A/N: This is going to be my first real story (with a plot and everything, yay). It will mostly be about Les Amis' adventures in band class, but also middle school. Narration will switch between Courfeyrac and Jehan, who are not going to be together here (C'mon, they're sixth graders!) but are best friends. The next chapter will focus on he actual band period, but I won't give too many spoilers. I'm writing this because 1) I want to become a better writer, 2) I love Courf/Jehan stuff, 3) I've always wanted to write a band fanfic, and 4) I'm working on longer chapters. Suggestions, corrections, and the like are welcomed with opened arms. I'd also like to note that the cover photo is not mine: it belongs to .christoph.G. the Flickr user, and I'm not making any profit from it. Anyways, please enjoy this, and review it if you have time. This will probably be the longest author's note, don't fret. Thanks!

-Gav

"I can't wait, Courf! It's gonna be so much fun!" Eleven-year old Jean "Jehan" Prouvaire bounced alongside his best friend, his dirty blonde braid skipping behind him like a little kite. He was referencing their sixth-grade year, which the friends had just entered and were beyond excited for. Well, mostly.

"Yeah, it'll be great," Courfeyrac grumbled sarcastically. "Since when is school classified as 'fun?'" And since when does it start on August 12th?

The curly-black haired student had been Jehan's best friend since kindergarten. The two had met when Jehan was being laughed at for sticking a pretty dandelion in his hair. Courfeyrac, the outspoken little tyke, had pranced up to the quietly crying Jehan, put his arm around him, and asked if he could play.

"Well, it's not, technically," Jehan's voice interrupted Courfeyrac's reminiscing. "But this year we get to do band! Band! With shiny instruments and pretty music."
Courfeyrac nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, I guess that period will be fun. Shineys galore and music." Courfeyrac had always been a music fan, but he wasn't sure about this band thing. What if it was too much work? He probably already had seven periods of homework to worry about. He'd been told multiple times that sixth grade wasn't a walk in the park.

"Is something the matter, Courf? You seem...lost." Jehan's voice once again interrupted his curly-haired friend's thoughts.

"Not at all, flower boy," Courfeyrac answered and grinned, using one of his favorite nicknames for his companion. He was rewarded with a playful shove in the ribs.

The two friends were walking to their new school, Victor Hugo Middle School. Trees were loosely scattered on one sides of the sidewalk, with their majestic branches making a half-canopy over the concrete pathway. The leaves were at the brightest, celebrating the last warm days of summer and waving in the morning breeze. Jehan's backpack was a forest green color, and Courfeyrac's was your typical black Jansport. As the two rounded the corner, they were met with an intimidating brick building. It loomed in front of them, and they stopped for a second to take nervous gulps. So this was where they'd be spending most of the next three years? Courfeyrac shot a brave smile at Jehan and they both stepped onto the campus of their new school.

"Hey, guys! Over here!" Any nervous thoughts evaporated from Courfeyrac's head as he spotted an energetic redhead waving from underneath a tree.

"Feuilly!" Jehan's solemn face broke into a grin and he dodged random loitering students to meet his friend, with Courfeyrac in tow. "How was summer?"

"Pretty good. Joly freaked when he saw my hands," Feuilly laughed, and his brown eyes sparkled. Courfeyrac knew that Feuilly's family was tight on funds, and Feuilly had to go spend the summer working for his grandfather, a fan maker, for the majority of the summer days, which resulted in cracked and dry fingers. Feuilly liked the work though. "How was your guys' summer?"

"Great!" Courfeyrac piped up. "You should have been there for the pool party," he added, a mischievous grin on his face as he remembered what had happened.

Feuilly chuckled. "Ah well, maybe next year!"

Jehan nodded. "Absolutely!"

"So, what schedules did you guys get?" Courfeyrac asked, pulling his own out of his side backpack pocket to compare. Feuilly fumbled in his worn camoflauge lunchbox pocket for his, and Jehan swiftly pulled it out of his pocket.

"Fantine for history first, then Javert for math, Valjean for band, Euphrasie for science, Lever for language arts, Thompson for P.E., and then Matthias for computers last period," Courfeyrac read off his schedule.

"What type of name is Lever?" snorted Jehan. Courfeyrac giggled too, and moved over to read the poet's schedule.

"Sweet! We have math and band together!" The curly-haired student exclaimed happily.

"Oh joy, two periods in a row with Courfeyrac? How am I going to live?" Jehan pressed a dramatic hand to his forehead with the joking grin that Courfeyrac (who rolled his eyes and grinned) usually wore.

Feuilly moved next to Jehan. "Looks like we have P.E. together!" The two boys high fived. "Hmm, do I got anything with Courf?" The redhead sidled over to Courfeyrac and scanned his schedule. "Darn it, I don't," he noted, frowning.

"Cheer up, bustah," Courfeyrac smiled down at his friend. "We both have A lunch, right?" Feuilly nodded. "So we can meet up then! And times like now, before the bell!"

A harsh bell tone interrupted their chatter. "Speak of the devil," grumbled Courfeyrac. With a quick fist bump, each of the friends departed to their first periods.

Courfeyrac quickly checked his schedule again and pointed himself towards Building 6, the sixth-grade one. He managed to navigate the mob of chattering students, and up to room 2-204. He glanced around at the half-full classroom and took a seat in the second-to-last row. He kicked his backpack under his desk, which smelled of lemon antibacterial wipes. The students filed in in little groups and eventually every desk was occupied and the bell had rung once more.

Ms. Fantine, a somewhat vertically-challenged woman, stood up from a swivel chair behind a huge oaken desk that had been placed near the front of the room. It was no wonder Courfeyrac hadn't noticed her at first, hidden behind the desk and as small as she was. He observed their educator with a calculating eye.

"Hello, class," she began. "Welcome to the sixth grade! Middle school, yippee! For this first week or so, we'll be talking about school procedures and whatnot." Here some students groaned softly. "Boring, I know, but the state requires us to go over them. Please take out your planners and copy down the homework on the board. I'll know you're done when your planners are put away." Sounds of paper whipping filled the air, and the fresh scent of sawdust blew everywhere as sharp, brand spanking new pencils came out.

As everyone finished jotting down their homework (which mainly involved "Have parents sign release form" and that type of stuff), they turned their attention back to Ms. Fantine. Well, I guess she's nice enough so far, Courfeyrac thought. She was pretty, too, with long and lush chocolate-colored locks cascading down her back. She seemed quite thin, and was wearing a modest ruby-colored dress with a flowing skirt and 3/4 length sleeves.

The rest of the period passed quickly, as she rambled on about how she would be taking no excessive nonsense, and how "this class is gifted and so we'll move on faster than most of the other classes, which means more homework and more fun."

One down, six to go! he thought triumphantly as he shrugged his backpack over his shoulders and exited the classroom. Math definitely wasn't one of his favorite subjects, but Courfeyrac was pretty adept at it. "Dr. Javert," as he preferred to be called, was definitely going to be a handful. He had a very strict no-nonsense policy, much to the dismay of Jehan and Courfeyrac, who had entertained themselves in math last year by designing paper airplanes and then testing them out when the teacher wasn't looking.

Marius Pontmercy, a freckled boy with warm hazel eyes and another close friend of Courfeyrac's, was also in math with him. The two exchanged evil grins as they chose seats across from each other. Jehan, of course, waved apologetically at his friends and then picked the seat closest to the window.

After a good half-hour of lecturing on curriculum and procedures, the bell rang loudly again and sent them on their way to third period. Also known as band.

Courfeyrac walked besides his poetic friend as they journeyed to The Band Room. They chatted about their experiences with middle school so far, and all too soon neared the band room. Courfeyrac held the over-sized door open for Jehan, who flushed profusely at his friend's gentlemanly antics, and then followed him in.
Woah, bro, this room is huge! Courfeyrac thought. The room was indeed cavernous. It had lots of little doors labeled "Ensemble" and "Practice" lining the walls, and there was a sizeable locker room in the far corner. Black chairs were arranged in a messy semi-circle around a little platform-podium thing, and Courfeyrac pulled ahead and plopped down in one. He was quickly followed by a beaming Jehan.

The bell trilled again and a tall, brown haired man stepped up to the podium thingy and waved at the fidgeting students.

"Hey, guys!"