"I'm bored!" Zac Hanson announced to his brothers after throwing down the Nintendo controller. "The word hasn't been invented for how bored I am."
They'd finished their pizza and each of them had found something to do. Isaac was strumming his guitar again while Taylor surfed the Internet on their laptop. Their father still hadn't returned from his meeting with their manager.
Zac, not satisfied that he'd grabbed enough attention, made his announcement again. "I'm bored!"
"We know, Zac," Ike muttered. "Find something else to do."
"Like what?"
The eldest Hanson brother grinned. "The balcony's right outside. You could play Superman."
"Ha-ha! Very funny, Chewbacca."
"Hey, guys," Taylor suddenly said.
"Yeah, Tay, what is it?" Isaac responded.
Taylor had been reading the e-mail received on Hansonline, their official web-site. It was mostly filled with messages from young girls pledging their undying love to the brother of choice. Sometimes, though, they received more serious messages, like the one Tay had pulled up now.
"Come here, guys. Check out this message."
"Who's it from?" Zac asked, peering over his brother's shoulder at the screen.
"I don't know," Taylor responded. "Some guy - Noah Barnes."
Isaac grabbed the laptop and read the entire message twice. "Man, that's some heavy stuff."
"You think it's legit?"
"I don't know, Tay, we've gotten some pretty weird stuff over the net."
"There's a phone number here at the bottom," Zac observed. "Let's call him."
Isaac picked up the phone. "Is it local? What's the number?"
"555-8481."
He dialed and received a busy signal. "It's busy, guys," he said, hanging up the phone.
"Well," Taylor began, "that means he's home, right?"
"Yeah, I suppose. What are you getting at, little brother?"
Tay smiled. "You guys up for a little adventure?"
Zac's face lit up - the answer to his boredom. "Like what?"
"Let's pay this guy a visit."
"Yeah, right, Tay," Ike said. "Great plan - we show up unannounced at his doorstep?"
"Come on, Ike, it's perfect!"
"Taylor, we have no idea who he is. How do we know he's not some serial killer?"
"Serial killers don't give out their home addresses, Isaac," Zac chimed in.
"Come on, Ike, it's worth a shot."
Isaac thought for a moment. He knew it was useless to object. Taylor and Zac would probably call a cab and go without him. "Alright," he finally said. "Call Andrew and find out where this address is. Maybe he'll even be willing to drive us."
Zac jumped up and down. "Woo Hoo!"
"Noah, please, let me in!"
Marcie Barnes had been pounding on her son's door for five minutes. It was no use - he wouldn't answer. "Talk to me, Noah!"
If only he would speak, just so she would know that he was okay. That's all she wanted. She needed to know that her son was going to be all right. Sitting down on the floor in front of his door, she buried her head in her hands and began to weep.
It hadn't been hard for the brothers to convince Andrew to drive them to meet the writer of the mysterious e-mail. In fact, it had almost been too easy. Isaac wondered why a rational adult would go along with such a hair-brained scheme, but it didn't matter now. The four of them were already on their way, cruising down the highway in Andrew's red convertible.
Noah flipped on his CD player and placed the Hanson disc inside. It was almost time.
His mother's shouting and pounding had finally stopped about twenty minutes ago. He assumed that she'd given up hope and returned downstairs. It was bad enough that he was going to end his life, but he didn't think he could have done it with his mom sitting right outside.
Once again, he selected track twelve and set it to repeat. Taylor Hanson's voice filled the room.
If I'm gone when you wake up please don't cry
And if I'm gone when you wake up it's not goodbye
Don't look back at this time as a time of heartbreak and distress
Remember me, remember me, 'cause I'll be with you in your dreams
With tears streaming down his face, he picked up the gun from his desk and removed the safety.
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eight
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