The Big 1-3
"Hey everybody! Could you all come in the living room for a second?"
Danny called as the family came from around the house into the family room.
"What is it?" said Jesse. "The bands gonna be over in 15 minutes, and I gotta tune my guitar, and that takes like 10 minutes if you do it right, and this song's really important, and if the record company doesn't like it, this bands history!"
Everyone was becoming pretty annoyed at Jesse's rant, since everyone knew what this meeting was about. It was getting close to Michelle's 13th birthday party and the family was trying to come up with ideas for the party.
"So Danny, have thought of anything since yesterday when called us down here?" Joey asked. Danny had been doing this several times a week for the past 6 weeks, and the family was getting tired of it.
"We have an idea!" Nicky and Alex cried out.
"What is it boys?" Becky asked excitedly, hoping they had a solution to the biggest family meeting of the year.
"We could get the Power Rangers to come!" exclaimed Alex.
"Yeah! Everybody loves the Power Rangers! They have laser guns and awesome costumes! Boom Boom Boom!" Nicky said. The twins had just turned 8, and the Power Rangers was the "thing to like" if you were 8 and it was 1999.
"Not if your 13," Stephanie mumbled. She was 17 now, but knew Michelle wouldn't like something that seemed so childish.
"What did you say, Steph?" Nicky asked.
"Oh, nothing," she replied.
"Hey, I have an idea!" Joey said suddenly.
"I don't think Michelle and her friends would want to hear Bulwinkle and Popeye impressions at a party for 8th graders," Danny said, thinking that would be Joey's idea.
"No, not that!" Joey responded. "This idea's a good one. What's that band Michelle likes? The, uh, Something Boys. What's their name?"
"The Backstreet Boys?" Jesse said.
"Yeah, the Backstreet Boys! They're in San Francisco this week for a few concerts, and maybe they would come over and sing at the party."
"How did know that?" Danny asked, slightly shocked that Joey knew something that didn't relate to stand-up comedy or cartoons.
"Well, there was no Roadrunner cartoon on, so I watched the news and saw that they were in the city."
"That's a great idea!" said Stephanie. "But where would we get the money for that? They'd probably ask for a lot of money for just showing up."
"Maybe they would perform for free, or a small fee, since it's for a party for a 13-year-old," Becky suggested.
"Yeah! That's a good idea," said Jesse. "I know a few people. I could get them to find out their agent's phone number and see if they could show up."
"The Backstreet Boys?" asked Nicky.
"Never heard of 'em," said Alex.
"Hey guys, I'm home!" Michelle called as she came in through the back door.
"Hi Michelle! How was the mall?" Stephanie asked, trying not to give away anything about what they were planning.
"Fine," said Michelle, not suspecting a thing. "What have you guys been up to?"
"Well, we were-," Nicky began to say.
"Nothing!" Jesse interrupted. "We were just hanging out."
"Cool," Michelle replied. "I'll be upstairs trying on a few things, okay?"
"Sure," said Danny. "Just fold them when you're done, and try not to get dust on them, and fold them evenly and-"
"Dad," Michelle said, reminding her father that he was getting carried away with his cleanliness again.
"Oh, right. Sorry, sweetie."
The next few weeks went by quickly, and soon it was the day before Michelle's party. The party had been delayed so that the family could get the Backstreet Boys to come to the party. The band's agent was reluctant at first, but Jesse was able to convince him that it was fine, and that they would get paid, and that they didn't have to worry about cash. The family tried to get convince Jesse that the amount they had settled on was a little high, but Jesse had said that it was fine. He was always willing to do anything for his little Munchkin.
When the day of the party arrived, everyone was very excited about the party. Noone had told Michelle about the surprise, but it was getting hard to keep something that Michelle really wanted a secret.
"Wouldn't it be something if the Backstreet Boys showed up at my party?" Michelle had been saying for the past several weeks.
"Yeah. That would be something," a family member would say.
The party was supposed to start at 1:30 PM, but guests started arriving as early as 12:45. By the time the party actually started, the chips and M&Ms were almost half gone. Luckily, Danny had gone out to the store to get refills.
The party was going great. There was music, games, and eating. Most of the eating was done by Michelle's friends Teddy and Derek.
"Do you guys do anything besides eat?" Michelle asked, taken aback by the mass amount of food that the boys had eaten/
"We watch TV and play video games," Teddy said.
"Yeah, and collect insects," Derek added. Noone said anything. "What? Am I the only one who collects insects?"
"Most likely," said Teddy.
"Noone asked you."
"Yeah! You did."
"Come on, guys," Michelle said, stopping the conversation before they started fighting. "This is a party! Let's have some fun!"
"Alright. Sorry Derek," Teddy said.
"It's okay," Derek replied.
The party was going so well that noone heard or saw the limo pull up around the back of the Tanner house, and only the adults saw the Backstreet Boys walk in with their agent and quietly sneak down into the recording studio to wait until present time, if 13-year-olds still called it that. About an hour into the party, Danny told everyone that it was time for cake and gifts. Presents included things like clothes and CDs, and a few movies that Michelle had wanted that had just come out. Michelle even got a portable DVD player, which she loved. Once everyone had eaten a piece of cake, and Teddy and Derek had eaten three pieces of cake each, Danny said that there was one surprise left.
"You'll really love it," said Stephanie, struggling to hold her excitement for her little sister in.
"It's our gift from us to you," Danny said.
"We'll be right back," Jesse said as the adults and Stephanie went down into to the studio to get the Backstreet Boys. Nicky and Alex were at a friends house. DJ had tried to come home for the occasion, but she was busy at college during her senior year.
"Alright guys, you ready?" Jesse said as he walked into the studio.
"Yeah. I think so," Backstreet Boy Nick Carter said, getting up from his chair.
"We gotta be outta here soon," their agent said with a Brooklyn accent. "We've got an autograph across town we agreed to."
"Hey, chill out man," fellow band member A.J. McLean said. "We'll get there when we get there, alright?"
"Yeah, yeah, okay," the agent said reluctantly.
"Great. Let's do it," band member Howie Dorough said.
"Alright. Come on upstairs, and come in when the music starts," Danny said.
"What song are we doin'"? Backstreet Boy Brian Littrell asked.
"'I Want It That Way', right?" fellow member Kevin Richardson asked.
"Yeah. Now let's go!" their agent said.
"Calm down man," Jesse said. "It's a birthday party."
Back upstairs at the party, the kids were becoming impatient.
"When's that surprise gonna be here?" Michelle's friend Lisa asked.
"I don't know," Michelle answered. "I wonder what it could be?"
Finally, after what seemed like forever, Danny and the rest of the family came up, much to the relief of the kids.
"Alright, are you ready for the surprise?" Danny asked Michelle and the party asked.
"Duh! Of course we are!" Michelle exclaimed.
"Okay, here we go," Danny said. Just as the song "I Want It That Way" started the Backstreet Boys came through the kitchen door and began singing the song. A few girls screamed. Michelle was left smiling, excited, and speechless. Even the boys seemed to be enjoying the concert. As the song ended, and the Backstreet Boys exited, everyone ran after them. Their agent managed to hold everyone back long enough for them to get down into the studio and lock the door,
"Alright, Alright!" Jesse called out. "I know you all enjoyed that, but you've we've all just gotta calm down, and let Michelle through so she meet the band, as an extra present. Oh, and you all come along too."
The kids ran down into the studio, not even hearing Jesse's cries of "Watch the hair! Watch the hair!" Everyone at the party got an autographed copy of "Millennium," the Backstreet Boys' new CD. After the kids left, Michelle was left alone with the band.
"Thank you so much for performing!" Michelle said excitedly.
"Hey, you're very welcome," Nick said. "I'm glad you had a good time."
"I hope we can see you again someday," Howie added.
"Bye, Michelle!" Kevin, Brian, and A.J. said.
"Bye!" Michelle replied. "Thanks a lot guys! That was great."
"Anything for you, Shorty," Jesse said.
"It was your 13th birthday, Michelle," Becky said.
"Yeah! Now you can see PG-13 movies by yourself," Joey chimed in.
"I hope you enjoyed your big 1-3, Michelle," Danny said.
"I really did, dad. I really did."