"Welcome to your first day of band camp kids!" Mr. Chaffee called. I grinned at the fresh meat as I stood under Chaffee's podium. I remember how freaked out I was to be hearing this same speech only a few years ago.

"We are going to whip you all into shape and get you to march in this band. Some of you will probably quit before the two weeks are over. I don't blame you. Marching band takes discipline, fitness, memorization, and most of all, teamwork. If, as a group, we can get you new members caught up with our returning members that are coming next week, this will be a fantastic year. If not, we'll have a rocky start, but we'll make it through, right, council?"

We cheered. Being on the leadership council definitely had its perks. Knowing what to expect from the coming weeks along with having already learned the skills needed to thrive was a big bonus.

The newbies in front of us had a wide range of emotions on their faces: horror, smugness, disgust, and excitement. I only noted a few with the latter. One was a slim boy with a mop of bronze hair and bright green eyes. I knew that he was going to be difficult to fit into one of our spare uniforms, since he was so tall and that hair was going to be torture to fit into a helmet. Being a uniform manager really did take a lot from someone. Like your sanity.

The boy with the green eyes was standing next to a bodybuilder looking kid. He wasn't really paying attention, since he was more occupied with watching our twirler, Rosalie, who was "stretching." His mocha hair matched his eyes, as they followed her lean lines. Great, another kid we'd have to alter a uniform for, when he probably wouldn't last through band camp with the football coaches recruiting soon. My fingers always bled so much when I was sewing those. Yuck.

I looked over at Angela and Alice, my two best friends, and pointed to the two boys and they understood my distress. They were my other two uniform managers. Alice was the only one of us proficient enough to use a needle without seriously injuring herself.

This fact was counteracted by her overwhelming attention in her new boyfriend, Jasper. Jasper was a great guy, a little shy maybe, but really laid back and nice. I guess opposites really do attract because at the moment, Alice was bouncing up and down, waiting for the chance to start working on the newbies. She was just as determined and energized as she was fiercely loyal to her loved ones.

Angela was more of a calming influence. She was always able to think rationally under pressure and help anyone through any crisis they had. I always thought she would make a great psychologist or counselor. She was our go-to-gal whenever something happened while we were on the road, for anything from a missing button to a missing pair of pants, which surprisingly has happened quite a few times, and it always seemed to be a piccolo too.

Ang is much more understated with her boyfriend, Ben. He is such a great guy, a bit geeky but super nice, and they make such a great couple. They both play saxophones; Ben plays alto, and Angela plays tenor. They always seem to be together. They even stand next to each other in our drill, and finish each other's thoughts in conversations. Alice and Jasper stand next to each other too, since Alice plays piccolo and Jasper plays first clarinet.

I always seem to be the fifth wheel whenever we go to the movies or do something else. I've never had a boyfriend. No one just seems right for me around here. I do realize I'm looking for my prince charming, but high standards seem to make sense to me.

Mr. Chaffee starts talking again, breaking me from my reverie. "Alright kids, here's the deal. We've matched each of you newbies to one of our older marchers to be buddies. They will be your panic call and greatest source of marching knowledge all throughout your first season here. I hear they're sometimes helpful during the school year too," he chortled. "I've given several lists to our leader council right here, so don't be shy, and come and see who you've been matched with, and if you don't know the name just ask one of us."

Those of us that had the lists held them up as the newbies predictably rushed into conferences with their friends on who was going to go talk to the "scary" other kids first. As I was holding up my papers and staring at the groups of kids that were totally ignoring us, I was startled by a soft presence beside me.

"May I see who I am matched to, please?" a soft buttery and oh so nice voice asked. I turned, wide-eyed, and looked into those same green eyes I noticed earlier.

"Uhhh, sure," I squeaked, and clutched the papers for dear life. What was I supposed to say next? Crap. Oh yeah! "What's your name?"

"Edward Cullen, and I better look up that blockhead's too," he sighed, looking back at the football figured boy who was still obviously looking at Rose's splits and nearly drooling.

I decided to look up his friend first. "What is his name?" I asked.

"Emmett Cullen," he sighed, obviously irritated at this Emmett.

I looked at my chart and found both of the Cullen boys quite easily.

"Alright, wow, Emmett is matched with me, and you are matched with Alice Brandon, the girl right there with the spiked black hair," I pointed towards her as she bounced in place impatiently waiting for kids to come over. I whispered to him, "she is usually like this, so good luck. Do you want me to introduce you?"

I was suddenly broadsided with emotion. I did not want to share this boy I had just met. I inwardly shook my head to clear it. I saw him nod yes, and said, "come on."

As we walked, Alice seemed to sense us coming and looked over at us. I gave her a "please don't scare him" face. She seemed to get it, so I sped up just a bit, and looked back to check that he was still there. Bad choice. The jealousy kicked back in. How could I be jealous of my best friend, who got matched with this really, really, really good looking guy I had just met. She has a boyfriend already. Right. Jasper. Good.

As soon as we got close enough for polite conversation, Alice was talking at top speed. I was practiced enough that I caught enough to make sense of it. "Oh my gosh, who's that? Did you just meet him? Of course you did. I've never seen him before. I even went to the middle school to recruit. He must have just moved here. Where did you move here from? Where are you living? Who's your buddy? What kind o.."

"ALICE!" I got her attention. "Ssshh," I chided. "This is Edward Cullen. He's your new band buddy. Edward, that was the real Alice. This is the slightly able to function Alice. If you need any help with her, let me know. She can be a bit of a handful."

He seemed a bit shell-shocked, looking at the tiny ball of pure energy in front of him. She laughed and grabbed his hand. "Talk slow Alice, he's not used to it yet," I reminded her.

I managed to make my feet move away from the green-eyed boy, and towards the imposing football boy named Emmett, who was still blatantly staring at Rose, who I'm sure had noticed, and surprisingly hadn't knocked his block off, which meant she at least didn't find him distasteful. Impressive. I walked into Emmett's line of sight, and began to introduce myself.

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A/N Thanks so much for reading! next time will be falsifiedsunlite's turn for a chapter. please review. it makes me feel like doing this instead of homework, is actually a good way to go.