This One Time At Band Camp

Chapter 14

"You're a pretty fast learner," Noah tells me as we walk in from the practice field. We had chosen during our sectional on Tuesday to have a make-up practice for me after band camp on Wednesday. We just finished up with that and I was draining the last of my water bottle. I had learned all the sets I missed. I had learned everything I needed to know to play the show music, but it wasn't memorized yet.  Things were going pretty well for me. 

"Thanks," I say wiping the sweat from my brow. We had got done a lot earlier than I had planned. We still had a whole hour that I thought we'd be practicing. I texted Amanda to pick me up early because mom still can't drive yet, but she said she couldn't because she was at the gym. She told me to walk like a big girl. What a bitch.

Noah was reading my texts over my shoulder. "Oh! You know I can drive right?  I forgot to tell you the other night that my parents gifted me the old minivan to drive! It's pretty awesome. I can give you a lift if you need."

"Ok ! That would be great actually. Thanks! I just need to get some stuff out of my locker before we go." I turned my head to look at him and give him a smile, but  I ended up tripping as we crossed from the grass to the pavement. I managed to scrape up both of my knees, my left hand, and my left elbow. It hurt so much as the tiny pieces of gravel embedded themselves into my skin.

Noah laughed at me and my clumsiness. He picked up my mellophone and dusted the dirt off. "Well, at least the mellophone is okay. You can't afford to break another instrument this week. " He looks down at me, still smiling until he sees the blood start to drop from all my scrapes. "Oh shit. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, no thanks to you. " I say it to be mean because I was salty that he laughed at me, but as always it came out as sounding sarcastic "Just a couple scratches. Nothing too major. I'll survive, but some bandages would be pretty nice right about now. "

"Not a problem," Noah says as he offers me a hand helps me stand back up. Everything stung with pain. Noah opens the school door for me and ushers me inside. "Boston keeps a huge first aid kit in his office and the one door to his always unlocked in case of situations like this."

The two of us walk to the choir room and put our mellophones away. We took them into the band room and put them in their respective lockers. I had recently gotten a new locker in order to store it. Let me just say it's a pretty huge locker. Like damn. It was a major upgrade from the shoebox I kept my clarinet in. 

We then head over to the practice room hallway to find the back door to the office that is supposedly always unlocked. When we arrive, it's closed and I think I hear something from inside. I stop in my tracks. I start to recall all the rumors I had heard since I started band.

Noah reaches for the handle but I grab his wrist to stop him. "Don't you think we should knock first? It's rude to just walk in you know. He could still be in there trying to do work."

Noah just roles his eyes at me and shoos me away. "Relax. Everyone is gone. Boston has kids to go pick up from daycare. He's long gone along with everyone else. Nobody wants to be here longer than they have to.  The light was off in the office when we saw the windows in the band room. It'll be fine. Trust me"

"Fine," I say. I agree to trust him, but I wish I hadn't. When he opened the door and turned on the light I saw the most disturbing thing of my life. Our jaws dropped and we stared in disbelief. When we came to our senses, we turn away. I gagged "Oh my god!"

"Holy shit!," Noah says. He reaches over to cover my eyes, but they're already covered. There is a rush in the office from the two directors as they scurry to put their clothes back on, but what's been seen cannot be unseen. 

"It's not what it looks like, I swear!" I hear one of them say, but it's pretty hard to deny that they were just lying naked together on the very desk I had sat in front of just a few days earlier. I feel chills shiver up my spine. I fight my instinct to just run away. 

Noah grabs a red bag off the wall and slams the door. "Uh let's get out of here. Like now" he says. There's no argument from me there. I couldn't wait to leave.

We run out of the school and to his minivan. We're quick to get in and he starts the car. We drive to a small Dairy Queen down the road and pull into their parking lot. He shuts off the car and I we stare blankly forward for a little while. 

It isn't until a few minutes later that I remember all the blood that is leaking from my body. "Crap. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bleed all over your car."

 " It's alright. I forgot myself for a little bit. Here, I'll come around and help you. I'm certified in first aid. I got you." He opens his door and walks around to my side of the car with the red bag. He opens the first aid kit and pulls out some stuff. It looks like band-aids, a pair of gloves and some alcohol wipes.  He starts with my hand and gently wiped my cut before applied a  couple of band-aids.

After all my wounds are bandaged, we decide to treat ourselves a little to erase our minds. I'm about to get out of the car when suddenly Noah stops me. "Wait, you got a little something on your face. "He reaches into a pouch on his door and pulls out a napkin. He licks in and wipes my face. "It must have happened when you were, you know, um, covering your eyes.  You know what? Let's just not talk about this anymore, like never again."

"That's fine with me," I say getting out of the car. "I'd much rather think about an Oreo blizzard with my name on it."