Edge of Seventeen: Steven Hyde/OC

eight.

"Push! Push! You gotta push it!" screamed Kelso. Fez and Hyde stood in the two doorways in the back of the basement, arms pressed firmly against the sides. They groaned, asking how much longer they had to hold it for. "A bit longer. You gotta push harder or it's not gonna work!"

"This is so stupid," said Hyde, straining heavily as he pushed.

"I said that five minutes ago," snapped Ree from the couch, not even looking up from her paper as she erased furiously. Ree sat beside Donna on the couch while Jackie sat on the washer, the latter of whom were both casually flipping through magazines.

Kelso scoffed. "It's not stupid, it's fun!" He grinned brightly at Hyde and Fez. "You're gonna love it."

"I'm not gonna love it," said Hyde.

Kelso stared at his watch carefully, "Okay, that's time."

Fez and Hyde stepped away from their doorways, their arms immediately floating up as if filled with helium. The guys all began to 'ooh' and 'ahh' at the new trick they had learned, while not one of the girls even lifted their heads to look.

"Kelso, you're a genius!" exclaimed Fez, grinning brightly as his arms floated.

"Yeah, well," shrugged Kelso, still grinning, "it's magic."

Footsteps began to step downstairs, revealing Eric with a few cans of pop in his hands.

"Oh my god, finally!" Jackie exclaimed, tossing her magazine and hopping off the washer. "I've been so dehydrated."

"Well, uh, here," Eric handed her a red can. "Piggly Wiggly Diet Cream Soda," he said with a smile.

She stared at it in disdain. "I said my top 3 choices were Tab, Fresca, or Diet Rite."

Eric sent her a sarcastic smile as he sat down in his chair, "Again, you get Piggly Wiggly Diet Cream Soda."

"Then I'll just have water," snapped Jackie, hand on her hip.

"You know, there's a hose in the backyard," said Donna, still flipping through her magazine.

Ree mentally rolled her eyes at Jackie's actions, but kept her lips sealed. She didn't want to start any drama involving Jackie or Kelso, that was for sure. She already had enough drama with the school newspaper.

Ree pressed down harshly on her pencil as she reread her work; would Everley Simmons publish her articles or was Hyde right? Ree almost gagged at the thought - how could Steven Hyde be right about something in her life? He wasn't, she decided. There had to be some other explanation for this. Why would Everley hate her? What had Ree ever done to her? Or were her articles really that bad? Wracking her brain for an explanation, Ree hadn't even realized that she had tuned out the conversation in the room.

"Kids, kids, kids, kids, kids, kids," her mother was saying as she descended the stairs and bounced across the room. "The president is coming."

"What president?" asked Eric.

"The president of these United States, Gerald. R. Ford, the 36th -" she froze for a moment, "8th," she tried again. "40th, I don't know! He's the president!" Their mom disappeared into the storage room.

"Why would Ford come to Point Place?" asked Eric with furrowed brows.

"Because," Jackie piped in, hopping off the washer again. "We are a whistle-stop along his Wisconsin campaign trail," she said with a grin. "My dad organized it!"

Kitty had emerged from the storage room, tiny American flags clutched in her hands, but she froze at Jackie's words. Turning around slowly, she stared Jackie down, "Dear, the next time you know a president is coming to town, please give me a little more notice," Kitty commanded.

Jackie just let out a low whistle, turning her back to the woman.

"I need to vacuum. Eric, Ree, you two tidy up this basement," Kitty ordered, frantically. "A pie! I need to bake a pie!" She ran up the stairs before anyone could say anything, slamming the door behind her.

"Wow," said Eric, as the silence filled the room. "The president is coming."

Ree shrugged, "If only it were a president I cared about."

There was another still moment of silence.

"Y'know what we should do," Kelso spoke up. "That door thing again!" He grinned, and the guys all frantically jumped up, running to the doorways.

Ree shook her head and returned to her article.

Later that evening, the twins headed upstairs for dinner while the rest of the gang headed home. Eric and Red were sat at the table talking. Well, more like Red was grilling Eric about his responsibilities. Ree, meanwhile, was helping her mother finish up dinner. She placed the dirty dishes in the sink as Kitty carried over the completed meal to the table.

Red looked into the dish with dismay. "Tuna casserole again?" He complained.

Ree narrowed her eyes at the table as she sat down beside Eric.

Kitty looked saddened for a moment as she sat, before her expression turned cold. "Well, okay, how 'bout we don't pay the car insurance and we'll have steak!" She snapped at Red, glaring at him.

She laughed soon after, brushing past her words and moving on. "Well, just imagine," she spoke with a smile, "President Ford is coming here." She leaned towards her husband. "Uh, Red, we need to get rid of the oil stains in the driveway."

"It's not like he's coming to our house," stated Red as he passed the Tuna Casserole dish to his wife. "And, if he did, I'd kick him in the keister."

Ree nodded, "Me too!"

Red smiled at his daughter and ruffled her hair.

"Stop it, Red," Kitty admonished as she scooped her dinner onto her plate. "How can you say that? You voted for Gerald Ford."

"Kitty," said Red. "No one voted for Gerald Ford."

Ree snorted before nodding her head in agreement. She may only be a teenager, but politics were something that interested her. Helping people, passing laws that create real change, that is what Ree wanted with her life.

Kitty laughed at Red's joke, before giving the twins a pointed look. "But, he still is our president."

"Mom, he pardoned Nixon, how can you defend that?" Ree questioned as she was finally able to scoop food onto her own plate.

"See, the kids are old enough for this kind of talk," said Red, giving Ree another proud smile. His smile dropped as he turned to look at Eric. "Eric, say that your job was sent to a job in some plant in Guadala-who-the-hell-cares," their father began, giving Eric a serious look. "Are you gonna vote for the guy to let that happen?"

"Red, Ford didn't take your job, he took Nixon's," Kitty mumbled between bites of food.

He sent Eric another pointed look, "Eric?"

Everyone turned to look at Eric expectedly. Eric sent Ree a slightly pleading look, but Ree shrugged her shoulders at him.

"We're waiting," reminded Red.

"Uh, well." Eric cleared his throat. "I believe everyone's political opinion is valid and worth hearing." He forced a grin.

"Well, that's great, Eric," Red spoke, sarcastically. "Use that line when you run for Miss America, won't you?"

Ree chuckled, so Eric sent her a glare.