A/N: This is a revised version of the original.

I haven't been on this site in quite a while, but I couldn't stay away. I had to post this. It's been eating away at me, and I had to get it out of my system. Plus, I was bored, so... yeah. Hopefully, I'll be working on it for a while. And what better time to post this than right when band camp is starting up?

I'm in band myself, of course (I play clarinet!). I've had some amazing times in band (with some weird ones to boot...) and I will be including many of my own experiences in this story, though the majority of it will be made up. This follows five characters through their year as members of the Providence Band, and you're about to be given introductions.

Off we go, readers! Adventure awaits in band!

16-year-old Xavier Martinez surveyed the band hall with pride. He'd been there since six forty-five with the other members of the leadership team labeling lockers, setting up chairs and stands, organizing music, and so on. Of course, their work was good and done for now, but the thing that made him happiest was all the band members that had come for the first day of band camp.

The band had grown considerably in size since he was a freshman. Now that he was a junior, he couldn't help but be filled with joy at how many sophomores and freshmen there were. And next year, even more! Why, he'd heard that the year after he graduated, the band would be nearly 50% freshmen! And to think that now there were only five seniors... Just thinking about how fast it was growing gave him chills.

But of course, that didn't mean he was eager to get this year over with. He was drum major for the Providence band - and he hoped he'd stay in the position his senior year as well. It would take some getting used to, being second in command to the three band directors. But with how it was going so far - he was able to tell even his section leader what needed to be done! - he was starting to get fairly comfortable already.

Of course, he knew he'd miss his section. It was made up of mostly sophomores and freshmen now, and Xavier had no idea how the saxophones would hold up as a mostly underclassmen section. This year's sophomores had proved last year that they were a more rowdy bunch, but not one that was unskilled. And with the life of their party as their section leader, he had reason to be worried. But he knew better than to assume the worst without giving them a chance.

With this thought in mind, he looked over at his fellow drum major, Cadence Rose. He wondered about her sometimes. Sure, she deserved the position, but would she act it?

Cadence began twirling one of her two auburn braids around her fingers, lost in thought. She knew she'd have fun with the band, spending the rest of her summer examining the marching of everyone else. But she couldn't help but wonder what her other friends were doing. Sure, she had plenty of friends in band, but some of her closest had quit. She could count on her other friends in band to keep her in high spirits, and the possibility of the band's great success. But it wouldn't be the same.

Her bright blue eyes turned their gaze towards Xavier. Having caught him looking at her, he instinctively glanced away. She frowned. If he kept up his usual antics, this year would surely be far from boring.

Snapping them out of their thoughts was the head band director, Mr. Lopez, calling all band members to the main section of the band hall in which concert arcs were set up with chairs and stands. All who were there made their way to their spots in chair order, labeled by a small manilla folder that held their music and had their name on the front.

Already sitting in his chair was temporary pit section leader, Bobby Turner. He was examining his music when the rest of his section arrived. Noticing that Yolanda, a junior who usually played the oboe, had sat down next to him, his attentiveness immediately rose. He readjusted his glasses so they didn't look like they were falling off his nose. Being the pit's senior meant he needed to take charge and set an example for the others, so he needed to look and act like a leader.

He examined the small row that was his section at the back of the room. The pit was made up of Yolanda, sophomore percussionists Latrelle and Austin, and a few freshmen he'd never met. Among them were a fit-looking girl with light brown hair, a bug-eyed boy, a blond girl who gave off a sophisticated vibe, and a huge freshman who was hunched over in his seat.

Somehow, this group of freshmen that made up half of the pit intimidated him. Would he have trouble bonding with them a section? The fit girl and the wide-eyed boy didn't seem like they'd be a huge problem, but the other girl's holier-than-thou aura and the gigantic one seemed like they'd be especially challenging to deal with.

Out of curiosity, he glanced over at the drumline row a few feet away from the pit. They already looked comfortable with one another, underclassmen and upperclassmen alike. He felt a pang of jealousy. He hadn't made the battery in all four years of his high school career. What was wrong with him? How could he be letting his skills slip away from him? What was getting in the way? Theater? Choir? He couldn't help but wonder...

Passing the section on the way to her seat was a pale freshman whose blond hair hung as she stared at the ground. She plopped down in the last chair the saxophone section offered, grabbing a folder labeled Aimee Drown that was on the stand in front of her. She looked down the row at the rest of her section. The seats were filled with tall, thin males, who all talked as if they were well-acquainted. She was the only female, and a short, chubby one at that.

She stared at the boys through the curtain her hair created. Next to her was Riley, who'd only been in Providence since the middle of the previous year. She was also able to pick out Jason, a tenor who had been a clarinet with her in beginner band. Next to Jason sat a black-haired boy who talked eagerly with the freckled one next to him at the very end of the row. On the other side of Jason was a boy with wavy brown hair. He was deep in conversation with the bird-like boy next to him, whose mouth and nose were covered by a blue bandana. In between him and Riley was a tall saxophone, obviously older than the others.

Aimee didn't feel comfortable sitting at the end of her row. She'd always been first chair in middle school, only to drop down to last chair in high school. She'd noticed her playing ability deteriorating last year when Riley came. Now that he was here, there was no chance of her moving up in chair at all. And the saxes in the top band were likely to be even better. With them setting the standard, how well would she do in things like All-Region or Solo and Ensemble?

She dreaded how horrible she could be compared to these boys. How hard was high school band? She didn't even want to think about it...

The last person to sit down was a tuba, who immediately started digging through his own folder, labeled Edward Kingston. He sat in the second chair in the tuba section, just next to Craig, the tuba section leader. Next to him was the smallest, skinniest freshman he'd ever seen, who kept her expression neutral. Next to her was a lanky freshman with glasses, obviously unenthusiastic as far as band camp goes, at least.

He continued rummaging through his new music after glancing at the new freshmen. He was so ready to get marching season over with. That way, he'd spend less time at band events and more time at home, playing his beloved video games. For every day of the summer, he'd spent at least one day playing games on his PS3, Xbox, PSP, Wii, and things of the like. He wasn't quite ready to let go of the all-day gamer lifestyle quite yet, and he dreaded the time he'd have to spend away from his games. Visions of all his shooters, platformers, and RPGs were already dancing vividly in his head.

At the same time, he wondered how he'd managed to get into the top band, let alone be second chair. His playing abilities were mediocre at best - he suspected he got lucky during his symphonic band audition, or the directors just wanted more tubas in the top band. Whatever the reason, he was grateful for it. Now he wouldn't have to play the horribly easy music the concert band had to offer. Then again, he barely had to play last year. Which was better?

He snapped out of his haze when he noticed the band hall had gone silent. Looking up, he noticed Mr. Lopez standing on the podium in front of the band. Remembering where he was, he placed the music on his stand and tried to focus his attention on the directors.

Mr. Lopez stood proudly atop the podium. Xavier and Cadence stood perfectly still next to the head director. The other two band directors, Mr. O'Leary and Mr. Russell, stood authoritatively on the other side of the podium.

Mr. Lopez surveyed the silent band very briefly. To break the silence, he clapped his hands together. Giving a warm yet threatening smile to the students, he cried, "Welcome, everyone, to this year's Mighty Eagle Band!"

A/N: Quite dialogue-heavy, no? Ha! If you didn't like the fact that there was only one line of dialogue in this entire chapter, no worries. People will actually start talking and interacting and hopefully developing personalities once I get this thing going. This chapter really served the purpose of introducing the five main characters of the story. Here's hoping you like it so far!

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