Pulled Together

Marching Band Camp

I walked in through the side doors into the band room. I set my clarinet down in my locker and sat in the clarinet section in the band room. 

"Hey hoe, how was your summer?" Kenzie, an alto sax player and a good friend of mine asks. 

"I mean, as much fun as summer can be for me." I reply, all I did was go to Eleanor's house and take my usual trip to Illinois and band camp, but it wasn't all that exciting. 

"You're not pasty white any more, I can't make fun of you." 

"Lols, just wait until winter." I actually got sun this summer. The biggest contributor being the time L and I stayed at doe lake for 4 hours on a sunny day. 

*FlashBack*

"Fine, I'll go across the lake with you to the sandbar. I get the lay down floaty thingy though!"

"Whatever Ruth, be a WIMP!"

"I will."

As we head off on the lake to find the sandbar, Eleanor, in a ring floatie, pushes me so we can go faster. 

"LOOK!!! A LOON!!!" I scream.

"WHAT? WHERE??" Eleanor looks out from behind me, but by now the loon has gone under water. 

"You just missed him. Are we there yet?" I whine

"Not yet." 

As we continue, I see a small sail boat in the distance. I feel a pull to be on it. How the heck do they get it here?

"Are you sure it will even be here?" I'm starting to get antsy. It's not that I have a fear of water, it's that I have a fear of not knowing what's below me. 

"I mean I know it's been here before."

"Yah but the water back at the beach is all the way up to the wall, I bet the water is too high for us to find it." 

"I guess you're right. Wanna head back to the beach?"

"Yes please!!"

We start heading back but I start to hear a small noise coming from behind me

"L, what are you doing?"

"Nothing. I'm not doing anything." She says in her mischief voice. 

"L???? ARE YOU LETTING THE AIR OUT OF MY RAFT??????"

"What, no. Definitely not!"

I break away from her. We're half way across the lake but I don't trust her to push me any longer. I begin to paddle using just my arms. I guess you do get something out of having 6 years of swimming experience behind you. I continue going, Eleanor slightly behind, the fear that I could end up in the lake with nothing below me keeps my arms going. Soon enough, I end up at a point where I could stand in the water. I jump off the raft and run my way to the sand. 

"BAM!! WHO'S THE WIMP NOW HUH?? I BEAT YOU!!!!"  Eleanor soon tackles me in the water. Wait a second. I stare at the sail boat which had been set on the other side of the beach. Is that... Marcus?

*End flashback*

"... So since homecoming is so much earlier, we really have to put some work into this show. Alright go get your instruments." Mrs. O, our pretty awesome band teacher finishes. I head to the band locker room but first make a stop at my purse to grab my chapstick and phone which was on a ledge near the normal entrance to the room. After grabbing my things, I turn around to head to the band locker room to put my clarinet together, only to find Marcus at the entrance of the locker room, messing with magnets on the side of a cabinet at the entrance of the room. 

I immediately turn back around. Oh jeez, I wonder if he remembers our conversation we had this summer. I grab my sunglasses from my bag so that the awkward turn doesn't look so weird and head towards the locker room. I simply slide past him and get my clarinet together. 

The entire band starts to head down to the practice field but I sit and wait for my other best friend, Lisa. 

"Hey man, how was your summer?"I ask as we walk down. 

"It was so much fun!! I went to Yellowstone and other stuff." We both laugh. 

"Cool, cool." We fall into a silence as we follow the crowd of kids walking to the field. 

"See yah!" I yell as we walk our separate ways. Percussionists are in a different spot on the field than us.

I couldn't help but watch him behind my sunglasses the whole time.