Trombone

Chapter 4

FWEEEEEEEE

The sound of a whistle reverberated sharply through the chatter of the band students.

"Get into your sectionals, everyone!!!" The Drum Major yelled.

Groaning, people picked themselves up and walked to their spots, dragging their instruments behind them.

Erin kicked her feet up to avoid the untied shoelaces of her red Converse. Bending down and tying them was too much work anyways. She turned her head to see her friends lazily stand with other members of rheir section. It was four in the afternoon under a blazing sun and extremely torrid conditions.

She could see Ash sitting in the shadow of the stands, her head bent and clasped between her hands. The heat must have gotten to her.

Then, suddenly, Erin tripped on her untied shoelaces and she fell, trombone included.

She didn't even have time to scream. But then, quick as a wink, she felt something, or someone, catch her. Someone else had caught her trombone as well.

"Hey Erin, you okay?"

She would know that voice anywhere. She quickly pushed herself off of Caeden.

"Y-yeah I'm fine!" Erin looked around for her trombone and saw Cory holding it like a staff.

"You better protect your trombone with your life," he said as Erin snatched it back.

"Did you see that flute on the way here?" Caeden asked,"It was like someone stepped on it!"

"Yes, someone did step on it," Cory muttered under his breath, "Snapped it cleanly in half."

Erin gulped. The trombone is stronger than a flute, obviously, but it scared her to think of her precious trombone snapping cleanly in half. She quickly snatched her trombone back.

"It's actually pretty hot today," Caeden said as he wiped his brow, "It was supposed to be eighty-give today but-"

"HEADS UP!" The trio was immediately splattered by a wave of ice-cold water.

Cory began to mutter profanity under his breath as he shook his trombone, water drops flying through the air.

"Thought you guys might wanna cool down," Makayla grinned as she held an empty water bottle in her hand, "Think of it as a boon."

"What the heck is a boon?"

"It means 'blessing'. Honestly Cory, have you started studying for SAT vocab words?"

"Nobody has time for that!"

Caeden's black bangs were dripping wet and he shook his head to get rid of the water.

Time seemed slow down as Caeden whipped his hair back and forth. Water flew from his head like fleeing diamonds against the summer sky. Erin stared, entranced by the scene before her. Never before had she seen him in such magnificence. So enchanted was she that she didn't even notice that he had stopped shaking his head and was staring uneasily at her.

"You okay Erin?" He forced an unsure smile.

She blinked and then, noticing the stares from her fellow trombones, did she feel a sense of embarrassment and dread crawl up from a pit in her stomach. Her face heated up, but she didn't think it was possible, considering the high temperatures at the time.

"I-I'm so sorry!" She managed to stutter out. To hide her embarrassment, she began to find her trombone mouthpiece the most interesting thing in the world.

"She was staring at you," Cory said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Erin's red Converse shoes seemed to be the next interesting thing, particularly the shoelaces, which caused all this mess.

Caeden looked confusedly at Erin, then at Cory, then back to Erin.

"Yes yes, let's all stare at Caeden," said Cory in a mocking tone,"All hail our Section leader!"

Makayla scoffed, "You sound jealous, Cory."

Cory started at her comment. Makayla broke into fits of laughter and his now red face as he tried to stutter out a comeback. Caeden laughed along and everyone seemed to have forgotten the embarrassing ordeal.

"Why aren't the trombones playing?" A voice from a megaphone called out, "If you don't start playing, I am going to make you run the track in this hot weather!"

The trombone section quickly set themselves up in a circle with their horns at the ready and Caeden with his arms out, ready to conduct.

Erin spotted Makayla, who was standing right next to her, winking at her, as if she knew what Erin thought about Caeden.