Marching The Line: The Newbie

Chapter 1

Makenna's P.O.V.

Friday Night. Crowds cheering. Crisp Autumn air. My dream.

"Makenna Cooper." I heard my name being called into the band room. I stopped at the door, my hand freezing on the door knob.

"What's the matter? Afraid of Mr. Swallen?" A guy said looking at me with a smug look on his face.

I narrowed my pale green eyes. "Please." I grumbled. "I'm not afraid so get off my ass." Leaving him with that I opened the door and walked in. Mr. Swallen faced me. He had light blond hair that was cut short and spikey. He had bright blue eyes and looked to be in his late twenties. "Hey uncle Swallen!" I smirked. Normally I wasn't so cocky or in a bad mood, I was normally a very quiet and closed off person but I was new to this school, and so far everyone had laughed at the idea of a newbie being a snare/quad drummer. Especially since I was a girl.

Swallen looked at me with surprise. "Well, well, well. Good to see you Makenna." He said a matching smirk on his face. He looked at me funny. "Wait a minute...Mak, please tell me you aren't trying out."

"Sorry Swally, but I am." Swally was my nickname for him. He never seemed to mind. I met his blue gaze head on and walked over to the snare. "I've been practicing both." I said and grabbed my multicolored drum sticks out of my back pocket. "Just listen before we get to the audition stuff." Without waiting for his go I pulled the harness over my head and hooked the black snare on. Pearl...not bad. I made a mental note to myself to thank my uncle for picking good quality drums. I shifted my shoulders and made myself stand straighter than normal. I began to tap out a rhythm on the rim and closed my eyes as rhythms flooded into my brain and into my hands. I played louder and started hitting the snare head, adding rim taps and rim shots into my sound. I let my emotions flow freely into what I was playing and after a few minutes I began to play on the high hat that was hooked onto the snare rim. I continued to play until I felt Swallen had heard enough of my snare playing and moved onto the quads. I was silent as I stared down at the four different sized drums that rested on my harness in front of me. I grabbed the quad sticks and again started a rhythm on one of the rims. I remembered something I had heard and let my hands do the playing, not even bothering to think about it. I smirked when I figured out I was playing show tunes from my old school, and smirked even more when I knew I had never played in the drum line or band at my old school. This went on for a few minutes and then I stopped adding a loud accent on the last note. I faced Swallen, a smile on my face and my breathing slightly heavy.

"Well...that was..."Swallen tapped his pencil on his clipboard as he stared at the paper. "deffiantely a different way of showing talent. You're good Mak, I'll give you that. But, how do you plan on pulling both drums off?"

"I have a few ideas of my own. You've just gotta give me a chance and trust me." I said smiling. I knew I caught his attention.

"Alright. Thanks Mak. I'll let you know with the rest of the try-outs are over." He said.

My smile faded as I left the room. The guy I had snapped at stared at me as I walked out. He followed me down the high school hallway. "Aren't you gonna say anything?" He asked me breaking into my thoughts.

I shook my head, going back to my normal quiet personality. I took a seat at one of the cafeteria tables, my back resting comfortably against the table edge. I had forgotten that I had a bit of back pain when I lifted something heavy. I shrugged it off.

"I'm Asher." The guy said.

I looked at him. He was tall and built nicely. Defiantly a snare drummer. He had silver and green eyes. His hair was blond and sun streaked, it was just long enough to reach his eyebrows. His eyes were framed with dark lashes and his eyes seemed guarded. I narrowed my eyes at him slightly.

Asher's P.O.V.

I waited as the new girl looked my up and down. She was awfully quiet after her snapping at me. Then again I hadn't been the most welcoming either. She looked away. "Makenna. Call me Mak." She said simply. Mak had long blond hair that was pulled up into a messy ponytail. Her bangs were pulled to one side and tucked behind her left ear. She had a splash of freckles across her cheeks and nose. Her eyes seemed really pale, but they were a very pretty, intriguing green. Mak was defiantly a pretty girl. But she was quiet and seemed to keep everything to herself. She was strong but she looked fragile. She had a nice figure too...not that I was paying any attention to that. I had heard her playing and damn, she was better than she looked.

"So, um." I tried to think of something to say. "How long have you been playing?"

"I've been practicing for a year, but I never touched a drum until then." I said.

"You're kidding?" I said surprised.

Mak shook her head. "What about you?" She asked.

No matter how hard I tried I couldn't meet Mak's gaze. "Been playing since I was in eighth grade." I said. "You're a Sophmore aren't you?"

"Oh that's cool." Mak said. "Yeah I am. You're a junior huh?" She asked.

I nodded. "So, rumor is, is Swallen is your uncle."

Mak grimaced. "Yeah."

"That's cool." I said. "Swallen won't be giving you a hard time I guess then."

"Look, just because he's my uncle doesn't mean he's giving me special treatment." Mak growled.

Okay, note to self. This girl had a short temper and was clearly hot-headed. "Okay...sorry." I grumbled.

Mak shrugged. "It's whatever." She said. "So where is everyone else?"

"Probably already down at the band room. They aren't as confident as we are." I said.

"So, they think that if they're the first to get in there that they'll have a better chance of making the line?" Mak asked. She raised an eyebrow and glanced at me.

I chuckled. "Apparently. Wanna head down there?"

Mak nodded and stood up, she twisted her back. I cringed when I heard her spine popping. I hope she doesn't have any spinal issues. I said to myself. I walked beside her down the hall, matching her stride even though I was probably a good foot taller than her. I could see her watching my roll-stepping out of the corner of her eye and I smiled despite of myself. She was gonna have a hell of a time learning how to march. Swallen wasn't going to make it easy on her either.

We made it to the band room and stood outside the door. Mak put a foot up on the wall and leaned her back against it. I just leaned my back against the wall beside her. Suddenly I was a little nervous to hear the results. I found myself wondering if Mak was.

After a few minutes the door opened.

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Hope you guys liked it! I've got big plans for Asher and Mak so keep reading!! And the picture of the girl is what I imagine Mak to look like. :) Anywho, keep watching for more.