scales and arpeggios

chapter eighteen: percy

"After you tune your instrument, please line up to go on stage," Mr. Fletcher tells us once we're all huddled outside the auditorium. I glance down at my outfit, black pants and a white button up shirt. I look okay. I find Annabeth, who's huddled in a corner, playing scales on her clarinet.

"Hey," I say. She turns around to face me. "You're gorgeous."

"Hi, I'm nervous."

"You're going to be great, okay? Trust me." She nods, and I pull her into a hug, resting my chin on her head. I grab my trombone and her hand, and we walk to the line.

;;;

"And now, please welcome our band to the stage," Mr. Fletcher says as we walk onto the stage and take our seats. I focus on my perfect girlfriend in front of me and gain my composure. I look back up at Mr. Fletcher, and he mouths the words, "concert b-flat scale." I lift my trombone to my lips with his signal and play the scale flawlessly. He raises his baton and I glance at my music, The Little Drummer Boy, our first piece, and begin playing. My trombone, fortunately, cooperates with me, and the notes ring through the bell. I feel the tension in my body loosen, and I continue playing the piece.

"Good job," Mr. Fletcher mouths when we finish playing. I flip my music to A Frozen Medley and wait for Mr. Fletcher. He signals for us to raise our instruments, and we launch into the second piece.

My wrong note seems to echo throughout the whole auditorium. I wince and look up at Mr. Fletcher. He gives me a slight nod of his head, and his face tells me to keep playing. I take a deep breath and find our spot, joining in for the last few measures. I silently cure myself as we go into our second to last piece, An American Christmas. I focus on my music, refusing to make another mistake. It seems to work because before I know it, we've finished playing An American Christmas, and it's time for our final piece, Sleigh Ride. It's also time for Annabeth's solo. Mr. Fletcher sets his baton down and grabs a microphone.

"We have one more piece from this group of students," he starts. "Our final piece is Sleigh Ride, with a few special twists." He sets the microphone down and winks at Annabeth. She breathes in deeply before looking at the conductor's stand, where Mr. Fletcher is standing, waiting for Annabeth to be ready. She nods, and he raises his baton. This version of Sleigh Ride starts with her solo and has small solos within the piece. I wait for my cue, focusing on the back of Annabeth's head. The slight shakiness she's had all night has disappeared, and she was still as a statue, studying the notes as she plays. She doesn't miss a note, and everyone joins in at the right time. I see Piper run across the stage with the slapsticks, and the audience lets out a light laugh. We finish the piece, and Mr. Fletcher winks at us. He signals for each row to stand, and we all bow before walking off the stage and into the hallway. We walk silently to the band room.. Once we're all safely inside the band room and our instruments are packed up, the room explodes in cheers.

"I can't believe I did that," Annabeth says as we sit down against a wall.

"I told you you could do it."

"I need a nap now."

"Did you hear my missed note?" I ask her, and she laughs.

"Barely. I doubt the audience could hear it," she reassures me, then rests her head on my shoulder. I wrap my arm around her.

"Everyone's going to want to go to IHOP, aren't they?" I ask her.

"Probably," she answers. "I don't have a car though. My dad drove me."

"I have mine, Mom and Paul drove separately." Just as predicted, Leo yells for everyone to meet in the parking lot of IHOP in half an hour. Annabeth and I make our way towards the door, grabbing our instruments on the way out. I quickly text my mom and tell her where we're going, Annabeth doing the same. As we reach my truck, I place our instruments in the backseat and hop in. Annabeth plays evermore by Taylor Swift and we head to IHOP. I sing along to "ivy" flawlessly. We arrive at the same time as Jason and Piper, so I open the bed of my truck and hop in, and we all sit there as everyone arrives. Jason performs "dorothea" for us and we applaud as we wait for everyone else.

"How many?" The waiter asks as we walk in.

"A lot," I mutter as I count everyone. We end up with twenty-two, and they seat us at a collection of tables. I decide I'll leave a big tip as I sit down next to Annabeth and Grover.

"What're you going to get?" Grover asks me as he looks over the menu.

"Grover, it's IHOP," I say. "Obviously, I'm getting pancakes." We order our drinks, Grover getting water, Annabeth a Coke, and me a root beer.

"That was a fun concert," Grover says as we wait for our food. Most of the band was spread out in small groups at a few tables, and Reyna, Piper, and Leo had migrated to ours.

"It was a lot of fun," Piper says. "Especially the part where I got to run across the stage with the slapsticks."

"Highlight of the concert," Reyna tells her. We all laugh and continue talking about the show until a waitress comes up with plates of pancakes. She sets mine in front of me, along with the rest of the table's. We all thank her as she walks off, most likely getting her next round.

"Percy, did you get a kids meal?" Reyna asks as I pour syrup all over my stack of pancakes.

"What gave it away?"

"I don't know, maybe the whipped cream smiley face on top?" she says.

"It tastes good and it's cheap. That's all I care about." I shrug my shoulders and go back to my pancakes.

"Those were good," I tell everyone, leaning back in my chair.

"It's been like two minutes, how are you already finished?" Leo asks as he smears butter over his chocolate chip pancakes.

"Talent," I state. I hear Annabeth snicker behind me. "What?" I ask her.

"Perce, devouring pancakes in two minutes isn't talent," she says.

"It is to me." I watch everyone finish their food, occasionally getting up and talking to the others.

About 30 minutes later, everyone's paying for their food. I pay for both myself and Annabeth, remembering to leave a large tip. We all make our way outside, and I say goodbye to everyone, noticing how Annabeth seems to be falling asleep standing up. We make our way to my car, and as I start the engine, I shuffle Lover, knowing it's one of Annabeth's favorite albums. We sing together quietly as I drive her home. I grab her clarinet for her and walk her to the door, planting a small kiss on her cheek. She hugs me and walks inside, and I make my way home, ready to collapse on my bed.

;;;

The next day comes too quickly. I wake up around 10:00 to a text from my mom. It says, "Snow day :) we got about two feet last night." I groggily head downstairs and pour myself a bowl of Cheerios, then sit down on the couch and watch one of Estelle's cartoons. Pretty soon, my phone rings, and I grab my phone off the coffee table and read Annabeth's text.

"Good morning, are you ready for me to beat you in a snowball fight?"

"Not gonna happen," I type back.

"I'm coming over at eleven," she types back.

"Bet." I hurry up to my room and throw on a sweatshirt and sweatpants, checking the time as I grab my coat. 10:46. I head back down to the couch and sit down until Annabeth arrives.

"You're going down," I say as Annabeth and I head out into the snow. I jump off the porch into the deep trench of snow. Annabeth follows me, and we lean back and stare at the clouds. Small flurries land in her hair and on her face, and she looks like an angel. I hop up and gather some snow in my hands, gently throwing it at her coat. She glares at me before smiling and making her own snowball. We laugh as we chuck snowballs at each other, shivering slightly from the cold weather. I gather another snowball, and as I'm about to throw it, Annabeth runs to me and jumps into my arms, knocking us both over. I laugh and place a light kiss on her cheek before she rolls off of me. I realize how perfect this day is. Better yet, how perfect she is.