This One Time At Band Camp

Chapter 6

It's nine in the morning and I am already sweating. Not a good sign. Today is going to be a long day. The sun is beating down with not a single cloud in the sky. My water bottle is laying in the grass on the sidelines, sweating from the heat.  Day two of band camp has begun. Whose great idea was it to hold this band camp thing when it's 95 degrees out anyways? This should be considered a crime. Child abuse maybe? On the bright side at least I actually remembered to wear sunscreen today. 

"Is this going to be a thing now?" I ask as we line up for basic block, which is what the offical name for what we were doing yesterday morning.  Aaron explained this to me briefly as I was putting down my belongings. It appears that even though we can choose to stand wherever in the block we want, Noah and I have somehow managed to be standing by each other again.

"What?" Noah answers looking surprised and a tiny bit offended.  "Maybe I just like standing by you. I mean you are my friend. Aren't you? It's a free country and I have willingly chosen to stand next to you again.  You should be honored by my presence and thankful that I haven't complained about your stench." I start to blush in offense. "Don't worry. I've smelled worse. ten out of ten don't recommend standing near drumline. They sweat the most while lugging those huge drums around. Also, don't go near Tim in the trumpets. He claims deodorant is against his religion." Noah rolls his eyes and gags

I laugh at his sassy response. "Good to know.  I guess that if I have to suffer through hell and back, I should be glad I'm not doing it alone. Always better to drag someone with me."

We get quiet right after our short interaction since we are called to attention. After a quick greeting from the directors and a moderate stretching session led by the officers, an agenda is announced for today. First, we're reviewing what we learned yesterday. Perfect posture, marking time, taking one step and then another. Pretty simple stuff. Today, they want us to be able to move 8 steps so I guess you could say we've got some work to do.

Mr. Boston announces he wants us to work in our sections today and assigns every instrument a spot to work on or around the practice field.  He feels that more individualized attention will help us newbies learn faster. Before we move out, I say goodbye to Noah and head to the far left corner of the field.

When I get there, I find Julia with the other clarinets and stand there patiently waiting for Aaron to give us instructions. Aaron and the other section leaders were among the directors receiving more detailed instructions for what to look for in these sectionals. I watch them in the distance. Ethan stands in the back of the group and I can't help but look at his butt. I must say it is a very nice butt. He must have done a lot of squats to get it to look that nice. I just want to squeeze it a little bit. 

"I see you and Noah are pretty close now," Julia said, nudging my arm and waking me from my stance. I jump a little bit and blush. Hopefully, it's not too noticeable behind my sunburn.

"What?" I answer shrugging it off. I couldn't even remember what she said at first. I had to remember we were talking about Noah, not Ethan. " I mean I guess so. We're barely even friends. I don't even know his last name. He's just a familiar face in the crowd. You've talked to him almost as much as  I have. Besides, I don't think he's even my type, or if I have a type."

Before Julia could respond, Aaron joins us and lines us all up on two different yard lines in two rows. We were our own little mini block.   "Alright. The point of this exercise is to take eight even steps and land on that line. I've got faith in you guys. Think you can handle it?" Aaron asks.

The freshmen all nod our heads and the upperclassmen roll their eyes. I feel sorry for the upperclassmen.  If I'm already bored, I can't imagine how they must be feeling right about now.