"Hey, dogbreath," my eldest brother, Luke, greeted Becca and I as we entered the kitchen through the back door.
"Hey yourself, fruitloop," I responded.
"Hey, Bec. Lookin' good. Still with Steve?" Luke's only fascination with my best friend is that she's the only girl who doesn't scream in terror at the sight of him in his boxers, a result of many sleepovers.
"Yes, Tiny Tim, I'm still with Steve." Luke blushed. "Now get out of my way, Rico Suave. I got a date with Lisa's VCR." Becca brushed past my brother and headed for the stairs.
"What is it with girls and appliances that run on batteries?" Luke asked. He was about to lose battle 403 with Rebecca. Why he insists on engaging in these verbal battles, only to lose, is beyond me.
"No backtalk. By the way nimwad, the VCR doesn't run on batteries," my best friend shouted from the stairwell. I snickered. I'm convinced this is why Becca and I are best friends; I think it, she says it.
I raced up the stairs, taking two at a time. I found Becca lying on my bed, flipping through the latest issue of YM. She already had the VCR rewinding the tape we've been waiting all week to watch.
"Hey, Bec. There's something for ya under my bed," I told her.
She leaned over, lifted the dust ruffle, and pulled out a rolled up poster. She unrolled it and screamed. "Ahhh! A 'Jerry MacGuire' poster!! This is going up as SOON as I get home. Thanks SO MUCH!" Becca grinned from ear to ear.
"Don't mention it," I told her. "Free posters are just one of the perks of working in Video Den. As a matter of fact, they're the ONLY perk." Rebecca giggled. "Besides," I continued, "next weekend is Friends-n-Family weekend at Express. I'm buttering you up to insure my extra forty percent off all merchandise." Becca is a cashier at our favorite store, Express.
My best friend threw a pillow at me, which is her answer for just about everything. "Well, it worked. Tommy for forty percent off is a fair trade."
The tape stopped rewinding. I grabbed the remote and joined Becca on my bed. "What are you waiting for? Hit the play button already!" my best friend instructed. I did as I was told.
"Is it me, or does this seem completely bizarre?" I asked Rebecca.
"What? Watching three boys on TV who you watched 'Top Gun' with in my bedroom three months ago? What's so bizarre about that? Doesn't everyone?"
"You're such a smartass, you know that? And yes, that's what I was referring to." This week was Hanson's big week in New York. While Becca and I were at school, my trusty VCR taped the band's appearances. Now, on this rainy Saturday afternoon, we were watching the guys play "Mmmbop," and fast forwarding through the majority of the tape.
"Going to the party at Drew's tonight?" Becca asked, examining her manicured nails.
I snorted. "Who isn't? Everyone and their mother is going to be there."
"My mother better not be there!"
"You dork!"
"Ooh, play! They're on!"
I pressed the play button. I can't believe they graced this moronic show with their presence." I wrinkled my nose in disgust. "I swear, when Kathie Lee talks it looks like she's chewing her face."
Becca laughed. "I don't like her anymore than you do. But seriously, the guys couldn't have picked a better time to be on this stupid show. Everyone and the pope is watching to see if Kathie will crack since she can't gush about Frank, seeing as how his halo's tarnished from the affair and all."
"How the HELL did you get that all out in one breath?"
Rebecca shrugged.
"Ah! The Partridge Family reference is the last straw!" I picked up the remote.
"NO! Don't fast forward! I want to hear them sing!" Becca snatched the remote from me. "Get a hold of yourself. There are worse things than Kathie Lee."
I rolled my eyes. "Oh yeah? Name one."
"I can name five. Ginger, Scary, Baby, Sporty, and Posh," said Becca matter-of-factly.
"Point taken."
"Shut up. They're about to sing."
"Whoa."
"Whoa what?" asked Becca.
"Taylor. He sounds so... different."
"And you're surprised? Hello!?! You have FOUR brothers."
"Yeah, yeah... I know, puberty. It's just... he didn't say much when I met him. I'm kinda taken aback, that's all," I explained.
"Didn't say much? Are you kidding? The boy never shuts up! Oh, wait! He DID shut up once."
"When?"
Becca smiled. "The minute you walked through the door. The boy's got a crush on you, or at least he had one. Ike confirmed it the next day at the Dust Brothers' house."
"I'm sure Taylor would appreciate Ike talking about his crushes with some girl they only knew one day."
"Who said anything about crushes? It was just you. One crush."
I bopped Becca over the head with the YM she had been leafing through earlier. "You don't have to get so technical. Have you heard from them lately?" I asked as the commercial break ended and Hanson burst into an acoustic rendition of "Madeline."
My best friend sighed. "No. I got one letter from Zac a while back. I also got a letter from all three of them along with a copy of the CD. And now they're gonna be in Europe, so keeping in touch will basically be mission impossible."
"Too bad. Think we'll ever see them again?"
Rebecca shook her head. "Unless it's through a TV screen, absolutely not."