Karyn was speechless. She knew she didn't stand a chance against Kelsey,
since Kelsey was...well, Kelsey. She soon recovered, however, being the
trumpet player that she is, and got incredibly cocky about it. Making sure
once more that Kelsey was secured, Karyn ran up the stairs with the trumpet
and hid the staircase...she thought that it could come in handy for her
later on if no one else knew about it, besides Kelsey, of course.
When she came out from behind the cabinets, she saw that the bell had rung for lunch, and a few people had already come into the bandroom, as that was the usual lunchtime ritual for a select group of people, including Karyn. She hid Kelsey's trumpet in a cubby that was pretty high up, since Kelsey's so short and Karyn had never had any intention of returning the horn anyhow. She then walked down to the stairs of the stage and sat with Brittney, Heather, Amanda, and Chelsea, who had simply decided to cut the first two periods and show up for band, as she often would do.
"I LOVE KARYN!!!!!" Brittney yelled to no one in particular, as Karyn sat on the steps.
"I LOVE BRITTNAAAY!!!!!" Karyn replied, also to the book bags and instrument cases in the auditorium chairs.
It was a moment of temporary insanity...maybe. Actually, they did this about every day, but anyway...
"So, where's Mallie at?" Karyn asked Chelsea.
"Wellll...she's in the hospital. She got really sick off of something. We think it's food poisoning, but I'm not sure. Hey, did you notice that Kelsey, Jennifer, Elizabeth, Matt, Darren, Allison, and Charly aren't here today? That's kind of odd. Heather is the only upperclassman that is a first chair player here. Why do you suppose that's happening?" Chelsea saw the odd look on Karyn's face, but Karyn just ever so slightly shook her head, motioning subtly toward Heather.
"Hey, I want you two to check something out," Chelsea and Brittney seemed to catch the hint, and they followed Karyn up the aisle toward the doors. Karyn decided it would be okay for those two to see the secret hiding place. She was already coming up with great ideas for decorating the place. Or, the Place, as she now thought of it.
When they reached the area behind the cabinets, they all squeezed in back there and Karyn carefully pulled open a door. She motioned for Chelsea and Brittney to follow her, and then the three of them quietly descended the hidden stairs.
The two girls looked shocked when they saw the hidden room, and they were even more shocked to see one of their friends tied up in that hidden room. Karyn motioned to them to stay quiet, and she removed the blindfold from Kelsey's face.
"See? The first chairs are plotting against the lives of their competition...or at least their health. I caught Kelsey trying to mug me with a Bach Strad. That's why she's down here like this." At this, Karyn looked at Kelsey, and then burst into a fit of laughter, because her section leader was still cross-eyed. Brittney and Chelsea giggled a little as well, but then Karyn went and did something weird to Kelsey's face that caused her eyes to pop back into their normal positions. She replaced the blindfold, and the girls all walked back upstairs, hiding the entrance once more.
***About fifteen minutes later***
The band was assembled and ready to play, while Kiefer tried to count up absences. He looked a little surprised when he saw that all the first trumpets, the first trombones, the first flutes, the first clarinets, the first tubas, and the baritones were missing, but he didn't say anything.
Karyn wasn't surprised. Going through English Dance and Dance of the Jesters was a bit rough, since the top players weren't there to carry the weight of the section, but the band finally made it through rehearsal, and it was time for fourth period, the last one of the day.
Just as Karyn shoved her trumpet into her cubby, Mr. Kiefer called to her and asked her to hang around the bandroom for a minute. She was surprised, since she wasn't one of his mindless followers (aka his "favorites"), but she obeyed, being the somewhat obedient person she is.
As the jazz combo class set up chairs around the drum set and guitar amps, Karyn talked to Chris, Jon, and Christina, seeing as how they were the only people in the class not missing, besides Mr. Kiefer's son who was on his way from another school. None of them seemed to know where the missing students were, so Karyn kept quiet...and then Kiefer called her up to the stage.
"Would you happen to know where any of the senior trumpets are or where Daniel is? It seems odd for them all to be out of school at once, especially since most of them never miss school."
Karyn felt guilty, but she managed to mumble out something about them maybe all getting sick at the same time, and she quickly went to fourth period.
***Ninety minutes later***
Karyn went to the bandroom to collect all of her items, and she sent them home with her mom, telling her that she would call when she was ready to leave school. She then snuck back down to her Place to talk to Kelsey, concerning the whereabouts of some of the other band members.
Kelsey was asleep and snoring, and she had this huge spider trying to crawl up her nose. Karyn thought it was incredibly funny, but she shook Kelsey on the shoulder so they could talk. She also made Kelsey kill the spider, since Karyn is terrified of them.
Once the blindfold and gag was removed, Karyn pulled up a small box and sat on it, in front of Kelsey.
"So, do you know where all those people are today? You know, all the first part players in nearly every section. I mean, did you all plot together what you were going to do, or was this a separate project?"
Kelsey decided that there was no point in keeping secrets, but she still didn't have much to tell Karyn, except that she had no idea where Camp, Ashley, and Daniel were. Their conversation was cut short by a scream from above.
"What in the...?" Karyn didn't finish, but she ran up the stairs, curious to see what was going on. She saw a group around something in the middle of the aisle, but she couldn't see what that something was. She pushed to the middle of the circle, where Chelsea was sitting, reading something on a piece of paper.
"It says that they took Brittney...and we may never see her again!" Chelsea cried hysterically, since she and Brittney were like sisters. Karyn however begin to think more logically about the situation...(and that's not something that happens often)
When she came out from behind the cabinets, she saw that the bell had rung for lunch, and a few people had already come into the bandroom, as that was the usual lunchtime ritual for a select group of people, including Karyn. She hid Kelsey's trumpet in a cubby that was pretty high up, since Kelsey's so short and Karyn had never had any intention of returning the horn anyhow. She then walked down to the stairs of the stage and sat with Brittney, Heather, Amanda, and Chelsea, who had simply decided to cut the first two periods and show up for band, as she often would do.
"I LOVE KARYN!!!!!" Brittney yelled to no one in particular, as Karyn sat on the steps.
"I LOVE BRITTNAAAY!!!!!" Karyn replied, also to the book bags and instrument cases in the auditorium chairs.
It was a moment of temporary insanity...maybe. Actually, they did this about every day, but anyway...
"So, where's Mallie at?" Karyn asked Chelsea.
"Wellll...she's in the hospital. She got really sick off of something. We think it's food poisoning, but I'm not sure. Hey, did you notice that Kelsey, Jennifer, Elizabeth, Matt, Darren, Allison, and Charly aren't here today? That's kind of odd. Heather is the only upperclassman that is a first chair player here. Why do you suppose that's happening?" Chelsea saw the odd look on Karyn's face, but Karyn just ever so slightly shook her head, motioning subtly toward Heather.
"Hey, I want you two to check something out," Chelsea and Brittney seemed to catch the hint, and they followed Karyn up the aisle toward the doors. Karyn decided it would be okay for those two to see the secret hiding place. She was already coming up with great ideas for decorating the place. Or, the Place, as she now thought of it.
When they reached the area behind the cabinets, they all squeezed in back there and Karyn carefully pulled open a door. She motioned for Chelsea and Brittney to follow her, and then the three of them quietly descended the hidden stairs.
The two girls looked shocked when they saw the hidden room, and they were even more shocked to see one of their friends tied up in that hidden room. Karyn motioned to them to stay quiet, and she removed the blindfold from Kelsey's face.
"See? The first chairs are plotting against the lives of their competition...or at least their health. I caught Kelsey trying to mug me with a Bach Strad. That's why she's down here like this." At this, Karyn looked at Kelsey, and then burst into a fit of laughter, because her section leader was still cross-eyed. Brittney and Chelsea giggled a little as well, but then Karyn went and did something weird to Kelsey's face that caused her eyes to pop back into their normal positions. She replaced the blindfold, and the girls all walked back upstairs, hiding the entrance once more.
***About fifteen minutes later***
The band was assembled and ready to play, while Kiefer tried to count up absences. He looked a little surprised when he saw that all the first trumpets, the first trombones, the first flutes, the first clarinets, the first tubas, and the baritones were missing, but he didn't say anything.
Karyn wasn't surprised. Going through English Dance and Dance of the Jesters was a bit rough, since the top players weren't there to carry the weight of the section, but the band finally made it through rehearsal, and it was time for fourth period, the last one of the day.
Just as Karyn shoved her trumpet into her cubby, Mr. Kiefer called to her and asked her to hang around the bandroom for a minute. She was surprised, since she wasn't one of his mindless followers (aka his "favorites"), but she obeyed, being the somewhat obedient person she is.
As the jazz combo class set up chairs around the drum set and guitar amps, Karyn talked to Chris, Jon, and Christina, seeing as how they were the only people in the class not missing, besides Mr. Kiefer's son who was on his way from another school. None of them seemed to know where the missing students were, so Karyn kept quiet...and then Kiefer called her up to the stage.
"Would you happen to know where any of the senior trumpets are or where Daniel is? It seems odd for them all to be out of school at once, especially since most of them never miss school."
Karyn felt guilty, but she managed to mumble out something about them maybe all getting sick at the same time, and she quickly went to fourth period.
***Ninety minutes later***
Karyn went to the bandroom to collect all of her items, and she sent them home with her mom, telling her that she would call when she was ready to leave school. She then snuck back down to her Place to talk to Kelsey, concerning the whereabouts of some of the other band members.
Kelsey was asleep and snoring, and she had this huge spider trying to crawl up her nose. Karyn thought it was incredibly funny, but she shook Kelsey on the shoulder so they could talk. She also made Kelsey kill the spider, since Karyn is terrified of them.
Once the blindfold and gag was removed, Karyn pulled up a small box and sat on it, in front of Kelsey.
"So, do you know where all those people are today? You know, all the first part players in nearly every section. I mean, did you all plot together what you were going to do, or was this a separate project?"
Kelsey decided that there was no point in keeping secrets, but she still didn't have much to tell Karyn, except that she had no idea where Camp, Ashley, and Daniel were. Their conversation was cut short by a scream from above.
"What in the...?" Karyn didn't finish, but she ran up the stairs, curious to see what was going on. She saw a group around something in the middle of the aisle, but she couldn't see what that something was. She pushed to the middle of the circle, where Chelsea was sitting, reading something on a piece of paper.
"It says that they took Brittney...and we may never see her again!" Chelsea cried hysterically, since she and Brittney were like sisters. Karyn however begin to think more logically about the situation...(and that's not something that happens often)
