Chapter 9 – Competition
Valerie and Cici stood outside the band room waiting for Dylan to finish his conversation with Mr. Stilling. At the last minute, Valerie had texted Aaron to tell him that they would be "double-dating" with Cici and her "boyfriend" and since Cici's "boyfriend" had gone to her school, he would be driving the two girls and they would meet Aaron at the DCI competition.
The two girls were not speaking to one another. Valerie's face was twisted in anxiety and Cici just wore a sour expression.
Finally Cici broke the silence. "I still can't believe you're this! What if one of them tries to make a move on you?"
Valerie laughed nervously. "Neither of them will. I haven't known either Aaron of Dylan for very long at all."
Cici raised her eyebrows incredulously. "Valerie, this is high school. Besides, I can't believe you're setting me up to this! How am I supposed to act like I'm dating both of them but make it appear to each one that I'm just dating the other? How are you even going to do it?"
"I don't know," admitted Valerie, trying not to show the distress she felt. "But it will all work out. Trust me. Let's just act like a big group of four friends hanging out. I'm not in a serious relationship with either Dylan or Aaron, so I won't have to act all romantic and such. And you can just hang out and be yourself and be equally friendly to both of them. I'll do the same."
"Sure, Val. But if anything goes wrong, I refuse to take the blame."
"I never asked you to," Valerie muttered.
Dylan exited the band room with a boyish grin on his face. "Ready?"
When they arrived at the stadium where the competition was taking place, Valerie spied Aaron sitting on a bench, patiently waiting. His stormy gray eyes were a contrast against the rather cloudless blue sky.
He approached the trio that had just stepped out of the car. "Well, hello!" he called. He stopped in front of Valerie and looked at her warmly.
Dylan shifted uncomfortably. "Umm…. Hello, I'm Dylan. I'm a senior saxophonist at Maingrove High School. Nice to meet you!" He stuck out his hand.
Aaron grinned and shook it enthusiastically. "Nice to meet you, Dylan. My name is Aaron Dash, and I'm a sophomore flutist at Brown Oaks High School."
"Oh, you go to our rival school. And wait a minute, you're one of those male flute players and you're not…." Dylan slapped a hand to his mouth as his face reddened, not intending to speak his thoughts.
"Gay?" Aaron finished for him. Instead of being offended, he chuckled heartily, as if this were a common mistake. "Nope. Many of the greatest flute virtuosos in the world are male, and they have wives and families. I don't see the flute as a feminine instrument, just a beautiful one. But just because something is beautiful, it doesn't have to be feminine. But, as you can certainly see, I am obviously straight."
Relieved, Dylan smiled. "Let's go hear some real marching bands!" he yelled, racing towards the stadium to the ticket counter.
"But how are the real marching bands when they have no woodwinds?" Valerie inquired.
Aaron sighed. "True. But we woodwinds get all the limelight in the orchestral repertoire. This is their chance to shine. Besides, it's DCI. They're beasts, even without us. Here, I already bought your ticket."
Valerie pocketed the ticket.
"I bought you a ticket!" Dylan called as he sprinted back toward the group. He was speaking to Valerie, but being far away, Aaron probably thought he was talking to Cici.
By the time Dylan had come back to the group, Aaron had already started to walk towards the stadium. Valerie inconspicuously took the ticket from him. She waited until none of the boys were looking, then she slipped a ticket to Cici.
Valerie was too amazed to know that the hours had slipped by quickly. The sky was dark now. The last corps she had seen was the Academy, and she thought they had looked and sounded amazing.
"They're gonna win," she stated to her friends.
Aaron smiled. "Just wait until you see who's up next."
Valerie watched as the Cavaliers took the field. She had heard that they were good, but she couldn't imagine them being better than the Academy.
And that was when she had the breath knocked out of her. From the first note of the opener, they were astounding.
Both visually and musically, they were awe striking. She wanted to hear more, wanted to see more. But before she knew it, they were marching off the field. Valerie rose to her feet and clapped, cheering on the top of her lungs.
"Oww!" Cici said to Valerie, covering her ears.
Dylan grinned. "The Cavies are undoubtedly the best!"
Aaron shook his head. "No, the best is yet to come. Wait until you see Phantom Regiment, Valerie."
"Phantom is good, but the Cavies are still better," argued Dylan.
Aaron turned to him, and the two boys were soon involved in a heated argument.
"Stop yelling!" a grumpy Cici ordered. "The Blue Devils are the best! But they're not here, so I'd have to say that I'd be in favor of Phantom."
And soon she was caught up in the angry argument.
Valerie sighed and stared off into the field as the Phantom Regiment marched on.
At the end of their glorious show, she secretly agreed with Aaron. Phantom was the best.
She turned to find Dylan staring at her. "Did you enjoy tonight?" he asked.
Valerie nodded. "Did you?"
"Of course," he replied. The next thing that happened was completely unexpected. Before Valerie could object, Dylan leaned in to kiss her. It was just a quick peck on the lips, but Valerie was still taken aback.
"Dylan, I… we just met. Did you really have to—"
Valerie stopped short. She saw Aaron staring right at her. He had a hurt look in his eyes. Valerie's heart dropped. "Look, I can explain—"
"What's there to explain?" asked Dylan, sincerely quizzical.
"Nothing," grumbled Aaron. "There is nothing to explain. Nothing at all."
And with that said, he turned and raced down the stadium.
"Aaron!" Valerie went after him. But when she passed the concessions, all she saw was the headlights of a car that was leaving.
She stood there for a few minutes, processing all that happened.
How could I be so stupid? That was her first thought. Her second thought was, Why do I even care?
"May I help you?" asked the kind lady at the concessions.
Valerie smiled politely. "No thank you." She left and slowly trudged up the stadium steps.
She was afraid of how Dylan would react when she reached the top, but instead, she saw him laughing with Cici, no harm done. He turned to Valerie with a wild grin.
"You just seemed so sweet an innocent! I didn't think you capable of doing something like this."
Valerie stared at him, confused.
"You two-timed us right beneath our noses, and it would have worked, too, had I not kissed you."
A deep blush swept over Valerie's cheeks. "Sorry, I didn't mean—"
Dylan raised his hand up, signaling her to stop. "I know, Cici told me that you hadn't meant to say yes to my offer to begin with." His smile faded, then he continued, "I'm sorry I kissed you earlier. It was inappropriate of me."
"It's okay," Valerie assured. "I'm sorry about…everything."
"It's alright. I know you don't know me very well. I'm a senior and you're a freshman, and you're not the type of freshman who would date a senior. And I know it probably seems weird to you since I'm what is known as a 'man whore' and you're so sweet and innocent—"
"Please stop calling me that," Valerie interrupted.
"I'm sorry. But I was attracted to you, not just to your looks, but I admired your personality, too. I liked how you are so much better than all the flutes, yet you manage to carry a humble pride about it. And I know that seems like an oxymoron, but I don't know how else to say it. I admire how you treat people, and how you ignore Sandy and Jennifer when they try to mess with you. I just wanted to get to know you better, and whenever I've just tried to 'get to know' a girl, we always somehow ends up more than just friends. But you were different. I really admire you."
Valerie smiled. Despite Aaron's sudden departure, this was really lifting her mood. She now saw the saxophone section leader in a different light. "Dylan…I'm flattered that you respect me so much. Maybe we could just try to be friends. I really like you as a person, and it's not that I wouldn't date you…it's just…"
"You like Aaron?" Dylan finished.
She shook her head. "Honestly, I really don't know if I do or not. The point is, I respect you as a person. And sure, we can hang out any time we want—as friends."
Dylan smiled again. "Sure, Valerie."
"So, I wasn't here when they announced awards. Who won?"
"Who do you think?" Cici asked.
"Phantom Regiment?"
Dylan groaned. "You people make me sick."
"Well did they win?" Valerie asked.
"Of course they did," affirmed Cici. "But that is only because the Blue Devils weren't here."
Valerie rolled her eyes. "Yeah of course it is."
As they left the stadium, Valerie stopped to purchase a Phantom Regiment T-shirt. As she stood in line, Cici nudged her.
"What are you gonna do about Aaron?"
"I don't know," said Valerie truthfully. "I don't think that there is anything I can do. He doesn't know me well, and he probably won't want to speak to me at all."
"Valerie?"
She looked behind her, to see that the person standing behind her in line was definitely someone she did not want to see—Jennifer.
"So, I see you and Dylan are making fast friends," she said with a hint of scorn in her voice.
Valerie gave her a wicked smile. "Yep. We get along great!"
"Who was the guy you were with earlier?"
Valerie frowned. She didn't want to talk about Aaron. "Oh, just someone I met who goes to Brown Oaks High School."
Jennifer skeptically raised an eyebrow. "Rival school, eh?"
"Apparently," Valerie said with a shrug. "Well, see you around, I guess." She paid for her T-shirt and strode away as fast as she could, Cici on her heels.
