Chapter 13: .The.Rosie.O'Disaster.Show. "So, guess what, folks? The cutie patooties are back and better than ever! Please give a warm welcome for the Tulsa trio...HANSON!!!!!!!!!""
Taylor had been waiting backstage for his introduction nad noticed his palms were moist from his nervousness. When he saw his two brothers jogging in the direction of their instruments on the stage, he followed in close pursuit.
"Hey, how are you guys doin'?" Tay shouted into the microphone. He did it just how his brothers made him practice it.
After making careful eye contact with each other, the tape began rolling and they launched into faking their instruments.
Tay glanced at the crowd which was filled with teenage girls screaming their names like there was no tomorrow. He looked over at Rosie, who was sitting to the side, and she was bopping her head and tapping her foot, enjoying the music.
The performance was going great, and silently, Isaac, Taylor, and Zac were incredibly relieved. For the lack of a better phrase, however, they counted their chickens before they hatched. When they approached the instrumental bridge, Taylor enthusiastically opened his mouth wide, mouthing the next verse a little too soon. When he realized no vocals were coming from the speakers, he flushed with embarrassment and looked at his brothers. Zac hadn't noticed, but by the apalled countenance displayed all over Ike's, he was sure he had. Apparantly, he had been keeping a close eye on him.
An unmistakable gasp could be heard from the crowd as well. If anyone had their doubts they were lip syncing, they knew now.
After this disaster, they did the best they could and finished the song. When they did, Tay directed his eyes to the floor. He couldn't face the crowd, Rosie, his manager, his brothers, or the rest of his family after that.
Isaac covered for him by sending a sincere thanks into his mic.
"Don't go anywhere! When we come back, We'll chat with Hanson!" Rosie said, psyching up the crowd.
When the cameraman signaled they were off the air, Rosie's happy-go-lucky expression changed to one of confusion with a touch of anger. "What happened out there?!" she asked.
"You know about what happened. There was nothing we could do, we couldn't cancel, and we only had yesterday to rehearse," Ike covered for Tay once again.
"Um...what happened?!" Zac asked, since he missed everything when he was hiding behind the large drums.
"One minute everyone! Places!" interjected the cameraman.
Rosie beckoned Hanson over to her desk and motioned for them to sit.
"Hey! Someone tell me what happened!" Zac whined in an annoying voice.
"Later," Ike and Tay said in unison.
"We're on the air!" shouted the cameraman.
"Welcome back, everyone! Here we are, chatting with Hanson!" announced Rosie, waiting for the crowd to finish cheering before beginning the interview.
"Hello Isaac...Taylor...Zac..." Rosie greeted individually.
"Hey Rosie, what's going on?" they all responded.
"Eh, not too much!" she laughed. "Now Taylor, I heard that you had a --"
"Great time earlier today! Yes, he did! In fact, we all did! It's great to be back here!" Ike retorted quickly. 'Don't give up your day job' he told himself.
"Well...uh...I'm glad to hear that, but that wasn't my question. I was referring to the tragic event that recently occurred. The one where he --" Rosie began.
"Lost his voice! Yeah, it was pretty bad. We had to postpone some concerts because of his condition," Zac quickly interrupted, allowing himself to say the first thing that came to mind.
"Oh...I didn't realize he lost his voice...he seemed fine when I talked to him earlier....." Rosie answered, becoming more confused by the minute.
"Well, he's pretty much over his cold now, but he's not supposed to sing or strain his voice for a few days so that's why he can't say much," Ike explained.
Rosie looked towards the audience. They were getting restless, and there was no point in trying to squeeze the gossip out of Tay so she moved on. "You know I have to ask...girlfriends?!"
"No girlfriends," Zac answered, rolling his eyes. This question was such a regular occurrance, he decided he could save time by announcing they had no girlfriends at the beginning of every appearance. He also contemplated flashing a neon "available" sign over his head. That would work, too.
The questions continued in this way, complete with Ike and Zac covering for Tay when he was about to say something wrong, but it was the worst appearance they had ever done. They had never performed as terrible as they did...this was even worse than the periods where their voices were changing. By the end of the show, the haters had even more reason to make fun of them, not to mention the disappointment in many of the fans' eyes.
Not everyone was disappointed, however. There was one girl mixed in the crowd enjoying every one of Hanson's blunders. Her name was Drew.