Ordinary Life: According to a Marching Band

Chapter 2

"Look, if you guys WANT TO BE THE BEST, you have to be ON TIME!!" Jody screamed walking around the circle of drum line members. He looked each member up and down evaluating which players sucked and who was the best. "THIS IS NOT MEANT TO BE TAKEN LIGHTLY!" Jody barked even louder. Every section was starting to look in James's direction. He blushed feeling embarrassed, frightened and totally humiliated in front of the band members. He wished that he could just curl up and crawl under ground where no one could see him. His eyes rested on the ground; looking at a patch of green grass when a pair of shoes came in view. He froze.

"JAMES!" Jody's voice blared in his ears.

"Sir!" James replied trying to keep from trembling. He slowly looked up to meet Jody's glare.

"You are the absolute worst on the team! You can't keep in step and you play bass for God sake! YOU NEED TO LEARN HOW TO MARCH!" Jody spat.

"Isn't that why I'm at band camp? To learn how to march?" James replied with attitude, catching Jody off guard. He didn't mean to be rude, it just kind of slipped out. After all these days in June, and now the week in July, James was tired, absolutely TIRED of Jody being a bitch to him. He had a backbone, and now was the time to use it.

"What?" Jody questioned pushing the limit.

"You heard me, isn't band camp a place to learn how to MARCH??" The band members behind James started to "Ooooohhhhhh" and he started to feel more powerful and on top for once.

That's when it happened.

Jody got so enraged that he decked James right across the face sending him to the ground. Everyone gasped. James's body fell with a hard thud. Everyone started to scramble to get away from Jody.

"James!!!!" Katie's voice cried off in the distance. Her feet moved like lighting and she fell to his side. His eyes were closed and his skin was medium temperature. Victoria and Aidan moved in to be with James.

"James? James? JAMES?" Victoria cried shaking him. He was limp, cold and numb from all the pain. His face had a start of a bruise and a streak of blood from his cheek. Katie grabbed his hand not knowing what else to do. Tears started to fill in her eyes and then the hate set in. She controlled herself for now, but she would return for Jody. She WOULD get even.

"Babe," Aidan said prying Victoria off of him. She was so emotional and clingy that it was almost bothersome. "Let's pick him up and take him upstairs to his dorm." Aidan said looking between Katie and James. He didn't want to look at Victoria. She was embarrassing. Her eyes were puffy, her nose red like a cherry on a sundae and she was all blubbery. A typical girl. Katie had control over her emotions from what Aidan could see. He respected that.

As Aidan lifted James, Katie tried to help Victoria walk the best she could. Due to her lovely need to cry all the time, she became dead weight, and her legs got wobbly and she couldn't stand. They tried to cover a lot of ground, but Aidan moved more swiftly and carefully to the dorms then Katie ever could.

She walked past Megan who was standing with Holden and Kevin. The three of them watched her walk by struggling with the weight of Victoria on her shoulders. She felt like wiping out right there, in the grass. She tipped forward and felt Victoria go down first when something grabbed her. She looked to the left and there was Holden; one of her best friends under the other arm of Victoria.

"Let's get her upstairs." Holden said with a smile allowing Katie to relax knowing she wasn't alone.

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The elevator dinged and out walked Aidan carrying a limp James in his arms. He walked straight out of the elevator and across the hall to James's dorm room. He leaned James against the wall and using one of his hands searched through James's pockets for his room key.

He found and inserted it into the lock on the door. The lights were off and the room had a ghostly gleam coming from the windows. Aidan helped James to the couch by the wall. He laid him across it and went to the opposite wall panel for a light switch.

He walked down the hall to the bathroom. Moments later he was walking back to the main living area and off the hallway were three bedrooms. Aidan found the room that James was staying in wide open. He walked in. The floor was clean, but the desk was covered in food and his bed looked like a kid slept in it. Sheets toppled over the side and his pjs were on top rolled in a ball.

A knock on the door attracted Aidan to it. He walked calmly to the door and answered it. Behind the wooden frame stood Katie.

"Hey." Aidan said with a sensitive sound.

"Hey." Katie replied back. "Can I --" she said gesturing to the door.

"Oh, yeah of course." Aidan said stepping aside and letting her in. The room was lit, and James was on the couch at the far wall resting. There were desks and chairs in the room for when college kids lived here for studying. Katie walked over and pulled a chair up to the table in the middle of the room. Aidan walked over and pulled a chair up to the table as well. He sat down propping his feet up on the table. Aidan and Katie exchanged glances a couple of times but said nothing. Aidan couldn't take it any longer.

"Look I know we haven't been the greatest of friends but I'm--" Aidan started.

"Save it." Katie stated in a cold tone.

Aidan felt taken back. He knew that dating Victoria made her upset because he knew that she had romantic feelings for him. And Aidan felt the same way about Katie. They had discussed it one night after a football game and they had planned on dating. But it never worked out between them.

By this time Aidan had moved to sitting position on the table and was in front of Katie. She looked up at his short spiked black hair and coffee bean brown eyes

"I just wish it could have worked ou-" Katie started.

"Maybe it still can." Aidan said finishing her thought and kissing her in the process. Katie was a little taken back at his persistence, but she wanted Aidan. She kissed him back and by this time they were both standing and feeling the bond that they truly shared through their kiss.