I slipped my arms out of the heavy crimson jacket and sighed with relief. "That was exhausting," I groaned.
"Tell me about it," commented Andrea.
"The bass drums were asking to die this game," I added. There was another cadence (we called it Clicks) that resulted in the trombones leaping from one foot to the other on a loop. Not only do they play it at the worst possible times when we're all way too tired and out of breath to do anything, but while we were marching back the band room after the game, they played it while we were going up and down the bridge crossing the street. A few of the bass drums (they marched backwards to go down the bridge) had frightened looks on their faces watching us go down.
"So, are you guys ready for the parade tomorrow?" David asked.
"We're going to pull an all-nighter," Jayden joked.
Andrea laughed. "Sure!"
"No," I complained. "I need sleep!"
"Whoever falls asleep first gets a mustache drawn on their face!" Caiden exclaimed.
"Why do you guys have to do this after a game and before a parade?" I asked.
They were joking, of course. After putting my instrument away, I grabbed my shoes and headed out to the lunch tables to wait for my mom to pick me up.
Quite a few of the band kids were still waiting for their parents. Andrea was sitting with Christina, Aaron, and a few of his other friends. When she left, Christina said, "I think she left her backpack."
"Yeah, she did," I confirmed. "What should we do?"
"I'll probably take it home and give it to her later," Christina replied.
A few minutes later, I heard a voice on speaker phone. "Hello?"
"Hey, it's Aaron," Aaron greeted.
"Uh, hey, what's up?" the voice asked.
"Who are you talking to?" I whispered.
Aaron grinned at me. "You left your dignity," he said.
Oh, I mouthed, laughing. Andrea sounds different on the phone, I thought.
"My dignity?" Andrea asked, confused.
Everyone laughed. "You left your backpack," Christina translated.
"...What?" she asked. Shuffling. "Oh, I did...could one of you get it to me tomorrow?"
They laughed again. "Yeah, I'll take it," Christina agreed.
"Okay, thanks," Andrea said. She hung up.
I love Andrea.
.
The next morning, my alarm clock went off at 7 AM. I turned it off and thought, Wait...why am I waking up early, again? I shook my head and went back to sleep.
I have no idea how this worked. I actually fell back asleep, and I wasn't dreaming about band or anything, but twenty minutes later I shot out of bed. "Wait!" I exclaimed. "I have band!"
I threw off my blankets and began to get dressed. I didn't bother choosing anything; it's not like I was going out in public. Well, I was, but I really didn't care. I threw on my band shirt, gym shorts, and my long black socks and then proceeded to the kitchen to get something to eat.
The typical way to dress before band is very light. It is pretty hot where I live, so you really don't want to be wearing anything that you aren't comfortable sweating or working out in. You also need long black socks and black marching band shoes. The marching shoes are pretty comfortable in my opinion, but they aren't really meant for walking around in, and they don't look very good without the uniform. They are obviously designed for roll-stepping; the soles have a sort of log that makes it easier to roll your feet.
YOU ARE READING
25 or 6 to 4 {EDITING}
Novela Juvenil[Based on a true story] Kaylee has no clue what happened. One second, she is sitting in middle school with her nose stuck in a book, and the next she's in the band room with a trombone between her legs. For years, it had always been her dream to jo...
