Chapter 1

Maddie ran from the band room toward her English classroom, her short black hair flying behind her. She pushed through a group of squealing cheerleaders that was in her way who in turn cursed at her. She rounded the corner, flew up a flight of stairs, and hurried straight ahead, barely making it to her seat as the bell rang loudly. Maddie made a mental note to herself, as she quickly unpacked her things, never to leave the band room that late ever again. However, the stress of being a pit captain trumped running across her gigantic school any day.

Mr. Johnson, Maddie's band director, had held her after band practice last period and gave her the good, but unexpected news: Allison, the current section leader, had dropped out of drumline due to financial issues so Maddie was promoted to section leader. She was excited, but absolutely terrified at the prospect. Even though one senior had dropped out, there were going to be many remaining in pit, none of whom would enjoy being told what to do by an underclassman.

To make matters more difficult for Maddie, the Eastwood HS drumline was going to return to WGI Championships after a grueling "rebuilding year." Two years ago, when Maddie was a freshman, the drumline had placed awfully, making them the laughing stock of the area. Last year they had managed to win back the respect of lines in the local circuit except for one: Stonewall HS. The two schools had been rivals since they opened, but the hatred was especially apparent in the band departments. While Eastwood's symphonic winds program won more competitions, Stonewall's indoor drumline reigned supreme. Maddie's ultimate goal was to put her drumline where it belonged: at the top.

However, none of this was going to happen if she didn't raise this damn English grade. Despite Maddie's German heritage, her parents acted as if they were Asian. Naturally, this caused them to overreact earlier in the semester when their daughter came home bearing a C+ as her English grade. It wasn't that Maddie was bad at English; rather, her teacher was simply out to get her.

"We are going to review our Odyssey essays today," Mrs. Katter announced in a nasally voice. "But first we need to catch up on study hall work, since we reviewed for our quiz then."

"The quiz that I probably failed miserably on," Maddie thought glumly to herself.

"Today our delayed study hall lesson will be about organization and how it affects your performance in school," Mrs. Katter explained, clearly uninterested. She tossed a small pamphlet onto each desk, about 15 pages in all. "Madeline-Rose, are you listening?"

"Yes, ma'am." Maddie said, blushing. Mrs. Katter was the only teacher that ever called her by her full name, and it drove Maddie insane. Mrs. Katter smiled shrewdly and tossed a book onto her desk. "I recommend you read this." She whispered, before moving onto the next desk. Maddie's table-mates snickered, and Maddie glared at them

Maddie picked up the pamphlet and read the title aloud. "How to Get Good Grades," She whispered, chuckling to herself. Good Lord, what did they think she was - a first grader? Curious as to where the publishing company that would publish such a silly thing would reside, she turned the book over to its back cover. A little sticker on the back stated that the publisher was from Dayton, Ohio, where WGI championships were held.

"Is God trying to torment me?" She moaned loudly, looking up at the water-stained ceiling.

"Madeline-Rose, be quiet." Mrs. Katter chided. The class laughed, and Maddie sank into her seat, trying to be as small as possible.

"One more class to go until indoor drumline practice," Maddie thought, trying to calm herself down. It did the opposite, however, causing her to puke onto the girl sitting across from her, who screamed in horror.

"Madeline-Rose!" Mrs. Katter shouted. "To the nurse's office - NOW!"

Maddie quickly got up and ran outside the classroom, feeling her grade drop with every step she took.

.o0O0o.o0O0o.o0O0o.o0O0o.

Jared smiled inwardly as Miles, his drumline instructor, praised the drumline yet again for another great practice. "Keep this up," he told them, "and we might stand a fighting chance against Eastwood HS!" Everyone laughed, knowing full well no matter how well Eastwood performed, Stonewall would always be one step ahead.

Several announcements were given regarding uniform fittings and upcoming payments. "Drumline dismissed!" Olivia, the lead snare shouted, doing a rimshot. Jared went over to his case, carefully putting in his base drum. He then kicked the case to the back of the room with the rest of the instruments. When this was done, he grabbed his backpack and left the band room, climbing into his moms mini-van. "Jared, I have something to tell you." She said, pulling away from Stonewall.

"Is it dad?" He asked, anxious. His parents had divorced a few years back, and since then his father had developed some health problems. Jared worried about him constantly.

"No, your father's fine." She replied. Jared sighed with relief. ""But I have great news."

"What is it?" Jared asked.

"I got promoted!" She half-squealed, barely containing her excitement.

"Holy crap, congrats Mom!" Jared said.

"It's going to be great," she gushed. "I found us a huge new house that's in a really nice neighborhood, and –"

"Wait, a new house?" Jared echoed. "You mean we're moving?

"Well, yeah." His mom said.

"When?"

"Two weeks from Friday."

"Why the hell didn't you tell me earlier? Like maybe before I joined indoor!" Jared shouted, horrified at the prospect.

"I wanted to make sure everything was final before stressing you out," she explained.

"But I'm staying at Stonewall, right?" he asked hopefully.

"Unfortunately not." She said, crushing his hopes. "You'll be going to Eastwood now."

"But that's our rival school!" Jared protested. "I can't go there!"

"I'm sorry Jared, but that's the way things are." His mom said. Jared sighed and leaned his head against the cool car window, feeling completely helpless.