A/N: Hello readers! Thanks for sticking with me, I know it's moving slow. I promise it'll go somewhere. Sorry if updates are inconsistent, I have band camp for the rest of this week, and next week.
Disclaimer: I don't own Frozen (yet...)
For convenience's sake, I will summarize the events of the next couple events, while elaborating on the important events that occurred. School had begun on August 26, 2013. It was my first year as a freshman, and I was left to scramble around the building, attempting to find my classes. The assembly had been long, boring, and was simply not worth my attention. I was thrilled to see my friends, and many greetings, and hugs were given. My friend, Merida had returned to the states, after going to Scotland as she did every summer. Her parents still lived there, and she stayed with her grandparents when attending school. We bonded over our red hair, and passion for food. Of course I saw Rapunzel, and Mulan. The latter had lunch with me, but Rapunzel did not. She was rather bummed out, after all, none of us had any classes together.
My freshman schedule consisted of Latin I, Algebra II, English, Symphonic band, Lunch, Science, American Studies, and lastly PE that alternated with Career development, and study hall. Luckily, I didn't have to haul all of my textbooks since the majority of classes were not too far apart. Hadley had greeted me that morning with a great amount of enthusiasm. Her blue eyes glittered, but I was unaware of the strong attachment she felt towards her freshman friends. I had not noticed how she would unconsciously grin, or go out of the way to wave to us. Perhaps if I had, I would have been able to prevent the events that came with knowing the girl.
School was dreadfully boring, and I had quickly accustomed to the routine. The Earth & Space Science teacher was completely incompetent at teaching. All she did was read off a powerpoint packet that she handed out to us, and then give us a quiz the next day. I liked the majority of my teachers, but I can't say I had the attention span for school. Not that I wasn't intelligent, but I wasn't top of my class sort of material at the time. Of course if I tried harder I knew I would do better, but with band season there was very limited time to do so. Practice was from six to nine, Tuesday and Thursday, and we always ran late. Football games took Friday nights, and report time was typically around five thirty. Saturdays were always practices from nine to five, or a competition that took all day, or a competition with a practice prior to it. Homework piled on itself, and my sleep schedule had been jarred. Some nights I did not go to sleep until two am.
It turned out that Mulan was not my only lunch buddy. A group of girls that were in the orchestra also had lunch with me. I will admit I don't remember the majority of the girls who sat there, but there was myself, Mulan, and six others on even cycle days. I recall one of the girls who was native american, but their personalities were so similar, that they've blurred in my memories. I do remember that Elsa had lunch with me on day one and five. She had a busy schedule being in Orchestra, and was unable to fit symphonic band in, and was in concert band. Being in four AP classes, her schedule was packed, and she was often busy.
On the first day she joined us for lunch, there were no empty seats. The table was packed that day, with another person joining our table after her visit to Pakistan. There wasn't enough room to add another chair, but I felt bad sending the girl away. Without pondering the idea, I offered to share a chair with her. A small smile gave way, and I scooted over to allow her an adequate amount of space. Considering that she was right next to me, I talked to her. Unlike my first impression, I found it wasn't too awkward to talk to her for a long period of time. Unfortunately, my tendency to ramble, and talk very loudly acted up. I learned that she was a gifted cello player, was also a piano player, loved architecture, and her father was a youth group leader. I found this exciting, since my own father was a minister at our church. I hadn't realized how much time it took, until the bell rang. I bid her a goodbye and moved on, not knowing the foundation that had just been laid down.
The year had settled, and any qualms I had about high school had settled. I knew how to navigate, and I knew my teachers along with their style. Of course I was still sleep deprived, but I was better off than most of the procrastinators. Hadley, and I had hung out a couple of times during study halls. In fact she invited a couple of us to her house that weekend. The majority of us agreed, excluding Mulan because she had karate that night. She had been taking it since she was four, and was a third level black belt. I figured Rapunzel would be there, or even Elsa who had become a closer friend. She was a bit shy, and sometimes she didn't open up, but I didn't mind. Often times she would just listen to me talk, allowing me to ramble to my heart's content. I begged her to let me hear her play the cello, but she would just shake her head and say,
"Maybe another time."
I would pout, and give her the best puppy dog look I could, allowing my lower lip to jut out, tilt my head slightly, and widen my teal eyes. She would just roll her eyes, and laugh a bit. I told her I'd hold her to it.
When I arrived at Hadley's, Punzy was already there. I spotted her signature purple vans sitting by the door, and I added my converse next to them. Eve gave me a blithely greeting, grinning the entire time. As predicted, Elsa was also there, along with Belle, Esmeralda, and a girl in my grade who I knew was in the electronics section, Larissa I believe. Greetings rang out, and I returned them happily. It was no secret that I was a social person, and enjoyed the company of others. We talked for awhile, but eventually a game of scattergories was pulled out. The eight of us sat in a circle on the floor, we had split into two teams with Belle, Larissa, and Elsa on my team. I gave myself permission to sit on Belle's back, who was laying on her stomach. Both of us watched as Elsa began to write down the words. We whispered suggestions, and in the end we played three rounds. The last one, we lost, resulting in the end of our win streak. Nonetheless, we won the game, and cheered happily. I got off of Belle, who gave me a mock glare, but high fived me anyways. The others joined in, and I was put in charge of throwing away the paper.
As I scanned it, I noticed in the last category that the word seagull was spelled incorrectly. It was spelled as S-E-A-G-L-E. A chuckle escaped my lips, and I walked up to Elsa. Knowing it would embarrass her if I told everyone, I tugged her shoulder until she was level with my mouth, and whispered,
"I don't think that's how seagull is spelled."
Her blue eyes scanned the paper, and widened at the error. A tint of red took her cheeks, and she looked more flustered than she should. Elsa Arendelle was not accustomed to making spelling errors, being the top of her class. She smiled at me, and both of us burst out laughing. The rest of the group looked at us, but we just waved it off. I folded the piece of paper, and stuck it in her pocket. She glanced at me curiously.
"We were laughing, and they would grab it as soon as I threw it away to find out. Wouldn't want that."
I teased, and she nodded, the red returning to her alabaster cheeks. Her complexion did not allow her to hide her embarrassment well. Elsa tucked the paper deeper in her pocket, and the two of us joined the next activity
It was Incredibly hot that day, the weather seemed undeterred by the fact that it was October. Fall should be settling in, but the sun refused to yield. It was our sixth football game, but it was the first time we would perform our entire show. Nerves began to flutter in my gut, it was only my second year. I knew I might mess up, or God forbid, trip again. I was jumping around on the platforms of my neon green, and blue nikes. The nerves must have been showing outwardly, a poke on my shoulder caused me to trip backwards onto the grass. Groaning, I looked up and met a pair of blue orbs.
"A bit jumpy huh?"
She smiled, and grabbed my hand to pull me up. I thanked her, a bit disconcerted about showing my clumsy side.
"Ready for a football game?"
"Yeah, I think so, but I'm a bit nervous doing the whole show, I mean really what if I trip? Last year I tripped, and it was awful. I think one of the kids in the other band laughed at me, and all the seniors kept teasing me. Then I'll have an awful dirt stain on my butt the entire football game. Oh gosh! They don't wash those every time then I'll have dirt on my butt for who knows how long! What am I going to do?"
"Don't worry Anna, you won't trip. You'll be fine."
"Thanks Elsa, good luck on marimba. I know set up is hard."
"Yeah, I am slightly worried, I might mess up the cords."
"You'll get it, Hadley always double checks stuff."
"Good point, do you want to sit with me on the bus?"
"Yeah sure! Sorry, didn't mean to hurt your ears, I was just looking for a bus buddy."
"Don't worry about, I'll see you in a bit."
"Oh yeah uniforms! See ya later Elsa!"
I ran into the building after grabbing my things. Instrument? Check. Black Shirt? Check
Black socks? Yep. Dinkles? Yeppers! I walked over to the uniform closet, and joined the line of other members waiting to get their uniforms. Larissa was in front of me, and turned to greet me.
"Such Anna, much Summers!"
"Ughhh no, anything but that meme."
"Very apology, so whatever."
"Meanie."
I stuck my tongue out, and she returned the gesture. We both burst out laughing, and chatted until we got to the front of the line. My shako and uniform number was sixteen, which was four times the size I had last year. It was most likely due to the amount of eighth graders that joined this year. We definitely didn't need them, but H pursued so many, and now there were far too many. Some were ready, but the rest were like me my first year; definitely not ready. Most of the eighth graders were short, scrawny, and far below the skill of the seniors. There was no connection between them, and the age gap seemed to loom.
All of us shuffled around the band room in our pants which were really oversized, hideous overalls. Our jackets, and cummerbunds were to stay on the clothes hangers. The upperclassmen boarded the buses first, Elsa passing by and saying she'd save us a seat somewhere decent. I thanked her, and waited for my turn to board. When the time came, I double checked to make sure I had everything before boarding the bus. The chaperones checked my name off, and my teal eyes scanned the seats until it reached a shock of platinum blonde hair. She took the remainder of my uniform, and hung it on the window by hers. I smiled, and placed my shako box under the seat. Being in the pit, she didn't have one, instead a ribbon in our school's colors was wrapped around the end of her braid.
"Hey."
"Hello, I'm so tired."
"Hmmm well it is an hour bus ride, you can sleep."
"Okay."
I shuffled around in my seat, and settled on resting my head on the seat in front of us. I was exhausted, the previous night I had stayed up late studying for a dreaded test from my science teacher. Even Mulan, who was ranked first in our class, got a C on the last test we took. I made flashcards on quizlet, and went over everything I could think of. If I was being completely candid, I would admit that the test wasn't that difficult, but I had psyched myself up with worry. Right now I was paying the price. A large bump while driving caused my head to jerk up. Eventually I settled on leaning on my shoulder towards the window. I felt sort of bad for not talking to Elsa, but I knew she understood. Slowly, sleep crept in, and before I fell into its arms, I was aware of my head leaning on her shoulder.
"Anna. Anna wake up. Come on sleepy head."
"Nurritnew"
I muttered something unintelligible.
"We're almost there, come on."
I felt a hand on my shoulder, jarring me from sleep. Unfortunately for Elsa, I was stubborn, and continued to fall back into sleep. She was persistent, and pulled one last trick out. Her hand reached out, and jabbed the flesh between my ribs, and hip bone. My reaction was instantaneous, and I tumbled to the floor of the bus. A large groan escaped my throat, and I glowered at the girl laughing above me.
"Come on, get your stuff on."
She replied throwing my jacket at me.
The football game had gone well, and we'd taken the field at half-time. I knew some of the people who had known the two members that died were touched by the show, and smiled at the parts that incorporated one of the deceased member's solos. I had not tripped, and marched a decent show. My steps were too small at set twenty eight of the opener, and I wasn't in the dress during the block. I nearly missed my step off from a rest, but those were the only major things I could remember. It wasn't perfect, no, I didn't really believe in perfection, but it was good. We danced in the stands, and I loved every minute of it. Esmeralda, Jasmine, and I rocked dancing the cadence along with the cheerleaders. We yelled loudly, and did the cheers. I had no clue what was going on in the football game, but we cheered anyways, even though we knew we would lose.
At the end of the game H gathered us to remind us about the home competition tomorrow. We wouldn't be competing, but it was one of the main ways we made money that funded our band. Unfortunately, we would have to clean up, but if a section got the concession stand, they were home free to eat what they'd like. Of course there was a hospitality tent that we ravaged afterwards too.
"Uniforms! Please remove jackets, gauntlets, gloves, and cummerbunds!"
I sighed, there was much to carry, and I had too few arms. Instruments were packed up, and loaded, and kids had begun to board the buses. I was one of the last on, and made my way quickly to my seat. The rush of the evening began to fade, and the lack of sleep started to ache in my mind. I hadn't noticed the weariness in my limbs, until I sat down, and collapsed into a pile of jelly. A hand reached out, and put my uniform on the window. I mumbled a thank you.
"You look a bit tired."
"So tired, sleep yay."
Elsa snickered a bit behind her hand, as she always did. The platinum blonde smiled at me, I was already collapsed in the seat. Normally I'd be flustered, but I was much too tired to actually care. I shifted in the hard bus seat, and began to drift off. As I was about to fall asleep, I felt an ache and adjusted to fix it. Of course I neglected to notice that this would cause me to fall off the seat for the second time today. I groaned loudly when I hit the floor.
"Here, lean on my shoulder. Maybe you'll stop falling off the seat."
I nodded, and sat down, propping my head against her shoulder. Slowly, the cacophony of voices drowned out, and sleep took me in his arms. The two of us left, and a platinum blonde girl was left to anchor me down.
