The Misadventures of the Hanson Bros.

Chapter 3 (Zac's pizza debacle)

May 1998

"Get off your lazy butt. We are going to the arcade."

Zac opened his eyes to the sight of his older brother Isaac. He sighed and sat up, wishing that the public could see what a bully he was when they were alone. In all of the interviews, Zac was the terrorist of the group, but at home, Isaac was. Okay, so Zac provoked him nine times out out ten. But right then, Zac was just trying to close his eyes and get 5 minutes of rest after playing outside since 9 a.m. (it was 2). He'd been climbing a tree, but he had to keep climbing higher and higher because Taylor was throwing rocks at him from the ground. Then he had to start jumping from tree to tree; five hours of this left him exhausted.

"The arcade...?"

"Yup. Mom, I'm taking the car," Isaac yelled. He gathered up his brothers and shoved them out the door just in time to hear their mom yell, "NO!" -And she said this just in time to hear the car start, then loud screeching and crashing. She flung the curtains open, revealing Isaac driving away; Zac desperately trying to catch up on his skateboard, grasping for the rolled-down windows; and Taylor standing atop the car whooping. She shook her head and let the curtain fall.

The boys pulled up to the arcade in style and got out of- or off of- their stylish whip. Isaac stylishly tossed his hair as he opened the door with style. "Boys," he boomed, "here's 40 dollars each. Go wild."

Taylor and Zac cheered and zoomed inside, heading first for the adjoining pizza parlor, where Zac triumphantly ordered a pizza and slapped his money down. Then, their treasured large pepperoni in hand, the boys made their way out to the main attraction- the arcade itself.

"Should we play first, or eat?" Zac asked, right before Isaac snuck up behind him and lifted the pizza out of his hands. "We're playing first."

Taylor's starved eyes followed the pizza box. "But- but-"

Zac snatched the pizza back from Isaac. "Whatever. I wanna play Street Fighter anyway."

"You main Chun-Li, dork!" Tay snapped.

"Yeah, for a reason," Zac responded, rolling his eyes. "Besides, you can't choose your character in the arcade version, so your point is moot. Come on." Zac led the way, carrying the pizza box to the first cabinet. He set it down on the slanted surface of the screen, making sure it was secure before starting in on spending his remaining $30!

About an hour later, Zac and Isaac were getting hungry, and Taylor was curled up on the floor, clutching his empty stomach and moaning in pain. Zac lightly kicked him. "Get up- it's time to eat."

Tay sprung up, immediately stumbling and placing a hand on the wall for support, as he was dizzy and faint with hunger. "O-okay," he mumbled, stumbling to a table and collapsing at the booth, then dropping his head into his folded arms. Zac shrugged at the sight and turned to Isaac. "Let's go!"

The hungry boys were eager to dig into their yummy pizza pie. Zac set it down between them all, and immediately three sets of hands began clawing to open the cardboard box. As soon as the lid was lifted, releasing the steamy scents of savory sauce and cheese, they went silent and stared in horror and disbelief.

Isaac was the first to speak; Taylor's depressed whimpers didn't count. "Zac..."

"It's not my fault!!"

"You're the one who-!!" He sighed and gestured roughly at the box. "We can't eat this."

Apparently, it had been an unwise decision on Zac's part to put the pizza box on something slanted... the pizza had slid all the way to the edge of the box, smearing it with grease and sauce, yes. But all of the cheese! All of the toasty-golden cheese, and with it all of those pepperoni slices, had slipped right off of the crust and puddled in a corner of the box. The pizza was... ruined.