Rachel had packed and put the suitcase under her bed. In doing so she had to clean up everything and    her mother was very proud of her, not knowing the real reason for the cleaning. She had packed all the major things she needed the night before.
 
    It was the first day of summer and her parents had just left for work. Rachel was getting dressed and her brother was still asleep. She picked up her backpack and took the suitcase down the hall as quietly as possible and put it in front of the door. She had her sax, her oboe, and her father's guitar. She waited.

     She saw the bus drive up outside and she opened the door, dragging out her suitcase and looking at her house, hoping she didn't forget something. She shut the door and looked at Walker as he went up to the house.
 
    "Where are your parents?" he asked looking around.
 
    "They had to work..." well, she wasn't exactly lying! "They've met you guys before and they really needed to get to work!"
 
    Walker nodded. Reasonable. He'd met the parents. He didn't' like that Ron; He was up to something.
 
    "Well," Walker sighed "Have you got everything?"

     Rachel looked around. "Wait," she said and unlocked the door and ran back in the house and so unlocked her room door.

    "What the Hell are you doing?" her brother grumbled.
 
    "I need to get my Publishers Clearinghouse ticket!" she cried melodramatically "I may have won!"
 
    Her brother shook his head and started to get up as Rachel ran out with a picture frame in her hand. She locked the front door and ran to see Walker taking her stuff to the bus.
 
    "WAIT!" she called and dashed for the case.
 
    Walker stopped and turned, seeing Rachel panting as she thanked him and watching her unzip her suitcase at the top and shove the picture inside. Walker then continued to place it in the bus with the rest of the cases and then led her into the bus.
 
    She timidly walked through the aisle and the driver started the bus again. Rachel looked out the window and saw her house. Her brother was reading the "Touring with Hanson like you said I could! Love, Rachel" note she had left for her parents as the bus drove off.

 
 "This will be your bunk,"
 
    Walker showed Rachel around the bus and gave her a break down of their day on tour. Up at five am for breakfast and set up would start. Nine was publicity, of which Rachel would most likely not participate in. Sound check at noon after lunch, break at three up until an hour before concert time, of which set up and final checks would take place, as well as meeting any lucky fans. After the +- three hour show, they would meet fans backstage for about a half hour and the rest of the night was taken for taking down all stage props and loading all the things they needed onto the truck for the next tour city.
 
    Rachel then had brief second thoughts about touring. She was going to be tired. Too tired, she was afraid. But she was here and had thrown a fit to get here and couldn't back out now.
 
    "Hey!" Zac popped out of the bunk above Rachel's and he looked around and said "Looks like you're gonna be my neighbor!"
 
    Isaac walked over and offered her a bagel, which she declined.
 
    "Are you sure?" Walker asked "We said we'd feed you, so make yourself at home!"
 
    "You get to have a bunk right across from me!" Clarke started, motioning to his bunk across the small aisle from hers. He then handed her the bagel which she tentatively accepted, "We're gonna have fun!" and he laughed crazily.
 
    "That means he'll annoy the heck out of you!" Zac cried and ducked through the curtain of his bunk.
 
    "HEY!" Isaac laughed and batted at him through the curtain and Zac laughed.
 
    "You can eat it!" Walker laughed, noticing Rachel ignoring the bagel.
 
    Rachel noticed this, too, not wanting to impose and took a little bite into the warm bread and smiled.
 Isaac then looked over to her and a musician came up to Walker and asked about the stage and what space there would be. Walker found this urgent and excused himself, asking Isaac to finish showing Rachel around. So she stood and nibbled at her bagel, becoming very sheepish and shy. She found Isaac intimidating, for she never associated with guys much older than herself. She was only sixteen.
 
    Isaac noticed this and couldn't understand how someone so outgoing like she was when they first met her could now be so calm and placid.
 
    "Well," Isaac began "This is your bunk. You should get used to it eventually, even though you're like a sardine in there!" he opened the curtain and showed her the TV and cubby for her stuff.  "And this will be your home for the next three months!" and he laughed.
 
    "I don't know if I can handle this..." she cringed and frowned. "I mean all the stuff you have to do! All those hours you're awake!..."
 
    "Oh, come on!" Isaac encouraged her "If we can do it, anybody can!"
 
    Clarke showed her around to the bathroom and where there was usually food. They eventually ran into the rest of the family consisting of Avery, Jessica, and Mackenzie, as well as little Zoe.
 
    "Mom," Isaac began, taking his hand to the arch of Rachel's back, "This is Rachel..." and he gently pushed her, presenting her to his mother. Rachel cowered a little.
 
    "Oh," Diana exclaimed. She was a beautiful blonde woman with incredibly long hair. She looked young much like her own mother. She was holding little Zoe, who had curly blonde locks, in her arms. "I've heard so much about you! And now I get to meet you."
 
    "Pleased to meet you, Mrs. Hanson," Rachel smiled bashfully and the rest of the kids hid or ignored her, still waiting for further approval of the stranger.
 
    After a moment of conversing they came to Taylor who sat in the part of the bus which had the cello they bought for her to play.
 
    "Hey!" he greeted and stood up, holding out his hand. "Well, nice to see you again and welcome to the Hanson tour bus!"
 
    Rachel shook his hand and Taylor smiled at her. He then turned and picked up a bunch of musical notes scribbled on staves on them and handed them to Rachel. "These are some of the cello parts to I Will Come to You, Yearbook, and some chord changes for you to work from in some other songs, including some potential solos."
 
    "Wow," Rachel said taking them, looking over the notes, conducting to get the feel. "Thanks a lot, this will really help."
 
    Taylor and Isaac eyed her as she looked the music over.
 
    "Well," Isaac said walking around them both "I'll get you your cello," and he disappeared momentarily.
 
    "You'll like it here," Taylor looked her over "We have a lot of fun!"

    Rachel nodded in agreement and looked around to the space on the bus she'd be rehearsing in.

    Rachel gripped the wooden neck with her small hand, barely fitting around it. Her delicate fingers felt onto the thick strings of the cello. She awkwardly fumbled with the large bow and lifted to the stings. She pushed.
 
    "OOooaaAAUGHH!" Zac cried and grabbed his ears and fell slowly to the ground as if in death. His leg twitched.
 
    "This isn't going to work!..." Rachel grumbled, staring blankly at the sheet music to I Will Come to You. She fingered along the frets and strings and stood up to play it like a bass with her fingers. That seemed to work better.
 
    Isaac walked in on her and picked up the bow, examining it, "Don't you need this?" he grinned at her, his hair in a ponytail.
 
    "I don't know how to do it yet!" she mumbled ashamed. And she sheepishly grabbed the bow from Clarke and tried again.
 
    "No," Isaac eased, "Don't push so hard; you're too aggressive with it."
 
    "OOOH Yeah!" Zac cried. Rising from the dead.
 
    Rachel tried again, gently and the first F of the song came out, vibrating beautifully. Zac smiled impressed. Rachel smiled her big gentle smile and Clarke brightened.
 
    "Ooooh!" Isaac said slyly and exchanged glances with his little brother. They both ran towards their bunks.
 
    Rachel knotted an eyebrow, "Okay..." she mumbled, not knowing what they were doing, and returned to the humming cello, playing the string intro.
 
    "Hello..."
 
    Rachel looked up to see Isaac talking to Zac who had his older brother's camera.
 
    "Isaac here..." he continued.
 
    Rachel sighed and looked away, embarrassed.
 
    "We're here looking at...a...well, a strange creature. Much like that of the little ones we call Jessica and Avery. But this one..." he looked back to Rachel who had stopped to stare at him in a pathetic 'you've-got-to-be-kidding" manner. Zac zoomed in. "...this one seems older. This one plays things we've never seen played by little Jessica..."
 
    "Isaac..." Rachel started.
 
    Zac swung the camera over to Isaac who made a scared face, "Uh-oh!"
 
    "RUUUUUN!" Zac cried and dashed down the aisle on the bus.
 
    Isaac followed, both still yelling.
 
    Rachel laughed and looked on after the two. She held on to the neck of her cello and Diana came past them, commanding them to stop the running, which they readily did. She was holding Zoe and came up to Rachel and sat with her.
 
    "What do you have so far?"
 
    "Oh," Rachel explained "I'm getting the hang of it! I've got the intro to I will Come to You down."
 
    "Let's hear it!" she smiled.
 
    Rachel went down and played it for her, starting vibrato and messing up a few times.
 
    "Wow," Diana said, impressed "You've learned a lot in the past hour or so... you'll know it well pretty soon!"
 
    "I hope!" Rachel said, looking around at the music and the cello and at Taylor who had entered and was standing at the walkway. He had his arm up against the doorway, leaning into it.
 
    "You will," Taylor commented and smiled.
 
    Diana turned and looked at her son.
 
    Rachel looked at Taylor for a moment. Something was bothering her about him. She looked back at her music.

    Rachel went through her suitcase for her pajamas. It was time for bed and she was very tired. She had immediately gotten to work with the brothers. The family was nice, though the children were afraid of her. She then got her backpack and headed or her bunk.

    Isaac walked up to her as she entered and smiled,
 
    "You can use the phone in there to call your parents, if you want..."
 
    "Oh..." Rachel looked away into the bunk "Sure... I'll do that in a minute..." she then frantically wondered if she actually should or not.
 
    Isaac sat down in his bunk and began to talk to her, "See," he said "It's not that bad so far!" he sat and waited for her to answer but all she did was smile unsure of herself. So he looked around at her stuff. She was putting a picture frame up in her cubby and was starting to put her backpack away.
 
    "We're going to be playing in Cleveland next week," Isaac said, watching her get settled. She seemed more relaxed, but she was still timid. "I think you'll be ready by then, don't you?"

     Rachel shrugged, "I guess so!" she tittered, fixing the blanket on the bunk.
 
    Isaac smiled.
 
    "Don't worry," he said. "You'll get the hang of it!"
 
    Rachel smiled at Isaac and they looked to each other for a moment. Then out of embarrassment that she was staring at Isaac, she turned and got into bed.
 
    Isaac still looked on for a moment and decided to cover himself up and shut his curtain.
 
    “Good night, Rachel!” he said in a manner of gentleness he didn’t want her to hear quite yet.
 
    Rachel did in fact notice and her nerves jumped. But her heart warmed and she grinned, almost in embarrassment,

    “Good night, Isaac.”