The Lies We Tell

Chapter 8: Competition

     The next notable event of the year was the spring band trip to Myrtle Beach. It was, perhaps, the last truly happy time of Laurel's life. She woke up early that morning to get to school by seven thirty, but the ride was long and there was plenty of opportunity to sleep. She didn't, however, as she was way too excited to drift off into the quiet realm of sleep.  Apart from the usual band-kid craziness (namely headbands, singing, noisy chatting, and Super Mario Brothers tournaments) the ride was relatively uneventful.
     The first stop was at a large high school in North Carolina. Trailers and busses filled the parking lot while students hurried around like bees in a hive pushing, pulling, and carrying instruments in every plausible direction. Only jazz band and percussion were performing, so Laurel patiently followed around her school's ensembles. There was only one other girl on the trip who did not get to perform: Elizabeth Finchwood, or, as most kids knew her, Finch.
     As it turned out, both Finch and Laurel played clarinet. They were in the same grade and were sharing a room on the trip. The competition lasted about three hours, which, for two quiet, introverted high schoolers, was an absolute eternity. For a while the two simply ignored each other, each using her phone as an escape from reality, but then Laurel heard a familiar chime from the phone of her neighbor. "What language?"
     "Hmm?"
     "That sound. It's from when you get a question right on Duolingo. What language?"
     "Oh. German."
     "Oh cool! I love German! It's the first language I ever started learning. Besides English, of course."
     Finch shyly let her silvery blond hair fall in front of her face in an attempt to conceal the laughing look of pleasure in her golden green eyes. Laurel smiled quietly, a gesture that went unnoticed by her companion. It was in that moment that Laurel realized that they would get on just fine together.