Snap
So yeah… This is what happens when I can't fall asleep at night. Be afraid….
Every band kid remembers it. Their first game.
The roar of the crowd echoes through your ears. You stand, shining instrument poised to attention, poised for the first horn snap.
The field has been mounted, warm-ups run through nervously. Fingers are sliding off sweat-soaked keys, embouchures failing last-minute.
You have walked to your first dot, rechecking it multiple times. There can be no mistakes.
Now back to the show.
Eyes glance up to the drum major, snappily saluting the crowd. Hey, there's that hot guy from math class in the third row… oops, forgot to do my science homework. You tell yourself to snap out of it. There's a show to put on, dammit.
The drum major has turned around, and now the panic sets in. Why, oh why couldn't we wear shakos to hide our faces? What happens if I miss that one set and end up ruining the entire show, or knock over a row of kids, embarrassing them for the rest of their miserable high school careers?
Your mind starts spouting something along the lines of . But then the unthinkable, the dreadful, the unimaginable happens.
The drum major has lifted her hands. The show is on. You wish yourself good luck, wish your band good luck, oh screw it good luck to the world! Wait for it, you tell yourself, wait for it…
Snap.
That was short, but very fun to write. Random, but this is my favorite band quote EVER! It's perfect. Just read it already, then R&R! Thanks!
It's thinking the show will never work. And then, finally, it comes all together and you have achieved perfection, drumming your hands off and playing the sweat and tears out and tossing higher than the sky. A slice of time in a stadium when everyone cheers and your mom cries and pictures get taken and once, just once, you have the world in your hands. And the band marches out of the stadium and down the street, always together, whether it's success or not, and you know by the feeling in your heart it doesn't get any better than this. And you know if your director asked you to turn around and "do it just one more time, a little better," you would. Because the only thing you can hear is your heartbeat, beating in time with your band.