Chromophobia

She had always been told the joys of seeing color, from her siblings, from her superiors in the band, and her parents.

However, she considered herself too busy for color.

---

Elizabeth had started playing the trombone in 5th grade, never thinking much of it. She had assumed it to be something like youth soccer, do it once and be done with it for the rest of your life.

However, the low brass instrument stuck to her. She continued the musical lessons throughout her middle school years, while most friends around her dropped the instruments, abandoning music altogether for something more "mature". Most cases, the boys she surrounded herself with took up a sport, while the girls around her took to learning the art of makeup and turning themselves from foolish small children into attractive young women.

It wasn't until high school where Elizabeth rediscovered the joy she had for the art of music.

She signed up for the class with a bit of reluctance, planning to have dropped the band altogether by the end of her freshman year. She joined, regardless, in search of an extra class and an easy way to raise her GPA.

She encountered many things that freshman year with her trombone section. from her friendly senior section leader to the eager mother junior. The combined effort of the two led Elizabeth to continue playing that instrument, signing up to join the band on a country-wide trip that summer.

She only had one problem with it, however.

The other girls her grade found themselves caring over nothing but the drama of color.

---

The practises leading up to the trip were nothing major. Apart from the bickering between her section and her right end fawning over her every mistake to turn her into a better marcher, Elizabeth found herself enjoying the process of marching. Besides, being a trombone player positioned her in the back of the formation, away from the drama of the girls she knew, who for the most part held the flags of the color guard, led the band playing trumpet, or formed the middle playing saxophone.

(She ended up discovering that, for the most part, the trumpets and the saxophones cared the least about band. There were the exceptions, of course. She'd have to make sure to befriend those exceptions.)

---

The first week of Elizabeth's trip left her feeling incredibly lonely.

Being one of many new members to the band, Elizabeth often felt herself cast aside from the rest of the group. This didn't bother her; she came to march, not to socialize.

What annoyed her the most, however, was when she heard the cries of girls seeing color for the first time.

Elizabeth herself had never experienced the sight of color, she didn't hang around boys enough to even consider the thought. But when Caitlin, a color guard girl in her grade, first saw color, she made sure the entire band knew.

She wove tales, brightly depicting the colors of the uniform they all wore. Supposedly, they were vivid blue and pale white, the plumes of their hats sparkling with a light and shiny color that stood against one much darker. (Whatever "blue" meant.)

The thought of color was interesting to Elizabeth, but after a talk with her section leader (he had been dating a percussionist girl at least since Elizabeth entered the band, word had it they'd been dating since their sophomore year) she discovered that the uniforms were in fact a deep maroon, a heavy color at first glance but beautiful as time went on. Elizabeth knew how strong the relationship between her section leader and his girlfriend was, and that he was filled with honesty, so she dismissed the thoughts of Caitlin entirely.