Bears Know Best

Chapter 27: A Non-Date

WEDNESDAY MORNING, I woke up and found myself suddenly nervous. I was supposed to out to lunch with Cameron and the other two drum majors today! It was a really good thing that Mom had insisted on me choosing my outfit for the next day, the night before, as otherwise I would have been ripping through my closet and drawers left and right. As it was, I made a last-minute decision to wear a sundress instead of the shorts and t-shirt I had picked out. 'I hope it doesn't make me look too young...' I griped at myself once I was dressed.

I spent more time than I really could afford on my makeup and hair that morning. I wore my charm bracelet, and the necklace Dad had given me, along with some cute treble-clef earrings we'd found at Claire's. My reflection looked great in the mirror to me, and I hoped it would to others this morning too. I wasn't necessarily just dressing to impress Cameron, the freshman trombone player, Chris, that had tried to take me out with his trombone yesterday was kind of cute too.

I walked into the band room and pulled out my concert horn to practice for a while before we actually started. Mr. Brandt came out when I was taking a break from my warm-up routine and said, "You look very nice today Taylor."

"Thanks Mr. Brandt!" I said with a smile.

"Taylor, just how much do you normally practice?"

I turned a slight shade of red as it really was a little embarrassing sometimes. "Three hours usually... unless I can find more time. I can go six-hours sometimes if nothing distracts me..."

He shook his head, "That's awesome," he told me with a smile. "What do you want to do when you grow up?"

"Is that a short joke?" I asked.

"Well... now that you mention it."

If I knew him better, I would have stuck my tongue out at him. "Not nice." I said while making a pouting face. "I don't know... a part of me thinks playing professionally would be really really cool," I told him. "But my mom is a lawyer and my dad has a degree in chemistry, so sometimes I think about following in their footsteps."

"Your dad has a degree in chemistry?" he asked, surprised.

"He didn't waste his time as a college ball player; he made sure he had a degree to fall back on. Sports are hard on bodies, and it's easy to have one injury ruin a career."

He nodded, "He sounds like a smart man."

I smiled, "He's my dad."

"Well, I'll let you get back to practicing." He told me.

I managed to get through my scales, both of the pieces I wanted to play for the audition, and then the new concerto that I was working on with Mr. Fark. I was working on that piece when Destiny came and sat down next to me. I smiled at her, but kept working at it. One measure was killing me because it leapt up a weird interval, and then went into a fast passage. I must have played it half-a-dozen times before I heard a giggle next to me.

"So, you are fallible?" Destiny asked me.

I nodded, "This piece is tough... and I'm supposed to have a lesson on it Saturday."

"It looks beyond tough... how old are you anyway?"

"I just turned fourteen."

"I don't think I could play this at all, and I used to think I was pretty good." She told me sadly.

"You could play it; you'd just have to practice it a lot... just like I have to practice this a lot!" I smiled at her.

She shook her head, "No, you're in a completely different world from me... or anyone else I've ever met."