MERRY CHOTTER AND THE DRUM MAJOR'S STONE
By Kate
Rating: PG
Chapter Eight
Summary: At last, we meet the rest of the lovely cast and see, for the first time, the beautiful world that is Smog-Hurts.
A/N: Reviewer thanks at the end. I love band camp! Hooray for not being a freshman anymore!
Disclaimer: If I owned marching band, I'd make sure I got my own spot this year. If I owned Harry Potter, I'd buy "Blue Avenger and the Theory of Everything" and "This Lullaby" instead of just reading them at the bookstore. But I don't. So there.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Despite the fact that bus seats are about the hardest place in the world to fall asleep (A/N: Example: me, going to Colorado. Icky.), Rynn was pretty close to snoring a few hours into the trip from New York City to the mysterious Smog-Hurts. Merry was feeling a bit drowsy herself when she felt something very sharp bite down on the knuckle of her right index finger. "OWWWW!" she groaned, shocking Rynn back into reality.
"What? Who's hexing you?" Rynn asked immediately.
Merry smiled slightly, realizing that she may have been just a BIT melodramatic. "No one. It's okay, Rynn. Something just. bit me."
Rynn grinned back. "Oh, that's just Clotty, my hand-me-down parrot." She turned her attention away from Merry and towards the bird. "Clotty! C'mere!"
At her master's call, the ratty-looking bird came limping out from Merry's seat. With faded feathers and dull eyes, the parrot wasn't exactly the pick of the litter.
"Sorry," Rynn apologized. "I got her from Pearcy because Pearcy got a new owl for making Squad Leader. She used to be beautiful. But hey, Freida gave me a spell to make her as bright as the rainbow."
"You can already do magic?" Merry asked in disbelief. Maybe she was going to be even farther behind than she had anticipated.
"Just a bit. I've never tried this one, though, so we'll see if it works."
Rynn raised her wand over the parrot and began to recite as a boy ran up to their seat. He had chocolate-brown eyes and unruly brown hair and seemed to be running short on breath.
"Sorry, but have you seen a cat around here anywhere? A girl named Nevilla's lost hers."
"Nope," was the quick reply from both Rynn and Merry.
The boy was just about to leave when he noticed that Rynn had her wand out. "Oh, are you going to do magic? I've read about simple spells but I'd love to see what you can do."
Rynn had no choice now but to perform the spell. Waving her wand around, she muttered, "Lemons, carrots, tomatoes, peas; make this sad bird pretty, please!"
A little spark came out of the end of the wand, making everyone hopeful. Sadly, it just flickered, made a few Pixie Stix explode, and went out.
"Well, as I said," the boy's voice was condescending now, "I've only read a few simple spells, but at least mine WORK." He walked straight over to Merry, pointed his wand at her tattered watch, and recited, "Heureo Repaireo." Instantly, the strap was mended and the face was shiny again.
"Wow, thanks," replied Merry. "I'm Merry Chotter."
"Yeah, I figured," the boy said with a slight wave of his hand. "I'm Aldridge Grainger." He turned to Rynn. "And you are?"
"Rynn Feasibly," Rynn replied, her mouth full of jelly beans.
"Pleasure." Aldridge got ready to finish his search for Nevilla's cat, leaving the two girls with one last piece of advice. "We're getting near the school now, so if I were you, I'd straighten my robes and get my bag ready."
"Sure," Rynn muttered back. Despite her rebellious attitude towards Aldridge's words, she and Merry did, in fact, get ready for their arrival at Smog-Hurts. It was a good thing, too, because the bus soon jolted to a stop. The two girls gathered up their belongings that were with them and hurried off, eager to see the magic of Smog-Hurts for themselves.
Indeed, it was the finest place Merry had ever seen in her life, and she was only at the bus stop. Short little kids in matching outfits (A/N: they're Band-Aids! Too bad we don't have them anymore.) were unloading all the luggage from the cargo hold and preparing it to go to the school. From the line of busses pulled up, what seemed like millions of unfamiliar students were pouring out, all dressed in robes. Merry was awed, but she noticed that Rynn wasn't nearly so excited.
"What's the matter, Rynn?" she asked kindly. "Aren't you glad to be here?"
Rynn grinned, showing all of her teeth. "Of course! I've waited so long to come to Smog-Hurts, ever since Belle and Carly were students here. It's just that this whole scene isn't THAT new to me. There are lots of places like this in our world, and my sisters have always had their school friends over with photographs and the like."
"Wow, you're lucky," Merry was earnest in this statement, but Rynn just laughed.
"Yeah, right! I mean, you've got it made to ace Buggle Studies, seeing as you grew up with them. And teachers are bound to give you a little leeway because of who you are."
"Okay, Rynnie, let me get this straight. You're saying I'm the lucky one in this world when I can't even tell you which coin is which kind of money?"
Rynn chuckled again. "Well, when you put it that way."
Just as Merry was struggling to come up with any sort of witty comment, she heard Haggis-face's voice. "All right, first-years, we're going to begin the Hustle to the Castle. (A/N: Yes, I know it doesn't rhyme. It's band. We don't have time to be poetic.) When I say go, you scream "HUSTLE!" and then we all run across this meadow to the Smog-Hurts castle on the other side. The meadow, like all of the other grounds here, so if you're not really supposed to be at Smog-Hurts, you'll be sent straight back home. And if you're not a fast runner, don't worry - the charms will take care of that."
Merry stretched out her calves, quads, and various other parts of her legs she probably didn't even realize were there. Just as she was beginning to feel loosened up, she heard Haggis-face scream "GO!"
"HUSTLE!" (A/N: If I could put that in big letters, I would. Because band kids are loud. But heck, I can't even get my bolding to show up on FFN. So what's the use?) all of the first-years screamed, a bit pathetically for the Smog-Hurts reputation but, overall, pretty loudly. They took off running across the field.
A/N: Hooray for hustling! We lovely horns (along with the rest of the brass) got to run a lap today because some stupid trombone was late. Many thanks to all my reviewers and even to those who read this story and don't bother to review; I love you guys too!
SilverSerpent: Glad you finally found me and got caught up! And yay, you spelled anticipation right!
ravenslyth: Well, my band doesn't sell candy either; we sell donuts! Krispy Kreme donuts! Yum! But somebody had to be selling the candy and I think we work our band mommies hard enough already. :o)
Rannchan: I don't know if this is what you consider REALLY REALLY SOON, but here's Chapter Eight!
Mellie: I'll explain the whole squad leader/section leader/drum major/marching tech thing later, okay? It all makes sense in my head.
Rosaline: YAY FOR GHETTO-NESS!
adulaith: Our stupid slutty dance team wears white cowboy hats. We wear white shakos WITH chickens and we wear them WITH PRIDE! (Pluck the chicken! Yay CHS!)
ABOUT THE WHOLE TEXAS THING: Wow. I never knew so many people lived here. Of course, considering that it takes 9 hours just to leave the state, I should have figured. Anyway, I live in Coppell and am in the COPPELL HIGH SCHOOL MARCHING BAND! (Dur.) We won State in '99 when we were 4-A, then moved up to 5-A the following year and came in the highest any new band has ever done. Our Honor Band came in 2nd in State for 5-A this past concert season and it's their FIRST TIME to be 5-A! Yay Honor Band! We love you! Um, what else are we famous for? Well, we're gonna win State this year too because that is our Number One Goal and there's no reason why we shouldn't. So when you're at State, look for the big huge band (350 + ) in the pretty white uniforms with silver sashes who WIN and that's gonna be us. Sorry, just had to take some time to brag there. And as for the Hays Band, I think we marching a contest with you guys a while ago, before I was in band, because I think it was on somebody's old contest shirt. But I know I've heard of you somewhere!
By Kate
Rating: PG
Chapter Eight
Summary: At last, we meet the rest of the lovely cast and see, for the first time, the beautiful world that is Smog-Hurts.
A/N: Reviewer thanks at the end. I love band camp! Hooray for not being a freshman anymore!
Disclaimer: If I owned marching band, I'd make sure I got my own spot this year. If I owned Harry Potter, I'd buy "Blue Avenger and the Theory of Everything" and "This Lullaby" instead of just reading them at the bookstore. But I don't. So there.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Despite the fact that bus seats are about the hardest place in the world to fall asleep (A/N: Example: me, going to Colorado. Icky.), Rynn was pretty close to snoring a few hours into the trip from New York City to the mysterious Smog-Hurts. Merry was feeling a bit drowsy herself when she felt something very sharp bite down on the knuckle of her right index finger. "OWWWW!" she groaned, shocking Rynn back into reality.
"What? Who's hexing you?" Rynn asked immediately.
Merry smiled slightly, realizing that she may have been just a BIT melodramatic. "No one. It's okay, Rynn. Something just. bit me."
Rynn grinned back. "Oh, that's just Clotty, my hand-me-down parrot." She turned her attention away from Merry and towards the bird. "Clotty! C'mere!"
At her master's call, the ratty-looking bird came limping out from Merry's seat. With faded feathers and dull eyes, the parrot wasn't exactly the pick of the litter.
"Sorry," Rynn apologized. "I got her from Pearcy because Pearcy got a new owl for making Squad Leader. She used to be beautiful. But hey, Freida gave me a spell to make her as bright as the rainbow."
"You can already do magic?" Merry asked in disbelief. Maybe she was going to be even farther behind than she had anticipated.
"Just a bit. I've never tried this one, though, so we'll see if it works."
Rynn raised her wand over the parrot and began to recite as a boy ran up to their seat. He had chocolate-brown eyes and unruly brown hair and seemed to be running short on breath.
"Sorry, but have you seen a cat around here anywhere? A girl named Nevilla's lost hers."
"Nope," was the quick reply from both Rynn and Merry.
The boy was just about to leave when he noticed that Rynn had her wand out. "Oh, are you going to do magic? I've read about simple spells but I'd love to see what you can do."
Rynn had no choice now but to perform the spell. Waving her wand around, she muttered, "Lemons, carrots, tomatoes, peas; make this sad bird pretty, please!"
A little spark came out of the end of the wand, making everyone hopeful. Sadly, it just flickered, made a few Pixie Stix explode, and went out.
"Well, as I said," the boy's voice was condescending now, "I've only read a few simple spells, but at least mine WORK." He walked straight over to Merry, pointed his wand at her tattered watch, and recited, "Heureo Repaireo." Instantly, the strap was mended and the face was shiny again.
"Wow, thanks," replied Merry. "I'm Merry Chotter."
"Yeah, I figured," the boy said with a slight wave of his hand. "I'm Aldridge Grainger." He turned to Rynn. "And you are?"
"Rynn Feasibly," Rynn replied, her mouth full of jelly beans.
"Pleasure." Aldridge got ready to finish his search for Nevilla's cat, leaving the two girls with one last piece of advice. "We're getting near the school now, so if I were you, I'd straighten my robes and get my bag ready."
"Sure," Rynn muttered back. Despite her rebellious attitude towards Aldridge's words, she and Merry did, in fact, get ready for their arrival at Smog-Hurts. It was a good thing, too, because the bus soon jolted to a stop. The two girls gathered up their belongings that were with them and hurried off, eager to see the magic of Smog-Hurts for themselves.
Indeed, it was the finest place Merry had ever seen in her life, and she was only at the bus stop. Short little kids in matching outfits (A/N: they're Band-Aids! Too bad we don't have them anymore.) were unloading all the luggage from the cargo hold and preparing it to go to the school. From the line of busses pulled up, what seemed like millions of unfamiliar students were pouring out, all dressed in robes. Merry was awed, but she noticed that Rynn wasn't nearly so excited.
"What's the matter, Rynn?" she asked kindly. "Aren't you glad to be here?"
Rynn grinned, showing all of her teeth. "Of course! I've waited so long to come to Smog-Hurts, ever since Belle and Carly were students here. It's just that this whole scene isn't THAT new to me. There are lots of places like this in our world, and my sisters have always had their school friends over with photographs and the like."
"Wow, you're lucky," Merry was earnest in this statement, but Rynn just laughed.
"Yeah, right! I mean, you've got it made to ace Buggle Studies, seeing as you grew up with them. And teachers are bound to give you a little leeway because of who you are."
"Okay, Rynnie, let me get this straight. You're saying I'm the lucky one in this world when I can't even tell you which coin is which kind of money?"
Rynn chuckled again. "Well, when you put it that way."
Just as Merry was struggling to come up with any sort of witty comment, she heard Haggis-face's voice. "All right, first-years, we're going to begin the Hustle to the Castle. (A/N: Yes, I know it doesn't rhyme. It's band. We don't have time to be poetic.) When I say go, you scream "HUSTLE!" and then we all run across this meadow to the Smog-Hurts castle on the other side. The meadow, like all of the other grounds here, so if you're not really supposed to be at Smog-Hurts, you'll be sent straight back home. And if you're not a fast runner, don't worry - the charms will take care of that."
Merry stretched out her calves, quads, and various other parts of her legs she probably didn't even realize were there. Just as she was beginning to feel loosened up, she heard Haggis-face scream "GO!"
"HUSTLE!" (A/N: If I could put that in big letters, I would. Because band kids are loud. But heck, I can't even get my bolding to show up on FFN. So what's the use?) all of the first-years screamed, a bit pathetically for the Smog-Hurts reputation but, overall, pretty loudly. They took off running across the field.
A/N: Hooray for hustling! We lovely horns (along with the rest of the brass) got to run a lap today because some stupid trombone was late. Many thanks to all my reviewers and even to those who read this story and don't bother to review; I love you guys too!
SilverSerpent: Glad you finally found me and got caught up! And yay, you spelled anticipation right!
ravenslyth: Well, my band doesn't sell candy either; we sell donuts! Krispy Kreme donuts! Yum! But somebody had to be selling the candy and I think we work our band mommies hard enough already. :o)
Rannchan: I don't know if this is what you consider REALLY REALLY SOON, but here's Chapter Eight!
Mellie: I'll explain the whole squad leader/section leader/drum major/marching tech thing later, okay? It all makes sense in my head.
Rosaline: YAY FOR GHETTO-NESS!
adulaith: Our stupid slutty dance team wears white cowboy hats. We wear white shakos WITH chickens and we wear them WITH PRIDE! (Pluck the chicken! Yay CHS!)
ABOUT THE WHOLE TEXAS THING: Wow. I never knew so many people lived here. Of course, considering that it takes 9 hours just to leave the state, I should have figured. Anyway, I live in Coppell and am in the COPPELL HIGH SCHOOL MARCHING BAND! (Dur.) We won State in '99 when we were 4-A, then moved up to 5-A the following year and came in the highest any new band has ever done. Our Honor Band came in 2nd in State for 5-A this past concert season and it's their FIRST TIME to be 5-A! Yay Honor Band! We love you! Um, what else are we famous for? Well, we're gonna win State this year too because that is our Number One Goal and there's no reason why we shouldn't. So when you're at State, look for the big huge band (350 + ) in the pretty white uniforms with silver sashes who WIN and that's gonna be us. Sorry, just had to take some time to brag there. And as for the Hays Band, I think we marching a contest with you guys a while ago, before I was in band, because I think it was on somebody's old contest shirt. But I know I've heard of you somewhere!