Band Geeks Will Never Hurt You

Welcome To The Black Parade...

Welcome To The Black Parade, Or Alternately, The Adventures of an Awkward Unicorn Lover, A Part-Giraffe, and A Few Other Characters That May or May Not Become Important Later

It was an unusually cool day in Cooperstown when Mikey Way breathed in that August air and cursed the odd shape of his instrument as he attempted to shove it into the trunk of his brother's beat-up sedan. It wasn't his fault that Gerard had decided to bring a karaoke machine, seven pairs of sneakers, and various Halloween costumes to band camp, but he did need to fit his mellophone into the trunk, and all of Gerard's stuff was in the way.

Honestly, Mikey was just a little bit nervous about going to band camp for the first time. Gerard reassured him that band camp was three days of pure fun and he would make tons of new friends, but he wasn't so sure. After all, everyone loved to pick on the awkward freshman, and Mikey was almost certain that he wouldn't find any unicorns at band camp, but maybe the aftermath was secondary and he just needed to get up and go.

Mikey finally gave up and threw his stuff into the backseat. He then climbed into the passenger seat of the car, but before he was able to put on his seatbelt, Gerard started pulling out of the driveway. Mikey knew that he would inherit this car when Gerard went off to college next year, but he wasn't sure if the car would make it that long.

The two boys didn't talk much as Gerard drove to Cooperstown High School. Mikey pulled out his phone and saw that he had a text from his neighbor Pete.

Hey Mikey! Don't forget that the freshmen have to wear pink today! Also, tell your brother that TRUMPETS ARE TOTALLY GOING TO WIN SECTION OLYMPICS THIS YEAR!!!

Of course. Class Color Wars. Mikey had conveniently forgotten that he was supposed to be wearing pink. He was wearing black instead, which was the color for the seniors. "Pete says that the trumpets are going to win Section Olympics," he told Gerard. Mikey wasn't 100% sure what "Section Olympics" were, but he knew that he was going to find out soon enough.

"Tell him that he's wrong," Gerard said as he sped through a yellow light. "The saxes are totally going to win, because the trumpets aren't as saxy as we are."

Even though this was Mikey's first year in marching band, he was well aware of the rivalry between the trumpet section and the saxophone section. Nobody really remembered how it all started, but the trumpets and the saxes hated each other with a burning passion. It was practically a crime for a trumpet player to even look at one of the saxes.

The Way brothers finally arrived at Cooperstown High School. Gerard parked the car and they both got their stuff and walked towards the building. There were several school buses waiting near the entrance. Gerard entered the high school and quickly found the band director, Ms. Harrison.

Ms. Harrison was surprisingly young, but she seemed somewhat stern. She was fairly short and had blond hair that went just past her shoulders and hazel eyes. Gerard had told Mikey that previous marching band director had retired the year before, so Ms. Harrison was new. "What are your names?" she asked.

"I'm Gerard Way, and this is my brother Mikey," Gerard said. She handed them their name tags. Mikey stuck his name tag onto his shirt and then set his mellophone down and sat down on one of the benches. He looked around worriedly. There must have been hundreds of people in that room, and he didn't know any of them.

Before long, it was time to board the bus to Battery City College, where band camp was being held. Mikey took a seat at the front of the bus, secretly hoping that nobody would sit next to him so he could put in his earbuds and listen to Anthrax.

Of course, this didn't happen. An unusually tall boy sat next to him. Actually, "unusually tall" is an understatement. This kid must have been part giraffe. His name tag read "Dallon Weekes - Mellophone - Senior."