february

daniel parker

countdown: february

Jessica had only so much tolerance for the color pink. The walls in her bedroom were pink, and that was fine. She had some pink clothes, like most girls, and those didn't bother her either. She even had a pink teddy bear. But Jessica had never cared for pink hair.

It had all started innocently enough. Jessica had been in the kitchen helping Avery make some jello for their mother, who had a sore throat. They'd been making raspberry, Mrs. Hanson's favorite flavor. And out of nowhere, right while Jessica was adding in the cool water, Mrs. Hanson walked into the room unannounced.

The girls had been unprepared, they'd wanted the jello to be a surprise. Out of instinct, they had both taken a dive to cover the bowl so their mother couldn't see it's contents. Somehow during that time, the bowl had flipped over and the contents splashed out over everything.

Jessica and Avery sat in stunned silence, both dripping uncongealed raspberry jello mix onto the kitchen floor. To their surprise, their mother had started to laugh.

She had later made them clean the mess up, although Jessica did most of the work while Avery had a bath. Isaac and Mr. Hanson had felt bad for Jessica, and offered her a little help. And by the time Jessica had finished cleaning, and Avery was out of the bath, Jessica's clothes were stained eternal pink.

To her absolute horror, when Jessica had gone in for her own bath, she realized that her clothes were not the only things which could be stained pink by the jello mix. She had tried for almost an hour, scrubbing and washing until the hot water had run out. And still her hair was of a light pink hue.

Jessica's family found great amusement in her sufferings, and teased her relentlessly about her hair all afternoon. Taylor had been the one to think of a remedy,by calling a friend of his who often dyed their hair with jello and drink mixes all of the time. Taylor's friend had reassured Jessica that her hair would be fine in a week or two when the color faded out.

And so, here she was in the rec room with her brothers, waiting for someone to start the chat for the second book in the Count Down series, by Daniel Parker. "Somebody start this already!" Jessica looked to each of her brothers in turn. "Can we all pick a favorite chapter, maybe?" she suggested. Isaac nodded his head in a distracted way. Jessica grew irritated. "Will all of you stop staring at my hair and start now, please?" she whined. That seemed to have worked, because the boys suddenly regained their focus and all began talking at once.

"Good idea about the chapters, Jess."

"Oh, I liked the one where-"

"How did that happen to your hair,again, Jessica?" Jessica rolled her eyes and hid a smile. They had no idea how ridiculous they all sounded.

"Why don't we start with Isaac, since he's the TA?" suggested Taylor.

"Kiss up." Zac whispered and nudged Taylor in the ribs.

"That's enough, both of you." Isaac said sternly. Zac and Taylor reluctantly gave in. "Now, back to the discussion. Let's go along with Jessica's idea. Someone give me a favorite chapter." Isaac glanced around at the three of them, waiting for a response. They all seemed thoughtful.

Zac was the first to decide on a chapter he liked best. "I like the chapter when Josh jumps off the cliff. That's really cool, especially because until then you're meant to think he died in the last book."

"Oh yeah. I forgot that one. That was good." Taylor agreed.

"I liked it too." Jessica added.

"And I'll make it unanimous, that was a good chapter." Isaac agreed.

They all went back into thought again. Taylor was the next to speak up. "I know one. Remember that chapter at the end where Julia and George run away from those weird, satanic girls with the booze?" he suggested.

"Yes, I held my breath they would get away." Jessica admitted with a giggle.

Isaac smiled. "They ought have run someone over," he teased.

"Eww, you're terrible Isaac." Zac said. "But I thought that chapter was good too," he added as an afterthought.

"Remember the chapter when George is experimenting with his alcohol tolerance?" Jessica suggested.

The others chuckled in approval.

"Or the chapter when all of the kids jump into the frozen river trying to get to 'The Chosen One '." Isaac added. The children shivered at the thought.

"That was creepy." Zac mumbled to himself more than anyone.

"I liked that one too." Jessica admitted. "In a cringing sort of way, it was good." she added.

"Isaac only liked that chapter because it had Ariel in it." Taylor teased.

"Well there's the last time I ever tell you anything." Isaac retorted and rolled his eyes.

Taylor seemed amused. "He has a crush on one of the books' characters." Taylor announced smugly.

The others were confused. "I didn't know that was possible." mused Zac.

"Never mind. Let's get back on track with this chat. Does anyone have a guess who the 'Chosen One ' might be?" Isaac asked.

"I think Julia. Because she keeps seeing herself stabbing the demon."

Jessica said without having to stop and think it over at all.

"Oh yeah. But I think it must be Sarah, because only she can read those scrolls." Taylor argued.

"I have NO idea. Oh please don't make me guess?" Zac exaggerated by throwing himself on the floor and looking up pleadingly at his siblings.

Isaac chuckled. "Fine Zac, there's no need to panic." he teased.

"And someone pull him up off that floor." he added.

"I can do it myself." Zac brushed away Taylor and Jessica and got back up to his chair.

"Well, I think it must be Ariel." Isaac grinned. He noticed the eye rolls directed at him by his younger siblings. "What? She must have some reason for being in the story!" Isaac argued. He laughed, and shortly it was echoed by the others.

"I used to defend you when people said you were strange, Isaac."

Taylor shook his head in an amused way. "Now I think I'll just have to agree with them." he faked a sigh.

SWAP!

Taylor got nailed in the face with a sofa cushion for the remark. "Ouch!" Taylor rubbed his forehead. "That shouldn't have hurt, what's in that cushion?" he added with a confused glance at Jessica.

"That's where Avery and I hid the teas." Jessica said sheepishly.

Isaac and Zac howled with laughter. Taylor just rubbed at his forehead and grumbled to himself.

"That's about right." he complained.

A few minutes later, the others settled down and the chat continued as usual. "Any favorite quotes, anyone?" Taylor tried.

Zac grinned to himself. "I like the part where Josh is arguing with that boy he calls Baldy, and he says 'In case you haven't noticed anything, the world is coming to an end. ' and the bald kid grips the steering wheel tightly," he said.

The others murmured their agreements. "I like that entry in Ariel's diary where she thinks everyone is in on a big inside joke that she doesn't understand, because of all those kids looking for 'The Chosen One ' and that." Taylor shot a smug look at Isaac, as if to say 'I said it first."

Isaac wasn't bothered. He had a different quote. "I was thinking of the girls who were at the liquor store, who took George and Julia and Luke to that house in the woods. The one named Amanda, she said..." He closed his eyes and recalled it exactly, word for word. "She said 'Haven't you ever wondered what's happening to the world?' and then George stutters some, and she goes on. 'So have I. But then my friends and I just kind of figured, what's the point of wondering?' and then she goes on about how they can't do anything about it one way or the other. 'We should all just get our kicks while we can.' That was their philosophy." Isaac finished.

"That was a mouthful." Zac said.

"Isaac, why on earth did you memorize almost an entire page of the book?" Taylor's eyebrows were arched in disbelief.

Jessica just shook her head. Isaac couldn't think of a response to anyone, because he wasn't sure why he'd done that. Instead, he changed the subject. "That's about a rap, everyone. I want you to write your thoughts about the 'Chosen One ' down from now on. And does anyone remember those predictions we made? Keep track of them, and see who ends up being right about things. Make sure your 'Chosen One' papers are at least three pages, and have them turned in to Mom by Tuesday," he finished.

A chorus of groans met the assignment, as usual. Isaac made a sweeping gesture toward the door. "Dismissed," he informed them cheerfully.

"You aren't really a teacher, you know." Taylor retorted as he passed.

"Yes, but I get so much fulfillment out of pretending that I don't know that." Isaac chirped in response.

Note from the author:
*Thank You* to Jackie, of course.
Kizzy, for encouragement and editing help.
Ingrid, for some input.
Rita, for reminding me to say "jello" instead of "jelly."
Christie, helping me find quotes and specifics.

You're all so sweet. *grin*

-Liz*