So, I'm sort of sad that this is the last installment of the "For The Love Of Music" series. I say sort of sad because this is a history of my own and my friend's years of band ever since the beginning of high school. True, our band has a unique story, but there are other students who have had band director changes, too. I have to say, though, some very interesting things have happened to Arianna and Elissa and the rest of the group, as well as the rest of the band directors.
There is no ending to this story in sight because the ending will come with the ending of Arianna's senior year, something that is coming up way too fast. I can't predict the future, but I hope Elissa and Arianna find happiness and peace in their music at last!
I'm not happy with some of the other chapters in the other installments of this series, so when I have time, I might just go back and change a few things. Gah... Pyrate Rose, my friend, had the basic beginning to this story, so I credit her for the outline of this chapter.
Anyway, here we are! The first chapter in the last story! Enjoy!
Chapter One: The Curse Is Over
"I've got the hardest first quarter classes ever!" Elissa complained, taking her seat at the usual morning table.
"I have school service in the band room," Arianna said with a smirk, causing Elissa to roll her eyes. Ari had been talking about being the school worker for the band department and there was no doubt she would follow through with it, but it had actually happened. Her friend was an official band slave.
"I have College Government-"
"Me, too!" interrupted Arianna, cutting Elissa's sentence short and causing Elissa to huff in frustration. "Sorry. Continue."
"Then it's Chemistry, Choir, and Algebra."
Both girls shuddered at the thought of Algebra and Arianna gave Elissa a sympathetic look. She herself had nearly failed the most basic math classes and Algebra scared Elissa. The fact was she needed that class to graduate and there was no way Elissa was staying in town after she earned her diploma.
"No band?" Arianna asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Not this quarter, at least," Elissa answered. "Colorguard, remember?"
Arianna nodded, but didn't say a word. Colorguard was a tough subject at the moment, Elissa only recently having been fired from her job as commander and coach. Elissa had poured her heart into the guard and wasn't even notified personally with the decision to change leadership under the band director's orders.
"I was looking forward to the Homecoming show and everything," Elissa added bitterly. "Now, I'm going to be stuck playing the cymbals or something awful and I'm going to have to watch my girls perform from the back of the field. Stupid Vogl..."
Arianna fought back a comment that slid to the tip of her tongue. She knew there was more to Vogl's choice of hiring another colorguard director than just the fact he needed someone with more experience, but decided to keep her mouth shut for the fact that having a huge fight was not a good way to start their last year of high school.
"So, uh, do you think he's actually down there?" Arianna asked nervously after a few seconds of silence, tracing a scratch in the plastic tabletop with her fingernail.
"What? Vogl, you mean?"
"Yeah. I mean, I know he said he'd be here, and he made it past the final parade, longer than any of the others, but do you think something might have happened? Do you think he's-"
"He's been here longer than any of the others," Elissa said, interrupting Arianna, who fell into her silent thoughts while making new scratches on the table with her fingernails. "Let's go down and see."
Elissa jumped up, pulling her backpack onto her shoulders with a groan. Arianna smiled and followed her friend through the hallways and down the stairs to the band room.
Slowly, the girls crept toward the band office, peeking around the corner and into the room. Hesitantly, Arianna walked into the office, looking around. It was empty, but a shocking change had taken place since the last time the girls had been to the band office, nearly three weeks ago.
Instead of the faded yellow walls covered in graffiti, the cement bricks had been given a new layer of white paint, all graffiti gone. Shelves against the largest wall, to the right of the office door, had been painted black. There were frames on the walls, most of which held certificates and photos of their director's days in college, adding class and personality to the office. There was still a beat up desk against the wall and the clock was still showing the wrong time, but it was a sweet reminder of the former years the office had seen. Arianna smiled to see that the black webbed chair was still around and she slid a hand across it's top, holding in the urge to sit down and lean back in happiness. This was an office a director deserved.
"It looks different in here," Elissa said, Arianna smiling wider at her blatant obviousness. "It's been painted."
"You should see the back rooms," Arianna said, recalling the days she had spent with a fellow flute player, Kassie, several weeks ago, painting. Mr. Vogl had brought in a gallon of paint and, together, they worked to fix the practice and storage room walls. "We worked really hard on them. I guess Mr. Vogl decided to fix up his office after we left."
"Where is he, though?" Elissa asked, frowning.
"I was wondering when you two were going to show up," came a voice from behind them.
Mr. Vogl stood in the doorway to the band room with a grin on his face. Elissa jumped and Arianna wanted to hug him, both girls shaking their head.
"You ARE here!" Elissa exclaimed. "The curse has been broken!"
"Finally," Arianna said, sighing, relieved she didn't have to go through the usual introductions she had made every year until now.
"Sure has been quiet around here without you two," Mr. Vogl laughed, a mischievous glint in his eye. "No one pestering me, no one to pester..."
"Don't worry," Elissa said, "You'll have enough of us soon and be begging for an escape."
The bell rang, alerting the students and staff that the first class of the day would be starting in a minute. Arianna sighed, unwilling to leave the band area so soon after arriving. Elissa, knowing her friend would sooner skip class and stay in the band room than go to College Government with her, grabbed her hand. Arianna let herself be led from the band room, calling a goodbye over her shoulder to Mr. Vogl, who waved back.
"The curse is over," Elissa repeated as they arrived just in time for their first class. "Vogl is here and this might be a good year after all!"
The two of them looked around at the messy classroom and thick textbooks laying on all the desks, a long list of requirements on the board. This was, after all, a college class, but neither of them thought it would be like this.
"Or maybe not so good," Arianna muttered, taking her seat and trying to lift the textbook. Elissa nodded in agreement, itching to clean up the scattered newspapers and toppled piles of CD's.
This was the start of their senior year and they were going to make it the best year ever!
There we are! I get sad, again, because this is the last part of "For The Love Of Music." But, I know there are a lot of faithful readers out there who like this series, so I want to hear from you! I know this is a bit of a departure from "Hearts Of Glass," my drum corps fic (which is wildly successful, thank you!) but I enjoy reminiscing! If you're confused at all on things mentioned in this story, it might be because I have not written the parts of the other stories that make sense! It's okay! If you're REALLY confused, ask me and I'll be very happy to explain. I'll continue working on the other stories in the series, though, so look for more updates! Thank you for reading and please review! Thank you!