((a/n: Sorry I haven't updated in awhile! I haven't had any time to write,
being that all the free time I had after school has been taken up by what
else but marching band. Championships is soon, though, and once November's
over I'll have a lot more time because I'm not joining winter guard. So
sorry for the delay, I WILL be writing a lot more of this story when I have
more time.
And thank you to all who reviewed! There was awhile where I didn't get any
and was thinking, "Huh, no reviews" and then one day I decided to check and
found out I got reviews, so THANK YOU!!!))
The bell rang loudly, snapping my attention from the book I was reading in chorus class to the fact that the bell rang. On this day, the ringing bell could mean only one thing---SCHOOL WAS OVER!! I stuffed my book away, letting an enormous grin spread across my face. As of now, my 7th grade year was over, and I had an entire summer to look forward too!
I waved goodbye to my chorus teacher, knowing I would see her next year, and ran down to my locker for the last time. Grinning in barely suppressed triumph of surviving the school year, I flipped my combination and took my jacket out of my locker for the last time.
Ahhh, for the last time! How wonderful that sounded! The sheer fact of school ending for the summer was enough to make anyone dance for joy. School was over. . .over. . .over. . .
"Hey, Christine, wait up!" It was Alora. I turned around, stuffing my last bit of junk into my bag before turning to meet her. "Hey, 'Lora." I said. "We have practice tomorrow. You can come sleepover my house after it's over, my mom said so!" She grinned. Oh great.practice tomorrow?
Well, at least I had Alora's house to look forward to. It was always fun sleeping over.
But it was the practice that would kill me. I had been to several of their practices since the first meeting, and what struck me was that I.wasn't good enough. All these people seemed to have so much more experience, and seemed to know so much more than I did. I felt intimidated.and, well, not good enough. Alora was pretty good. Cara had offered to help me once. Cara, I had to admit, was pretty nice. Even though she would be a junior in high school, the fact that we were 'little middle school 8th graders' didn't seem to bother her. She was very perky, and always seemed to want to help out. But I promised Alora and Nelly that I'd stay in.I couldn't break that promise.
"Yeah, I'll be there." I told Alora. "On time."
**Two months later, August 2001**
I had just gotten back from a lovely vacation in Florida. It was now August 10th, 2001, and a day before band camp started. But what was band camp, anyway? Being that I've never done this before, I didn't know a thing about band camp. I saw on the schedule that it was every day for a week from 8 in the morning to 4 in the afternoon, with one day staying until 10 at night and another day staying until 8 at night. But that just sounded so preposterous that I quickly dismissed the idea, and kept the thought of this 'band camp' out of my mind.
Until now.
Band camp was tomorrow, as Alora so kindly reminded me on my answering machine of. By now we had had several more practices, and I began to feel more and more intimidated each time. These people were all so much better, and so good at this, and here I could hardly get any of the work they were teaching me.
So how would I survive band camp? Especially when I didn't even know what it was?
It was the next morning when I told my mom I had made a very important decision: I was quitting. "I can't do this!" I announced to my mom in frustration the morning of band camp. "I don't get it, and they're all so much better than me. I'm quitting, I can't do this. If you want I'll tell Mrs. Loren today." I said. Mom understood, which surprised me, but she reinforced the idea of me telling Mrs. Loren. And Alora.
The hardest part of my 'quitting' would be telling Mrs. Loren. I admired her greatly, and telling her that I quit would be very hard.
But seemingly, if I had any chance of 'surviving', I'd have to tell her sooner or later.
Anyway, early the next morning my alarm clock went off. I woke up and shut it off. . .I was still sure I had the most annoying alarm clock in the world. It wasn't like most alarm clocks, it was the buzzing kind that wouldn't stop buzzing until you shut it off. The buzzing would just get louder until I shut it off, and if I didn't it would continue buzzing for more than an hour after the time I set it for. It must be made so that I can't avoid it.
Groaning and rubbing my eyes, I ate a quick breakfast before changing. I then packed my bag for band camp. Checking over the list, I put in a couple of frozen water bottles, a lunch, a notepad, and a pen. Soon I was ready. . .I'd be going to band camp and making the announcement to Mrs. Loren herself.
~That~ would be hard.
"Come on, Christine." My mom said, nodding seriously at me. She knew that I would be telling Mrs. Loren this. Little did she know how hard it would be fore me. I sighed, picking up my 'band camp bag' and getting into the car. "Christine, are you sure you're up to this? Just continue, I'm sure it'll get better." I shook my head. "I'm not good enough. Mrs. Loren'll understand that." I replied. Mrs. Loren was very understanding.
So we drove there, and soon I got to the high school. I've been to the high school before, but never like this. I liked my middle school. . .it was nice and small and I could find my way around. I knew I'd be going to this high school next year, but I probably wouldn't be in marching band next year either. I got out of the car, and mom got out with me. She was going to go with me to tell Mrs. Loren.
Taking a deep breath, I slung the bag over my shoulder and headed into the school. My confidence, all the confidence I had about telling her this before, went shooting out the window. How was I to do this? Shaking my head, I went into the cafeteria with my mom and scanned for Mrs. Loren. There she was-over by the door, preparing for the morning, whatever the morning held in store.
"Christine!" She called, spotting me and waving me over. "There you are! I thought you wouldn't be coming. Alora said you'd be late, but looks like your not." She gave me that bright smile that made me feel so. . .bad. "Christine has something to tell you." My mom said to me, giving me a look that said, 'well, you can't get out of this now.' Mrs. Loren raised an eyebrow at me.
"Um, Mrs. Loren?" I began with a question. "Yes?" Taking a deep breath, I said what I had to say as quickly as I could say it. "I've been to many practices and stuff. Alora's good and Nelly's good but I'm not as good at that. The others are a lot more experienced than I am and I know I am not as good as they are. I can't do this. . .it's too much and I know I'll bring everyone down because I am not as good as them. So I'm going to. . .quit. . .and maybe I'll try again next year or something."
I said all of this very fast to get it out as quick as I could.
Mrs. Loren then looked at me very seriously. "Christine," She began. "I know you are not very good right now. . .no one is very good when they start out." She lay a hand on my shoulder. "But I know you, and you have a talent for this. Just because you are new it doesn't mean that you won't be good. You'll be very good if you keep going. Don't let one thing get you down." I nodded at her. "Christine, I know you can do this. Don't underestimate yourself, I ~believe~ you can do this. If that's not enough, I don't know what is."
My mind immediately went whirling, and everything I thought of doing went flying out the window along with my confidence. "But. . ." "No buts." Mrs. Loren shook her head firmly. "Christine, I really don't want you to quit. I believe in you, I believe you can do it and if you stay you will be great." I blinked, suddenly feeling. . .different. I trusted Mrs. Loren, she was, I guess, my own personal heroine (or "shero", if you know what I mean). Now that ~she~ was saying this, it changed everything.
Then Cara came over, seeing me talking to Mrs. Loren. "What's wrong?" She asked. "Nothing. . ." I said. "No, Christine thinks she's not skilled enough for the guard and wants to quit." Mrs. Loren exclaimed. Cara looked at me. "Quit? No, you can't quit!" She said. "You'd be really good, I can tell. I was like that, too. . .I didn't believe I was good enough. And now it's my 4th year doing this and I'm co-captain. . .I started in 8th grade, too!" Cara was really enthusiastic, and her bubbly perkiness started to change my opinions too.
"Don't worry. I'll watch out for you, and I'll help you if you need it. Just promise me you'll stay." Cara said. "You must stay." Mrs. Loren added. "Do it for me. Do it for Cara. Do it for Alora and Nelly."
I looked at my mom. She nodded. . .she wanted me to stay as well. "Okay," I said. "I'll stay. I'll stay for band camp and for the season and I'll do what I can do."
Cara hugged me happily. "It'll be great, trust me." She said, grinning at me before going to sit with the rest of the colorguard. Mrs. Loren smiled at me. "I'm proud of you staying." She told me. "Now, go home and get ready and I'll see you in a half an hour." I smiled at her. "Okay." I said. "I'll stay."
~For you~ I thought. ~I will stay. And I'll stay for you. . .only for you.~
((so, how bad was that? Anyway I'll keep writing more just because I myself want to. And the next chapter will be the very first band camp. . .oh what fun! Review anyway ( ))
The bell rang loudly, snapping my attention from the book I was reading in chorus class to the fact that the bell rang. On this day, the ringing bell could mean only one thing---SCHOOL WAS OVER!! I stuffed my book away, letting an enormous grin spread across my face. As of now, my 7th grade year was over, and I had an entire summer to look forward too!
I waved goodbye to my chorus teacher, knowing I would see her next year, and ran down to my locker for the last time. Grinning in barely suppressed triumph of surviving the school year, I flipped my combination and took my jacket out of my locker for the last time.
Ahhh, for the last time! How wonderful that sounded! The sheer fact of school ending for the summer was enough to make anyone dance for joy. School was over. . .over. . .over. . .
"Hey, Christine, wait up!" It was Alora. I turned around, stuffing my last bit of junk into my bag before turning to meet her. "Hey, 'Lora." I said. "We have practice tomorrow. You can come sleepover my house after it's over, my mom said so!" She grinned. Oh great.practice tomorrow?
Well, at least I had Alora's house to look forward to. It was always fun sleeping over.
But it was the practice that would kill me. I had been to several of their practices since the first meeting, and what struck me was that I.wasn't good enough. All these people seemed to have so much more experience, and seemed to know so much more than I did. I felt intimidated.and, well, not good enough. Alora was pretty good. Cara had offered to help me once. Cara, I had to admit, was pretty nice. Even though she would be a junior in high school, the fact that we were 'little middle school 8th graders' didn't seem to bother her. She was very perky, and always seemed to want to help out. But I promised Alora and Nelly that I'd stay in.I couldn't break that promise.
"Yeah, I'll be there." I told Alora. "On time."
**Two months later, August 2001**
I had just gotten back from a lovely vacation in Florida. It was now August 10th, 2001, and a day before band camp started. But what was band camp, anyway? Being that I've never done this before, I didn't know a thing about band camp. I saw on the schedule that it was every day for a week from 8 in the morning to 4 in the afternoon, with one day staying until 10 at night and another day staying until 8 at night. But that just sounded so preposterous that I quickly dismissed the idea, and kept the thought of this 'band camp' out of my mind.
Until now.
Band camp was tomorrow, as Alora so kindly reminded me on my answering machine of. By now we had had several more practices, and I began to feel more and more intimidated each time. These people were all so much better, and so good at this, and here I could hardly get any of the work they were teaching me.
So how would I survive band camp? Especially when I didn't even know what it was?
It was the next morning when I told my mom I had made a very important decision: I was quitting. "I can't do this!" I announced to my mom in frustration the morning of band camp. "I don't get it, and they're all so much better than me. I'm quitting, I can't do this. If you want I'll tell Mrs. Loren today." I said. Mom understood, which surprised me, but she reinforced the idea of me telling Mrs. Loren. And Alora.
The hardest part of my 'quitting' would be telling Mrs. Loren. I admired her greatly, and telling her that I quit would be very hard.
But seemingly, if I had any chance of 'surviving', I'd have to tell her sooner or later.
Anyway, early the next morning my alarm clock went off. I woke up and shut it off. . .I was still sure I had the most annoying alarm clock in the world. It wasn't like most alarm clocks, it was the buzzing kind that wouldn't stop buzzing until you shut it off. The buzzing would just get louder until I shut it off, and if I didn't it would continue buzzing for more than an hour after the time I set it for. It must be made so that I can't avoid it.
Groaning and rubbing my eyes, I ate a quick breakfast before changing. I then packed my bag for band camp. Checking over the list, I put in a couple of frozen water bottles, a lunch, a notepad, and a pen. Soon I was ready. . .I'd be going to band camp and making the announcement to Mrs. Loren herself.
~That~ would be hard.
"Come on, Christine." My mom said, nodding seriously at me. She knew that I would be telling Mrs. Loren this. Little did she know how hard it would be fore me. I sighed, picking up my 'band camp bag' and getting into the car. "Christine, are you sure you're up to this? Just continue, I'm sure it'll get better." I shook my head. "I'm not good enough. Mrs. Loren'll understand that." I replied. Mrs. Loren was very understanding.
So we drove there, and soon I got to the high school. I've been to the high school before, but never like this. I liked my middle school. . .it was nice and small and I could find my way around. I knew I'd be going to this high school next year, but I probably wouldn't be in marching band next year either. I got out of the car, and mom got out with me. She was going to go with me to tell Mrs. Loren.
Taking a deep breath, I slung the bag over my shoulder and headed into the school. My confidence, all the confidence I had about telling her this before, went shooting out the window. How was I to do this? Shaking my head, I went into the cafeteria with my mom and scanned for Mrs. Loren. There she was-over by the door, preparing for the morning, whatever the morning held in store.
"Christine!" She called, spotting me and waving me over. "There you are! I thought you wouldn't be coming. Alora said you'd be late, but looks like your not." She gave me that bright smile that made me feel so. . .bad. "Christine has something to tell you." My mom said to me, giving me a look that said, 'well, you can't get out of this now.' Mrs. Loren raised an eyebrow at me.
"Um, Mrs. Loren?" I began with a question. "Yes?" Taking a deep breath, I said what I had to say as quickly as I could say it. "I've been to many practices and stuff. Alora's good and Nelly's good but I'm not as good at that. The others are a lot more experienced than I am and I know I am not as good as they are. I can't do this. . .it's too much and I know I'll bring everyone down because I am not as good as them. So I'm going to. . .quit. . .and maybe I'll try again next year or something."
I said all of this very fast to get it out as quick as I could.
Mrs. Loren then looked at me very seriously. "Christine," She began. "I know you are not very good right now. . .no one is very good when they start out." She lay a hand on my shoulder. "But I know you, and you have a talent for this. Just because you are new it doesn't mean that you won't be good. You'll be very good if you keep going. Don't let one thing get you down." I nodded at her. "Christine, I know you can do this. Don't underestimate yourself, I ~believe~ you can do this. If that's not enough, I don't know what is."
My mind immediately went whirling, and everything I thought of doing went flying out the window along with my confidence. "But. . ." "No buts." Mrs. Loren shook her head firmly. "Christine, I really don't want you to quit. I believe in you, I believe you can do it and if you stay you will be great." I blinked, suddenly feeling. . .different. I trusted Mrs. Loren, she was, I guess, my own personal heroine (or "shero", if you know what I mean). Now that ~she~ was saying this, it changed everything.
Then Cara came over, seeing me talking to Mrs. Loren. "What's wrong?" She asked. "Nothing. . ." I said. "No, Christine thinks she's not skilled enough for the guard and wants to quit." Mrs. Loren exclaimed. Cara looked at me. "Quit? No, you can't quit!" She said. "You'd be really good, I can tell. I was like that, too. . .I didn't believe I was good enough. And now it's my 4th year doing this and I'm co-captain. . .I started in 8th grade, too!" Cara was really enthusiastic, and her bubbly perkiness started to change my opinions too.
"Don't worry. I'll watch out for you, and I'll help you if you need it. Just promise me you'll stay." Cara said. "You must stay." Mrs. Loren added. "Do it for me. Do it for Cara. Do it for Alora and Nelly."
I looked at my mom. She nodded. . .she wanted me to stay as well. "Okay," I said. "I'll stay. I'll stay for band camp and for the season and I'll do what I can do."
Cara hugged me happily. "It'll be great, trust me." She said, grinning at me before going to sit with the rest of the colorguard. Mrs. Loren smiled at me. "I'm proud of you staying." She told me. "Now, go home and get ready and I'll see you in a half an hour." I smiled at her. "Okay." I said. "I'll stay."
~For you~ I thought. ~I will stay. And I'll stay for you. . .only for you.~
((so, how bad was that? Anyway I'll keep writing more just because I myself want to. And the next chapter will be the very first band camp. . .oh what fun! Review anyway ( ))