The WRA Draft

Chapter Thirty-Seven: The Elevator

They hadn't called our school yet.

They'd gone through forty-seven other groups in our class and there were five scores to be called.

"With a score of 71.479....congratulations to...Martinsville High School of San Francisco, California!"

There were cheers. Tension grew deeper in us. Another one called. Some school from Indiana.

I felt Denver find and squeeze my hand. I looked at our touching hands in astonishment. He was grinning when I looked at him. I smiled and squeezed it back.

"In third place....with a score of 79.6847....congratulations to...Marrisville High School of Iowa!"

There were looks of utter shock among the ensemble. I didn't know what to do. Denver gently pushed me forward, knowing we needed to retrieve our medals and trophy.

I looked at Denver after the woman placed the medal over my head and shook my head. He smiled at me. I pulled him into a hug.

"I can't believe this is happening," I whispered.

"Believe it, honey," he said with a laugh. He pulled from the embrace but kept his hands on my shoulders. He took my hand and led me to the picture.

The ensemble got our picture and the rest of awards carried on, Denver's hand still in mine. The school from Nebraska won.

Mr. Wires wanted us out of the gymnasium and to our room, so I walked, with Denver, the whole way. We didn't talk, but he kept his hand locked with mine. I didn't look at anyone until we reached the room.

I hardly heard Mr. Wires speech. I was thinking hard.

Our ensemble just won third place in Percussion Nationals. Everyone was leaving tomorrow. My new lifestyle started in two days.

"Holy crap," I said out loud. Everyone looked at me.was the last day. Mr. Wires stopped talking. "I'm sorry, did I say that out loud?"

"Looks like the realization finally hit someone," Mr. Wires said with a grin.

I nodded. "Yeah."

Denver squeezed my hand. He also nudged my shoulder and whispered in my ear, "Nice of you to join us while you still can."

I nudged him back. "Shut up."

Mr. Wires said to change out of our uniform, grab our stuff, and head to the bus.

I finally let go of Denver's hand to grab my uniform bag.

I ran quickly to the bathroom to change, that is, of course, after the countless photos.

When I walked out, Denver was putting his shoes on. His uniform was in a ball next to him. I walked over and put it away neatly.

When he got his shoes on, he stood up and hugged me. I wasn't sure of the reason for this one, but I certainly wasn't going to stop him.

When Denver pulled away, he took my hands and just stared. He examined my face, a ghostly smile flickering on his lips.

"What?" I finally asked.

"I can't wait to see you again," he uttered so quietly, I almost didn't hear it.

But I did and it felt good to hear. "I can't wait to see you too."

We picked up our bags. Tommy ran up. I threw down my bag and jumped on him in a hug. Tommy, having experience with this, caught me and spun in circles.

"We did it, sweetheart," He muttered in my ear.

I dig my head further into his shoulder. "We did it."