"Well, you're very excited…" Kristy, another one of her best friends, said.
"What do you expect? It's our 1st competition of senior year and my 18th birthday, and we just won 1st place out of 3 when we usually don't have any competition at these things!" Zoe said, taking her messy bun out and swinging her long red hair down her back.
Kristy laughed. "You have a point…"
Laura turned to them. "Plus, it's your first competition as section leader."
"Yes, exactly," Zoe replied, brushing through her hair with her slender fingers. "So, you guys are coming tonight, right?" she asked her friends.
"Of course! It's your 18th birthday party! Why wouldn't we?" Laura said.
"True…" Zoe looked forward just as Meg got on the bus. "Oh yay, Meg's back…" she said in one of the most sarcastic voices she could do.
"Thanks for waiting, you guys," Meg yelled, sitting down right in front of Zoe and Laura. "I came out of the bathroom and look, and all of you are gone!"
"Sorry, Meg," Laura said. "We didn't know where you went and we thought you had already left."
"How could you forget about me?" Meg screamed back at her.
Zoe just rolled her eyes. I wonder… she thought to herself.
At that moment, Steven, one of the section leaders of the drumline, got on the bus.
Meg giggled. "Hee hee… Hi…" she said as he passed her.
He looked at her and monotonously replied "Hi…"
"Nice solo, Sans," Zoe said to him, holding out her hand for a high five.
"You too, Poms." He smiled and slapped her hand. At that, she could feel death rays being projected onto her by Meg.
"Why do you two always call each other by abbreviated last names?" Kristy asked Zoe.
"I don't know. We just don't like using first names, and who'd want to call someone Sanseroni or Pominger?" Zoe replied, trying to ignore the looks she was getting from Meg.
Laura laughed. "I love his last name… It's the best… Actually, I just love his name all together. Steven Sanersoni."
"You having fun with that?" Lizzy said, sitting down in the seat with Kristy. Lizzy's curly blonde hair was everywhere and looked like it had just been stuck under a hot helmet for the past hour.
"Yes, in fact, I am!" Laura smiled. "Zoe, does my hair look alright?" she asked her.
"Yea, you just have some random hairs everywhere from being sweaty," Zoe replied. Zoe loved Laura's hair. It was such a warm chestnut color, and it was so incredibly soft.
"Zoe, you made my braided bun too tight again…" Meg complained, trying to pull the attention back onto her. She pulled her braids out, flicking her ratty black hair in Zoe's face.
"Sorry," Zoe said, flicking Meg's hair out of her face. "If you don't like it, you can find someone else." Plus, your hair is disgusting to touch…
Meg sighed. "Isn't Stevey so amazingly sexy?" she said, staring at the back of the bus with her beady brown eyes. "I'd love to have sex with him… I bet he's the longest one in marching band."
"That's perverted," Kristy bluntly said. "God would not appreciate it."
"I'm sure God would appreciate me being happy with one of the hottest guys in marching band," she replied. "But seriously, he is so sexy… Don't you think so, Zoe?"
"Naw, not really," Zoe replied, rummaging through her bag.
"Really now? You guys talk all the time!" Meg said, pushing her way into the seat with Zoe and Laura.
"Yea, so? We talk."
"Exactly. You guys have to have a connection if you talk all the time!" Meg said, shoving her boobs into Zoe's personal space.
"Meg, why are you in the seat? Get back in your own!" Laura said, pushing on Zoe to shove Meg out, which worked, since she fell out onto her ass.
Meg pouted her way back into the seat in front of them, and repeated herself. "You guys talk! You have a connection!"
"No, Meg, we don't. Unlike yourself, I know that just because you are friends with a guy doesn't mean that he likes you and wants to bang you."
With that, Meg turned around, but not without giving Zoe an evil glare first.
"Anybody want water?" Mrs. Kimmling said, getting onto the bus holding up water bottles.
Lizzy stood up. "You guys want any?"
"Sure," Zoe, Laura, and Kristy all replied, and Lizzy went up to get four water bottles from her mom.
Steven came up from the back, and asked Kristy if he could just sit on the end of her seat real quick. "Hey Zoe, what time should I be at your house tonight?" he asked Zoe.
"Well, I told everyone else 10, so I guess you can get there around then too," she smiled. At this moment, Lizzy came back with the water bottles.
"Excuse me, Steven, but you have stolen my seat!" she said, laughing at the way she had just said that.
Steven laughed too. "Of course, madam. Here is your seat back." He turned to Zoe. "You're going to love your present." And with that, he turned and walked back to his seat.
Meg turned around. "You totally just flirted with him! YOU LIKE HIM! THERE'S A CONNECTION!"
"NO THERE'S NOT!" Zoe screamed back at her. "Just turn back around and do whatever the hell you were just doing. And stop ruining my birthday." By this comment, Zoe was surprised she hadn't sent Meg crying to her mom standing outside. Instead Meg just turned around and pushed her earphones into her ears.
Zoe turned to look at Laura, who was grinning and had her hand out for a high five. "That was awesome!" Laura whispered to her.
All Zoe did was laugh.
The next hour was full of Zoe, Kristy, Laura, and Lizzy all belting out songs and laughing at their terrible singing. As the buses turned into the school parking lot, the girls finished singing "Life is a Highway" and pushed their way off.
"Laura, you're coming with me, right?" Zoe asked her as she grabbed her mellophone case from off the bus.
"Yupp," Laura said trying to stuff her flute case into her bag. "I gotta get something from inside, so I'll just meet you at the car, alright?"
"Sure," Zoe said, "I'll just be packing up the car."
As Laura went into the school, Zoe made her way over to her blue Malibu that her parents had given to her when her mom got a new car. She placed her case down on the ground, popped the trunk, and threw all her things into it. Laura came within a few seconds, and stuck her things in the trunk with Zoe's and shut it. Zoe and Laura got into the car, and Zoe started it. Just as she was about to pull out of the spot, Chris came running up to her with Devin, his brother.
"Hey Zoe, we were wondering if you could give us a ride to your house…"
"Yea, just throw your stuff in the trunk," she said, popping the trunk for them. Chris was in her section, and Devin was in the trombones, so she figured her trunk would be pretty full with all their things. They got into the car, and she pulled out of her parking spot, being careful not to hit anyone. Just as she went by the buses, Meg ran out in front of her. She slammed on the brakes and gave Meg a look.
"Zoe! You could've killed me!" Meg said, coming to her window. She looked in the back. "Oh, hey Chris… hey Devin…" she giggled. "Hey Zoe, what was Stevey talking about on the bus?"
"You mean when he asked me the time?" Zoe asked.
"Yea. That," Meg said, giving her a look.
"Oh, he's just coming over with a few other people."
"Oh, well, why wasn't I invited?"
"Well, are you a section leader?"
"No…"
"Well, that's who's invited."
"Well… Chris isn't a section leader!" Meg said, pointing to him in the back.
"He's my second-hand man. He's like a section leader. Now excuse me, I have to go." And with that, Zoe looked to see if anyone was there, and stepped on the gas.
"Nice job, Zoe," Chris laughed from the back seat.
"Yea, I know. She's been pissing me off a lot lately…" Zoe laughed as she drove off. "Boy, I hope she doesn't show up…" she laughed.