Second Chappie is up!
Chapter Two: New Teachers
The band room was clean. This was shocking onto itself. Elissa and Arianna were almost afraid to enter the room because the carpet was clean. Of course, clean didn't mean stain free, but there was the smell of soap in the air. The chairs, still their awful colors of flu-green, pill-orange, and dirty-tan, were not broken to the point they couldn't be used. Instead, all the chairs had their legs and most of the graffiti was erased. They were set up in tidy rows, every section having a respective amount of chairs. The music stands must have been fixed by the tech classes because they didn't lean so much. A fresh coat of black paint was slathered on the stands and the sight almost made the girls cry.
Arianna stepped into the room first, walking to the director's podium, taking a tentative step onto the frayed carpet of the platform. Elissa flicked off all the lights except the podium light and smiled as Arianna picked up the baton and directed an invisible orchestra. As she reached the melodramatic pinnacle of the music only the two girls could hear, the sound of keys brought them back to reality. Arianna placed the baton back on the stand as Elissa switched the lights back on.
"We are such band nerds," Elissa muttered, smiling. Arianna nodded, but didn't speak as the two girls looked around the door into the band annex. IT was the new choir teacher and Elissa shuddered.
She had met the teacher a week before and was upset at who the new teacher was. The teacher was a squat woman, in her mid 40's, with short, brown, curly hair. The first time Elissa heard her talk, she shuddered. The lady was as cranky and controlling as Mr. Mercer was not. Elissa shuddered once more as the choir director disappeared into her office across the band annex.
"Who was that?" asked Arianna quietly, looking carefully at her friend's face.
"Mrs. Hanson."
The noise in the band room was painful, the sound of blatting trumpets and crashing cymbals hurting Elissa's ears. She saw Arianna take her usual spot as first chair flute, taking out the piccolo and tuning it. Elissa sat on the piano bench and watched the percussion section work. She was now the oldest member of the percussion section and took over the position of section leader.
"Let's sit down everyone. Come on, let's go."
There was a voice coming from the corner that cut through the noise, and everyone turned to face their new director.
He was a young man, almost as young as Mr. Berringer had been. His dark hair was cut military style, close cut to his head. His face was round and his eyes shone with excitement as he faced his new band. He was not very tall, no more than a few inches taller than Elissa, and he was smiling. That smile faded slightly as he saw the entire band staring straight back at him. There was no sound in the band room besides the sounds he made walking to the podium.
"My name is Mr. Vogl and, when I was offered the job here, I was thrilled. I really hope we can figure everything out together, because I know there are a lot of problems with this band. Don't worry; I'm going to do my best."
No one spoke. Mr. Vogl cleared his throat and glanced around the room. Arianna looked at him, eyes calculating, face clear of any emotion.
"What do you play?" Elissa was shocked to see the new director pointing at her.
"Me? I play percussion-"
"Well, I'm sure they won't bite if you sit with them. What's your name?"
"Elissa."
"I'm new, too, so don't worry."
The band let out a few signs of life in the form of half-hearted chuckles. Mr. Vogl looked around, confused.
"Mr. Vogl, I've been going to this school for years and years. I'm not new."
Elissa could have laughed at the poor guy, but went and sat with her section. Arianna raised an eyebrow at Elissa and Elissa shrugged.
This was going to be a year like no other.
That last part was true. The new director thought Elissa was a new student. Gah. Poor Elissa. Well, read and review! Reviews are great! My plot bunnies love reviews... Thanks for reading! I'll update soon!