Wouldn't it be Funny?

Chapter 6

Something is stirring.

I've had dreams of dark places. Loud screeching noises scrape the corners of my mind at night and leave me in a cold sweat. Something bad was going to happen. But this time it was different. This time I was scared for my own well-being.

"Ember, wait!" I groaned inwardly looked for who was calling me.

I was so close to getting out of here.

I had just closed my locker door. If he would've waited two more seconds I could've booked it out of school and into my warm bed. Zayne came running up to me.

You'd think that Zayne would be 6 foot something, with all the country-bred males we had around here. But poor Zayne was stuck with the rest of us girls, at around 5.6 feet. It was always a nice change to not crane my neck to look him in the face.

"Hey! So I heard you were having your own band camp at the old recreational center. I just thought I'd ask if you really were okay with it." He took a deep breath to steady his breathing.

"That's how we planned it. It should be fine though. I was already staying there over the break to get some maintenance done." I thought about the last thing Zayne said. He didn't need to know about the dreams, "Yeh, I'm fine with it. I mean, Aaron is a weak link in our band right now. And he needs all the help he can get." Zayne shook his head and it looked like he was going to say more when Aaron came up behind him.

"Ember, I wanted to talk to you about this band camp." When Aaron spoke, Zayne had this odd look on his face. He dismissed himself and took off.

That was weird. He didn't have to leave.

"Yeah, sure." I crossed my fingers that he was going to cancel. I didn't like the horrible feeling in the air. But I could just be acting paranoid.

"I wanted to know if I should bring money for food. Are your parents going to pay?"

"Oh, my dad isn't going to be there. There is a vacant rental house in another town that needs fixing by Wednesday. Since it's such a long drive, he won't be there. There is a kitchen in the rec. center so I'll make sandwiches for lunch." I explained. I didn't think it was necessary to explain my parents current marital standing at that moment.

"What about breakfast and dinner?"

"You can eat them at home?" That was weird. I told him over the phone last night that practice was 8:00-5:00. That was a long time, but I planned on snacks and water breaks in-between drills.

"At home? But I thought I was staying the night." Now it was officially uncomfortable. Aaron looked genuinely confused. My body locked up, I had no idea how to approach this situation. Why would he think that?

"I'm sorry, but that wasn't in my plans. I am staying because after practice I need to do maintenance on the building." I tried to talk as calm as possible, but my voice cracked anyway.

"Oh, I just had the impression that band camp was an overnight thing... Since the hours are so long and the drive is a bit lengthy." Aaron rubbed the back of his neck, the tips of his ears were turning pink.

I hadn't thought about any of that. Mostly because I wasn't expecting him to stay the night. My plans were crumbling in front of my eyes and I was getting flustered. I needed to get Aaron caught up. Not just for him, but because I needed him to pull his own weight. Between the nightmares, school, and learning my own drill, I was a hot mess. Practices were stressful enough because I was marching my own drill while teaching Aaron his own.