A/N: I know, I know... You people who have been following this are probably thinking horrible things of me. I had a long vacation, what can I say? I'm hoping this particular update will bring some interest into this story.

Chapter 3

Choir Practice

"When Patrick died, the choir started blaming the Band for lack of supervision. Which isn't the case, I would just like to point out. It was a double trip anyway with choir and Band students there, and adults from both groups. It was even rumored that Pat was with a choir group when he was killed. Ever since then, the choir and Band have hated each other. Pat was the last person to have signed up for both…" Carrie finished, a single tear trailing down her cheek.

Layna stared at Carrie for the longest time. Logan looked over at Trader. The four friends sat in silence, the twins staring at the other two. Suddenly, a deep gong-like bell sounded, indicating the end of the lunch period. The siblings leaped up and waved good-bye to Trader and Carrie.

When they entered the choir room, their jaws dropped. The room looked like a combination of a recording studio and a classroom. There were easily one-hundred and fifty chairs in three rows on one side, and a Sound lab on the other side. The chairs were in four different colors: on the far right were blood red, the center contained black and silver chairs and the chairs closest to them were a combination of all three colors. "Red chairs are Sopranos, black and silver are the Tenors and Basses and the really colorful ones are our lovely Altos…" A reedy voice behind them stated, making Layna yelp in fright. An aging man with a bushy beard stood surveying the pair through wire-rimmed spectacles. He had grey streaks all through his brown hair. "You, son, look like a Tenor. That true?" The man asked Logan, looking him up and down. "Well, I can be… But I can go Bass too. Whichever you need me for, sir." The instructor nodded. "And you, my fine young lady, are Soprano?" He asked, rounding on Layna. Layna nodded. "But I can sing Alto too. We're very flexible."

The instructor, Mr. Yamen, ended up putting Layna in the Alto section with the choice of either section daily. As Layna was sitting in her chair, twiddling her thumbs idly, a familiar figure sat down beside her. "Your name's Layna, right?" Layna turned and saw the tall, dark figure of Hannah putting her books beneath her chair. "Hi Hannah. I didn't know you were in the Choir. I thought you were sportier…" Layna said, smiling. Hannah laughed. "I know, everyone thinks that when they first see me. But, if the truth has it, and it does, I hate to over-exert myself. I like to sing…" Layna nodded in understanding.

As the two were talking, Layna couldn't help but feel eyes on the back of her head. Hannah seemed to sense Layna's discomfort, because her dark eyes darted over the other's shoulder. "Well, Layna, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you're getting daggers from over in the Soprano section." She muttered, nodding her head. Layna closed her eyes slowly and started to turn around. There, sitting with her arms folded across her chest, was Natalie. She glared at Layna until the latter turned back to Hannah. "Something tells me she's going to make this year a living hell…" Layna muttered.

Logan sat on the very edge of the section, beside the Sopranos. No one looked familiar, except that girl from the bus… Natalie? Was that what Carrie called her? She was currently sending horrible looks to someone in the Alto section and Logan had a good idea who that someone was… Suddenly, a boy with reddish brown hair and brown eyes sat down next to Logan and smiled. "Hi." The boy said in a surprisingly powerful voice. Logan nodded his head. "Tenor or bass? I can sing both…" The boy said, grinning valiantly at the other. "So can I… My name's Logan." Logan replied, smiling. "I'm Jason… There aren't a lot of guys that can sing both." Logan laughed as the boy, Jason, attempted bravely to make small talk.

Around ten minutes later, after all the last-minute stragglers came in, Choir practice finally started. Logan and Layna were intimidated at first by the sheer size of the new choir. But, as soon as the huge group began singing, the siblings were nearly driven to tears. It was easy to see how the Westwood High Choir was the state champion. Each person sang with every ounce of energy they had, and they all wanted to be there.

About halfway through the class, Mr. Yamen called them out for a water break and a chance to rest their vocal chords. Layna was one of the first out the door, rushing toward the gleaming water fountains at the end of the hallway. The choir was very demanding, after all.

As she bent down over the water fountain, her long hair swept forward, hiding her face from the person on the other fountain. At first, Layna paid them no mind, focusing on the tiny metal faucet. However, as she went to straighten up, she felt the burn of eyes on her. She reached up and slowly pushed her hair back, gathering it in her hands behind her head. As it was suspected, Natalie was standing up, wiping her chin on the back of her hand. She had not taken her eyes off Layna the whole time, she was sure of it.

The pair stood, silently staring at each other, for a whole minute before Layna turned and started walking down the hall. "Wait a minute!" Natalie suddenly shouted when Layna was halfway down the hall. The latter paused and turned. "I thought you were a band freak…" Natalie muttered upon reaching Layna. The blonde haired girl looked hard at her red-haired companion. Should she lie? Slowly, Layna shook her head. "I quit Band before we left our old school. I was only bringing my flute to see if the bandies here would make use of it. It was a good flute…" Natalie raised her eyebrow skeptically. "You seemed pretty attached to it on the bus this morning…" She muttered. Layna paused, thinking hard. "Well…If you played an instrument for over seven years, you'd be a little attached to it too. That thing was my baby…Before I really started getting in to my singing that is…" Layna prayed Natalie would take the story.

Natalie stood, considering Layna for several seconds before she gave a reluctant smile. "I'm sorry about alienating you before Layna. I thought you were…you know…one of them." Natalie muttered, nodding her head toward the door marked BAND HALL. Layna shook her head and smiled. Inside, she was cursing herself horribly. Natalie, completely oblivious to the internal war being waged right in front of her, led the way back into the choir room.

Hannah watched Natalie return to her seat in the Soprano section and then raised her eyebrow to Layna. "Ok, you two were giving each other death looks for the past half hour…Did you reach some sort of truce or something on the way to the drinking fountains?" Hannah whispered while taking the pile of music Mr. Yamen handed her. "Yeah we did, she thought I was something I'm not…" Layna explained quietly, grinning. Hannah chuckled. "We were thinking perhaps she was going to come and poison you on the way to your drink…" She motioned to the other Altos. Layna laughed. "But seriously Layna, I know Natalie… Watch your back around her…" Hannah advised her new friend. Layna gave her a quizzical look. "Natalie has been known to use some…ah…underhanded tactics to get her own way. If you get something she wants, you could be a target…"

Logan watched his sister and that Natalie girl from behind a tall statue next to the band door. Why was she so intent on hating the Band? He would have to talk to Layna about it later that night. The red-head made him feel very uneasy. There was just something about her…Something didn't feel right… He walked back into the choir room, still thinking hard about the conversation he had witnessed. He was so involved he didn't hear Jason's voice. Finally, Jason shouted Logan's name, making him jump and turn. "Finally, I get something… Where did you go?" Jason laughed, referring to his trance-like state. Logan shook his head. "I was just thinking… Sorry about that…" Jason laughed again. "Don't think so hard next time… It was like you were in another dimension…"

At the end of choir practice, the siblings met outside the door. "Please don't tell me we have Band next…" Layna whispered, going down the hall of the Music Suite. Logan shook his head. "We don't have Band until tomorrow…its first period. Right now I have Chemistry. You have…study hall I think…" Layna breathed a sigh of relief. "For the first time in my life, I'm glad we don't have Band… This school is so messed up…"

When the final bell rang, Layna couldn't have been happier. Sitting beside Logan again, she could go over the many thoughts in her head. Layna had been hoping for a nice, calm first day at Westwood high. Instead, she found herself (and her always loyal brother) thrown headfirst into a mystery that could only unravel itself by first getting much worse. But they weren't prepared for how much worse it would become…

What do ya think? Good? Bad? Too long? Too short? I need CC (constructive criticism) here people! LOL. But yeah, I'll try not to take so long with the next update. Also, I know this is moving really slowly, but I need to add the necessary details and characters in order for the good stuff to be...well...good. haha. Oh yeah, one more thing: I'm apologizing now for any spelling errors or grammatical errors in this. My Word program is acting up and not catching even simple spelling mistakes. God knows what else the damn thing missed... Well, until next time!

Saxypit