
Courtney didn't care. She liked a good adventure. "Nicole, you'll come with me, won't you? You've always wanted to chase tornadoes."
Nicole slinked back against the bar in fear. Zac grinned. "You wanted to chase tornadoes, too? Gotta love Twister," he said.
"yeah, that's my favorite movie," Nicole gushed.
"So..."Courtney pressed. Nicole refused.
"Then I'm going by myself." She grabbed Isaac's shoes and put them on.
"You could kill yourself out there!" Steve exclaimed, trying to persuade his big sister not to go.
"How stupid are you that you're gonna walk outside in a tornado?" Lindsey said. Courtney was set on doing this. Nothing could convince her, not even--
"Courtney, please don't do this," Isaac pleaded quietly. The tone in his voice made Courtney want to turn around and jump back onto the couch beside him, but she was too prideful by then. Taking one last, shaky breath, she ascended Shannon's emergency ladder and climbed through the window. her jeans protected her hips from the razor sharp glass still attached to the window frame. The wind sent her long, brown hair swirling in all directions. the other window was only ten short feet away. Crawling low to the ground along the wet grass, she tried to ignore the deafening thunder and flashing lightning. The glass on the other window had completely blown off, so she was in no danger of scratching herself until she got inside. Gazing inside, Courtney searched the room for her two friends. Hunched next to the pantry was Kim and Taylor. They were surrounded by shimmering glass particles. The scene was almost angelic.
Courtney carefully lowered herself through the small window, startling them both. Since she had shoes on, Courtney fearlessly tramped through the glass. "You know there are two other Taylor lovers out there, right?" she lectured.
Kim stared at Courtney. She was soaking wet and was standing there, accusing them of ignoring Shannon and Lori. "We're just waiting for Zac to knock the door down."
"This was the only place not covered in glass," Taylor explained. "By the way, did you know it's storming ouseide?"
Courtney laughed and grinned prouldy. "Yeah, and so will you. You're coming back with me."
"Can't we try the door again?" begged Kim.
Taylor walked over to the door and yanked at the knob. "Zac!" he yelled, "you push while I pull!" When he was sure Zac was ready, he called, "Go!" Courtney stood at a distance, watching Taylor in disapproval. The door edged its way toward Taylor, popping open at the last second. Zac tumbled to the floor, face first.
"I got wet for nothing," Courtney grumbled, snatching the crackers away from Kim.
"We appreciate your effort," Kim offered. Courtney took her reserved spot next to Ike and dug her wet hand into the cardboard cracker box. Locating a nearby blanket, Isaac wrapped it around Courtney's shoulders. She paused in her chewing to thank him.
"You were getting me all wet," he said playfully. Courtney shot him a glare. Because Taylor wanted to get his daily dosage of cheese, he sat on the arm of the couch next to Courtney, so he would get some crackers.
From behind the bar, Lindsey asked if anyone wanted something to drink. Of course, everyone did, so she pitched soda cans and water bottles to her friends. Then, she took a water for herself and sprawled into the papizan. "Hey Courtney," she said, "guess what song!" Taking a gulp, Lindsey tipped her head back and gargled a few tones.
"Is it a Hanson song?" Lindsey nodded. "Do it again." Lindsey remembered how bad Courtney was at guessing in this game as she gargled again.
"Is it 'Where's the Love?'" Lori guessed.
"No, it's 'Speechless,'" Shannon corrected. After studying the works of Hanson for two solid years, religiously, Shannon could probably name any song in any form.
"Lemme try that!" Zac said. He chugged his Dr. Pepper and tilted his chin back a little. After gurgling a few notes, Zac felt the bubbles rise up into his nose. Instinctively, he split the soda into his hand. Looking at all the disgusted faces, he shrugged and said, "Dang fizz." Again, he tried gargling his song.
"'Cried?'"
"'I Will Come to You?'"
"'Rain?'"
Isaac suddenly remembered something. "Zac, they don't know that song."
You punker wanker!" Courtney shouted, chucking a cracker at his head.
"Sing it to us," Nicole suggested.
Taylor made eye contact with his brothers. Then, he sat down between Lori and Kim on the floor. Zac took a seat near the candles next to Nicole. With one arm behind Lori and one arm free, Taylor pointed out the beat. He began singing, and Isaac immediately matched the tone in low harmony. A second after that, Nicole felt Zac's arm go around her waist and heard his pubertized voice singing high harmony.
The song was absolutely fabulous. The harmony was more complex than most other songs of theirs. The tune was slower and smooth, but it sped up at the chorus. All the girls adored Zac's mini solo that came at the end of each chorus. The line was "and it hurts deep down inside." His voice grew louder and whinier at that part, similar to Taylor's voice. It was a short song and seemed to be over way too soon. Theresa's head rested on Zac's shoulder, her tired eyes drooping. Not only she was exhausted. Courtney's legs were scrunched up close to her still wet body. Shivering, she pulled the blanket around her shoulders tighter.
