~Marching Through The Eye Of The Storm~

Chapter 5

June 10, 2017

It was the Marching Band's first performance of any sort, a small parade through a few streets in Queens. It was the first time that the whole band would be together, the front ensemble would rehearse alone most of the time.

Harper and Hunter and Sarah were trying to get to the front of the parade block, just behind the trumpets. It was hard to get through, there were a total of 189 wind players and percussionists. Over thirty had joined since the step off meeting, one being a mellophone... after Sarah had begged their parents to let her do Mello to be with Harper so they were at eight.

They only wore navy blue shirts with the band's logo and kaki pants and black shoes, their uniforms still being fitted.

They were trying to get through all of the drumline and front ensemble (who were on crash cymbals).

"Sorry," Hunter apologized when he almost ran into a tenor drum player.

"Excuse us," Harper said and some of the drummers moved.

Then someone bumped into her. She felt a shock go through her, not like a tiny shock from the grocery carts at the store, it jolted her body and she suddenly felt so much more aware.

"Sorry, I'm so sorry," the teenage boy apologized.

The two made eye contact and both quickly looked away. Harper felt like she knew him, like a connection deep down, but couldn't place it.

"Come on, Harper. We've got to go," Sarah said, getting impatient.

Harper stumbled away, befuddled by the boy.

Peter shook his head, turning away from the girl he had accidently ran into. The wave of electricity that rushed through him when they collided confused him. He'd seen her before, he'd swear to it.

"Peter, you're right here," his section leader named Lydia told him, pointing to the spot next to a senior named Sawyer and a freshman named Jamie.

The parade was only a couple of miles and they only played a few easy show tunes like 'Iron Man' or 'Let's go Band' songs that would be played at football games in the fall.

After it was over, the band was dismissed and they put their instruments away and slowly, everyone went home.

"Bye, Harper," Hunter and Sarah waved as they got into their mother's car.

"Bye, guys."

"Bye, Harper," Skylar waved as she also walked away.

Harper's father picked her up shortly after her friends left. It was past six o'clock when she got back to their house. They lived in a larger apartment a half hour away from Midtown.

The apartment had three bedrooms and two bathrooms.

The two entered the apartment to find Jane-Harper's mother-was cooking dinner in the kitchen and Cooper and Braxton-her brothers-were lounging around on the couch playing video games.

"Cooper! You're home!" Harper ran to her older brother, putting her stuff down before.

Cooper was going to the Naval Academy in Maryland and Harper hadn't seen him since Christmas.

"Harper," Cooper laughed, twirling his sister through the air.

All three of the siblings were quite close but Harper was closer to the eldest than Braxton.

"I missed you so much," Harper told her brother when he set her down.

"I hate to break this up, but dinner is ready," Jane broke in.

"Food!" the three siblings shouted as they ran to the table.

Their father laughed while their mother rolled her eyes as she set down a bowl of steamed broccoli.

"So how has marching band been going this year?" Cooper asked Harper as they were doing the dishes after dinner was done.

"Today was our first parade, it was small but fun."

"You're so amazing," Cooper complemented.

"Seriously, Coop?"

"Yes, I could never play an instrument and march and you're even learning a new instrument this year. How do you do it?"

Harper playfully shoved her brother with the wet rag in her hands still, soaking part of his shirt.

"Harper!" Cooper shouted, "You are so on."

"No!" Harper made her move to run out of the kitchen and to the living room with Cooper chasing her with a sponge full of water and covered in bubbles.

"It wasn't on purpose!" She shouted as she ran.

"Get back here!"

Harper stopped in front of the TV, Cooper was behind the couch, trying to get closer.

"Move, you're in the way of the TV, Harper," Braxton complained, trying to look around her with his gaming controller in his hands.

"Harper, Cooper, stop chasing each other around and finish the dishes," their father said sternly from his spot on the couch with his laptop open on his lap.

Harper slowly moved out of the way of the TV, keeping her eyes on her brother. Cooper slowly moved towards her and as she cleared the TV, she ran and so did he. The sponge went flying and smacked her in the face.

After she chased him and they eventually finished the dishes, Harper gathered her marching band stuff from where she left it on the side of the couch and she put it in her room before making her way to the shower and then to bed from there.

She quickly fell into a deep sleep and a not super pleasant dream invaded her mind...

The clouds were so dark, they were almost black. Blocking any sun from showing, it looked like night even though it was noon. Thunder boomed and rocked the planet. Lightning struck the ground in fifty places at once. The ground, trees and buildings that were hit exploded into flames. The view of the planet zoomed out and showed space then more planets eight in total, all with the same black clouds and booming thunder and lightning, destroying parts of the planets. The ice tips on one were broken off, the lava on another cooled to obsidian. Then it went to one more place, not a planet but a floating world in space. Mountains showed and water from the ocean fell off the sides, into space.

The same storm formed above it all, getting worse than on the other eight planets. Not a spec of the place wasn't damaged from the lightning. Faint screams were heard but nothing compared to the other places, like they understood what was happening.

Peter woke up with a jolt. What had he just witnessed? It was the weirdest dream he had ever had but it felt so real.

Harper woke up with a weird familiar feeling as she looked out her window to see it raining, but nothing like her dream.