1 "A Tale of a Winterguard" written by LittleLily and brainstormed by
Mitsubishi Eclipse and LittleLily
The beginning of the Washington High School winterguard seemed to be starting out rough for the members of the guard who knew what they were doing. Lindsay, Michaele, Marie, Becca, and Levi (no, he's not gay… though we all thought he was) all knew what they were doing, but the newbies did not. Especially one girl named Jacque. But she made it anyways because the guard needed all the members they could get. Another problem was… there was no instructor. Just the band director who was learning basics herself. It did not seem like it was going to be a good season…
Then like magic, Katie, the awesome guard instructor arrived! Everything seemed to be going well, especially when the best rifleist the guard has had within the past two years came back. Soon the tally was up to eleven guard members and there were people in skills with flag and rifle. It was going to be a good year. Or so Michaele and Lindsay thought.
"I wish Jacque would shut-up…" Lindsay said as the guard all sat on the floor doing their foot stretches.
"Psst, don't we all." Michaele replied as she tried with all her might to touch her toes. She finally gave up with a defeated sigh. Looking over at Lindsay, she exclaimed, "No fair Lindsay! I wish I was all rubber-band like you!"
Lindsay giggled.
"Okay, now lets lie on the floor and you guys can try to crack your backs." Katie announced from the front of the room.
Jacque and Megan began to giggle.
"SHUT-UP." Michaele snapped.
Jacque giggled again and began to squirm about the floor like a worm.
"Okay Lavender Brown, we're not a Hogwarts hanging out with Pravati and Harry Potter is not around the corner, so shut-up!!!" She whispered.
Lindsay looked at Michaele.
"Sorry."
She shrugged at her impatient friend and lied on the floor to crack her back. As she stared at the high ceiling with dents from flag poles that were tempted to be tossed by orchestra people, Lindsay spoke.
"Wouldn't it be funny if something came in here… and then someone was replaced by something like… a marker?"
Michaele laughed. "I would love to see something like that." Stretching out on the floor, she lied still as everyone else in the guard got up. "It'd be funny if something like… an owl flew in here and someone did get replaced by a marker."
Lindsay laughed. "That'd be funny."
After finally getting up, they went to their respected flag bags and pulled out their tattered silks and began to spin them around.
"Okay, today I want to try and finish our sets. By the time we finish, we'll be able to be in the gym next time and we can finally fix it to the gym floor." Katie announced.
Lindsay walked to her set on the other side of the band room with her flag. Jackie bounced around and Megan slowly made her way over there. Michaele set as Stephanie and Helanna set with her. They whispered a little bit ("Jacque needs to shut-up!" Stephanie said) until Katie yelled "SET!" and everyone went to their "sleep" position as the music started.
As soon as the music started, Chris jumped off his imaginary box and went to push Caitlin to the center of the floor to play her imaginary saxophone. After her part, she dropped her head and went to her "sleep" position. Chris came over to Michaele's side and blew imaginary confetti on them as they began to wake up and move to the middle. Slowly getting to their spot, they waited for the other side to join them. As they did, Jacque began to move around and look and when she got to her spot, she began to move about and move her flag and giggle. Katie did not look impressed.
The "footsteps" started and the groups of three spread apart and when Jacque got to the next set, she began to waddle and giggle again. Everyone else was being serious with their "performance faces", but Jacque was still acting like a hyper-active duck. Katie still did not look impressed.
Michaele and Lindsay caught eye contact and rolled their eyes. Lindsay mouthed 'owl' and Michaele tried to control her snicker as she moved to the middle of the room. At the dance part, Jacque began to move around and talk to Megan. Michaele became aggravated. Katie STILL was not impressed.
A sudden, sharp knock came at the door.
"I got it." Levi said as he merrily skipped to the door and pushed it open and stuck his head out. Apparently, no one was there. Opening the door wider to look outside, he still did not see anyone. Shrugging, he came back inside.
A gasp came from the guard. Lindsay and Michaele's jaw dropped with what they saw. It was a white-spotted owl… flying through the Washington High School band room. In Phoenix, none-the-less.
"Hedwig!" Jacque squealed like a two year old.
"I knew she'd say that…" Michaele muttered. Marie looked back at Michaele and laughed.
Katie shrilled. "Get it out of here!"
Jumping towards the door in a less merrily way, Levi opened the door. The owl looked at it and saw the open sky out of the small room. He circled the room, swooped down towards Jacque, barely missed her head, and flew out of the room. Everyone looked at Katie.
"What was that?"
A loud scream came from Jacque. "OWW! I'm burning!" She began to do a funny dance.
"Is she doing the Macarena?!" Caitlin laughed.
"OH MY GOD!" Levi shrilled.
Megan watched her friend with amusement. Lindsay and Michaele's mouth dropped wider. Marie watched with shock. Katie screamed. Chris laughed. Becca rolled her eyes. Helanna gave a weird look. Stephanie started laughing herself.
"I CAN'T STOP!" Jacque began to sing the words to the song. She began to giggle and then waddle and then smoke appeared.
When the smoke disappeared, a black licorice Mr. Sketch marker lied where Jacque was standing. Megan screamed.
"JACQUE!?!?!"
Katie looked dumbfound. "Uhh… what was that?"
Michaele and Lindsay started to laugh.
"Do you guys know?"
"Nope." They answered.
"Okay…" Katie walked over to the marker. "Um, I guess we'll have to work around Jacque being…"
"Transfigured." Michaele stated.
"Um, transfigured into a Mr. Sketch scented marker." Katie paused and picked it up to examine it. "I guess we'll have to stop here."
"We could always put the marker in Jacque's place so we could learn our other sets." Levi suggested.
Katie looked around the room. "I suppose so. I don't want you guys to suffer because Jacque was mysteriously transfigured into a marker." Setting the marker down in Jacque's spot, she went back up to the front of the room to grab her yellow notepad with the drills.
Soon she was setting everyone, even transfigured Jacque, and the rest of the guard learned their last few sets before the end.
"Time to go!" Marie announced as the clock read 5:30.
"All right, I will see you guys on Wednesday!" Katie announced as she picked up the marker that was Jackie. "And um, I'll just leave Jacque here. Where is her locker?"
Megan spoke up. "It's over here. I'll put her in there." Walking towards Katie, she took the Mr. Sketch marker out of hand and walked over to Jacque's clarinet locker and shoved her in the gaps between the bars. Satisfied that she put her friend in her locker and could still reach her for their next practice, Megan gathered her stuff and walked out of the band room.
Lindsay watched Megan walk out the door and shook her head. She never thought this would come true. It was just a joke she had made up! How could this have happen? What were they going to do now without Jacque? Sure, she caused problems in the guard and Katie was probably going to kick her off (or tell her off) so I guess Jacque being transfigured into a marker was good karma after all. But now they'd have to march with a hole. At least it was only one person, and not everyone!
Michaele walked towards her friend and they wordlessly walked out of the band room. Walking to the spot they usually go to wait for their parents, they set their stuff down and sat on the cement.
"This is too weird." Lindsay said.
Michaele nodded her head in agreement as she reached into her purse to check if there were any messages on her cell phone.
"I mean, who would had thought that a white-spotted owl, who represented the owl from Harry Potter and 'Labyrinth', would come and turn someone into a marker! I don't know how this could happen…" She picked up her cell phone herself and checked it. "I didn't even think magic existed in this world."
Michaele nodded her head again. "Maybe it was a figure of our imagination."
"Then it's a figure of the whole guard's imagination."
"Okay… well…" She paused as she thought of a logical answer. "Maybe Harry Potter does exist!"
Lindsay shook her head. "I doubt it."
"True… their owls can't do magic. They just carry the letters." Michaele was at lost for a logic explanation. And she usually had one for everything.
"Maybe…" She started as she slipped on her sunglasses. "Maybe… the government is behind it!"
Michaele started laughing.
"What?! It could happen."
"I know, I know." She sobered up. "Maybe it is the government. They are pretty mysterious, stupid, and money hungry. Not to mention they can't run a freaking country." She giggled and then stopped. "Oh wait, I shouldn't say that because of the Espionage Act of 1917. I could be sued for $100,000 or thrown in jail for saying things against the government."
"Riiiggghhttt…"
Just then two silver cars drove into the school's parking lot with each of the girls' respective parents. They got up, gathered their things, walked to their cars, and said good-bye.
The beginning of the Washington High School winterguard seemed to be starting out rough for the members of the guard who knew what they were doing. Lindsay, Michaele, Marie, Becca, and Levi (no, he's not gay… though we all thought he was) all knew what they were doing, but the newbies did not. Especially one girl named Jacque. But she made it anyways because the guard needed all the members they could get. Another problem was… there was no instructor. Just the band director who was learning basics herself. It did not seem like it was going to be a good season…
Then like magic, Katie, the awesome guard instructor arrived! Everything seemed to be going well, especially when the best rifleist the guard has had within the past two years came back. Soon the tally was up to eleven guard members and there were people in skills with flag and rifle. It was going to be a good year. Or so Michaele and Lindsay thought.
"I wish Jacque would shut-up…" Lindsay said as the guard all sat on the floor doing their foot stretches.
"Psst, don't we all." Michaele replied as she tried with all her might to touch her toes. She finally gave up with a defeated sigh. Looking over at Lindsay, she exclaimed, "No fair Lindsay! I wish I was all rubber-band like you!"
Lindsay giggled.
"Okay, now lets lie on the floor and you guys can try to crack your backs." Katie announced from the front of the room.
Jacque and Megan began to giggle.
"SHUT-UP." Michaele snapped.
Jacque giggled again and began to squirm about the floor like a worm.
"Okay Lavender Brown, we're not a Hogwarts hanging out with Pravati and Harry Potter is not around the corner, so shut-up!!!" She whispered.
Lindsay looked at Michaele.
"Sorry."
She shrugged at her impatient friend and lied on the floor to crack her back. As she stared at the high ceiling with dents from flag poles that were tempted to be tossed by orchestra people, Lindsay spoke.
"Wouldn't it be funny if something came in here… and then someone was replaced by something like… a marker?"
Michaele laughed. "I would love to see something like that." Stretching out on the floor, she lied still as everyone else in the guard got up. "It'd be funny if something like… an owl flew in here and someone did get replaced by a marker."
Lindsay laughed. "That'd be funny."
After finally getting up, they went to their respected flag bags and pulled out their tattered silks and began to spin them around.
"Okay, today I want to try and finish our sets. By the time we finish, we'll be able to be in the gym next time and we can finally fix it to the gym floor." Katie announced.
Lindsay walked to her set on the other side of the band room with her flag. Jackie bounced around and Megan slowly made her way over there. Michaele set as Stephanie and Helanna set with her. They whispered a little bit ("Jacque needs to shut-up!" Stephanie said) until Katie yelled "SET!" and everyone went to their "sleep" position as the music started.
As soon as the music started, Chris jumped off his imaginary box and went to push Caitlin to the center of the floor to play her imaginary saxophone. After her part, she dropped her head and went to her "sleep" position. Chris came over to Michaele's side and blew imaginary confetti on them as they began to wake up and move to the middle. Slowly getting to their spot, they waited for the other side to join them. As they did, Jacque began to move around and look and when she got to her spot, she began to move about and move her flag and giggle. Katie did not look impressed.
The "footsteps" started and the groups of three spread apart and when Jacque got to the next set, she began to waddle and giggle again. Everyone else was being serious with their "performance faces", but Jacque was still acting like a hyper-active duck. Katie still did not look impressed.
Michaele and Lindsay caught eye contact and rolled their eyes. Lindsay mouthed 'owl' and Michaele tried to control her snicker as she moved to the middle of the room. At the dance part, Jacque began to move around and talk to Megan. Michaele became aggravated. Katie STILL was not impressed.
A sudden, sharp knock came at the door.
"I got it." Levi said as he merrily skipped to the door and pushed it open and stuck his head out. Apparently, no one was there. Opening the door wider to look outside, he still did not see anyone. Shrugging, he came back inside.
A gasp came from the guard. Lindsay and Michaele's jaw dropped with what they saw. It was a white-spotted owl… flying through the Washington High School band room. In Phoenix, none-the-less.
"Hedwig!" Jacque squealed like a two year old.
"I knew she'd say that…" Michaele muttered. Marie looked back at Michaele and laughed.
Katie shrilled. "Get it out of here!"
Jumping towards the door in a less merrily way, Levi opened the door. The owl looked at it and saw the open sky out of the small room. He circled the room, swooped down towards Jacque, barely missed her head, and flew out of the room. Everyone looked at Katie.
"What was that?"
A loud scream came from Jacque. "OWW! I'm burning!" She began to do a funny dance.
"Is she doing the Macarena?!" Caitlin laughed.
"OH MY GOD!" Levi shrilled.
Megan watched her friend with amusement. Lindsay and Michaele's mouth dropped wider. Marie watched with shock. Katie screamed. Chris laughed. Becca rolled her eyes. Helanna gave a weird look. Stephanie started laughing herself.
"I CAN'T STOP!" Jacque began to sing the words to the song. She began to giggle and then waddle and then smoke appeared.
When the smoke disappeared, a black licorice Mr. Sketch marker lied where Jacque was standing. Megan screamed.
"JACQUE!?!?!"
Katie looked dumbfound. "Uhh… what was that?"
Michaele and Lindsay started to laugh.
"Do you guys know?"
"Nope." They answered.
"Okay…" Katie walked over to the marker. "Um, I guess we'll have to work around Jacque being…"
"Transfigured." Michaele stated.
"Um, transfigured into a Mr. Sketch scented marker." Katie paused and picked it up to examine it. "I guess we'll have to stop here."
"We could always put the marker in Jacque's place so we could learn our other sets." Levi suggested.
Katie looked around the room. "I suppose so. I don't want you guys to suffer because Jacque was mysteriously transfigured into a marker." Setting the marker down in Jacque's spot, she went back up to the front of the room to grab her yellow notepad with the drills.
Soon she was setting everyone, even transfigured Jacque, and the rest of the guard learned their last few sets before the end.
"Time to go!" Marie announced as the clock read 5:30.
"All right, I will see you guys on Wednesday!" Katie announced as she picked up the marker that was Jackie. "And um, I'll just leave Jacque here. Where is her locker?"
Megan spoke up. "It's over here. I'll put her in there." Walking towards Katie, she took the Mr. Sketch marker out of hand and walked over to Jacque's clarinet locker and shoved her in the gaps between the bars. Satisfied that she put her friend in her locker and could still reach her for their next practice, Megan gathered her stuff and walked out of the band room.
Lindsay watched Megan walk out the door and shook her head. She never thought this would come true. It was just a joke she had made up! How could this have happen? What were they going to do now without Jacque? Sure, she caused problems in the guard and Katie was probably going to kick her off (or tell her off) so I guess Jacque being transfigured into a marker was good karma after all. But now they'd have to march with a hole. At least it was only one person, and not everyone!
Michaele walked towards her friend and they wordlessly walked out of the band room. Walking to the spot they usually go to wait for their parents, they set their stuff down and sat on the cement.
"This is too weird." Lindsay said.
Michaele nodded her head in agreement as she reached into her purse to check if there were any messages on her cell phone.
"I mean, who would had thought that a white-spotted owl, who represented the owl from Harry Potter and 'Labyrinth', would come and turn someone into a marker! I don't know how this could happen…" She picked up her cell phone herself and checked it. "I didn't even think magic existed in this world."
Michaele nodded her head again. "Maybe it was a figure of our imagination."
"Then it's a figure of the whole guard's imagination."
"Okay… well…" She paused as she thought of a logical answer. "Maybe Harry Potter does exist!"
Lindsay shook her head. "I doubt it."
"True… their owls can't do magic. They just carry the letters." Michaele was at lost for a logic explanation. And she usually had one for everything.
"Maybe…" She started as she slipped on her sunglasses. "Maybe… the government is behind it!"
Michaele started laughing.
"What?! It could happen."
"I know, I know." She sobered up. "Maybe it is the government. They are pretty mysterious, stupid, and money hungry. Not to mention they can't run a freaking country." She giggled and then stopped. "Oh wait, I shouldn't say that because of the Espionage Act of 1917. I could be sued for $100,000 or thrown in jail for saying things against the government."
"Riiiggghhttt…"
Just then two silver cars drove into the school's parking lot with each of the girls' respective parents. They got up, gathered their things, walked to their cars, and said good-bye.