8:02 a. m., Monday
Adobe's Classroom
Team Green
Team Green had pooled their resources and had discovered at least one member of every section in the band (including the only member of the bassoon section), fifteen different cars, a Jolly Green Giant statue, a mass of different chemicals, eight computers, fifty three dollars and thirty two cents, and a kayak. Several of the flute and clarinet players had their instruments with them, but they refused to use them for battle, so the instruments were all stored away in a locked cabinet (once again utilizing Meg's skeleton key).
Rand strutted about, examining the computers with Solan's help and leaving Sebras and the rest to organize the "army," as he called it. The saxophones, of which there were a great many, decided that Team Green should use guerilla tactics and spread out. Agreeing, Sebras appointed Ashley (not me, another Ashley) to sort out the saxophone troops as she was the Section Leader. The French Horns, of which there were two, Laiva (that's me) and Gabi, were both given command positions as Generals. The rest of the trumpet players that hated Travis's reign over the trumpet section, joined in with the woodwinds to form a very chaotic section. Finally, one of the seniors, Kelly, shouted at them to shut up and they subsided meekly.
Triphos and Meg, the two drum majors, were willing to lead the percussionists. "I'm glad to see that we got the nicer of the lot," Laiva remarked to Gabi. Decked in red berets and leather jackets, the percussionists consisted of two seniors, two juniors, a sophomore, and a freshman. Enough for a small hit team, apparently. One of the percussionists was also colorguard captain, which gave them quite a head start against Team Puce.
"We've got two drum majors and a colorguard captain, how can we not win?" Laiva told Sebras when he consulted the clipboard worriedly. "Plus, we've got the Jolly Green Giant." And she pointed to where the green styrofoam figure towered in the corner. "Oh, yes, and life-size cardboard cutouts of Queen Amidala and Mace Windu."
"But they're cardboard."
"We've also got Sprout. We're lucky Adobe likes strange things," Laiva countered, nodding at the styrofoam figurine of a smaller Jolly Green Giant. "Hey, look, the little mermaid." She picked up a small plastic figurine of the redheaded Ariel and chucked it hard against the dry-erase board. "Solid. We could knock somebody out with this."
"Or you could sing her song. It would have the same effect—pain."
"Wow, this place is creepy," Autumn, who did not have Adobe for a teacher, remarked. The freshmen and sophomores, who were still in Biology and Chemistry I all nodded and shied away from the walls. The Jolly Green Giant just grinned at them, looking completely smug and cocky. Laiva wanted to kick it.
The saxophones crouched over one of the lab tables, detailing their plans and passing out walkie-talkies that they had found in Adobe's cabinet. The woodwinds split up into regiments, selecting leaders between them. The French Horns scrambled about, organizing the groups and getting in touch with each of the leaders. The percussionists and trumpets all gathered around another lab table to conspire.
"Ten minutes until nine o'clock," Solan announced to the group after they had set up the army completely. "We should probably start getting set—"
He was cut off by the sound of a door slamming open and the vision of Travis in a leather jacket. Team Green stood stock-still and only watched as Team Puce exploded into the classroom all around them, looking incredibly fierce. From somewhere, they had donned black leather jackets and puce-colored bandannas twisted about their skulls. Black lines were drawn under their eyes, giving a strange resemblance to the football team. Travis swaggered up to Rand, Solan, and Sebras, all gathered around the computer.
"The game hasn't started yet," Rand remarked, not glancing up from the monitor. "And the football game isn't until next Friday."
"We know." Travis pulled out a pair of sunglasses and snapped them on his face.
"So you're just coming to wish us luck? That's sweet—now get out."
"Not quite. I've come to collect some of my loyal followers." Travis snapped his fingers and half of Team Green tensed. Sebras's eyes grew wide as they grew leather jackets and puce bandannas and joined the other team. Team Puce suddenly grew to be twice the size of Team Green. In the garish light, they looked menacing and controlled as opposed to the artistically scattered Team Green. Travis surveyed his team with a proud gleam in his eye before turning back to Team Green. "You lot are so gullible."
Laughing, he and his (much) larger team left.
8:59 a. m., Monday
Adobe's Classroom
Team Green
"We've lost fifty percent of our troops," Solan reported with a grave look tossed about the room. "And the game starts in one minute."
"We need to relocate," Rand snapped. "Now! Travis's team knows where our base is—this isn't safe. We're not giving that trumpet up."
"I'll say we aren't," Gabi snorted. She leaned against the wall by the Green Giant, letting a flurry of emotion take the interstate across her face. "We should stay here, though. We'll have somebody guard the base, but we'll make it look like we've moved."
"Is that wise, however? The game starts in a minute—" Eve began.
"Forty-five seconds," Solan corrected.
"The game starts soon, very soon." Eve rolled her eyes and continued, "We don't exactly have time to set up another base and make it look occupied."
"Just give me a few minutes on the computer. Trust me, I can access everything in this school." A few of the computer geeks in the band crowded around the computer where Rand still sat, working feverishly to break into the school's main computer.
"Meanwhile, we need to set up hit teams. Percussion, are you able to fend for yourselves?" Sebras said, clapping his hands for attention. They'd turned out the lights, but Miss Adobe's overhead projector had come into much use. If they ignored the notes on hydrocarbons and equilibrium, the battle plans looked almost genuine.
Meg, poised over the chessboard they had lugged out of Miss Adobe's desk, looked up. The chessboard was a gaudy affair, decked in shades of pink and gray, and the chess pieces seemed to be Disney characters. Gabi had snickered when she had noticed that the Beast was the king and Belle was the queen. "Of course. We're an army in ourselves."
"Good. I want the lot of you to scout out the school. Report back to the base by 9:30, at least. Be careful not to be seen," Sebras ordered. "Laiva, how many people do we have?"
"A lot less than what we used to. A lot of our freshmen and younger woodwind players switched over to Travis's team. Most of the juniors and seniors and a lot of the sophomores were smart enough to see through his big head," Laiva reported.
"We need regiments. Nobody is to be alone and nobody, absolutely nobody, is to know every plan. If we have a spy from Team Puce, they will not be able to second-guess our every move." Now Solan stood up and began pacing.
Sebras continued, "Our 'supposed' base will change periodically throughout the day. Younger officers are to report in with the generals who will be patrolling in hopes to capture any random members of Team Puce. We will divide into segments, regiments. A junior or a senior will lead each regiment. I know, I know, you underclassmen can stop grumbling. You'll get your turn when we play Capture-the-Flag." He grinned sadistically. "Always remember what's on the line in this game."
"The chance to finally down Travisism?" Amethyst asked innocently, showing off her T-shirt.
"Manhunt's a tough sport," Laiva cautioned after she was done laughing at Amethyst. "It's hide-and-go-seek, pumped up. We'll need to capture the whole of Team Puce, or at least enough so that they'll forfeit. It won't be easy—they're twice the size of us."
"Where are we going to keep the prisoners?" a freshman asked.
"In several different places." Gabi smiled, a feral gleam in her eyes. Although her demeanor was sweet and innocent, she lived for the stuff of war. "We'll blindfold them, too, and move them constantly, so they can't hope to know where they are."
"We're downright cruel, we are," a sophomore sniggered from the back.
They then worked in a lightning-fast manner to separate Team Green into regiments, an upperclassman standing proudly in front of each. "If you see somebody get captured or even hear a rumor, report to Laiva immediately," Amethyst instructed from her own regiment with the colorguard.
Laiva absently waved the clipboard at them.
"Hey, are there any lights?" Rand asked from where he was sorting through the wiring in the computer. Seeing some atop the bulbous head of Sprout, Eve tossed them to him. "Oh! They're shaped like the Pillsbury Doughboy!"
"Told you Ms. Adobe likes weird things," Laiva hissed to Sebras, who only shrugged and looked hard at the Jolly Green Giant, still reigning smug over them.
9:17 a. m., Monday
Downstairs Blue Corridor
Team Green
"Meg! Come here!" Krista, the freshman drummer, hissed to the drum major, an experienced sophomore drummer. Meg complied immediately, slipping from the shadows she had used to guard herself and joining the freshman at the door to O'Malley's (the director) office. The office had two entrances—one from the band room and the other from the downstairs blue hallway. As one whole wall of O'Malley's office was of pure Plexiglas, the two could see right through to the band room through a little window in the door to the blue hallway.
"Just as we thought," Meg said after a long glimpse. "Exactly as we thought."
"What?" Krista asked as the two slipped away from the window and hurried towards the main staircase at the joint of all three hallways. They passed the elevator door, which hummed quietly.
"Team Puce has used the band room as their base. How unimaginative. They'd better not steal Gabi's secret supply of chocolate oranges or heads WILL roll." Meg started to climb the staircase when the two heard laughter behind them. "Quick, hide!"
But they were in the most open part of the school. Both scrambled for the shadows of the nearest wall, but neither made it as two members from Team Puce arrived. One shouted upon seeing the percussionist and the drum major. "Get them! Halt, you evildoers!"
Neither Meg nor Krista intended to do this. Both were pelting down the blue hallway, headed for the Art Wing. Unfortunately, the Team Puce members, both of whom were juniors, had the advantage of speed on either Meg or Krista. "Quick! Get back to the Band Room and report!" Meg gasped to Krista as they reached the stairs at the opposite end of the blue hallway. Krista caught the skeleton key Meg threw at her, nodded, and raced up the steps, panting heavily. Meg whipped around and ran straight at the juniors, hoping to confuse them. They leaped out of the way, thinking Meg was rabid. After a second of confused staggering, they turned as well and gave chase.
Blast it all, Meg swore to herself. I could be sitting in Keyboarding I right now, but nooo, I'm being chased down a hallway by manic juniors. And the other school drum majors complain that they get no respect.
She cut a sharp right and plunged into the conveniently open elevator doors. The elevator doors slammed in the faces of the Team Puce members. Meg did not press the floor two button; instead, she held the door closed button and pressed her ear against the door. As soon as she heard the thumping feet of Team Puce climbing the stair (very few of Team Puce actually knew how to march), she pressed the Door Open button and disappeared quietly down the Downstairs Red Corridor, sneaking up the back stairs and into Adobe's room.
10:04 a.m., Monday
Adobe's Classroom
Team Green
"We have contact!" Rand hissed to the room in general, leaping onto his chair in excitement. As Rand had not been known to leap onto chairs, he received quite a few odd looks from the team about to be dispatched to set up the 'supposed' base.
Gabi, in charge of the team, glanced over at him. "Contact with who?"
"Whom," Laiva corrected absently from her perch over the chessboard.
"Ten o'clock and five minutes! Team 2, go!" The team left without hearing an explanation to Rand's announcement, carrying a considerable amount of magnesium wire. The magnesium wire had been Solan's idea.
"Look," Solan had told the group on discovery of the wire, "it's not very strong, I know, but we can convince hostages that it is. All we have to do is beat them with these stale ginger-moles left over from Mole Day when they start to struggle against the wire."
"Yes, let's beat them over the head with cookies. That sounds real fierce," Amethyst remarked sarcastically. Solan threw one of the offending cookies at her and she yelped. A bright red spot marked the place on her arm where the cookie had hit her. "Okay, so maybe it's more fierce than I thought."
"Anyway," Rand broke in now over the noise of the team being dispatched, "we've made contact with somebody very important."
"The pizza delivery guy?" one of the freshman guys asked from the back of room.
"No—our spy! We've got him on DirectLink," Rand explained, looking frustrated now. "He's well secured in Team Puce's base, and working feverishly on 'The Plan.'" Behind him, Laiva could see a DirectLink chatroom open via the computer's internet capabilities. The spy, "TubaGuy," had a blinking message beside his name.
"'The plan?'"
"Yes, a plan allowing us, Team Green, to take over not only Team Puce, but the world! With a crushing fist, we'll control this planet," Rand said, rubbing his hands together as a maniacal gleam came into his eyes.
"Whoa, cut down on the caffeine, dude," a freshman extra in a red shirt said, alarmed. Everybody stared at his red shirt. "I'm going to die before this is over, aren't I?"
"You are wearing a red shirt."
"Crud."
During this brief debate, Solan had taken the helm at the computer and typed a message to the mysterious spy. A moment's pause came before he said, "The spy insists that when we win this game, his throne will be made out of platinum. Pure platinum." He paused. "Oh, wait, there's more. Apparently, thrones made from gold are for leaders who only rule countries. Our ambitious little spy thinks he's going to rule the world. Oh, yes, and he also mentioned that our freshman drummer was apprehended earlier. With our skeleton key. We'll have to run a reconnaissance mission and retrieve her."
"Is this the part where we all stare at the sky and wonder how this game got to be so large?" Laiva asked into the surprised silence that followed.
"I dunno. I just dunno."
